Chapter 327

At dinner, Li Dayong's parents and his maternal grandparents came to Li's house to meet his new "girlfriend."

This was how Li Zhongfa had arranged it.

Li Dayong and Pei Wenhui's relationship had not yet been formally confirmed, so asking Pei Wenhui to visit Li Dayong's home directly would seem hasty and disrespectful.

So Li Dayong's family invited only close relatives to gather at Li Ye's house, where the two families shared a meal and got to know each other.

Even with all the prior warnings about decorum, when the actual meeting came, Li Dayong's aunts, uncles' wives, aunts-in-law, and maternal aunts couldn't help but stare in shock and keep praising.

"This girl looks so cosmopolitan—Dayong's lucky, truly lucky."

"She's a wealthy young lady; of course she's cosmopolitan. But how did Dayong even meet her?"

"I'll tell you—it was last summer when Dayong went to Hong Kong for cultural exchange with Li Ye, and that Pei girl took a fancy to him. Look at Dayong—tall and solid as a tower, obviously steady."

Several older women kept whispering as they watched Pei Wenhui, making her feel uneasy.

And that white-skinned secretary had them all flustered too.

"Hey hey hey, look at that foreigner with the blonde hair—he must be that Pei boss's secretary! So even billionaires really do have secretaries, just like in 'The Herdsman'!"

Li Dayong's maternal grandfather, Qian Jianguo, was a smooth-talker who instantly understood what Qian Qingli meant.

"Sisters and cousins, we've seen enough—let's go! If we stay any longer, the girl will feel uncomfortable. We can't be rude and make her laugh at us."

"Wait a bit longer! We haven't given the 'viewing money' yet!"

"She doesn't need our little bit of cash."

"She may not need it, but it's our custom."

Li Dayong's aunts and mother's sisters each pulled out their "viewing money" and handed it to Pei Wenhui with smiles.

In Dongshan, when elders first meet a prospective daughter-in-law, they give "viewing money"—in the 1980s, one or two yuan wasn't too little, four or five yuan wasn't too much.

Each of Li Dayong's female relatives gave ten yuan.

That wasn't a small amount—it equaled nearly half a month's wage for a young factory worker.

After checking with Li Dayong, Pei Wenhui accepted it calmly, then handed out red envelopes in return, matching the number of younger family members in each household—everyone got one.

Each red envelope wasn't as large as the ones given to Li Juan and Li Ying, but each held at least one or two hundred yuan.

So when Qian Qingli led the group of older women away from Li's house and they opened the envelopes, it was like a hawk had flown into a chicken coop—chatter erupted nonstop.

"Look, look—what's a wealthy family? We clutch our ten yuan like it's dripping wet, but they give their kid hundreds for New Year's money!"

"Hundreds? I heard from people in the county—they're planning to invest over a million yuan to build a factory here! A million U. . dollars!"

"Whoa~—how much is a million U. . dollars?"

In the early 1980s, the U. . dollar was very valuable—for example, the Yaoyang Airport in Dongshan wasn't completed until 1992, and such a large airport attracted only ten million U. . dollars in foreign investment!

At this point, someone began to think.

"Dayong's mom, your family's going to be rich now—could you ask Li Ye to take your nephew Lunzi along next time he goes to Hong Kong for cultural exchange? Lunzi's even half a year older than Dayong and still hasn't found a bride!"

"."

Everyone froze, then all had the same thought: "Why didn't I think of that?"

Li Dayong went to Hong Kong and suddenly got a wealthy young lady—what if our own nephews went too?

Even if she's not a thousand-yuan lady, a hundred-yuan lady would do!

But Qian Qingli had already prepared her reply: "Sure! But for cultural exchange, you need cultured people. You'll have to make Lunzi study hard and get into a university in Beijing first."

"."

You expect a middle school student to pass the Beijing university entrance exam? Why not ask a dog to grow ivory tusks?

Li Zhongfa had told only Li Dayong's family about Pei Wencong's visit to Qingshui County, keeping it low-key.

But the next morning, someone got wind of it and rushed over to Li's house.

"Old Li, where's the Hong Kong investor? Get ready—the city's reception team will be here this afternoon."

Li Zhongfa looked at Qi Dazhong, who was frantic, and said in surprise: "Who told the city? He was here only a few hours yesterday and is probably already in Daosheng by now."

"What?"

Qi Dazhong jumped up in panic: "Old Li, what are you doing? You let such an important foreign guest leave? Don't you know how much the city values this joint venture? You—"

"What are you going to say?"

Li Zhongfa's face darkened. "I've been overseeing this joint venture the whole time—do you need to remind me? I'm asking you: who told the city?"

"."

Qi Dazhong stared at Li Zhongfa, mouth full of bitterness.

Originally, a comrade from Beijing had told him about a film city joint venture, saying the Hong Kong investor came because of "Seven-Inch Blade."

"Seven-Inch Blade" was Qingshui County's top "celebrity," so Qi Dazhong dragged Li Zhongfa straight to Beijing with city officials.

But once they arrived in Beijing, the city official suddenly assigned Qi Dazhong an urgent task.

Unaware of the reason, Qi Dazhong rushed off to complete it; when he returned, the instant noodle factory's joint venture terms were nearly finalized.

Li Zhongfa had become one of the main negotiators; Qi Dazhong ended up as just a minor, irrelevant member of the negotiation team.

Who could you complain to? He'd started it all, yet barely got a single hair of credit.

So Qi Dazhong believed all his achievements had been stolen by Li Zhongfa—and as for the personal relationship between "Seven-Inch Blade" and Pei Wencong?

What influence could a child possibly have? Qi Dazhong thought they were just using Li Ye as a stepping stone.

So when he learned the Hong Kong Mr. Pei had arrived in Qingshui County, Qi Dazhong immediately reported it to prove his worth.

He knew Li Zhongfa hadn't reported Pei Wencong's arrival—such an important matter made Li Zhongfa look suspicious of mixing public duty with private interests.

"Old Li, we've been colleagues for years. Publicly and privately, I must warn you not to make a mistake. This joint venture belongs to the state, not your Li family. If the city officials arrive and don't meet Mr. Pei, you'll be held responsible."

Though Qi Dazhong felt chilled under Li Zhongfa's gaze, he still stood his ground.

"Fine. Let's see who ends up taking responsibility."

Li Zhongfa gave Qi Dazhong a cold glance, refusing to argue further.

"This factory belongs to the state"? Get lost.

My grandson has a stake in it—it's my family's business. How dare you even think about it?

Moreover, after carefully observing yesterday, Li Zhongfa had realized: Pei Wencong's relationship with Li Ye was extraordinary. He didn't know why, but it gave him full confidence.

When the grandson is strong, the grandfather stands tall.

If that's the case, why should I fear you, Qi Dazhong?

"Ring ring ring~"

The phone rang. Li Zhongfa picked it up—it was indeed the city.

"Old Li! Someone just told me Mr. Pei from Hong Kong arrived in your Qingshui County. I was surprised—you should've been the one to tell me! Hahaha, what's going on?"

Li Zhongfa replied calmly: "Mr. Pei came to the mainland during the Spring Festival to visit friends privately.

After dining at my home last night, he returned to the provincial capital that same night. Today he's going to Daosheng to visit Lanhai Publishing House—he made it clear beforehand that this trip was purely personal, no business matters."

"Oh, I see. Then I understand. But you still need to push forward the joint venture plan—the city's annual report depends on your efforts, Old Li."

The city official was very amiable, because he felt this joint venture opportunity had fallen from the sky.

Qi Dazhong thought he had little connection to Li's family, but the city official knew better than anyone.

So many better-equipped cities and counties couldn't secure foreign investment—why did this one choose Qingshui County? Wasn't the reason obvious?

Professor Ke came from Qingshui County, and rumors about Professor Ke were tied to Li Ye.

Though the city official's guess was wrong, he had correctly identified Li Ye as the key figure.

Just as the city official was about to hang up, Li Zhongfa added: "The deal is nearly finalized. Next Monday, the Hong Kong investment team will arrive. If nothing unexpected happens, we can sign the contract and transfer funds."

"."

The phone line fell silent for several seconds, then: "You said next Monday?"

Li Zhongfa replied: "Yes. Five days from now. I've confirmed this repeatedly—the Hong Kong side has agreed in principle to our joint venture terms."

"Oh my, Old Li, you're still a guerrilla fighter at heart—always hiding your cards! I was just worrying about the joint venture, and you drop this bombshell—hahaha!"

Li Zhongfa laughed: "I've been working hard! I drank so much last night I threw up twice—but they keep their word, even drunk. This morning they gave me the exact time and conditions."

"Good, good, good. Old Li, you're still reliable. You must thank your wonderful grandson for me on this one!"

"Why thank him? We're all from Qingshui. Doing something for our hometown is natural."

Li Zhongfa smiled and changed the subject: "But the Hong Kong side did make one request—they absolutely won't take backdoor hires. All workers must pass exams and qualify before being hired.

You wouldn't believe it—this isn't the first joint venture here. They're frustrated by some local habits."

"Don't worry—I'll send my own people to supervise. Anyone who tries a backdoor deal will be fired."

The city boss's words put Li Zhongfa's mind at ease.

This factory had Li Ye's stake—it had to be guarded tightly. Otherwise, all his aunts and uncles would come begging: "Do less work, get more pay—even if you do nothing, still get paid!"

That was his grandson's money.

"Wait, wait—there's one more thing."

At the end of the call, Li Zhongfa hesitated: "What about Qi Dazhong?"

The other end didn't hesitate at all: "He's getting old. Don't worry—he won't interfere with the factory's construction."

Li Zhongfa hung up and smiled slyly at Qi Dazhong beside him.

I could've let you ride on my grandson's coattails—you once held him as a baby—but you've got no sense of your place.

Qi Dazhong suddenly shivered, instantly tense.

He and Li Zhongfa had been colleagues for years—so that smile of Li Zhongfa's was deeply unsettling.