Chapter 491

At four-thirty in the afternoon, while the Wang family elders were furious at the hotel, Wang Jianqiang's courtyard in Beiertiao was also very lively.

After the noon banquet, Huang Suwen's uncles, cousins, and their families and children all followed Li Zhongfa and others to Wang Jianqiang's courtyard to check out the "strength" of the groom's family.

This was also an important part of marriage negotiations. Although it wasn't as "no marriage without a hundred square meters" as in later generations, you still had to have a place to lay eggs, right?

And the result of the inspection was, of course, quite satisfactory.

Some relatives who didn't know the situation well before originally felt that Huang Suwen, such a beautiful girl from the capital, marrying Wang Jianqiang was a bit mismatched.

They didn't mind that Wang Jianqiang's family wasn't local, but they were a bit dissatisfied that Wang Jianqiang wasn't 1.75 meters tall.

But after seeing this courtyard, everyone wished they could say, "Whether poor or rich doesn't matter, we just like a 1.7-meter-tall son-in-law."

Huang Suwen's family lived in a crowded compound, with a family of four living in two rooms, and even that was considered quite good among the relatives!

But now looking at Wang Jianqiang's house, my goodness, the young couple enjoyed more than ten rooms alone. Under current policies, they could only have one child, so even by the time the grandchildren came, they wouldn't be able to fill it.

Calculating this way, Wang Jianqiang not being a local became an advantage. There were no parents-in-law sitting on top of their heads, and Huang Suwen was only a few hundred meters away from her parents' home. Damn, wasn't this like recruiting half a son-in-law?

Suitable, suitable everywhere. The old Huang family had made a huge profit.

The relatives of the old Huang family were all beaming with joy, but Wang Jianqiang's parents, Wang Daguang and Fan Chunhua, were sighing.

"Qiangzi! We always feel uneasy. You left your grandpas aside today. What if they come looking for us? Look at how many people are here now; if they make a scene, won't people laugh at us..."

"..."

"You're afraid they'll gossip now? Then why did you let them come with you, and even make me pay for the round-trip train tickets?"

Wang Daguang said sheepishly, "They are all blood relatives. They came enthusiastically to help you, so we couldn't give them the cold shoulder. People live for face; we have to give them face..."

"Face? Whose face?"

Wang Jianqiang laughed coldly, "During the New Year this year, they were either borrowing money from me or asking me to find jobs for them. Do I owe them anything? It's truly ridiculous!"

"When I was so hungry that I was eating grass roots by the river, if they had given me a single piece of cake, I wouldn't find it ridiculous."

"Dad, Mom, I'll tell you the truth today. I have earned some money outside, and I can help the family so you don't suffer or live in poverty."

"But you can't use me as a donkey to pull a mill just for your so-called face. My strength alone can't pull all your endless face."

"..."

Fan Chunhua and Wang Daguang, who had been "honest and simple" all their lives, couldn't handle these words from Wang Jianqiang at all.

At this moment, Wang Jianqiang seemed no longer to be their son, but a superior with reason and evidence.

"What is your family talking about? Today is not a day to lecture your son!"

Li Zhongfa, who had been talking to Huang Suwen's parents, finally noticed the abnormality on Wang Jianqiang's side and hurriedly walked over to take control of the situation.

Fan Chunhua immediately said aggrievedly, "Uncle, I'm not lecturing my son. I'm just worried that Qiangzi's third and fourth grandpas came from so far away, and if they aren't allowed to sit at the banquet and go back, what if they make a scene?"

"What if? Let them be."

Li Zhongfa had come to the capital with the Wang family and had been unable to stand the arrogant faces of those people all the way.

However, this was the Wang family's business, so Li Zhongfa still asked Wang Jianqiang, "Qiangzi, how did you arrange it? What are your thoughts?"

Facing Li Zhongfa, Wang Jianqiang of course told the truth.

"Master, I reckon my second grandpa has just arrived at the Square Hotel by now. It takes three transfers to get from there to here. If things go smoothly, they won't arrive until dark. By then, the Huang family will have already left, and I'm not afraid of them."

"Heh~, you kid have good calculations. Alright, go and greet the people on your wife's side! I'll have a few words with your parents."

Li Zhongfa praised Wang Jianqiang with a smile and sent him over to Huang Suwen's side.

Then Li Zhongfa's expression sank.

"Xiao Ye only told me a general idea today. It's not convenient for me to interfere in your Wang family's affairs, but I just want to ask you two: is your son closer to you, or are your brothers closer to you?"

"..."

Wang Daguang was stunned for a long time before twitching his face and saying, "Uncle, they are all relatives, all close..."

"All close? Heh~"

Li Zhongfa sneered and asked coldly, "Then how much help have those brothers and sisters-in-law given you over the years? Did they build you a house? Did they buy you a television? Did they give you eighty yuan every month?"

"..."

Wang Daguang and Fan Chunhua were choked and couldn't speak.

In this day and age, no family was wealthy. Borrowing a few bowls of wheat meant having to pay it back later! Who could help you build a house and buy land for nothing?

Poverty breeds evil schemes, wealth grows a good heart. If everyone had spare money, helping each other would naturally be excellent, but if everyone was poor... how many cases of brothers breaking each other's heads were there?

"A pair of muddle-headed fools."

Li Zhongfa scolded coldly, "It was already that noisy last night, and you didn't help your own son, but instead helped those things that came to take advantage. You've lived to such an old age and it's all gone to the dogs."

Fan Chunhua said aggrievedly, "Uncle, it's not that we don't help Qiangzi, it's just that we're afraid that Old Third and Old Fourth will poke our spines when they go back!"

"Sigh~"

Li Zhongfa sighed and helplessly pointed to the part of the Wang family relatives who stayed in Beiertiao.

"Don't just sit here and think blindly," Li Zhongfa said. "Your Qiangzi has already arranged everything. Even if you go back to Qingshui County, there will be people speaking for you, but you must also speak for your own son when the time comes."

There were quite a few Wang family relatives staying in Beiertiao, including the second grandpa's family and several relatives from Wang Jianqiang's grandmother's side.

These people didn't put on airs like Wang Jianqiang's grandpas yesterday and were relatively sensible.

And now, all of them, men and women, young and old, had changed into Fenghua-brand clothes, looking bright and brand new.

When they were preparing to go and finalize the engagement with the Huang family this morning, someone had asked why the third and fourth grandpas hadn't come yet.

But after Wang Jianqiang distributed the benefits, no one mentioned that anymore, as if they had forgotten that there was another half of the relatives at the Square Hotel.

Fenghua-brand clothing was sold in the Qingshui County Department Store, so everyone knew the value. With the leather shoes, each person's outfit cost at least several hundred yuan.

Wang Jianqiang had brought less than ten sets in total, and without fighting or grabbing, it was just enough to go around.

Wang Daguang smacked his gums and said with some mentality, "Sigh, Third Son still has a child's temper and is too willful with money. Borrowing money still has to be paid back! These clothes have been given away, can they be peeled back?"

"Sigh~"

Li Zhongfa shook his head helplessly and said, "You people! You should read more books in the future, otherwise, you'd be sold by your third son and still be counting money for him!"

Wang Jianqiang's second brother finally couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, Qiangzi's reading is not as good as mine!"

"Not as good as yours?" Li Zhongfa said contemptuously, "Do you think Qiangzi is still the Qiangzi of the past? Hmph~"

After Li Zhongfa came over today, he visited Wang Jianqiang's home with the Huang family relatives, including his study.

Li Zhongfa was Wang Jianqiang's master, and Wang Jianqiang treated him like his own grandfather, so Li Zhongfa didn't have many scruples and rummaged through Wang Jianqiang's "learning achievements."

This rummaging didn't matter, but it gave Li Zhongfa a fright.

Two thick stacks of study notes added up to more than half a meter high.

And although the handwriting inside was clumsy and ugly, every stroke was very serious, obviously showing that Wang Jianqiang had been working hard for the past two years.

Then Li Zhongfa learned about Wang Jianqiang's series of arrangements for his relatives and immediately looked at this once honest and simple apprentice-grandson with new eyes.

Blindly accommodating and helping will not lead to good results.

If Wang Jianqiang always satisfied the demands of the Wang family, even if everyone cheered for him today, it wouldn't be a long-term solution; it might just be a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

So Wang Jianqiang used methods, kept some relatives, gave them new clothes, and even agreed to arrange for two direct nephews to work in the capital later.

When the Wang family returns to Qingshui County, those relatives who were stood up will not only hate Wang Jianqiang's parents but also hate the other half of the relatives who got the benefits.

What is this called? This is called differentiation and winning over, this is called shifting contradictions, this is the normal means of a leader.

Think about it! If a leader stands in opposition to all his subordinates, the group of subordinates will treat the leader as an evil big boss that must be overthrown. Whatever you say, everyone resists, and whatever you say, everyone follows in appearance but opposes in secret.

But what if you differentiate and win them over?

Hmm, the leader just sits in the office and drinks tea, and the people below will act on their own.

When Wang Jianqiang first came to the capital, he was a small warehouse keeper assisting Jin Peng and Ma Qianshan.

But the current Wang Jianqiang is responsible for the entire northern warehousing and transportation of the Pengcheng Seventh Factory. If he didn't have real ability, he would have been played to death by his subordinates long ago.

Looking at the dull-witted Wang Daguang and Fan Chunhua, Li Zhongfa smiled helplessly and turned to leave.

"Your family's Qiangzi has become a talent!"

"..."

And Fan Chunhua and Wang Daguang looked at each other, not understanding what Li Zhongfa's evaluation of "becoming a talent" meant.

"Became a talent? Which talent?"

(End of chapter)