Chapter 491: I Treat You as an Older Brother

"I never wanted to study in the first place."

Bang Geng didn't feel ashamed after hearing Li Xuewu's words; instead, he felt proud, stiffening his neck as he said, "If my mom had just given me the tuition money directly, I would have gone to raise chickens, and our family's life would have improved long ago."

"Oh my, I really had eyes but failed to recognize a true talent."

Li Xuewu said with feigned surprise, "To think a business titan and an industrial genius was squatting right beside me. May I ask where you are currently employed, sir?"

"Hehe, Wu Shu, I know what a genius is, but what's a 'titan'?"

Bang Geng was thick-skinned; he asked about what he didn't know and didn't feel embarrassed at all.

"How many chickens are you raising now?"

"Three."

"Then you can only be called penniless right now."

Li Xuewu shook his head, re-baited his hook, and after casting it into the lake, said, "When you're raising ten thousand chickens, then you'll be a titan."

Bang Geng seemed to understand something and asked again, "Then what if I raise ten million chickens?"

"Then you'd be truly formidable."

Li Xuewu said with surprise, "Do you know about the United States?"

"I do."

Bang Geng nodded and said, "The US imperialists, they're just paper tigers."

"Mm-hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "If you had that kind of capability, you could go over there and become their big boss."

"It's that simple?"

Bang Geng had seen US soldiers in movies and knew the general situation of the US from his red education classes at school; he still knew that being the big boss of a country wasn't simple.

"Mm."

Li Xuewu nodded and explained, "They're a bit different from us over there. Their big boss is chosen based on who can brag the loudest; the more you brag, the more likely you are to become the big boss."

"Hahahahaha!"

Bang Geng was stunned by Li Xuewu's words. Seeing everyone laughing, he instantly knew Wu Shu was teasing him again.

"Hahaha~"

Bang Geng didn't know why everyone was laughing, but seeing that they weren't laughing at him, he joined in.

Never mind the rest, just laugh first.

Li Xuewen couldn't help but laugh too, feeling that these two should be on the radio, and that his younger brother should go in and perform crosstalk.

"Oh, there's a bite!"

Just as they were laughing, Sha Qizhi's fishing rod was pulled.

These rods belonged to Lao Biaozi. Since that kid got money, he just thought about playing, having played through everything he couldn't afford before.

He had gathered a pile of fishing rods, slingshots, ground cages, and bird traps, all piled in the small warehouse, playing with whatever he grabbed.

Of course, sometimes whoever grabbed them and had nothing to do would play with them too.

Li Xuewu's hunting rifle had been taken out by Lao Biaozi a few times, but he didn't like firearms much, feeling it wasn't satisfying enough, so he didn't touch it again.

The bird traps had also been taken out by Bang Geng to play with; sometimes he didn't even feel bad if he lost a few.

But the items were all good quality. Sha Qizhi pulled hard on the rod, feeling the tension from the other side, and couldn't help but grin.

He had never fished before; usually, he was either at work or busy at home. Following the leader was a rare moment of leisure.

People who don't know how to fish are just that lucky; there was definitely a fish, and it looked like it had quite a bit of pull.

Sha Qizhi was also excited and reckless, pulling hard on the rod, pitting his strength against the fish splashing in the water.

Li Xuewu and the others retracted their rods and stood to the side to watch, not helping; the joy of the harvest was better enjoyed alone.

Sha Qizhi waited until it was about right, then called Bang Geng to help, using a landing net to scoop the fish up.

"Hahaha, it's not small."

"This is considered big?"

Sha Qizhi was a bit dumbfounded. The fish that had fought him so fiercely was only about an arm's length long, estimated to be about two or three jin.

"This isn't small."

Li Xuewu looked at the carp stubbornly flopping on the grass and explained, "Most of the fish in this lake are this size; they don't live long if they get any bigger."

Sha Qizhi shook his head, but he was satisfied with the weight of his first catch and Li Xuewu's explanation.

Bang Geng pinched the fish's gills, lifted it up, and threw it into the bucket.

"Let's take a picture."

Li Xuewu remembered those people who fished in later generations, stood up, walked to the car, and took out the camera.

Walking back, Sha Qizhi took it and looked, couldn't help but praise it.

"Section Chief, only you can afford this thing."

As he spoke, he adjusted the focus, taught a passing man how to use it, and right there, Sha Qizhi held the fish, and everyone took a group photo together.

Li Xuewu could afford the camera, so he could afford the film, and he was prepared to take large-format photos; small ones were meaningless.

After everyone finished, they took a separate photo for Sha Qizhi.

Afterward, everyone continued fishing.

Seeing that the women were having fun over there, Li Xuewu put the camera in the box, put a few rolls of film in the box, and had Bang Geng carry it to Gu Ning and the others.

Sha Qizhi had been exposed to cameras in the office, while Zhou Ya Mei knew how to use it on the women's side.

With the precious "toy" sent by Li Xuewu, these people truly entered the "been there, done that" check-in mode.

First it was group photos, then landscape photos, then family photos. Seeing that there was plenty of film in the box, Zhou Ya Mei didn't save any for Li Xuewu and snapped away, taking many photos of everyone.

Taking photos at this time wasn't as simple and convenient as pulling out a mobile phone in later generations; the important thing was that it cost money.

A single photo cost several mao; few families took photos like this.

Another thing was that families with cameras at this time were few; not many could afford this thing.

Not to mention consumables like film, which were all precious.

Li Xuewu didn't care; when going out to play, everyone being happy was the most important thing, and keeping the happiness was even more important.

"Second Brother, your clothes are really nice."

Li Xuecai looked at the clothes his second brother had changed into at some point and said enviously, "Where did you get them?"

Li Xuewu tilted his head and looked at his younger brother, asking, "You like them?"

"Mm-hmm."

Li Xuecai nodded and said, "I really haven't seen anyone wear this style; the cuffs and the waist, they're really sharp."

"If you like them, ask your partner to find you some."

Li Xuewu laughed, "Don't even think about this set; your sister-in-law gave it to me."

"Oh~~~"

Li Xuecai smiled and said, "Yuxiu hasn't told me her family has any; I'll ask later."

"Her family might not have them."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and said, "You have to get Yuxiu to ask her brother; there's nothing he doesn't have, he can even dig up things that don't exist."

"Then forget it!"

Li Xuecai said annoyedly, "If her brother finds out I instigated it, he'll definitely deal with me!"

"Why are you such a coward!"

Li Xuewu tapped his younger brother's arm and said, "You should learn from our big brother..."

"Cough, cough!"

Hearing his second brother pull the topic to him again, Li Xuewen coughed to remind him not to be too presumptuous, lest he tell their parents when they got home.

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu patted Li Xuecai's shoulder and said, "Ask big brother for advice later."

Li Xuecai was also cheeky; right now, he was looking at his big brother with a thirst for knowledge.

Li Xuewen, annoyed by these two brothers, squinted his eyes and turned away again, completely turning his back on them.

The spring sunshine in the Summer Palace on a Sunday was indeed beautiful; pleasure boats on the lake were intermittent, and tourists along the shore were as dense as rain.

There were people from Beijing, from out of town, from within the country, and from abroad; the Four Nine City at this time was full of tolerance and contradiction.

But anyone who went out to play was bound to be tired. It wasn't rare to see people like Li Xuewu and the others who came by car.

But it was rare to see such leisure and comfort.

Perhaps knowing that they were fishing, the number of tourists on the road increased, but those passing by didn't come over to disturb or make noise.

Although there was a barbecue grill and a small table set up by the car, few people came up to look.

This was because sitting by the car was a tower-like man of a foreign race, looking fierce and terrifying.

Besides, the tourists guessed that the five or six people sitting by the lake were in the same group as this man, and they were not to be trifled with.

That was true; at this time, those who could drive out to play were not to be trifled with.

Li Xuecai was someone who couldn't stay idle; seeing people rowing on the lake, he wanted to play too.

But seeing his second brother and the secretary Sha Qizhi sitting by the lake talking about something, he didn't dare to disturb them.

His eyes glanced at the stone bridge, where his sister-in-law and the others were taking pictures, so he got up and ran over to ask if they wanted to go rowing.

Those with children naturally didn't dare to go play, but they couldn't resist Li Xuecai's desire to play and his persistent mouth.

Seeing a group of elementary school students rowing well on the lake, singing "Let's Swing Our Oars...", everyone became interested in rowing.

By the time Li Xuewu and Sha Qizhi were talking about recent current events, Li Xuecai beside him had been replaced by his big brother Li Xuewen.

Li Xuewen wasn't very interested in these contents, but he wanted to listen.

Recently, he had also been very conflicted; the school was no longer peaceful, and there was a sense of undercurrents.

More teachers came to chat with him, all asking about the situation above, because they all knew he had connections.

Otherwise, how could a teacher who had been working for less than half a year become a section chief?

Even with talent, there had to be someone who appreciated your talent and recognized you.

But he wasn't someone who liked to get involved in such things; he was annoyed every time, and now he wanted to hear his younger brother's opinion on how to handle this matter.

Li Xuewu didn't care at all and said, "Be polite to guests, play dumb, do good deeds, and don't ask about the future."

Li Xuewen looked at his younger brother's relaxed appearance, knowing that he was really not as good as his younger brother in this regard, so he tried to ask as accurately as possible.

Sha Qizhi sat to the side and said with a smile, "I actually think we should do a good job in mass work and unite all forces that can be united."

Li Xuewen blinked. Do people who play politics love to say such nonsense?

Li Xuewu also saw his big brother's confusion and annoyance, so he smiled and pointed out, "If colleagues come to ask, say you've been living at school and haven't been in touch with your family."

"What if students come to ask?"

Li Xuewen hadn't just met colleagues recently; students had also started to pay attention to current news.

He was a section chief and a teacher, so naturally, students came to ask him.

Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said, "Then naturally, you can't talk nonsense."

"If students ask about current events, talk to them about ideals."

"If students ask about ideals, talk to them about life."

"If students ask about life, care about their lives, let them be filial to their parents, friendly to relatives and friends, care about classmates, and love life."

"Isn't that just talking nonsense!"

Hearing his younger brother's opinion, Li Xuewen couldn't help but say bitterly, "Why is there no answer that everyone agrees on?"

"Because life has no answer, and politics has no answer."

Li Xuewu looked at the fish float on the lake and sighed, "If you want to stay out of it, you have to be in it. I can arrange for you to hide in a paradise, not to say isolated from the world, but it can keep you quiet and doing research. Are you willing?"

Li Xuewen thought for a moment, raised his head, and asked, "Can I teach students?"

"Uh..."

Li Xuewu thought about the prisoners in the Beijing No. 1 Prison and was afraid it would be difficult to find a few who could be his big brother's students.

Because anyone with that level of education and knowledge wouldn't be unemployed and mixing in the streets.

"Are elementary school students okay?"

"What!!!"

Li Xuewu didn't get a definite answer from his big brother, but he wasn't in a hurry because the path had already been paved.

Once his big brother's work had problems, he would become a cadre of the Tsinghua University Office at the Beijing No. 1 Prison Printing Factory.

Li Xuewu didn't believe that if he sent his big brother directly to prison, he would encounter any storms.

If there really were such idle people, Li Xuewu would be very willing to send them to prison to discuss with his big brother.

However, he only cared about sending them, not picking them up.

"Hey~~~ Look here~~~"

As Li Xuewu and the others were talking, they suddenly heard a shout from the lake. Looking up, they saw the women bringing the children over in boats.

"You guys can really toss and turn."

Under the signal of Li Xuecai and Zhou Ya Mei, Li Xuewu and the others stood up and took a photo with a new idea together.

Because this photo was taken from the water.

Seeing his daughter in Gu Ning's arms staring at him with wide eyes, Li Xuewu felt quite gratified.

And Li Shu's eyes were full of "Dad, save me," but the father on the shore turned a blind eye and even smiled at her.

"Ah! Dad!"

Li Shu was really in trouble; she even said the words she hadn't been willing to say recently.

Her little hands were reaching out, wanting to grab Li Xuewu, meaning she wanted a hug.

But there was lake water in between, and Li Xuewu on the shore just waved at his daughter and didn't hear the call at all.

But Zhao Yafang, who was sitting in the same boat, heard it, and Gu Ning, who was holding the child, also heard it.

Zhao Yafang felt inexplicably sad. The first sentence a child says after learning to speak is usually "Mom," and rarely "Dad."

But the first thing Li Shu learned was "Dad," which made Zhao Yafang, who was rowing, and Gu Ning, who was holding the child, think a lot in their hearts.

Gu Ning reached out and touched Li Shu's little face; it was tender and smooth, tenderer than the tenderest tofu, and smoother than the flowing water by the boat.

Li Shu turned her head after being touched by Gu Ning and took a focused look.

"Ah, Dad!"

Perhaps feeling she had found a backer, Li Shu pointed her finger at the unreliable dad on the shore and told the woman in front of her that that was her dad.

Meaning, don't mess with me; my dad is over there.

Gu Ning smiled, reached out and dipped her hand in the lake water, lifted it up, and touched Li Shu's little hand.

Li Shu stared in surprise at this woman, not knowing what she was doing.

Was it a counter-threat, saying her dad was no good either, and she was going to throw her into the lake?

Seeing Li Shu's surprised expression, Gu Ning also laughed at her for being small but smart, and reached out to put Li Shu's little hand on her own face.

Li Shu touched it tentatively, then hugged Gu Ning's neck and kissed her on the face to please her.

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Yafang, who was rowing, looked at the interaction between this strange "mother and daughter" and also found it fun, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Our Li Shu will be amazing when she grows up; she broke our dad's water cup, and before our dad could ask, she did this first, making our dad feel both pained and afraid to say anything, and he had to comfort Li Shu for fear that his granddaughter would cry."

"Hehe, do you like me?"

Hearing her sister-in-law talk about the child's cleverness and playfulness, Gu Ning also smiled and asked Li Shu.

Li Shu reached out and touched Gu Ning's face, leaning her body against Gu Ning.

This was the first time Gu Ning had felt Li Shu leaning completely into her arms since she started holding her.

"Do you like me?"

Gu Ning teased Li Shu on purpose, but it made Li Shu arch into her arms and hide deeper.

There were many pleasure boats on the lake, but each had some distance. Fei Shanying held the child with Li Xue, and Zhou Ya Mei held the child with Dong Huihua.

Sha Qizhi had many children, and Li Xuecai and Ji Yuxiu helped bring two on their boat. Four small boats rowed past Li Xuewu and the others in company, circled around, and rowed into the lake.

Seeing the pleasure boats go far away, Li Xuewu and the others sat back on their stools and started their leisurely fishing, catching nothing.

Except for the one Sha Qizhi caught at the beginning, no one else's hook was bitten.

I don't know if it was because there were more tourists, or if the fish went downstream after the weather got hot, but they couldn't catch anything.

Bang Geng was anxious watching from the side, occasionally scattering some bran into the water.

"If you scatter any more, these fish will be full and won't bite the hook even more."

Li Xuewu flicked the big-faced cat's forehead, then signaled him to hide further away, as he wanted to smoke.

Bang Geng sniffed hard, smelled the cigarette smoke, and asked, "Isn't it called fragrant cigarettes? Why doesn't it smell fragrant?"

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu replied, "You're still called Bang Geng; are you very 'bang' (awesome)?"

"..."

Bang Geng was really speechless; he couldn't talk back to Wu Shu at all.

"Here."

Li Xuewu signaled the fishing rod in his hand to Bang Geng, and after Bang Geng took it, he stood up and walked to the restroom.

When he came back, he looked at the time on his watch, which was already eleven o'clock, so he said "start" to Seeing Gelin.

Seeing Gelin was still the same personality, not very talkative; Li Xuewu asked one sentence, and he answered one.

Looking at this honest man, Li Xuewu didn't go back to the lake, just helped out here.

Seeing Gelin first moved out a large basin, placed it to the side, and then took the grill.

After the preparations were done, he carried the two fish in the bucket to the lakeside to clean them.

Li Xuewu asked in surprise, "Wasn't it just one? Why two?"

"Caught another one! Hahaha!"

At this time, they heard Bang Geng standing by the lake shouting at the top of his lungs, shouting and laughing, and with the joint effort of Han Jiankun, he scooped a fish onto the shore.

Seeing that Li Xuewu had seen it, Seeing Gelin didn't explain further, smiled, went over to take the fish, and went to the lakeside to clean them together.

Of course, he walked a bit further away, fearing that the bloody smell would affect their fishing.

Li Xuewu sat on the stool a bit depressed, watching Bang Geng sitting in his seat, holding his fishing rod, showing off to the people on both sides.

Seeing someone catch a fish, tourists naturally came over to watch.

Seeing that it was a child of ten or so who caught it, it was even more strange, and they couldn't help but discuss it.

Hearing this sound, Bang Geng couldn't sit still, shaking his head and tail, his little mouth babbling non-stop.

Li Xuewu and the others were well-prepared for their spring outing today; there was a round pot on the barbecue grill, just to eat the fish caught by the lake.

He wanted to be busy with something, but he always felt like he couldn't get his hands on it.

Just as he was worrying, Han Jiankun gave the fishing rod in his hand to Sha Qizhi and walked over to help burn the charcoal.

"It's okay, don't worry, go play."

Li Xuewu didn't think about letting him come over to be busy, and he wasn't willing to be exposed to the sun by the lake, which was why he came over to sit.

Han Jiankun smiled and said, "I don't want to fish either; I don't have that patience."

As he spoke, he had already taken the iron bucket containing charcoal, sprinkled some gasoline with a glass bottle filled with gasoline, and then struck a match to light it.

As the match fell into the iron bucket, the flame "poofed" out of the iron bucket.

Fortunately, both Li Xuewu and the others dodged, otherwise their eyebrows would be gone.

Sprinkling gasoline was to get the charcoal to the combustion temperature as quickly as possible to start the fire.

After the gasoline had burned out, the charcoal no longer had an open flame, and Han Jiankun used fire tongs to clamp them into the barbecue grill one by one.

Seeing the busyness here, the tourists passing by stopped to watch if they were curious.

Especially seeing Seeing Gelin carrying the cleaned fish back, the tourists all felt their stomachs grumbling.

Some bold young people came over to ask if they were selling, but were blocked by Han Jiankun, who said this was their own family out to play.

Hearing this, the onlookers all felt very surprised.

Spring outings were all about bringing cold food or fruit; who would directly start a stove? That was even more awesome than the restaurant on the mountain.

There was indeed a restaurant on the mountain, but it was for entertaining important guests, and ordinary people couldn't eat there.

Li Xuewu felt a bit sleepy, took a chair, sat by the car, found a news station on his big brother's radio, and listened with his eyes squinted.

Looking at Li Xuewu's comfortable appearance, the onlookers only felt that this was a spring outing.

Of course, it wasn't always these people watching here; they mostly stood by the road to watch.

It wasn't that these people were always watching; they mostly came and went.

Especially seeing people watching, the curious ones wanted to come over to see what was going on.

Li Xuewu didn't drive these people away; this wasn't his home, and people could play however they wanted, as long as they didn't come to grab food.

Perhaps because the sun was too strong, the few people fishing couldn't sit still, and each carried their stools back.

Bang Geng had been restless since catching the fish; it was conceivable that he hadn't caught any more later.

The other few were the same; the harvest today was only three large carp.

Two or three jin, three or four jin, that wasn't small. Seeing Gelin split the cleaned fish and fried them in oil in a round pot, which drew exclamations from the crowd by the road.

To be so willing to use oil, it must be a very wealthy family.

Furthermore, most people hadn't seen this way of eating and cooking, and thinking about learning a new way of eating was worth standing here to watch.

This turned into fewer people leaving and more coming, not watching the scenery but watching the cook.

Li Xuewen didn't want to be watched, got in the car, and read a book, while Sha Qizhi opened a few bottles of soda and distributed them to a few people, then helped Seeing Gelin get busy with Han Jiankun.

They didn't know how to cook much, but simple helping was fine.

By the time Seeing Gelin clamped the fish onto the grill, Zhao Yafang and the others had returned.

"Why is it so lively?"

Li Xuecai led the crowd around from one side of the crowd, looked at the few people cooking, and knew what was going on.

Zhao Yafang held Li Shu and walked to Li Xuewu's side, placing Li Shu on Li Xuewu's stomach.

"Weren't you looking for Dad? Go and pester your dad."

Li Xuewu opened his eyes, met his daughter's eyes, and both father and daughter were a bit dazed.

It was really warm, and it was easy to get sleepy.

Li Xuewu reached out to take Li Shu, looked at Gu Ning and the others, and asked, "Why didn't you play for a while longer? Good food will take a while."

"Not playing anymore, too tired."

Zhao Yafang was about to reach out to help, but was stopped by Sha Qizhi and the others, who said that today the women were all resting, the work was all done by the men, and the women were only responsible for the children and playing.

This made Dong Huihua and the others laugh, all saying it was rare, rare.

The onlookers saw that this was a group outing, and couldn't help but start to envy these people by the car.

Especially the scarred-faced man who had been sitting lazily all along, who had a doll-like daughter.

Li Shu didn't know why there were so many people looking at her today, and she was a bit sleepy and hungry, so she leaned into her father's arms and pursed her mouth.

Zhao Yafang took a milk bottle out of the bag in the car, roasted it by the charcoal fire for a while, and then gave it to Li Xuewu, letting him feed Li Shu.

Li Xuewu hadn't done this work either, and father and daughter were both a bit flustered.

Gu Ning couldn't stand it and came over to help.

But she hadn't done this work either, and this family together became synonymous with being clumsy.

It was still Zhou Ya Mei who saw that Li Shu was unhappy, reached out to take it, and held the milk bottle to feed her.

Zhao Yafang had chatted with Zhou Ya Mei a few times and knew that she was a cultured person, and they respected each other very much.

Now seeing her helping Li Xuewu and Gu Ning, she thought this might be someone the Gu family found to help.

Li Shu had someone to take care of her, and the few children who could be let go gathered in front and whispered to each other, playing well.

Fu Zhidong and Zhang Xinmin were of similar age, and about the same as Sha Qizhi's third child, so the three little ones squatted on the ground looking for ants to play with.

Bang Geng was of similar age to Sha Qizhi's eldest, and older than the second, but they could also play together.

The two little boys saw Bang Geng boasting about how big the fish he caught in the lake was, and were a bit envious.

Finally, they begged their parents to go fishing. Sha Qizhi had no time to take the children, so he was about to call his wife.

These women were all sitting around a small table chatting and eating melon seeds.

The principle of this kind of table was not difficult; it opened when used, and could be carried when the mechanism was triggered when not in use, all made by Hearing Da Lao, and they sold very well, just that the manual work was troublesome.

The stools everyone sat on were relatively simple, and the materials were all waste wood and rubber or leather belts, which could be called a model of waste utilization.

Seeing that everyone was chatting happily, Li Xuewu waved at Sha Qizhi, signaling that he would do it.

Seeing that Li Xuewu was about to get up again, Bang Geng smiled and took two little brothers with fishing rods and ran to the lakeside.

Li Xuewu lit a cigarette for himself, found two ropes in the car, carried the stool to the lakeside, tied them to the waists of the three children, stepped on one end with his feet, and leaned on the chair to bask in the sun again.

The few people busy by the car saw Li Xuewu's appearance and all laughed.

Sha Qizhi and his wife didn't care about Li Xuewu's approach; children at this time were just naughty, and if you didn't watch one, they would cause trouble.

Li Xuewu's approach was very convenient and safe.

Seeing that the women were sitting and chatting, the onlookers felt a bit embarrassed, so they all gradually began to disperse.

Of course, there were also nosy young people standing on the side watching.

Especially seeing Seeing Gelin take out large meat skewers from the large basin, which drew a burst of exclamations.

These families were really rich, grilling large pieces of meat directly to eat.

Li Xuewu was dozing off, listening to Bang Geng's constant boasting and the chattering of the two little ones, only feeling like he was going to fall asleep.

"Wu Ge!"

Li Xuewu suddenly heard someone calling him, wanted to open his eyes, but the sunlight was dazzling, so he closed them again.

Just as he wanted to turn around to see who it was, he heard someone say, "Hey, it really is you!"

Li Xuewu squinted one eye, opened one eye, and saw Zuo Jie, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, walking from the roadside to this side.

Behind him stood... Wang Yajuan and Wang Yamei, the two sisters.

"It's you."

Li Xuewu smiled, greeted the two sisters who were standing by the road looking over, and then laughed at Zuo Jie, "Out playing?"

"Hehe, isn't it because the weather is good, out for a stroll."

As he spoke, he looked at the rope Li Xuewu was stepping on, and the child tied to one end of the rope.

"Wu Ge, you are...?"

"Watching the kids, haven't you seen it?"

Li Xuewu smiled and greeted Wang Yajuan, who was hesitating whether to come over, and was pulled by her younger sister, "What's wrong? Don't recognize me anymore?"

"Who said I don't recognize you?"

Wang Yajuan saw that they had already walked here, so she let her younger sister pull her and followed down the roadbed to the lakeside.

Zuo Jie smiled and said, "I saw it was lively here from the bridge, someone said a whole family was out, grilling meat here, so I said I'd come to see something new."

"Hehe, my own family and a few friends."

Li Xuewu nodded, looked at the three of them, and asked, "Just the three of you out playing?"

"Uh..."

Zuo Jie said embarrassedly, "That... well, I'm not popular now, don't have any friends."

"Hehe, am I not one?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and asked Zuo Jie, "Don't treat me as a friend?"

"How dare I!"

Hearing Li Xuewu say this, the dark clouds on Zuo Jie's face dissipated, and he said with a smile, "I've always treated you as an older brother."

"This flattery feels comfortable."

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at the three children, who were still concentrating on fishing.

He was also afraid that the three children would have nothing to play with, and didn't say that they couldn't catch anything right now, just coaxing the children to play.

Determining that the children were safe, Li Xuewu asked the three of them again, "What time did you come?"

"In the morning."

Wang Yamei looked at Li Xuewu a bit nervously, and seeing that Li Xuewu asked this time, she grabbed the answer.

Li Xuewu looked at the little girl who was a bit restrained and smiled, "What's wrong? You don't have any friends either?"

"No~ I don't even bother playing with them!"

Wang Yamei was a straightforward personality; hearing her parents talk about Li Xuewu's status and position, she knew that Li Xuewu now was no longer the Wu Ge of the past.

And he was no longer the big brother she could casually get close to.

However, looking at Wu Ge's attitude now, he didn't pretend not to know her, nor was he annoyed by her.

"Wu Ge, thank you for helping my sister last time."

Wang Yamei smiled and walked to Li Xuewu's side, and said again, "My parents also said they would find an opportunity to thank you."

"A small effort."

Li Xuewu nodded, looked at Wang Yajuan, and asked, "Is everything handled clearly?"

"Mm."

Wang Yajuan had been looking at Li Xuewu; meeting after a long time, she still had indescribable psychological fluctuations toward this face.

Last time, Gu Ning gave her a contact address, but she only tucked that slip of paper in a book and never went to look for her once.

Not only because she couldn't let go of Li Xuewu in her heart, but also because she knew that she and this proud daughter of heaven were not on the same level.

This incident made her understand many truths and see the essence of many things.

Everyone says that everyone is equal, but this time, if she didn't have the help of her family and him, how would she be treated equally?

Not to mention the calm after the storm now.

Zuo Jie squatted beside Li Xuewu and explained softly, "Some of those children were arranged by their parents to be soldiers, some went to the construction corps, some returned to their hometowns, and some were grounded."

"You were isolated?"

Li Xuewu looked at Zuo Jie and asked, "Regret it?"

"Hehe, Wu Ge, what do you take me for?"

Zuo Jie said with a firm face, "My dad said, no matter how many fox friends and dog friends you make, it's all in vain; you have to make sincere friends."

"Good."

Li Xuewu reached out and patted Zuo Jie's shoulder, saying, "Having responsibility and understanding the truth shows that you have grown up."

"I know good from bad, Wu Ge."

Zuo Jie lowered his head and said, "Since you told me to study more last time, I picked up the books again, begged Yajuan sister to help guide me, and I'm working hard to catch up with the study progress."

"That's even better."

Li Xuewu looked at the lake surface, nodded, and said, "Endure loneliness, guard prosperity, don't ruin the good conditions your parents created for you."

"Mm, I know."

Zuo Jie didn't feel at all that it was inappropriate for Li Xuewu to lecture him like an elder; he was very willing to listen to Li Xuewu's words.

Especially the changes he had made recently made his family and his father outside feel very gratified, and also set an example for his younger brother and sister.

The more he studied, the more he knew his own emptiness, and felt he should work harder.

The days of messing around seemed to have passed for a long time, and even if he was isolated, he didn't feel lonely.

Li Xuewu found that Wang Yamei had also changed a lot, not as chattering as before, quiet, and could speak.

"Did you bring food when you came out to play?"

"Brought it."

Zuo Jie smiled and said, "I took meat cans from home."

"Although it's spring, it's still cool."

Li Xuewu looked at the three of them and said, "Let's go, come with me to eat."

"That... Wu Ge."

Zuo Jie looked at that side a bit embarrassedly and said, "Your family gathering, we..."

"Didn't I say I have friends?"

Li Xuewu looked at Wang Yajuan and her sister who were also about to refuse, and said, "Don't treat me as a friend?"

After speaking, he said to Bang Geng, "Forget it, fish after eating, it's noon, the fish have to eat lunch too."

Bang Geng was obedient, took the two little brothers over, untied the rope himself, carried the rope, and whispered to the two of them as they went back.

Li Xuewu patted Zuo Jie's arm, took the three of them and followed behind as they walked back, saying as they walked, "Your Ning sister is also here, if you left, how bad would that be."

"Mm, there are many programs in the troupe recently."

Wang Yajuan combed the hair by her ear and hurriedly found an excuse.

Li Xuewu nodded noncommittally and said, "She has few friends too, come play more often."

"Good."

Walking past the driveway, Gu Ning and the others had already seen Li Xuewu bringing people over, and seeing that it was Zuo Jie and the Wang Yajuan sisters, they stood up.

Before she could stand up, Zuo Jie had already greeted them.

"Ning sister!"

Gu Ning nodded with a smile and looked at the Wang Yajuan sisters again.

Wang Yajuan pursed her lips, moved her steps over, and seeing Gu Ning looking at her, she still took the initiative to greet her.

"Gu Ning, hello."

"Hello, Yajuan."

Gu Ning used a relatively close form of address, which was like a reassurance for the three of them, and they were no longer embarrassed.

Li Xuewu greeted them to sit, and let Li Xuecai get drinks for the three of them.

At this time, the grilled large meat skewers had been brought over, and Li Xuewu greeted everyone to be casual.

Those with children all took a skewer, taking care of the children who gathered around to eat, and those without children to take care of all took a skewer to eat themselves.

Gu Ning saw that the Wang Yajuan sisters were a bit restrained, so she took two skewers of meat and gave them to them.

"Take them yourself, long time no see."

"Thank you."

Wang Yajuan took the grilled meat, looked at Gu Ning, and said, "A bit busy recently, the troupe rehearsed several plays, saying there was a large-scale report performance."

Gu Ning knew that Wang Yajuan was explaining why she didn't come to look for her after she gave her the address.

At this time, she nodded understandingly and said, "If there is an opportunity, I will go see it."

"Thank you."

Wang Yajuan nodded, the two said a few words a bit awkwardly, and then ate in small bites.

The women all sat around the table eating in small, elegant bites, while the men and boys stood eating, holding soda, chatting while eating.

Zuo Jie was also good at talking and soon integrated into the group.

His age was similar to Li Xuecai's, and his personality was also somewhat similar, so he didn't feel a generation gap when talking about topics.

It was they who felt there was a generation gap when talking to Li Xuewu; sometimes they had to think about what Li Xuewu said before they understood.

This caused them to appear slow and clumsy when communicating with Li Xuewu, and a bit embarrassed.

Li Xuewu talked more with Sha Qizhi, and also talked with Li Xuewen, sometimes taking care of everyone and saying a few words.

Li Shu was perhaps tired from playing, and fell asleep after drinking milk.

Seeing Zhou Ya Mei holding her and unable to eat, Li Xuewu walked over to take his daughter and let Zhou Ya Mei eat. ===== CHAPTER 492 =====

It's just that they feel there is a generation gap when talking to Li Xuewu, and sometimes they have to think for a while to understand what Li Xuewu means.

This makes them appear very slow and clumsy when communicating with Li Xuewu, and a bit embarrassed.

Li Xuewu talks more with Sha Qizhi and also with Li Xuewen, and sometimes takes care of everyone by saying a few words.

Li Shu was probably tired from playing and fell asleep after drinking milk.

Seeing Zhou Ya Mei holding her and unable to eat, Li Xuewu walked over to take his daughter and let Zhou Ya Mei eat.