After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 112 Birthday Gift
Inside the large kitchen of Xinghua Village.

Li Yubai and Jiang Liuyun stepped into the kitchen and remained silent to each other.

As for the rabbit meat on the side, no one paid it any attention.

Jiang Liuyun suppressed his awkwardness and joy in front of others, and his expression became very indifferent.

Li Yubai's expression became even more indifferent.

After standing there for an unknown amount of time, Jiang Liuyun finally broke the silence: "Should I call you Li Lingyan, or Li Yubai?"

“Li Lingyan is my father.”

Jiang Liuyun smiled and said, "Before meeting you this time, I always thought that Li Lingyan was your father—the previous head of the Li family. I had seen you a few times from afar and thought you looked just like your father; when your special assistant came to the village last time, he also mentioned that the heads of the family looked alike."

"Since they are father and son, they will naturally look alike."

"This is the first time I've stood this close to you today..." Jiang Liuyun scrutinized him closely. "I've realized that you two aren't just similar in appearance. Your movements, expressions, temperament, and looks are practically identical... Is it really possible for two people in the world to be so alike? Or are they... actually the same person?"

"Madam Jiang is joking!" Li Yubai said calmly. "I am not some kind of old monster who can live for hundreds of years. Some things cannot be said out of thin air; they must be based on evidence."

Jiang Liuyun sighed, "Indeed, how could such absurd things happen in the world..."

Li Yubai then fell silent.

Jiang Liuyun had no intention of ending the conversation: "I met your father—nineteen years ago."

Li Yubai lowered his eyelids: "Oh?"

Jiang Liuyun gazed into the deep night: "Your father must have been forty years old then, but he looked so young, like a man in his twenties! When I saw him, he was holding Shubao in his arms, breastfeeding her. Shubao was only a month or so old. I don't know why, but she would cry whenever anyone else held her. She was only very, very well-behaved when she was in his arms..."

Li Yubai listened quietly, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"Shubao is very attached to him, so he stayed in Xinghua Village for three days. During those three days, he took care of everything: changing diapers, bathing her, making formula, telling her early education stories... He spoiled his daughter like this..." Jiang Liuyun sighed. "Everyone says that the head of the Li family is ruthless, but in front of Shubao, he truly showed her all his tenderness. After that, I would send him some photos of Shubao every month..."

“I’m keeping all the photos now,” Li Yubai said slowly. “Mrs. Jiang is very kind.”

“It is what I should do.” Jiang Liuyun’s eyes flashed. “Your father was a second father to me. If it weren’t for him, I would have died nineteen years ago.”

"It is because Madam Jiang is so blessed."

"I'm talking to you about this tonight because I want to ask you to confirm something..." Jiang Liuyun scrutinized him, "You approached Shubao because of... your father?"

“No.” Li Yubai’s eyes were deep. “I have never approached her because of anyone else.”

"That's good." Jiang Liuyun breathed a sigh of relief, finally stopping his probing. He pointed to the rabbit meat with a relaxed expression, "Still making rabbit?"

"Make it." Li Yubai slowly rolled up his sleeves, his tone full of doting affection, "For her midnight snack."

Making double-pepper rabbit takes quite a bit of time.

Jiang Liuyun only watched for a while before losing patience and went to the village where the villagers gathered to look for Jiang Shu.

Li Yubai stayed alone in the kitchen, elegantly cutting meat, chopping peppers, and preparing side dishes...

Thirty minutes later, the rabbit meat and side dishes sizzled in the oil, their colors enticing, and the aroma filled the air with the rising steam...

Li Yubai turned off the stove and meticulously arranged the rabbit meat on a plate.

Far away, the villagers were playing cards and chatting.

He listened intently and immediately recognized Jiang Shu's voice amidst the clamor of voices. The girl seemed to be telling interesting stories from the live stream, her voice filled with excitement. Her listeners, in turn, were very accommodating, constantly gasping and inhaling, expressing their shock to the fullest extent.

Li Yubai smiled slightly, his heart melting completely.

Jiang Shu's luxurious mansion.

When Li Yubai carried the fragrant double-pepper rabbit back into the house, the other four men inside were already playing mahjong.

"Li Yubai!" Feng Li arrogantly commanded him from afar, "Boil a kettle of water, we'll have flower tea and talk about life tonight!" Yan Yu rubbed the mahjong tiles: "It would be best to also have a plate of fried peanuts, for your sister to snack on."

Just then, Jiang Shu walked in from outside, carrying a struggling wild pheasant in her hand...

She smiled brightly: "Tomorrow we're making beggar's chicken. The lotus leaves and mud from that pond by the mountain are absolutely perfect for it!"

Rong Jingchen then pushed aside the mahjong tiles and reached out towards the chicken in Jiang Shu's hand...

Ning Yunzhan slowly handed over a cup of hot tea...

Li Yubai was still carrying a double-pepper rabbit in his hand.

But the next moment, someone's hand reached out and naturally placed the rabbit meat on the table...

Looking at the bustling house, Li Yubai suddenly felt that this kind of human warmth was quite nice.

The next day, Saturday.

It was also Jiang Shu's nineteenth birthday party.

It was still an outdoor banquet with about ten tables, but this time there was a six-tiered cake. The cake was decorated with nineteen adorable doll-shaped candles.

Jiang Shu was wearing her newly changed clothes. Around her, Li Yubai, Feng Li, and the others were still in the innermost circle, and then circles of about a hundred villagers sang her a birthday song with smiles on their faces...

After singing the birthday song and cutting the cake, it was time for Jiang Shu's most anticipated moment... receiving gifts.

Village Chief Yang pulled out a handful of crumpled, scribbled bills and handed them to Jiang Shu: "This is one-third of my savings. Here, take it all. Keep it safe."

Li Erniang took out a key: "I bought it by the roadside. It looks pretty good and has a nice design. You can use it as a toy."

Aunt Chu took out a peace buckle: "I got it from the temple, wishing my Shubao a smooth life."

Uncle Shen took out a bamboo tube: "I caught a few crickets a few days ago and I'm giving them to you to play with—these crickets are very wild, so don't take them out to play with them casually."

Uncle Zhou silently handed over a brick: "Uncle is poor, this brick is heavy, take it and keep it safe. If anyone wrongs you in the future, smash him to death."

……

Li Yubai and the others, who were watching everything from the side, remained silent throughout.

Jiang Shu didn't know the value of things.

but……

They considered themselves to be quite knowledgeable and well-informed.

Putting everything else aside, they recognized the Swiss bank safe deposit box key that Li Erniang used as a token, and each of them had several of them, all with the same logo of a VIP customer as Li Erniang's.

For example, Aunt Chu's safety amulet...

The antique jade that caused a sensation at the Beijing Private Collectors Expo three years ago.

And the village chief's stack of bills, covered with densely packed account numbers and passwords that looked like those of some dark web bank?

Let's not even talk about the bricks! The dull, worn bricks had several scratches, revealing a golden gleam beneath...

How much gold was hidden inside was a minor matter. What Li Yubai and his companions cared about more was—

If such a big and heavy brick were to hit you on the head... would you still survive?
Jiang Shu happily accepted the various gifts from the hundreds of villagers, and the two large cardboard boxes she had prepared were almost overflowing!

In the end, Assistant Yang generously took out a thick red envelope.

Seeing Jiang Shu smiling with her eyes crinkled as she held the red envelope, Assistant Yang reminded Li Yubai:

"Boss, it's your turn to collect your gift..."

(End of this chapter)