Love in the Courtyard: Starting with Engineers

Xu Damao sat on the ground, repeatedly saying, "Impossible, impossible, how could I not be able to give birth? It should be Lou Xiao'e who can't give birth."

"Slap!" Lou Xiao'e slapped Xu Damao hard across the face. "Xu Damao, you bastard, your whole family are bastards!" After saying that, Lou Xiao'e ran out of the hospital.

Lou Xiao'e didn't return to the courtyard house but ran back to her own home overnight. When she got home, Lou Xiao'e hugged her mother and cried.

Seeing her crying so sadly, Lou's mother quickly asked, "Xiao'e, what's wrong? Did Xu Damao bully you again? Do you want me to stand up for you?"

Lou Zhenhua, who had just come downstairs, immediately straightened his face upon hearing Lou Xiao'e's mother's words and said, "What justice are you trying to uphold? Why are you meddling in their marital affairs? Don't you think the Lou family is high-profile enough?"

Lou Xiao'e told Lou Zhenhua and Lou's mother what had happened at the hospital. Lou Zhenhua frowned and seemed to be thinking about something after listening to her story.

Lou Xiao'e knew what her father was afraid of, so she immediately asked, "Dad, do you know Li Yu?"

"Li Yu from the steel rolling mill? I know him, what's wrong?"

Lou Xiao'e continued, "I'm planning to divorce Xu Damao and marry him. What do you think?"

Lou Zhenhua thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll invite him to my house tomorrow to see what he thinks."

Lou Xiao'e knew there was hope in this matter when she heard Lou Zhenhua say that.

When Xu Damao returned home, he found that Lou Xiao'e was not there. He knew that Lou Xiao'e had gone back to the Lou family home, and he planned to go to the Lou family home to find her the next day.

Now that he can't have children, he has to find a way to keep Lou Xiao'e. He absolutely cannot get a divorce, otherwise he'll probably be all alone for the rest of his life.

Li Yu and Bai Ling, who had just finished a busy day, were stopped by a middle-aged man in a long gown as soon as they stepped out of the steel rolling mill.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Li Yu?"

Li Yu frowned and looked at the person who came in, saying, "That's me. What do you want with me?"

"I am Director Lou's driver. He asked me to invite you over for a chat."

Li Yu glanced at Bai Ling and, seeing that Bai Ling didn't react, said, "Why don't you go back first and I'll go with him."

In fact, Li Yu had wanted to meet Lou Zhenhua for a long time, hoping to use Lou Zhenhua to set up some businesses for him in Hong Kong.

Bai Ling nodded and rode her bicycle home by herself.

When Li Yu arrived at the Lou family's residence, he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of their wealth. To think that the Lou family owned such a large villa in a place like Beijing was no different from a firefly in the dark at this time of year.

When Lou Zhenhua saw Li Yu arrive, he quickly invited Li Yu to sit down.

"Brother Li, welcome to my humble abode!" Lou Zhenhua said warmly.

"Director Lou, you're joking. If even this place is considered a humble abode, then there are no houses left in Beijing."

The two exchanged pleasantries without either revealing their purpose.

Li Yu spoke first: "Mr. Lou, what is the specific purpose of inviting me here today?"

Seeing that Li Yu had already asked, Lou Zhenhua stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "What do you think of my Xiao'e?"

"What does Director Lou mean?" Li Yu asked, feigning ignorance.

"What I mean is, do you have feelings for Xiao'e?"

Lou Zhenhua then told Li Yu about Xu Damao's infertility, and said that as long as Li Yu was willing to marry Lou Xiao'e, they would provide a sufficient dowry.

After listening, Li Yu simply smiled and said, "Mr. Lou, firstly, I already have someone I like, and secondly, do you really think that marrying me will truly protect the Lou family?"

Lou Zhenhua looked at Li Yu with a puzzled expression.

Li Yu continued, "The problem with the Lou family now is not just whether or not they have donated their shares in the steel rolling mill, but rather what kind of life everyone else is living and what kind of life your family is living. So it's only a matter of time before the Lou family is liquidated."

"Whether you donate the entire steel mill or marry Lou Xiao'e to anyone, the outcome will not change. This is an inevitable trend that no one can escape."

After listening, Lou Zhenhua took a deep breath and said, "Is leaving the only option?"

"Yes, not only is it the only way, but the sooner the better," Li Yu said.

Lou Zhenhua sighed, "It's really hard to part with them. They've spent their whole lives in Beijing, and now suddenly they're saying they have to leave..."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back after I leave now."

Li Yu said, "Leaving now is for a better return in the future."

Lou Zhenhua looked up at Li Yu and asked, "Can he really come back?"

Li Yu answered firmly, "Yes!"

When Lou Zhenhua saw that Li Yu said it was okay, he immediately made up his mind. He would have Lou Xiao'e divorce Xu Damao the next day, and then he would donate all the shares of the steel rolling mill to the country. After doing all this, he would leave.

Seeing that Lou Zhenhua had made up his mind, Li Yu said, "After you go to Hong Kong, I plan to do business with you. I'll provide the technology, and you provide the capital. What do you think?"

Next, Li Yu discussed the details of the cooperation with Lou Zhenhua. In the end, Li Yu contributed the technology and held 65% of the shares, while Lou Zhenhua contributed the capital and held 35%. Li Yu would then give Lou Zhenhua 10% of the revenue as a management salary.

Li Yu asked Lou Zhenhua to come see him before he left, and he gave Lou Zhenhua the technical drawings.

Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, Lou Xiao'e's mother, who was in the kitchen, had the food brought to the table. Today, Lou's mother had personally cooked a table of authentic Tan family dishes.

Nowadays, the only place you can eat Tan family cuisine is the Lou family, because only the Lou family can get so many luxurious ingredients.

After dinner, Lou Zhenhua had the driver take Li Yu home. Seeing Li Yu leave, Lou Xiao'e's mother immediately asked, "How did it go? Did he agree?"

Lou Xiao'e, who was standing nearby, also pricked up her ears to listen.

"They didn't take a liking to our Xiao'e, and things are far more complicated than we thought," Lou Zhenhua sighed.

Lou Zhenhua later told the mother and daughter what Li Yu had said to him. After listening, Lou's mother said sadly, "It seems that I still have to leave in the end. Well, it's better to leave so that I won't have to worry about it every day."

Lou Xiao'e felt a sense of loss after hearing this, partly because she had to leave, and partly because she hadn't expected Li Yu to not be interested in her.

Just as Li Yu got into the car, he was spotted by Xu Damao, who was carrying a bunch of fruit, cigarettes, and alcohol. Xu Damao looked at Li Yu in disbelief as he got into the car.

He never expected to meet Li Yu at the Lou family's house. He was very curious about what Li Yu was doing there.

But he had no time to think about those things now; all he wanted to do was bring Lou Xiao'e home.