Hard work after winning the lottery

VIP lane at City A International Airport.

Two figures, covered in dust, strode out, surrounded by a group of bodyguards in black.

The woman, dressed in Chanel's latest tweed suit, should have been elegant and composed, but her hurried steps made her appear somewhat disheveled, and her exquisite makeup could not conceal the fatigue between her brows.

It was Zhou Yanjin's mother, Lin Yi.

The man beside her, Zhou Ye, chairman of the Zhou Group, was carrying a briefcase. His usually calm and composed face was also filled with longing to return home.

Behind them were seven or eight suitcases piled up like small mountains, filled with spoils collected from major fashion shows and auction houses in Paris.

However, at this moment, these things that they were once proud of seem to have lost all their luster in their eyes.

Nothing carries more weight than the word "grandson".

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom had been waiting for a long time.

The car door opened, and Zhou Yanjin's tall and straight figure appeared before us.

"Dad, Mom." He said in a steady voice, reaching out to take the Hermès handbag from his mother's hand.

Lin Yi grabbed her son's arm and bombarded him with questions: "Where's the child? Where are the photos? Where's your grandfather? Are they all waiting at the old house?"

Her voice trembled slightly with excitement, and her eyes were red-rimmed; she had long lost her former air of a noblewoman.

"They're all at the old house," Zhou Yanjin said succinctly as he helped her into the car.

Zhou Ye patted his son on the shoulder, his thousand words ultimately turning into a deep sigh, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and excitement.

The car drove smoothly toward the Zhou family's old residence, but the atmosphere inside was incredibly tense.

The Rolls-Royce had just come to a stop in front of the old house when Lin Yi, without even waiting for the driver to open the door, pushed it open herself and got out.

The high heels clicked rapidly on the cobblestones.

She spotted him immediately: the old man with a cane, pacing back and forth at the door.

"dad!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yinchuan's cloudy old eyes instantly lit up. He slammed his cane down and roared in a strong voice, "You finally know how to come back! You've been dawdling for so long, my great-grandson is getting impatient!"

Even so, the smile on his face stretched all the way to his ears.

Lin Yi and Zhou Ye, disregarding their fatigue from the time difference, rushed to meet her.

"Dad, where's our grandson? Didn't you say he was home? Let me see him!" Lin Yi's voice was urgent.

Zhou Yinchuan, however, kept them in suspense, blocking their way with his cane.

"What's the rush! Come in with me first!"

Without a word, the old man grabbed one of them with each hand, like dragging two disobedient children, and pulled them directly onto the mahogany sofa in the living room.

Zhou Yanjin followed behind, watching the chaotic scene, shaking her head helplessly, but a warm smile shone in her eyes.

Zhou Yinchuan pulled out his phone from his pocket like he was showing off a treasure; the screen was even cleaner than his face.

He put on his reading glasses and his fingers trembled as he swiped across the screen.

"Look! Look carefully!"

Photos and videos suddenly appeared in the Zhou couple's field of vision without any warning.

"This is the eldest, named Si'an. He's very composed, like Yan Jin when he was young, but much more sensible!"

In the photo, a boy wearing a small shirt is intently assembling Lego, and his profile is a miniature version of Zhou Yanjin.

"This is the second child, named Sile. She's clever and mischievous, and knows exactly how to make people happy!"

"This is the third child, named Sitao. He's the most mischievous, but also very clever and incredibly skilled with his hands!"

In another photo, a little boy holds up a robot he assembled himself from scrap parts, his face beaming with pride.

Zhou Yinchuan's mouth never stopped, he talked incessantly, spitting everywhere.

"This is the swing they use in the courtyard; Yan Jin built it for them herself!"

"They're catching fish in the stream, look how happy they are!"

"Oh, right, and this one too, this is Yun'er, the children's mother!"

A woman's figure appeared on the screen.

She was wearing a simple cotton dress and was bending over picking vegetables in the garden. Sunlight shone on her profile, outlining gentle yet resilient lines.

Lin Yi's breath caught in her throat when she saw those three small faces.

She covered her mouth, and tears rolled down her cheeks silently like pearls from a broken string.

It was a primal, blood-related thrill.

so similar.

It's so similar.

Especially the eldest brother, Si'an, with his lips tightly pursed and a serious expression in thought, looked exactly like Zhou Yanjin when he was a child!

Her hands trembled as she tried to touch the screen, but she was afraid of disturbing that beautiful moment.

Zhou Ye's eyes also reddened. This man, who was decisive and ruthless in the business world, was now choked up and unable to utter a single word.

He never imagined that his life would suddenly become fulfilling in such a way.

"This girl... Yun'er, is a good child." Zhou Yinchuan's voice also became a little hoarse.

"One person raised three children to the age of five without ever asking the Zhou family for a single penny or uttering a single complaint."

"She opened an online store in the village, raised sheep, and grew pasture. She single-handedly supported her family."

"She's suffered so much..." Lin Yi finally broke down in tears, burying her face in Zhou Ye's shoulder and crying like a child. "This child has suffered such a terrible injustice!"

Zhou Ye put his arm around his wife and kept patting her back.

In his heart, he felt not only gratitude but also guilt and heartache towards his daughter-in-law Hua Yun, whom he had never met.

Late at night.

The old man had shown off enough and went back to his room to rest, completely satisfied.

Only Zhou Yanjin and his parents remained in the living room.

The atmosphere, which had been excited, gradually settled into a solemn one.

Lin Yi wiped away her tears and regained some of her composure, but her voice still had a heavy nasal tone.

She looked at her son and asked earnestly, "Yan Jin, what exactly is going on between you and that Miss Hua?"

Zhou Yanjin did not hide anything and told the whole story honestly and without reservation about the accident six years ago and the events that had happened in Baixi Village over the past half month.

From the initial shock, to discovering the children's existence, to the Hua family's simple kindness, and Hua Yun's unknown resilience and dedication.

His narration was calm, but every word was filled with love and respect for that woman.

Lin Yi and Zhou Ye listened quietly, their expressions changing repeatedly.

When Lin Yi heard that Hua Yun was willing to bear all the rumors alone in order to protect the child, she clenched her fists tightly.

After saying the last word, Zhou Yanjin stood up and walked to her parents.

His posture was upright, his gaze firm, and he did not waver in the slightest.

"Dad, Mom."

He spoke each word clearly and solemnly.

"I will marry no one but Hua Yun."

"These past five years have been a debt I owe to her and the children. I will use the rest of my life to make up for it and to cherish them."

"I hope to receive your blessings and go to Baixi Village as soon as possible to formally propose marriage to her and her family."

The living room was completely silent.

After a long while, Zhou Ye let out a long sigh.

He looked at his son, the son he had always been proud of, yet who he had always worried about because he didn't understand love. Now, he had finally grown up.

The determination in his eyes was something I had never seen before.

That wasn't a momentary impulse, but a firm decision made after careful consideration to spend a lifetime together.

Zhou Ye turned his head and looked at his wife beside him.

Lin Yi looked at her son, tears welling up in her eyes, yet she smiled.

"Silly child," she choked out, "do you even need to ask for this?"

"Our Zhou family owes that young lady an enormous favor. We're going to ask for her hand in marriage, to apologize, not to propose!"

Zhou Ye stood up, walked to his son, and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

This gesture represents the highest level of recognition from a father.

"Alright, since you've made up your mind, let's get ready as soon as possible."

Zhou Ye made the decision.

"Proposing marriage is a major event, and the etiquette must be impeccable. We absolutely cannot let Yun'er and her family suffer!"

From that moment on, the entire Zhou family mansion entered a state of high-speed operation.

Lin Yi turned down all invitations to art exhibitions, cocktail parties, and fashion weeks for the next three months.

She displayed the same decisiveness she had shown when managing the Zhou family's internal affairs, personally compiling a long list of gifts.

"A century-old ginseng, to nourish my father-in-law's health."

"A top-quality pearl necklace from the South China Sea, a gift for my future mother-in-law."

"For Yun'er's parents, we need the finest Yun brocade and Suzhou embroidery, along with a set of top-grade mutton fat jade jewelry."

"And the children's uncles, brothers, cousins... none of them can be left out."

She even personally called and invited the most famous Chinese pastry chef in Beijing, just to order a few less sweet pastries that the Chinese family might like.

Zhou Yanjin also turned down all unnecessary social engagements to participate.

He would carefully remind his mother, "Mom, Grandpa Hua likes to play chess, so we can give him a top-quality jade chessboard."

"Uncle Hua likes to tend the fields, so I asked Chen Xu to order a set of the most advanced agricultural tools from Switzerland."

"And Aunt Li, she likes brightly colored silk scarves..."

He remembered the preferences of every member of the Hua family very clearly.

Each gift, imbued with sincerity, was carefully selected, packaged, and piled up in the side hall of the old house.