Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"I haven't had much of an appetite lately, so I'll keep this jar of malted milk powder to help me recover!"

He Guiqin dodged to the side, hugging the can of malted milk powder even tighter to her chest, her face beaming with a smile, "Mother, this is for Secretary Wang to handle some business. You're not feeling well, I'll make you a bowl of egg tea later, but this matter is more important than you having this sip right now."

Before Liu Li could reach it, her face immediately fell. "You, He Guiqin! I can't eat or drink anymore, I'm working from dawn till dusk serving this whole family, and now even a can of malted milk powder is so precious that I have to hide it away from me. What is Wang Fuquan anyway? Does he even deserve to drink my malted milk powder!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Fang Songmao quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, "Mother, calm down. Aunt is right. No matter what, Secretary Wang is still the village secretary of our Shangzhai. If we ask him to make a trip to Lianzhai, what would we do if we didn't bring something decent? This malted milk powder is a precious thing, and we should spend it wisely."

Liu Li's wife continued her tantrum, and Liu Guomin finally lost his temper. He slammed his hand on the coffee table. "Enough! This matter isn't even settled yet, and our own people are already arguing over a can of malted milk powder. What's the point of going to Lianzhai? Are we just going to make a fool of ourselves?"

"I'm not going!"

Liu Guomin's slap silenced Liu Li's crying. She stared blankly at her eldest son with her mouth agape, but didn't make a fuss. Seeing this, Liu Guoliang quickly winked at He Guiqin and whispered, "Really, if Mother wants to drink, just open it and let her scoop a spoonful. It's not like it's not proper if she misses a couple of sips."

He Guiqin was stunned. Fang Songmao turned his head away speechlessly. Liu Jiashui looked at her second brother as if he were an idiot. "Second brother, you're planning to take an opened package of malted milk powder to Secretary Wang? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Huh? Isn't this thing supposed to be openable?"

Fang Songmao was speechless. He could only say to his brother-in-law Liu Guoliang, "This seal is like a can. Once it's opened, it can't be put back together. If you're going to send an opened one to Secretary Wang, then you can do it yourselves. I can't afford to lose face."

Upon hearing her husband's words, Liu Jiashui turned to her mother, Liu Lishi, and said, "Mother, is this all you need? Is drinking this more important, or going to the Chen family to demand our people back?"

Liu Jiashui emphasized the words "want people" very heavily, which made Liu Lishi purse her lips and say, "Alright, alright, take it away quickly, it's annoying me to look at you."

Seeing that his mother-in-law had stopped making a fuss, Fang Songmao stood up and patted Liu Guomin on the shoulder, "Brother-in-law, let's go, let's go to the village committee office now."

Liu Guomin nodded, stood up, gathered the tobacco and cigarettes on the table and put them in his pocket. He then followed Fang Songmao out. He Lushi glanced at her daughter, then picked up her grandson and followed her out of the main room. He Guiqin understood that her mother had something to say, so she followed her out.

When they reached the corner of the alley, He Lushi whispered to her daughter He Guiqin, "Your uncle and aunt are going to the Chen family in Lianzhai tomorrow. When they come back from the brigade headquarters, have Guoliang tell your uncle and aunt that they will be going to the Chen family with them tomorrow. More people means more mouths to feed."

"Tell Guoliang to keep an eye out. If the Chen family is really willing to give money, you absolutely must not let your greedy mother-in-law take it," He Lushi said with a look of disdain when she mentioned her in-law Liu Lishi.

Fortunately, Fang Songmao was also present at the time. He refused to let his mother-in-law, Liu Lishi, hold the money. He made Liu Guomin open an account at the district People's Bank and deposit five thousand yuan into it, which finally put an end to the matter.

"Mother, I know," He Guiqin nodded. She knew all too well how selfish and self-serving her lazy and gluttonous mother-in-law was. Normally, even the most wicked person would treat their own grandson like a treasure.

But when it came to Liu Lishi, she didn't care about this or that. Whatever food was available, she would eat her fill first. In Liu Lishi's eyes, the grandson born to her second daughter-in-law was no different from the three born to that bastard Chen Lianxiang.

Having experienced famine, Liu Lishi understood all too well the necessity of filling her own stomach first. She had witnessed firsthand how people starved to death in order to feed their sons and grandsons with their meager remaining food.

But for Liu Lishi, if her son starved to death, she could have another child; if her grandson starved to death, her daughter-in-law could have another child; but if she herself starved to death, her mother could not give birth to another Liu Lishi.

Meanwhile, Liu Guomin and Fang Songmao arrived at the entrance of the former brigade office, which bore the sign "Shangzhai Subdistrict Office." Just as Liu Guomin was about to go inside, Fang Songmao stopped him, took a pack of Hongmei cigarettes from his pocket, and stuffed it into Liu Guomin's hand. "Brother-in-law, take these cigarettes. Don't take your cigarettes out when you go inside."

"Songmao, you..." Liu Guomin felt a surge of warmth when he saw that Fang Songmao had thought of everything for him. Fang Songmao stopped him from saying anything more, "Don't say anything more, let's go inside."

Inside the neighborhood office, Wang Fuquan was sitting with his legs up, sipping tea and listening to a conversation when Fang Songmao and Liu Guomin arrived together. Wang Fuquan put down his teacup, stared at the net bag Fang Songmao was carrying, and slowly asked, "Songmao, Guomin, what's going on here...?"

"Secretary Wang, are you having tea?" Fang Songmao stepped forward with a smile and placed the malted milk powder and biscuits he was carrying on Wang Fuquan's table. "It's been a long time since I've had tea with you. I got some good stuff at home, so I brought it over for you to try."

Wang Fuquan glanced at the things on the table, his face expressionless. "Songmao, you never come here without a reason. Speak up, what is it? Otherwise, I dare not accept these things."

When Fang Songmao saw that Wang Fuquan had asked this question, he didn't beat around the bush and told Wang Fuquan in detail about Chen Lianxiang's plans to remarry and take her child abroad.

Of course, when he said this, he deliberately packaged the Liu family's position in a respectable way, saying that they were not there to ask for money, but to fight for Liu Guomin's right to be a father and visit his child.

"Guomin," Wang Fuquan listened to the whole thing, his brows furrowed, "this is a family matter, and our neighborhood office can't really get involved. You and Chen Lianxiang are already divorced. I heard that when you divorced, you signed an agreement that the child would be raised by Chen Lianxiang, and you even received 5,000 yuan in compensation."

Speaking of the five thousand yuan, Wang Fuquan pursed his lips, inwardly despising Liu Guomin's behavior, and continued, "Since you took five thousand yuan from him, why do you now want to have a child? Isn't that going back on your word?"

"Secretary Wang," Fang Songmao quickly explained, "this is not just my brother-in-law's family matter. The current situation is that Chen Lianxiang plans to take the three children to America. Once they go, my brother-in-law may never see his children again in his life."

"This concerns the child's education abroad. You are the village...street secretary, and the child's household registration is still in Shangzhai. If you don't handle this, who will?"