1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

As for how much money was spent, he didn't even know, because he wasn't the one who handled it. Thinking about this, Director Wang was a little dissatisfied!

If his figurines could be sold at a price that satisfied the textile factory owner, he would have gained some benefit. But now, it has nothing to do with him.

Despite his dissatisfaction, he guessed that Qiao Wanqing had some connections, was so rich, and was a military dependent, so he didn't dare to offend her.

Miao Cuiying didn't come here on business. After all, she couldn't just bring anything to the street office directly. She just came to say hello to Director Wang and invited him to dinner.

Director Wang was somewhat surprised, "You're inviting me to dinner?"

Miao Cuiying laughed and said, "Yes! My daughter-in-law bought this house. If it weren't for Director Wang's help, we wouldn't even know such a place existed! There are still some follow-up matters we need to consult with Director Wang about. The house is bought, but it's too dilapidated. We need to find someone to clean it up before we can start construction as soon as possible. My son is in the army, and so is my daughter-in-law's family. Most of them are in the army, so we can't really rely on the men in the family. My daughter-in-law is just a young woman; how would she know about these things?"

"So I thought I'd ask you to help me find some reliable people to help clear away all this rubble."

Looking for someone to do the work?

Director Wang raised an eyebrow; he was interested in this.

In recent years, a large number of educated youth have returned to the city and have nothing to do all day long. In addition, there are people who have come to the city to make a living. There are people everywhere looking for work. Once these people gather together and have nothing to do for a long time, it will create a safety hazard.

There are many people like this in their neighborhood, and some families have very low incomes and live in poverty. Over time, problems will arise.

Director Wang smiled and said, "Of course, those houses are really too dilapidated. It's good to clean them up as soon as possible to prevent them from collapsing and injuring people. You've just arrived, so our neighborhood committee will naturally lend a hand."

Miao Cuiying immediately showed her gratitude, "Okay, Director Wang, tonight it is. I'll cook some home-style dishes at my house and we can also discuss with Director Wang how many people we need."

Director Wang smiled and agreed.

He only returned to the street office after Miao Cuiying had walked away.

This time, Miao Cuiying didn't discuss these matters in front of all the street staff when she met with him. Instead, she invited them out to talk about it outside. As for how to proceed afterward, that's up to Director Wang himself.

After getting off work in the evening, Director Wang went to the shop. Miao Cuiying and Li Dongmei had prepared a meal with chicken, fish, meat, and eggs, and also bought some good wine.

Of course, she also prepared some gifts. After learning the whole story of the house purchase, she knew that if Qiao Wanqing had contacted Director Wang to buy the textile factory, he would definitely have gotten a benefit. Now that Xu Hui had directly stepped in to resolve the issue, Director Wang's benefits were lost.

They'll be staying here for a long time, and while it's easy to avoid the King of Hell, it's hard to deal with his underlings. She doesn't know much about Director Wang's character yet, and there's a big project to be done, so she won't offend him for now. No matter who he is, she has to appease him first.

Director Wang nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the food. He enjoyed a hearty meal, and left contentedly with the two cans of malted milk powder, a pack of cigarettes, a bag of milk candy, two bags of biscuits and pastries given to him by Miao Cuiying, along with a watch ticket and a 66 yuan red envelope.

Miao Cuiying could certainly afford to give more, but she didn't. After all, she wasn't trying to curry favor with Director Wang. Given her son's status, she really didn't need to fawn over a street director. She just didn't want to make enemies.

Three days later, the workers arrived. Miao Cuiying and Lu Ming'an directed the work. The house was no longer habitable, but many bricks and tiles were still usable. They might not be used to build a new house, but they could be sold to others at a low price, since building materials were very rare these days.

People with connections are fine, but ordinary people without connections, even if they own land and have money, may not be able to buy materials to build a house.

Miao Cuiying arranged everything meticulously, from what to keep and what to remove, to where to send the trash.

Qiao Wanqing was sunbathing at home with her child.

Autumn is here, and it's the season for basking in the sun again. The triplets can walk now, and they wobble around the yard. They're still quite clumsy and can't walk steadily, but they still insist on walking, falling as they go, and they need someone to help them up from time to time.

It exhausted everyone in the family!

After Qiao Wanqing gave Miao Cuiying five thousand yuan, she originally planned to visit her often. However, after giving her the money, she found that Miao Cuiying had no time to visit at all. Her three children were just learning to walk and were too noisy, so she simply didn't have the time.

As for the Lu family's hometown, after the autumn harvest, Lu's father packed up and prepared to leave. After settling the family in, he went to complete his retirement procedures, and then, carrying grain and luggage, he piled the loads high and left without hesitation.

Watching their father's impatient back as he walked away, the third son and his wife felt a sense of unease.

Chen Yulian felt extremely anxious, thinking of her mother-in-law and second sister-in-law who had gone and would never return. "When will Dad be back this time?"

Lu Mingkang was also flustered. "I don't know. He shouldn't be back for too long. Dad is the president of our company here. He has a job. At most, he'll be back in about ten days."

The couple were unaware that Mr. Lu had already retired.

Chen Yulian's eyes were full of anticipation. "So, do you think Dad will bring Mom back this time?"

Lu Mingkang was also looking forward to it. He missed his mother. With his mother and his second sister-in-law around, that was what life was all about!

"Probably. The old couple can't be separated for long. The fourth son doesn't need Mom's help taking care of the children. As for the second brother... they are able-bodied, they only need to take care of the two younger ones. Besides, they went there for medical treatment, they won't stay long."

Chen Yulian had been eagerly awaiting her mother-in-law and second sister-in-law's return. With so many children and a vegetable garden, there was so much housework to do every day; she was exhausted.

Before, with her mother-in-law and second sister-in-law around, she could slack off a bit. Most of the housework was done by her second sister-in-law. Moreover, her mother-in-law was willing to spend money. With many children in the family, her mother-in-law often bought food and supplies for the family. She didn't have to spend any money and could just freeload. Life was so comfortable back then!

She actually argued with her second sister-in-law; that's really inappropriate.

Later, her second sister-in-law's family left. Although her mother-in-law was still at home, she had to go to work and didn't do much housework. If her mother-in-law found her too lazy, she would scold her. At that time, she felt that life was too hard and inhuman.

But now that her mother-in-law is gone, she finds that not only is there more work to do, but the food has also become worse. Without her mother-in-law's help, they can hardly afford to eat meat, and there are no snacks left. Life is really too hard.

My father-in-law has gone to the city, so my mother-in-law should be coming back with him this time, right?

"Mom will probably come back with Dad this time. Besides, the New Year is coming soon. Even if Mom doesn't come back this time, they will definitely come back before the New Year."

The couple stood at the gate of the courtyard. They already missed their father terribly, even though he had just left.

After Mr. Lu arrived in the capital, the construction progressed even faster. Since there was no rush to build the entire site into a shopping mall, and Miao Cuiying's relationship with Mr. Lu and the neighborhood was getting better and better, there was no need to wait until next year to start construction together with the textile factory's residential compound. After clearing out the ruins, they planned to build the side storefronts first.

Qiao Wanqing had already found a designer to prepare the design drawings. This was very simple. She just needed to find a design expert at her grandfather's university. Even his students could handle this small project.

After all the paperwork was completed, construction began on the house while there was still some autumn left.

Qiao Wanqing only needed to provide the money; she didn't need to worry about anything at all. She was just running around in the yard with the child when Lu Mingzhou returned.

Seeing the laughter and joy in his home, all his fatigue vanished.

When Qiao Wanqing saw him return, her eyes lit up, and she ran towards him, throwing herself into his arms. Lu Mingzhou only felt a fragrant breeze, and his wife was in his arms.

Oh, happiness!

What's even more heartwarming is that this time when he came back, all the babies in the family recognized him, even the triplets recognized him, and they all gathered around him, calling him "Daddy."

Although the triplets weren't speaking very fluently yet, at least they could talk, which surprised Lu Mingzhou greatly.

"You can talk now! Good boy, say it again!"

Then, a group of children surrounded him and kept shouting. Qiao Wanqing was annoyed by it, but Lu Mingzhou, who had been in the army for a long time, rarely had such a time, so he wasn't annoyed at all.

Qiao Wanqing rolled her eyes. Although her husband had just returned and had already left her aside, it didn't matter. She could finally relax and immediately leave the children with Lu Mingzhou. She still had her groceries!

Her food!

Qiao Wanqing stood by the flower bed, feeling heartbroken as she saw the vegetables her child had destroyed.

The yard has been planned out; some areas are planted with flowers, most with vegetables, and there are also pomegranate and cherry trees. There's even a fish pond with lotus flowers and koi.

These things are incredibly attractive to children who are curious about everything. Her fish, her lotus flowers, her vegetables are often ruined by these mischievous kids. With their quick little hands, they can snatch away perfectly good vegetables in the blink of an eye.

Qiao Wanqing busied herself planting some seedlings and watering them, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Lu Mingzhou played with the child for a while, and just as he was about to talk to his wife, he turned around and saw that his wife was gone.

After searching for a while, he finally found his wife in the vegetable garden.

Lu Mingzhou was no longer calm. He had finally come back, but his wife didn't care about him at all. Instead, she was tending the vegetable garden. His wife didn't love him anymore!

"Wife..." he said, looking aggrieved.

"Hmm..." Qiao Wanqing tidied up the vegetable garden, arranging the rows neatly. Even someone with OCD would be satisfied with the look, and she was even more satisfied. She didn't even lift her head, her gaze still fixed on her vegetable garden!

Seeing that his wife wasn't interested in him, Lu Mingzhou thought about his recent work, looked at the child in his arms, and then thought about the past few years of their marriage. He suddenly wondered if he had neglected his wife too much over the years.

He's such a bad husband. He doesn't take good care of her, leaves all the children to her, and spends most of his time working, sometimes not bringing them home for months at a time.

That's really wrong of him; he hasn't had a proper talk about his relationship with his wife in ages.

He quickly put the child aside, moved closer to Qiao Wanqing, and smiled ingratiatingly, "Wife, before it gets dark, shall I go shopping with you at the department store? We haven't been alone together in a long time, I really miss you."

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

She turned to look at the stinky man in his thirties. Seriously? They've been married for so long, why is this guy acting all shy?

"Just the two of us?"

Lu Mingzhou immediately nodded, "Just the two of us. Let's go shopping, buy some things, and then eat at a state-run restaurant. By the way, I heard that Western food is popular among young people now. There are several Western restaurants in Beijing. We've been living in Beijing for so long, and I've been so busy with work that I haven't taken you to eat there yet. Now that I'm on holiday, I have time. I'll take you to a Western restaurant for a candlelight dinner, okay?"

"If you'd like, we can go climb the Great Wall the day after tomorrow."

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

"You finally come back, and your kids are missing you all day. Aren't you going to spend any time with them?"

Lu Mingzhou: "..."

He was a little taken aback. No, wasn't it good for him to stay with his wife?

Why is his wife pushing him towards the child?

"I... I just feel so sorry for you all these years. You raised the child single-handedly, and as your husband, I haven't been able to take good care of you or share the household chores much. I'm worried that over time you'll feel like I don't care about you!"

"Now that Da Bao and Er Bao are both grown up, and Qi Ya and Third Aunt are familiar with things at home, we feel at ease leaving the children with them. Of course, I want to spend more time with you, because in my heart, you are the most important person!"

Qiao Wanqing: "..."

What's wrong with you this time? Why are you being so sweet-talking?

She began to try to recall what Lu Mingzhou was like before.

Before they got married, he was incredibly arrogant in front of her, showing off his wealth and status to win her over. Knowing that her family was well-off, he tried his best to impress her. Later, when her family had a crisis, she went to him for help. That guy was so domineering back then!

With a cold face, she only cried a few times and said she wanted to flirt with another old man to provoke him, but that provoked him to break down and he hugged and kissed her!

just now……

Looking at the obsequious man in front of her, Qiao Wanqing could hardly bear to look at him. Fortunately, the military was strict, and this guy hadn't gained weight yet, so his good looks were still intact.

Sure enough, when it comes to marriage, you have to find someone with good fundamental qualities.

"Okay, I haven't been out for fun in a long time. I'm busy taking care of the kids every day and can't go anywhere. You're busy with work and haven't spent much time with me in a long time."

When a man wants to show off, Qiao Wanqing will not refuse; she will accept it all.

Seeing that she was willing, Lu Mingzhou smiled and asked, "Shall we go now?"

Ok?

Not tomorrow?

"Go change your clothes, let's go eat Western food."