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

Of course not. Qiao Wanqing found them other things to do. The Lu family has two factories with more than two thousand workers in total. These people almost support the entire street.

Many housewives in this era suffered, while others took charge of their households. The traditional model of men working outside the home and women staying at home was still prevalent at that time. Therefore, with more money, their purchasing power naturally increased.

Most of the storefronts on this street belong to Lu family members. Some of these people work in factories, some look after their shops at home, and some set up stalls during market days. The younger generation who are educated and capable can go out and make a living, and Lu Mingzhou and Qiao Wanqing can help them get promoted. They take goods from the factory and sell them in the county and city, and the factory gives them friendly prices.

This power is only held by members of the Lu family, because they can get the goods at a lower price, so some of them have become middlemen.

Qiao Wanqing has her own sales channels for the goods from the factory, but she doesn't forbid people from her hometown from getting goods from the factory to sell!

Furthermore, the factory still needed some men, so after the screening process, they selected some smarter and more decent people to work there, but management didn't let them actually do the work. Overall, as long as they maintained a good balance and managed relationships with all parties, they were able to keep the people from their hometowns in line.

Of course, Qiao Wanqing was aware that some people were taking advantage of the situation and accepting kickbacks, but there was nothing she could do. When you're in a business, how can you completely avoid this?

As a big boss, she simply didn't have time to haggle over such small profits with her subordinates. As long as the factory operated smoothly and she could still make money, and as long as these people didn't go too far and continued to work diligently, she would turn a blind eye.

This answer was unacceptable to Lu Minghui.

He needed money, a lot of money to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, but he wasn't good at business. Xu Li was just someone who knew how to enjoy life but not how to make money. She had been unsuccessful in her career over the years, and now that she had changed careers, he thought he would go back to his hometown and make some money. After all, he had made quite a bit of money from his hometown over the years.

More than ten years ago, when he reconciled with Lu Mingzhou in his hometown, his grandfather gave him a lot of jewelry and cash. He knew then that this was definitely not all that his grandfather had. Later, he tried to ask for more from him a few more times.

At first, the old man was willing to give him money, but later, seeing that he hadn't done anything for his hometown year after year, the old man stopped giving him money.

He has no money now, so he can't maintain his luxurious lifestyle. The Xu family also needs money, so how can he give them money? Lu Minghui already knows what his father-in-law Xu Sheng wants him to do. He just wants to get money from him. It would be best if he could give him clean money. If not, then he would have to resort to some extreme measures. And in the end, he would have to bear all the consequences of these evil deeds alone.

Lu Minghui didn't want it to be like this. Although he had changed careers, he still hoped to advance further in his current position. Even if he did certain things, they would only be for himself, not for the Xu family. How could he be willing to become someone else's tool for making money?

What should he do if his hometown doesn't have money for him?

Seeing that he didn't speak and his face was a little pale, Lu Mingkang became even more interested. "Big brother, what's wrong? Your face is all pale."

Xu Li said angrily, "What's wrong? What do you mean? I thought this factory belonged to the Lu family, but it turns out there's nothing left in the family. She took it all by herself. Your older brother has worked so hard to maintain it all these years. If it weren't for your older brother, would things be so peaceful back home? Do you think such a big factory wouldn't attract trouble? What a bunch of ingrates."

Lu Mingkang: "..."

He was furious. "Hey! I'm telling you, are you two out of your minds? You haven't been home for over ten years, and your hometown hasn't heard a thing from you. The last time you came back, you were asking for money. The development of our hometown over the years is all thanks to the fourth son and his wife. Even if they're relying on someone's protection, it's the fourth son. He's in a much higher position than you now, and he's an official in Beijing. Who do you think you are? And you still have the nerve to come here and say that our family relies on your protection?"

"you……"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Aren't I telling the truth?" Lu Mingkang said dismissively. "If you're so capable, why don't you bring some money back to invest? Our area is quite large, and the surrounding population is good. If you want to set up some other factories, you can do it all. When are you going to come back and invest?"

Xu Li's face turned ashen with anger, and Lu Minghui beside her also looked very ugly, feeling humiliated.

"Lu Mingkang, I'm your eldest brother. Watch your words. Don't forget, I'm the eldest son of the Lu family. I..."

"Yes, yes, I know. You're the oldest. I've always called you 'Big Brother,' not 'Little Brother'..."

Lu Minghui: "..."

Is this third brother always so slippery?

Moreover, when did he become so close to the fourth brother?

Although he rarely went home before, he still knew a bit about the family situation. It seems that the relationship between the third and fourth brothers is not very good! The fourth brother is more successful and rose through the ranks quickly in the army, so his parents favor him more.

The third son didn't achieve much back in his hometown, and he had a lot of children, including several sons. He always relied on the fact that his eldest son was the eldest grandson and felt that the entire Lu family should belong to him.

Why are you suddenly so protective of the fourth brother's family?

If Lu Mingkang knew that Lu Minghui was thinking this way, he would definitely roll his eyes. Was he protecting the fourth brother's family?

He's just protecting his money. Didn't you see he's wearing a huge eagle costume now?

The conversation couldn't continue. Reality was different from what they had expected. Lu Minghui was sitting on the sofa with his head down, seemingly lost in thought. When Lu Mingkang saw that he wasn't talking, he pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Honestly, he's too easily discouraged. He hasn't even had enough of showing off yet!

It was a lively day. After dinner, everyone played for a while and then went home to rest early.

The next morning, as soon as Qiao Wanqing opened her eyes, she could already hear the children playing and chattering in the courtyard outside. Beside her, Lu Mingzhou had already gotten up. Qiao Wanqing checked the time; it was only 5:30.

People back in my hometown really get up early!

She got dressed, washed up, and went downstairs. Lu Mingzhou had just returned from outside with the children. Seeing her up, he smiled and asked, "You're awake! Are you hungry?"

As he spoke, he handed her the steamed buns in his hand, "Try them, they're made by your fourth aunt."

The children were all carrying piles of food, and the eldest daughter, Qiao Anning, said with a smile, "Mom, everyone is so kind, they don't want any money."

Qiao Wanqing pinched a small steamed bun, took a bite, and found it tasted quite good. "You guys went out so early this morning? And came back with so much food."

Lu Mingzhou replied, "The New Year is just around the corner, and the streets have been packed with people these past few days. It's very lively. Many of our relatives have set up stalls on the street. I took a few kids for a stroll, and they stuffed us with a ton of food."

After all, the good life in his hometown was only possible because of Lu Mingzhou. Now that everyone is wealthy, they are willing to give Lu Mingzhou food when they see him bringing his child out. It's mostly breakfast and snacks, not very valuable, and most of them are relatives, so Lu Mingzhou accepts them.

"We're catching fish at the reservoir later, and some of the kids want to go watch. I'll take them there," Lu Mingzhou said.

Qiao Wanqing paused. "The reservoir? It must be frozen over by now, right?"

The Lu family also lived in the north, and at this time the river was frozen over, not to mention the reservoir.

Lu Mingzhou explained, "It's definitely frozen. Break the ice and grab it."

Qiao Wanqing asked with some concern, "Is the ice very thick? Is it dangerous? Is your older brother going?"

Lu Mingzhou immediately understood what Qiao Wanqing was worried about and reassured her, "Don't worry, I'm here. Since I'm taking them, I'll take good care of them. There will be guards with them."

Lu Mingzhou knew very well that Lu Minghui had come back this time not only for money, but also for something bigger, not for his child, but for him.

Qiao Wanqing was relieved; Lu Mingzhou had always been very reliable when doing these things.

"That's good. You can make the arrangements. The children will be staying in our hometown for several days, so it's impossible to go out with them every single time."

Lu Mingzhou nodded, "Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements. Dad and I are going to Grandpa's for lunch."

Qiao Wanqing blinked. "You're going with Dad?"

Lu Mingzhou laughed and said, "If you want to go, of course you can. Lu Minghui should go too, but it's hard to say about others. Besides, every family is a large family. If everyone goes, it's no different from a banquet."

Qiao Wanqing nodded immediately, "You're right, I don't want to go, not at all. You can handle it."

Lu Mingzhou chuckled and led his wife and children into the house. The house was heated, so it was warmer inside.

Inside the house, Miao Cuiying had also prepared breakfast. Seeing so much food in Lu Mingzhou and the child's hands, she smiled and asked, "Did those relatives give you this?"

Lu Mingzhou nodded, "Some relatives and neighbors basically gave us some food whenever they saw us."

Miao Cuiying nodded, "Perfect timing, let's eat together. There are so many people at home, I should have made more breakfast, but I thought that you've been busy all year, and now that you're finally on vacation, you probably want to sleep in and might not even get up to eat breakfast, so I didn't make that much. With what you've made, even if everyone gets up, it'll be enough to eat."

There are indeed some people who sleep in late. For example, Lu Mingzhu. She took the college entrance examination when it was reinstated, went to university, got a university degree, and then got a better job after returning home. In recent years, her family has become more and more successful, and her children have grown up. Her life can be described as very happy. During the Spring Festival holiday, she is at home, so she naturally relaxes.

In addition, the third brother's family, apart from the two children who got up early to play, the rest of the children, Lu Mingkang and Chen Yulian, were still sleeping!

Xu Li and the children were also sleeping. Qiao Wanqing didn't see them. As for Lu Minghui, Qiao Wanqing wasn't sure. After all, he was a soldier. Qiao Wanqing had spent a lot of time in the military compound over the years and had gotten used to imagining soldiers as people who got up early in the morning.