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

Miao Cuiying was too lazy to even pretend anymore. Honestly, they were never on good terms to begin with. They broke off relations more than ten years ago after Lu Mingzhu got injured. Did she really think that the old man's one reconciliation would make everything seem like nothing had happened?

Xu Li was furious, but for the sake of her family's money, she had no choice but to keep quiet for the time being.

Besides, what she really envied at the moment, besides those luxury goods, was Qiao Wanqing's earning power. How could she be so rich? If only she could have those channels too.

Xu Li began to consider the possibility of cooperating with Qiao Wanqing.

The family needs money, lots and lots of money, and the Lu family has the resources. Lu Mingzhou is already so rich and has a high status. Besides, his mother isn't the first wife. For the sake of her reputation, she should treat the children of the first wife well. Otherwise, she'll be drowned in spit from the outside world.

It has to be said that people's thinking can be so bizarre that you can't even imagine it at times. Xu Li was so obsessed with money at this point that she could come up with all sorts of ideas.

She was preoccupied with other things and didn't pay attention to Miao Cuiying's attitude. After glancing at her a few more times, she left with her child.

Seeing that she had finally left, Lu Mingzhu and Chen Yulian rolled their eyes in unison. Everyone continued to happily share their joy. At this moment, they suddenly realized that there was no second wife among them.

Lu Mingzhu was stunned, a little embarrassed. "Second brother, second sister-in-law, why don't you pick out a few too? Do you like any of these?"

She was referring to what they had already chosen, and she was worried that they had taken too much, thus taking up her second brother's share.

Li Dongmei laughed and said, "You can choose whatever you want. My younger brother and sister-in-law gave us ours when we were in Beijing. They thought we had too much luggage when we came back. At that time, our whole family was in Beijing, so they gave us ours first. But the clothes were too expensive, and I was afraid of getting them dirty, so I was too embarrassed to wear them out."

Chen Yulian stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief. "Such nice clothes, why are you embarrassed? Why don't you wear them back for the New Year? If you wore them back, everyone outside would be so envious."

"What kind is it? How wealthy is it?"

Chen Yulian was already comparing herself to her in her heart.

Upon hearing this, Li Dongmei knew that her sister-in-law was comparing herself to her. A kind smile appeared on her face as she said, "It's similar to yours, also a fur coat, but not as nice. Yours has so many decorations, it looks very valuable. Mine is simpler, without these decorations."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yulian was immediately relieved and happily touched the beautiful rhinestones on her clothes. As long as she wasn't as rich as Chen Yulian, she was fine!

Meanwhile, Xu Li returned to her room, her mind replaying the scene she had just witnessed. She recognized many of the luxury items and knew their approximate prices. With so many people, including the children, how much would each of them cost?

She estimated that it was at least tens of thousands, and possibly even hundreds of thousands.

When Xu Li calculated this, she was shocked. If someone could give away items worth tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, it meant that her family was not short of money. Besides, these were foreign luxury goods, some of which could not even be bought in China. Qiao Wanqing probably spent extra money to get so many.

How... how come she's so rich?

The thought that there were thousands of people working for Qiao Wanqing in this town alone made Xu Li's heart itch. Thousands of people! So many people were making money for her. How much would she have to earn?

I heard she has many businesses in the capital, no wonder she's so rich!

Thinking of this, Xu Li felt incredibly envious. Their two families had started from the same point. More than ten years ago, Lu Mingzhou and Lu Minghui were both brigade commanders with similar salaries. In fact, Qiao Wanqing had many children, and raising children also cost money, while their side had one less child.

Later, as the market gradually opened up, some of her neighbors started making big money. She was tempted, but she didn't have the talent for business. She earned little and lost a lot. Besides, doing business was too undignified. Given her status, she couldn't do it openly, or she would be laughed at.

In recent years, some people have made a fortune, and the ridicule of self-employed individuals has lessened. Xu Li, born into a wealthy family, has far more opportunities than ordinary people to make investments. Unfortunately, it's still a matter of ability; she earns far less than she can afford.

Her family's expenses were too high, and they lived a luxurious life. The Xu family also needed money and were fully supporting her older brother and nephew. They said that if they didn't protect their status, the Xu family's influence would diminish, and even if they could do business in the future, they would face difficulties and wouldn't be able to protect their wealth.

Xu Li understood this principle, so she had no choice but to compromise.

Now, looking at Qiao Wanqing's life, she is truly envious.

In the afternoon, Lu Mingzhou, Lu Minghui, and Lu Mingfu returned from dinner at the old house. Lu Minghui had drunk quite a bit of alcohol and looked very pale when he got home. He went straight to sleep, and Xu Li tried to talk to him but didn't get a chance.

That evening, the group went out to a banquet again and didn't return until very late. Lu Minghui was still drunk and went to sleep as soon as he got home, which made Xu Li very angry. She still couldn't find a chance to discuss it with him.

On the other side, Qiao Wanqing was asking Lu Mingzhou about the outcome of their dinner.

"How's it going? Have your grandfather and uncles agreed to lend money to Lu Minghui?"

Lu Mingzhou laughed and said, "How could that be? Grandpa refused at noon, saying he didn't have much money. If that gets out, everyone else will be mindful of the old man's feelings. How could they possibly lend him money?"

"But it's only the first day. He still holds a position, and the people back home don't know anything about him yet. To them, Lu Minghui is still a very successful figure. If they promise him some benefits, it's hard to guarantee that some people will give him money."

Qiao Wanqing raised an eyebrow. "How much money can those people offer?"

At this point, Qiao Wanqing paused, thinking that the richest family here was indeed the Lu family, or rather, their own family. The rest of the people relied on her factory to make a living, but some of them could get goods from the factory through the Lu family's connections.

Business is really easy to do these days. Those who take goods and sell them at retail or act as middlemen might actually be quite rich. People have initiative. If they make money here, it's not impossible for them to use that capital to do something else!

"You should know a little about this area, right? Besides these relatives, are there any others who have made a fortune?"

Lu Mingzhou nodded, "There really is. They're not super rich, but they have over a million in savings. But it's none of our business, so it doesn't matter whether we lend it to them or not."

Lu Mingzhou didn't take it to heart at all; he didn't care at all.

Qiao Wanqing was stunned. She didn't expect Lu Mingzhou to be so indifferent. He had made his fortune with their family's wealth. If he were to lend money to Lu Minghui, wouldn't that be blatant betrayal? How could he not care at all?