Middle-aged tycoon: Twins come knocking on his door when he goes home for Chinese New Year

Li Ze stared at the text message on his phone screen, his brows furrowed tightly.

Bai Qianyue?

Pan-Ocean International Hotel?

Li Ze's first reaction was neither a rekindling of old feelings nor a feeling of being moved.

As a super-rich man who controls a huge amount of global wealth, his first reaction was to be wary.

Extremely high vigilance.

It's important to know that his current phone number is a highly encrypted number that he obtained through special channels before returning to China.

Apart from the old man and a few core subordinates, nobody knew.

Even when he saved his daughter's number, he recited it to her face.

Bai Qianyue was just an ordinary middle-class girl from a family that ran a small business eighteen years ago.

How could she possibly have extraordinary abilities to get this number?

"It must be a hacker."

Li Ze made up his mind.

With the proliferation of scams these days, it's clear that some skilled hacker has broken into the system.

Or they might send out mass fraudulent text messages, deliberately using the name of an acquaintance to trick him.

Although it was a coincidence that their names matched, Li Ze was a rational person and he didn't believe in such vague and unpredictable fates.

He only trusts data and security.

"Trying to scam me out of my money? No way!"

Li Ze snorted coldly and his fingers flew across the screen.

Block or delete.

The movements were executed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.

After dealing with the "spam text message," Li Ze put his phone back in his pocket before stepping into the old house.

The room was dimly lit, and there was a musty smell in the air.

By the light from outside, you can see that the wooden square table in the living room is covered with a thick layer of dust, like a gray blanket.

Looking up, the ceiling was covered with dense spider webs, some with dried insects hanging from them.

On the wall directly opposite the main gate hangs a somewhat faded landscape painting.

Next to the painting hung two black and white photographs.

Those are the portraits of Li Ze's parents.

Even in this dim light, Li Ze could see clearly.

The photo frame was covered in dust, and even the parents' faces were hard to see.

Seeing all this, Li Ze felt as if something was blocking his heart, a heavy and painful feeling.

This is an old house that no one lives in.

No matter how clean it was when it was left, it will quickly fall into this state if no one lives in it.

"Honey, let's get started cleaning up."

Li Ze rolled up his sleeves, not minding the dirt, and looked around:

"We need to find a rag and a bucket."

Li Mengli has indeed been returning to her hometown all these years.

She found a plastic bucket that had been used for who knows how many years in the corner behind the door, and then found a piece of rag.

"Dad, come with me, the well is outside."

Li Mengli carried the bucket and led Li Ze out of the house.

Just ten meters away from the old house, there is an old well.

The father and daughter worked together to draw a bucket of cool well water.

Li Ze soaked the rag, wrung it out, and then carefully took down his parents' portraits.

He moved very gently, as if wiping the face of a living old person.

I wiped the dust off the picture frame bit by bit until it was completely clean.

In the photo, his parents' youthful faces became clear again, as if they were looking at him kindly.

After re-hanging the photos, Li Ze wiped the square table clean.

Just as I finished my work, I heard the sound of a car engine coming from the front gate.

Immediately following was a series of synchronized footsteps.

The eldest brother led a group of people in.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man wearing overalls and a yellow hard hat.

The man looked very capable and was holding a roll of blueprints in his hand.

He is the ninth son.

He is also a member of Li Ze's bio-engineered human legion, specializing in architectural engineering and design.

Li Ze brought Lao Jiu back with him when he returned to China this time, because he had long had the idea of ​​rebuilding his hometown.

"Boss!"

The ninth brother strode forward and respectfully bowed.

Without saying a word, he spread out the blueprints in his hand on the freshly wiped square table.

"Boss, these are a few plans I came up with on the plane based on the terrain here."

"Which one do you like?"

Li Ze leaned over and took a look.

The drawings were very professional, featuring European-style villas, modern minimalist glass rooms, and castle-like designs.

Li Ze flipped through a few pages, finally stopping his finger on a design drawing.

This is a Chinese-style manor design.

With its white walls and black tiles, upturned eaves, pavilions and towers, and artificial hills and flowing water, it looks grand and retains the traditional charm of Chinese culture.

"This one will do."

Li Ze pointed to the blueprints and said:

"We Chinese people are more comfortable living in courtyards like this."

"However, I have a few requests, please write them down."

Lao Jiu immediately took out his notebook and pen to take notes.

Li Ze said as he thought:

"First, there need to be two really nice suites for my two children. They need to have large floor-to-ceiling windows and good natural light."

"Secondly, the master bedroom that my wife and I will live in needs to be big and comfortable, and it would be best if it had a large bathtub."

"Last and most importantly."

Li Ze pointed to the portrait on the wall:

"We need to build a special ancestral hall to worship my parents and the ancestors of our Li family."

"The location must be the best, and the feng shui must be the best."

Old Jiu's pen moved swiftly and he remembered things very quickly:

"Understood, boss. A Chinese-style manor, with an ancestral hall."

"Our manpower and equipment are ready to go, and the materials have all been arranged."

"Work started on time on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year."

Li Ze nodded in satisfaction and patted Lao Jiu on the shoulder:

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

"Go ahead and get busy."

Old Nine put away the blueprints, bowed again, and then hurriedly left with a few people.

That's how efficient they are.

After everyone left, Li Ze's expression darkened slightly, and he beckoned to the old man standing to the side:

"Hey, come out with me for a second."

The two walked to a large locust tree next to the cement well outside the house.

Li Ze looked around to make sure no one was watching before lowering his voice and explaining about the text message from the unknown number.

"What?!"

Even the usually expressionless Old One was shocked when he heard this.

My sunglasses almost slipped off.

"Boss, this can't be!"

"Your number is triple encrypted, and apart from satellite positioning, it cannot be detected by ordinary base stations."

"How could anyone possibly know?"

The eldest son realized the seriousness of the situation.

If the boss's whereabouts and contact information were leaked, it would be a huge security risk for Li Ze, whose net worth is in the hundreds of billions.

"I also think it's hacking or some kind of technical means."

Li Ze said in a deep voice:

"Go and check it out to see which part of the process went wrong."

"Also, I've already blocked that number."

The old man nodded, immediately pulled a new black cell phone from his pocket, and handed it to Li Ze with both hands:

"Boss, this is the backup satellite phone."

"It's a new number, and I've already registered all the WeChat and other accounts for you. It's compatible with the previous one."

"Please use this one first, and don't use the previous one."

"I will immediately have the intelligence department investigate this matter thoroughly. Whoever dares to pry into your privacy, I will definitely find them."

Li Ze took the new phone, turned it on and tried it out; it felt good in his hand.

"Okay, I'll leave this to you."

Then, Li Ze remembered something else:

"By the way, what about the information on that man I asked you to look up before?"

The first man quickly handed over a tablet computer, which displayed a detailed investigation report.

"Boss, everything's here."

Li Ze picked up the tablet and started scrolling through the screen.

Name: Wang Cong

Age: 43

Marital Status: Divorced, no children, living alone

[Occupation: Manager of Taizixuan (Xudong Branch)]

[Assets: A property outside the Third Ring Road in Wuhan (valued at 250 million yuan), and a BYD Han]

[Note: This person is 20 kilometers away from Zhang Ruoran's store in Yuhuatai.]

Looking at the document, Li Ze sneered.

"Wang Cong... that name doesn't sound very smart."

"Even though they live 20 kilometers away, you still frequently go to see Ruoran to chat?"

"This guy has quite the perseverance."

"Is this a divorced, old bachelor looking for a capable wife to help him in his old age?"

Li Ze continued flipping through the files, which even detailed what kind of tea Wang Cong liked to drink and what brand of underwear he wore.

Aside from the usual small gestures of concern and sending each other inexpensive gifts during holidays, there was no real progress between him and Zhang Ruoran.

On one occasion, Wang Cong tried to invite Zhang Ruoran to the movies, but Zhang Ruoran refused, saying she had to spend time with her child.

Seeing this, Li Ze breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"It seems that Ruoran still knows her limits."

"However, since there is competition, I, as the husband, can't just ignore it."

Li Ze returned the tablet to Lao Yi:

"Okay, I understand."

"Well done."

"Don't touch him for now."

"After the New Year, when Ruoran goes back to work, I'll go take a stroll around that Prince Xuan area again."

"Of course, there's no need to fire him; it hasn't come to that yet."

The older man nodded:

"Okay, boss."

Everything has been explained.

Li Ze looked at the dilapidated old house.

Although it will be demolished and rebuilt on the first day of the Lunar New Year, he still wants to spend Lunar New Year's Eve here.

After all, this is where he grew up, and it's full of memories.

"Oldest brother, have someone clean the house a bit. I'll be staying here tonight."

"Take a few photos of me while you're at it; I want to keep them as a souvenir."

"Yes." The old man accepted the order and immediately directed his men to get to work.

At this moment, Li Mengli, who hadn't gone inside, was standing on the cement road outside the house.

She was completely stunned as she stared at the row of luxury cars parked neatly in front of her.

This is such a remote little village!

Even during the Lunar New Year, there are still quite a few private cars.

But all five or six cars parked in this row are luxury cars!

That's a Maybach!

That's a Rolls-Royce Cullinan!

These cars were driven here by the boss, his bodyguards, and the construction team.

"Goodness..."

Li Mengli covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling:

"My family is so rich!"

"There are so many luxury cars, it's like an exhibition."

"If I drive one to school, won't all my classmates be so envious?"

Such a large-scale event naturally attracted the attention of the villagers.

There weren't many people in the village to begin with; most of them were elderly people who stayed behind.

Seeing so many luxury cars entering the village, everyone curiously gathered around, pointing and commenting on the vehicles.

"Oh dear, whose relatives have come to visit?"

"This car looks huge, it must cost tens of thousands, right?"

"It looks like a high-ranking leader has come to inspect the area."

Just as the crowd was discussing it.

An elderly man with gray hair, wearing a gray cotton-padded coat, his hands behind his back, squeezed into the crowd.

He squinted at the cars, then looked at Li Mengli standing next to one of them.

The old man smiled and called out:

"Oh dear, Mengli!"

Li Mengli turned around, saw the old man, paused for a moment, and then recognized him:

"Uncle?"