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

Upon hearing Li Mengli's words, Li Guoqing's neck instantly snapped as if it were spring-loaded, twisting violently in all directions.

He tucked the pipe into his belt, his eyes wide and round, darting around.

"Where is he? Where is that bastard?"

Li Guoqing muttered to himself as he looked in the direction Li Mengli was pointing.

Soon, his gaze settled on the old locust tree next to the old well not far away.

There were two men standing there.

One was a man wearing sunglasses and a black suit, as strong as an ox.

The other was a tall, middle-aged man dressed in ordinary casual clothes.

The man was holding a string of beads in his hand, looking at them with a half-smile.

Li Guoqing narrowed his eyes.

Eighteen years have passed.

Time waits for no one; the young lad of yesteryear has now become a middle-aged man.

Although his hair is shorter, he looks more energetic, and his demeanor is completely different from that of the poor boy he used to be.

However, the facial features, the posture, and especially the eyes.

The more Li Guoqing looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

This is Li Ze!

This is that heartless younger brother!

The moment he recognized him, Li Guoqing's anger surged to his head.

Ignoring the many villagers watching the spectacle, he strode angrily toward the big locust tree.

He walked along, muttering curses under his breath:

"Well, you really are a bastard!"

"You still have the nerve to come back? I thought you'd died out there!"

Fearing her uncle would take action, Li Mengli quickly followed after him.

Li Ze did not flinch when he saw his cousin walking towards him menacingly.

Instead, he carefully put away the beads in his hand, took two steps forward, and gave a gentle yet somewhat guilty smile.

He shouted at Li Guoqing:

"Brother Guoqing, long time no see."

The word "brother" startled Li Guoqing.

But he didn't stop, rushed up to Li Ze, pointed his finger at Li Ze's nose and started cursing:

"Don't call me brother! I don't have a younger brother like you!"

"Li Ze, you heartless bastard!"

"Eighteen years! A full eighteen years!"

"Do you know how Ruoran survived? Do you know how those two children grew up?"

"You finally decided to come back? Why didn't you come sooner!"

Li Guoqing became more and more agitated as he spoke, spitting as he spoke, and his finger almost poked Li Ze's face.

The old man standing behind Li Ze flashed a cold light in his eyes behind his sunglasses.

As an absolutely loyal cyborg bodyguard, how could he tolerate someone pointing fingers at his boss and cursing him like that?

The old man took a step forward, and his large hand reached out to grab Li Guoqing's arm.

"Step back!"

Li Ze didn't turn his head, but gave a low shout.

The old man froze instantly, then obediently withdrew his hand and retreated behind Li Ze, standing motionless like a wooden stake.

Looking at his cousin, whose face was full of wrinkles and whose hair was gray, Li Ze felt a pang of sadness.

Guoqing used to take good care of me, but now he's scolding me like this because he feels sorry for Ruoran and the child.

That's how it should be.

Li Ze wasn't angry, and said in a gentle tone:

"Brother, calm down."

"I know I'm an idiot, I know I've let everyone down."

"How have you been all these years...?"

Upon hearing this greeting, Li Guoqing's anger did not subside; instead, it intensified.

He spat out a mouthful of saliva:

"What a load of rubbish!"

"I'm so angry I'm full of anger because of you, you heartless wretch!"

"Look at yourself now, looking all smug."

"What's wrong? Can't make it out there? Or are you getting old and want to return to your roots?"

At this moment, the neighbors who had been gathered around looking at the luxury cars also came over.

The villagers love watching a good show, especially a "prodigal son returns" drama that hasn't been seen for eighteen years.

People pointed and whispered about Li Ze, their voices buzzing like flies.

"Oh my, isn't that Old Shi's son?"

"Is that Li Ze? I heard he abandoned his wife and ran away eighteen years ago."

"Tsk tsk tsk, how dare they come back? They're really shameless."

"Judging from his clothes, he doesn't look like he's made a fortune. He probably couldn't make a living outside."

"Poor Ruoran, such a good wife, how did she end up with such a man?"

These words, one by one, pierced my ears, making my heart ache.

Li Ze had long since developed a thick skin, so he didn't care about this at all.

Since he dared to come back, he was prepared to be criticized behind his back.

However, Li Mengli, who was standing next to her, couldn't stand it anymore.

Looking at those old men and women who were normally completely unrelated to her, but were now gossiping about her, her anger flared up instantly.

Li Mengli took a step forward and stood in front of Li Ze.

With a stern face, she spoke loudly to the neighbors:

"Grandpas and grandmas, isn't that enough?"

"This is a family matter, what business is it of yours?"

Whether my dad comes back or not is our family's own business.

"You're not even our relatives, what are you saying, making sarcastic remarks?"

"Who's the bastard? Who's shameless? Watch your mouths!"

The old men and women never expected that Li Mengli, who usually seemed so well-behaved, would be so fierce today.

They were all stunned by the retort, their faces flushed red, and they shut their mouths.

But there was still a hint of disdain in his eyes.

Turning his head away, he muttered something like, "This child is being unreasonable," or "He's protecting that bastard father."

Li Mengli stomped her foot in anger, too lazy to pay attention to them anymore, and turned around to grab Li Ze's arm.

Li Ze patted his daughter's hand, signaling her not to be angry.

Then he turned to Li Guoqing, who was still fussing and glaring, and said sincerely:

"Brother, they're right."

"It was indeed my mistake to leave Ruoran for money back then, a huge mistake."

"You can scold me, you can hit me, I'll take it all, I won't say a word."

Looking at Li Ze's "at will" attitude, Li Guoqing felt like he had punched a cotton ball, unable to vent his anger.

He sighed and slammed the pipe in his hand against the sole of his shoe.

"I think you're completely impervious to reason now!"

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to waste my breath arguing with you. It's pointless."

Li Guoqing raised his head, his eyes warily scrutinizing Li Ze:

"Just tell me the truth."

"What exactly do you want to do now that you've come back?"

"I've heard that Ruoran is now a store manager in the city, and she's doing quite well, with some savings."

"You wouldn't happen to be in debt outside, or maybe you see Ruoran has some money and want to come back and take some of hers, would you?"

"If you dare to even consider that, I, Li Guoqing, will be the first to object! I'll kick you out with a hoe!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ze gave a bitter smile to his heart.

This is completely irrelevant.

Why does everyone think he came back to live off his wife?

He shook his head and said very seriously:

"Brother, what are you thinking?"

"Even if I, Li Ze, am a scoundrel, I wouldn't stoop to taking advantage of Ruoran's hard-earned money."

"I came back this time purely to make up for what I did for my wife and her two children, and to give them a better life."

As he spoke, Li Ze pointed to the dilapidated old house behind him:

"Also, this house is too old; it's practically a dilapidated building."

"It's uninhabitable."

"So I'm planning to push it away."

Upon hearing the word "pushed," Li Guoqing's eyes widened:

"You cancelled it? Where will you live from now on?"

Li Ze smiled and said casually:

"Of course, the demolition was for the purpose of rebuilding."

"I've already found the design plans and I'm ready to rebuild a large Chinese-style manor in this area."

"I want a place with a garden, a gazebo, and a large courtyard, so that Ruoran and the children can live comfortably when they come back."

Li Guoqing was stunned.

Chinese-style manor?

How much would that cost?

Shouldn't this kid have come back because he was having a bad time out there?

Where did the money come from to build the manor?

"You...you're talking nonsense, aren't you?" Li Guoqing looked incredulous.

At this moment, Li Mengli, who had been holding back her energy, finally found her opportunity.

She raised her chin and glanced around at the neighbors who were waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

Then he said loudly to Li Guoqing:

"Uncle! My dad isn't talking nonsense!"

"My dad's really rich now!"

"Don't even mention building a manor, buying our entire village wouldn't be a problem for us!"

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter immediately erupted around them.

"Oh my, this girl has learned to brag too."

"Buying the whole village? What's the point?"

Li Guoqing also frowned, feeling that his niece was exaggerating to save face for her father.

But then he suddenly remembered something.

His gaze fell once again on the row of impressive luxury cars by the roadside, and then on the man in black wearing sunglasses standing behind Li Ze.

An amazing idea popped into his head.

Li Guoqing pointed to the Maybachs and Cullinans and asked:

"Zezi, those cars over there, and those people..."

"You didn't get this, did you?"

The entire room fell silent instantly.

All eyes, whether on Li Guoqing or on the neighbors watching the spectacle, were fixed on Li Ze.

We await his answer.

Li Ze glanced at the cars, then at the shocked crowd.

He didn't show any smugness; he maintained his nonchalant tone.

He nodded and said:

"Yeah, brother."

"These cars all belong to my company. There were many people coming back this time, so we brought a few more."

"Um... if they're blocking everyone's way, I'll ask them to move."

Li Guoqing: "..."

The neighbors: "..."

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze.

Li Guoqing's jaw dropped to the ground, and he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.

Those old men and women who were just making sarcastic remarks were now completely speechless.

Maybach? Company?

Has the fourth son of the Li family really struck it rich?!