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

Li Menghan looked at the man in front of her, feeling quite conflicted.

On one hand, there's the installment payment bill that requires me to work part-time delivering food and save every penny for two whole years to pay off.

On the other hand, there are top-of-the-line mobile phones that can be easily obtained simply by nodding, without even needing to say thank you.

According to normal people's thinking, there is no need to choose at all.

Even if he takes the new phone Li Ze gave him, he can resell it unopened.

The money they got back was enough to cover the installment payments, and they even had a large sum left over.

However, when Li Menghan looked at Li Ze's face, what came to mind was the suffering her mother, Zhang Ruoran, had endured over the past eighteen years.

It was a night of shivering in the tin shed, and those hands covered in chilblains.

He is not the kind of person who can readily accept charity.

It's even less likely that they would feel at ease spending the money of someone who once hurt their mother.

Li Menghan took a deep breath, removed her hand from her pocket, and her eyes regained their firmness and indifference:

"No."

"I have hands and feet, I can buy what I want myself. I don't need your stuff."

Hearing his son's answer, Li Ze felt a little disappointed at being rejected, and thought he was quite a failure as a father.

But more than anything, I felt a sense of relief and admiration.

That kid has guts!

To be able to uphold one's principles and remain steadfast in the face of such great temptation is indeed a rare and admirable quality.

If we hand over the family business to him in the future, he definitely won't squander it.

Li Ze stood up, dusted himself off, and said with a smile:

"Alright, since you don't want it, I'll buy it for your sister."

"Anyway, that girl is a little money-grubber; she'll take whatever she's offered."

After saying that, Li Ze stopped pressing the matter and slowly turned and left.

Watching Li Ze walk away, Li Menghan took out her old Mi 6 with the cracked screen again.

He opened the shopping app and glanced at the order status.

[Shipping in progress, expected delivery tomorrow]

Looking at these words, Li Menghan felt reassured, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

It will arrive tomorrow, that's great.

It was a gift he earned for his girlfriend with his own hands; it was clean and tidy, and held great significance.

Thinking about this, I couldn't suppress my desire to see my girlfriend.

Although his anniversary with Dai Yuqian is February 27th.

But school starts after the New Year, and it's inconvenient for him to visit relatives in the countryside, so he wanted to give her this surprise in advance.

So he typed in the dialog box:

[Baby, I'm coming to see you tomorrow. Let's celebrate our anniversary early, okay? I have a present for you.]

He originally thought that Dai Yuqian would still be slow to reply to messages.

After all, she always says she's busy.

But to my surprise, this time the other party replied instantly.

Dai Yuqian: [Okay, how about we go out for dinner at 6 pm?]

Li Menghan was somewhat surprised, but mostly happy.

He asked again, "Can't we go earlier? I want to spend more time with you; we can go see a movie or go shopping."

Dai Yuqian: [No, baby, I'm going to visit relatives with my parents tomorrow during the day and will be staying at their house all day, so it can only be in the evening.]

Seeing this reason, Li Menghan didn't think much of it.

After all, it's Chinese New Year, so visiting relatives is normal. He himself had just returned from his second aunt's house.

Li Menghan: [Okay then, I'll come find you tomorrow night. I'll make reservations for dinner in advance. What would you like to eat?]

Dai Yuqian: [I'll listen to you, baby is the best!]

Li Menghan: [Bao'er too! Then I'll book a slightly nicer restaurant.]

After sending the message, Li Menghan pressed her phone against her chest, a silly smile on her face.

He couldn't wait to fast forward to 6 p.m. tomorrow.

……

Soon, it was time for dinner.

Because it was the first day of the new year, and with the important matter of Zixuan's medical treatment resolved, the atmosphere at dinner was exceptionally good, and the whole family enjoyed each other's company.

During the meal, the brother-in-law, Zhang Jianguo, raised his glass, his face flushed, and said:

"I have some good news to share with everyone."

"I contacted the person in charge of that American company this afternoon, and they were very helpful."

"If the visa process goes smoothly, we should be able to buy plane tickets and take Zixuan to the United States for medical treatment in less than three days!"

As they spoke, Zhang Jianguo and his sister-in-law stood up and were about to bow to Li Ze:

"Brother-in-law, we really owe you a lot for the contact information you provided this time."

"If it weren't for your connection, we would be completely in the dark, and we don't know how much more suffering Zixuan would have had to endure."

Li Ze quickly stood up to stop him:

"Brother and sister-in-law, we're family, no need for formalities, please sit down."

Everyone echoed this sentiment, thanking Li Ze together.

At this moment, Tang Dan, the second sister-in-law, didn't forget the important matter. She glanced at Geng Qi, the third sister-in-law, who was silently eating her food, and said:

"By the way, big brother, we made an agreement before."

"Although Geng Qi got into trouble because of her loose tongue, she also expressed her willingness to provide you with 300,000 yuan in financial support for Zixuan's medical treatment."

"Everyone's keeping an eye on this. We can't forget about it until the money arrives."

Upon hearing this, the brother-in-law waved his hand:

"They're all family, it's only right to lend a hand."

"Geng Qi, thank you then."

Geng Qi was putting a piece of braised pork into her mouth when she heard this, and even the meat didn't taste good anymore.

Three hundred thousand! That's real money.

Her heart ached terribly, but in this situation, with everyone watching, she could only force a smile that was more like a grimace.

"Brother, you're too kind. It's all what I should do, it's all what I should do..."

With this beginning, the second brother, Zhang Jianjun, also expressed his opinion:

"Brother, I'll also contribute 200,000 as a small token of my appreciation to my niece."

Li Ze also said with a smile:

"I'll also contribute 200,000, as part of our family's contribution."

The brother-in-law was about to decline, saying that he had money and that everyone didn't need to spend any more.

But after some back and forth, he finally gave in to everyone's enthusiasm and accepted the money.

Of course, Li Ze's 200,000 was only the publicly stated amount; to save face for everyone, he didn't dare give more.

However, in private, he had already whispered the truth to Zhang Ruoran.

"If so, don't worry."

"I've already spoken to the company there."

"If the treatment cost is one million US dollars, I will, on behalf of the company, waive half a million US dollars for my brother, saying it's a preferential policy for international friends."

"I'll pay for this. It'll go directly into my account, without my brother knowing, so he won't feel guilty."

After listening, Zhang Ruoran looked at Li Ze with bright eyes, a smile playing on her lips:

"Great job, Li Ze, you did a great job."

"It helped my older brother while also saving face for him."

"You've become smarter now."

Li Ze raised an eyebrow smugly:

"Absolutely."

"If I weren't a little smarter, how could I win back such a wonderful wife? How could I be your husband?"

Zhang Ruoran blushed and gently pinched him under the table:

"You're talking nonsense again! Aren't you ashamed in front of so many people?"

"Watch out or I'll hit you."

Li Ze chuckled and shamelessly said:

"If my wife can hit me, it means she thinks highly of me; it's my blessing as her husband."

As the saying goes, "Spare the rod and spoil the child."

Sitting next to her, Li Mengli couldn't take it anymore and covered her cheek, saying:

"Oh my! Dad, you really spoil Mom!"

"This dog food is overwhelming! I'm already stuffed, how am I supposed to eat anything else?"

Zhang Ruoran blushed even more, picked up her chopsticks and gently tapped her daughter's hand, pretending to be serious as she said:

"What nonsense are you talking about, kid! Eat your food!"

Li Mengli stuck out her tongue and lowered her head to eat her rice, but her eyes were still smiling.

The family was toasting and laughing at the table, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Only a few dozen kilometers away.

In a boudoir in the Pingan-ri neighborhood of Seoul, the walls are covered with pink wallpaper.

Dai Yuqian sat on the bed in her pajamas, looking at the "Baby is the best" message she had just sent on her phone screen, her brows furrowed and her face full of worry.