Global Film Emperor

Chapter 114 Relatives (Fifth Update)
"You're all here! Aunt Liu, it's been quite a while since we last saw each other. Let me see, isn't this my little nephew? It's so cold and desolate here, aren't you cold bringing a child here?"

Lu Ze greeted the elders, then squatted down in front of his nephew. He didn't dare touch the child's face, afraid that if he touched it too much, the child would drool. He gently hooked the child's little hand with his finger and shook it.

He loves children, even though he's been a father hundreds of times, he still does, but only with children around 18 months to 6 years old; once they're older, he'll start to get angry.

Aunt Liu was very happy that Lu Ze liked her little grandson so much. Half-jokingly and half-inquiringly, she said, "Da Ze, have you found a partner yet? Hurry up and have one, it'll be so much fun. While your parents are still able to move around, they can help you take care of the child."

"No, it's not good to get married early in my line of work. My parents are worried, but it's no use. I probably won't be able to get married until I'm in my thirties or forties. Having children is a long way off."

When Aunt Liu heard that he would get married in his thirties or forties, she gave up on the idea. Actually, Aunt Liu was being foolish. She didn't even consider whether he was good enough for Lu Ze. These days, Lu Ze is not someone who has difficulty finding a wife.

Glancing into the kitchen, Lu Ze saw that the elders' wives were all helping Li Yumei, each one incredibly diligent. There were many gifts on the floor, which made Lu Ze quite gratified. Regardless of the amount of money, the fact that they didn't come empty-handed showed that they had put their heart into it.

"Hey, Fourth Uncle, what's Daqiang been up to lately?"

The child was taken to the east room, and Lu Ze began offering cigarettes to the elders. When he reached out to light a cigarette for his fourth uncle, he casually asked a question.

“I’ll do it myself. He said a couple of days ago that he wanted to lease a fishpond, and I thought it was okay for him to sell fish, at least it’s a proper business, so I let him do it. He was busy at the fishpond yesterday.”

Fourth Uncle pushed the lighter back from Lu Ze's hand, took out his own lighter from his pocket, lit it, took a puff, and smiled. His son had turned over a new leaf and was no longer messing around. He wasn't reluctant to give his son some money to start a business.

"You booked it a couple of days ago?"

"Ah, it's been almost two weeks. They said they went to get ice today, so they didn't come over."

Looking at his fourth uncle's bright smile, Lu Ze felt a pang of sadness. He just couldn't understand how his fourth uncle and aunt, both honest farmers, could have given birth to such a bastard.

Lu Ze knew exactly what kind of person Lu Qiang was. He must have taken the money and used it for something else, and then somehow managed to fool his parents.

But could he tell his fourth uncle that Lu Qiang had asked him for money yesterday to lease a fishpond? Let alone with so many people in the house, Lu Ze was afraid his fourth uncle would be furious if he said it alone.

After taking a drag of his cigarette, he didn't look at his fourth uncle, but instead talked to the other elders. The second daughter of the second master, who was also Lu Ze's second aunt, didn't come, and Lu Ze knew that she couldn't possibly come.

She's a high-ranking official in the city, so it's impossible for her to participate in such a trivial family gathering. And she wouldn't care about the money Lu Ze was giving away.

"Dinner's ready, shall we eat now?"

Li Yumei came out of the kitchen, asked the people present a question, and after receiving an affirmative answer, everyone began to set the table and set the bowls and chopsticks.

Lu Ze brought down four bottles of baijiu from the second floor. Each bottle cost over a thousand yuan and was meant to be used to entertain guests when they came over. The bottles looked impressive, which left the uncles and elders speechless.

Of course, the drink that Lu Ze and Lu Weiguo drank yesterday was even more expensive, and with so many people here, it's definitely not something he, Lu Ze, can afford to drink. He's not that rich yet.

"Xiao Nan, go and heat up the wine."

After handing the beer to Lu Nan, several teenagers carried over a few cases of beer from the warehouse and then obediently went back inside to watch TV or play on their phones. This is a bad habit in the countryside, and at least Lu Ze's generation hasn't changed it yet. Children aren't allowed to sit at the table while adults are eating; they can only eat after the adults have finished.

The women, on the other hand, were busy cooking, and could only rest after all the dishes were on the table, eating separately from the men.

These rigid traditions have disappeared in many villages, but some villages have inherited them. Unfortunately, Lu Ze's village is one such example.

Even when Lu Ze was a child, it was the same. Only after Lu Weiguo and the others had finished eating could Lu Ze go up to the table to pick up the leftover rice bowls that the adults had finished eating.

But now, the situation has changed subtly. Everyone is making it clear that Lu Weiguo should sit in the head seat and Lu Ze should sit next to him.

Lu Ze could only advise the elders not to sit according to seniority. Lu Ze sat next to his fourth uncle, while the seat of honor was given to Lu Ze's youngest uncle. Only then did everyone start eating together.

Lu Nan brought over the warmed liquor and filled everyone's glasses. Lu Ze's uncle raised a glass, and after everyone finished drinking, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

When people reach their forties or fifties, conversations at the dinner table usually revolve around their children—today it's their son getting married, tomorrow it's whose daughter is getting married. But today the situation has changed.

If these people understood the intricacies of the entertainment industry, Lu Ze would have been willing to eat his bowl, but they pretended to know everything and discussed various things in the industry with Lu Ze.

This made Lu Ze very embarrassed. If he talked any deeper, they wouldn't understand. To put it simply, everyone understands the principles, so talking to them would be meaningless. It would be better to explain what they really wanted to know.

Lu Ze put down his wine glass, took a bite of food, and officially began the conversation.

“You are all my elders, and it is only right that I take care of you. To be honest, I have made some money, not as much as you think, but it is not a small amount either. This morning, I went to the brigade and talked to Grandpa Guo about repairing the road. We plan to repair the road at the entrance of the village.”

The elders remained silent. They were reluctant to spend money on road construction because it was hard for them to earn money. Did they not know the benefits of road construction? "To get rich, build roads first." They were watching this TV show for nothing.
Lu Ze did the right thing. Everyone thinks Lu Ze did the right thing. It's something that benefits future generations, and no one can say no to it.

"So, I paid for the road repairs in the village. How could I say no to my uncles and elders? Today, I want to make things clear to them. In the future, no one can guarantee that they won't get sick or suffer any disasters. Let's go through insurance first. If there's still a shortfall, I'll cover it. When you go to university, consider the tuition fee as a gift from me."

Lu Ze took a bite of his food, looking quite righteous, which left the group of uncles and elders somewhat stunned. Lu Ze didn't give them a single penny in cash, but instead offered a rather realistic promise.

If that's really the case, then it's considered more than enough. After all, life is important. When you're sick, people will pay to keep you going. If a child's college tuition is 6,000 a year, that's 25,000 for four years.

It may not seem like much, but the base is here. In one or two years, it will be a few children, and in ten years, it will be hundreds of thousands. Lu Ze just said that his business has just started. As an elder, even if he wants to take advantage of it, he has to consider his own face.

So after a moment of silence, the atmosphere became lively again, and no one said a word against it. They were just harboring nepotism, thinking that if one person succeeds, all his relatives will benefit from it, and that they could get some credit from Lu Ze. Everyone has this kind of mentality, and it doesn't mean that they are the kind of stupid relatives who are like hungry wolves and want to devour Lu Ze clean.

Lu Ze didn't mind helping them out. At least it would make life easier for these relatives who had watched him grow up.

A day is a day. Not an hour, not a minute, not a second less, it doesn't count as a day (crying).

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(End of this chapter)