Siheyuan diet for men and women

Chapter 1606 Don't let it escape
"What were you and your older brother doing in Steel City?"

After dinner, they chatted for a while in the courtyard. The couple took their child home and it was already past nine o'clock at night. They washed up and went to bed.

Li Shu couldn't hold on any longer, even less so than her younger brother, and started snoring in the car. Er Ya had to carry her to the bathroom to give her a bath.

Li Ning seemed to be in good spirits, but he dozed off and got off the bus on his own.

He laughed and played for a while while taking a bath with his father, but as soon as Li Xuewu picked him up, he fell asleep on his father's shoulder.

Gu Ning glanced at the time on the wall; it was already past ten o'clock. She walked to the bedside, sat down, and asked the question that had been on her mind for a long time.

Li Xuewu turned over, took a sip of warm tea, and replied nonchalantly, "My brother and I were tricked by someone."

"You plotted against me?" Gu Ning looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "Why? How did I connect you all?"

“Everyone says so—” Li Xuewu leaned against the headboard, lazily looking at Gu Ning, and said with a smile, “You want to wipe out our whole family in one fell swoop, don’t you?”

Hearing him say that, Gu Ning couldn't help but frown. When he was speaking in a serious tone, you shouldn't take it too seriously; most of the time he was just talking nonsense.

Only when someone is nonchalant, with this carefree attitude, is there an 80% chance that what they say is true.

"Who wants to do this?" Gu Ning turned and sat facing him, her voice tinged with anger. "Isn't this just being unreasonable?"

"Hehehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled as he looked at his naive wife. Even her wrinkled nose and angry expression seemed so cute.

Seeing that he wasn't worried at all, Gu Ning couldn't help but glare at him and said, "Have you told Dad about the potential danger?"

"It's such a small matter—" Li Xuewu really didn't care. He even reached his hand into her trouser leg and tilted his head as he said, "We can't let Dad laugh at us for being brave but reckless and brainless."

"It's already this late," Gu Ning asked, still staring at him. "If my sister-in-law hadn't called, I wouldn't have known about this."

"I'll tell you when the time is right." Li Xuewu propped himself up on his elbows and tried to hug her, but Gu Ning pushed him away.

"Sigh—" Seeing her persistent look and eyes, Li Xuewu could only sigh and say, "How can I explain this to you?"

He scratched his head and tried to explain, "It's just that someone wants to scheme against me, but doesn't dare to do it directly, so they took a roundabout approach."

I dared not explain it too clearly to Gu Ning, nor could I speak too profoundly, as she was not particularly interested in these underhanded and scheming tactics.

"It just so happens that some people have a problem with our unit, so these people betrayed us, flattered us, and deceived their superiors to create this mess."

Li Xuewu used several idioms to explain to Gu Ning, "They are afraid of my revenge, and they are also afraid of our father taking action, so they linked our elder brother together, trying to drag the two of us into this mess. That's the gist of it."

“You should talk to Dad,” Gu Ning frowned and reminded him. “Even if you just talk to Mom, I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but it’s not a small matter.”

"Hey—" Li Xuewu stroked her thigh with his large hand and slowly nodded, saying, "I've already said what I needed to say. The rest can be explained in detail when you go to Jinling, brother."

He emphasized softly, "Whether it's a letter or a phone call, you know I don't trust them much, and I can't say everything to them."

"Hmm—" Gu Ning was still worried, but seeing his confident look, she hesitated and asked, "Have all the problems been solved?"

She didn't really understand what Li Xuewu had just said, and simply asked, "Have you already found out who's behind this?"

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled, propped his hands behind his head and lay down on his side in front of her, looking up at her and asking, "Think about it, you dare to target even our own workplace, and you even dare to scheme against me and my older brother, what kind of situation is that?"

"Let alone whether I have the ability to find him now, even if I did, I wouldn't go to great lengths, especially at this time."

He watched as his wife raised her eyebrows, deliberately emphasizing the last sentence.

Gu Ning understood this sentence and frowned slightly, saying, "Aren't you tired of always worrying about this and that?"

"Then what should we do?" Li Xuewu took her hand with his left hand and pressed it against his forehead, saying wistfully in a coquettish tone, "Will you comfort me?"

Gu Ning couldn't stand his cheeky manner and wanted to pull her hand away, but she felt sorry for his hard work and could only let him act silly.

"Big brother... what about him?"

Did your sister-in-law call you later?

Li Xuewu shifted his body and lay down on her lap, then covered his eyes with her hands. He lay on the bed, took a breath, and explained, "Big brother is planning to go to the academy for a few years of further study."

"Really? —" Gu Ning didn't know what it meant for a captain who had only been in office for a little over a year to take the initiative to pursue further studies. She thought it was a good thing, or perhaps she didn't think there was anything lost in it.

She didn't really think about it much, but nodded and said, "If we go back to Beijing to study, my sister-in-law can also be transferred back."

“That’s what I said too.” Li Xuewu smiled slightly and said, “But my elder brother said he didn’t want to go back to the capital. He wanted to take my sister-in-law to Nanjing.”

"Go to Nanjing? Oh, that's fine too."

Gu Ning hesitated only slightly before nodding and saying, "Living with Mom and Dad would make things much easier for my sister-in-law."

“That’s what my eldest brother said too.” Seeing her pull her hand away, Li Xuewu tilted his head to look at her and said, “He said he is the eldest son and has not been able to fulfill his filial duties for a long time, so he wants to make up for the regrets of the past.”

"Oh—" Gu Ning understood the emotion in his words, but she only gave a faint "oh" to indicate that she understood.

Li Xuewu smiled at his wife's expression and said, "Do you want to go to Nanjing? How about we go again during the National Day holiday? Maybe by then your older brother and sister-in-law will have already moved there."

"We'll see—" Gu Ning shifted her thigh uncomfortably and said, "I'm about to use up all my vacation days, and I can't get any more leave."

Having lived independently for the past few years, she has come to understand her parents' kindness and no longer resists emotional exchange and communication with them.

However, she was still lazy and didn't want to make phone calls or write letters.

Even though he's been working in Liaodong for so long, he's rarely received a phone call from her, and she's never written a single letter to him.

Even if he only comes back once or twice a month, they've only been married for three or four years. It's not like their feelings have faded by then.

Gu Ning was simply too lazy to express her family affection and love in this way.

You see, she cares and inquires about things at home, but she's not very proactive or enthusiastic.

The Gu family's children are all relatively simple-minded. Although Gu Haitao and Ding Fengxia are a deep and shrewd couple, they always insist on their children being excellent in both character and academics and do not allow them to go astray.

Needless to say, his brother-in-law Gu An had been in the army for so many years and was used to a relatively simple work and living environment. Li Xuewu's scheme was far too complicated and mentally taxing for him.

Not to mention Gu Ning's special circumstances, Gu Yan is young and likes to have fun, but this kid also has his own principles.

Few children in their compound are innocent, but Gu Yan has never caused trouble for his parents.

Even when interacting with her brother-in-law, she never acted cunningly or slyly. It's true that she likes to joke around, but she's mature enough and excellent at her job.

However, being relatively simple doesn't mean being stupid.

Back in Gangcheng, Li Xuewu had already thoroughly analyzed the essence of the matter with his brother-in-law, clearly telling him who the mastermind was.

Li Xuewu didn't dare tell Gu Ning the truth about the matter, fearing she might let it slip and worry unnecessarily. His brother-in-law was different from Gu Ning.

My brother-in-law works in the flight squadron, which is under air traffic control and falls within their sphere of influence. So, we couldn't let him be ambiguous about it.

Gu An is actually a ruthless character. When he learned that the mastermind behind the scheme against the two of them was that person, he was naturally unwilling and resentful.

However, Li Xuewu's judgment and analysis of the situation gave him enough inspiration, especially his father's attitude towards his brother-in-law, which calmed him down.

The two brothers didn't waste their time in the steel city. Since they finally had a chance to get together, why not have them talk things out and make things clear?
To put it bluntly, our parents were all risking their lives to build this nation. For the sake of the people and the country, who was superior to whom, and who had more confidence?

However, given the circumstances, he could not act impulsively.

Listening to his brother-in-law's analysis, he knew he should pretend not to know and endure it, just like his brother-in-law said, and wait for the other party to suffer the consequences.

If Heaven intends for someone to perish, it will first make them go mad.

Not only should he pretend not to know, but he should also take a step back, voluntarily resign, and exile himself to see if the other party still has the face to continue scheming and coercing him.

Li Xuewu also told his brother-in-law that although they had kept this matter secret, those who needed to know already knew, and there were probably many people watching.

They acted with a clear conscience and even considered the overall situation. Everyone has their own judgment on who is right and who is wrong, and when the time comes, someone will naturally step forward to judge who is right and who is wrong.

Knowing that his brother-in-law was going to do this, Li Xuewu finally dared to tell Gu Ning.

Gu Ning was actually more concerned about him. She looked at his eyes through the lamp, her hand unconsciously brushing against his chin, and asked, "Are you tired?"

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled mischievously and winked, saying, "If you give me a kiss, I won't be tired anymore."

"Hmph—" Gu Ning ignored him and pinched his chin slightly, then couldn't help but laugh as she watched him pout.

"Mmm—" Li Xuewu deliberately pouted, wanting a kiss, but Gu Ning dodged it in disgust.

"Going to sleep, I have to get up early for work tomorrow." She dodged quickly, and seeing Li Xuewu about to get up, she quickly pulled the blanket over herself and lay down.

Li Xuewu wasn't about to let her have her way. He pounced on her like a bear, feigning ferocity to scare her, saying, "Wife, just give in to me—"

"Ah—" Gu Ning couldn't help but feel ticklish. She was about to cry out, but when she saw the open window, she swallowed her voice and blushed.
-
"Shame—shame—shame—"

Early in the morning, Li Shu, who had finally gotten a good night's sleep, ran upstairs. She remembered that her father had come home, and she ran all the way to his bedside to humiliate him for sleeping in.

"Waaah—" Li Xuewu had been awake for a while, but he pretended to be asleep. He waited for his daughter to run over before deliberately scaring her.

Li Shu screamed in fright, her laughter adding boundless joy to the slightly sultry morning.

"I don't want to get out of bed—"

Li Xuewu scared her, but then he turned over, lay flat on the bed, stretched, and said, "I want to sleep a little longer."

"Dad, dinner's ready!" Li Shu nudged his arm, reminding him, "You promised me last night you'd take me to the park!"

"Did I say that?" Li Xuewu asked, feigning ambiguity. "I don't think so. Didn't I say I'd take you to play in the backyard garden?"

"No!" Li Shu exclaimed anxiously, climbing onto the bed and kneeling beside it, pushing against his belly to emphasize, "We're going to the park to play, to take me and my brother to play on the slide!"

"Sigh—" Li Xuewu looked at his daughter helplessly and asked, "When do you start school again? Why do we have winter and summer vacations?"

"Dad—" Li Shu looked at him with a pitiful expression and asked, "Are you annoyed with us? Don't you want to take us out to play anymore..."

"No way—" Seeing that she was about to cry again, Li Xuewu quickly sat up and comforted her, "Daddy was planning to take you guys to eat ice cream."

"Hmm—" Li Shuxin was too cunning. At this moment, she had not completely forgiven him and wanted more conditions.

Li Xuewu dared not agree to too much, so he quickly moved her aside, got out of bed to put on his shoes, and went to the bathroom to wash up. At the same time, he told his daughter to go downstairs to prepare dinner.

Li Shu, having received the benefit, didn't hold back. She ran downstairs and saw her younger brother come out after washing his face. She quietly reminded him to remember to have ice cream.

"Do I have to eat now?" Li Ning, a little glutton, asked, licking her lips, "What if Mommy won't let me eat?"

"You idiot, I already told you to ask Dad for it when we go out to play." Li Shu glanced helplessly at her silly little brother and reminded him, "You should ask for it!"

"I understand." Li Ning was always the one who got bullied at home. His older sister was a very kind person and would never ask their father for ice cream.

Of course, he also wanted to be a good person, but unfortunately he couldn't beat his sister.

"Don't you need to go to work today?"

Gu Ning had finished packing when she saw him coming downstairs. Listening to her daughter's chattering discussion, she asked him curiously.

Li Xuewu, on the other hand, was quite lazy. He wasn't even wearing his usual work clothes, just a set of loungewear and slippers as he went into the kitchen.

"No, I'm on vacation." He patted his daughter and son on the head as he walked past them, and greeted them with a smile.

For the siblings, the fact that their father wasn't working was probably the best news they could imagine.

"You should have the right attitude when you're on vacation."

He sat down at the table, made a funny face at the children, making them giggle, before starting his breakfast.

Gu Ning ignored him, only reminding the children to eat carefully and not to choke. She also hurried to eat breakfast, as she had to go to work today.

"Dad, my little brother wants to go boating."

Halfway through breakfast, Li Shu suddenly looked up at her father and made a suggestion.

Li Ning, who was being represented, looked up blankly at his father and mother who were looking over, not knowing what to say.

His sister turned around and glanced at him, at which point he nodded passively and continued to shovel rice into his mouth.

When will this period of being represented ever end?!
Grandpa and Grandma are planning to find a husband for my aunt so she can't just find one for my older sister too?
“It might rain today,” Li Xuewu pointed to the weather outside the window and reminded them, “Boating isn’t a good option.”

“But—” Li Shu wanted to say something, but seeing her mother looking over, she quickly stopped the car and reluctantly compromised, “If we don’t want to scratch, then we don’t.”

"Boating is too dangerous," Gu Ning patiently reminded her daughter. "Didn't you hear from your kindergarten teacher that some children who fell into the water last summer never saw their parents again?"

“Dad can swim,” Li Shu emphasized somewhat reluctantly, but her voice was weak and lacked confidence.

"Not today. Even if you can swim, it won't work if it rains heavily."

Li Xuewu wouldn't spoil his daughter all the time, but he offered a different suggestion: "If you want to go swimming, the weather is just right."

"Won't it be too cold?" Gu Ning asked him. "The children can't stand being soaked in cold water for a long time."

"Let's find an indoor swimming pool."

Li Xuewu took a bite of rice porridge, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is the swimming pool in your compound indoors or outdoors?"

"Outdoors, all outdoors."

Gu Ning reminded him, "Unless you go to the Bayi Club, there's a small swimming pool there, but I don't even know if it's open or not."

"Forget it, let's just go to our group's swimming pool instead," Li Xuewu said helplessly. "Going to Bayi is too much trouble, and if we run into acquaintances, we'll have to go through all the polite formalities."

"Didn't you not want to go to work?"

Gu Ning glanced at him, then turned to Li Shu and suggested, "Wouldn't it be nice to go to the park with Dad, or to the zoo to see the elephants?"

“I’ve been to the zoo twice already,” Li Shu explained softly. “I want to play in the water.”

"Alright, let's go to the swimming pool."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow at his daughter and said, "But you can only play for one morning. You have to go to Grandpa's house to continue your classes in the afternoon."

For reasons unknown, the father, Li Shun, made such a big decision to dedicate an afternoon during the summer vacation to teaching the children.

He doesn't care in the morning, but the children have to go to class in the afternoon. If he hadn't come back, the two children would have spent the whole day at their grandmother's house, and the three children would have played together.

However, the old lady was not at home; she had been taken to Jicheng by her second aunt. With Li Xueli's wedding date approaching, this was a good opportunity for the old lady to relax.

Li Xuewu also returned this time to handle his third uncle's funeral arrangements. Following his father's advice, he didn't even let Li Xuehan come back.

There won't be much trouble with Third Aunt. Li Shun is angry and won't mention his sister-in-law at all, and Li Xuewu won't make a scene.

They have already received great honors in life, and they deserve peace in death.

He and his father had agreed that if the weather was good the next day, they would go to the funeral home to retrieve his third uncle's urn, and then have the person they had found bury it discreetly.

We must keep a low profile. Since my father believes in this and wants that person to take charge of the arrangements, it is not appropriate to let more people know or see it.

Because the old lady is still alive, Uncle San will not erect a monument immediately, but will do so after everything is settled.

Life is unpredictable, and things don't always go as planned.
-
"Hahaha—ya!"

The two children were having a blast. Because it was a weekday, there was no one in the rooftop swimming pool except for the two children playing and frolicking in the shallow end.

Li Xuewu changed into his swimsuit and swam in the deep end for more than ten minutes before sitting by the pool watching the children play.

Both the big one and the little one were wearing swimming rings, but they were now paddling over, wanting their dad to teach them how to swim.

"You can't learn that in a day."

Li Xuewu smiled at his daughter and son and said, "How about you learn when you're a little older? Or should Dad find a teacher to teach you?"

"Can't you learn it in a day?" Li Ning looked at his father innocently, tilted his head and emphasized, "I can count from 1 to 100."

"Hahaha—" Li Xuewu reached out and touched his son's little face. Time spent with his child was always joyful.

He jumped into the pool, stood in the water supporting his daughter, and taught her how to swing her arms, how to tread water, and how to breathe—it was a rather rushed and ineffective approach.

No way. How could such a young child learn to swim in just one morning?

Don't talk to him, he doesn't even know when he learned it. Anyway, he grew up by the lake and just learned it by watching.

"Hey—the three of you had a great time."

A short while later, the side gate of the swimming pool opened, and Cheng Kaiyuan walked in with his secretary, greeting them from a distance.

Li Xuewu helped his daughter swim a lap and was correcting his son's posture when he saw him come in. He then let the two siblings play in the shallow water.

"You're really well-informed."

Li Xuewu propped himself up and sat on the platform. He turned to look at him and his secretary He Miao, who was carrying a fruit platter and a teapot, and raised an eyebrow to ask, "Have you come to offer your condolences?"

"You really think you can turn invisible?"

Cheng Kaiyuan walked to the edge of the pool, looked at the two children playing in the pool, smiled and waved, and said, "Li Shu, is that your name?"

He looked at the younger one and asked, "What's your little brother's name?"

Li Shu looked at him, then at her father, not understanding the situation, and pursed her lips without answering.

Li Ning, however, was not afraid of strangers and took the initiative to say, "My name is Li Ning."

"Why are you so quick to talk?" Li Shu, with the air of an older sister, teased her younger brother, then frowned and whispered a reminder, "What did Mom teach you?"

"Hehe—" Cheng Kaiyuan pointed to the tea table for resting and told his secretary He Miao to put it down. He then coaxed the siblings, saying, "Your father is here, what are you afraid of? Come and have some fruit."

"Call him Uncle." Li Xuewu glanced at his daughter, quite satisfied.

"Hello, Uncle!" Li Shu heard her father's words and then pulled her younger brother to greet him.

Cheng Kaiyuan smiled and nodded at Li Xuewu, saying, "You're lucky to have such a well-educated child."

"Thank you, Uncle!"

Li Shu was carried onto the pool by her father. After landing, she did not immediately go to get the fruit, but waited for her younger brother to join her.

Upon hearing the praise and seeing his father looking over, he politely reciprocated, which made Cheng Kaiyuan burst into laughter.

He Miao offered them fruit and set out tea on another table before coaxing the siblings.

Li Xuewu sat down at the tea table with Cheng Kaiyuan.

There were staff members in the swimming pool. As soon as they sat down, a dignified-looking girl came over with a bath towel and handed it to Li Xuewu.

"You're so free today?" Li Xuewu took the bath towel and covered himself with it, then turned to Cheng Kaiyuan and asked, "No work?"

“Hehehe—” Cheng Kaiyuan looked him up and down and said, “I was about to ask you the same question. You’re back but you haven’t reported to the company.”

He glanced at the siblings eating grapes, then turned back, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "You really took a vacation?"

"Otherwise what? What else can we do?"

Li Xuewu leaned back in his recliner and said in a nonchalant tone, "I can't just make a fool of myself, can I? At a time like this, it would be normal for me to shrink back, right?"

"Heh, are you that kind of person?"

Cheng Kaiyuan glanced at him with amusement, then looked at the swimming pool in front of him with his arms crossed and said, "The way you're looking now makes it seem like you're trying to prove something."

"Do I need it?" Li Xuewu looked at him suspiciously, smiled indifferently, sat up straight and said, "I really don't have any other thoughts, it's just that we can't find an indoor swimming pool for the time being, and the kids want to play in the water."

He looked at the two children and said, "After lunch, I have to take them to class. I have plans to play billiards with a friend this afternoon."

"That's quite dashing." Cheng Kaiyuan nodded slowly, then thought for a moment and looked at him, asking, "Don't you have any thoughts on the investigation team?"

“I have no thoughts at all.” Li Xuewu looked at the child and replied calmly, “What is meant to come will come, and what is meant to go will go.”

Cheng Kaiyuan didn't understand his words. He frowned slightly for a moment and said, "You should know that the engineer's wife from the metallurgical plant came to the group, right?"

He paused, then continued, "Now that you're back, why don't you go and talk to Director Li?"

"What are we talking about?" Li Xuewu looked at him and retorted, "Tell me about trust? Say I'm innocent? Heh—"

He smiled and shook his head, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "You've been taken away twice in a row without any explanation, don't you understand this principle?"

"Sigh—" Perhaps Li Xuewu had touched a nerve, Cheng Kaiyuan sighed and looked ahead, saying, "You are different from me after all."

"Forget it, I won't deceive myself." Li Xuewu put down his teacup, looked up at him, and said, "You want to ask me about the arrangements for the person in charge of the steel company?"

He said it so bluntly: "I wanted to recommend Yang Zongfang. He is meticulous in his work and has no ulterior motives. In my opinion, he is the most suitable."

Who could have predicted this?

Li Xuewu sneered and didn't continue speaking; he felt too ashamed to continue.

Cheng Kaiyuan looked at him and nodded, saying, "If I had known, I would have known you had other ideas when you came back last time and your attitude towards this matter was ambiguous."

"What do you call this? Man proposes, God disposes?" Li Xuewu looked at him amusedly and asked, "Don't you think Xu Ning was someone I arranged?"

“I’m not stupid—” Cheng Kaiyuan glanced at him sideways and said, “I don’t think you’re stupid either.”

"Hahahaha—" Li Xuewu laughed as he lay back in the chair, waved his hand, and said, "In the end, we were all made fools of."

Cheng Kaiyuan looked at him and smiled. After a while, he chuckled softly himself, then turned his head and said indifferently, "That's all the tricks he has."

As he said this, he turned back to Li Xuewu and asked, "You didn't expect that you would be the one being balanced out again, did you?"

"Are you talking about Director Li?" Li Xuewu didn't know how to be subtle at all, and directly shook his head slightly, saying, "I'm not afraid of being balanced."

Cheng Kaiyuan stared at him intently for a moment before tentatively asking, "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

When Li Xuewu looked over, he stood up bluntly and said, "He's really stupid. He actually fell into the same trap twice."

Without giving Li Xuewu a chance to reply, he waved his hand and left with his secretary.

Li Xuewu sat there watching his back, cursing under his breath that the old mudfish was going to slip through the net again.

Why couldn't he believe he was going to lose?
Li Xuewu would never wrong himself, much less his daughter and son, so a big meal had to be arranged for lunch.

"Auntie—"

Li Shu, holding her younger brother's hand, saw Yu Shui and took the initiative to call out to someone.

The rain was so rare that I picked them both up and held them tightly, even though it was hard, until we entered the hall before I put them down.

"Your dad is really something, taking you all out to play in this heavy rain."

She retrieved towels from the front desk and used them to wipe the few drops of rain from the children's faces, muttering a few complaints as she did so.

At this moment, Li Xuewu didn't care about the child's father at all. He didn't feel sad at all. He left the key at the front desk and then took his daughter and son to the restaurant. Today, they came to spend money.

Only someone with his wealth would be willing to pay for a Western meal at an international hotel. The two children didn't seem to notice anything different about the place.

Because they had seen Aunt Yushui and greeted her as naturally as they would anyone else in the compound, they felt that this place was just so-so.

It's nothing more than glittering gold and dazzling lights, and attentive service.

Li Shu, acting like a little adult, climbed onto the stool and sat down, imitating her father as she looked at the menu. At this moment, she had plenty of reasons to look down on her younger brother.

Li Ning also wanted to watch, but unfortunately he only recognized numbers and simple characters, and couldn't understand them very well when put together.

"What brings you here today? And the three of you came out together."

Rain helped them tidy up the tableware, glanced at Li Xuewu, and asked, "Why are the child's hands all twitching?"

That's nothing new. Who hasn't played in rainwater as a kid? After a while, your fingertips would cramp up.

"Dad took us swimming."

Li Ning speaks quickly because he is genuinely happy today, especially with the sweet aroma of cream wafting through the restaurant.

"Really—" Rain smiled and patted his hair, asking gently, "Was it fun?"

"It's fun." Li Ning nodded vigorously and said, "Dad even taught us how to swim."

"I want this, this, and this." Li Shu pretended to be reserved as she ordered three dishes from the menu and looked at the waiter beside her.

The waiter, of course, recognized Li Xuewu, and seeing the general manager's attitude, he knew exactly what was going on, so he smiled and agreed.

Li Xuewu didn't care what she ordered. After asking his son a few questions, the father and son ordered their dishes and waited for them to be served.

After He Yushui finished tidying up the two children, she wanted to help him, but Li Xuewu refused, gesturing for her to sit down with him, saying it was his treat.

"What day did you come back?" He Yushui didn't stand on ceremony. She went to get a bottle of juice, came back, sat on the other side, and filled it for the two children.

"Delicious—" Li Ning took a sip like a greedy cat, licking his lips and smiling, while staring at his sister to see how she drank it.

"That's all for now," Li Xuewu reminded his son. "You've already eaten a lot of fruit at the swimming pool, be careful not to get a stomachache."

"Yes, Dad!" the two children answered in unison.

Li Shu glanced at her younger brother and reminded him not to forget what she had mentioned that morning, but Li Ning had long forgotten her instructions.

He saw his sister winking and making faces, and not knowing what was going on, he blankly moved the cup away and carefully said, "I can finish it."

"Hmph—" Li Shu was exasperated; her younger brother was so stupid!
Looking at their adorable appearance, Yu Shui, overflowing with maternal love, softened her smile and her eyes were full of envy.

"You're not too busy at work lately, are you?" Li Xuewu didn't want to drink alcohol, let alone juice, but Yu Shui, who was familiar with his habits, brought him a cup of hot water.

He casually asked a question while drinking hot water.

Rain turned to look at him, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "How long has it been since you checked on the progress of the International Hotel project?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Li Xuewu looked at her in confusion and asked, "Isn't it under construction right now?"

"Besides, why should I care?"

He said with a laugh, "In terms of organizational structure, the International Hotel has long been under the property management company, but the project is still being overseen by the supervisors."

"But don't you also have management authority?" He Yushui smirked and said, "The General Management Department doesn't manage the service departments anymore?"

"Theoretically speaking, we shouldn't care."

Li Xuewu explained earnestly, "Things are different now than before. In the past, management could be ambiguous, but now there's no need for that."

"The General Management Department can coordinate with any department. There's no need to take on everything; that would just be a burden."

He offered a casual explanation before turning to her and asking, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble?"

“No—” Rain squinted at him and replied with dissatisfaction, as if he had done something wrong.

Li Xuewu ignored her and, once the dishes were served, taught the children how to eat Western food. Hearing that there would be dessert, the two younger ones were very excited.

"Have you heard that the older woman is unwell?"

While serving Li Ning his meal, Yu Shui asked him a question.

Li Xuewu looked at her in surprise and said, "I haven't heard of it. I was having dinner in the compound yesterday."

“It happened quite a long time ago,” Yu Shui explained casually. “When it was really bad, I couldn’t even get out of bed. My sister-in-law wanted to take care of me, but she wouldn’t allow it.”

"She's about to give birth."

Li Xuewu thought about Diliya's due date, which was in September. Going to take care of someone at this time was no joke.

"Did I send you to serve them?"

“No—” Yu Shui arranged the small pieces of beef and let Li Ning eat them one by one with his fork, watching him closely to make sure he didn’t hurt himself, while continuing to say, “I went to see her a few times, and Sister Qin was sometimes there.”

She sighed and said, "But the old man won't let us pass; he's keeping an eye on things himself."

"Neither of them is in good health; they've both exhausted themselves." Li Xuewu frowned slightly and asked, "Why didn't you think about going back to the compound?"

"Maybe they want to be closer to the hospital." Yu Shui looked at him and said, "The elderly people in the nursing home are gradually passing away. Time flies so fast."

“My grandma is perfectly healthy!” Li Xuewu glared at her feigned displeasure, then reminded her, “Bang Geng’s grandma is also very active and lively, unlike what you’re saying.”

Rainwater was feeling down because of the rainy day and was thinking about sad things, but he was amused by Rainwater's comment that he was lively and energetic, and almost burst out laughing.

Especially since this word was used to describe Bang Geng's grandmother, she couldn't help but laugh whenever she thought of Jia Zhangshi's personality.

"My mom and the others probably don't know." Li Xuewu thought for a moment, then took out five yuan from his pocket and placed it on the table, gesturing with his chin, "If you go again, please buy me something to take with you."

"Let me pay for it for you?" Yu Shui gave him a strange look, but didn't rush to collect the money on the table, her tone seemingly filled with surprise.

Li Xuewu, however, seemed carefree and said nonchalantly, "I'll just pick a suitable place to buy it and won't go over there; it's too much trouble for people."

"You're all talk—" Rainwater didn't get the attitude she wanted, but she still put the money away.

"What's your brother thinking?" Li Xuewu glanced at her and said, "Shouldn't we start preparing for the funeral? Have you consulted anyone about it?"

This is a rather subtle way of putting it; if you're preparing for a funeral, you need to decide where the person will be sent off.

It's convenient here in the Workers' New Village; if someone dies, they can just be carried away and taken to the funeral home for funeral arrangements.

But if we were in the compound, we would have to be prepared for the worst, because Diliya is about to give birth. Even if she can hold on, if the dates are too far apart, it will be difficult to manage.

When the old man went to buy a house in the Workers' New Village, he had a backup plan. He didn't use the property in the courtyard house to exchange for the house; instead, he bought the house with cash.

So he must be planning to send it back; we need to prepare for this in advance.

Nobody wants an older woman to die sooner or later; it would be better if she didn't die at all. But everyone has to die eventually, and those who are alive have to try to have the best of both worlds.

The elderly couple had no children, and Sha Zhu had long ago made a promise to take care of them in their old age and see them off in their final days, so he naturally took charge of arranging this matter.

Similarly, having received kindness from the elderly couple, He Yushui also had to help them out.

That's why Li Xuewu didn't feel anything when he heard the news, but Yu Shui was depressed. They used to live in the front and back yards, and the Li family and the same uncle's family had only a so-so relationship, not as close as the two families.

An old man like him could think of taking care of He Yuzhu and his sister in order to make arrangements for his funeral, and he had no financial ties with a "big family" like the Li family in the front yard.

Especially since no one in the Li family worked at the steel mill at that time, they only interacted with each other in their daily lives.

The one yuan that Li Xuewu gave was not only due to their old neighbor relationship, but also represented the care and concern from his superiors and subordinates.

It's not that he's heartless; he clearly has time at home but doesn't go to visit. It's just that he went at this time, which is going to be a hassle for people.

When Li Xuewu was recuperating, the leaders came. They didn't treat Li Xuewu as a leader, but the workshop cadres had to acknowledge him, right?

Li Xuewu went, so how could they not go?
After all this trouble, it would be better to be more practical and have Yushui buy some things to take with her.

As for why rain hoses were used, firstly, since she has already mentioned it, it would be troublesome for Li Xuewu to go home and bring it up with his parents again.

Secondly, Yushui lives in the workers' new village, so it's convenient for her to visit.

When Yu Shui heard him ask this, her heart ached, and she sighed, "My brother doesn't allow me to mention this, saying he's afraid it will affect Auntie's birthday."

"Foolish idiot." Li Xuewu sighed at Sha Zhu's filial piety, but still couldn't help but curse him as a fool.

"I'll ask him again when I get back." Rain turned to look at him and asked with concern, "I've heard some rumors. Are you alright in Steel City?"

Li Xuewu ate quickly, put down his knife and fork, picked up his water glass, glanced at her, and said casually, "Do I look like someone who has something on their mind?"

He raised his chin, gesturing towards Takahashi Seiko of Sanwa Corporation sitting not far away, and asked, "Does she often eat here?"

"Mind your own business," He Yushui said, glancing back with a hint of dissatisfaction. "They get reimbursed, so they can eat wherever they want."

"Keep an eye on her for me." Li Xuewu curled his lip and said, "Don't let her escape before I close the net."

(End of this chapter)