Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 261 Taking the Kid to the Street, Back to the Tavern
"Jianjun, Qingwan, how about your uncle takes you shopping?"

Upon arriving outside, Li Hongbing saw Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan playing with Li Jianwu. Thinking that he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he couldn't help but speak up.

"really?"

Zhao Jianjun looked pleasantly surprised.

Seeing this, Li Hongbing smiled and asked, "When have I ever lied to you, your uncle?"

"Then I'll go tell my mom."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianjun quickly left those words and ran back.

What child doesn't love shopping?

The key is that every time they go out, they can see all sorts of novel things and also find delicious food, especially when their uncle Li Hongbing takes them out.

My own uncle is the most generous.

Li Hongbing smiled as his gaze fell on Zhao Jianjun's small figure, and then followed Zhao Qingwan and Li Jianwu inside.

Despite his young age, Zhao Jianjun is very measured and disciplined in everything he does. When Li Hongbing wanted to take him and his sister out shopping, he even knew to tell Li Hongmei beforehand so she wouldn't worry.

If he ran away without a word, leaving Li Hongmei and Zhao Weiguo unable to find him and causing some kind of misunderstanding, that wouldn't be a good thing, and it would only make them worry unnecessarily.

With Li Hongbing around, this situation wouldn't have occurred. But in other times or situations, if Zhao Jianjun hadn't done this, things might have turned out differently.

Not long after.

Li Hongmei looked at Zhao Jianjun, who ran back excitedly and told her that Li Hongbing was going to take him and his sister to the street, but she was filled with helplessness.

Seeing her son so excited and expectant, Li Hongmei didn't want to discourage him or pour cold water on him at this moment.

Li Hongmei didn't object to Li Hongbing taking her son and daughter out, but she couldn't resist Li Hongbing spending money on them every time. So Li Hongmei took out fifty cents from her pocket and found some sugar coupons from home, gave them to Zhao Jianjun, and instructed him:

"Don't spend your uncle's money when you go out, understand? Take this 50 cents and candy coupons and buy candy for your younger brother and sister. If there's anything you want, buy it yourself, but don't leave your brother out."

Fifty cents is a huge sum of money for a child. Even the red envelopes given during Chinese New Year are not that big for ordinary families; at most, they would be ten or fifty cents.

However, this 50 cents wasn't just for Zhao Jianjun; it also went to Zhao Qingwan and Li Jianjun.

Even so.

Li Hongmei's gesture was quite generous.

"Okay! Thank you, Mom!"

Taking the money and tickets from Li Hongmei's hand, Zhao Jianjun clutched them tightly and said with immense joy and gratitude.

Normally, Li Hongmei isn't that generous.

Zhao Jianjun knew in his heart that all of this was because of his uncle, but that did not diminish his gratitude towards Li Hongmei.

Even though Li Hongmei doesn't usually give Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan much pocket money to prevent them from developing a habit of spending money recklessly, she will satisfy their every wish as long as it's not excessive.

Compared to other people's children, Zhao Jianjun knew that he was already being treated very well.

Faced with her son's gratitude, Li Hongmei didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at Li Hongbing behind Zhao Jianjun and sternly "reminded" him: "Hongbing, Jianjun and Qingwan don't lack anything. They have enough clothes for winter. Don't buy them anything indiscriminately and waste money everywhere."

"Sister, don't worry, I'm really lucky this afternoon. I'll definitely keep a close eye on my wallet and won't spend a single penny recklessly."

In front of Li Hongmei, Li Hongbing didn't disagree and directly patted his chest to guarantee it.

However, Li Hongmei was full of doubt about Li Hongbing's statements and guarantees, and dared not believe a single word of them.

But what can we do about it?

She couldn't possibly prevent her son and daughter from having any contact with their uncle, Li Hongbing, just to stop him from spending money on her, could she?

Helpless, Li Hongmei turned to her young nephew Li Jianwu and earnestly "encouraged" him: "Jianwu, you have to keep a close eye on your father's wallet and not let him spend money recklessly, otherwise he will spend all your future savings for getting married."

Unfortunately, Li Jianwu was still young and didn't understand what "wife's money" meant. He could only look at his aunt Li Hongmei with a blank expression, which almost made Li Hongbing burst out laughing.

If Li Jianwu, Li Hongbing's son, still has to worry about his wife's dowry in the future, that would be a real failure.

Not only did Li Jianwu fail, but he also failed as a father.

The failure to educate and raise his son was one aspect, but even more so, it was a waste of the transmigrator's identity and the cheat system.

soon.

After Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan waved goodbye to Li Hongmei and Zhao Weiguo, Li Hongbing led them out.

Zhao Jianjun and Li Jianwu sat in the back, while Li Hongbing put the heavy coat that he had given Li Jianwu to wear that morning on Zhao Qingwan and let her sit in the "VIP" seat on the front. Their overloaded team set off in this way, looking quite refreshed.

Along the way, the children's laughter and chatter kept them entertained, which lifted Li Hongbing's spirits as well.

Riding his bicycle, Li Hongbing led the three little ones to Qianmen Street and finally stopped steadily in front of the silk shop.

Li Hongbing lifted the three of them off the bicycle one by one. As he turned around and parked the bicycle, Li Jianwu had already rushed ahead, leading Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan into the silk shop.

"mom!"

"Auntie!"

"Hello, aunt!"

"Hey, Jianjun, Qingwan, what brings you here?"

"Jianwu, where's your dad?"

"It's behind us!"

"..."

Li Jianwu led Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan into the silk shop and quickly found Chen Xueru inside. Chen Xueru was also surprised to see the three of them, and when she looked up, she saw Li Hongbing following behind her.

Meeting Chen Xueru's questioning gaze, Li Hongbing took the initiative to explain, "I didn't have much time this afternoon, so I brought a few of them here to stroll around. We were just passing by, so I thought I'd bring them to see you."

Now that they've come all this way, it would be a bit unreasonable not to bring them here.

Today was a day off, and the silk shop was noticeably busier than usual. The shop was quite busy, and Chen Xueru obviously didn't have time to entertain them. Just then, Li Jianwu started nagging about going to the small tavern across the street to find his sister, Xu Jingli, so Li Hongbing led them out.

As for the bicycle, we'll leave it here for now. Even without Chen Xueru and the shop staff watching over it, it's unlikely to be stolen.

Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen are close friends, and their silk shop and tavern are located diagonally opposite each other on the same street. Naturally, they often visit each other. As each other's son and daughter, Li Jianwu and Xu Jingli not only know each other but also have a very good relationship.

It's worth noting that Chen Xueru had initially recognized Xu Jingli as her goddaughter.

Leading Li Jianwu, Zhao Jianjun, and Zhao Qingwan over, the scene inside the tavern was a stark contrast to the bustling silk shop.

It was deserted! Extremely deserted; there wasn't even a single customer in the store.

Li Hongbing was not surprised at all by this situation.

People are struggling to even get enough to eat these days, so who's in the mood for drinking?

More importantly.

Due to the famine, there was a nationwide shortage of grain, and the authorities had halted most brewing operations, prohibiting the use of grain for brewing.

Naturally.

The tavern can't even get any alcohol from elsewhere, so it has to rely on its existing stock and supply it in limited quantities to people each day; otherwise, it wouldn't even be able to offer this service.

Even so, the tavern's remaining stock is almost gone and probably won't last more than a few days.

Given the changing and severe external situation, Xu Huizhen was certainly not the type to just sit idly by and do nothing, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Xu Huizhen, who was worrying about this matter, was taken aback when she suddenly saw Li Hongbing coming with Li Jianwu, Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan.

"Aunt Xu, good afternoon!"

"Aunt Xu!"

Hello, Aunt Xu!

"..."

Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan were naturally familiar with Xu Huizhen. They received red envelopes from this Aunt Xu every Chinese New Year, but they weren't as familiar or close as Li Jianwu. Nevertheless, they still greeted her politely.

"Oh, good afternoon! Hello everyone!"

Xu Huizhen, who was originally worried about the tavern's business, felt her gloomy mood lessen considerably when she saw Li Jianwu, Zhao Jianjun, and Zhao Qingwan, who were such polite and well-behaved little guys, and a smile quickly bloomed on her face.

Her gaze fell on the children, and Xu Huizhen couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Jianwu, what brings you all here to see Aunt Xu today?"

"Aunt Xu, my dad is taking me, Jianjun, and Qingwan shopping this afternoon. We just came from my mom's. I'd like Jingli to come with us. Is she here now?"

Faced with Xu Huizhen's question, Li Jianwu clearly and logically explained the reasons, consequences, and purpose of his visit.

"Oh dear, you didn't come here specifically to see your Aunt Xu, but to see Jingli? What if Aunt Xu is a little sad to hear that?"

Hearing Li Jianwu's answer, Xu Huizhen was not surprised, but her childlike heart was stirred, and she immediately started teasing the child.

"Aunt Xu, I...I also came to see you..."

After all, he was just a child. When Xu Huizhen teased him like that, he thought she was really unhappy, and Li Jianwu became a little nervous and anxious.

Seeing Li Jianwu's expression, Xu Huizhen was overjoyed and immediately said with a smile, "Alright, Aunt Xu was just teasing you. Jingli and your sister Jingping are in the backyard, and your Uncle Quanwu is there too. Go find them in the backyard yourself!"

Just like in the original drama, Xu Huizhen eventually found Cai Quanwu.

Not long after Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru got married, they also registered their marriage. Several years have passed since then, and last year they had their daughter, Xu Jingping.

It's quite a coincidence that Li Jianwu was born a year later than Xu Jingli, while Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen were pregnant with their second children around the same time. Although Chen Jiwen and Xu Jingping were not born on the same day, they were only a month apart.

"Oh, I'm going then!"

After leaving those words, Li Jianwu, who was about to take Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Qingwan to the backyard to find Xu Jingli and Xu Jingping, suddenly stopped and said to Xu Huizhen, "Aunt Xu, I'll come to see you again next time!"

"Hey, hahaha... Go on, go on, your sister Jingli is waiting for you in the backyard!"

Xu Huizhen was taken aback by Li Jianwu's sudden action. After she came to her senses, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

This scene left Li Hongbing speechless.

Xu Huizhen is already a mother, yet she's still so childish, still teasing children.

Obvious.

This is Li Hongbing's double standard.

If it were Chen Xueru who did these things, he definitely wouldn't think that way; he would find it cute.

"What's wrong? I was just joking with my godson and you're upset?"

Watching Li Jianwu, Zhao Jianjun, and Zhao Qingwan head to the backyard, Xu Huizhen looked at Li Hongbing and noticed that his expression was a bit strange. She couldn't help but say something.

When Xu Jingli was born, Xu Huizhen suggested that Xu Jingli and Chen Xueru become godparents. Later, when Chen Xueru gave birth to Li Jianwu, as a "reciprocal gesture", Xu Huizhen took the initiative to propose to recognize Li Jianwu as her godson.

Li Hongbing also opposed this matter at the time, but Li Jianwu always addressed Xu Huizhen as Aunt Xu.

After all, following Li Jianwu, Chen Xueru gave birth to Chen Jiwen, and Xu Huizhen also had her second daughter, Xu Jingping.

Xu Jingli and Li Jianwu both became godparents to them to ensure fairness and prevent them from feeling any difference in the future. Chen Jiwen and Xu Jingping were no exception.

As long as everyone knows and acknowledges the relationship, it's fine. However, it's still good to differentiate the way you address each other to avoid confusing the terms of address and the relationship.

The adults were fine, but it was mainly the children.

Fortunately, Chen Xueru and Xu Huizhen are both easygoing and have a very good relationship, so they don't need to rely on a few titles to maintain their bond, and they both agree with this approach.

"What opinion could I possibly have? I just think you're a bit naive."

Li Hongbing smiled and spoke frankly without any hesitation.

Even now, their relationship isn't bad; they've been good friends for many years, and being godparents of each other's sons or daughters, they naturally don't hold back when speaking to each other.

"Ha, this is clearly discrimination on your part. If Xue Ru did this, I don't believe you would still say this."

Xu Huizhen knew everything about Li Hongbing, especially the relationship between Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru, and exposed it on the spot.

Li Hongbing smiled, but did not deny his double standards.

At this moment.

Cai Quanwu came out from the backyard and saw Li Hongbing and Xu Huizhen exposing each other's secrets. He smiled and said to Li Hongbing, "Jianwu, Jianjun, and Qingwan are whispering to Jingli and teasing Jingping. They probably won't be out for long."

Cai Quanwu, who was watching the children in the back room, had obviously already met Li Jianwu and the others, and naturally understood the situation. He also knew that Li Hongbing was going to take them shopping, which is why he gave such an explanation.

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing said directly, "No rush. It's rare for these kids to get together. Whether they go shopping or not doesn't really matter. The important thing is that they're happy."

Children have good memories, but sometimes they can be forgetful. If a few of them get together, they might completely forget about their afternoon shopping trip.

For Li Hongbing, shopping wasn't the goal; the goal was to make them happy.

(End of this chapter)