bacchusnovels Chapter 278 Cheers!
Chapter 278 Cheers!
On this main road in Lijia Village.
The sound of gongs and drums grew louder and louder, making people's ears ring.
Li Ze gripped the very thick wooden stick tightly with both hands, lifting the huge dragon head high into the air.
His feet moved forward and jumped in time with the rhythm of the drumbeats.
Although he is now forty years old, a typical middle-aged man.
However, his body has undergone systematic modifications, so his physical strength is extremely good.
He carried that heavy dragon head for most of the street without even breaking a sweat.
Not to mention feeling tired.
The villagers who were watching the spectacle were all excited to see their boss, Li Ze, personally taking the lead.
The elderly men and women stood by the roadside, their faces crinkling with smiles, clapping and cheering incessantly.
The children ran around alongside the dragon lantern procession, screaming with joy.
"Good! Zezi held the dragon head up really steadily!"
"No wonder he's destined for great things, his stamina is truly impressive!"
Li Ze listened to the villagers' praise, and a very happy smile appeared on his face.
He even deliberately moved the dragon head closer to the crowd, which made everyone laugh again.
He hadn't experienced this carefree and lively feeling for far too long.
For the past eighteen years, he has been surrounded by businessmen in suits and ties every day in America.
Everyone sat in the high-class conference room, speaking in roundabout ways, with every word concealing calculations.
Even when attending high-class banquets, they still maintain a haughty demeanor, afraid of making a wrong step or saying the wrong thing.
It's nothing like it is now.
Run however you want, shout however you want.
There is no deceit or scheming here, no conflicts of interest, only the purest local customs and the joy of celebrating the New Year.
Li Ze felt that this was what real living was all about.
The dragon lantern procession circled the entire village.
The group only stopped after they had walked all the main roads in the village.
By this time, it was already getting dark.
After putting the dragon lantern down, the young men were all exhausted and covered in sweat; some even sat down on the ground with a thud.
Li Ze steadied the dragon head and, along with everyone else, gasped for breath.
Although he didn't feel tired, he still had to put on an act, otherwise he would seem too strange.
"Okay! Everyone, thank you for your hard work today!"
The village chief walked over with a broad smile and announced loudly:
"Our village's dragon lantern performance today was a great success! A truly wonderful event!"
"To thank everyone for their hard work, and also to celebrate the Lantern Festival."
"Tonight, our village committee is hosting a banquet in the courtyard of the village office! Everyone is welcome to come and eat and drink to their heart's content!"
Upon hearing that there would be a free banquet, the villagers cheered again.
After tidying up, everyone walked in groups towards the village office courtyard.
Li Ze was naturally pulled along by the village chief and several elders, and they all walked in that direction.
The village office courtyard is very large, with more than a dozen large round tables already set up inside.
The table was laden with all sorts of hearty dishes, including large fish and meat dishes, as well as bowls of steaming hot glutinous rice balls.
Li Ze was seated at the main table in the very center.
The people sitting at this table are all the older and more senior members of the village.
After everyone sat down, they immediately began pouring wine and tea.
The atmosphere was very lively.
After a few drinks, everyone started talking.
At first, everyone just talked to Li Ze about his experiences abroad and asked him what the outside world was like.
Li Ze also picked out some things he could talk about and shared some of his experiences with everyone in a relatively relaxed tone.
Everyone listened with great interest.
However, after drinking almost all the wine...
The atmosphere at the table began to slowly change.
An older man sitting next to Li Ze held a wine glass and looked at Li Ze with a smile.
He began to speak:
"Zezi, you've really made something of yourself. Not only have you made a fortune, but you've also built such a huge estate back in the village."
"I heard you're going to build roads and a school for our village?"
Li Ze nodded and replied with a smile:
"Yes, Uncle. I discussed it with my third brother before. Once the manor is finished, we'll start renovating all the infrastructure in the village."
"This is my way of giving back to my hometown."
When the uncle heard Li Ze say this, his smile widened.
He moved closer to Li Ze and lowered his voice, saying:
"Zezi, your uncle knows you're a good child and you haven't forgotten your roots."
"I need your help with something today."
Upon hearing the word "help," Li Ze immediately became wary.
But he maintained a smile and asked:
"Uncle, you can just tell me what's on your mind."
My uncle sighed and said:
"It's all because of my good-for-nothing son."
"As you know, after graduating from university, he couldn't find a good job. He worked outside for two years but didn't save any money."
"Now that you're a big boss, you must own many companies, right?"
"Could you perhaps assign him a job within your company?"
"I don't need a very good position, as long as I can work steadily and earn a salary of about ten thousand yuan a month, that's fine."
After listening to his uncle's words, Li Ze paused for a moment while holding his chopsticks.
He hadn't had a chance to answer.
Another woman at the table quickly put down her chopsticks as well.
She looked at Li Ze and said very anxiously:
"Zezi! Me too! And my daughter too!"
"My daughter is beautiful and clever. Could you bring her to the city to be your secretary or something?"
"Even being a manager at your restaurant would be great!"
With these two people taking the lead, the other elders at the table also couldn't sit still any longer.
Everyone started making demands of Li Ze, one after another.
"Zezi, my nephew is also a college student, studying computers. Your company must need someone like that, right?"
"Zezi, please help us out. We've all watched you grow up. You can't just become rich and then abandon us, your old neighbors, can you?"
"That's right, Zezi. This is just a matter of a word for you, so please do me a favor."
All sorts of requests came flooding towards Li Ze like a tidal wave.
Li Ze sat in the chair, and the smile on his face slowly became somewhat stiff.
He felt extremely helpless and had a terrible headache.
This is why he was unwilling to reveal his true identity and wealth as soon as he returned.
Because he knew all too well what his relatives and neighbors were thinking.
As long as you show even a little bit of wealth.
People will immediately see you as a free ATM or an omnipotent savior.
Everyone will come to you for help, and their requests will be more and more outrageous than the last.
If he agrees to one of them today.
Then tomorrow, the whole village will line up to come and find him.
Even if he owns many companies, he can't possibly accommodate so many relatives and friends.
Moreover, he had no idea what these people's abilities were.
Putting a bunch of incompetent people into your company is like playing with the company's future.
However, Li Ze cannot directly refuse them now.
After all, we're all sitting at the same table eating.
Moreover, these people were all elders in the village who had watched him grow up.
If he were to bluntly say no, where would that leave the elders' dignity?
Then the whole village will surely be spreading rumors that Li Ze has become rich and doesn't recognize people anymore, and that he's turned his back on everyone.
He didn't care about the reputation, but if Ruoran and the children heard about it, they would definitely feel uncomfortable.
Li Ze sat there, holding a wine glass, his mind racing.
He wanted to find a way to avoid hurting feelings while also getting rid of these things.
He looked at everyone, maintaining that somewhat embarrassed smile on his face.
He began to speak:
"Uncle, Aunt, I understand what you're saying."
"I do own several companies. But..."
Li Ze deliberately dragged out his words, pretending to be very embarrassed:
"But the requirements for my employees in these companies are very, very strict."
"There are strict requirements regarding both academic qualifications and work experience."
"Even though I'm the boss, I can't just break company rules. If I just put people in there randomly, the staff will definitely complain."
Li Ze thought that if he said that, everyone would back down.
However, he underestimated the shamelessness of these elders.
Upon hearing Li Ze's words, the old man not only didn't give up, but instead loudly proclaimed:
"Hey Zezi! Rules are rules, but people are flexible!"
"You're the big boss! The company is yours, you call the shots! Who dares to object?"
"Besides, don't you trust our own people's abilities? They'll get the hang of it after a few days, won't they?"
The older woman chimed in, agreeing:
"Exactly! Zezi, stop making excuses. If you really can't get a good position, then give me an easy job. As long as the pay is good."
Hearing these words, Li Ze felt like a million grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.
What kind of bizarre requests are these?
What does it mean to say that as long as the salary is paid enough, it's fine?
So you guys want to treat my company like a retirement home, huh?
Li Ze sat there, genuinely unsure how to respond.
He could only give an awkward laugh and raise his glass to hide his helplessness.
Just then, Li Guoqing, the eldest brother who had been sitting at the next table, finally couldn't stand it anymore.
Li Guoqing slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.
He held his wine glass and strode over to Li Ze's main table.
He looked at the elders at the table, his expression very unpleasant.
Li Guoqing spoke loudly:
"Alright! Everyone, shut up!"
"How dare you people say such a thing!"
Li Guoqing pointed at everyone and said angrily:
"Zezi earned money outside; he's from our village."
"But his money was earned through hard work, not something that fell from the sky!"
"He came back to the village and paid out of his own pocket to repair roads and build schools for everyone, and even built estates for them and paid them wages. This is already an immense act of kindness!"
"Not only are you ungrateful, but now you're trying to push your luck?"
Li Guoqing's voice became even more stern:
"If your kids want to find jobs, they should rely on their own abilities to take the exams and go for interviews! What kind of skill is it to use Zezi's connections to get in?"
"Zezi just got back, and you're already pressuring him like this. Do you want to drive him so badly that he'll never dare to come back to the village again?!"
He was loudly reprimanded by Li Guoqing.
The elders at the table all fell silent.
Everyone's expressions turned somewhat awkward.
Several people even blushed.
Although they felt that Li Guoqing's words were a bit harsh.
However, Li Guoqing was a very respected person in the village, and what he said was indeed reasonable.
They looked at each other, too embarrassed to make any more requests.
Uncle Qian chuckled, picked up his wine cup, and said:
"Hey, Guoqing, don't be angry. We were just mentioning it casually. If Zezi feels uncomfortable, then forget it. Come on, everyone, let's have a drink!"
The older woman quickly chimed in:
"Yes, yes, let's drink! Let's not talk about this anymore!"
Li Ze saw that his older brother had stepped in to help him out of the predicament.
He breathed a long sigh of relief.
He gave his older brother a grateful look.
Then he picked up his glass and clinked glasses with everyone else.
After this little incident, the atmosphere at dinner became much more normal.
No one brought up job hunting again; they just chatted about everyday things.
After dinner.
Li Ze greeted the village chief and elders, then left the village office with his eldest brother Li Guoqing and third brother Li Yuanping.
The three of them walked home together.
Third Brother suggested:
"Fourth brother, tonight's dinner wasn't very enjoyable. Come on, let's go to my place and have a couple more drinks!"
Li Ze smiled and nodded:
"Sure, I'd like to chat with you two more, that's perfect."
So the three of them went to the third brother's house together.
Third Sister-in-law quickly prepared some cold dishes to go with the drinks, and then brought out a bottle of good wine.
The three people sat down around the table.
Li Guoqing, the eldest brother, raised his glass, looked at Li Ze, and said in a very sincere tone:
"Zezi, don't take today's incident to heart. That's just how the villagers are; they're all short-sighted. They all want to take advantage of you now that you have money."
"If you encounter something like this again, just refuse directly. Don't be polite with them."
Li Ze raised his glass and clinked it against his elder brother's, replying with a smile:
"Brother, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
"I'm so grateful to you for getting me out of that predicament tonight. Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how I would have handled it."
The older brother took a sip of his drink and waved his hand:
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
"I really need to thank you."
The eldest brother looked at Li Ze and said very seriously:
"Today at the hospital, you not only saved Qiangzi's life, but you also helped him get such a great job. An annual salary of 500,000! That's something we never even dared to dream of before."
"Zezi, I, Li Guoqing, will remember your kindness to our family for the rest of my life!"
Li Ze put down his wine glass, looked at his elder brother, and said very casually:
"Brother, I've already said we're family. Why are you being so polite with me?"
"Qiangzi is my nephew. He works at my company; he's doing it for me. He deserves it. You don't need to thank me."
The third brother, Li Yuanping, who was sitting next to him, also raised his wine glass.
He looked at Li Ze with a very emotional expression on his face.
Third Brother said loudly:
"Fourth brother, eldest brother is right. Our Li family is all thanks to you now."
"If you hadn't come back, Qiangzi would still be suffering out there. My construction team wouldn't have gotten such a big job this year."
"Now that we have your help, the Li family, and everyone in our village, will definitely have a better future!"
Li Ze looked at his two older brothers.
He raised his glass and clinked it with the two of them.
He said with a smile:
"Brothers, don't worry. As long as I, Li Ze, am here..."
"Our Li family will definitely not have a bad life."
"I will definitely do my best to help everyone and enable everyone to live a good life!"
The three of them exchanged a smile.
"Cheers!"
The crisp sound of glasses clinking echoed in the room.
That night, the three brothers drank very happily and thoroughly.