407: Li Yuan's Thoughts

Hearing Lin Zifeng tease him, Lin Jiahua glared at him indignantly and said, "You brat, are you making fun of me?"

"I like eating your mother's cooking, so I never learned how to cook, and I'm not used to eating out alone."

"You, on the other hand, know how to cook, but I haven't seen you come back to make me a single dinner this past week."

"It seems only my old wife will do! Even a son won't cut it."

Seeing Lin Zifeng rendered speechless by Lin Jiahua's retort, Chen Yuxi stood to the side and couldn't help but giggle.

Zhang Chunhua laughed and scolded, "You old thing, look at what kind of nonsense you're spouting? If you're lazy, just admit you're lazy. It's all because I spoiled you too much in the past that at your age, you can only cook noodles."

"Our son is not just our son; he is a Member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee of Chunhua City, and our Yushu City Municipal Party Secretary."

"He secured ten billion in investments in just one week. My son is a man who does big things, and everything he does benefits the people."

"You want my son to come back and cook dinner for you? Shame on you for saying that, you old thing. I think you've really gotten full of yourself."

Being scolded head-on by Zhang Chunhua in front of his daughter-in-law, Lin Jiahua felt awkward and couldn't save face.

Lin Zifeng and Chen Yuxi noticed Lin Jiahua's embarrassment, and Chen Yuxi spoke up first, "I'll go to Xiao Yuan's room to check on her."

Chen Yuxi walked towards Li Yuan's room, and Lin Zifeng said, "Mom, what you said was a bit too much."

"Dad, don't take it to heart. Mom didn't mean it. Let's go have some tea!"

Lin Jiahua wasn't actually angry; he just felt a bit embarrassed, so hearing Lin Zifeng's words, he took the opportunity to back down, saying, "Doesn't your mother always talk like that? I'm already used to it."

As he spoke, Lin Jiahua held Lin Yining and sat on the sofa with Lin Zifeng.

Just then, Li Yuan and Chen Yuxi walked out of the room one after the other. Li Yuan greeted Zhang Chunhua first, then ran over to the sofa, called out to her brother, and took Lin Yining from Lin Jiahua's arms.

Li Yuan kissed Lin Yining and looked at her lovingly, asking, "Did my big niece miss her little aunt?"

"Ningning missed Little Aunt, and I want to kiss Little Aunt too."

After saying this, Lin Yining stretched out her chubby little hands and kissed Li Yuan on the cheek.

Seeing Lin Yining's actions, everyone laughed, and Li Yuan was the happiest of them all.

Zhang Chunhua turned to go to the Kitchen to cook, and Chen Yuxi followed to help.

Li Yuan wanted to help too, but Zhang Chunhua and Chen Yuxi refused, telling her to play with Lin Yining and just wait for lunch.

Li Yuan had now fully integrated into this family. Everyone in the Lin family treated her as their own, and Li Yuan also considered the Lin family her true family.

At the beginning of the year, Mr. and Mrs. Lin Jiahua even helped Li Yuan's grandmother build a new house, and rebuilt the courtyard and walls.

Although Lin Zifeng and Chen Yuxi didn't go to Xiangyang Town to help, the couple contributed fifty thousand yuan to express their support.

Li Yuan's grandmother, Li Hongju, was actually not very old, only in her sixties.

The reason she looked so aged back then was because Li Hongju had endured the pain of losing her husband and son, lived in poverty and helplessness, and still had to support Li Yuan who was in school.

All the suffering had been pressed onto her shoulders; she had endured the relentless cruelty of life both mentally and physically, which is why she looked much older than her peers, as if she were near death.

Since receiving help from Lin Zifeng and extra care from the local government, not only did she raise dozens of sheep and increase her income, but the Lin family also adopted Li Yuan as their goddaughter, relieving her of all of Li Yuan's expenses. With the Lin family also helping to build her a new house and rebuilding the courtyard and walls, Li Hongju's life had undergone a tremendous change.

Now, Li Hongju lived a happy and comfortable life, looking as if she had become a dozen years younger.

Every evening after dinner, she would ride her electric tricycle with other villagers to the newly built People's Recreation Square at the east end of the village to join everyone for square dancing.

Li Yuan would video call Li Hongju for a few minutes every day. Both of them were very satisfied with their current lives and no longer worried about each other.

However, they both knew clearly that they were able to have this life entirely because of the Lin family, so they both kept this debt of gratitude in their hearts.

Soon, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finished making lunch. Zhang Chunhua took off her apron and said, "Time to eat, Xiao Yuan. I made your favorite braised fish. I also made the braised pork ribs that you all love."

Several people answered and stood up to walk towards the dining table.

Lin Jiahua walked over, laughing, and said, "You made everything the kids like, but surely you didn't forget the stir-fried pork tenderloin with chili peppers that I like, right? I already bought the ingredients for you."

"You're almost sixty, yet you're becoming more like an old child. Isn't it already sitting on the table?" Zhang Chunhua said with an amused expression.

The family sat around the dining table. Lin Zifeng took a bottle of White Liquor and two glasses from the liquor cabinet, poured a glass for Lin Jiahua, and then poured one for himself.

Lin Zifeng smiled and said, "Dad, I'll have a drink with you."

Lin Jiahua nodded happily, and the family began to eat lunch.

Chen Yuxi, who was quite observant, noticed that although Li Yuan, who was sitting beside her, kept a smile on her face, she could vaguely tell that Li Yuan was worried about something.

So she tentatively asked, "Xiao Yuan, do you have something on your mind?"

Hearing Chen Yuxi's words, everyone looked at Li Yuan. Feeling the gaze of her family, Li Yuan's eyes flickered, and she said softly, "Sister-in-law, what could I possibly have on my mind!"

Seeing Li Yuan's expression, everyone realized that Chen Yuxi had guessed correctly; Li Yuan indeed had something on her mind.

Li Yuan was almost eighteen this year, right in the blooming age of youth, a sensitive and naive age, so it was perfectly normal for her to have things on her mind.

Lin Zifeng was afraid of getting into topics related to girls' issues, so he quickly said, "Xiao Yuan, if you have something on your mind that you're not comfortable talking about, you can tell Mom or your sister-in-law after we finish eating."

Hearing Lin Zifeng's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

Seeing her family caring for her so cautiously, Li Yuan felt a warmth in her heart. Fearing that her family would worry about her, Li Yuan quickly said, "Brother, you don't need to worry, I'm really fine. I just want to change my name."

"Xiao Yuan, why did you suddenly think of changing your name? There must be a reason! Tell Mom what's going on; we aren't afraid of anything." Zhang Chunhua, who was sitting on the other side of Li Yuan, held her hand and said.

"Mom, there's no big reason. My classmates like to joke around during breaks. There's a new term on the internet now, using 'socialite' to describe some women. Doesn't my name have the character 'Yuan' in it? Some classmates often joke with me, calling me 'Socialite' or 'Li Socialite'. I don't like the words 'socialite', so I want to change my name."