[Urban] Campus Maple Leaves Red (Complete) - 33

[Volume 2: Passionate Maple Leaves] Chapter 1: One Step at a Time (8)

Originally inseparable gaming friends, two of them were here today for some reason. Moreover, these two friends were also in grave danger under the siege of five burly men. In

a critical situation, Lao Li didn't bother to find out the reason and charged into the crowd with his knife...

His unexpected attack allowed Lao Li, who appeared behind the five burly men, to cut down two of them with one move. Then, while the remaining three were still dumbfounded, Lao Li, who had already rushed over to join his two friends, turned around and pounced on the remaining three burly men...

The last burly man was also knocked to the ground by a pair of Ruyi Flying Rings from Lao Li's yellow-clad friend. The three friends, who hadn't experienced such a scene together for some time, for some reason, today, as if they had made a tacit agreement in their hearts, activated the voice communication system provided in the game, which Lao Li and his friends had never used before.

Two clear, excited voices chattered incessantly, almost vying for attention, but Lao Li managed to understand their meaning.

The place in the game was called Xiangfei Lake, a name that sounded nice, but it wasn't exactly a good place to level up and gain experience. As for why Lao Li's two friends were here, it was because, according to the game's mechanics, once a player triggered certain story events, they would receive some small, high-quality equipment.

This equipment, obtained through triggering story events, neither increased a player's attack power nor their defense; these small, exquisitely beautiful pieces of equipment were practically tailor-made for female players. Imagine, for a woman, wearing a unique and beautiful accessory in the entire game, even in this virtual world, would be a very happy thing.

While it's true that most of those trying their luck here are women, it seems that more than half of the players here are male. This is understandable. Whether in the real world or the virtual world, giving a woman such a hard-won and exquisite piece of jewelry will elicit more than just a smile from her.

Old Li had come here a few times before with three friends to try their luck, but even though he was always lucky in the game, he couldn't maintain his good fortune here; they always left empty-handed.

Old Li's three friends were very disappointed, and even Old Li, a middle-aged man, felt a little uneasy after several empty-handed returns. Today, Old Li's two friends came again to try their luck, and unexpectedly, they actually triggered the event.

However, whether in real life or the virtual world (and the virtual world is even more extreme), there are always people who covet what others have. Sure enough, Old Li's two friends had just happily obtained the jewelry from the event when they were immediately spotted by three groups of players eyeing them menacingly.

Old Li's two friends weren't very high-level in the game because they hadn't been online for long. Although they managed to take down the first two groups of players, the third group of five burly men forced them to call for help.

Having already joined the Sword Flower Palace, their first thought for help was to send a message to their own sect, but perhaps because they used to level up with Old Li often, they sent a signal to him, though they weren't sure if he was online.

Luckily, Old Li was online that day, and he arrived in time to launch a surprise attack, finally rescuing his friends from their predicament.

In the game, amidst their excited conversation, the two friends didn't forget to show Old Li what they had accomplished under such a dangerous situation.

They recalled that once, when Old Li was doing a system quest with Tan Liang, they passed by Xiangfei Lake. Tan Liang, one of the game's designers, had told Old Li that there were many storylines at Xiangfei Lake, but only one was truly important.

This storyline uses Xiaolongnü from Jin Yong's novels as a plot device. It's said she left a token at Xiangfei Lake. Those destined to trigger this unique event can not only use this token to learn unparalleled martial arts in the Ancient Tomb, but also become the leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

It's worth noting that in this game, the leaders of the major sects familiar to most players are usually NPCs within the system. For a player to achieve this position, they either need to create their own sect or, after much hardship, gain the recognition of the system and fellow disciples. Becoming

the leader of a sect simply through a plot device is extremely rare in the entire game.

The ornaments held by Lao Li's two friends are three pure white flowers. It's said that Jin Yong himself had Yang Guo suffer from the poison of these flowers, the Love Flower. The game's plot unfolds from this point: Xiaolongnu, to commemorate her unwavering love with Yang Guo, specially used these jade-carved love flowers as tokens for those destined to enter the Ancient Tomb.

After understanding what his two friends had obtained, Old Li couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. Yes, an old saying is true: "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!"

Something that could save countless days and nights of struggle (even if only between a keyboard and mouse) is incredibly enviable.

Looking at his two friends, not only were their levels pitifully low, but their sect, Sword Flower Palace, wasn't even a top-tier sect in the game. In the world of martial arts, strength speaks louder than words, not to mention the so-called "treasure hunt," which is one of the game's major selling points.

This meant that Old Li's two low-level friends, and their not-so-powerful sect, would face countless battles and competition from the moment they obtained these three love flowers.

Seeing that the system had already started spreading the news of the Love Flower's emergence in the game, a slightly anxious Old Li quickly interrupted his two friends' excitement. Amidst their reluctance and confusion, he pulled them to a very secluded corner.

The two excited friends hadn't noticed the system notification, and they were completely unaware of what the Love Flower actually represented. Hearing Old Li's explanation, they were at a loss. "

Now log off quickly, and then contact other members of your sect through other means to discuss it properly." Having no better solution for the moment, Old Li had no choice but to log his two friends off.

This was unavoidable; if they were still online, and other envious players found them, Old Li knew he wasn't capable of protecting them amidst the clash of swords among the heroes of the game.

After his two friends left, and with nothing else to do, Old Li suddenly remembered the system quest he'd agreed to do—catching a flower thief—which he'd already halfway through.

Opening his taskbar, Old Li was surprised to find the task, which should have expired, still there. Just as he was wondering what was going on, a soft chuckle reached his ears.

He casually closed the taskbar, checked the system message notification, and looked up following the footsteps.

School was already on holiday, and even the teacher training scheduled for the break wouldn't start for several days. Old Li looked at the second-year high school math teacher approaching him with a puzzled expression.

"Hehe, Principal Li, why are you looking at me like that? Does the school holiday mean you don't welcome me visiting?"

Old Li was the school principal, but his teachers rarely paid attention to this hierarchical relationship. Seeing Old Li's puzzled look, the second-year math teacher smiled and spoke first.

The soldiers under his command didn't take him, the principal, seriously, and Old Li himself preferred this easygoing attitude. Now, with a stern face, he said, "You're supposed to be resting and adjusting at home during the holidays, why are you still running to school? If you think you've rested enough, then the school offices need cleaning these days, so you can be in charge of cleaning them."

"Hehe... Principal Li should be dignified when he's serious! Since you've assigned the task, then I think we'll start the cleaning from your office."

The math teacher, chuckling, almost rubbed Principal Li's neatly stern face if there wasn't a table between them. However, despite not taking Principal Li seriously, the math teacher was completely unconcerned about the assigned task and immediately got to work.

It didn't look like cleaning; it looked more like a raid. Principal Li, utterly speechless and helpless with his subordinate, quickly got up to stop him.

One was determined to complete the task the principal had just assigned, while the other, with a forced smile, tried every possible way to persuade the other to give up. Luckily, the one determined to do the work was mainly just putting on a show, while the one trying to persuade was genuinely worried that the other might actually do it and have their office raided. After a back-and-forth exchange, both the persuader and the one determined to do the work sat down.

The math teacher of the second-year high school class, in principle, shouldn't be involved in the affairs of the third-year class. However, a student in the third-year class who had just finished the college entrance exam lived next door to the math teacher of the second-year class, and the student's parents had a very good relationship with the math teacher. This student, who had achieved excellent results in the college entrance exam, was about to submit her application to university, but within her family's financial means, she couldn't choose a better university to complete her studies.

As a neighbor and a teacher, the teacher couldn't bear to see a promising student lose the opportunity that should belong to her because of her family's financial situation. Thinking he could help in some way, and also hoping the school could offer some assistance, the second-year high school math teacher approached the principal to discuss the matter.

Before the college entrance exam, Principal Li, along with the third-year class teachers, had conducted a thorough investigation into the economic circumstances of all third-year students' families. The conclusion was that a large proportion of the families of third-year students at No. 33 Middle School came from low- to middle-income backgrounds. The various expenses required for attending university were a considerable burden for these families. It could be said that even if all the subsidies allocated by the Jiangzhong Municipal Education Commission for impoverished students were used, many families would still struggle to cover all the expenses during their university years.

Since the previous investigation, Principal Li, Principal Xu, and Tian Rong, the school's main leaders, had discussed this issue multiple times. Their conclusion was that neither social assistance, nor school or individual donations could fundamentally solve the problems faced by all low- to middle-income families. In other words, unless the economic conditions of these families improved, the problem would not be fundamentally resolved.

Several academically outstanding but impoverished students in the senior year class, after discussions between Mr. Li and other school leaders, have had their parents, who are able to work, placed in jobs at the vocational school grounds merged with No. 33 Middle School. This means that after essentially ensuring a stable income for these students' families, Mr. Li and the school, in consultation with their parents, have allocated the city education commission's scholarship quota for other students.

However, the quota allocated by the city education commission is limited, a drop in the ocean compared to the large number of low- and middle-income families at No. 33 Middle School. Even if the school itself were to sponsor some students, how many could a financially strong school like No. 3 Middle School possibly sponsor? Let alone a school like No. 33 Middle School, which is burdened with significant debt.

In fact, the math teacher at No. 33 Middle School was well aware of the problems the school was facing. Knowing the school was no longer able to help, he still came to see Principal Li, which was primarily driven by regret, but also partly by a desire to try his luck.

Yes, what if Principal Li had some good news? Not coming would delay things.

Directly providing financial aid to these students without compensation was unrealistic, so after receiving the college entrance exam results, one thing kept nagging at Principal Li's mind. Since many students in the school came from low- or middle-income families, creating a scholarship fund specifically for the school's students, either individually or in the school's name, seemed like a feasible solution.

However, it was impossible for such a fund to completely aid every student without compensation. The reality was that the students would have to repay a certain percentage when they were able to. What Principal Li hadn't decided on was the specific repayment percentage and method for each student.

Although the student aid fund still needs further refinement (for example, Mr. Li himself could contribute some money to establish the fund), this didn't prevent him from roughly revealing the news to the math teacher sitting in front of him.

However, while the news was revealed, what Principal Li didn't anticipate was the overwhelming feeling of surprise and delight a person would experience upon hearing unexpected good news about something they cared about…

This math teacher from the second-year class was the first person to come to Mr. Li with a transfer order for his signature when he first arrived at No. 33 Middle School. While No. 7 Middle School in Jiangzhong City wasn't considered a top-tier school in the city, it was certainly far superior to No. 33 Middle School at the time. Given this situation, even as the principal of No. 33 Middle School, Mr. Li had no reason to stop the transfer.

No. 33 Middle School already had a shortage of teachers; if a few more were transferred away, some classes might not even be able to hold regular classes. To be honest, Old Li didn't forcefully object to the teacher's transfer, but his earnest persuasion wasn't very effective.

Just like when Cheng Yan first arrived, Old Li discussed it with the math teacher who had come to him with the transfer order. He would be responsible for contacting the No. 7 Middle School in the city to retain the math teacher's transfer order for another semester (the Education Bureau even signed an agreement guaranteeing its validity). The math teacher's job was to stay at No. 33 Middle School for another semester, with the transfer order officially taking effect the following semester.

A semester wasn't a long time, but during that semester, No. 33 Middle School paid the teachers' back wages, and teaching basically returned to normal. Although at the beginning of the next semester, two teachers who had received delayed transfer orders, like the math teacher, ultimately had their orders made effective, after careful consideration, the math teacher and the other teachers didn't mention the delayed transfer order again.

The delayed transfer order remained in effect, and the math teacher continued teaching at No. 33 Middle School until today. An unexpected surprise arrived. Having always gotten along well with Principal Li, she naturally grabbed his hand, repeatedly saying, "This is wonderful!"

The math teacher was thirty-six years old and had a ten-year-old daughter, yet her figure exuded a mature woman's charm. If it were the same Principal Li a year ago, perhaps even a hug from such a charming woman would have left him with a simple thought. But over a year later, Principal Li had changed considerably. As the charming woman, in her joy, conveyed the delicate touch of her fingers and the subtle fragrance of her body through the skin of Principal Li's hand and his nostrils, Principal Li unexpectedly felt an urge to embrace her.

She was a very charming woman, but she was a married woman. Perhaps his impulsiveness just now stemmed from the increasingly harmonious relationship they had developed, or perhaps he was infected by her joy, or perhaps he was more easily drawn to her delicacy and fragrance. After quickly suppressing his momentary impulse, Old Li sat there obediently after the math teacher let go of her hand.

Even if a married woman is very charming, when she attracts your attention, can you control the throbbing in your heart? Yes, there is an invisible wall called morality. If you cross over there, will you be struck by lightning? Hehe, I'm worried about Comrade Lao Li. Why don't we all give him some ideas? Otherwise, that invisible wall might keep Lao Li awake at night.

[Volume 2: Passionate Maple Leaves] Chapter 1: One Step at a Time (9)

The math teacher's light and graceful figure faded away as the office door closed gently. After a slight daze, Lao Li focused his attention on the system message on the game screen.

The game company wanted to make some adjustments to the game's plot, and these plot adjustments included the task that Lao Li had cooperated with others on. In fact, not to mention that the game company wanted to make some adjustments to the game's plot, just the task that Lao Li had cooperated with others to catch the flower thief, Lao Li had been thinking about a question since he accepted the task. For players catching a "flower thief," the task is simply to apprehend him within the prescribed storyline. However, for players who accept system-mandated "flower thief" missions, at what point in the storyline is the mission considered complete? Furthermore, while there's room for maneuver if the mission involves a system-defined character, the domino effect if a female player is successfully "picked" would be far beyond the game company's capacity to handle.

The fact that both sides of the "flower thief" mission are player-driven undoubtedly fuels a frenzy among many players, significantly boosting the game's popularity. But no matter how exciting the storyline, what happens if a female player is successfully "picked"? How will the game company respond? Even if a system-defined character suffers the same fate, the pressure on the game company will be immense. Regardless of the game company's initial intentions in designing and handling the "flower thief" plot, it undeniably has the potential to stimulate and induce negative psychological states in players to a large extent; in severe cases, it incites crime. Is the game company intentionally using such a controversial plot to attract more attention? Or is it testing the limits of public opinion and the law? Perhaps

the numerous clashes between players on the banks of the Qinhuai River last time made the game company realize some consequences, and some plots, including the flower thief plot, are now being adjusted. However, it's only been said that adjustments are being made, not that the plots are being stopped. It seems the game company still values the sensational effect brought by these special plots.

Closing the game interface, Old Li clicked the mouse to enter the game's official forum. Sure enough, the forum was flooded with posts, almost all of which were heated debates revolving around the plots that were to be adjusted.

These numerous posts, almost all from players and casual visitors, essentially boiled down to two viewpoints: those in favor argued that it best captured the realism of the martial arts world, while those against countered that even if it were realistic, it absolutely shouldn't be used to incite crime! However, in contrast to the usual torrent of online arguments, the official game company remained remarkably silent.

Old Li, who had casually clicked on a few posts and skimmed through them, couldn't help but remark as he left the forum that the game company had simply presented the age-old duality of human nature—good and evil—and already garnered such high attention for the game. One has to admit, the game company is quite adept at self-promotion!

The game itself wasn't particularly appealing to Lao Li. In fact, if it weren't for his daughter Xiaozhu's interest, Lao Li wouldn't have been interested at all. However, since he'd taken the quest from his daughter, and she'd insisted he level up his character as high as possible, Lao Li, besides seeking help from his student Tan Liang, had also spent a lot of time leveling up himself. Now his character was at a decent level, and his daughter was on vacation. It seemed that after completing this thief-catching quest, he should hand it over to her for the next month and a half.

After shutting down the computer, Lao Li started thinking about the student aid fund.

He wasn't worried about the funding source, because even if he sponsored twenty or thirty students at a time, the total amount would only be two or three hundred thousand yuan. What he was thinking about was who should lead the establishment of the fund, and whether there should be a general system for its operation. Who should be the one to lead it?

A smile played on his lips as Lao Li took out his phone and called Fei'er.

Yes, now that Old Li can legitimately take care of Fei'er every day, he's still incredibly uncomfortable under the watchful eye of his mother-in-law. A small-scale educational aid fund, a director managing it—if Old Li's daily focus is diverted from watching him and Fei'er's mother-in-law, then even if it doesn't achieve a perfect balance, it at least gives him a little breathing room.

Fei'er, on the other hand, perfectly understands her father-in-law's intentions. Not only will she not expose him, but in their current, somewhat strained interactions, she craves more of his affection and care. Sure enough, as soon as her father-in-law finished explaining his idea, Fei'er immediately began the preliminary preparations for establishing the fund.

The female team members, drenched in sweat, headed towards the bathroom in twos and threes. Xie Xin, who had received a text message from Lao Li earlier, made up an excuse to Coach Mi, who was walking beside her, and slowed down. Seeing that there was no one left, Xie Xin turned around and walked in the opposite direction from where everyone had gone.

Still in the school gymnasium, but in this rarely used small bathroom, Xie Xin, her body bouncy and covered in water droplets, was now half-bent over, her hands supporting her on the edge of the bathtub. Lao Li, standing behind her, was also covered in water droplets, and his hands were rhythmically slapping or kneading Xie Xin's buttocks...

The creaking sound was the sound of the small bathroom door opening. Startled by the sound, Xie Xin hadn't had time to react before Yu Lian, giggling, darted to her side.

While Lao Li was thrusting more vigorously, Xie Xin, blushing and teased by Yu Lian, was busy defending herself. Meanwhile, Lü Na, Tian Tian, and Zhang Nan filed in, making the small bathroom a little crowded.

Yu Lian, who had been teasing Xie Xin, now had Lao Li's large hand between her legs and didn't have much energy left to do anything to Xie Xin. Lü Na, quickly removing her clothes, then ducked between Lao Li and Xie Xin. Tian Tian and Zhang Nan, also removing their clothes, followed behind Lao Li…

Hehe… In short, it's a helpless adaptation to survival; more details are being painstakingly compiled…

After dinner at home, Qing Yu and Da Mei, who had been busy outside for the past few days, returned. They brought news that the development of the land near the vocational school was now basically progressing.

Commercial development involves changes in land use rights, but the final decision-making power in this matter rests not with the Municipal Education Bureau, but with the Jiangzhong Municipal Government. For the high-ranking officials of Jiangzhong City, the series of events that occurred at Jiangzhong North City Fourth Vocational School remains a thorn in their side. Although this thorn has largely faded with time, as long as the vocational school's name stands, certain high-ranking government officials in Jiangzhong City will constantly remember that seemingly hidden thorn, hoping it will be stirred up again at some point.

To prevent this temporarily hidden thorn from being stirred up again by those with ulterior motives, besides ensuring that all those who experienced the events remain silent, another crucial step is to make people forget about the vocational school altogether.

The best way to fade people's memories is to let them disappear from their sight, but in doing so, it's crucial to avoid leaving a lasting impression. Firstly, since the original vocational school students stopped attending for various reasons after the incident, and the teachers also transferred away, the school was temporarily closed due to the lack of students and teachers.

Considering social factors, it's unwise to simply abandon the departed students; therefore, another approach was adopted: other schools would gradually take in these students, and further arrangements would be made.

The 33rd Middle School was the last school to accept the vocational school students, perhaps because it's adjacent to the vocational school. Thus, the 33rd Middle School gained management rights over the vocational school campus while accepting these students.

Frankly, the 33rd Middle School has been declining in recent years; aside from not experiencing the same serious incidents as the vocational school, its situation isn't necessarily much better. The arrangement of granting management rights to the vocational school to No. 33 Middle School seems to be a deliberate attempt to make both schools disappear from public view a few years later as No. 33 Middle School continues to mismanage. When

Lao Li arrived at No. 33 Middle School, some people intended for him to be a gatekeeper for a few years. However, Lao Li was somewhat out of touch with reality. In the year and a half since, No. 33 Middle School has not only avoided further decline but has even shown signs of recovery.

A more significant reason is that during Lao Li's year and a half at No. 33 Middle School, both in Qingjiang Province and its capital city of Jiangzhong, subtle but significant changes occurred in the political arena at both levels, which could influence government decisions (though these changes were not yet perceptible to people at Lao Li's level). These changes, imperceptible to those outside the government, have maximized the benefits for No. 33 Middle School.

The disappearance of the vocational school is a fait accompli, so whether No. 33 Middle School will necessarily disappear as well is less important. Moreover, given the current government structure, it's better to avoid trouble. Besides, emphasizing it further might remind people of the vocational school's hidden thorn. Thus, with the joint efforts of the two opposing sides within the government, the document Da Mei is holding was produced.

This document, just issued to the Beicheng Education Bureau, mainly approved No. 33 Middle School's application to expand its campus using the vocational school's land. It also approved No. 33 Middle School's use of part of the vocational school's land as financing for the expansion, and instructed the Beicheng District Education Bureau to implement this as soon as possible.

After reading the document Da Mei brought, Qingyu mentioned another matter: relevant city leaders had just spoken with the leadership of Jiangzhong Aluminum Group. Besides the National Aluminum Group's planned inspection of Jiangzhong Aluminum Group, the discussion also included Jiangzhong Aluminum's investment in No. 33 Middle School over the years.

When the No. 33 Middle School itself or the Beicheng District Education Bureau approached Jiangzhong Aluminum to discuss this issue, Jiangzhong Aluminum's leadership might have remained vague. However, now that high-ranking officials from both the provincial and municipal levels have spoken, the aluminum group's leadership immediately gave a clear statement: The No. 33 Middle School has been under the jurisdiction of the Beicheng District Education Bureau for several years, so it is no longer a school for employees of the aluminum group. Therefore, the aluminum group will no longer send cadres to the No. 33 Middle School. The investment in the school's infrastructure over the years will be considered a strong support for education, and this support will continue depending on the company's business situation. However, as a supporter of education, the aluminum group's leadership hopes that the No. 33 Middle School can give preference to the children of aluminum group employees in future enrollment.

Indeed, one can't just give money and expect a good reputation in return, so the aluminum group's request has been affirmed as a necessity. The No. 33 Middle School's future enrollment will primarily consist of the children of employees of the aluminum group and related nearby companies. Originally, he had intended to use his shares in the aluminum group to secure investment from the group in No. 33 Middle School. However, a single conversation between provincial and municipal leaders at the aluminum group resolved the issue. As for the promise of preferential treatment for the children of aluminum group employees during enrollment, Lao Li believed it was merely a polite remark from the group's leaders. There was no need to overthink it; during No. 33 Middle School's heyday, while it was true that its enrollment targets were children of aluminum group employees, the group and its subsidiaries had nearly 20,000 employees. It was more accurate to say that No. 33 Middle School was enrolling the children of middle and higher-level managers within the aluminum group than the employees' children. Now that No. 33 Middle School had declined, since Lao Li arrived, he hadn't seen a single child—not even the children of ordinary employees, let alone the middle-level managers.

However, now seemed like the time not to dwell on this, as Qingyu's intense gaze clearly indicated she wasn't concerned with this matter. Putting all these worries aside, Lao Li and Qingyu discussed the shares Lao Li held in the aluminum group.

A week earlier, Lao Li's shares in the aluminum group wouldn't have interested Qingyu much, but now that the State Aluminum Group had come to inspect the area, the value of those shares had become apparent.

Yes, State Aluminum is state-owned, and Jiangzhong Aluminum is from Qingjiang Province, but whether directly under the state or the province, both are state-owned enterprises. It's certain that regardless of whether State Aluminum ultimately acquires Jiangzhong Aluminum through merger or controlling stake, Jiangzhong Aluminum will never again be in its current predicament. In other words, once Jiangzhong Aluminum overcomes its current difficulties, Lao Li's shares will no longer be just paper.

If State Aluminum Corporation were to fully acquire Jiangzhong Aluminum, the appreciation of Lao Li's shares would be undeniable. However, if, before everything was finalized, he presented these shares to Jiangzhong Aluminum's management, he could potentially secure a much greater profit than the future appreciation.

While share appreciation was certainly desirable, Lao Li wouldn't refuse any additional benefits along the way. However, he wasn't particularly interested in such side benefits. Seeing the burning desire in Qingyu's eyes, he simply said, "These shares are yours. You handle everything."

Lao Li's words excited Qingyu greatly. Without hesitation, she took out her phone and made a call. After hanging up, she looked intently at Lao Li.

[Volume 2: Passionate Maple Leaves] Chapter 1: One Step at a Time (10)

The shares of Jiangzhong Aluminum held by Lao Li are different from the circulating shares traded on the stock market. They are the original shares issued by Jiangzhong Aluminum during its first shareholding reform. After Qingyu learned more about Jiangzhong Aluminum, she learned that when Jiangzhong Aluminum was dividing its shares, each ordinary employee of the original Jiangzhong Aluminum Plant was allocated 500 shares, middle-level cadres were allocated 2,000 shares, and senior management personnel were allocated up to 10,000 shares.

According to the shares held by Lao Li, he would need to acquire shares from about 600 to 700 ordinary employees, nearly 200 middle-level cadres, and at least 200 senior executives. The problem lies here: how did Lao Li acquire these shares?

I remember that the reform of Jiangzhong Aluminum Plant was in 1994. At that time, each share of Jiangzhong Aluminum Plant was worth about five yuan. That is to say, Lao Li had to pay at least 1.5 million yuan in cash to acquire these 300,000 shares. Nowadays, 1.5 million RMB wouldn't be much, but for Old Li to come up with that much money in the early 1990s was truly remarkable.

Qingyu was watching Old Li with great interest, hoping he would explain these two questions clearly.

To be honest, in the entire process of acquiring shares from the employees of Jiangzhong Aluminum, Old Li himself only received 2,000 shares from four people, and those were only sold because these four families urgently needed money. As for the other shares acquired, the specific operations were all handled by Old Li's grandfather, and Old Li really didn't know the details. However, Old Li did know about the largest share acquisition: the former Party Secretary of the aluminum plant, who later became a member of the board of directors of Jiangzhong Aluminum Group, not only sold his 100,000 shares to the Li family in 1996, just before Jiangzhong Aluminum's listing, but he and his family also emigrated.

Listening to Old Li's explanation of the source of the shares, Qingyu and Damei couldn't help but look at each other and sigh: So Old Li, such a grown man, still has to rely on the empire built by his previous life to get to where he is today!

Old Li had already explained the source of the stocks, but how could the Li family have such a large sum of money? Before he could explain, Qingyu and Damei exchanged glances, then turned their questioning gazes to Old Li.

The money must have come from Old Li's grandfather's savings, the most important of which was gold. More than half a century ago, during the war, as the head of the Li family, Old Li's grandfather only kept the current house. He sold everything else he could, without holding back, and used the proceeds to convert them into gold through various channels. This gold was then sealed in a hole under the eight-step bed where Old Li now sleeps. After the founding of the People's Republic of

China, Old Li's grandfather never touched the things in the hole under the eight-step bed. However, with the turmoil that began more than a decade after the founding of the PRC, the Li family's old house, except for the ten gatehouses where Old Li and his grandfather lived, was completely requisitioned by the military region, which already occupied one-third of the Li family's property. And so it wasn't until 1990, a few years after private property was officially recognized by the state, that Old Li, along with his grandfather, went into the cave and learned for the first time about his grandfather's savings there.

Old Li had no idea how his grandfather had converted some of his gold savings into RMB, and he'd recently been thinking about whether he should move his grandfather's savings in the cave to another place.

"Old Li, are you saying that the gold Grandpa stored in the cave is still there?"

After listening to Old Li's explanation, Qingyu asked, suppressing her intense curiosity.

"Yes, most of it is still there. Why don't you go and call Fei'er, and we'll go take a look together?"

Even a woman like Qingyu, who wasn't particularly materialistic, was interested in anything related to money. So, when Qingyu asked, Old Li, while giving an affirmative answer, also wanted to satisfy her and Da Mei's curiosity.

Qingyu knew perfectly well about the further development of the relationship between her father-in-law, Lao Li, and his daughter-in-law, Fei'er. Da Mei, however, had only a vague premonition because Lao Li hadn't told her about it yet, and it was awkward to ask Lao Li directly or even Qingyu for confirmation.

Qingyu, knowing Fei'er's importance to Lao Li, immediately thought of her and agreed to go find her without much thought. Da Mei, who also had a vague feeling, became even more certain of her own feelings.

However, Da Mei knew what her relationship with Lao Li would be like in the future, so even though she was certain of her feelings, she didn't show it. She and Lao Li then got up and left.

Fei'er, confused by Qingyu's mysterious pull to her father-in-law's room and the way Qingyu carefully and mysteriously closed the door, didn't understand why Qingyu was doing this. However, Fei'er already knew about her father-in-law's relationship with Qingyu from him. When Qingyu dragged her to her father-in-law's place, she wondered if it was related to that. But now, judging from Qingyu's behavior, it seemed that coming to her father-in-law's place wasn't quite what she thought. She

had already decided to sleep in her father-in-law's bed for the rest of her life, and even her mother, whom she least wanted to know about this, knew. It could be said that even if more people found out, Fei'er was prepared to face everything calmly. Fei'er, who had guessed that Qingyu had called her here earlier, was somewhat dissatisfied with Qingyu's behavior, but she didn't show it and still came. Now, it seemed that Qingyu hadn't come to see her for that matter, and Fei'er became very curious.

Yes, coming to her father-in-law's room so cautiously and mysteriously, could it be that an alien had come?

Qingyu, holding Fei'er's hand, led her into Old Li's bedroom. From the outside, the eight-step bed Old Li slept in seemed unchanged, but when Fei'er and Qingyu entered, they noticed a significant change inside. The bed

surface was gone, replaced by a ladder large enough for one person to descend. Old Li and Da Mei stood there. Seeing Qingyu and Da Mei enter, Old Li called them over and casually turned on a switch next to the ladder.

This switch wasn't some kind of mechanism or hidden device; it simply supplied power to a light that illuminated the way down the ladder.

Old Li had mentioned the basement storage room to Fei'er, but although Fei'er was sentimental and dedicated to her work, she rarely showed much interest in what was in her father-in-law's, and indeed her current and future, home. Because in Fei'er's eyes, it didn't matter whether her father-in-law and her family lived in these ten rooms now or in the future, or whether she and her father-in-law had to rely on salaries to support the family. What mattered was that she and her father-in-law could sleep in the same bed for the rest of their lives.

Now Fei'er finally understood that Qingyu knew about the storage room in the house, which was why she had become so cautious and secretive. This made Fei'er somewhat amused, but she couldn't help but wonder if her father-in-law had mentioned something to her that had made the usually carefree Qingyu act this way. Intrigued

by Qingyu's behavior, Fei'er greeted her father-in-law and walked over to him.

Carefully, with the help of Old Li who had gone down first, the three women carefully descended the 1.5-meter-long staircase. The staircase was only a little over two meters wide and had no more than four steps. After descending, under the light, there was a narrow door about one person's height.

Old Li turned on a light switch again, and opened the door. The four women entered one by one.

Unlike typical basements, it didn't feel stuffy, indicating good ventilation in the roughly fifteen-square-meter room. There were no boxes or similar items; only a workbench, similar to those used by tailors in the past, was placed against the wall. Under

the light, Old Li, who had reached the workbench, pulled back the red silk cloth covering it, revealing a shimmering golden hue that filled the three women's eyes.

Still sleepy and feeling a slight ache in her body, Qingyu lazily stretched and began searching for her scattered clothes on the eight-step bed, which had been restored to its original state the night before.

The strap was broken, so Qingyu had to throw it aside. The silk, which had been drying by the bed overnight, was much drier, but still had a faint dampness, making it impossible for the clean-loving Qingyu to wear it. Muttering curses at that old beast, Lao Li, Qingyu leaned over in bed and pulled open the wardrobe beside the eight-step bed.

She casually pulled out a light purple women's nightgown and, without caring whether it fit, slipped it on and got out of bed. In the bathroom, Qingyu found the water heater already filled with hot water. As she filled the bathtub with the prepared water, a slight smile appeared on her face, a hint of amusement at Lao Li's thoughtfulness.

Soaking in the smooth, warm water, a slight discomfort rose from Qingyu's lower back. While wondering what was causing this discomfort, she got up and checked herself in the large bathroom mirror.

Her once smooth back and pert buttocks were now marked with lines.

These lines, regular yet not perfectly round, resembled long, leaf-like marks, clearly reflected in the mirror behind her. Her fingers gently touched these marks, and scenes from the underground storage room last night flashed before Qingyu's eyes…

On the table where the red silk had been removed, three neatly arranged objects, all shimmering with the same golden luster, were stacked. Qingyu, Damei, and Fei'er were all stunned by the sheer quantity of these identical objects before them.

It had all started with curiosity; they had thought they had become indifferent to such material possessions, but now, with such a large quantity of these shimmering golden objects laid out before them, the three women felt a genuine sense of awe, realizing they were still just like ordinary people.

Someone once publicly challenged everyone to pay the price for betraying love, reportedly starting with 5,000 RMB and accumulating to 50 million RMB. At that point, everyone tacitly accepted this amount as justification for betrayal. Perhaps because this scene was real, a saying was proven true: so-called loyalty is simply a matter of not offering enough for betrayal. Faced with

a sufficiently tempting and substantial offer, shock and hesitation would be intense for ordinary people. If, after the final struggle and wavering, you still choose loyalty, then no one has the right to criticize your struggle and hesitation.

We are just ordinary people; the seven emotions and six desires, and the myriad temptations of this world, constitute our daily lives. Therefore, we don't need to adorn ourselves with nobility, nor should we feel ashamed of our past hesitations. As long as, after the glamour fades, we can still see our past reflections in the lingering regrets, then no one in this world understands life better than you. Emerging from the shock, the three women roughly surveyed the objects shimmering with golden light, in both square and rectangular shapes. These leaf-shaped, shimmering golden objects intrigued the three women.

They had heard of such things many times, but this was the first time they had seen real gold leaves. They didn't feel heavy in their hands, and their shimmering light made them seem as real as the vibrant autumn leaves. So, they played with them in their hands, sometimes three, sometimes five.

A beautiful dream from her youth was to play on a bed made of gold. So, they spread the gold leaves on the ground, then covered them with a red silk cloth. Not only did Qingyu, with her girlish dream, half-sit and half-lie on it, but she also enthusiastically pulled the other three to this makeshift bed made of gold leaves and red silk.

It was, in a way, a bed made of gold, or perhaps like Qingyu's girlish dream, it was hidden in everyone's heart. So, without any pretense, everyone sat and chatted on the makeshift bed.

Old Li was the last one Qingyu pulled to the makeshift bed, so when he sat down, he sat very close to her. Qingyu, who had been filled with excitement, felt a surge of warmth and intimacy towards those around her, beyond simply reliving her girlish dreams on the makeshift mat.

Ever since learning about Lao Li and Fei'er's relationship, Qingyu had always felt a slight distance between herself and Fei'er. Although she didn't know the reason for this distance, her attempts to overcome it failed, leading her to maintain a respectful but not overly close relationship with Fei'er.

A temporary mat, a touch of childhood sentiment—in this first close encounter with Fei'er, the initial sense of distance in Qingyu's heart gradually dissipated as they chatted and laughed together. As

the distance between them lessened, their hearts grew closer, and unknowingly, the initial intimacy between the three women began to involve Lao Li. With

the three women's close and harmonious atmosphere, Lao Li, in an even better mood, further fostered this intimacy and harmony. Old Li hadn't expected that his original intention of enhancing the interaction between the three women during their first intimate encounter would unexpectedly lead to him becoming increasingly uncontrollable, both physically and physically, especially his hands.

Fei'er knew her father-in-law's nature well, and as her interactions with Qingyu lessened the lingering resentment, she decided that everyone in the family should try to get along. So, Fei'er actively responded to her father-in-law's increasingly uncontrollable displays of affection.

With Fei'er's subtle encouragement, even the somewhat shy Qingyu and Da Mei gradually opened up. Soon, as the bed covered in gold leaves warmed up, Old Li began kissing Qingyu first in their intimate moments…

Even though gold leaves are much softer than gold bricks and bars, the thin red silk cloth left marks on Qingyu's back and neck that hadn't faded by morning after their playful moments.

Normally, such marks (as long as they don't damage the skin) would disappear in ten minutes to an hour. But for Qingyu, perhaps because her skin was so incredibly delicate, these marks took half a day to completely fade.

Cursing Old Li's roughness the night before, and tenderly feeling sorry for her delicate skin, Qingyu immersed herself in the warm water again, and began to think of Old Li once more.

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