The Li Family's Rise to Wealth

  Zheng Mingzhu was born in a fishing village on a small island, her parents and ancestors were all fishermen who made a living by fishing, more than half of the villagers also relied on the sea for their livelihood, living a simple life from dawn till dusk.

  When Zheng Mingzhu was still very young, her parents went out to sea to fish and encountered a storm, never to return. Her elderly grandmother raised the young Zheng Mingzhu until she was fourteen years old, but also passed away due to overwork.

  In movies and TV shows, we often see such similar storylines: a girl with a sad life is taken in by kind neighbors, works hard to improve herself, finally gets into college, finds a good job, marries into a rich family and becomes a young lady, living happily ever after. The ending is perfect. However, ideals are plump, reality is bony, branding people's hearts with pain.

  Zheng Mingzhu didn't have the good fortune of those female protagonists in melodramas, with no kind-hearted neighbors to take her in, nor did she get into college, and even less so find a decent job. A 14-year-old lonely and miserable girl, facing cruel reality, how can she survive?

  In the past, Zheng Mingzhu was also naive and innocent like other girls of the same age, with high ideals. But when everything beautiful faced the cruel reality of survival, those yearnings and ideals were just fleeting illusions on the sea, unable to withstand the pounding of the waves and the scorching sun. When people face hunger, dignity is nothing but a commodity that can be exchanged for money by weight, let alone humanity, what can you talk about when your belly is empty?

  At the age of ten, Zheng Mingzhu, with the limited help of kind villagers, simply settled her grandmother's affairs, packed up the few pieces of clothing she had, locked the old house door, and from then on began to "wander the world", coming to Li Han Shi's small town, which she thought was far enough away from home, to start her "beautiful life".

  The villagers on the island are still simple and pure, and they showed great enthusiasm for Zheng Mingzhu's return after many years away from home, as well as her "fiancé". The elderly people on the island did not ask too much about what Zheng Mingzhu had been doing all these years, thinking that she was able to survive was a miracle, and also felt ashamed for not lending a helping hand when she was in distress as a young girl.

  The villagers didn't show much curiosity about the wounded son-in-law, nor did they suspect Zheng Mingzhu's explanation. Zheng Mingzhu said that Li Han Shi had been in a car accident and was injured, and wanted to rest for a while on the beautiful island. The villagers were enthusiastic and helped repair the old house, and even sent some utensils.

  Li Han Shi was initially still a bit nervous and cautious, but seeing that the villagers didn't suspect anything, and since they were in a remote area, he slowly relaxed. That night, after eating a sumptuous welcome dinner prepared by the villagers, the two returned to their old residence, locked the door, covered the window with a quilt, and took out the travel bag containing money. When they opened it, they were shocked by what was inside - the bag was filled with $1000 bills, all in US dollars.

  Li Han Shi and Zheng Ming Zhu had never seen so much money in their lives, the two of them stared at the bundle of cash for a long time, only to feel short of breath, trembling hands and feet, finally they hugged each other and let out loud screams.

  Pink paper scattered all over the floor, a faint scent of ink and paper filled the air. The new paper surface shone with a bewildering light under the dim lamp. Two people lay on this bed made of money, sniffing the faint fragrance emitted by the paper and ink, each having their own beautiful dreams.

  Li Han Shi stayed on the island, while Zheng Ming Zhu had to go back. Unlike Li Han Shi, she couldn't just disappear without a trace. There were still some things that needed to be taken care of and explained upon her return. Moreover, she also wanted to go back and gather information about any rumors or suspicions surrounding Li Han Shi.

  Zheng Mingzhu was about to leave when Li Han Shi grabbed her back, his face unnatural, wanting to speak but hesitating.

  Li Han Shi asked Zheng Ming Zhu to help him go home and take a look. Take a look at Song En Na and her son, if possible, bring the mother and son along too.

  Zheng Mingzhu listened to his request without making a sound, but simply stared at him for a while, making Li Han Shi feel uneasy and somewhat embarrassed.

  "I'll take care of it," Zheng Mingzhu replied faintly, and then turned around and left without looking back.

  Two weeks later, Zheng Mingzhu returned, bringing with her a child of several years old - the son of Li Han Shi.

  Lee Han-seok took over and saw his son, who was wailing in tears. He understood everything in his heart. Do you need to ask? The result is either of two things: Song Eun-na doesn't want to follow him and suffer anymore, living a life on the run. Lee Han-seok himself can barely protect himself, how can he expect Song Eun-na, that frail woman, to suffer with him together. If it's not like this, then it must be that Jeong Myeong-joo doesn't want her to come, doesn't want another woman to get in between them. How could Lee Han-seok not know what's on Jeong Myeong-joo's mind? This woman didn't abandon him when he was at his lowest, and she's still with him, sharing the risks together. How can he ignore this feeling and blame her for having thoughts about it?

  Li Han Shi didn't ask Song En Na where she was going, even if he did it would be pointless, Zheng Ming Zhu wouldn't tell him anyway. Fortunately, she still brought his son along.

  Zheng Mingzhu brought a piece of news and a newspaper in addition to her child.

  The newspaper was a week old, which was one week after the incident. The newspaper made a summary report on the accident: the vehicle involved in the bread car crash on the ring road was confirmed to be the getaway car of the robbers who robbed the armored truck. During the chase, a gun battle broke out, and all the robbers on board were killed on the spot. The driver, who was lucky enough not to be shot, was thrown out of the window and fell into the river when the car crashed into rocks by the roadside, and he drowned. His body was found three days later downstream. Most of the stolen cash was found in the car, and it is estimated that the small amount that went missing was washed away by the river along with the driver. With this, the armored truck robbery case was closed.

  Li Han Shi stared at the last two words "case closed" on the newspaper report for a long time, thinking to himself, I'm still sitting here just fine, who's the unlucky one who took my place to report to the King of Hell? If this case is closed, does that mean I have nothing to do with it anymore?

  Li Han Shi was still in a daze when Zheng Ming Zhu told him another piece of news.

  Li Han Shi's big brother was not a powerful figure in the gang to begin with, and if it weren't for the fact that no one else was available, he wouldn't have had to join forces with people from other gangs. That day, all of the main members of the gang who were in charge went together, thinking that with more people they could get a bigger share, but unexpectedly, not only did they not get more money, but they also lost their lives, all dying together in that car. As for Li Han Shi later helping out as a driver, only the few people on the car knew about it, and even the kid who was hospitalized due to food poisoning didn't know, let alone the other small-time gang members. The people in the town who knew Li Han Shi thought he had gone out into the world to make his fortune, and they didn't connect his disappearance with this incident at all.

  The tree fell and the monkeys scattered. Some of those little rascals were taken in by other gangs and acknowledged new big brothers, while others were re-sentenced and imprisoned for their previous crimes because they no longer had a backer. Before long, these people would all slowly disappear into the vast ocean of people.

  Lee Han-seok listened to Jeong Myeong-joo's words, and his heart couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for this unexpected turn of events, their ending might have been the epitaph on Lee Han-seok's own grave one day.

  Now that things have been settled, the money also belongs to them openly and honestly. They don't need to hide on this small island anymore. Li Han Shi and Zheng Ming Zhu decided to go to a bigger place to start a new business venture. Before leaving, Li Han Shi did one more thing - he held a wedding ceremony on the island, officially registering and marrying Zheng Ming Zhu as his wife.

  After marriage, Zheng Mingzhu became Mrs. Li and followed Li Hanxue to the capital where the rich gathered, wholeheartedly assisting her husband in using that windfall to establish his own Li dynasty, also opening a new chapter in her life.

  …

  Li Ke's face was extremely ugly, like a tornado sweeping into the flower hall. Seeing her mother calmly and elegantly arranging the flowers in her hand, she felt that those flowers were really annoying, beautiful to the point of being hateful, and very much wanted to go up and brutally trample them, but didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of her mother. Don't look at how gentle and elegant her mother was on ordinary days, never getting angry about anything, going along with everything, but if you touched her bottom line, she would be like a level 10 typhoon sweeping the ground, leaving people breathless, for example, the rose in her hand right now.

  Li Ke sat down on a nearby stool, pouting, with a look of grievance on her face and a pair of fox-like eyes full of resentment.

  "Mom... what should I do! How can I get Mr. Xianjun to notice me? Last time, I saw him talking to that loudmouthed girl from the Liu family for a long time, and the time before that, he was chatting with that fake young master from the Xiao family... why can't he just look at me properly when he can talk to so many other people?! Am I really that bad?!"

  Zheng Mingzhu hooked her lips and raised an eyebrow from the flower vase in front of her, glanced at her daughter, ignored her, and continued to fiddle with the flowers in her hand.

  "Mom! Can't you just put down that flower and listen to me for a moment? What am I supposed to do?"

  Watching her furious daughter, Zheng Mingzhu continued to calmly put the last two roses in her hand into the vase, and then took an envelope from a nearby low table and handed it to her daughter.

  "Hua Zi, how many times have I told you? Calm down. You just like to be impulsive. First, take a look at what this is."

  "What is it? Ah, it's an invitation from the Kim family! Great, I can go to the Kim's house and find Hyun-joon. How come it's another welcoming party for Hyeon-jeong's return? What a young kid, what's the point of having a drinking party? Besides, when have we ever seen Hyun-joon attend, even if he did, it would be pointless." Li Qiuhua lost interest as soon as she saw that the invitation was for the Kim family's young master and carelessly threw it aside.

  Zheng Mingzhu was helpless about her daughter's shortsightedness, handed the vase in her hand to the maid to take away, and got up to walk to Huazhi's side.

  "You're not studying well, and you've forgotten how your mom usually teaches you? What's the meaning of looking beyond the surface to see the essence? The Jin family seems to be hosting a party for their young master, but in fact, Mrs. Jin wants to tell everyone that she is the mistress of the Jin family, and anyone who wants to enter the Jin family must get her approval. Haven't you seen those congressmen's daughters, all dressed up like peacocks, attending the party with great fanfare? What for? Just to curry favor with Mrs. Jin. As long as they can win Mrs. Jin's favor, they'll have the opportunity to frequently appear at the Jin family and find various excuses to show up. The purpose of appearing at the Jin family is to have more opportunities to see Master Jin Xianjun. If they happen to catch his eye, then everything will naturally fall into place."

  "Oh... so that's how it is! I knew it, all this fuss for that little kid. Ah, no, mom, what should I wear tonight then? Will my complexion be okay? Will Mrs. Jin think I look unhealthy like this? No way, I need to go get a spa treatment first and then pick out a new dress..."

  Li Ke Hua listened to her mother and suddenly realized, but soon worried about her own state, the more she spoke, the more she felt that everything was wrong with herself, and she had to reorganize everything. Before finishing speaking, she hastily rolled out to prepare for tonight's cocktail party.

  Zheng Mingzhu looked at her daughter, who was saying that the wind is rain, and smiled suddenly. She sighed, her daughter had already been spoiled by her, and she didn't have a bit of cleverness in her daily life. It's really unknown how her good brain didn't inherit a bit to her. Although her daughter's brain has fewer thoughts, but when it comes to chasing men, she is quite bold, enough to be reckless.

  She was very supportive of her daughter pursuing the young master of the Jin family, who was an extraordinary noble son. The Jin family was a hundred-year-old clan, with several generations producing several speakers and diplomats, and the family's status was prominent. Nowadays, the head of the family, Jin Zhengtian, had been a diplomat abroad for many years, although he had long since retired and still held the title of congressman. If she could get the young master to look down on her, the two families would be connected by marriage, and in the future, the Li family would be able to sweep away all obstacles and be invincible in this wealthy city, who would dare to look at them differently, and mock them behind their backs as "country bumpkins"!

  Even if Young Master Jin looks down on her family, it's okay. As long as the person in charge of the Jin family is handled properly and they think that marrying into the Li family will be greatly beneficial to them, they'll come knocking on their own door. It's not like a hundred-year-old family wouldn't have any opponents with interests at stake. Seeking support is just about opening doors with money, and the Li family has plenty of it. Zheng Mingzhu is confident that there will be opportunities to win over the Jin family.

  The Jin family? Diplomats? Why do these words seem so familiar? Could it be that Jin family? Yes, that's right, it is indeed that Jin family. The head of the Jin family, who had been a diplomat abroad for many years, was none other than Jin Zhengtian, the father of Jin Ge and the former ambassador to M Province. And Jin Xianjun, the young master of the Jin family, was Jin Ge himself.

  Jinge is a nickname, it was given by Jinge's mother. At that time in Y city, Lin Peipei always called him Jinge, and others followed suit, gradually everyone forgot that he also had another name - Jin Xianjun.

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