The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 1001 - 970: Twisting Ears, Losing Face

Chapter 1001: Chapter 970: Twisting Ears, Losing Face

He could manage his own small plot of land, but he couldn’t control the whole nation. Now that his father was facing such difficulties, he needed to remind him from the sidelines. The economic reforms had already begun, and economic opening up was only the first step; his father had already completed it successfully, so it was inevitable that the second step would follow, to perfect the economic reforms. Within this context, enhancing the competitiveness of state-owned enterprises, and implementing the principle of survival of the fittest, was of utmost importance.

By successfully navigating the second step, his father’s political career would rise to the next level.

After listening, Huo Zhekun was silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Hmm, Yingjie, what you said makes sense. I’ve thought about more after hearing your words, seen more, and indeed we need to pay more attention now."

"Dad, have a good think about it; it will be very useful for your career," Huo Yingjie said, "You can write it down while I’m here in Nan City. Let’s have a thorough discussion, just father and son."

Seeing her husband and father-in-law discussing serious matters, He Tiantian went to the kitchen to make tea and quietly listened in.

"Hmm, OK, I will go to the study first and write down some of my ideas. After I visit some factories below in the next few days, we can continue our discussion," Huo Zhekun stated. Having certain things said and done ahead of others, that was a political achievement, a display of outstanding ability.

He had had some feelings recently but they weren’t clear; however, after listening to his son’s words, everything became clear to him.

Huo Zhekun became somewhat impatient; he had a lot to express, which would become the cornerstone of advancing further in his career.

In the following days, Huo Zhekun didn’t specifically care for Wu Youliang’s factory but instead conducted inspections here and there. Over the course of three days, he made unannounced visits to five or six enterprises and indeed saw many genuine situations.

This was starkly different from the usual inspection visits.

The workers were slack in their work attitude, management was lax, and the rate of defective products was high...

Each time Huo Zhekun returned, he had much to reflect upon.

Three days later, Huo Zhekun locked himself in his study for the entire weekend and didn’t come out for the whole day, not even for meals.

Seeing this, Jiang Lifang approached, grabbed Huo Yingjie’s ear, and scolded, "You rascal, did you say something to your father again? Now he’s locked himself in the study, not eating or drinking. Is he trying to become an immortal?"

Huo Yingjie felt quite helpless. How could his father not withstand the pressure! No matter how big the issue was, one should still eat, drink, and sleep to have the energy to work!

"Mom, I’ll go call Dad to come down for dinner," Huo Yingjie pleaded. Just one word, and Dad would definitely come down.

Huo Ruihua and Huo Ruimin watched as grandma twisted Dad’s ear, giggling on the side.

"Mom, the kids are here! Leave some face for your son!" Huo Yingjie continued to plead, "Hurry up and let go!"

"Quickly call your father down for dinner," Jiang Lifang commanded angrily, "If he doesn’t come down, I’m going to smash the door. I have a bad temper, nobody mess with me!"

"Don’t mess with me, don’t mess with me!" Huo Ruimin chanted on the side, imitating Jiang Lifang’s tone, shouting out loud.

His daughter’s impersonation made Huo Yingjie lose all face.

Jiang Lifang felt she had somewhat undermined her son’s towering image in front of his daughter and quickly let go, saying, "Your father and I were just joking. Go over there and play with your brother."

"Daddy’s embarrassed, Daddy’s embarrassed!" Huo Ruimin hopped and skipped away, and before leaving, she didn’t forget to take another jab at Huo Yingjie.

Jiang Lifang wore a somewhat embarrassed expression, but thinking about her husband’s disregard, she felt angry and glared at Huo Yingjie before saying, "Aren’t you going up!"

Huo Yingjie hurried over and knocked on the door, "Dad, you need to come out quick, Mom is downstairs throwing a fit. If you don’t open up, Mom is going to bring an axe over and smash the door."

Hearing his son’s voice, Huo Zhekun finally opened the door, looking somewhat haggard but very excited!

"Come here, Yingjie, take a look at what I’ve written and tell me what you think," Huo Zhekun said as he opened the door, yanked his son inside, and closed it again.

Huo Yingjie gave a wry smile, took it, and said, "Dad, let’s go eat first, we can discuss this in detail afterwards. If you keep this up, I won’t dare to talk about anything with you in the future, for fear that every time Mom can’t bear to hit you, she’ll twist my ear instead."

"You’re my son, taking a few hits for your old man counts for nothing," Huo Zhekun declared righteously, "Come on, let’s talk properly!"

"Dad, if you don’t eat, I won’t talk," Huo Yingjie had just finished speaking when Jiang Lifang began knocking on the door outside.

Huo Zhekun gave a wry smile, well, he could only wait until they had eaten.

Huo Yingjie opened the door, and there indeed was Jiang Lifang holding an axe.

"Why do you need an axe to have dinner?" Huo Zhekun asked, "Hurry up and eat, don’t delay the meal!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lifang couldn’t suppress her anger and reached out to twist Huo Zhekun’s ear, regardless of whether their son was nearby or not!

"Ouch, be gentle," Huo Zhekun whispered, "Our son is right here!"

Huo Yingjie was also taken aback; he had never seen his mother this fierce before!

"So what if he sees? I think you’ve lived your life like a dog, thinking you’ve become immortal or something. With just a little issue, you refuse to come down for meals, you won’t sleep, is that any way to behave?" Jiang Lifang accused, "You’re really driving me crazy, I’m not giving you any face today!"

Perhaps the commotion upstairs was a bit loud, He Tiantian came down from upstairs just in time to see her grandmother twisting her grandfather’s ear on the second floor.

He Tiantian looked embarrassed, not knowing whether to stay or go.

The person feeling the most awkward was Huo Zhekun, though. It was bad enough being seen by his son, but now, in front of his daughter-in-law, having his ear twisted by his wife, how would he face anyone in the future?

Jiang Lifang felt it was even more embarrassing than her granddaughter seeing her twist her son’s ear. She quickly let go, saying, "Alright, come on and eat."

"I’m starving, let’s eat," said Huo Zhekun, without looking up and heading straight downstairs.

Jiang Lifang followed.

He Tiantian’s face turned slightly red as she turned to Huo Yingjie, "Grandma is really fired up today, isn’t she?"

"Very much so, she twisted my ear and then came to twist Dad’s," Huo Yingjie said with a smile, "But you can’t blame Mom, blame Dad for not eating when he’s got something on his mind, always hiding in the room. Mom is just worried about him."

"Hehe, Brother Yingjie, do you think we’ll end up like that when we get older?" He Tiantian chuckled, "If you don’t behave, I’ll twist your ear."

"Old couples probably end up like Mom and Dad," Huo Yingjie said, "I hope we’re as loving as they are when we get older. Actually, Mom may seem angry, but she’s just worried about Dad. Dad might appear to be annoyed on the surface, but inside, he’s actually overjoyed."

"Hehe, that’s true. My mom likes to nag my dad too, and he can get impatient, but he still ends up listening to what Mom says," He Tiantian agreed, "Their love has seeped into every little aspect of life, even if they argue or scold each other, it doesn’t affect their feelings, rather, it’s proof of their mutual concern."