The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 749 - 718: You, lad, keep up the good work!_1

Chapter 749: Chapter 718: You, lad, keep up the good work!_1

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, He Tiantian and Huo Yingjie went to the Overseas Chinese Market as usual, bought a lot of things, and sent them to some close friends and relatives. This year there were four more recipients: Zhang Aijun, Li Yunzhong, Chief Engineer Sun, and the couple, Zhou Yuanchao and his wife.

After all, they had coupons and money, might as well use them.

Sending these gifts every year had become a habit for He Tiantian. It seemed to be the only way she felt increasingly close to those friends and family.

Huo Yingjie was just the muscle, but he was more than happy to help.

Because on this shopping day, it was just He Tiantian and him, they could spend the whole day together in their own little world.

This was a rare opportunity, and Huo Yingjie really enjoyed going out to shop.

On the fourth day, Old Master Huo took Huo Yingjie, Huo Zhekun, Huo Zheqian, and Huo Yingjun to meet with their superiors.

After looking Huo Yingjie up and down carefully, the superior only said one sentence, "You lad, work hard!"

Hearing this, Huo Yingjie felt a bitter sweetness in his heart—he was destined to spend his life working with weapons and materials.

"Rest assured, Yingjie has loved playing with knives and guns since he was young. The work he’s doing now is what he enjoys. He’ll work hard," Old Master Huo said with a chuckle, fully aware of his grandson’s little schemes.

In front of a superior, Huo Yingjie certainly couldn’t say that he didn’t want to be separated from his wife and that he would have liked to stay in Nan City to do some civil research.

Sometimes, one doesn’t have control over life!

Compared to those who want to climb higher but are afraid they won’t succeed or can’t find a way, Huo Yingjie was already very fortunate.

Having talent and being recognized was Huo Yingjie’s fate.

"Thank you, I will work hard," Huo Yingjie could only say with a thick skin, predicting that he wouldn’t be able to get away anytime soon.

"Good, good!" the superior nodded. When he was sent down in the past, he received help from the Huo Family, and now that he had been reinstated, he had the support of the Huo Family again, something he remembered well.

If Huo Zhekun could achieve political success, he would use him even more in the future.

As for Huo Yingjie, he finally believed what an old friend had said: Huo Yingjie was a genius among geniuses. Such talent was wasted in politics. After all, there were many officials, but very few genuine scientific talents capable of solving high-tech problems.

As for Huo Yingjie’s romantic entanglements, well, he understood. Young people, eh? A young man should sow his wild oats!

He would try to give him vacations in the future. He believed that the incentive of vacations would make the young man’s work even more efficient.

After chatting with Old Master Huo and Huo Zhekun for two hours, he let them leave.

After returning home, Old Master Huo was in high spirits and summoned his sons and grandsons to the study for a meeting that lasted the entire evening.

However, most of the time it was Old Master Huo speaking and the others listening. If his statements weren’t echoed, he became quite displeased.

Thus, the same matter, repeated by Old Master Huo and requiring the younger generation to repeatedly echo his sentiments, was discussed over and over.

This made the younger generation miserable, yet they couldn’t leave.

As soon as they mentioned leaving, Old Master Huo would become unhappy, so they could only let him speak to his heart’s content. By the time Old Master Huo was exhausted, it was already half past eleven, almost midnight.

Upon exiting the study, Huo Zhekun remarked, "Big Brother, you’ve been filially serving our father for years, it must have been hard for you."

"It’s not hard, it’s what’s expected." Huo Zheqian was Old Master Huo’s eldest son and the one with high expectations placed upon him. The evening’s admonitions were too numerous to count, think about it and it’s all tears!

Huo Yingjie couldn’t cast a sympathetic look at his eldest uncle, but he could towards Huo Yingjun!

Huo Yingjun also smiled wryly, thinking to himself that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. At times of great importance, the grandfather’s presence is like a Stabilizing Sea Needle, yet sometimes his nagging can be worrisome.

Even on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Old Master Huo was still in a good mood, treating everyone with kindness and pleasure.

The fifth day was also the time when the whole family gathered because on the sixth day, Huo Zhekun’s family would be leaving.

The whole family was lively and bustling; even though there were some private disputes, at this time, everyone was cordial and harmonious.

Song Chunli couldn’t wait for Jiang Lifang and her family to leave quickly. Out of sight, out of mind. The house was lively now, but seeing Jiang Lifang and He Tiantian act so smug every day made her feel like they were looking down on her.

In fact, this was just Song Chunli’s own overthinking. The others didn’t have such thoughts at all. It was just that Song Chunli hadn’t benefited from He Tiantian, and had also been marginalized by Jiang Lifang, coupled with her mother-in-law favoring the second branch, which made her particularly upset.

Jiang Lifang and He Tiantian had also vaguely sensed Song Chunli’s impatience.

When Old Madam Huo was around, Song Chunli might not dare to show it, but if they encountered her on the stairs, or met her alone, it became particularly obvious.

While with the children in the room, He Tiantian closed the door and whispered, "Mom, I have some money. How about we buy a house near the Old Huo Mansion? When we come for New Year’s in the future, we can stay in our own place. Staying here always makes me feel like a relative, and moreover, one who isn’t welcomed."

Jiang Lifang smiled wryly and nodded, "I also have some money. If it’s not enough, I’ll ask you to chip in. I’ve even asked my family to start looking around. It’s not too far from the Huo Family Old Mansion so we can stay in our own place when we come back. Even if we don’t stay, having a house means we have somewhere to go if we are unhappy, rather than having to stay with relatives during the New Year because of discomfort."

"Yeah, how about this – you and dad go back to work first. Brother Yingjie and I still have some holiday left, I want to look around here. If I find something suitable, I’ll buy it. We don’t have to stay there; we can just keep it as proof we have a house, so we don’t feel like we’re living off others like now." He Tiantian smiled bitterly. She wasn’t trying to sow discord; her aunt was just a bit too much.

However, the idea of complaining wasn’t good either, since they’re only staying for a few days, and with it being New Year, causing a tumultuous scene would be especially bad.

"Yes, I hadn’t really noticed it when Yingjie was younger. But now that Yingjun and Yingjie are both married and have children, the house doesn’t have enough rooms. Also, being in that house, the main branch being the eldest, has always lived in the old mansion, leaving only us to move out. Moreover, your father is filial and wouldn’t bring up such matters, and it wouldn’t be right for us to do so. Buying a house in advance is also good to avoid the situation of not having a place to stay when we come back." Jiang Lifang said, now that she was a mother-in-law, it was right for her to consider these things.

"Mom, I understand," said He Tiantian, "We’ll give way to them, maintain the superficial harmony and prosperity of the family, and not let grandmother and grandfather feel troubled. It’s not much for us, the younger generation, to suffer a little."