Just as everyone was gradually dispersing and Li Rui was heading home, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look and saw his eldest brother, Li Cong, and his sister-in-law, Su Xueting.
"Big Brother, Sister-in-law, did you need something?" Li Rui asked in puzzlement.
"Xiao Rui, your sister-in-law and I have discussed it for several days and decided to start a construction company. What do you think?" Li Cong looked at Li Rui expectantly.
Although Li Cong was more than ten years older than Li Rui, Li Rui was the successful one. Even as the eldest brother of their generation, he had to stand a good deal shorter in bearing before this seventh brother of his.
"Oh? What made you two think of starting a construction company? This isn't an easy business for ordinary people."
"Heh, heh... It certainly isn't easy for ordinary people. Without connections and backing, you definitely can't land projects. But don't we have you, Xiao Rui? I heard my dad say you have 2,000 mu of industrial land in the county seat. Won't you need a lot of construction companies when the time comes? There shouldn't be any shortage of projects, right?" Li Cong said, all smiles.
"Hehe, you really are clever, Big Brother. That goes without saying. I've had the same idea for a while now. Rich water shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields. Even if you hadn't brought it up, I was thinking of having our own brothers start construction companies."
After all, the group would certainly have plenty of construction projects in the future, not just the 2,000 mu of industrial land but also the group's headquarters building. All of those would require plenty of construction companies.
"How about this? I'll give you a phone number. Go see her. She's in charge of our family's group and startup fund. Her name is Lu Yan."
"Big Brother, you can go to her about your business plan and taking on the group's projects in the future. But let me lay the unpleasant words out first: everything has to follow the rules. If the quality of your company's work fails to meet standards, the group still won't give your company any projects," Li Rui said seriously.
Although he wanted everyone in the family to do better and better, thereby revitalizing the family, they could not blame anyone else if they failed to make something of themselves. His family had no need for scourges. Construction quality had to strictly follow market rules, with no room for personal favors.
"Of course. The group's projects are all Li family business. If I do a poor job working for my own family, you won't even need to say anything, Seventh Brother. My dad would break my legs," Li Cong replied seriously as well.
Seeing Li Cong's serious expression, Li Rui suddenly smiled. "I trust you, Big Brother. All right, go see Lu Yan, then. She's a professional. Oh, right, if any of our brothers have business matters in the future, they can all go to Lu Yan. She's absolutely trustworthy."
What Li Rui was thinking at that moment was that if all his brothers came to him whenever anything happened in the future, they would annoy him to death. So he hurried to use his eldest brother to pass the word to everyone: do not come bothering him with things in the future.
Seeing his eldest brother nod in agreement, Li Rui was about to turn and head home to catch some more sleep when his sister-in-law stopped him again.
"Xiao Rui, can our construction company subcontract projects? To my dad, for example," Su Xueting asked, a little embarrassed.
"That's up to you. As long as the quality passes muster, give the work to whoever you like," Li Rui said casually. This society itself was one built on personal relationships.
Now that he had prospered, he was helping his family prosper. Once the people in the family prospered, they would naturally want their own relatives and friends to share a little of the benefit. Someone had to do the work anyway. As long as the quality met standards, he would not meddle that much.
Seeing that Li Rui had no objections, Su Xueting smiled happily. Hadn't her father opposed her marriage to Li Cong back then precisely because he felt Li Cong would be no help to his career?
Now it had been proven that her choice back then was not wrong. Li Cong would likewise be an enormous help to her father's career. Although it was through his family, that did not affect the result at all.
Li Rui had just arrived home and was getting ready to sleep when he received another call. It was Wang Zhongtian, saying that the fifty Land Rover Range Rovers he had ordered had already been delivered to the Umbrella Security Company's office building in the county seat. As for the seven Lincoln Navigators, they had also been delivered near the village road. Since the road was too narrow for the large truck to enter, he had called to have Li Rui send people to drive them back to the village themselves.
"Those supercars need half a month, but these ordinary cars sure arrived quickly. They were delivered in just a day. That really was pretty fast," Li Rui muttered to himself.
He notified the family members to collect the cars at the village entrance. Every one of the younger people was naturally thrilled, while among the older ones, apart from his fourth and fifth uncles, who were just as excited, the remaining few were full of frustration. As for the reason, naturally, they had no driving licenses.
The eight-hundred-meter stretch from the village entrance to the national highway took everyone only ten minutes at a mix of jogging and brisk walking. A semitrailer was parked on the road, carrying seven black SUVs. After just one glance, Li Weiguang could no longer tear his eyes away.
They were simply too gorgeous. At that moment, Li Weiguang was like a convict in a labor reform camp who had not touched a woman for ten years suddenly laying eyes on a woman as beautiful as a celestial fairy. His drool almost dripped onto the ground. Watching this fourth brother of his, Li Rui could not help finding it hilarious.
"Come on, Fourth Brother, is that really necessary? It's just a Lincoln Navigator. This car only costs a little over 1.3 million. I bought these for you to get around in. Broaden your horizons a little." Li Rui put on a look that said his brother really had never seen the world.
Li Weiguang was his fourth uncle's son and also ranked fourth among the brothers. He had been very close to Li Rui since childhood, so he was not angry in the least at Li Rui's words. When people were close enough, certain things could naturally be said freely.
"Xiao Rui, you really are a full man who doesn't know a hungry man's hunger. Your big brother here has had his license for three or four years, but I've barely touched a steering wheel. I never even dared dream about a car this gorgeous before. Now that I have a chance to drive one, how could I not be excited?" Li Weiguang said with a roll of his eyes.
"Heh, heh." Li Rui smiled and said nothing more. When he had seen the McLaren P1 back then, he had been no different from his fourth brother. Men all loved cars, especially good-looking ones. Although this car was not as striking as a sports car, to ordinary people it was still something they could gaze at but never reach.
As the delivery personnel drove the cars off the truck one after another, seven enormous black SUVs stood lined up in a row. Cars like these were rarely seen in the countryside, let alone seven of them lined up together. They naturally drew nearby villagers over to watch and discuss.
"Wow, this car really is good-looking."
"This car can't be cheap, can it?"
"Look, all these Li family people are here. That Li Rui probably bought these cars for them, right?"
"Heavens, why wasn't I born into the Li family? I want a car like this too."
Most people from the different nearby villages knew one another. An elderly man from the neighboring village said to Li Yongjin, "Your family really has made it. Buying seven such beautiful cars in one go. That really is impressive."
"Heh, heh, it's all thanks to the younger generation making something of themselves. We elders just get to bask in a little of their light. Didn't your village produce a Huaqing University student a few years ago too? Much better than our Xiao Rui. You even held a three-day rolling banquet back then. How is he doing now? He must be more successful than our Xiao Rui, right?"
"Heh, heh, not even close, not even close," the old man said, using an awkward laugh to cover his embarrassment.
When their village had produced that Huaqing University student, it had caused quite a sensation. The whole village had strutted around for years, telling everyone they met that their village had produced a Huaqing University student.
Although a Huaqing University student was indeed something to be proud of, now that he had graduated, he was merely earning a salary of around twenty thousand. That was very good compared with ordinary people, but compared with this Li Rui from Li Family Village, he was a hundred and eight thousand miles behind. Li Rui spent tens of millions at a stroke, and just look at these cars-one for each household in the clan. There was no comparing them, no comparing them at all.
"You're being modest, aren't you? Our Xiao Rui only attended an ordinary university, yet three years after graduating, he could come home and spend fifty million renovating the ancestral hall. Surely that Huaqing University student from your village has to be better than our Xiao Rui," Li Yongjin said, pretending not to believe him.
Inwardly, however, he thought, Weren't you strutting around in front of me back then? Didn't you say our Xiao Rui had only gotten into an ordinary university? Didn't you say the difference between it and Huaqing University was like clouds and mud? Still feeling smug? Fortune turns in cycles, and this year it's come to my house. Now it's my turn to strut. At that thought, Li Yongjin's face bloomed with an even wider smile.