Compared to those who actively do evil, more detestable are those who believe they upy the moral high ground and consider themselves saints.


    Chen Men particrly enjoyed exposing such people.


    Self-righteous, believing every rumor they hear, always assuming the worst in others while considering themselves the most noble and innocent.


    If the children hadn''t returned from school, Chen Men could have continued until Gu Xiao had a heart attack and died right there.


    But since several children hade back, the matter had to be dropped.


    Little Wang had grown up, now a ten-year-old boy who had been fighting constantly with Little Langtely, though he always lost. The two came through the door wrestling.


    His main concern was those sunflower heads.


    Although sunflower seeds outside only cost twenty cents a pack, and they were even five-spice vored, homegrown ones always tasted better.


    Today would be perfect - eating their own homegrown sunflower seeds while watching Yuanyuan''s TV drama. Life couldn''t get any better.


    But when he pushed open the courtyard gate, the boy let out a cry - two of the three sunflower nts had their heads broken off.


    "Mom, who stole my sunflowers?" Little Wang wailed heartbreakingly.


    Little Lang said, "Oh no, only mine is left!" His was the only sunflower that still had its head.


    "They''re on the windowsill, one te for each of you. You can watch TV first today, then do your homework," Chen Men said.


    Seeing an old man sitting in the courtyard, Little Wang quietly asked Chen Men, "Mom, was it that grandpa who..."


    The vacant-eyed elderly man looked like he could be the culprit who picked their sunflower heads.


    Chen Men gave him a light smack on the head: "No nonsense, get inside."


    The TV drama''s theme song "Flowers and Clouds Across the Sky" had already started ying.


    But Chen Men wouldn''t invite Gu Xiao to watch.


    She made a TV drama for her daughter?


    How ridiculous.


    Hearing the music, Gu Xiao stood up and walked toward the ss window.


    They say trailers contain the essence of a TV drama, with actors merely making brief appearances. The whole thingsted only thirty seconds, with actors shing by one after another, but the final long shot was of Yuanyuan.


    It was a crying scene - the little girl''s eyes were misty with tears as the camera circled around her in a long take.


    Just like that, unexpectedly, the past years came vividly alive before Gu Xiao''s eyes.


    He never expected those years that had haunted his dreams, his youth, would be presented on screen in the form of a TV drama. He never expected there would be a girl like Yan Xing, teary-eyed, looking straight at him.


    Through the TV screen, he was now old and frail, but he had never forgotten that little girl.


    And her mother - kind, gentle, beautiful - who could discuss Pavel Korchagin and Lin Daojing with him in the fields.


    He still remembered when she helped him escape, he had asked why Su Wen wanted to save him.


    Su Wen had said: "My husband isn''t educated, but you are. You''re a professor. If people like you survive, you can be professors again, and my children will have the chance to get an education."


    He had tried countless times, in various ways, to ask if she had let him go because she loved him.


    If it wasn''t for love, why would she have been willing to let him escape?


    He had been so arrogant then, believing himself a thousand times better than the crude, stubborn Yan Peiheng.


    Walking along the road, he had directly asked this question, saying: "Su Wen, you like me, don''t you? You love me, right? That''s why you were willing to let me go?"


    Su Wen had replied then.


    She said: "Professor Gu, I have four children. The Buddha says good deeds bring good fortune. I let you go because I hope that in the future, if my children ever find themselves in trouble like you, someone will help them without hesitation."


    Gu Xiao had forgotten those words. A man might love a woman, but he won''t love the children she had with another man.


    He stubbornly forgot those words. Children? Yan Zhao was so sensible, he could take care of himself.


    Yan Wei and Yan Jun were in the capital, weren''t they? They didn''t need their mother anymore.


    And the best one, Su Wen''s most beloved Yan Xing was already dead, so what was left for her to worry about?


    In Southeast Asia, he and Su Wen could have more children.


    They could have another daughter, couldn''t they?


    He chose to forget those words, and even now, stubbornly believed that Su Wen had let him go because she loved him. But now he had been exposed, mercilessly exposed by Chen Men, and he remembered how much that woman had loved her children.


    Yes, she had been kind to him because she wanted him to teach Yan Xing and Yan Zhao to read and write, to teach them various musical instruments, to tell them about "Das Kapital," "Song of Youth," to teach them about poetry, literature, and art.


    She had listened with a smile, and both children were so eager to learn. In their eyes, he was cultured, an intellectual, someone who must be respected. And on this Chinese soil, the ultimate desire of all women seemed to be for their children to seed and have a bright future.


    Cultural heritage - that''s what they valued most.


    And she had let him go because she wanted to umte good karma for her descendants.


    That''s why Su Wen was so renowned in Salt Pass Vige.


    Everyone called her the living Buddha.


    She truly was a living Buddha, having given birth to five children between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six, yet still slim, graceful, and beautiful at thirty, as gentle as the autumn wind on thisnd.


    Gu Xiao was three years younger than her, and always felt she was like a mother, a sister, and sometimes, innocently like a younger sister.


    She was the purest embodiment of womanhood in his definition.


    It was because she had let him go.


    That''s what made him who he was today, appearing devout but arrogant.


    Outwardly humble, but inwardly looking down on anyone who had stayed behind on thisnd.


    All that qualification and confidence came from Su Wen.


    Gu Xiao looked around. The former Revolutionary Committee prison had be such a grand and stable courtyard house.


    Several children sat around the TV,pletely absorbed in the trailer.


    The chubby little fellow Little Lang wasmenting: "Sister is crying, that''s not good."


    Little Wang contentedly cracked a sunflower seed: "What do you know, that''s called acting." The shell flew up with a pop.


    Today''s TV dramas are really particr about details - the costumes and the portrayal of the turbulent years were all meticulously researched, truly able to transport people back to that era.


    Gu Xiao probably wanted to watch more, but it was just a trailer, only thirty seconds, gone in a sh.


    The images that could take him back to the past were gone in an instant.


    With the suddenly setting sun and the dying wind in the locust trees behind the courtyard, everything was beyond grasp.


    He wanted to apologize to Su Wen, but who would listen? All that remorse, self-me, and shame could only be swallowed down. Besides himself, no one cared or would be willing to listen.


    He was still in shock, but everything was over and would never return.


    It was already after work hours when Yan Dongxue and two other assistants came in.


    Yan Zhao and Yan Wei arrived together.


    "Professor, the ne tickets are booked. Shall we leave now?" Yan Dongxue asked.


    Gu Xiao remained silent, still standing stiffly.


    The private doctor noticed his poorplexion and quietly suggested returning to the hotel first to get some oxygen and rest.


    Setting aside whatever Gu Xiao had discussed with Chen Men, the most important matter was still the investment.


    Seeing the strange expression on Gu Xiao''s face, Yan Zhao asked: "Men, how did the investment discussion go?"


    Poor Commissioner Yan had once fought bravely on the Old Mountain front line, a living King Yama who struck fear into the enemy''s hearts. Now in the public security system, leaders called him the stubborn mule, but in their hearts, he was still the living King Yama who could take lives with the slightest mistake.


    But even the living King Yama worried about investments - it concerned 271 and the many veterans who depended on it for their livelihood.


    Yan Wei also came closer, asking Chen Men in a low voice: "Did the old man give you any trouble? Should I go ask him to discuss the money with you again?"


    Compared to them, Chen Men was much more rxed: "It''s fine, the old man will bring up money on his own."


    He would definitely invest; it was just a matter of how much and in how manypanies.


    As they were whispering among themselves, Gu Xiao suddenly said: "Little Zhao, could youe to the hotel tonight?"


    Yan Zhao and Yan Wei exchanged nces; as expected, the old man wasn''t leaving.


    If Yan Zhao had softened his attitude a bit at this moment, Old Master Gu might have been willing to discuss investment tonight.


    But if Yan Zhao were truly capable of yielding, he wouldn''t be known as the "Living King of Hell." He replied, "I don''t have time, and I don''t want to."


    Yan Wei let out a sigh, thinking his third brother was truly stubborn - what harm would it do to be a bit more amodating right now?


    Yan Zhao''s attitude directly affected Gu Xiao''s response. He nodded and shuffled out of the courtyard with unsteady steps.


    After watching Gu Xiao leave, Yan Wei immediately said, "Third brother, you really are... couldn''t you just..."


    But Chen Men quickly interrupted him: "Second brother, don''t worry about it. These things don''t have to be resolved immediately."


    She had spent six months preparing; how could the investment fall through just because of Yan Zhao''s attitude or a singlement?


    Gu Xiao would definitely stay - that was as certain as a nail in wood.


    Soon after, Yan Wei quietly slipped next door.


    Qi Songlu had always known about him paying alimony to his ex-wife, but since she was also in her second marriage, she understood such situations. Moreover, Qi Songlu wanted to discuss something with Yan Wei - although she hadn''t been tested, she hadn''t had children in her first marriage and worried that she might have some condition preventing her from bearing children, which would burden Yan Wei.


    Yan Wei himself didn''t want children anyway, so he didn''t care about this at all.


    For these two people in their second marriages, Yan Wei found Qi Songlu to be both considerate and understanding - the best he could ask for.


    For Qi Songlu, Yan Wei was straightforward without any deception, and honest - a rare find. The two of them got along quite well.


    Meanwhile, at Chen Men''s ce, Yan Zhao was helping the children with their homework while she was organizing the "Investment Promotion n" for Factory 271.


    She faintly heard the piano music stop, and shortly after, Yan Zhao returned.


    With a thud, he tossed a book onto the bedside table.


    Chen Men looked - it was "The Bridges of Madison County."


    It seemed Yan Zhao had finished reading the book.


    "The Bridges of Madison County" would be a widely popr film in the 1990s.


    If Zhou Xueqin hadn''t mentioned it that way, Chen Men wouldn''t have been curious. But because Zhou Xueqin had raised that possibility, Chen Men couldn''t help but ponder it. She picked up the book and, smiling, asked Yan Zhao who was undressing: "Director Yan, since you''ve finished it, how about sharing your thoughts?"


    "What thoughts?" Yan Zhao countered.


    He neatly folded his shirt, put it in the wardrobe, and jumped onto the bed.


    Chen Men always left the bed in a mess, and before Yan Zhao would lie down, he had to re-arrange the sheets and pillowcases, but he wouldn''t engage with Chen Men''s topic.


    How could someone like him have an affair, let alone an office romance? What woman would even be interested in him?


    Unable to contain herself any longer, Chen Men pressed on: "About the affair - if you met a woman you truly loved in the future, would you have a physical rtionship with her?"


    It wasn''t just about the physical rtionship - in "The Bridges of Madison County," the male protagonist chose to be cremated after death and had his ashes delivered to the female protagonist.


    It was an affair, but it was also true love.


    Yan Zhao looked down at Chen Men, and after a long while finally said: "Let''s go to sleep."


    How could someone be so dull?


    "Let''s talk about it - if you met a girl you really liked, would you, like the characters in the book..." Chen Men continued.


    "Sleep," Yan Zhao said as he arranged the bedding, ready to turn off the lights.


    He wasn''t just stubborn - he was like a ck hole, whatever you said to him, you could never expect any response.


    But just as Chen Men was about to die of frustration, she suddenly heard Yan Zhao let out a long sigh.


    "Tell me, if I hadn''t called out then, if I had let my mother go with Gu Xiao, would things have been better?" It was rare for him to discuss what happened back then with Chen Men - he never mentioned Su Wen.


    Clearly, he felt guilty about calling out to Su Wen at the train station and making here back.


    If he hadn''t called out then, letting Gu Xiao take Su Wen away, she would have had apletely different life. With Gu Xiao''s money-making abilities, Su Wen would have been a wealthydy in Singapore, living a life totally different from her days in Yanguan Vige.


    But because of his one call, mother came back, and she endured a lifetime of hardship.


    However, Chen Men had her own interpretation of this matter.


    She said firmly: "No, if mother had really left, she wouldn''t have been happy or content. Love and marriage are two different things. She nearly went crazy after losing Yan Xing; if she had lost you too, do you think she could have been happy?"


    Yan Zhao shook his head; he had never thought about it this way before, and didn''t know.


    He only knew that his mother loved them deeply.


    After Yan Xing''s death, she gave all her love to him alone.


    "Speaking for myself, even now, if any of my three children were missing or not doing well, I couldn''t rest in peace," Chen Men patted her chest. "For a mother, nothing is more important than her children."


    Yan Zhao sat there, slowly breaking into a smile, and reached out to turn off the light with a click.


    That smile contained tears and contentment.


    Chen Men was also satisfied as shey back in bed.


    Love was nothingpared to this.


    If Yan Zhao ever had an affair, Chen Men would beat him to a pulp, get her revenge, and divorce him - simple as that.


    But if Yuanyuan, Little Wang, or Little Lang were ever bullied or looked down upon, if they weren''t doing well, Chen Men would make sure others wouldn''t have peace either.


    Su Wen was patient and reserved, which was why people called her a Buddha.


    Chen Men didn''t have such a good temper - if anyone bullied her children, she would exact eye for an eye, tooth for tooth revenge.


    And all mothers share one trait - when that baby is born, reaching out its arms toward her, her heart belongs only to her child.


    That''s why Su Wen''s greatest love was always for her children.


    Thinking of this, Chen Men remembered something else: "Any leads on the Land Use Certificate? Who took it from mother?"


    "I''m still investigating," Yan Zhao sighed deeply. "I hope it wasn''t big brother."


    If it really was Yan Jun, then Su Wen truly lived in vain.


    And Yan Zhao would chase him all the way to America if necessary, just to strangle him.


    ...


    As expected, early the next morning, Yan Wei called: "Men, Gu Xiao has moved to the Guoguang Grand Hotel in the city, and he says he''ll stay for several days to attend our Publicity Department''s business meeting."


    Chen Men rubbed her eyes and looked at the time - it was only five-thirty in the morning.


    One phone call from Yan Wei had woken up the whole family.


    The Guoguang Grand Hotel was the best amodation in Xiping City, and moving there meant Gu Xiao nned to stay for a while - this was indeed good news.


    "How long does he n to stay?" Chen Men asked. "When is the business meeting?"


    "The meeting is on the 28th. Is everything ready on your end?" Yan Wei asked.


    Chen Men sighed deeply. Everything was prepared, but since Gu Xiao didn''t want to invest in the military factory, she had to revise all the investment ns, product nning documents, and marketunch proposals she had prepared.


    "Once you''ve made the revisions, send them over right away. I need to deliver the materials to Gu Xiao tomorrow. I''ll make Factory 271 our key rmendation and try to secure the first investment for you," Yan Wei said.


    Having been woken up by the phone call, and seeing it was about time to get up anyway, Chen Men got up to make breakfast. She saw Little Wang organizing his backpack, which looked unusually bulky. Although he was in fourth grade now and considered a big student, he didn''t have that many books. The strap was leaving marks on his shoulder, and the young boy was trying to leave without breakfast.


    "Yan Wangqi, what''s in your backpack?" Yan Zhao asked while brushing his teeth.


    "Nothing, nothing at all," Little Wang said, turning to leave.


    Of course, his father caught him immediately.


    As Yan Zhao opened the backpack, Yuanyuan came out of her bedroom and, seeing the contents, frowned and said: "Brother, aren''t these the notebooks you asked me to sign? How could you use so many at once?"


    Chen Men came out to look and asked: "Yan Wangqi, how much are you selling each notebook for?"


    "There''s Yuanyuan''s signature on these, she''s a little star now. I could sell these for one or two yuan, maybe even five yuan each!" Little Wang proudly gave himself a thumbs up.


    This clever little rascal had filled his entire schoolbag with notebooks, each one bearing Yuanyuan''s signature - the three characters of Yan Shengnan - on the first page.


    Yuanyuan had thought the notebooks were for her brother to write in, and she had spent half ofst night signing them until her hand was sore.


    Little did she know that he was nning to sell them at school.


    First sneaking off to watch videos at the theater, and now selling his sister''s signatures - at just ten years old, Little Wang was racing down a path that would surely give his father a heart attack, with no intention of turning back.


    Yan Zhao finally let his son go, then turned to Chen Men and asked, "This behavior... it''s concerning, isn''t it?"


    When it came to his son''s minor misdeeds, Yan Zhao waspletely at a loss for what to do.


    Chen Men responded casually, "Don''t worry, I have one trick that will sort him out. You should get to work now."


    With "Return to the City" about to air on Central TV, Yuanyuan was bing a little celebrity. It was foreseeable that she would receive many film offers afterward. With a young girl bing a star, there would surely be variousplications at school. Based on Chen Men''s previous life experience, both siblings would need time to adjust. They would have to take things as they came.


    Regarding Little Wang''s secret video-watching, Chen Men could easily handle that herself.


    As for selling the notebooks, she figured the teachers wouldn''t let him off easily this time and would give him a proper punishment.


    To Chen Men, these weren''t major issues.


    The priority was the business n for 271, and since Teacher Huang had drafted it, he would need to revise it.


    Chen Men had positioned 271 to produce high-end professional wear, along with luggage and leather shoes. Now they needed topletely remove all traces of the military factory background, reposition it as a high-end professional wear brand, and revise the business n ordingly.


    It took an entire day toplete the revisions to the business n.


    In the evening, Chen Men went into the city and rented over a dozen of thetest video tapes from an electronics store. Renting videos was expensive now, with just the deposit being fifty yuan, but to keep Little Wang from sneaking into video halls, this expense was necessary.


    Early the next morning, Yan Wei needed to go into the city to meet Gu Xiao, but first came to see Chen Men to collect her business n.


    He was carrying a thick stack of business ns from various private entrepreneurs.


    These ns were arranged in order of priority - those on top would be the focus of promotion, and Gu Xiao would definitely review them carefully and thoroughly.


    Those submittedter would only get a cursory nce, essentially just making up the numbers.


    Chen Men flipped through them and noticed Zhou Xueqin''s pager factory business n was first, so she began reading it carefully.


    Yan Wei exined, "Zhou Xueqin used to have serious conflicts with Wang Gebi and her daughter. I bear some responsibility for Third Brother''s divorce. Her business n is quite good, and she''s repeatedly promised to work hard at her business and earn money to save up for Little Wang and Little Lang. After all, she is Little Wang and Little Lang''s birth mother. If she faces financial difficulties, it will ultimately affect the children, so I want to support her. You don''t have any objections, right?"


    In thepetition for investment, the bold prevail, so Chen Men said nothing.


    However, she noticed another business n in Yan Wei''s bag, crumpled up, with the words "Xiongsheng Company" barely visible. Since Xiongsheng Company belonged to Xiong Dapao, it seemed this was one Yan Wei intended to discard. Curious, Chen Men pulled it out.


    The cover read: Investment Proposal for Sanbao Paint Factory''s Production of Quality and Safe Paint.


    Sanbao Paint Factory was the very factory that had caused Little Lang to develop leukemia in her previous life.


    Chen Men had filedints about that factory, and the Industrial and Commercial Bureau had shut it down, but after a while, the owner had bribed some officials and reopened. The paint they sold was still just as toxic and poor quality, but due to high market demand for paint, it sold extremely well.


    This year, both the factory director and his wife had developed strange illnesses, losing their hair and nails, along with blood-rted problems.


    To pay for their medical treatment, they had to sell the paint factory to Xiong Dapao.


    After taking over Sanbao Paint Factory, Xiong Dapao investigated and discovered that the former director and his wife had been poisoned by their own paint. Upon further inquiry, he learned that harmful ck paint was amon issue in the market. After this sobering revtion, he decided to improve paint quality and develop safe paint products.


    For this purpose, he was seeking investment capital.


    "What''s the story with this one?" Chen Men asked.


    Yan Wei smiled and said, "The general manager of this factory is named Xiong Dapao, who''s also a People''s Representative of our city. Just yesterday, he inexplicably showed up at Zhou Xueqin''s factory with a group of people, confronted her for quite a while, and had his men tell her that she should never try to do business in Xiping City again, threatening to beat her up every time they saw her. Zhou Xueqin filed a police report in Jinxi, using Xiong Dapao of vandalism and retaliation. Today she specifically told me that since Xiong Dapao is a veteran, this identity would anger Gu Xiao, and moreover, his character is questionable, so she asked me to withdraw his business n - otherwise, Xiong Dapao''s n would have been near the front."


    Chen Men understood.


    Reincarnation wasn''t a fresh start, nor did it necessarily make people smarter.


    Setting aside all prerequisites, Xiong Dapao had acquired Sanbao Paint Factory and wanted to produce safe paint.


    As fellow private entrepreneurspeting for investment, Chen Men had to give way to him and let the paint factory take priority.


    As for Zhou Xueqin, she had Lu Jingyu backing her.


    And Lu Jingyu had built his fortune using substandard steel and cement in construction, never properlyying foundations, always creating dangerous buildings. Chen Men had never bought Zhou Xueqin''s pagers, but she was certain they too were counterfeit products passed off as genuine.


    Calmly, she told Yan Wei about how Zhou Xueqin had bought fake goods and poor-quality shoes for Little Wang and Little Lang, and how when Little Lang was beaten, she had actually tried to mediate the situation.


    Then she moved Xiong Dapao''s business n to the top, put her own second.Aliali: 67409081c4f3f33ac40a029f


    Zhou Xueqin''s n was removed and crumpled into a ball.


    Little Lang had been harmed by poor-quality paint in his previous life - how many children''s lives could Xiong Dapao save by producing safe paint?


    Yet Zhou Xueqin, knowing all this, still tried to discredit Xiong Dapao topete for investment?


    Chen Men had anticipated that after she exined to Xiong Dapao about their blind date and the misunderstanding, he might direct his anger at Zhou Xueqin, given his unfortunate first marriage.


    But she deserved it - let them fight it out.


    If reincarnation couldn''t wake Zhou Xueqin up, she should go make money elsewhere.


    She shouldn''t expect to earn any more money in Xiping City.


    Safe paint, veterans'' reemployment - while making money, one must maintain a conscience!


    "Xiong Dapao is also a veteran. Do you think Gu Xiao will invest in him?" Yan Wei worried.


    Chen Men continued reviewing the business ns, looking up to say, "Perhaps he might even invest all his money in veterans starting businesses?"