1304 The Qiao Family Members
Of course, Li Gui could not let everyone go home empty-handed for the lunar new year. Not only did she pay everyone their salary, but she also gave each of them a red packet with 50 dollars inside and two pounds’ worth of food stamps and meat coupons. She also prepared five pounds of braised meat for each person so that their families at home could also get a taste of it.

“Everyone, have a good rest! Go home and celebrate the lunar new year well!” Li Gui said happily.

“Auntie, we don’t know how to thank you. You’ve given us so much!” Chi Ze said agitatedly.

“That’s right. The sum of 50 dollars is enough for us to use for three months! This is really a lot!” Mao Hang said.

“What do you mean by a lot! As long as you do well in the future, there will be more red packets! Let’s stop chatting. Quickly pack up and go home. You’ve been in the capital for so long and your children probably miss you a lot,” Li Gui said with a smile.

Chi Ze, Mao Hang and their wives quickly packed their things and set off for their respective hometowns. Zhou Shuang’s husband had also just returned home. Sun Juan lived by herself and did not have many relatives and friends, so she spent the lunar new year with Zhou Shuang’s family. Now, the two of them were so close that she was like Zhou Shuang’s elder sister!

It was rare for Li Gui to be able to stay at home and spend time with the children for a few days. The children all beamed with joy as they wore their new clothes. Qiao Mei had sewn these clothes for them herself!

Lu Gui had been so busy during this period. If not for Qiao Mei taking care of these things for the children, they probably would not even have a single piece of new clothing for the new year.

“Mom, why don’t you hire someone to work for you? It’s so tiring for you,” Zhang Wei said with heartache.

Li Gui had already worn out four pairs of cloth shoes in the past few months and there were holes in countless pairs of socks. In the past, when Li Gui did farm work in Foshan Village, she only needed to work hard during the day. Moreover, the four siblings could also go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and help the family in whatever ways they could.

Here, they could only stay at home and study and could not help with anything else. Zhang Wei saw how Li Gui woke up early and slept late so that she could take care of the business. Although the family was having a better life now, it was also getting tougher and tougher for Li Gui.

“I’m not tired. I’ve found what I like to do, so no matter how hard and tiring it is, I’m still very happy. Xiao Wei, it’s just like how you want to become a soldier. When Professor Zheng Peng trained you, you still persevered no matter how tough it was, right?” Li Gui said.

“Mom, it’s alright as long as you’re happy. There’s no need to work so hard if it’s only because of us. Even if we don’t get an education, we can still live well. Grandfather said that as long as one has ambition, one need not be not afraid of anything,” Zhang Wei said firmly.

Li Gui patted Zhang Wei on the head. She suddenly felt that it was the right choice to divorce Zhang Qian back then. Otherwise, Zhang Wei and Zhang Chao would be living like gangsters in that county city now. It was also very likely that the Zhang family would have forced Zhang Qin and Zhang Miao to get married.

Qiao Qiang treated these four children very well, as if they were his own grandchildren. Li Gui took advantage of this holiday break to go out and buy Qiao Qiang a new set of clothes and a box of good quality tea leaves. She bought whatever she felt that Qiao Qiang would like.

Whatever Qiao Mei usually did for Qiao Qiang was her way of showing concern. Li Gui buying things for Qiao Qiang now was her way of being filial to him. Although she was no longer the Qiao family’s daughter-in-law, she did not have the chance to wait upon her in-laws in the past. Therefore, she wanted to grab this opportunity to be nice to Qiao Qiang so as to make up for all the debts she owed him over the years.

“Uncle Qiao, take a look and see if you like these. It’s the lunar new year, so this is a gift from me,” Li Gui spoke to Qiao Qiang softly.

Qiao Qiang smiled at Li Gui and did not say whether he liked the gift or not. He only said softly, “You’re Qiao Yue’s wife. No matter what happens, you’re still his wife. From now on, you should address me as ‘Father’ like before. The children all address me as Grandfather, so how can you address me as Uncle?”

Li Gui was so touched that she teared up. All these years, she had always felt that she had let down the Qiao family, Qiao Mei and, even more so, the deceased Qiao Yue. Now, Qiao Qiang’s words made her feel completely at ease. She was considered a member of the Qiao family now.

Humans were all emotional creatures after all. In the beginning, Qiao Qiang was indeed a little prejudiced against Li Gui, but it was all because of what happened to Qiao Mei. He had hated Li Gui for the fact that she totally neglected Qiao Mei after she remarried. However, when the truth was revealed, he realized that Li Gui had also been deceived and that she had led a hard life as well.