novelaction Chapter 1291 Extra: Li Lai
Chapter 1291 Extra: Li Lai
Li Lai was already five or six years old when he became the governor, but he knew from a young age that he was not a member of the Zhou family. Like Li Wang, he was picked up by his sister on the way to escape.
Therefore, at the beginning he relied most on Li Wang. After all, they were the only two outsiders in this family.
But later, he grew up and became more and more familiar with the Zhou family. After Li Wang left again, he followed his youngest brother, Zhou Su, all day long.
Zhou Suli is really nice. He has thought of everything for him. He is only a few years older than him, but he acts like an older brother and is very thoughtful in doing things.
Moreover, he had a share of everything the Zhou family had, no matter what it was, even if they were scolded, they all suffered together. Gradually, he really no longer considered himself an outsider.
Following behind the family, my brothers and sisters kept calling out.
Go to school with them, eat together, sleep together, and play together.
But after all, there is still a gap between him and the Zhou family.
This gap is reflected in their studies. His three older brothers are very good at studying and are often praised by their teachers, but he is not so good. It takes him ten days to learn what they learn in one day, and sometimes he still can't fully understand it.
Occasionally, when they saw their eldest brother overcoming difficulties and seeing his sister solve them with just a few words, they couldn't help but secretly suspect that this eldest brother was probably just like them, picked up halfway.
Otherwise, why are all the other people in the Zhou family so smart, but the eldest brother, like him, can't learn anything. Not only is he slow in learning business, he is also slow in learning things from books.
No matter what, with such an older brother standing in front of him at home, he is not so hard-pressed about his clumsiness.
He had already thought it through. He would definitely not succeed in his studies and probably would not even pass the imperial examination to become a scholar in his lifetime. When he grew up, it would be nice for him to get a job under his sister's care, just like his older brother.
But he gave up, but the other members of the Zhou family did not.
Zhou Su said, "Even if you don't take the imperial examination, you should learn more about principles. Even if you want to do business like your elder brother, there is still a big difference between those who have studied more and those who have studied less.
Just look at my eldest brother and my sister. My sister reads so many books. Over the years, she has built bookshelves in her study, and they are slowly filling up. It is said that she has read them all. She reads so fast, and we are far behind her, so naturally, we can’t match her ability either.”
Li Lai nodded. He was still young anyway. If he was too young, his sister would not agree.
Zhou Su continued, "Just learn from your sister. She knows a lot, and no one can fool her outside. If you want to do this, you still need to learn more."
Li Lai nodded again. He did not plan to take the imperial examination. He had no ambition in this area in his life. Instead, he wanted to be like his sister and expand her business all over the world. This was what he wanted to do.
He just followed Zhou Suli, and although learning was extremely difficult, fortunately, those in his family were studious and did very well in their studies. They gave him extra lessons in their spare time. In school, he was actually better than many people.
Slowly, they grew up, their family situation became better and better, and they had more and more money. You could tell from the fact that the materials they wore became more and more expensive every year that they had made a lot of money this year.
Li Lai, like his brothers, dressed like a nobleman. As the saying goes, clothes make the man. Sometimes he would run to Zhou Guo's room to look in the full-length mirror, but he couldn't even recognize the person in the mirror.
However, he grew up in the Zhou family, so he didn't really feel that much. At most, he didn't look that much like the Zhou family members.
Li smiled and said, "Of course you don't look like me. I raised you since you were a child. Even if you didn't look like me at first, you've become like me over the years. When you go out, everyone will say you're a member of the Zhou family. Who would still mistake you for an outsider?"
Li Lai said happily, "Yes, everyone says I look like you. They say nephews look like aunts."
He grew up safely and happily under the protection of the Zhou family.
When Li Lai grew up, he did not change his original idea. He had no interest in a career in politics and knew that he would not pass the exam. His dream was still the same as his sister's, to do big business and become the richest man in the world.
Therefore, after passing the examination to become a scholar, he put down his writing brush and stopped doing it.
Find Zhou Guo and learn how to do business.
Zhou Guo looked at him. He was eighteen or nineteen years old, not even married yet, but he had already stopped studying. He asked him, "Are you sure? You don't want to study anymore? I tell you, it's not easy to come back after taking this step."
I wasn't very good at university to begin with, and now that I'm out having fun, my heart isn't in it anymore. It's not easy to get my heart back in it.
Li Lai said firmly, "I've thought it over, sister. This isn't a whim. I've been thinking about this for over a decade. I'm not a scholar, and to be honest, I'm not interested in studying. If I were to achieve academic success, I'm afraid I'd never see that day again."
Zhou Guo smiled. "Okay, since you know what you're doing and what you want to do, that's great. I started out as a businessman, and as my business has grown over the years, I'm really short on manpower. So, why don't you learn from Manager Hu first? After a year or two of training, come back to me and I'll personally take care of you."
She admired this child. Like Li Wang, he knew clearly where his future path lay.
In this era where scholars are honored and respected, it is not something that ordinary people can do to bravely admit their own shortcomings in this area, ignore other people's opinions, and choose another path alone.
With such courage, becoming a successful businessman is only a matter of time.
Li Lai was overjoyed to receive Zhou Guo's affirmation. "Really? You agree?"
Although Zhou Guo is already the Prince of Yan and lives in a separate residence, she is still the one who makes the decisions in the Zhou family. Once she makes a decision on any major matter, others will basically not say anything.
Now that he has Zhou Guo's consent, it's basically a done deal, it's done!
Zhou Guo reminded him, "However, you still have to talk to your aunt about this yourself. You know, she usually respects scholars the most. You have studied for so many years, and suddenly you say you don't want to study anymore and want to do business. I guess she will have some trouble accepting it."
Li Lai nodded, "I understand, I will tell her."
Li frowned. "You're not going to study anymore? You finally passed the exam to become a scholar. You should be determined to pass the exam to become a juren. Isn't it said that many juren can also become officials?"
Li Lai said, "Aunt, I can't pass the imperial examination. I don't have the knowledge. You know me. I have never been good at this since I was a child. My brothers forced me to learn. Moreover, my dream is to do business all over the world like Sister Guoguo.
You see, if she does this business to the extreme, she can also become an official. She is now more respected than the head of all officials. All officials kneel down when they see her!"
Li was helpless. "She's special. She caught the Emperor's eye straight away. He adopted her as his daughter when he was still General Xu. After ascending the throne, he immediately made her a prince. Now that the new dynasty has been established, how could this path be possible again? Throughout history, there has only been one person like you, your sister. Don't compare yourself to her."
Li Lai smiled and said, "I know. I just want to say that every profession has its top talents. I don't have to be an official."
Li waved her hand, "Forget it, your sister has already agreed, what else can I say?"
She still agreed. After all, she still felt that her daughter was capable. Even the highest-ranking official in the court, she felt, was not as capable as her daughter.
Li Lai withdrew from the school and began to learn how to do things from Hu Zi.
He studied very seriously and would ask questions to understand everything he didn't understand, so he learned very quickly.
Even Hu Zi praised him, saying that he was a good businessman.
After studying with Hu Zi for a year, he was called back by Zhou Guo.
She took him back to the north and introduced him to the mushroom mountains and fruit mountains. In recent years, many counties in Yunzhou have begun to grow mushrooms. However, with more products, the price has naturally dropped, but it is still profitable.
She said, "When you have a good grasp of selling these mountain products and fruits, you can take over all the shops in the north. My eldest brother is no longer in the north, and the north is still in need of a general manager."
Li was very excited. The North was their root. "I will definitely do it well."
Later on, Zhou Suli went to the Ministry of Revenue, and Li Lai took over the shop. Zhou Guo did not have the energy to expand and strengthen the shop, so it became a three-way competition with the Haoguo Escort Agency and became one of the Zhou family's most profitable businesses.