Yi Anguo watched Zhou Mengdie head home before he turned to leave; there was still a house full of people waiting for him to return—it was New Year's Eve dinner after all!

But Yi Anguo didn't notice that Zhou Mengdie's parents were also at the window inside, watching him leave.

Earlier, the hug and kiss between Yi Anguo and Zhou Mengdie were also observed by Zhou Mengdie's parents.

"So my daughter's boyfriend is actually her boss. What are we going to do? Didn't she say her boss has a woman and a child? How could she be so confused to fall in love with her boss?"

Zhou Mengdie's mother, having witnessed her daughter embrace and kiss a man, spoke anxiously.

"He has a woman and a child, but they aren't married. From the looks of our daughter, she obviously likes her boss a lot. If her boss is sincere and willing to marry our daughter, we could accept it," Zhou Mengdie's father analyzed objectively.

"What do you mean? Are you out of your mind? Our daughter fell for a man who has another woman and a child, and you still think it's okay? You're even supportive!" Zhou Mengdie's mother replied, visibly upset.

"Then what do you suggest we do? It's our daughter's choice—would you firmly oppose it?" Zhou Mengdie's father countered.

"Don't you understand your daughter's temperament? She doesn't easily talk about relationships, so if she's discussing it, she's serious."

"Dad! Mom! I'm back!"

At that moment, Zhou Mengdie returned home, and the two quickly pretended as if nothing had happened, appearing completely uninformed as they moved to the living room, getting ready for the family New Year's Eve dinner.

Back at his house, Yi Anguo was met with a lively atmosphere, everyone waiting for him to start dinner.

The five children ran up to their dad as soon as they saw him returning, eagerly wanting to be held, play with him, and have him lead them to set off fireworks.

This year, Chen Ting also returned for New Year's Eve with her son.

This was the first New Year celebrated in the new home. Though everyone was together last year, this year carried a different significance.

Hu Jing, Hu Qian, Li Sisi, Li Shanshan, Ding Jing, and Chen Ting—these six women all became Yi Anguo's partners.

Including the five children, by this time next year, there would be seven children in the family.

The whole family sat around, happily enjoying the New Year's Eve dinner, with smiles on all their faces.

Yi Anguo joyfully embraced each little one, setting off a massive string of firecrackers at the villa entrance.

He then went upstairs to remove his coat, changed into casual home wear, washed his hands in the bathroom, and joined everyone in the downstairs dining room to start the reunion meal.

It was a bit cold outside, but the air conditioning inside kept the home warm.

For the New Year's Eve reunion dinner, of course, everyone had to drink, but it was mostly ceremonial. They drank the sweet rice wine that the eldest sister had sent from home—low in alcohol and quite tasty.

"By the way! Where's Ting Ting? Why didn't she come back for dinner?" Yi Anguo asked Li Sisi, having not seen Li Tingting.

"She's busy at the shop. It's New Year's Eve, and business is hectic. She's keeping an eye on things," Li Sisi replied.

"You have dozens of restaurants; she can't possibly watch over them alone! Each restaurant has someone in charge, so why does she need to oversee them?" Yi Anguo asked.

"Why are you worrying about so many things? Are you not content with the women you have, wanting to include her too?" Li Sisi responded, slightly displeased.

Hearing Li Sisi's remark, Yi Anguo felt a bit awkward, unsure of what to say, while internally understanding somewhat why Li Tingting hadn't returned for New Year's Eve.

After all, all those present were either women or children related to Yi Anguo, making them a real family, while Li Tingting was more like an outsider there. Normally it would be fine, but the New Year's Eve reunion held special significance.

Previously on New Year's Eve, Yi Anguo had also invited Chen Ting's parents and Ding Jing's mother for a meal, but that was lunch. The New Year's Eve dinner felt a bit different—even in-laws wouldn't typically dine at a son-in-law's home for such an occasion.

Likewise, a sister-in-law having New Year's Eve dinner at her brother-in-law's place could feel a bit inappropriate.

Previously, everybody didn't live together. Li Sisi and her two sisters shared one place, so they couldn't technically celebrate New Year's at the brother-in-law's home; it was their own home.

But with this arrangement, this combined villa became like Yi Anguo's home in Shenzhen. Li Tingting could usually come over, stay, have meals here without issue, but New Year's Eve was a less convenient time for joining the family dinner or staying over.

Upon understanding all this, Yi Anguo felt a sense of guilt toward Li Tingting, like he had made her into someone without a place to return to on New Year's Eve.

After the New Year's dinner, the mahjong players played mahjong, and others watched the Spring Festival Gala. Chen Ting, Ding Jing, Hu Jing, and Li Sisi gathered at a mahjong table.

Yi Anguo became the kids' leader, playing games with them, while Hu Qian and Li Shanshan watched the gala together.

Seeing Li Shanshan already visibly pregnant, Hu Qian felt inexpressible envy. She also wished to have a child for Yi Anguo, hopefully twins like her sister.

Watching the Spring Festival gala, Yi Anguo couldn't help but think about grabbing red envelopes. Back when grabbing red envelopes was at its peak, so many people sat around the TV, trying to grab them!

Even though the amount in the envelopes wasn't much, everyone was still happily participating, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Even if there was only a penny inside, it would still bring joy.

Yi Anguo pondered whether he should intercept Tencent and be the first to create WeChat.

Just as Yi Anguo was deep in thought, Li Sisi, who was playing mahjong, ran out and shouted to Yi Anguo.

"Anguo! Hurry up and take Ding Jing to the hospital, she's about to give birth."

"What! Is it happening so soon? Wasn't the due date after the New Year?" Yi Anguo said, quickly dashing towards the game room.

Yi Anguo didn't call an ambulance but phoned Yang Hai to ask if he'd been drinking. If he had, he'd need a sober, licensed driver who could head to Harbor Island anytime to take them there, as Ding Jing was about to give birth.

Yang Hai immediately brought over five security staff from the property company, driving three cars.

Yi Anguo took Hu Jing and Li Sisi along to take Ding Jing to Harbor Island to give birth, while the others stayed back to look after the kids at home.

"There's no need to rush; it's only the beginning of labor. It will take a few more hours. Let's do an ultrasound first to check if the baby's position is normal and see if natural delivery is possible or if a cesarean is needed."

Upon reaching Harbor Island Hospital, the on-duty obstetrician asked about Ding Jing's condition and then informed Yi Anguo and the other family members.

After the ultrasound, everything was normal with the baby, and a natural delivery was possible. With a labor-inducing injection, Ding Jing's second child was born successfully at 12:08 a.m. on the first day of the New Year.

This time, it was a boy, weighing eight pounds and two ounces, a chubby little guy with a loud cry and in good health.

Yi Anguo racked his brains for a long time and named him Yi Chenglong.

Having more children makes naming them quite tricky.

This guy really knows how to pick his time, having a birthday on New Year's Day.

Luckily, they didn't return to their old home in Xijiang for the New Year; otherwise, it would have been troublesome. Having a child there would make registering the child's residence a problem, violating birth control policies!

Having the child in Harbor Island has its perks—not being unlawful and the child automatically gaining Harbor Island identity.

After being hospitalized for three days, they went home. Natural births allow for quick discharge, and who wants to stay in the hospital during the festive season?

On Monday, February 2, the eighth day of the lunar new year, the streets of Shenzhen became lively again. Most people had returned from celebrating the New Year at home and had resumed work.

On the first day of the reopening, the stock market didn't surge as predicted. The so-called New Year's opening rally didn't happen; instead, it dropped over a percentage point.

The global economic situation further deteriorated. Citibank's stock price, which was $55 in 2007, fell to below $3.5, wiping out over 90% of its market value.

Once upon a time, in 2000, Citibank's stock price was as high as $588 per share. Comparing that to now, its market value has evaporated by more than 98%.

And its current stock price isn't even the lowest. A month later, it would drop below one dollar, reaching as low as $0.97 per share.

Other bank stocks, while slightly better than Citibank, weren't much better.

For instance, Bank of America once had a stock price of $54.9 per share, which plummeted to three dollars a share at its lowest.

However, a month later, the U.S. stock market would hit rock bottom, especially the four major bank stocks, reduced to dirt-cheap prices.

But the subsequent rebound was the most significant, thanks to the U.S. government's efforts to revive the economy by injecting substantial funds into the Big Four banks.

In just over two months, the stock prices of the Big Four banks rose by about five times.

A fivefold increase in just over two months is incredibly lucrative for short-term investments, so Yi Anguo was definitely preparing to make his move.

Apart from short-term investment stocks, long-term investment and holding onto stocks also reached its optimal entry point.

For example, Yi Anguo had already started strategizing on Apple's stock before the year began, buying in bulk with an average price under $90.

Later, one share split into seven, and then four, resulting in one share becoming 28. The stock price soared to over $180, effectively a 56-fold increase, not including annual dividends during this time.

And Amazon, too, had its entry point prepared before the year began, with a stock price below $50, bought in bulk, rising up to more than 75 times at its peak.

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