My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 485: Nude Model

Zhang Lei played with the children for a while, and then Lou Xiao'e brought her parents in.

Looking at the room full of children, Lou's parents couldn't help but sigh.

Lou's mother couldn't stop smiling: "Zhang Lei, you're really amazing."

These compliments left Zhang Lei speechless for a moment.

Lou's mother didn't care. She went straight to the children, looking at this one and touching that one, her eyes full of affection.

Lou's father looked at Zhang Lei and said with a smile, "Great! So many boys! The future prosperity of the Zhang family depends on them."

Zhang Lei replied with a smile, "Dad, raising so many children is quite expensive. Our company will need your continued support in the future, otherwise I won't be able to afford it."

These words made Lou's father laugh heartily: "Don't worry, you pay me such a high salary every year, just hand it over to me, I can work for you for at least another ten years."

After laughing, Lou's father couldn't help but ask, "Which one is Xiao'e's son?"

Lou Xiao'e immediately picked up the two boys, Zhang Chengde and Zhang Chengwen.

Looking at the two boys, Lou's father repeatedly said, "Good."

Zhang Lei observed this and frowned slightly. Although he didn't want to dwell on it now, problems were bound to arise in the future—after all, every wife has her own family, and each family's favoritism towards their children is ultimately different.

Soon it was evening, and everyone else had returned.

Zhang Lei told everyone that Lou's parents were temporarily staying nearby, and that they would be visiting each other frequently in the future. The happiest person was Lou Xiao'e, who stayed by her parents' side and talked about her experiences over the past few years.

When Lou's mother heard that Lou Xiao'e wanted to open a clothing factory with Chen Xueru, she immediately said, "Xiao'e, our family already has a clothing factory. Why don't I have your father hand it over to you to manage?"

Lou Xiao'e glanced at Zhang Lei, then looked at Chen Xueru beside her, and shook her head: "Mom, yours is yours. Xueru and I want to start our own business and create our own brand, just to train ourselves."

Zhang Lei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He didn't want Lou Xiao'e to abandon Chen Xueru, after all, they had agreed to be together.

Ye Shuqin served food to Zhang Lei, and as if she could read his mind, she said softly, "Husband, some things are better left to their own devices."

Zhang Lei paused for a moment, then nodded and smiled, "Yes, just let nature take its course."

He then looked at Ye Shuqin and asked, "How much did you learn about real estate today? What's the outlook for the Hong Kong property market? Where are you planning to invest next?"

Ye Shuqin laughed at the barrage of questions: "Honey, I just went to find out today, and you've stumped me."

Zhang Lei smiled and said, "I was too impatient. My target for the real estate sector is to acquire more land. Whether we build on it or not is not important for now. We just need to secure all the land we can. The real estate market will only get better and better in the future."

Ye Shuqin nodded: "Yu Li and I discussed it today. Since we're going to do large-scale real estate development, we need to handle everything from raw material procurement to housing construction to maximize profits. If we seize the right opportunity, our profits can multiply several times over."

Zhang Lei agreed, saying, "That's a good idea. We can start with small projects, but we must acquire a lot of land. We should also participate in projects like Wharf Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa in the later stages. Those British guys can't stay here forever; they'll leave sooner or later in ten or twenty years. We must have a long-term vision. We can treat Hong Kong as a springboard; you can gain experience here first."

Ye Shuqin held Zhang Lei's hand and smiled. She could clearly feel that Zhang Lei favored her more. Although she usually teamed up with Ye Shuqi and Ye Shuhua to deal with Zhang Lei, he was ultimately closer to her. Sometimes she was also afraid that her other sisters would be jealous.

At this moment, Ye Shuhua walked over and squeezed between the two of them, muttering in a low voice, "Honey, why do you always bother with my eldest sister? My eldest sister and I look exactly alike, you're just being biased."

Zhang Lei said with a laugh, "When have I ever shown favoritism? What request did I not grant?"

Ye Shuhua shook her head: "That's different."

"How is it different? I treat you all the same." Zhang Lei said helplessly, "You're even jealous of your eldest sister?"

Ye Shuhua smiled and popped a large shrimp into his mouth: "Honey, can you do me a favor?"

Zhang Lei asked, "What is it?"

Ye Shuhua smiled mysteriously: "We'll talk about it tonight."

Watching Ye Shuhua run off, Zhang Lei scratched his head and looked at Ye Shuqin: "Do you know what she's trying to do?"

Ye Shuqin shook her head: "How would I know? That girl is very cunning."

The family dinner ended amidst laughter and joy. After seeing Lou's parents off, Zhang Lei kept thinking about Ye Shuhua.

He went to Ye Shuhua's room and looked around: "Where is she?"

Ye Shuhua sat down to the side with her drawing board and paints, and pointed to the sofa: "Honey, hurry up and take them off."

Looking at her smiling face, Zhang Lei suddenly realized, "Are you going to use me as a model?"

"Yeah, I can't exactly find someone else to be my model, can I?" Ye Shuhua said with a smile.

Zhang Lei immediately retorted, "That's absolutely unacceptable."

He sat on the sofa wearing only shorts: "What pose are you going to strike?"

Ye Shuhua couldn't help but complain: "Honey, this is a nude oil painting. The subject can't wear clothes, otherwise it's blasphemy against art."

Zhang Lei hesitated and asked, "Are you sure?"

Ye Shuhua nodded, covering her mouth and chuckling to herself.

Helpless, Zhang Lei had no choice but to strip naked and lie on the sofa: "Hurry up and draw. I'll only give you one hour. If you don't finish, I'm leaving."

Seeing that he finally cooperated, Ye Shuhua immediately picked up her paintbrush and began to paint. The two chatted as they painted, and Zhang Lei complained, "Can't you just paint animals, write about landscapes, or go out and sketch some scenery?"

Ye Shuhua explained, "Where can I find suitable animals? Zoos don't allow close-up painting."

As she spoke, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Honey, you have so much space, why don't you help me clear out a place to raise some lions, tigers, elephants and the like? Let's create our own animal world."

Zhang Lei thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "It's not impossible, but who will raise them?"

Ye Shuhua said smugly, "Idiot, why not just create a complete food chain? Like the African savanna, with water and grass, first let sheep, rabbits, cows, and horses in, then let wolves, lions, and tigers in. Oh, and giraffes, antelopes, and so on."

As Zhang Lei listened, an idea popped into his head: perhaps this could be used to breed a batch of endangered animals.

He lay on the sofa, squinting, almost falling asleep.

After a while, Ye Shuhua stretched and said, "Honey, it's finished."

Zhang Lei got up and went over to look at it. The oil painting was lifelike, and he nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, I'll keep it."

Ye Shuhua put the painting away, saying, "I'm not giving this to you."

Seeing how much she cherished him, Zhang Lei smiled and stepped forward, saying, "It's so late and you must be tired. Let me help you take a bath."

Before Ye Shuhua could react, Zhang Lei picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. Soon, Ye Shuhua's scream, tinged with laughter, echoed from the bathroom.