Chapter 890: Third Sister Li Na, Branch Office Update!

After spending over an hour in Lan Xinyi’s office, Li Yi left the branch office, figuring that Third Sister’s place would be opening soon.

Although he had only scratched the surface of the branch’s situation, Lan Xinyi suggested that since he had time today, they might as well gather all the company’s leaders—big and small—to brief him, the big boss, on their work.

However, Li Yi rejected this suggestion. After all, he had no plans to leave anytime soon now that he was back, and there would be plenty of time for such reports later—there was no rush.

After leaving the branch office, Li Yi headed back to the Dong’an Market store with two bodyguards.

Sure enough, upon arriving, he could see from a distance that the restaurant’s doors were already open.

Although it wasn’t mealtime and no customers were coming or going, he could see that the staff had already started their shifts.

After parking the car, Li Yi and his group immediately walked into the restaurant.

As soon as they pushed open the door, a young woman addressed them: “Comrade, we won’t be serving meals for another half hour. Would you and your companions like to wait inside for a bit?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Where’s your manager? I need to speak with her.”

“You… you know our manager?” the young woman asked in surprise.

“I do. Go tell her that Li Yi is here!”

“Sure, please wait a moment…”

With that, the young woman hurried toward a room in the back.

While the young woman was off to inform Third Sister, Li Yi took a closer look at this branch.

Compared to the main branch in Beiguan Village, this branch was much smaller—roughly two hundred square meters—but the decor was far more luxurious than the one in Beiguan Village.

Even the tables and chairs here had been specially decorated, giving them a rather upscale look.

Plus, being located in the city center—a far superior location compared to the urban-rural fringe in Beiguan Village—it was obvious that business here wouldn’t be too shabby.

Just as Li Yi was looking around, a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him: “Xiao Yi!”

Li Yi turned around and immediately saw his third older sister, Li Na, standing behind him, looking at him with a delighted expression.

Today, his third older sister was wearing a white women’s blouse paired with black pants, and a pair of black-and-white flat canvas shoes on her feet; she looked fresh and capable.

His gaze drifted downward and settled on his third sister’s belly. He asked in surprise, “Sis, where have you been hiding my little nephew? You must be five or six months along by now.”

It was no wonder Li Yi was so taken aback; his third sister’s belly was indeed quite small. Although she did appear slightly pregnant, she certainly didn’t look like a woman five or six months along.

Li Na smiled and said, “It is a bit small, isn’t it?”

Li Yi nodded and replied, “It’s not just small—you don’t even look as big as Xiao Xue did when she was three months along!”

“Xiao Xue was carrying twins—of course it wouldn’t be the same!”

Then Third Sister added, “Don’t worry. I go to the hospital for a checkup every month. The doctor says the baby is healthy. He also said that a flat belly doesn’t mean the baby is small—it’s just how women’s bodies work!”

“Really?”

To be honest, even though Li Yi was a reincarnated person, he didn’t know much about pregnancy.

“Of course it’s true. By the way, when did you get back? Where are Xiaoxue and Big Sister?”

“I just got back a little while ago. They’re all at home putting the kids to bed!” Li Yi replied.

“You little rascal! You didn’t even call to let us know you were coming back—you just love pulling these surprise visits!” Li Na scolded playfully.

Li Yi smiled and said, “I didn’t want to disturb you at work. By the way, Sis, where’s Third Brother-in-Law?”

“Him? He’s still over in Pengcheng, busy with opening a new branch!”

“Hasn’t he come back at all?” Li Yi frowned.

“He came back for a visit at the beginning of the month, stayed at home for about ten days, and then left again!”

“So who’s taking care of you now? Or are you running around all by yourself?”

“Ling’er usually helps out at the shop, and my mother-in-law takes care of me at home. Today, my mother-in-law wasn’t feeling well, so I had Ling’er take her to the hospital—that’s why you didn’t see her!” Third Sister explained.

“Is Auntie all right?” Li Yi asked with concern.

He knew that Long Zhanjun’s mother wasn’t in the best of health; according to the original course of events, she was supposed to have passed away this year.

Although Long Zhanjun’s mother and sister had undergone surgery two years ago with his financial support, hearing that she was suddenly unwell still made Li Yi a little worried.

“Ling’er called around noon. The doctor said it’s gastroenteritis; she’ll be fine after resting for a while!” Li Na said.

“That’s good!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “Did the doctor say when your due date is?”

“Mid-November!”

“That’s great. By then, the harvest in the village will be over, and Mom will be able to come and help you during your postpartum recovery!” Li Yi said.

Third Sister smiled and said, “That’s exactly what I was thinking. We can bring Dad to Beijing this year too, so our whole family can celebrate the New Year together in the capital!”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. You know Dad’s temperament—I doubt he’d be willing to come to Beijing for the New Year!” Li Yi said.

“No problem. None of us will go back then. We’ll leave him alone in the village and see if he comes!”

“We can only do our best to persuade him—we can’t force him!” Li Yi said.

“Got it!”

Then Third Sister changed the subject and said, “By the way, since you’re here today, I’ll tell you about how things are going at the shop!”

“Sure, I haven’t been involved in the shop’s affairs for a long time, so I have no idea how things are going now!” Li Yi said with a smile.

Li Na smiled, immediately pulling Li Yi over to the bar counter. She unlocked the drawer with a key and pulled out a thick notebook.

Just as Li Yi thought she was about to brief him on the shop’s situation, he found Third Sister leading him toward the back of the restaurant instead.

Following Li Na through a series of twists and turns, they arrived at a private room tucked away in the back of the restaurant. The room wasn’t large—only four or five square meters—and aside from a single bed, there was barely enough space for a small wooden table.

“This is a rest area my brother-in-law had specially partitioned off for me during the renovation. I usually come here to rest for a while when things aren’t busy!”

“Looks like Long Zhanjun treats you pretty well!” Li Yi remarked.

“What do you mean ‘Long Zhanjun’? Call him Third Sister’s husband!”

Faced with Third Sister’s domineering defense of her husband, Li Yi could only shrug helplessly.

After all, he’d spent his entire previous life calling him “Long Zhanjun” or “Big Long,” but in this life, because of Third Sister, he had to switch to calling him “Third Brother-in-Law”—and the worst part was, he hadn’t even received any compensation for the name change.

This often made Li Yi feel like he’d shot himself in the foot!

Despite all that, seeing his third sister like this made him quite content.

Ever since he walked through the door, a smile had been plastered on his third sister’s face. That alone was enough to show that she was very satisfied with her current life.

To be honest, Li Yi didn’t really care whether Long Zhanjun could make money—as long as he treated his Third Sister well.

Clearly, he’s done just that!

After the laughter died down, Li Na immediately opened the ledger and said, “Here are the store’s total accounts for the past few months. We currently have eight stores in total, with a monthly turnover of at least 300,000 yuan. After deducting costs and the bonuses for the branch managers, you’ll receive a little over 80,000 yuan each month…”

“Huh, when did we get up to eight stores?” Li Yi asked, somewhat surprised.

“Your brother-in-law opened four stores in Pengcheng all at once, and we opened another branch here in Beijing near Dongzhimen, so that makes eight in total!” Third Sister explained.

“Four stores in Pengcheng?”

“Right. I heard from your brother-in-law that he originally only planned to open one store, but then Xiaoxue’s second older brother approached him and encouraged him to open a few more, so he went ahead and opened several more!”

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow slightly…

….banbanhaobang….