Chapter 197: The Loan
Qingshan County Bus Station!
While Ning City was in an uproar over the attempted murder case involving Chen Zhenglong and Zhou Yaxuan, as well as Huang Lixing’s donation to the school, Li Yi had already returned to Qing Shan County.
This trip to Ning City had left him feeling incredibly frustrated!
Originally, he had intended to use his inside information to help Wang Anguo, and in the process, play the role of a “master” once more to make some money.
But once he got there, he realized the stakes were far too high.
It was a lose-lose situation, whether he got involved or not!
If he got involved, the fallout could far exceed his imagination; if Huang Lixing chose to retaliate with a vengeance, his intervention might cost many people their lives.
“I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me”—this clearly went against his original intention to save lives.
But if he didn’t intervene, he’d have to stand by and watch as Huang Lixing and his wife met their end in Ning City.
And that unborn child!
If he did nothing, he would likely be consumed by deep guilt.
After much internal struggle, he ultimately followed his heart and chose to help Huang Lixing.
To ease his conscience, he made it a condition that he be allowed to donate funds to build a school.
Upon learning that Zhou Yaxuan had been arrested, he didn’t want to stay in Ning City a moment longer; as soon as dawn broke, he checked out of his hotel and returned to Qingshan County.
Thinking about his trip to Ning City—where he hadn’t earned a single penny and had actually lost over a hundred yuan—Li Yi felt gloomy.
After leaving the bus station, Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then decided to make a trip to the sugar factory.
It wasn’t to look for his third older sister, Li Na, but because he wanted to see Liang Yukui.
He had no choice; the funding gap remained, and he had to find a way to resolve it.
Since he hadn’t managed to get any money from Huang Lixing, his only option was to seek a loan.
But relying solely on his own credit, he clearly wouldn’t be able to secure a loan for 20,000 yuan.
At the moment, the only person capable of helping him was Liang Yukui.
With that in mind, he headed straight for the sugar factory on the outskirts of the county.
It was nearly noon by the time Li Yi arrived at the sugar factory. Third Sister wasn’t at the factory gate; she must have gone to set up her stall at the textile mill.
Li Yi didn’t give it a second thought and walked straight toward the factory gates.
The guard on duty was an acquaintance. Upon seeing Li Yi, he asked a couple of brief questions and let him in.
Finding his way easily to Liang Yukui’s office, Li Yi knocked on the door without hesitation!
“Come in!”
When Li Yi pushed the door open, he discovered there were actually other people in Liang Yukui’s office.
Judging by the setup, it appeared to be a group of factory officials briefing him on the situation.
Seeing that it was Li Yi, Liang Yukui was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “What brings you here, kid?”
Li Yi smiled and replied, “I just got back from the city. I happened to have something to discuss with you, Brother Liang, so I dropped by!” dxmbang
Liang Yukui first addressed the middle-aged man sitting at the desk: “Comrade Xin’an, I’m already aware of the situation in your workshop. I’ll go take a look myself later. For now, you can go back to work.”
“Yes!”
After seeing the factory employee off, Liang Yuke immediately pointed to the sofa in the adjacent reception room and said, “Have a seat. Tea or water?”
“Just water, please,” Li Yi replied.
As Li Yu poured Li Yi a glass of water, Li Yu asked, “You mentioned earlier that you just got back from the city?”
“Yeah, why, Brother Liang?”
“When did you go?”
“A couple of days ago!”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner? Our factory has buses going back and forth to the city every few days. If you’d told me earlier, you could’ve hitched a ride!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I really didn’t know that. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have had to take the bus!”
“Remember this for next time: if you’re heading to the city, stop by the factory first and ask for your brother-in-law. He’s in charge of the transport team now—it’s easier to go through him than through me!” said Liang Yukuai.
“Haha, that sounds great!”
“By the way, you don’t just drop by for no reason. What brings you here today?” Liang Yukui asked again.
“Yes, I came specifically to ask Brother Liang for a favor!” Li Yi said.
“What’s up?”
“I want to take out a loan. Do you happen to know any loan officers, Brother Liang?” Li Yi cut straight to the chase.
“A loan? How much do you need, kid? If it’s not too much, I’ve got some…”
Before Liang Yukui could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “Brother Liang, I need the money for business operations, and it’s a pretty big sum. If I could get it on my own, I wouldn’t be bothering you!”
“I know plenty of loan officers, but how much are you planning to borrow, kid?”
“At least twenty thousand—the more, the better!”
“Twenty thousand isn’t that much. But I heard from Guo’an that you’re making a pretty penny supplying mountain produce to the state-run restaurant. Isn’t that enough?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I’ve expanded my operations a bit too much this time, so I’ve no choice but to borrow some money from the bank for now!”
Liang Yukuai was secretly impressed by Li Yi’s boldness—this was tens of thousands of yuan, after all, no small sum for anyone.
But in Li Yi’s eyes, that amount seemed as insignificant as a few coins—he spoke of it so casually.
Liang Yukui had met people who treated money like dirt before; most of them were just putting on a show, and with his keen eye, he could see right through it.
Yet Li Yi’s expression as he spoke was unmistakable—he genuinely didn’t care about those tens of thousands of yuan, which was truly astonishing.
“Alright, I’ll take care of it. When do you need it?” Liang Yukui asked.
“The sooner the better. I’m planning to head to Qin Province in a few days, and I expect the trip will take over half a month!” Li Yi said.
“Then I’ll take you to get this sorted out right now!”
“Alright!”
Immediately afterward, the two locked the office door and drove the factory’s little 212 jeep to the credit union in the county seat.
Upon arriving at the credit union, Liang Yukui knocked directly on the door of the director’s office.
Li Yeqiao, the director of the Qingshan County Credit Union, and Liang Yukui were old acquaintances. Seeing him walk in with a young man, he asked in surprise, “Old Liang, what brings you here today? And who is this young comrade?”
Liang Yukui smiled and said, “What do you mean, ‘young comrade’? Let me introduce you: Li Yi—my master’s savior, and my brother!”
Hearing this, Li Yeqiao was instantly taken aback.
Everyone knew exactly who Liang Yuke’s mentor was—he was the father of the county’s top official and also ran the glass factory.
The young man standing before him was actually his savior—which meant he was also the savior of the county party secretary.
With that kind of connection, who would dare to act high and mighty in front of him?
“So you’re Brother Li Yi! I’m Li Yeqiao. Who knows, maybe we were even related five hundred years ago!”
Upon hearing the name Li Yeqiao, Li Yi paused for a moment, then smiled and said, “Actually, we might not even have to go back five hundred years. If I’m not mistaken, Director Li’s ancestors were from Yang County in Western Shanxi, weren’t they?”
“Huh, that’s right. How did you know that, Brother Li Yi?”
“Hehe, not only do I know Director Li is from Yang County, but I also know your family’s ancestors were from Dali Village in the Baima Commune!”
“Well… Brother Li Yi…”
Before Li Yeqiao could finish, Li Yi continued, “Actually, my ancestors were from Dali Village too. My great-grandfather’s generation moved from Western Shanxi to Qingshan County, so if we go back five generations, we’re definitely related!”
“That really is a coincidence!” Li Yeqiao said, his face beaming with delight.
Just then, Liang Yukui, who had been standing nearby, spoke up: “Old Li, let’s cut to the chase—we’re here to see you about some serious business today!”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing much—my friend here needs to borrow some money from you, and I’ll vouch for him…”
…….