Chapter 446: Call Me Brother-in-Law!
Upon seeing that it was Li Yi, Jiang Longyin actually felt a faint surge of excitement.
“You finally made it back, you rascal. If you hadn’t come back, I was going to go to your hometown to drag you back myself!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Second Brother, what’s going on? What’s got you so worked up?”
The smile on Jiang Longyin’s face vanished instantly, and he said immediately, “Brother-in-law, it seems the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is about to take action against you!”
“The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission? After me?”
Hearing this news, Li Yi was a bit taken aback.
“That’s right!”
“Is it because of the cotton mill?” Li Yi asked again.
“Yes!”
Jiang Longyin then went on to explain in detail to Li Yi the internal meeting held by the State-owned Assets Department to discuss the agreement signed between him and the cotton mill.
After listening to Jiang Longyin, Li Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
What was the State-owned Assets Department trying to do? Cut the bridge after crossing the river? Or kill the donkey after it’s done its work?
He clearly remembered his father-in-law telling him earlier that someone had guaranteed they wouldn’t take action against him. Were they going back on their word now?
“Brother-in-law, what do you think we should do about this? Why don’t you take the initiative and propose nullifying that agreement? Then Uncle San and I can pull some strings—there might still be room for negotiation!” Jiang Longyin said in a grave tone.
Li Yi frowned, then said, “Second Brother, didn’t you just say that the higher-ups haven’t reached a decision yet? Let’s wait and see!”
“What’s there to wait for? If we wait for the results to come out, it’ll be too late!” Jiang Longyin said, frowning.
Having spent so many years navigating the bureaucratic system, he’d seen this kind of thing happen far too often.
He’d seen them build their towers, host their banquets, and then watch their towers crumble…
His brother-in-law had been acting far too flashy lately; if he didn’t rein it in, he might truly invite disaster upon himself.
But what he didn’t know was that Li Yi had his own calculations. He simply didn’t believe the higher-ups would dare to take action against him.
Not for any other reason, but mainly because the cost would be too high.
It’s not that he’s so formidable that the higher-ups would fear him, but rather that this whole affair goes against their policies.
If this had happened a few years ago, Li Yi wouldn’t have had a single doubt that the higher-ups would come after him.
But times have changed. Reform and Opening-Up were now in full swing, and the era had shifted.
What is “Reform and Opening-up”? It refers to domestic reform and opening up to the outside world, shifting the focus of work to the modernization of the nation.
However, since Reform and Opening-up is still in its early stages, people across the country—especially the business community—remain skeptical about whether the higher-ups have the resolve to see this policy through to the end.
Although his own case was not a major one, its impact was significant. If the authorities really did take action against him, it would send a very negative signal to the burgeoning industrial and commercial sectors and would inevitably deal a severe blow to market confidence.
This was also the fundamental reason why, when the authorities were discussing Nian Guangjiu and the “Shamgu” sunflower seeds, they deliberated at length and ultimately decided not to take action against him.
Since the higher-ups didn’t take action against Nian Guangjiu back then, they certainly wouldn’t take action against me now. After all, no one knows better than Li Yi just how resolute the higher-ups are about reform and opening-up.
Seeing that Li Yi remained unmoved, Jiang Longyin frowned and said, “Brother-in-law, you’d better think this through carefully. If you make a wrong move, there’ll be no turning back!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Second Brother, rest assured. Don’t forget that I’ve always been spot-on when it comes to judging people and situations!”
Hearing this, Jiang Longyin froze in place.
He’d almost forgotten that his brother-in-law possessed those mysterious, otherworldly abilities. The events that had befallen his third brother, Jiang Longcheng, Ye Jianhua, and that young man from the Du family had left Jiang Longyin with no choice but to believe that Li Yi truly possessed some extraordinary abilities.
Since he could even predict the fate of others, he certainly wouldn’t gamble with his own future and life.
“Brother-in-law, are you really okay?”
“Don’t worry!”
“All right then. If something really does go wrong, it’s not too late to pull some strings now!” Jiang Longyin said.
“We’ll still need to make some arrangements, but not by pulling strings through connections!”
“Then what’s the point?”
“Second Brother, I’ll write something later. You find someone to help me get it published in some influential media outlets.”
Li Yi continued, “If you think what I write makes sense, publish it under your name. If you don’t think it’s quite right, use someone else’s name!”
Jiang Longyin sensed immediately that his brother-in-law was up to something and hurriedly said, “The situation isn’t clear yet. Don’t go blabbing about this, you rascal!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s just unclear to you guys—but not to me!”
With that, Li Yi stood up from his seat and added, “Alright, Second Brother, I’ve got things to do. I’ll be heading out now, but I’ll come see you again in a day or two!”
Before Jiang Longyin could say a word, Li Yi turned and walked straight out of his office.
Listening to the footsteps fading away down the hallway outside his office, Jiang Longyin fell deep into thought!
……….
After leaving the district government office, Li Yi drove straight to Beiguan Village!
By the time Li Yi arrived at the shop, it was nearly three o’clock. The shop had already closed for the day, and the door was locked from the inside.
Li Yi stood at the door and knocked for quite a while before he saw Third Sister emerge from inside, yawning.
Upon seeing it was Li Yi, Third Sister immediately opened the door and asked cheerfully, “Xiao Yi, when did you get back?”
“I just got back a little while ago!”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet!”
“Then wait a minute. We had mutton offal noodles for lunch, and there’s plenty of meat and mutton offal soup left. I’ll heat some up for you!”
“Sure!”
Since everything was already prepared, it didn’t take long before Li Na emerged from the kitchen carrying two large bowls.
One bowl of offal soup, one bowl of steaming hot hand-cut noodles.
She poured the offal into the noodle bowl, added two spoonfuls of chili oil, and gave it a good stir—the aroma hit him instantly.
Li Yi was indeed hungry by then, so he immediately began eating heartily.
After polishing off the big bowl of mutton offal noodles, he felt absolutely satisfied.
After letting out a satisfied belch, Li Yi asked Third Sister, “Where’s Dalong? Isn’t he at the shop?”
“What Dalong? Call him Brother-in-law!”
Li Yi immediately groaned, “Now that the two of you have locked eyes like that, my status as the boss has instantly been demoted to that of a brother-in-law. Who am I supposed to complain to about this?”
“Hmph, you’re my brother, so of course you have to call my husband ‘brother-in-law’!”
“Alright, alright, I can’t argue with you. But where’s my brother-in-law? I don’t see him anywhere.”
“There are still some sheep left to slaughter. He and Dongzi went over to the cold storage!”
“Huh, both of them are gone? Can just the few of you here handle everything?” Li Yi asked in surprise.
“We’re managing. Xinyao’s been helping out at the shop these past few days, and Old Li’s back too. With everyone pitching in, it’s a bit tiring, but we can handle it!”
“That’s good to hear!”
Just then, Third Sister suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, right. That Plant Manager Jiang calls at least three times a day, and every time he just asks if you’re back. If you have time, you should go see him!”
Li Yi knew that Jiang Longcheng was probably looking for him regarding the matter with the State-owned Assets Department, so he nodded immediately and said, “Alright, I’ll go see him as soon as I’m done with this!”
“So what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to check on the situation at the cold storage facility,” Li Yi replied.
“Do you know where it is?”
“I have a general idea!”
“Then I won’t go with you. I’ve been on my feet all morning—I’m going to lie down for a bit!”
“Alright!”
With that, Li Yi left the store and drove straight over to the cold storage facility!