Li Yi’s cooking skills weren’t exactly top-notch, but he was quite good at preparing specific dishes, including beef and mutton.
The two sheep weighed a total of 188 jin. After some thought, Li Yi decided to prepare them in two different styles.
One sheep would be prepared as clear-simmered mutton, the other as braised mutton, and he would use the heads, hooves, and offal to make a pot of offal soup.
Once he’d decided what to make, the rest was straightforward.
The clear-simmered lamb was relatively simple, though it required careful selection of seasonings and precise control of quantities. The braised lamb, on the other hand, was a bit more challenging, so Li Yi had to handle both pots himself.
As for the offal soup, the heart, liver, lungs, intestines, and stomach had to be boiled first, then sliced and shredded, while the head and hooves needed to be singed, boiled, and stripped of meat and bones. Li Yi delegated all these tedious tasks to others, leaving himself only to oversee the final simmering of the soup.
No sooner had he settled the two large pots of meat than Zhang Tongfu came in to find him, saying the hired cart had arrived!
Li Yi immediately asked the few women helping in the kitchen to keep an eye on the fire in the stove, while he strode out the door.
As soon as he reached the entrance to the dining hall, he saw Zhou Wen and the coachman standing there, surrounded by a crowd of villagers.
Li Yi walked over, first thanking the coachman, then instructing the villagers to unload the cigarettes and liquor from the cart.
Of course, he only had them unload the sorghum liquor; the remaining ten or so cases of Moutai were reserved for his father and the rest of the family.
After most of the goods had been unloaded, Li Yi handed a set of keys to Zhou Wen, instructing him to take the driver back to the new house to store the items in the west wing.
After giving these instructions, Li Yi returned to the dining hall.
As soon as he walked in, he heard Feng Kai explaining to everyone where the cigarettes and liquor had come from. The villagers had originally thought the village had purchased them, but they never expected that Li Yi had bought them for everyone.
In an instant, the entire dining hall was filled with praise for Li Yi, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.
“Uncle Feng, go ahead and hand out the cigarettes to everyone first—one pack per man. Don’t serve the liquor just yet; save that for when we sit down to eat!”
Li Yi continued, “Have the ladies pour the malted milk and orange powder into the thermos. Anyone who wants some can help themselves!”
“Okay…”
Thinking of how his own wife also liked to drink orange powder, Li Yi looked around but didn’t see Jiang Xue or the children, nor did he see his eldest sister.
Instead, he saw his mother at the nearby workbench, kneading dumplings with a few other women.
He strode over and asked, “Mom, where are my eldest sister and Xue? I don’t see them anywhere.”
Zhang Yuehong smiled and said, “They took the kids to the playground in the back to play. If you need anything, you can go find them over there!”
“Alright!”
After saying that, Li Yi headed toward the playground in the back.
As soon as he reached the back of the school building, Li Yi spotted a crowd of women and children on the playground from a distance—his eldest sister and Jiang Xue were among them.
Li Yi instinctively quickened his pace and walked over.
The moment he appeared, he caught the attention of the women on the playground. They began teasing Jiang Xue, making her blush with embarrassment.
She immediately set her child down and hurried over to greet Li Yi.
“You’re back!”
“Yeah, I’m back!”
Li Yi then pointed at the group of little kids in front of him and asked, “Where did all these kids come from? Are they all from our village?”
“Yes. After we arrived, we saw a few teachers taking these little ones out to play, so we brought Yunrui and Yunjin along too!” Jiang Xue explained.
“Hmm, it’s good for them to interact with the little ones more. That way, they won’t be timid when they grow up!” Li Yi said.
“You’re right—that’s exactly what I was thinking!”
“By the way, there’s some prepared tangerine powder up ahead. Do you guys want to go back and have some?”
Li Yi continued, “Besides, the sun is so strong right now. It’s best for the kids to play for just a little while to avoid heatstroke!”
“Alright, I’ll go gather them up and head back to the cafeteria!”
“Great!”
Soon, at Jiang Xue’s call, the teachers from the school’s daycare center (kindergarten) led the little ones back to the cafeteria with Li Yi.
All the children at the school’s daycare center were from the village itself; families from other villages generally didn’t send their children here, since the children were too young to board at the school.
Unlike typical kindergartens, which have age requirements, the village nursery has no such restrictions; even newborns just a month old are cared for here.
After all, the very purpose of the daycare center was to care for children who couldn’t live independently, allowing the adults to free up more manpower for labor—so they accepted children no matter how young.
When this large group of little ones arrived and saw their parents and grandparents, some cried, some laughed, and others demanded food and drink or tattled on their peers. The dining hall instantly became a bustling hub of activity.
Li Yi had just poured Jiang Xue a teacup of orange-flavored powdered drink and was about to take Little Yunjin from her arms when he heard a familiar voice from behind him: “Give me the child!”
Turning around, he saw his own father standing right behind him.
Knowing his father loved children, Li Yi smiled and handed Little Yunjin over to him.
Carefully taking his precious granddaughter into his arms, a faint smile appeared on Li Shankui’s usually stern face.
Meanwhile, Yunrui, who was in Jiang Xue’s arms, saw his little sister being held by Grandpa. The little guy stretched out his hands and babbled at Li Shankui, “Grandpa… hold…”
Seeing this, Li Shankui immediately said to Jiang Xue, “Hand Yunrui over to me too!”
Jiang Xue nodded and handed the little one over as well.
With Zhang Feng and Yang Miao around, she wasn’t worried the two little ones would wear out her father-in-law.
Li Yi, seeing the chaos in the large dining hall, immediately said to Jiang Xue, “Shall we go outside for a walk?”
“Sure!”
After saying that, Jiang Xue took a few sips of water, then followed Li Yi out.
The two didn’t leave the school grounds; they simply wandered around the campus.
Built at a cost of 138,000 yuan, the school covered over 120 mu of land. In addition to two three-story classroom buildings, it also featured an administrative building and three dormitory buildings.
Additionally, the school had a library, a cafeteria, a bathhouse, and a playground—all facilities were fully equipped. Even the county’s First and Second High Schools couldn’t hold a candle to it.
After walking around the school grounds, Jiang Xue suddenly said, “By the way, when you were in Hong Kong, didn’t you say we were going to do charity work and build a school? Are we still doing that?”
“We are. Why are you suddenly asking about this?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“Can I take charge of that then?”
“Sure, I’m sure you can. But why did you suddenly decide to take this on yourself? You know charity work is very hard, especially when you do it yourself!” Li Yi said.
Jiang Xue nodded and said, “I know, but seeing how this school has made our village so special, I feel this work is truly meaningful.”
“And have you noticed—every time Sister Chu Hong talks about the hundred or so primary and secondary schools they’ve donated to, she has a special aura about her!”
“A special aura?”
“Yes, it’s not just pride and joy—there’s also a sense of sacredness to it. It’s just… indescribable!” Jiang Xue said.
Li Yi immediately understood what his wife was talking about. The aura she described was actually the dignified and elegant demeanor often seen in people who regularly engage in charity—a reflection of inner kindness and approachable character.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to manage my finances after graduation? Why do you want to switch to charity work now?”
Jiang Xue gave Li Yi a loving look and said, “It’s because my husband is just too amazing. I couldn’t possibly manage all that money. Rather than wasting my energy on that, I think it’d be better to help you spend it—just like Sister Chu Hong does!”
“Alright, let’s discuss this further when we get back. If you’re really serious about this, I’ll set up a team for you later…”
Just as he was speaking, Li Yi heard someone calling his name.
He turned to see Zhang Feng rushing toward them, her face full of anxiety…
……..