Nianzi Mountain Village. The Li Family Home!
By the time Li Yi and Jiang Xue returned home, it was already 1:00 PM.
Before they even reached the gate, Li Yi spotted a sedan parked at the entrance from a distance, and he was slightly surprised.
Although it was a bit far away and the license plate wasn’t very clear, he recognized it immediately as a Volga Model 3 sedan.
This model was the most common official reception vehicle in China during the 1960s and 1970s; most were imported from the Soviet Union, with a small number coming from Eastern Europe.
But the Volga Model 3 was generally reserved for high-ranking officials. Not only in a small place like Qing Shan County, but even in the entire province of Sai Bei, there were only a handful of them—so how could one possibly show up right outside his own front door?
In that moment, Li Yi couldn’t help but stomp on the gas pedal a few times, speeding up to get home.
But as he drew closer and got a clear look at the license plate, he froze in his tracks.
Wasn’t this the car assigned to Old Master Jiang? How could it be parked right in front of his own home? Could it be that the old man had come to visit?
Jiang Xue clearly recognized it as her grandfather’s car as well and asked in surprise, “How did Grandpa’s car end up here? Has he come to visit?”
“I don’t think so. It must be someone else—Dad or Mom!” Li Yi replied.
Although the old man had retired, someone in his position wouldn’t travel with just one car—after all, he’d need to bring bodyguards, doctors, secretaries, and so on.
With that, Li Yi pulled over immediately, hopped out of the car, and led Jiang Xue toward the house.
Before they even entered the door, he saw Jiang Shiying and Ye Lingyun sitting on the kang through the glass of the main house.
Pushing the door open, he indeed saw his father-in-law and mother-in-law each holding a child on the kang, with his eldest sister and father sitting nearby, while his mother was cleaning up after the meal.
Before Li Yi could say a word, Jiang Xue exclaimed happily, “Dad, Mom, why did you come over?”
Ye Lingyun immediately replied with a smile, “Your father had something to discuss with Xiao Yi, so I tagged along to see how you’re all doing!”
Li Yi turned to Jiang Shiying and said, “Dad, you could have just called. Why go to all that trouble to come all this way?”
Jiang Shiying chuckled and said, “It was the old man’s orders—I had no choice but to come!”
Then, Jiang Shiying turned to Jiang Xue and said, “Xiao Xue, come here and hold Yunrui. Xiao Yi and I are going to take a walk outside!”
Jiang Xue knew her father must have something important to discuss, so she immediately took little Yunrui into her arms.
After putting on his shoes and stepping outside, Jiang Shiying first exchanged greetings with his son-in-law, Li Shankui, before walking out of the house with Li Yi.
Once outside, the father-in-law and son-in-law began strolling slowly along the village’s country lanes.
Since the matter they needed to discuss involved some confidential information, and given that there was no danger in the village, Jiang Shiying’s secretary and Zhang Ziqiang did not follow them but instead kept their distance, trailing behind several dozen meters away.
“Dad, why did you put your official duties aside and come all this way? What’s this all about?”
Jiang Shiying replied immediately, “Two days ago, the British Empire sent a diplomatic note saying they want to meet with you during their Prime Minister’s visit. The authorities have agreed, and the old man told me to bring you back!”
Hearing this, Li Yi was completely dumbfounded.
But he quickly grasped the crux of the matter and frowned. “It seems 10 Downing Street has taken issue with me. They’re trying to test my limits!”
“Hmm, our analysis is that they’ve set their sights on your steel company…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off decisively: “Impossible!”
“Why not? Steel is a nation’s most critical strategic resource. It’s vital to industrial and agricultural development—it’s no exaggeration to call it a lifeline industry. It makes perfect sense for them to want to reclaim it from you!” Jiang Shiying said.
“Dad, I think you don’t quite understand capitalist countries. They don’t care who controls these industries right now. If they really need to, they can nationalize the company with a single decree.”
Li Yi continued, “Moreover, the more a sector is controlled by foreigners, the less qualms they’ll have about taking action.”
As he spoke, Li Yi recalled how, in his previous life, these Western nations had shamelessly seized the assets of wealthy individuals in hostile countries under the guise of sanctions.
From large-scale assets like corporations, villas, mineral resources, and sports teams, down to smaller items like cars, yachts, and private jets—once they set their sights on something, it would be seized.
So much for the sanctity of private property and the principles of freedom and equality—the moment Westerners completely tore off their fig leaf, all the lies they had been peddling crumbled instantly.
If they could just take it, there’s no way they’d come looking for him over this.
“If it’s not about that steel company, then what exactly are they after?” Jiang Shiying asked, frowning.
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Hong Kong, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce!”
“???”
Seeing the puzzled look on his father-in-law’s face, Li Yi immediately explained, “If my deduction is correct, that Iron Lady has reservations about my expansion in Hong Kong. She’s afraid.”
“You’re saying that Iron Lady is afraid of you?” Jiang Shiying asked, looking astonished.
“It’s not just me she’s afraid of—she’s afraid of the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce!”
Li Yi continued, “Dad, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce now has 32 members—all of them the most influential Chinese entrepreneurs and families in Hong Kong. They currently control one-third of Hong Kong’s business resources.”
“More importantly, the British-owned conglomerates that the Hong Kong government relied on have been crippled by us over the past year or so. Their current head, Dolsen, has already made it clear to me that he’s backing down.”
“And our Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s second general meeting is imminent. This meeting will discuss the admission of new members. If all goes as expected, more Chinese business elites will join after the meeting. By then, we’ll be able to control the majority of Hong Kong Island’s business resources through the Chinese Chamber of Commerce alone. Don’t you think that Iron Lady would be worried?”
Jiang Shiying nodded and said, “That does make some sense. But what exactly does she hope to achieve by approaching you? Does she want you to dissolve the Chinese Chamber of Commerce?”
“That’s a possibility, but more importantly, they want to confirm whether my position here is as significant as the outside world claims. That will determine what tactics they use against us!” Li Yi said.
“What do you plan to do?” Jiang Shiying asked.
“To be honest, I don’t want to deal with them, but since you’ve come all the way here today, Father, I suppose that plan is out the window!” Li Yi said with a touch of resignation.
“If you ignore them, aren’t you afraid the British Empire will resort to underhanded tactics against you?” Jiang Shiying frowned.
“Haha, if they really try to play dirty, it’s anyone’s guess who’ll come out on top!” Li Yi said confidently.
He knew full well just how many loopholes there were in the Iron Lady’s upcoming economic reforms; if he wanted to, he could take a big chunk out of the British Empire at any time.
Seeing Li Yi’s confident expression, Jiang Shiying sighed and said, “The elders up above don’t want you to take risks; they want you to go back for a while.”
“Hmm, I understand what the elders mean. I’ll go back!” Li Yi said.
“That’s good!”
Jiang Shiying then changed the subject and asked again, “By the way, tell me about Qing Shan County. What do you think of the place?”
“Not great. Other places might be bad because ‘barren mountains and treacherous waters breed troublemakers,’ but here, the mountains are truly barren—there’s nothing up there but rocks. But there are no treacherous waters, because there’s hardly any water here to begin with!”
Li Yi continued, “As for ‘troublemakers,’ that’s not quite accurate. While the locals are known for being a bit rough around the edges, they all have a red heart—they’ve never caused any trouble, so they can’t really be called troublemakers.”
“If I were to serve as an official here, would I have a chance to make a difference?” Jiang Shiying asked again.
“Of course there is—and the chances are very good!”
Li Yi knew full well that in his previous life, Qingshan County had leveraged its geographical advantages to vigorously develop agriculture and animal husbandry, effectively transforming itself into the capital’s vegetable garden, while also achieving quite impressive results in industry and services.
Although its economic development was far behind that of the coastal regions, compared to the present, it had still undergone earth-shaking changes.
Serving as an official here might not be enough to turn Qingshan County into a powerhouse, but it would certainly be possible to improve local living standards, promote economic development, and benefit the people of the region.
“Alright, I understand. Take me on a tour of the county this afternoon!” Jiang Shiying said.
“Alright…”
……….
PS: Chapter 2 is here!