By the time he left the branch office, it was already 10:30.
Li Yi first stopped by the Dong’an Market branch of Grassland Beef & Lamb to check on his third older sister, Li Na.
Lately, Long Zhanjun had been busy building his business in Pengcheng, leaving Third Sister to run the store on her own while pregnant, and Li Yi was very worried about her.
However, after seeing her, Li Yi realized his worries were completely unfounded.
These days, Third Sister was practically a queen—she only needed to give orders to handle the shop’s affairs; she didn’t have to lift a finger for anything else.
This was partly because Third Sister was already well-versed in the shop’s operations, and partly because she had capable staff by her side.
The staff at the Dong’an Market branch were all young men Long Zhanjun had transferred from Yong County.
To this group of young recruits, Third Sister was like their “big sister.” Now that “big sister” was pregnant, naturally they had to take good care of her.
On top of that, ever since Zhang Xinyao found out Third Sister was pregnant, she’s often come to the store with her baby to keep her company.
So, even though Third Sister was running the shop with a big belly, her days were actually quite pleasant and leisurely.
Li Yi chatted with Third Sister about the situation back home and told her about Eldest Sister’s pregnancy.
He also told her that once the autumn harvest was over, their mother would come to take care of her.
Upon hearing this news, Li Na was overjoyed…
The siblings chatted for nearly half an hour, and it wasn’t until almost 11:30 that Li Yi left the shop with Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and the others.
Thinking about his meeting with Old Chen that evening—and the inevitable grilling he’d face from that big shot—Li Yi decided to go home and get his thoughts in order so he wouldn’t be caught off guard.
However, when Li Yi reached the entrance of his alley, he spotted a Jeep parked in front of his house from a distance.
As he approached, he realized it was Jiang Longcheng’s car.
After helping his older sister out of the car, Li Yi quickly walked toward the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped through the gate, he saw Jiang Longcheng squatting on the flower-covered wall, smoking a cigarette and muttering to himself.
Standing before him was a man dressed in a shirt and slacks.
Since the man had his back to the entrance, Li Yi didn’t recognize him at first glance.
“Thump, thump, thump…”
Hearing footsteps at the entrance, Jiang Longcheng immediately looked out.
Upon seeing Li Yi walk in through the door, he immediately exclaimed happily, “Brother-in-law, you’re back!”
Hearing this, the man with his back to Li Yi turned around.
Only then did Li Yi get a clear look—it was Jiang Longze, the second son of his second uncle’s family.
His second uncle, Jiang Shiming, had two sons. The eldest, Jiang Longtao, served in the military—apparently in a secret service unit—though Li Yi didn’t know exactly what his position was.
In fact, even though it had been nearly two years since Jiang Xue had been reunited with her family, Li Yi hadn’t seen him once.
Among his second uncle’s branch of the family, the person Li Yi interacted with most often was the younger son, Jiang Longze.
“Third Brother, Fifth Brother (Jiang Longze was the fifth son in the Jiang family), what brings you here?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
Jiang Longcheng immediately replied with a laugh, “Hahaha, we heard you were back, so we came to see you. Plus, Longze has something he wants to discuss with you!”
“Alright, let’s go inside and talk!”
“Alright…”
The three of them then made their way to the living room!
After they had taken their seats, Li Yi poured water for the two of them and said, “Third Brother, isn’t the factory busy? Why are you out and about during work hours?”
“Now that the factory’s operations have been split up, each of the deputy directors is in charge of their own section. They only come to me when there’s something they can’t handle on their own—what’s there to be busy about?” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
“Delegating authority is a good thing, but you have to be careful not to go too far. Above all, you need to strengthen oversight of the leadership. Don’t forget the lessons from those corrupt officials like Gao and Kong!” Li Yi cautioned.
“Don’t worry. Your Third Brother here has already taken a tumble over this sort of thing—I won’t be tripping up again!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“That’s good to hear!”
Li Yi then turned his gaze to Jiang Longze and asked, “Fifth Brother, did you come to see me about taking up a post in Qingshan County?”
“Yes. The Party has given me two options: one is to serve as county magistrate in a county in North Ji Province, and the other is to serve as Party Secretary of Qingshan County in North Sai Province. I’m having a hard time deciding, so I wanted you, my brother-in-law, to help me analyze the situation,” Jiang Longze said.
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “That depends on why you’re being sent out to work in the first place, Fifth Brother!”
“What do you mean?” Jiang Longze asked, puzzled.
“We’re family, so I’ll speak my mind!”
Li Yi continued, “If you’re just looking to gain some experience in the field to make your resume look better, then I suggest you go to Zheng County.”
“Because Zheng County is located on the Central Hebei Plain. In terms of both population and resources, it’s far superior to Qingshan County, which is situated on the frontier. Plus, Zheng County is right next to Changshan, the provincial capital of North Hebei. Even just by leveraging its geographical advantage, Zheng County’s economy can thrive, and in that case, you’d be credited with making a real contribution as county magistrate…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Longze spoke up in a firm voice: “Brother-in-law, I’m going there not just to pad my resume—I want to get some real work done!”
“Then I suggest you go to Qingshan County!” Li Yi said.
“Why?”
Li Yi replied immediately, “Because Qingshan County is poor. It’s a completely undeveloped, untouched territory—a blank slate. If you go there, you’ll be able to fully put your talents to use!”
“Besides, Qing Shan County is my hometown. I know the situation there well. If you take up a post there, you won’t be in the dark.”
Jiang Longze nodded and said, “So, even though Qing Shan County is remote and isolated, it’s not without its advantages!”
“No, it’s true that it’s remote and isolated, and the people are poor and the land barren. But for you, these aren’t disadvantages—in fact, they’re actually advantages!” Li Yi said.
Before Jiang Longze could speak, Jiang Longcheng interjected with a puzzled look: “Brother-in-law, I’m a bit confused by what you’re saying. How exactly are those supposed to be advantages?”
Jiang Longze looked at Li Yi with equal confusion; he couldn’t see what kind of advantage this was either.
Li Yi smiled and said, “It comes down to potential for improvement. Suppose you’re a teacher with two students to teach: one consistently scores above 90 on exams, while the other barely scrapes by with a 30. Which student do you think has more room for improvement?”
“Obviously the one who scores 30!” Jiang Longcheng replied.
Jiang Longze’s eyes lit up as he chimed in, “I get it. Zheng County is like that student who scores 90 on exams. No matter how hard I work, my achievements won’t be very noticeable.”
“Qingshan County, on the other hand, is far behind Zheng County in this regard, but as long as we achieve even a small success, the progress will be very noticeable!”
Li Yi nodded and added, “Also, Qing Shan County is like a patient who’s given up on treatment entirely—how much worse could things possibly get?”
“If you go there and fail to achieve results, no one will say anything. But if you do a good job, it’ll be a major accomplishment—a tangible achievement.”
Jiang Longcheng immediately exclaimed in surprise, “That’s a no-risk, sure-profit deal!”
“Hahaha, that’s exactly right!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
Jiang Longze looked at Li Yi with a touch of gratitude in his eyes, then said, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll report my decision to the organization tomorrow!”
“Hmm, if you really do take the post in Qingshan County, I have quite a few friends there. I’ll introduce you to them when the time comes.”
Li Yi continued, “Also, if you get the chance, you should visit Nianzishan Village in Hongqi Commune, where I’m from. It’s a ready-made model for development!”
“Alright, I’ll give you a call once the transfer order comes through. Who knows, I might even have to trouble my brother-in-law to come back with me then!” Jiang Longze said.
“Sure, if time permits, I’ll definitely go…”
Just as they were speaking, the phone next to Li Yi suddenly rang urgently…
………….