Three days had passed since his last meeting with Old Chen!
During those three days, the authorities hadn’t made a single move.
And in accordance with Old Chen’s and his father-in-law’s requests, Li Yi had refrained from further exposing the criminal activities of the “Kitchen Knife Gang” and other gangs in the media; everything appeared calm.
But Li Yi knew that the current calm was merely the darkness before dawn, the stillness before the storm.
In fact, behind the scenes, the situation had already become turbulent, with undercurrents swirling.
Li Yi could see this from his father-in-law’s schedule over the past few days.
Ever since that day, his father-in-law had been either in meetings or on his way to them; even the family dinner they had planned fell through because of his busy schedule.
Li Yi had learned from a reliable source that his father-in-law and his colleagues had been discussing whether to launch a “crackdown” campaign.
Judging by the frequency of these meetings, it was clear that those in power also had reservations about the matter and were somewhat hesitant.
However, Li Yi also knew that public opinion was growing increasingly intense; the public outcry had already taken hold, and even if those in power wanted to suppress it, it wouldn’t be easy.
No matter how many reservations they had, the final outcome would inevitably be exactly as he had anticipated—they would go ahead with it!
Sure enough, on the afternoon of January 5th, just as Li Yi was about to head out with Zhang Ziqiang to look at houses, his father-in-law arrived.
As soon as he walked in, Jiang Shiying pulled Li Yi into the study and closed the door.
Seeing that Li Yi was about to pour him a glass of water, Jiang Shiying immediately said, “That’s enough, don’t bother. I have something to discuss with you!”
“Dad, what is it? Go ahead,” Li Yi said.
Jiang Shiying replied immediately, “I have some good news for you. After careful consideration by the higher-ups, they’ve finally decided to launch a nationwide special operation targeting criminal offenses. There will be simultaneous political actions as well. The plan you set in motion—it’s worked.”
“That really is great news. When do the higher-ups plan to launch the operation?” Li Yi asked excitedly.
“Before the end of the month. Before then, the higher-ups need to do some public outreach to prepare the public mentally!” Jiang Shiying replied.
“Hmm, then let those scum from the Liu family run wild for a few more days!” Li Yi said coldly.
“They won’t be wriggling around for much longer anyway. I came over specifically to tell you that you don’t need to worry about the Liu family anymore. Old Chen has already tasked me with leading a special task force dedicated to investigating them. You can rest easy now!” Jiang Shiying said.
Li Yi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “If you lead the investigation into the Liu family, won’t people think the Jiang family is settling a personal score?”
“What others think is none of our business. We just need to do our job!”
“You’re right. In that case, I won’t get involved. But there’s something I need to mention to you!”
“What is it?”
“This time, you shouldn’t just be investigating the Liu family—you need to go after their lackeys as well, especially those rotten apples within the public security system. They must be severely punished. If it weren’t for them acting as accomplices, Liu Dongping wouldn’t dare to be so brazen and arrogant!” Li Yi said.
“Hmm, then let’s start by investigating these moles first!” Jiang Shiying said.
“Then I’ll leave this matter in your hands!”
“You really deserve a good smack—now you’re being all polite with me!”
Jiang Shiying then changed the subject and added, “By the way, Old Chen asked me to tell you that things in Beijing might get pretty chaotic soon. To prevent certain people from lashing out in desperation, and to avoid having others link the crackdown and the investigation into the Liu family to you, Old Chen suggests you leave town for a while to lie low!”
“Of course, this is just a suggestion. If you don’t want to leave the capital, that’s fine too. With State Security protecting you, I’m sure you’ll be just fine.”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Dad, I actually have some business that requires a trip to Lin’an. I was planning to leave next week, but moving it up a few days works just fine!”
The trip south to Lin’an was something Li Yi had planned long ago, primarily because of Xiao Jingyu’s illness.
In his previous life, Xiao Jingzhu’s illness had struck at the start of the following spring—heart disease coupled with a severe lung infection. Had it not been for Third Sister’s devoted care over the course of half a year, the little girl might not have survived.
While her condition hadn’t yet worsened, Li Yi intended to find an excuse to help her resolve this potential health risk.
Li Yi felt deep gratitude and compassion for this niece, who had spent most of her life by his third sister’s side in his previous life.
In this life, he intended to grant the Xu family a lifetime of wealth and prosperity—and naturally, this young girl would have her share as well!
“Hmm, it would be best to take Xiao Xue and the children along too!” Jiang Shiying urged.
“Not just Xiao Xue and the children—everyone in the family should come along. We won’t return to Beijing until the Liu family is wiped out!” Li Yi declared.
Although Li Yi wasn’t worried about his own safety—after all, he’d witnessed the capabilities of Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and the others firsthand; if they could keep him safe in a place as dangerous as Hong Kong, the capital would be no problem—
But in matters like this, it’s not the ten thousand possibilities one fears, but the one in a million. Once certain people get desperate, they’re capable of anything at any moment.
Furthermore, if those people couldn’t find a way to harm him, they might shift their target to his family. Li Yi would never take the safety of his wife, children, and parents lightly.
“It’s not that dramatic!”
Seeing the determination in Li Yi’s eyes, Jiang Shiying replied with a touch of resignation, “Fine, do whatever you think is best. I’ll let you know if anything new comes up!”
“Got it!”
“Alright, I’ve got things to do, so I’ll be heading out. You and Xue must call me and your mom before you leave!”
With that, Jiang Shiying stood up and left the Li family courtyard…
After seeing his father-in-law off, Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then picked up the phone and dialed Wang Anguo.
Once the call connected, Li Yi told Wang Anguo straight away that the matter regarding the Liu family had been taken care of.
Barring any surprises, it wouldn’t be long before the Liu family was uprooted—they just needed to wait patiently.
At the same time, Li Yi instructed Wang Anguo to keep dragging out Liu Dongping’s case; under no circumstances should they close the case on that bastard before the Liu family had fallen.
Of course, Li Yi didn’t forget to remind them to stay safe!
After taking care of these matters, Li Yi personally paid a visit to his third sister’s home.
He explained the situation to his third sister’s husband, Long Zhanjun, and expressed his intention to take his third sister, her children, and his mother to Lin’an for a while.
Li Yi had originally worried that Long Zhanjun might refuse, but to his surprise, upon hearing that his third sister and the child might be in danger if they stayed in the capital, Long Zhanjun agreed without hesitation.
Additionally, there was an urgent matter at the catering company in Pengcheng that required him to return, but he’d been worried about leaving his wife and child behind. Now that Li Yi was taking his wife and child to Lin’an to look after them, he could go to Pengcheng with peace of mind.
Next, Li Yi went to his second sister’s house, intending to bring her family along as well.
In Li Yi’s view, aside from lying low, they might as well treat it as a family vacation—and naturally, Second Sister’s family couldn’t be left out.
However, his second sister, Li Lan, wasn’t home; she was currently away on a business trip. Only her husband and Juanzi, who was helping to look after little Zhang Ning, were at home.
Upon learning of the situation, her husband declined Li Yi’s offer because he had to mind the store, but he did allow Li Yi to take Juanzi and their son, Zhang Ning, to Lin’an.
Li Yi knew that even if those scum from the Liu family wanted revenge, their target could only be him.
Since staying in Beijing posed almost no danger to him, he immediately agreed to the request!
Li Yi then stopped by the office to brief Lan Xinyi on some work matters before returning home to pack his bags for the trip south.
By the time Jiang Xue returned from school, Li Yi had already made all the necessary preparations for the trip south; he had even had Zhou Rui book the plane tickets…
………..