Today was another cheerful day; on his way back to the village, Li Yi couldn’t help but hum a tune.
However, just as the mule cart was about to leave the city, he spotted a long line of people in the distance and wondered what was going on.
As the mule cart drew nearer, he realized a temporary checkpoint had appeared out of nowhere. Several armed People’s Armed Police soldiers in olive-green uniforms were stationed at the intersection, inspecting passing pedestrians and vehicles.
Seeing this scene, Li Yi knew immediately what had likely happened.
He clearly remembered that after that incident, all military, police, and militia forces in Zhengqingshan County had been mobilized, and thousands of personnel had even been borrowed from neighboring counties to join the search.
In desperation, the county authorities even issued an order requiring the entire population to join the search.
In the end, despite the efforts of over 100,000 people for nearly a month, they still came up empty-handed.
In the end, the person was never found, the case remained unsolved, and the massive commotion led to disciplinary actions against dozens of officials, including the county bureau chief, deputy chiefs, and the head of the criminal investigation unit.
It can be said that this incident triggered an unprecedented upheaval in the political circles of Qing Shan County.
More importantly, it wasn’t until eighteen years later that the case was finally solved.
This was exactly the incident Li Yi had warned Wang Anguo about earlier—he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
Soon it was Li Yi’s turn. Upon seeing the bright red mule cart, the Armed Police soldier inspected it thoroughly.
After all, for those human traffickers to smuggle people out, they would inevitably need a vehicle. Since cars were rare, the most likely option for them would be to use a horse-drawn cart to transport people.
Plus, with Li Yi’s cart piled high with large baskets, it would be all too easy to hide something inside.
However, much to the disappointment of the young soldiers, the cart contained nothing but rice, flour, and cooking oil.
Therefore, after the inspection, they had no choice but to let Li Yi go!
As they passed by, Li Yi saw the young soldiers’ faces, flushed crimson from the scorching sun, and felt a pang of sympathy.
In fact, he knew exactly where those human traffickers were hiding, because for certain special reasons, Li Yi had personally been involved in the entire process of cracking this case.
Although the traffickers hadn’t been arrested specifically for this case at the time—it was only after one of the suspects was apprehended for other crimes that he voluntarily revealed this case in hopes of earning credit—
It was only then that people realized that the child abduction case eighteen years ago—which had shaken more than 100,000 people—had actually been perpetrated by this very group.
At the time, Li Yi was already a business tycoon, and he happened to become involved in the case due to work-related matters. He was forced to participate in the entire investigation, which is how he came to know some of the details.
But even though he knew all this, Li Yi couldn’t tell them—after all, there were some things he simply couldn’t explain.
Fortunately, he also knew that the traffickers were only after money and had no intention of killing anyone, so the children were safe for the time being.
So Li Yi had no intention of intervening for the time being; if the relevant county authorities were capable of solving the case, that would be ideal.
If, however, the case remained unsolved as it had in his previous life, Li Yi would have no choice but to step in personally.
Fortunately, he had already warned Wang Anguo; if Wang wasn’t too stupid, he would come to him, and using his help to save the children would be acceptable.
……
When he returned home, Li Yi found the courtyard completely empty except for his third older sister, Li Na.
When he’d left that morning, the dozen or so people who’d been helping were all gone—even his parents weren’t home.
“Sis, why are you the only one left? Where are Mom and Dad?”
Li Na came over to help unload the cart as she replied, “All the mud bricks are ready. We just need to let them dry before we can use them. While it’s still light out, Mom and Dad went with Uncle Feng to the east end of the village to measure out the plot for our new house!”
Hearing this, Li Yi immediately stopped what he was doing and shoved the canvas bag containing the money from his waist into Li Na’s hands.
“Sis, you go move them inside. I’m going to take a look!”
With that, Li Yi dashed out of the courtyard!
Li Na called out after him, “Take it easy…”
Li Yi’s home wasn’t far from the site of the new house’s plot, so he arrived in no time.
From a distance, Li Yi could see a crowd gathered around the patch of black stone ground. Some held ropes, others held shovels—it was clear they were surveying the land.
Seeing Li Yi approaching, Feng Kai called out immediately, “Yi, come here!”
Upon reaching Feng Kai, Li Yi greeted them: “Dad, Uncle Feng!”
“Yi, the plot of land you requested has been approved. It’s five mu for the homestead and two and a half mu for private farming—a total of three mu!” Feng Kai said.
Li Yi felt a surge of joy and immediately replied, “Thank you, Uncle Feng!”
“This plot covers nearly a hundred acres. Just tell us where you want it, and we’ll mark it out for you!” Feng Kai added.
Li Yi looked around and picked out a spot that appeared generally flat. “Let’s go with this one. We’ll build the house here, set up a small courtyard, and use the rest as our private plot!”
“Alright!”
Shortly after, under Feng Kai’s guidance and with a dozen or so villagers looking on, Li Yi’s homestead plot was officially designated.
With the site settled, construction could begin.
That evening, after Li Yi had seen off the group of children who’d come to deliver mountain produce, the family could finally sit down and rest for a while.
Sitting on a small stool by the stove, Li Shankui packed tobacco leaves into his pipe as he said, “Now that the site is set, I’ll take some men to the quarry tomorrow to haul stones and lay the foundation. Remember to cook meals for the workers!”
“San’er, don’t go to work tomorrow. Stay home and help your mother cook—she can’t manage it all by herself!”
Li Na nodded and said, “Okay!”
Just then, Li Yi spoke up, “Mom, I bought quite a bit of tofu and glass noodles today, and I also bought a few pounds of meat. You can cook that tomorrow!”
“I’ll cook the tofu and glass noodles, but I think we should skip the meat for now. We can save that for when we raise the ridge beam!” Zhang Yuehong said, a bit reluctant.
These days, as long as the workers’ meals are passable, that’s good enough—after all, the family still has to pay them wages in the end.
Li Shankui took two deep puffs from his pipe, then said in a deep voice, “Listen to Little Yi—go ahead and cook it!”
“Husband, if we really make it, what will we eat when we raise the ridge beam?”
Li Yi immediately replied, “Mom, I’ll just buy something for the ridge-raising ceremony. It’s not like we’re short on a few bucks!”
“You’re such a kid—you’ve earned a little money and already think you’re the boss. That’s no way to act!” Zhang Yuehong scolded him.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Mom, buying all this meat and vegetables today only cost me five or six yuan, but do you know how much I made today?”
“How much?”
“Five hundred yuan!”
“How… much?”
“Over five hundred—608 yuan and 50 fen, to be exact!” Li Yi said.
Everyone in the family was taken aback by Li Yi’s words. Just a few days ago, he’d only been making a little over a hundred yuan a day, and even on his best days, it was only around 160 or 170 yuan.
They never imagined that in just a few days, their son could earn 500 yuan in a single day—an amount that matched what others made in a whole year.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Right now, there are over forty kids helping me pick mushrooms. Every day, we gather a total of seven or eight hundred pounds of various mountain produce. With more goods, the money naturally increases—there’s nothing to be surprised about!”
“Besides, the mountain produce business doesn’t pay this much every day. With so many people going into the mountains daily, it won’t be long before the yield drops.”
Li Shankui nodded and said, “Hmm, it’s good that you understand that. So, save as much of your earnings as you can—after all, you’ll need to support your family in the future!”
“Alright!”
Now that she knew Li Yi was such a money-maker, Zhang Yuehong didn’t feel bad about spending a little on meat anymore. She immediately decided to serve the workers pork stewed with glass noodles for dinner the next day.