Li Yi was unaware of the events unfolding at the Municipal Bureau; his remarks were based primarily on things he had experienced or heard about in his previous life.
On one hand, he spoke up to warn Wang Anguo, so he’d be mentally prepared.
On the other hand, Li Yi was doing it for his own upcoming plan!
He hadn’t expected, however, that the very day after he’d spoken those words, the incident would actually occur.
If it weren’t for the fact that this murder had taken place at least a decade ago—and that Li Yi had been only a teenager at the time—it would have been completely impossible for him to have committed the crime.
Otherwise, Wang Anguo would likely have suspected Li Yi himself first.
As for Li Yi, after exchanging his nationwide grain coupons,
he took Tang Xue to the supply and marketing cooperative, where they bought a batch of rice, flour, and cooking oil, and he also bought her some insect repellent.
Afterward, Li Yi took Tang Xue to the Hongqi Commune, where Nianzishan Village was located, to obtain an introduction letter!
By the time they arrived at the Hongqi Commune, it was nearly noon.
When they saw Li Yi driving his cart pulled by a big black horse into the courtyard of the Hongqi Commune, it immediately caught the attention of the officials inside.
“Hey, look who that is. Isn’t that the kid from the Li family in Nianzishan Village?”
“Old Liu, aren’t you talking about that ‘tough guy’ who threw every male educated youth in Nianzishan Village into jail?”
“Who else could it be? I’ve heard that this kid is particularly ruthless…”
…….
What Li Yi didn’t know was that even though he rarely visited the commune, his reputation had long since spread throughout the entire Hongqi Commune.
It couldn’t be helped. Hongqi Commune had always been known for its simple, honest folk, and for many years, no serious incidents had occurred there. In fact, in a commune this large, even fistfights were rare.
But this kid was like a catfish suddenly dropped into a pond—extremely aggressive.
Let’s not even mention what happened a few years ago; in just the past few months alone, he’s caused quite a stir.
Take the case of those male educated youths in Nianzishan Village, for instance. To them, it might have been a minor matter, but this young man, relying on his solid connections in the county seat, managed to get all six of them thrown in jail.
On top of that, when the parents and relatives of those male educated youths came to the commune to plead for mercy not long ago—and spoke of just how cold-hearted and ruthless Li Yi was—it only made his reputation for being “fierce” even more notorious.
Everyone knew that Nianzi Mountain Village had produced a ruthless man—one you’d be wise not to cross.
Li Yi was completely unaware of all this. He made his way with ease to the office where letters of introduction were issued and explained his business to the staff member.
The clerk was a young man himself, looking to be under twenty.
Seeing Li Yi, so young and accompanied by such a beautiful young wife, the clerk—whether out of jealousy or some other reason—spoke in a sharp tone, seemingly trying to test Li Yi’s limits.
Li Yi certainly wasn’t going to put up with that, but before he could lose his temper, a middle-aged official hurried in from outside and took the young man’s place.
In contrast to the young clerk, this middle-aged official was surprisingly courteous.
He was exceptionally diligent in handling Li Yi’s business, which actually managed to calm Li Yi’s previously frayed nerves.
Since the matter had been settled anyway, Li Yi didn’t bother to argue with the young man. He then took Tang Xue and left the Hongqi Commune in the horse-drawn carriage.
Watching Li Yi and Tang Xue’s retreating figures, the middle-aged man who had received Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
He immediately summoned the young man into his office and unleashed a torrent of abuse on him.
If he hadn’t happened to be passing by and stepped in to take the young man’s place, who knows what kind of mess would have ensued.
He knew full well that the young man was Secretary Wang’s father’s savior; at Old Man Wang’s birthday celebration, the young man had been a guest of honor, seated at the family table.
Not even the director of their commune enjoyed that kind of treatment.
This kid had no idea his place and actually tried to boss him around—wasn’t that like looking for trouble in a dark corner?
The young man who’d been scolded was stunned. He hadn’t realized that the guy who looked like a mud-covered peasant had such high-ranking connections. He’d nearly caused a major disaster and couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread.
Li Yi had no idea what happened afterward, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.
After leaving the Hongqi Commune, they set off on foot toward Nianzishan Village.
Since villagers would be selling mushrooms that afternoon, Second Sister alone wouldn’t be able to handle it all, so they had to get back early.
…….
By the time they got home, it was already 1:00 p.m., and both of them were starving.
Fortunately, their mother had steamed plenty of buns and picked some greens from the vegetable patch, which she stir-fried with an egg for them. They certainly had their fill.
After lunch, Li Yi took Tang Xue over to the new house.
When he arrived, his second older sister, Li Lan, was packing the sun-dried mushrooms into bags and stacking them one by one in the storage shed next door.
It had been less than a month, and the dried mushrooms already filled an entire storage room.
Seeing Li Yi and Tang Xue arrive, his second older sister immediately asked how things were going.
Li Yi asked Tang Xue to chat with his second older sister for a while, while he rolled up his sleeves and took over the work from her!
Li Yi spent the entire afternoon working at the new house.
To be honest, it had rained a lot in Qingshan County this year, and the number of mushrooms on the mountain had exceeded Li Yi’s expectations.
He had originally thought that a daily yield of three or four thousand catties would last at most a fortnight before dropping off—after all, these weren’t cultivated; they were all wild, and couldn’t possibly withstand such frequent harvesting.
But to his surprise, nearly a month had passed, and the quantity hadn’t changed much.
But upon reflection, it made sense. The hills behind Nianzishan Village are backed by Daqing Mountain, home to a vast forest stretching for dozens of kilometers, teeming with all kinds of mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and wild animals.
Plus, these mushrooms aren’t very filling and don’t keep well, so no one usually bothers to pick them.
If one spot runs out, there are plenty of others just as abundant, so the amount of wild produce the villagers have been bringing in hasn’t changed much during this time.
The only change was that the kids were bringing back less and less!
After all, they’re still quite young, and Li Yi worries that venturing too deep into the forest might be dangerous, so he only allows them to forage along the forest’s edge.
It would be fine if the adults weren’t getting involved, but now that the adults have started foraging for mushrooms on their “turf,” the kids are able to gather much less.
From a peak of seven or eight hundred pounds a day, the harvest has now dropped to less than four hundred pounds—a decrease of about half.
However, Li Yi wasn’t bothered by this; it was exactly what he had expected.
Compared to adults, the children were still young after all; their labor capacity and range of movement were limited.
Fortunately, their vacation would soon be over. Once they’d earned their money, they could return to school with peace of mind.