After leaving the county credit union, Li Yi suddenly asked, “Brother Liang, are you on good terms with this Director Li?”
“It’s okay, I’ve dealt with him a few times!”
Perhaps worried he hadn’t made himself clear enough, Liang Yukuai added, “As for Old Li, how should I put it? Although he’s pretty smooth in his dealings with others, he’s actually quite sincere with his friends. He’s someone you can get along with!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “In that case, give him a heads-up later and tell him to stay away from those shady characters—especially the women!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Liang Yukui paused for a moment, then asked, “Brother Li Yi, have you picked up on something again?”
He was well aware of Li Yi’s abilities; several of his uncanny predictions had practically changed the course of his life. So, just like Wang Anguo and Li Gang, he had absolute faith in everything Li Yi said.
“Unless something unexpected happens, he’s in for a rough time!” Li Yi said calmly.
“In trouble? Is it serious?”
“Very serious—life-threatening!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll give him a heads-up later!”
“Mm-hmm!”
Then Liang Yukui asked again, “Brother Li Yi, Old Li is handling the loan, so it should be sorted out in two or three days at most. Why don’t we go grab a bite to eat now?”
Li Yi checked the time—it was already past 1:00 p.m.—and replied immediately, “I’ll pass on lunch. I’ve been away from home for several days now, so I plan to head back and check on things first!”
Liang Yukui thought for a moment and said, “Alright, that works. You’ll be coming to the credit union to pick up the loan in a couple of days anyway, so we’ll get together then!”
“Okay!”
“Should I drive you back now?”
“Brother Liang, just drop me off at the textile factory gate. My third older sister should be there—I’ll head back with her!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Liang Yuke started the small jeep, and the two headed straight for the textile factory.
At that moment, at the entrance to the textile factory, Li Na and Liu San’er had just finished packing up.
Business had been good today; the four hundred-plus sheets of liangpi and three hundred-plus white-skin pancakes Li Na had brought sold out in less than an hour.
Thinking that her sister-in-law and second older sister must be swamped with work back home, Li Na immediately loaded the stall’s supplies into the car, ready to head back to the village.
But just then, a military-green jeep suddenly pulled up in front of Li Na’s cart.
Under normal circumstances, Li Na would have been startled, but having seen this so often now, she didn’t think much of it!
But when the door opened and she saw her younger brother stepping out of the vehicle, Li Na’s eyes lit up.
“When did you get back, kid?”
Li Yi didn’t answer his third sister’s question. Instead, he looked through the jeep’s window at Liang Yuke and said, “Brother Liang, you go ahead and head back. Thanks for your help today!”
“No need to talk about that between brothers. We’ll get together later. I’m off!”
“Alright!”
After watching Liang Yukuai drive off, Li Yi turned to Li Na and asked, “Sis, I just got back this morning. How’s business?”
“It’s going great!” Li Na said proudly.
Liu San, standing nearby, added, “Brother Yi, it’s been so hot these past few days. A lot more people have been buying liangpi, so business is way better than before!”
“Hmm, then let’s make more of them from now on!” Li Yi said.
“Sounds good to me!”
By then, the cart had been hitched and everything packed up. After Third Sister settled Liu San’s wages for the day, the siblings set off from the textile factory, driving the mule-drawn cart.
Liu San, meanwhile, was pushing a handcart loaded with several buckets of dirty bamboo tubes and chopsticks as he made his way toward the city.
After the cart had been on the road for a while, Li Yi asked, “So now Liu San has even taken on the job of washing the dishes and chopsticks?”
Li Na nodded and said, “Yeah, he volunteered for it. I didn’t make him do any of that!”
“I know. He’s a good kid, isn’t he?” Li Yi said with a smile.
“He is. He’s hardworking, and a dollar a day is a fair wage!”
“Have those thugs been back lately?” Li Yi asked again.
“No. I heard from Liu San that those guys are still behind bars. Apparently, Captain Wang had them detained for a whole month!”
Li Yi hadn’t known about this, so he smiled and said, “Hmm, it’s good to teach them a lesson. Maybe it’s actually a good thing for them!”
“Right! By the way, you said you went to the city to make some money. How did it go?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “I got the job done, but I didn’t take any money!”
“Why?”
“I didn’t think I should take it, so I didn’t,” Li Yi explained.
Seeing that her younger brother didn’t want to say more, Li Na tactfully didn’t press the issue. Instead, she said, “Since you feel you shouldn’t take it, then we won’t take it!”
“Hmm…”
The two chatted as they walked, and they were back in the village before three o’clock!
Back home, her eldest nephew, Zhang Ning, was chasing butterflies in the courtyard. The little guy was full of energy—he wasn’t even worried about getting heatstroke in the middle of the day.
His mother was in the courtyard, washing clothes while keeping an eye on the little guy.
Other than that, no one else was home.
Hearing a noise outside the courtyard gate, the little guy knew his third aunt had returned and immediately ran over.
But when he saw it was his uncle opening the door, he immediately ran toward Li Yi.
Fearing he might fall, Li Yi quickly took a couple of steps forward and picked the little guy up.
“Did you miss Uncle?”
“Yes! Dxmbang,” the little one said in a babyish voice.
Although the toddler, not yet two years old, couldn’t speak clearly, he already knew how to express himself.
“How much?” Li Yi asked again.
Zhang Ning: “&￥%……”
The question was a bit beyond the little one’s comprehension, so he could only babble away in his own alien language.
His mother also saw that Li Yi had returned and immediately came over to ask, “When did you get back? Have you eaten yet?”
“I got back this morning. I haven’t eaten yet!” Li Yi replied.
“There’s rice in the pot; there should be enough for the two of you!”
“Great!”
She drove the mule cart into the yard, unloaded it with practiced ease, then led the mule to the trough to drink and under the big poplar tree to graze.
After finishing these tasks, the sister and brother finally returned to the kitchen to eat!
The meal was what their mother had set aside especially for Li Na: stir-fried loofah with vegetables, cold cucumber salad, and white steamed buns for the main course.
Nothing but vegetarian dishes—what a healthy meal!
In fact, Li Yi knew that compared to other families in the village, the Li family’s standard of living was already quite high.
After all, it was the lean season right now; many cooperative members had long since run out of grain, and quite a few families were surviving solely on wild vegetables and coarse grains.
To still have white steamed buns to eat at a time like this meant they were definitely a well-off family.
To be honest, if it weren’t for Li Yi’s turnaround over the past two months, the Li family probably wouldn’t be able to afford this meal.
Perhaps it was because they were hungry, but the siblings polished off a small bowl of stir-fried luffa and a large plate of cold cucumber salad, along with six white steamed buns, before finally finishing their belated lunch.
After the meal, Li Yi asked his third sister to clean up the dining area, while he wheeled the bicycle out of the main hall and headed straight for the new house!