Early the next morning, Li Yi woke up to the clinking sounds coming from the kitchen.
He got dressed and got out of bed, only to find that Third Sister had indeed already started her morning chores.
Although she was now capable of making liangpi on her own, Li Yi would still come over to help whenever he had the time.
What could he do? She was his own sister—he couldn’t just hide in his room sleeping while leaving her to do it all alone!
The siblings worked from five in the morning until half past eight, then had a quick bite to eat before hopping onto the mule-drawn cart and heading for the county seat.
Li Yi had two main tasks to take care of in town today: first, to deliver some supporting documents to Li Yeqiao, and second, to buy some rice, flour, and cooking oil.
Although Liang Yukuai was acting as a guarantor for the loan, which made things a lot easier, there were still plenty of formalities to go through.
Therefore, Li Yi needed to first go to the commune to get the necessary certificates issued before heading to the county.
Since the county seat and the commune were in opposite directions, after leaving the village, Li Yi had his third sister head to the county seat first, while he drove the mule-drawn cart toward Hongqi Commune.
At 9:30 a.m., Li Yi finally arrived at Hongqi Commune and quickly obtained all the necessary certificates.
Only then did he set off from the commune for the county seat!
Because obtaining the certificates had taken quite a bit of time, by the time he arrived at the county-run restaurant, it was already 11:00 a.m.—a full hour and a half later than usual.
Xiao Wang and Xiao Wu at the State-Owned Restaurant were both delighted to see Li Yi delivering mushrooms again.
In Li Yi’s absence over the past few days, Li Shankui had been delivering the mushrooms. The old man was a rather taciturn sort; he would arrive, immediately weigh the mushrooms, and settle the bill, barely speaking to them at all.
After delivering the goods, Li Yi specifically asked if Liu Jingshan had returned yet.
The answer he received was, “He’s coming back today!”
Hearing this, Li Yi felt a bit conflicted.
It wasn’t because of Liu Jingshan, but because of Huang Lixing.
As the head of catering responsible for hosting VIPs, Liu Jingshan’s most important task at the state-run hotel was to serve Huang Lixing. Now that he was returning, it meant the mission was over.
Had he not intervened, Huang Lixing would have met his end last night—perhaps even crossed the Bridge of Forgetfulness by now.
But because he had appeared and intervened, Huang Lixing and his wife were safe and sound, while the murderous couple had been thrown into jail, awaiting their legal judgment.
This outcome can’t really be called good, nor can it be called bad.
Li Yi could only say he’d made a choice in accordance with his conscience; as for the outcome, that was beyond his control.
With mixed feelings, Li Yi walked out of the state-run hotel and headed straight for the nearby credit union.
Since he had been there the day before, Li Yi easily found his way to the door of Li Yeqiao’s office and knocked.
“Come in!”
When Li Yi pushed the door open, he discovered there was actually someone in Li Yeqiao’s office—and it was a woman.
Since she had her back to him, he couldn’t make out her features, but he sensed she was quite young.
Upon seeing Li Yi, Li Yeqiao immediately stood up and gestured to a chair beside him, inviting him to take a seat.
The woman also sensed that Li Yeqiao had other business to attend to. She whispered a few words to him, then stood up to leave.
However, the moment she turned around, Li Yi’s brows shot up in surprise!
It was actually this woman!
Just yesterday, he’d had Liang Yuke warn Li Yeqiao to stay away from women, yet here he was today, seeing the guy hanging out with this jinx.
And judging by the way they’d been chatting and laughing just now, their relationship was far from ordinary.
As for the woman before him, she might be unknown now, but within a month, her name would echo throughout Yunshan County—and perhaps even the entire province of Saibei.
After all, she was a classic example of a petty official with massive corruption, and the number of people she’d dragged down with her was as high as several dozen.
As she walked past Li Yi, she deliberately glanced at him—whether because she found him handsome or admired his muscular, robust build, he couldn’t say.
In any case, she gave him a few extra glances and even flashed him a flirtatious smile.
However, Li Yi merely frowned and shot her a look of disgust.
She was just a slut. He wasn’t in the habit of riding the bus—it was too filthy!
The woman didn’t seem to mind; she just smiled and pushed the door open to walk out!
By then, Li Yuanqing had finished his work and immediately came over to greet Li Yi: “Brother Li, did you come to drop off the certification documents?”
“Yeah, I just went to the commune and got the certificate sorted out!”
Saying this, Li Yi handed over the stamped documents.
Li Yeqiao took the documents and examined them carefully. Finding nothing amiss, he said, “No problem. Barring any surprises, the money should be available tomorrow. Come by then to pick it up, Brother Li!”
“Alright!”
Li Yi then added, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now!”
“Alright, see you tomorrow then!”
“Alright!”
Li Yi then stood up and walked toward the door.
Just as he was about to open the door, Li Yi slammed it shut again!
Then, with a grave expression, he said to Li Yeqiao, “Director Li, for the sake of our family ties, let me give you a word of warning: ‘Lust is a double-edged sword.’ Stay away from that woman from earlier, or you’ll regret it!”
With that, Li Yi didn’t hesitate a moment longer. He simply opened the door and left, leaving Li Yeqiao standing there, completely dumbfounded.
After leaving the credit union, Li Yi drove the horse-drawn cart straight back to the credit union.
As for Li Yeqiao’s situation, that was all he could do.
After all, the Buddha saves those with karmic ties, and medicine doesn’t cure the dead—the child who was meant to die already had blue lips.
He wasn’t the Goddess of Mercy; he couldn’t save everyone.
If Li Yeqiao listened, then the matter would be manageable; if he didn’t, there really was nothing to be done.
As for Li Yeqiao, hearing Li Yi speak like that left him feeling somewhat displeased.
What does he mean by that?
Is he implying that he has some kind of improper relationship with Du Caie?
Du Caie’s private life might not be exactly spotless, but what does that have to do with him, Li Yeqiao? He wasn’t her lover or a man under her spell.
Feeling increasingly uneasy the more he thought about it, Li Yeqiao immediately looked up the sugar factory’s number and dialed it.
When Li Yeqiao called, Liang Yukui was just about to leave work; he had even locked the door.
Hearing the phone ring, he worried it might be something important, so he unlocked the door and answered the call.
“This is Liang Yukui speaking!”
“Old Liang, it’s Li Yeqiao!”
“Oh, it’s Old Li. What brings you to call me?”
At that moment, Li Yeqiao’s irritated voice came through the phone: “Old Liang, what exactly was the deal with that guy Li Yi you brought yesterday?”
“What’s the matter?”
“He just came by to drop off some loan documents…”
Li Yeqiao then recounted what had just happened, adding that Li Yi’s words had made him feel very uncomfortable.
However, instead of the expected conciliatory words, Li Yueqiao heard Liang Yukuai say in a low voice, “Old Li, actually, Brother Li Yi asked me yesterday to remind you about this. I was planning to talk to you about it after work today. Since he’s reminded you personally today, that saves me from having to track you down separately!”
“Old Liang, what do you mean by that?”
“I can’t go into detail about Brother Li Yi’s capabilities, but since he’s already warned you, you’d better take it seriously. Otherwise, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!”
Liang Yukui continued, “Also, don’t take this the wrong way. You’ll come to understand the weight of these words in time. You should know that Brother Li Yi doesn’t usually share things like this with just anyone!”
“That’s all I have to say. You’d better watch your step!”
With that, Liang Yukui hung up the phone!
On the other end of the line, Li Yeqiao listened to the busy signal and fell deep in thought…
…….