By the time Li Yi and Li Na returned to the village, it was already 3:00 PM.
Even before entering the village, he sensed something was off—there were an unusually large number of ruts on the gravel road.
There was only one main road leading in and out of their village. Normally, it was used by mule carts or bicycles—not only was it in terrible condition, but it was also incredibly narrow!
You could tell just by looking at the ruts what kind of vehicles had passed through.
But today’s ruts were all over the place—there were tire tracks everywhere, clearly showing that quite a few vehicles had passed through.
Recalling what his father had said last night, he knew those so-called high-ranking officials had already arrived—he just didn’t know if they’d left yet.
However, when he reached the village entrance, he found more than a dozen vehicles parked haphazardly all over the place.
There were Volga sedans, 212 jeeps, and even a few three-wheeled mopeds—they were practically blocking the entire village entrance.
Carefully maneuvering the mule cart through the convoy, the two headed toward their home.
Before they even entered the courtyard, Li Yi spotted two women chatting under the eaves.
He was a bit puzzled—it was already three o’clock, yet his wife and second sister hadn’t gone over to the new house yet. If they waited any longer, the villagers would likely start bringing mushrooms over.
But when he drove the cart into the courtyard, he realized something was off—the woman with her back to him was clearly not his second sister; his second sister was much sturdier than her.
A guest?
The moment the woman turned around, Li Yi was stunned. Wasn’t this Huang Lixing’s wife?
What was she doing here?
It didn’t take Li Yi long to figure it out. It seemed the high-ranking officials visiting the village today were Huang Lixing and his entourage.
Upon seeing Li Yi return, Chen Chuhong immediately stood up, walked over to him, and bowed respectfully.
Huang Lixing hadn’t kept Li Yi’s situation from her; after A Long and that vicious woman were arrested, he had told his wife everything.
When Chen Chuhong learned the details, she was startled, yet also filled with gratitude toward Li Yi.
Seeing her with her large baby bump, Li Yi immediately told her not to be so formal.
At the same time, to prevent the mules and horses from startling her, Li Yi asked Tang Xue to take her to sit aside for a moment while he attended to the carriages and horses before joining them.
After unloading the mule-drawn cart and completing the full routine of watering and feeding the animals, Li Yi finally washed his face and walked over to Tang Xue and Mrs. Huang.
After a brief exchange, he learned that Huang Lixing and the others were at the elementary school discussing plans for its construction.
Without even stopping for a meal, Li Yi headed straight for the elementary school.
Soon, Li Yi arrived at the elementary school.
His appearance caused quite a stir; after all, the events of the day had far exceeded most people’s expectations, especially those of the village members and educated youth.
No one had expected Li Yi’s network to be so extensive—not only did he have connections with officials in the city, but he also had ties to that wealthy man who spoke an incomprehensible language.
Not only had this man come all the way from afar to build a school for their village, but he’d also mentioned a sum of 100,000 yuan right off the bat.
Wang Anguo, Huang Lixing, and the others spotted Li Yi and immediately came over to greet him.
“Mr. Li, it’s good to see you again. Please forgive us for dropping by unannounced!” Huang Lixing said, sounding slightly nervous.
Li Yi replied with a wry smile, “Mr. Huang, there’s really no need for that!”
“Hehe, don’t we have an old saying in China? ‘One should repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring.’ Mr. Li, you saved our family’s lives—how could I just keep quiet and pretend nothing happened?”
“All right, then!”
Li Yi then glanced at Wang Anguo and said with a smile, “Brother Wang, I’m pretty sure this was your idea again. You should’ve given me a heads-up before coming—always pulling these surprise visits!”
Wang Anguo chuckled and said, “I was afraid you wouldn’t let us come, so this was the only way!”
Just then, several executives came over to greet Li Yi.
Suddenly, Li Yi found himself the center of everyone’s attention.
After a chaotic round of small talk, Li Yi immediately turned to Huang Lixing and asked, “I heard you’re planning to build a school here, Old Huang?”
“Yes. Didn’t you tell me, Mr. Li, to build more schools to pray for the well-being of my wife and children? Well, I’ll start right here in your hometown!” Huang Lixing replied.
Wang Anguo then added, “Mr. Huang has decided to relocate the central school of your Hongqi Commune here and invest 100,000 yuan to build a modern comprehensive school.”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I think that’s a good idea!”
Just then, Director Yang, the newly appointed head of Hongqi Commune, suddenly walked over to Li Yi and said, “Comrade Li Yi, could you please talk to Mr. Huang about building that large school in Huangtu Village instead? After all, that’s where the commune headquarters is located!”
However, Li Yi shook his head and said, “Director Yang, I understand what you mean, but have you considered that Huangtu Village doesn’t actually have a pressing need for this school?”
“What do you mean?”
“Our commune is relatively close to the county seat, so many people actually prefer to send their children to school there. On the other hand, Nianzishan Village is more remote; building a school here could serve dozens of surrounding remote villages,” Li Yi explained.
“Well…”
In truth, they were all well aware of what Li Yi was saying.
But when they thought about a school built with 100,000 yuan—how large and luxurious it would be—and the fact that placing it at the commune headquarters would not only make management easier but also boost their prestige,
However, they also knew that the reason Mr. Huang from Hong Kong was willing to spend 100,000 yuan to build a school was entirely because of Li Yi.
With that in mind, Director Yang and the others felt too embarrassed to say anything further.
Afterward, Huang Lixing discussed his vision and plans for the new school with Li Yi.
After listening to Huang Lixing, Li Yi realized he was referring to the model of private schools in Hong Kong.
To put it bluntly, while such a model was suitable for cultivating elites, it was not suitable for the current situation in mainland China.
After all, the urgent issue facing the country right now is the shortage of basic educational resources. Therefore, Li Yi explained the model of the Hope Primary Schools from the future to Huang Lixing and the others.
After hearing Li Yi’s “vision,” Huang Lixing, Wang Anguo, Wang Anmin, and the provincial and municipal leaders were all utterly amazed.
The concept was truly excellent; once implemented, it would not only resolve the local shortage of educational resources but also generate significant social benefits, offering substantial advantages to both the donors and the recipient region.
Immediately, with the joint approval of these officials and Huang Lixing, the Nianzishan Village Lixing Primary School project was officially launched.
The name of the elementary school was also the result of joint deliberation between Li Yi and Huang Lixing.
Originally, Huang Lixing had intended to name the school Hongyi Primary School—”Hong” from his wife Chen Chuhong’s name, and “Yi” from Li Yi’s name. This would have served both to bless his wife and children and to express his gratitude to Li Yi.
However, Li Yi rejected the idea, finding the combination of his own name and that of Huang Lixing’s wife rather awkward.
Moreover, Li Yi had his own plan: once he became successful, he intended to establish his own charitable foundation.
Just like in his previous life, his Hongyi Foundation was one of the top charitable foundations in the country, helping countless people every year.
In this life, his achievements would only surpass those of his past life—they would certainly not fall short.
So he had no need to rely on someone else’s money to lend his name to a charity!
Seeing Li Yi’s firm refusal, Huang Lixing had no choice but to back down and decided to name the school Chu Hong Primary School.
However, Li Yi believed he could name the school Lixing Elementary and position it as a brand for Huang Lixing.
It also meant that if this project was executed well, it would benefit his business development.
In fact, Li Yi’s reasoning was that a good reputation would make investing in mainland China much smoother.
Consider the companies and individuals in later generations who are passionate about educational philanthropy: although they have spent a great deal of money, they have earned the unanimous recognition of the people nationwide for their reputation.
The common people are down-to-earth; they won’t let truly kind-hearted people come out on the losing end.
Right now, Huang Lixing might be using his own money to help others, but when the time comes, the entire nation will rally to support him—the results are easy to imagine.
However, Huang Lixing didn’t delve deeply into what Li Yi had said. He simply thought, “The Li Yi brothers have seen through something again; they’re offering me guidance.”
He made the decision on the spot: the school would be named Lixing Primary School, and all the schools he donated to in the future would bear the same name!
It must be said, this was a perfect misunderstanding!