The next morning!
Li Yi got up early; he was going to buy breakfast for Tang Xue.
Last night, the little girl had woken up crying in the middle of the night; it was clear that this incident had hit her pretty hard.
Since he hadn’t slept very soundly last night, he didn’t wake up as early as usual this morning.
Just as Li Yi had finished washing up and was about to head out, he opened the door only to find someone standing right there, leaning against the pillar and smoking a cigarette.
Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Long Zhanjun.
Li Yi said indifferently, “You’re here?”
Long Zhanjun stubbed out his cigarette, stomped it underfoot, and said, “Shall we talk?”
“Sure. I was just about to go get breakfast. Want to join me?” Li Yi said.
“Sure!”
The two then walked out of the guesthouse, one in front and one behind.
Once outside, Li Yi didn’t see any of Long Zhanjun’s men and immediately asked, “Did you come alone?”
“Yeah!”
“Did you ask your mom?” Li Yi asked.
“No. My mom wouldn’t tell the truth, but my sister saw her taking medicine in secret, and she’s coughed up blood twice!” Long Zhanjun said.
“That means your mother’s condition is already very serious!” Li Yi said.
“Can you tell me exactly what’s wrong with my mom?”
Li Yi paused for a moment before saying, “Heart disease. It’s similar to your sister’s condition!”
“Is my mother going to die?”
“Yes, barring any complications, she has about three years left to live!”
“Is there any hope?”
“There should be a way. Heart disease isn’t a terminal illness these days. If she goes to a major hospital in Beijing for surgery, they can manage the condition—just like your sister!” Li Yi said.
“Hmm, I’ve looked into it—it’s going to cost a lot of money!”
“How much?”
“Last year, my sister’s attending physician said that to cure her, it would cost at least five thousand yuan!” said Long Zhanjun.
Li Yi nodded. “That’s a lot. Now, with your mother included, we’re looking at a minimum of ten thousand yuan. Add in the follow-up rehabilitation costs, and it’ll be at least fifteen thousand!”
“Is what you said yesterday true? As long as I work for you, you can help cure my mom and my sister?” Long Zhanjun asked in a low voice.
“It’s true! I, Li Yi, never lie!”
“Alright then, my life is yours from now on!” Long Zhanjun said earnestly.
“Aren’t you afraid I might make you do something illegal?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“You won’t. I’ve done my research—you came here with your wife, and she’s pregnant. Normally, if you were a bad guy, you wouldn’t be running around with your wife!”
Long Zhanjun continued, “Of course, if you really are that kind of bad guy, there’s nothing I can do—I’d have no other choice.”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s still your own life. If I ask you to work with me, it’ll all be legitimate business—not any shady deals!”
“So who exactly are you?”
“Heh, you’ll find out later!” Li Yi said.
“So what can I do?”
“For today, help me find a vehicle. I need to go to the Maple Leaf Town Health Center to look into something!” Li Yi said.
“I can’t get a car, but I can get a tricycle!”
“Alright!”
With that, Li Yi pulled a thousand yuan out of his pocket, handed it to Long Zhanjun, and said, “Take this money for now. Don’t disband your men just yet—I’ll teach you how to make money with them later!”
“Well…”
“Take it. Since you’re doing this for me, there’s no reason for you to spend your own money!” Li Yi said casually.
“Alright!”
…….
Half an hour later, when Li Yi and Tang Xue finished breakfast and stepped out of the guesthouse, Long Zhanjun was already waiting at the entrance with two three-wheeled motorcycles.
Li Yi glanced at them. Neither of the tricycles looked particularly new, but they were well-maintained.
Seeing Li Yi and Tang Xue emerge, Long Zhanjun immediately came over to greet them.
“Brother Li, Sister-in-law!”
Although Long Zhanjun was older than both Li Yi and Tang Xue, he still respectfully addressed Li Yi as “Brother”—that was the unwritten rule of the underworld.
Tang Xue looked at Li Yi in surprise and asked, “Is this your friend?”
“Yeah, my friend Da Long!” Li Yi replied.
Tang Xue immediately turned to Long Zhanjun and said, “Hello, Big Long. My name is Tang Xue, and I’m Li Yi’s wife!”
“You’re too kind, Sister-in-law!”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yi said, “Today, let’s head to the Maple Leaf Town Health Center to check things out. Da Long, you lead the way, and we’ll follow behind!”
“Sure!”
Then, Long Zhanjun led the way with Ni Qiu, while Li Yi followed closely behind with Tang Xue.
Maple Leaf Town wasn’t very far from Yong County—only about ten kilometers.
Since it was a town on the outskirts of the county, the roads were fairly smooth, and with their three-wheeler to get them there, they arrived in just over half an hour.
And that was only because Li Yi was concerned about Tang Xue’s health and had deliberately slowed down.
After arriving in Maple Leaf Town, they asked around a bit to find out where the health clinic was located, and then the group hopped on their three-wheeled scooters and headed there.
The Maple Leaf Town Health Center wasn’t very large—just a row of a dozen or so single-story buildings.
It also looked somewhat run-down. Upon entering, Li Yi and the others noticed that the wooden signboard was in a state of disrepair, with the characters on it barely legible.
Parking the tricycles in the courtyard, Li Yi immediately helped Tang Xue off and walked inside.
The clinic was quiet; there were very few patients, and they didn’t even encounter a single person after entering.
Just as Li Yi was wondering if the clinic had moved, he saw a middle-aged nurse walking out of a room. Li Yi immediately led Tang Xue and the others over to greet her.
The nurse noticed them and approached, asking, “Comrade, are you here for a medical appointment?”
Li Yi replied, “No, I’m looking for your director. Do you know which office he’s in?”
“Our director is at a meeting in the county. If you have any business, you can speak with our Deputy Director Zhang!” the nurse replied.
“Do you know where Vice Director Li’s office is?” Li Yi asked again.
“Go straight ahead—it’s the second-to-last room!”
“Thanks!”
Following the nurse’s directions, Li Yi and his companions finally arrived at the door of Vice President Li’s office.
After confirming they were in the right place, Li Yi immediately knocked on the office door.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
“Come in!” a middle-aged woman’s voice called from inside.
Li Yi told Long Zhanjun and Ni Qiu to wait outside, while he and Tang Xue stepped inside.
Inside the office was only an elderly woman in her sixties. She had a kind and gentle appearance and looked like someone easy to get along with.
“Young man, young lady, is there something I can help you with?”
“Director Li, we’re from the county seat. We’d like to ask you about something—would that be okay?” Li Yi said immediately.
“What is it?”
“It’s like this: my wife was born at your hospital 19 years ago, but right after she was born, her biological mother gave her up for adoption. Now my wife wants to find her biological mother—I was wondering if the hospital might have any leads,” Li Yi explained.
“Nineteen years ago—what month was that?” Vice President Li asked immediately.
“November, around the 10th!” Tang Xue replied.
Vice President Li thought for a moment and said, “I was working at the health center during that time, and I was the only obstetrician there. How come I don’t remember this at all?”
Then, Vice President Li continued, “Young lady, could you tell me what you know about the situation?”
Without hesitation, Tang Xue recounted everything her adoptive father, Tang Jizhong, had told her to Vice President Li.
Vice President Li, being a kind-hearted elderly woman, immediately took them to the hospital’s archives and began searching through the records from that year.
However, the results showed that there were no records of a pregnant woman surnamed Ye being admitted for childbirth in November or the months immediately before or after.
Li Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He pleaded with Vice President Li to check whether a pregnant woman named Li Hongmei had been admitted that year.
The result was the same—there was none!
At this point, the situation was actually quite clear: unless there was an error in the clinic’s records, then Tang Jizhong and his wife had lied!
With a mix of regret and anger, the group left the Maple Leaf Town Health Center in disappointment!