Li Yi and his crew enjoyed the meal to the fullest. Knowing that Jiang Longcheng wasn’t short on cash, they didn’t hold back when ordering—the table was covered in nothing but meat dishes.
A platter of braised beef, a pot of braised lamb, a bowl of pork ribs, a serving of braised pork belly, plus stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stir-fried pork with bean sprouts—all served with large bowls of dumplings as the main staple.
Even at village banquets, Dongzi and the others had never seen a lunch this lavish.
So, at Li Yi’s signal, the group dug in with gusto, stuffing their faces.
Once they were full, Li Yi prepared to take his leave.
He knew Jiang Longcheng’s mind must be filled with doubts, but he didn’t want to explain anything to him.
It wasn’t that he was unwilling—it was just that no matter what he said now, Jiang Longcheng might not believe him.
Wait a moment!
Anyway, this kid was about to be attacked tonight. He’d step in to save him first, and then explain everything to him later.
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately stood up and said, “Short-lived ghost, thanks for the meal. We’ll meet again someday!”
With that, he turned and walked out of the state-run restaurant with Dongzi and the others without looking back.
Short-Lived Ghost?
Hearing that nickname, Jiang Longcheng’s short temper nearly flared up again, but remembering what Li Yi had just said, he managed to hold it in.
“Wait!”
Jiang Longcheng stood up and looked at Li Yi, saying, “Um, leave me your contact info. Who knows, maybe I’ll come find you someday!”
“Haha, I live at No. 6 Dingxiang Hutong. If you want to find me, just go there!”
With that, Li Yi and the others left immediately!
After Li Yi and his group had walked far enough away, Jiang Longcheng fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Old Ye, what do you think of that kid?”
“If he’s not from Beijing and doesn’t have any connections, then he’s actually quite interesting!” said Ye Jianhua.
“Hmm, what he just said was terrifying. He even knew about what happened to my older brother. This guy is either truly capable, or he has someone backing him up who’s out to destroy the Jiang family!”
Although Jiang Longcheng had no interest in entering politics or pursuing a career in government, having been exposed to it from a young age, he was no ordinary young man—his political acumen was quite sharp.
“You’re right. They say flies don’t land on seamless eggs—and within the entire Jiang family, you’re the weakest link!” said Ye Jianhua.
“Get lost! Are you calling me a rotten egg?”
“Isn’t that exactly it? Don’t forget why you dragged me out for drinks today!” Ye Jianhua retorted.
After a brief pause, Jiang Longcheng asked, “What do you think I should do now?”
“Start by looking into this kid, then be extra vigilant!” Ye Jianhua said.
“Right. Your brother works at the district police station, doesn’t he? Have him look into that kid—first, find out if he’s arrived in Beijing in the last few days, and what his purpose is!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Alright!”
Then Ye Jianhua added, “Why don’t you go back and ask your old man if someone’s targeting your Jiang family? After all, your family was set up by someone over a decade ago.”
“No need. It’s a waste of time to ask. Which of our families hasn’t been through this?” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Alright, then! It’s just a shame about Brother Longhua. Sigh!”
“Don’t let this get out. We don’t want those gossips spreading it to my mom and upsetting her!” Jiang Longcheng cautioned.
“Got it!”
Then Ye Jianhua glanced at his watch and said, “Alright, I won’t drag this out. I’ve got to go!”
“Why’re you in such a rush?”
“Sigh, I’m going to visit my aunt this afternoon!”
“What’s wrong with my aunt?”
“What else? She’s having another episode!” Ye Jianhua sighed.
“Okay, you go ahead. Once I’m done here, I’ll swing by to see Uncle and Auntie too,” Jiang Longcheng said.
“You, just focus on your own stuff first. My aunt’s condition is chronic—it won’t do any good if you go!”
“Okay!”
…….
After Li Yi and the others left the state-run restaurant, they didn’t head back to their rented apartment but continued wandering around Beiguan Village.
Although Beiguan Village is technically a village, it actually lies at the junction of Beijing’s urban and suburban areas, and in terms of size, it’s quite extensive.
This morning, Li Yi and his group had only walked half a block in the vicinity—not even a twentieth of the entire village.
At the moment, Li Yi had less than 30,000 yuan in his pocket. Renting a storefront, renovations, custom-made grills and copper pots, plus purchasing various tableware—all of these required money.
So, he had only one chance to make the right choice. If he made the wrong decision, not only would he have wasted his money, but he would also have missed his opportunity.
Consequently, Li Yi spent the entire afternoon wandering the streets with a few of his younger associates.
Unlike the morning, when they’d focused solely on finding a storefront, in the afternoon they didn’t overlook even factory warehouses or school cafeterias.
As long as the space was large enough and the location was reasonably good, Li Yi made a note of it.
However, after wandering around all afternoon and viewing quite a few places, not a single one was as suitable as the building at the foundry.
Unfortunately, the “dog” at that location was too fierce!
Fortunately, they still had a few days left, so there was no need to rush.
What Li Yi didn’t know was that while they were busy wandering the streets, someone was already investigating him behind the scenes.
After all, since this matter involved the Jiang and Ye families, they naturally dared not take it lightly.
After Ye Jianhua relayed the situation to his cousin, the Beiguan Village Police Station was quickly notified. Soon after, several officers tracked down Li Yi’s address and paid him a visit.
However, to avoid alerting Li Yi, they didn’t make a big show of it, claiming they were merely conducting a survey of tenants in the neighborhood.
Uncle Wen didn’t suspect anything and cooperated immediately.
When the officers asked about the tenants in the west wing, Uncle Wen immediately recounted the details regarding Li Yi and his group.
However, Uncle Wen’s knowledge of Li Yi and his group was quite limited. He only knew that Li Yi was from Qingshan County in Saibei Province and had come to Beijing neither to visit relatives nor to attend school, but simply to see if there were any opportunities.
As for the rest, he wasn’t very clear on the details; after all, Li Yi and his group had only stayed with him for one night.
Seeing that they couldn’t elicit any further information, the Beiguan Village Police Station reported the relevant details to their superiors.
Soon, this information was passed on to Jiang Longcheng via Ye Jianhua.
Jiang Longcheng, who was working in his office, couldn’t help but frown when he received Ye Jianhua’s call.
Although the information uncovered was limited, it wasn’t entirely useless.
At the very least, it confirmed that the man had indeed arrived in Beiguan Village recently; as for whether he had recently arrived in Beijing, that remained to be verified.
Could that guy really be a charlatan… no… a fortune-teller?
Thinking of Li Yi’s assessment of him, Jiang Longcheng’s mood soured.
Although he was the most good-for-nothing third-generation scion of the Jiang family, he hadn’t done anything truly heinous—so how had he become a “short-lived ghost”?
Thinking of his parents’ disappointed gazes—as if they were scolding a wayward son—and the fact that the factory was in shambles under his management, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t help but feel both angry and frustrated.
As soon as he finally made it through the workday, he immediately called a few close friends, planning to go out for a few drinks that night!
Little did he know that as soon as he left, danger was already closing in!