Nianzi Mountain Village. The Li Family Ancestral Home!
When the two olive-green Jeeps pulled up in front of his house, Li Yi knew exactly who had arrived.
These days, only a handful of people could afford to drive a car.
Sure enough, when the doors opened, Li Gang was the first to step out.
What Li Yi hadn’t expected, however, was that the person getting out of the car behind him was Wang Anguo, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Upon seeing the two of them, Li Yi immediately walked over.
“What a rare visit! How did you two find the time to come see me?”
Wang Anguo said with a smile, “I heard you’d returned from Beijing, Brother Li Yi, so I came to check on you—and to drop off a few things for someone!”
“Deliver something? To whom?”
“Since we’re here, it’s obviously for you!”
With that, Wang Anguo opened the back door of the car and motioned for Li Gang and Li Yi to come help unload the items.
When they reached the back of the Jeep, they saw several tightly wrapped boxes on the rear seat—no one knew what was inside!
Li Yi lifted one of the boxes out—it was quite heavy—and asked right away, “What’s in there?”
“No idea!” Wang Anguo shook his head.
“Huh?”
“I really don’t know—I didn’t give them to you!”
“Then who gave them to you?”
“Old Huang and his wife!”
“Huang Lixing?”
“Yeah, a while back I got a call from Old Huang back in his hometown in Guangdong. He said his wife had given birth—it’s a girl…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi exclaimed happily, “Hahaha, well, congratulations to Old Huang!”
To be honest, hearing this news made Li Yi genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart.
Back then, when he stepped in to save Huang Lixing and his wife, he’d been incredibly conflicted and had hesitated for a long time before finally making up his mind.
After all, one misstep could have meant the deaths of not just two people, but seven or eight—or even dozens.
But looking at it now, Huang Lixing had ultimately kept his word, and the child in Chen Chuhong’s womb had been born safely—it was a happy ending for everyone.
Wang Anguo smiled and said, “It really is good news. Old Huang and his wife are incredibly grateful to you. They actually wanted to come by in person to thank you when the baby was born, but you weren’t here.”
“He called me again a couple of days ago. He said the baby had just been born and was catching colds often. Plus, with the freezing cold here in the northern frontier, construction isn’t possible, so they won’t be coming this year. They plan to come next spring when the weather warms up.”
“That’s only fair!” Li Yi said.
“Don’t interrupt!”
Wang Anguo continued, “Old Huang said that even though he can’t come in person, he still wants to show his gratitude, so he sent you a few packages. He was worried you wouldn’t be home to receive them, so he had them sent to our office and asked me to bring them over when I went home!”
Li Yi said with a smile, “So these big packages were sent by Old Huang?”
“That’s right! So when you ask me what’s inside, I honestly have no idea!”
“Haha, come on, let’s go inside and talk!”
The three of them then each grabbed a large package and walked straight into the Li family’s old house.
Inside, Tang Xue and Li Na were making dumplings. With the bitter cold and snow outside these past few days, they couldn’t go anywhere.
Plus, their eldest sister was about to return for her postpartum confinement, so Li Na had dragged Tang Xue into making dumplings.
Just as they were making them, they suddenly heard the sound of a car engine outside.
Glancing toward the front gate, they immediately spotted the group standing outside.
Seeing that it was Li Yi, accompanied by Li Gang and Wang Anguo, Li Na immediately cleared the items off the kang to make room for them to sit.
Once the three men entered and saw the scene on the kang, they immediately understood what was going on.
Wang Anguo immediately said, “Don’t bother cleaning up—we’ll just stand here for a bit!”
“That won’t do. You’re all guests—it wouldn’t be proper to have you standing on the floor!”
Saying this, Li Na moved the cutting board onto the large red cabinet and busied herself pouring water for Wang Anguo and Li Gang.
Wang Anguo hadn’t seen Tang Xue in a while, and when he saw her belly, which was as big as a basket, he was momentarily taken aback: “Sis-in-law, you’re only a few months along, aren’t you? How come your belly is so big?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Twins!”
“Tw… twins? You’re quite the stud, aren’t you!” Wang Anguo said with a laugh.
Li Yi knew his wife was a bit shy, so he didn’t dwell on the matter. Instead, he asked, “How are things on your end? Is work going smoothly?”
“It’s going okay…”
Before he could finish, Li Gang chimed in from the side: “What do you mean ‘so-so’? Brother Li Yi, you have no idea—since he took office, he’s cracked two major cases in a row. The higher-ups really hold him in high regard.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that he was just promoted and still lacks seniority, he might already be the deputy director of the Municipal Bureau by now.”
Wang Anguo chuckled and said, “That’s all thanks to you, Brother Li Yi. Otherwise, relying on my own merits alone, I probably would’ve been sent back to our county bureau long ago!”
“You’re being too modest. It’s all your doing—what does it have to do with me?” Li Yi said with a laugh.
Wang Anguo knew Li Yi’s personality and didn’t press the matter. Instead, he smiled and said, “I heard you opened a restaurant in Beijing. What made you suddenly decide to open a shop there?”
“I’d been thinking about checking out the capital whenever I had the chance. I didn’t expect such favorable policies to be in place right after I arrived, so I opened a small shop!” Li Yi replied.
“So are you planning to settle down in Beijing permanently?”
“Probably not for the time being!”
Li Yi had already thought this through. Before Tang Xue got into college, it was unlikely that their family would leave Nianzi Mountain Village.
For one thing, Tang Xue needed to take care of her pregnancy, and even after the baby was born, it wouldn’t be easy to take such a young child on the road.
After all, medical conditions these days aren’t great—there aren’t enough vaccines available for children, and even a simple fever could lead to serious consequences.
On the other hand, Tang Xue needed time to study properly. Back home, with her mother and third older sister helping to look after the baby, she could devote more time to her studies.
If they went to the capital, she would have to rely on herself, and she might not have time to study.
Besides, Li Yi was also concerned about the villagers of Nianzishan. Until the village’s livestock industry was fully established, he truly had no intention of leaving.
Hearing this, Wang Anguo and Li Gang visibly relaxed.
“That’s good. If you went to the capital, it would be hard for us to see you again!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “What’s so hard about that? I’ve already had a phone installed at the shop. Once I’m in the capital, if anything comes up, we can just give each other a call!”
Hearing this, Wang Anguo was secretly taken aback.
These days, getting a phone line installed isn’t that easy, especially in a place like Beijing—even with money, it’s not guaranteed you can pull it off.
Looks like Li Yi has some connections in Beijing too. This kid’s got some serious clout!
With that thought in mind, Wang Anguo suddenly spoke up: “Brother Li Yi, to be honest, besides helping Old Huang deliver this package, I’ve actually come to ask your advice on something else!”
“What is it?”
“It’s about my wife!”
“My wife—what’s wrong with her?”
Hearing that it had to do with that woman, An Hong, Li Yi immediately perked up.
Wang Anguo frowned and said, “I don’t know what got into her, but my wife has been thinking about quitting her job these past few days!”
“Why does she want to quit?”
Although Li Yi already had a hunch, he still asked instinctively.
“She thinks working at the textile factory is pointless and wants to quit to start her own business. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Hearing this predictable answer, Li Yi was still taken aback.
Li Yi knew An Hong’s business acumen—it was every bit as sharp as his own.
In her previous life, as a single mother raising an orphan, she had started from Qing Shan County and, step by step, built a vast business empire, creating a miracle in the annals of commerce.
Li Yi had originally thought that since Wang Anguo hadn’t met with an accident in this life, An Hong’s life path would likely change, and she probably wouldn’t enter the business world as she had in his previous life.
But now it seemed that while An Hong’s path had indeed changed—it wasn’t that she wouldn’t enter the business world, but that she had done so earlier than expected.
For a moment, Li Yi was completely stunned!