Tang Xue was feeling quite emotional, and after reading all morning, she was also a bit tired.
So after chatting with Li Yi for a while, she drifted off into a deep sleep!
Li Yi immediately tucked the blanket around her, then tiptoed to the floor and began organizing the gifts he’d brought back.
This time, in addition to buying some clothes and snacks for Tang Xue, he had also bought new clothes for his parents and his older and younger sisters.
In past years, no matter how poor the harvest, his parents would always do their best to make him a new outfit for the New Year.
If times were good, and Li Yi hadn’t gotten into trouble that year, his third sister would also get to enjoy the benefits and receive some new clothes.
As for his parents themselves, they never considered buying new clothes regardless of the harvest—they hadn’t bought any in years.
The Li family had made a decent income this year, and Li Yi had bought them some new clothes, but most were for summer; they still didn’t have any for winter.
So while he was out shopping with An Hong at the department store, Li Yi bought a new outfit for each member of his family.
He wanted to buy shoes too, but since he was traveling alone, he simply couldn’t carry them back, so he had to give up on that!
Fortunately, the local supply and marketing cooperative also sold shoes, and buying them there wouldn’t be much different!
Just as he was finishing packing everything up, Li Yi saw his second older sister walking in from outside, carrying a cloth basket.
Just as she was about to speak, Li Yi immediately whispered, “Xiao Xue just fell asleep. Let’s keep our voices down!”
“Okay, Yi. I need to ask you something!”
“What is it?”
“Are you still going this time?”
“What? Do you want to go back, sis?”
“Yeah. If you’re not leaving, I’ll go back first. But if you’re still planning to go, then I’ll stay a little longer!”
“Then you should stay a few more days. I’ll have to head to the capital in a few days, though Xiao Xue might come along too!” Li Yi said.
Hearing this, Second Sister immediately frowned and snapped, “Don’t get too cocky just because you’ve got a few coins. Xiao Xue is already seven months old—taking her on a long trip like this is just reckless!”
Li Lan had a strong-willed temperament; from childhood onward, she was the only one in the family who dared to discipline Li Yi.
Even now that her younger brother was married, whenever she saw something wrong, she still spoke her mind and didn’t hold back from scolding him!
Li Yi smiled and said, “Sis, you’re jumping to conclusions. I’d never take Xiao Xue off on a wild adventure, but if her biological father insists on taking her back to trace her family roots, how can I stop him?”
“Trace her family roots?”
Her second sister looked at Li Yi in shock and asked, “So… they found him?”
“Yep! We found him—right here in Beijing!”
“Oh my, that’s wonderful news! That poor girl has really had it rough!”
Then the second sister asked again, “What are Xiao Xue’s biological parents like? They aren’t some shady characters, are they?”
“No, they’re really nice people!”
“That’s good! But you have to remember, Xiaoxue has already been hurt once—you can’t let her suffer any more!” Li Lan said.
“Don’t worry, sis. Xiaoxue is my wife—would I ever let anyone bully her?” Li Yi said.
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease!”
Li Yi thought about the money he still needed to deliver to Dongzi’s family and the others, so he immediately said, “Sis, stay here for a bit. I’m going to Uncle Leizi’s place!”
“Alright, and when you come back, pick up Ningning from the old house. That kid insists on staying with his grandma—I can’t get him to come back no matter what!” Second Sister instructed.
“Got it!”
With that, Li Yi put on some warm clothes and headed out the door!
……
Beiguan Village, Beijing!
Today, a district inspection team of over sixty people visited the restaurant, keeping Li Na, Long Zhanjun, and the others incredibly busy.
They had just seen off the last table of customers, and everyone was nearly exhausted!
Since they’d been so busy at lunchtime, the kitchen hadn’t prepared a proper meal. So Long Zhanjun asked Dongzi to throw together a big pot of stew with beef and lamb slices and assorted vegetables, just to get everyone by.
Just as everyone was about to eat, the sound of a car engine suddenly roared outside the shop.
Then, a jeep pulled up outside the shop.
Hearing the noise, Li Na immediately came over to check what was going on.
A man and a woman got out of the car, and the man supported the woman as they walked into the shop!
Li Na thought they were customers looking for a meal and immediately said, “Sorry, you two, we’re closed!”
Jiang Shiying immediately replied, “We’re not here to eat; we’re here to see Li Yi!”
“You know my brother?”
“Are you Li Yi’s sister?” Jiang Shiying asked, somewhat surprised.
“Yes, my name is Li Na. I’m his third older sister!”
“I’m Jiang Shiying, his friend. This is my wife!” Jiang Shiying said, pointing to Ye Lingyun beside him.
Li Na instinctively looked at Ye Lingyun, and upon seeing her appearance, couldn’t help but take a second look.
Men and women have different perspectives and criteria when judging others. Men generally focus only on a woman’s face, while women scrutinize a woman’s appearance, demeanor, and expression in great detail.
Although Ye Lingyun looked extremely thin at the moment—so thin she was almost unrecognizable—Li Na still felt that the woman before her bore a striking resemblance to her own sister-in-law!
Especially since she had seen Tang Xue when she first arrived—she had been extremely thin back then and bore a striking resemblance to the woman standing before her.
Noticing that Li Na had been staring at her, Ye Lingyun immediately asked, “Miss, is there something wrong with me?”
Caught off guard by Ye Lingyun’s question, Li Na snapped back to her senses and realized her behavior had been a bit rude.
“No, it’s just that I think you look a lot like my sister-in-law!”
Ye Lingyun smiled slightly and said, “Little Li said the same thing when she visited my home the other day. It seems I really do bear a resemblance to Little Li’s wife!”
Li Na immediately replied, “It’s not just a few—they look at least seventy or eighty percent alike. If you were a little heavier, you’d look even more like her!”
“Is it really that similar?” Ye Lingyun asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
“It’s really that similar. Why don’t I show you a photo of my sister-in-law…”
Before she could finish, Long Zhanjun’s voice came from behind them: “Comrade Jiang, you’re here?”
His words instantly caught everyone’s attention, and Li Na’s sentence trailed off abruptly.
“Yes, we’re here to look for Xiao Li. Where is he?”
Li Na replied immediately, “Xiao Yi went back to his hometown. He left yesterday. Is there something you need from him?”
“Oh, nothing much. I’m planning to head back south tomorrow, so I came by specifically to say goodbye to him, but I didn’t expect he wouldn’t be here!” Jiang Shiying said with a smile.
“Then I’ll let him know when he gets back!” Li Na said.
“Sure!”
“Have you guys eaten yet? If not, why don’t we have a meal together?” Li Na asked warmly.
“Thanks, but we’ve already eaten!” Jiang Shiying replied.
“All right, then!”
Since Li Yi wasn’t there, Jiang Shiying and her husband didn’t feel like staying any longer.
They said goodbye to Li Na and left the hot pot restaurant.
Jiang Shiying and Ye Lingyun had no idea what they were missing by turning away.
……