Nothing happened during the night!
Early the next morning, Li Yi was startled awake by the sound of a baby crying. Realizing the child had woken up, he immediately got out of bed to check on her.
Rubbing his sore, swollen eyes, he threw on a shirt and hurried into the bedroom.
As soon as he entered, he saw Jiang Xue, equally bleary-eyed, feeding the baby. Since the twins could only be fed one at a time, while she was nursing the older brother, Yunrui, the younger sister, Yunjin, could only lie there crying.
Li Yi immediately stepped forward, picked up his precious little girl, and began pacing slowly across the floor.
Babies love being held; after just a few steps, the little girl quieted down.
By then, Jiang Xue had sobered up a bit and said, her voice tinged with exhaustion, “Did she wake you up?”
“No, you know I’m a heavy sleeper—I’ll be fine after a short nap. You, on the other hand, need to get plenty of rest. Don’t wear yourself out!”
Although this was Li Yi’s first time being a father, he knew how exhausting the postpartum recovery period could be for a new mother.
Newborns have very delicate digestive systems and need to eat small, frequent meals—basically, they have to be fed every two hours.
And every time the baby got hungry, it would inevitably start wailing at the top of its lungs—which was absolute torture for a new mother.
And with two babies at home, the suffering was doubled!
It had only been a few days, yet Jiang Xue, who had previously been slightly plump, had lost weight at a visible rate.
More importantly, due to severe sleep deprivation, she had developed deep dark circles under her eyes and looked utterly haggard—a sight that broke Li Yi’s heart.
Feeling her husband’s concern, Jiang Xue’s heart warmed.
Li Yi understood her, and Jiang Xue understood Li Yi.
She knew how busy he was and how hard he was working.
Moreover, she could clearly sense that ever since she had found her biological parents, the Jiang family’s status seemed to have placed immense pressure on Li Yi.
He had to work hard on his business and make money, all while handling the family’s various matters, big and small—which made Jiang Xue feel quite guilty.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, she tried her best not to disturb him.
After nursing for a while, Yunrui let go of the nipple. Li Yi immediately handed his daughter in his arms to Jiang Xue and picked up his son, patting him on the back to burp him just as his mother-in-law had taught him.
The little one cooperated well; after a short while, he let out a few small burps, then nestled into Li Yi’s arms and closed his eyes contentedly.
After nearly twenty minutes of fussing, they finally managed to lull the two little troublemakers to sleep, and the couple both felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.
Li Yi glanced at his watch and said, “It’s not even six o’clock yet. You should get some more sleep!”
Jiang Xue blushed slightly and said, “I’m a little hungry. Could you go to the kitchen and find me something to eat?”
“Sure!”
Li Yi grabbed his coat, threw it on, and headed toward the kitchen.
He knew that every night, the Jiang family cooked an extra pot of millet porridge. It had originally been prepared for his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, who had previously suffered from severe depression and anorexia—she could barely eat anything other than millet porridge.
Although her condition had improved, this habit probably wouldn’t change so quickly.
Upon arriving in the kitchen, Li Yi looked around the stove and sure enough, spotted a black clay pot sitting there.
He lifted the lid to take a look, and sure enough, it was a pot of millet porridge.
Li Yi immediately turned on the stove, warmed the porridge, then filled a large bowl to the brim and carried it back to the bedroom.
He then picked up a few pieces of sponge cake from the pile of gifts scattered on the floor and brought them to Jiang Xue as well.
Jiang Xue was indeed hungry. She began eating the chicken cakes in big bites alongside the millet porridge, and in no time had polished off three large pieces.
“Are you full?”
“I’m full!”
Then Jiang Xue said somewhat sheepishly, “I don’t know if it’s because I’m breastfeeding, but I’ve been incredibly hungry these past few days!”
“Back when I was working on the production brigade, eating just one meal a day was common. But now I have to eat at least five meals a day—it feels like there’s a wolf living in my stomach!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “You’re eating for three people now, so of course you get hungry faster. Don’t be shy—just tell me when you’re hungry, and if I’m not here, tell Mom!”
“Okay!”
Then Jiang Xue asked again, “What time did you get back last night? I don’t remember a thing.”
“A little past eleven. You and the kids were already asleep when I got back, so I didn’t want to disturb you!”
“That late?”
“The second son at my older brother’s house injured his hand playing with firecrackers and needed surgery. I was at the hospital helping out the whole time!” Li Yi explained.
“Oh my, is it serious?”
“It’s not too bad—it’s not life-threatening, but he’ll inevitably be in some pain!”
Jiang Xue had also heard her father mention the conflict between her older sister-in-law and the family last night, and she couldn’t help but say, “That sister-in-law of yours is really something. How can a woman alone take care of two kids? If you get the chance, try to talk some sense into her…”
Before she could finish, Li Yi interjected, “I’ve already talked to her, and she’s agreed to come back!”
Jiang Xue’s eyes lit up instantly, and she said happily, “I knew that with you handling it, everything would be fine!”
“It’s just a coincidence. If it weren’t for Xiao Li’s injury, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything!”
Then Li Yi added, “Don’t say any more. Go to sleep now, or the more we talk, the more awake you’ll get, and it’ll be hard to fall asleep later!”
“Okay!”
After saying that, Jiang Xue checked to make sure the two children were properly covered with their blankets, then lay back down next to them.
After settling Jiang Xue down, Li Yi found himself unable to sleep.
He got dressed, washed up quickly, then sat down at the small desk in the inner room and took out some paper and a pen to start writing and sketching.
It was now the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. According to their previous plans, both the barbecue and hot pot restaurant and the cotton mill were set to resume operations tomorrow, so there were a few things that needed to be prepared in advance.
The cotton mill, in particular, required a detailed plan!
Before the New Year, Director Tan had reported to Li Yi that the woolen and patterned fabrics from the batch he’d purchased at a low price had been completely used up.
He now faced two options: one was to continue purchasing raw materials from the cotton mill or other textile factories, then proceed with the routine production of overcoats and batwing sweaters to maintain the supply for the specialty store and generate profits.
The other option was to step back at the height of success, allowing the cotton mill to source its own raw materials and operate independently.
Of course, if he did that, the profits would naturally have nothing to do with him.
So, he had to think carefully about what to do.
As for which path to take, Li Yi had already made up his mind: he would step back while the going was still good. He had no intention of continuing in the clothing business.
It wasn’t that the business wasn’t profitable; rather, the broader environment wouldn’t allow him to run such a large operation. If he forced it to continue, he would likely be singled out as a cautionary example.
In his previous life, Li Yi had witnessed too many examples of people being greedy beyond their means—including the two bosses he had previously worked for.
With those lessons fresh in his mind, he had no intention of joining their ranks.
So, Li Yi’s plan was to transfer the brand management rights for Feixue Apparel, along with its two flagship stores and all sales channels, to the cotton spinning mill, and then help Jiang Longcheng build a mega-factory with annual profits exceeding 100 million yuan.
But for now, this was merely an idea in Li Yi’s mind; as for the specifics of the transfer, a detailed and feasible plan would be required.
Besides, he still had over ten thousand yards of cotton fabric left to sell, which also required serious consideration!
Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he took the time to refine his idea and turn it into a detailed plan.
Now, they were heading to the cotton mill to hold a post-holiday meeting with the factory’s key executives and, while they were at it, discuss the future operations of Feixue Apparel.