Before we knew it, it was already the end of April!
With the temperature having fully rebounded, the earlier spring chill was long gone.
The capital now enjoyed pleasant weather, with flowers in full bloom, a riot of colors.
In the courtyard, Li Yi was helping Jiang Xue plant trees and flowers.
A couple of days ago, the young lady had accompanied her mother-in-law on a visit to the campus of Beijing University. Seeing the magnolias, peach blossoms, crabapples, and other flowers blooming one after another, she instantly fell in love with the vibrant, blooming scenery.
Upon returning, she discussed with Li Yi her desire to fill their small courtyard with flowers and plants, and even plant some of her favorite trees within the grounds.
Naturally, Li Yi had no objections; after all, the space was so small that she could do whatever she pleased with it.
So, the young couple set about reorganizing the courtyard.
After planting the last packet of flower seeds, Li Yi stretched his aching back and glanced at Jiang Xue, who was beaming with joy.
“I didn’t realize planting flowers would be so tiring. Looks like I’m just not cut out for farm work!”
Jiang Xue smiled and said, “Don’t even mention farm work. Even though you’re from the village, when it comes to working the fields, you’re no match for me—a city girl!”
Li Yi chuckled and said, “My city girl, let’s just think about what we’re having for lunch!”
“How about we have zhajiang noodles? I had them once with Mom at her workplace, and they were so delicious!”
“Zha Jiang Mian, huh? It’s a deal!”
With that, Li Yi gathered up the tools in the yard, then headed to the kitchen and got to work.
Watching her husband take on the role of a stay-at-home dad, a smile couldn’t help but spread across Jiang Xue’s face.
Ever since the old man’s 80th birthday, Li Yi had been holed up at home, living the “dream life” of a cozy home with his wife and child.
Apart from the occasional trip to the shop, he basically stayed at home all the time.
Every morning, Li Yi would get up early to prepare breakfast for the family, either cooking it himself or buying it from outside.
During the day, while Jiang Xue studied, he took care of entertaining the child and running errands for groceries, and he also handled all the household chores.
In the evenings, after Juanzi came home from school, Li Yi would have her watch the child while he took Jiang Xue for a walk in the nearby Imperial City or the park.
Although their days are relatively uneventful, they are warm and happy!
They had just finished lunch and were about to take a nap when they suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Li Yi immediately slipped on his slippers and headed for the door.
“Who is it?”
“Master, it’s me, Old Zhao!”
Hearing Master Zhao’s voice, Li Yi opened the door right away.
Master Zhao was the master craftsman who had renovated this courtyard for him. Last year, Master Zhao, along with his apprentice and several other workers, had helped Li Yi renovate the interior of the courtyard.
However, since the weather was quite cold, many outdoor jobs couldn’t be done, so once the weather warmed up, Li Yi had him come back for another round.
As Master Zhao stepped through the door, Li Yi asked right away, “Have you finished the job over there?”
A couple of days ago, when Li Yi had gone to see Master Zhao, he was in the middle of renovating someone else’s home, so Li Yi had asked him to stop by the Li residence once he was finished.
“I just finished this morning. I grabbed a quick bite and came straight over!” Master Zhao said with a smile.
“You know the situation here. The outer walls of this little courtyard need some repairs, and some of the roof tiles are cracked. It even leaked during the rain a couple of days ago. See if you can fix that up for me!”
Li Yi continued, “The main priority is that big house out back—make sure you do a really good job on that one!”
Compared to the courtyard he currently lived in, Li Yi had even higher expectations for that one.
Moreover, that courtyard was much larger; once the three-courtyard compound was fully renovated, it would be a family heirloom.
“Alright, I’ve got plenty of experience renovating old estates, Old Zhao here. But that compound in the back is in such a state of disrepair—once we break ground, it won’t be a small job. I’d estimate it’ll take at least half a year, and it’ll cost a pretty penny!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “I don’t mind if it takes a while, but you must ensure the quality of the work. As for the money, don’t worry about that!”
“Alright, then let’s discuss the specifics of the renovation. Once the client finalizes the plan, we can get started!”
“Alright!”
The two chatted as they walked and soon arrived at the living room of the main house.
Jiang Xue hadn’t met Master Zhao before, but she’d heard Li Yi mention him.
When she learned that Master Zhao had come to discuss the renovation plan for the large mansion out back, she became interested.
She had been to that large estate before; though it was a bit run-down, it was certainly spacious.
Moreover, it was said to have once belonged to a wealthy family, so if it were spruced up, it would certainly be a lovely place to live.
Consequently, Jiang Xue decided to skip her afternoon nap and joined Li Yi and Master Zhao in discussing the renovation plans.
Renovating a house is inherently a tedious and time-consuming task. The three of them discussed the plans in the living room for over two hours before finally settling on a preliminary design.
Afterward, Li Yi paid a 200-yuan deposit, and the deal was sealed!
………..
After seeing Master Zhao off, neither of them felt like taking a nap anymore!
While Jiang Xue was busy reading and reviewing her notes, Li Yi left the house and headed straight for the nearby district government office.
He wanted to talk to Jiang Longyin about that piece of land!
In fact, although Li Yi had been focusing on his family life lately, he hadn’t completely let go of his business affairs.
The barbecue and hot pot restaurant was as bustling as ever!
With no real competition and the support of Jiang Longcheng, Jiang Longyin, Ye Jianhua, Lin Yi, and others, daily revenue was steadily increasing.
If the timing hadn’t been a bit off, Li Yi would have considered opening a few more branches in Beijing.
Actually, Long Zhanjun had brought this up with him before, and he’d even said that as long as Li Yi agreed, he could call in the guys from Yong County to help at any time—manpower wouldn’t be an issue.
However, Li Yi turned down Long Zhanjun’s proposal. The reason was simple: he didn’t want to be the one to stick his neck out!
Don’t think that just because he has the Jiang family’s backing now, he isn’t afraid of being investigated.
But Li Yi was the type who feared fame like a pig fears getting fat. Just think of Mr. Nian from Shaguaguazi—three stints in prison and four marriages. He’d rather leave that kind of attention-seeking to others!
Besides, now wasn’t the best time to break into the restaurant business. With all the restrictions on permits and licenses, launching a large-scale restaurant operation would come with far too many obstacles.
On the other hand, land hoarding had reached a point where it was absolutely imperative; it had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
But this isn’t as simple as it seems. After all, it’s no easy feat for a private individual to acquire land these days, let alone in the capital, right under the emperor’s nose.
He’s already made several trips to the district government office for this, but progress has been rather slow.
It wasn’t that the district government was unwilling; in fact, most of the district officials, including Jiang Longyin, were quite supportive of the project.
After all, this plot of over 300 mu of land involved more than 2.5 million yuan. Aside from the high compensation of 2,000 yuan per mu paid to the villagers of Beiguan Village, the remaining 1.9 million yuan would all go to the district government.
For the district government, which is facing financial strain, this is quite a tempting prospect.
However, relocation is no small matter; after all, it affects far too many ordinary people, and it is indeed difficult to properly coordinate the interests of so many residents.
It was already nearly May, and if the process dragged on any longer, the villagers would likely start planting crops on the land again. By then, carrying out the relocation would become even more difficult.
Therefore, Li Yi decided to visit the district office again to speak with Jiang Longyin and urge them to act!