The next morning!
In his sleep, Li Yi suddenly felt something wriggling beside him, as if something were running its hands up and down his body.
Startled, he sat bolt upright in bed!
When he saw the little bundle in front of him babbling and grinning傻笑 at him, Li Yi’s heart melted.
At the same time, he realized that he had actually been woken up by his own son.
What a commotion!
And all that commotion had woken up Jiang Xue as well.
When she opened her eyes and saw the father and son staring at each other wide-eyed, she found it utterly amusing.
She yawned first, then asked with a smile, “What are you two up to?”
Li Yi picked up his son while saying somewhat sheepishly, “I’ve gotten used to sleeping alone lately, and just now that little rascal startled me awake!”
Jiang Xue chuckled. “You’ve got some nerve saying that. Yunrui and Yunjin are both two years old (by the Chinese calendar), and you’ve only spent a few days with them. I feel like the kids and you have grown a bit distant!”
“It’s my fault. I’ll try to spend more time with them from now on. I have to be a good father—and of course, a good husband too!” Li Yi said.
“Mm-hmm, I believe you…”
Just then, their eldest sister’s voice came from outside the door: “Xiao Yi, Xiao Xue, if you’re awake, hurry out and eat breakfast—it’ll get cold otherwise!”
“Okay!”
The couple quickly got out of bed and washed up, then each carried a child downstairs.
The living room downstairs was bustling with activity; there were over a dozen people gathered there.
Apart from his older sister, his mother-in-law, and Juanzi, the rest were all special security agents dispatched from above to protect them—a total of eight people.
And today, all of these people would be accompanying him on the trip to Hong Kong.
After breakfast, Li Yi first called Zhou Rui to discuss some work matters, then made arrangements for the group to head to Hong Kong Island.
At 10:00 a.m., Li Yi and his group successfully met up with Chen Chuhong and her daughter at the Huang Mansion. The group then headed to Lotus Pier to board a ferry bound for Hong Kong Island.
Thanks to the advance arrangements made by Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and others, coupled with their special status, Li Yi didn’t have to worry about buying tickets or having their IDs checked.
Just before 10:30, the group boarded the ferry bound for Hong Kong Island!
For Jiang Xue, the eldest sister, and the others, it was their first time riding a ferry; they were both amazed and a little uneasy.
People from the mainland long for the sea, yet at the same time suffer from a fear of the deep ocean, so they were all particularly nervous once aboard.
Fortunately, since the start of January, the typhoons had subsided, and the ferry’s journey across the water was relatively smooth.
Consequently, apart from Juanzi and his mother-in-law—who was in relatively poor health—who felt slightly seasick, everyone else was fine.
Around 11:00 a.m., the ferry finally entered the harbor on the Hong Kong Island side and docked at the pier!
Li Yi then motioned for Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and the others to disembark!
When everyone disembarked, they were surprised to see a luxurious motorcade already waiting for them outside the pier.
The motorcade consisted of over a dozen Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with a driver in a suit and sunglasses standing beside each one. Setting aside everything else, the sheer grandeur of the display was enough to turn heads.
Of course, the most eye-catching figures were Huang Lixing, Li Yunbao, and the others at the front of the convoy…
Jiang Xue, Ye Lingyun, and the others had never seen such a spectacle before; they were all left speechless by the scene.
As soon as Huang Lixing and the others saw them disembark from the ship, they immediately came forward to greet them warmly.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yi and the others got into the car and headed straight for the Yunding Villa District…
……….
In the car, Jiang Xue held her son in her arms, but her eyes were fixed on the skyscrapers outside the window.
Everything before her left her in awe!
She had always thought Beijing was already bustling enough; she remembered being awestruck by the city’s grandeur the first time she visited.
But compared to the ancient and weathered capital, this city—a forest of steel towers reaching into the clouds—felt more vibrant, more modern, and more closely associated with words like civilization and prosperity.
“What are you looking at?”
“Is… is this what a society ruled by capitalists looks like? Why is it so different from what I imagined?” Jiang Xue frowned.
“What did you imagine Hong Kong would be like?”
“Um… In my imagination, this place should be bustling, but not as much as the capital—after all, that’s our capital city. There should be lots of factories, and ordinary workers should be working very hard. There would be plenty of cars, but none that ordinary people could afford…”
As she spoke, Jiang Xue’s voice gradually grew quieter until she fell silent.
Clearly, she realized that the city before her was completely different from the Hong Kong she had imagined—no… it was utterly unrelated!
Li Yi smiled and said, “As far as bustle goes, Beijing certainly can’t compare to Hong Kong these days, but everything else is pretty much just as you described!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, there are indeed quite a few factories here, and plenty of workers, and their lives are indeed very hard!”
Then Li Yi pointed to the steady stream of traffic outside the car window and said, “There are plenty of cars here, and many skyscrapers, but none of that has anything to do with ordinary people.”
“Most of the cars belong to the wealthy. Ordinary people have to take public buses to and from work. Most of the skyscrapers also belong to the wealthy, while most ordinary people can only live in tiny, cage-like apartments. Having a small place of ten or so square meters is already considered a blessing!”
“But I’ve heard that workers here earn a lot—a month’s pay is equivalent to several years’ income back home!” Jiang Xue said.
“They earn a lot, but they spend a lot too. Income is relative to expenses—just because you earn a lot doesn’t mean you’re necessarily living a happy life!” Li Yi said.
Although the monthly salary of an ordinary worker in Hong Kong these days is twenty or thirty times that of the mainland, when it comes to happiness, there’s simply no comparison.
In a society ruled by capitalists, ordinary people work hard for a month just to barely make ends meet—let alone think about anything else.
In contrast, although workers on the mainland don’t earn much, thirty or forty yuan a month is easily enough to support an entire family.
In terms of purchasing power, thirty yuan on the mainland is hardly any less than the 1,300 or 1,400 Hong Kong dollars here.
“Hmm, but the hustle and bustle here still amazes me!”
“Heh, you’ll get used to it after a few more visits!”
“Okay…”
After driving along the Harbor Ring Road for a while, the motorcade entered the city. After driving through the city for over half an hour, they finally arrived at the Genting Villa District.
When Jiang Xue, Ye Lingyun, and Li Mei, the eldest sister, stepped out of the car and entered the luxurious, palace-like Cloudtop No. 1, everyone was once again awestruck.
Since Old Huang had already arranged the welcome banquet, Li Yi briefly introduced Cloudtop No. 1 to Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and the others, then proceeded to assign rooms to everyone.
Once everyone was settled, they gathered again in the first-floor lobby and followed Huang Lixing and the others straight to Hong Kong Island’s most famous hotel, the Emperor Hotel.
However, just as Huang Lixing was hosting a welcome banquet for Li Yi and his family, news of Li Yi’s high-profile return to Hong Kong spread like wildfire.
Instantly, the news sent ripples of tension through Hong Kong Island, and the situation became increasingly unpredictable!
………