Hong Kong. Cloudtop No. 1!
It was late at night, and the battle in the master bedroom had ended. After more than an hour of intense physical exertion, the exhausted Jiang Xue had fallen asleep.
Although Li Yi, as the one who had been on the offensive, was also exhausted, he had something on his mind. So, after cleaning up the traces on his wife’s body, he left the room in his pajamas.
Li Yi had originally planned to spend some time in the study on the third floor and, while he was at it, figure out how to deal with that Dolsone!
Although, when he’d spoken with Huang Lixing and Li Futiao that afternoon, he’d been full of contempt for that Dorrison and the entire British-owned conglomerate—as if they were nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothings.
But Li Yi knew full well that dealing with these hypocrites and outright scoundrels wouldn’t be an easy task.
After all, this was Hong Kong Island—their turf.
Whether in the underworld or the legitimate business and financial sectors, the British-owned conglomerate held an absolute advantage. Even with the assistance of Huang Lixing and Li Futao, it wouldn’t be easy to bring them down.
Besides, as the old Master once said: “Strategically, look down on the enemy; tactically, take the enemy seriously!”
Whether it was Dalson or the unsavory characters behind him, Li Yi had never feared them, but he had never underestimated them either.
Now that this bunch of scoundrels had set their sights on the ten billion dollars in foreign exchange, Li Yi had to devise a plan to not only thwart their scheme but also teach them a harsh lesson.
Li Yi already had a plan in mind, but it still needed some refinement; it had to be foolproof.
However, just as Li Yi reached the third floor, he saw someone moving about in the living room. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his older sister.
Seeing this, Li Yi immediately headed back downstairs.
It was late at night and quiet; even the slightest sound seemed particularly loud.
Upon seeing her younger brother, Li Mei immediately set down the water glass she was holding and asked, “Xiao Yi, why are you downstairs?”
“I was just heading to the study to take care of some things, but I didn’t expect to see you downstairs, so I came over to check on you!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“It’s nothing, little brother. I just finished putting the kids to bed and felt a bit thirsty, so I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water!” Li Mei said.
“Sis, is something on your mind?”
Li Mei didn’t say anything, but she couldn’t help but grip the water cup a little tighter; it was clear she was feeling a bit nervous.
“Sis, you’d better let go of that glass. If you keep squeezing it that hard, you’re going to crush it!” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“You’re just making things up!”
Then the eldest sister sighed and said, “When your brother-in-law left this afternoon, he gave me a large sum of money, saying it was his salary. I counted it—it was over twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars!”
“That’s great news! It shows your brother-in-law cares about you. But you don’t seem too happy about it—could it be you’re worried he’ll get into trouble while he’s here?”
Li Yi continued, “Sis, you can rest easy about that—I’m here…”
“Don’t be silly. Your brother-in-law isn’t that kind of person. I trust him!”
“Then what’s got you so down?” Li Yi asked, puzzled.
“Xiao Yi, it’s certainly a good thing that your brother-in-law is making more money, but I’ve also noticed some new injuries on his body, and he doesn’t look too well either!”
Then my eldest sister continued, “You know your brother-in-law left the military because he was injured. Given his physical condition, he really isn’t suited for that kind of violent work anymore. So I’m not worried about him getting into trouble here—I’m worried about his health!”
“Big Sister, do you know where exactly my brother-in-law was injured when he was in the military?”
“I do. He injured his lung. I think there’s still a piece of shrapnel inside him that hasn’t been removed, so he can’t do any heavy labor. If he gets too tired, he starts wheezing!” my older sister said.
“Got it, sis. I’ll have someone take your husband to the hospital for a full checkup later. We’ll see how well his old injury has healed, assess the impact of the shrapnel still in his body, and see if it can be removed!”
Li Yi continued, “If my brother-in-law’s injury can be completely cured, I’ll spend whatever it takes to get him well. If it really can’t be fully cured, then I’ll have him work in logistics or in an office—I won’t let him get too tired!”
“That’s truly wonderful. I don’t ask for him to become rich or powerful—even if he just goes back to the village to farm, that’s fine. As long as he’s safe and sound!” said the eldest sister happily.
When his sister-in-law mentioned the village, a thought struck Li Yi, and he remembered something.
He immediately asked, “Sis, how are things in the village now? Have the fields been divided up?”
“They’ve been distributed—but not really!”
She went on to explain, “Officially, all the village fields have been distributed to the members, and every household has received a little booklet confirming their allotment. But in reality, our village just went through the motions—the land hasn’t actually been handed over to the members, and the production team hasn’t been dissolved. Everyone’s decided to keep things running just like before!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s good. I was really worried they’d just go ahead and distribute the land!”
Li Yi knew how much land the village had—a lot!
Even without counting the forested areas to the west and north, there were over 2,000 mu—an average of more than 30 mu per member.
That’s right—over thirty mu!
This would make his friends in the south, who could only get one or two mu each, almost cry with envy.
But don’t get too envious just yet. While thirty mu may sound like a lot, the actual yield is shockingly low.
Anyone who hasn’t been to the northern or northwestern regions would find it hard to imagine just how barren the soil is here. Even if our friends from the south were to casually scatter some seeds in the ground, their harvest could be several times—or even dozens of times—greater than ours here. I’m not exaggerating in the slightest.
Nianzi Mountain Village is located in the central part of Northern Province. The farmland here consists mainly of arid, barren slopes. Not only can only one crop be grown per year, but whether the harvest is good or bad depends entirely on the whims of the weather.
Take wheat, the main crop here, as an example. In a good year, an acre can yield 250 to 300 pounds.
But if there’s a drought or a hailstorm, a yield of 180 to 200 jin per mu is considered normal—and it’s not uncommon to end up with nothing at all.
Not to mention the present—even decades from now, if the villagers of Nianzishan rely on farming, they’ll barely scrape by, and that’s all.
So, when he heard that the village was going to divide up the fields this year, Li Yi’s first thought was that these fields must not be divided.
If the land remained collectively managed, there might still be a chance; but once it was divided, they would simply be repeating the same path as in his previous life.
The outcome would be that, forty years after the implementation of the Household Contract Responsibility System, Nianzi Mountain Village—like countless other ordinary rural villages—would vanish completely.
The houses were still there, the land was still there—but there was no one left to farm it!
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, his eldest sister’s voice rang out again: “People aren’t stupid. With that fish farm you built for everyone, no one wants to split up and go their separate ways!”
“So, that farm is doing pretty well, then?” Li Yi asked with a smile.
“It’s more than just doing well. The village suffered a drought this year. Everyone worked hard all year long, but when the grain was distributed after the harvest, the per-capita ration was only 330 jin, and the labor-point ration wasn’t much either. Even for a strong laborer, the total came to less than 650 jin—not enough to eat one’s fill, but not enough to starve to death either!”
Then the older sister continued, “On the other hand, that farm you invested in is doing exceptionally well. When the village distributed dividends at the end of the calendar year, each person received 388 yuan, and able-bodied workers got an extra 400 or so yuan.”
“Any household in the village could get two or three thousand yuan. The Chen family, with the largest household, even received over 14,000 yuan outright. Only a fool would choose to live separately.”
“That much money?” Li Yi asked, somewhat surprised.
“I heard it’s because the cows they raised last year have grown up!”
Then the older sister added, “You have no idea how big the village farm has gotten. That patch of black rocky ground next to our new house is now all sheep pens and cattle sheds—it takes at least half an hour to walk around the whole thing!”
“That’s good. It proves we were right not to divide the fields in Nianzishan Village!” Li Yi said.
“I wouldn’t dare say for sure, but judging by how things look now, the results are pretty good!”
“That’s good. Now I can rest easy…”
……..