Happy days always fly by, and before he knew it, it was already the fourteenth day of the first lunar month.
Early this morning, Li Yi got up!
Before Jiang Xue and the children had even woken up, he stoked the stove and placed a large iron teapot on it to boil water, which he would later use for Jiang Xue to wash her face.
After that, Li Yi went outside, hoisted the water bucket onto his shoulder, and headed to the well to fetch water.
Since his return, he had been in charge of fetching water for the family—a task that had previously been his father, Li Shankui’s, responsibility.
In the courtyard, Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen were inspecting the carriage, as they were about to set off for the capital and had to ensure it was in good working order.
The reason for returning so early was mainly because Jiang Xue was worried about her mother’s trip to Yong County, so the couple decided to return to the capital before the Lantern Festival.
In fact, Jiang Xue had wanted to return with her third sister, Li Na, and Dongzi as early as the seventh day of the lunar new year, but Li Yi wanted to spend more time with his parents, which is why they had delayed their departure until now.
Furthermore, a couple of days ago, Li Yi received a call from Old Huang, who informed him that the investment team from Starry Sky Company heading to the mainland had been fully assembled.
Moreover, all the entry formalities had been finalized, and Lan Xinyi was expected to arrive in the capital with the entire team before the Lantern Festival.
So, Li Yi’s return this time was also to make arrangements for them.
Seeing Li Yi come out, Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen immediately put down their work, went to the corral to lead out the big red mule and the big black horse, and followed Li Yi to the well!
After two trips, they finally filled the water jars at home. By then, the rest of the family had woken up, and his mother had finished cooking the dumplings.
After finishing their meal, Li Yi’s family, along with his eldest sister and the others, set off for the capital!
Knowing that Li Yi was leaving today, the vast majority of the villagers gathered at the village entrance to see him off.
This scene left Yang Zhiwen, Zhang Feng, Yang Miao, and the others deeply impressed!
During their time in the village, they had come to realize that Li Yi enjoyed immense prestige there; whenever there was an important matter in the village, they would turn to him for help.
This was especially true for weddings—whichever family was celebrating, they would always invite Li Yi’s family to attend.
But they had still underestimated Li Yi’s standing in the hearts of the villagers. It was truly hard to imagine that when a young man like him left the village, hundreds of villagers would spontaneously gather to see him off.
This was by no means simply because Li Yi was wealthy; after all, there are many wealthy people, but not all of them earn the people’s respect.
There are plenty of people who are the wealthiest in their region yet are deeply resented by the local villagers.
The reason the villagers held Li Yi in such high regard was largely because he always kept his hometown and its people close to his heart.
In addition to funding the village’s livestock farm, he actively contributed ideas for the village’s development and even went out of his way to find opportunities for the village’s children.
For those who want to study, the village has a new school with excellent facilities; for those who cannot continue their education, they can either help out at the village farm or follow him to seek opportunities elsewhere.
When Li Na returned to Beijing a while back, besides Dongzi and others who accompanied her, she also brought along seven or eight teenagers aged sixteen or seventeen.
So, in the eyes of the villagers of Nianzishan, Li Yi is not just a wealthy fellow villager, but the very hope that the entire village will one day enjoy a better life…
……….
By the time they returned to Beijing, it was already 2:00 p.m.
After settling his older sister and Ruirui in, Li Yi and Jiang Xue, carrying the baby, headed to the Jiang family’s ancestral home.
The trip to Yong County was his mother-in-law’s idea; the exact departure date and length of stay there would need to be discussed with her.
Upon arriving at the Jiang family’s ancestral home, Li Yi and Jiang Xue first went to the west wing where his in-laws lived.
Upon seeing her daughter and son-in-law arrive, Ye Lingyun immediately exclaimed with joy, “Come on in! When did you two get back?”
Before Li Yi and Jiang Xue could answer, she reached out to take Little Yunrui from Jiang Xue’s arms and said affectionately, “Let Grandma take a look—has my eldest grandson grown up yet?”
Jiang Xue replied immediately, “Mom, we just got back a little while ago!”
“Have you eaten yet? If not, I’ll make something for you right now,” Ye Lingyun asked again.
“We just had a meal at the state-run restaurant after arriving in town…”
Just as they were speaking, Li Yi heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him. He turned to look and saw that his father-in-law had actually walked in from outside.
It seemed he had been with the old man in the main hall just a moment ago!
“Dad, you’re home too?”
“Mm-hmm. I came back to Beijing to take care of some business. I have to head back tomorrow afternoon!”
Jiang Shiying’s gaze then fell on the little girl in Li Yi’s arms, and he reached out, saying, “Come here, let Grandpa hold you!”
The little girl wasn’t shy at all; seeing someone wanting to hold her, she even reached out her little arms on her own. That adorable expression nearly melted Jiang Shiying’s heart.
“Hahaha, what a sweet little girl!”
As he spoke, Jiang Shiying pulled a stack of bills from his pocket, then took out a few large notes and slipped them into Yun Jin’s hand.
“This is your New Year’s money from Grandpa. Save it to buy candy when you grow up!”
Then, he gave Yunrui a few bills as well—not a single one went to waste!
Although the two little ones didn’t really understand the concept of money yet, they were both quite intrigued by the colorful bills and tried to stuff them into their mouths.
Li Yi and Jiang Xue quickly stepped in and snatched the money from the children’s hands.
This really stirred up a hornet’s nest—after having their treasures snatched away, the two little ones burst into tears simultaneously.
In an instant, the west wing was in complete chaos!
It took a lot of effort for the four adults to finally cheer up Yun Rui and Yun Jin.
Jiang Shiying then smiled and said, “These two little rascals may be small, but they’ve got quite the temper. When they throw a tantrum, they’re harder to handle than those bad guys Grandpa deals with—you just can’t mess with them!”
Ye Lingyun shot him a withering look and retorted, “How could you even compare children to those villains?”
“My bad… my bad!” Jiang Shiying said, looking slightly embarrassed.
Then, he glanced at Li Yi and said, “Come on, let’s go to the main hall and sit with the old man. He was talking about you this morning!”
“Alright!”
After saying goodbye to Jiang Xue, Li Yi followed his father-in-law to the main house.
In the living room of the main house, the old man was listening to the radio.
Ever since his eyesight had started to fail, the old man had taken a liking to listening to the radio.
He used to use the big radio at home, but ever since Li Yi gave him a small one, the old man carried it with him wherever he went.
Seeing Li Yi walk in with Jiang Shiying, the old man immediately turned off the radio and said with a smile, “You’re finally back! I thought you weren’t coming back until after the fifteenth!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “The team from Hong Kong is coming to Beijing, so I came back early to wait for them!”
“So you’re planning to focus on the domestic market this year?” the old man asked, looking at Li Yi.
“Yes, my main focus this year is on the mainland, but I won’t neglect Hong Kong either. Once things here are settled, I’ll still have to make a trip over there. After all, the foreign exchange shortfall this year is still significant, and I still need to bring in money for the country!” Li Yi replied honestly.
“Hmm, do a good job. Don’t let the organization down!”
The old man continued, “The former commander met with me again a couple of days ago. He really heaped praise on you, you rascal!”
“Praised me?”
The old man nodded. “That’s right. The delegation that came over a while back also visited Beijing, and the old commander-in-chief made a point of setting aside time to meet with them.”
“After talking with them, he realized it was all thanks to you that they came, so the old commander was particularly pleased. He even said he’d give you a major commendation!”
“And those Hong Kong businessmen are really enthusiastic about investing here. Quite a few have already made it clear they’re coming to invest this year—that’s truly great news for us!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s only what I should do—it’s no big deal anyway!”
Just then, the phone in the living room suddenly rang…
…….