The next day, Li Yi woke up just as dawn was breaking.
He was woken by the dampness of his quilt. Accustomed to the dry climate of the north, the humid and stifling weather of Lin’an was nothing short of torture for Li Yi.
As he felt the damp, clammy quilt and listened to the patter of light rain outside the window, that familiar sense of helplessness returned.
In his previous life, it wasn’t until the early ’90s that he’d finally tracked down his third older sister, after which he’d come to Lin’an.
He remembered clearly that it was May—right in the middle of Lin’an’s plum rain season.
Since his third sister was still holding a grudge at the time, she refused to see him.
Left with no choice, Li Yi had to settle in Lin’an, and he stayed there for over a month. It was that very month that left him with a lasting psychological aversion to the city.
He recalled that during that month, it rained almost every day in Lin’an. The sun was a rare sight, and the sky above always felt like a huge iron pot had been placed over his head—gray and gloomy.
Because it rained every day, the house was so damp it was practically growing mushrooms, and clothes might not dry even after three days of washing.
The worst part was the sheets and duvet covers—they were perpetually damp. Instead of the blankets keeping him warm, it felt as though he was using his own body to heat them.
On top of that, Li Yi wasn’t used to the local food, so after a month, he’d lost over ten pounds and looked quite haggard.
Perhaps it was precisely because she saw how drastically he had changed that Third Sister finally decided to meet him, allowing the siblings to finally communicate and connect.
On this trip south, Li Yi figured that since it was only March—the driest season here—it shouldn’t be too unbearable.
But he never imagined that he wouldn’t even make it through the first night without a hitch—the nightmare had begun all over again…
He glanced at his watch—it wasn’t even five o’clock yet.
Li Yi felt a sense of helplessness.
After a quick shower, he walked over to the window in his pajamas. As he watched the rain outside, he began carefully mapping out a rescue plan.
Since this rescue involved not only Xiao Jingshu’s parents but also over a hundred other lives, there could be no room for error.
To be on the safe side, and to accommodate some future plans, Li Yi decided to simply buy the Pioneer Furniture Factory outright.
That’s right—buy it!
But exactly how to go about it still required careful planning!
After all, at that time, the concept of state-owned enterprises going bankrupt didn’t exist. Even if a company was unprofitable, as long as the provincial and municipal governments could still afford it, they would keep pumping money into it—and this situation would continue well into the 1990s.
Eventually, there were simply too many factories operating at a loss, especially the large ones employing thousands or even tens of thousands of workers, where a single loss could amount to hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan.
The national treasury simply could not bear the burden any longer, so the government was ultimately forced to undertake enterprise reforms to shed these burdens.
Setting aside whether this policy was right or wrong, at the very least, acquiring a state-owned enterprise is certainly no easy task these days.
If the factory were in Beijing, it would be a different story. Given his connections with the Beijing municipal government, the authorities wouldn’t have much to say about a small factory with just a few hundred employees.
But the problem is, the factory he wants to acquire is in Lin’an.
He’s a complete stranger here with no connections whatsoever—this is going to be a real challenge!
Fortunately, a branch of Star Investment has already been established in Beijing and has begun operations there. Their trade show business has even been registered and is up and running, so even if he were to buy a factory here, it would be perfectly plausible.
The only question was whether the Lin’an municipal government would be willing to sell it to him!
After much deliberation, Li Yi decided to visit the Pioneer Furniture Factory first thing in the morning to conduct an on-site inspection and get a clear picture of the factory’s actual conditions before making any further decisions.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, a sharp “knock, knock” suddenly rang out at the door!
“Who is it?”
Immediately, Zhang Ziqiang’s familiar voice came from outside: “Brother Yi, it’s me!”
Opening the door, Li Yi immediately asked, “Hey, why are you up so early?”
“Nothing. We take turns keeping watch every night. I just saw the light on in your room, and it hadn’t been turned off, so I came over to check on you!” Zhang Ziqiang explained.
Li Yi was taken aback at first; he really hadn’t known that Zhang Ziqiang and the others took turns keeping watch over him every night.
Realizing this, he immediately said, “Actually, you guys don’t have to go to all this trouble…”
“Brother Yi, it’s our duty!”
Hearing this, Li Yi said no more. He knew that for these comrades with strong convictions, duty came before everything else.
“I’m fine—I just woke up because of the damp, stuffy air in here!” Li Yi said.
“Should I go get you a drier blanket?”
“Never mind. I just took a shower, and I can’t fall back asleep anyway!”
Suddenly, a thought struck Li Yi, and he said, “I heard this place isn’t far from West Lake. Why don’t you come with me for a walk?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, there aren’t many people around, and it’s drizzling—it should be pretty nice!” Li Yi said.
“Sure! I’ll go get Zhou Wen—it’s safer if the two of us go together!” Zhang Ziqiang said.
“Okay…”
………
Half an hour later, the three of them left the City Hotel, umbrellas in hand!
After walking along the road for about ten minutes, they arrived at the shore of West Lake.
Compared to the West Lake of his memories, the scenery before him remained the same, though it looked slightly run-down.
More importantly, when Li Yi and his companions arrived, they found quite a few fishermen setting up stalls to sell fish along the lakeshore, with small fishing boats moored nearby.
He hadn’t realized you could actually fish in West Lake!
After walking for a while, Li Yi immediately asked, “Qiangzi, did you manage to borrow the cars?”
Zhou Wen replied immediately, “Yes, we’ve got them—a Volga and a 212!”
“Great!”
Just then, Zhou Wen suddenly said, “Brother Yi, when I was borrowing the cars last night, I made a point of contacting my uncle. He asked me to pass something on to you!”
“What is it?”
“My uncle said there’s news from Qin Province: the cases against Tang Bing and Tan Cheng have been decided. The principal offender, Tang Bing, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Tan Cheng’s sentence reduction was revoked, and his sentence was increased by 13 years, resulting in a combined sentence of 14 years and 7 months!”
Zhou Wen continued, “Jiang Lin’s previous four-year sentence increase was revoked, and he was sentenced to five years, resulting in a combined sentence of six and a half years! As for Tan Cheng’s parents, who were found to be accomplices, they were each sentenced to four years!”
Hearing this outcome, Li Yi was quite satisfied. These bastards had finally gotten what they deserved—their crimes had caught up with them.
The only pity was that the sentence for the Tan couple was a bit too lenient. After all, those two old bastards were no good; they had played a major role in driving Jiang Xue to her death in his previous life.
But when he thought about how their son was now in prison, they’d lost their secure jobs, and they’d been sentenced themselves—that was punishment enough. So be it!
“Got it!”
At that moment, Zhou Wen spoke again: “Apart from this, my uncle also mentioned another case. The case against the Yan couple has already been indicted, and the trial is expected to begin next month.”
“Since the police investigation phase has concluded, Captain Xiao from Yong County has been commended and promoted to Party Committee Member of the Yong County Public Security Bureau!”
Learning that Xiao Zhanwu had been commended and promoted, Li Yi felt quite pleased.
Although it was only a position as a Party Committee member—not the Deputy Director he had imagined—with these achievements to his credit, his future looked promising!
Thinking of this, Li Yi’s spirits soared!
Seeing that it was now fully light out and the rain had stopped, Li Yi immediately said, “Let’s head back. Call up Zhiwen, Xiaowu, and the others—we’re going out on a mission!”
“Yes, sir!”
Back at the City Hotel, Yang Zhiwen and Xiao Wu were already up and checking the car.
Seeing Li Yi and the others return, the two immediately came over to greet them.
After a brief report on the condition of the vehicles, the group headed to the hotel cafeteria for breakfast.
After breakfast, they asked the hotel staff for directions to the Pioneer Furniture Factory, then started the cars and set off.
Little did Li Yi know, however, that this furniture factory was full of “surprises” that would leave a lasting impression on him…
………..