Back at the city hotel, Li Yi felt quite relaxed.
He had two main objectives for this trip south. The first, of course, was to rescue Xiao Jingshu’s biological parents, and as far as he could tell, that mission was essentially complete.
As for mentoring Xue Jianming and his wife, that could be done gradually.
The second objective was to provide financial support for the orphanage. This was Third Sister’s wish, and now that Li Yi had the means to do so, he would naturally help her fulfill it.
Of course, his Third Sister in this lifetime might not be aware of any of this, but that didn’t hinder Li Yi’s plans.
As things stood, the matter was still in progress; after all, it wasn’t just a matter between him and the orphanage, but also involved the government and civil affairs.
But one would think that any donation—whether from the Lin’an Municipal Government or the district government where the orphanage is located—would be welcomed.
So, all Li Yi has to do now is wait for Lan Xinyi, An Hong, and the others to arrive!
Free from the worries of these matters, Li Yi spent the next two days in complete contentment.
In the mornings, accompanied by Zhang Ziqiang and others, he would go for a run along West Lake, then visit the ruins of Leifeng Pagoda.
During the day, he visited the seriously ill children at the orphanage in the hospital, bringing them some treats, and returned to the City Hotel to rest at night.
Apart from the humid weather, which he still found unpleasant, everything else was going quite well.
During this time, he also received a damage report from the municipal government regarding the fire at the Pioneer Furniture Factory.
According to statistics, the fire a few days ago had directly destroyed a prefabricated building, resulting in the loss of 300 cubic meters of high-quality pine lumber, as well as 8 tons of paint and 3 tons of glue stored on the first floor and in the basement.
Also destroyed were more than 1,000 pieces of finished furniture, resulting in direct economic losses of 500,000 yuan, while indirect losses were incalculable.
The only silver lining was that the fire broke out during working hours, so the employee dormitories on the second and third floors were empty.
As a result, apart from one employee who sprained his ankle while fighting the fire, there were no other casualties.
Following the accident, the municipal government immediately ordered the Pioneer Furniture Factory to cease all operations, dispatched a task force to the factory to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the accident, and inspected the factory for other potential hazards.
Given the sudden nature and severity of this accident, the provincial government also attached great importance to it and immediately issued a directive to all enterprises and institutions across the province to conduct comprehensive safety inspections.
In accordance with the provincial government’s requirements, municipal and county governments immediately urged enterprises and institutions within their jurisdictions to conduct comprehensive self-inspections of potential safety hazards to prevent incidents similar to the one at Pioneer Furniture Factory.
Upon learning of this development, Li Yi felt even more reassured.
With the provincial government’s attention on the matter, surely no one would dare to cut corners—after all, another workplace safety incident could cost them their jobs.
Two days passed, and on the afternoon of March 13, as an Ilyushin aircraft touched down, the working team from Beijing finally arrived in Lin’an.
Since matters in the capital were somewhat hectic and Lan Xinyi was needed to hold the fort, this trip south was led by An Hong, with Cai Bingyan serving as her assistant.
Li Yi also spotted his second older sister, Li Lan, who had come along as An Hong’s assistant.
In addition, there were more than twenty staff members!
The arrival of their delegation was met with great importance by the Lin’an Municipal Government, which dispatched a high-level reception team led by the mayor and comprising heads of various departments to welcome An Hong and her group.
Afterward, Li Yi discussed his ideas and requirements with An Hong and the others, then entrusted the final negotiations entirely to them.
Li Yi had complete faith in An Hong’s abilities. Don’t let her gender fool you—her vision and decisiveness were second to none.
That’s what you call a top-tier support—with an ADC like her, they could win anywhere. What’s there to worry about?
Sure enough, An Hong and her team did not disappoint Li Yi.
In just two days, they had reached a cooperation agreement with the Lin’an Municipal Government.
Under the terms of the agreement, Star Investment would invest 5 million yuan in Lin’an to build a branch office and a large convention and exhibition center, while the Lin’an Municipal Government agreed to transfer a 200-mu plot of land in the city center—formerly owned by the municipal sugar factory—to Star Investment at a discounted price.
As for the Pioneer Furniture Factory that Zhou Yang had requested, it was merely a side deal in An Hong and the others’ eyes. After assessing the factory’s condition, they ultimately purchased it for 1.5 million yuan.
To be honest, this outcome came as a huge surprise to Li Yi. In his view, the Pioneer Furniture Factory still possessed considerable assets, especially that plot of land—which was not only sizable but also located in the city center, making it quite valuable.
More importantly, the factory currently employed over 500 workers. After the purchase, they would have to find a way to reemploy these people; without four or five million yuan, the deal would have been out of the question.
Yet An Hong and her team managed to settle the matter for just 1.5 million yuan. Their capability and efficiency truly left Li Yi very satisfied.
The day after formally signing the cooperation agreement with the Lin’an Municipal Government, An Hong and her team paid a visit to the orphanage.
After learning about the orphanage’s situation, they immediately held discussions with Director Qin and representatives from both the municipal and district governments regarding the details of the sponsorship.
An Hong wasn’t entirely on board with Li Yi’s approach of simply handing over money.
She knew Li Yi wasn’t short on money and wanted to do good, but his approach of simply handing over funds without getting involved in the details had inherent issues.
Although she didn’t want to think the worst of him and knew Li Yi might not care about such details, as the person specifically responsible for handling this matter, An Hong knew she had to keep a close eye on things for Li Yi’s sake.
After all, human nature is the most fragile thing of all.
After a series of meetings, the three parties finally reached a new agreement. Under this agreement, the municipal government would provide the land, and Starry Sky Company would provide the funds, to jointly rebuild the Lin’an City Orphanage.
The orphanage would be rebuilt to first-class standards and managed in accordance with established protocols. Day-to-day operations would be overseen by Director Qin and subsequently recruited staff, but financial matters would be subject to supervision by Starry Sky Company.
In short, under the newly signed agreement, Star Company not only provided funding but also gained supervisory authority, particularly regarding financial matters.
When An Hong reported the final outcome to Li Yi, he was very satisfied with it.
He then instructed An Hong and her team to proceed with forming a preparatory team and begin implementation in accordance with the agreement.
He then explicitly told An Hong that Xue Jianming from Pioneer Furniture Factory was a talented individual and asked her to focus on his development.
After completing these tasks, Li Yi planned to stay in Lin’an for a few more days. Once the two little ones at the orphanage had undergone their surgeries, he would return to Beijing.
After all, it was already late March, and after spending a few more days with his wife and children, he would have to set off for Hong Kong to handle matters there.
However, while his intentions were good, he couldn’t keep up with the changes.
Soon, he received an urgent message from Zhou Rui in Beijing, stating that there was an emergency and he needed to return to the capital immediately.
Since Zhou Rui represented the government, Li Yi didn’t dare delay upon receiving the message. He immediately discussed the follow-up work with An Hong and his second older sister, then set off for the capital without delay…
……..
PS: It was Lao Cang’s birthday yesterday, and quite a few people came over to our place. I rushed to get things done but still didn’t have time to update the chapter. Please forgive me!