Chapter 1018: Is It Just About Bowing Your Head and Admitting Wrongdoing?
As the engine noise faded, the sounds of his mother and eldest sister chatting and laughing drifted in from outside the gate.
Before long, Li Yi saw his mother and his heavily pregnant older sister walk into the courtyard, followed by his brother-in-law carrying a grocery basket.
Apparently, after their prenatal checkup, they had stopped by the market on their way home.
Soon, his mother and the others entered the main house!
Upon seeing Wang Anguo and his wife, as well as Li Gang, Mother immediately exclaimed happily, “Why, isn’t this Captain Wang and Captain Li? And Captain Wang’s wife too! What brings you here?”
Wang Anguo immediately replied with a smile, “Auntie, we heard Brother Li Yi was back, so we just came by to pay a visit!”
“Then don’t leave after lunch—I’ll make you some braised meat!”
“Auntie, don’t go to all that trouble. We’ve got things to do later. We’ll have to eat another time!” Wang Anguo said with a smile.
Zhang Yuehong quickly interjected, “You’ve come all this way to visit—how could you possibly leave without eating?”
Under normal circumstances, Wang Anguo certainly wouldn’t have refused—after all, eating and drinking were essential ways for men to build rapport.
But right now, he was still on administrative leave, and the other comrades at the office had all received various disciplinary actions. One misstep could cost him his job—he simply didn’t have the heart to eat.
With that in mind, he immediately shot a pleading glance at Li Yi.
Li Yi naturally knew what he was thinking and understood his current state of mind. He immediately said to his mother, “Mom, Brother Wang and the others really do have important business to attend to. In a few days, once they’re done with their work, I’ll gather everyone together for a proper get-together. What do you think?”
“If they have important matters to attend to, they should take care of those first. There’s no rush to eat!” Zhang Yuehong replied.
“Auntie, once they’re free, I’ll come by to sample your cooking!” Wang Anguo said with a smile.
“Sure, just let Xiao Yi know before you come, and I’ll have everything ready for you!”
“Sure thing!”
After chatting for a few more minutes, Wang Anguo and the others took their leave.
Li Yi didn’t try to keep them, but walked them right out to the front gate…
After watching Wang Anguo and the others leave, Li Yi went back inside.
His mother and older sister were sitting on the sofa, chatting as they tidied up the food in the basket, while his brother-in-law was flipping through several medical reports.
Seeing this, Li Yi immediately asked, “Eldest sister, how did the checkup go today?”
“Everything’s fine. Blood pressure, blood sugar—all within normal range. The baby’s development is also going well!” his older sister replied.
“That puts my mind at ease!”
Then Li Yi added, “By the way, Mom, is my third sister staying at home or in the hospital while she’s on bed rest?”
“She’s not at home. She’s usually at the store during the day and only comes home at night!”
“She’s about to give birth, so why is she still going to the shop? Does my third brother-in-law just let her act so recklessly?” Li Yi frowned.
His mother sighed and said, “You know your third sister’s temperament better than anyone. Dalong can’t control her. I’ve tried to talk her out of it a few times, but it hasn’t helped. Why don’t you find some time to have a word with her?”
“Alright, I’ll go see her this afternoon!”
Thinking of the trouble Wang Anguo had gotten into, Li Yi decided to look into the matter first before visiting his third sister.
After saying goodbye to his mother, older sister, and brother-in-law, he went to his study.
Then, Li Yi picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number…
“Ring ring!!!”
After a few rings, the call was answered, and Jiang Longcheng’s familiar voice came through: “Who is this?”
“Third Brother, it’s me, Li Yi!”
“Brother-in-law, are you back?” Jiang Longcheng asked excitedly.
“Yeah, I just got back yesterday!”
“Hahaha, I’m glad you’re back. I’ll get in touch with Jianhua and that kid Lin Yi right away—let’s all get together for a proper reunion…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi cut in: “Third Brother, the get-together can wait. I have something very important I need you to look into right now!”
“What is it?”
“You must know this guy, Liu Dongping…”
Before Li Yi could finish, Jiang Longcheng cut in, “Brother-in-law, you’re trying to stick up for that Director Wang, aren’t you?”
“Third Brother, you know about this?”
“I do. It caused quite a stir a while back—everyone in the circle knows about it!”
Jiang Longcheng continued, “Actually, after we heard about it, Jianhua and I wanted to step in and help Director Wang. After all, he’s your brother, and we can’t just stand by and watch your friend get bullied. But the Old Man stopped us and told us not to get involved.”
“Do you know why?”
“I don’t know, but the Old Man told me that if you came to me about this, I should send you to the old family home to see him,” Jiang Longcheng said.
“Alright, I got it!”
Then Li Yi changed the subject and added, “Oh, right, Third Brother, the second round of dividends is about to come in. This time it’s roughly 130 million. Let Brother Jianhua know!”
“Really? That’s great!”
Suddenly, Jiang Longcheng seemed to remember something and said, “Brother-in-law, why don’t you skip going to the old mansion and bothering the old man? Third Brother will handle this for you. I guarantee that little bastard from the Liu family will have to bow his head and apologize to Director Wang!”
Li Yi knew this guy was worried that if he went to the old family home and brought up the dividend issue, his money would vanish into thin air—that’s why he was saying this.
But if he could really help resolve the Liu family’s issue, it wouldn’t be a bad solution—and it would save him the trouble of bothering the old man.
“Just bowing his head and apologizing?”
“Brother-in-law, isn’t a simple apology enough? Do you really want to…”
“That guy broke the criminal code, you know. And violating a woman’s will is a serious crime—how can a simple apology just wash it all away?” Li Yi said.
He didn’t go looking for trouble, but he wasn’t afraid of it either. Since they’d come right up to his doorstep to provoke him, he certainly couldn’t let them off so easily—it wasn’t as if he couldn’t handle them!
“Brother-in-law, if you want to send that guy to jail, that’s fine. But is it really worth going head-to-head with the Liu family over something this trivial? You have to know the Liu family’s influence isn’t weak—they’re just as powerful as the Huang family, if not more so!” Jiang Longcheng said.
Li Yi paused to think for a moment, then said, “Third Brother, whether we bow our heads and apologize or send Liu Dongping to jail, it means we’ve made enemies with the Liu family. As long as we give them a chance, they’ll definitely come back for revenge.”
“I’m not one to leave loose ends. Since we’re prepared to go to war with them, we have to strike a decisive blow and wipe them out completely!”
“In that case, we’ll need the Old Master’s approval. I can’t make that decision on my own!” Jiang Longcheng said with a hint of resignation.
“Alright, then I’ll head over to the old family home right now!” Li Yi said.
“Hey, brother-in-law, when you go to the old family home, could you please not mention the dividend issue to the Old Master? You know that once he finds out, he’ll definitely want to put the money back into the family’s general account. You can’t screw me over like that!” Jiang Longcheng said with a pitiful look.
Li Yi smiled and said, “I can only promise not to bring it up with the old man myself. But if he asks about it, I won’t hide it from him. You know I’m an honest, well-behaved kid!”
Hearing this, Jiang Longcheng’s expression twitched involuntarily on the other end of the line.
If he hadn’t thoroughly researched Li Yi’s background and witnessed his methods firsthand, he might have actually believed those words.
Whether it was the male educated youth who went down to the countryside with his cousin back in the day, or the Huang, Yang, and Gou families in Beijing, or even the wealthy clans over in Hong Kong—anyone who’s ever crossed his brother-in-law has never ended up well.
“A ‘good boy’ like you? What kind of ‘good boy’ is that!”
Li Yi was unaware of Jiang Longcheng’s complex expression at that moment. He was now curious as to why the old man had stopped Jiang Longcheng from helping Wang Anguo—was it out of concern for the Liu family’s influence?
It probably wasn’t that, after all. The Jiang family was currently at the height of its power, far surpassing a second-rate family like the Liu’s.
Plus, with such a powerful ally on their side, why would the Jiang family fear the Liu family? So the old man’s move must have been based on other considerations.
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately hung up the phone, then called Zhang Ziqiang and Zhou Wen to head to the Jiang family’s ancestral home together…
………