Chapter 20: Emergency Order
County Public Security Bureau. Conference Room!
Just as Li Yi was pulling his brand-new bicycle, excitedly hurrying home, an important emergency meeting was underway at the County Public Security Bureau.
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense, and everyone wore serious expressions.
From the head of the table, the Bureau Chief spoke in a stern tone: “Comrades, we have just received an urgent order from higher-ups. It has been confirmed that Zhou Baoshan, the notorious criminal who has been on the run across multiple provinces, has entered our province. He is highly likely to flee abroad via our province, and Qing Shan County is a must-pass route for him!”
“Therefore, our superiors have ordered us to immediately mobilize our best officers, form a special task force, and set up covert surveillance to apprehend the suspect as soon as possible. Do you all have confidence in this mission?”
“Yes, yes, yes!!!”
The crowd shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.
“Excellent! You truly live up to being my men—we must never lose our spirit!”
The Chief then continued, “Based on the bureau’s decision, a special task force will be formed immediately, led by Criminal Investigation Division Captain Wang Anguo. Conduct a covert search throughout the county—we absolutely cannot let the suspect slip away from Qing Shan County!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Comrade Anguo, you bear a heavy responsibility. Please do not fail the trust placed in you by the Party and the people!” the Bureau Chief said earnestly.
“Rest assured, sir. As long as the criminal dares to show his face in Qing Shan County, I will bring him to justice!”
“Hmm. Now let’s discuss the specifics of our surveillance operations…”
…….
Li Yi was unaware of what had transpired at the bureau; at that moment, he was walking toward the village with a look of joy on his face!
Back in the village, he unloaded the supplies from his bike into the house, then placed all the dirty bamboo cups and chopsticks in a basin of water to soak, planning to wash them clean later so they could be used again tomorrow.
Next, he gave the mule water and fresh hay. After finishing these tasks, Zhou Yang locked the door and rode his bike to the village committee office.
When he arrived at the village committee office, he saw the village party secretary, Feng Kai, sitting under the eaves smoking a cigarette!
“Uncle Feng, can I ask you something?”
Feng Kai glanced at him and said, “We’ll talk about that in a minute. First, tell me the truth—where did you get that bike?”
Li Yi knew exactly what the old man was worried about and replied immediately, “Of course I bought it. Do you think I stole it?”
“Bought it? You better tell me the whole story, kid. That bike isn’t cheap!” Feng Kai asked in a stern voice.
“It’s not cheap—it cost 165 yuan!”
Then, Li Yi pointed to the paintwork and said, “Uncle Feng, I just bought this bike this afternoon in the county seat. You can see the paint is brand new, and I’ve got the receipt—take a look!”
Saying this, Li Yi handed over the receipt for the bicycle.
Feng Kai had been to school for a few years and could read, so he immediately took it and began examining it.
When he saw that it was indeed a valid receipt, he said in surprise, “So you really did buy it yourself, kid? Does your family have that much money?”
“Heh, my family doesn’t have that much money, but I can earn it!”
“You earned it? Don’t you dare do anything illegal for money, kid. In the village, this old man can still keep an eye on you guys, but once you’re out of the village, I really can’t control you anymore!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I get that. There’s no harm in telling you the truth—I earned this money selling mushrooms!”
“Mushrooms? Do people in the city even buy those?”
“Yeah, I found a buyer for them. I’ve been sending Dongzi, Shitou, and the others up the mountain to pick mushrooms every day, and they’ve made a decent bit of money too!”
“I know about that. Qiangzi’s mom told me yesterday that Qiangzi brought home a total of 7 yuan over the past couple of days—he said it was from you. She asked if he could keep it, and I was just about to ask you about it!”
Qiangzi is Secretary Feng’s grandson. He’s 15 years old and just graduated from middle school.
“Uncle, the money’s clean—there’s nothing wrong with taking it!” Li Yi replied immediately.
“Alright then. By the way, what did you want to ask me about?” Feng Kai took a few deep puffs on his pipe before asking.
“Nothing much—just wanted to ask where the educated youth are working.”
“They’re irrigating the fields at Lan Jing Wa!”
“Alright, you go ahead and get back to work. I’m going to check on my wife first!”
With that, Li Yi hopped on his bike and sped off!
Watching Li Yi’s receding figure, Feng Kai smiled and shook his head.
Youth is truly wonderful—whenever they get something good, they just want to show it off to their mother-in-law first!
Besides, he’d noticed that this rascal from the Shan Kui family had really changed for the better ever since the engagement was set.
As for Li Yi, after riding his bike to the “Rotten Well Hollow” that Secretary Feng had mentioned, he sure enough saw quite a few men and women bustling about there.
In the crowd, he spotted that familiar, graceful figure at a glance!
In the fields, Tang Xue was holding a shovel and watering the crops.
There had been hardly any rain since the start of summer, and the crops in the fields were parched, so the brigade leader had called on all the villagers and educated youths to start diverting river water for irrigation.
Due to a lack of water diversion facilities, the men were responsible for channeling the river water into the irrigation ditches, while the women handled the actual watering in the fields.
In the midst of their busy work, someone suddenly pointed toward the distance and said, “Hey, look who that is—she’s actually riding a bike!”
The group of women all looked up and gazed into the distance.
“That looks just like that good-for-nothing from the Li family to me. What do you think?”
“Naya, take a look—is that your brother, Xiao Yi?”
“No way—I don’t think the Li family even has a bicycle…”
Li Na and Tang Xue heard the women’s chatter and looked up as well. Sure enough, they saw Li Yi racing toward them on a small 26-inch bicycle.
Tang Xue looked at Li Na with some surprise and asked, “Sis Na, did your family buy a bicycle?”
“We didn’t have one yesterday, but who knows about today!” Li Na replied honestly.
“What do you mean?” Tang Xue asked, puzzled.
“You don’t know? Little Yi’s really made a name for himself now. He makes about a hundred yuan a day…”
Li Na had originally intended to tell Tang Xue that Li Yi could earn nearly a hundred yuan a day, but seeing that the area was crowded with people, she worried it might cause trouble and stopped herself immediately.
“Sis Na, what’s he up to? Why did you stop mid-sentence?”
Li Na felt like teasing her best friend—who was also her sister-in-law—so she smiled sweetly and said, “You want to know?”
“Mm-hmm!” Tang Xue replied instinctively.
“Yi’s right here. Go ask him yourself!”
“Sis Na, you’re so mean!” Tang Xue said, her face flushing.
Although her opinion of Li Yi had changed quite a bit, it had only reached the point where she didn’t resist or dislike him. When it came to actually talking to him face-to-face, Tang Xue still felt a bit embarrassed.
However, what happened the very next second took her completely by surprise.
Li Yi parked his car at the edge of the field and walked straight toward Tang Xue. Then, as she stared in astonishment, he snatched the shovel from her hands.
“Honey, let me handle this. You take a break!”
The word “wifey” instantly made Tang Xue’s fair, pretty face flush crimson. She wanted to retort, “Who’s your wifey?”, but then she suddenly remembered that he had proposed to her last night—so calling her “wifey” didn’t seem so out of place after all.
After staring blankly for a while, Tang Xue finally managed to blurt out, “We’re not even married yet!”
However, Li Yi replied with a smirk, “Honey, are you mad at me for scheduling the ceremony so late? Do you want to marry me sooner?”
Tang Xue: “*……%￥”
Did I?
That’s not what I meant, okay? I was just embarrassed, okay?
Seeing Tang Xue looking so adorably dazed, Li Yi really wanted to pull her into his arms and give her a good sniff!
But he knew he couldn’t do that. Setting aside whether this era would accept such a bold move, this little bunny right in front of him simply wouldn’t be able to handle it.
If he actually did that, he’d really scare her to death.