Chapter 24: Going to the Commune

The night passed without incident. The next day, Li Yi woke up early as usual and began preparing for his market stall!

Although he still had to make a trip to the commune later, he couldn’t let that delay his trip to the county seat.

Making money was a minor concern; the state-run restaurant was still waiting for his mountain produce, and he couldn’t go back on his word!

Fortunately, Third Sister had delivered goods with him before and had experience running a stall; with a quick briefing, she should be able to cover for him for a day!

When Li Na learned that her younger brother actually wanted her to deliver the goods and run the stall for him, she wasn’t worried or anxious at all—on the contrary, she was quite excited.

Compared to her rule-abiding eldest and second sisters, Li Na had always been quite independent-minded since childhood.

Ever since she’d seen her younger brother earn in a single day what others made in three or four months, she’d been itching to give it a try.

But as a young woman, Li Shan Kui and his wife wouldn’t dare let her venture out on her own, so she had to keep all those thoughts to herself.

So when Li Yi asked her to deliver goods and man the stall for him, Li Na was more than happy to oblige—how could she possibly refuse!

Still, Li Shankui worried that Li Na might not be able to handle it on her own. After much hesitation, he finally decided to take a day off from the team leader and accompany Li Na to the county seat.

At nine o’clock in the morning, after watching her father and third older sister ride off on their bright red mule, Li Yi also hopped on his bike and headed to the village committee office.

He was going there to meet up with Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu, and then they would head to the commune together!

At Hongqi Commune, several directors and deputy directors had arrived early!

By the time Li Yi and the others arrived, these officials had already set up a grand inquisition!

They had already gathered a fair amount of information about Li Yi yesterday. They knew this kid had been a troublemaker since childhood—lazy, prone to fighting, a petty thief, and completely uneducated.

Therefore, the commune cadres unanimously believed that this kid must have gotten into trouble in the county seat and had been spotted by Secretary Wang, which was why they’d been ordered to investigate him.

Consequently, they planned to intimidate Li Yi the moment he walked in!

Meanwhile, Li Yi, accompanied by Secretary Feng and Captain Zhang, walked into the commune’s meeting room. Unlike the two elders, who were trembling with fear, Li Yi couldn’t care less.

He’d been to the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and had even been received by national-level leaders—he wasn’t about to be intimidated by a few section-level officials.

So upon entering, Li Yi showed not a trace of fear. His gaze swept back and forth across the officials, which made them extremely uncomfortable!

“Bang!”

A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit slammed his fist on the table and said, “You’re Li Yi?”

“I am Li Yi. What do you want with me?” Li Yi replied calmly, his tone neither arrogant nor submissive.

“Be more respectful. Do you know what you’ve done?” the man demanded in a deep, stern voice.

Li Yi simply shook his head and said, “I don’t know!”

Before the man could speak, Li Yi took a step forward and said, “Uncle Feng and Uncle Zhang have already explained the situation to me. I really haven’t done anything wrong. If you think I’ve done something wrong, just present the evidence. Otherwise, stop making a fuss over nothing!”

These commune officials, acting like local tyrants in their own little fiefdoms, had never been spoken to like this before. They were all fuming, looking just like frogs in a pond.

“What kind of attitude is that?” the middle-aged man in the seat of authority finally spoke up.

Seeing Director Huang’s displeasure written all over his face, Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu, standing nearby, felt their hearts tremble.

“My attitude is fine—it’s you guys who have a problem!” Li Yi said calmly.

“Oh? What’s wrong with us?” Director Huang asked with interest.

Li Yi didn’t mince words. “The problem is huge. First of all, as grassroots officials who serve as a bridge between higher authorities and the people, your attitude toward both your superiors and the public is the problem!”

“When the county authorities asked you about me, you should have simply answered truthfully. There was no need to overreact when you didn’t fully understand the situation—that makes it seem like you’re making a mountain out of a molehill and blowing things out of proportion.”

“As for me, an ordinary citizen, you should have first clarified the basic facts instead of starting off with verbal threats and psychological intimidation. This double standard in treating superiors and ordinary people is unacceptable!”

Li Yi continued, “Secondly, your competence is in question. The county authorities sent you to investigate my situation, so you should be asking to get to the bottom of what actually happened, not making wild guesses on your own!”

“Besides, if I’d really committed some unforgivable crime, the county wouldn’t have sent you here for such a half-hearted inquiry—the criminal investigation team would’ve been here to arrest me long ago!”

After being thoroughly taken to task by Li Yi, everyone in the office—including Director Huang—looked rather grim.

But despite their displeasure, they had to admit Li Yi was right.

“What a sharp-tongued young man! If you hadn’t done anything wrong, why would the county party secretary’s office go out of their way to call and investigate your situation? Do they have nothing better to do?” a deputy director bellowed in a shrill voice.

Li Yi frowned and said, “Don’t yell at me. This isn’t like it was a few years ago. You want to know what’s going on, and so do I!”

Then, Li Yi suddenly thought of something and asked, “You have a phone here, right?”

“Hey, what are you up to?”

“If you have a phone, what are we waiting for? Just call the County Party Committee and ask them directly!” Li Yi said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think you can just call the County Party Committee Office whenever you want?” another deputy director interjected, frowning.

“You’re so slow. Didn’t the County Party Committee ask you to investigate my background? Just tell them you’ve finished the investigation and need to report the findings to the top leadership!”

Upon hearing Li Yi’s words, the commune officials whispered among themselves for a moment, then all agreed that it made sense.

Immediately, the official sitting to Director Huang’s right walked out, clearly to make the call.

At that moment, Director Huang looked at Li Yi, who stood before him with neither arrogance nor subservience, and was secretly astonished.

According to the investigation, this young man was supposed to be the type who lacked ambition, but now it seemed that was far from the truth.

In the less than five minutes since he walked in, he had turned a passive situation into an active one and firmly taken control of the situation.

Not only had he taken the commune cadres to task, but he had also directed them to act according to his wishes. Such boldness and wisdom alone were not traits possessed by the average person.

Moreover, Director Huang could see clearly that the young man was genuinely unafraid of them—he wasn’t just putting on a brave front!

I really don’t know if this kid has something to back him up, or if he’s just plain bold!

“You don’t seem the least bit worried about your situation!” Director Huang asked with a smile.

“What’s there to worry about? A man with a clear conscience has nothing to fear!”

“Heh, but according to our investigation, you’re not exactly ‘upright’!” Director Huang said.

“Oh, so you’re implying I’m in trouble? Go ahead, I’d like to know exactly where I’ve gone wrong,” Li Yi said calmly, completely unfazed by Director Huang’s words.

“To put it simply, how do you explain the situation between you and that educated youth, Tang?”

“My wife and I fell in love freely. We’re already engaged and getting married at the end of the month. Is there a problem with that?” Li Yi said.

“But according to our understanding, you slept with her first, and only then did the rest of the relationship develop!”

“Haha, young people can’t help but give in to their feelings; it’s only natural to taste the forbidden fruit! All I can say is that we made a mistake any young person might make—that’s all!”

Li Yi’s nonchalant response left Director Huang completely at a loss. Logically speaking, anyone in this situation would be terrified—this wasn’t just a matter of personal conduct, but something that could lead to a formal investigation.

If the girl truly didn’t consent, it would amount to rape—a crime punishable by imprisonment.

But this young man didn’t seem to care in the slightest. This was completely unexpected, and it left Director Huang at a loss for how to proceed!