Chapter 270: Renovation

Li Yi set off for the capital. Aside from Tang Xue, who missed him every day, there was another person who was restless.

That person was none other than Li Yeqiao.

Before Li Yi had left a while back, he had personally paid a visit to Li Yeqiao’s home to ask how things were going and if he could join him on the trip.

Li Yi held Li Yeqiao in high regard. Although he had only graduated from a technical secondary school, he was still a trained professional.

Moreover, having worked in the financial sector for so many years, he was quite knowledgeable about financial matters.

That’s why Li Yi wanted him to come to Beijing to help manage his finances.

After all, his business ventures wouldn’t be limited to selling mushrooms, making liangpi, and running restaurants; the scale was bound to grow in the future, and without someone managing the finances, things could easily go wrong.

And under the current policy climate, it was virtually impossible for a legitimate, professionally trained graduate to work for a private employer.

Li Yeqiao’s current situation, however, was actually quite suitable for Li Yi.

However, what frustrated Li Yi was that the case involving Du Cai’e was far too complex; the higher-ups were still investigating it, and it would take a long time to sort things out.

Until the matter is resolved, his superiors cannot determine the nature of Li Yeqiao’s case, let alone issue any recommendations for handling it.

Under these circumstances, it was naturally impossible for him to leave Qing Shan County.

And just today, Li Gang personally visited the Li family to inform him that the case had been transferred from the procuratorate to the court, and that he was not on the prosecution list issued by the supervisory authorities.

In other words, he has essentially emerged unscathed from the Du Caie case.

Furthermore, after an assessment, the county bureau had officially revoked the order placing him under residential surveillance.

Now, all that remained was for him to appear as a witness at the court hearing, after which the matter would be completely closed.

This was undoubtedly good news for Li Yeqiao.

The scale and severity of the fallout from Du Caie’s case had completely exceeded Li Yeqiao’s expectations.

According to internal reports, more than thirty people have been arrested in connection with this case, and virtually all of them are expected to be sentenced.

As for the ringleader, Du Caie, her fate is already sealed: she’ll either end up in prison or face the firing squad—there’s almost no chance of an exception.

It could be said that if Li Yi hadn’t warned him back then, his fate now would be no better than that of those facing prosecution.

So upon receiving this news, Li Yeqiao breathed a huge sigh of relief, silently thanking his lucky stars.

However, his good mood didn’t last long.

Soon, an announcement from the credit union completely shattered his good mood.

Given Li Yeqiao’s inadequate supervision at work, which led to the massive loss of state-owned assets, coupled with serious issues in his personal conduct, the higher authorities decided to remove him from his position as director of the credit union and reassign him to work at a branch office in a rural township.

Although this outcome was within Li Yeqiao’s expectations, being demoted from credit union director to an ordinary staff member at a branch office was a massive blow to him.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Li Yeqiao decided to resign from public office and head to the capital to seek refuge with Li Yi!

However, resigning was no simple matter at the moment; it required approval from leadership at every level.

On top of that, the Qingshan County Credit Union was currently facing a host of problems, and no one dared to let Li Yeqiao, the former director, leave so easily.

As a result, Li Yeqiao’s resignation letter was temporarily shelved, with no one approving it for the time being.

In fact, officials from higher-ups even sent people to speak with him, hoping to dissuade him from resigning.

But Li Yeqiao was absolutely determined to resign. So for the time being, he neither reported to the credit union branches under his jurisdiction nor met with anyone, effectively stalling the credit union leadership!

……

Li Yi knew nothing of these developments; back in Beijing, he had been just as busy these past few days.

After securing a rental property, Li Yi immediately began renovating and remodeling the space with his team.

The row of buildings at the foundry had originally served as a product showroom and had undergone basic renovations—the floors had been laid, and suspended ceilings installed.

However, having been abandoned for several years, the previous renovations had long since become dilapidated and worn, with the plaster peeling off the walls in many places.

Such an environment was naturally unsuitable for a restaurant, let alone a high-end establishment specializing in grilled and hot-pot dishes.

More importantly, this row of buildings had originally been converted from warehouses. Although they had windows, they were very small, and much of the glass was broken.

This not only caused drafts and air leaks but also resulted in poor natural lighting.

For a restaurant, poor natural light makes the space appear particularly dim, which negatively impacts the customer experience.

Therefore, Li Yi immediately hired workers to begin a comprehensive renovation of the space.

The sagging ceiling was torn down and rebuilt, and attractive, large light fixtures were added.

Since the windows were too small and hindered natural light, they were enlarged and replaced with spacious, bright glass panes.

The walls were mottled and worn, so they were scraped clean, re-plastered, and repainted.

In addition, Li Yi hired carpenters to divide the 500- to 600-square-meter space into functional zones.

In addition to creating a bar counter, a main dining area, a kitchen, and restrooms, Li Yi also had more than a dozen private rooms of varying sizes partitioned off, making efficient use of the nearly 600-square-meter space.

The renovated space was fully equipped with all necessary amenities.

The renovations weren’t limited to the interior; the exterior underwent changes as well.

The exterior walls were repainted, and the roof was renovated, making the building look much less dilapidated.

Li Yi even went so far as to have the large iron gate removed and replaced with a tall, wide shopfront door.

He also had the open area in front of the building cleared. The weeds that had once been everywhere were completely removed, and the ground was lightly paved.

In Li Yi’s plan, this area would eventually serve as the restaurant’s parking lot.

Never mind that cars are scarce these days—this is Beijing, after all. Even in this day and age, there are still plenty of cars in the city.

Not to mention that Li Yi’s restaurant specializes in DXMBang-style grilled and hot-pot meats; anyone who can afford to dine here can certainly afford a car.

In short, Li Yi’s vision for this restaurant is to position it as upscale.

It didn’t have to be luxurious, but it had to be distinctive; every conceivable detail had to be taken into account.

With ample funding, the construction work was progressing very smoothly.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. While the interior work was still ongoing, the exterior was nearly complete.

Judging solely by its exterior, it was hard to connect the building before him with the dilapidated warehouse that had once stood there.

During this time, Lin Jianguo sent someone specifically to invite Li Yi to the factory grounds, so he could see for himself the sample of the combined grilling and hot pot table crafted by the master craftsmen.

It must be said that although the foundry was on the decline, the craftsmanship of their master craftsmen was truly excellent.

Items crafted with care truly look impressive, and they’ve even optimized certain features.

Most importantly, the materials were of solid quality. Once painted, the table perfectly met Li Yi’s requirements, and he was very satisfied.

Having received Li Yi’s approval, Lin Jianguo was overjoyed!

He immediately instructed the factory workers to work overtime to rush Li Yi’s order, aiming to complete all the tables, chairs, and equipment Li Yi needed within two weeks.

And so, amidst all the hustle and bustle, the date arrived: November 4th!