Chapter 301: The Banquet at Hongmen
7:30 p.m., on the small plaza outside Beijing Railway Station!
Li Yi got out of Jiang Longcheng’s small SUV, waved to him, and then walked toward the train station.
Jiang Longcheng watched Li Yi enter the ticket hall before turning away.
But instead of starting the car, he just sat there, lost in thought.
He hadn’t known Li Yi for very long—not even a full month, counting this year!
Yet the events of that month had left him feeling both heart-pounding and utterly thrilling.
From initially thinking Li Yi was a con artist with ulterior motives for getting close to him, to now trusting him completely, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t even fathom how he’d managed to get through this past month.
But no matter what, Li Yi had saved him twice in this short span of less than a month—that was an undeniable fact.
The first time, Li Yi saved his life; the second time, he saved his career!
Although the results of the investigation by Hu Liang and his team hadn’t been released yet, the basic facts had already been established.
Led by Gao Shubin, that bunch of scoundrels colluded with outside suppliers and conspired with warehouse staff and several production supervisors to embezzle a large amount of the collective’s assets through fraudulent practices in the supply of raw materials.
If this were to suddenly come to light, not only would his career be ruined, but the Jiang family would also be implicated—especially his second older brother, who holds a position in the district government.
Now that they’re aware of the situation, they’ll certainly be able to minimize the fallout.
They might even use this to establish their authority within the cotton mill, turning a disadvantage into an advantage.
That’s why Jiang Longcheng is now genuinely grateful to Li Yi from the bottom of his heart!
However, the fact that he must suddenly return to his hometown leaves Jiang Longcheng feeling somewhat uneasy, as the matter has not yet been fully investigated.
But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to rely on himself from here on out.
With that thought, Jiang Longcheng started the car with a touch of melancholy and drove toward his hometown.
Yet, deep down, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had forgotten something important.
Soon, the Jeep pulled up in front of his apartment building, and Jiang Longcheng went upstairs with a touch of melancholy.
But when he opened the door, he found the apartment pitch-black, with not a soul in sight.
Suddenly, it dawned on Jiang Longcheng: earlier that afternoon, his second older brother had called to say that Grandfather had asked them to come to the old family home for dinner that evening, adding that there was something he needed to discuss.
But because he had to take Li Yi to the train station, he’d completely forgotten about it.
Realizing what was coming, Jiang Longcheng knew he was in trouble and immediately rushed downstairs.
He started the car and immediately drove to the ancestral home nearby!
When Jiang Longcheng rushed back to the old family home in a panic, he saw his family members clearing the dinner table—they had clearly already finished eating.
When they saw him come in, his father, Jiang Shirong, said sternly, “Where have you been? Why are you back so late? Didn’t you know we were having dinner together tonight?”
Jiang Longcheng hurriedly explained, “Well… I was just dropping a friend off at the station, so I ran a little late!”
Seeing that Jiang Shirong was about to say more, Old Master Jiang immediately interjected, “Enough. The boy’s all grown up now; it’s only natural he has his own affairs to attend to. Don’t make a big deal out of everything!”
Jiang Longcheng seized the opportunity and smiled, saying, “Grandpa really is the best to me!”
The old man chuckled and said, “You’re such a handful, you know. We were all worried sick about you, but you were just taking it easy, weren’t you?”
Jiang Longcheng suddenly felt a sense of foreboding and asked immediately, “Grandpa, what were you all discussing just now?”
“We were discussing the most important matters of your life!”
Hearing this, a wry smile crossed Jiang Longcheng’s face. Just as he’d suspected.
In fact, ever since Ye Jianhua and Lin Ying’s engagement was finalized, Jiang Longcheng had known his carefree days were coming to an end.
After all, among the young men who used to run around the courtyard in their underwear, only a handful remained unmarried, and at 28, he was clearly the oldest of the bunch.
“Grandpa…”
Before Jiang Longcheng could finish speaking, his father cut him off: “This time, even begging your grandfather won’t help. You must be married before you turn 29!”
“Dad, what if I find someone myself?”
“Hmph. If you could find someone on your own, would we even have to worry about this for you?”
“Um… then can we wait a bit? I’ll ask around to see if this is even possible!”
Jiang Longcheng thought of Li Yi, and also recalled the advice he’d given Ye Jianhua: “Good fortune is near, but fortune and misfortune are hard to predict!”
He certainly didn’t want to just get engaged, only to have that kid come back and say, “You’re in for trouble!”
If that happened, he’d truly be devastated!
Just then, Uncle San, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: “Who are you going to ask? It isn’t that young man named Li Yi, is it?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Hearing this, everyone in the house fell silent.
The family members were all somewhat aware of the situation between Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng.
“By the way, how’s the investigation into the situation at your factory coming along?” Jiang Shiying asked in a low voice.
“We’re almost done with the investigation!”
“Give me the results!”
“Deputy Plant Manager Gao Shubin, along with Workshop Directors Tong Shouliang and Yang Guangbi, among others, have been embezzling the factory’s collective assets on a massive scale by manipulating raw material procurement—substituting inferior goods for superior ones and inflating quantities. We’ve now audited the accounts going back six years and discovered that the embezzled funds exceed 3.2 million yuan!”
At these words, everyone in the room fell silent.
Although they were all high-ranking officials and no strangers to money,
But they truly never imagined that a lowly deputy plant manager earning a Grade 6 enterprise salary could embezzle millions of yuan in collective assets in just a few short years.
The sheer magnitude of the sum was one thing, but what was even more alarming was that the cotton mill had been completely unaware of this.
Had it not been for that mysterious young man’s warning, the mill would still be basking in a false sense of security, completely unaware that so many corrupt officials had infiltrated its ranks.
Jiang Shiying and Jiang Longyin exchanged a glance, both secretly shocked.
When they first learned of this, their initial reaction was that Li Yi had a grudge against certain officials at the cotton mill and was using Lao San as a pawn to eliminate them.
But the subsequent investigation revealed that Li Yi and those people had never even crossed paths.
Now, looking at the investigation results, they never expected those guys to actually be up to no good—and major trouble at that. They really are “true scoundrels”!
This matter was getting more and more interesting!
With that in mind, Jiang Shirong suddenly said, “Tomorrow night, bring that young comrade back to the old mansion. I’d like to treat him to a simple meal!”
“Uncle San, you want to treat Brother Li Yi to a meal?” Jiang Longcheng asked, looking utterly shocked.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Longcheng’s first thought was a “banquet of treachery.”
It wasn’t that he was deliberately thinking the worst of his Third Uncle; it was simply that he knew his Third Uncle’s temperament—he was notoriously difficult to deal with.
Never mind him taking the initiative to invite someone to dinner—he wouldn’t even give someone face if they invited him. Had the sun risen in the west today?
“What’s wrong? Is that not allowed?”
“Of course it’s fine… it’s just… Uncle, why did you suddenly decide to treat Brother Li Yi to a meal…”
Suddenly, Jiang Longcheng realized something. He couldn’t help but glance toward the side room outside, then whispered, “Could it be that Auntie’s condition has improved?”
Jiang Shirong nodded and said, “Yes, ever since she started taking that medicine, your Third Aunt’s condition has improved significantly!”
“Really?” Jiang Longcheng asked, sounding a bit excited.
“I wouldn’t say she’s fully recovered, but at the very least, her mood has stabilized, and she’s able to sleep through the night now!”
“Hahaha, I knew it! Brother Li Yi doesn’t speak lightly, but when he does, it’s bound to work out!” Jiang Longcheng said happily.
“So, can you bring him back tomorrow?”
Jiang Longcheng was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and said, “No!”
Seeing his uncle’s gaze grow increasingly sharp, Jiang Longcheng immediately explained, “Uncle, it’s not that I don’t want to bring Brother Li Yi back—it’s just that he’s already left the capital!”
“He’s left?”
“Yeah, I told you earlier that I was dropping off a friend tonight—it was actually Brother Li Yi. He’s gone back to his hometown!”
“Back to his hometown? Did he say when he’d be back in the capital?” Jiang Shiying asked in a low voice.
“He hasn’t said yet, but since his shop is here, I’m sure it won’t be long!”
“I see. If he comes back, let me know immediately!”
“Got it! But can you tell me now—which girl are you planning to set me up with?” Jiang Longcheng asked again.
“Wang Xueqin, the fourth daughter of the Wang family!”
Upon hearing that name, the image of a chubby little girl with two high pigtails instantly popped into Jiang Longcheng’s mind!
His first instinct was to refuse, but realizing that whatever he said probably wouldn’t make a difference, Jiang Longcheng knew that only Li Yi could help him with this.
So he brought up Li Yi again…
…….