Chapter 304: Li Yi Is Back
County Bureau, Criminal Investigation Division!
As Li Yi made his way to the County Bureau, Li Gang was sorting through case files brought in by his subordinates, and he was in a particularly good mood.
The reason was simple: they had scored another success!
A few days ago, when Long Zhanjun was in Qingshan County, he happened to catch a petty thief. It seemed like a run-of-the-mill incident at first, but after Li Gang and his team interrogated him, they discovered this thief was no ordinary criminal.
Not only was the guy a repeat offender, but he had just been released from prison!
After digging deeper, they discovered this was part of an organized crime ring, and the thief was just one of them.
Immediately, Li Gang and his team worked through the night to plan the arrest of the gang members.
Thanks to their well-planned strategy and swift, decisive action, they managed to apprehend the thieves before they could escape, successfully dismantling an eight-member criminal gang in one fell swoop.
The county police immediately interrogated these suspects, yielding significant results.
Not only did they solve the vast majority of recent property theft cases, but they also cracked the case of stolen mules and horses in Niujia Village, the case of stolen goats in Wangjiazhuang, and even uncovered a murder case from five years ago.
It can be said that through these suspects, they have virtually cleared up all the unsolved cases in Qing Shan County from the past few years!
When the situation was reported to the county bureau, the bureau leadership immediately expressed their intention to recommend them for commendation to higher authorities.
Although this achievement wouldn’t help Li Gang advance further—after all, he had only been promoted a month or two ago, and no amount of merit would make a difference at that point—
However, it would allow him to hold the position of Criminal Investigation Division Captain securely, without worrying about gossip or the fear of being suddenly removed from office.
Thinking that the investigation phase of this case was now over—and that once it was handed over to the procuratorate, it would essentially be out of their hands—Li Gang couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.
Just as he was feeling pleased, a knock suddenly sounded at the office door!
“Come in!”
“Creak!”
As the office door swung open, Li Yi’s figure came into view.
As soon as he recognized Li Yi, Li Gang immediately stood up and said cheerfully, “When did you get back? Why didn’t you let me know beforehand?”
“I got back yesterday afternoon. I figured you’d be pretty busy, so I didn’t want to bother you!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Don’t be so formal!”
Li Gang then asked again, “You got back yesterday? Where did you spend the night?”
“The hospital!”
“Uh… the hospital? Why were you at the hospital? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. My older sister was about to give birth last night, so I stayed up all night with her!”
Li Gang had actually met Li Yi’s older sister and her husband before; he knew the couple both worked at the county sugar factory.
“So, did she give birth?”
“Yes, it’s a boy. Both mother and baby are doing well!”
“That’s wonderful. If it’s convenient, I’ll stop by to visit later,” Li Gang said.
“It’s certainly convenient, but let’s talk about that later. Right now, could you give me a ride back to the village? The wind and snow are too heavy to walk!”
“Sure!”
Li Gang immediately gathered the case files from the desk, then went to the office next door to hand them to his deputy, instructing him to deliver them to the procuratorate.
As for himself, he took Li Yi and headed straight for the jeep in the courtyard!
…….
After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi didn’t go straight home. Instead, he asked Li Gang to take him to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Since he’d returned from Beijing in a hurry, he hadn’t bought anything.
Of course, part of the reason is that it’s such a long way.
After all, the journey from the capital to Nianzishan Village involves multiple transfers—from train to bus—and it’s simply not very convenient to carry a lot of luggage.
Now that he has Li Gang’s small jeep to get around in, Li Yi can feel confident bringing some things back for his family.
It’s already late November, and the weather has turned cold.
Any room without a stove is essentially a natural refrigerator, so many items can be preserved just fine.
So, when Li Yi went shopping, he really went all out!
Fifty pounds of gleaming white rice!
Top-quality snow-white flour—he grabbed two 50-pound bags right off the shelf!
Twenty pounds of pork belly, twenty pounds of lean pork from the hind leg.
Dad likes pork jowl—so he bought some!
His older sister was about to come home for her postpartum confinement, so chickens were a must. The supply cooperative only had six left, so he bought them all.
Saw they were selling lamb, so I grabbed a whole one—money’s no object!
On top of that, Li Yi bought plenty of snacks Tang Xue liked: sponge cakes, twisted dough sticks, sugar-coated sesame twists, sugar-coated sesame balls, peanuts, sunflower seeds, lotus seeds, Big White Rabbit milk candies, and more.
Figuring her cosmetics were running low, Li Yi bought her and Third Sister a box of “A Thousand Hues” and a box of clam oil each!
Add to that canned goods, milk powder, and all sorts of odds and ends—not only did they fill up the trunk of the Jeep, but even the backseat was packed to the brim.
Once all the purchased goods were loaded onto the vehicle, Li Yi was finally satisfied and asked Li Gang to drive him home.
Nianzishan Village. The Li Family!
Tang Xue was reading inside the house. She had already reviewed most of her high school textbooks during this period. She felt that Chinese, Math, Physics, and Politics were manageable, but English, Chemistry, and Biology were a bit challenging.
Tang Xue’s high school grades had been fairly good; though she wasn’t exactly a top student, she had consistently ranked among the top of her class.
However, having spent so much time away from her books over the years, she had forgotten a lot, and with no one to guide her, studying was proving to be quite a struggle.
But the more this happened, the more her competitive spirit refused to accept defeat; the more she struggled with a subject, the harder she worked on it.
Over the past few months, she’s nearly filled up several notebooks!
Even so, Tang Xue felt she still had a long way to go.
With her current grades, getting into a good university is out of the question—it’s even uncertain whether she’ll make it into a vocational college.
As a result, she’s actually started to feel a bit anxious lately.
Likewise, Li Na, who was knitting a sweater nearby, wasn’t in a very good mood either.
Ever since Long Zhanjun left, she’d been feeling a bit down.
She had a stubborn streak to begin with; once she set her mind on something, not even eight horses could pull her back.
On top of that, she was already 23—she’d turn 24 at the New Year—and Li Na was starting to feel a bit panicked.
It had been such a struggle to find someone who was a good match in every way—someone she actually liked—and now they were worlds apart. It would be a miracle if she were in a good mood.
Looking up at the snowflakes still falling outside, Li Na sighed and asked, “Xiao Xue, do you think when Xiao Yi will be back?”
“I don’t know, but I’d guess it won’t be long. After all, Big Sister’s situation should be resolved in the next few days!”
“Hmm, I wonder how things are going with Big Sister. Maybe we should have Dad go into town tomorrow to check on her?”
“Forget it. Dad’s completely focused on the livestock shed right now. Let’s not disturb him!” Tang Xue said.
Hearing this, Li Na couldn’t help but let out a sigh, then fell silent.
Tang Xue smiled and said, “What’s wrong? Are you missing Brother Long?”
“It’s not that I miss him—I’m just a little worried!”
“Worried about what?”
“I heard girls in the big cities are all so flirtatious—they wear such thin clothes even in the dead of winter. If he can’t keep himself in check and gets lured away, what am I supposed to do?”
Tang Xue chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. If Brother Long were that kind of guy, he wouldn’t still be single!”
“You’re right, but… Never mind, let’s not talk about that!”
Then Li Na asked again, “By the way, when I went to Yinma earlier, I saw Xinyao coming over. Did she have something on her mind?”
“Yeah, Xinyao said she got a letter from home and is planning to go back to the city!” Tang Xue replied.
“That’s great news…”
Just as they were speaking, a piercing “beep-beep” suddenly sounded from outside the door.
The two froze for a moment, then looked toward the front gate.
Despite the howling wind and snow, they could faintly make out a car parked outside the gate.
Seeing this, they exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.
They both thought of the same possibility—Li Yi was back!