Chapter 328: Return to the Capital
On December 8, after spending less than ten days at home, Li Yi set out once again on his journey to the capital.
Last time he left, he took four young men with him; this time, he brought four women: Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, Third Sister Li Na, and An Hong!
An Hong’s trip to the capital was arranged by Wang Anguo!
Last night, while Li Yi was packing up at his new place in preparation for today’s departure, he saw Li Gang pull up in his beat-up old car, with An Hong in tow.
As soon as she walked in, An Hong got straight to the point, saying she wanted to go to the capital with him to see the sights, and that she had already discussed it with Wang Anguo.
Li Yi knew that An Hong was a woman with progressive ideas and a sharp eye; it made perfect sense that she’d want to broaden her horizons in a big city like Beijing.
Whether out of his friendship with Wang Anguo or his own desire to invest in her, he had no intention of turning her down, so he immediately agreed to An Hong’s request.
So, when they set out today, there was one more person in their group.
Just like the last time they went to the capital, early in the morning, his father, Li Shankui, drove the horse-drawn carriage to take them to the county seat!
After meeting up with An Hong, they boarded that rickety old bus—the one that rattled and clattered nonstop as it drove—and headed for Ning City!
From there, they went to the train station, bought tickets, and boarded the green-painted train bound for Beijing!
With Captain Wang Anguo in the group, they naturally didn’t have to sit in hard-seat cars, so the journey wasn’t particularly arduous—though it was a bit long.
At 1:30 a.m. on the 9th, accompanied by a long, drawn-out whistle, the green-painted train finally pulled into the station.
Li Yi then led the four excited women off the train!
After smoothly passing through ticket inspection and exiting the station, Li Yi began thinking about how to take them to Beiguan Village.
However, as soon as they reached the exit, Li Yi heard someone calling his name.
Taking a closer look, he quickly spotted Jiang Longcheng’s imposing figure in the crowd.
Not only was the guy tall and burly, but he was also wearing a brand-new military overcoat and a thick woolen hat—looking every bit the giant bear, it would have been hard for him not to stand out.
To be honest, Li Yi really hadn’t expected this guy to come pick him up here in the middle of the night!
After all, he hadn’t called Jiang Longcheng before leaving, afraid of bothering him.
But to his surprise, the guy had actually shown up—how strange!
Without hesitation, Li Yi walked over to Jiang Longcheng with the women in tow!
“How did you know I was coming today? Did that kid Li Gang tell you?”
Jiang Longcheng grinned and said, “Yeah, I had Brother Li Gang give you a heads-up so I could come pick you up!”
“Huh, you’re even calling him ‘brother’ now? When did the two of you get so close?” Li Yi asked curiously.
“Hahaha, we exchanged a few phone calls. I thought he had a good personality, so we chatted a bit more!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
“That guy’s straightforward and doesn’t have a single scheming bone in his body—he’s actually pretty great!”
Li Yi then pointed to the women beside him and said, “Let me introduce you. This is my third older sister, Li Na, and my sister-in-law, An Hong. These two are my wife’s best friends, Zhang Xinyao and Feng Qian!”
Jiang Longcheng immediately replied, “Hello, everyone. My name is Jiang Longcheng, and I’m Li Yi’s good friend!”
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group followed Jiang Longcheng to the parking lot.
Li Yi had originally thought he’d come alone, but to his surprise, he’d brought someone along—and they each had their own car.
Clearly, this guy had gotten all the details about his visit from Li Gang!
Then, Li Yi and Li Na got into Jiang Longcheng’s car, while the rest got into the other vehicle.
Then, the two cars headed straight for Beiguan Village!
Li Yi had originally planned to have Jiang Longcheng drive them to the store, where they could make do for a few hours, and then arrange accommodations for them once it got light out.
But to his surprise, Jiang Longcheng drove straight to their cotton mill and said he had already arranged accommodations for them.
Only then did Li Yi remember that the State-Owned Second Cotton Mill had its own guesthouse!
In fact, it wasn’t just the cotton mill that had an on-site guesthouse; virtually every large state-owned factory of any size had one, which wasn’t surprising at all.
If a factory didn’t have an in-house guesthouse, it meant either the factory director was a failure or the factory itself was struggling—there was no third option!
With Jiang Longcheng’s arrangements in place, things were indeed much easier for Li Yi!
Before long, Li Yi and the others were all staying at the guesthouse inside the cotton mill!
Although Jiang Longcheng still had a lot he wanted to say to Li Yi, it was already too late, so in the end, he said nothing.
After settling everyone in, he drove home.
…….
The night passed without incident. The next day, Li Yi slept until past nine in the morning before getting up.
When he got up, he realized that Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, and Third Sister had already been up for a while. They were huddled together, whispering about something—it was clear they were all in high spirits.
When they saw Li Yi come out of his room, Third Sister couldn’t wait to ask, “Xiao Yi, what are we doing now? Are we heading to the shop?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “Wait a minute. I’m going to the factory office first to say goodbye to Old Jiang. I’ll come back and help you guys find a place to stay!”
“Alright, go ahead then!”
However, as soon as Li Yi arrived downstairs at the guesthouse, he spotted the young driver who had accompanied Jiang Longcheng to pick them up yesterday, sitting at the front desk.
Upon seeing Li Yi, the young man immediately stood up and walked over to greet him.
“Comrade, what are you doing here?”
“Our plant manager told me to wait for you here!”
“Where is he?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“Our factory director has to attend an important meeting in the district this morning and won’t be back until noon. He told me to wait here. Wherever you need to go, I can drive you there!”
Li Yi hadn’t intended to trouble him, but he realized that Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, and his third sister were all carrying quite a bit of luggage.
Carrying it all the way to the rental apartment would be a bit of a hassle.
With that in mind, he said right away, “Alright, thanks a lot!”
“You’re welcome!”
Since Jiang Longcheng wasn’t there, there was no need for him to go to the factory office.
Li Yi then went up to the second floor and called all the women down.
Then he got into the young man’s car and left the cotton mill.
Soon, the car arrived at the rental house.
After getting out of the car, Li Yi thanked him repeatedly before leading Third Sister and the others into the courtyard.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Li Yi saw Uncle Wen coming out of the main house carrying a filthy bucket, apparently on his way to dump the dirty water outside.
Seeing Li Yi walk in with the girls, he said with some surprise, “Little Li, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“Hehe, I went back to my hometown a few days ago!”
“And who are these ladies?”
“My third older sister and my sister-in-law—I brought them from my hometown to help me out!” Li Yi said with a smile.
Uncle Wen now knew that the popular restaurant on Main Street was run by Li Yi, so he smiled and said, “You really have quite a staff at your place!”
“By the way, Uncle Wen, do you have any vacant rooms left in your courtyard? I’d like to rent two more!” Li Yi asked.
“There aren’t two available, but there is one left!” Uncle Wen replied.
“One is fine!”
After all, An Hong wouldn’t be staying here for long, and with the three remaining women sharing one room, it wouldn’t be too crowded.
“It’s the northernmost room in the right-hand wing. The door isn’t locked—go right in!”
“Alright! Uncle Wen, you go ahead and take care of your business. I’ll pay you the rent in a little while!”
“No rush on that!”
With that, Uncle Wen pushed the slop bucket toward the courtyard exit, while Li Yi led the group to the adjacent room!