Chapter 397: The Money-Giving Boy!
After the meeting, Li Yi was just about to take Li Yeqiao back to the hot pot restaurant.
The Lunar New Year was just around the corner, and he needed to make proper arrangements for the staff at the hot pot restaurant.
But just as he was about to leave, An Hong called him back, saying she had something to discuss with him.
Li Yi then told Li Yeqiao to head back first and let Long Zhanjun and the others know not to close up yet; he’d be over shortly.
Li Yi then took An Hong to Jiang Longcheng’s office.
Once inside, Li Yi asked right away, “Sis, is this about what happened back home?”
“Yes. It’s been nearly 40 days since I left home. When I first came, I didn’t expect to be away this long. I never imagined…”
Before An Hong could finish, Li Yi immediately said, “It’s my fault I’ve kept you waiting, Sister-in-law!”
“No… actually, everything I’ve seen and experienced during this time has really made a deep impression on me. I truly never imagined the outside world was so vast and so fascinating. I’m also very grateful to you, Brother Li Yi, for bringing me out here to broaden my horizons!”
An Hong continued, “But the Lunar New Year is just around the corner, and I’d like to go back home to celebrate it in peace. I hope you’ll understand…”
“You’re too kind, Sister-in-law. Actually, I’ve already booked a car for you. Tomorrow morning, after Old Li has withdrawn the money for the employees, the car will take you back to Qing Shan County!” Li Yi said.
An Hong’s eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled. “That’s wonderful! I was worried that if we took the train tomorrow, we wouldn’t make it back in time for the ‘Welcoming the Gods’ ceremony!”
“Haha, not at all!”
“Brother Li Yi, what about you? Are you going back for the New Year?” An Hong asked again.
“No, I won’t. Xiao Xue is about to give birth, so a long journey isn’t suitable for her. But my third older sister will be going back with you all!” Li Yi said.
“Alright!”
Suddenly, An Hong changed the subject and said, “Oh, by the way, Brother Li Yi, Guo’an called me a couple of days ago and asked me to pass a message to you!”
“What was it?”
“He said he’s grateful for your heads-up—he’s scored another goal!”
“Oh, that’s great!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Yeah, he said that thanks to your tip, they cracked a major gang robbery and murder case a couple of days ago and arrested four brutal criminals!” An Hong replied.
Upon hearing this, Li Yi immediately realized that the case had finally come to light.
The last time he had returned, he had warned Wang Anguo to make it a priority to investigate the scattered herders in each county and district and to strengthen ties with them.
The main reason was that this winter, a particularly vicious gang had set their sights on those herders, noting that they lived in scattered settlements and rarely interacted with outsiders.
Furthermore, herders were often relatively well-off; even if they lacked cash, they still possessed cattle, sheep, mules, and horses, so the gang specifically targeted such households.
Moreover, these criminals were extremely brutal; they spared almost no one—men, women, the elderly, or children—leaving virtually no survivors.
In less than a month, more than a dozen herding households have been attacked.
In the past, these ruthless bandits would flee far away immediately after committing their crimes. Combined with the relative remoteness of the pastoral areas, victims were often not discovered until dozens of days after the incidents, by which time much of the evidence had already been destroyed.
As a result, this series of cases remained unsolved for a long time, until one of the bandits was accidentally apprehended after the turn of the millennium and confessed to the crimes.
That was precisely why Li Yi had warned Wang Anguo.
To his surprise, the guy actually rose to the occasion and managed to crack the case.
Hearing this, Li Yi was delighted and immediately said to An Hong, “Heh, I’m glad the case is solved. Congratulations to Captain Wang on another major achievement!”
“It’s all thanks to you!”
“Sis, please don’t say that. I just did a little talking—what credit is there in that?”
Then he turned to An Hong and said, “Sis, I’ve got to go back and sort things out with the guys at the barbecue and hot pot place. I’ll head over there now!”
“You should go get things in order too. Leave early tomorrow morning. If you still want to come back after the New Year, just give me a call!”
“Alright!”
…….
After leaving the cotton mill, Li Yi headed straight for the barbecue and hot pot restaurant!
It was already 10 o’clock. The customers had all left, and the place had even been cleaned up.
However, everyone—including Long Zhanjun and Li Yeqiao—hadn’t left; they were all waiting for Li Yi.
Hearing the door open, everyone immediately turned to look.
Seeing that it was indeed Li Yi returning, the others immediately stopped their idle chatter.
When Li Yi approached the table where everyone was seated, Dongzi immediately stood up to make room for him, while he himself went to the side to fetch another chair.
After sitting down, Li Yi said, “Sorry to keep you all waiting!”
Long Zhanjun smiled and replied, “It’s okay—we just finished up our work too!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Right. The New Year is tomorrow—let’s talk about the festivities!”
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes turned to Li Yi.
They had just been discussing this very topic; in truth, everyone wanted to go home to spend a lively New Year with their families.
But since Li Yi hadn’t given the go-ahead, the others naturally didn’t dare say much, let alone go home on their own.
“As for our shop’s New Year’s schedule, my idea is for everyone to go home to their own families!”
As soon as he said this, Dongzi and the others jumped for joy.
Seeing how happy these young guys were, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a bit moved.
In many people’s memories, taking time off for the Spring Festival was a given, but in reality, that wasn’t the case anymore.
In recent years, the government had advocated against taking time off for the Spring Festival, promoting the slogan: “No break on the 30th; back to work on the 1st.”
Consequently, for the past decade or so, there had been no Spring Festival holiday.
Although some provinces have reinstated the Spring Festival holiday system in the past couple of years, many others have not. Therefore, not having a holiday during the Spring Festival is the norm, while having one is the exception.
Signaling for everyone to quiet down, Li Yi spoke again: “Except for Dalong and Feng Qian, who live farther away, I’ve arranged transportation for everyone else. You’ll all be able to take a ride home for the New Year tomorrow, and just come back to work on the eighth day of the first lunar month!”
“Okay…”
“Dalong and Feng Qian, since you two live quite far from here, I’m giving you a few extra days off. You can make your own way home, and come back to work after the 15th!”
“Alright!”
Then, Li Yi added, “Before you all go on leave, I’ll settle your pay for the past two months!”
Hearing that they were about to be paid, everyone was thrilled, and their eyes lit up with excitement as they looked at Li Yi.
Li Yi didn’t keep them waiting long. He immediately said, “Dongzi, Shitou, Qiangzi, Gangzi, and San’er, you haven’t been paid for two months, so I’m paying you all at once this time.”
“Plus, I’m giving each of you a 100-yuan bonus. That’s 300 yuan in total for each of you!”
Dongzi and the others were taken aback at first, then said, “Brother Yi, that’s too much—really, it’s way too much…”
Before they could finish, Li Yi cut them off and said, “Enough. I know what I’m doing. That’s final!”
“Uh…”
Li Yi continued, “Feng Qian, you’ve been here for a month. Your salary is 120, plus a 100 bonus—that’s 220 yuan in total!”
“Thank you, Brother Yi!”
“Dalong, as the store manager, you’ll get 225 for one and a half months’ salary, plus a 500 bonus—that’s 725 yuan in total!”
“Alright!”
“Old Li, since you’ve been juggling both the store and the cotton mill, I won’t bother calculating it. I’ll just give you 800 yuan for your salary and bonus combined. No objections, right?”
Li Yeqiao replied immediately, “No objections, but it does hurt a little to part with it!”
“What’s there to feel bad about?”
“It’s a shame you’re such a money-scatterer!” Li Yeqiao said with a laugh.
“A money-scattering fairy?”
“You just handed out bonuses at the cotton mill, and now you’re giving us this much money—aren’t you just the very picture of a money-scattering fairy?”
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but laugh along.
Li Yi smiled and said, “We’re all brothers here. It’s no big deal to give a little extra. After all, didn’t we all leave our homes to make a better living? Taking this money back home is the best way to make things right with our wives, children, and families, isn’t it?”
That was the truth. Hearing Li Yi say this, everyone could relate, and happy smiles spread across their faces.
After that, Li Yi discussed with everyone how to prevent theft at the store during the holiday break, and also talked about how to handle the store’s inventory.
Once all these matters were settled, they finally wrapped up this seemingly simple yet significant “Year-End Summary Meeting.”
PS: During the Spring Festival, Old Cang also wants to take a break. Starting tomorrow and continuing until the seventh day of the New Year, this book will maintain one chapter update per day. Wishing everyone a Happy Spring Festival and all the best!