Chapter 414: That’s It!
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed!
These past few days, Li Yi had been swamped with guiding the cotton mill’s industrial reforms and hadn’t returned to the old family home for several days.
Today was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month—the Lantern Festival—a day when families reunite!
That afternoon, Li Yi was busy at the cotton mill when he suddenly received a call from Jiang Xue, asking him to come back to the old family home for dinner that evening to celebrate the holiday together.
Li Yi was actually quite homesick for his wife and child, so he agreed.
At 5:00 p.m., after wrapping up his work at the shop, Li Yi rode in Jiang Longcheng’s car back to the Jiang family’s old house in Dxmbang.
As soon as he arrived at the old family home, he could hear a child crying from a distance, so Li Yi immediately pushed open the door and walked in.
Inside, Jiang Xue was breastfeeding their son, while his mother-in-law sat nearby, holding the still-wailing Xiao Yunjin in her arms.
Seeing Li Yi push the door open, a flicker of joy crossed Jiang Xue’s eyes. Instead of turning away, she smiled and asked, “You’re back?”
“Yeah, I’m back!”
Li Yi then walked over to his mother-in-law and offered his hand, saying, “Mom, let me take him. Why don’t you rest for a bit?”
Ye Lingyun didn’t refuse. As she handed Little Yunjin to Li Yi, she said, “I’ll go check on the kitchen and tell Aunt Wang to add a few more dishes!”
With that, Ye Lingyun turned and left the main room, closing the door behind her as she went.
She could tell that her daughter and son-in-law had a truly close bond.
Her son-in-law had been quite busy these past few days and hadn’t come home to rest, which had left her daughter feeling a bit down.
Now that he was finally back, the young couple surely had a lot to talk about, so it would be best for her not to be the third wheel.
After his mother-in-law left, Li Yi cradled Xiao Yunjin as he paced back and forth on the floor, speaking gently: “Let Daddy see what’s wrong. Why are you crying so hard? Is your tummy hungry?”
Whether it was a father-daughter bond or simply his voice that drew the little girl in, she soon stopped crying and just looked at Li Yi with her big, round, sparkling eyes.
After half a month of careful care, the little girl no longer looked like she did when she was first born—a sight that could have made her own mother cry from embarrassment.
Her wrinkled skin was gone; now she was not only fair and soft all over, but she also knew how to interact with adults.
Even though she probably didn’t understand a thing, she was still incredibly adorable.
Just as Li Yi was playing with Xiao Yunjin, Jiang Xue suddenly asked, “How much longer will things at the cotton mill keep you busy?”
“At least another half a month!” Li Yi replied.
“Only half a month? That’s pretty quick!” Jiang Xue said happily.
Li Yi smiled and said, “That’s just an optimistic estimate. With that mess at the cotton mill, if I really have to see it through to the end, it might take me half a year to finish!”
“So what are you planning to do…”
“My plan is to get their industrial layout sorted out and clear out our remaining inventory while I’m at it. As for the rest, let Third Brother and the others handle it themselves!” Li Yi said.
“Didn’t you say earlier that there were still over ten thousand yards of fabric left to sell? Can you really clear that out in just two weeks?”
“Pretty much. Shipments have been moving along nicely lately!” Li Yi replied.
“The New Year’s holidays are over—are people still coming into the store?” Jiang Xue asked curiously.
“Yes, and quite a few, actually!”
Seeing the look of surprise on Jiang Xue’s face, Li Yi immediately explained, “That’s the appeal of best-selling clothing. People buy these items because they like them, not just because of holidays or because they have nothing else to wear.”
“I heard from Sister Xinyao that our two stores were packed every day before the New Year. It’s a shame I didn’t get to see it,” Jiang Xue said with a hint of regret.
“Hehe, just hang in there for another two weeks. Once you’re out of your postpartum confinement, I’ll take you to check them out!” Li Yi said.
“Great!”
Just then, Li Yi suddenly said, “Dalong is back from Yong County, and he brought some news. Do you want to hear it?”
“What news? Is it about those people from the Tang family?”
“Yeah! According to Dalong, Liu Ermao was arrested and sentenced to 20 years!”
“Twenty years? That’s so harsh?” Jiang Xue asked, somewhat surprised.
“Yeah, intentional assault resulting in serious injury, illegal trading, embezzlement of state assets, and sexual misconduct—he was convicted on multiple counts!” Li Yi explained.
“What about his brother-in-law, the factory director? He’s supposed to have a lot of connections. Didn’t he pull any strings this time?”
Li Yi couldn’t help but chuckle at this.
This girl clearly had no idea about her father, Jiang Shiying, or the true power of the Jiang family. How could the director of a county-level steel mill possibly compare in influence to the Jiang family? It was like an ant trying to shake a tree!
“Haha, that guy’s in just as much trouble himself. He got arrested too, and his sentence was even harsher than Liu Ermao’s!”
“Oh my, he wasn’t executed, was he?”
“Not quite—just life imprisonment!”
“Life… life imprisonment?”
“Right. That guy’s crimes were even more egregious than Liu Ermao’s. Not only did he abuse his position for years to embezzle and accept bribes, but he also condoned thugs like Liu Ermao committing all sorts of crimes. After he was arrested, he even forced his underlings to take the fall for him, so he was punished with the full severity of the law!” Li Yi said.
“Serves him right! That’s exactly how it should be—good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished!” Jiang Xue said with satisfaction.
“Hmm, aside from those two scoundrels, quite a few people from the Tang family were also dealt with. Although they weren’t sentenced to prison, most of them were fired from their jobs!”
Li Yi continued, “There’s also some good news: Captain Xiao, who helped us earlier, has been promoted to head of the Yong County Criminal Investigation Division!”
“That’s wonderful!”
At that point, Jiang Xue suddenly realized something and looked at Li Yi, asking, “Tell me the truth—did Dad step in?”
Jiang Xue was a sharp-witted person; she just hadn’t thought of it before.
Given that Li Yi had just mentioned how nearly everyone involved in the case had been punished, while those who had helped them had been rewarded, it was clearly too much of a coincidence to be a mere coincidence.
Given that, the answer was already obvious!
Li Yi didn’t hide anything; he nodded and said, “Yes, it was indeed Father’s doing!”
“Will this have any repercussions for Dad?”
“No!”
“Then I’m relieved!”
As she spoke, Jiang Xue felt her son in her arms release the “grain sack.” She immediately said, “Give me Yun Jin. Pat Yunrui on the back so he doesn’t choke on his milk!”
“Okay!”
After handing the little girl to Jiang Xue, Li Yi picked up his son and gently patted him on the back to help him burp.
At the same time, Li Yi looked at his wife and said again, “Xiao Xue, Tang Jizhong and Li Hongmei, along with Tang Lei, Tang Bing, Tang Meiqin, Tan Cheng, Liu Ermaozi, and the others have all been sentenced. The rest of the Tang family has also been punished. Let’s put this matter to rest. Let’s not bring it up again in the future, okay?”
Jiang Xue nodded and said, “Yes. Not only have I found my biological parents, but I’ve also changed my surname back. It’s unlikely I’ll have any further dealings with those people. Let’s just leave it at that!”
“Then let’s consider this matter closed. We’ll just look forward from here on out!”
“Mm-hmm!”
Then, Jiang Xue suddenly changed the subject and said, “Oh, by the way, Mom asked me out of the blue today—how are we planning to celebrate the baby’s full-moon banquet?”
“How do you want to celebrate it?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“I don’t know—that’s why I’m asking you.”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Didn’t we agree before that you’re in charge of major family matters? An event this big definitely needs your input, doesn’t it?”
Hearing this, even though she knew Li Yi was just joking with her, Jiang Xue still felt a warm, sweet sensation in her heart.
She thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want to go all out. Why don’t we invite our family and friends over for a meal at home? If possible, it would be great to invite the baby’s grandparents too. What do you think?”
“Sure, I’ll take care of the arrangements!”
“Okay!”
……..