Chapter 553: The Old Man’s Question!

It was just past midnight when they returned to the Jiang family’s old mansion!

The two went to the west wing but didn’t see anyone there. Not only were the two children gone, but Ye Lingyun, the mother-in-law, was also missing.

Thinking they might all have gone to the main hall to eat with the old man, the two of them headed straight for the main hall.

Sure enough, even before they stepped inside, they heard the little girl’s cheerful laughter.

Jiang Xue and Li Yi exchanged a glance; they didn’t even have to guess—the Old Master was surely teasing Little Yunjin again.

Although the old man already had several grandsons and great-grandsons, Jiang Xue was his only granddaughter, and Little Yunjin was the only girl of the younger generation. Therefore, he was particularly fond of Little Yunjin.

Every time they visited, the old man would hold the little girl and play with her for a while.

Once the two of them entered the room, sure enough, they saw the old man and Juanzi sitting in chairs, each holding a child.

And sure enough, the one in the old man’s arms was Yunjin.

Seeing Li Yi and Jiang Xue return, the old man immediately smiled and said, “You’re back! Dinner’s ready—we’ve been waiting just for the two of you to eat!”

“Grandpa, it’s mealtime—you and Mom should go ahead and eat. We’re so embarrassed to have kept you waiting for us two young ones!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“It’s fine. If I get hungry waiting, I’ll just eat without you!”

Just then, his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, heard the voices and came out from the inner room.

“Did you finish registering?”

“We’re all set. Now we just have to wait for the orientation meeting tomorrow night!” Jiang Xue replied.

“Did you apply to be a day student?”

“We did!”

“Alright then, hurry inside and eat. We’ve been waiting for you for nearly an hour!”

Li Yi immediately stepped forward and said to the old man, “Grandpa, I’ll pick up Yunjin. Let’s go eat!”

“Alright!”

Then, with Li Yi carrying Yunjin, Jiang Xue holding Yunrui, and Juanzi supporting the old man, they all walked together into the dining room.

Lunch was simple: stir-fried celery, stir-fried mung bean sprouts, tofu with scallions, braised carp, and a bowl of egg drop soup.

Since the two children were already eight months old and ready for solid foods, Li Yi and Jiang Xue had been feeding the little ones first during meals lately, waiting until they were full before the adults ate.

When it came to feeding the children, Li Yi found it rather tricky to get the hang of.

Their daughter didn’t particularly like being fed by others; if Li Yi tried to feed her, she would usually swat his hand away.

In contrast, the little girl preferred to eat on her own.

So every mealtime, she’d dig into Li Yi’s bowl, and by the end, she’d have herself covered in food—making Li Yi feel like feeding her was a battle.

In contrast, Yunrui, in Jiang Xue’s arms, was very well-behaved and ate whatever she was given.

Seeing Li Yi’s clumsy attempts, Ye Lingyun smiled and said, “That’s not how you feed a child. Let me do it!”

“Mom, you eat first. Finish your meal before you help me…”

Before he could finish, the old man spoke up: “Give it to your mother. You eat quickly, and after you’re done, come sit with this old man for a while!”

Hearing this, Li Yi knew the old man must have something to discuss with him.

So much had happened recently. Although he was responsible for most of it, as a son-in-law of the Jiang family, these events had inevitably affected the family, so it made perfect sense for the old man to want to talk to him.

Without hesitation, Li Yi handed the brocade to his mother-in-law and turned his full attention to the rice in his bowl!

Li Yi ate very quickly; it was a habit he’d cultivated over many years.

In his previous life, many health and wellness masters had told him that to live a long life, one must learn to slow down—eat slowly, walk slowly, and ultimately slow down the pace of life.

Although Li Yi found these masters’ words quite reasonable and had tried to slow down his pace and reduce his busyness,

But he could never quite manage it. It wasn’t until a certain health guru passed away at the age of 50 that Li Yi had an epiphany—he would never again fall for the nonsense spouted by those so-called masters.

Seeing that Li Yi had put down his chopsticks and bowl, the old man immediately stood up from his seat and walked toward the courtyard.

Li Yi immediately quickened his pace and took hold of his arm!

Before long, the two arrived at the pavilion in the back yard!

After the old man sat down on the stone bench, Li Yi sat down beside him.

Once seated, the old man cleared his throat and said, “I heard from Third Brother that you really made a splash over there this time—you nearly turned that stock market upside down and made a pretty penny, didn’t you?”

“Haha, it wasn’t as dramatic as my dad made it out to be. The total market capitalization of Hong Kong’s stock market is in the hundreds of billions, and I only made less than 4 billion!”

“Hahaha, looks like those 4 billion haven’t satisfied your appetite yet, young man!”

“That’s not it—it’s just that, on the global stage, that amount really isn’t that much!” Li Yi replied honestly.

Hearing Li Yi’s words, the old man fell silent.

He felt he really couldn’t quite figure out this grandson-in-law. Ever since he first heard about this young man, he’d sensed there was something extraordinary about him.

But he never imagined this young man would be so formidable—to have built such a massive empire in such a short time.

This wasn’t a matter of tens or hundreds of millions—it was a full several billion.

Such a massive sum would shock even an old general like him, who had held high office for many years.

“Xiao Yi, I’ve never been one to meddle in the affairs of the younger generation. Whether you succeed or fail, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Young people should take risks—even if they suffer a few setbacks, it doesn’t matter.”

Then the old man changed the subject and continued, “But when it comes to you, Grandpa has some questions I’d like to ask you. I hope you…”

Before the old man could finish, Li Yi spoke up: “Grandpa, just ask whatever you want. I won’t hide anything I can tell you!”

“Good. Grandpa’s first question is: how do you plan to spend such a large sum of money?”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I haven’t really thought about how to spend it. Right now, our family has no worries about food or shelter, and we have a car to get around. We don’t actually need that much money to cover our expenses.”

“So, for the time being, I’ll be putting most of my money into investments—to make my money work for me!”

The old man nodded and said, “So you’re saying your money will stay overseas for a long time and won’t be brought back to China, right?”

“Not necessarily. Once the business environment in China improves, I’ll most likely invest back home!” Li Yi replied.

The old man furrowed his brow and asked, “Aren’t you afraid that a single order from the authorities could have all your money confiscated?”

“Grandpa, that’s not very likely. Besides, even if I do come back to invest, I certainly won’t do it in my own name—I’ll do it through the Hong Kong Investment Company. At that point, it’ll be considered Hong Kong capital.”

Li Yi continued, “As long as the situation over there isn’t resolved and Hong Kong hasn’t been returned, the authorities won’t touch Hong Kong capital!”

Rabbit’s reputation on Blue Star is impeccable. Not only will they not touch Hong Kong capital now, but they won’t even after 1997.

Looking at the bigger picture, never mind Hong Kong capital—the Rabbit is extremely friendly toward almost all foreign investment.

Even when the “Eagles” suppressed our companies, the “Rabbits” didn’t retaliate with tit-for-tat measures like they did.

So the Old Man’s worries are completely unnecessary!

“If the higher-ups put him in charge of running the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, would you take over?” the old man asked again.

Hearing this, Li Yi was secretly startled and immediately replied, “Grandpa, have the higher-ups contacted you?”

The old man hesitated slightly, then nodded and said, “Mm-hmm!”

“Is it hard to refuse?”

“Not really. It’s mainly because you’ve earned over 30 million in foreign exchange for the country in just a few short days, which has truly astonished some people in the higher-ups. But don’t worry about that—just tell me what you really think!” the old man said.

“My true thoughts?”

“Exactly! They say you can’t force a melon to be sweet, and certainly, no one from the Jiang family takes orders under duress!” the old man said.

“Then I’ll be completely honest. To tell you the truth, I won’t take over that Foreign Exchange Bureau!”

Li Yi continued, “Setting aside whether the higher-ups would even entrust a nation’s foreign exchange reserves to me, even if they did have that intention, I wouldn’t accept it. Not only is the responsibility too great, but it would also have numerous negative consequences for me personally!”

Hearing this, the old man didn’t get angry at all; instead, he said happily, “Hahaha, no wonder Third Brother (Jiang Shiying) said you’re a clear-headed guy who doesn’t go for small gains—it turns out he was right!”

“Grandpa, you’re not angry?”

“Why would I be angry? I was worried you’d be too gullible and fall into a trap the moment someone tried to pull the wool over your eyes. Now I can rest easy!”

“No way!”

The old man then added, “That said, since the higher-ups are asking for your help, do as much as you can!”

“Got it…”

Just as they were speaking, Li Yi saw Jiang Xue rushing over from the front yard, calling out his name as she ran…

………

PS: I haven’t been feeling well these past few days, and I’ve had to travel for work every day, so I’m not in the best shape. Please bear with me!