Chapter 677: Zhou Rui’s Shock!

In the living room on the first floor, Zhou Rui was chatting with several elite security agents assigned to protect Li Yi, but his gaze kept drifting toward the staircase.

While Li Yi had been wreaking havoc in New York during this time, Zhou Rui and his team had been on edge here in Guangzhou.

It wasn’t that he, as the head of the National Security Bureau, was inexperienced or unable to handle a storm—it was simply that what Li Yi had done was truly jaw-dropping and beyond imagination.

He knew Li Yi had gone to New York and had initially assumed it was just a routine investment. But after reports surfaced recently about him “wiping out” Wall Street, Zhou Rui realized just how big a game this guy was playing.

Making billions of dollars in a single go—even at the national level, such a feat was hard to fathom, yet here was Li Yi, an ordinary man, pulling it off.

Moreover, in recent years, our trade with most Western countries—including the U.S.—has been in a state of absolute deficit, meaning we’ve been spending money to buy their goods.

Making money from these countries isn’t just difficult—it’s incredibly difficult, as hard as climbing to the heavens!

Making money off Western countries is certainly a good thing, but to suddenly raid their very lair—that might not be such a good idea after all. Zhou Rui and the others couldn’t help but worry for Li Yi.

After all, we’re talking about the world’s second-biggest thug, the Thief Eagle. Aside from the Bear Alliance—that other gang of thugs—who could possibly stand up to them?

Ever since World War II, this bastard has been plundering other nations—no one has ever dared to run amok on their own turf.

So when Zhou Rui and the higher-ups heard about this, they were all sweating bullets for Li Yi, truly afraid that the “Thief Eagle” would disregard its international image and come after him.

However, just as their hearts were in their throats, Li Yi suddenly returned without a single warning.

Consequently, after receiving an urgent call from Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Rui rushed over immediately.

He was now eagerly anticipating this meeting with Li Yi; after all, having made so much money in New York, Li Yi was most likely planning to bring that money back to the country.

The only question was how much he would be able to bring back for the country this time—three hundred million or five hundred million?

If he really could bring back five hundred million dollars, the pressure on the State Administration of Foreign Exchange would be significantly reduced, and the Ministry of Agriculture wouldn’t have to sell its bulk agricultural products at a discount.

In recent years, whenever we’ve faced foreign exchange shortages, aside from using gold to settle debts, our only option has been to sell large quantities of high-quality agricultural products at low prices to secure foreign exchange—such as cotton, cashmere, and grain.

These commodities aren’t particularly valuable on the international market, and unless we’re truly out of options, no one wants to trade away the people’s lifeline grain!

“Thump, thump, thump…”

Hearing the rhythmic footsteps coming from the stairwell, the group downstairs immediately stopped talking, and everyone’s gaze turned in that direction.

When they saw Li Yi coming down the stairs, Zhou Rui immediately stood up and walked over to greet him.

“Hahaha, Comrade Li Yi, you’re finally back! If you hadn’t returned, we were about to send someone to Thief Eagle’s place to look for you!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Hehe, here I am!”

“Did the trip go smoothly?”

“There were a few hiccups, but overall, it went pretty smoothly!” Li Yi replied.

“That’s good… that’s good…”

Just then, Jiang Shiying, who had come down with Li Yi, suddenly turned to Zhang Ziqiang and the others and said, “Zhang, you guys come with me for a bit—go get some food for the comrades!”

Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and the others knew Jiang Shiying was deliberately sending them away to give Li Yi and Zhou Rui some privacy to talk.

However, they didn’t leave immediately; instead, they looked directly at Zhou Rui, who was standing beside Li Yi.

After all, their mission was to ensure Li Yi’s safety; without the consent of Zhou Rui, their direct superior, they dared not leave Li Yi—their target—unattended.

Zhou Rui gave an almost imperceptible nod, and only then did Zhang Ziqiang and the others stand up and follow Jiang Shiying out of the small villa.

Once the room was left with only the two of them, Zhou Rui immediately said, “Comrade Li Yi, have you returned because your investment has concluded, or is this a temporary…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “The matters in New York have been settled. I’m back primarily for a few things. First, regarding the remittance of investment returns to the state…”

Hearing that it was indeed about this, Zhou Rui said excitedly, “Old Xu has been looking forward to this for a long time. I wonder how much you’ll be able to remit to the state this time?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Excluding those two hundred million, the government will receive 1.36 billion!”

“US dollars or RMB?”

“US dollars!”

“Whoa…”

Hearing Li Yi’s answer, Zhou Rui couldn’t help but gasp. Although the intelligence they’d gathered indicated that Li Yi had indeed made a tidy profit from the Thieves’ Eagle this time, he hadn’t expected the state to receive such a massive share.

Wow, he’d thought three or five hundred million dollars would be more than enough, but to think there was nearly 1.4 billion—just the thought of it was thrilling.

“Comrade Li Yi, so what about this money now…”

“The money has already been safely transferred back to Hong Kong and can be shipped back to the mainland at any time. But I need you, Zhou Chu, to confirm with the higher-ups exactly how much needs to be shipped back. After all, if we bring it all back, we’ll have no working capital left. If we’re not in urgent need of the funds, we can leave a portion in Hong Kong.”

Li Yi continued, “Also, this money needs to be transported back to the mainland by sea, so we must prepare well in advance. If the British Hong Kong government catches wind of it, those bastards will likely intercept our ships at sea.”

“Alright, I’ll contact the higher-ups right away and get back to you as soon as possible,” Zhou Rui replied.

“Good. Also, regarding the industrial upgrade at the Yanjing Television Factory, we need a color TV production line. I’ve already placed an order with Corning through Zaiying. The line is expected to arrive in Hong Kong next month, and we’ll need to transport it back to the mainland in secret. Zhou Chu, please report this to the higher-ups for me,” Li Yi said.

“The Beijing TV Factory, right?”

“Right. It’s a joint initiative led by the Beijing Municipal Government, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Hong Kong’s Star Investment Company. You can check with the municipal government and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission for the specifics!” Li Yi said.

“Got it!”

Li Yi continued, “Apart from these matters, I have a personal favor I’d like to ask of Zhou Chu. I don’t know if that would be convenient.”

Zhou Rui replied immediately, “Comrade Li Yi, you’re too kind. You’re a great contributor to the nation—just tell me what you need.”

“Here’s the thing,” Li Yi explained. “I’m planning to have my wife and child visit Hong Kong for a few days. I’d like to ask Zhou Chu to help arrange for them to be sent to Guangzhou.”

Zhou Rui paused briefly, then asked, “Comrade Li Yi, aside from your wife and child, is there anyone else?”

“Yes, my older sister Li Mei, my nephew Yang Rui, and my mother-in-law Ye Lingyun.”

“Alright, I’ll report this to our superiors. This matter requires review by the relevant authorities. As soon as we get approval, we’ll send them over to you immediately!”

Zhou Rui then explained further, “Comrade Li Yi, this review isn’t targeted specifically at you. In fact, all senior officials and their families must undergo vetting before leaving the mainland. This is organizational discipline—please don’t read too much into it!”

“I know, but please rest assured. I just want to take my wife and children to Hong Kong for a few days of sightseeing and to reunite with my older sister’s family. There’s no other intention.”

“I’ll report this matter as soon as possible and do my best not to waste your valuable time. Also, please let Comrade Jiang Xue know so they can get ready to leave.”

Although there are screening regulations, Zhou Rui believed that the higher-ups wouldn’t make things difficult for Li Yi. Not only would they not make things difficult, but they would most likely provide convenient arrangements to help his family reunite as soon as possible.

The purpose of vetting officials and their families before they travel abroad is, of course, to prevent them from leaving and never returning.

But that wasn’t a concern at all for Li Yi. Setting aside his own contributions to the country, the circumstances of the Jiang and Ye families back home alone ensured that Li Yi and his wife wouldn’t simply disappear.

Besides, Li Yi’s parents and two older sisters were still in China, and much of his business empire remained there—how could he possibly just walk away?

So, their trip to Hong Kong is purely for leisure, not to flee.

“Alright, I’ll give my family a call later. In that case, I’ll leave this matter to you, Zhou Chu!”

“No need to thank me—it’s my duty!”

After that, the two discussed some details. They only stopped talking when Jiang Shiying and the others returned from outside carrying several pots and pans.

PS: I’m in Shanghai today to attend an event hosted by the Chinese Writers’ Association and will be staying for about a week.

I wrote this chapter on the plane. Since there was no internet, I couldn’t save it, so I was on edge the whole way, afraid it would suddenly disappear.

Updates may be a bit irregular over the next few days, but Lao Cang will do my best to keep them coming and avoid any hiatuses!