Chapter 709: The Solution!
“Ugh!”
The moment Li Yi opened his eyes, a searing headache made him gasp involuntarily.
He knew this was the feeling of a hangover, but today it was particularly unbearable.
He must have drunk a bit too much last night—it had clearly exceeded his limit.
Since yesterday’s event was a grand gathering for all Chinese businesspeople on Hong Kong Island, and as a key figure, he naturally couldn’t avoid others toasting him.
Although Li Yi, due to his limited tolerance, had only taken small sips each time, he simply couldn’t keep up with the sheer number of people.
More importantly, Jiang Xue had also been the focus of special attention from those wealthy ladies yesterday.
Since she hadn’t drunk much before, Li Yi had no choice but to step in and block the toasts for his wife. The end result was that he blacked out completely, not even knowing how he’d made it home.
Struggling to get out of bed, Li Yi realized he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers—and not even the same ones from yesterday.
Clearly, someone had changed his clothes.
But thinking that his wife was nearby—and that she was most likely the one who’d changed them—Li Yi immediately felt at ease.
The room was quiet; there was no one else there.
Jiang Xue wasn’t there, and neither were the kids!
He picked up the watch from the nightstand and glanced at it, realizing it was almost ten o’clock.
Realizing he still planned to return to Guangzhou today, he immediately forced himself to ignore his physical discomfort, climbed out of bed, and headed for the bathroom.
A hot bath made him feel much better!
But his stomach started growling, so Li Yi quickly got dressed and headed downstairs.
In the living room on the first floor, several children were crawling around on the carpet, and Juanzi was playing with them.
His older sister and mother-in-law were packing, with several suitcases already lined up nearby, but Jiang Xue was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing Li Yi come downstairs, his older sister stood up immediately and asked with concern, “You’re awake? Have a seat for a bit—I’ll bring you some food!”
“Thanks, sis!”
Li Yi then looked around and asked Ye Lingyun, “Mom, where’s Xue? I don’t see her.”
“She just went out with Chen. She said she was going to get her hair done!” his older sister replied.
“Get her hair done?”
“Yeah, since we’re heading back soon, Xiaoxue thinks people might gossip if she goes home with curly hair, so she wants to go back to her original style first!” Ye Lingyun explained.
“Haha, curly hair isn’t really a big deal. We’re in the era of reform and opening up—what’s the harm in getting a perm?” Li Yi said.
Ye Lingyun smiled and said, “Women are different from men—we’re most afraid of people gossiping. Besides, even if no one says anything, we wouldn’t be able to get past Grandpa’s disapproval!”
Thinking of Old Man Jiang’s stern demeanor, he really might not be able to accept Jiang Xue having her hair permed.
Plus, Jiang Xue was a relatively conservative person herself. With that in mind, Li Yi felt relieved…
Just then, Zhang Ziqiang pushed open the door and walked in. He approached Li Yi and said, “Brother Yi, the port called half an hour ago. They said our shipment has arrived!”
Hearing this, Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly. He sat up straight and asked, “Is it the shipment from Corning?”
“Yes, and they brought over a dozen of their technical staff with them!” Zhang Ziqiang replied.
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Call Wen and Xiao Wu in here!”
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, Zhou Wen and Wu Jianjun were summoned to Li Yi’s side.
Li Yi didn’t beat around the bush. He got straight to the point: “The advanced equipment we ordered from Zi Ying has arrived in Hong Kong. Now, this shipment needs to be transported back to the mainland through special channels. You two will stay here to handle this. I’ll have the Green Dragon Society and Aegis Security assist you!”
“Yes, sir. We’ll get the job done!”
“Hmm. Aside from that equipment, the most important thing is to bring back those dozen or so Thief Eagle technicians as well. Otherwise, relying solely on our own connections would be far too troublesome!” Li Yi said.
“Understood!”
“You guys start making the necessary preparations. I’ll go back and discuss this with Zhou Chu and the others, then get back to you!”
After all, this is smuggling; we must get the higher-ups’ approval in advance, or things could easily go wrong.
Fortunately, he had already coordinated with Zhou Rui beforehand and had him explain the situation to the higher-ups, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Yes!”
Then, Li Yi turned to Zhang Ziqiang again and said, “Get everything ready. As soon as my wife gets back, we’ll head to the dock!”
“Yes…”
………
Guangzhou. Lotus Pier!
By the time Li Yi’s family returned to Guangzhou, it was already past three in the afternoon.
As soon as they stepped off the ferry, Li Yi spotted Zhou Rui waiting for him at the exit with two young men, and behind them were four or five military jeeps.
As soon as they met, Zhou Rui shook Li Yi’s hand and said with a touch of excitement, “Comrade Li Yi, welcome home!”
Li Yi knew why he was so excited, and immediately smiled, saying, “I’m truly flattered that Director Zhou took the trouble to come pick us up personally!”
“It’s only right… it’s only right!”
Then, noticing the slightly weary-looking woman and children behind Zhou Yang, Zhou Rui hurriedly said, “Get in the car quickly. We’ll talk about everything once we get back!”
“Alright!”
The group quickly got into the car and headed straight for Jiang Shiying’s small villa!
Back at the provincial government compound in Guangdong Province, after moving their luggage inside, Li Yi and Zhou Rui went up to the study on the second floor.
As soon as they entered, Li Yi couldn’t wait to ask, “Chief Zhou, has the ship detention incident been resolved?”
Zhou Rui smiled and said, “I thought you weren’t interested in that matter at all—you didn’t ask a single question on the way here. Turns out you care about it quite a bit after all!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “How could I not care? It’s just that the timing wasn’t right, so I didn’t bring it up.”
“After negotiations between both sides, we’ve reached a consensus. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the coast guard vessels we’ve detained will be released tonight,” Zhou Rui said.
“Oh, how was this resolved? Could you share the details?” Li Yi asked.
“Certainly!”
Zhou Rui continued, “After multiple rounds of negotiations between our two sides, we’ve finally reached the following agreement: “First, the other party has publicly apologized for their unauthorized interception of our government vessels, agreed to compensate us for our losses, and pledged to severely punish those responsible—especially that arrogant and insolent Director Liang, who must be removed from his post and investigated.”
“Second, their coast guard vessels will no longer appear in our waters without authorization, nor will they arbitrarily intercept Qinglong Society ships. From now on, Qinglong Society ships can operate freely without fear of being intercepted by coast guard vessels.”
“And finally, the most crucial point: the British Hong Kong Government and the Governor’s Office must do everything in their power to ensure your personal safety and that of your family while you are there. If you personally face any danger there, we will automatically hold the Governor’s Office responsible…”
Li Yi asked in astonishment, “With such harsh conditions, how could they possibly agree? They’d lose face big time!”
“Heh, compared to one’s life, face is certainly something one can do without!”
Zhou Rui then explained further: “Although this vessel detention incident was a trap we deliberately set for them, the fact remains that their coast guard patrol boats surrounded our government vessel by force and forcibly boarded it for inspection!”
“As you know, as an extension of territorial sovereignty, ships absolutely cannot be boarded at will. Their actions have crossed the line. We shouldn’t hesitate to seize their coast guard vessels—even sending a fleet directly into Victoria Harbor wouldn’t be excessive!”
“And triggering such a serious diplomatic dispute would have dire consequences for that old geezer of a Governor. If he can’t resolve this promptly, he won’t just lose his position as Governor—he might even lose his life. He has no choice but to stand his ground!”
Hearing this, Li Yi immediately grasped the crux of the matter!
Overjoyed, Li Yi immediately discussed with Zhou Rui the matter of bringing the color TV production line back to China. Upon learning of this, Zhou Rui took it very seriously…
……..
PS: Another chapter coming before 11 PM!