Chapter 714: There Are Always Things That Require Selfless Devotion

The night passed without incident!

Early the next morning, Li Yi was still half-asleep when he heard someone calling his name.

He opened his eyes to find Jiang Xue standing beside him, holding several thick garments—judging by their style, they were meant for him.

Looking at Jiang Xue, who was freshly washed and neatly dressed, Li Yi rubbed his eyes and asked, “When did you get up? How come I didn’t notice at all?”

“I’ve been up for a while. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you!”

Li Yi turned around and looked around, realizing that Yun Rui and Yun Jin were both gone. He immediately looked up at the wall clock.

“Oh, it’s already ten o’clock?”

Jiang Xue smiled and said softly, “Yes, it really is ten o’clock!”

Li Yi looked surprised and said, “I didn’t drink yesterday, and I didn’t go to bed late. How did I sleep until this late?”

“Maybe you just sleep more soundly at home, or maybe, like Mom said, you were catching up on lost sleep!” Jiang Xue said.

“That makes sense. I really couldn’t sleep soundly over there. Even at Cloudtop No. 1, I had to keep one eye open while sleeping. It’s much more peaceful here in Beijing!”

Li Yi said, full of emotion, as he got dressed.

They say the business world is like a battlefield. Even with his unfair advantage, Li Yi had to tread carefully when facing the backstabbing and scheming of the bigwigs.

Take his recent clash with Dolsen, for instance. If it weren’t for the warnings from Zhou Rui, Powell, and Li Futiao, along with the military’s assistance, he wouldn’t have been able to break through the underhanded tactics employed by Dolsen and the Governor’s Office.

Moreover, given his current status and the responsibilities he carried, any single misstep could result in incalculable losses.

That’s precisely why, during his time on Hong Kong Island, Li Yi’s mind was in overdrive most of the time, and his nerves were inevitably on edge.

In contrast, life in Beijing was much less hectic. Not only were there fewer demands, but the people were far more down-to-earth, so the quality of his sleep was naturally much better!

Listening to her husband’s words and thinking about his life over there, Jiang Xue felt a pang of sympathy.

After a brief silence, she couldn’t help but say, “Anyway, the money we’ve earned now is enough for our children to live on for several lifetimes. Why don’t we just leave things over there alone? It’s too dangerous and exhausting!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s not so bad. The hardest times are behind us. No one dares to cause us trouble anymore.”

“Besides, given the current situation, even if I wanted to quit, I couldn’t—the higher-ups would never agree to it!”

Jiang Xue’s eyes widened, and she frowned. “We haven’t taken a single penny in wages from them. This is purely helping out—how did we end up stuck with this?”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “It’s not a matter of being stuck with it or not. The country genuinely needs me, and it needs a massive amount of development funding.”

“I’m not just a key channel for the country to earn foreign exchange; I’m also a window for attracting investment. With reform and opening-up just getting started, my importance goes without saying. How could the higher-ups possibly let me go home to live the life of a wealthy man so easily?”

Jiang Xue immediately retorted, “But they can’t just keep milking one person dry! Look at your life over there—not only are you busy as a top, but you’re constantly on edge, unable to even get a good night’s sleep…”

Before she could finish, Li Yi cut in: “Xue, I know you’re worried about me and feel I’m being treated unfairly, but what I’m trying to say is, in this life, there are always things worth fighting tooth and nail to protect, and there are always things worth throwing caution to the wind for!”

“The things I’m determined to protect in this life—besides you, the kids, and my parents and relatives—include this land beneath our feet and our great motherland. As long as I’m capable, I hope to do something for the country. Even if it means hardship and exhaustion, I’ll be happy to do it!”

Jiang Xue fell silent. In her eyes, alongside the pain and worry, there was now a hint of admiration.

“I can’t argue with you, but please don’t push yourself too hard. There are many people working on national development, but for me and the children, you’re the only one we have!”

“Yeah, I get that. I can contribute money and effort, but I’ll never put myself in danger—safety comes first!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“All right, hurry up and get dressed and washed up. Third Brother just called to say he’s coming over. He’ll be here before you’re even off the bed!” Jiang Xue said.

“If Third Brother’s coming over, I’d better hurry!”

With that, Li Yi hurried to get dressed and then got off the kang to wash up. Meanwhile, Jiang Xue climbed onto the kang to help him fold the blankets…

Li Yi had just finished washing up when the sound of someone knocking on the door ring rang out from the front gate, followed immediately by Jiang Longcheng’s booming voice: “Brother-in-law, open the door!”

Hearing the noise, Li Yi was about to go answer the door when he saw his second sister had already stepped out of the side room, followed by his eldest nephew, Ningning.

Soon, the courtyard gate swung open!

Through the windowpane, Li Yi saw Jiang Longcheng leading An Hong as they strode in with the air of strangers.

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately went out to greet them.

As soon as they met, Jiang Longcheng gave him a big, hearty hug and laughed heartily, “Brother-in-law, you’re finally back! I missed you so much!”

Li Yi playfully punched him in the chest and said, “Speak normally—you’re being way too sappy!”

Jiang Xue, who had followed them out, ignored the two men and said to An Hong, “Sister-in-law, don’t pay them any mind. Let’s go inside and talk!”

An Hong smiled and followed Jiang Xue into the house.

Once inside, they all sat down in the living room of the main hall. Jiang Xue made tea and poured water for everyone, then brought out some chocolates and specialty pastries she’d bought in Hong Kong for them to enjoy.

“Third Brother, Sister-in-law, how come you two had time to come over today?” Li Yi asked as he sipped his tea.

Jiang Longcheng replied with a smile, “We stopped by the old family home this morning and saw Auntie. We heard that you and Sister had returned from Hong Kong, so we decided to drop by. It just so happened that Comrade An Hong needed to discuss something with me, so we came over together!”

An Hong, meanwhile, took a thick ledger out of the briefcase she was carrying and placed it in front of Li Yi. “Brother Li Yi,” she said, “here are the financial results for our trade fair project. Take a look!”

Li Yi didn’t look at the ledger. Instead, he smiled and said, “I won’t look at the ledger. I trust you all. Sister-in-law, just tell me the basics of the project!”

An Hong replied immediately, “Based on the plan you left us, after nearly two months of preparation, we officially held a light industrial products trade fair, inviting only the most prominent organizations from the northern regions to participate.”

“Thanks to our thorough preparation and effective promotion, the results were outstanding. In just one week, our exhibition generated over 90 million yuan in sales, stunning the entire capital.”

“According to the contracts we signed with the participating companies, after deducting all expenses, we made a profit of over 10 million…”

Before An Hong could finish, Li Yi interrupted her: “Xiao Xue told me that you and Third Brother have already sent over the profit share. You don’t need to mention it, Sister-in-law—consider this project wrapped up.”

“What I want to ask now is, have you and Third Brother thought about what path to take from here on out?”

An Hong replied immediately, “Yes, we came here today specifically to discuss that with you!”

“Oh, so you’ve already discussed it. Tell me what you’re thinking,” Li Yi said with a smile.

An Hong gathered her thoughts and said, “Ever since the light industrial products trade fair ended, quite a few organizations have contacted us, wanting us to organize another similar event, and they’re willing to raise the commission rate to over 20%!”

“The three of us discussed it and decided that sales-oriented exhibitions like this are worth doing, but we can’t limit ourselves to just one location—after all, people don’t have that much money to spend—and we can’t focus on just one product category either!”

“Our idea is to find a few key cities across the country and rent dedicated venues for the fairs. We’d hold a light industrial goods fair in one city, a clothing and footwear fair in another, and a children’s toys fair in yet another. We’d rotate the same exhibitors and products among these locations. I’m not sure if this would work?”

After hearing An Hong’s idea, Li Yi’s eyes lit up.

True to her reputation as the self-made marketing queen from her past life, she was indeed a creative thinker—and this was an excellent idea. It not only solved the problem of repeatedly milking the same local community dry but also prevented the waste of resources.

After all, this way, the previously renovated venues and the factories they’d already inspected could be put to immediate use, eliminating the need for a second round of site visits.

If planned properly, this could indeed be developed into a long-term business venture.

However, they were still thinking too simplistically. These days, pulling off a big venture like this wasn’t easy, and he had to give them a reality check.

With that in mind, Li Yi cleared his throat and spoke…

……….