Chapter 777: When One Person Succeeds, Everyone Benefits!

Li Yi entered the living room and saw that, in addition to Zhou Rui, Zhou Wen and Xiao Wu had also returned.

He immediately smiled and asked, “Director Zhou, when did you all return to Beijing?”

“We just got back yesterday. Since these two little rascals didn’t have anything else to do, we brought them back to you!” Zhou Rui replied with a smile.

“We’re all family now. They could have come back on their own—no need for you to make the trip yourself, Zhou Chu!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“No problem. I actually came to talk to you about something anyway!” Zhou Rui said.

Li Yi knew Zhou Rui held a special position; whatever he wanted to discuss with him—whether big or small—involved state secrets and certainly couldn’t be spoken of in front of so many people.

“Then let’s go to the study!”

“Alright!”

Li Yi then asked Jiang Xue to entertain Jiang Longcheng, Zhou Wen, and the others, while he led Zhou Rui into the study.

Once they had taken their seats, Li Yi immediately asked, “Director Zhou, what’s on your mind?”

“Two things. First, I’m here to thank you!”

“Thank me?”

“That’s right. Given our achievements over the past year, the higher-ups have given me more responsibilities—my position and administrative rank have both been promoted!”

Zhou Rui continued, “I know this is all thanks to you. Without your cooperation, I wouldn’t have been able to get promoted to Deputy Director in such a short time!”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “I was wondering what it was about. Actually, Zhou Chu… no, Director Zhou, you really don’t need to put it that way!”

“After all, we share the same goal—we both want to do what we can for this country. There’s no such thing as one person riding on another’s coattails!”

“Besides, over the past year or so, you’ve helped me a lot. If it weren’t for you, Qiangzi, Awen, and Xiaowu, there are many things I simply couldn’t have accomplished, no matter how capable I am!”

“I knew you’d say that, but there are some things I understand deep down—we can’t pretend not to know what’s going on!”

Zhou Rui then added, “Actually, I understand that given your current status, there’s not much I can do to help. But if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know!”

“Alright! By the way, besides you, what about the others…”

Before Li Yi could finish, Zhou Rui interjected with a laugh, “I’ve already taken care of them all. Zhang Ziqiang, Awen, Yang Zhiwen, and Xiaowu—they’ve all been promoted. Old Xu from the Foreign Exchange Bureau and Yang Qian have been promoted too. In short, not a single comrade involved in this project has been left out!”

“Hahaha, I can’t help but feel like this is a case of ‘when one person succeeds, everyone around them benefits,’” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“Exactly. That’s why everyone’s so grateful to you. If it weren’t for the fact that we can’t exactly go around making a public spectacle of ourselves, we’d all be lining up to treat you to a meal!” Zhou Rui said.

“No need for a meal—everyone deserves this!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “What was that second thing you mentioned?”

“Well, there’s a sum of idle funds from higher-ups right now that they’d like you to help manage. I’m wondering if that would be convenient for you?” Zhou Rui said.

“Huh, so our State Administration of Foreign Exchange actually has idle funds? That’s really something,” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“Heh, apparently we recently exported a lot of commodities and earned some foreign exchange. Plus, you brought back over a billion dollars in one go earlier—otherwise, there wouldn’t be any surplus!” Zhou Rui said.

“How much?”

“Not much—around 200 million,” Zhou Rui replied.

“Alright, just send the money to banbanhaobang in Hong Kong. I’ll handle it from there!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, I’ll have someone send it over as soon as possible!”

“No rush. My team won’t be heading over there until mid-to-late March anyway!”

“Alright!”

Just then, Zhou Rui changed the subject and added, “Oh, by the way, I ran into your brother-in-law before I came back. He asked me to pass a message to you!”

“What is it?” Li Yi asked urgently.

Zhou Rui replied immediately, “He’s had his old condition checked by a doctor. It’s treatable, but the medical facilities in Hong Kong aren’t up to par!”

“Where is it? Little Japan or Thief Eagle?”

“If he has the surgery in Hong Kong, the success rate is only around fifty percent. If he goes to Japan, the success rate is about seventy percent. The United States has the highest success rate—it can reach eighty percent…”

Before Zhou Rui could finish, Li Yi cut in, “What’s there to hesitate about? Let’s go straight to the US!”

“Should we make the arrangements?” Zhou Rui asked.

Li Yi shook his head. “No need. I’ll contact the Li family in Hong Kong—they’re better suited for this!”

“Alright. If they can’t handle it, just let us know. Our relationship with Zaiying has been pretty good these past two years; some things can still be resolved through diplomatic channels!” Zhou Rui said.

“Got it…”

The two then discussed some details regarding the financial operations until Jiang Xue came in to call them to dinner, at which point the conversation ended!

………

That afternoon, after seeing off Jiang Longcheng and Zhou Rui, Li Yi was ready to enjoy a nice afternoon nap.

Back home, since he didn’t have much to do, Li Yi used to take a short nap almost every day.

But lately, between traveling and solving cases, he hadn’t had a nap in quite a while.

Since things weren’t too busy today and Jiang Xue didn’t have much to do either, Li Yi wanted to try out the cozy, family-oriented life.

But just as the two of them lay down, a “clang” sounded from outside the front door.

Li Yi and Jiang Xue got up to take a look and found that Third Sister and her husband had arrived.

They exchanged a glance, then reluctantly climbed off the bed to prepare to welcome them!

As soon as they walked in, Li Na couldn’t wait to ask, “Where are Yunrui and Yunjin?”

“They’re in the room on the bed—they just fell asleep!” Jiang Xue said with a smile.

Li Yi turned to Long Zhanjun and said, “Have a seat. What brings you over here?”

“We just finished up at the shop. We took advantage of this little break to come check on things and catch up with you!” Long Zhanjun said.

“Great. How’s business at the shop?”

“Same as always!”

With that, Long Zhanjun pulled out a small notebook and handed it to Li Yi.

“These are the shop’s financial records for the past few months. Over the last two months, each of the three shops has been bringing in over a thousand yuan in daily revenue. After deducting all expenses, the net profit is over 50,000 yuan every month!”

Then Long Zhanjun added, “I’ve already deposited all the money into your bank account. Whenever you need it, just go to the bank and withdraw it!”

“Alright, I’ll come to you when I need it!” Li Yi replied.

“Mm-hmm!”

Then Long Zhanjun pulled a cloth pouch out of his shoulder bag and placed it in front of Li Yi.

“What’s this?”

“Money!”

Saying this, Long Zhanjun untied the cloth pouch. Inside was a stack of brand-new 100-yuan notes; judging by the thickness, there was at least 10,000 yuan.

“What’s this for?”

“To pay you back. The money for my mom and little sister’s surgeries—you might have forgotten, but I certainly haven’t!” Long Zhanjun said with a smile.

“Alright, I’ll take the money. Is there anything else?”

Li Yi knew Long Zhanjun’s personality; he had a strong sense of pride, and if Li Yi hadn’t accepted the money, Long Zhanjun would surely have felt upset.

Anyway, he and Third Sister aren’t short on money right now, so why not take it!

Seeing Li Yi accept the money so readily, Long Zhanjun immediately smiled.

“We actually came over today to talk to you about opening more branches. Our current locations are packed every day, and the table turnover rate is really high!”

Long Zhanjun continued, “Plus, those young guys have really grown into their roles. I think we should seize this opportunity to open a few more branches. What do you think?”

“Sounds good. Who are you planning to put in charge this time?” Li Yi asked.

“Dongzi would be suitable; the others aren’t quite there yet, but…”

“But what?”

“Well, Nana thinks Second Sister and her husband might be up to the task, but we can’t decide that on our own—we’ll have to ask them first!” Long Zhanjun said.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Dongzi is definitely a good choice. He’s eager to learn and pretty adaptable—he’d definitely make a great manager!”

“As for Second Sister and her husband, they’d probably work too. I’ll ask them later!”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll start making preparations!” Long Zhanjun said.

“Alright, but as for the place, try not to rent if you can help it—buy it if possible!” Li Yi said.

“If we do that, the costs might be…”

“Don’t worry about the costs. If you’re short on cash, just ask Xiao Xue—she’s got the money!”

Then Li Yi added, “Also, Third Brother-in-Law, if you have time, make a trip to Pengcheng!”

“What for?”

“To check it out. If it’s feasible, I’d like to open a branch there!” Li Yi said.

Long Zhanjun didn’t ask any further questions and immediately replied, “Alright!”

Just as they were speaking, Li Na suddenly chimed in from the side, “Xiao Yi, let’s talk about something!”

………