Chapter 785: The Lin’an Orphanage!

By the time he left the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau office building, it was already 11:00 a.m.!

The sun had made a rare appearance, casting a warm glow on his skin, which instantly lifted Li Yi’s spirits.

Back in the north, he’d always complained that the sun was too strong and the heat unbearable.

But now that he was in Lin’an, the sun was his favorite thing.

Just as Li Yi was savoring this rare warmth, Zhang Ziqiang’s voice reached his ears: “Brother Yi, where should we go now? Should we head back to the hotel or find a place to eat…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “Find a supply and marketing cooperative and a grocery store!”

“Got it!”

In a big city like Lin’an, supply and marketing cooperatives and grocery stores aren’t hard to find, and soon the group drove to one.

Then, under the puzzled gazes of Zhang Ziqiang and the others, Li Yi began a massive shopping spree.

Before long, every available space in both cars—except for the seats—was piled high with all sorts of supplies, including rice, flour, cooking oil, sunflower seeds, peanuts, candy, pastries, and more.

Back in the car, Li Yi said again, “Look up the location of the city orphanage. We’ll head over there in a bit!”

“Yes!”

Zhang Ziqiang responded immediately, without a moment’s hesitation.

Soon, they located the orphanage, and the group immediately got back in the car and headed there.

Inside the Volga sedan, Li Yi closed his eyes to rest, but his mind was replaying the conversation he’d just had with the leaders of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau.

Earlier, they had held an in-depth and productive discussion regarding Star Investment Company’s plans to invest in Lin’an.

Upon learning that Star Investment planned to invest in a large-scale convention and exhibition center as well as a major furniture factory in the Lin’an area, the leaders of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau were all extremely excited.

To them, this was a godsend.

With the shift in national policy over the past two years, economic development achievements have become a key criterion for the promotion of provincial leaders.

If the economy is thriving, one can still be promoted and given important roles even if other areas are lacking; conversely, no matter how well one performs in other aspects, if the economy is underperforming, one is bound to be sidelined.

This was especially true for their Investment Promotion Bureau: their track record depended entirely on their ability to attract investment—a result that was either achieved or not, with no room for fabrication.

However, it had only been a couple of years since the launch of reform and opening-up, and foreign investors still harbored doubts about the domestic investment environment; few dared to risk their hard-earned money.

Moreover, the general public in China simply didn’t have the money, so it was genuinely difficult for the Investment Promotion Bureau to attract investment.

Take the Investment Promotion Bureau of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, for example. It’s already mid-March, and they haven’t made a single deal this year—not a single investment secured. Leaders at all levels within the bureau are racking their brains over this.

Yet, to their surprise, fortune smiled upon them: an investor actually came knocking on their door—and it was none other than the renowned Star Investment Company.

To secure this major client, the leaders of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau immediately pledged that they would do their utmost to secure the most favorable terms for Starry Sky Investment.

Li Yi, however, wasn’t particularly interested in those incentives—besides, that wasn’t his concern. With Lan Xinyi and An Hong on the case, he was confident they could handle it well.

The primary purpose of his trip was to acquire the Pioneer Furniture Factory, so Li Yi immediately submitted a request to purchase the facility.

He also stated that if the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau facilitated this deal, Star Investment would not only invest 5 million yuan in the Lin’an region this year but would ensure that annual investment amounts would never fall below that figure in the future.

The leaders of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau were instantly stunned by Li Yi’s generous offer. An investment of five million yuan—if they could secure it, their bureau would have completed more than half of this year’s quota.

More importantly, there would be 5 million yuan in investment every year going forward.

The bureau’s leaders immediately stated that they would do their utmost to facilitate the deal as soon as possible.

In return, Li Yi returned the favor by calling An Hong in Beijing directly from the Investment Promotion Bureau and asking her to personally lead a team to Lin’an to immediately take charge of the acquisition of the Pioneer Furniture Factory.

Given An Hong’s professional capabilities, coupled with the support of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau, and considering that the acquisition involved a third-rate small factory that had recently suffered a fire, it shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge.

Once the Pioneer Furniture Factory was acquired, he could use it as a platform to properly cultivate Xiao Jingshu’s parents.

At the same time, if the opportunity arose, he could get a chance to spend some time with the little girl up close.

But for now, it wasn’t necessary. Judging by her age, the little girl was just over two years old—still too young to understand anything…

Just as he was thinking this, the car suddenly came to a stop.

Then, Li Yi heard Zhang Ziqiang’s voice: “Brother Yi, we’re here!”

Li Yi snapped back to reality, opened the car door, and stepped out.

What met his eyes was a dilapidated gate. On a wooden sign beside the gate, several faded characters starkly read “Lin’an City Orphanage.”

The gate was locked tight, but through the dilapidated gate, he could still see quite a few children laughing and playing in the courtyard.

Standing at the entrance and taking a few glances, although it differed greatly from the orphanage in his memory, this two-story building didn’t look much different from how it would appear more than a decade later.

In his previous life, Li Yi had come to Lin’an in 1998. To see his third older sister, he had visited the orphanage where she worked more than once.

However, more than a decade later, all the low-rise buildings in the vicinity had been demolished, and numerous street-front shops had sprung up on both sides of the street, making the area far livelier than it was now.

After silently reflecting on this for a moment, Li Yi led Zhang Ziqiang and the others to knock on the orphanage’s front door!

“Ding-dong-dong!!!”

The sound of the knocking startled the children playing in the courtyard, and soon several of them ran over.

Then, a boy of seven or eight, missing a front tooth, plucked up the courage to ask, “Uncle, who are you looking for?”

Li Yi replied with a friendly smile, “I’m looking for your director. Could one of you go get Grandma Director for me? I’ll give her some candy later!”

“I’ll go!”

With that, the little boy dashed off toward the two-story house in the back.

Before long, a woman in her sixties with gray hair walked over, surrounded by a dozen or so little soldiers.

Although the woman before him looked much younger than Li Yi remembered, he recognized her immediately—she was Qin Lihua, the director of the kindergarten.

Director Qin saw that Li Yi and his friends were all young lads, driving a car—they clearly didn’t look like bad guys.

Without hesitation, she opened the kindergarten gate and stepped out.

“Young man, I’m Qin Lihua, the director of the orphanage. Is there something you need here?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Director Qin, my name is Li Yi. I’m the head of a small company. I’m here mainly to learn more about your orphanage. If needed, I’d be happy to make a donation!”

That’s right—Li Yi had come here specifically to make a donation. After all, this orphanage had taken in his Third Sister when she was at her most helpless and destitute, saving her from ending up on the streets.

Moreover, this was the place where Third Sister had worked her entire life; she had poured her youth and heart and soul into this orphanage.

In her previous life, Third Sister’s greatest wish was to ensure the children at the orphanage had enough to eat, warm clothes to wear, and access to education.

Her greatest regret was that, in the early years, the orphanage’s conditions were so poor that many children with disabilities or serious illnesses didn’t receive timely treatment and passed away far too soon.

They say that when one is poor, one should cultivate oneself; when one is prosperous, one should help others.

Now that Li Yi is no longer short of money and knows these children need help, he certainly won’t be stingy with a little money.

So, he came!