Chapter 776: Brother-in-Law, Help Me Calculate!

“Knock knock knock!”

The urgent knocking interrupted Li Yi and Li Yunbao’s conversation!

Li Yi paused mid-sentence, then immediately called out to the door, “Come in!”

As the reception room door swung open, Li Yi saw Lan Xinyi walk in with a businesslike air, though a hint of worry was visible on her face.

Noticing Li Yunbao was also present, Lan Xinyi nodded at him in greeting.

Li Yunbao knew her personality well and understood that Lan Xinyi must have something very important to discuss with Li Yi. He immediately stood up and said, “Brother Yi, you go ahead. I’ll step out for now!”

“Alright!”

After Li Yunbao left, Lan Xinyi immediately said, “Boss, there’s something from headquarters I need to run by you!”

“What is it? Speak up!” Li Yi said.

“It’s like this,” Lan Xinyi explained. “We just received word today that our idle funds on the headquarters’ books have reached over 17 billion Hong Kong dollars. Currently, there are simply no investment projects there capable of absorbing such a massive sum, yet every day, a large number of investors continue to entrust their funds to us for management. The situation is getting a bit dire!”

“17 billion Hong Kong dollars? That much?” Li Yi said, somewhat surprised.

He recalled that after the dividend payout two months ago, the company’s account balance had been less than 3 billion. After deducting the land tax owed to the Hong Kong government, the available funds on the books were definitely no more than 500 million Hong Kong dollars!

He never expected that in just two short months, the balance on the books would exceed 17 billion.

That meant the company had raised 16.5 billion in such a short time—a pace that was downright staggering!

Lan Xinyi immediately explained, “Ever since we distributed dividends to the company’s shareholders and investors in January, it caused quite a stir. Everyone is willing to entrust their idle funds to us for management. In the less than two months that followed, we’ve raised a massive sum of nearly 8 billion Hong Kong dollars!”

“Furthermore, after receiving their dividends, the Li, Bao, and Luo families have re-invested half of their dividends with us. Combined with your funds and those of Mr. Huang, the company’s idle funds on the books have now reached over 17 billion!”

“More importantly, this amount is still growing. If we continue to be unable to find suitable investment channels, these funds will become a massive burden on the company!”

Li Yi naturally understood everything Lan Xinyi was saying.

For an investment firm, the ability to raise capital must be directly proportional to its profitability.

Simply raising capital isn’t a feat; raising substantial capital and using it to generate profits—that’s true skill.

Otherwise, the raised capital would become a burden on the company, and the more money raised, the greater the pressure on the company.

After all, no one lends you money for free—you have to pay interest on it!

Consider Lehman Brothers, which collapsed in 2008. Their ability to raise capital was by no means weak; the reason they went under was that their investment channels were flawed.

They could only invest the borrowed money in the overheated real estate market, using massive loans to boost returns, and they recognized the losses later than other companies, ultimately dragging the entire company into the abyss.

“Is all of the company’s capital in Hong Kong dollars?” Li Yi asked calmly, showing no sign of panic.

“Mostly Hong Kong dollars, but Mr. Huang has 400 million in US dollars!”

“Hmm. Contact headquarters immediately and tell them to set aside a small portion for their own use, then convert the rest into British pounds as a contingency fund!” Li Yi instructed.

“Yes!”

Lan Xinyi then added, “Also, Vice President Huang wants you to return as soon as possible to take charge of the situation; he’s having a hard time handling everything on his own!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Tell Old Huang that I still need to stay here for a while. The earliest I can head to Hong Kong is late March, so tell him to hang in there a little longer!”

“Yes…”

After that, the two chatted a bit more about the branch office, and only then did Li Yi leave the Jianguo Hotel…

………

By the time he left the Jianguo Hotel, it was almost noon.

Li Yi immediately decided to go home for lunch first and deal with the other matters in the afternoon.

But just as his car pulled up to the entrance of the alley, Li Yi spotted a Jeep parked brazenly right in front of his house, nearly blocking the entire alley.

Even without looking at the license plate, Li Yi knew there was an eighty percent—no, at least a ninety percent—chance that the car belonged to Jiang Longcheng.

Sure enough, as soon as he pushed open the door, he could hear that guy’s booming voice coming from inside the house from a distance.

The people inside heard the commotion at the door and immediately got up to investigate.

Seeing that it was Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang returning, Jiang Longcheng immediately strode out.

“Hahaha, brother-in-law, you’re finally back!”

“When did you get here? Why didn’t you give me a call beforehand?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“I just got here a little while ago. You’re the one who should’ve called. If I hadn’t gone back to the old house today for some business and seen Auntie San there, I wouldn’t have known you were back!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Well… I got back a bit late last night, so I didn’t want to disturb you guys,” Li Yi said.

“That excuse is barely plausible…”

The group chatted as they walked and soon made their way back inside.

As soon as they walked in, they heard Jiang Xue say happily, “Third Brother said he wants to hold a full-moon celebration for the baby and asked us to come over then!”

Li Yi said with a hint of surprise, “Huh? The full-month celebration already? No way!”

“No, there’s still about ten days to go!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Then why are you in such a hurry?”

Jiang Longcheng grinned and replied immediately, “I just wanted you guys to set aside some time in advance so we don’t end up dropping the ball at the last minute!”

Li Yi shot him a look and said, “Don’t talk like that—when have I ever let you down?”

Jiang Longcheng scratched his head and said, “Come to think of it, you haven’t. Never mind that. I actually came over today to ask you about something else!”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go to your study and talk,” Jiang Longcheng said.

Realizing that Jiang Longcheng might not feel comfortable discussing it in front of so many people, Li Yi nodded immediately and said, “Alright!”

Then, the two walked one after the other into the study at the back of the house!

After sitting down, Li Yi poured Jiang Longcheng a glass of water and said, “So, what’s this about? Can you tell me now?”

“Well, I’d like you to do some calculations for me!”

Li Yi was taken aback for a moment; if not for Jiang Longcheng’s reminder, he would have forgotten that he also had the identity of a charlatan.

Although he really didn’t want to be labeled a charlatan all the time—after all, telling one lie requires countless others to cover it up—it was best not to pretend if he didn’t have to.

But since Jiang Longcheng firmly believed in this side of him, he really couldn’t just brush him off.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately asked, “Third Brother, what are you planning to do?”

Jiang Longcheng replied immediately, “The organization called me in for a talk a few days ago. Given my achievements at State Cotton Mill No. 2 over the past two years, they want to transfer me to the State-owned Assets Department, with a promotion in both administrative rank and salary!”

“But I don’t know much about the work at the State-owned Assets Department, so I’m a bit torn. I wanted to ask you to help me figure out whether it’s better to stay at the Second State-owned Cotton Mill or go to the ministry.”

Li Yi glanced at him and said, “You mentioned you went to the old family home earlier—did you happen to ask the old man about this?”

“Yeah, but the old man didn’t say anything. He just told me to come ask you!” Jiang Longcheng replied.

Hearing this, Li Yi fell silent.

The old man was a shrewd man; he had already seen through the higher-ups’ true purpose in transferring Jiang Longcheng to the State-owned Assets Department—they had ulterior motives.

To put it bluntly, they weren’t interested in Jiang Longcheng himself—they had their sights set on Li Yi.

Everyone knew the two of them were close; with Li Yi’s backing, Jiang Longcheng had managed to turn the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill from a loss into a profit.

If Jiang Longcheng were to be placed in a ministerial-level position, then whenever anything came up in the future, all he’d have to do is send Jiang Longcheng to come find him—and how could he possibly say no?

That’s exactly why the old man had Jiang Longcheng come to him—to let him decide whether to help him or not!

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately asked, “Third Brother, let’s not go through with this. After all, fortune-telling is revealing the secrets of heaven—it’ll shorten my lifespan.”

“Besides, we don’t need to consult a fortune-teller for such a trivial matter. Let me break it down for you—doesn’t that make sense?”

“Alright, brother-in-law, go ahead!” Jiang Longcheng said.

Li Yi gathered his thoughts and said, “If you take a job at a ministry, you can raise your administrative rank, earn a higher salary, and it’ll be good for your career!”

“If you stay at the cotton mill, the pay might not be as high, but you’ll have more freedom. Plus, you’re the boss there—it’s entirely up to you which path you choose!”

Jiang Longcheng thought for a moment, then said, “I think I’ll just stay at State Cotton Mill No. 2. I’m not interested in a political career, and I’m not short on money. Why put myself through all that trouble?”

“Alright, as long as you’ve made up your mind…”

Just as they were talking, Jiang Xue pushed open the door and walked in, then said to Li Yi, “Director Zhou is here. He’s waiting for you in the living room!”

Hearing this, Li Yi immediately stood up and headed toward the living room…

………..

Jian Guo Hotel, Temporary Reception Room!

Li Yi looked at Li Yunbao, who was wrapped up tightly and looked like a giant stuffed doll, and asked with a smile, “Are you getting used to staying here?”

Li Yunbao shook his head and said, “Not really!”

“Oh, what’s bothering you?”

“First of all, the climate here is too dry and cold—it’s not as comfortable as Hong Kong!” Li Yunbao said honestly.

As a young master like him, he had never been to a place with such harsh living conditions since birth. During the few days he’d spent in Beijing, every day had felt like an eternity.

The howling northwesterly winds cut like knives, and the freezing temperatures forced him to bundle up like a big, clumsy bear every day; unless absolutely necessary, he would never step outside.

“The northern winter is indeed dry and cold, but it’ll be March soon, and the temperature will warm up quickly!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Mm-hmm!”

Li Yunbao continued, “As for work, the laws and regulations here—and the vast majority of legal principles—are completely different from those in Hong Kong. As a legal advisor here, I feel like a blind man; I can’t do a thing!”

“Heh, I saw that coming. But I didn’t bring you here to handle legal disputes—I brought you here to set up the legal department!”

Li Yi continued, “Although you don’t understand the local laws and regulations, you know how to set up a legal department and keep it running smoothly—that’s a skill the local legal professionals lack!”

Li Yi knew full well that after graduating, almost all law students here entered the public prosecution, police, and judicial systems, with very few “ending up” in the private sector as lawyers.

After all, the prevailing mindset here still favors the idea that those with academic excellence should enter public service; only those who are truly unqualified to join government departments end up representing private clients in court.

As for joining private companies and working in their legal departments, that was even less likely—mainly because there simply weren’t many private companies on the mainland at the moment.

That was precisely why Li Yi needed to transfer Li Yunbao over from Hong Kong!

“I understand. I’ll set up the legal department as soon as possible!” Li Yunbao said.

“Good. By the way, you mentioned earlier that you had something to report to me. What exactly is it?”

Li Yunbao replied immediately, “A couple of days ago, I received a message from my old man saying those Westerners are stirring up trouble again!”

“Oh? What are they up to?” Li Yi asked casually.

“That Dorrison has somehow raised a massive amount of capital. He’s been restructuring the British-owned conglomerate from within, bailing out some companies facing financial crises and stabilizing their internal power bases. At the same time, they’ve been infiltrating the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, causing some already wavering members to start siding with them!”

Li Yunbao continued, “On top of that, they’ve joined forces with the seven most powerful financial institutions on Hong Kong Island to launch a coordinated attack on Longheng Bank, which is controlled by our Li family. They’re trying to use this tactic to force our family—and the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce—to submit!”

“Hah, a toad yawning—that’s quite a bold claim!” Li Yi said with a look of contempt.

“My old man is organizing a counterattack as well. Although we’re slightly at a disadvantage right now, we can still hold our ground!”

Li Yunbao continued, “Furthermore, my old man is mobilizing all his connections to reach out to those wavering factions. We absolutely cannot let them side with those foreign devils…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi immediately cut in: “Don’t even think about it. Tell your old man to leave those people alone!”

“???”

Glancing at Li Yunbao’s astonished expression, Li Yi said calmly, “If a dog goes to eat shit, you must never stop it. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re trying to steal it from them, and they might even bite you!”

Li Yunbao: @#￥%……&

“But those people are actually wavering inside. Maybe if we try to win them over, we can bring them to our side. That would both strengthen our own power and weaken the British-backed group—what’s there to lose?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “You silly boy, remember this: in this world, only gods can change themselves. Anyone who tries to change others is a lunatic. Do you want to be a god or a lunatic?”

“Uh…”

“Don’t worry about those people. Whether they join the British-owned group or our Chinese Chamber of Commerce is entirely up to them. We absolutely won’t force them—and we certainly won’t try to lure them in!”

Li Yi continued, “On top of that, we must maintain strict standards. Every family and company applying to join our Chinese Chamber of Commerce must undergo rigorous vetting. We’d rather have none than settle for the wrong ones!”

“Um… isn’t that a bit problematic?”

Li Yi replied calmly, “There’s nothing wrong with it. We’d rather have a single bite of a divine peach than a whole pile of rotten apricots!”

“If any of you from the Li family or the core members of the Chinese Merchants’ Association can’t hold out, let me know ahead of time, and I’ll make sure you’re safe!”

“With Brother Yi’s word, I’m completely at ease!”

Li Yunbao continued, “Also, my old man said the first batch of companies and families ready to invest here on the mainland is all set. There are 11 in total, including our Li family, the Guo family, the Bao family, as well as Cheung Kong Holdings and Chinese Estates. Each has set aside at least 200 million US dollars.”

Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, and he asked right away, “Oh, when are they coming over?”

“They’re waiting for our telegram. As soon as our negotiations here wrap up smoothly, my old man and the others will each send their delegations over!”

“So it won’t be long now?”

“Right. I sent the results of the negotiations here back to Hong Kong yesterday. They’re expected to take action very soon!” Li Yunbao said.

“Great!”

“By the way, we’ve already settled the matter regarding Chung Ying Street. After spending over 40 million Hong Kong dollars, we’ve purchased more than 120,000 square feet of retail space, and renovations are currently underway!” Li Yunbao said.

Li Yi did a quick mental calculation: 120,000 square feet was roughly 12,000 square meters—that was indeed quite a substantial amount.

Besides, all he needed was a gateway connecting Hong Kong Island and Pengcheng—this was more than enough!

“As long as we’ve bought it, that’s all that matters!”

“By the way, my old man asked me to find an opportunity to ask you which industry would be best for our Li family to invest in over here!”

Li Yunbao continued, “As you know, Brother Yi, our family has primarily been involved in finance and real estate. But right now, both of those sectors here are subject to strict controls and aren’t open to foreign investment. We really have no idea what would be a good investment!”

Li Yi nodded. He knew the Li family was investing in the mainland mainly to save face for him.

Since they were giving him face, he couldn’t let them down.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “Currently, the vast majority of industries here are relatively underdeveloped. With labor-intensive enterprises from Europe and the U.S. set to relocate here, as long as you avoid investing in niche industries, you can basically make a profit.”

“Given your family’s background, you’d be best off in real estate—but not residential housing. Instead, build skyscrapers and iconic landmarks!”

Li Yi knew full well that many of the first wave of Hong Kong-funded enterprises to develop on the mainland had made a fortune by building skyscrapers.

Take, for example, the Kwok family from Hong Kong Island and Li Ka-shing of Cheung Kong Holdings: Li would acquire land and hold onto it, letting the value appreciate over time.

The Kwok family, on the other hand, went all-in on building skyscrapers, investing successively in projects like the New Dong’an Plaza in Beijing, the IFC in Shanghai, and the Tianhuan Center in Guangzhou.

Later, as the mainland continued to develop rapidly, rental income in these areas kept rising, and simply acting as landlords was enough to make a fortune.

Under normal circumstances, the Kwok family’s rental income from the mainland alone exceeds 5 billion, and the returns are quite stable.

Li Yunbao immediately replied, “Alright, I’ll run it by my old man!”

“Alright…”

Just as they were speaking, a series of urgent knocks suddenly sounded at the door…

……….

PS: There’s one more chapter before midnight!

The next morning!

In his sleep, Li Yi sensed something moving beside him. Being a light sleeper, he opened his eyes immediately.

The first thing he saw was a delicate, rosy-cheeked face—it was his little girl.

Seeing that Li Yi had woken up, the little girl’s eyes lit up instantly.

Her two little hands immediately reached out to grab Li Yi’s face, while she babbled away in her own alien language.

Seeing this, Li Yi sat up on the bed and scooped the little girl into his arms.

He then planted a big kiss on her little face, making her giggle uncontrollably.

Li Yi then turned to look beside him and noticed that his son had also woken up and was playing with Jiang Xue’s hair.

As for Jiang Xue, she was still fast asleep.

But it made sense—after all, they hadn’t gotten back until 10:30 last night, and by the time they’d eaten and gone to bed, it was nearly midnight.

Realizing that Yun Rui and Yun Jin needed their milk as soon as they woke up, Li Yi quickly got dressed and headed to the kitchen with the two children’s bottles.

There was hot water in the thermos, so he didn’t need to boil any.

First, he poured the hot water from the thermos into a ladle to let it cool down a bit. Then Li Yi washed the baby bottle inside and out before he began mixing the formula.

When the milk in the bottle felt cool enough, Li Yi took it into the bedroom.

When the two children saw the bottle in Li Yi’s hands, they were overjoyed and toddled toward him on their little legs.

Watching the two little ones cling to their bottles, drinking the milk with such joy and contentment, put Li Yi in a particularly good mood!

Taking advantage of the lull while the children were drinking their milk without fussing, Li Yi first stuffed some wood into the nearly extinguished stove and added a little coal.

Next, he carried the large iron teapot into the kitchen and filled it with water.

After placing the large iron teapot on the stove to boil, Li Yi began dressing his son and daughter…

By the time Jiang Xue woke up, Li Yi had not only finished his morning routine but had also dressed the children and washed their faces.

He had even prepared breakfast!

After breakfast, Li Yi first drove his mother-in-law back to the Jiang family’s old residence, then took Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen to the Jianguo Hotel!

…….

In the hotel conference room, Lan Xinyi, An Hong, and the others were briefing Li Yi on their work, focusing primarily on the negotiations from a few days earlier.

After listening to their report, Li Yi nodded in satisfaction.

It was clear that the Beijing municipal government was very sincere about this partnership and had made concessions in many areas, particularly regarding taxation.

Typically, local governments offer foreign investors a “three-year tax exemption followed by three years of 50% tax reduction” incentive, but they had been granted a “three-year tax exemption followed by five years of 50% tax reduction.”

Furthermore, regarding operational oversight, the Jingcheng municipal government had also shown great sincerity by not imposing overly stringent conditions.

In light of this, Li Yi immediately said, “I’m very satisfied with the outcome of these negotiations. Everyone has worked hard—this month, everyone will receive half a month’s salary as a bonus!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the conference room erupted in enthusiastic applause!

As the applause died down, Li Yi continued, “Now that we’ve reached a cooperation agreement with the Beijing side, have you all figured out how to proceed?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lan Xinyi immediately replied, “I’ve discussed it with Deputy Manager An. We plan to secure an office location first—after all, with so many of us, we can’t keep staying in hotels forever!”

“Also, we’re short-staffed right now. Once we get the approval from the local government, we need to recruit staff as soon as possible. We should get all the company departments up and running before we start operations.”

“That’s right. We should get the company’s internal structure in order before launching operations, so we don’t end up scrambling later!”

Li Yi continued, “As for the office location, my suggestion is that you find a temporary space in the city to make do for now—preferably one that includes dormitory accommodations!”

“Then, you should approach the city government and tell them we want to build our company headquarters—ask them to allocate a plot of land for us in the city!”

Lan Xinyi immediately looked at Li Yi and asked, “Boss, are we going to build a building here?”

“Yes, and it has to be a landmark building!” Li Yi said.

“Yes!”

Just then, An Hong suddenly said, “I heard the Municipal Education Bureau has built a new office building and will be moving soon. Should we ask the city if we can rent the Education Bureau’s old office space?”

Li Yi’s eyes lit up, and he replied immediately, “No need to rent—let’s just buy it!”

He knew full well that the Municipal Education Bureau’s location was right in the heart of the city—buying it now would be a real bargain.

It could serve as a temporary office until the new headquarters was built. And even after that, it would remain a valuable asset for the company.

In short, buying it would definitely be a good deal!

“As far as I know, the Education Bureau is located in what used to be a prince’s mansion. Setting aside whether the authorities would even sell it, even if they did, the price would likely be exorbitant!” said An Hong.

“A prince’s mansion?”

Li Yi continued, “As long as the authorities are willing to sell, money is no object!”

“Sis-in-law, General Manager Lan and the others have just arrived in Beijing and aren’t familiar with the area yet. I’ll leave the task of contacting the government departments to you!”

An Hong replied immediately, “Alright, I’ll contact the municipal government right away to see what they think!”

At that moment, Lan Xinyi pulled out a thick stack of documents and handed them to Li Yi, saying, “Boss, this is a business plan that Manager An and I have drafted. Please take a look!”

Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he took the documents and began reading them right away.

After a long moment, he set the documents down on the conference table and said, “So you plan to start with trade shows and then expand into manufacturing?”

Lan Xinyi nodded and said, “Yes. After studying your trade show model, we believe it’s a business model that integrates promotion and sales, and it’s particularly well-suited for promotion in major cities.”

“So we plan to invest 20 million yuan to establish exhibition centers in 50 cities across the country, and then hold various trade shows on a rotating basis.”

“Once we’ve established brand recognition, we’ll not only be able to control the sales channels for a significant portion of domestic enterprises, but we can also use this as a springboard to enter the manufacturing sector.”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Alright, but as for the specifics—how to proceed and how to allocate the shares—you’ll need to discuss that with Vice President An and my two brothers-in-law!”

“Yes!”

“Also, your idea of entering the manufacturing sector is excellent, but I don’t think we need to spend a fortune building our own factories. It would be best to acquire existing state-owned enterprises.”

Li Yi continued, “I’ll put together a list for you later. Use that list to approach these companies—if you can acquire them outright, do so; if not, take a stake in them!”

“Also, in addition to general manufacturing, we need to invest in some high-tech enterprises…”

Li Yi had a very clear vision for Star Company’s development on the mainland. First, to rescue domestic enterprises and prevent them from becoming cannon fodder under foreign control.

Second, to develop high-tech enterprises, strategically position ourselves in key sectors, and research and develop critical technologies to avoid being held hostage by others down the line.

Relatively speaking, making money was secondary.

After all, with all the memories from his past life, making money would be incredibly easy for Li Yi—there was no need to specifically target the domestic population.

Li Yi spoke at length for nearly half an hour, laying out his thoughts in detail before bringing the meeting to a close.

But no sooner had Li Yi announced the meeting’s adjournment than Li Yunbao approached him, saying he had something to report…

…….

February 19, the 26th day of the first lunar month—an auspicious day for travel and moving!

Early in the morning, Xiao Zhanwu and his wife, accompanied by the Xiaoya sisters, Qiao Chunfang’s family, and Lin Xiaodie and her mother, all arrived at the guesthouse.

At the guesthouse, Li Yi, Jiang Xue, Ye Lingyun, and the others had already packed their bags and checked out of their rooms.

Today marked their ninth day in Yong County, and it was also the day of their return.

With Tang Bing, Tan Cheng, and his parents all apprehended one after another, and Ye Lingyun having gradually reunited with her childhood friends, visited the places where Jiang Xue once lived and attended school, and gained some understanding of her daughter’s early life, the emotional knots in her heart had slowly begun to unravel.

With school set to start in just a few days, Li Yi and his group decided it was time to head back!

Upon hearing the news of their departure, Xiao Zhanwu and a few other friends came to see them off.

Perhaps because they knew these travelers didn’t truly belong here, the atmosphere of farewell wasn’t particularly heavy.

There were none of the tearful, tear-stained embraces and heart-wrenching goodbyes they had imagined.

Everyone simply wished them a safe journey and encouraged them to visit Yong County again when they had the chance—a scene that felt quite heartwarming.

At 8:30, with everyone’s blessings, Li Yi and his friends boarded the train bound for Chang’an!

“Sniff…”

As the train pulled out of the station with a blast of its whistle, Jiang Xue watched the county town recede rapidly with a touch of reluctance, her mood tinged with melancholy.

Although Ye Lingyun didn’t seem to show any signs of reluctance, she was equally lost in thought, saying nothing!

Seeing the mother and daughter like this, Li Yi decided to break the silence.

He gently stroked Jiang Xue’s head and asked softly, “Do you miss this place?”

“A little, but not too much.”

Jiang Xue continued, “I remember when I was sixteen, I also took this train to leave Yong County and go to work in the countryside in North Sai Province. Back then, I cried my eyes out—I was so, so reluctant to leave.”

“But today is quite different. Although I still feel a little of that in my heart, what I feel more is a sense of relief and an eagerness to return home. Do you know why that is?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Because you know your home is in the capital. This place is just a temporary stopover in your life—it no longer holds any ties for you!”

“You’re right. I just want to get back as soon as possible. I miss Yunrui and Yunjin!” Jiang Xue said.

Ye Lingyun looked at her daughter and said, “You’ve had a hard time, Xue’er. This is the first time you’ve been separated from the children for so long; you must miss them terribly!”

Jiang Xue smiled and said, “It’s not so bad. I know my older sister will definitely take good care of them!”

Li Yi chimed in, “Mother, don’t worry about it. Actually, I think it’s good for Xue’er to get out and about like this.”

“Ever since the children were born, her life has revolved entirely around them. She hasn’t had a chance to see the outside world. This is the perfect opportunity for her to get out and relax!”

Jiang Xue nodded and said, “Mom, I’ve really enjoyed this trip. How about you? Are you still thinking about what happened before?”

Ye Lingyun thought for a moment and said, “I feel much lighter. Things I used to be too afraid to even think about don’t seem so scary when I look back on them now.”

“Plus, now that we’ve successfully met your Aunt Fang and Aunt Juan, and seen the places where you lived, studied, and played as a child, things have suddenly become much clearer in my mind.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xue immediately said happily, “That’s great—it means our trip wasn’t for nothing!”

Li Yi felt the same way. Although the trip to Yong County hadn’t gone entirely smoothly—they’d encountered some frustrating setbacks—overall, it had been incredibly rewarding.

First, they had successfully resolved the emotional knot that had weighed on his mother-in-law’s heart for over twenty years. He believed that with this trip to Yong County, her depression would be completely cured.

Second, the trip to Yong County had exposed the scheme by Tang Bing, Tan Cheng, and their cronies to evade punishment, and had sent that scummy couple back to prison—along with their old fools of parents, Tan’s father and mother.

Li Yi felt a deep sense of satisfaction at seeing those two old fools locked up. In his previous life, they had been active accomplices in driving Jiang Xue to her death, and their guilt was hardly any less than Tan Cheng’s.

The final outcome of the trip to Yong County was that they unexpectedly saved over 40 lives. Although the verdict in the Yan Minsheng case had not yet been handed down, given the fact that the demonic couple had murdered eight people, it was entirely foreseeable that they would be sentenced to death.

With their imprisonment, the original toll of 48 victims had been reduced to eight, and the remaining 40 people had effectively escaped a deadly fate.

Although those people were unaware of this, Li Yi himself knew full well just how great this act of merit was—after all, he had saved 40 lives.

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Jiang Xue suddenly asked, “By the way, I saw you slip Xiao Zhanwu an envelope just now—it looked pretty thick. Was it money?”

“It is money, but it’s not for him!” Li Yi replied.

“Then who is it for?”

“It’s for Jiang Lin’s parents!”

At those words, not only Jiang Xue and Ye Lingyun turned to look at Li Yi, but even Zhang Ziqiang, Yang Zhiwen, and Zhang Feng all stared at him in astonishment.

Seeing this, Li Yi immediately explained, “The main reason Jiang Lin was convicted of a crime was that he wanted to save his mother—his intentions were good!”

“Although his methods were wrong, his filial devotion is genuine. So I wanted to help him—I had Captain Xiao deliver 2,000 yuan to his parents. That should cover his mother’s ongoing rehabilitation treatment.”

Jiang Xue nodded and said, “You did the right thing. It’s just a shame about Jiang Lin—he’ll be facing an extended sentence this time!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Actually, it’s not so bad. He was indeed going to get an extended sentence this time—about five years!”

“But since the fact of his previous escape doesn’t hold up, the four-year sentence added for that will definitely be revoked. So, all told, he’s only getting an extra year!”

“That’s a relief. It’s really hard to watch someone so devoted to his family keep getting his sentence extended!” Jiang Xue said.

“Mm-hmm!”

Li Yi then looked at Ye Lingyun again and asked, “Mother, we’ll arrive in Chang’an a little after ten o’clock today. Would you like to meet Uncle Hu and the others?”

“Are there any flights back to the capital this afternoon?” Ye Lingyun asked.

“Yes!”

“Can we book a ticket?”

“No problem!”

With special agents like Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen on hand, getting a few plane tickets was a piece of cake.

All they had to do was pull out their little red ID cards. As long as there were empty seats on the flight and it hadn’t taken off yet, they could board without a hitch. That’s what you call privilege!

“Since we can get tickets, let’s not bother them then!”

“Alright…”

Meanwhile, in the spacious office at the provincial bureau, Hu Zhiqiang hung up the phone, his brow furrowed and his face full of helplessness!

Hu Jianqiang, sitting across the desk, saw his older brother’s expression and immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Hu Zhiqiang paused briefly before saying, “The call was from Comrade Xiao Zhanwu in Yong County. He said Lingyun and the others had just left Yong County and were heading back to Chang’an!”

“Huh, that’s good news. But why didn’t Sister Lingyun call us?” Hu Jianqiang asked.

“Maybe she’s a little upset with me,” Hu Zhiqiang said with a hint of resignation.

“Come on, you were just worried your niece and the others wouldn’t be able to handle it. Besides, haven’t they already arrested all those scoundrels? It shouldn’t be that bad!” Hu Jianqiang said.

“That may be true, but we didn’t actually tell them the whole truth… Never mind, I’d better give Shiying a call!”

With that, Hu Zhiqiang immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number…

………

With the case successfully solved, Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they had already deduced the truth of the matter yesterday, Li Yi still had no idea exactly when the case would be solved.

After all, gathering evidence takes time, and he was genuinely worried that Xiao Zhanwu and his team might drag it out for ten days or even half a month—which would put Li Yi in a very passive position.

He never would have imagined that Xiao Zhanwu and his team would be so efficient, solving the case so quickly.

After declining Xiao Zhanwu’s suggestion to go to the county bureau to meet those two, Li Yi returned to the guesthouse.

Inside, Jiang Xue and her mother, Ye Lingyun, were having breakfast.

Seeing Li Yi push open the door and walk in, Jiang Xue immediately asked, “Mom said she wants to visit my old school today. Do you have time?”

“Yes, when does Mom plan to go?” Li Yi asked.

Ye Lingyun replied immediately, “Any time is fine with me. It’s just a visit—nothing particularly important!”

“Hmm, then let’s go this afternoon. I have a few things I need to take care of this morning,” Li Yi said.

He remembered the batch of “celebrity art photos” he’d ordered last night. According to the agreement, those several hundred photos should have been developed by now.

So Li Yi planned to use the morning to take Xiao Die to the movie theater to test the waters and teach her an easier way to make money.

That way, even if they left in a few days, Xiaodie wouldn’t have to work as hard as she had before.

Jiang Xue had no idea what Li Yi was thinking. Hearing that he had something to do, she immediately asked, “I heard Captain Xiao is here again. Why does he come looking for you first thing every morning?”

Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “Xiao Xue, the case is solved!”

Jiang Xue was taken aback for a moment, then asked, “What case has been solved?”

“Tang Bing and Tan Cheng. They bribed that Jiang Lin to fabricate evidence of meritorious service in order to get a reduced sentence. Now the truth has come to light. The principal and accomplices have been arrested, and they’ll face the full force of the law!” Li Yi said.

“The case is really solved?”

“Yes!”

“What kind of punishment will they face?” Jiang Xue asked again.

“Tang Bing will face at least five years, up to ten. As for Tan Cheng, in addition to having his one-and-a-half-year sentence reduction revoked, he’ll receive at least five additional years. Jiang Lin, Tan’s father, Tan’s mother, and the others will likely all get less than three years!” Li Yi replied.

“Huh, why is Tang Bing’s sentence so severe?” Jiang Xue asked, puzzled.

“Because she was the mastermind behind this case!” Li Yi said.

According to the results of the overnight interrogation conducted by Xiao Zhanwu and his team, Tang Bing was indeed the mastermind behind this case.

By reporting her brother Tang Lei and her ex-husband Liu Ermaozi’s criminal activities, she had secured a sentence reduction and was released early.

After her release, she set her sights on rescuing Tan Cheng, so she hatched this outrageous scheme.

She first visited Tan Cheng in prison, telling him she had a way to get him out, and immediately laid out her plan to him.

Tan Cheng had long been unable to stand being in prison, so the two hit it off immediately.

Subsequently, Tan Cheng asked Tang Bing to contact his parents, while he searched the prison for someone to “earn merit” with, eventually finding Jiang Lin.

It can be said that in this entire case, Tang Bing was the primary mastermind, while Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin were accomplices. Although Tan Cheng’s parents were also involved, their role was limited to raising funds.

As for Jiang Lin’s father, he only learned the truth when Tang Bing delivered the money to his doorstep after his son’s “escape” resulted in a harsher sentence.

Although he knew but did not report it, he had indeed not been involved in any of the earlier stages prior to that.

After a brief silence, Jiang Xue sighed and said, “Am… am I being too cruel, insisting on sending them to prison just to satisfy myself?”

Before Li Yi could speak, Ye Lingyun immediately interjected, “Silly girl, what are you saying? They brought this upon themselves—what does it have to do with you?”

Li Yi immediately added, “Xiao Xue, don’t feel guilty about this. Given what they did to you, even dragging them out and shooting them for half an hour wouldn’t be too much.”

“Besides, we’re just sending them where they belong. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi gratefully, then at her mother.

She had been genuinely worried that her insistence on this matter might cause a misunderstanding between her two closest relatives.

It seemed she’d been overthinking it!

With that thought, a cheerful Jiang Xue looked at Li Yi and asked, “Do you have to go to the county bureau today?”

“No, I plan to take Xiaodie out to make some money in a little while!” Li Yi replied.

Jiang Xue’s eyes lit up, and she immediately said, “I’m coming too!”

“Sure!”

Before long, after the group finished breakfast, they headed to the photo studio together!

When they arrived at the photo studio, the old master had already developed the 900 photos.

After checking the quality of the prints, Li Yi and the others took all the photos with them, along with the negatives.

After leaving the photo studio, Li Yi and the others went to Xiaodie’s house and took her to the movie theater…

………..

Beijing. City Hall!

Just as Li Yi was busy teaching others how to fish, negotiations between Starry Investment and the municipal government in Jingcheng were drawing to a close.

In the conference room of the municipal building, the leadership of the Capital City government and the senior executives of Star Investment had gathered to make a final push for the signing.

At the conference table on the left side of the room, An Hong, Deputy General Manager of Star Investment’s mainland branch, was delivering a final summary of the negotiation results!

“Ladies and gentlemen, after a week of negotiations, Star Investment and your organization have reached the following consensus regarding the investment: First, we have the right to invest in all sectors that your organization has opened up, and we will be treated on an equal footing with all mainland enterprises—including in recruitment, production, and sales!”

An Hong continued, “Second, provided that we comply with all laws and regulations, your side must not interfere with our company’s normal business operations through any improper means, and must grant us a three-year tax exemption followed by a five-year period of 50% tax reduction!”

“Likewise, we promise that over the next five years, our annual investment in mainland China will not be less than $200 million…”

After An Hong had outlined the consensus reached by both parties point by point, the representative of the Beijing municipal government immediately expressed no objections.

Subsequently, the two parties immediately drafted an investment cooperation agreement centered on the terms agreed upon above.

Once the agreement was finalized, the company’s general manager, An Xinyi, and the head of the Jingcheng Municipal Government signed their names on the document and exchanged copies.

With this, Star Investment officially entered the mainland, becoming one of the earliest Hong Kong-based foreign investors!

As one of the final enterprises to invest in the mainland, this collaboration between Star Investment Company and the Beijing Municipal Government was given high priority by mainland authorities.

In particular, CCTV filmed the entire signing ceremony and quickly broadcast comprehensive coverage of the event.

With the formal signing of the cooperation agreement, many eyes turned to Star Investment. Everyone was eager to see which industry this renowned investment firm would choose to invest in first.

More importantly, everyone wanted to see if they could replicate the business miracle they had achieved on Hong Kong Island.

Overnight, Star Investment’s mainland branch became the center of public attention…

……….

The next morning!

Amid the roar of car engines, Li Yi opened his eyes.

The guesthouse faced the street, and being a standard brick-and-tile building, the soundproofing was rather poor.

Although the noise had woken him up, causing Li Yi to frown, he quickly composed himself and prepared to get out of bed.

Gently setting Jiang Xue down from where she was draped over him, Li Yi sat up in bed.

He glanced at his watch—it was almost eight o’clock.

He immediately got dressed and got out of bed, intending to go outside for some exercise.

But the moment he stepped off the bed, Li Yi felt his steps were unsteady, his calves slightly weak, and his lower back aching.

Although it didn’t hurt, his weakness was obvious and undeniable!

Glancing back at Jiang Xue, who was still fast asleep—especially the look of contentment on her face—Li Yi couldn’t help but sigh.

“Lust is like a steel knife scraping the bone; alcohol is a poison that pierces the intestines.”

Before they’d been doing “that thing” as a couple very often, Li Yi hadn’t really had much experience with it. He’d always thought of himself as physically robust, and whenever he left his wife utterly defeated, he’d always felt that description was a bit of an exaggeration.

But lately, this girl clearly wanted a second child; she was relentlessly milking him dry, refusing to let him go until he’d exhausted every last drop of his reserves.

Even if it meant killing eight thousand enemies while losing ten thousand of his own, she didn’t care.

After several days of this, Li Yi felt like he was truly being drained dry.

At that moment, he realized deeply that even the strongest ox can be worn down to skin and bone!

He walked over to the window, pulled back the curtains, and took a look.

Li Yi discovered that a coal-hauling truck was parked in the guesthouse courtyard, and workers were currently unloading coal from it—the noise he’d heard earlier had come from this very truck.

After a quick wash, he walked out of the room.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Ziqiang and Yang Zhiwen immediately came out of their rooms.

“Brother Yi, where are you headed?” Zhang Ziqiang asked.

“To get breakfast—and get some exercise while I’m at it!”

“Alright!”

After saying hello to Zhang Feng, the three of them walked out of the guesthouse.

Once outside the guesthouse, they did a quick warm-up and then began jogging along the main road through the county town.

Whether in winter or summer, running is the best form of exercise.

After running five kilometers, they arrived at the state-run restaurant, bought some meat buns, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns, and then headed back to the guesthouse.

But just as they reached the entrance of the guesthouse, Li Yi spotted a police car parked there.

Judging by the license plate, it was unmistakably the car Xiao Zhanwu usually drove.

Li Yi immediately told Yang Zhiwen to take the breakfast back to the guesthouse first, while he and Zhang Zhiqiang strode toward the police car.

When they reached the car, Li Yi saw through the window that Xiao Zhanwu was slumped over the steering wheel, fast asleep.

In the passenger seat, a drowsy police officer was slumped against the seat, looking utterly exhausted.

At that moment, Li Yi tapped lightly on the car window!

“Tap, tap, tap!!!”

Hearing the tapping on the window, Xiao Zhanwu woke up immediately.

Upon seeing it was Li Yi, he rubbed his eyes and got out of the car.

Li Yi noticed his bloodshot eyes and said, “What’s up? Did you stay up late again last night?”

“It’s nothing, I’ll get used to it!”

Xiao Zhanwu then added, “I’ve done my duty. We’ve made a major breakthrough in the case. Tang Bing and Tan Cheng are already in our custody, and they’ll likely be formally arrested within the next day or two!”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly asked, “That fast? Do we have the evidence?”

“Yes!”

Xiao Zhanwu then proceeded to explain the details of the investigation to Li Yi.

According to Xiao Zhanwu, after returning to the county bureau yesterday afternoon, he immediately reported the case to the bureau’s leadership.

When the leaders of the county bureau learned that the Criminal Investigation Division had actually botched the case, they were both shocked and furious.

They were shocked that their team had botched the case; if higher-ups held them accountable, they were sure to face criticism, especially since their bureau had originally been in charge of the investigation.

They were furious that Tan Cheng had actually devised such a scheme to escape from prison—wasn’t he treating their county bureau like a laughingstock?

Immediately, the bureau leadership issued instructions to assemble an investigation team composed of the best personnel, determined to uncover the truth and ensure that the arrogant criminal received severe punishment.

With the leadership’s instructions in hand, the investigation team was quickly formed.

The team members then began acting on the information they had already gathered.

First, they formally interrogated Jiang Lin, clearly informing him that the investigation team had uncovered the secret dealings between him and Tan Cheng, and even revealed some specific details.

Upon hearing the details the police had uncovered, Jiang Lin was utterly shocked. He had assumed that when Xiao Zhanwu came to see him that morning, it was merely a bluff and that there was no substantial evidence.

But he never imagined that they had actually uncovered the truth of the matter. For a moment, Jiang Lin felt as if his world was collapsing.

What hit him even harder was that the investigating officers also told him the matter implicated his father, Jiang Dafu.

If he refused to confess, the consequences would be severe. The police were likely to make his father a key target of their investigation and might even take immediate coercive measures against him.

This plunged Jiang Lin into a state of extreme panic. Not long ago, his father had visited him in prison and told him that his mother had just undergone surgery and was doing fairly well.

But to spare her distress, he hadn’t yet told her about his extended sentence.

He knew his family’s situation well: if his father were arrested, his mother would inevitably learn the truth.

Furthermore, if his father were subjected to coercive measures, there would be no one to care for his mother after her surgery, and she certainly wouldn’t survive for long.

More importantly, this matter had nothing to do with his father in the first place.

His father only found out about it after the fact; at most, he could be accused of failing to report what he knew, but he hadn’t directly participated in the case.

It would be a terrible injustice if he were arrested for this.

After much internal deliberation, Jiang Lin finally decided to come clean.

While Jiang Lin was being interrogated, Xiao Zhanwu took several men to the steel mill’s staff housing complex to meet with Tang Bing and Tan Cheng.

Upon meeting the two, Xiao Zhanwu got straight to the point and informed them that due to some issues with the previous case involving sentence reduction for meritorious service, the police bureau and the prison authorities would be re-examining the case. He formally notified them not to leave Yong County for the time being and to be ready to respond to summonses from the investigators at any time.

While delivering this notice, Xiao Zhanwu also casually—or perhaps deliberately—revealed some details uncovered during the investigation, such as the 2,500 yuan and the fact that Tang Bing had once been seen in Jiangjia Village. This left Tang Bing and Tan Cheng pale with fear.

After saying this, Xiao Zhanwu and his team left, leaving the two men as skittish as birds startled by a bowstring.

What they didn’t know was that after leaving the steel mill’s staff housing compound, Xiao Zhanwu and his team had set up surveillance in the vicinity to keep an eye on the two.

Sure enough, after dark, Tang Bing sneaked out of her home and, under cover of night, left the county town.

Once Xiao Zhanwu and his team confirmed that Tang Bing wasn’t fleeing but was heading to Jiangjia Village, they drove there ahead of time to wait for her.

At two o’clock in the morning, the woman did indeed appear in Jiangjia Village and made her way to the Jiang family home.

Coincidentally, after Tang Bing woke up Jiang Dafu, Jiang Dafu—not wanting his wife to find out that their son’s sentence had been extended—actually refused to let Tang Bing come inside to talk.

So the two of them ended up talking right there in the Jiang Lin family’s courtyard!

Tang Bing told Jiang Dafu directly that the police were investigating the case and had already turned their suspicions toward them.

She also warned him that if the truth came out, his son’s sentence would be extended.

Therefore, she demanded that Jiang Dafu keep his mouth shut at all costs and stick to the story that the 2,500 yuan was a loan, not compensation.

Furthermore, to win Jiang Dafu over, Tang Bing gave him another 300 yuan.

But neither Jiang Dafu nor Tang Bing could have imagined that, while the two were talking, Xiao Zhanwu and his men were hiding outside the wall, listening to every word of their conversation.

Then, as their conversation ended, Xiao Zhanwu and his team scaled the wall and leaped into the courtyard, catching Tang Bing and Jiang Dafu completely off guard!

Caught red-handed by the police, Jiang Dafu and Tang Bing were stunned and had no choice but to confess the truth…

……….

By the time they returned to the county seat, it was already 1:00 PM. Li Yi didn’t go back to meet up with Jiang Xue and the others; instead, he had Xiao Zhanwu drive the car to the state-run restaurant.

After a quick bite to eat at the restaurant, the group returned to the guesthouse.

Sure enough, Jiang Xue and his mother-in-law weren’t at the guesthouse; they must have gone to visit Qiao Chunfang’s home.

Fortunately, Li Yi knew Qiao Chunfang’s address. After a brief discussion with Zhang Ziqiang, the two decided to head straight to Qiao Chunfang’s house to find Jiang Xue and Ye Lingyun.

When they arrived at the cotton mill staff housing complex and knocked on the Qiao family’s front door, they indeed found Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and the others all there.

And judging by their appearance, they had just finished eating; the women inside were clearing the leftovers from the table!

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, Li Yi sat down in the living room.

Once the table was cleared, they chatted for a while longer, and then Jiang Xue suggested they go to the movie theater.

To be honest, she really wanted to see just how good the movie was that her husband had been raving about and recommending so enthusiastically.

Qiao Chunfang and Ye Lingyun had been chatting for most of the morning and through lunch, and they didn’t seem to have as many topics to discuss as before.

Upon hearing Jiang Xue’s suggestion, both of them expressed great interest.

After that, the group quickly gathered their things and headed straight for the movie theater.

The theater was just as crowded as it had been the past few days, with a line to buy tickets stretching at least two hundred meters.

While Yang Zhiwen went to stand in line for tickets, Li Yi began looking around at the entrance of the cinema.

Soon, a slender figure came into Li Yi’s view—it was Xiaodie.

Immediately, he led Zhang Ziqiang over to her!

As soon as they arrived, Xiaodie spotted Li Yi and immediately waved happily, calling out, “Brother Li Yi!”

“Selling sunflower seeds again?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Yep!”

“Has anyone been picking on you these past few days?”

“No, ever since San Laizi got arrested, everyone else has been scared off—no one dares to bully me anymore!” Xiaodie said happily.

“That’s good!”

“By the way, Brother Li Yi, Xiaoya’s mother really… really…”

Li Yi nodded and sighed. “It’s true. But Xiao Ya and her sister have been taken in by Captain Xiao from the Public Security Bureau, so they have someone to rely on now!”

Tears welled up in Xiaodie’s eyes, but the little girl held them back.

Seeing this, Li Yi ruffled her hair.

“Don’t cry!”

Then Li Yi changed the subject: “How’s business been these past few days? Are you making any money selling sunflower seeds?”

Xiaodie nodded and said, “It’s been okay. Even though there are a lot of people selling sunflower seeds and peanuts, there have also been a lot of people going to the movies these days. I can still make two yuan a day!”

Two yuan a day was indeed a decent amount, but Li Yi knew this situation wouldn’t last long.

After all, once the buzz around *Shaolin Temple* died down, the movie theater wouldn’t be nearly as crowded, and with fewer people, Xiaodie and her fellow snack vendors would see their earnings drop.

With that in mind, Li Yi suddenly said, “Xiaodie, I have a quick way to make money. Do you want to learn it?”

“Yes!” the young girl replied firmly.

“Hey, you said you want to learn before I’ve even explained it. Aren’t you afraid you won’t make any money after learning it?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Big Dragon said you’re a capable and kind person. I trust Big Dragon, and I trust Brother Li Yi too!” Xiaodie said.

Li Yi was quite pleased with the little girl’s answer.

He asked Xiaodie to wait at the entrance for a moment, then led Zhang Ziqiang into the cinema.

The two went to the manager’s office. After Zhang Ziqiang showed his ID, they asked for a few promotional posters for *Shaolin Temple*, then left as the manager watched them with a puzzled expression.

Back outside, Li Yi handed the cloth bag in Xiaodie’s hands to Zhang Feng to watch over, while he turned to leave with Zhang Ziqiang and Xiaodie.

Seeing this, Jiang Xue—though she didn’t know what Li Yi was up to—followed them out of curiosity, leaving Ye Lingyun, Qiao Chunfang, and the others behind to wait.

After leaving the movie theater, Li Yi and the others headed straight for a photo studio in the county town.

It wasn’t a holiday or a special occasion, so aside from an elderly master photographer and an apprentice, there wasn’t a single customer in the studio.

Seeing Li Yi and the others enter, the veteran photographer immediately looked up and asked, “Comrades, who’s getting their picture taken?”

Li Yi placed the poster on the table and said, “Take a picture of this!”

The old master looked taken aback for a moment, then frowned and said, “Young man, are you really planning to take a photo of this magazine? It’s not cheap to take a picture here!”

“How much?”

“Fifty cents!”

“Well, if I want 100 prints, could you give me a discount?” Li Yi asked.

“How… many?”

Li Yi pointed to the few posters in his hand and said, “For each of these posters, print 100 copies—that’s 300 copies in total. How much do you think would be fair per copy?”

The veteran photographer at the studio paused to think for a moment, then said, “If you really want 300 copies, I can give you them for 40 cents each!”

“20 cents!”

“Two and a half cents at most—I won’t pay a single cent more!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, twenty-five cents it is. But you have to pay up front!” the veteran photographer said.

“Fine, but you have to take the photos exactly as I say, and I need to see all 300 prints by tomorrow morning. Can you do that?” Li Yi asked.

“I can!”

“Then let’s get started!”

“Alright!”

The veteran photographer then took out his camera and began shooting according to Li Yi’s instructions.

Soon, the main movie poster, along with individual photos of the male and female leads, were all taken.

Immediately, Li Yi asked the veteran photographer to develop one copy right away to check the results.

Naturally, the veteran photographer wouldn’t dare neglect the request of such an important client, so he quickly set about developing the film.

In less than half an hour, three postcard-sized photos were ready.

When Li Yi received the photos, he saw that they were very clear. Combined with the artistic text he had added to the poster, the final result looked excellent.

“Wow, these are such beautiful photos!” Jiang Xue exclaimed in admiration.

Li Yi smiled and said to the veteran photographer, “At 25 cents per copy, could you please develop 300 copies of each photo for me? Can you have them ready by tomorrow?”

“300 copies each—that’s 900 photos in total. Are you sure you want that many?” the old master asked in surprise.

“I’m sure. But you have to promise that these photos will only be developed for this young lady, okay?” Li Yi said, pointing at Xiaodie.

“O… okay!”

Li Yi immediately pulled out 225 yuan and handed it to the master. After receiving the receipt and agreeing on a time to pick up the photos, they left the photo studio.

After leaving the photo studio, Xiaodie looked at Li Yi and asked, “Brother Li Yi, didn’t you say you were going to teach me how to make money?”

“Hehe, come on, let’s go back to the movie theater. I’ll teach you how to make money!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Okay!”

Just then, Jiang Xue snapped out of her daze and said in surprise, “You aren’t planning to teach Xiaodie how to sell photos, are you?”

“Honey, you’re really sharp—you figured that out!” Li Yi said with a laugh.

Jiang Xue blushed slightly, then said, “But these aren’t even our photos. Would anyone even want them?”

“Hehe, you’ll find out in a minute if anyone wants them!”

With that, Li Yi led the group at a brisk pace toward the movie theater.

When they returned, the movie had just ended, and a large crowd was pouring out of the theater!

At the same time, quite a few people were entering the theater through the entrance on the other side. The two groups were clearly separated, and the scene was orderly!

At that moment, Li Yi arrived at the exit and pulled out the three photos.

Then, as Jiang Xue and the others stared in astonishment, Li Yi suddenly shouted out loud: “Personal photos of the male and female leads from *Shaolin Temple*, complete with autographs! If you’re interested, come over quickly!”

His shout quickly caught the attention of several young men and women, who immediately walked over.

When they saw the “portraits” in Li Yi’s hands, their eyes lit up instantly.

Soon, a girl of about seventeen or eighteen asked, “Comrade, how much are these photos?”

“One yuan each!”

“One… one yuan? That’s so expensive?”

“Miss, these are art prints, and they even have the leads’ autographs. One yuan each really isn’t expensive, and these are from their very first batch of art prints—they’re highly collectible…”

Swayed by Li Yi’s pitch, the young girl was immediately tempted. After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out a one-yuan coin and said, “I’ll take this one!”

“Alright!”

“Give me one of the male lead too…”

“Sorry, I only have one set today. Come back tomorrow!”

“You’ll really be here tomorrow, right? You’re not lying, are you?”

“Absolutely. People from Longguo don’t lie—people from Longguo…”

Standing nearby, Jiang Xue, Xiao Die, and the others were stunned to see Li Yi sell each 25-cent photo for a full dollar with just a few words…

………

Yong County, Jiangjia Village!

Back in the car, Xiao Zhanwu took the driver’s seat himself, but he didn’t start the engine.

Instead, he looked at Li Yi and said, “Things have gotten a bit complicated!”

“What’s the problem?”

“Neither Jiang Lin nor Jiang Dafu is willing to talk, and we don’t have any evidence. Even if we know there’s something fishy going on, we can’t arrest Tan Cheng!”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “Most importantly, it was clear from our conversation that the Jiang family—father and son—are grateful to Tan Cheng. Getting them to identify him won’t be easy!”

Li Yi largely agreed with Xiao Zhanwu’s analysis.

If the truth of the matter was indeed that Tan Cheng had paid Jiang Lin three thousand yuan to help him earn merit, then regardless of Tang Bing and Tan Cheng’s motives, that sum of money had effectively saved Jiang’s mother.

They say one should repay even the smallest kindness with great gratitude—so how could one possibly repay a debt of life-saving grace?

So, it makes perfect sense that the Jiang family wouldn’t betray Tan Cheng!

As for the fact that Jiang Lin’s sentence was extended by four years because of this, what does that amount to compared to 3,000 yuan?

After all, even if Jiang Lin had actually been released from prison, he couldn’t have earned three thousand yuan in four years—and even if he could, his mother wouldn’t have survived that long!

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter if they don’t speak up. Now that we’ve deduced the truth, we’ll find a way to uncover the evidence.”

“Do you have an idea?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“I have a few ideas, but they need some refinement. For now, let’s head over to Xiaoya’s grandparents’ house!” Li Yi said.

“Sounds good!”

With that, he started the car and drove toward the back of the village.

Before long, the car came to a stop in front of a low, dilapidated courtyard.

Just as Li Yi was about to get out, Xiao Zhanwu stopped him.

“Brother Li Yi, I know exactly how those old folks act. If you go inside, you might get other ideas, so you’d better stay out of this!”

Hearing this, Li Yi nodded and said, “Alright, then we won’t get out. You take Xiaoya and the others inside!”

“Alright!”

Xiao Zhanwu then got out of the car with the two sisters and walked into the courtyard.

After Xiao Zhanwu and the others got out, Li Yi fell deep in thought.

There was definitely something fishy about the case involving Tan Cheng’s release from prison for meritorious service. The truth was likely not far off from what they had suspected, but the only problem now was finding evidence.

After all, suspicion alone isn’t enough to convict someone—only evidence will do.

Evidence admissible in court includes both witness testimony and physical evidence. As for witness testimony, aside from confessions, there are also eyewitness accounts and the like; physical evidence, of course, is the money.

If they could just find the evidence mentioned above, they could send the suspects to prison.

Since the Jiang family—father and son—remain indebted to Tan Cheng and are unwilling to speak up, we’ll have to start with Tan Cheng or Tang Bing.

After all, this case involves three parties: Jiang Lin in prison, Jiang Dafu and Jiang’s mother in the village, and Tan Cheng, Tang Bing, and others. Among them, Jiang’s mother clearly does not know the truth.

In other words, they are not a united front.

I believe that with careful planning, we can tackle them one by one and find the evidence.

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, he suddenly heard footsteps and the chatter of children outside.

Looking up, he saw Xiao Zhanwu emerge from the Jiang family’s courtyard, smiling as he held the younger child in one arm and led the older one by the hand.

Following behind them, at a moderate distance, was an elderly couple in their sixties.

Once back in the car, Xiao Zhanwu immediately started the engine, waved to the elderly couple, and turned the car around to leave Jiangjia Village!

Once the car had turned around and was back on the road, Li Yi finally asked, “Did they agree to let you adopt Xiaoya and the others?”

“Yes, they’ve agreed. From now on, Xiaoya and Yueyue are my daughters!” Xiao Zhanwu said happily.

“No wonder you’re so happy. Congratulations!” Li Yi said.

“Hahaha, I’m not just happy because I successfully adopted Xiaoya and Yueyue—more importantly, there’s a new lead in the case!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Oh, what kind of lead?” Li Yi asked eagerly.

“It’s pretty much what we suspected. The Tan family did indeed pay 2,500 yuan for Jiang Lin’s mother’s surgery, and Jiang Lin was just creating an opportunity for Tan Cheng to earn merit!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Is the lead reliable?”

As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but glance back at the elderly couple standing at the Jiang family’s front gate.

Xiao Zhanwu hadn’t known about this earlier, but he’d found out shortly after going inside—the source of the information was obvious.

“Xiao Ya’s grandfather told me personally—it should be accurate!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“How would he know all this?”

“He said Jiang Dafu told him. By the way, Xiaoya’s grandfather is Jiang Defu—he’s a cousin of Jiang Lin’s father!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Even if they’re cousins, Jiang Dafu wouldn’t have any reason to tell Xiaoya’s grandfather about this, would he?” Li Yi said.

Xiao Zhanwu immediately replied, “Jiang Defu said that a while back, Jiang Dafu went to his house to ask for a loan, claiming he needed it for his wife’s surgery. Worried that Jiang Dafu might not be able to pay it back, he told him he already had 2,700 yuan and was only 300 yuan short!”

“Jiang Defu naturally didn’t believe him, since he knew exactly what his cousin’s family situation was like. So he asked where the 2,700 yuan had come from. And Jiang Dafu, desperate to borrow the money, made up part of the story!”

“According to him, 2,500 yuan came from a friend of Jiang Lin’s, and his family had saved up 200 yuan on their own. Then Jiang Defu lent him 100 yuan, and a few other members of the Jiang clan chipped in another 200 yuan for Jiang Defu. That’s how Jiang Lin’s mother was able to undergo the surgery successfully.”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That does sound reasonable. But why would Jiang Defu tell you all this? Isn’t he afraid this might implicate Jiang Defu and make his 100 yuan go to waste?”

Just as Xiao Zhanwu was about to speak, Xiao Ya pouted and said, “It was Uncle Xiao who gave them 300 yuan!”

The little girl’s tone wasn’t very pleasant; clearly, she wasn’t happy about the whole situation.

“Money?”

Xiao Zhanwu smiled and said, “To keep them from bothering Xiaoya and Yueyue in the future, I gave them 300 yuan. You could say I’m fulfilling a filial duty on behalf of Xiaoya and Yueyue toward their biological father!”

“Maybe it was those 300 yuan that did the trick. When I asked Jiang Dafu about his family, he hesitated for a moment but then told me everything he knew. However…”

“But what?” Li Yi asked.

“But Xiaoya’s grandfather is only willing to tell me about it—he won’t testify in court!” Xiao Zhanwu said with a hint of resignation.

“Haha, no problem. Now that we know this, finding a breakthrough won’t be difficult at all!”

A cold smile then curled at the corner of Li Yi’s mouth as he added, “And this whole thing might even bring us an unexpected bonus!”

“What kind of unexpected bonus?” Xiao Zhanwu asked immediately.

“This whole affair is so meticulously orchestrated—it’s clearly been carefully planned. At the time, Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin were both in prison, and Jiang’s parents aren’t very educated. There must have been someone acting as a go-between. Who do you think that person could be?” Li Yi said calmly.

“Tang Bing?”

Li Yi nodded and continued, “Besides, Tang Bing herself just got out of prison. Where on earth would she have gotten 2,500 yuan?”

“If I’m not mistaken, that money must have come from Tan Cheng’s parents. And they wouldn’t have handed over such a large sum to Tang Bing—a woman who’s served time—without knowing anything about the situation. Do you know what that implies?”

“Whoa!”

Xiao Zhanwu sucked in a sharp breath and immediately said, “That means Tan Cheng’s parents are involved in this too. You… you want to send them to prison as well?”

“They brought it upon themselves—who else can they blame?” Li Yi said coldly.

“So what should we do now?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“Simple. Just take some men to meet with Tan Cheng and Tang Bing this afternoon. While you’re at it, drop a hint about your suspicions regarding this case, then have someone keep an eye on them!” Li Yi said.

“Lure the snake out of its hole?”

“No, this is called testing the waters!” Li Yi said.

“I know what to do. I’ll make the arrangements as soon as I get back,” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Alright…”

………

PS: There’s one more chapter before 10 o’clock!

I’ve had some family matters to attend to these past few days, so updates have been a bit irregular. But as long as I have time, Lao Cang will keep updating and do my best to avoid any hiatuses.

Jiangjia Village is located southeast of Yong County, just 15 kilometers from the county seat.

Although the road conditions weren’t great, Li Yi and the others still reached their destination within half an hour.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Xiao Zhanwu immediately asked Li Yi, “Jiangjia Village is right up ahead. Should we go to Jiang Lin’s house first, or to Xiao Ya’s grandfather’s house?”

“You decide—whichever is closer. We’ll have to visit both places anyway!” Li Yi replied.

“Alright, let’s go to Jiang Lin’s place first. His house is right at the western end of the village!”

Following Xiao Zhanwu’s instructions, the car drove straight into the village.

Since Xiao Zhanwu and his team were driving a police car—with the word “Public Security” clearly visible on the side—the vehicle attracted quite a bit of attention as soon as it entered the village.

The villagers were all speculating among themselves about who in the village had gotten into trouble to have drawn the attention of the police.

When they saw the car finally pull up in front of the Jiang Lin residence, the villagers let out a collective sigh.

After getting out, Xiao Zhanwu told the two sisters to stay in the car and asked his colleague, Xiao Wang, to keep an eye on them.

Then, accompanied by Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, Xiao Zhanwu strode purposefully toward the Jiang Lin family’s courtyard.

He pushed open the gate, but there was none of the usual clucking of chickens or barking of dogs he had expected.

The entire courtyard was deathly quiet; there was no sign of people or livestock.

This was an unusual sight in the countryside; generally, farming families in the village kept livestock such as chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs, which served as an important source of income for the villagers in addition to farming.

It’s not unheard of for people not to raise poultry or livestock, but generally speaking, there are only two reasons for this:

One is that policy prohibits it, and the other is that the family cannot afford to raise them.

In the past, it was indeed prohibited by policy, but now the household contract responsibility system is being implemented nationwide, and people are encouraged to raise poultry and livestock. The Jiang family’s situation, however, was somewhat unusual.

With some curiosity, Li Yi followed Xiao Zhanwu into Jiang Lin’s home.

Upon opening the door, the first thing that caught their eye was a main hall with a kitchen attached. Beside the stove was another door, likely leading to the main living quarters—a common layout in northern homes.

Hearing the commotion in the main hall, a slightly weak voice called out from inside: “Husband, are you back?”

Li Yi and the others immediately quickened their pace and entered the main room.

Upon entering, in the dim light, Li Yi saw that the room was somewhat cluttered; aside from the burning stove, there wasn’t a single piece of decent furniture.

Meanwhile, a woman in her fifties or sixties lay on the earthen bed, apparently ill.

The woman was startled when she saw Xiao Zhanwu, but then struggled to sit up, saying, “Comrade Xiao, why are you here? Is my little Lin going to be released?”

Xiao Zhanwu immediately stepped forward and said, “Auntie, you’re not feeling well—you should lie down right away!”

“Comrade Xiao, I’m fine. Just tell me, how is Little Lin?” Jiang Lin’s mother asked, her face full of anxiety.

“Jiang Lin… Jiang Lin is fine. I just came by to see how you’re doing, Auntie,” Xiao Zhanwu replied.

“I’m doing fine. I just had surgery a while back. The doctor said with a year or so of recuperation, I’ll be back on my feet and able to work again!” Jiang’s mother said hopefully.

“You had surgery, Auntie? When was that?” Xiao Zhanwu asked, somewhat surprised.

“About a month ago!”

“Auntie, where did you have the surgery? It must have cost a pretty penny!” Xiao Zhanwu asked again.

Mrs. Jiang sighed and said, “I went to Chang’an for it. It cost a total of over three thousand yuan!”

“That’s a lot of money. Where did you get that much for the surgery?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“We had to borrow it all from others. It’s over three thousand yuan—I don’t know when we’ll ever be able to pay it all back!”

As she spoke, Mrs. Jiang couldn’t help but wear a look of deep worry on her face.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi exchanged a glance, and a suspicion immediately formed in their minds.

These days, let alone three thousand yuan—even borrowing three hundred yuan is incredibly difficult. Given the Jiang family’s situation, who would be so generous as to lend them such a large sum?

Just as Xiao Zhanwu was about to ask more questions, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Immediately afterward, a man in his fifties, looking rather disheveled, pushed open the door and walked in—it was Jiang Lin’s father, Jiang Dafu.

Upon seeing Xiao Zhanwu, Li Yi, and the others, his expression shifted slightly.

He first glanced at the woman on the kang, then turned to Xiao Zhanwu and said, “Comrade Xiao, my wife is unwell. If you have any business, just speak to me directly!”

Xiao Zhanwu was well aware of Jiang’s mother’s condition, so he nodded immediately and said, “Alright…”

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang’s father interjected again, “Comrade Xiao, my donkey cart isn’t tied up yet out front. Let’s talk outside.”

Both Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi knew he didn’t want to speak in front of Jiang’s mother, so they didn’t say much and immediately followed Jiang’s father out the door.

Once they reached the front gate, Xiao Zhanwu said in a grave tone, “Uncle Jiang, tell me the truth: did the Tan family provide the money for Aunt Jiang’s surgery? And was Jiang Lin’s prison sentence extended after his escape specifically to secure a reduced sentence for Tan Cheng?”

Uncle Jiang’s expression shifted slightly, then he said, “Comrade Xiao, you can’t just make things up. I don’t know anything about the Tan family or any sentence reductions!”

“Uncle Jiang, Auntie just told me that her surgery cost three thousand yuan in total. Be honest with me—where did that money come from?”

“Well… I borrowed it from someone… yes, I borrowed it!” Jiang’s father said.

“Who did you borrow it from? Do you have an IOU?”

“Comrade Xiao, you don’t need to worry about who I borrowed it from. The fact is, I borrowed it. Besides, my son Xiaolin has already had his sentence extended by four years. What’s the point of you harping on this?” Jiang’s father glared at Xiao Zhanwu.

“Uncle Jiang, you know full well what your family’s situation is—there’s no way you could have borrowed that much money in such a short time!”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “So you know better than anyone where Auntie’s life-saving money came from. But you must understand that what you’re doing is a criminal offense.”

“Once the truth comes out, not only will Jiang Lin face additional time in prison, but you yourself will be punished as well!”

“I… I’m not afraid…”

As soon as Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi heard this, they knew their suspicions were correct—this case was definitely a collusion between Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin.

One was responsible for making the report, while the other voluntarily confessed to the prison break.

This way, Tan Cheng secured the chance for a reduced sentence and early release, while Jiang Lin raised the life-saving surgery fees for his mother.

Precisely because it was a case of “one willing to strike, the other willing to be struck”—and because the two had been plotting this in their cell for quite some time—Xiao Zhanwu and his team hadn’t uncovered their scheme during their initial investigation.

Just then, Li Yi suddenly said, “Uncle Jiang, have you thought about this? If you go to prison too, will Auntie be able to take care of herself all by herself?”

“Besides, given Auntie’s health, could she even handle such a blow?”

“Well…”

Seeing Jiang’s father hesitate, Li Yi continued, “If I’m not mistaken, Auntie still doesn’t know that Jiang Lin’s sentence was extended. If she found out that the money for her surgery was paid for with Jiang Lin’s four years in prison, how do you think she’d feel?”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Jiang Dafu fell completely silent.

After a long while, he clenched his teeth and said, “I don’t know anything, and I don’t want to say anything. You guys should leave. I’ve got things to do!”

With that, Jiang Dafu walked straight into the house, closing the wooden gate behind him as he went—clearly showing he didn’t want Xiao Zhanwu, Li Yi, and the others there.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu was about to step forward to speak, but Li Yi stopped him.

“Don’t bother. It’s no use!”

Jiang’s father had spoken with such firm resolve just now; once a man like him made up his mind, it was usually very hard to change it.

Besides, Li Yi didn’t want to disturb the elderly couple, especially since Jiang’s mother had only recently undergone surgery.

“So what should we do now? Even if we know Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin staged this false report of a prison break, we don’t have a shred of evidence, and there’s no way to overturn the verdict!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Don’t worry. I know how to get Jiang Lin to talk. Let’s head to Xiaoya’s grandfather’s house first!” Li Yi said.

“Sounds good!”

With that, the group left Jiang Lin’s house…

………

Yong County. County Bureau!

It was two days later when Li Yi returned to Xiao Zhanwu’s office.

Seeing Li Yi push open the door and walk in, Xiao Zhanwu immediately smiled and said, “You’re just in time—I was just about to come find you!”

“What’s up?”

“I’ve handed the case over to Old Zhang and his team to follow up on. Now we can finally investigate the case involving Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Hahaha, that’s great news!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “The Yan Minsheng couple’s case is such a major homicide—are you sure you can just step back from it?”

“Why not? All the victims’ bodies have been exhumed and their identities confirmed. Yan Minsheng and his wife have confessed to everything they did, and all the evidence has been collected to prove their guilt.”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “All that’s left is to follow standard procedure. It doesn’t matter whether I’m keeping an eye on it or not—Old Zhang and his team can handle it just fine!”

“That’s good to hear. By the way, how many victims were exhumed in total?” Li Yi asked.

“Eight—six women and two men,” Xiao Zhanwu said with a sigh.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi fell silent for a moment, but he felt a slight sense of relief.

Eight lives were certainly no small number, but compared to the 48 who would have died three years later, that was 40 fewer.

In other words, their mission had saved 40 lives.

As he thought of this, Li Yi’s previously restless mood suddenly improved considerably!

Just then, Xiao Zhanwu sighed and said, “You know, the last victim was killed just the night before last. If we’d shifted our thinking and adjusted our investigative approach sooner, maybe we could have still made it in time…”

Seeing the look of self-reproach on Xiao Zhanwu’s face, Li Yi immediately comforted him: “No one could have foreseen something like this. It was simply fate—don’t blame yourself!”

“Now that it’s come to this, all you can do is bring that evil couple to justice, to reassure the public and bring comfort to the deceased!”

“Right!”

Then Xiao Zhanwu added, “Enough about that. I plan to visit Jiang Lin in prison myself. Are you coming?”

“Do you want to interrogate him?”

“No, I just want to have a chat with him first!”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “I’ve been carefully reviewing this case over the past few days. It’s true, just as you analyzed, there are quite a few inconsistencies. We need to investigate this thoroughly.”

“Thank you!” Li Yi said.

He knew full well that if this case hadn’t involved him personally, Xiao Zhanwu might not have pursued it further even if he’d spotted the issues.

The reason was simple: Xiao Zhanwu had originally been the lead investigator on this case. If he suddenly decided to investigate it now, wouldn’t that be like shooting himself in the foot?

If the investigation turned up nothing, that would be one thing, but if it actually uncovered something, he might face disciplinary action, which could jeopardize his career.

“No need to thank me. Even if it weren’t for you, as the case handler, I’d have to get to the bottom of this anyway!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

Li Yi nodded, choosing not to dwell on the matter further; some things were best left understood in his own mind.

With that in mind, he quickly changed the subject: “You’re going to the prison to interrogate a prisoner—is it appropriate for an ordinary person like me to tag along?”

“It’s fine. Besides, we’re not interrogating him this time—we’re just going to meet with him. It doesn’t violate any regulations!”

“As long as it doesn’t violate the rules, that’s fine. If he’s willing to come clean on his own, that would be best. If not, we’ll just have to continue our investigation!” Li Yi said.

“Right, there’s no time to waste. Let’s get going!”

“Alright!”

Xiao Zhanwu then took Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang with him, called another young man from the squad, and the four of them headed straight for Black Dragon Mountain Prison.

………

Black Dragon Mountain Prison, named after the nearby Black Dragon Mountain, is the city’s only prison.

Since it wasn’t under Yong County’s jurisdiction, even for Xiao Zhanwu, the captain of the criminal investigation team, arranging a visit with an inmate was quite a hassle.

Fortunately, after going through several formalities, Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi were able to meet the man they had come to see—Jiang Lin—in the visiting area.

The moment he saw Xiao Zhanwu, a look of surprise flashed across Jiang Lin’s eyes; he clearly hadn’t expected Xiao Zhanwu to be the one visiting him.

At the same time, Li Yi keenly noticed that after the initial surprise, a hint of panic flashed in the man’s eyes.

Once Jiang Lin had sat down on the other side of the iron bars, Xiao Zhanwu immediately said in a stern tone, “Jiang Lin, do you know why I’m here to see you?”

“No… I don’t know!”

Jiang Lin tried his best to calm himself, but out of fear of Xiao Zhanwu, his voice still trembled slightly.

“Are you sure that’s your answer?”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “You’ve been here for nearly two years. You should know the principle that ‘confession leads to leniency, while resistance leads to severity.’ There’s a big difference between you speaking up on your own and us forcing you to talk with evidence in hand. Think carefully about how you’re going to answer me!”

Jiang Lin’s body trembled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Then, gritting his teeth, he said, “Captain Xiao, I don’t know what you’re talking about. If there’s nothing else, I’m going back to my cell—I’ve got work duties to fulfill today!”

Xiao Zhanwu barked, “Jiang Lin, do you think we won’t find out if you don’t talk?”

“The reason I’m here today, meeting you like this instead of interrogating you directly, is to give you a chance to confess and receive leniency. I don’t want to have to review your case a third time and add to your sentence!”

Jiang Lin was stunned by Xiao Zhanwu’s words. His gaze grew hesitant and unfocused.

“I… I…”

Just as Li Yi thought the man was about to confess, he unexpectedly stood up and told the prison guard behind him that he wanted to return to his cell.

Seeing Jiang Lin’s refusal to cooperate, Xiao Zhanwu felt a sense of helplessness and could only leave Black Dragon Mountain Prison for the time being.

Once outside, Li Yi immediately remarked, “There’s definitely something off about this guy!”

“Yeah, I can tell too. But since he’s not willing to talk, it looks like we’ll have to investigate through his family!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“So what do we do now?”

“Let’s go to Jiangjia Village!”

“Alright!”

The group then got back into the car and quickly drove off.

What Li Yi hadn’t expected, however, was that Xiao Zhanwu didn’t head straight to the place called Jiangjia Village, but returned to the county seat first.

Then, under Li Yi’s puzzled gaze, he picked up Xiaoya and her sister and brought them into the car.

Ever since Xiao Zhanwu and his wife had agreed to adopt Xiaoya and her sister, the couple had taken the two girls from the guesthouse.

After a few days apart, the sisters had changed quite a bit.

First of all, they were clean, their hair was trimmed, and they were wearing new clothes.

While it wouldn’t be accurate to say they had transformed from ugly ducklings into swans, they certainly looked like new.

However, Xiaoya’s face was filled with sorrow, and her eyes were a bit red and swollen—perhaps she had already learned of her mother’s murder.

The younger one, on the other hand, seemed quite happy, lying quietly in Xiao Zhanwu’s arms with a cheerful smile on her face.

“Captain Xiao, why did you bring Xiaoya and the others along?” Li Yi asked, puzzled.

Xiao Zhanwu replied immediately, “Xiao Ya and her family are originally from Jiangjia Village. Her parents only moved to the county seat a few years ago!”

“I brought Xiaoya and the others back this time specifically to ask her grandparents if they really don’t plan to take care of them anymore. If they truly won’t, I’ll formally adopt them!”

“I see. Well, then, let’s just get this taken care of right now!” Li Yi said.

“Right, the sooner we handle this, the better!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Mm-hmm!”

With that, the car pulled away, and the group headed straight for Jiangjia Village on the outskirts of town…

………

The next morning!

Li Yi was fast asleep when a series of urgent knocks suddenly rang out outside the door.

Opening his eyes and making sure he hadn’t misheard, Li Yi immediately moved his wife’s pretty head away from his chest, then removed her legs and arms draped over him. Only then did he throw on a robe and head toward the door.

“Who is it?”

Zhang Ziqiang’s voice came from the doorway: “Brother Yi, Captain Xiao is here. He says he needs to talk to you!”

“Alright, tell him to wait a moment. I’ll be right there once I get dressed!”

“Got it!”

No sooner had Li Yi returned to bed than he heard Jiang Xue ask sleepily, “Who is it? Why so early?”

“Captain Xiao is here. I’m going to see him. You go back to sleep!”

“Mm-hmm!”

With that, Jiang Xue rolled over, pulled Li Yi’s blanket close to her chest, and drifted back into a deep sleep.

Seeing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but shake his head.

His wife’s sleeping posture was truly hard to describe—whether she covered herself with a blanket or not didn’t matter; she always had to hold something in her arms.

When Li Yi was there, she naturally held onto him; when he wasn’t, she held onto the blanket.

After pulling another quilt from the bed next to them and tucking Jiang Xue in, Li Yi finally stepped out the door.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the guesthouse, Li Yi saw Xiao Zhanwu crouching there, looking exhausted and smoking. He was filthy from head to toe, looking just like a refugee who had fled a disaster.

Seeing Li Yi approach, he immediately flicked the cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out with his foot.

Noticing the bloodshot eyes in Xiao Zhanwu’s face, Li Yi asked immediately, “Looking at you, did you not sleep all night?”

“Yeah.”

“So, how many bodies have you recovered?” Li Yi asked again.

“We’ve dug up five so far, but we’ve only cleared a little over half of the cellar. There might be more back there!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“And that pigsty—you guys need to dig there too. Police dogs rarely make mistakes!” Li Yi said.

“We’ve already started digging today!”

Then Xiao Zhanwu looked up and studied Li Yi closely, before continuing, “How did you know there was something off about that couple? I interrogated them—they’d never even seen you before yesterday. I don’t believe you could have figured it out just from that woman’s single glance…”

At this point, Xiao Zhanwu changed the subject and continued, “I’m not trying to pry into your secrets. I just… yesterday’s incident felt so strange to me. I…”

“No need to explain. I get what you mean!”

Li Yi then added, “But I can’t really explain it to you either. Just think of me as having a knack for divination. Anyway, isn’t it enough that the case is solved?”

“You’re right. But how should we write the report? We can’t exactly say you figured out who the killer was!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Simple. Just write that we discovered the anomaly while investigating potential burglars, and it’s best not to mention my name in the report!” Li Yi said.

“If we don’t mention your name, what about the credit…”

“You, Captain Xiao, led the team that solved the case. It has nothing to do with me!” Li Yi said.

“But that won’t work…”

Before Xiao Zhanwu could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “We’re not part of the system, and we’re certainly not police officers. What good would that credit do us?”

“But…”

“Stop beating around the bush. If you really feel bad about it, then hurry up and look into how Tan Cheng got out of prison early. We can’t stay here much longer!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, I’ll get on it right away!”

Then Xiao Zhanwu added, “I came over this early because there’s something else I want to discuss with you!”

“What is it?”

“Xiao Ya’s mother…”

Xiao Zhanwu paused mid-sentence, but Li Yi understood what he meant.

“I already suspected as much. Those two kids are so unfortunate!” Li Yi sighed.

“Yes, now that both their parents are gone, their grandparents won’t take care of them, and none of their uncles or aunts are willing to adopt them. Their future is going to be a huge problem!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Don’t worry. If it comes down to it, we’ll take the girls back to Beijing!” Li Yi said.

Although his family already had two children and didn’t need to adopt, if these two sisters really had no one to care for them, he didn’t mind adding two more sets of bowls and chopsticks to the table—he’d consider it a good deed.

Besides, Long Zhanjun had helped Xiaoya before; surely, if he knew about this, he’d want him to bring the girls back to Beijing as well.

“Wait a moment. If Xiaoya’s relatives really don’t want the sisters, I’d like to adopt them!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“You?”

Xiao Zhanwu glanced at Li Yi and said, “To be honest, my wife can’t have children due to an injury, so we’ve been debating whether to adopt a child. If she knew about Xiaoya and her sister’s situation, she’d definitely agree to adopt them.”

“Hmm, you should discuss this with your wife before making a decision. If you two agree to adopt them, that would be best. But if she doesn’t agree, then I’ll take the sisters back to Beijing myself!”

Li Yi said this mainly because he knew that people of Xiao Zhanwu’s generation, even if they couldn’t have children of their own, often preferred to adopt a young child.

Preferably one with no memory of their biological parents—such a child, if raised properly, would be no different from a biological child.

But Xiaoya is already seven or eight years old now, and her younger sister is three or four—they both have memories.

So even if Xiao Zhanwu was willing to adopt, his wife might not be.

“Alright, I’ll go back and ask her!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

Li Yi nodded and said, “Alright, you look like you really need to get some rest. I’ll treat you to breakfast. After you eat, go home and get some sleep. We’ll talk about the rest when you wake up!”

“Alright, I’m actually both hungry and exhausted right now!” Xiao Zhanwu said with a smile.

“What do you want to eat? Noodles or buns? Or maybe I’ll get you some meat to help you recover…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Zhanwu ran straight to the curb and started vomiting.

Seeing this, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang were both stunned!

It took quite a while for Xiao Zhanwu to finally recover.

After quickly rinsing his mouth with cold water, he said, panting, “You two, don’t even mention meat today. And when we eat later, don’t order anything with meat in it!”

By now, Li Yi had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but he still couldn’t resist teasing him: “What’s going on? Someone who didn’t know better would think you were pregnant, you big guy!”

Xiao Zhanwu shook his head with a wry smile, then said, “If you’d been down in that cellar, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“Honestly, I’ve seen plenty of murder scenes and plenty of bodies in gruesome states, but I was still terrified by what I saw in that cellar!”

Thinking back to what they’d seen last night when they dug through the soil in the cellar, Xiao Zhanwu couldn’t help but shudder.

“Alright, don’t go describing that terrifying scene to us—save it for your own reflection!”

With that, Li Yi led Zhang Ziqiang toward the state-run restaurant nearby.

After finishing their meal and seeing Xiao Zhanwu off, Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang returned to the guesthouse carrying the breakfast they’d brought back.

Back in the room, Jiang Xue was already up, folding the bedding.

Seeing Li Yi come in, she immediately asked, “Did Captain Xiao need you for anything?”

“He talked to me about the case!”

Li Yi then briefly recounted what Xiao Zhanwu had just said, including the details of Xiaoya’s mother’s murder.

After hearing what Li Yi had to say, Jiang Xue’s face paled; she was clearly shaken.

It took her a while to recover, and she said, her voice trembling, “How can there be such vicious people in the world? Why would they kill so many people?”

Li Yi paused briefly, then sighed and said, “Ah, there are always some people who look perfectly normal on the outside but are full of wickedness and malice on the inside. They don’t deserve to be called human—they’re demons in human form!”

“Don’t worry too much. The bad guys have been apprehended, and they’ll face the full force of the law. Let’s focus on our visit to Aunt Fang’s house at noon—we can’t exactly show up empty-handed!”

“Hmm, then let’s swing by the supply and marketing cooperative in a bit. What do you think?” Jiang Xue suggested.

“Okay, then go eat breakfast first!”

“Okay…”

………..

After finding the “item” they were looking for, Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

However, instead of staying at the Yan residence to continue assisting Xiao Zhanwu and the others with the investigation, he took Zhang Ziqiang straight back to Liu Juanjuan’s home.

As soon as they walked in, they noticed two teenagers—a boy and a girl—had appeared in the room.

The boy was older, around fifteen or sixteen, tall but somewhat thin—perhaps because he was still growing, or perhaps due to malnutrition.

The girl was only eleven or twelve, quite pretty, and bore a strong resemblance to Liu Juanjuan.

Seeing Li Yi push open the door and walk in, Liu Juanjuan immediately said to the two children, “Sanchun, Sini’er, this is your sister Xue’er’s husband. Call him ‘brother-in-law’!”

The two children obediently greeted Li Yi and called him “brother-in-law” in unison.

Li Yi responded immediately!

No sooner had she spoken than Li Xiaoyan, standing nearby, looked at Li Yi and asked, “I just saw a lot of people from the village running toward Yan Minsheng’s house. They said Yan Minsheng had been arrested. Is that true?”

“It’s true,” Li Yi replied.

“Did you have the police arrest him?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Yes. When we went out earlier, we noticed some items were missing from the car, and that woman from the Yan family was the only suspect, so I called the police to come over and investigate the situation…”

Before Li Yi could finish, Liu Juanjuan asked, “Did you find the items?”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “We don’t have time to look for them!”

“What do you mean?”

Li Yi immediately gave a brief account of what had just happened at the Yan residence!

When they learned that they had actually discovered a body in the Yan family’s cellar, everyone in the room was stunned.

It took a while before Li Xiaoyan snapped out of it and said, “You… you mean that runt Yan Minsheng and that scheming bitch Zhou Shuxia actually killed someone?”

“Yeah, and not just one person!” Li Yi said.

“Good heavens! How… how dare they…”

It wasn’t just Li Xiaoyan who looked utterly shocked; Liu Juanjuan and the others were just as stunned.

Although the Yan couple had a bit of a bad reputation, they certainly didn’t look like the type who’d dare to kill anyone!

Besides, given their physical build, they probably couldn’t even beat a random adult. How on earth did they manage to kill someone?

At the same time, Liu Juanjuan and the others felt a chill run down their spines. They never imagined they’d be living in the same village as murderers.

And their relationship with them wasn’t exactly friendly. What if one day the couple harbored ill intentions toward them?

With that thought, Liu Juanjuan immediately asked, “Son-in-law, what about Yan Minsheng and his wife now…”

“They’ve already been taken into police custody. And based on the current situation, it’s highly likely they’ll be facing serious consequences. Aunt Juan, you all shouldn’t worry too much!” Li Yi said.

“Well… that’s good…”

Then, still somewhat in disbelief, she added, “What on earth were those two thinking? Why on earth would they kill someone out of the blue?”

“That’s anyone’s guess—we’ll have to wait for the police investigation!”

Li Yi then glanced at his watch and saw it was nearly six o’clock. He immediately turned to his mother-in-law, Ye Lingyun, and said, “Mom, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t we head back? The mountain roads are treacherous after dark!”

“Alright!”

Ye Lingyun then turned to Liu Juanjuan and said, “Juanjuan, we’ll head back for now. I’ll come by again before I leave. Next time, I’ll bring Sister Chunfang along, and we’ll have a nice chat!”

Liu Juanjuan had wanted to invite her close friend to stay the night, but considering her own circumstances, she simply couldn’t accommodate so many people.

She immediately wiped away her tears and said, “Wanwan, I’d love to stay up all night talking with you, but there’s simply no room in the house. Sigh…”

“Don’t cry. I understand. Besides, I’ll be back in a few days!” said Ye Lingyun.

“Okay, then you have to come!”

“I definitely will!”

Then, with Liu Juanjuan and the others seeing them off, Li Yi, Ye Lingyun, Jiang Xue, and the others left Wangli Village!

By the time they returned to the county seat, it was already past seven in the evening. To thank Factory Director Yang and the others for keeping them company all afternoon, Li Yi specially treated everyone to a meal at the state-run restaurant in town.

It wasn’t until past eight o’clock that Li Yi and the others returned to the guesthouse.

As for Xiao Zhanwu and the others, they were still hard at work in Wangli Village!

………

It was late at night, and all was quiet!

On the makeshift bed in the guesthouse, Jiang Xue tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep no matter what.

Just as she rolled over for the umpteenth time, Li Yi, lying beside her, finally couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“What’s wrong? Is something on your mind?”

Jiang Xue paused for a moment, then said, “I just can’t quite accept it!”

“You mean the thing with Tang Bing and Tan Cheng?”

Li Yi could see right through his young wife’s thoughts. Don’t let her usually gentle and delicate demeanor fool you—deep down, she’s fiercely independent and has a mind of her own, even possessing a fiery spirit rarely found in ordinary women.

In this regard, she had taken after her father-in-law, Jiang Shiying, completely.

Although she had told her mother she didn’t want to dwell on the matter involving Tang Bing and Tan Cheng, she hadn’t been able to let it go.

“Hmm, given what they did, that punishment was far too lenient!”

After saying this, Jiang Xue turned around and wrapped her arms around Li Yi’s waist. “I… will you hate me for saying this? I’m not a malicious woman, it’s just…”

Li Yi gently stroked her hair and said softly, “No need to explain. I understand how you feel. Actually, I want to punish those two scumbags even more than you do!”

“But this kind of thing can’t be rushed. We can’t dirty our own hands over those two disgusting creatures. Thankfully, I’ve already found a lead in their case files!”

“Really?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Once Captain Xiao wraps up the case in Wangli Village, we’ll have him help us investigate this lead. Barring any surprises, we should be able to send those two scumbags back to prison. It’s just that…”

“But what?”

“It’s just that the Wangli Village case is a big one. I don’t know when Captain Xiao and his team will finish it, and since you and Mom are about to start school, I’m not sure if we can wait that long…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Xue said, “That’s no problem. I don’t need to see them sent to prison with my own eyes—as long as they get the punishment they deserve!”

“You can rest assured on that front!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “By the way, does Mom have any plans for the next couple of days?”

“Mom and Aunt Fang have plans to visit her house for lunch tomorrow. In the afternoon, I plan to take Mom to see that movie you mentioned, *Shaolin Temple*. If we have time, I’ll take her to visit our school. As for the rest, we’ll just take it one step at a time!” Jiang Xue said.

Li Yi nodded and said, “Sounds good. It looks like we’ll be staying here for a while. You know your way around here, so we’ll go with whatever you arrange!”

“Okay…”

Just as they were talking, Jiang Xue suddenly felt a tightness in her chest as a pair of large hands slipped inside her clothes and wrapped around her breasts!

“You… didn’t we just… you know… yesterday? Don’t you need to rest a bit…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Xue was silenced.

Then, with flower-adorned hairpins and a golden hair ornament, they spent a warm spring night in the hibiscus-patterned canopy…

However, while Li Yi and his wife were rolling around in bed, enjoying themselves immensely, Xiao Zhanwu was facing a situation that made his hair stand on end…

………