Chapter 307: A Show Is Coming

At 1:00 PM, after an hour and a half of slow-cooking over low heat, Li Yi finally served his family the chicken and mushroom stew he’d prepared.

It was Tang Xue’s first time trying this famous Northeastern dish. The tender, flavorful old rooster paired with wild hazelnut mushrooms instantly won over the young woman from Qin Province.

Whether it was due to her pregnancy or not, Li Yi noticed that Tang Xue’s appetite was growing by the day!

Not to mention how much chicken and mushrooms she ate, she polished off two large bowls of plain rice alone.

Good grief, her appetite was rivaling that of a grown man like him.

And judging by the unflinching expressions on Third Sister and Dad’s faces, it was clear they were used to it by now.

But then again, Tang Xue was carrying twins—eating for three—so it made perfect sense that she’d be eating so much.

After the meal, once the table was cleared, the family gathered around the kang and started chatting.

Earlier, he’d discussed opening a shop in Beijing with Tang Xue and Third Sister, but his father hadn’t been there.

So Li Yi first went over the matter with his father, then outlined his plans for the future.

When Li Yi mentioned that he might have to shuttle back and forth between Qingshan County and the capital, Li Shankui couldn’t help but frown.

As an honest, down-to-earth man, he was fundamentally opposed to this idea. After all, people of his generation hoped their children would have stable livelihoods—not seeking to get rich overnight, but simply wanting them to avoid a life of constant travel.

However, upon learning that Li Yi’s restaurant was turning a profit of several hundred yuan a day, Li Shankui fell silent.

Although he was a bit worried about Li Yi, he knew his son had always been independent-minded and had a long-term perspective. Li Yi might not listen to his advice, and his own views might not be entirely correct.

Consequently, in a rare move, Li Shankui refrained from voicing his opinion this time. He simply insisted that Li Yi must abide by the law and avoid any illegal activities, and with that, the matter was considered settled.

After discussing this, Li Yi thought about his eldest sister’s postpartum confinement.

Although he had already decided in his heart to bring his eldest sister home for her postpartum confinement, he wasn’t the only one in the family. Such a major decision required discussion with the others.

“Dad, Xiao Xue, and Third Sister, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you all!”

“What is it? Go ahead!”

“I’d like to have my eldest sister come back to our family home for her postpartum confinement. What do you think?” Li Yi said.

“Postpartum confinement—at the old family home?” Li Shankui asked immediately.

Li Yi nodded and said, “You know what kind of people my eldest sister’s in-laws are—we can’t count on them at all. And over in the county seat, they’re living in the sugar factory dorms, which isn’t very convenient!”

Upon hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Shankui didn’t offer an opinion but shifted his gaze to his daughter-in-law standing nearby.

Li Na did the same; she didn’t speak either, but just looked longingly at Tang Xue.

This left Tang Xue completely flustered. She was just a new daughter-in-law—how could such a major decision be up to her?

With everyone staring at her like that, Tang Xue couldn’t help but feel a little flustered. She hurriedly said, “I have no objections!”

“It’s fine for Mei Zi to come back for her postpartum confinement, but once she’s back, you and Xiao Xue should move into the new apartment!”

Perhaps fearing Tang Xue might misunderstand, Li Shankui immediately explained, “Xiao Xue, don’t read too much into this. It’s just that women right after giving birth can be quite moody, and with a baby crying nonstop all day long, it’s easy for the noise to disturb you!”

Tang Xue knew her father-in-law meant well, so she replied immediately, “Father, I have no objections. Whatever you say goes!”

Li Yi, however, looked at his father with a touch of admiration. What his father had just said seemed simple on the surface, but it actually made a lot of sense.

A woman’s body is quite fragile after giving birth, and with her hormones constantly fluctuating, her moods are bound to be unstable.

On top of that, after giving birth, visitors are inevitable, and having so many people around naturally leads to some complications.

If there were sisters-in-law or younger sisters-in-law in the household at that time, having a married daughter return home for her postpartum confinement could very well lead to unnecessary conflicts.

That is precisely why, as a general rule, married daughters do not return to their parents’ home for the postpartum confinement period!

Plus, since Tang Xue is currently pregnant, Li Yi had already made up his mind.

Once he brings his eldest sister back, he and Tang Xue will move into the new house.

After all, the new place had been left empty for several months, so it would certainly be ready for them to move in.

At that time, his eldest sister and her child would be cared for by their mother and his third sister at the old house, while he would take care of Tang Xue at the new house—they wouldn’t get in each other’s way.

After discussing the matter, Li Yi noticed Tang Xue yawning repeatedly—she was clearly exhausted.

He immediately wrapped up the conversation and led Tang Xue to the west room.

……

Back in the young couple’s room, Li Yi first asked Tang Xue to wait for him on the kang.

He scooped the cold ashes from beneath the stove into an iron dustpan, added a few more pieces of charcoal, placed a teapot filled with water on top of the stove, and only then climbed onto the kang.

Once on the kang, Li Yi was about to find a spot to catch some sleep—after staying up all night, he was pretty exhausted.

But to his surprise, Tang Xue patted the spot next to her, motioning for him to lie down beside her.

Although he was a little worried that he might roll over and press against Tang Xue’s belly, he lay down next to her anyway.

Once they were lying side by side, Tang Xue placed Li Yi’s hand on her belly, letting him feel the movements of the two little ones inside.

The moment Li Yi’s hand touched her belly, he felt a slight tremor.

At first, Li Yi thought Tang Xue was just a little nervous, but he soon realized something was different—it was the little ones inside her moving.

When he clearly saw the outline of a tiny foot appear on Tang Xue’s belly, his mouth dropped open in surprise!

“Are they always this active?” Li Yi asked curiously.

“Not really. They usually only move around 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM. The rest of the time, they don’t move much!” Tang Xue said with a smile.

“I knew it! With all that movement, how could you possibly get any sleep?”

“That’s true. Whenever they move, I wake right up!”

“You’ve got your work cut out for you!”

Tang Xue smiled and said, “It’s not too bad. It was a bit hard to get used to at first, but I’ve gotten used to it over time.”

Li Yi suddenly remembered something and said immediately, “The verdict is in for Tang Jizhong and Tang Meiqin’s case. Did you know?”

“I heard it from Brother Long!”

Perhaps fearing Li Yi might worry about her, Tang Xue added, “When I first heard the news, I did have mixed feelings, but I’ve come to terms with it now. They got what they deserved!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s right. Besides, they never really treated you like a member of the Tang family!”

“Yeah, let’s not bring them up again. It’s just upsetting.”

Li Yi paused briefly, then said, “Alright, we won’t bring it up again. Let’s go to sleep.”

“Okay!”

Watching Tang Xue slowly close her eyes, Li Yi couldn’t help but sigh.

He had originally wanted to tell Tang Xue about the recent events in Yong County, but seeing her lack of interest, Li Yi decided to hold off on that for now.

It was clear that the events involving the Tang family had deeply hurt Tang Xue, so it was best not to let her know about certain things.

However, thinking about what had happened over there, the corners of Li Yi’s mouth couldn’t help but turn up slightly!

In fact, Long Zhanjun’s visit had brought quite a few explosive pieces of news.

First, Tang Meiqin’s son, Liu Zhengyang, had been arrested and was likely facing prison time, though the case was still under trial and no verdict had been handed down yet.

Originally, given Tang Meiqin’s cooperation, Li Yi hadn’t planned to take action against him—that was the promise he’d made to her.

But he never expected the kid to be asking for trouble. After Tang Meiqin was arrested, the guy lost all restraint, completely let loose, and plunged headfirst into the gambling ring set up by Wu Dabaozi.

In just a few short days, that Wu guy swindled him out of a lot of money, and he racked up massive gambling debts.

To pay off his debts, he not only sold the house Tang Meiqin had worked so hard to save up for, but when that wasn’t enough, he stole and sold grain from the grain station where he worked.

It wasn’t long before the truth came out, and the grain station’s management turned him in to the police station.

And then there’s Tan Cheng—that bastard was clearly hooking up with Tang Bing, yet he still had his eyes on his own wife.

On top of that, this kid had played no small part in Tang Xue’s suicide in his previous life, so before he left, Li Yi told Long Zhanjun to make sure he took good care of that bastard.

Long Zhanjun didn’t disappoint Li Yi. After a series of maneuvers, he managed to sabotage Tan Cheng’s lousy job and ruin his reputation.

What no one expected, however, was that after his job fell through, Tan Cheng actually let loose—not only did he secretly start buying and reselling goods,

That would have been bad enough, but the kid also got involved with Tang Bing, who was already married.

Then there was Liu Ermaozi, the man who’d married Tang Bing—he’d been up to no good lately, getting cozy with several women at the steel mill, including his brother-in-law’s mistress.

My goodness, each piece of news is more explosive than the last.

Right now, Long Zhanjun’s people have already gathered quite a bit of evidence.

So this time, he came over to ask Li Yi if they should pull some strings behind the scenes to make them turn on each other.

Li Yi, of course, didn’t hold back. He immediately had Long Zhanjun send a message to Yong County, instructing the brothers stationed there to leak the details of Tang Bing and Tan Cheng’s affair to Liu Ermaozi.

Given Liu’s temperament, he certainly wouldn’t let it go, and there’d be quite a show to watch in Yong County.

Since his wife wanted chicken, Li Yi naturally wouldn’t refuse, so he immediately went to the kitchen to get to work.

Taking into account Tang Xue’s physical condition and the ingredients available at home, Li Yi decided to make a famous Northeastern dish—chicken stewed with mushrooms.

Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms originated in Northeast China, and during festivals and celebrations, it’s a staple at almost every banquet.

But the real reason this dish has become popular nationwide is that it’s fragrant without being greasy, making it suitable for all ages.

It’s loved not only by people from Northeast China but also by those from other regions.

Since Tang Xue is currently pregnant and they happened to have dried mushrooms on hand, Chicken Stewed with Mushrooms was the obvious choice.

Li Yi first cut the prepared rooster into small pieces, then blanched it in a pot of boiling water. At the same time, he soaked the dried mushrooms he had sun-dried in warm water.

Meanwhile, Li Yi asked his third sister to prepare some scallions, ginger, garlic, and basic seasonings for him.

After blanching the chicken, he washed the pot, then added the drained chicken pieces and stir-fried them over medium-low heat.

He stir-fried them until all the moisture had evaporated—this makes the stewed chicken especially fragrant…

While Li Yi was cooking, Tang Xue pulled up a stool to sit beside him, watching and chatting with him.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Yi recounted to Tang Xue and his third older sister everything that had happened to him in Beijing recently.

When they learned that Li Yi had opened a large restaurant spanning several hundred square meters in the capital in less than a month, they were both stunned.

Although Li Yi had previously mentioned wanting to pursue opportunities in the capital, neither Tang Xue nor Li Na had taken him seriously.

After all, given the current climate, they had to operate their street stalls in their small county town on the sly—let alone venture to the capital, right under the emperor’s nose.

But they never expected Li Yi to actually pull it off—and with such good luck, too, timing his venture perfectly with a policy shift in the capital. It was truly a stroke of incredible luck.

Of course, only Li Yi himself knew if it was really just a coincidence!

It’s just that some secrets are best kept to oneself!

What shocked Tang Xue and Li Na even more was the shop’s business. According to Li Yi, daily revenue had been over a thousand yuan lately, sometimes reaching two to three thousand.

After deducting various expenses, the profit was around half of that.

In other words, that shop in the capital was turning a profit of several hundred to over a thousand yuan a day—more than what they’d made selling mushrooms just a short while ago.

Keep in mind that making that much money from selling mushrooms required the entire village to help with the harvest. After setting aside portions for the children and paying for the fresh mushrooms, the Li family actually didn’t make much profit.

More importantly, running a restaurant isn’t like foraging for wild produce—it has no seasonal restrictions and can operate year-round.

So, after hearing what Li Yi had to say, Li Na remarked with some surprise, “Xiao Yi, doesn’t that mean your restaurant is like a goose that lays golden eggs?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Not quite, but it’s close!”

“So you’re going to strike it rich, then!”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m getting rich, but with this restaurant, the village’s cattle and sheep will finally have a market. Then, not only will our family make money, but the villagers will benefit too…”

Just as he was speaking, a deep voice came from outside: “What’s there to benefit from?”

As the door swung open, Li Yi saw his father, Li Shankui, and the village Party branch secretary, Feng Kai, walk in—and it was Feng Kai who had spoken.

“Uncle Feng, what brings you here?”

Li Yi asked, keeping an eye on the fire under the stove.

Feng Kai stuffed tobacco into his pipe as he replied, “Heh, I heard from the villagers that a car pulled up near your place. I figured you must be back, so I came over to take a look!”

“Well, you’ve come at just the right time. Why don’t you stay for lunch? We’ve got chicken stewed with mushrooms, and in a bit I’ll open a bottle of good wine for you and Dad!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Aren’t you supposed to keep your father from drinking?”

“Hehe, we’re in a good mood today, so we can make an exception and have a little!”

“What’s so joyful that it’s made your dad break his rule?” Feng Kai asked with a smile.

Li Yi first pulled a burning twig from the stove and lit Feng Kai’s pipe, then said, “It’s great news—my older sister gave birth, and both mother and child are doing well!”

“Hahaha, that really is great news. We should have a drink!”

Meanwhile, Li Shankui, standing nearby, asked excitedly, “She really gave birth? When did it happen? Why haven’t we seen your brother-in-law come to share the good news?”

“She gave birth at 9:30 this morning—a big, healthy baby boy weighing 7 jin and 9 liang!”

Li Yi continued, “As for my brother-in-law, he’s at the hospital taking care of my older sister—how could he have come over?”

“Great! Great! Great!!!”

Li Shankui, not one for many words, repeated “Good!” three times in a row, showing just how happy he was.

After a bit of small talk, Feng Kai asked again, “When I came in just now, I heard you say the villagers would benefit from this too. What exactly are they getting out of it?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I’ve already opened a shop in Beijing that specializes in beef and mutton. It goes through three sheep and a hundred or so pounds of beef every day. From now on, the cattle and sheep raised in our village can be sent to Beijing to sell—no need to worry about finding a market!”

“That’s wonderful!” Feng Kai said happily.

“Uncle Feng, how are those lambs and calves doing? Are they easy to raise?” Li Yi asked.

“They’re quite easy to raise. It’s been almost a month now, and only two lambs have died. The rest are all lively and healthy—they should make it!”

“That’s good to hear!”

Li Yi had actually been a bit worried. The villagers had never raised sheep before, and if they couldn’t manage it, they’d lose their entire investment.

“By the way, Yi, are beef and lamb expensive in the capital?” Feng Kai asked, puffing on his cigarette.

“It’s manageable. With meat ration tickets, beef is 1.8 yuan a pound and lamb is 2 yuan. Without tickets, it’s even more expensive!”

“Then give me a rough estimate—how much do you think we’ll be able to sell this batch of cattle and sheep for once they’re fully grown?” Feng Kai asked again.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “The sheep we’re raising now are all long-haired sheep from the pastoral regions. They’re ready for market once they reach 60 to 70 jin. Conservatively speaking, each one could sell for 120 yuan, so 1,000 sheep would be worth about 120,000 yuan!”

“Let’s not talk about cattle for now—their growth cycle is too long. You can’t expect to sell them for at least a year and a half, so there’s no point in discussing that right now!”

Upon hearing Li Yi’s words, Feng Kai’s eyes lit up.

120,000 yuan—according to the agreement they’d signed earlier, Li Yi would take half and the villagers the other half, which meant 60,000 yuan.

With over 200 able-bodied workers in the village, that averages out to 300 yuan per person.

And if they added the cattle to the mix, just from raising these cattle and sheep, each villager could earn five or six hundred yuan a year—enough to match the wages of a full-time job in the city.

“All right, all right. If this works out, the whole village will really be benefiting from you!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Uncle Feng, please don’t say that—I was just joking earlier!”

“Well, I know what’s going on. By the way, how are Qiangzi and the others doing?” Feng Kai finally asked about his eldest grandson, Feng Qiang.

“They’re doing great. They’ve been helping out at the store in Beijing lately, and I’ve also had someone teach them the ropes of running a business!” Li Yi replied.

“Haven’t they caused you any trouble?”

“Not at all. It’s just been pretty busy at the store lately, so Qiangzi and the others are pretty tired!”

“A little tiredness is nothing for young men!”

Feng Kai then stood up and said, “Alright, I won’t disturb your family reunion. If you’re not too busy, go check on the livestock shed. I’ll be heading out now!”

With that, without waiting for Li Yi and Li Shan Kui to try to keep him, he strode out of the Li household!

Outside the gate, it was indeed Li Yi who had returned!

Since the car was loaded down with so much stuff, Li Yi simply opened the wooden gate and let Li Gang drive the car into the yard.

Li Gang didn’t hesitate; he stepped on the gas and drove right in!

Just then, Tang Xue and Li Na, dressed in warm clothes, came out as well!

Seeing that it was indeed Li Yi following behind the Jeep, Tang Xue wanted to go out to greet him, but Li Na held her back. dxmbang

It was snowing so heavily outside, and the roads were slippery. With her big belly, what if she took a fall?

Tang Xue also realized it wasn’t a good idea, so she stood at the doorway, watching Li Yi longingly.

Ever since returning from Qin Province a while back, Tang Xue had gone through a massive family upheaval and had come to fully understand who in this world truly cared for her.

On top of that, Li Yi had been incredibly patient and doting toward her.

As a result, Tang Xue’s feelings for Li Yi had grown even deeper.

Especially during the time Li Yi was away from home in Beijing, Tang Xue couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Even Li Na couldn’t help but tease her, saying that if she kept this up, she’d eventually turn into a “stone wife” (a rock that turns into a statue while waiting for her husband).

As for Li Yi, upon entering the door and seeing Tang Xue standing there, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.

“Let’s go inside first and unload our things—we’ll be right in!”

Hearing Li Yi’s voice, Tang Xue replied, but she hesitated to move.

It wasn’t until she saw Li Yi and Li Gang unloading large sacks of rice and flour from the car that she finally had to turn back into the house and step aside to let them through!

Since there was so much to carry, Li Na had to come out to help as well.

Even with the three of them working together, it took quite a while to get everything inside.

Once inside, Li Yi looked at Tang Xue, whose eyes were red, and asked with a hint of affection, “What’s wrong? Did Third Sister give you a hard time?”

“No, I just…”

Even though she knew her younger brother was just joking, Li Na couldn’t help but complain, “You ungrateful brat! While you were away, I almost had to put Xue on a pedestal and worship her.”

“Aside from three meals a day, I have to empty her face-washing water every morning and her foot-washing water every night. Serving tea and water all day is one thing, but then in the afternoon I have to accompany her on walks too—and you say I’m picking on your wife…”

Before Li Yi could say a word, Tang Xue couldn’t help but interject, “Sis Na, he’s just joking with you!”

“Huh, already taking her side the moment he gets back?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Alright, Third Sister, I was just joking with you earlier. I actually brought you some ‘Ten Thousand Shades of Purple’ and clam oil this time, plus a whole bunch of your favorite snacks!”

“Now we’re talking!” Li Na said with a laugh.

After saying that, Li Yi gestured for Li Gang to sit on the bed while he prepared to pour him some water.

However, Li Gang clearly didn’t want to interrupt their family reunion, so he immediately made an excuse about having work to do at the unit and took his leave.

Li Yi understood what he meant, so he didn’t try to keep him there.

Instead, he told him that he’d go into town to see him in a couple of days and invite Liang Yukui over for a visit then.

Li Gang had no objections, of course, and left in high spirits.

After seeing Li Gang off, Li Yi immediately asked his third older sister, “Sis, where’s Dad?”

“He’s at the production brigade!”

“What’s he doing at the production brigade in the middle of winter?” Li Yi frowned.

“To take care of your little lambs!”

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

His old man was just a restless soul.

Liu San’er had told him a few days ago, after returning from the capital, about the village’s plans to purchase cattle and sheep.

Accompanied by his older sister’s husband, they had made four trips deep into the northern pastoral regions over the course of more than ten days, bringing back a thousand lambs and 400 calves.

The lambs cost 20 yuan each, and the calves cost 50 yuan each.

The reason they were so cheap was mainly because the winters in the pastoral areas are simply too cold.

The herders usually only have a yurt of their own, and most of the time, the cattle and sheep are kept outdoors in pens.

Under these conditions, lambs and calves born in the fall are generally unable to survive the winter, so when they see someone willing to take such young calves and lambs, they are naturally willing to sell them.

As for the price, you can basically just pay whatever you can afford.

Not to mention that it can recoup some of the losses, but more importantly, for the vast majority of herders, this gives the calves and lambs a chance to survive.

Compared to money, this seems far more important!

“With so many people in the village, why does Dad have to be the one to look after the livestock?”

“No one made him go—he went on his own!”

Li Na continued, “Every morning, after taking the mules and horses for a walk, Dad heads over to the livestock shed. He won’t come back until it’s time to eat!”

“Never mind. If he wants to go, let him. It’s not like it’s doing any harm,” Li Yi said.

“That’s easy for you to say. Mom’s not home, Xiao Xue’s pregnant and can’t do a thing, and Dad’s never around. All the household chores have fallen on me alone!”

Li Yi knew his third sister was telling the truth, so he immediately smiled and said, “I know you’ve been working hard, sis. I’ll buy you a nice outfit later—you can pick whatever you like!”

“You make it sound like your sister here can’t afford clothes…”

“We’ll go to the big mall in the capital—the kind where they’re two hundred yuan a piece!”

“Deal!”

Hearing this, Tang Xue, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

She knew full well that Li Na’s true motive lay elsewhere—she wasn’t after that 200-yuan dress, but rather wanted to go to the capital.

As for what she planned to do in the capital, the motive couldn’t be any more obvious!

Realizing that Tang Xue had seen right through her, a blush instantly spread across Li Na’s face.

Li Yi noticed that something seemed off between the two of them, but he didn’t ask any questions.

“By the way, I’ve got some good news for you—my older sister just had a baby!”

Hearing this, both Tang Xue and Li Na lit up with joy and immediately asked, “When was it? Is it a girl or a boy?”

“She gave birth this morning—it’s a chubby little boy, weighing 7 jin and 9 liang!”

“Oh my, he really is a chubby little boy—almost eight pounds!” Li Na said happily.

Tang Xue asked, “How is Big Sister doing? I heard giving birth is really painful.”

Li Yi replied, “She’s doing fine. It only took three or four hours from the start of labor to delivery, and she gave birth in less than an hour once she got into the delivery room!”

“That’s good news!”

Li Yi glanced at his watch; it was almost noon—time to cook.

Never mind Tang Xue and Third Sister—he himself was starving.

From noon yesterday until now, he’d only managed to eat a couple of bites of chicken cake in the car when he came back earlier—other than that, he hadn’t had a single drop to drink.

He looked at Tang Xue and said, “I bought some pork, lamb, and chicken. What do you feel like eating?”

“How about chicken…”

Li Yi, who was just sipping from his teacup, heard this and immediately choked on his drink, coughing uncontrollably!

Unaware of the double meaning in her words, Tang Xue immediately stepped forward to pat Li Yi on the back, saying, “You’re a grown man—how can you choke on water?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I was thinking about something and zoned out!”

“What is it?”

“Something about the shop!”

Hearing this, Tang Xue immediately asked, “Speaking of which, last time you had Captain Li pass along the message that the shop was up and running. What’s the situation? Tell us about it!”

“Sure, let’s talk while we cook!”

“Okay, then you can make us some chicken…”

Before Tang Xue could finish, Li Yi cut her off and said, “Alright, just watch. I’ll get started right away!”

With that, Li Yi washed his hands and headed into the kitchen to get to work.

He was genuinely afraid that his simple-minded wife would keep going on and on about “chicken this” and “chicken that”—it was just too easy to let one’s imagination run wild!

County Bureau, Criminal Investigation Division!

As Li Yi made his way to the County Bureau, Li Gang was sorting through case files brought in by his subordinates, and he was in a particularly good mood.

The reason was simple: they had scored another success!

A few days ago, when Long Zhanjun was in Qingshan County, he happened to catch a petty thief. It seemed like a run-of-the-mill incident at first, but after Li Gang and his team interrogated him, they discovered this thief was no ordinary criminal.

Not only was the guy a repeat offender, but he had just been released from prison!

After digging deeper, they discovered this was part of an organized crime ring, and the thief was just one of them.

Immediately, Li Gang and his team worked through the night to plan the arrest of the gang members.

Thanks to their well-planned strategy and swift, decisive action, they managed to apprehend the thieves before they could escape, successfully dismantling an eight-member criminal gang in one fell swoop.

The county police immediately interrogated these suspects, yielding significant results.

Not only did they solve the vast majority of recent property theft cases, but they also cracked the case of stolen mules and horses in Niujia Village, the case of stolen goats in Wangjiazhuang, and even uncovered a murder case from five years ago.

It can be said that through these suspects, they have virtually cleared up all the unsolved cases in Qing Shan County from the past few years!

When the situation was reported to the county bureau, the bureau leadership immediately expressed their intention to recommend them for commendation to higher authorities.

Although this achievement wouldn’t help Li Gang advance further—after all, he had only been promoted a month or two ago, and no amount of merit would make a difference at that point—

However, it would allow him to hold the position of Criminal Investigation Division Captain securely, without worrying about gossip or the fear of being suddenly removed from office.

Thinking that the investigation phase of this case was now over—and that once it was handed over to the procuratorate, it would essentially be out of their hands—Li Gang couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

Just as he was feeling pleased, a knock suddenly sounded at the office door!

“Come in!”

“Creak!”

As the office door swung open, Li Yi’s figure came into view.

As soon as he recognized Li Yi, Li Gang immediately stood up and said cheerfully, “When did you get back? Why didn’t you let me know beforehand?”

“I got back yesterday afternoon. I figured you’d be pretty busy, so I didn’t want to bother you!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Don’t be so formal!”

Li Gang then asked again, “You got back yesterday? Where did you spend the night?”

“The hospital!”

“Uh… the hospital? Why were you at the hospital? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. My older sister was about to give birth last night, so I stayed up all night with her!”

Li Gang had actually met Li Yi’s older sister and her husband before; he knew the couple both worked at the county sugar factory.

“So, did she give birth?”

“Yes, it’s a boy. Both mother and baby are doing well!”

“That’s wonderful. If it’s convenient, I’ll stop by to visit later,” Li Gang said.

“It’s certainly convenient, but let’s talk about that later. Right now, could you give me a ride back to the village? The wind and snow are too heavy to walk!”

“Sure!”

Li Gang immediately gathered the case files from the desk, then went to the office next door to hand them to his deputy, instructing him to deliver them to the procuratorate.

As for himself, he took Li Yi and headed straight for the jeep in the courtyard!

…….

After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi didn’t go straight home. Instead, he asked Li Gang to take him to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Since he’d returned from Beijing in a hurry, he hadn’t bought anything.

Of course, part of the reason is that it’s such a long way.

After all, the journey from the capital to Nianzishan Village involves multiple transfers—from train to bus—and it’s simply not very convenient to carry a lot of luggage.

Now that he has Li Gang’s small jeep to get around in, Li Yi can feel confident bringing some things back for his family.

It’s already late November, and the weather has turned cold.

Any room without a stove is essentially a natural refrigerator, so many items can be preserved just fine.

So, when Li Yi went shopping, he really went all out!

Fifty pounds of gleaming white rice!

Top-quality snow-white flour—he grabbed two 50-pound bags right off the shelf!

Twenty pounds of pork belly, twenty pounds of lean pork from the hind leg.

Dad likes pork jowl—so he bought some!

His older sister was about to come home for her postpartum confinement, so chickens were a must. The supply cooperative only had six left, so he bought them all.

Saw they were selling lamb, so I grabbed a whole one—money’s no object!

On top of that, Li Yi bought plenty of snacks Tang Xue liked: sponge cakes, twisted dough sticks, sugar-coated sesame twists, sugar-coated sesame balls, peanuts, sunflower seeds, lotus seeds, Big White Rabbit milk candies, and more.

Figuring her cosmetics were running low, Li Yi bought her and Third Sister a box of “A Thousand Hues” and a box of clam oil each!

Add to that canned goods, milk powder, and all sorts of odds and ends—not only did they fill up the trunk of the Jeep, but even the backseat was packed to the brim.

Once all the purchased goods were loaded onto the vehicle, Li Yi was finally satisfied and asked Li Gang to drive him home.

Nianzishan Village. The Li Family!

Tang Xue was reading inside the house. She had already reviewed most of her high school textbooks during this period. She felt that Chinese, Math, Physics, and Politics were manageable, but English, Chemistry, and Biology were a bit challenging.

Tang Xue’s high school grades had been fairly good; though she wasn’t exactly a top student, she had consistently ranked among the top of her class.

However, having spent so much time away from her books over the years, she had forgotten a lot, and with no one to guide her, studying was proving to be quite a struggle.

But the more this happened, the more her competitive spirit refused to accept defeat; the more she struggled with a subject, the harder she worked on it.

Over the past few months, she’s nearly filled up several notebooks!

Even so, Tang Xue felt she still had a long way to go.

With her current grades, getting into a good university is out of the question—it’s even uncertain whether she’ll make it into a vocational college.

As a result, she’s actually started to feel a bit anxious lately.

Likewise, Li Na, who was knitting a sweater nearby, wasn’t in a very good mood either.

Ever since Long Zhanjun left, she’d been feeling a bit down.

She had a stubborn streak to begin with; once she set her mind on something, not even eight horses could pull her back.

On top of that, she was already 23—she’d turn 24 at the New Year—and Li Na was starting to feel a bit panicked.

It had been such a struggle to find someone who was a good match in every way—someone she actually liked—and now they were worlds apart. It would be a miracle if she were in a good mood.

Looking up at the snowflakes still falling outside, Li Na sighed and asked, “Xiao Xue, do you think when Xiao Yi will be back?”

“I don’t know, but I’d guess it won’t be long. After all, Big Sister’s situation should be resolved in the next few days!”

“Hmm, I wonder how things are going with Big Sister. Maybe we should have Dad go into town tomorrow to check on her?”

“Forget it. Dad’s completely focused on the livestock shed right now. Let’s not disturb him!” Tang Xue said.

Hearing this, Li Na couldn’t help but let out a sigh, then fell silent.

Tang Xue smiled and said, “What’s wrong? Are you missing Brother Long?”

“It’s not that I miss him—I’m just a little worried!”

“Worried about what?”

“I heard girls in the big cities are all so flirtatious—they wear such thin clothes even in the dead of winter. If he can’t keep himself in check and gets lured away, what am I supposed to do?”

Tang Xue chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. If Brother Long were that kind of guy, he wouldn’t still be single!”

“You’re right, but… Never mind, let’s not talk about that!”

Then Li Na asked again, “By the way, when I went to Yinma earlier, I saw Xinyao coming over. Did she have something on her mind?”

“Yeah, Xinyao said she got a letter from home and is planning to go back to the city!” Tang Xue replied.

“That’s great news…”

Just as they were speaking, a piercing “beep-beep” suddenly sounded from outside the door.

The two froze for a moment, then looked toward the front gate.

Despite the howling wind and snow, they could faintly make out a car parked outside the gate.

Seeing this, they exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

They both thought of the same possibility—Li Yi was back!

Soon, the sound of a car engine could be heard outside, and Yang Wenguang drove up in one of the factory’s large cargo trucks.

There was no other choice—the factory only had this large truck left; the only small jeep had been taken by Factory Director Liang.

But at a time like this, such details didn’t matter—it was good enough just to have a vehicle, whether it was a truck or a jeep.

The group scrambled to get the older sister into the truck, grabbed some supplies for the mother and baby, and rushed off to the county hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, after the nurse assessed the situation, she immediately wheeled the older sister into a ward and instructed the family to complete the admission procedures.

Yang Wenguang was just about to go handle the paperwork when Li Yi pulled him back, telling him to stay with his older sister in the ward while he went to take care of the admission.

When Li Yi finished the admission process and returned to the ward, he found his sister’s husband sitting on a chair outside the delivery room, but his mother and sister were nowhere to be seen.

“How’s it going?”

His brother-in-law’s hands were trembling slightly. After a moment’s pause, he said, “The doctor came to check. He said the contractions are normal—it shouldn’t be time for the baby yet!”

“Then why are you shaking?” Li Yi asked.

“I don’t know. Back on the battlefield, even when I was hand-to-hand with the enemy—or even when I got stabbed—I never felt afraid. But today, when I heard Meizi say her stomach hurt, I just couldn’t help but shiver!”

Li Yi immediately reassured him, “That just shows you care about my sister!”

Yang Wenguang shook his head and said with a wry smile, “I’ve put Mei through so much suffering—I really can’t call myself a good husband!”

Li Yi knew exactly what he meant and fell silent.

Yang Wenguang was indeed a contradictory man. Judging from the events of Li Yi’s past life, he certainly couldn’t be called a good husband—after all, his neglect ultimately led to the tragedy of his eldest sister’s death.

But to say he didn’t care about his older sister would be wrong.

After all, upon learning that his older sister and her child were gone, he didn’t go on living alone; instead, he threw himself into a reservoir dozens of meters deep. This clearly showed that he truly cared for his older sister.

And that was precisely why Li Yi had forgiven him.

“You were partly to blame for that incident, but the main problem is that they were so despicable—they didn’t treat my older sister like family. So I don’t blame you!”

Li Yi then changed the subject and added, “I can forgive you, but I can’t forgive those people. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have let that matter go.”

Yang Wenguang nodded. He was well aware of his brother-in-law’s capabilities and connections; if he wanted to take on his father, stepmother, and those two good-for-nothing younger siblings, it would be the easiest thing in the world.

“Hmm, thank you, Yi. I’ll thank them on their behalf…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi waved his hand to cut him off.

Li Yi knew what he was about to say, but he didn’t want to hear it at all. Yang Wenguang had no idea just how despicable the Yang family’s actions were, or how severe the consequences had been.

In his previous life, his eldest sister had to serve the entire family while heavily pregnant, only to suffer a miscarriage and massive hemorrhage, losing both her own life and the unborn child.

And after Yang Wenguang learned the truth, he jumped into the reservoir and killed himself—and just like that, the family of three was gone.

If my sister’s husband had known this would be the outcome, he likely wouldn’t have forgiven those scum either.

“Since you moved to the county seat, have they come looking for you?” Li Yi asked in a low voice.

“They’ve come twice, but I didn’t let them inside!”

Yang Wenguang then explained, “If they’d genuinely come to see Meizi, I wouldn’t have stopped them from coming in. But their intentions weren’t pure. To avoid upsetting your sister, I just met them at the front gate.”

“Their intentions weren’t pure?”

Li Yi then asked in a low voice, “Is it so you can get jobs for those two good-for-nothings?”

Li Yi knew the Yang family scoundrels all too well; he couldn’t think of any other reason for their visit.

“Besides asking me to find them jobs, they also came asking for money, saying their family needed to build a house to marry off the second son!”

“So what did you tell them?”

“I certainly can’t get them jobs. After all, Mei and I only got into the sugar factory by taking your and my sister-in-law’s spots.”

Then Yang Wenguang added, “I didn’t give them any money either. Meizi’s about to give birth, and there’ll be plenty of expenses coming up—we need to save up a little!”

“So they didn’t make a scene?”

Yang Wenguang said with a wry smile, “Of course they did. I knew they’d make a scene, which is exactly why I didn’t let them into the house—I was afraid they’d startle Meizi!”

“So how did you resolve it in the end?”

“I told them that if they kept making a scene, I’d go back to the clan elders and demand my military discharge pay and disability compensation!”

“Didn’t you get it back?”

“They only gave me half before!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Brother-in-law, I’ll say it again: how you get along with them is none of my business. After all, they’re your parents and siblings!”

“But I just want my sister to live in peace. They’ve already hurt her once; I don’t want to see them bothering her again!”

“I understand…”

The two then tacitly dropped the subject, sitting quietly in the hallway and waiting for any movement from inside the room.

But they waited from 6:30 p.m. until midnight, and there was still no sign of my eldest sister going into labor; she even fell asleep in the middle of it all, leaving both Li Yi and Yang Wenguang feeling a bit at a loss for words.

It wasn’t until the wee hours of the morning that their mother came out to tell them that their eldest sister’s stomach pains had started again—it seemed she was about to give birth.

Li Yi then called for the doctor and nurse again.

But after the examination, the doctor said it was still in the early stages and she couldn’t go into the delivery room yet.

It wasn’t until a little after 9:00 a.m. the next morning that the doctor announced her cervix was dilated enough for her to go into the delivery room.

Afterward, Li Yi and his sister’s husband, accompanied by a nurse, escorted his older sister into the delivery room.

After that, Li Yi, his brother-in-law, and his mother waited anxiously outside the delivery room!

To be honest, Li Yi was extremely nervous at that moment.

He knew that in his previous life, this child had taken his older sister’s life when it was only a few months old, and there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again in this life.

So, before entering the delivery room, Li Yi specifically instructed the doctor: if there were any signs of a difficult labor, perform a C-section immediately!

Although it would leave a scar, it was certainly better than losing her life!

Fortunately, it seemed as though fate had decided that his eldest sister had suffered enough in her past life and wouldn’t allow her to be tormented again in this one. Less than half an hour after she was wheeled into the delivery room, the sound of a baby’s cry could be heard from inside.

A short while later, a nurse came out to share the good news with her husband: a healthy baby boy, and both mother and child were doing well!

Hearing the nurse’s words, Li Yi was just as thrilled as my sister’s husband, and her mother, standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief.

A little while later, the nurses wheeled my older sister out of the delivery room, and the baby was brought out as well.

It wasn’t until they returned to the hospital ward that Li Yi’s heart finally settled completely!

After confirming that both his older sister and the baby were indeed doing well, Li Yi called his brother-in-law out and told him he was heading home.

Li Yi also mentioned that in a few days, once his older sister was discharged, he would bring both her and the baby back to Baobaoliang Village for her postpartum confinement.

After all, the couple was currently living in the sugar factory’s dormitory. Not only were there too many people around, but the baby was still very young and cried often, which could easily disturb others—it simply wasn’t a suitable place for the postpartum recovery period.

Naturally, Yang Wenguang had no objections to this. If he missed his wife and child, he could always go back to visit them at any time—it wasn’t far, after all.

After getting his brother-in-law’s approval, Li Yi finally grabbed his luggage and strode out of the county hospital!

However, once he stepped out of the hospital, Li Yi realized getting home would be a bit of a challenge.

After a night of snowfall, the snow in the county seat was already nearly a foot and a half deep; one could only imagine how much deeper it must be in the outskirts.

On top of that, a strong wind had picked up, making it nearly impossible to move forward in the blizzard—there was no way he could walk back.

With no other choice, Li Yi could only head east along the main street of the city, making a beeline for the county bureau.

Since he couldn’t make it back on his own, he had no choice but to ask Li Gang for help—after all, he was the one with a car!

“Woo…”

The green-painted train slowly pulled into Ning City Station. Li Yi stretched, picked up his simple bag, and walked to the door of the carriage, ready to get off.

Through the train window, Li Yi saw that the sky outside was looking rather gloomy.

Large snowflakes were drifting gently from the sky; the entire station was already blanketed in white, and the same was true in the distance.

Under normal circumstances, Li Yi would certainly have stopped to enjoy the snowy scenery, taking in the enchanting beauty of the snow-covered landscape.

But now, his mood was just like the sky outside—somewhat gloomy and oppressive!

He knew all too well the condition of the road from Ning City to Qingshan County; once heavy snow fell, the slippery roads and broken-down vehicles made travel impossible.

To prevent traffic accidents, operations would have to be suspended under these conditions.

In other words, he would likely be unable to return to Qingshan County today.

He might even be stuck for many days to come, unless the sun came out and the snow melted!

But winter in Saibei Province comes with its own built-in “cold buff”—once it starts snowing, it’s common for it to last three or four days.

So it’s not unusual for traffic to be cut off for ten days or even half a month!

The problem is, while he can wait, his older sister can’t.

Although his older sister giving birth doesn’t necessarily require him, her younger brother, to be by her side.

But when he thought of his eldest sister’s tragic fate in his past life—the miscarriage that led to massive bleeding and the loss of both mother and child—Li Yi couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

So, no matter what, he had to go back!

As soon as the train came to a stop and the doors opened, Li Yi quickly got off and headed toward the exit!

Once outside the train station, Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he headed straight for the bus station across the street.

As soon as he entered the station, he went straight to the ticket counter and asked the staff if the bus to Qingshan County was still running this afternoon!

The staff member replied that they hadn’t received any notice of service suspension yet, which gave Li Yi a slight sense of relief.

As long as there was no notice of suspension, there was still a chance—after all, there were less than two hours left before the bus was scheduled to depart.

In other words, as long as the station didn’t receive an official cancellation notice within those two hours, the bus would run as scheduled.

Without delay, Li Yi bought a ticket and immediately turned to leave the bus station.

Since he still had some time, Li Yi planned to head to the city’s main market to check the prices of dried goods.

For Li Yi, nearly all of his income from the past six months had gone into mushroom harvesting, and now his family’s total stock of dried mushrooms exceeded 100,000 jin.

Therefore, the price of dried goods directly affected Li Yi’s profits.

That was precisely why he was so concerned about the price of dried goods.

Back in the capital, Li Yi had often visited the market to check prices, and currently, a pound of top-quality dried mushrooms there had already risen to 1.7 yuan.

That means the batch of dried mushrooms at Li Yi’s home is worth at least 170,000 yuan!

However, this price is still somewhat below the peak price Li Yi had in mind.

Furthermore, transporting such a large quantity of mushrooms to the capital is a hassle, so Li Yi wanted to check the prices at the dried goods market in Ning City.

If the prices weren’t too different, selling them directly in Ning City would be a good option—after all, it would be more convenient.

But when Li Yi arrived at the big market in the city center and checked the prices for dried goods there, his heart sank.

Good grief, only 1.2 yuan.

This left Li Yi feeling helpless; 1.2 yuan was practically his cost price.

Keep in mind that it takes five pounds of fresh mushrooms to produce just one pound of dried mushrooms, and Li Yi’s purchase price was around 20 cents per pound. At 1.2 yuan per pound, his profit would be only 20 cents.

Clearly, this profit margin fell far short of Li Yi’s expectations.

Most importantly, the market in Ning City was limited in size, with a finite demand for dried goods. It simply couldn’t absorb the 100,000 pounds of dried mushrooms Li Yi had on hand. It seemed this shipment would ultimately have to be transported to Beijing.

With a touch of regret, Li Yi returned to the bus station.

It was already noon, so Li Yi had a bowl of noodles at the state-run restaurant right outside the bus station.

Afterward, he went to the station’s waiting room to patiently await the bus’s departure.

At 12:40, when the station announcement called for passengers bound for Qingshan County to check in, Li Yi’s mind finally settled.

……

At 4:30 p.m., the bus arrived in Qingshan County on time!

You have to admire the veteran driver’s skills—with snow this heavy, roads this terrible, and a bus this beat-up, he actually managed to arrive on time. I’m truly impressed!

After getting off the bus, Li Yi noticed that the snowfall in Qing Shan County was even heavier; the snow at the bus station was already a foot deep.

Fortunately, there was no wind; otherwise, in this weather, you wouldn’t be able to move an inch!

After leaving the station, Li Yi headed straight down the road toward the city center.

He wasn’t planning to go home just yet; instead, he intended to head to the sugar factory dormitory first to check on his older sister.

However, the bus station was outside the West Gate, while the sugar factory was on the outskirts—at least three kilometers apart.

There were neither buses nor taxis in town, so he had no choice but to walk.

After walking for an hour and a half, he finally reached the sugar factory before dark.

Good grief, even in the freezing cold, Li Yi had worked up a sweat.

The security guards at the sugar factory knew Li Yi was a friend of the factory director and the brother-in-law of Section Chief Yang from the Transportation Department, so they let him in right away.

When Li Yi told them he was there to visit his sister and brother-in-law, they escorted him to the door of Yang Wenguang’s dormitory.

At that moment, in the cadre dormitory, Yang Wenguang had just gotten off work and was cooking dinner for his wife and mother-in-law.

Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door. He immediately put down his spatula, walked to the door, and asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s me!”

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Yang Wenguang couldn’t quite place it.

However, assuming it must be someone he knew, he opened the door anyway.

When he saw Li Yi standing outside, covered in snow, Yang Wenguang was completely stunned.

He knew Li Yi had been in Beijing lately. Although Li Yi had said before leaving that he would definitely return before his older sister gave birth, Yang Wenguang had assumed he must be extremely busy—especially since just a few days ago, Li Yi had been scrambling to transfer staff to Beijing and had mentioned that the store there had already opened.

So Yang Wenguang had assumed Li Yi wouldn’t be back anytime soon. He never expected him to brave the wind and snow to rush back, and for a moment, he was completely taken aback.

Li Mei, who was sitting in a chair, saw her husband standing motionless at the door and immediately asked, “Who is it? Why aren’t you letting them in?”

Hearing his wife’s voice, Yang Wenguang finally snapped out of it and immediately said with a smile, “Meizi, look who’s here!”

With that, he pulled Li Yi inside!

Li Mei hadn’t expected her younger brother to show up so late either, and she was equally taken aback.

Zhang Yuehong was the first to react. She put down her needlework and came over to ask, “Xiao Yi, where are you coming from? Home or Beijing?”

“Beijing!” Li Yi replied, brushing the snow off his clothes.

“Did you just get back today?” Yang Wenguang asked in surprise.

“Yeah, I just got to the county seat at 4:30!”

Li Mei knew her brother was worried about her; he’d come to see her right after getting off the bus without even going home first. She was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.

“Why are you crying? Don’t you want me to visit you?” Li Yi said with a smile.

“No, I just heard you’ve been really busy lately. Why come all this way just to see me? I’m just having a baby—it’s no big deal!” Li Mei said.

“That’s not good enough. I can’t rest easy unless I’m by your side!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“With your brother-in-law and Mom here, what’s there to worry about?”

Her older sister’s husband, Yang Wenguang, chimed in, “Xiao Yi, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Sit down for a bit—I’ll go make some food!”

“Sure!”

However, just as her husband turned to head toward the kitchen stove to cook, he suddenly heard his sister-in-law cry out, “Ouch!” She then clutched her stomach and sat down in a chair.

Li Yi immediately rushed over and asked, “Big Sister, what’s wrong? Are you going into labor?”

“I don’t know, my stomach just hurts a little!” his older sister said, clutching her stomach.

His mother came over to check on her and said, “Labor hasn’t started yet, but looking at her, it won’t be long!”

Li Yi immediately said, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s pack up and go to the hospital!”

But the older sister said, “Why go to the hospital? We can just have the baby at home. With Mom here, there’s definitely no problem…”

But before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off: “Enough. You’re going to listen to me on this one!”

Then Li Yi turned to his sister’s husband standing nearby and said, “Brother-in-law, we’ll pack our things. You go find a car—we’re heading to the hospital right now!”

“Alright!”

With that, Yang Wenguang hurried out the door.

7:30 p.m., on the small plaza outside Beijing Railway Station!

Li Yi got out of Jiang Longcheng’s small SUV, waved to him, and then walked toward the train station.

Jiang Longcheng watched Li Yi enter the ticket hall before turning away.

But instead of starting the car, he just sat there, lost in thought.

He hadn’t known Li Yi for very long—not even a full month, counting this year!

Yet the events of that month had left him feeling both heart-pounding and utterly thrilling.

From initially thinking Li Yi was a con artist with ulterior motives for getting close to him, to now trusting him completely, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t even fathom how he’d managed to get through this past month.

But no matter what, Li Yi had saved him twice in this short span of less than a month—that was an undeniable fact.

The first time, Li Yi saved his life; the second time, he saved his career!

Although the results of the investigation by Hu Liang and his team hadn’t been released yet, the basic facts had already been established.

Led by Gao Shubin, that bunch of scoundrels colluded with outside suppliers and conspired with warehouse staff and several production supervisors to embezzle a large amount of the collective’s assets through fraudulent practices in the supply of raw materials.

If this were to suddenly come to light, not only would his career be ruined, but the Jiang family would also be implicated—especially his second older brother, who holds a position in the district government.

Now that they’re aware of the situation, they’ll certainly be able to minimize the fallout.

They might even use this to establish their authority within the cotton mill, turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

That’s why Jiang Longcheng is now genuinely grateful to Li Yi from the bottom of his heart!

However, the fact that he must suddenly return to his hometown leaves Jiang Longcheng feeling somewhat uneasy, as the matter has not yet been fully investigated.

But since things had come to this, he had no choice but to rely on himself from here on out.

With that thought, Jiang Longcheng started the car with a touch of melancholy and drove toward his hometown.

Yet, deep down, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had forgotten something important.

Soon, the Jeep pulled up in front of his apartment building, and Jiang Longcheng went upstairs with a touch of melancholy.

But when he opened the door, he found the apartment pitch-black, with not a soul in sight.

Suddenly, it dawned on Jiang Longcheng: earlier that afternoon, his second older brother had called to say that Grandfather had asked them to come to the old family home for dinner that evening, adding that there was something he needed to discuss.

But because he had to take Li Yi to the train station, he’d completely forgotten about it.

Realizing what was coming, Jiang Longcheng knew he was in trouble and immediately rushed downstairs.

He started the car and immediately drove to the ancestral home nearby!

When Jiang Longcheng rushed back to the old family home in a panic, he saw his family members clearing the dinner table—they had clearly already finished eating.

When they saw him come in, his father, Jiang Shirong, said sternly, “Where have you been? Why are you back so late? Didn’t you know we were having dinner together tonight?”

Jiang Longcheng hurriedly explained, “Well… I was just dropping a friend off at the station, so I ran a little late!”

Seeing that Jiang Shirong was about to say more, Old Master Jiang immediately interjected, “Enough. The boy’s all grown up now; it’s only natural he has his own affairs to attend to. Don’t make a big deal out of everything!”

Jiang Longcheng seized the opportunity and smiled, saying, “Grandpa really is the best to me!”

The old man chuckled and said, “You’re such a handful, you know. We were all worried sick about you, but you were just taking it easy, weren’t you?”

Jiang Longcheng suddenly felt a sense of foreboding and asked immediately, “Grandpa, what were you all discussing just now?”

“We were discussing the most important matters of your life!”

Hearing this, a wry smile crossed Jiang Longcheng’s face. Just as he’d suspected.

In fact, ever since Ye Jianhua and Lin Ying’s engagement was finalized, Jiang Longcheng had known his carefree days were coming to an end.

After all, among the young men who used to run around the courtyard in their underwear, only a handful remained unmarried, and at 28, he was clearly the oldest of the bunch.

“Grandpa…”

Before Jiang Longcheng could finish speaking, his father cut him off: “This time, even begging your grandfather won’t help. You must be married before you turn 29!”

“Dad, what if I find someone myself?”

“Hmph. If you could find someone on your own, would we even have to worry about this for you?”

“Um… then can we wait a bit? I’ll ask around to see if this is even possible!”

Jiang Longcheng thought of Li Yi, and also recalled the advice he’d given Ye Jianhua: “Good fortune is near, but fortune and misfortune are hard to predict!”

He certainly didn’t want to just get engaged, only to have that kid come back and say, “You’re in for trouble!”

If that happened, he’d truly be devastated!

Just then, Uncle San, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: “Who are you going to ask? It isn’t that young man named Li Yi, is it?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Hearing this, everyone in the house fell silent.

The family members were all somewhat aware of the situation between Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng.

“By the way, how’s the investigation into the situation at your factory coming along?” Jiang Shiying asked in a low voice.

“We’re almost done with the investigation!”

“Give me the results!”

“Deputy Plant Manager Gao Shubin, along with Workshop Directors Tong Shouliang and Yang Guangbi, among others, have been embezzling the factory’s collective assets on a massive scale by manipulating raw material procurement—substituting inferior goods for superior ones and inflating quantities. We’ve now audited the accounts going back six years and discovered that the embezzled funds exceed 3.2 million yuan!”

At these words, everyone in the room fell silent.

Although they were all high-ranking officials and no strangers to money,

But they truly never imagined that a lowly deputy plant manager earning a Grade 6 enterprise salary could embezzle millions of yuan in collective assets in just a few short years.

The sheer magnitude of the sum was one thing, but what was even more alarming was that the cotton mill had been completely unaware of this.

Had it not been for that mysterious young man’s warning, the mill would still be basking in a false sense of security, completely unaware that so many corrupt officials had infiltrated its ranks.

Jiang Shiying and Jiang Longyin exchanged a glance, both secretly shocked.

When they first learned of this, their initial reaction was that Li Yi had a grudge against certain officials at the cotton mill and was using Lao San as a pawn to eliminate them.

But the subsequent investigation revealed that Li Yi and those people had never even crossed paths.

Now, looking at the investigation results, they never expected those guys to actually be up to no good—and major trouble at that. They really are “true scoundrels”!

This matter was getting more and more interesting!

With that in mind, Jiang Shirong suddenly said, “Tomorrow night, bring that young comrade back to the old mansion. I’d like to treat him to a simple meal!”

“Uncle San, you want to treat Brother Li Yi to a meal?” Jiang Longcheng asked, looking utterly shocked.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Longcheng’s first thought was a “banquet of treachery.”

It wasn’t that he was deliberately thinking the worst of his Third Uncle; it was simply that he knew his Third Uncle’s temperament—he was notoriously difficult to deal with.

Never mind him taking the initiative to invite someone to dinner—he wouldn’t even give someone face if they invited him. Had the sun risen in the west today?

“What’s wrong? Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it’s fine… it’s just… Uncle, why did you suddenly decide to treat Brother Li Yi to a meal…”

Suddenly, Jiang Longcheng realized something. He couldn’t help but glance toward the side room outside, then whispered, “Could it be that Auntie’s condition has improved?”

Jiang Shirong nodded and said, “Yes, ever since she started taking that medicine, your Third Aunt’s condition has improved significantly!”

“Really?” Jiang Longcheng asked, sounding a bit excited.

“I wouldn’t say she’s fully recovered, but at the very least, her mood has stabilized, and she’s able to sleep through the night now!”

“Hahaha, I knew it! Brother Li Yi doesn’t speak lightly, but when he does, it’s bound to work out!” Jiang Longcheng said happily.

“So, can you bring him back tomorrow?”

Jiang Longcheng was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and said, “No!”

Seeing his uncle’s gaze grow increasingly sharp, Jiang Longcheng immediately explained, “Uncle, it’s not that I don’t want to bring Brother Li Yi back—it’s just that he’s already left the capital!”

“He’s left?”

“Yeah, I told you earlier that I was dropping off a friend tonight—it was actually Brother Li Yi. He’s gone back to his hometown!”

“Back to his hometown? Did he say when he’d be back in the capital?” Jiang Shiying asked in a low voice.

“He hasn’t said yet, but since his shop is here, I’m sure it won’t be long!”

“I see. If he comes back, let me know immediately!”

“Got it! But can you tell me now—which girl are you planning to set me up with?” Jiang Longcheng asked again.

“Wang Xueqin, the fourth daughter of the Wang family!”

Upon hearing that name, the image of a chubby little girl with two high pigtails instantly popped into Jiang Longcheng’s mind!

His first instinct was to refuse, but realizing that whatever he said probably wouldn’t make a difference, Jiang Longcheng knew that only Li Yi could help him with this.

So he brought up Li Yi again…

…….

Seeing the look on Li Yi’s face, Jiang Longcheng felt a sudden pang of unease.

Although he hadn’t known Li Yi for very long, he had a fair understanding of his personality.

Unless he genuinely sensed something was wrong, Li Yi wouldn’t usually wear such a look of disdain and displeasure. As his second older brother, Jiang Longyin, would say, this kid was very calculating.

With that in mind, Jiang Longcheng cautiously asked, “Brother Li Yi, is something wrong?”

But his expression made Hu Liang, standing nearby, unable to resist taking a second look at Li Yi!

With his keen eye, it wasn’t hard to see that Jiang Longcheng was genuinely on thin ice when he spoke.

In other words, he was a bit afraid of the young man standing before him!

This was strange. He really had no idea what skills this young man possessed that could make a direct descendant of the Jiang family so concerned about his attitude—to the point where a single expression was enough to make him change his demeanor.

Li Yi frowned and said, “If you’ve only been looking into their accounts, I advise you not to act rashly!”

“What do you mean?” Hu Liang frowned.

“Problems in the accounts don’t necessarily mean they can be convicted. Since those people dared to do this, they must have something to fall back on.”

Li Yi continued, “Besides, they’re all in cahoots now. If they all gang up against you, even if you find loopholes in the accounts, you might not be able to do much to them!”

“Brother Li Yi, what should we do then?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “First, you need to clarify the purpose of investigating these people. It’s not just about bringing them to justice—it’s also about making them return the assets they’ve embezzled!”

“That way, we’ll not only eliminate internal risks and establish our authority, but we’ll also significantly resolve the factory’s financial issues.”

“Right, right, that’s exactly it!” Jiang Longcheng nodded eagerly.

Li Yi nodded and said, “If that’s the case, then I suggest you immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into these individuals’ personal connections and financial assets. You must also secure irrefutable evidence of their embezzlement of collective property—such as substandard raw materials and original receipts for the receipt and issuance of raw materials!”

“In short, either don’t act at all, or once you do, strike with thunderous force to round up all the corrupt elements and root them out completely!”

Jiang Longcheng paused to think for a moment, then said, “The comrades from the District Public Security Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Team have already been stationed at our factory. They’re experts in investigating economic crimes, so we should have news soon.”

“Hmm, keep an eye on that bald guy. He’s no pushover—make sure he doesn’t get desperate and lash out!” Li Yi added.

“Don’t worry, Brother Li Yi. I’ve already sent him on a business trip to another province. He won’t be back for at least ten days to two weeks!” Jiang Longcheng replied.

“Don’t let your guard down. Don’t think you’re the only smart one around. People climb to positions like that through their own cunning!”

Jiang Longcheng glanced at Li Yi and said, “Why do I get the feeling you’re implying I climbed the ladder through nepotism?”

“Don’t just feel it—that’s exactly what I mean!”

Standing nearby, Hu Liang was once again stunned by Li Yi’s words. They’d gotten a good sense of Jiang Longcheng’s temper over the past few days—when he flew into a rage, he spared no one.

And here was this young man, pointing right at Jiang Longcheng’s nose and saying, “You got this factory director position through nepotism.”

Hu Liang had already anticipated that, given Jiang Longcheng’s temper, he was bound to lose his cool.

But before Jiang Longcheng could say a word, Li Yi spoke again: “You know full well how much your own ability had to do with you landing this factory director position!”

“But don’t feel bad about it. Remember, connections, relationships, and background are also forms of strength—things others would kill for but can’t get!”

“Hahaha, Brother Li Yi is right. I’ll get people to dig deep into those few parasites right away!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.

“Right! Let’s wrap this up quickly—we can’t drag this out!” Li Yi said.

“Right. Section Chief Hu, you and your team continue auditing the accounts of these departments—the more detailed, the better. I’ll have others handle the rest!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Alright, I’ll get back to work then. You two continue your discussion!”

“Go ahead. Thanks for your hard work!”

“It’s my pleasure!”

With that, Hu Liang left Jiang Longcheng’s office, a hint of surprise and suspicion lingering on his face.

Once Hu Liang had left, Jiang Longcheng asked with a smile, “Brother Li Yi, you didn’t come here just to ask about this, did you?”

“Do I look that idle to you?”

Although that was indeed his intention, Li Yi wouldn’t admit it, lest people accuse him of having ulterior motives.

“Then what are you doing here?”

“I’m planning to go back to my hometown…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Longcheng asked in surprise, “Why are you going back to your hometown?”

“To see my wife and my parents!” Li Yi replied.

“When will you be back?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll see how things go once I’m back!”

“What are we supposed to do if you just leave the shop like this? Can we rely on those guys?” Jiang Longcheng frowned.

“It shouldn’t be a problem!”

Ever since Long Zhanjun and the others arrived, Li Yi had been guiding them through the shop’s operations.

Every morning, he would take Long Zhanjun, Li Yeqiao, Liu San, and the others to Dong’an Market to buy supplies, teaching them step-by-step how to judge the quality of beef and lamb.

As a restaurant specializing in grilled and hot-pot dishes, the quality of the beef and lamb is crucial.

In particular, they must avoid buying meat from old cattle or sheep, as that would severely affect the taste.

After all, old beef and mutton are only suitable for stewing; when grilled or served in hot pot, they’re tough to chew.

Although Old Yang at Dong’an Market would help vet the meat, it would still be a problem if Long Zhanjun and Liu San didn’t understand the process themselves.

At the same time, Li Yi brought them to the market to help them get acquainted with the vendors as quickly as possible, making future procurement easier.

Thanks to Li Yi’s introduction, they quickly became acquainted with the market staff, such as Old Yang, who sells beef and lamb, and Sister Wang, who sells vegetables.

In addition to teaching them the ins and outs of procurement, Li Yi also instructed them on how to manage the restaurant—from welcoming guests to handling the accounts!

Li Yi taught them earnestly, and they learned with equal dedication; in just a few short days, they were already looking the part.

Li Yi knew what Jiang Longcheng was worried about, and he smiled as he said, “You don’t need to worry too much. With so many people helping you, those scoundrels won’t be able to stir up much trouble!”

“But I still feel a bit uneasy knowing you won’t be here!” Jiang Longcheng said with a grim expression.

“I’m just heading back to my hometown for a visit—it’s not like I’m never coming back. Besides, you have Li Gang’s number, right? If anything comes up, just have him pass the message along to me!” Li Yi said.

“You’re right. I completely forgot about that!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.

“Alright, I came over today not just to say goodbye, but also to ask for your help with something!” Li Yi said.

“What is it? Go ahead.”

“After I leave, keep an eye on the shop for me. Don’t let anyone cause trouble there!”

“That’s easy. If anyone dares to cause trouble at your shop, I’ll take care of it for you!” Jiang Longcheng said, pounding his chest.

“By the way, do you know anyone at the Beiguan Village Police Station?” Li Yi asked again.

“Sure, I know both the chief and the deputy chief there. What’s up?”

“If you have time, invite them over to my shop for a meal. First, so they can get familiar with the place, and second, so they’ll swing by the shop more often during their night patrols!”

Li Yi had absolutely no confidence in the current state of public safety in Beijing.

“No problem!”

“Hmm, if you have the connections, get a phone line installed at my shop so we can stay in touch!” Li Yi said.

“Sure, we’ve got people who can handle that!”

“Just help set it up—don’t worry about the money!”

“Got it!”

……..

Beijing. State-Owned Second Cotton Spinning Mill!

Li Yi arrived at the entrance of the cotton mill once again and knocked on the gatehouse door.

As luck would have it, Old Qiao was on duty again today. Upon seeing Li Yi, he immediately came out to greet him.

“Comrade, are you here to see our factory director again?”

“Yes, I haven’t seen him in a few days, so I came by to check on him!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Then come on in!” Old Qiao said.

“Shouldn’t we call the factory office first?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“No need. The plant manager told us the other day that if Brother Li Yi comes by, we shouldn’t stop him!”

Old Qiao then asked again, “Do you know your way around? Do you want me to take you over to the factory administration building?”

“No, I’ll find my way in on my own!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

Li Yi then walked through the gate and straight into the cotton mill.

Li Yi had come this time mainly because he was heading back; he planned to go see Jiang Longcheng.

Calculating the time, there were only three or five days left until his older sister’s due date, so he had to make it back before she gave birth.

But with this trip, he had no idea how long it would be before he could return.

Long Zhanjun had only taken over the shop a few days ago; no matter how capable he was, he’d need some time to adjust.

Most importantly, since the 1980s, public safety had been poor both in the capital and elsewhere; petty thugs and tough guys were everywhere.

His shop had gained some reputation, so it was inevitable that people would come looking for handouts or causing trouble; he needed someone capable of keeping things under control to help look after the place.

Of all the people he knew, only Jiang Longcheng had that kind of capability. Ye Jianhua would have been an option too, but the kid was busy dating and starting his new job at the district office—he simply didn’t have time to come over.

Therefore, Li Yi decided to ask Jiang Longcheng for help.

Given the Jiang family’s clout in Beijing, as long as the shop didn’t provoke the real big shots, Jiang Longcheng—as a local power broker—would be more than enough to handle most people and situations!

Besides, Li Yi was also a bit curious: had that guy actually followed his instructions to investigate those bastards? And if he had, what were the results?

After all, the lives of dozens of people were at stake, so Li Yi was quite concerned about the matter and wanted to check in on the situation.

But apart from that one time a few days ago when Jiang Longcheng came by to pick up his beat-up Jeep, he hadn’t set foot in the shop since!

Since he wasn’t coming, Li Yi had no choice but to pay him a visit himself!

Li Yi was naturally familiar with the factory’s layout; after all, he’d spent over three months there in his previous life. While he couldn’t claim to remember every single detail, he did have a general impression of the layout.

Besides, he’d been there just a short while ago!

Finding his way easily to the factory administration building, Li Yi signed in briefly at the entrance, then headed straight to the third floor, making a beeline for Jiang Longcheng’s office.

At that moment, in the factory director’s office on the third floor, Jiang Longcheng was listening to Hu Liang’s report.

“Director Jiang, that’s the basic situation. I’ll need your instructions on how to proceed from here!”

A flicker of excitement crossed Jiang Longcheng’s face, and he said, “So, there really are problems with those bastards’ accounts?”

“Director Jiang, you may not have fully grasped the severity of the situation. The accounts in the departments they oversee aren’t just problematic—they’re in serious trouble!” Hu Liang said in a grave tone.

“How serious?”

“Serious enough to send them to prison!”

“That serious?”

“Yes. According to our investigation, while the quantities of materials procured by the Purchasing Department and those received into inventory match over the past three years, there are significant discrepancies between those figures and the raw materials transferred to the various production workshops, as well as the actual production output from those workshops!”

Hu Liang continued, “In other words, some of the raw materials have gone missing during this process.”

“How could they have gone missing?” Jiang Longcheng asked, frowning.

Hu Liang replied immediately, “There are two possibilities. One is that the warehouse staff and the procurement department are in cahoots—they’re recording 10 tons of raw materials when there are actually only 9 tons!”

“The other possibility is that there’s an issue with the raw materials. The weight upon delivery was sufficient, but they may have been mixed with sand, gravel, or soil, so the weight was insufficient once they reached the production workshops.”

Jiang Longcheng wasn’t stupid; he understood Hu Liang’s meaning immediately.

“So you’re saying either the warehouse staff colluded with the purchasing department, or the production workshop staff colluded with them, and they embezzled company assets through the raw material procurement process?”

“It’s also possible that someone in the purchasing department has bribed both of those departments!” Hu Liang said.

“Bang!”

Jiang Longcheng slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily, “Damn it, this is outrageous—utterly shameless!”

Hu Liang continued, “Also, upon reviewing the accounts, we discovered that the Purchasing Department has been conducting exceptionally frequent transactions with a state-owned cotton farm in Luxi, with the total amount exceeding 2 million yuan in a single year.”

“But as far as we know, that farm is just a small operation—it couldn’t possibly produce that much cotton.”

“Do you have any idea how much money those bastards have embezzled from the factory over the past few years?” Jiang Longcheng asked in a low, menacing voice.

“As it stands, the procurement department’s accounts show a shortfall of nearly 1.8 million yuan over the past three years. If we dig further back, the figure could be even higher!”

“Whoa!”

Hearing this, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t help but gasp.

The procurement department had embezzled 1.8 million yuan in just three years. No wonder the factory’s profits had plummeted so drastically over the past two years—it turned out all that money had been swallowed up by those bastards. That was absolutely ruthless.

What’s more, those three years coincided exactly with his tenure as plant manager.

No wonder Brother Li Yi said he was in for trouble—that’s exactly what’s happening!

Jiang Longcheng could clearly picture it: once this scandal broke, even with the Jiang family backing him, his days as plant manager would be numbered.

Although the Jiang family is quite powerful, they can’t possibly control everything. There are plenty of families in the capital who are at odds with the Jiang family and whose strength shouldn’t be underestimated.

They were now watching with bated breath, waiting for the Jiang family to slip up so they could bring them down.

No wonder Li Yi said he was in for trouble—with such a major incident occurring at the factory under his management, if he wasn’t the one to suffer, who else would be?

Thinking of this, Jiang Longcheng was already deeply impressed by Li Yi.

He decided that after work today, he absolutely had to stop by Li Yi’s shop to see him and express his gratitude.

“Director Jiang, should we continue the investigation, or should we close in and make the arrests right away?” Hu Liang asked for instructions.

“I’ll think it over first…”

Before Jiang Longcheng could finish his sentence, a series of sharp knocks suddenly rang out at the door.

Interrupted at such a critical moment, Jiang Longcheng felt a bit annoyed and said in a deep voice, “Come in!”

“Squeak!”

As the office door swung open, Li Yi strode in.

Jiang Longcheng was about to lose his temper, but when he saw that it was Li Yi, he swallowed the choice words that were on the tip of his tongue.

This sudden emergency stop caused him to choke on his breath, and he immediately began coughing violently!

Upon entering, Li Yi saw someone in Jiang Longcheng’s office and immediately asked, “What’s going on? Why are you coughing like that?”

“Cough, cough… It’s nothing, just choked a bit!” Jiang Longcheng said between coughs.

“Should I wait outside for a moment?”

Jiang Longcheng immediately shook his head and said, “No… no need. Brother Li Yi, you’ve come at just the right time—I was just about to look for you!”

At the same time, Hu Liang spoke up: “Director Jiang, since you have a guest, shall we discuss this matter later?”

Jiang Longcheng replied, “No need. Brother Li Yi isn’t an outsider—it’s perfect timing for him to give me some advice!”

Hearing this, Hu Liang immediately turned to look at Li Yi.

Jiang Longcheng’s words had been clear: if he wasn’t an outsider, then he was one of their own.

But Hu Liang simply couldn’t see what special talent this young man possessed that would make someone like Jiang Longcheng consider him one of his own.

“Hello, I’m Hu Liang!”

“Li Yi!”

After the brief introductions, Jiang Longcheng gave a rundown of the situation.

Then, looking at Li Yi, he said, “Brother Li Yi, could you give me some advice on what we should do?”

However, after hearing what Jiang Longcheng had to say, Li Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow!

Beijing. Train Station!

At 1:30 a.m., Li Yi sat in Jiang Longcheng’s Jeep, quietly waiting for the train to arrive.

To be honest, he really couldn’t understand why the train from Qingcheng to Beijing had to arrive in the middle of the night.

Getting off the train at this hour made it not only difficult to find a place to stay, but the buses had stopped running and there weren’t many taxis around—it was truly a predicament.

If it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Longcheng happened to have a car, Li Yi wouldn’t have known how to pick up Long Zhanjun and the others!

“Ring-ring-ring…”

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, a piercing electric bell rang out from inside the station!

Li Yi knew immediately that this was the prelude to the train’s arrival; judging by the time, it must be the train from Qingcheng.

He quickly put on his thick winter coat, got out of the car, and headed straight for the exit.

On the train, Long Zhanjun, Li Yeqiao, and Liu San’er were already ready to disembark.

The moment the doors opened, they stepped off the train with their luggage and followed the crowd toward the exit.

They were all a bit worried—what if no one came to meet them at this late hour?

Although they’d obtained Li Yi’s address from Li Gang, they had no map and had never been to Beijing before—how were they supposed to find that Beiguan Village in the dead of night?

Moreover, upon stepping off the train, the sight of the teeming, dark mass of people only made them feel even more uncertain.

With so many people around, even if someone was supposed to pick them up, they might not be able to spot them in the crowd.

At that moment, all three of them felt a bit anxious.

Fortunately, Long Zhanjun was relatively experienced. He led Li Yeqiao and Liu San’er to a spot a short distance from the station exit, then told the others to go ahead.

They waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before heading toward the exit.

Sure enough, there weren’t many passengers left exiting the station by then, and there weren’t many people waiting to pick them up either.

So as soon as they stepped out of the station, the group spotted Li Yi.

After all, at 1.8 meters tall, he stood out strikingly in the sparse crowd.

Li Yi, who was in the crowd, spotted them as well and immediately waved!

When the three of them reached him, Li Yi asked with a smile, “Did you have a smooth trip?”

“Yeah, it went pretty well!” Long Zhanjun replied immediately.

“Good to hear. Come on, let’s head home!”

Li Yi then led them toward the nearby parking lot.

Although the group didn’t understand why Li Yi wasn’t taking them to the train station entrance, they trusted him and didn’t ask any questions.

When they reached the parking lot and saw Li Yi open the door of the Jeep, all three were stunned!

He actually drove here?

They all knew Li Yi had only been in Beijing for a little over twenty days. Even if he were raking in a fortune every day, there was no way he could have afforded a car this quickly!

This is just too outrageous!

“What are you thinking? I borrowed it!”

Li Yi clearly saw what they were thinking and immediately explained.

After the three of them got in, Li Yi started the car and headed straight for Beiguan Village.

Instead of taking them back to the rental house, Li Yi drove them straight to the shop!

After all, the guys back at the rental had already gone to bed. Everyone had been working hard all day, and Li Yi didn’t want to disturb them in the middle of the night.

Besides, he had to take Long Zhanjun and the others to Dong’an Market the next day, so they might as well hang out at the shop for a while tonight.

……….

The distance from the train station to Beiguan Village was only about seven or eight kilometers, and with the roads nearly deserted at night, the Jeep arrived in no time.

When the group followed Li Yi to the barbecue and hot pot restaurant, they were stunned once again.

“Brother Yi, is this your place? It’s way too big, isn’t it?” Liu San asked, looking astonished.

“That’s right. This is my first shop in Beijing, and there might be a second or third one in the future!”

As he spoke, Li Yi asked again, “You guys haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”

“We haven’t had a proper meal, but we had some pastries to tide us over!” Li Yeqiao replied.

“Then wait a moment—I’ll cook some meat for you!”

With that, Li Yi went into the kitchen, quickly fetched a copper pot, lit the charcoal, and sliced several pounds of lamb for the three of them.

Treating them to hot pot late at night served two purposes: first, it was the only thing the shop had, and lamb hot pot was simple and quick to prepare.

On the other hand, Li Yi wanted them to get familiar with the shop’s offerings as soon as possible!

After all, he would be relying on them to run the place in the future, and he needed to head home as soon as possible.

Soon, the copper pot came to a boil, and Li Yi immediately invited the group to dig in.

Whether it was Long Zhanjun or the well-traveled Li Yeqiao, they all found this style of lamb hot pot quite novel.

Especially the wide variety of condiments and the enticing aroma completely shattered their preconceptions about how to eat beef and lamb.

After the meal, the group cleared away the bowls, chopsticks, and leftovers.

Then Li Yi called Long Zhanjun and the others over to the front counter to discuss future plans.

Li Yi first gave them an overview of the restaurant’s operations. Once they had had time to take it all in, he said, “That’s the general situation here. We specialize in grilled and hot-pot lamb, and we have a steady customer base—business is going very well!”

“The reason I called you over is that we’re a bit short-handed here, and I have some matters to attend to back in my village, so I’d like you to help me keep the shop running!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Long Zhanjun replied, “Brother Yi, just tell us what to do—we’re at your beck and call!”

“Brother Li Yi, now that I’m here in the capital, I’m sticking with you from now on. You make the arrangements!” said Li Yeqiao.

Liu San then chimed in, “Brother Yi, I’ll stick to what I said before—whatever you say goes!”

“Alright, I’ve already figured out the arrangements for you guys. Dalong, you’ll be the store manager from now on, with full responsibility for the shop’s operations. As for the specifics, I’ll teach you everything step by step over the next few days!”

“Got it!”

Li Yi continued, “Old Li, you’ll handle the shop’s finances. All daily income and expenses will go through you, and any surplus will be deposited into the bank!”

“Alright, leave it to me!”

“San’er, your job is procurement, and you’ll also be in charge of getting Dongzi, Qiangzi, and the others out. I’ll spend a few days teaching you the specifics!” Li Yi said.

“Brother Yi, I’ll do as you say!”

Li Yi continued, “Also, I’ve figured out your compensation packages. Listen up!”

“Dalong, as store manager, you’ll get a fixed monthly salary of 150. Old Li, as CFO, you’ll get 120 a month. The rest of you will each get 100! Plus, there’ll be a year-end bonus—the exact amount will be determined later!”

Hearing this, Long Zhanjun, Li Yeqiao, and Liu San were all stunned.

At the time, most workplaces still followed the eight-tier wage scale established in 1956. An ordinary factory worker could only reach the level of a second- or third-grade worker, and their total wages and benefits amounted to just thirty-five or thirty-six yuan.

Compounded by the fact that wages hadn’t risen for years, this had given rise to the saying, “Long live 36 yuan!”

Even the much-hyped eighth-grade workers only took home between 99 and 104 yuan a month—and that was already the maximum a regular worker could earn.

But look at them—they start at 100 yuan right off the bat, which is three times the salary of an ordinary worker.

Stunned, Long Zhanjun immediately asked, “Brother Yi, with wages this high, could it be that…”

Li Yi naturally knew what he was thinking and replied immediately, “Don’t worry, we won’t lose money!”

“Are you really sure we won’t lose money? With everyone else included, the total monthly payroll for the store is only seven or eight hundred yuan!” Li Yeqiao asked in surprise.

“Don’t worry. You’ll find out tomorrow whether we’re losing money or not. For now, all you need to do is rest for a bit. At 5:30, follow me into town to buy supplies and get a feel for how the shop operates!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

…….

Beijing. The Jiang Family Mansion!

In the living room of the main hall, the old patriarch was listening as his secretary read a document to him.

The old man was already eighty years old. Although he was still in relatively good health, his eyesight had deteriorated.

It didn’t affect his daily life much, but reading books and newspapers was a struggle, so most of the time he needed his secretary to read documents and newspapers to him!

Just then, the door swung open!

Old Master Jiang looked up and saw that it was his third son entering. He immediately waved his hand, signaling for the secretary to step out.

Once the secretary had left, Old Master Jiang asked in a deep voice, “How is Yun’er? Has she shown any improvement?”

Jiang Shiying frowned and said, “I’m not sure if this counts as an improvement, but I feel like Yun’er’s mood has stabilized quite a bit after taking that medicine!”

“Really? She’s calmer?”

“Yes. At the very least, she hasn’t been crying and screaming today. She just shed a few tears when she thought about the child.”

Hearing this, Old Master Jiang sighed and said, “It’s been hard on her all these years. You two were caught up in the fallout from what happened back then because of me. Otherwise…”

“Please don’t say that, Grandfather. When the nest is destroyed, no egg remains intact. Even setting aside the fact that you’re my father, in a situation like that, no one with even the slightest connection could have walked away unscathed!”

Jiang Shiying continued, “I suppose it just means that child wasn’t meant to be part of our family. Sigh!”

“Perhaps it’s simply the Jiang family’s fate to have no daughters. If she’d been a boy, perhaps none of that would have happened!” Old Master Jiang sighed as well.

The old man’s heart was heavy as he spoke. The Jiang family had long been dominated by males—for three generations… no, make that four—they had not had a single daughter.

In his own generation, Jiang Dingfang and his six brothers had no sisters. His wife had given birth to three sons in a row, yet still, not a single daughter.

Moving on to the grandchildren’s generation, many had married, yet still no girls were born.

The only one who had given birth to a girl for the Jiang family—the third son’s wife—had suffered a tragic accident during childbirth, and the baby had not survived. Truly, fate can be cruel!

“Father, please don’t blame yourself. None of us could have foreseen what happened back then!” Jiang Shiying said.

“Hmm, at my age now, I don’t think about much else. I just hope Yun’er can get back to normal. If possible, you two should have another child—even if you have to adopt one!”

“Father, let’s worry about children later. All I ask is that Yun’er gets better!” Jiang Shiying said.

“By the way, what’s the story with that young man? How did he know this medicine would work for Yun’er?” the old man asked in a grave tone.

“I’ve already asked Long Yin and Long Cheng about this, but their answers were rather baffling. I don’t know if I should believe them!”

“Oh? Even you call it hard to believe? What exactly is going on?”

Hearing Jiang Shiying’s words, the old man also became interested in the matter.

Jiang Shiying then recounted everything he had learned to the old man.

“You’re saying that young man predicted something bad would happen to Long Cheng the very first time he met him, and then just happened to save him? And he also predicted that the Ye family’s son was going to get married?”

“Yep!”

“There’s no such thing as a coincidence this big in this world, unless that kid is a god. I’d say there’s definitely something fishy going on here!” the old man said.

“Long Yin has already sent people to investigate. The assassination attempt on Long Cheng really had nothing to do with that young man, and those thugs certainly went all out. If that young man hadn’t intervened, Long Cheng might very well have…”

Although Jiang Shiying didn’t finish his sentence, Old Master Jiang knew exactly what he meant.

“If that’s really the case, then this gets interesting!”

“Also, that young man has been saying these past few days that Long Cheng is being targeted by underhanded people, and he’s even had him start investigating three junior managers at their factory!”

“Oh, is that so? Could it be that the lad has a grudge against those people at Longcheng’s factory?”

“It doesn’t seem so at the moment. I’ve already had Long Yin send people to look into this. I’m actually curious to see if the people he mentioned are truly malicious or just being falsely accused!”

“You’re doing the right thing. Also, have someone look into this young man—there’s something off about him!” Old Master Jiang said.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. I’ve already made the arrangements!” Jiang Shiying replied.

“Keep a close eye on Yun’er. If she gets too swamped with work, just transfer her back to Beijing if necessary!”

“We’ll see.”

“You’ve always had a mind of your own since you were a child, so I won’t meddle in your work matters. But you must remember—we’ve already let Yun’er get hurt once. We can’t let anything else happen to her!”

“Understood!”

After that, Jiang Shiying discussed personnel transfers in the province with the old man for a while before returning to his own room.

When he reached the door of his west wing quarters, Jiang Shiying slowed his pace and tiptoed to open the door.

Since falling ill, my wife, Ye Lingyun, has not only become emotionally sensitive but has also developed severe sleep problems; even the slightest noise can wake her up.

Once she is woken up, she cannot fall back asleep for the rest of the night.

So when he was at home, he tried his best not to make any noise.

However, when he returned to his wife’s bedside, he discovered that she had woken up at some point and was staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

“Did I wake you up?” Jiang Shiying asked gently.

He and his wife had grown up together as childhood sweethearts—from daycare to school, and eventually as a family—and he had always protected her every step of the way.

Even over the past twenty years, as his wife’s condition fluctuated between good and bad, he had continued to love her deeply.

“No, I dreamed of our child again. I dreamed she wasn’t dead, and she called me ‘Mom’ in the dream…”

As she spoke, Ye Lingyun’s eyes reddened once more, though this time she held back her tears!

“I’m sorry. I failed to protect you both,” Jiang Shiying said, sounding somewhat remorseful.

Ye Lingyun shook her head without speaking. “Shiying, can you promise me one thing?”

“What is it? Go ahead!”

“If I die, please take my ashes to Yong County and bury me next to my child. I miss her so much!” Ye Lingyun said weakly.

“No, don’t say such gloomy things. You’ll get better…”

Ye Lingyun shook her head. “Don’t lie to me. I know my own body—it’s already beyond saving!”

“I’ve already found you a miracle drug. You’ll get better soon. Trust me—just trust me one more time, okay?” Jiang Shiying said, tears welling in the corners of his eyes.

Ye Lingyun looked at her husband with a pang of sorrow. He was only in his early forties, yet his head was already completely gray; anyone who didn’t know him would think he was in his fifties or sixties.

She had certainly suffered greatly over the years, but so had he.

She hadn’t married the wrong man, but fate had played a cruel joke on them as a couple.

“I believe you!”

After a long moment, Ye Lingyun spoke again: “I heard the Lin family is planning to form an alliance with our Ye family, and the person they’re pairing with is Jianhua. Is that true?”

“Yes, it’s already been decided!”

“That’s wonderful news. If our daughter were still alive, she’d be turning twenty soon. What a pity!”

“Don’t dwell on it. What’s past is past,” Jiang Shiying said with a sigh.

Ye Lingyun shook her head. “It’s been twenty years. I’ve actually been running away from it all this time. I just can’t get past that mental barrier, yet I don’t have the courage to face it. That’s why, even after twenty years, I haven’t dared to go back and visit my child’s grave.”

“I don’t know what’s come over me these past few days, but I keep dreaming about that child. She keeps calling me ‘Mom’ and asking why I don’t come to see her!”

Jiang Shiying had been with his wife for so many years; naturally, he understood her feelings.

Without hesitation, he said, “Here’s what we’ll do: once you’re feeling better, I’ll take you back to Yong County!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

……..

Beijing. State-Owned Second Cotton Spinning Factory!

Jiang Longcheng arrived at his office early this morning and personally went to the archives room to retrieve the personnel files of all the factory’s mid- and senior-level leaders.

Of course, requesting files on so many people was merely a smokescreen; what he actually wanted to see were the files on Gao Shubin, Tong Shouliang, and Yang Guangbi.

Although he had been working at the cotton mill for several years, Jiang Longcheng actually knew very little about the people under his command.

It must be said that he had truly been derelict in his duties as factory director!

To put it bluntly, given his track record, if it weren’t for his family’s formidable connections, this factory director position would never have fallen to him!

Jiang Longcheng pulled out the personnel files of Gao Shubin, Tong Shouliang, and Yang Guangbi, then began to examine them carefully.

But after a quick glance, aside from noting that Gao Shubin had previously worked in the same production workshop as these two—leading him to speculate that Tong Shouliang and Yang Guangbi might have been promoted by Gao Shubin—he couldn’t glean anything else.

But that didn’t matter. If he couldn’t figure it out, someone else surely could!

Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door!

“Come in!”

As the office door swung open, Secretary Wang—with her curvaceous figure—stepped inside and said, “Director, there are a few comrades waiting for you at the main gate. They say they’re from the district office!”

Jiang Longcheng’s eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately said, “Hurry up and bring them in!”

“Yes, sir!”

Before long, they were ushered in.

There were five of them in total, all dressed in dark blue official uniforms. Leading the group was a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

After Secretary Wang left, the middle-aged man immediately said, “Hello, Director Jiang. I am Hu Liang, Head of the Financial Audit Section at the District Audit Bureau. These are my colleagues. We’ve been sent by Secretary Jiang to assist you with the internal audit!”

“Hello, Section Chief Hu. Please, have a seat, everyone!”

“Director Jiang, Secretary Jiang has already briefed us on the general situation before we arrived, so let’s get straight to the point!”

“Alright!”

“You’re currently investigating the factory’s internal accounts, primarily those of the Procurement Department and Workshops 1 and 2, correct?”

“That’s right. I suspect there are issues with the accounts in those departments, but I don’t have concrete evidence. I hope you can conduct a thorough review!” said Jiang Longcheng.

“No problem. To avoid alerting them, we’ll enter your finance department under the guise of the District Audit Bureau conducting a review of last year’s financial records. Please notify the relevant departments of this shortly, and leave the rest to us!” said Hu Liang.

“Alright!”

Jiang Longcheng immediately had Secretary Wang summon the head of the Finance Section, briefed him on the situation, and instructed them to cooperate fully.

The head of the finance section was a bit puzzled—hadn’t they just finished an audit six months ago? Why were these people back again?

But this sort of thing had happened before, and since they were the ones being audited, they naturally dared not say much. They could only scurry along, leading Hu Liang and his team out of the office.

Shortly after seeing Hu Liang and his team off, another group arrived at Jiang Longcheng’s office—they were from the Economic Crime Investigation Division of the District Public Security Bureau.

They, too, had been ordered to come to the Cotton Spinning Factory to assist Jiang Longcheng with the investigation.

While the auditors from the Audit Bureau had been examining the books, this new group was here to investigate the people—specifically Gao Shubin, Tong Shouliang, Yang Guangbi, and others!

Meanwhile, after assigning the investigative tasks, Jiang Longcheng immediately convened a factory management meeting.

At the meeting, citing the constant demands for payment from upstream suppliers—which had thrown the factory into chaos—Jiang Longcheng ordered Gao Shubin to immediately travel to Shandong and Henan provinces.

Have him pay a visit to the heads of those raw material suppliers and ask them to hold off for a while, with the aim of pushing the repayment date back to after the New Year.

Gao Shubin didn’t suspect anything, especially since this kind of assignment was always considered a cushy job.

After all, you can’t exactly show up empty-handed, especially when you’re going to ask for a favor—you’ve got to offer something in return!

As for how much to give, that was entirely up to him. Who knows—this trip might just net him a few thousand extra in his pocket.

He readily agreed on the spot.

Little did he know, however, that Jiang Longcheng’s move was a deliberate ploy to keep him occupied while launching a multi-pronged investigation into him.

While Jiang Longcheng was busy launching an investigation into those “minions,” over in Qingshan County, Long Zhanjun had already arrived in the county seat with Li Gang.

They then joined Li Yeqiao and Liu San, who had been waiting at the county bureau, and headed to the bus station outside the West Gate, where they boarded a bus bound for the city center.

After seeing Long Zhanjun and the others off, Li Gang immediately returned to the bureau and dialed the number for Jiang Longcheng’s office.

…….

Beiguan Village. Grassland Beef and Lamb Grill & Hot Pot Restaurant!

Having just finished up for the afternoon, Li Yi was getting ready to have dinner with a few of his younger brothers.

Today, to treat his younger colleagues, Li Yi had taken it upon himself to cook a pot of mutton spine stew for them.

“Sheep scorpion” refers to the sheep’s spine. It’s called that because, once cut open, it resembles a scorpion.

Although the Chinese have been eating sheep scorpions for over a thousand years, it wasn’t until the past few decades since the Reform and Opening-Up that people truly learned to turn this meager cut into a delicacy.

At the very least, few people today know how to prepare it properly, and those who are truly wealthy and powerful don’t eat it.

But Li Yi knows that when prepared properly, “sheep scorpion” tastes far better than ordinary mutton.

Especially when used to make a clear broth hot pot, the flavor is truly exquisite.

So today, before the restaurant opened to customers, Li Yi took out the dozen or so sets of lamb scorpions the shop had stockpiled and carefully disassembled them one by one.

After thoroughly cleaning all the lamb spine pieces, he placed them in a large cast-iron pot and began simmering them over low heat.

By the time the customers had all left, the lamb spine was perfectly stewed.

Li Yi immediately had Dongzi, Qiangzi, and the others carry the lamb spine out to the table in large bowls, then ladled the stewing broth into a copper pot, ready for dipping meat and vegetables.

However, before they could even start eating, the roar of a car engine echoed from outside.

Immediately afterward, Jiang Longcheng, clad in a cotton overcoat, strode into the restaurant with a ruthless, unyielding gait.

Seeing that Li Yi and the others were just about to eat, Jiang Longcheng burst out laughing: “Slow as molasses—I just happened to arrive in time for dinner. What luck!”

“Did you follow the smell here, you rascal? How did you know exactly when we’d be eating?” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Hahaha, let me see what goodies you’re about to eat!”

However, when Jiang Longcheng saw the large bowl of lamb spine soup on the table, he immediately teased, “Brother Li Yi, you’re being way too cheap. How can you serve the younger brothers this meatless stuff?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “If you don’t like it because there’s no meat, don’t eat it!”

Jiang Longcheng, of course, wasn’t going to listen to him. Without waiting for Li Yi to invite him, he sat down right next to him, then, mimicking Li Yi, reached out and picked up a piece of lamb spine to gnaw on.

The lamb ribs had been stewed until they were completely tender. With a gentle pull, the bones split apart, easily revealing the meat clinging to the bone and the fragrant bone marrow inside.

After just two bites, Jiang Longcheng’s eyes widened in amazement.

“Hahaha, Brother Li Yi, I take back what I said earlier. This stuff might not have much meat, but damn, it’s delicious!”

Jiang Longcheng’s words couldn’t help but remind Li Yi of that “It’s so good!” guy from his past life—wasn’t he just like this?

“You’re the head of a major factory, after all. Why do you come running to my little shop every day? Don’t you have to manage things at the factory?” Li Yi asked as he ate.

“Do you think I’m that idle? I’m here to deliver a message!” Jiang Longcheng mumbled, chewing on a bone.

“What message?”

“They called from your hometown. They said the person you’re looking for has already set off and is expected to arrive in Beijing early tomorrow morning. They want you to go pick them up at the train station!”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately said with a smile, “Great, great, great! They’re finally here!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “Did they say how many are coming?”

“They said three!”

Li Yi knew that if there were three people, Li Yeqiao and Liu San must have come as well.

With that in mind, he said right away, “Lend me your car tonight—it’s hard to get a cab around here in the early morning!”

“Lending you the car is no problem, but can you even drive it?”

“Don’t underestimate me. What’s so hard about driving a beat-up 212? Want me to show you how to drift?” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“Forget it—my life is worth a lot more than that!”

Without even looking up, Jiang Longcheng tossed the car keys in front of Li Yi and went back to gnawing on the lamb spine in his bowl!

…….