Chapter 23: A Great Blunder (Please Subscribe, Please Bookmark, Please)

County Hospital, Inpatient Department.

Wang Guoguang looked at his eldest son, who was busy packing, and the several hospital directors and department heads standing behind him with an expression of disdain. He grumbled, "What are you doing here? Trying to scare these ordinary folks?"

Wang Anmin replied with a wry smile, "Father, how can you say that? Do you really think I’m that kind of person?"

"Does that matter? Your arrival has turned everything upside down!"

Wang Anmin understood what his father meant. He didn't take offense, but instead turned to the hospital director and said, "Director Zhu, I’m not here to inspect work today. I’m just an ordinary person picking up my father from the hospital. You all should go back to your duties."

Director Zhu breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately signaled for the others to return to work, intending to stay behind to attend to them himself.

But just then, the elder Wang spoke up, "Wait a moment!"

Director Zhu immediately responded, "Elder Wang, please tell me what you need!"

"Does anyone here know the name of the young man who brought me in that day? I vaguely heard him mention his name to Dr. Liu!"

The elder Wang’s attending physician stepped forward and said, "Elder, that young man is named Li Yi, from the Red Flag Commune."

"Li Yi from the Red Flag Commune!"

Wang Guoguang then turned to his eldest son and said, "Eldest, did you hear that? This young man is my savior. You must thank him properly!"

Wang Anmin replied immediately, "I’ve noted it. In a few days, I will personally visit the young man’s home."

"That’s right! Hurry up and finish packing, let’s go home!"

"Understood!"

With that, the father and son packed their personal belongings and left the hospital.

After taking his father home, Wang Anmin returned to his office. Knowing his father was a man who always repaid kindness, and that without that young man, his father would likely have perished on the road, he felt a deep sense of gratitude for the life-saving act. As a son, he had to show his appreciation, or he would be failing in his duty.

With this in mind, he immediately tasked his secretary with investigating the situation of Li Yi from the Red Flag Commune. Due to his position, he didn’t want to make a public spectacle, so he didn't tell his secretary the full truth.

However, he never expected that this concealment would lead to a massive misunderstanding.

Because the secretary didn't know why he needed to investigate an ordinary commune member, he assumed the man must have offended his superior, the County Committee Secretary. Consequently, when the secretary called the commune, his tone was exceptionally stern.

This sternness caused a wave of panic throughout the Red Flag Commune.

The commune’s primary officials dared not act slowly; they immediately summoned all village party secretaries and production team leaders to a meeting. They were determined to identify this "Li Yi" who had offended Secretary Wang and figure out what kind of trouble he had caused.

At this moment, Li Yi, who was running a stall at the entrance of the sugar factory, had no idea that due to a series of misunderstandings, he had evolved from a "hoodlum" everyone wanted to drive away into a full-blown criminal.

He was simply trying to run a street stall, and disaster had struck from the heavens!

...

At the entrance of the sugar factory, business was unexpectedly good today. When the workers learned that Li Yi had prepared white flour cakes and that they cost only five cents each, their enthusiasm was reignited.

A portion of cold noodles paired with a white flour cake cost only twenty-five cents, making for a very satisfying meal. In less than half an hour, all 110 cakes were sold out. When the workers at the back of the line learned there were no cakes left, they couldn't help but grumble.

Li Yi could only promise to bake more tomorrow to ensure everyone would get a cake with their noodles.

After working until one-thirty in the afternoon, he finally sold the last portion of cold noodles and headed to the supply and marketing cooperative to restock. However, when he arrived, he noticed the atmosphere was somewhat peculiar.

Looking closely, he realized there were many unfamiliar faces inside and outside the cooperative. Initially, he thought they were ticket scalpers, but they didn't look the part; these men were sturdy and had ruddy complexions, unlike the sallow-faced scalpers he was used to seeing. More importantly, he didn't see Liu San, who usually sold him bicycle and sewing machine tickets, by the telephone pole.

Clearly, these strangers were not scalpers. Given the vigilant and scrutinizing glares they cast at passersby, their identities weren't hard to guess. However, Li Yi didn't pay it much mind; he was just an ordinary citizen, and certainly not their target.

After tethering his mule cart, Li Yi strode into the supply and marketing cooperative.

After his usual bulk purchase, Li Yi drove his cart back to the village. Upon arriving home, he noticed something was wrong. His parents were in the courtyard, and in addition to them, the old party secretary, Feng Kai, and the brigade leader, Zhang Tongfu, were also there.

With so many people gathered at his house, seemingly waiting for him, Li Yi sensed that something was amiss.

Hearing the creaking of the mule cart, the people in the courtyard stood up instinctively. Seeing it was indeed Li Yi, his father, Li Shankui, walked over to take the reins and said, "I'll handle this. Your Uncle Feng and Uncle Zhang have something to discuss with you."

Li Yi stepped forward and asked, "Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, you were looking for me?"

Feng Kai said with a grim face, "Young Li, be honest with me—what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

Li Yi was utterly bewildered. He had gotten into trouble? How come he didn't know about it?

"Uncle, what are you talking about? What trouble?"

"Young Li, if you really did something wrong, Uncle will take you to turn yourself in and plead for leniency. You can’t hide it; once they find out, the consequences will be unimaginable!" Feng Kai said earnestly.

Brigade leader Zhang added, "That’s right, Young Li, you can’t go against the government!"

Li Yi hurriedly said, "Uncles, I really haven't done anything wrong..."

Before Li Yi could finish, Feng Kai frowned and said, "You brat, if you hadn't done something wrong, would the commune officials be specifically investigating you and ordering us to bring you to the commune?"

Li Yi was stunned. He asked, "Uncle Feng, are you saying the commune wants to investigate me and wants you to bring me in?"

"Yes. This afternoon, the commune held a special meeting just for you. If you hadn't done something wrong, why would those leaders make such a big fuss?" Feng Kai said while smoking.

Li Yi thought carefully. Had someone reported his street stall at the sugar factory? Probably not. If it were a report, the industrial and commercial bureau or the police would have come to the factory gate to arrest him directly; they wouldn't have asked the commune officials to do the work. Apart from that, he couldn't think of any boundary-crossing behavior.

"Uncles, don't worry. I think you’ve misunderstood. It’s highly unlikely the commune is looking for me because I committed a crime," Li Yi said immediately.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Uncle Feng. If I had really committed a serious offense, the police would have already come to arrest me. They wouldn't have left it to you to lecture me here."

Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu considered this and realized it made sense. In these times, even minor suspicions could lead to an arrest; if the authorities truly had evidence of a crime, they wouldn't have shown such restraint.

"Then why is the commune investigating you?" Zhang Tongfu asked, puzzled.

"I’m not entirely sure, but since they want to see me, I’ll go to the commune tomorrow," Li Yi said.

"Right, that will clear everything up," Zhang Tongfu said.

Feng Kai nodded and said, "Fine, I’ll go with you tomorrow."

"Alright!"