Chapter 42: The Homestead Application Approved

Today was yet another delightful day. As he headed back to the village, Li Yi could not help humming a cheerful little tune.

However, just as his mule cart was about to leave the town, he saw a large crowd gathered in the distance, queuing up. He had no idea what was happening.

As the mule cart drew closer, he realized that a temporary checkpoint had been set up out of nowhere. Several armed People's Armed Police officers in olive-green uniforms were standing guard at the intersection, inspecting passing pedestrians and vehicles.

Seeing this posture, Li Yi immediately knew that *that* incident must have occurred.

He clearly remembered that after that incident took place, all military personnel, police, and militia in Qingshan County were mobilized. Thousands of people were even temporarily transferred from neighboring counties to join the search.

Driven to desperation, the county government eventually issued an order requiring all citizens across the entire county to take part in the search.

As a result, more than one hundred thousand people tossed about for nearly a month, yet still came up empty-handed.

In the end, the victim was not found, the case remained unsolved as expected, and such a massive commotion resulted in dozens of relevant officials—including the director of the county bureau, the deputy director, and the captain of the criminal police—being disciplined.

It was no exaggeration to say that this event triggered an unprecedented earthquake in the political circles of Qingshan County.

More importantly, this case was not solved until eighteen years later.

When Li Yi previously gave Wang Anguo a hint, he had been referring to this very matter. He had not expected it to happen so soon.

Before long, it was Li Yi's turn. Upon seeing the bright red mule cart, the armed police officers conducted a thorough inspection.

After all, if those human traffickers wanted to smuggle people out secretly, they had to rely on means of transportation. Automobiles were rare, making horse-drawn or mule-drawn carts the most likely vehicles for them to use.

Coupled with the fact that Li Yi's cart was piled high with large woven baskets, hiding something inside would have been far too easy.

To the young soldiers' disappointment, however, the cart contained nothing except some rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil.

Consequently, after finishing the inspection, they had no choice but to let Li Yi pass!

At the moment they brushed past each other, Li Yi caught sight of the young soldiers' faces, sunburned to a deep red under the blazing sun, and felt a pang of sympathy.

In truth, he knew precisely where those human traffickers were hiding. Due to certain extraordinary circumstances, Li Yi had personally been involved in the entire process of how this case was eventually cracked.

Although the traffickers were not captured because of this specific case back then—one of the suspects had been arrested for another crime and voluntarily confessed to this case in exchange for a lighter sentence—

It was only then that people learned that the child abduction case from eighteen years prior, which had shaken more than one hundred thousand people, was actually the work of these individuals.

By that time, Li Yi had already become a giant in the business world. Because work-related matters had entangled him in the case, he was forced to participate in it from beginning to end, and thus he came to know several details of the case.

Yet, despite knowing all this, Li Yi had no way of telling them; after all, some things defied explanation.

Fortunately, he also knew that those traffickers were merely after money and had no intention of taking lives. The children were safe for the time being.

Therefore, Li Yi had no intention of stepping in prematurely. If the relevant departments in the county had the ability to crack the case, that would be for the best.

If the outcome proved identical to his past life, leaving the case permanently unsolved, then Li Yi would simply have to take matters into his own hands.

Luckily, he had already warned Wang Anguo. If the man was not completely foolish, he would come looking for him, and using Wang's authority to rescue the victims was entirely feasible.

...

Upon returning home, Li Yi found the courtyard completely deserted except for his third older sister, Li Na.

When he left in the morning, the dozen or so people helping out had all vanished, and even his parents were missing.

"Sister, how come it's just you left? Where are Mom and Dad?"

Li Na began helping to unload the cart as she replied, "All the mud bricks are made and just waiting to dry before we can use them. While it's still daylight, Mom and Dad went with Uncle Feng to the east end of the village to measure the homestead plot!"

Hearing this, Li Yi immediately halted what he was doing and shoved the canvas money pouch from his waist straight into Li Na's hands.

"Sister, carry these inside yourself. I'm going to take a look!"

With that, Li Yi dashed out of the courtyard in a flash!

Li Na immediately called out, "Slow down..."

Li Yi's home was not far from the location of the new homestead site, so he arrived in no time.

From afar, Li Yi saw quite a few people gathered around a patch of black stony land. Some held ropes while others held shovels, making it obvious at a glance that they were measuring the plot.

Seeing Li Yi approach, Feng Kai immediately called out, "Little Yi, come here!"

Reaching Feng Kai's side, Li Yi greeted them promptly, "Dad, Uncle Feng!"

"Little Yi, the homestead plot you requested has been approved. Five *fen* for the homestead and two and a half *mu* for the private plot, making a total of three *mu*," Feng Kai said.

A wave of joy washed over Li Yi as he said, "Thank you, Uncle Feng!"

"This piece of land is a few dozen *mu* in total. Which part do you want? We'll measure it out for you," Feng Kai added.

Li Yi glanced around, picked a spot that appeared remarkably flat overall, and said, "Right here. We'll build the house on this side, set up a small courtyard, and use the rest as the private plot!"

"Alright!"

Following that, under Feng Kai's direction and with the joint testimony of over a dozen commune members, Li Yi's homestead plot was officially settled.

Once the homestead was finalized, construction on the house could begin.

That evening, after Li Yi had seen off the group of children who delivered mountain goods, the family was finally able to sit down and rest for a while.

Sitting on the small wooden stool by the stove opening, Li Shan魁 packed his long-stemmed pipe with shredded tobacco and said, "Since the homestead is settled, I'll lead a crew to the quarry tomorrow to haul stones and lay the foundation. Make sure you prepare meals for the hired helpers!"

"Third girl, don't go to work in the fields tomorrow. Stay home and help your mother cook; she won't be able to manage everything alone."

Li Na nodded and replied, "Alright!"

At this point, Li Yi also spoke up, "Mom, I bought a good amount of tofu and vermicelli today, and I also cut a few catties of pork. Cook those tomorrow!"

"Cooking tofu and vermicelli is fine, but the pork—I think we should skip it. Saving it for when we raise the main ridge beam of the house won't be too late," Zhang Yuehong said with a twinge of reluctance.

In this day and age, the food provided for hired help just needed to be decent, since the family would still be paying them wages in the end.

Li Shan魁 took two heavy puffs from his pipe, emitting a rhythmic tapping sound, and said in a deep voice, "Listen to Little Yi. Go ahead and cook it."

"Old man, we're really cooking it? Then what will we eat when we raise the main beam?"

Li Yi immediately chimed in, "Mom, I'll just buy more when the time comes to raise the beam. It's not that much money!"

"You child, you earn a little bit of money and you lose your head completely. You can't just go squandering it like this!" Zhang Yuehong scolded lightly.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Mom, buying all that meat and vegetables today only cost me five or six yuan, but do you know how much money I made today?"

"How much?"

"Five hundred yuan!"

Incredulous, she asked, "H-how much?"

"Over five hundred. To be exact, six hundred and eight yuan and fifty cents," Li Yi said.

Everyone in the household was startled by Li Yi's words. Just a few days ago, he was making a little over a hundred yuan a day, or at most one hundred sixty or seventy yuan on a good day.

Never had they expected that in just a few short days, her son would be able to earn five hundred yuan in a single day—an amount that matched what others earned in an entire year.

Li Yi smiled and explained, "There are now over forty children helping me gather mushrooms, and the daily harvest of all sorts of mountain goods adds up to seven or eight hundred catties. With a larger volume of goods, the earnings naturally increase. There's nothing to be surprised about."

"Besides, the mountain goods business doesn't yield this much every single day. With so many people heading into the mountains daily, the yield will drop in just a few days."

Li Shan魁 nodded in agreement. "Mm, as long as you understand that logic, that's fine. Save more of the money you earn since you'll need to support a family in the future."

"Got it!"

Knowing that Li Yi was capable of earning so much, Zhang Yuehong no longer begrudged the meat and immediately decided to prepare braised pork with vermicelli for the hired workers the next day.