Chapter 69

Chapter 25: First Arrival in Xizhou

After Li Yi's suggestions on water safety were taken seriously and approved by the relevant leaders of the provincial party committee and government, a special office was established.

On the issue of the office name, Li Yi played a small trick, naming it the "Southern Province Water Safety Supervision Office," a department at the level of a full-time section chief, managed by the provincial government office, with the abbreviation "Water Supervision Office."

When Lu Zhibang saw this name, he was somewhat taken aback but did not say much more.

The team was designated as a full-time section-level department, with one section chief and two deputy section chiefs. It was managed by the provincial government office.

The team members came from various departments of the provincial party committee and government, a total of ten people, divided into two sections, each with a section chief and a deputy section chief.

Unfortunately, Li Yi, the initiator, did not enter the Water Supervision Office and could only finish his studies in the advisory office. Fortunately, Gu Heng did not break his promise and helped him secure a deputy section chief position.

Principal Qian Ning recommended five outstanding party members to the provincial party organization department, and Li Yi was one of them.

In the coming days, all Li Yi could do was wait for the notification from the provincial party organization department.

Taking advantage of this free time, Li Yi decided to return to his hometown. Fang Fang couldn't wait and had already left a week earlier.

Li Yi had no memory of his hometown in a remote part of Xizhou, and he had no affection for the so-called relatives there.

Shortly after Fang Fang gave birth to him, those family members drove his widowed mother and young self out of the house, leading a life of wandering and hardship. Recalling the scenes of his mother being bitten by dogs while scavenging and being scolded while picking vegetable leaves, he felt no affection or kinship for the Fang or Li family members, though he did not hate them.

Li Yi left the BMW to Guo Xiaoling and bought a new Audi 100.

On this sunny day, Li Yi packed his things and drove, quickly entering the territory of Lianshui County in Xizhou.

Following the address Fang Fang had given him, he asked for directions and, after a few hours of bumpy travel, finally arrived at Fangjia Ao in Lianshui County.

It was the busy farming season. The muddy rural roads were lined with fragrant rice fields, the sound of rice harvesters, the shouts of farmers, the laughter of children, the barking of dogs, and the chasing of chickens and ducks, forming a beautiful rural scene.

The distant mountains were green and clear, and the mountain breeze drifted out of the valley, gently wandering and cooling the entire mountain area.

The hardworking people, bare-chested, sang joyful mountain songs, harvesting with their sweat, tired but happy, peaceful and fulfilling.

Li Yi stopped his car and looked at everything. In the distance, several wisps of smoke rose, merging into the blue sky. Flocks of birds flew up from the forest, soared in the sky for a while, and then plunged back into the forest.

Such a scene, including his previous life, had not been seen for decades.

"Hey! Are you going to drive or not? Don't block the road!" A clear female voice came.

Li Yi turned around and saw a pretty girl of about sixteen or seventeen, holding a bamboo branch in her hand and leading a large water buffalo with her left hand.

The road was very narrow, and Li Yi's car had blocked it when he stopped.

"Sorry, little girl, could you tell me how to get to Fang Youde's house?" Li Yi asked while starting the car.

"Which Fang Youde?" The girl bit her finger, tilted her head, and thought seriously, then pointed at Li Yi and smiled, "Is it Grandpa Dezi's house?"

Li Yi scratched his head, "Maybe."

The girl was surprised, looked at Li Yi a few times, and then at his car, and asked with a wary look, "Who are you? What do you want with Grandpa Dezi?"

Li Yi didn't expect to be interrogated by a little girl when visiting relatives, feeling somewhat amused, and said, "I'm his grandson, just back from the provincial capital."

"Are you really his grandson? Are you an official?"

Li Yi was a bit confused, "No." He thought, why are the children here so materialistic? Do they not give directions if you're not an official?

"Then what's the point of you coming back?" The girl looked helpless.

"Did something happen?" Li Yi was a bit nervous.

It couldn't be that the family didn't welcome Fang Fang and beat her again?

"Fang Hongyan's brother, Fang Hongjun, hit someone and was arrested by the police," the girl said, waving the bamboo branch.

"Hmm?" Li Yi thought, as long as his mother was fine, he didn't care about the Fang family. He asked, "Do you know if a woman came to their house yesterday? Where is she now?"

"Yes, it's Aunt Fang Fang, right? She's at Uncle Dezi's house," the girl said happily, "She gave me a lot of candy!"

"That's my mother!" Li Yi smiled, "I brought a lot of candy too. Come over and have some later. Now, can you take me to Uncle Dezi's house?"

The girl was delighted, "Sure, I want to eat chocolate! Do you have any?"

"Yes! I have a lot!" Li Yi smiled and, following the girl's directions, drove forward. After a couple of miles, there was no more road, so he found a grassy area to park, took the gifts from the trunk, and followed the girl.

"What's your name?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

The girl was a bit shy, lowered her head, and weakly waved the bamboo branch, "I'm Fang Qian."

"Fang Qian, hello, I'm Li Yi. We can be friends. If you come to the provincial capital, you can visit me. I'm studying at Southern University now," Li Yi said while looking at the scenery and smiling.

Fang Qian blushed and didn't respond, finding it a bit out of her comfort zone to be friends with a strange boy.

Li Yi didn't pay attention to her feelings and sighed at the poverty of the countryside.

Most of the houses he saw were made of earth bricks, with only a few red brick houses, and even those were only one story. The development of the countryside was a long and arduous task, but it was not something a student like him could worry about.

Soon, Fang Qian pointed to a few osmanthus trees, "That's Uncle Dezi's house under those trees."

Li Yi invited her, "Come in and sit down. Tie the cow to the tree; it won't run away."

Fang Qian blushed and didn't answer, tied the cow to the osmanthus tree, and walked to the house, calling out, "Hongyan! Hongyan!"

A girl about the same age as Fang Qian came to the door and responded, "Xiao Qian!" Then she curiously looked at Li Yi.

Li Yi said to her, "Hello."

Walking into the main room, they heard a rough voice cursing, "It's all your fault! You haven't been back for twenty years, and nothing bad ever happened to our Fang family. As soon as you came in, Hongjun was arrested! You're a jinx! You're not welcome in our Fang family's ancestral hall!"

Li Yi knew who this was directed at. A surge of anger rose in him, and without any formalities, he kicked open the door and shouted, "Mom, since the Fang family doesn't welcome us, let's leave now!"

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