County Public Security Bureau, Conference Room
As Li Yi rode his brand-new bicycle home in high spirits, an urgent meeting was underway at the county Public Security Bureau.
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense, and everyone wore serious expressions.
At the head of the room, the director spoke solemnly, "Comrades, we have just received an urgent order from our superiors. It has been confirmed that the notorious fugitive Zhou Baoshan, who has committed crimes across multiple provinces, has entered our province. It's very likely he's planning to flee abroad and will pass through our Qing County!"
"Our orders are to immediately deploy our finest officers, form a task force, set up covert surveillance, and capture the suspect as soon as possible. Do you all have confidence in this mission?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" everyone replied in unison, their voices echoing through the room.
"Good! That's the spirit I expect from my team," the director said, satisfied. He continued, "After careful consideration, we have decided to form a task force. Criminal Investigation Team Leader Wang Anguo will be in charge. A county-wide covert search will be conducted to ensure the suspect does not escape through Qing County!"
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded.
"Comrade Anguo," the director said earnestly, "you bear a heavy responsibility. Make sure you do not let down the trust placed in you by the Party and the people."
"Rest assured, sir. If the suspect dares show up in Qing County, I will personally see to his capture!" Wang Anguo replied firmly.
"Good. Now, let's discuss the specific surveillance arrangements..."
Li Yi was completely unaware of the developments at the bureau. He was happily making his way back to the village.
Once home, he unloaded all the supplies from his bike, placed the dirty bamboo containers and chopsticks into a basin to soak, planning to wash them later for use the next day.
After that, he made sure to water and feed the mule. When he'd finished these chores, he locked up the house, got on his bike, and headed to the village committee office.
Arriving there, he saw the village branch secretary, Feng Kai, sitting under the eaves, smoking.
"Uncle Feng, mind if I ask you something?" Li Yi called out.
Feng Kai glanced at him and said, "We can talk in a minute. First, tell me, where did you get that bike?"
Knowing what the old man was concerned about, Li Yi replied, "Of course, I bought it. Do you think I'd steal it?"
"Bought it? Tell me honestly, this bike wasn't cheap, was it?" Feng Kai asked in a serious tone.
"No, it wasn't. It cost me 165 yuan!"
Li Yi pointed at the new paint on the frame and said, "Uncle Feng, I just bought this bike from the county this afternoon. Look, the paint is fresh, and I've even got the receipt. See for yourself!"
With that, Li Yi handed over the purchase receipt for the bike.
Feng Kai, who had some schooling and could read, took the receipt and examined it carefully.
Seeing it was indeed an official purchase, he looked surprised. "So you really did buy it yourself. Does your family have that much money?"
Li Yi chuckled. "No, we don't, but I can earn it!"
"You earned it? Don't go breaking the law for money, young man. Here in the village, I can cover for you if you make a mistake, but outside, no one can protect you!" Feng Kai warned.
Li Yi smiled and said, "I know, Uncle Feng. Actually, there's no harm in telling you the truth. I made this money selling mushrooms."
"Mushrooms? There are people in town buying those?"
"Yes, I found a buyer. I've been sending Dongzi, Shitou, and the others to pick mushrooms in the mountains. They've been making quite a bit of money, too!"
"I heard about that. Yesterday, Qiangzi's mother said he brought home a total of 7 yuan these past few days, saying it was money you gave him. She asked me if it was okay to take it, and I was planning to ask you about it."
Qiangzi, Feng Secretary's grandson, was 15 years old and had just graduated from middle school.
"Uncle, the money's clean. There's nothing wrong with taking it!" Li Yi assured him right away.
"Alright, then. By the way, what did you want to ask me about?" Feng Kai took a deep drag of his pipe and asked.
"It's nothing much. I just wanted to ask where the educated youth are working these days."
"They're out at Lanjing Hollow irrigating the fields!"
"Got it. Thanks, Uncle. I'll let you get back to your day. I'm off to see my wife!"
With that, Li Yi hopped on his bike and sped off.
Watching his figure disappear into the distance, Feng Kai shook his head with a smile. Ah, to be young—whenever they got something good, they'd run to show it off to their sweetheart first!
He'd also noticed that ever since Li Yi's engagement was settled, the kid really had changed for the better.
Meanwhile, Li Yi pedaled all the way to Lanjing Hollow, as directed by Secretary Feng, and indeed found a number of men and women busy working there.
Among the crowd, he immediately spotted a familiar, graceful figure.
Out in the field, Tang Xue was holding a shovel, helping to irrigate the dry crops.
Since the start of summer, there had been little rain, and the crops were suffering from the drought. So, the team leader had rallied all the villagers and educated youth to help divert river water into the fields.
With no irrigation infrastructure, the men were tasked with channeling river water into the ditches, while the women were responsible for watering the fields.
Amid the work, someone suddenly pointed toward the distance and said, "Hey, look! Who's that riding a bike?"
The women looked up, gazing into the distance.
"Isn't that the Li family's rascal? Doesn't it look like him?"
"Na'er, is that your little brother, Little Yi?"
"No way, right? I don't think the Li family has a bike…"
Li Na and Tang Xue, hearing the chatter, also looked up and saw Li Yi riding a shiny new bicycle straight toward them.
Tang Xue looked at Li Na, surprised, and asked, "Sister Na, did your family get a bike?"
"There wasn't one yesterday, but there might be today!" Li Na replied honestly.
"What do you mean?" Tang Xue asked, puzzled.
"You don't know? Little Yi's got some real skill now. In just one day, he—"
Li Na had initially wanted to tell Tang Xue about Li Yi's newfound ability to earn nearly a hundred yuan a day, but seeing that they were surrounded by others, she hesitated, worried it might cause unnecessary trouble.
"Sister Na, what about Little Yi? Why did you stop halfway through?" Tang Xue asked, curious.
Li Na, in the mood to tease her best friend and future sister-in-law, replied with a mischievous smile, "Want to know?"
"Yes!" Tang Xue answered instinctively.
"Well, Little Yi's right here. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Li Na grinned.
"Sister Na, you're so bad!" Tang Xue said, blushing.
Although her opinion of Li Yi had changed quite a bit, it was still just at the level of not resisting or disliking him. The thought of speaking directly with him still made her feel a bit shy.
However, what happened next completely caught her off guard.
Li Yi parked his bike at the edge of the field and walked straight toward her. Under her wide-eyed gaze, he took the shovel right out of her hands.
"Wife, let me take over. You take a break!"
That single word—"wife"—turned Tang Xue's fair cheeks bright red. She wanted to retort, "Who's your wife?" but then remembered that he had proposed to her just last night. Technically, calling her "wife" wasn't exactly wrong.
After a few moments of stunned silence, Tang Xue finally managed to stammer, "We haven't gotten married yet!"
But Li Yi, with a mischievous grin, replied, "Oh? Are you upset that I set the wedding date too late? Do you want to marry me sooner?"
Tang Xue was left speechless.
Did I say that? That's not what I meant! I was just feeling shy!
Seeing her adorably flustered expression, Li Yi was tempted to just scoop her into his arms and steal a kiss right then and there.
But he knew better. Besides the question of whether this era would accept such a bold gesture, the little "white rabbit" in front of him would surely be too overwhelmed. If he really did that, he'd probably frighten her half to death.