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Chapter 40: The Rainstorm Finally Arrives
When Li Yi returned home, the sun was almost setting.
Seeing him covered in dust, Xu Qingnan quickly took the paper bag and clothes from him.
"What have you been doing these past two days? Weiwei has been asking for you every day!" she said.
Li Yi noticed the slight blush on Xu Qingnan's cheeks and knew that she had missed him too.
"Only Weiwei missed me? Doesn't my sister miss me?" he teased.
"No," she replied with a smile.
Just then, Weiwei came out of the room, overheard Xu Qingnan's words, and burst into laughter. "Mom's lying! It's obvious she missed Dad too!"
Li Yi smiled at Weiwei and said, "Weiwei, how does Mom miss Dad? Tell Dad, next time I go out, I'll bring you candied haws!"
Weiwei ran to Li Yi excitedly, leaned close, and whispered in his ear, "I saw Mom holding your old photos and staring at them for a long time! Really!"
Li Yi picked up Weiwei and looked at Xu Qingnan with a soft gaze.
Thirty years later, Li Yi had seen all kinds of women. Some were more beautiful than Xu Qingnan, but to him, no woman could compare to his wife. The reason many women approached him now was because of his wealth, but Xu Qingnan had stood by him when he had nothing.
"Sister, I'll stay for a while, but I have to leave soon. I'm a bit busy these days..." Li Yi said.
Xu Qingnan nodded, a bit disappointed. She raised her head and looked at Li Yi, as though wanting to say something.
Actually, Xu Qingyao had returned earlier in the morning, but because she was busy with school, she had left shortly after. Xu Qingnan felt her sister had been working hard lately and thought about buying some supplements for her. However, money was tight at home. Li Yi had taken the bonus he received earlier to invest in his business, and things weren't looking good financially.
Xu Qingnan suppressed her thoughts about buying the supplements, knowing that the situation wasn't ideal.
Li Yi noticed something was off and asked, "What's wrong, sister? Why are you stopping halfway?"
Xu Qingnan shook her head slowly, smiling, and said it was nothing.
Although Li Yi felt something was wrong, business came first, so he said a few words to Xu Qingnan before heading to the inner room to work on his packaging design.
Li Yi, who had started out in finance in his previous life, was also quite skilled in design and could be considered a semi-expert. Packaging design, in particular, wasn't too technical and could easily be done by someone with some basic artistic training.
Soon, the design was ready.
The next morning, Li Yi sent the design plan to Zhou Guifang, asking her to print the designs on the packaging boxes. Zhou Guifang was an expert in this field, so after a bit of adjustment, several sample boxes were quickly made.
Looking at the packaging boxes adorned with a large red apple and a lot of Japanese text, Li Yi couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
He knew the people of this era well. If something was labeled as imported and had foreign words, it could be sold at a high price. This applied to everything — clothes, electronics, and even agricultural products.
It wasn't that the people worshipped foreign things, but China was still catching up in many areas, and there was nothing wrong with wanting better and more advanced products.
After confirming the packaging was perfect, Li Yi instructed Zhou Guifang to work overtime and produce packaging for 600,000 kilograms of apples and pears in a week.
Zhou Guifang had contacted the workers the night before, and everyone agreed to come back to work immediately. The timing was just right, and they were ready to go.
After handling the packaging, Li Yi stayed at home for three more days. Then, he said goodbye to Wei Sanpao and others before taking the bus back to Yandong City alone.
When Li Yi returned to Yandong City, he was warmly welcomed by Xia Xun and the villagers. To them, Li Yi was a lifesaver — their God of Wealth. Without him, their apples and pears would have rotted on the branches.
More importantly, this time, Li Yi had not only gained the approval of the "leader" above, but he had also set the apple-picking schedule.
As the weather in Yandong City grew increasingly hot, Li Yi realized a storm was approaching. Typhoons and hail were predicted, so he decided to start picking the apples and pears the next day.
Li Yi also made a promise to the villagers regarding payment. Since the amount of money involved was large and needed to be settled, he arranged for Xia Xun to accompany the trucks when they came to pick up the fruit. The meat processing factory would then settle the payment directly.
Most of the villagers, being simple people, had no objections. They trusted Li Yi's word, as everything he had promised so far had been fulfilled.
With everything in place, the villagers began harvesting apples and pears with full force under the organization of Xia Xun's father.
Though 600,000 kilograms of fruit wasn't a small amount, with over 500 villagers working together, the task was completed in less than two days.
While the picking was in full swing, Li Yi had already made a long-distance call to Wei Sanpao, asking him to bring his trucks and extra waterproof tarpaulins in preparation for the rain.
On June 18, Wei Sanpao and his team arrived with the trucks.
When the villagers saw the large trucks lined up outside the village, their worries dissipated. In this era, bicycles were considered big items, and large trucks had special significance. The sight of so many trucks made the villagers feel reassured.
The trucks were clearly labeled with the words "Jiangnan Meat Processing Plant Special Transportation of Pigs," and the stamped contracts further convinced the villagers of Li Yi's credibility.
Li Yi instructed Wei Sanpao to bring all 30,000 packaging boxes. Then, under his supervision, the villagers helped pack the fruit and load the trucks.
After two days of hard work, all 600,000 kilograms of fruit were loaded and ready for transport.
At that moment, the weather in Yandong City changed dramatically. Heavy rain poured down, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
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Certainly! Here's the revised chapter with the necessary corrections:
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Chapter 40: The Rainstorm Finally Arrives
When Li Yi returned home, the sun was nearly setting.
Seeing the dusty Li Yi, Xu Qingnan, his wife, hurried over to take the paper bag and clothes from him.
"What have you been doing these past two days? Weiwei has been asking for you every day!"
Li Yi looked at Xu Qingnan's slightly flushed cheeks, knowing that she missed him as well.
"Only Weiwei misses me, doesn't my wife miss me?"
"No," Xu Qingnan replied, though her eyes betrayed a different sentiment.
At that moment, Weiwei came out of the room, overhearing Xu Qingnan's words. She clapped her hands and laughed, saying, "Mom is lying! It's obvious that Mom misses Dad too!"
Li Yi smiled at Weiwei and replied, "Weiwei, how does Mom miss Dad? Tell Dad, next time Dad goes out, I'll bring you candied haws!"
When Li Youwei heard this, she immediately ran over to Li Yi, excited. She whispered in his ear, "I saw Mom holding your old photos and looking at them for a long time! Really!"
Li Yi picked up Li Youwei, and his gaze toward Xu Qingnan softened.
Thirty years later, Li Yi had seen all kinds of women, some more beautiful than Xu Qingnan. But in his eyes, no one could compare to his wife.
The women who approached him in the future mostly did so because of his wealth, but only Xu Qingnan had stayed by his side when he had nothing.
"Sister, I'll stay for a while. But I need to go out soon. I've been quite busy lately…" Li Yi said.
Xu Qingnan nodded, a little disappointed, but then she raised her head to look at him, as if wanting to say something.
Actually, Xu Qingyao, her sister, had come back that morning, but because of her busy studies, she went back to school shortly after.
Xu Qingnan felt that her sister had been working hard lately, and wondered if she should buy some supplements for her. However, the situation at home wasn't great. Li Yi had taken away the bonus he had received before, saying he wanted to invest in business.
At the moment, there was no money at home. It was because of this that Xu Qingnan kept her thoughts to herself.
Li Yi noticed the change in her mood and asked, "What's wrong, Xu Qingnan? Why do you seem to have something on your mind?"
Xu Qingnan shook her head slowly and smiled, saying it was nothing.
Although Li Yi felt something was off, business was his priority, so he said a few words to Xu Qingnan before heading to the inner room to work on his packaging design.
Though Li Yi had started in finance in his previous life, he was very familiar with design and could be considered a half-expert in the field. Moreover, the design of a packaging box wasn't too complex. In fact, anyone with some art training could come up with something.
Soon, the design plan was ready.
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The following morning, Li Yi sent the plan to Zhou Guifang, asking her to try printing the design patterns on the packaging boxes.
Zhou Guifang was highly professional in this field. After some adjustments, several sample boxes were produced quickly.
Looking at the packaging box with a big red apple pattern and Japanese characters printed on it, Li Yi smiled with satisfaction.
He understood the psychology of the common people during this time. No matter what it was, as long as it was labeled as "imported" and had foreign writing, it could be sold at a sky-high price.
This applied to clothes, electrical appliances, and agricultural products.
It's not that the people worshipped foreign goods, but rather that China was still backward in many ways at this time, and there was nothing wrong with seeking something better and more advanced.
After confirming there were no issues with the packaging boxes, Li Yi immediately instructed Zhou Guifang to work overtime to produce enough for 600,000 kilograms of apples and pears within a week.
Zhou Guifang had contacted the workers the night before, and everyone was eager to return to work. So, they agreed to start immediately.
After dealing with things here, Li Yi stayed at home for three more days.
Then, he informed Wei Sanpao and the others and boarded the bus to Yandong City alone.
Upon returning to Yandong City, Li Yi was warmly received by Xia Xun and the villagers. To them, Li Yi was their life-saving straw—the God of Wealth.
If it hadn't been for Li Yi, their apples and pears would have rotted on the trees.
More importantly, this time Li Yi not only brought the approval from higher-ups, but he also confirmed the date for apple picking.
Feeling the unusually hot weather in Yandong City, Li Yi realized that a storm was coming—likely a typhoon or hailstorm. So, he decided to begin picking the apples and pears the very next day.
However, Li Yi also made a promise to the villagers about payment for the goods. Since the amount of money involved was large and needed to be settled, when the factory trucks arrived to pick up the fruit, Xia Xun would need to go with them personally. The payment would then be settled directly by the meat processing factory without any deductions.
Most of the villagers were simple folk, so they readily agreed to Li Yi's explanation.
With Xia Xun's father's organization, the villagers began picking apples and pears in the orchard with full force.
Although 600,000 kilograms of fruit wasn't a small amount, the picking was completed in less than two days with the combined efforts of over 500 villagers.
As the picking continued, Li Yi made a long-distance call to Wei Sanpao, asking him to bring his trucks immediately and also to bring extra waterproof tarpaulins, just in case the rain came early.
On June 18, Wei Sanpao and the others finally arrived at the orchard with the trucks.
The villagers' worries melted away as they saw more than a dozen large trucks parked outside the village.
In this era, bicycles were considered large items, and large trucks had a special significance for ordinary people.
Seeing so many trucks together, it was clear this wasn't something ordinary people could easily arrange. Moreover, the trucks were clearly marked with the words "Jiangnan Meat Processing Plant Special Transportation of Pigs," and with the stamped contracts, the villagers trusted Li Yi even more.
When Wei Sanpao and the others arrived, Li Yi instructed them to bring all 30,000 packaging boxes.
Then, under Li Yi's supervision, the fruit farmers helped to pack the boxes and load the trucks.
After two more days of hard work, the 600,000 kilograms of fruit were finally loaded.
By this time, the weather in Yandong City had completely changed, with heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. A storm was finally here.
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