Chapter 20: Urgent Orders (New Book—Your Support Appreciated)

County Public Security Bureau. Conference Room!

Just as Li Yi was eagerly riding his brand-new bicycle home, an urgent and important meeting was underway at the county Public Security Bureau.

The atmosphere in the conference room was heavy, and everyone wore serious expressions.

At the head of the table, the bureau chief spoke gravely: “Comrades, we have just received an urgent order from higher authorities confirming that the notorious bandit Zhou Baoshan, who has been on the run across several provinces, has entered our province. It is highly likely that he plans to flee abroad through our province, and Qingshan County lies directly on his escape route!”

“Therefore, we have been ordered to immediately mobilize an elite task force, conduct secret surveillance, and capture the criminal as soon as possible. Do you all have the confidence to succeed?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” the group responded in unison, their voices thunderous.

“Good. I expect nothing less from my team—our morale must not falter!”

The chief continued, “Following the bureau’s decision, a special task force will be formed immediately, led by Captain Wang Anguo of the Criminal Police. The entire county will undergo covert investigations. We must not allow the fugitive to slip away from Qingshan County!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Comrade Anguo, the burden on your shoulders is heavy. Please do not disappoint the Party or the people,” the chief said earnestly.

“Rest assured, as long as the criminal dares to show up in Qingshan, I will capture him,” Wang Anguo vowed.

“Now, let us discuss the specifics of the deployment...”

...

Unaware of the events unfolding at the bureau, Li Yi was joyfully making his way to the village.

Upon returning, he unloaded various supplies from his bike into the house, soaked the dirty bamboo tubes and chopsticks in water to wash later, and fed water and grass to the mule. After finishing his chores, he locked the door and pedaled toward the brigade headquarters.

At the brigade, he saw Village Party Secretary Feng Kai sitting under the eaves, smoking.

“Uncle Feng, may I ask you something?”

Feng Kai glanced at him and replied, “We’ll talk later. First, be honest with me—where did you get that bike?”

Li Yi sensed the old man’s concern and said promptly, “Of course I bought it. Do you think I stole it?”

“Bought it? You better tell me the truth. That bike isn’t cheap.”

“It’s not cheap—165 yuan.”

Pointing to the fresh paint on the bike, Li Yi added, “Uncle Feng, I just bought it this afternoon in the county seat. See how new the paint is? Here’s the receipt!”

He handed over the purchase receipt.

Feng Kai, who had some education, read it carefully. Upon confirming the authenticity, he was surprised, “So you really bought it yourself. Does your family have that kind of money?”

“Heh, no, but I can earn money!”

“You earn it? Don’t do anything illegal for money. Here in the village, this old man still has some influence, but beyond the village, I can’t protect you.”

Li Yi chuckled, “I understand, Uncle. Honestly, I earned it by selling mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms? People in the city still buy those?”

“Yes, I found a buyer. I have Dongzi, Shitou, and the others picking mushrooms in the mountains every day, and they’ve earned quite a bit too!”

“I know. Just yesterday, Qiangzi’s mother said he brought home seven yuan, said you gave it to him, and asked if I could accept it. I was just about to ask you about this!”

Qiangzi is Feng Kai’s 15-year-old grandson who just finished junior high.

“Uncle, the money’s clean. No problem taking it!” Li Yi said firmly.

“All right then. So, what did you want to ask me?”

Feng Kai took a few deep drags from his pipe before inquiring.

“Nothing much, just wondering where the educated youths are working?”

“They’re watering the fields at the Broken Well Hollow.”

“All right, I won’t keep you. I’m going to check on my wife.”

With that, Li Yi sped away on his bike.

Watching Li Yi’s departing figure, Feng Kai smiled and shook his head.

Youth is wonderful. Whenever they have something good, they just want to show it off to their wives first!

He also noticed that since Li Yi’s engagement, the boy had truly changed—and for the better.

Meanwhile, Li Yi arrived at Broken Well Hollow as Feng Kai mentioned and saw many men and women busy at work.

Among the crowd, he immediately spotted a familiar graceful figure.

In the fields, Tang Xue was watering the crops with a shovel.

Since the beginning of summer, there had been little rain, and the crops were parched. The brigade leader had called on all villagers and educated youths to irrigate the fields using river water.

Due to a lack of irrigation infrastructure, the men were responsible for bringing river water to the canals, while the women handled watering the fields.

Suddenly, someone pointed toward the distance: “Hey, look, who’s that riding a bike?”

The women all looked up, squinting into the distance.

“I think that’s that troublemaker from the Li family. Is it him?”

“Na, girl, is that your brother Xiaoyi?”

“No way, I don’t think the Li family even has a bike.”

Hearing the chatter, Li Na and Tang Xue also looked up and indeed saw Li Yi speeding toward them on a small 26-inch bike.

Tang Xue looked at Li Na in surprise and asked, “Na, did your family buy a bike?”

“Not yesterday, but maybe today!” Li Na replied honestly.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t know, Xiaoyi’s got some real skills now. He earns almost a hundred yuan a day...”

Li Na had intended to tell Tang Xue about Li Yi’s daily earnings but stopped when she noticed the crowd, worried about causing trouble.

“Na, what about Xiaoyi? Why’d you stop mid-sentence?”

Li Na smiled mischievously, “Want to know?”

“Yeah!”

“Xiaoyi’s here. Go ask him yourself!”

“Na, you’re so mean!” Tang Xue blushed.

Though her opinion of Li Yi had softened to indifference—no longer disliking or resisting him—Tang Xue still felt shy about speaking to him face to face.

But what happened next caught her completely off guard.

Li Yi parked his bike at the field’s edge and walked straight up to Tang Xue. To her astonishment, he snatched the shovel from her hands.

“Wife, let me take over. You rest for a bit!”

Hearing him call her “wife,” Tang Xue’s fair face immediately flushed crimson. She wanted to say, “Who’s your wife?” but then remembered he had proposed the night before—so calling her “wife” wasn’t so strange after all.

She stood stunned for a moment before finally saying, “We’re not married yet!”

Li Yi smirked, “Wife, are you mad because I scheduled the ceremony too late? You want to marry me sooner?”

Tang Xue: “*…%¥”

Did I? No, I just feel embarrassed, okay?

Seeing Tang Xue’s adorable, flustered expression, Li Yi wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and breathe in her scent.

But he knew he couldn’t—regardless of whether such boldness was acceptable in today’s world, Tang Xue, this little white rabbit, certainly wouldn’t be able to handle it.

If he acted on impulse, he might really scare her away.