Chapter 25: The Background of the Li Family

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Background of the Li Family

At the service center, Li Yue bought huge steamed buns and the savory pancakes she had eaten before, and put them in a paper bag.

Ling Jianwei drove her home, and Li Yue told him to just park the car outside the family compound.

The car stopped, and he said, "I might have something to do tomorrow, so stay home and don't wander around. It's not only cold outside, but it's also a bit chaotic."

Li Yue nodded: "I understand."

He suddenly broke into a smile: "You really don't plan to kiss me?"

Li Yue frowned in embarrassment and managed to squeeze out a few words: "...I'm going home first."

She carried the bag of food home and ran all the way home.

Although she had even met her parents, she hadn't really thought much about kissing. She wondered what would happen if they got married and did something even more intimate…

It's not that she doesn't have those kinds of desires; she's a normal person. She's fantasized about him before, especially when she saw his measurements.

But……

Fantasy and practice are different. She discovered that she wasn't as bold as she had imagined.

I heard it hurts a lot the first time. He's tall and strong, so he must be really good in that area too...

"I can't think about this anymore," Li Yue thought, her face flushed as she ran into the family compound. The house was bustling with activity; several girls who were about to go to the countryside were chatting about what they were bringing, and Gu Yanmei was also there.

Li Yue took out the savory pancakes for them to eat, and Gu Yanmei asked, "Are you really not going to the countryside anymore?"

Seeing her childhood friend's disappointed expression, Li Yue said, "Not for now."

Gu Yanmei said, "I'm both envious and frustrated. I envy you for finding a backer. But I'm also a little frustrated because I was thinking that if we went to the countryside together, having someone to keep me company might make things a little easier."

If Li Yue had the ability, she could help them avoid going to the countryside and suffering, and she wouldn't hesitate to do so. But now she has no choice.

She sighed, "Maybe it won't pass the review, and I'll still have to go to the countryside."

Gu Yanmei said, "But I still hope it will pass the review. Your health is weaker than ours."

The group will set off the day after tomorrow. Li Yue said, "Qingqing, take the medicine and warm clothes I bought with you. It will be cold there, so make sure you are warm. I have prepared all the commonly used medicines."

My cousin said, "No rush, we have two more days to make arrangements. By the way, when I went to the neighborhood office to sign in, the staff member surnamed Xie asked me about you."

"Is it Xie Hongping?" Li Yue asked. "What did she inquire about?"

"They asked me how things were going between you and Deputy Battalion Commander Ling, and I said I didn't know."

"What did she say?" Li Yue asked again.

"She said your immediate family members aren't clean, and with things so tense right now, how could you pass the background check?" my cousin said. "Anyway, it sounded a bit sarcastic and a bit bitter to me."

Li Yue retorted, "What do you mean my immediate family members are not innocent? My father didn't start the fire, and the family of the person who sacrificed their life to fight the fire will definitely be compensated. The entire factory was donated to the country in exchange for a ticket to go abroad. How can you blame him for this?"

My cousin said, "There's nothing we can do about it; they're purging the bourgeoisie right now."

She hadn't told Ling Jianwei about Xie Hongping's visit, and he hadn't mentioned Xie Hongping either. He wondered if Xie Hongping had interfered when she was being stopped from registering.

These are extraordinary times, and things can't be blown out of proportion. Li Yue plans to hold back for the next few days. Before, she was just trying her luck by going back to Ling Jianwei, but now she really wants to get this done so that some people won't keep thinking about it.

-

The next day, Li Yue helped her cousin pack her luggage, gave her the black scarf she had knitted, and advised her to bring an extra quilt. She was still the same enthusiastic young woman, with an indifferent expression, but Li Yue didn't care and stuffed the quilt she had originally bought for herself into the urea bag.

My cousin said, "Sis, if you give me the things, I'll have to buy them again if you don't approve them."

"Then I'll buy more. Besides, by the time I get there, it will probably be springtime."

As they were chatting, Ling Jianwei came over. He smiled and said to her, "Come on, take your household registration book and come with me somewhere."

"where?"

"Police station".

"What? I need to bring my household registration booklet too?"

Ling Jianwei still smiled and said, "What, afraid of being arrested?"

Li Yue didn't quite understand: "What are you going there for? To check household registration information?"

"You'll know when you get there. In any case, it's a good thing."

"You're still keeping me in suspense."

He was riding in his father's jeep.

Remembering what Xie Hongping had said, Li Yue said uneasily, "Could you please not drive your father's car?"

"Then whose car should I drive?"

"What I mean is, this is your father's official car. If you use it for personal purposes, it will cause criticism and have a negative impact."

Ling Jianwei nodded: "Okay, I won't open it next time."

They went to a police station on another street. As soon as Li Yue arrived, the officers inside seemed to be ready. They called them into an office and even poured Li Yue a cup of tea.

Li Yue looked at the rising steam and then at the other person, puzzled.

A short while later, a police officer came in with a file and a notebook, and smiled at Li Yue: "You are Li Wenbin's biological daughter who was left in China?"

"Yes, my name is Li Yue. This is my household registration information." Li Yue showed her page on her household registration book, which detailed her biological parents and information about her adoption by her uncle and aunt.

The visitor was the deputy director of the police station, who said to her very politely, "There's something we haven't been able to do because we didn't know that Li Wenbin had a daughter in China. It's a dereliction of duty on our part."

Li Yue was completely confused.

“More than ten years ago, we handled and closed the case of the fire at your father’s towel and bedding factory. The facts were clear and no one had any objections. But,” he said, pausing deliberately, “a year ago, our brother police station uncovered a case of trafficking in state property. In order to get leniency, one of the prisoners voluntarily confessed to something related to that fire case.”

Li Yue's eyes were wide open, and her ears were almost standing up.

The person who died in the fire was a factory worker named Jiang Shun. He was a lazy bum who had been brought into the factory by a relative. He had stolen towels and bed sheets from the factory and sold them at the market. When Li's father found out, he wanted to fire him.

In an attempt to keep his job, he first started a fire, then tried to help others put it out, hoping to gain some credit. However, the fire was too large, and not only did he fail to extinguish it, he also lost his life.

The person who voluntarily revealed this information was cut from the same cloth as Jiang Shun and knew his plan.

Upon hearing this, Li Yue asked excitedly, "Then, can it be proven that he was the arsonist?"

The police officer said, "After we learned about this, we sent people to investigate and questioned the criminal who confessed to the crime. First of all, Jiang Shun's reputation was indeed bad. He had done a lot of petty theft before he entered the factory. It is also true that he stole towels and bed sheets to sell. However, since the person was already dead, we didn't investigate in detail. After all, no one thought he might have intentionally set the fire. Now that so much time has passed and there is no way to verify the testimony, the confession can only be used as some supporting evidence in the file."

As he spoke, he found the confession from the file and showed it to Li Yue. Li Yue looked at the brief statement, the signature, and the fingerprint, her emotions a jumble. She was surprised, yet also disappointed. If only they could prove the deceased was the arsonist, then no one would say her father had a murder on his hands.

The deputy director had Li Yue sign a family member consent form, which was then placed in the file.

As they walked out of the police station, Li Yue asked Ling Jianwei, "Did they tell you about this as soon as you arrived? But you're not involved, nor are you a relative. Why would they tell you?"

He smiled gently: "I contacted acquaintances and the police station to inquire about the specific circumstances at the time, but I didn't expect to have such an unexpected discovery. You are a direct relative of the person involved and have the right to know."

The fact that the deceased is suspected of arson could slightly increase his chances of passing the background check, though not by much, but better than nothing.

To Li Yue's even greater surprise, there was an even bigger bargaining chip.

The next day, Ling Jianwei came over again.

He smiled and said to her, "Would you like to come again?"

Li Yue thought there was progress in the case, so she asked, "You went to the police station again?"

"No, go find my childhood friend."

"Your childhood friend? Shao Jiashu?"

Ling Jianwei smiled mysteriously: "Ah."

Shao Jiashu was very concerned about their relationship, and now that they had made progress, it was only natural for him to visit him.

"But doesn't your childhood friend have a job?"

He said, "Greeting visitors is also part of his job."

"Shall we go to his workplace as visitors?"

"certainly."

"You can do that?"

"Of course, why not?"

Ling Jianwei had been acting mysteriously these past two days. Li Yue didn't care what he was up to; she just followed him. This time, Ling Jianwei didn't drive; the two of them took the bus to Shao Jiashu's workplace.

In the lobby of the district government, they met their childhood friend.

Shao Jiashu seemed to have been waiting for them all along, and joked, "You two are really good at causing trouble. If you had gotten together earlier, there wouldn't have been so much trouble. But it's good that things are moving in a positive direction."

Li Yue said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have worried you, but we're not officially together yet."

"It was bound to happen sooner or later." He nodded. "Come with me."

He led the two into an office.

"Director Lin, they've arrived," Shao Jiashu said.

A middle-aged man stood up and shook hands with them in a very humble manner. He also invited them to sit down, and then a staff member came over to pour them tea.

Li Yue was completely confused. This didn't seem like a visit to catch up with old friends; it seemed more like an official business meeting, much like yesterday's scene.

Sure enough, Director Lin said, "You are Li Wenbin's biological daughter."

Li Yue nodded.

“Your grandfather is Li Qingyang. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he donated a lot of things, and there are records of it.” As he spoke, he unfolded a list.

"It took some effort to find these documents these past two days, but thankfully we found them," Director Lin said. "Back in the 1940s, your grandfather donated a lot of things to the front lines, including vehicles, cotton-padded clothes, and money. When your father went abroad, he made copies of these details and related receipts, which he submitted to us as part of his application to go abroad. Before he left, he also donated factories and shops. You could say he gave everything he could to the country."

Looking at the donation list, Li Yue was so surprised that she didn't know what to say.

Director Lin sighed, "I never imagined that he had a daughter left in China. We failed in our work and did not take good care of the descendants of this patriotic entrepreneur."

Patriotic entrepreneur... Li Yue savored the word.

Overnight, she transformed from a universally reviled capitalist's daughter into the offspring of a patriotic entrepreneur.

This is a completely different characterization.

As they left the office, Shao Jiashu said, "I never imagined your family had made so many contributions. Actually, thinking about it, it makes sense. If we didn't have some connections, we wouldn't have been able to go abroad so smoothly back then. Now you don't have to worry about not passing the censorship. I'm ready to attend your wedding."

Ling Jian smiled and said, "Prepare your gift money."

"Don't be so formal. Do we brothers need this kind of thing? You didn't even give me one when I got married."

"You didn't even tell me you were getting married."

"But you're in the military, how could I bother you?"

They bantered and teased each other, and Li Yue let out a soft sigh.

Upon arriving at the large iron gate, Shao Jiashu said, "I still have to go to work, so I'll leave you here."

He then smiled and said to Li Yue, "If Jianwei ever makes you angry or bullies you, just tell me, and I'll beat him up for you."

Ling Jianwei scoffed: "No matter how you look at it, she's the one who's angry at me and bullies me. Besides, you can't beat me."

Shao Jiashu: "Look, he really needs to be taught a lesson. You'll have to help me deal with him more often in the future."

After saying goodbye to Shao Jiashu, the two walked towards the bus stop. After a few steps, Ling Jianwei stopped, seemingly indifferent, yet looking straight at her with seriousness: "I've said it before, I'll only do this once in my life. Even if they don't allow it, I won't find anyone else. There's more than one way to be together."

Looking at this man who seemed to handle everything with ease, Li Yue wanted to ask him why he had chosen her.

But in this era, some people have truly pure thoughts and ideals.

The Li family's situation is becoming increasingly clear, which means that there will be no more obstacles to her relationship with Ling Jianwei.

This means that she really is going to marry Ling Jianwei, to marry this handsome and outstanding man, and start a family...

She couldn't help but glance at the handsome man, her lips pursed.

Ling Jianwei looked back at her and chuckled, "What's wrong?"

Li Yue shook her head stiffly: "Nothing."

I just feel like I'm not losing out.

-

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Author's Note: Second update tonight~~~