Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

A black Shanghai-brand sedan drove along the winding road, with the autumn colors of the layered mountains of southern Anhui visible outside the window.

As the car entered Hongshan County and approached the familiar dirt road leading to Lijia Village, Li Xiangnan felt a surge of trepidation and a sense of returning home.

"You're getting all worked up!"

Looking at his old partner from inside the car, Wang Defa felt a pang of emotion, but couldn't help teasing him on the surface.

Li Xiangnan smiled slightly, patted him on the shoulder, and pulled him out of the car.

The old locust tree at the village entrance is still lush and leafy, but now it has a touch of autumn, and the area under the tree is much more lively than in previous years.

As soon as he came down, the villagers who had already heard the news surrounded him.

"Hey, your eldest nephew's back? Come on, come on, dinner's all ready, just waiting for you to come back and cook!"

"Oh my, you're finally back! Your brother Chaodong told us everything that happened in Yanjing. Xiangnan, you're amazing!"

"Auntie, hurry up and get the cured meat out of the house. We're going to call Xiang Nan for a couple of drinks tonight!"

The cacophony of local accents and the warm, genuine smiles of the faces instantly overwhelmed Li Xiangnan and Wang Defa.

Hu Yubin smiled and took boxes of gifts out of the trunk, feeling very emotional.

Li Fuqin squeezed through the crowd, saw his nephew's red-rimmed eyes, and couldn't help but look him up and down, muttering, "Chairman Hu said you've lost weight, but I didn't believe him. Look at what you've been eating outside. Are you only focused on work and don't care about your health?"

"Uncle Three!"

Li Xiangnan held his hand, his voice choked with emotion, and he could only utter a single word before falling silent.

"Let's go, let's go home!" Li Fuqin wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then suddenly laughed, grabbing his nephew and Defa's arms in one hand. "Let's go home, let's go home!"

Wang Defa pursed his lips, feeling incredibly touched. He couldn't help but say, "Third Uncle, make me a bowl of steamed cured pork with soy sauce tonight. I'm craving it!"

"You don't need to say that! I knew you loved it, so I had your third aunt prepare it for you a long time ago! Your third uncle has to make it for you!"

"Hahaha!"

Many villagers laughed together, filling the venue with a joyful atmosphere.

Li Xiangnan bid farewell to his fellow villagers and was led by his third uncle into a country lane. Several middle-aged men, dressed differently from the villagers and with an extraordinary air, came out to meet them.

It was He Jingting, Gong Kaijiang, and Dong Chengfang.

"Little Li! You're finally back! I heard you were in Luzhou from the next county, and I was so worried! I insisted that Chairman Hu invite you back for a get-together!"

He Jingting gripped Li Xiangnan's hand tightly, his enthusiasm boundless. "If you hadn't enlightened me two years ago, making me abandon the salt industry and switch to that bankrupt cement factory, I still wouldn't have figured out the ins and outs of reform and opening up! Now, hehe!"

He spoke with pride, and Gong Kaijiang, standing beside him, was not to be outdone. He laughed loudly, "Brother Li, you have no idea. Before, we were just holed up in the mountains, looking down into our own little world. But after you built that hospital, now I can easily get projects all over southern Anhui! It's all thanks to you!"

Dong Chengfang, who dealt in tea, was rather refined, and added with a smile, "Your third uncle and I deal in some medicinal herbs in Pingshan County."

He lowered his voice and chuckled, "Good momentum. Your vision is indeed more far-sighted than ours, and you're always one step ahead. I must toast you today!"

Hu Yubin, who followed behind, pretended to be angry and said, "Hey guys, let's have a proper chat over drinks. What's the point of standing here? Hey, especially, you have no sense of propriety. Aren't all these things heavy?"

"Oh dear!" He Jingting peeked out and saw Hu Yubin struggling to carry four or five gift boxes by himself. He immediately said embarrassedly, "My bad, my bad, haha!"

Several people immediately stepped forward to help carry the gifts, but Li Fuqin said embarrassedly, "You're already here, why bring anything! You've already brought a lot this morning!"

"It's nothing expensive, just some lamb and hairy crabs to nourish ourselves during this season!" Hu Yubin agreed.

Li Xiangnan and the others laughed. He turned around and looked around, but didn't see Cai Heming, which puzzled him.

Hu Yubin said knowingly, "Old Cai has been having a headache lately. He's still in Luzhou, dealing with the provincial authorities about the Honghui Bank matter!"

Li Xiangnan suddenly realized, but then said meaningfully, "This is not something that can be accomplished overnight!"

Hu Yubin caught this information and immediately nodded, saying in unison, "I'll pass it on to him later!"

"I didn't say anything!" Li Xiangnan laughed.

“I understand, I understand, let’s go!” Hu Yubin walked beside him and said with emotion, “Our Red Emblem Chamber of Commerce was able to seize the opportunity and achieve its current status, which is inseparable from the situation analysis you gave us in Yanjing back then. The country is changing, and we old-fashioned minds have to change with it!”

Li Xiangnan smiled but didn't say anything.

He was escorted home by the crowd, and the aroma of food and wine wafted out of the courtyard.

Li Chaodong, Li Yuanbei, and Li Dingxi had been standing at the gate of the courtyard, watching eagerly.

"elder brother!"

Upon seeing Li Xiangnan, three cheers erupted in unison.

"These three kids were as excited as dogs when they heard you were coming back!" Li Fuqin stepped forward and patted his nephew Li Chaodong.

"Haha!" Li Xiangnan stepped forward, took the three children's hands, and asked them about their situation after entering their senior year of high school.

Looking at his younger siblings' energetic faces and listening to them repeatedly say that they were determined to get into Peking University no matter what, Li Xiangnan felt extremely gratified.

The warmth of family, the affection of fellow villagers, and the stories of struggle told by Hu Yubin and the other three during the banquet swept away the fatigue that had accumulated in Li Xiangnan over the past few days.

As night deepened and the wine flowed freely, laughter and chatter continued in the courtyard.

Lying in bed that night, Li Xiangnan temporarily forgot about the bizarre case in Luzhou, immersing himself in a rare moment of peace and warmth, and slept soundly with Defa until dawn.

Then he led the four of them around the village, visited the elders of the Li family, and strolled around the village. Under Li Fuqin's guidance, they even went to the neighboring Pingshan County to visit a medicinal herb base.

But when everyone returned to the village, the brigade secretary, Li Fugen, was anxiously waiting at his door. When he saw the group return, he rushed over to them.

"Nephew! I got a call from Yanjing. He says his surname is Song and he urgently needs to speak with you!"

Surname Song?

Li Xiangnan's heart skipped a beat, knowing it was either Song Yi or Song Ziming. He exchanged a glance with Wang Defa, then told his third uncle to lead everyone home first, while he and Fatty hurriedly went to the brigade headquarters and rang the old-fashioned telephone.

After a series of complicated transfers, half an hour later, Song Ziming's clear static came from the other end, but the news he brought was like a thunderclap in his ears.

"Brother Nan, I've been searching underground for over twenty days, and I've finally made a breakthrough! The files on the Mu family's fire have been found!"

Li Xiangnan gripped the receiver tightly, his blood seemingly freezing for a moment.

He spoke into the microphone, replying with only two words.

"wait for me!"