Chapter 51: The Educated Youth Camp, Beating Someone Up
Chapter 51:
When Li Yi heard Tang Xue say she had something important to discuss, he immediately asked, “What’s so important?”
Tang Xue gave Li Yi a once-over but didn’t see any injuries on him. His clothes were a bit dirty, but they were still intact—he didn’t look like he’d been beaten up.
Li Yi felt a bit uneasy under Tang Xue’s gaze and asked again, “What exactly happened? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“People are saying you were arrested by the police and are going to be sentenced!” Tang Xue said.
Li Yi hadn’t expected the news to reach the village so quickly. He immediately replied, “It’s true I was arrested, but the part about being sentenced is pure nonsense!”
“Oh my, so you really were arrested. Then… you didn’t just walk out on your own, did you?” Tang Xue asked, sounding a bit flustered.
“What are you talking about? Do you think the police station is some kind of place where you can come and go as you please? And ‘escape’ on your own? You’ve been watching too many movies!” Li Yi said, covering his forehead with his hand.
“Then how did you get out?”
“Of course they let me go!”
“But didn’t they say you were involved in profiteering? Why would the police let you go? I heard that even though it’s not a serious offense, you’d still have to serve some time, right?”
Li Yi chuckled. “That’s other people. I’ve got the police station’s approval for this little business, so of course they wouldn’t lock me up!”
“Ah, how is that possible…”
“Nothing’s impossible. After all, I’m your husband!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“You…”
Li Na, standing nearby, saw that Tang Xue had been completely taken in by her younger brother in no time. She hurried over and said, “Xiao Xue is just worried about you. Don’t talk nonsense!”
“How am I talking nonsense? You guys don’t even believe me when I tell you the truth. Fine, tomorrow I’ll take you into town so you can see for yourselves if what I’m saying is true!”
“I… I have to go to work!” Tang Xue said softly.
“You’re not going. I’ll go ask for a day off for you. Besides, you’ll need to buy some things for the wedding, won’t you?” Li Yi said.
“Get what?”
Tang Xue was a bit confused too. These days, getting married was just a matter of the two of them pooling their belongings and moving in together, wasn’t it?
If you can afford it, you throw a banquet; if not, you can skip the banquet—what else is there to buy?
Li Yi ruffled her hair affectionately and said with a smile, “How can you get married without buying anything? At the very least, you need a few new outfits, and you’ll have to get new shoes, socks, and underwear too!”
“We’ve already moved into a new place, so we’ll need new bedding, pillows, pillowcases, and all that too. All in all, there’s quite a lot to buy!”
Tang Xue blurted out instinctively, “That’s going to cost a lot of money!”
“Hahaha, don’t worry about the money—I’ve got it covered!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Tang Xue felt strangely reassured for some reason.
“Okay, then I’ll go into town with you tomorrow!”
“Alright! By the way, how did you guys find out I’d been arrested? Who told you?” Li Yi asked again.
“The news came from those male educated youths at the re-education camp. I don’t know exactly who said it!” Tang Xue replied.
“The re-education camp? The male students?”
Li Yi began to see the picture. If there was anyone among his acquaintances who couldn’t stand to see him do well, it was undoubtedly that bunch of bored-out-of-their-minds male educated youths.
If any of them had schemed relentlessly, undeterred and unrelenting, to report him, Li Yi would have believed it.
“Honey, let me ask you something. Who’s been taking a lot of sick days at your sent-down youth camp lately?”
Li Yi knew that the educated youths had always worked together; if someone didn’t show up for work, was sick, or took a day off, everyone else knew about it.
“I think it’s Xu Hong. Everyone else has been working as usual!” Tang Xue replied.
“I see! Let’s have dinner at home tonight. I’ll walk you back after we finish!”
Without waiting for Tang Xue’s reply, Li Yi turned to Li Na and said, “Sis, could you help me carry everything from the car into the house, and then give the mule some hay and water?”
With that, Li Yi went inside, pushed his bike out, and hurried out the door!
“Where are you going?” Li Na called after him.
“To the educated youth commune—to beat someone up!”
Li Yi said without looking back, leaving Li Na and Tang Xue, the two best friends, standing there bewildered in the wind.
……..
The educated youth camp. Under the big poplar tree!
A few educated youths were sitting around a millstone under the big poplar tree, shooting the breeze. This was the only thing they could do after work, and they never got tired of it.
In reality, the educated youth were divided into different tiers. The top-tier ones never gave up their studies even after being sent down to the countryside, so most of them left as soon as the college entrance exams were reinstated.
Second-tier educated youths came from wealthy or well-connected families; if they couldn’t get into college, they relied on their families to secure jobs in the city, then transferred back to the city.
Others simply applied for early retirement on medical grounds; though they had no job waiting for them back home, at least they didn’t have to stay in the countryside and suffer.
And the rest? Those with neither money nor connections—lazy, dim-witted losers!
With a bunch of people like that gathered together, all they could do was brag, shoot the breeze, and gossip.
And today’s gossip master was none other than Xu Hong!
Since he’d witnessed Li Yi’s arrest with his own eyes today, his account was incredibly vivid.
To ruin Li Yi’s reputation, Xu Hong inevitably embellished his story as he shared the gossip—take, for instance, the details of the police arrest he was currently recounting.
“You guys didn’t see it, but those cops were ruthless. They kicked over that good-for-nothing’s cart with a single kick—spilling oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar all over the place. When the good-for-nothing saw things were going south, he immediately abandoned his cart and tried to run. But the cops weren’t about to let him get away. A few of them flanked him from both sides, pinned him down in no time, and then the whole group started punching and kicking him…”
Just as Xu Hong was getting into his stride, a sudden, screeching screech of tires on the ground echoed through the air, and Li Yi came to a stop on his bicycle right in front of the group of educated youths!
Then, Li Yi spoke coldly: “How come I didn’t know I’d been beaten up so badly?”
Upon seeing Li Yi, Xu Hong looked as if he’d seen a ghost and exclaimed in terror, “You… how did you get out?”
“Hmph. If I hadn’t come out, I’d never have known you, you bastard, were dragging my name through the mud like this!”
“No… it’s a misunderstanding… a misunderstanding!” Xu Hong hurriedly said.
Li Yi hopped off his bike and strode straight toward Xu Hong!
Seeing Li Yi’s menacing demeanor, the other educated youths knew he hadn’t come to chat idly. Immediately, someone stood up.
“Li Yi, are you trying to cause trouble? This is the educated youth camp—you can’t just run wild here!”
Li Yi recognized this man. His name was Zhou Guangya, the current group leader of the sent-down youth camp—essentially the head of this group.
“Are you sticking up for that bastard?” Li Yi said coldly.
“So what if I am…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi lunged forward and delivered a devastating elbow strike to Zhou Guangya’s chest, sending him flying five or six meters.
Li Yi’s piercing gaze then swept over every educated youth present as he said in a cold tone, “Is there anyone else who wants to stand up for that Xu guy?”
Everyone whose gaze met Li Yi’s instinctively looked away; no one dared to hold his gaze!
Li Yi’s clean, decisive move and fierce glare had truly frightened them.
Add to that the fact that Li Yi was the village’s notorious troublemaker—someone who truly wasn’t afraid to use force—and the group was completely cowed by him.
Seeing that no one was stepping forward to play the hero, Li Yi walked step by step toward Xu Hong!