After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yi asked right away, “Captain Wang, what brings you here so early in the morning?”
Wang Anguo chuckled and said, “You’re just playing dumb!”
Li Yi glanced at him and said, “So, I guess there’s news from the sugar factory?”
“Yeah, after the major inspection yesterday, we did uncover a lot of safety issues. What really gave the factory leaders a scare was that the factory’s electrical circuits actually had blown fuses and other problems. If you hadn’t warned us, given how hard they’ve been working lately, there’s a 90% chance a safety accident would’ve happened!” Wang Anguo said.
“Is that all they found?” Li Yi frowned.
“Yeah, is that not right?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “No, that’s not enough. Tell them to keep investigating!”
“We need to keep investigating?”
“Yes. These issues alone aren’t enough to explain why so many of them look so pale. Based on my experience, the problems at the sugar factory are far more serious than what’s been uncovered so far!” Li Yi said.
Wang Anguo immediately asked in a grave tone, “Brother Li Yi, are there any specific areas we should focus on?”
Li Yi was silent for a moment before saying, “Have them focus on inspecting the structural safety of the factory buildings!”
“Alright!”
With that, Wang Anguo pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Li Yi!
“Who gave this to you?”
Li Yi didn’t even have to think to know what was inside, but he didn’t take it; instead, he asked directly.
“It certainly wasn’t me—it was given by Plant Manager Liang!” Wang Anguo said.
Only then did Li Yi take the envelope, and he said, “If he gave it to me, I’ll accept it. But you must be especially careful—try not to resume production until all safety hazards have been identified!”
“Got it! I’ll go talk to him right away!”
“Mm-hmm!”
After seeing Wang Anguo off, Tang Xue asked curiously, “What were the two of you talking about? I didn’t understand a single word.”
“Haha, nothing much. I just discovered some safety hazards in the sugar factory’s production workshop, so I mentioned it to Team Leader Wang and asked him to have the sugar factory conduct an inspection to prevent any accidents!”
Li Yi continued, “They inspected it yesterday, so Team Leader Wang came over to tell me the results!”
“But you just said they hadn’t found anything yet. Does that mean you know where the problem lies?” Tang Xue sensed something was off and asked immediately.
“Right, but I can’t say exactly what it is!”
“Why?”
“First, I deduced it from chatting with the sugar factory workers, so I can’t explain where I got the information. Second, I wanted to teach them a lesson so they wouldn’t keep ignoring production safety like this!” Li Yi made up an excuse.
“So that’s how it is. You’re really something!” Tang Xue said with a touch of admiration.
“Hahaha, I love hearing you say that. Remember to praise me more often in the future!” Li Yi laughed heartily.
“You’ve got some nerve!”
“How thick?”
“As thick as the corner of the city wall!”
“Hahaha, all right, let’s hurry over and check on Third Sister. Otherwise, she’ll say we’re ignoring her again!”
“Yeah!”
Sure enough, as Li Yi and Tang Xue walked over, Li Na immediately fired off a complaint: “You two really have become absentee landlords—aren’t you afraid I’ll embezzle your money?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “You’re my sister. Spend as much as you want—no need to ‘steal’ it!”
“That’s music to my ears!”
With that, Li Na handed the bill to Li Yi and said, “Just as you instructed, Xue and the others’ share is calculated separately. The total comes to 76 yuan!”
Li Yi took the bill, glanced at it, and nodded.
Just then, Liu Jingshan said with a smile, “Brother Li Yi, how many plates of liangpi did you make today?”
“I made nearly five hundred sheets. Why?”
“I’ll take four hundred!” Liu Jingshan said.
“Will you guys be able to sell that many?” Li Yi asked in surprise.
“We’ll sell them all. You probably don’t know this, but the county is holding a big meeting today, and our restaurant has been tasked with delivering lunch. I plan to give each attendee a serving of liangpi!” Liu Jingshan explained.
“There are 400 people at the meeting!”
“No, about three hundred. I’ll keep the remaining hundred at the restaurant to sell!”
Liu Jingshan continued, “Brother Li Yi, you have no idea—liangpi has become the signature dish of our state-run restaurant!”
“Alright, 400 portions it is!” Li Yi said.
Although selling in bulk to Liu Jingshan meant making significantly less profit—at least 15 yuan less for 300 portions—it saved him a lot of trouble.
Liu Jingshan said again, “This conference is going to last three days. Can you deliver four hundred sheets to me every day for those three days?”
“No problem!”
“Then it’s settled!”
“Alright!”
…….
After leaving the state-run restaurant, Li Na and Tang Xue both felt a bit dazed.
They had originally thought it would take them ages to sell 500 portions of liangpi, but they never expected to sell 400 of them as soon as they arrived at the state-run restaurant.
The remaining 100 would likely be snapped up the moment they arrived at the sugar factory!
Plus, they’d just seen the price Liu Jingshan paid Li Yi: 15 cents per sheet, while the cost of each sheet was less than 5 cents.
A net profit of 10 cents per sheet—meaning Li Yi had just pocketed 40 yuan in one fell swoop.
That’s an unbeatable rate of earning money!
Not to mention that they’d already made several hundred yuan selling mountain produce today. In Tang Xue and Li Na’s eyes, Li Yi was nothing short of a walking money-printing machine.
On the mule cart, Li Na looked at Tang Xue and said, “Xiao Xue, I’m actually a little jealous of you right now!”
Tang Xue asked, puzzled, “What are you envious of?”
“With Xiao Yi around, you’re definitely going to be a rich housewife someday—sipping tea and reading the paper every day, with more money than you could ever spend!”
“Haha, sis, that’s the life of a capitalist—I wouldn’t want that!” Tang Xue said with a laugh.
Li Yi, standing nearby, asked, “Then what kind of life do you want?”
Tang Xue thought for a moment and said, “Two people, three meals a day, and the four seasons. A warm home and someone who loves me—it doesn’t have to be you supporting me, but you must like me. And I want to be able to do what I want to do, not just have to do certain things!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “That’s simple—I’ll make it happen!”
Li Na added confidently, “With Little Yi’s capabilities, he’ll definitely be able to fulfill your wishes—but I’m not so sure about myself!”
“Sister Na, what does your ideal life look like?” Tang Xue asked in return.
“Me? I don’t want to be a caged sheep. I don’t want to tie myself to a man. If I could, I’d never get married!” Li Na said, making a startling statement.
“Not getting married? How could that work?” Tang Xue asked in surprise.
“If I can support myself, what’s wrong with not getting married?” Li Na said matter-of-factly.
Then, Li Yi glanced at Li Yi, who was staring blankly, and asked, “Little Yi, what do you think of what your sister just said?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Actually, for a woman, the best way to live is to do three things well!”
“What are those three things?”
“Constantly improving yourself, being financially independent, and living a refined life!”
“Well…”
Both Tang Xue and Li Na were left somewhat bewildered by Li Yi’s words; clearly, given their current mindset and perspective, they were unable to fully grasp what he was saying.
Li Yi immediately explained, “Continuously improving yourself frees your mind and broadens your horizons, allowing you to better understand both yourself and the world. That’s why I encouraged Xiao Xue to study hard and go to college!”
“And financial independence gives you the courage to face anything. If we don’t have the means, then we’ll do our best to get them!”
“Living a refined life is the key to pleasing yourself, and it’s a sign that your life has reached an ideal state. I hope that every day from now on, you can live a refined life, rather than scraping by in poverty just to make ends meet!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, both girls’ eyes lit up with intense longing!