After lunch, during a break, Li Shankui puffed on his pipe and asked, “Xiao Yi, I want to ask you—what are your plans for the future?”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I going to do’?”
“You’re about to get married soon. You can’t just sit around at home forever—you’ve got to find something to do!”
Before Li Yi could answer, Li Na, sitting nearby, chimed in with a look of disdain: “He’s so delicate and soft—what could he possibly do? He can’t even bend over to work in the fields, and he doesn’t have any connections to get a job at the factory!”
Tang Xue instinctively glanced at Li Yi and found that he was indeed just as Li Na had described: his skin was fine and fair, with a delicate, porcelain-like complexion. Paired with his square jaw and broad brows, he was actually quite handsome.
If it weren’t for his somewhat tattered clothes, he wouldn’t look a bit out of place among the young men in town.
But the more she saw this, the more sorrowful Tang Xue felt inside!
What good is being good-looking? It doesn’t put food on the table!
This was the countryside, after all. Every young man here was the family’s main laborer—everyone worked the fields until their hands ached, their skin weathered by sun and wind until it looked like a baked potato, and their hands were covered in calluses.
In the entire Nianzishan Brigade, aside from Li Yi, it would be hard to find anyone with skin as soft and delicate as his.
The thought of having to spend the rest of her life with a man who couldn’t lift a finger or carry a load made Tang Xue want to burst into tears!
If it weren’t for certain special reasons keeping her from returning to the city, she’d really just want to walk away…
“Dad, what do you think about me going to the county seat to sell liangpi?” Li Yi suddenly spoke up.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Li Shankui’s face fell, and his voice rose sharply. “Are you out of your mind? That’s profiteering! If you get caught, you’ll end up in jail!”
Hearing the word “jail,” Zhang Yuehong also panicked and hurriedly said, “Son, you can’t be so reckless! If all else fails, we’ll just farm the land here. With me and your father helping out, we’ll never let you and Xue go hungry!”
Li Yi immediately retorted, “It’s just setting up a small stall to sell some liangpi. How is that profiteering?”
Li Yi continued, “Dad, I read in the newspaper a few days ago that because so many educated youth have returned to the city and are unemployed, the government has allowed them to set up street stalls to make a living.”
“Besides, the authorities have made it clear that cases of profiteering are primarily handled by the Administration for Industry and Commerce. Only serious or major cases requiring investigation are handed over to the public security authorities. Even if selling cold noodles is deemed profiteering, the worst that could happen is having our illegal earnings confiscated by the Administration for Industry and Commerce—we’d definitely never go to jail!”
Li Shankui hesitated for a moment, but then said firmly, “That still won’t do. Look around the city—who dares to do something like that? If we get caught, we’ll be made an example of!”
“Dad, just like my third sister said, I can’t stand the hard work of farm labor, and no factory will hire me. You can support me for a while, but can you really support me for the rest of my life?”
Li Yi continued, “Liangpi is definitely a novelty here in Qing Shan County. It’s delicious, affordable, and doesn’t cost much to make. Even if—just to be safe—they really don’t let us set up stalls in town, we won’t lose much. So I want to give it a try!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Shankui’s expression softened slightly. After a long silence, he finally spoke up: “You’re really not just trying to make a quick buck?”
“It really isn’t!” Li Yi said firmly.
“Well… then go ahead and give it a try. If they really don’t let you sell them, just stop!” Li Shankui said.
“Alright, I’ll take your advice!”
At that moment, Li Na, standing nearby, frowned and said, “You’re actually planning to go sell this stuff? Will you even make any money?”
“I don’t know if I’ll make money, but I certainly won’t lose any!”
Although he said this, Li Yi knew full well that setting up a street stall at a time like this was practically a surefire way to make money.
The reason was simple: on the one hand, due to government policies, no one dared to openly set up street stalls, so there was no competition.
On the other hand, with the development of the economy, people’s incomes had clearly risen.
And with more money came increased spending—which meant there was a market.
With a market and no competitors, it would be a travesty of justice if he didn’t make money.
However, Li Yi couldn’t bring himself to tell his family outright; otherwise, they’d just think he was bragging. He’d wait until he’d actually made some money and let the results speak for themselves!
“As long as you don’t lose money, that’s fine. Do you need any help?” Li Na asked again.
Although she didn’t believe her good-for-nothing younger brother could really make money selling liangpi, this was the first time Li Yi had expressed a serious desire to make a living, so she still wanted to help him—what if it actually worked out?
Li Yi immediately shook his head and said, “No, thanks. I can handle this on my own!”
“Alright then!”
Just then, Tang Xue, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: “Uncle, Auntie, wait a minute—I want to go back to the educated youth commune!”
Li Shankui opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, all that came out was a “Hmm.”
He was a bit worried the girl might face hardship if she went back. Although only half a day had passed, the entire commune was buzzing about the incident; Li Shankui and the others had already heard plenty of gossip when they returned from the fields.
If possible, he really didn’t want Tang Xue to go back to the educated youth commune; she could just stay at his house.
But that would be even worse. Sleeping with a man before marriage and then moving straight into his family’s home—it would be hard for her to hold her head high in the village from then on.
Li Yi had obviously thought of all this too, so he didn’t try to keep her. Instead, he turned to his third sister, Li Na, and said, “Sis, take Xiao Xue back this afternoon. Don’t go out to work in the fields for the next few days. If anyone dares to gossip, don’t hold back—just give them a piece of your mind!”
Li Na was also a bit concerned about Tang Xue’s state of mind, so she nodded immediately and said, “Alright!”
Hearing this, Tang Xue felt a slight stir in her heart.
Although he was a bit of a rough-and-tumble guy, he wasn’t entirely without merit. At the very least, he was responsible, knew how to cook, and cared about her.
If he had a proper job, life with him wouldn’t be so bad after all!
For a moment, she couldn’t help but get lost in thought!
…….
After lunch, the elderly Li Shan Kui and his wife rested for less than half an hour before heading out into the blazing sun to work in the fields. However, they left the mule cart behind, as Li Yi needed it.
At 2:30 p.m., Li Yi drove the mule cart, taking Tang Xue and Li Na back to the educated youth compound in the village committee compound.
Afterward, he drove the mule cart toward the back mountain.
Since he planned to set up a stall selling liangpi, he had to prepare some supplies.
He had the ingredients at home, but what he lacked were bowls and chopsticks.
In later times, liangpi was typically served in plastic bags, but there was nowhere to get those supplies now.
At first, Li Yi had planned to use bowls, but upon seeing the few large bowls at home—all chipped and cracked—he could only shake his head in resignation.
He wanted to buy a few bowls, but he was completely broke, and new bowls weren’t cheap—plus he needed quite a few of them—so the idea quickly faded from his mind.
After much deliberation, Li Yi finally came up with the idea of using bamboo tubes as bowls!
Bamboo tubes were indeed a decent container, and they were everywhere. With a little polishing, they could easily serve as bowls.
After fiddling around in the bamboo grove for two hours, Li Yi returned home with half a cartload of thick bamboo.
Next came the process of making the bamboo cups. He used a saw to cut the bamboo into 12-centimeter-tall sections, then smoothed them with a file until both the inside and outside were smooth and refined.
But that wasn’t all. Li Yi then grabbed a carving knife and began etching simple patterns onto the bamboo tubes.
Li Yi spent the entire afternoon making these preparations.
By the time the sun set, he had made 50 bamboo tubes and over sixty pairs of bamboo chopsticks. He had also sifted more than ten pounds of flour and fried nearly half a bowl of chili oil.
With all these preparations complete, Li Yi’s venture to set up a stall selling liangpi was ready to go—all that was missing was the right opportunity!