Chapter 163: The Fierce Li Yi

Silence—deadly silence!

The sudden turn of events left everyone speechless!

Neither the onlookers nor the thugs Scarface had brought with him had expected Li Yi to be this fierce.

Facing so many thugs armed with clubs, he showed not a shred of fear—instead, he dared to strike first.

Being bold isn’t the issue; it’s the combination of boldness and raw power that makes him truly terrifying.

Scarface wasn’t just some nobody; he had a reputation for being a tough guy in Qing Shan County.

But even a tough guy like him was beaten to a pulp by Li Yi in a single exchange—it was brutal.

After his henchmen helped Scar-Face back to his feet, he was seething with rage.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled at Li Yi, “Kid, you’re finished. I’m going to kill you…”

As he spoke, he was about to order his gang of thugs to attack and surround Li Yi.

Yet Li Yi remained utterly unfazed, not giving the dozen or so thugs in front of him the time of day.

Li Yi had been a tough guy since childhood; he was either in a fight or on his way to one. What he feared least was someone acting cocky in front of him.

Because he would always be even more arrogant than they were.

Don’t let the fierce appearance of these dozen or so thugs fool you—upon closer inspection, they were actually a bunch of wimps.

Not to mention that in his previous life, Li Yi had specifically trained in martial arts; even relying solely on his extensive experience in street fighting, he could easily defeat them.

At that moment, a cold, faint smile appeared on Li Yi’s lips. He loosened up his limbs slightly, then prepared to face them head-on with everything he had.

Standing nearby, Liu San’er held a kitchen knife, ready to step in and help at any moment.

He’d finally found someone willing to take him in; he couldn’t let this bunch of good-for-nothings ruin it.

But just as tensions reached a boiling point and a brawl was about to erupt, the wail of a police siren suddenly rang out in the distance.

Immediately afterward, a jeep came into view.

Scarface and his crew froze for a moment upon hearing the siren, then immediately attempted a “strategic retreat.”

However, there were simply too many onlookers, forming a massive human barrier. By the time Scarface and his crew realized the police were there, it was already too late.

As the jeep pulled up outside the area, four or five uniformed police officers immediately got out.

Scarface immediately ordered his men to flee. Their actions constituted a mass brawl, a form of hooliganism.

Although they likely wouldn’t face a prison sentence, they might still be detained for a few days.

But before they could make a move, they saw the lead security guard suddenly pull out a gun.

Then he fired a shot into the air!

“Bang!”

The sudden gunshot terrified everyone present; both Scarface and the onlookers were stunned into silence.

Are these cops out of their minds? What’s the big deal? Is firing a gun really necessary?

Scarface and his crew were completely petrified, not daring to move a muscle, terrified that the police might turn their guns on them.

After intimidating the gang of thugs, the lead officer strode over to Scarface and said sternly, “Is it you who’s causing a disturbance here?”

Scarface recognized the man before him immediately as Captain Wang of the county criminal investigation team. He stammered, “Cap… Captain Wang, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”

“Hmph. Just look at you lot—looking like a bunch of thugs, armed with knives, guns, and clubs. And you dare say you’re not here to cause trouble?” Wang Anguo said coldly.

“No… no, we just heard there was some profiteering going on here, so we came to check it out…”

Before he could finish, Wang Anguo’s deep voice cut in: “Is it really necessary for you to play the part of a dog chasing a mouse?”

The man with the scar on his face tried to say something, but Wang Anguo barked coldly, “Tell your men to put their hands on their heads and get down on the ground!”

“Captain Wang, it’s a misunderstanding…”

“I won’t repeat myself!”

Scarface didn’t dare say another word; he immediately ordered his henchmen to put their hands on their heads and crouch on the ground.

After dealing with these thugs, Wang Anguo holstered his gun and strode toward Li Yi.

Just as everyone was holding their breath for Li Yi, the small-time stall owner, Wang Anguo’s next move left everyone speechless.

Upon reaching Li Yi, not only did he say nothing about his “speculation and profiteering,” but he actually smiled and said, “I was wondering who was so bold—turns out it’s just this bunch of nobodies!”

Li Yi smiled back and said, “These guys might not be much to look at, but they sure are a pain in the neck!”

“Hmm, lock them up for a while first. If they dare to mess with you again in the future, we’ll deal with them properly later!”

“Got it!”

After that, Wang Anguo exchanged a few more words with Li Yi, then left the textile factory with Scarface and his gang.

At that moment, everyone at the scene was stunned.

They had expected the police to take a balanced approach—the thugs who were causing trouble would certainly be dealt with, but the street vendor’s unauthorized setup would surely be punished as well.

But no one expected that the police actually knew the vendor and seemed to be on good terms with him.

After the thug was arrested, the police didn’t even bring up the vendor’s unauthorized setup.

In an instant, the looks the onlookers gave Li Yi changed.

Li Yi didn’t care what these people thought; he immediately motioned for Third Sister and Liu San to resume business.

After the chaos that had just unfolded, everyone present realized that the stall owner’s background was likely quite formidable. Since they could buy food here without worrying about being chased by the red-armbanded security guards, they all rushed back to the stall.

Hundreds of servings of liangpi and white-skinned pancakes were snapped up by the enthusiastic workers in no time—the speed left Liu San, who was on his first day of work, speechless.

By 1:30 p.m., everything they’d brought had sold out, so the Li siblings packed up their stall.

As they were leaving, Li Yi gave Liu San a yuan, calling it today’s profit share—which was actually Liu San’s pay for the day.

Originally, Li Yi had set Liu San’s monthly wage at 25 yuan, averaging about 80 cents a day.

Compared to the times, this wasn’t a huge salary, but it wasn’t small either—it was about average.

It wasn’t that Li Yi was stingy or unwilling to pay him more.

To be honest, given Li Yi’s earning power, he wouldn’t have minded paying his employees an extra ten or eight yuan a month.

In his previous life, every one of the senior executives who worked under him earned annual salaries ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions, plus year-end bonuses and dividends—they were truly the “emperors of the corporate world.”

However, any compensation is proportional to one’s contributions and isn’t achieved overnight.

As a competent and experienced entrepreneur, Li Yi understood very well how a boss should interact with employees.

Many people think that getting along with employees means paying them more and treating them well, but in reality, that’s not the case at all.

Little do they realize that bosses who are too lenient with their employees often end up bankrupt.

Because being overly generous with employees amounts to placing personal emotions above company policies. This approach fails to motivate employees and inadvertently lowers standards.

The correct way to interact with employees is to provide them with a platform to demonstrate their self-worth and ensure a smooth career advancement path—not to endlessly emphasize how good you are to them.

25 yuan a month is a normal wage in this day and age.

Liu San is satisfied with it, and Li Yi has left him plenty of room for growth. As long as he’s willing to work hard and steadily, Li Yi won’t hesitate to give him a raise.

Moreover, every routine pay raise or benefit adjustment is an opportunity to strengthen the bond between the boss and the employees.

After a few such instances, the employee’s loyalty to the boss and the company naturally grows. Simply giving a full salary increase all at once is the most foolish approach.

However, Liu San’s performance just now in dealing with Scarface and the others had truly impressed Li Yi, so he decided on the spot to raise Liu San’s monthly salary from 25 yuan to 30 yuan.

In short, rewards should be given for merit, and punishments for mistakes.

Li Na felt a twinge of regret about this.

One yuan may not seem like much, but little by little, over time, it adds up to a significant expense.

But thinking back to what had just happened, she couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine.

On second thought, her brother’s foresight was indeed very necessary.

If her brother Li Yi hadn’t been there on both occasions, she really wouldn’t have been able to handle those thugs on her own.

Liu San might seem like a slacker, but when push comes to shove, he’s actually willing to step up.

Compared to that, a little money didn’t seem like much at all!