Chapter 252: Heading to the Capital

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Li Yi first saw off his older sister’s husband and Liu San, and also had them take Yongzi and Xiaogouwawa with them.

Having the two younger brothers come along wasn’t just about getting help; more importantly, he wanted them to learn the ropes and get a feel for the pastoral region.

After all, in Li Yi’s business plan, the focus before 1985 was primarily on the restaurant industry; he had no immediate plans to venture into other sectors.

And within the catering industry, if he wanted to stand out, the unique livestock resources of North Sai Province were his trump card.

Therefore, while Li Yi led his own team to pioneer new territories up front, he also needed his brothers to ensure a steady supply of high-quality beef and mutton from the rear.

In addition, Li Yi took a few of his younger brothers to the commune to obtain letters of introduction. When traveling far from home, these documents are more important than money.

You could survive by begging under a bridge even without money, but without a letter of introduction, even begging was a luxury.

Once the letters of introduction were secured, the next step was to exchange them for national grain coupons.

After all, their destination was the capital. Local grain coupons from North Sai Province were worthless there—they simply couldn’t be used.

Since there were five of them in total, including Li Yi himself, and they didn’t know how long they’d be staying in the capital, Li Yi exchanged 800 jin of grain coupons in one go—after all, his family had plenty to spare.

If they were only using them for food, these grain coupons would be enough to sustain them in the capital for four or five months!

Once that was taken care of, Li Yi bought a suitcase for each of his younger brothers, along with a new set of clothes for each of them.

He also made sure they were fully stocked with underwear, shoes, socks, and toiletries, and then they were ready to set off.

On the evening of October 24, Li Yi gathered his family members around him and held a brief family meeting.

First, he announced his decision to go to the capital on the 25th, and at the same time told them what everyone in the family should do after he left.

The focus, of course, was on Tang Xue. Since this trip was for business—not sightseeing—Li Yi had no intention of taking her along.

However, he wasn’t entirely at ease leaving her behind, so he asked Tang Xue to agree to three conditions for the next three months.

First, she was not to do any work, especially heavy labor—including fetching water, chopping wood, and doing laundry. If she needed anything, she should ask her parents; if she felt awkward doing so, she could ask her third older sister, Li Na.

Second, she was not to let her mind wander; she was not to worry about either her background or his affairs in the capital.

He would continue to look into the matter of her origins; as long as her biological parents were still alive, news would eventually surface—it was only a matter of time.

As for him, she needn’t worry at all; regardless of whether an opportunity arose, he would definitely be back within a month at the latest.

Third, don’t overwork yourself. Even when studying, do so in moderation—especially, don’t stay up late at night.

Besides Tang Xue, Li Yi was also worried about his parents, especially his father.

Li Yi was worried they’d fret over the money they’d advanced to the collective—fearing it might go to waste—and end up working day and night after the cattle and sheep were brought back. So he asked them not to get involved in the collective’s business.

He knew his father’s stubborn nature all too well; no matter what his family said, he wouldn’t listen.

However, his father listened to Tang Xue—after all, she was his daughter-in-law, and she was carrying his two grandsons. He had to give her the respect she deserved.

Therefore, in addition to giving his own instructions, Li Yi asked Tang Xue and his third sister to keep an eye on his parents.

As for his third sister, Li Na, Li Yi simply said, “I’m leaving the household in your care!”

That single sentence nearly sent Li Na running. It seemed like everyone else was told “don’t do this” or “don’t do that,” but when it came to him, suddenly she could do anything?

Despite this, Li Na still agreed!

She could sense his concern in her brother’s tone. After all, their parents were in poor health, and his wife was pregnant with twins—it was only natural that he was worried!

She was strong and healthy, and since she wasn’t married yet, she had to help if she could!

While the Li family was holding their family meeting, the other families were doing the same.

After all, this was the first time their child had ever traveled far from home, and to the capital, no less.

Although it was only about 300 kilometers from Qing Shan County, it was such a sacred place that the vast majority of people had never set foot there in their entire lives.

Consequently, the adults from the Liu, Feng, Yang, and Shi families all urged their children to listen to Li Yi once they arrived in the capital, to work hard, and to stay out of trouble.

They also all said that if things got too tough, the kids shouldn’t try to tough it out—at worst, they could always come home to farm the land!

In short, every household was filled with a sense of farewell!

…….

Early on the 25th, Li Yi had his third older sister drive the bright red mule cart to take the five of them to the county seat.

Since Qingshan County had no train service and no direct buses to the capital, they would first have to take a bus to Ning City, and then catch a train from there to the capital.

It was the first time the younger brothers had traveled far from home, and since they were all dressed in new clothes and shoes and carrying new suitcases as they set off that day, they looked quite impressive.

They were absolutely thrilled, chattering nonstop the whole way.

When they arrived at the county seat, Li Yi saw that it was still early, so he took them to the state-run restaurant for breakfast.

The fragrant, meaty buns paired with golden millet porridge were so delicious that the boys nearly swallowed their tongues.

Just the new clothes they were wearing, combined with this delicious breakfast, filled them with hope for the future.

After all, if they’d stayed in the village, they’d be lucky to get a cold steamed bun first thing in the morning—let alone buns. That was just a pipe dream!

After breakfast, the group made their way in a grand procession to the bus station outside the West Gate. After buying their tickets, they set off on their journey to Ning City!

At 11:00 a.m., after more than three hours of bumpy riding, the bus finally pulled into Ning City Bus Station.

After getting off the bus, Li Yi immediately led the young men across the street to the train station to inquire about trains to Beijing.

Learning there was a train that afternoon, Li Yi didn’t hesitate and bought five tickets on the spot.

Since the journey wasn’t very long—less than 10 hours—he didn’t buy sleeper tickets, opting instead for standard hard seats.

After buying the tickets, he told Dongzi and Shitou to stay in the station’s waiting hall and watch the luggage, while he took Feng Qiang and Yang Gang to a nearby department store.

It was a long journey, so they needed to buy some food and drinks; otherwise, the trip would be unbearable.

The three of them headed to the department store and bought a large bag of snacks—chicken cakes, twisted doughnuts, smoked chicken, smoked rabbit, pork head meat, peanuts, sunflower seeds—you name it. The young guys were absolutely drooling over it all!

At three o’clock in the afternoon, as a train slowly pulled into the platform, Li Yi led the group through the ticket gates and onto the train.

And so, the group of teenagers from Nianzishan Village finally boarded the train bound for the capital!

And no one could have predicted that these unassuming, even slightly awkward, honest, and somewhat naive teenagers would, in the coming decades, become a force to be reckoned with in the northern business world!