Chapter 269: So You’re the Big Bad Wolf
By the time they left the foundry, it was already past four in the afternoon!
Li Yi was quite satisfied with this trip to the foundry. Not only had he successfully rented that row of houses, but he’d also signed a five-year lease right on the spot.
Of course, Li Yi would have preferred to rent them for ten or eight years at once.
Unfortunately, the foundry’s financial performance was too poor; realistically, it wouldn’t be able to sustain operations for that long.
In addition to the buildings, Li Yi placed an order with the foundry for 80 combined grilling and hot pot tables, along with the corresponding chairs.
This included 60 four-person tables, each with four chairs, and 20 large round tables, each with eight chairs.
In addition, items such as charcoal braziers, copper pots, and grilling racks were all commissioned to the foundry for production.
These items alone cost Li Yi over 6,000 yuan, averaging 75 yuan per table.
Price-wise, that was certainly not cheap.
However, Li Yi had strict requirements regarding the materials and craftsmanship of the tables, so overall, the price was still reasonable.
Both Li Yi and Lin Jianguo were quite satisfied with this transaction!
On the way back, Li Yi didn’t ask Jiang Longcheng to drive him home; instead, he told the driver to drop him off at the entrance of the alley.
He told Jiang Longcheng to take good care of his injuries, then headed back to his rental apartment on his own!
Once back at the apartment, Li Yi called Dongzi, Qiangzi, and the others over and told them the news that he had already rented a place.
Upon hearing the news, the younger brothers were all delighted.
With the apartment secured, it meant they didn’t have to rush back to the village just yet.
Although they all missed their families back home, young people are more eager to go out and make their mark in the world. Besides, they really liked Beijing and didn’t want to just slink back home like that.
“Brother Yi, what are we going to do next?” Dongzi asked immediately.
“Renovate the place!” Li Yi replied.
Hearing this, the young men were all taken aback.
“Bro Yi, renovating a place is a skilled job—none of us know how to do it!” Dongzi said.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t worry, you won’t have to do the work yourselves. Tomorrow we’ll head over to Tianqiao and find a few contractors. All we need to do is get the materials ready and keep an eye on things from time to time!”
“That’s great!”
“Besides the renovation, you guys have other things to do next!” Li Yi said.
“What’s to do? Just tell us what to do, Brother Yi—we’ll follow your lead!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “First, you need to learn how to go out and source materials, how to make purchases and keep track of expenses, and at the same time, how to handle customers.”
“I know none of you know how to do this yet, but I’ll teach you step by step. You all need to learn carefully. In the future, you’ll all have to stand on your own two feet—you absolutely cannot let us down when it counts. Got it?”
“Got it!”
“Alright, we’ve still got some time. I’ve got a task for you guys!”
“Brother Yi, tell us!” Dongzi said.
“Dongzi, you and Gangzi go out for a walk in a bit. See how many produce markets are nearby and where they’re located,” Li Yi said.
“Got it!”
“Qiangzi, you and Shitou go ask around to see if there are any building material stores nearby—places that sell wood, floor tiles, and stuff like that. Don’t worry about prices just yet; just make sure you know which way the main entrance faces!”
“Got it!”
“Also, if anyone tries to pick on you guys, don’t act on impulse, but don’t be afraid to stand up for yourselves either!”
“Got it!”
“Go on!”
Watching the young men turn and walk away, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion.
In their previous lives, limited by their education and abilities, they had all led rather unremarkable lives.
Only Qiangzi had fared somewhat better; with his family’s support, he’d opened a grocery store in town. Between his house and car, his total assets didn’t even reach a million.
But these younger brothers were beyond reproach; during the years he’d been away from home, they’d done their utmost to look after his elderly parents.
Having been given a second chance at life, Li Yi certainly wouldn’t let them end up as unsuccessful as they had in his previous life.
Now he has brought them to the capital, to this grandest and most dazzling stage—but what kind of brilliance they can shine depends entirely on them.
……
Qingshan County, Nianzishan Village!
At the Li family’s ancestral home, Tang Xue was sitting at the bedside table reading a book—her main pastime these days.
Yet no matter how hard she tried these past few days, she simply couldn’t concentrate; her thoughts would wander off to who knows where the moment she started reading.
Sitting on the edge of the kang nearby, Li Na watched her dazed expression and couldn’t help but shake her head.
“What’s wrong? Thinking about Xiao Yi again?”
Tang Xue’s face flushed, and she immediately replied, “No… Na, do you think he’ll be able to take care of himself in Beijing?”
“Hehe… and you say you’re not thinking about him!” Li Na said with a laugh.
This time, Tang Xue didn’t argue. Instead, she sighed and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. When he was home, I didn’t feel anything special, but now that he’s suddenly gone, I feel so empty inside every day!”
“That’s just the way it should be. It means my Little Yi is a lucky man—he married a woman who cares so deeply for him!” Li Na said.
Tang Xue smiled and said, “It’s actually me who’s lucky to have married Li Yi. Otherwise, I really don’t know what the rest of my life would have been like!”
Thinking of those scum and monsters back home, Tang Xue couldn’t help but shudder.
If she hadn’t had the courage to take that step back then, perhaps she would have been sold off like a piece of merchandise to that old widower, becoming a bargaining chip for Tang Bing to secure a job.
Seeing Tang Xue’s expression, Li Na knew she was thinking of those people again, and immediately comforted her, “Anyway, the fact that you two can live a good life now is what matters most.”
“Mm-hmm!”
“Xiao Xue, I won’t lie to you—when I first heard that Xiao Yi had taken advantage of you, I was seething with rage. I kept thinking I’d ruined such a wonderful girl!”
Li Na continued, “But seeing how sweet your life is now, I can finally rest easy!”
Tang Xue looked at Li Na, her expression shifting slightly, and suddenly said, “Sis Na, there’s something I’ve never told you. I hope you won’t hold it against me!”
“What is it?”
“Actually… actually, that night it wasn’t Xiao Yi who… well, you know… it was me who took the initiative… took the initiative…”
Hearing this, Li Na was stunned.
It took her a while to process it, and then she said, looking utterly incredulous, “You mean you took the initiative—as in, that kind of initiative…”
“Yep!”
“What… what on earth were you thinking, you little troublemaker?”
Tang Xue sighed and said, “At the time, it might have been out of revenge, or maybe just a sense of resentment, but mostly I just wanted to let loose a little while I was drunk!”
“???”
Seeing the puzzled look on Li Na’s face, Tang Xue explained, “Back then, I suddenly got a letter from home telling me to hurry back and that they were going to marry me off to that jerk surnamed Liu. I was so angry, frustrated, and helpless that when everyone was seeing me off, I drank way more than usual—something I’d never done before!”
“Even though I drank a lot, I was actually fully aware of everything—including the fact that Xiaoyi came back in the middle of the night.”
“The thought of my nineteen-year-old virgin daughter having to marry an old man even older than my own father filled me with resentment. When I saw Xiao Yi, who was also drunk and disoriented, I decided to take revenge on that man. I’d rather give my virginity to someone else than to that bastard, so…”
Although Tang Xue didn’t finish her sentence, Li Na knew exactly what had happened next.
After staring blankly for a while, Li Na finally took a deep breath and looked at Tang Xue. “Wow. I always thought it was that little rascal Xiao Yi who had his eye on you. Turns out he was just a little lamb all along—and you were the big bad wolf!”
Tang Xue’s face flushed crimson again as she lowered her head and said, “Sis Na, I’m sorry. I’ve been lying to you the whole time!”
“Lying to me is one thing, but does Xiao Yi know about this?” Li Na asked.
“He does. I confessed to him the day before our wedding!”
“So you two were in on it the whole time, and kept it a secret from just me?”
“I’m sorry!”
Li Na didn’t press the matter further, but suddenly changed the subject and asked, “Xiao Xue, they say a woman’s first time is very painful. How did it feel for you?”
“I… it did hurt a little, but it stopped hurting pretty quickly!” Tang Xue said softly.
“That’s amazing! Tell me all about it—what was it like?”
“It wasn’t really a big deal, just…”
Then, the room was filled with the two girls’ voices, deliberately kept low, punctuated now and then by bursts of tinkling laughter!
……