Chapter 89: Li Yi’s Arrangements
That evening, the entire Li family sat together in the courtyard for dinner!
Dinner was a feast. Li Yi had cooked it himself, preparing minced pork with green beans, stir-fried pork with potato slices, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a cold salad, and a soup!
The main dish is freshly made scallion pancakes—golden brown and absolutely fragrant!
Although there wasn’t much meat, this meal was certainly a luxury in the countryside these days.
During the meal, Li Na chattered away to Tang Xue about what had happened today while they were setting up their stall in town, and of course, she mentioned that someone had given Li Yi two big bags of candy.
Upon hearing this, Li Shankui immediately furrowed his brow and asked, “Xiao Yi, what’s the story here?”
Li Yi replied right away, “Dad, I was actually planning to tell you about this after dinner. It’s really no big deal—a couple of days ago, I did a favor for the manager at the sugar factory. He gave me two bags of sugar to repay the favor!”
Li Shankui breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You helped them, but why did you accept their gift?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “I didn’t want to take it, but they insisted on giving it to me. Plus, Captain Wang from the Criminal Investigation Division delivered it personally—I couldn’t very well refuse!”
Before he could finish, Li Na, with her big mouth, chimed in again: “They didn’t just give my little brother two big bags of sugar—they also gave him two spots to get into the factory!”
“What kind of spots?” Li Shankui asked again.
“They’re spots for regular workers at the sugar factory!” Li Yi replied.
Hearing this, Li Shankui said excitedly, “Really? So that means you and Xue can go work in the city from now on?”
Their mother and Tang Xue were both surprised and delighted.
In their eyes, having a formal job at a factory was far more promising than running a street stall—especially at the county’s renowned sugar factory, where they’d heard the benefits were quite generous.
And with two workers in the family all at once, it would be hard for their future not to prosper.
Li Yi smiled and said, “In theory, that’s true. But I don’t plan on working at the factory, and I don’t intend to let Xiao Xue go there either!”
“What did you say?”
Li Shankui, who had a somewhat short temper to begin with, immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks, his brow furrowing tightly as he looked ready to explode.
Li Yi hurriedly said, “Dad, please let me explain. Don’t get angry!”
“Speak up. If you can’t give me a solid explanation, I’ll break your legs!” Li Shankui snapped angrily.
“Dad, I know you want Xiao Xue and me to have stable jobs so we can build a good life together, but have you ever considered that I already have a better plan for our future?”
“What kind of plan could be better than working in a factory?”
“I’m definitely going to start my own business!”
Seeing his father on the verge of another outburst, Li Yi hurriedly said, “Dad, do you know how much a full-time worker at the sugar factory makes these days?”
“Thirty-six yuan, I suppose!”
“That’s right. Permanent employees do make 36 yuan. Since wages haven’t gone up in ages, there’s even a saying: ‘Long live 36 yuan!’”
Li Yi continued, “That’s 36 yuan a month, so 432 yuan a year. After covering food, rent, and social obligations, how much do you think I’d be able to save by the end of the year?”
Before his father could answer, Li Yi continued, “Dad, do you know that just by going out and closing two deals these past few days, I’ve already made a thousand or two yuan? That’s equivalent to what I’d earn working at the factory for several years. Do you really think there’s any point in me sticking with that job?”
“What kind of deals? Where did you get a thousand or two?” Li Shankui frowned.
The others also looked at Li Yi in astonishment, unsure what he meant.
“The county’s holding a big meeting these days, and the state-run hotel is in charge of catering. To save trouble, Director Li ordered four hundred portions of liangpi from me every day—deliveries started today!”
Li Yi continued, “On top of that, the sugar factory is distributing benefits to its employees, so Factory Director Liang has also placed an order with me for a batch of liangpi and white-skin pancakes!”
“How many?” Li Na asked instinctively.
“Eight hundred servings of liangpi and 1,600 white-skin pancakes every day—for a whole week!”
At those words, everyone was stunned.
Although they didn’t know how much profit a single serving of liangpi yielded, the sheer volume of over a thousand servings a day was staggering. Even if he only made a few cents per serving, that would still add up to a significant amount.
And that didn’t even include the mushrooms Li Yi delivered to the state-run restaurant every day—that was where the real money came from!
Li Shankui finally understood why his son looked down on the factory’s meager monthly salary of 36 yuan. When he thought about how his son was bringing in several hundred yuan a day—equivalent to several years’ work at the factory—he realized that no one in their right mind would want to go there!
After a brief silence, Li Shankui finally sighed and said, “If you’re not going, then what’s the point of those two spots?”
His mother, Zhang Yuehong, interjected, “If you don’t want to go, then let your third older sister and Xiaoxue take them. It’s good for girls to have a steady job, and it’ll be nice for them to have each other’s support if they both work at the factory!”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “Xiao Xue’s main priority is her studies; she’s going to college. As for my third sister, I plan to keep her by my side so she can learn the business from me and become a big boss someday!”
“Then who are you planning to give these two factory spots to?” Zhang Yuehong asked, puzzled.
“To my eldest sister and her husband!”
At those words, the elderly Li Shan Kui and his wife were both taken aback.
That answer was truly unexpected!
“Why did you think of giving them to your eldest sister and her husband?”
Li Yi paused for a moment before saying, “Dad, do you know how my older sister has been doing these past few years?”
“I asked her last time. She said your brother-in-law treats her very well and is quite considerate!”
Li Yi gave a wry smile and said, “My brother-in-law is indeed very good to my eldest sister, but she hasn’t been doing so well in the Yang family!”
“What’s going on?” Li Shankui’s eyes widened as he asked urgently.
“Father, you know I hang out with all sorts of people, and I know a few young folks from their village, Juziwa. According to them, my eldest sister hasn’t been doing well at all these past few years!”
“You don’t mean your brother-in-law…”
“It has nothing to do with my brother-in-law… well, not exactly. As you know, he works at the forestry station tending to the trees and is rarely home. Plus, he doesn’t have a say in household matters. My sister has to deal with her in-laws and her younger sister-in-law all the time!”
Li Yi continued, “From what I’ve gathered, they don’t treat my sister like family at all. I won’t go into the specifics, but I don’t want my older sister to stay in that household and be mistreated any longer!”
Li Shankui nodded and said, “Once I’m done with these few days of work, I’m heading over to Juziwa. If those two old fools from the Yang family dare to bully Meizi, I’ll make them pay…”
Perhaps he’d spoken too hastily; before he could finish his sentence, Li Shankui began coughing violently.
Li Yi hurried over to pat him on the back, saying, “Dad, just leave this to me. I promise I’ll make sure my sister isn’t mistreated!”
“All right then. Once you’re done with Liang, head over to Juziwa!” Li Shankui said.
“Alright!”
………