Chapter 259: Danger Approaches

Li Yi and his crew enjoyed the meal to the fullest. Knowing that Jiang Longcheng wasn’t short on cash, they didn’t hold back when ordering—the table was covered in nothing but meat dishes.

A platter of braised beef, a pot of braised lamb, a bowl of pork ribs, a serving of braised pork belly, plus stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stir-fried pork with bean sprouts—all served with large bowls of dumplings as the main staple.

Even at village banquets, Dongzi and the others had never seen a lunch this lavish.

So, at Li Yi’s signal, the group dug in with gusto, stuffing their faces.

Once they were full, Li Yi prepared to take his leave.

He knew Jiang Longcheng’s mind must be filled with doubts, but he didn’t want to explain anything to him.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling—it was just that no matter what he said now, Jiang Longcheng might not believe him.

Wait a moment!

Anyway, this kid was about to be attacked tonight. He’d step in to save him first, and then explain everything to him later.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately stood up and said, “Short-lived ghost, thanks for the meal. We’ll meet again someday!”

With that, he turned and walked out of the state-run restaurant with Dongzi and the others without looking back.

Short-Lived Ghost?

Hearing that nickname, Jiang Longcheng’s short temper nearly flared up again, but remembering what Li Yi had just said, he managed to hold it in.

“Wait!”

Jiang Longcheng stood up and looked at Li Yi, saying, “Um, leave me your contact info. Who knows, maybe I’ll come find you someday!”

“Haha, I live at No. 6 Dingxiang Hutong. If you want to find me, just go there!”

With that, Li Yi and the others left immediately!

After Li Yi and his group had walked far enough away, Jiang Longcheng fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Old Ye, what do you think of that kid?”

“If he’s not from Beijing and doesn’t have any connections, then he’s actually quite interesting!” said Ye Jianhua.

“Hmm, what he just said was terrifying. He even knew about what happened to my older brother. This guy is either truly capable, or he has someone backing him up who’s out to destroy the Jiang family!”

Although Jiang Longcheng had no interest in entering politics or pursuing a career in government, having been exposed to it from a young age, he was no ordinary young man—his political acumen was quite sharp.

“You’re right. They say flies don’t land on seamless eggs—and within the entire Jiang family, you’re the weakest link!” said Ye Jianhua.

“Get lost! Are you calling me a rotten egg?”

“Isn’t that exactly it? Don’t forget why you dragged me out for drinks today!” Ye Jianhua retorted.

After a brief pause, Jiang Longcheng asked, “What do you think I should do now?”

“Start by looking into this kid, then be extra vigilant!” Ye Jianhua said.

“Right. Your brother works at the district police station, doesn’t he? Have him look into that kid—first, find out if he’s arrived in Beijing in the last few days, and what his purpose is!” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Alright!”

Then Ye Jianhua added, “Why don’t you go back and ask your old man if someone’s targeting your Jiang family? After all, your family was set up by someone over a decade ago.”

“No need. It’s a waste of time to ask. Which of our families hasn’t been through this?” Jiang Longcheng said.

“Alright, then! It’s just a shame about Brother Longhua. Sigh!”

“Don’t let this get out. We don’t want those gossips spreading it to my mom and upsetting her!” Jiang Longcheng cautioned.

“Got it!”

Then Ye Jianhua glanced at his watch and said, “Alright, I won’t drag this out. I’ve got to go!”

“Why’re you in such a rush?”

“Sigh, I’m going to visit my aunt this afternoon!”

“What’s wrong with my aunt?”

“What else? She’s having another episode!” Ye Jianhua sighed.

“Okay, you go ahead. Once I’m done here, I’ll swing by to see Uncle and Auntie too,” Jiang Longcheng said.

“You, just focus on your own stuff first. My aunt’s condition is chronic—it won’t do any good if you go!”

“Okay!”

…….

After Li Yi and the others left the state-run restaurant, they didn’t head back to their rented apartment but continued wandering around Beiguan Village.

Although Beiguan Village is technically a village, it actually lies at the junction of Beijing’s urban and suburban areas, and in terms of size, it’s quite extensive.

This morning, Li Yi and his group had only walked half a block in the vicinity—not even a twentieth of the entire village.

At the moment, Li Yi had less than 30,000 yuan in his pocket. Renting a storefront, renovations, custom-made grills and copper pots, plus purchasing various tableware—all of these required money.

So, he had only one chance to make the right choice. If he made the wrong decision, not only would he have wasted his money, but he would also have missed his opportunity.

Consequently, Li Yi spent the entire afternoon wandering the streets with a few of his younger associates.

Unlike the morning, when they’d focused solely on finding a storefront, in the afternoon they didn’t overlook even factory warehouses or school cafeterias.

As long as the space was large enough and the location was reasonably good, Li Yi made a note of it.

However, after wandering around all afternoon and viewing quite a few places, not a single one was as suitable as the building at the foundry.

Unfortunately, the “dog” at that location was too fierce!

Fortunately, they still had a few days left, so there was no need to rush.

What Li Yi didn’t know was that while they were busy wandering the streets, someone was already investigating him behind the scenes.

After all, since this matter involved the Jiang and Ye families, they naturally dared not take it lightly.

After Ye Jianhua relayed the situation to his cousin, the Beiguan Village Police Station was quickly notified. Soon after, several officers tracked down Li Yi’s address and paid him a visit.

However, to avoid alerting Li Yi, they didn’t make a big show of it, claiming they were merely conducting a survey of tenants in the neighborhood.

Uncle Wen didn’t suspect anything and cooperated immediately.

When the officers asked about the tenants in the west wing, Uncle Wen immediately recounted the details regarding Li Yi and his group.

However, Uncle Wen’s knowledge of Li Yi and his group was quite limited. He only knew that Li Yi was from Qingshan County in Saibei Province and had come to Beijing neither to visit relatives nor to attend school, but simply to see if there were any opportunities.

As for the rest, he wasn’t very clear on the details; after all, Li Yi and his group had only stayed with him for one night.

Seeing that they couldn’t elicit any further information, the Beiguan Village Police Station reported the relevant details to their superiors.

Soon, this information was passed on to Jiang Longcheng via Ye Jianhua.

Jiang Longcheng, who was working in his office, couldn’t help but frown when he received Ye Jianhua’s call.

Although the information uncovered was limited, it wasn’t entirely useless.

At the very least, it confirmed that the man had indeed arrived in Beiguan Village recently; as for whether he had recently arrived in Beijing, that remained to be verified.

Could that guy really be a charlatan… no… a fortune-teller?

Thinking of Li Yi’s assessment of him, Jiang Longcheng’s mood soured.

Although he was the most good-for-nothing third-generation scion of the Jiang family, he hadn’t done anything truly heinous—so how had he become a “short-lived ghost”?

Thinking of his parents’ disappointed gazes—as if they were scolding a wayward son—and the fact that the factory was in shambles under his management, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t help but feel both angry and frustrated.

As soon as he finally made it through the workday, he immediately called a few close friends, planning to go out for a few drinks that night!

Little did he know that as soon as he left, danger was already closing in!

Ye Jianhua was momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of these uninvited guests.

He glanced at Jiang Longcheng and asked instinctively, “Old Jiang, who are they?”

Jiang Longcheng glanced at Li Yi and said, “I was just telling you that someone said Old Jiang here is a short-lived ghost—it’s this kid right here!”

Ye Jianhua looked at Li Yi with curiosity, then said teasingly, “Bro, that’s impressive. You’re even daring enough to mess with Old Jiang—even I have to admire your courage!”

Then he turned to Jiang Longcheng and said, “You’re a big, fat guy—I don’t see anything about you being short-lived. Are you going to die in a woman’s arms?”

“Get lost, get lost, get lost! I’m not into that sort of thing. You, on the other hand, look like a stud—you’ll end up dying in a woman’s bed sooner or later!” Jiang Longcheng retorted.

“Fuck me? No way!” Ye Jianhua said confidently.

The Jiang family’s status is formidable, but the Ye family isn’t far behind. As long as he didn’t go too far, he’d be absolutely fine.

However, Li Yi shot him a glance and said indifferently, “True, you won’t die in a woman’s womb, but you will end up spending some time inside because of a woman!”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You’re headed for prison!” Li Yi said coolly.

Li Yi knew Ye Jianhua. In fact, it wasn’t just Li Yi—most people who lived through that era had heard his name, even if they’d never met him.

This man was considered a prominent scion of the official class in the capital, a descendant of meritorious service, yet because he couldn’t control his own desires, he was ultimately sentenced to prison three years later.

Although he was only sentenced to seven years, the case caused a sensation throughout the capital.

“Nonsense. Don’t think just because Old Jiang is easygoing, I won’t hold this against you…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi glanced at Jiang Longcheng and said calmly, “Is he easy to deal with?”

“Uh…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “He’s probably already plotting how to slander me in his head—he might even be planning to teach me a lesson!”

“Shouldn’t he?” Jiang Longcheng asked.

“First off, do you even have the strength to take me on? Let’s not even get into other things—just take the idea that I might want to harm you. Forget about you alone; even if you brought all those scumbags from yesterday along, you still wouldn’t be a match for me!”

Li Yi continued, “Second, don’t think you’re some big shot factory director. Everyone around you is just trying to get something out of you—I, Li Yi, have no interest in that!”

“And another thing—inviting me to dinner just to feed me your leftovers? That’s a bit of a stretch!”

Hearing this, Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua were both stunned!

“Losers? Not interested?”

What on earth had they just heard? After all, the people who’d followed Jiang Longcheng yesterday were all from the same compound—their families were well-off, and even the least successful among them were department heads at state-owned enterprises.

Yet in this kid’s mouth, they’d been reduced to “scum” he looked down on. Was he just arrogant, or was he downright audacious?

Jiang Longcheng was so furious he burst out laughing. He slammed his fist on the table and said, “Hmph! A real man keeps his word. I can still afford to treat you to a meal!”

Then, pointing at Li Yi, he said, “You order the food, and I’ll pick up the tab!”

“Although the way you said ‘I’ makes me want to slap you, I’ll let it slide since you’re picking up the tab!”

After saying that, Li Yi immediately called over a staff member and ordered five or six dishes in a row—all meat dishes.

Once the staff had left, Jiang Longcheng said with a stern face, “You really don’t hold back, do you?”

“Haha, being polite would be a disservice to your ‘old man’ remark!” Li Yi retorted.

He knew Jiang Longcheng’s temperament—the guy had the temper of a stubborn mule: you couldn’t drag him forward, and if you hit him, he’d back away. He wouldn’t budge no matter how you tried.

If you wanted to get along with him, you had to win him over.

Whether by beating him into submission or tricking him into submission, as long as he was truly convinced in his heart, he would become much easier to get along with.

“You…”

“Stop with the ‘you’ and ‘I.’ Let me introduce myself first: Li Yi—‘Li’ as in ‘Muzi,’ ‘Yi’ as in ‘resolute.’ I’m from Qingshan County and just arrived in the capital yesterday!” Li Yi said.

“Where is Qing Shan County?” Jiang Longcheng asked, furrowing his brow.

Ye Jianhua thought for a moment and said, “I think it’s in North Sai Province!”

Jiang Longcheng looked at Li Yi and said, “So you’re just some hot-headed country bumpkin from the mountains, huh? No wonder you’re so cocky!”

“You’re the one who’s cocky—your whole family is!”

After firing back, before Jiang Longcheng could lose his temper, Li Yi spoke again: “It’s true I’m from a small town, but my eye for judging people isn’t half bad!”

“So you’ve seen that I’m destined for bloodshed and an early death?”

Li Yi stared at Jiang Longcheng and said, “I don’t know your name, but I can tell you come from a good family—probably a family of officials. Your ancestors’ glory still shines on you; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

“Furthermore, your family has an excess of yang energy and a deficiency of yin. In your nephew’s generation, there should be more boys than girls—perhaps even no girls at all.”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

If Li Yi really was from out of town, then he must have some real skills—after all, everything he’d just said was true, not a single word was wrong.

But then again, he was a prominent figure in Beiguan Village, and many people knew his family background. All this information could be easily verified with a little inquiry; it wasn’t exactly a secret within their circle.

So, based on this alone, he couldn’t conclude that the young man standing before him was truly capable.

“What else?”

“Judging by your facial features—your eyebrows arch upward, indicating you have two older brothers; your nose is pointed, with a broken line on the bridge; and your earlobes are prominent—you are the third of three brothers!”

Li Yi continued, “Additionally, there’s a red mark about a finger’s width above your eyebrow. This indicates a blood-related disaster at the time of your eldest brother’s death. Such marks usually fade after three years. But since yours is still so distinct, it means your eldest brother must have passed away within the last three years!”

At these words, both Jiang Longcheng and Ye Jianhua looked utterly shocked.

Jiang Longcheng was genuinely startled; he had only recently learned of his eldest brother’s passing.

His older brother was a soldier serving in a field unit. Last year, he went south with his unit to fight the “monkeys,” and ultimately died on the front lines this past April.

But to spare their mother’s feelings, their father had kept the news completely hidden from all of them until last month, when he could no longer conceal it and finally revealed the truth.

Yet, to this day, only their immediate family knew of this; outsiders were completely in the dark. Even his own childhood friends knew nothing about it—so how did this young man find out?

As for Ye Jianhua, he was stunned by Li Yi’s audacity. The eldest son of the Jiang family was a legend in their neighborhood—the undisputed leader of the kids in his youth, and later, after joining the army, a true elite soldier.

And here was this kid, standing right in front of Jiang Longcheng, claiming his older brother was dead. Given the kid’s hot temper, he’d probably flip the table any second now.

Ye Jianhua was already braced for a fight. After all, the other side had five men, while they had only two—it could very well turn into another brutal battle today.

However, to Ye Jianhua’s surprise, Jiang Longcheng didn’t make a move.

He stared intently at Li Yi, scrutinizing him closely, before finally clenching his teeth and saying, “Who exactly are you? How do you know all this?”

The moment those words left his mouth, Ye Jianhua was completely dumbfounded.

His voice trembling, he stammered, “Old Jiang, what are you saying? Brother Longhua… he… he…”

Jiang Longcheng nodded with difficulty and said, “He’s gone!”

“When did this happen? How come we didn’t hear a thing about it?”

“He passed away back in April. My dad kept it under wraps; I only found out last month!”

Ye Jianhua glanced at Li Yi, then asked in a low voice, “I didn’t even know about this—how did you find out?”

Li Yi shot him a look, then said, “There’s plenty you don’t know. Want to know?”

“I do!”

“If you do, call me ‘big brother’!”

“Get lost!”

Just then, a restaurant staff member walked over carrying a large platter of braised beef!

Seeing the food arrive, Li Yi didn’t bother arguing with him anymore and immediately called out to his friends to dig in!

Upon reaching the row of buildings, Li Yi noticed that while the structures weren’t dilapidated, they had clearly been neglected for some time.

Many of the window panes were broken, and no one had bothered to replace them.

There was even a pile of trash in front of the building that hadn’t been cleared away, clearly indicating it had been abandoned for some time.

Since the door was locked, Li Yi could only peer inside through the glass.

To his delight, the interior resembled a shop, complete with shelves displaying various metal objects—though he had no idea what they were used for.

Furthermore, the house was quite spacious—the visible area alone was no less than two or three hundred square meters—and it had undergone some basic renovations.

To be honest, upon seeing this place, Li Yi’s mind immediately started racing.

This place was absolutely perfect for a restaurant—spacious and right on the street. Best of all, there was a decent-sized open area out front, ideal for parking.

In the summer, with a little setup, they could even set up a small barbecue.

More importantly, the basic structural work was already done; all that was needed was to refine the interior design and bring in all the restaurant equipment, and they could open for business.

It was exactly what Li Yi was looking for!

Immediately, Li Yi walked along the row of buildings, trying to figure out which organization owned the property.

He said this because he noticed that both sides of the row of buildings were flanked by tall walls stretching north and south, with even larger factory buildings behind them—it was obvious at a glance that this wasn’t private property.

After circling the buildings halfway, Li Yi and his companions finally found the factory’s main entrance.

Seeing the wooden sign at the entrance clearly reading “Beijing State-Owned Ninth Foundry,” Li Yi finally remembered—wasn’t this the first major state-owned factory in Beiguan Village to go bankrupt a few years later?

The factory primarily produced cast iron components, including sewer pipes and cast-iron stoves. Back in the day, with planned orders, it had managed to get by.

However, as policies shifted, the factory’s orders dwindled, and within five or six years, it had completely collapsed.

Compounding the problem was the massive workforce at this labor-intensive factory; relying solely on government bailouts to keep it afloat was clearly unsustainable.

Left with no other choice, it eventually went into bankruptcy liquidation, becoming one of the first state-owned enterprises in Beiguan Village—and indeed in all of Beijing—to go bankrupt, which caused quite a stir at the time.

Li Yi really hadn’t expected that the row of houses he’d set his sights on actually belonged to the foundry—he was actually quite lucky.

After all, the foundry was in a precarious financial situation, and these houses appeared to have been vacant for some time. If he paid to rent them, it would provide the factory with some much-needed revenue.

Normally, they wouldn’t turn down such a good deal.

With that in mind, Li Yi immediately told Shitou and the others to wait outside, while he and Dongzi headed inside the foundry!

As soon as they reached the entrance, they were stopped by a middle-aged man on duty.

“Hold on. Which organization are you with? Who are you here to see?”

Li Yi stepped forward and said, “Hello, comrade. We’d like to ask if the row of houses to the southeast of your factory is available for rent?”

“Rent a place? That’s a first—someone actually coming to our foundry to rent a place!”

The man then turned to Li Yi and said, “Our foundry has been in operation for decades, and we’ve never rented out any housing to the public. You’d better go somewhere else!”

Li Yi frowned and said, “Comrade, could you please let your supervisor know? I’m not just looking to rent one or two units—this would actually benefit your factory!”

“I already told you, our factory doesn’t rent out housing to the public. You’d better leave now!”

Seeing that the man wouldn’t budge, Li Yi couldn’t help but say, “Comrade, you should at least bring this up with your superiors. How can you just make this decision on your own?”

“Can’t you understand a simple statement? I told you we’re not renting—enough already! Get out of here right now, or I’ll call for backup!” the middle-aged man said impatiently.

Seeing that the man was determined not to cooperate, Li Yi knew it was pointless to argue further. He snorted coldly and left with Dongzi.

There was no point arguing with a mere gatekeeper; for something like this, he’d have to find the factory director or another person in charge.

However, Li Yi didn’t know who the foundry’s director was; he’d have to find a way to get that information.

Additionally, that row of buildings had given Li Yi quite an idea. Since he was in the modern food service business, there was no need to limit himself to traditional storefronts; street-facing warehouses like these would work just fine.

At worst, he could renovate it later—it wouldn’t cost much.

After reuniting with Shitou and the others, Li Yi led the group to a state-run restaurant nearby for lunch.

But as soon as they walked in, Li Yi spotted a familiar figure!

Jiang Longcheng was in a terrible mood today; after returning home yesterday, he’d been scolded by his father again.

The reason was that his cousin had been promoted—from deputy director of an office at a certain ministry to director, a one-rank rise in administrative status.

A 25-year-old department director—in local government terms, that was equivalent to a county magistrate’s position—and his future looked incredibly bright.

Because of this, the old man had heaped praise on his cousin, which left his own father feeling resentful.

As soon as he got home, his father berated him mercilessly, saying that as a descendant of the Jiang family, he showed no ambition, content to just coast by running a shabby little factory—a complete disgrace.

Although he’d grown accustomed to this over the years, hearing those words still made him feel irritated, and his mood remained sour for the rest of the day.

So, after work at noon, he called up his childhood friend Ye Jianhua to go out for a drink and take his mind off things.

But after just a couple of sips, he looked up and saw Li Yi walking right in!

Jiang Longcheng recognized him instantly—wasn’t this the very young man who had cursed him to a short life just last night?

Recalling what his childhood friend Zhou Jianguo had said yesterday, Jiang Longcheng couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

Combined with the two drinks he’d just had, he found it even harder to contain his rage.

Without hesitation, he stood up and walked straight over to Li Yi.

Once he reached Li Yi, Jiang Longcheng said coldly, “Yesterday, Old Zhou told me you had ulterior motives toward me, and I didn’t quite believe it. But now it seems that kid was right after all. Spit it out—who are you, and what are your intentions for following me?”

“Up to no good? Against you?”

Li Yi smiled and continued, “They say a dog bites Lü Dongbin—not recognizing a good person’s heart. Today, I’ve finally seen it for myself!”

“You’re calling me a dog?”

“Enough. Don’t act like you’ve been wronged for generations. You wanted to know who I am, didn’t you? I’ll give you a chance!” Li Yi said indifferently.

“What kind of chance?”

“The chance to finish me off, of course!”

“???”

“Treat us guys to a meal, and we’ll chat while we’re at it!” Li Yi said.

“Hahaha, that’s funny. You’re a funny one, kid!”

Jiang Longcheng then looked at Li Yi and said, “This is the first time anyone’s dared to ask me to treat them like this. Just for your guts alone, treating you guys to a meal isn’t a big deal. But if your answer doesn’t satisfy me, the consequences…”

However, before Jiang Longcheng could finish his threat, Li Yi cut him off.

“Enough with the act. It won’t work on me!”

With that, Li Yi led Dongzi and the others over to the table where Jiang Longcheng and his group were sitting, then took a seat under the stunned gaze of Jiang Longcheng’s childhood friend.

Beiguan Village. State-run Restaurant!

After Li Yi and the others left, Jiang Longcheng felt completely drained.

It wasn’t really Jiang Longcheng’s fault; anyone else hearing those words would have felt the same way.

If it hadn’t been for the sincerity in Li Yi’s final words—and the fact that he left so decisively—Jiang Longcheng would have thought he’d come looking for a fight.

With his short temper, he’d almost come to blows!

Just then, one of the men who had accompanied Jiang Longcheng inside walked over and asked, “Hey, Old Jiang, why do you look so livid?”

Jiang Longcheng frowned as he recounted what had just happened, then asked, “What do you think that kid was getting at?”

“Playing tricks. I bet that kid’s trying to pull a fast one on you!”

“What kind of shady deal?” Jiang Longcheng asked immediately.

“Didn’t he say you’re in for a bloody disaster? You didn’t believe him, but if something really did happen to you, how would you feel?”

“What do you mean… are you saying that kid is setting a trap for me?”

“It’s possible. I’ve heard there are some street thugs who specialize in this. They start by mysteriously warning you about an accident, then secretly stage one behind the scenes. That way, you’ll believe him, and he’ll take advantage of the situation to make a quick buck off you!”

“Is that even a thing?”

“Yeah, so you’d better be careful these next few days!”

“Hah, that guy better not pull that stunt. Otherwise, I’ll break his legs!” Jiang Longcheng said, raising his fist.

“Give it a rest. We’re fine china—we can’t go butting heads with those roughnecks!”

“But we can’t let people take advantage of us either. Otherwise, if the folks in the compound find out, they’ll laugh their heads off!”

“You’re just a prideful fool. Will a few laughs kill you? Let me tell you, those street thugs are ruthless. Don’t act on impulse!”

“When it comes to being ruthless, I’ve never been afraid of anyone. Alright, enough chatter. Hurry up and get some meat to eat—I’ve been starving these past few days!” Jiang Longcheng said nonchalantly.

“You’re the factory director, running such a huge textile plant, and you’re still short on meat? Just have the factory canteen cook you a stew—that’s all it takes!”

“Bullshit. I’m the factory director—I’ve got to set an example!”

Seeing that his childhood friend was about to say something else, Jiang Longcheng cut him off immediately: “Stop your nonsense. This meal’s on me. Hurry up and order!”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that. So, what kind of meat do you want?”

“Lamb. I’ll have lamb chops—the fatty kind. They’re delicious!”

“Deal!”

Li Yi never would have dreamed that just by offering a simple reminder, he’d now been branded a con artist.

What’s more, he’d been mistaken for someone with ulterior motives. If anything were to happen to Jiang Longcheng, he’d likely be the first person under suspicion.

But even if Li Yi had known this would happen, he probably wouldn’t have changed his mind.

After all, Jiang Longcheng was his benefactor. With his life now in danger, Li Yi simply couldn’t turn a blind eye—neither out of duty nor out of compassion.

As for being misunderstood, Li Yi had been misunderstood countless times in his past life—he was used to it by now!

……

The night passed without incident. After a good night’s sleep, Li Yi woke up bright and early the next morning.

He went to the next room to wake up his younger brothers, and after they’d washed up, he led them out the door.

Today was already October 27th, and there was only one week left before the notice from the capital was issued. He had to secure the storefront as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the notice was issued, trying to rent a suitable storefront would cost at least double the price.

On top of that, something was going to happen to Jiang Longcheng that night. Once Li Yi had settled the housing situation, he’d have to go save him.

So, he had quite a lot on his plate today!

Once they reached the street, Li Yi had a quick breakfast and then led Dongzi and the others as they wandered along the main street of Beiguan Village.

At the moment, Beiguan Village was still quite run-down. All he could see were small, single-story houses, and the few multi-story buildings that existed belonged to various state-owned factories.

The current dilapidation stood in stark contrast to the prosperity of his past life. Who could have imagined that this large, run-down village would one day become a renowned high-tech park in the capital?

Who could have imagined that these busy, ordinary citizens would one day make a fortune simply by holding a Beiguan Village household registration and investing in land shares?

Although Beiguan Village’s current layout was rather haphazard—if there was even a layout at all—it looked like a complete mess!

But Li Yi had spent a considerable amount of time here in his previous life, so he was fairly familiar with the area and wasn’t wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly. He led Dongzi and the others toward what he remembered as Beiguan Village’s first commercial street.

At the moment, there weren’t many shops on the main street, and even those that existed were mostly state-owned.

However, there were still quite a few people running small private businesses on the side, though they were all very cautious and didn’t dare to be too brazen about it!

After all, quite a few educated youth had returned to the city in the past two years, and if they couldn’t get into college, it was hard to find suitable jobs for them.

So, they either stayed at home living off their parents or quietly ran small businesses.

For example, some would gather eggs and baked goods to sell near the train station, while others would roast sunflower seeds and peanuts to sell near the movie theater.

There are even some sharp-witted individuals who take photos of movie star posters, get them developed, and quietly sell them to young men and women—making quite a bit of money in the process!

These days, as long as you’re bold enough, you can basically make money doing just about anything.

However, since there was no official permission, everything had to be done in secret.

The authorities turn a blind eye to these activities; as long as they don’t go too far, they pretend not to see!

So, for now, the business atmosphere throughout the capital remains quite lively, though this activity is taking place behind the scenes, giving the impression of a simmering undercurrent.

However, when the notice was issued on November 4, the forcibly suppressed calm was instantly shattered, and everything would be brought out into the open.

From that moment on, industry and commerce in the capital would usher in a new era!

But that’s a story for another time!

Li Yi and his companions wandered the main street for over two hours but failed to find a suitable shop.

Li Yi even made a special trip to the street he remembered as being dedicated to restaurants, only to find that the street before him differed somewhat from his memories.

Most importantly, the majority of the buildings here were primarily residential, with no dedicated storefronts.

Even if there were any, they were extremely small—at most twenty or thirty square meters—which simply wouldn’t meet Li Yi’s needs.

Come to think of it, in his previous life, Li Yi had left the cotton mill back in December.

By then, nearly two months had passed since the notice was issued. Some quick-witted individuals had already converted their street-facing homes into standard storefronts for rent, and others followed suit, eventually forming the later-known dining street.

As for now, people simply haven’t gotten around to it yet!

More importantly, most of the buildings here were ordinary residential homes. They were simply too small; even if converted into shops, they wouldn’t meet Li Yi’s requirements.

After all, he wanted to run a combined barbecue and hot pot restaurant, which had significant space requirements. First and foremost, the area had to be large; anything too small simply wouldn’t work.

After searching all morning without finding a suitable property, the group couldn’t help but feel a bit discouraged.

Li Yi, however, wasn’t in a rush. After all, finding a shop isn’t like looking for a place to live—it’s not something you can rush.

They still had a few days left. If they couldn’t find anything today, they’d just keep looking tomorrow.

A village as big as Beiguan must have a place suitable for a restaurant!

However, just as Li Yi was about to take his crew to find a place for lunch, a row of dilapidated buildings suddenly caught his eye.

The row of buildings faced the street and stretched over a hundred meters long; though the exact area wasn’t immediately clear, it surely wasn’t small.

Judging by the architectural style, they likely served as warehouses or similar structures, but they had clearly been renovated—they had windows and doors opening onto the street.

The moment he saw this row of buildings, Li Yi was instantly intrigued.

If the interiors of these buildings could be connected, they’d be perfect for a restaurant.

Without finishing his meal, Li Yi immediately set off toward them in long strides.

After securing the rental, Li Yi immediately directed a few of his younger brothers to chop wood, haul coal, light the stove, and then clean the place up.

Renting a place back then was a real hassle—nothing like the simple “move-in-ready” process of later times.

Fortunately, Uncle Wen and his wife were very kind. Seeing that these young lads clearly had little experience, they immediately came over to help.

After two hours of hard work, they finally got the place clean.

However, they still couldn’t move in because they had no bedding or pillows.

After that, Li Yi said goodbye to Uncle Wen and took Dongzi and the others to the nearby Dongfanghong Store to buy bedding and other essentials.

The store had plenty of these items, but they required cloth and cotton ration coupons.

Naturally, Li Yi didn’t have these on hand while traveling, so he had no choice but to pay a high price for five sets of bedding and five pillows.

As for straw mats, Uncle Wen had already prepared them, so Li Yi and the others didn’t need to buy those themselves.

In addition to the bedding, Li Yi bought a large iron teapot and three thermoses, as well as a washbasin, toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, soap, and other essentials.

By the time they left the store, everyone’s hands were full of various daily necessities.

Back at the rental house, everyone busied themselves making the beds. They worked on it until past five in the afternoon, and finally got their living quarters settled!

Seeing that it had already grown dark, and considering that the guys hadn’t eaten anything since finishing their meal around 10:00 that morning, Li Yi immediately suggested they go out for dinner.

Beiguan Village also had state-run restaurants; after all, this was part of the capital, and there were no fewer than ten such establishments of various sizes in the vicinity.

However, these state-run restaurants were all cut from the same cloth—from their business models and menus to their service attitudes—so Li Yi didn’t consider them competitors.

Led by Li Yi, the group soon arrived at a state-run restaurant near the cotton mill!

The restaurant wasn’t very large—just over 120 square meters—and after accounting for the kitchen, there was only room for about thirteen or fourteen square tables.

Since Li Yi and his group arrived relatively early, there weren’t many people in the restaurant.

Once inside, Li Yi ordered five bowls of noodles and a plate of braised pork head!

The total cost came to 5.50 yuan plus 8 liang of grain coupons!

It must be said that the prices here were still quite cheap; even compared to Qing Shan County, they weren’t much higher.

Soon, the large bowls of knife-cut noodles and the rich, succulent braised pork head meat were all served!

Dongzi and the others hadn’t eaten lunch, so they were all hungry and immediately began wolfing down their food.

Young people eat fast; in just a few minutes, they’d polished off a huge bowl of noodles, leaving not even a drop of soup behind.

As for the plate of pork jowl, it was snatched up in just a few bites by those headstrong lads the moment it hit the table.

They say teenagers can out-eat their parents—at sixteen or seventeen, when they’re still growing, they can really pack it in and eat just as much as any adult.

Having eaten their fill, Li Yi was just about to lead Dongzi and the others back to rest. Tomorrow they’d have to scour the streets looking for a place to open their shop, so they had to get up early!

But just as they stood up, the restaurant door was pushed open from the outside, and immediately several middle-aged and young men wearing military overcoats walked in!

When Li Yi saw the young man walking in the center, flanked by the others, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth!

A leather jacket under his military overcoat, long pants, dress shoes, and a briefcase slung over his shoulder—that flashy look was something only he, Jiang Longcheng, could pull off; no one else could imitate it!

At that moment, Li Yi’s lips curled slightly upward as he fixed his gaze on him.

Jiang Longcheng hadn’t noticed Li Yi at first, but the people around him sensed something was off and quietly whispered a warning in his ear.

Only then did Jiang Longcheng spot Li Yi!

Realizing that Li Yi was staring at him without moving, he immediately walked over toward him.

“Bro, do we know each other?”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “No, we don’t.”

“If we don’t know each other, then what’s with the staring?” Jiang Longcheng asked again.

“You’re going to meet a violent end!”

“Uh… You little brat, how dare you curse…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “Your brow is dark, blood energy surges skyward, and your face bears the mark of an untimely death. Therefore, you’re not just facing a blood-related disaster—your life is in danger!”

“Besides, I’m just giving you a heads-up. I’m not trying to curse you, nor am I after anything from you. Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you!”

After saying this, Li Yi led Dongzi and the others out of the restaurant without looking back, leaving Jiang Longcheng standing there completely dumbfounded!

……

Once outside, Dongzi couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Yi, what did you mean by all that?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I told that guy he’s in for some bad luck!”

“Uh… Brother Yi, how did you know that? Don’t tell me you can tell fortunes too?” Qiangzi asked curiously.

“Enough. Mind your own business. Let’s go home!”

Li Yi didn’t explain anything to his younger brothers; instead, he simply led them back to their rented apartment.

But in his mind, thoughts of Jiang Longcheng kept flashing by. Although what Li Yi had just said sounded a bit like a fortune-teller’s ramblings, he hadn’t deceived Jiang Longcheng—the guy really was in for trouble, and this time, he’d lose his life.

The main reason Li Yi had warned him was because the man had done him a favor.

As for Jiang Longcheng’s background, Li Yi knew it all too well!

He was a classic “compound kid”—his parents and uncles were all high-ranking officials. You could say he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Normally, someone like him would have followed in the footsteps of his parents and uncles, entering the system and eventually governing a region.

But the guy had no interest in politics. With no other choice, his parents had sent him to a cotton mill a few years ago, where he was given the title of deputy director.

As a result, when the old factory director retired last year, the 28-year-old smoothly took the reins of power and became the new director of Beijing’s Third Cotton Spinning Factory.

Don’t let Jiang Longcheng’s extraordinary background, flamboyant demeanor, and penchant for the limelight fool you—he has a chivalrous heart and is always ready to draw his sword to help those in need.

And Li Yi himself had once been the recipient of Jiang Longcheng’s kindness!

In his previous life, Li Yi had been wandering the streets of the capital, ending up in Beiguan Village—he was, in a sense, at the lowest point of his life.

He barely had enough to eat from one meal to the next and was frequently bullied by local thugs.

But Li Yi wasn’t the type to take a beating without fighting back; every time, he’d go all out against them.

As the saying goes, two fists can’t beat four hands; he was no match for a whole gang on his own and was often beaten to a pulp.

One day, when that gang of thugs came looking for trouble again, Jiang Longcheng happened to be passing by. He stepped in decisively and rescued Li Yi from the situation.

After learning of Li Yi’s plight, he immediately took him back to the cotton mill and found him a job as a boiler operator there.

Thus, after wandering the streets for several months, Li Yi finally found a steady job.

But his good fortune was short-lived. Just as Li Yi was entering his second month at the cotton mill, shocking news suddenly broke: Jiang Longcheng was dead!

Li Yi later learned that Jiang Longcheng had been murdered by a group of small-time thugs.

According to police interrogation, those thugs were not locals from Beijing but had come from out of town.

Their motive for killing Jiang Longcheng was primarily financial gain.

Seeing Jiang Longcheng stride confidently with a briefcase in hand, the thugs assumed he was wealthy and set their sights on him.

As it turned out, Jiang Longcheng had a fiery temper. Even though he knew he was outnumbered, he refused to back down, and in the end, he was stabbed to death by those thugs.

After his death, Li Yi could no longer continue working at the factory and was fired shortly thereafter.

Fortunately, by this point, Li Yi had already pulled himself together. Even after leaving the cotton mill, he never returned to the destitute state he’d been in just a few months earlier. Instead, he gradually established a foothold in Beiguan Village and eventually became a local powerhouse!

In his previous life, Li Yi had always been grateful for Jiang Longcheng’s kindness. To Jiang, it might have been nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment gesture—a small favor he hadn’t even given a second thought to.

But to Li Yi, it was a ray of light in the darkness—a gesture of timely aid that was all the more precious!

Alas, he passed away at a young age, and even if Li Yi had wanted to repay his kindness, he never had the chance.

Now that he had been given a second chance at life, Li Yi still remembered Jiang Longcheng’s kindness. That was why he had come to Beiguan Village the very next day after arriving in the capital—he was determined to save him and would never let the tragedy repeat itself.

The night passed without incident, and by the time Li Yi and his group woke up the next day, it was already past ten o’clock!

No wonder—they hadn’t found a place to stay until 2:30 a.m. last night, and by the time they’d stoked the stove and the room had warmed up, it was already past 3:00 a.m.

On top of that, the young men were all so excited that they didn’t actually fall asleep until well into the night.

Waking up at ten o’clock was actually pretty good!

After getting up, Li Yi immediately had the guys pack their bags, check out of the room, and then they left the small underground guesthouse.

Once they reached the main street, Li Yi first took them out for a quick bite to eat, then headed straight for the bus stop!

Last night, Li Yi had already mapped out his plans for the day: first, secure a place to stay, then tackle a major task, and finally, repay a favor.

As for opening a shop, Li Yi had put that on the back burner!

When it came to finding a place to stay, Li Yi’s first thought was the Beiguan Village area.

He chose this location partly because of its promising future prospects!

After all, in just a few years, the government would designate this area as a high-tech park. The renowned Beiguan Village Technology Park of the future would be centered here and gradually expand outward.

If he could get a head start here and secure a plot of land, he wouldn’t need to do much in the future—simply contributing the land as equity would be enough to make a fortune.

More importantly, the area is currently home to a large concentration of state-owned factories—major enterprises like the taffy factory, cotton spinning mill, boiler plant, and transformer factory are all located there.

In addition, there was a school and several government offices in the area. Opening a restaurant here—regardless of its size—would guarantee steady business.

However, none of these were the most important reasons. Another reason Li Yi chose to develop his business here was that he was very familiar with the Beiguan Village area!

In his previous life, after leaving home, he first stayed in Ning City for a while. When he saw no prospects there, he hitched a ride on a freight train to the capital.

Upon arriving in the capital, he was penniless and had no relatives or friends to turn to, so he had no choice but to wander the city while looking for work.

Since he didn’t have a letter of introduction to the capital, he didn’t dare venture into the central districts and could only wander around the Beiguan Village area, where he endured immense hardship.

Eventually, with the help of a benefactor, he managed to settle down in Beiguan Village and gradually built his life from there.

Now, returning to this familiar place, he has decided to start his new venture in the Beiguan Village area once again.

He vaguely recalled that there were only two bus routes from North Station to Beiguan Village: Route 12 and Route 21. The entire journey was 9 kilometers, and the fare was just 20 cents!

Sure enough, when he stopped at the bus stop and took a closer look, it was exactly as he remembered.

Then, Li Yi led Dongzi, Qiangzi, and the others onto the bus bound for Beiguan Village.

It was the first time these young lads had ever ridden a bus, and once on board, they seemed both nervous and curious.

Seeing them like this, Li Yi thought of himself in his past life.

Compared to them, back then, aside from being bold, he had practically nothing and was practically nobody.

If it hadn’t been for Director Jiang, he would probably have frozen to death on a cold night in Beijing.

Thinking of Old Jiang’s fate, Li Yi couldn’t help but sigh.

Such a good man—how could he have been killed by a bunch of petty thugs? Life really is unpredictable!

This time, no matter what, he had to help him escape this crisis—as a way of repaying the kindness he’d shown by taking him in all those years ago.

The bus drove along the wide streets of the capital for over half an hour before finally arriving at the Beiguancun stop. Li Yi immediately led his young companions off the bus.

Once off the bus, Dongzi and the others were taken aback!

The place looked run-down and dilapidated, with nothing but rows of small, low-rise houses as far as the eye could see. Compared to the bustling city center, this place resembled a rundown village.

“Brother Yi, why are we here? This place is way too run-down,” Qiangzi couldn’t help but ask.

“Is this really Beijing? To me, it doesn’t even look as good as our commune.”

“Nonsense! Is our commune even as big as this place?”

“Who’s talking nonsense…”

Li Yi cleared his throat and said, “Stop bickering. This place might not be very bustling, but it’s still part of Beijing. As long as we can get a foothold here, one day we’ll make it to the city center!”

Dongzi immediately asked, “Brother Yi, what should we do now?”

“Let’s rent a place first and get settled,” Li Yi said.

“Bro Yi, do you know where we can find a place to rent?”

Li Yi knew, of course, but he said casually, “Just walk down the street—you might spot some rental listings!”

After saying this, he picked up his suitcase and set off in the direction buried deep in his memory.

As he looked at the streets on either side—familiar yet unfamiliar—Li Yi’s thoughts gradually drifted back to his past life.

It was from this chaotic place right before his eyes that he had gradually built his life. He had witnessed Beiguan Village transform step by step from a desolate, dilapidated area into a renowned high-tech park in the capital, becoming a hub for corporate talent.

At the same time, Beiguan Village had witnessed Li Yi’s own growth—from a migrant worker living under a bridge to a super-rich tycoon with assets worth tens of billions.

Returning to this place once more, Li Yi’s feelings were quite complex.

In his past life, he had come here with the resolve to fight to the death. Back then, he felt guilty over Tang Xue’s death and felt he had let his third older sister down; venturing out into the world was nothing more than a desperate, last-ditch effort born of despair.

But now, his feelings were entirely different.

Tang Xue was still alive; she had become his lawful wife, and was even carrying their two children.

His visit to the capital was no longer a last-ditch effort; he no longer felt the pressure of “succeed or die.”

This time, his goal was to get a head start, secure a foothold in the capital, and lay the groundwork for Tang Xue and the children’s move here next year.

Of course, he’s also bringing along his younger brothers—he can’t very well let them waste their lives holed up in some remote mountain corner like they did in his previous life!

Although that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, if the opportunity arose, he’d rather take them to see the sights from a higher vantage point!

And so, with mixed feelings, the group walked about five hundred meters under Li Yi’s lead before turning into a secluded alley.

After walking several dozen meters down the alley, Li Yi finally stopped in front of a courtyard!

Immediately, under the nervous gazes of the younger men, Li Yi knocked on the door knocker.

“Clang!!!”

After a long while, there was finally a sound from inside the courtyard: “Coming… coming!”

Then, the courtyard gate was opened from the inside, and a middle-aged man in his late forties or early fifties stepped out.

“Huh, who are you guys? What are you doing here?”

Seeing Uncle Wen again, Li Yi felt a faint flutter of excitement, but he forced himself to stay calm.

“Hello, sir. I heard you have a house for rent here. Is that true?”

“I do have a place, but could you tell me what you do? You don’t look very old, but you don’t seem like students either…”

“Well, we’re from North Sai Province. We came to the capital mainly to see if there are any opportunities for us here!”

As he spoke, Li Yi took out his letter of introduction and household registration booklet and handed them to Uncle Wen.

After reviewing Li Yi’s documents and confirming everything was in order, Uncle Wen said, “I currently have a few side rooms available for rent. The rent is 8 yuan a month. I’ll only provide basic items like a bed, a stove, and a water jar—you’ll have to buy everything else yourselves!”

“Also, water is free, but you’ll have to pay for electricity yourselves!”

“Alright, let’s take a look at the place first. If it works out, we’ll rent it!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, come on in!”

Stepping into the courtyard, he found the layout exactly as he remembered it, which made Li Yi feel quite at home.

According to Uncle Wen, the rooms currently available for rent were the ones on the west side; the ones on the east had already been leased.

The main house was occupied by Uncle Wen’s family and was not available for rent.

Li Yi took a quick look around and noticed that only one of the rooms on the west side had been rented out; the remaining three were all still available.

Without hesitation, Li Yi said, “Uncle, we’ll take all three of these rooms!”

“All… all of them?”

“Yeah, but we’re not sure how long we’ll be staying yet, so let’s just rent them for three months for now!”

“Alright, alright!”

“Then it’s settled!”

“Great!”

……

Beijing North Station!

“Woo-woo…”

As the train’s long, drawn-out whistle sounded, the green-painted train slowly pulled up alongside the platform!

Dongzi and the others, who had long been ready to disembark, were peering out the window at the towering buildings and the crowds of people passing by—a state they had been in for nearly half an hour.

In fact, as soon as the train entered the capital’s vicinity and they caught sight of the city’s dazzling lights, these young men had already begun to get excited.

Only Li Yi remained unfazed, while also thinking about where he should spend the night!

After all, it was past 1:00 a.m., and most guesthouses were already closed.

More importantly, Li Yi knew full well that guesthouses in Beijing were hard to come by these days.

There was no way around it: guesthouses and hotels required significant investment, which most people simply couldn’t afford, so their numbers were already scarce.

Conversely, the population of Beijing had been growing exponentially over the past year or two. With all these outsiders needing a place to stay, the number of guesthouses had become severely insufficient.

Faced with this supply-demand imbalance, the Beijing municipal government had no choice but to publicly call on wealthy individuals or companies to open inns and hotels to solve the “accommodation crisis.”

So, Li Yi’s trip to the capital actually had two plans in mind. His first choice, of course, was to open a restaurant and get into the food service industry.

If that didn’t work out, he would set up guesthouses and hotels!

However, this was not Li Yi’s first choice; after all, hotels and inns generate profits rather slowly, and simply cannot compare to running a restaurant.

More importantly, opening a hotel wouldn’t drive economic development in the village.

Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Dongzi’s voice suddenly rang out: “Brother Yi, the doors are open—shouldn’t we get off now?”

Li Yi glanced over and saw that most of the passengers had indeed risen from their seats and were making their way toward the train doors with their bags and luggage!

“No rush. Let them get off first; we’ll be the last to leave!”

Li Yi said casually. He had no desire to jostle with the crowd—it wasn’t as if he couldn’t get off.

Once most of the other passengers had disembarked, Li Yi finally stood up from his seat with Dongzi and the others, then carried their suitcases toward the train door!

Once off the train, they joined the stream of people heading out of the station!

By the time they exited the station, it was already 2:00 a.m.!

Despite the biting cold, the young men were all excited.

The farthest they’d ever been was Yunshan County; they hadn’t even been to Ning City, let alone a metropolis like Beijing.

Seeing the wide asphalt roads, the tall and imposing train station, and the streetlights that made the early morning as bright as day for the first time, everything here filled them with wonder.

“Brother Yi, where are we going now?” Dongzi asked.

He was the sharpest and most mature among the group, so after his initial curiosity subsided, he was the first to ask about their next move.

Li Yi glanced at the various signs hanging around the train station and said, “Let’s find a guesthouse to crash at for the night first, then look for a place to stay tomorrow!”

“Alright!”

Li Yi then led Dongzi and the others toward the nearest guesthouse.

However, when they knocked on the guesthouse door, they were told there were no beds left.

That’s right—these days, most guesthouses in the capital don’t offer “rooms” per se, but only “beds.”

If you wanted a private room, you’d have to book every single bed in it.

Since there were no beds available, Li Yi and the others had no choice but to look for another guesthouse!

To their frustration, they checked seven or eight guesthouses in a row but still couldn’t find a suitable one.

Either there were no beds available at all, or there were only one or two, which was nowhere near enough for the five of them.

Although Li Yi had anticipated this situation beforehand, the thought of possibly having to sleep on the streets with his friends on their very first day in Beijing still left him feeling a bit down.

Just as Li Yi was considering whether to ask a taxi driver to help find a guesthouse, a young man in his twenties suddenly walked over to them.

“Comrade, are you looking for a place to stay?”

Li Yi gave him a careful once-over. The young man had a square face and a determined look in his eyes—not the kind of shifty gaze you’d expect from a con artist.

“Yes, but do you have enough room for the five of us?”

“It’s enough, but we can’t all fit in one room—we’ll have to split into two rooms!” the young man replied.

“Alright, lead the way!”

“Aren’t you going to ask about the price?” the young man asked curiously.

“This isn’t my first time in the capital. I know how much a bed costs,” Li Yi said casually.

“Well, I’ll tell you up front: we charge 80 cents a night for a bed!”

“Eight mao? This place isn’t a legitimate guesthouse, is it?” Li Yi said immediately.

He knew full well that hotels in the capital these days cost around two or three yuan a night, and even ordinary guesthouses ran from one to one and a half yuan.

An 80-cent guesthouse was most likely one of those “black” guesthouses!

By “underground,” he didn’t mean a rip-off joint, but rather an unregistered, privately run guesthouse.

The young man gave an awkward smile and said, “You’re right—our guesthouse isn’t registered. So, are you interested?”

“Lead the way,” Li Yi said.

Although Li Yi knew these small guesthouses weren’t very safe, they had no other choice right now.

After all, it was almost November, and nighttime temperatures in Beijing could drop to well below freezing—unlike July or August, when spending a night outdoors wasn’t a big deal.

“Sure thing, after you!”

With that, the young man stepped ahead of Li Yi and the others to lead the way!

Following the young man, they walked along the main road near the train station for about twenty minutes, then turned into an alley. After another five or six minutes, they finally stopped in front of a small courtyard.

The young man knocked on the door, then led Li Yi and the others inside.

Once inside, Li Yi realized it was a typical Beijing siheyuan. Directly opposite the main gate was the main hall, with side rooms on either side, a front courtyard to the south, and a central courtyard in the middle.

Although it looked a bit run-down, it was actually quite clean.

The young man opened a room and said to Li Yi, “Comrade, please take a look at the room first. If you’re satisfied, you can move in!”

Li Yi immediately handed his suitcase to Dongzi and went inside to take a look.

It was a modest side room, no larger than 20 square meters, furnished with three single wooden beds and a large cast-iron stove.

The furnishings were nothing to write home about; the sheets and pillowcases were barely passable, though the cleanliness was decent.

The other room was essentially the same, except it had an additional small water basin.

“The rooms are fine, but don’t assign anyone to the other bed—we’re taking both of these rooms!” Li Yi said.

“Then you’ll have to pay for six beds!”

“Alright!”

The young man checked Li Yi and his companions’ letters of introduction, confirmed everything was in order, and then processed their check-in.

Li Yi and his group were finally settled in, sparing them from having to sleep on the streets on their first night in 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!

After leaving the sugar factory, Li Yi didn’t go home; instead, he rode his bike straight to Liu San’s place!

Since the liangpi business was on hold for the time being, Li Yi told Liu San to rest at home for a few days and get in touch with him later.

Originally, Li Yi had planned to take him to Beijing to build a career, but right now, the business of buying cattle and sheep was a better fit for the kid.

Don’t let Liu San’s rough-and-tumble appearance fool you—he’s got a knack for business. With him tagging along with his brother-in-law, things should go smoothly.

Earlier, in Liang Yukui’s office, Li Yi had met with his brother-in-law. After briefly explaining the situation, his brother-in-law agreed to take on the task of purchasing the cattle and sheep.

However, Li Yi knew his brother-in-law’s temperament well. As a former soldier, he was too rigid and lacked flexibility.

He’d certainly get the job done, but it would likely cost a lot more. With Liu San tagging along, there’s no need to worry about that.

That guy had been hustling in the county seat for years; his haggling skills were already second nature.

When they arrived at Liu San’s house, Li Yi saw the young man chopping wood as soon as he stepped into the courtyard.

“San!”

Hearing the voice, Liu San immediately turned to look!

As soon as he saw Li Yi, the young man dropped his axe and came over to greet him.

“Brother Yi, what brings you here? Come on in and sit down!”

“I won’t be going inside. I just came over to tell you something,” Li Yi said.

“What is it, Brother Yi? Just tell me!”

“Tomorrow morning, head over to the sugar factory in the northern suburbs and find a man named Yang Wenguang—he’s my older sister’s husband. Follow him to the back meadow!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, but what are we doing at the Back Pasture?”

“To collect cattle and sheep, but remember—we’re only taking the calves and lambs that won’t make it through the winter!”

Li Yi continued, “As for the price, try to drive it down as much as possible—we don’t have much money!”

“Brother Yi, how much money do we have, and what’s your bottom line?” Liu San asked immediately.

“I have no more than 40,000 yuan to work with. As for my target price, lambs over a month old shouldn’t cost more than 20 yuan, and calves shouldn’t go over 50 yuan!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, I’ll check the market rates once I get there. I promise we won’t spend a single penny more than we have to!” Liu San said.

“Hmm! After you meet up tomorrow, head to Nianzishan Village first. I’ll assign a few people to join you, and then you’ll all go together!”

“Got it!”

After giving his instructions, Li Yi left Liu San’s house.

He then headed straight to the county credit union—he needed to withdraw some money!

After all, he’d need the money tomorrow, and leaving it in his passbook just wouldn’t do—the herders would only accept cold, hard cash.

The withdrawal process went smoothly, and soon Li Yi left the credit union with 40,000 yuan in cash.

……

By the time he returned home, night had fallen and the streetlights were just coming on!

Seeing Li Yi push his bicycle inside, his father, Li Shankui, pointed to the bright red cabinet and said, “Uncle Feng and Uncle Tongfu have both signed that agreement and put their fingerprints on it. Take a look and see if it’s okay!”

Li Yi parked his bicycle in the main room, then walked over to the red cabinet and picked up the agreement.

He saw that Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu had both signed and pressed their fingerprints on it, and the production team’s official seal had also been stamped on it.

“Alright!”

At that moment, his father asked again, “When do you plan to set out to buy the cattle and sheep? Do you want me to go with you?”

“No need. I’ve left that to my brother-in-law to handle!”

“Wenguang? Is he up to the task?” Li Shankui asked, frowning.

Li Shankui had always considered his eldest son-in-law to be a straightforward, no-nonsense sort of person. While he was perfectly capable of doing manual labor or handling other tasks, the business of buying and selling cattle and sheep required someone with a sharp mind—a role neither his eldest nor second son-in-law was suited for.

“My brother-in-law served in the border defense forces before and knows Mongolian! I’ve also found him an experienced person to assist him, so it shouldn’t be a problem!” Li Yi said.

Just then, his mother, who was cooking nearby, suddenly asked, “Have you seen your older sister? How is she? Is she about to give birth?”

Li Yi smiled and replied, “I haven’t seen her, but my older sister is still about a month away from her due date. There’s no way she’d give birth that soon!”

“That’s still pretty soon!”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Mom, how about this? Before I leave in a couple of days, I’ll take you to the county seat to help look after my older sister!”

“That sounds good, but what about the house while I’m gone?”

“My third sister and Xiaoxue are here. Besides, it’s winter now—what could possibly go wrong at home?” Li Yi said.

Li Na chimed in, “Could we bring my eldest sister back to live with us? After all, she and her husband are currently staying in the factory dorms, and it wouldn’t be very convenient for you to go there, would it?”

“Let’s not do that before the baby is born. Our village is pretty far from the county seat—if anything happens, we won’t have time to get there!”

Li Yi continued, “Let Mom take care of things until the baby is born, and then we’ll bring Big Sister home for her postpartum confinement!”

“You really are thoughtful, you rascal. Big Sister didn’t spoil you for nothing!” Third Sister said with a smile.

At that moment, Tang Xue noticed Li Yi’s bulging shoulder bag. Since he’d specifically asked her for the family’s bankbook before leaving, she knew he’d gone to withdraw money.

“How much did you withdraw?”

“Forty thousand yuan!”

“How many cattle and sheep can that buy?” Tang Xue asked again.

“If we’re talking about lambs, we can buy about 2,000 of them. If it’s calves, about 800!”

“That many?”

Tang Xue said with a look of surprise. Although she had never bought cattle or sheep before, she knew that beef and mutton were very expensive these days, costing nearly 2 yuan per pound.

By that calculation, a full-grown sheep would sell for around 160 yuan, while a cow would fetch at least 600 yuan.

Li Yi smiled and explained, “We’re not buying full-grown cattle or sheep, but rather those young lambs and calves that can’t survive the winter. If we don’t buy them, these animals would likely not make it through the cold winter, so the herders generally don’t ask for much!”

“Oh, I see…”

Just as they were speaking, a sudden clatter of footsteps came from outside, along with the sound of young men chatting.

Li Yi knew it must be Dongzi and the others arriving, so he immediately stopped talking.

Sure enough, the door was soon pushed open from the outside, and dxmbang saw Dongzi, Qiangzi, Shitou, Yongzi, Gangzi, and Xiaogouwa—six of them—walk in together.

As soon as they entered, Shitou said, “Brother Yi, we’re here!”

“Hmm. I called you all here today mainly to discuss a few things. The first is about going to Beijing. Since Qiangzi and Dongzi have already decided to come with me, what do the rest of you think?” Li Yi said.

Shitou immediately said, “My mom and dad are fine with me going out into the world with Brother Yi—I’m all set!”

Gangzi chimed in, “I’m all for it too. My parents say I’ll have a bright future if I follow Brother Yi!”

Yongzi, however, sighed and said, “My dad didn’t say much, but my mom doesn’t agree. She wants me to stay in the village and says she’s going to find me a wife!”

Li Yigang had just lifted his bowl to drink water when he heard this; he spit it out suddenly and then coughed uncontrollably.

Tang Xue immediately stepped forward to pat him on the back, and her tenderness made the young men green with envy.

“How old are you, kid? Talking about a wife this early?”

If Li Yi remembered correctly, Yongzi should only be 17 this year—and that’s his lunar age; in reality, he’d just turned 16.

Talking about a wife at 16—just how desperate was his mother to hold a grandchild?

Yongzi said somewhat awkwardly, “My mom says if I wait too long, all the good girls will be taken. She also said to just make the engagement now, and in a couple of years, when I turn 18, I’ll bring her home!”

Li Yi shook his head, then turned to Xiaogouwa and asked, “Gouwa, what about you?”

Xiaogouwa replied immediately, “I’d love to go with you, Brother Yi, but you know my family situation—I can’t leave them for a moment!”

Hearing this, Li Yi fell silent.

Xiaogouwa’s family situation was indeed rather unique. His father had passed away long ago, and his mother was ill, essentially unable to work.

On top of that, Xiaogouwa had a younger brother and two younger sisters who all depended on him for care; he truly couldn’t leave home.

After a moment’s thought, Li Yi said, “Here’s what we’ll do: Yongzi and Little Gouwa will stay in the village. You two have a few tasks to handle there!”

“First, help me look after the house. When I’m away, help out with fetching water or chopping firewood!”

“Second, keep an eye on the village’s cattle and sheep for me. Once the village’s livestock farm is up and running, you two will be the backbone of the operation!”

“Sure, Brother Yi!”

“Also, tomorrow I plan to send someone to follow the truck to the back pastures to buy up cattle and sheep. Are either of you interested?” Li Yi asked again.

“How many days will we be gone?” Xiaogouwa asked immediately.

“Two or three days—five at the most!”

“No problem, I’m in!”

Yongzi chimed in, “I’m good with that too!”

“All right, then. Tomorrow, the two of you will ride along to the back pastures, while the four of you grab your household registration books and come with me to get letters of introduction. We’ll be heading to the capital in a day or two!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

……

Li Yi didn’t attend the village meeting because he had more important things to do!

After filling the water jar at home, Li Yi began taking stock of his funds.

After all, whether he was heading to the capital to make his fortune or handling village affairs, he would need a lot of money, and he needed to know exactly how much his family had.

Over the past few months, Li Yi had indeed made a good deal of money, but he had also spent a lot.

Just in the mushroom business alone, he had invested at least 80,000 yuan.

If it weren’t for Huang Lixing repaying his kindness by giving him over 50,000 yuan, his net worth might still be in the red.

Additionally, Li Yi had taken out a 40,000-yuan loan from the credit union a while back. Aside from using part of that money to buy mushrooms and covering medical expenses for Long Zhanjun’s mother and sister, he had saved the rest.

Currently, Li Yi has 63,000 yuan in his savings account, and there’s also over 4,000 yuan in cash at home.

In addition, Tang Xue has about 2,500 to 2,600 yuan, and Third Sister has over 2,000 yuan.

However, Li Yi didn’t want to use their money unless absolutely necessary!

Sixty-seven thousand yuan—of which forty thousand was borrowed from the credit union—constituted Li Yi’s entire startup capital at the moment.

Although it seems like a decent amount, it’s actually a bit too little for what he plans to do.

Setting other matters aside, once the village agreed to his plan, purchasing cattle and sheep would be a significant expense.

Even if he were to buy only lambs and calves, it would still cost tens of thousands of yuan.

If possible, he’d need to scrape together 100,000 yuan just to barely make ends meet!

But there was no other choice; he couldn’t sell the dried mushrooms right now, so he’d have to make do for the time being!

At noon, my father returned from the production team meeting, accompanied by Feng Kai.

As soon as they walked in, Feng Kai cut straight to the chase: “Xiao Yi, the villagers have agreed to the plan you proposed yesterday!”

Hearing this, Li Yi wasn’t the least bit surprised.

After all, for the villagers, this arrangement was nothing but a win-win situation. The production team wouldn’t have to spend a dime on buying the cattle and sheep, and if the animals didn’t thrive, no one would have to cover the losses.

On the contrary, if they were raised successfully, they’d even get to split half the profits.

It was a windfall—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Who in their right mind would turn that down?

“Since you’ve agreed, let’s sign an agreement,” Li Yi said.

“We need to sign an agreement?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Uncle, it’s not that I don’t trust the villagers. It’s just that money can be a temptation. I’m investing a significant amount this time, and once the cattle and sheep grow up, there’s bound to be some envy!”

“You’re right. Let’s sign it then!”

Feng Kai was a veteran village party secretary; he knew exactly what the villagers were like.

When there’s no profit involved, things usually go smoothly. But if the venture succeeds and the stakes are too high, some people are bound to feel resentful. Signing an agreement early on would help put an end to any troublemakers’ schemes.

“Uncle, I’ll draft the agreement and bring it over to you shortly. For now, let’s discuss the specific plan!”

“Go ahead, Uncle’s all ears!”

“Uncle Feng, raising cattle and sheep isn’t a simple matter. First, we need a decent facility, and we also need enough forage. Plus, we’ll have to take them out to graze regularly!”

“I never would’ve guessed that you, who never sets foot in the fields, actually know quite a bit about raising cattle and sheep!” Feng Kai said with a laugh.

“Uncle, I may not have eaten pork, but I’ve certainly seen pigs run. After all, I was born and raised in the countryside!”

“Haha, you were born and raised in the village, but I’ve never seen you do a day’s work in the fields your whole life!” Feng Kai said.

Li Yi smiled slightly, a touch of embarrassment in his expression, then said, “Uncle, can we not bring that up?”

“Alright, go on!”

“Here’s the plan: as soon as we sign the agreement, I’ll send someone to the back pasture to buy cattle and sheep. As for you, Uncle, you’d better gather all the villagers and have them build the cattle and sheep pens right away while the weather’s still mild.”

Li Yi continued, “Since the lambs and calves we’re buying are all young, they won’t be able to withstand the cold very well. So these cattle and sheep pens can’t be as makeshift as the village’s large livestock sheds!”

“You mean build houses?”

“We don’t need to build actual houses, but they must be able to shelter them from wind and rain!”

Li Yi continued, “I suggest we get the villagers to dig up some grass sods from the small riverbed, mix them with mud to build a mud-brick structure, and cover it with straw. A cattle and sheep pen built this way should meet our needs!”

“Alright, leave that to me!”

“As for gathering fodder, most of the village’s straw is currently piled up in the field at the west end of the village, and no one’s watching it. My idea is to fence off all that straw as soon as possible.”

“Alright!”

“Also, find some time to organize the villagers to go to the forest behind the village and haul back some branches and deadwood. That’ll take care of everyone’s firewood needs and prevent them from resorting to burning the straw out of desperation!”

“Alright!”

“Also, taking care of these lambs and calves is delicate work. Make sure everyone pays close attention, divide into groups, and don’t cut corners!” Li Yi said.

“No problem, I’ll keep an eye on them!” Feng Kai said.

“Mm-hmm!”

…….

After seeing Feng Kai off, Li Yi immediately went back inside, grabbed some paper and a pen, and began drafting the agreement!

Even though he knew full well that this document would most likely never be needed!

But with decades of business experience from his past life, he knew he had to consider every single detail. He couldn’t cut corners just because his partners were fellow villagers—otherwise, he might really end up at a huge disadvantage.

Drafting a contract was no trouble at all for Li Yi, and in no time, he had put together an agreement that clearly defined the rights and responsibilities of both parties.

He then made a clean copy, signed it, and had his father take it to Feng Kai’s house.

He also told his father that once Feng Kai and the village chief had signed it, they should each keep a copy.

As for himself, he hopped on his bicycle and headed straight for the county seat!

Upon arriving in the county seat, Li Yi didn’t go into town but headed straight for the sugar factory.

The security staff at the sugar factory all recognized Li Yi and knew he was a friend of the factory director, so they didn’t stop him; they simply registered his visit and let him in.

Li Yi immediately went to the door of Liang Yukuai’s office and knocked!

“Knock, knock, knock!!!”

Liang Yukui, who was inside the office reviewing this month’s task progress report, heard the knock and immediately said, “Come in!”

“Squeak!”

The office door swung open, and a man walked right in.

When he recognized Li Yi, Liang Yuke immediately stood up and said with a smile, “What wind has blown you here today, young man?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I’m here to ask Brother Liang for a favor!”

“Oh, what’s the matter? You look pretty urgent!” Liang Yukui asked right away.

“I need to borrow something from you, Brother Liang!”

“What do you need? Just ask—if I have it, it’s no problem at all!”

“I’d like to borrow a few vehicles from your factory, and a few people as well,” Li Yi said.

“Vehicles and people? What on earth are you up to, kid?”

Li Yi didn’t beat around the bush; he explained his plan to help the villagers raise cattle and sheep.

After hearing Li Yi’s explanation, Liang Yukuai immediately said, “That’s a great idea, but you’d better think this through. Cattle and sheep are really hard to raise—you might end up losing your entire investment!”

“Don’t worry, Brother Liang. We’re all farmers in our village—raising livestock shouldn’t be a problem!”

“Alright then, how many trucks do you need?”

“Three, I guess. Also, could you lend me my brother-in-law for a few days? He spent a few years in the border region and knows Mongolian!”

“Alright, I’ll go get him right now!”

“Alright!”

…….

Late at night, in the western room of the Li household!

On the small heated bed, Tang Xue and Li Yi were snuggled up close together, tender and intimate!

By now, they had both wrapped themselves in thick quilts.

It was already quite cold in North Sai Province in mid-October, especially in the wee hours of the night—a thin quilt simply wouldn’t suffice.

With such a major undertaking as leading the villagers in raising cattle and sheep, Li Yi naturally couldn’t keep it from Tang Xue—besides, since she lived in the village, it was impossible to hide such a thing from her anyway.

So, after returning from the Feng family’s house earlier, Li Yi had told Tang Xue, his mother, and his third older sister about it.

Although Tang Xue hadn’t said anything at the time, Li Yi could tell she had some reservations. Perhaps out of consideration for his feelings, she hadn’t felt comfortable criticizing him in front of her parents.

So, Li Yi decided to ask her about it after they went to bed, to see what his wife really thought!

“Xiao Xue, do you disagree with me using my money to buy cattle and sheep for the village?” Li Yi asked straight to the point.

After all, she was his wife—there was no need to beat around the bush.

Tang Xue paused briefly, then sighed and said, “It’s not that I disagree, but you’ve taken on a bit too much this time!”

“With so many people in the village, even if each person earns an extra 50 yuan, that’s tens of thousands of yuan. How many cattle and sheep would that require? Most importantly, you’re the one who has to shoulder all the risk.”

Tang Xue continued, “I’m not against you helping our fellow villagers, but I hope you’ll act within your means when helping others—and think more about the three of us!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “I understand what you mean, but this matter is crucial to what we’re planning to do next, so I have no choice but to do it!”

“What are we planning to do next?” Tang Xue asked curiously.

“Right. I’m planning to go to Beijing in a couple of days, and I plan to start a food business!” Li Yi said.

“The food business? Selling liangpi?”

Li Yi burst out laughing and said, “The food industry is so vast, and all you can think of is selling liangpi!”

Tang Xue blushed and said sheepishly, “Don’t laugh—I was just saying that off the cuff!”

“Okay, I won’t laugh!”

Li Yi continued, “Since the capital is only allowing food service and small-scale trade this time—either opening a restaurant or a general store or convenience store—I think opening a restaurant is still a pretty good choice!”

“Do we even have a chef to run a restaurant?”

“Why do you need a chef to run a restaurant?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“How can you run a restaurant without a chef?” Tang Xue retorted.

“Heh, think about it—didn’t we eat cold-boiled mutton and grilled meat at that state-run restaurant without a chef?”

Tang Xue paused for a moment, then said, “Are you thinking of opening a cold-boiled lamb or grilled meat restaurant in Beijing?”

“No, I want to open a place that combines grilling and hot pot!”

“A combined grill-and-hot-pot place?”

“Yeah, you can grill meat and have hot pot with lamb—whichever you want!” Li Yi said.

“Is… is that even possible?”

“Technically, it’s no problem, but there’s an issue with the meat supply!”

“What kind of problem?”

“Meat supplies in the capital are limited. Not only are prices high, but you also need ration tickets. If we open a restaurant, we’ll go through too much meat every day—there’s no way we can afford meat at those prices!”

“Then what should we do?”

“My idea is that we raise our own cattle and sheep and slaughter them ourselves!” Li Yi said.

“But… but how are we going to transport them all the way to the capital? I’m afraid the shipping costs alone would eat up our profits. Besides, will they even let us bring cattle and sheep into the capital?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “You can rest assured about that—I’ll handle it. But right now, we also need to consider the issue of long-term supply. That’s why I thought of asking the villagers to help me raise cattle and sheep. I’ll be responsible for selling them in the capital. If we do this right, it’s a win-win situation—and we’ll make a bigger profit!”

“Is that really true?”

“Hmm, have I ever lied to you?” Li Yi asked.

“All right then, but you have to know your limits. Don’t try to be a hero—we’re not here to save the world!” Tang Xue said.

“Alright!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “By the way, I’ve pretty much finished airing out the new place, and I’ve cleaned it up. Do you want to move into the new house after I leave?”

“Will I be alone?”

“You can’t possibly be alone. I’ll have Third Sister stay with you!” Li Yi said.

“Just the two of us girls? I’m still a little scared. Besides, getting water and stuff over there isn’t very convenient. Let’s just forget it!” Tang Xue said.

“That’s fine, too. Anyway, with Mom and Dad taking care of you here, I’ll feel more at ease!” Li Yi said.

“Mm-hmm!”

“Go to sleep!”

…….

Early the next morning, Li Yi got up and carried a bucket to the well at the east end of the village to fetch water.

Usually, his father handled this kind of work, but now that Li Yi had some free time, the task fell to him.

There were quite a few people drawing water at the well. When they saw Li Yi approaching, they all made way for him, letting him go first.

Although Li Yi hadn’t had the best reputation in the village before, over the course of that summer, he had successfully turned his image around in the eyes of his fellow villagers.

For one thing, everyone had made a decent amount of money following him over the past two months—ordinary households earned at least 200 yuan, and some even made 300 yuan.

Families like Shitou’s, Qiangzi’s, and Dongzi’s had made at least seven or eight hundred yuan.

Not to mention, thanks to Li Yi, a big-time businessman from Gangcheng had invested 100,000 yuan in the village to build a school, leading to the town’s central school relocating to Nianzishan Village.

To the villagers, this was truly a project that would benefit future generations and bring immediate benefits to the present!

So, everyone held Li Yi in the highest regard from the bottom of their hearts.

“Xiao Yi, I’m here to fetch water for your dad. Come on over—I’ll carry it for you!”

Seeing that it was Dongzi’s father, Li Yi didn’t hesitate and immediately brought over the two large iron buckets from his house.

“Uncle Leizi, aren’t you busy today? I didn’t see you out working,” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“How could I not be busy? Secretary Feng told everyone to gather at the production team at nine o’clock for a meeting, so I’ve had to take the morning off!”

Hearing this, Li Yi knew that Uncle Feng must be discussing the matter of raising cattle and sheep with the villagers. After all, this involved the interests of every member of the village, and a handful of village officials wouldn’t dare make the final decision on their own.

Just then, Liu Darei suddenly asked, “By the way, Yi, I heard from Dongzi that you’re planning to take a few of them to Beijing. Is that true?”

“Yes, the mushroom business fell through, so I thought I’d take them to Beijing for a bit. If we get a chance, we’ll make some money; if not, we’ll just treat it as a chance to broaden our horizons!” Li Yi replied.

He didn’t mention the restaurant plan—it wasn’t the right time yet.

“Alright then, take Dongzi with you when you go!” Liu Darei said.

“Uncle Lei, aren’t you afraid I’ll lose Dongzi?”

“Hahaha, compared to that, I’m more worried he’ll end up just like me—stuck in this backwater for the rest of his life!”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind!”

With that, Li Yi set off for home, carrying a large iron bucket filled with water!

Li Yi knew that his father was dragging him along to see Uncle Feng, the village party secretary, so he followed closely behind him.

Sure enough, before long, his father brought him to the Feng household!

At that moment, Uncle Feng’s family was having dinner: thin porridge with potatoes, along with a few steamed buns mixed with cornmeal.

With a large family of over a dozen people, this meager meal looked rather meager.

Actually, this was to be expected. Although Uncle Feng was the village party secretary, he didn’t receive a salary; his annual income was the same as that of an ordinary member of the production brigade, relying on the grain rations distributed by the brigade.

So, don’t assume that just because someone is the village Party branch secretary, they’re guaranteed to have enough to eat—in reality, that’s simply not the case!

When he saw Li and his son push open the door and walk in, Feng Kai was taken aback for a moment, then immediately asked, “Brother Shan Kui, Xiao Yi, what brings you over here? Have you eaten yet?”

Li Shankui immediately said, “Damn it, we came over here to talk to you about the village’s food rations!”

Feng Kai asked right away, “What’s wrong with the rations, Brother Shankui? Surely the Li family isn’t short on grain, is it?”

Before his father could speak, Li Yi picked up the thread: “Uncle Feng, my dad noticed that the village has a pretty big grain shortage this year. Many families might not even have enough for their basic rations, so he wants me to help out the villagers. Do you think that’s necessary?”

Feng Kai’s eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly asked, “Is it necessary… Of course it is! Little Yi, do you have a plan?”

“Yeah, I have a few ideas. Uncle Feng, just listen and let’s run through them together!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, go ahead. I’m all ears!”

“My idea is to build a livestock breeding base in our village!”

“What… a livestock farm? What are you planning to raise, kid?” Feng Kai asked immediately.

“Sheep and cattle!”

“Sheep and cattle? We do have a few cows in our village, but we don’t have any sheep!” Feng Kai said in surprise.

“Uncle Feng, let me explain. Our village didn’t have much of a grain harvest this year, but we’ve got plenty of straw and such. In past years, we’d just give that stuff to the villagers to burn as firewood…”

Before he could finish, Uncle Feng’s eldest son, Feng Dahu, chimed in, “If not for firewood, what else can we do with it?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Besides being used as firewood, straw can also serve as fodder for livestock—and it’s top-quality fodder at that.”

Feng Kai was a sharp fellow; he caught on immediately and asked, “So you’re suggesting we use this straw to raise cattle and sheep?”

“Yes,” Li Yi replied. “If we raise the cattle and sheep well, sell them for money, and distribute the proceeds to the members, wouldn’t that solve the problem of food shortages?”

“That may be so, but with so many people in our village, a few cattle and sheep won’t make a difference. And where would we even find that many?” Feng Kai asked.

“I’ve already thought that through. We can go to the rear pastures (grazing areas) to buy cattle and sheep!”

Li Yi continued, “In the Back Pastures, there’s a designated slaughter season—September. Except for the ewes set aside for breeding, all lambs over six months old will be slaughtered!”

“But there are also some lambs and calves that are only one or two months old. Since they’re too small to slaughter, these little lambs and calves become a burden to the herders.”

“How do they become a burden?” Feng Dahu asked, puzzled.

Before Li Yi could explain, Feng Kai spoke up: “Winters on the back pastures are simply too cold. These little lambs and calves have a hard time surviving—they either freeze to death or starve to death. You tell me, aren’t they a burden?”

“I see!”

Li Yi immediately said, “So my idea is that we send people to the Back Pastures right now to specifically buy these lambs and calves that the herders don’t want, and then bring them back to our village to raise.”

“Also, once the cattle and sheep have grown up, I’ll buy them back at market price. What do you think?”

Feng Kai took a few puffs on his pipe, thought for a moment, then said, “It’s a good idea, but pulling this off won’t come cheap. First of all, buying the cattle and sheep will require a large sum of money.”

“Uncle Feng, you needn’t worry about the money. I can provide the funds to help everyone buy the lambs and calves, but regardless of the profit, I’ll take half of the net profit!”

Feng Kai’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “Xiao Yi, so you’re saying you’ll buy the cattle and sheep, the team will help raise them, and once they’re sold, the village gets half the money?”

“Exactly!”

“Alright, I’ll discuss it with the other village officials tomorrow and get back to you!” Feng Kai said.

“Hmm, then please make a quick decision—I’m leaving for Beijing in a day or two!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this, Feng Kai asked immediately, “Qiangzi mentioned this to me the other day. Are you really planning to go to Beijing, kid?”

“Yeah!”

“Have you figured out what you’re going to do there?”

“Not yet!”

“Do you really want to take Qiangzi, Dongzi, and the others with you?”

“Yeah, but only if their parents agree. If they don’t, I won’t take them!” Li Yi said.

“Here’s what we’ll do: take Qiangzi with you when you leave, and don’t worry about paying him. Just make sure to bring him back safe and sound when you return!” Feng Kai said.

“Alright!”

Meanwhile, Qiangzi, standing nearby, said with a smile, “Grandpa, do you agree to let me go to Beijing with Brother Yi?”

“You can go, but you’d better listen to Little Yi and stay out of trouble!” Feng Kai said.

“Okay, okay, whatever you say!”

“You little rascal… Ah, just follow Yi’s lead and learn from him!” Feng Kai said.

“Got it!”

After wrapping up the serious business, the Li family took their leave and stepped out of the Feng residence!

As soon as they stepped out the front gate, Li Shankui frowned and said, “You didn’t mention anything about having to chip in when we were at home!”

Although he wanted to help his fellow villagers, Li Shankui wasn’t willing to have his own son foot the bill just to help others.

Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, are you worried I’ll lose money?”

“Of course! They say a family’s wealth isn’t counted if it’s on four legs—raising livestock always comes with risks!” Li Shankui retorted.

“Father, that may be true, but we’re not buying newborn lambs or calves—the survival rate is still quite high.”

Li Yi continued, “Most importantly, the prices for these sheep and cattle in the Back Grasslands aren’t high right now. I estimate a sheep won’t cost more than 20 yuan—it might even be as low as ten or so yuan. After all, a pound of mutton costs less than two yuan!”

“But once the lambs grow up, even if we only slaughter 30 to 40 jin of meat, that’s still seventy or eighty yuan—a three- or fourfold profit. And with cattle, the profit would be even higher!”

Li Shankui furrowed his brow and asked, “Are you really sure about this?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Li Yi continued, “Besides, even if there really is a risk, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just consider it my way of repaying the villagers. I’ve taken advantage of them quite a bit over the years, and they’ve been so understanding. Now that everyone is in trouble, it’s only right that I help out.”

“Money is just a material thing. Even if we lose it, we can always make it back later!”

Li Yi spoke these words from the bottom of his heart. However, his gratitude toward the villagers wasn’t entirely due to their current situation; it stemmed more from his past life.

In his past life, he had left home out of guilt. His eldest sister had passed away, his third sister had run away, and only his second sister remained in Yaogou Village, able to visit their parents only occasionally.

During that time, his parents had been in poor health, relying entirely on the support of the villagers.

Especially those younger brothers—during the years he was away, they ran back and forth, doing all sorts of chores and truly helping out a great deal.

Li Yi had always kept these things in mind, which was why he wanted to take this group of younger brothers with him to the capital, hoping to help his fellow villagers get through this food crisis.

As for money, if he lost it, so be it!

Besides, according to Li Yi’s analysis, while the possibility of losing money couldn’t be ruled out entirely, it was negligible!