Chapter 175: I Know a Little… I Know a Little

After leaving the state-run restaurant, Li Yi didn’t go to the supply and marketing cooperative to restock; instead, he drove the big black horse-drawn cart straight to the county bureau.

To be honest, if it hadn’t been for his conversation with Liu Jingshan today, which unexpectedly brought up Huang Lixing, Li Yi would have completely forgotten about this murder case involving a Hong Kong businessman that had shocked the entire nation.

As far as he knew, Huang Lixing was due to arrive in Ning City in a few days. If Wang Anguo were to take up his post there at this time, it was hard to say whether that would be a good or bad thing.

So, he decided to go have a chat with Wang Anguo!

At the county bureau, Wang Anguo was packing his things, and his wife, An Hong, was there as well.

It had been three days since Wang Anguo’s transfer order was issued, and all the formalities for taking up his new post at the Municipal Bureau had been completed, so An Hong had come over today to help him move his belongings.

The office door was wide open. When Li Yi arrived and saw the two people inside, he knocked on the door.

Wang Anguo looked up and, upon seeing Li Yi, exclaimed with delight, “Gangzi just told me you were back. I was actually planning to stop by your place this afternoon—I never expected you’d come here!”

Li Yi walked in and greeted her first: “Hello, Sister-in-law!”

“Hello. He was just talking about you a moment ago!”

“Hehe, Li Gang told me yesterday that Brother Wang was taking up a new post in the city, so I just had to come by today. Let’s grab lunch together and hang out for a bit!” Li Yi said.

“Let’s skip going out for lunch today—just come over to our place!” An Hong said.

“Is that okay?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

Wang Anguo immediately replied, “What’s there to be inconvenient about? I’ll go get Gangzi and my senior brother in a minute. Let’s just consider this a farewell meal before I leave!”

“Sure!”

Right then, Wang Anguo asked An Hong to help pack up, while he picked up the phone and called Liang Yukui.

After that, he went personally to Li Gang’s office to tell him about the lunch plans.

After taking care of these matters, Wang Anguo and An Hong carried the office belongings one by one out to the jeep, preparing to take them home.

Li Yi, of course, wasn’t idle either; he pitched in to help carry the items.

Before long, all of Wang Anguo’s personal belongings were loaded onto the vehicle, and by then it was nearly 11:00 a.m.

They then called Li Gang, and the group headed straight for Wang Anguo’s home.

As for Li Yi’s horse-drawn carriage, they didn’t bother bringing it along; they left it in the courtyard of the county bureau.

After all, no one would dare come here to steal anything!

Wang Anguo’s home was located in a courtyard not far behind the county bureau. The house itself wasn’t large—just three rooms—but the courtyard was quite spacious.

The yard was filled with all kinds of vegetables—cucumbers, tomatoes, water radishes, green beans, and small melons—giving it a distinctly rural feel.

Wang Anguo’s home was rather modestly furnished, much like most households of that era. The only difference was perhaps the 14-inch black-and-white television and a radio that was still in excellent condition.

Clearly, even in the county seat, few families owned a television or a radio.

Once inside, An Hong busied herself with buying groceries and cooking, while Wang Anguo immediately poured tea and water for Li Gang and Li Yi.

Since it was still early for dinner, the three of them sat in the living room and chatted.

After taking a sip of tea, Li Yi said with some surprise, “Pu’er?”

“Brother Li Yi, you know your tea?” Wang Anguo asked, also somewhat surprised.

It’s important to note that people in the northern frontier regions are accustomed to drinking brick tea; as for other varieties—whether black or green tea—they generally know little about them.

As for Pu’er, most people had never even seen it, let alone tasted it.

“I know a little, just a little!”

Wang Anguo and Li Gang had long since grown accustomed to Li Yi’s claim of “knowing a little”—in reality, that “little” was quite telling!

In their eyes, Li Yi was simply being modest!

“This Pu’er was sent to me by a comrade-in-arms; apparently, it’s already twenty years old!” Wang Anguo said.

However, Li Yi shook his head and said, “It’s more than twenty years old. I’ve had twenty-year-old Pu’er before, and it didn’t taste this strong!”

Hearing this, both men present were taken aback.

The fact that Li Yi had actually tasted twenty-year-old Pu’er tea was truly beyond their comprehension.

“Haha, that’s just you. I don’t know much about tea—it all tastes the same to me!” Wang Anguo said.

Li Yi smiled and said, “Then you’re really wasting a gem—it’s a shame for this thirty-year-old Pu’er!”

“Thirty years?”

“Yeah, at least thirty years. Looks like your comrade really does treat you like a brother—this stuff isn’t exactly cheap!” Li Yi said.

“Brothers for life!”

“No wonder!”

Then Li Yi asked again, “Have you made up your mind? Are you really planning to go to the city and make your mark?”

“Yeah, you said it yourself the other day: ‘Follow your heart!’”

Wang Anguo continued, “After you left that day, I locked myself in my office and lay awake all night, staring into the darkness. I asked myself over and over again: Should I give it a shot?”

“If I stay in Qing Shan County, I might end up like Bureau Chiefs Qian and Yang—spending twenty years climbing from my current position as Criminal Investigation Team Captain to Deputy Bureau Chief, then Bureau Chief, and finally retiring in peace.”

“But that’s not what I want. So, after careful consideration, I finally decided to accept the city’s transfer order and go take a shot at that den of tigers and dragons!”

Li Yi looked Wang Anguo straight in the eye and said earnestly, “This assignment might not go smoothly for you!”

Hearing Li Yi speak with such gravity, both Wang Anguo and Li Gang sat up straight, their expressions turning serious.

“Brother Li Yi, have you sensed something again?” Wang Anguo asked in a low voice.

“Yes. I won’t go into details, but once you take up your post in the city, you’ll encounter two homicide cases that will have a significant impact on your career!” Li Yi said.

“Two… two cases, and both are homicides?” Wang Anguo asked, his face filled with shock.

“That’s right. One is an old cold case, and the other is a new one—both are major cases that will shock the entire nation!”

Li Yi continued, “If you handle these two cases well, you’ll have firmly established yourself in the city. If you don’t, well, that’s another story!”

Wang Anguo nodded immediately and said, “Mm-hmm, I understand!”

At that moment, Li Gang spoke up: “Brother Li Yi, since you’ve figured this out, could you give Brother Wang some guidance so he doesn’t end up completely in the dark?”

However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “Since I’ve brought it up, I’ll certainly help him—but not right now!”

“Then when?”

“After he takes office. Once a case actually arises and they can’t resolve it, that’s when I’ll step in.”

Li Yi then added, “That said, there are plenty of leads in that old case. If they search carefully, it shouldn’t be too hard to crack.”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Wang Anguo immediately nodded and said, “Brother Li Yi is right. I’m a police officer—I have to rely on myself for everything. I can’t keep counting on Brother Li Yi to help me!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “If you really run into trouble, there’s no harm in asking me for help!”

“Hahaha, you’re right…”

Just as they were speaking, the sound of the front door creaking open suddenly came from outside.

Everyone immediately looked out and saw Liang Yukuai walking in from outside, carrying a briefcase!

The next day, Li Yi got up at the crack of dawn!

Then, together with his third older sister, Li Na, he set about making liangpi and pan-fried white-skin pancakes!

In fact, as traditional folk snacks, neither liangpi nor white pancakes require much technical skill; as long as someone is willing to teach, most people can master them within three days.

Over the past few days, under Li Yi’s hands-on guidance, Li Na had already mastered making both of these delicacies on her own!

However, Li Na knew that the liangpi she made still fell short of her younger brother Li Yi’s by quite a bit.

To put it simply, the yield alone is significantly lower.

While liangpi isn’t hard to learn, it’s not easy to master.

Put it this way: a skilled master not only produces dough sheets that are chewy and springy, but also ensures they’re high in dough and low in gluten.

Take Li Yi, for example: with one jin of Fuqiang flour, he can make five sheets of noodles and just a small amount of gluten.

Li Na, on the other hand, could only manage a little over four sheets from a pound of flour, and she ended up with more gluten chunks than her brother.

This difference is significant. You see, in the liangpi business, the gluten chunks are essentially a freebie; it’s the number of sheets of liangpi that determines the profit.

Consequently, the key lies in how many sheets of noodle skin can be produced from a pound of flour.

Since it’s currently the height of summer, this is the peak season for the liangpi business.

On top of that, they have to supply the state-run restaurant, so during this period, the Li family has to make 100 pounds of wheat flour liangpi every day.

That’s a massive workload!

Even with Li Yi’s help, the two of them worked from 4:30 to 7:30—a full three hours.

And that’s after they’d already kneaded and let the dough rest in advance; if they’d had to make it from scratch, three hours wouldn’t have been nearly enough.

At 8:00 a.m., the siblings each took a car and left Nianzishan Village, heading straight for the county seat.

As they left the village, they encountered quite a few villagers and cooperative members along the way. Everyone greeted Li Yi, and he returned each greeting.

By the time they reached the county seat, it was already 9:30 a.m.

Li Yi went to deliver the goods to the state-run restaurant, while Li Na headed straight for the entrance of the sugar factory.

The reason for switching locations back and forth was mainly that the purchasing power of the county’s residents was limited; staying in one place too long might affect sales.

Also, if people ate the same food every day, they might get tired of it after a few days; coming back a few days later would make it feel fresh again.

In short, everything was done to boost sales.

When Li Yi arrived at the state-run restaurant, he happened to see Liu Jingshan standing at the entrance. A small jeep was parked there, and several employees were loading something into it.

Upon seeing Li Yi’s black horse-drawn cart, Liu Jingshan immediately came over with a smile: “When I saw you come back yesterday, I knew you’d be here today—and I was right!”

Li Yi smiled and pointed at the employees loading the vehicle. “Brother Liu, what are you guys up to?”

Liu Jingshan smiled and replied, “Since I’ve been put in charge of hosting the VIPs, I figured I’d try something new. I’m planning to let them sample our cold-boiled lamb and our new-style grilled meat.”

“But the city doesn’t have our special pots or grills, so I figured I’d bring all this stuff from the restaurant over to the city to make do for now!”

Li Yi glanced at the grimy pots and grills piled in the truck, shook his head, and said, “If these really are VIPs, you’d better not use this kitchen equipment!”

“Why?”

“First, they’re too dirty, and second, they’re not fancy or high-end enough!” Li Yi said.

“Well…”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll sketch out a few sets of new kitchenware and tableware for you in a moment. As for you, hurry up and find the best coppersmith and blacksmith in the county—we should still have time!”

“Really? I’m so grateful to you, Brother Li Yi!” Liu Jingshan said joyfully.

To be honest, when Liu Jingshan saw the greasy, filthy kitchenware in his own shop, he was deeply dissatisfied.

After all, they were about to host wealthy businessmen from Hong Kong—distinguished guests the city’s Investment Promotion Bureau had worked hard to invite. It simply wouldn’t do to have them use kitchenware like this.

But he had no choice. He’d only recently started working with this new style of cuisine. Whether it was the pot used for ice-boiled lamb or the special grill for roasting meat, his place was the only one that had them—you couldn’t buy them anywhere else, no matter how much money you had.

Fortunately, Li Yi was a man of his word; he actually agreed to design new kitchenware and tableware for him. This was truly a stroke of luck, like manna from heaven!

He knew exactly what Li Yi was capable of; as long as Li Yi was willing to help, the matter was as good as settled.

Right away, he had the other staff help Li Yi unload and weigh the goods, while he personally escorted Li Yi to the office and fetched him some paper and a pen.

Knowing how anxious Liu Jingshan was, Li Yi didn’t hesitate.

He took the paper and pen, leaned over Liu Jingshan’s desk, and started sketching!

Although Li Yi had no formal training in drawing, his vast knowledge more than made up for it.

Whether it was the Mongolian-style copper pots from North Province, the yin-yang pots from the Sichuan-Chongqing region, or the pots from the border areas, he had seen them all.

Although he certainly couldn’t craft them himself, sketching them out wouldn’t be a problem.

As for the grill, Li Yi simply sketched the type used at the Koten family’s barbecue restaurant from his previous life. He figured that with the municipal government’s resources, they should be able to produce these kitchen tools.

In addition to the cooking equipment, Li Yi also upgraded the tableware. Instead of the usual bowls and chopsticks, he added scissors, tweezers, and knives and forks.

In short, he went all out to make it as luxurious and high-end as possible—after all, it wasn’t his money!

Before long, Li Yi had sketched out all the kitchen and dining utensils, filling over a dozen pages of drafts.

While drawing, Li Yi worried that his sketches might not be clear enough for the master craftsman to understand, so he included plenty of written explanations.

When he handed his “masterpiece” to Liu Jingshan, the latter was completely stunned.

Although the sketches were indeed mediocre, with a touch of whimsy to them.

But when accompanied by a written description, it really comes across as sophisticated, elegant, and high-end.

“Brother Li Yi, I really can’t thank you enough. Once I’m done with this busy period, I’ll treat you to a proper meal!” Liu Jingshan said excitedly.

“Hahaha, dinner is no big deal. I just hope you can finish the task soon, Brother Liu!”

“Before, I was only 60% confident, but with these design drawings of yours, I’ve gained another 20%!” Liu Jingshan said.

“By the way, Brother Liu, who are you hosting? Why is this such a big deal?” Li Yi asked curiously.

“I heard from the boss that they’re from Hong Kong—a big-time tycoon worth over a hundred million!” Liu Jingshan said.

From Hong Kong, with assets worth over a hundred million?

Upon hearing Liu Jingshan’s words, an image of a short, stocky middle-aged man—along with two mangled corpses—immediately flashed through Li Yi’s mind!

If Li Yi’s memory served him correctly, this VIP from Hong Kong was named Huang Lixing, a big boss in the foreign trade business.

And this trip to the North was the final stop of his life.

On the seventh day after his arrival in the North, he and his wife were murdered in their hotel room, causing a huge sensation!

Thinking of this case, and of Wang Anguo who was about to take up his post at the Municipal Bureau, Li Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow!

Late at night, all was quiet!

On the earthen bed, Tang Xue snuggled tightly against Li Yi’s chest, her arms wrapped around her man’s neck, listening quietly as he recounted his experiences in the provincial capital.

Although Tang Xue’s family was from Qin Province, it wasn’t too far from the provincial capital, Chang’an.

but there was still some distance to cover. As a result, she had only been to Chang’an once in her life—when she went to work in the countryside in Beibei Province.

Her impressions of the provincial capital were mostly stuck in the past, from several years ago.

When she learned that Qingcheng, the capital of Saibei Province, actually had such a huge shopping mall filled with so many things for sale, Tang Xue was both surprised and filled with longing.

No matter the era, women have an innate interest in shopping, and even a reserved girl like Tang Xue was no exception.

After Li Yi had finished explaining, Tang Xue suddenly asked, “I’ve been crunching the numbers these past couple of days. Based on our current income and expenses, we’re losing about 200 yuan a day—that’s 6,000 yuan a month.”

“If this continues for two and a half months, that’s a shortfall of at least 15,000 yuan. Where do you plan to come up with that money?”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “I’ve thought this through. Right now, there are two options.”

“Two?”

“Yeah, the first idea is to take out a loan,” Li Yi said.

“A loan… Are you talking about the kind of loan you get from a bank? That comes with interest, you know,” Tang Xue said, sounding a bit worried.

“Hehe, banks are offering interest-free loans now—the kind that don’t charge any interest!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Really, no interest?”

“Yep!”

Li Yi had already made a point of asking around to get the details on bank loans; personal loans had already been implemented.

In fact, lending has always existed, but in the past, the borrowers were generally not ordinary people, but production teams.

Older folks know that a few years back, since agricultural production was organized collectively, farmers were just members of the collective and were only responsible for manual labor.

As for purchasing agricultural supplies when the production team was farming, that was the production team’s responsibility.

When a production team needed funds for production, it could apply for a loan at the commune’s credit union.

They would repay the loan in the fall after selling their grain to the government.

In other words, in the past, individual farmers neither sought nor needed loans.

Even if they had wanted to, there were no regulations in place, and credit cooperatives would not have lent money to individuals.

However, starting this year, some areas have allocated collective land to individual farmers, and individual households in each village have become the primary units of agricultural production.

This has given rise to a new problem: what should farmers do when they urgently need funds for spring plowing and seed preparation but have none at home?

First, they borrow from relatives and friends; second, they take out loans from the commune credit union.

“Forget about borrowing from others—everyone’s poor these days, so a loan is the only option.”

Tang Xue thought for a moment and asked, “How much can one borrow?”

Li Yi thought for a moment and replied, “If I were to apply for a loan on my own, I probably wouldn’t get much. But if I get someone to vouch for me, tens of thousands of yuan shouldn’t be a problem!”

“Is there actually someone who can help with a loan?” Tang Xue asked in surprise.

“It’s not exactly helping with a loan—it’s just putting in a word with someone at the bank, or maybe acting as a guarantor!” Li Yi said.

“Are there really people who do that kind of thing? Aren’t they afraid of getting themselves into trouble?”

“Haha, maybe no one would help if it were someone else taking out a loan, but if it’s me, there are plenty of people willing to help!” Li Yi said confidently.

As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but think of Wang Anguo, Li Gang, Liang Yukuai, and even Old Master Wang and the others.

As long as these people stepped in to help, it wouldn’t be a problem to secure not just ten thousand or so, but even thirty or fifty thousand.

“Is getting a loan a hassle?” Tang Xue asked again.

“Normally, it’s not a hassle—in fact, it’s very simple.”

Li Yi knew that getting a loan these days wasn’t just hassle-free—it was practically a breeze. The only downside was that the loan amounts were usually quite small.

If any family in the village needed an emergency loan from the credit union, all they had to do was get a letter of introduction from the village committee certifying that the farmer genuinely needed the loan, and they’d receive the funds at the credit union—it was that simple.

But there was one issue: farmers usually only borrowed a hundred or two yuan; it was rare to hear of anyone taking out a loan for 1,000 yuan.

After all, a bag of fertilizer costs only a few yuan these days, and seeds and other supplies are very cheap; most families simply don’t have such large financial needs.

So, if Li Yi wanted to take out a loan, he could borrow at most a thousand or two yuan; any more than that would likely be out of the question.

There are exceptions, though. If someone vouches for you—and that person is highly respected in the community—then it’s a different story.

However, Tang Xue seemed quite resistant to the idea of taking out a loan, so after a few words, she changed the subject.

“What’s your other idea?”

“Earn it myself!”

“But… but how is that possible? Where would you get that much money in such a short time?” Tang Xue asked in surprise.

However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “Nothing is impossible. Think about it—it only took me two months to go from having nothing to where I am now.”

“Do the math—I’ve made at least fifteen or sixteen thousand yuan in these two months. Making another ten thousand or so in the next two months isn’t impossible either!”

To be honest, Li Yi did have quite a few ideas for making money.

For example, he could head over to Panjiayuan in Beijing right now. With his keen eye, he could pick up a batch of antiques, bring them to Guangzhou, and sell them to foreigners at a high price.

I wouldn’t dare say much, but making three or four thousand yuan in a month wouldn’t be difficult at all.

Or, for instance, Li Yi knew there was a general’s tomb on the hill behind his house.

In a few years, due to mountain excavation, the general’s tomb would be accidentally uncovered, yielding several boxes of gold and silver alone, not to mention priceless cultural relics and treasures.

If Li Yi were willing, he could sneak in and haul out a box or two.

Forget tens of thousands—he could easily make hundreds of thousands.

However, Li Yi was a man of principle; he only took the money he was entitled to.

There was money that, even if placed right in front of him, he wouldn’t give a second glance.

The problem was that the money-making methods Li Yi knew of either required a lot of time or a substantial amount of capital, making them somewhat impractical.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to do them if he really wanted to—it just depended on whether it was worth the effort.

Although Tang Xue found this hard to believe, when she thought about Li Yi’s performance over the past two months, she felt that perhaps her man really could pull it off.

With that thought, she nuzzled her head against Li Yi’s chest.

Then she said softly, “I know you’re a man with ideas, and I don’t want to use my own perspective to change your mind. But I hope that whatever decision you make, you’ll think of me and the kids!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Of course. In my heart, you both mean more to me than I do to myself!”

“You’re so kind!”

“You’re wonderful too!”

……..

The Li Family’s Old Homestead!

When Li Yi returned to the old family home with Tang Xue and his second older sister, they saw his third older sister, Li Na, unloading the cart.

Meanwhile, their father was helping lead the big red mule into the stable to feed it hay and grain!

Seeing the three of them come in through the gate, his third sister shot Li Yi a withering look and said, “Xiao Yi, you ungrateful brat!”

“How did I become an ungrateful brat?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“Hmph, you’ve got a wife now and you’ve forgotten your sister. You didn’t even say you’d come pick me up from the back mountain when you got back—instead, you ran straight to the new house to see your wife!” Li Na said with a look of deep displeasure.

Li Yi chuckled and said, “Why would I pick you up? With your fierce fighting skills, even thugs would run away when they see you!”

“You’re asking for a beating…”

Tang Xue smiled and said, “Sis Na, come on, stop messing around. I heard he bought us gifts. Let’s go inside and check them out!”

“Gifts? Really?”

“With an attitude like that, there definitely won’t be any!” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“I don’t believe a word of it!”

With that, she grabbed Tang Xue’s hand and headed inside.

On the large heated bed inside, his eldest nephew, Zhang Ning, was happily playing with the building blocks Li Yi had bought. They were just the right kind of toy for a child his age.

The only downside was that they were a bit pricey—they’d cost Li Yi a full two yuan!

As his father, Li Shankui, put it, if they’d had the old carpenter at the east end of the village make them, it wouldn’t have cost even fifty cents.

So when Li Yi first mentioned spending two yuan on this pile of scrap wood, he was extremely reluctant.

But Li Yi didn’t listen to him; he genuinely loved that kid, Zhang Ning, from the bottom of his heart.

In his previous life, he had no children; his eldest sister and brother-in-law had passed away early.

His third sister never married either; although she had adopted a little girl, she didn’t live with them—in fact, she didn’t even live in the same city.

So this kid was the only child in Li Yi’s life. Though technically his nephew, Li Yi raised him as his own son.

And the boy never let Li Yi down. Even at a young age, he displayed remarkable business acumen and was always kind to him.

So much so that on his deathbed, aside from the tens of billions in cash he donated, Li Yi left him the vast majority of his fixed assets!

He’d already given away tens of billions—what’s a little money like this?

Over by the bed, there were a few cloth bags.

Third Sister couldn’t wait to pull the cloth bags over to her and untie them one by one.

When they saw that there were actually two pairs of little red leather shoes inside, Tang Xue and her two older sisters all widened their eyes in surprise.

These two pairs of little leather shoes were simply too beautiful; both their style and color had completely captured the hearts of the girls.

But Third Sister quickly realized something was wrong and immediately asked Li Yi, “Why are there only two pairs?”

“I told you I didn’t buy any for you!”

“Really?”

“No!”

Li Na fell silent at once, clearly genuinely upset.

Seeing this, Tang Xue hurriedly said, “Don’t listen to him—he’s just making things up. There definitely isn’t one for me. These two pairs must be for you and Second Sister!”

“Xiao Xue, hmph, this guy really didn’t buy me any. Look, the sizes on these two pairs are clearly for you and Second Sister. They’re so small—how could I possibly fit into them!” Third Sister said indignantly.

Li Yi chuckled and said, “You know your feet are big, don’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Li Na shook her little fists and glared at Li Yi. She hated it when people said she had big feet, even though she did indeed have size 40 feet.

Li Yi immediately pulled a cardboard box from under his eldest nephew Zhang Ning’s buttocks and took out a pair of Huili sneakers.

“These are the ones I bought for you. For someone your size, dress shoes only go up to a size 39—unless you chop off a bit of your toes!”

Li Na looked at the stylish, trendy Huili sneakers before her, her eyes sparkling with delight.

She didn’t mind Li Yi’s teasing and immediately took the shoes to try them on.

Li Yi pointed to the little red leather shoes on the kang and said, “Honey, these two pairs of leather shoes are for you and Second Sister. The size 37 is for you, and the size 38 is for Second Sister. Try them on!”

“Okay!”

While the three of them were trying on shoes, Li Yi pulled a pair of black pants out of his cloth bag and said to his mother, “Mom, Dad and I picked out these pants especially for you. They’re made of Dacron. Try them on!”

Zhang Guiying immediately walked over, but said, “Dacron pants aren’t cheap. Why spend the money on that? It’s a waste!”

“We bought them for you, so just wear them. Stop nagging!” Li Shankui said, squatting on the doorstep.

She had come to terms with it—her son’s spending was like water flowing through a sieve, and she couldn’t dissuade him anyway. Rather than nagging endlessly, she figured it was better to turn a blind eye.

In addition to clothes and shoes, Li Yi had also bought quite a few specialties from the provincial capital: beef jerky, dried mutton, and the famous Qingcheng baked pastries and sugar-coated sesame sticks.

And, of course, the sugar cookies sold by that young girl at the train station.

This trip to the provincial capital had gone smoothly—his father was in good health and had brought back so many gifts—so everyone at home, young and old alike, was overjoyed.

For dinner, Mother—in a rare gesture—stewed a pot of pork with pickled pork and steamed a pot of rice.

After eating their fill, the family began their daily ritual—tallying up the accounts!

Li Yi’s trip, including the round trip, took a total of three days, during which Li Na went to the city to sell mountain produce and set up a stall.

So, she was the first to report:

“Over the past few days, I delivered a total of 2,879 jin of mountain produce to the state-run restaurant—1,782 jin of mushrooms and the rest all wood ear mushrooms. I made a total of 2,187 yuan and 60 fen!”

“Also, over the past few days, I delivered 476 sheets of liangpi to the restaurant, sold 912 sheets on my own, and sold 828 white-skin pancakes, earning 332 yuan.”

Li Yi immediately asked, “What about your expenses?”

“Expenses were about 80 yuan—all spent on high-gluten flour, plus a little salt!” Li Na replied.

“Hmm, not bad at all!” Li Yi said sincerely.

“Of course! I am your big sister, after all!”

No sooner had Li Na finished speaking than Tang Xue chimed in, “Over the past few days, we’ve collected a total of over 10,800 jin of mushrooms and wood ear fungus, with total expenses coming to just over 2,000 yuan.”

“But Second Sister and I sorted out all the wood ear mushrooms and had Third Sister send them to the city. That way, we can bring in a bit more cash, since wood ear mushrooms sell for a slightly higher price than regular mushrooms.”

Li Yi nodded and said, “That’s a great idea. My wife is so smart!”

Tang Xue said somewhat sheepishly, “That was Second Sister’s idea!”

Li Yi: %#$…

Second Sister Li Lan pretended not to notice Li Yi’s embarrassment and immediately said, “Your brother-in-law came by a few days ago. He’s collected over 30,000 pounds of wild produce so far, and he’s running out of money. I had Xiao Xue give him 3,000 yuan to take back so he can keep buying!”

“Hmm, so how many pounds of wild produce have we collected in total so far?” Li Yi asked again.

“We have about 40,000 pounds here, and my husband has 30,000 pounds—that’s a total of just over 70,000 pounds, but less than 80,000!”

Li Yi did a quick mental calculation: five pounds of fresh mushrooms would yield about one pound of dried mushrooms, so 80,000 pounds of fresh mushrooms would equal 16,000 pounds of dried goods.

By year-end, the price of dried mushrooms could soar to around two yuan per jin, which would amount to 32,000 yuan.

But their total investment was just over 10,000 yuan. In other words, even if they stopped right now, they’d already made 20,000 yuan.

Twenty thousand yuan in the 1980s—that’s two “ten-thousand-yuan households”!

“How much money do we have left at home?” Li Yi asked again.

As the family’s chief steward, Tang Xue replied immediately, “Less than two thousand yuan. And that’s after Mom and Dad dug into their savings. If this keeps up, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold on much longer!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Second Sister chimed in, “If it’s not working out, we’ll just have to lower our prices a bit—the financial pressure is too much!”

“That’s right—we still owe the production brigade money for two head of livestock!”

“If it’s too much, let’s just charge less…”

However, Li Yi shook his head and said, “We can’t charge less. If possible, we should charge even more!”

“Why?” Second Sister frowned.

“It’s almost August now. The weather here starts to cool down in mid-September, and by then, mushroom yields will drop sharply. By mid-October, it’ll be practically impossible to harvest any more mushrooms!”

Li Yi continued, “That means, at best, we’ll only be able to harvest for another two and a half months before it’s all over! While there’s still a harvest to be had, we should try to get as much as we can!”

“But the money…”

Before she could finish, Li Yi cut in, “I’ll figure out the money!”

“Where are you going to get the money? This isn’t something that can be solved with a few hundred yuan,” Li Shankui said gravely.

“Dad, don’t worry. Your son wouldn’t stoop to doing anything shady just for a little money!”

Li Yi knew exactly what his father was worried about and replied immediately.

“As long as you know your limits, that’s all that matters!”

“Got it!”

……

It was already five o’clock by the time they returned to Nianzi Mountain Village. When the little jeep pulled up in front of the Li family’s old house, it immediately drew quite a bit of attention.

Although it had been over two years since the Reform and Opening-Up began, life in a remote backwater like Nianzishan Village hadn’t changed much from five years ago.

If there was any change at all, it was merely that the political climate wasn’t as tense as it had been in previous years—that was all.

Life for the villagers remained as it always had. While bicycles were becoming commonplace in cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in Nianzishan Village—and indeed throughout the entire Qing Shan County—they were still considered a luxury.

As for cars, well, that goes without saying—every time one shows up, it causes quite a stir.

Inside the house, Zhang Guiying was looking after her eldest nephew, Zhang Ning, while also cooking for the family.

Hearing a commotion outside, she immediately stood up from the stove to investigate.

She was startled to see a car parked right at the entrance.

Just as she was about to carry the child outside to see what was going on, she saw her son Li Yi and her husband walking in from outside, carrying bags of all sizes.

Zhang Guiying quickly closed the stove door and ran out, excited.

“Oh my, dear, how come you’re back so soon?”

Hearing his wife’s startled voice, Li Shankui replied, his eyes slightly reddened, “Of course we’re back—there’s no problem. Otherwise, would we still be staying in the provincial capital?”

Hearing this, Zhang Guiying was instantly put at ease.

This was her husband’s way of telling her that he was in good health.

You see, during the two days the father and son had been away, the whole family had been in a daze.

Zhang Guiying, in particular, had been constantly worried that her husband might have some serious health issue.

It wasn’t really her fault she was worried; the truth was that Li Shankui’s health had indeed been poor these past two years. He coughed constantly, especially when he first got up in the morning or when he was trying to sleep at night—it felt as if he were about to cough his lungs out.

He also frequently struggled to catch his breath—which, by any measure, didn’t bode well.

Li Yi carried the items into the house, then invited Li Gang in to sit for a while, intending to cook him a nice meal to thank him.

But Li Gang declined, citing a busy work schedule. As he was leaving, however, he asked Li Yi to find time over the next couple of days to stop by the county bureau for a chat.

Li Yi agreed. On the one hand, Wang Anguo was about to take up his new post in the city, and Li Yi felt he had to see him off.

On the other hand, he was about to visit his in-laws soon and needed to exchange some national grain coupons and get a letter of introduction, so a trip to the city was unavoidable.

After seeing Li Gang off, Li Yi asked his mother about the family’s whereabouts. He learned that his third sister had gone to the back mountain to pick up the children, while Tang Xue and his second sister were harvesting mushrooms at their new home.

Li Yi immediately asked his mother to pack up the things he’d brought back from the provincial capital, then pushed the bicycle out of the house and headed straight for the new house.

At the Li family’s new house, Tang Xue and Li Lan were busy receiving villagers who had come to sell mushrooms.

Over the past few days, the older sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law had developed a seamless working relationship. Li Lan was responsible for inspecting the mushrooms brought in by the villagers to ensure they met standards and weighing them, while Tang Xue handled the accounting and payments.

Li Yi had established a rule: all mushroom purchases would be settled in cash, and they would never run a tab with anyone.

In fact, to raise enough cash, Tang Xue’s parents, along with Li Lan and Li Na, had handed over all their savings to her to serve as seed money.

Combined with the daily income from delivering mountain produce to the state-run restaurant and selling liangpi, they’ve managed to scrape by so far.

“Ring-ring-ring…”

With the ring of his bicycle bell, Li Yi rode straight into his family’s courtyard.

Seeing Li Yi, the villagers in the courtyard greeted him one after another.

“Yi’s back! When did you get home?”

“Is your dad doing okay?”

“Yi…”

Nianzishan Village was small; news of anything happening in any household would spread from one end of the village to the other in less than half an hour.

And when it came to a “big deal” like Li Yi taking Li Shankui to the provincial capital for medical treatment, the whole village knew about it by the next day.

Listening to everyone’s questions, Li Yi immediately spoke up, “Thanks for your concern, everyone. My dad’s fine—he just smokes too much.”

“Also, my dad’s determined to quit smoking. So from now on, uncles and elders, please don’t offer him cigarettes when you’re with him. He’s not very disciplined, so you can’t tempt him into making a mistake!”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, the crowd couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and they all chimed in with teasing remarks:

“Yi, your dad’s been smoking for decades—how could he possibly quit?”

“Exactly! Even if your dad gave up eating, he’d never give up smoking!”

“Hahaha, Brother Shankui is the kind of guy who’d crush wild yam vines to use as tobacco—how could he ever quit?”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I just don’t buy that Brother Shan Kui could ever quit smoking…”

Li Yi knew it would be like this. His father was notorious in the village for his heavy smoking; he’d even used a third of their family’s 1.2-mu plot of private land to grow tobacco.

So it was no wonder the others didn’t believe him when he suddenly announced he was quitting.

“Uncles and elders, my father may not have any serious illnesses, but the doctor said he has asthma—what we commonly call ‘shortness of breath.’ With this condition, he simply can’t smoke. If you want my father to live a few more years, you absolutely must stop him from smoking!”

Li Yi continued, “I’ve led everyone in making money together, and I’ve never asked you for anything before. But this time, please, I’m asking for your help.”

Li Yi knew that quitting smoking was all about the environment. If you lived alone, quitting would be easy.

But if you’re constantly surrounded by a bunch of heavy smokers who offer you a cigarette every other day, trying to quit is no joke!

Seeing how serious Li Yi was, everyone knew he wasn’t joking. Immediately, someone spoke up: “Since you’ve said that, Yi, from now on, when I smoke, I’ll make sure your dad doesn’t see me!”

“Right, just make sure he doesn’t see us!”

“Don’t worry, we can definitely handle something like this…”

Seeing that everyone agreed, Li Yi nodded and said, “Then thank you all!”

After saying that, Li Yi walked over to Tang Xue, took the ledger from her hands, and said, “Take a break. I’ll handle this.”

“I’m not tired!”

Li Yi saw that her forehead was already beaded with sweat and her pretty face was flushed, so he smiled and said, “I’ve got nothing else to do anyway. Go sit in the shade for a bit. Once we’re done with this, we’ll head home!”

“Alright then!”

With Li Yi pitching in, the pace picked up considerably.

Before 6:30, they had finished settling accounts for all the mushrooms brought in by the members.

Afterward, Li Yi locked the door and headed back to the old house with Tang Xue and Second Sister!

…….

Li Yi really hadn’t expected to run into Liu Jingshan here, and immediately called out, “Brother Liu!”

Liu Jingshan hadn’t expected to see Li Yi here either. He paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: “Sister Li Na told me you’d gone out on some business. I never thought I’d run into you here…”

When he spotted Li Shankui standing nearby, he quickly added, “Uncle Li is here too!”

Li Shankui had met Liu Jingshan before and knew he was a county official. He nodded immediately and said, with a hint of nervousness, “Mm-hmm!”

“Brother Liu, are you here to eat?”

“Not really. I’m here to meet Chef Zhou, the head chef of this restaurant!” Liu Jingshan replied.

“So you’re here on business? Well, then, get to it!”

“I’m not in a rush. From the looks of it, are you and Uncle Li planning to head back to the county seat?” Liu Jingshan asked.

“Yes! We just got back from the provincial capital and plan to take the bus back to our home county of Qing Shan in a little while!” Li Yi replied.

“Then you can ride back with us later—it’ll be a free ride!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I think I’ll pass—I’ve already bought my ticket!”

“Hahaha, that’s fine. I still have to stay in the city for a while anyway—I won’t be able to leave until at least three o’clock in the afternoon!” Liu Jingshan said.

“Have you been pretty busy lately, Brother Liu?”

“Busy, but I have you to thank for being this busy!” Liu Jingshan said with a laugh.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Li Yi asked, puzzled. He really didn’t see how this had anything to do with him.

“Do you know why I came to the city this time?”

“No, I don’t. Isn’t it to deliver mushrooms and other mountain produce to the city?”

“They wouldn’t need me for that. The city has assigned me to host a VIP!” Liu Jingshan said, dropping a bombshell.

“You… host VIPs?”

“Yep. Ever since I used those two dishes you taught me to entertain the top officials last time, our Qingshan County State-Owned Hotel has become quite famous within the system. This time, the city is hosting an extremely important foreign businessperson, so they’ve transferred me here to oversee the catering for the reception!”

Liu Jingshan continued, “If it weren’t for those two amazing dishes you taught me, none of this would have happened. Don’t you think you have something to do with it?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “If you put it that way, then it really does have something to do with me! But this is great news. If you perform well, you might even get a position in the city!”

“You’re right—Deputy Director Wang from the city actually has that in mind. He’s planning to transfer me to the City Hotel to serve as deputy director!”

“What’s the point of being a deputy director? I’m not going—I’d only go if they made me the director!”

Li Yi knew full well that after a few years of state-owned enterprise reforms, only a handful of top executives in certain units would be given new positions, while many deputy directors and other officials would ultimately be forced into unemployment.

If he stayed in the county, with his position as head of the state-owned hotel, he was sure to be properly taken care of.

But in the city, that was far from certain—unless he could be promoted to Director within the next few years.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking. There are at least six deputy directors at the state-run hotel—what would I even do there?”

Just then, a hotel staff member called out to Li Yi, saying their noodles were ready and asking them to come over and pick them up.

That’s right—in those days, hotel staff wouldn’t serve food to customers unless they were leading officials.

Ordinary people had to fetch their own food.

“Brother Liu, have you eaten yet? If not…”

Before he could finish, Liu Jingshan said, “I’ve already eaten. You guys go ahead and eat. I’m going to find Chef Zhou—we’ll need his help with this reception!”

“Alright, go ahead and take care of that!”

Shortly after Liu Jingshan left, a restaurant staff member walked over carrying a plate of meat and set it down on the table in front of Li Yi.

Li Shankui immediately said, “Comrade… I don’t think we ordered anything else…”

Before he could finish, the server immediately replied, “That comrade over there ordered it for you!”

Li Yi had already guessed as much. He waved the server away and turned to his father, saying, “Dad, since it’s Brother Liu’s gesture of goodwill, we shouldn’t refuse it!”

“Such a huge plate of beef—it must cost at least three or five yuan. That’s a huge favor to owe!” Li Shankui said.

“Heh, it’s fine. Your son will repay the favor!”

“Hmm…”

After eating their fill, the father and son returned to the bus station, just as the bus was about to begin boarding.

They immediately boarded the bus!

……..

After a bumpy three-hour ride, the bus finally arrived back in Qingshan County.

After getting off, Li Yi, carrying the items he’d bought in the provincial capital, led his father out of the station.

He was just about to find a horse-drawn carriage to hire to take them back to their village.

Just as he was looking for a carriage, he heard someone calling his name.

Looking up, he was surprised to see it was Li Gang.

The guy was driving a small jeep, leaning out the window to talk to him.

Seeing him, Li Yi couldn’t help but smile. Here was a ready-made ride—why bother hiring a horse-drawn carriage? A jeep was much better!

Without hesitation, Li Yi walked over toward Li Gang.

“Brother Li Yi, it really is you! I thought I was seeing things!”

Li Gang said cheerfully as soon as they met.

“What are you doing here? On patrol?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“No, I just came out of the county party committee. I didn’t expect to run into you here!”

Li Gang then asked, “You look all worn out from the journey—what were you doing? Picking someone up?”

“No, I took my dad to the provincial capital for a medical checkup. We just got back!” Li Yi replied.

“A medical checkup? How’s Uncle Li? Is everything okay?”

“No, he just smokes too much and has a bit of mild asthma,” Li Yi said.

“That’s good to hear!”

Then Li Gang said again, “Looks like Li Na didn’t know you guys were coming back today. Come on, I’ll drive you and Uncle back!”

“Hahaha, I was just waiting for you to say that!”

With that, Li Yi motioned for his father to load the car, and Li Gang got out to help.

Soon, everything was loaded onto the car.

Li Gang then started the Jeep and drove off toward Nianzishan Village!

On the way, as the two chatted, Li Gang suddenly brought up Wang Anguo, then said to Li Yi, “Brother Li Yi, Old Wang is leaving!”

“He’s made up his mind?”

“Yeah. Both the old man and Brother Anmin didn’t want him to go, but he sees this as an opportunity, so he accepted the city’s transfer order despite the family’s objections!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s for the best that he goes!”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Gang’s heart stirred, and he immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, do you think it’s a good thing for Old Wang to go to the city to serve as the captain of the criminal investigation team?”

“Of course it’s a good thing. It’s just that he’s bound to run into some bumps along the way, but don’t worry!” Li Yi said.

“Hmm, that’s good to hear!”

Li Yi glanced at Li Gang and said, “Now that Captain Wang is leaving, you should be able to be promoted to captain, right?”

Li Gang shook his head with a wry smile. “It’s not that simple. I’ve only been deputy captain for less than two years—how could I be promoted so quickly? They’ll most likely bring in a new captain from outside. I’ll just keep being the deputy!”

“Haha, relax. I think you’ve got a pretty good chance!” Li Yi said.

“Really?”

“Look, whether you get promoted or not, you’ve got nothing to lose!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“You’re right!”

……….

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Li Yi took his father out of the guesthouse and headed straight for the train station!

There were quite a few trains running from the provincial capital to Ning City, where Li Yi lived—whether departing from there or passing through—with at least seven or eight trips a day.

However, Li Yi could only take one of them. The reason was simple: after returning to the city, they would still have to transfer to a bus to get back to their county.

There was only one bus a day to the county seat, departing at 1:00 PM.

In other words, if they wanted to return to Qingshan County today, they had to arrive in Ning City by 1:00 PM.

Looking at it this way, the 7:00 a.m. train was their best option. If they missed it, they’d have to spend another night in the provincial capital or return to Ning City for the night.

Neither Li Yi nor Li Shankui seemed particularly keen on this, after all, there were plenty of things waiting for them back home!

Upon arriving at the train station and purchasing their tickets, the two sat in the waiting hall to wait.

The waiting hall was crowded, with most people hurrying about—clearly travelers waiting to depart.

But there were also some who didn’t fit this description, and they caught Li Yi’s attention.

He noticed several young people in the waiting hall. Although they were carrying backpacks or holding baskets, they were looking around restlessly and clearly didn’t seem like they were there to catch a train.

Just as Li Yi was observing them, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen noticed them too.

She walked briskly over to Li Yi and asked in a low voice, “Sir, would you like to buy some food? I have boiled eggs and freshly made sugar cakes.”

As she spoke, the girl lifted the cloth covering her bamboo basket.

Inside lay a neat stack of golden-brown sugar cakes, along with a dozen or so hard-boiled eggs.

Li Yi was somewhat surprised to see that this young girl was actually selling things here.

Immediately, Li Yi pointed to a few young men nearby and asked, “Are those guys selling things too, just like you?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Does the station staff allow that?” Li Yi asked again.

The little girl’s face turned pale, and she immediately turned to leave.

Li Yi quickly said, “Don’t panic. I’m not going to report you. By the way, those sugar cookies look pretty good. How much are they?”

The young girl looked at Li Yi and said, “The sugar cookies are 15 cents each, and the eggs are 10 cents each!”

“How many sugar cookies do you have? I’ll take them all!” Li Yi said.

“All… all of them?”

The little girl was clearly startled by Li Yi’s words. She had been secretly selling things at the station for several months, but she had never seen such a generous customer before.

Li Shankui was also a bit surprised. Frowning, he said, “Your mom makes these sugar cakes too. Just buy a couple to try—why buy so many? Can you even eat that much?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “We’ve got a big family. One for each of us is already quite a lot. It’s perfect to take some home so my mom and the others can try the sugar cakes from the provincial capital!”

With that, Li Yi pulled out some change, ready to pay.

Seeing that Li Yi really intended to buy her sugar cakes, the little girl immediately began counting them.

“That’s 15 pieces total—two yuan and 25 fen. Just give me two yuan and 20 fen!”

Li Yi didn’t hesitate; he handed her 2.20 yuan and said, “Can we chat now?”

“Well… all right then!”

Although the little girl wasn’t entirely thrilled, Li Yi had just bought up all her sugar cookies in one go. Since he’d been so kind to her business, she couldn’t very well refuse him completely!

Li Yi smiled and said, “These eggs aren’t selling well, are they? If you’ll just have a good chat with me, I’ll tell you a trick in a minute that’ll guarantee your eggs sell fast and make you more money than anyone else!”

“R-really?”

“Mm-hmm! A man of his word—I’ll stand by it!”

“So what do you want to know?” the little girl asked immediately.

“Technically speaking, selling goods without authorization isn’t allowed right now. And since the train station is a public place with constant foot traffic, security should be even stricter. How dare you still sell things here?”

The young girl replied immediately, “We’re all children of railway employees, and most of us have parents who’ve had accidents. That’s why the uncles and aunts at the station turn a blind eye. But if someone reports us, we’ll still be punished!”

Hearing this, Li Yi immediately understood: it wasn’t that the station staff were turning a blind eye, but rather that they were giving these children with special circumstances extra consideration.

“So that’s how it is!”

Li Yi continued, “I see your goods are very cheap. You probably don’t make much money in a day like this. Let me tell you a way to make eggs—you can try it when you get back!”

“What method?”

“When you get back, first wash the eggs and boil them in cold water until they’re cooked. Then pour in some light soy sauce, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and salt, add some water and a small handful of tea leaves, bring it to a boil over high heat, and set it aside. Once the eggs are done, crack the shells…”

After teaching the young girl how to make tea eggs, Li Yi added, “These tea eggs help stimulate the appetite and strengthen the spleen. You can sell them for 15 cents each.”

“That’s so expensive. Will anyone actually buy these tea eggs?”

“Whether anyone will buy them or not, you’ll find out if you give it a try—it won’t cost you much!” Li Yi said with a smile.

The appeal of tea eggs cannot be fully described in words. After all, this dish quickly became a sensation across the country just a few years later, and people were still selling them decades later—a testament to its enduring popularity in the market.

In those days of scarcity, if you could make good tea eggs, it was hard not to make money.

“Thank you. May I… may I ask your name?” the young girl asked.

“My name is Li Yi…”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the station’s public address system announced that boarding was about to begin.

Li Yi realized it was their train back to Ning City. He immediately apologized to the young girl, then hurried toward the boarding gate with his father, carrying their bags and packages!

By the time they returned to Ning City, it was already 11:00 a.m. After exiting the station, Li Yi took his father straight to the bus station across from the train station.

That’s right—the bus station and the train station in Ning City are right next to each other, separated by just a single street.

They went inside to buy tickets, but instead of waiting with his father in the waiting room, Li Yi led him across the street to a state-run restaurant.

Li Yi had never been one to deprive himself, especially since they’d only had a light snack that morning. If they didn’t have a hot meal for lunch, they’d have to wait until dinner.

Ning City is quite famous for its braised lamb. Li Yi had originally planned to treat his father to a bowl of it, but Li Shankui refused, insisting once again that it was a waste of money.

With no other choice, Li Yi ordered a bowl of fried noodles for each of them, settling for a meager meal.

As for the braised lamb, they’d just have to wait until next time!

Just as Li Yi was about to pick up his chopsticks, he spotted an acquaintance walking in from outside.

After leaving Wuliang Temple, his father asked curiously, “Did you know that young man just now?”

“Yeah, I’ve met him before,” Li Yi replied.

“You actually know people in the provincial capital?” Li Shan Kui asked in surprise.

“Heh, we’ve only met once—hardly what you’d call familiar!”

Li Yi wasn’t lying; he did indeed know that young man—not in this life, but in his past one.

In fact, when it came to his past life, it wasn’t just Li Yi who knew Old Ma—virtually everyone in the northern business world knew him.

“Oh, then why didn’t you chat with him a bit longer?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Just an acquaintance—we didn’t have much to talk about!”

“That young man looks pretty honest. He should be someone worth getting to know!” Li Shankui said again.

“Dad, you know about these things?” Li Yi asked with a laugh.

Li Shankui shot him a look and said, “I’ve lived this long, after all. I can tell whether a person is honest and trustworthy or cunning and deceitful!”

“Alright, alright, you’re the expert. Let’s head back—we’ve got a train to catch tomorrow!” Li Yi said.

“Mm-hmm!”

As he turned to leave, Li Yi couldn’t help but glance back at Wuliang Temple, only to see Old Ma standing at the temple entrance.

He was watching him!

But Li Yi didn’t say anything more; he just smiled and, taking his father by the arm, walked away without looking back.

It wasn’t that Li Yi didn’t want to talk to him further; it was simply not the right time.

As for Old Ma, Li Yi actually knew quite a bit about him.

His real name was Ma Ben Sheng; a native of Qingcheng, he was currently a nobody, but in the future, he would become a renowned dairy tycoon in the country.

When people spoke of him, many couldn’t help but think of his tragic childhood and his immense business achievements—the stories of his “cheap life” worth 50 yuan and his 100-billion-yuan empire.

At the starting line of life, Old Ma had undoubtedly been left behind by the vast majority of people.

Shortly after his birth, his biological parents sold him to his adoptive parents for 50 yuan.

His adoptive father focused on raising cattle and delivering milk, while his adoptive mother had no steady job and relied on odd jobs to make ends meet.

As a result, his family struggled financially from an early age, barely making ends meet.

Yet Lao Ma’s later achievements left everyone speechless: in less than a decade, he transformed a small cattle-raising operation into a domestic dairy giant and built a business empire worth 100 billion yuan.

However, judging by the timeline, it has been about two years since Old Ma took over from his father at the state-owned dairy farm.

But because of his outstanding work performance, he has caught the eye of the municipal dairy plant, which wants to transfer him there.

It could be said that he is currently facing the most important decision of his life.

In his previous life, he ultimately accepted the dairy plant’s offer, moved from the dairy farm to the dairy plant, and became the plant manager three years later.

This laid the foundation for his future rise to prominence.

The reason Li Yi said those words to Old Ma was, on the one hand, because he knew Old Ma was someone he could get along with, and on the other hand, because Old Ma had done him a favor.

Lao Ma was renowned for being easy to get along with. Throughout his life, he adhered to the earnest teachings of his foster mother: “When wealth accumulates, people scatter; when wealth is shared, people gather. Suffering a loss is a blessing; taking advantage is a curse.”

His mother’s words and example shaped Lao Ma’s generous and chivalrous character, influencing him for the rest of his life.

When he had money, he never kept it to himself but called his friends over to spend it together; when he had something fun, he didn’t hoard it but actively shared it with his close friends; and when he saw injustice, he never stood by as a bystander but rushed forward to stand up for his good brothers.

In his previous life, Old Ma truly made his fortune at the age of 35. At that time, he was highly regarded by his superiors and held a key position at the Northern No. 1 Dairy Group, where he was fully in charge of ice cream and popsicle production.

He brought the same sense of righteousness he’d shown as a child into the company, which earned him even more respect among his employees than his former teachers had.

At the time, sales of the “Bitter Coffee” product he spearheaded exceeded 300 million yuan, and the company planned to reward him with a luxury car. However, Old Ma converted that sum into four minivans and distributed them among his direct subordinates.

Incidents like this were countless throughout his life, so a person like him is definitely worth befriending.

Moreover, in a past life, Old Ma had helped Li Yi during his most difficult times, so Li Yi naturally wouldn’t hesitate to offer guidance at this crossroads in his life.

However, Li Yi also understood that both he and Old Ma were currently only at the beginning of their careers.

He couldn’t do much for Old Ma, and Old Ma couldn’t do much for him. Once his business expanded to the provincial capital, he would bring Old Ma on board to build their enterprise together!

…….

On the way back, Li Yi spotted a department store.

Unlike the mall in the city, the department store across the street had clearly adopted the decorative style of southern shopping centers. It featured not only three-dimensional signs and neon lights but also large glass display windows visible from a great distance.

Inside the windows were rotating portraits of people from all walks of life, powered by electricity and synchronized with the display of merchandise—a truly eye-catching sight.

Seeing this, Li Yi suggested to his father that they go inside and take a look.

Li Shankui was clearly worried he’d spend money recklessly and wasn’t very interested.

However, unable to resist Li Yi’s persistence, the two eventually entered the department store.

As soon as they entered, Li Shankui was stunned by the scene inside.

A five-story building was entirely filled with shops, offering a dazzling array of goods, and the crowd of shoppers inside was so dense that people were rubbing shoulders.

Li Shankui, who had barely even visited the county supply and marketing cooperative a few times, had never seen anything like this; he froze the moment he stepped inside.

Li Yi, of course, wasn’t fazed by the scene. He grabbed his father’s arm and strode confidently inside.

Right at the entrance was a counter selling leather shoes. Pairs of shiny, polished leather shoes were displayed on the counter, looking quite fashionable.

Li Yi immediately set his sights on a pair of red flat leather shoes and asked, “Comrade, how much are those shoes?”

The saleswoman was a young woman in her twenties. She glanced at Li Yi first, then said, “15 yuan a pair, no ration tickets required!”

Hearing the price, Li Shankui couldn’t help but gasp.

A pair of rubber shoes in the county cost no more than 2.60 yuan, yet these little leather shoes were 15 yuan—enough to buy six pairs of rubber shoes. That was way too expensive!

“Alright, give me two pairs—one in size 37 and one in size 38!”

Hearing his son’s words, Li Shankui was taken aback once again.

However, he didn’t try to stop him. On one hand, the money was his son’s own earnings, so how he spent it was entirely up to him.

On the other hand, Li Shankui knew his son was a determined young man; once he’d made up his mind, he would never back down just because his father objected.

Rather than upset his son, it was better to keep quiet.

After paying and picking up the shoes, the two continued browsing the mall.

The large department store in the provincial capital was indeed spacious, with a comprehensive selection of goods. The array of small items was dazzling: sun fans, straw hats, umbrellas, basketball shoes, cameras, leather jackets, lighters, fleece sweaters, and fleece pants—everything was available, and the styles were all quite trendy.

Li Yi didn’t hold back; whenever he saw something he liked or found useful, he bought it on the spot.

Before long, the father and son were carrying all sorts of bags, big and small!

After browsing for an hour and a half, the two finally left—only when Li Shankui could no longer stand his son’s extravagant spending!

After dinner, Li Yi didn’t return to the state-run guesthouse; instead, he took his father for a stroll along the road toward the old city gate.

Since it was already quite late after their doctor’s appointment today, they had missed the last train back to Ning City, so they would have to spend the night in the provincial capital.

Since they couldn’t go back anyway, Li Yi decided to take his father on a tour of the provincial capital—it was a rare opportunity, after all.

In his previous life, Li Yi had often visited the provincial capital. Although the cityscape back then was completely different from what it was now, he still had a general idea of where some of the famous landmarks were located.

The provincial capital looked utterly dilapidated now. Low, single-story houses were everywhere; only in specific areas—such as hospitals, government offices, and churches—could one spot a few low-rise buildings.

Most residential homes and shops were still single-story structures, with exposed gray-brown plaster walls and soot-blackened eaves—a far cry from the “First City of the Grasslands Beyond the Frontier” he remembered.

Even so, the sight of the provincial capital still astonished his father.

Especially the wide four-lane roads, with buses and cars passing by from time to time—a scene completely unseen in Qing Shan County.

Beyond these sights, what was most captivating were the people on the streets.

It was the height of summer, and the streets were filled with men and women dressed in light, summery clothing.

Compared to the conservative town of Qingshan, the way the young men and women in the provincial capital dressed was truly bold and avant-garde.

Especially the girls—some were even walking down the street in just a pair of capris and sandals.

If this were in Qingshan County, they’d likely be scolded back home the moment they stepped out by the elderly men and women wearing red armbands.

Besides the different styles, the colors of the clothes worn by the people in the provincial capital are also different.

In Qing Shan County, most people still wore black, blue, or green, but here the streets were filled with red, yellow, and pink.

By comparison, someone like Li Shankui, still wearing a blue long-sleeved jacket, was a rare sight, even drawing curious glances from many young people.

Li Yi knew his father was curious about many things in the provincial capital, so he patiently explained all the new sights of the city to him, just as his father had taught him when he was a child.

“What that young man is standing on is called roller skates, also known as inline skates. You can skate on any smooth surface, and they go really fast!”

Seeing his father staring intently at a young man on roller skates, Li Yi immediately explained.

“He’s going so fast—isn’t he afraid of falling?” Li Shankui asked curiously.

“Of course, but there’s a technique to it. People who know how to use them usually don’t fall…”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the young man suddenly lost his footing and crashed headfirst into a mailbox by the roadside.

Seeing this, his father chuckled and said, “Looks like he hasn’t quite figured out how to use them yet!”

“Hehe!”

The father and son chatted as they walked, and before long they arrived at an ancient building south of the city gate.

Although Li Shankui was illiterate, he knew what the complex before him was used for.

“Why did you bring me to a temple?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, this is the largest monastery in our northern frontier region. It’s not too far from where we live, so I thought I’d bring you to take a look!”

“Heh, what’s so interesting about a lama temple? Back when the Qia’erji Temple was still standing, I don’t know how many times we went there every year!”

Li Yi knew his father was referring to the Qiaerji Temple, a local monastery in Qingshan County, though he had no real memory of it.

But even though twenty years had passed, the local people of Qingshan County still often spoke of that temple, and many of them felt a deep sense of regret.

As they spoke, Li Yi led his father up the steps and into the temple.

Li Yi was quite familiar with the temple before him. As the largest temple in the provincial capital and indeed the entire Northern Grasslands, Dxmbang Wuliang Temple wielded immense influence throughout the northern region.

In his previous life, Li Yi had visited roughly once every two years to light a stick of incense and pray for that ill-fated beauty.

Compared to the Wuliang Temple of his memories, the one before him was undeniably dilapidated.

The plaque above the entrance had faded, and the characters for “Wuliang Temple” were barely legible.

The building itself was severely damaged; not only had many bricks and tiles fallen from the walls, but the rafters on the roof were of varying lengths, making it look as if it had been gnawed by a dog.

Furthermore, the murals—later renowned as Wuliang Temple’s most famous feature—had now faded to a dull gray; in some places, they had even fallen from the walls, bearing no resemblance to the vivid, vibrant scenes Li Yi had once seen.

Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret. People today have yet to realize the value and significance of this temple, so they’ve allowed it to fall into such disrepair.

By the time people decided to protect it, it would be too late for many things.

However, there was nothing Li Yi could do about it; after all, his influence was still too limited, and he lacked the resources to restore such a vast temple.

Walking through the main gate, the interior layout was largely as Li Yi remembered it, though just as dilapidated as the exterior.

After looking around for a while, Li Shankui suddenly complained of a stomachache.

Li Yi immediately asked someone where the restroom was and led him there.

While his father was in the restroom, Li Yi went to the main hall next door to take a look at Wuliang Temple’s most prized treasure—the Silver Buddha.

The Silver Buddha of Wuliang Temple is extremely famous; it is said to have been crafted by Nepalese artisans and cast entirely from 30,000 taels of pure silver.

With a history spanning over 400 years, it is one of the largest surviving silver Buddhas in the country.

However, what Li Yi didn’t expect was that the moment his right leg stepped into the main hall—before his left leg could follow—he was bumped by a young man rushing out from inside.

Fortunately, Li Yi was physically strong enough that, though he stumbled from the impact, he did not fall to the ground.

On the contrary, the young man who had bumped into him was thrown backward by the impact and fell to the ground.

Li Yi immediately stepped forward and asked, “Comrade, are you all right?”

The young man, with a somewhat swarthy complexion, scrambled to his feet and hurriedly replied, “I’m fine… I’m fine. I was just walking too fast. I’m truly sorry!”

Seeing that the other man was sincere, Li Yi wasn’t angry and was about to let him go.

But when he got a clear look at the young man’s face, he couldn’t help but be startled—it was him.

Seeing Li Yi staring intently at him, the young man felt a bit uneasy and cautiously asked, “Comrade, why… are you looking at me like that?”

“Is your last name Ma?” Li Yi suddenly asked.

“Do… do we know each other?”

“No, we don’t!”

“Then why…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I know a little about reading faces. You’re a man of great fortune. No matter what problems you’re facing right now, you’ll turn misfortune into good luck. Don’t worry.”

“Ah… I don’t believe in fortune-telling!”

“Hehe, I’m not charging you for this. If someone offers you a chance to change jobs in the near future, you should give it a try—it’s a great opportunity for you!”

“How do you know someone’s invited me…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi cut him off and said, “I can’t say! Judging by your face, you’re currently facing a major turning point in your life. Take a step forward, and the world is your oyster; take a step back, and you’ll be stuck in the same place!”

Just then, Li Yi saw his father coming out!

He immediately stopped talking, walked straight over to his father, and they left Wuliang Temple together, leaving the bewildered young man standing there dumbfounded.

The night passed uneventfully, and before dawn the next day, Li Yi got up.

After a quick wash, he took his father straight to the affiliated hospital across from the guesthouse.

Compared to the county hospital, the affiliated hospital was much more impressive.

Not only were there security guards stationed at the entrance, but the medical facilities weren’t the usual small, single-story buildings—instead, they consisted of a row of imposing five-story buildings.

Visiting such a place for the first time, Li Shankui felt somewhat self-conscious, even nervous.

Li Yi, on the other hand, didn’t feel a thing!

A five-story hospital was indeed rare in this era, but looking ahead to the future, which reputable top-tier hospital didn’t have several buildings with dozens of stories?

He led his father with ease to the registration desk and made an appointment with a specialist named Liu Jimin.

This doctor had been recommended to him by the physician at the county hospital, who had said that Dr. Liu was the leading expert on lung diseases in North Sai Province—you couldn’t go wrong with him.

It was also Dr. Zhou who had warned him that Dr. Liu’s appointments were hard to come by—he’d have to get in line early in the morning, or he’d miss his chance.

After booking the appointment—it wasn’t even seven o’clock yet—Li Yi took his father to wait outside the clinic!

They waited for a full hour, and by then, the entrance to the clinic was already crowded with patients and their families waiting to be seen.

Just as everyone was anxiously wondering when the doctor would arrive, a young woman in her late teens wearing a white lab coat walked over and unlocked the clinic door with a key.

The moment the door swung open, the patients and family members at the entrance surged forward in a stampede—the scene was downright terrifying.

However, the young woman seemed to be used to this by now. She stretched out her slender hand and shouted, “Everyone step back! Teacher Liu won’t be here for a little while yet!”

Then, before anyone could say a word, she went about her business, grabbing a broom and mop and starting to clean the room.

Li Yi didn’t approach her. He could tell at a glance that this young woman was likely an intern.

Interns like this usually just assist the senior doctors; asking her for help would be a complete waste of time.

Instead, his gaze kept sweeping the corridor to his left, as if he were searching for something.

Just then, an elderly doctor with snow-white hair and beard came into Li Yi’s view.

It was him!

Without hesitation, Li Yi stepped forward to greet him.

“Hello, Dr. Liu! I’ve been waiting for you!”

Liu Jimin looked at the young man before him in surprise and asked immediately, “Hello, young man. Do we know each other?”

“No, we haven’t. I was referred by Director Zhou from Qing Shan County People’s Hospital. He said my father’s condition can only be treated by you!” Li Yi replied.

Although Liu Jiming couldn’t recall exactly who this Director Zhou was, he nodded and said, “Young man, what’s wrong with your father?”

“He coughs frequently. After examining him, Director Zhou suspected there might be a growth in his lungs, so he sent me here to have you take a look!”

“Oh, where is the patient? I’ll take a look and see.” Liu Jimin said as he walked.

“Got it!”

That was exactly what Li Yi had been waiting to hear. He immediately called out to his father and followed Liu Jimin into the examination room.

The other patients and their families saw Li Yi and Dr. Liu chatting and laughing together, assuming the two already knew each other, so none of them dared to say anything.

And so, Li Yi led his father into the examination room first.

In the examination room, Liu Jimin asked Li Shankui detailed questions about his condition and then gave him a physical examination.

Afterward, Liu Jiming said to Li Yi, “Although your father has some abnormal sounds in his lungs, his breathing is steady and strong. In my experience, the problem shouldn’t be too serious. If you’re still concerned, you can get a chest CT scan, though it might be a bit expensive!”

“How much does it cost?”

Hearing the doctor mention the cost, Li Shankui instinctively asked.

But before Dr. Liu could answer, Li Yi spoke up directly: “Dr. Liu, please write the order!”

“Alright!”

Holding the order form written by Liu Jimin, Li Yi immediately took his father to pay the fee, then followed the nurse’s directions to the CT room.

Li Shankui looked at the payment slip in his son’s hand, his heart aching.

Just moments ago, he had watched his son hand over 120 yuan—enough to cover a year’s worth of farm work for him and his wife.

Li Yi sensed his father’s thoughts, smiled, and said, “Dad, this CT scan is a new diagnostic technology imported from abroad. It can tell us right away if there’s anything in your lungs, so it’s only natural that it’s a bit pricey.”

Hearing that it was imported from abroad, the look on Li Shankui’s face softened slightly, but he still couldn’t help saying, “Even if it’s from abroad, it’s still too expensive!”

“Price doesn’t matter—as long as it cures your illness!”

“Hmm!”

…….

By the time they left the hospital, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Both Li Shankui and Li Yi looked much more relaxed.

The CT scan revealed no abnormalities in Li Shankui’s lungs.

So Dr. Liu Jimin’s final diagnosis was that Li Shankui’s persistent cough was due, on the one hand, to his long-term smoking habit, and on the other hand, to his chronic asthma.

He then prescribed medication and advised him to quit smoking.

The medication was fairly common and not expensive.

But quitting smoking was the one thing that stumped Li Shankui; he had been smoking since he was 15, and it had been nearly forty years now.

Smoking had become an indispensable part of his life—indeed, his greatest pleasure—and the idea of quitting cold turkey seemed impossible.

But the doctor’s advice was clear: if he didn’t quit smoking, his asthma would never improve.

Over time, the combination of asthma and smoking makes him more susceptible to other health complications—it could even lead to lung cancer.

Hearing the doctor’s words, Li Yi understood.

In his previous life, his father had likely passed away for this very reason.

Fortunately, in this life, the problem was detected early, and there was still time to do something about it.

If his father could successfully quit smoking, perhaps the tragedy of his past life could be avoided.

As they walked along the streets of the provincial capital, neither father nor son spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Arriving at a state-run restaurant, Li Yi led his father inside.

It was a restaurant specializing in halal cuisine, and Li Yi immediately ordered a large plate of chicken, a dish common in the Northwest.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Li Yi poured his father a cup of tea and said, “Dad, let’s quit smoking!”

Li Shankui fell silent. He wanted to quit too, but he worried he wouldn’t be able to.

“Dad, you’re already a grandfather now, and in a few months you’ll be a great-grandfather. I’m counting on you and Mom to help me raise my kids in the future, so you absolutely have to quit smoking!” Li Yi said.

“I can still help you take care of the kids even if I don’t quit!”

Li Shankui was somewhat tempted, but he still replied stubbornly.

“Smoking is bad for the kids. Do you know what secondhand smoke is?”

“What’s secondhand smoke?”

“It’s the smoke you exhale when you smoke!”

“So what?”

Li Yi immediately replied, “Secondhand smoke contains various harmful substances and carcinogens, such as tar, nicotine, and particulate matter. If non-smokers like us are frequently exposed to secondhand smoke, these harmful substances enter the airways and irritate the mucous membranes, often leading to respiratory diseases like bronchitis, pneumonia, and lung cancer.”

“You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?” Li Shankui frowned.

“I swear to God, I’m not lying to you!”

Li Yi continued, “Secondhand smoke contains dozens of carcinogens. Long-term exposure to secondhand smoke and repeated exposure to these carcinogens can potentially lead to cancer.”

“Furthermore, frequent exposure to secondhand smoke can cause abnormal blood lipid levels, increase blood viscosity, and often damage heart muscle tissue, significantly raising the risk of coronary heart disease.”

Seeing the look of conflict on his father’s face, Li Yi decided to press his advantage.

“Dad, it’s not so bad for us adults, but it’s dangerous for the kids!”

“Why is it dangerous for them?” Li Shankui asked, furrowing his brow.

“Infants and young children haven’t fully developed their respiratory systems yet. If they’re exposed to secondhand smoke over a long period, they’re not only at risk for conditions like bronchitis and pneumonia, but they’re also more likely to develop asthma.”

Li Yi continued, “Furthermore, secondhand smoke in infants and young children increases the risk of conditions like otitis media, fluid buildup in the middle ear, and eardrum tension, which can damage the auditory system. In severe cases, this can affect hearing and lead to hearing loss.”

“What’s even more serious is that nicotine breaks down into cotinine. Once this harmful substance enters the bloodstream, it can impair a child’s intellectual development.”

“Dad, you don’t want to be in a situation where you can’t even touch the baby once it’s born, do you?”

Li Shankui glanced at Li Yi, then sighed and said, “Fine, for the sake of my little grandson, I’ll agree to quit smoking!”

“Hahaha, great!”

……..

On the train bound for the provincial capital, Li Shankui gazed out the window with a look of nervousness.

This was his first time traveling far from home, and his first time riding a train.

Previously, his only exposure to trains had been occasional mentions on the radio and glimpses of old-fashioned steam locomotives in open-air movies shown by the production brigade.

Once he actually boarded the train, Li Shankui found it quite comfortable, and it moved incredibly fast.

Li Yi, sitting beside him, couldn’t help but smile at his father’s wide-eyed, wide-world-first-time-ever look.

“Dad, what do you think of this train?”

“It’s good—faster than a horse-drawn carriage and more comfortable, too. It’s just a bit pricey!” Li Shankui replied honestly.

Zhou Yang smiled but said nothing. The journey from the city to the provincial capital was nearly 200 kilometers, and the fare was two yuan per ticket.

To be honest, the fare really wasn’t that expensive.

“Dad, let it be a little expensive—as long as it gets us to the provincial capital!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Hmm! I wonder how much longer it’ll take to get there!”

“Another hour or so, and we’ll be there!”

Li Yi had asked the ticket agent when they bought the tickets; the trip from the city to the provincial capital takes about three and a half hours. They’d already been traveling for two hours, so with another hour and a half to go, they should definitely make it.

Li Shankui nodded, then looked at Li Yi and said, “Actually, we don’t necessarily have to go all the way to the provincial capital. We can just get checked out in the county town!”

“Dad, the conditions in the county are still a bit lacking, and the doctors aren’t up to par. If we go to a big hospital in the provincial capital, we can get you thoroughly checked out. If you’re sick, we’ll treat it; if you’re not, at least we’ll have peace of mind, right?”

“Ah, with this trip, your mother and I have worked for nothing today!” Li Shankui sighed.

“Heh, I’m still here. Your son can earn that much back in a single day—don’t worry about it!” Li Yi reassured his father.

“Mm-hmm!”

Then Li Shankui added, “If my condition isn’t looking good, don’t tell your mother when you get back. She’s a nervous sort—don’t scare her!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, I don’t think you’ll be in any trouble. Don’t worry!”

“Mm-hmm!”

After that, Li Shankui fell silent.

Watching his silent father, Li Yi’s heart grew heavy.

Their main purpose in coming to the provincial capital this time was to get his father treated. It wasn’t just Li Shankui who was anxious; Li Yi himself was under considerable pressure.

After all, in his previous life, his father had suddenly fallen gravely ill three years later, and after suffering for several months, he had passed away—the disease had progressed very rapidly.

Although Li Yi wasn’t a doctor, he knew his father wasn’t suffering from an ordinary illness.

Although this was three years earlier than before, Li Yi couldn’t guarantee that his father’s condition was definitely under control.

Besides, the doctor at the county hospital had said that his father’s lung function was indeed poor and required further examination.

To be honest, Li Yi was worried that this checkup might reveal some serious condition.

But he had no choice; he had to come. This might be his father’s only hope for survival.

…….

“Woo-woo…”

With a long whistle, the train slowly pulled into the platform.

The conductor then opened the doors and urged passengers to disembark.

Li Yi woke his half-asleep father, then quickly got off the train and followed the surging crowd out of the station.

Although the provincial capital’s train station looked just as dilapidated to Li Yi, in his father’s eyes it was grand and imposing; after exiting, he even stood in front of the station for quite a while.

Li Yi had already asked around about the hospitals in the provincial capital before arriving; currently, aside from the Provincial Medical University Affiliated Hospital, the Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital was also quite well-known.

After careful consideration, Li Yi decided to take his father to the affiliated hospital first.

The reason was quite simple: his father was suffering from an acute condition, and traditional Chinese medicine simply wasn’t very effective for such illnesses.

Moreover, traditional Chinese medicine takes a long time to take effect, so for now, Li Yi had no choice but to seek Western medical treatment.

As for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, he’d worry about that later!

However, glancing at the time, it was already 3:30 p.m., so it would definitely be too late to go there now.

So Li Yi decided to find a guesthouse near the affiliated hospital to stay the night and take his father there first thing in the morning.

The straight-line distance from the train station to the affiliated hospital wasn’t far, but since there were no taxis, Li Yi had no choice but to take the bus with his father.

This was Li Yi’s first time riding a bus in the provincial capital, so he hadn’t realized that buses now charged by the stop—five cents per stop, with the fare calculated based on the number of stops traveled.

It was a five-stop ride to the Affiliated Hospital, so the fare for one person was 25 cents.

To be honest, compared to the average person’s salary at the time, Li Yi thought the fare was a bit steep.

After getting off the bus, Li Yi asked a few passersby for directions and then led his father toward a state-run guesthouse nearby.

Upon entering, a young woman in her twenties greeted them.

“Comrades, are you here to check in?”

The young woman could tell at a glance that they were father and son, and that Li Shankui was clearly the head of the household, so she kept her eyes on him as she spoke.

However, Li Shankui was a bit nervous; he opened his mouth twice but ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

Li Yi immediately replied, “Yes, comrade, we’d like a room!”

“Comrade, please show me your letters of introduction!”

Li Yi immediately produced the letters of introduction issued by their village brigade and commune, then handed them to the young woman across from him.

After verifying that everything was in order, the young woman led the two men to check in.

With the letters of introduction in hand, the rest of the procedures were streamlined—they just had to pay.

Li Yi requested a double room, which cost 3 yuan per night.

While Li Yi considered this a very reasonable price, it made Li Shankui wince with pain.

After all, back in the county, three yuan could buy nearly 20 jin of top-quality white flour.

And now, to see that sum vanish in a single night—how could he not feel the sting?

Li Yi merely smiled at this and said nothing more; his father truly lacked worldly experience. In his simple mind, a three-yuan-a-night lodging fee was indeed very expensive.

But this was the provincial capital; with prices like these, they had no choice but to accept it.

After picking up the key and stowing their luggage, Li Yi led his father out of the guesthouse and walked into a state-run restaurant.

Compared to the state-run restaurants in Qingshan County, those in the provincial capital were not only much larger in size but also seemed to operate differently.

Since it was past lunchtime, the restaurant wasn’t very crowded—there were only two tables occupied.

When Li Yi and Li Shankui walked in, a middle-aged woman approached them and asked, “Comrades, if you’d like to eat, please go to the front to order!”

This alone put them leagues ahead of Liu Jingshan’s men.

The staff at the county’s state-run restaurant wouldn’t greet you with such courtesy; in fact, since they were all permanent employees, they sometimes treated ordinary people with utter contempt.

If you want to eat, you eat; if you don’t, they’re not begging you—there’s no question of service attitude whatsoever.

In comparison, the staff at these provincial state-run restaurants do a much better job in this regard.

After seating his father at a table, Li Yi immediately went to the front desk to order.

Since there were only two of them, Li Yi simply ordered three liang of shaomai and a cold dish…

…….

When he returned to the village that afternoon, Li Yi, as usual, headed straight for the new house.

After all, Tang Xue was already pregnant, so he couldn’t let her get too tired; whenever he had time, he’d help out with the chores.

But as soon as he arrived, Li Yi sensed that something was off at the new house.

In the courtyard, his second older sister, Li Lan, looked furious, while Tang Xue’s eyes were red, as if she’d been crying.

At first glance, Li Yi thought the two of them had gotten into a fight—or, to be precise, he assumed his second older sister was picking on Tang Xue.

It wasn’t that Li Yi had forgotten his sister now that he was married—it was just that he knew his second sister’s temper; she was notoriously domineering.

Not to mention Tang Xue, his younger sister-in-law—even his second sister’s in-laws, her father- and mother-in-law, couldn’t get a word in edgewise. If she got annoyed, she’d snap right back at them.

Even Li Yi himself knew that when Second Sister got angry, she’d rather throw a punch than argue—she was a real firecracker!

But just as Li Yi was about to ask what had happened, he didn’t expect Tang Xue to suddenly run toward him the moment she saw him.

Worried she might trip, Li Yi hurried forward a few steps to meet her.

As soon as Tang Xue threw herself into Li Yi’s arms, she suddenly burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.

Li Yi was taken aback; his wife’s reaction was a bit extreme, and it was clear she’d been deeply wronged.

Gently patting her back, he hurriedly asked, “Don’t cry. What’s wrong? Did Second Sister bully you? I’ll speak up for you.”

Li Lan, standing nearby, shot Li Yi a glare. This brother of hers was truly useless—maybe it was time to find a replacement?

Tang Xue cried for a moment before saying, “No, how could Second Sister bully me? It’s just…”

“What’s really going on? Just tell me!”

“I got a letter from home!”

“Is that all? So what if there’s a letter? Why are you crying?”

Tang Xue immediately replied, “My dad told me to come home right away, and he also said…”

“Did they say anything else I wouldn’t want to hear?” Li Yi asked in a low voice.

Seeing that Tang Xue was still hesitating, her second older sister, Li Lan, snapped angrily, “Xiao Xue’s father said that the steel mill has started hiring, and he wants Xiao Xue to hurry back and marry that old widower surnamed Liu. Otherwise, he’ll marry some other girl, and Xiao Xue’s so-called job will go down the drain!”

“They also said that if Xiao Xue doesn’t go back, they’ll send her older brother to bring her home!”

Hearing this, Li Yi finally understood why Tang Xue was crying—she’d been hurt yet again by those awful relatives.

“Who wrote the letter—your dad or your sister?” Li Yi asked in a low voice.

“Usually my dad dictates it and my brother writes it down!” Tang Xue said with a look of grievance on her face.

“Hmph, they’re such wonderful parents and an excellent older brother—they must not fear being struck by lightning!” Li Lan said through gritted teeth.

She had a fiery temper to begin with, and after reading the letter Tang Xue’s parents had written to her, her anger flared up instantly.

Although Li Yi was also furious inside, he didn’t join his second sister in berating them.

He patted Tang Xue on the back and said gently, “Don’t cry just yet. It’s not worth getting angry over people like them!”

“But I just feel so wronged!” Tang Xue said.

“It’s not your fault. If you get angry, you’re just punishing yourself for someone else’s mistakes!”

Li Yi added, “Besides, you’re pregnant right now. If you get upset, it’ll make our little baby uncomfortable too!”

Hearing this, Tang Xue stopped crying immediately.

She instinctively touched her belly, then looked at Li Yi and asked, “Can… can he really sense it?”

“Mm-hmm!”

Of course, Li Yi knew the little one in her belly was probably only about the size of a soybean right now, and didn’t even have a heartbeat yet, so there was no way it could sense anything.

But he couldn’t say that, lest his wife get even more upset.

Once Tang Xue had calmed down a bit, Li Yi spoke again. “Honey, what do you think?”

“I… I’m not going back, but I’m afraid they’ll really come here and cause a scene!”

Thinking of the determined expressions on her family’s faces—the kind that wouldn’t rest until they got their way—Tang Xue couldn’t help but shudder.

But Li Yi shook his head and said, “Running away isn’t the answer to this kind of problem!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?”

“They want you to go back, so let’s go back and see. I’d like to see what kind of parents would do something so cold-blooded!” Li Yi said coldly.

“But…”

Hearing that Li Yi wanted to accompany her home, Tang Xue hesitated.

Having been hurt time and again by her family over the years, she had grown to deeply resent that home. If possible, she truly didn’t want to have anything to do with them anymore.

Besides, Tang Xue felt her current life was wonderful—she had a husband who loved her and a sister-in-law she got along with like a sister.

She was even expecting a baby, and soon they would be a family of three.

Although she had indeed moved from the city to the countryside and married a man who hadn’t even finished junior high school, she still felt incredibly happy.

So Tang Xuezhen really didn’t want her family to disrupt her normal life.

Li Yi sensed his wife’s concerns and immediately reassured her, “I’ll go back with you. Let’s settle this once and for all. Trust me.”

“Are we really going back?”

“Yes!”

“Well… I’ll do as you say. If they dare to give us a hard time, I’ll go to the neighborhood office and ask the officials to settle this!” Tang Xue said, biting her little canine tooth.

“Mm-hmm!”

The reason Li Yi was so insistent on taking Tang Xue back wasn’t just because of this sudden letter from home, but because there were some matters he needed to investigate.

At the same time, Li Yi needed to bid farewell to his past life!

So even without this letter from the Tang family, Li Yi would have found an opportunity to make a trip to Qin Province.

Of course, under normal circumstances, he would have waited until his wife gave birth.

But since these people couldn’t wait any longer, he’d go meet them.

However, traveling these days was no simple matter. Aside from all the household affairs that needed arranging, more importantly, he had to prepare a great many things.

For instance, letters of introduction, and national grain coupons.

In an era when you needed a letter of introduction just to ride a bus or stay at an inn, you could travel long distances without money, but you absolutely couldn’t go without a letter of introduction.

Secondly, although he and Tang Xue were already married—even if they hadn’t officially registered their marriage—they still needed a certificate to travel together; otherwise, they might well be labeled as a couple of hooligans or adulterers.

Furthermore, since they were traveling across provincial borders to visit Tang Xue’s parents’ home, the locally issued grain coupons would be useless; they’d have to exchange them for national grain coupons at a designated grain station.

On top of that, before leaving, Li Yi had one more crucial task to complete: taking his father to the provincial capital for medical treatment.

There was no doubt that his father’s lungs were in trouble.

However, the medical facilities in the county were simply too inadequate, so they had no choice but to seek care at a larger hospital.

In Li Yi’s view, the city wasn’t much better than the county, so if they were going to go, they might as well go to the provincial capital.

After all, the major hospitals in the provincial capital had all acquired CT scanners. Whether his father’s lungs were indeed “cancerous” as Comrade Ru had predicted could be determined immediately with a CT scan.

Therefore, Li Yi decided to take his father to the provincial capital before leaving.