Chapter 151: Yang Zhqing’s Parents Have Arrived

After locking the door to the new house, Li Yi drove the big black horse-drawn cart straight back to the old family home!

By then, Third Sister had already returned from the reservoir with the mushrooms the children had picked.

Their mother had already prepared dinner. After tending to the big black horse, the family gathered around the small table under the eaves to eat.

Dinner was simple: millet porridge, a few boiled potatoes, and the steamed buns left over from lunch.

Of course, this was just their usual home-cooked meal, but there was a surprise!

That surprise was the grilled meat Li Yi had brought back from the state-run restaurant!

Just as Li Yi had anticipated, the shrewd Liu Jingshan had indeed already prepared to vigorously promote the specialty grilled meat Li Yi had taught him at the state-run restaurant. He had people specially build a dozen or so grills and even purchased a new set of tableware.

Now that everything was ready, all that was left was to launch the soft opening!

And today, Li Yi, along with Liang Yukuai and the others, served as guinea pigs!

To be honest, even though Liu Jingshan and his team had only mastered about 60% of the technique, the quality of the local beef and lamb was simply outstanding.

Paired with this new style of cooking, the flavor was truly unforgettable!

Even seasoned veterans like Liang Yuke and Director Ge couldn’t help but sing its praises after tasting it.

The meal was a real treat for everyone!

But Li Yi thought of his third older sister, who was running a street stall, so before leaving, he specially grilled a box for her. Then he realized it wouldn’t be right to bring it to her but not to Tang Xue and his second older sister.

And then there were his parents—he couldn’t possibly play favorites!

In the end, Li Yi and Liu Jingshan borrowed a few takeout containers and grilled up a full five containers of meat.

Eating the grilled meat with millet porridge was actually quite a unique treat.

During the meal, Li Yi recounted the story of his eldest sister and brother-in-law getting hired.

Learning that his eldest daughter and son-in-law had successfully secured jobs at the county sugar factory, Li Shan Kui’s previously gloomy mood instantly brightened.

He immediately asked, “Is Meizi doing okay? I wonder if the work at the sugar factory is too hard!”

Li Yi knew his father was worried about his eldest sister, so he immediately replied, “She’s fine. Director Liang assigned her to the logistics department to oversee the warehouse—it’s not tiring at all!”

“That’s good, that’s really good!” Li Shankui said with a look of delight on his face.

Seeing his father so happy, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat—for his father, and for the women of that era.

Young people in later generations all know that when a woman gets pregnant, she’s pampered—fed well, given plenty to drink, and provided with a balanced diet.

Generally speaking, if a woman became pregnant after marriage, she was the most cherished princess in the family—without a doubt.

Her parents, in-laws, and husband all pamper her, and she undergoes regular prenatal checkups. A few days before delivery, she goes to the hospital to await the birth, and after a safe delivery, she returns home to continue being pampered.

But that’s how women are treated decades later; back then, it was nothing like that—at least, the vast majority didn’t have that kind of good fortune.

In this day and age, most women cannot afford to rest at home after becoming pregnant; they must continue participating in collective labor until the baby is born, at which point they begin their “confinement period.”

In fact, many women were still working just hours before giving birth. For example, when my mother gave birth to my third older sister, she was working on a water conservancy construction site during the day and gave birth to her that very night.

There are even more extreme examples: some women were working in the threshing yard when they suddenly felt something was wrong, and then gave birth right there!

In short, this era was not particularly kind to women, especially pregnant women.

Compared to Father’s concern for Eldest Sister, Third Sister was more worried about the family business.

“Xiao Xue, Second Sister, how’s the mushroom harvest going?”

Second Sister replied immediately, “We harvested over 3,600 pounds in total!”

“That much?”

“Yeah, but we only spent a little over 670 yuan—the rest was given to us for free by the villagers!” Li Lan said.

Hearing this, Father frowned and said, “Xiao Yi, we can’t keep taking advantage of the villagers like this!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, don’t worry. It’s just the beginning—everyone’s still figuring out the right amount. They won’t pick this much in the future!”

“Hmm, that’s good to hear!”

Just then, Third Sister spoke up again: “By the way, Xiao Yi, Dongzi asked me to let you know that they picked a little less mushrooms today!”

Hearing this, Li Yi simply nodded.

It was only to be expected. Although the area behind the mountain was vast and the mushrooms plentiful, it couldn’t withstand so many people picking them every day.

Back when the adults didn’t go picking, the children naturally had no pressure.

But now that every household in the village had sent their able-bodied men to join the mountain foraging efforts, the children’s territory had naturally been encroached upon, and a decline in the harvest was inevitable.

And this was just the beginning.

Barring any surprises, their harvest would certainly keep shrinking.

Unless they’re willing to venture deeper into the forest to forage, but Li Yi absolutely won’t allow them to do that—it’s too dangerous.

“Xiao Yi, how do you plan to settle the accounts with the kids?” Second Sister suddenly asked.

“Just like before!”

“But… shouldn’t we lower it a bit?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “When I was at my lowest, it was these kids who stuck by me and helped build up the mountain produce business. Now that they’re harvesting less, am I supposed to pay them less?”

“To be honest, I really couldn’t bring myself to do that. Sometimes we can’t just look at short-term gains and losses!”

Tang Xue nodded in agreement. “You’re right. We’re not losing anything anyway—let’s just consider it paying back a favor!”

Li Lan shot her brother and sister-in-law a look and said, “So I’m the only one who has to play the bad guy?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No, I know you’re just looking out for me, Second Sister. But let’s just leave things as they are for the kids for now.”

“Besides, it’s already July. In just over a month, school will start, and this little group of theirs will disband!”

“I suppose that’s fine…”

Just as they were speaking, everyone suddenly heard the courtyard gate being opened from the outside, and then saw several figures pushing the gate open and walking in.

The sun had already set, and in the fading light of the sunset, Li Yi recognized the man leading the group as Feng Kai, the village Party branch secretary, and another as Zhang Tongfu, the village brigade leader.

He didn’t recognize the remaining two middle-aged people—a man and a woman—as they weren’t from the village.

As soon as they entered, Li Shankui stood up and greeted them: “Old Feng, Old Zhang, who are these two comrades?”

Before he could finish speaking, the two middle-aged people suddenly knelt stiffly before everyone.

This sudden turn of events completely startled the Li family.

Li Shankui immediately said, “You… you must get up! What on earth is this?”

Feng Kai sighed and said, “Comrade Yang, you and your husband need to get up right away. Otherwise, I won’t be able to say what I need to say!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Yi suddenly spoke up: “Mr. Yang, are you relatives of Yang Yi, the educated youth?”

The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, “Yes, yes, yes! I’m Yang Yi’s father, and this is my wife!”

“What are you doing here?”

“You… you must be Comrade Li Yi!” the middle-aged man asked cautiously.

“I am Li Yi!”

“Comrade Li Yi, I’ve come to beg you to spare my son, Yang Yi. He’s not a bad person at heart; he was simply misled and manipulated by others. I… I…”

Before the man could finish, Li Yi asked in a stern voice, “You may go. I can’t help you with this!”

With that, Li Yi turned and walked straight into the house, leaving the Yang couple standing there, staring at each other in disbelief!

Hongqi Commune, Nianzishan Village!

By the time Li Yi and Li Na returned from the county seat, it was already past 3:00 PM. Four people had gone, but only two came back.

Their older sister and brother-in-law had decided to stay in the county seat and planned to start their official jobs tomorrow!

Seeing how excited the couple was, Li Yi almost had to laugh.

But then again, he realized this was the most genuine reaction one could expect from ordinary people of this era upon securing a job at a factory!

Back home, Li Yi gave his third sister a portion of the grilled meat he’d packed from the state-run restaurant, then hurried off to their new home.

As soon as he arrived at the new house, he saw commune members coming and going in the courtyard, each carrying a large wicker basket.

No need to guess—these villagers were all there to sell mushrooms and wild produce!

Seeing Li Yi return with his cart, the villagers greeted him one after another.

Tying the big black horse outside the gate, Li Yi walked into the courtyard.

As soon as he stepped through the gate, he saw Tang Xue and his second sister busy at work, while quite a few villagers were waiting in the courtyard to have their goods weighed.

“Uncle Genliang, this basket weighs 24 jin. Subtract the weight of the basket, and you’re left with 22 jin. That comes to four yuan and forty cents!”

After Tang Xue finished calculating, Second Sister immediately had Uncle Genliang carry the basket into the drying shed next door, then watched as he arranged the mushrooms from the basket one by one on the drying racks inside.

Only after confirming there were no poisonous mushrooms or other unwanted items did she pay him.

After receiving the money, Uncle Genliang looked thrilled. After expressing his heartfelt thanks, he left Li Yi’s new home with a cheerful smile.

“Auntie San, you’ve picked quite a lot—it’s nearly thirty pounds. According to the rules, I can only buy twenty pounds from you. Could you take some of it back?”

“Little Yi’s wife, they’re no use to me back home. Just like you did for Genliang’s family, could you count them as 22 pounds for me?”

“That won’t do. Then it would seem like we’re taking advantage of you…”

Just then, Li Yi immediately said, “Xiao Xue, do as Auntie says!”

Tang Xue looked up and saw that Li Yi had returned; her face lit up with joy.

“When did you get back?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Just got back!”

Saying this, Li Yi walked over to the small table next to the scale and handed her the two lunch boxes he was holding.

“What is it? It smells so good!”

“You and Second Sister go inside and eat what’s in the lunch boxes first. Leave this to me!” Li Yi said.

“Okay!”

Then Tang Xue pointed to a thick notebook on the table and said, “After weighing the items, write down the delivery person’s name, the weight, and the amount paid. We’ll need to reconcile the accounts tonight!”

“Got it!”

After seeing Li Yi record Third Aunt’s name and the delivery details, Tang Xue finally picked up the lunchbox and motioned for Li Lan to go inside.

While Tang Xue and Second Sister were inside eating the grilled meat, Li Yi quickly weighed all the mushrooms brought in by the dozen or so villagers from the courtyard.

However, he didn’t let them enter the drying room to inspect the mushrooms right away. Instead, he waited until all the mushrooms had been weighed before allowing them into the drying room to inspect them one by one.

During the inspection, Li Yi strictly controlled the quality of the mushrooms, removing all those that were severely damaged or rotten, and even setting aside some that were particularly large or small.

On the one hand, mushrooms that were too large were already past their prime, resulting in poor texture and a bitter aftertaste.

On the other hand, mushrooms that were too small were not conducive to sustainable development after harvesting.

On the other hand, Li Yi wanted to set a strict standard for quality control on the very first day to establish a rule for everyone; gradually, everyone would get used to it.

If we don’t enforce strict standards from day one, people won’t take this seriously later on.

The village has no shortage of people looking to cut corners, so sometimes you have to set the rules in stone.

After inspecting all the mushrooms brought in by the dozens of members, Li Yi immediately paid them.

The members who received their money wore delighted expressions, while the newcomers standing behind them looked on with envy and anticipation.

The mushroom collection didn’t wrap up until seven o’clock in the evening. After seeing off the last member and locking the gate, Tang Xue and Second Sister could finally catch their breath.

Second Sister took a sip of water and pointed to the mushrooms of various sizes that Li Yi had set aside, saying, “Xiao Yi, your mushrooms are sold after they’ve been sun-dried. It wouldn’t matter if these were mixed in, would it? Is it really necessary to pick them out?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Mixing them in wouldn’t be a problem, but it breaks the rules!”

“Rules?”

“Exactly. In business, integrity is everything. If we mix these substandard ones in today and sell them to others at the price of premium dried mushrooms, that’s deceiving people.”

Li Yi continued, “And while we’re deceiving others, the villagers are deceiving us too. If they see us accepting everything regardless of quality, they’ll stop sorting their own mushrooms in the future. In the end, we’ll be the ones who lose out!”

“That’s why I’ve set a rule right here in front of everyone today: from now on, we won’t accept this substandard stuff, and they shouldn’t pick it either!”

Li Lan nodded thoughtfully, then said, “That’s an interesting way of looking at it. If we do this, everyone will definitely stop picking those mushrooms from now on!”

“Yes, without rules, there can be no order. Since we’ve established these rules, we must enforce them—that’s the only way to grow and strengthen our business!” Li Yi said.

At that moment, Tang Xue spoke up, a bit puzzled: “I’m a little confused by what you’re saying. If we’re supposed to follow the rules, then why did you tell me not to be so strict about the weight limits?”

Li Lan added, “Exactly. Didn’t you say earlier that we’d only accept twenty jin per household? Today, as long as the excess wasn’t too much, you let Xiao Xue take it all. Isn’t that breaking your own rule?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I have my own reasons for doing this!”

“What considerations?”

“First of all, I set the twenty-jin limit per household not because we can’t handle that much. To be honest, the more we buy now, the more we’ll earn later. The reason for the weight limit is simply that I’m worried everyone will go mushroom picking and neglect their farm work!”

Li Yi continued, “Second, everyone just heads up the mountain with a backpack or a basket. They don’t even know how much the mushrooms they’ve picked actually weigh, so as long as they’re not too far over the limit, I’ll just take the whole lot!”

“So, rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Since we’re all neighbors, let’s try to be a little more understanding!”

Second Sister Li Lan, hearing Li Yi’s two completely different lines of reasoning, immediately shot him a withering look and said, “You’re such a hypocrite—you have two sets of standards. Anything that benefits you is fine, but anything that harms you must be strictly enforced!”

Li Yi burst out laughing. “Second Sister, you were born to be a businesswoman—you’ve grasped the true essence of commerce this quickly!”

Meanwhile, Tang Xue stood to the side watching the siblings’ back-and-forth, looking completely baffled!

After Director Ge took the older sister and her husband to register, Liang Yukui dismissed the others to their respective tasks, and soon the office was left with just the two of them.

Li Yi immediately said, “Brother Liang, I really can’t thank you enough!”

“Haha, if it weren’t for you, I’d probably be sitting in jail right now, so don’t be so formal with me!” Liang Yukui said with a smile.

Li Yi smiled and said, “But no matter what, I still have to thank you, Brother Liang, for what you did for my older sister! How about this—I’ll treat you to a simple lunch today. I’ll invite Team Leader Wang and Team Leader Li to join us too!”

Liang Yukui smiled and said, “Lunch is fine, but don’t invite the National Security guy—he definitely won’t be able to make it!”

“Oh, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing much—just a major incident in the county. He’s swamped over there!”

“Something major?”

“Heh, I’m not exactly sure of the details. We were at a meeting at the County Party Committee yesterday morning. Right as the meeting started, he was rushed out by someone. Then the top leader presiding over the meeting left too. After that, word got around that something major had happened in the county,” Liang Yukui explained.

“In that case, let’s not call them. When the time comes, Brother Liang, you bring along Deputy Plant Manager Zhou and Director Ge, and I’ll bring my sister and brother-in-law. Let’s have Director Liu arrange some local specialties for us!”

“What kind of local delicacies?”

“You’ll find out when we get there. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Alright then!”

The two chatted for a while longer, and then Director Ge returned with Li Mei and Yang Wenguang.

“Have you registered them?” Liang Yukuai asked.

Director Ge replied immediately, “It’s all taken care of. As it happens, both the warehouse and the transport team are short-staffed. I’ve already taken Comrade Yang Wenguang and Comrade Li Mei to meet with their team leaders—they can start work anytime!”

“That’s great!”

Liang Yukui then added, “Director Ge, Brother Li Yi is treating us to lunch today. Tell Old Zhou and Old Guo not to go to the small cafeteria at noon!”

“Got it!”

Li Yi glanced at the time and saw it was getting late. He said, “Brother Liang, I’m going to take my sister and brother-in-law to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some daily necessities. We’ll wait for you at the state-run restaurant at noon!”

“Alright, then I won’t see you off!”

“Go ahead and get back to work. There’s no need to be so formal between us!”

With that, Li Yi left Director Liang’s office with his older sister and brother-in-law.

After leaving the sugar factory, Li Mei still couldn’t quite believe it. “Xiao Yi, does that mean we’re workers now?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Yep, full-time employees!”

“Xiao Yi, you’re really something!”

Yang Wenguang, feeling grateful, said, “Xiao Yi, thank you!”

“Brother-in-law, there’s no need to thank me. I did all this for my sister. If you really want to thank me, just treat my older sister well and don’t let her suffer any wrongs!” Li Yi said.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll definitely take good care of Meizi!”

At that moment, Li Mei said with a hint of regret, “Xiao Yi, it would be great if you and Xiao Xue could come work here too. Then we’d have four employees in our family!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “We have our own plans!”

To be honest, Li Yi really didn’t think much of factory work.

He knew full well that in a few years, these large state-owned factories would one by one fall into financial difficulties and eventually face bankruptcy.

And the workers would be forced to become laid-off workers, re-entering society to find new jobs.

However, seeing how excited his older sister and brother-in-law were, he kept those thoughts to himself.

After all, in their eyes, getting a job at a factory was truly a matter of bringing honor to their family.

Come to think of it, permanent factory workers these days were quite the big deal; their social status was no worse than that of ordinary civil servants.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that these workers’ wages aren’t generally very high—Grade 1 wages are only 33 yuan, and Grade 2 wages are around 38 yuan.

but being a factory worker with a state-subsidized food ration was still something to be envied. Moreover, once you became a worker, no matter how unattractive you were, finding a partner and getting married wasn’t difficult.

First, because workers enjoy high social status in this day and age, and they have a secure job—unless they break the law or violate public order and good morals, the factory director can’t fire anyone.

Second, the benefits were good and the pay was high.

A monthly wage of over thirty yuan was considered a high income at the time, especially compared to the commune members in the countryside, who might earn only a hundred or so yuan a year—a difference of several times over.

Furthermore, factory workers not only get holidays but are also issued uniforms.

Keep in mind that blue work uniforms were quite fashionable; you could keep one specifically for everyday wear, and even if it was washed until it was faded, it still looked respectable.

Furthermore, permanent employees could also look forward to factory-provided housing.

After getting married and working for a few years, your salary could rise to 45 yuan as a third-level worker, which would allow a family of three to live quite comfortably.

Consequently, among the dominant social classes—workers, peasants, and soldiers—workers ranked first. When young women married, they would marry a worker first, a soldier second, and only then would it be the turn of an ordinary commune member.

By the time they left the sugar factory, it was already 10:30. By then, their third older sister, Li Na, was already waiting for them at the factory gate.

After switching cars, Li Na immediately asked, “Xiao Yi, what are you guys up to next? Heading back to the village?”

Li Yi shook his head and said, “No, I’m not going back. I’m going to take my older sister and brother-in-law to the supply and marketing cooperative first to buy some daily necessities, and then I’ll pick up some flour on the way home!”

“As for lunch, I still have to go to the state-run restaurant to treat Factory Director Liang and the others to a meal!”

Hearing this, Li Na frowned and said, “You’re going to the state-run restaurant yourself—why do I have to make the trip?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Treating them to a meal was a last-minute decision—it wasn’t part of the plan!”

“Hmph! You guys get to eat all the good food, while I’m out here under the blazing sun running the stall. Do you even consider me your sister anymore?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Then why don’t we skip setting up the stall at noon? We can set it up after lunch?”

“Who’s going to eat our cold noodles after lunch? You guys just go!”

With that, Li Na ignored Li Yi and drove the cart toward the textile factory!

The reason for heading to the textile mill was, first, that there were many female workers there, making it relatively safe.

Second, the workers at the sugar factory had been getting free liangpi every day for the past week, and many of them were already sick of it.

So Li Yi told them to take a break and come back to set up their stall here in a few days.

Watching her third sister storm off, Li Mei said with some concern, “Xiao Yi, your third sister…”

“Hehe, sis, you know my third sister’s temper—she’s just talking!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah, once she gets her share of the money tonight, she’ll forget all about this little annoyance!” Li Yi said.

Li Mei smiled and said, “You’re right. Nana’s been a little money-grubber since she was a kid!”

Just then, her brother-in-law suddenly asked, “Xiao Yi, how much do you give Nana each day?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “A few dozen yuan, I guess. Anyway, it’s half the profit!”

Li Mei: “%……￥#@”

Yang Wenguang: “#￥%……&”

In an instant, the two who had just started working at the sugar factory felt their prospects take a nosedive…

The night passed without incident. At five in the morning the next day, Li Yi woke up his third sister, and the two siblings began bustling about in the kitchen.

Since the order from the sugar factory had been completed, Li Yi now only needed to prepare the liangpi for the state-run restaurant and his third sister’s street stall—a total of about five hundred sheets.

Though not a huge amount, the workload was still substantial.

Considering that the liangpi business would eventually have to rely on his third sister on her own, Li Yi decided to teach her the method for making liangpi so he could withdraw from the business as soon as possible.

After all, compared to the mountain produce business, the profit margin on liangpi was simply too small.

Of course, this was only from Li Yi’s perspective. To Li Na, the profit from 500 sheets of liangpi—around 70 to 80 yuan—was an unimaginably huge windfall.

So she studied intently, watching every step carefully, afraid of missing any details!

By eight o’clock, all five hundred sheets of liangpi were ready, along with 300 white flatbreads—everything needed for today’s market stall was all set.

After loading the cart, the siblings were ready to set off!

However, in addition to Li Na and Li Yi, there were two extra people in the car today: their older sister and her husband.

They were heading to the sugar factory to report for duty, so they tagged along into town.

By the time they reached the county seat, it was already 9:30 a.m. Li Yi had his third sister drive the big red mule cart to the state-run restaurant to deliver the mountain produce and liangpi, while he drove the black horse cart, loaded with the market goods, straight to the sugar factory.

Most of the security staff at the sugar factory recognized Li Yi and knew he was on good terms with the factory director.

Upon learning that Li Yi had come to see Director Liang, they registered them on the spot and let Li Yi and his party in.

It was Yang Wenguang and Li Mei’s first time at such a large state-owned factory. Seeing the vast factory grounds and the bustling workers before them, they were both deeply impressed.

They were also somewhat excited—soon, they too would become full-time employees of the sugar factory, just like these workers. The thought alone made them feel a surge of excitement.

Li Yi led his sister and brother-in-law to the administrative building of the sugar factory, then headed straight to the factory director’s office on the second floor.

Upon arriving, they found the office door wide open, but Director Liang was nowhere to be seen. Inside, there was only a little girl of about seven or eight years old cleaning the room.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

The little girl was startled at first. She turned to look at Li Yi at the door and hurriedly said, “Comrade, are you here to see our factory director?”

“Uh-huh. Is Director Liang not here?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“The factory director went to the workshop. He’ll be back in a little while!”

“Oh, then let’s wait,” Li Yi said.

“Is this urgent? Should I go over to the production workshop and let the factory director know?” The young woman was quite helpful.

Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s fine, we’re in no rush…”

Just as he was speaking, a voice tinged with delight suddenly came from behind him: “Hey, isn’t that Comrade Li Yi? What brings you here?”

Li Yi turned around and saw that it was Director Ge.

“Oh, Director Ge! I’m here to see Factory Director Liang!” Li Yi replied immediately.

“Then why aren’t you going in?”

“Heh, Director Liang isn’t in his office!” Li Yi replied honestly.

Director Ge immediately walked into Director Liang’s office to take a look. Upon seeing only the young girl there, he asked, “Xiao Yun, where’s the director?”

“Hello, Director Ge. The plant manager has gone to the production workshop!”

“Go to the workshop right away and tell the plant manager that Comrade Li Yi is here!” Director Ge said.

“Yes!”

Then, Director Ge turned to Li Yi again and said, “Comrade Li Yi, let’s wait in the factory director’s office. The workshop isn’t far from here, and the factory director will be back soon!”

Li Yi didn’t hesitate. He thanked him immediately, then led his sister and brother-in-law into Liang Yukui’s office.

Director Ge knew that Li Yi and the Wang family were very close. Not only had Secretary Wang’s wife and the Wang Anguo couple attended his wedding, but even Old Master Wang had been present—proof that the relationship between the two families was truly extraordinary.

So, even though he was the office director of the sugar factory, he didn’t dare to act high and mighty in front of Li Yi.

As soon as they entered, he immediately served everyone tea and water, bustling about with great enthusiasm.

Little did he know that this scene left Li Mei and Yang Wenguang utterly astonished.

Li Mei hadn’t had much formal education, so she naturally didn’t fully grasp the significance of the position of Office Director, but Yang Wenguang certainly did.

An enterprise of the county sugar factory’s scale is generally classified as a division-level unit. Theoretically, the factory director’s rank is on par with that of the county Party secretary and the county magistrate—all are division-level officials.

Of course, this was merely theoretical; in reality, the two were worlds apart in terms of power, influence, and other aspects.

As for the Office Director of the sugar factory, he was generally at least a section-level official.

In a small place like Qing Shan County, a section-level official is by no means a minor figure; in an administrative unit, that would be the equivalent of a bureau director or deputy director.

To be honest, in the past, when Yang Wenguang encountered such people, they wouldn’t even bother acknowledging him.

Now, however, the other party was serving him tea and pouring water, acting with great deference and wearing an expression that seemed to beg for favor.

This completely defied Yang Wenguang’s expectations!

He knew that Director Ge was acting this way solely because of his brother-in-law.

This surprised him even more. Although his brother-in-law had made some money, surely that wasn’t enough to make the office director of the sugar factory grovel like this?

What on earth was going on? Yang Wenguang was suddenly at a loss!

Just as Yang Wenguang watched his brother-in-law and Director Ge making small talk, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.

Immediately afterward, a boisterous voice rang out: “Hahaha, it’s Brother Li Yi!”

Li Yi immediately turned to look toward the door and saw Liang Yukui striding in, flanked by several officials.

“Brother Liang, I’m sorry to interrupt your work!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“No problem. I was just doing a routine inspection anyway—it’s no bother at all!”

Liang Yukui then noticed the two people standing beside Li Yi. He recognized them as Li Yi’s older sister and brother-in-law, whom he had met a few days earlier at Li Yi’s wedding.

Besides, Li Yi had previously mentioned to him that he planned to have his older sister and brother-in-law work at the sugar factory.

“Brother Li Yi, are you here to bring your older sister and brother-in-law to report for duty?”

Li Yi nodded immediately and said, “Yeah, now that I’m married, I don’t need my brother-in-law’s help anymore, so I brought them along!”

“Alright then, Director Ge, please take these two comrades over to the Personnel Department to register!” said Liang Yukui.

Director Ge immediately asked, “Director Liang, how should we assign their positions?”

Li Yi immediately interjected, “Brother Liang, my older sister is about to give birth, so please find her a relatively light-duty position. It doesn’t matter if the pay is a bit lower!”

“Then have her go to Logistics to look after the warehouse. There’s basically nothing to do over there, and her salary will still be calculated at the standard first-level wage!” Liang Yukui said.

Li Yi spoke up again: “My brother-in-law is a veteran and a combat hero. He lost the use of one arm in battle, so he can’t do heavy work, but he knows how to drive. Could we assign him to the transportation team?”

“No problem. Director Ge, let’s arrange it as Comrade Li Yi suggested!”

“Yes!”

“Also, clear out a room in the dormitory at the back for the couple to live in. Make sure they have everything they need!” Liang Yukui instructed again.

“Yes, sir!”

……..

“Dongzi, what’s going on?”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Dongzi hurriedly replied, “Brother Yi, it’s really nothing…”

“Tell me the truth!” Li Yi said.

“We heard that you, Brother Yi, are going to take the villagers out to gather wild produce to make some money, and we were worried you wouldn’t take us along!” Dongzi said frankly.

Li Yi thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be just that.

“What are you thinking? When did I ever say I wouldn’t take you guys?”

“Brother Yi, does that mean you’ll still take us along to make money in the future?” Shitou said excitedly.

Li Yi nodded and said, “I’ve already thought this through. Before school starts, you’ll keep doing what you’ve always done—we’ll go up the mountain together every day to pick mushrooms.”

“But once school starts in September, you’re all going back to school. Got it?”

The younger kids didn’t seem to mind, but Dongzi, Shitou, and the others were completely baffled.

They were all sixteen or seventeen years old and had dropped out of school years ago—there was no way they could go back.

“Bro Yi, do we have to go back to school too?” Dongzi asked, looking dejected.

“Do you think you’d be able to focus in school?” Li Yi retorted.

“No way! We’re not cut out for school at all!” Dongzi said.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “Since you can’t focus on studying, then don’t go. Until September, you’ll keep doing what you’re doing now—taking the younger kids into the mountains to pick mushrooms.”

“What about after September?”

“After that, you’ll come help out at my place. You’ll work for me, and I’ll pay you a wage!” Li Yi said.

“Deal!”

Li Yi then looked at the children in front of him and added, “Also, starting tomorrow, there’ll definitely be a lot of people from the village going up the mountain to pick mushrooms, so you won’t be able to gather as much as you do now!”

“So starting tomorrow, just like the adults, you’ll bring the mushrooms back, have them weighed, and get paid—two mao per jin.”

At that moment, Qiangzi immediately asked, “Are we going to be paid separately?”

“No, we’ll still calculate it together. If we split it up, you’ll inevitably end up picking separately, and I don’t feel comfortable with that!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

“Any other questions?” Li Yi asked again.

“What about us? Will we be paid by weight too?” Zhong Na couldn’t help but ask.

“Yep! It’ll be the same from now on—two mao per jin. But each of you can only pick a maximum of 20 jin; I can’t eat any more than that!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

…….

It was almost eight o’clock by the time they got home. After unloading the cart, Li Yi tied up the big red mule.

After filling its trough with fresh grass, Li Yi finally went inside!

Inside, his mother had already prepared dinner and called everyone to eat as soon as he returned!

After a simple dinner, his older sister’s husband suddenly mentioned that he’d been staying there for about ten days now, so he was thinking of going back to work.

Li Yi didn’t object to this, but he thought his older sister should go report to the factory first.

As for actually starting work, they could wait a bit—it wouldn’t be too late until after the baby was born!

His brother-in-law had no objections, but he was a bit worried that the sugar factory might not agree.

Li Yi assured him not to worry; after all, with Factory Director Liang on board, it would be a piece of cake!

After discussing his eldest sister’s family matters, Li Yi chatted with his second brother-in-law, planning to have him return to their village the next day to begin the mushroom procurement business.

To that end, Li Yi set aside 1,000 yuan for himself as emergency funds and handed the remaining 3,800 yuan to his second sister’s husband to use as startup capital.

All in all, this winter would be a huge opportunity for him.

If he seized it, it would bring in hundreds of thousands in revenue.

With that money, he would have completed his initial capital accumulation, and from there, the sky would be the limit.

After settling his second sister’s husband in, Li Yi took his third sister to the main hall and taught her step by step how to knead dough.

Li Yi planned to entrust the production of liangpi to his third sister, while he would focus on the mountain produce business for the time being—that was the real money-maker.

…….

County Bureau, Criminal Investigation Division Office!

While Li Yi was busy settling his family in, Wang Anguo and the others were in the midst of a meeting.

The spacious office was filled with cigarette smoke. Everyone present had furrowed brows, and the atmosphere in the conference room was heavy.

From the head of the table, Deputy Director Zhou of the County Bureau spoke in a low voice: “Comrades, the gold stolen from Factory 812 this time weighed over three jin and was valued at more than 20,000 yuan. This is the largest theft in terms of value ever recorded in our county since the founding of the People’s Republic. County Secretary Wang, County Magistrate Huang, and others are taking this very seriously and have demanded that our bureau solve the case within a set timeframe. Do any of you have any ideas on how to crack this case?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Anguo looked up and said, “Deputy Director Zhou, we rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the report. Our preliminary conclusion is that this was an inside job!”

“Oh, are you certain?”

“Absolutely!”

Wang Anguo continued, “After conducting an on-site investigation at Plant 812, we discovered that as a key gold and silver smelting facility in our province, the plant maintains an extremely high level of external secrecy.Neither personnel communications nor document exchanges ever specify that the plant smelts precious metals. Internally, gold is referred to as ‘No. 100’ and silver as ‘No. 200,’ so outsiders have no way of knowing that Plant 812 specializes in smelting gold and silver.”

“Furthermore, for security reasons, Plant 812 has established numerous security measures outside the facility. Not only have they reinforced the factory’s high walls, but they’ve also assigned dedicated personnel to patrol the premises. All entries and exits require identity verification and registration, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to sneak in and commit theft.”

“In contrast, internal management within the plant is extremely lax—almost non-existent—and relies solely on everyone’s sense of responsibility to prevent theft.”

“These factors alone aren’t enough to prove that the gold was stolen by an insider, but they can serve as a lead for the investigation!” said Deputy Director Zhou.

At that moment, Li Gang immediately interjected, “Director Zhou, our investigation has revealed that the stolen gold was smelted just the afternoon before the theft. It was scheduled to be shipped to the provincial capital the following morning—which is today. Very few people knew about this, so the thief must be an insider!”

“Do you have any suspects?” Deputy Director Zhou asked after a brief pause.

“Yes. At this point, the employees in the packaging team and the warehouse guards are the most suspicious, as they had the greatest opportunity to access this batch of gold!” Li Gang said.

“Then start your investigation with those employees. I expect the stolen gold to be recovered within a week!”

“Yes, sir!”

Although everyone spoke with great conviction, neither Team Leader Wang Anguo nor Deputy Team Leader Li Gang felt truly confident.

This afternoon, they conducted detailed interrogations of some of the factory employees based on this line of thinking, but the results were not as expected.

Almost everyone had an alibi, and each had witnesses to corroborate it.

The case seemed straightforward at first glance, but upon closer examination, it became increasingly confusing.

Solving the case within just one week would be extremely difficult!

But with things having come to this, they had no better options—they had no choice but to plunge in headfirst!

After the meeting, Li Yi didn’t go home right away; instead, he called Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu over.

In the brigade headquarters’ makeshift office, the three of them sat across from each other at a desk that was missing a leg and propped up with a brick.

No sooner had they sat down than Feng Kai asked in a grave tone, “Xiao Yi, with over six hundred yuan a day, can your family manage?”

Li Yi nodded and said, “It should be enough. Uncle Feng, you know I set up a stall every day to sell liangpi and mountain produce—I actually make a decent income from that, so we should be able to manage!”

“Hmm. If you can’t make ends meet, just lower your prices a bit!”

“Not for now. Two mao per jin isn’t low, but it’s not high either!”

Li Yi knew full well that this winter, the price of dried goods would skyrocket from last year’s 60 cents per pound to 1.80 yuan, and during the Spring Festival, it had even reached 2.40 yuan at one point.

And five pounds of fresh mushrooms yield about one pound of dried mushrooms—meaning that a cost of one yuan now would double by year’s end.

That kind of profit—you couldn’t make money that fast even if you were robbing people!

“As long as you can hold out, that’s fine. If you run into any trouble, just let Uncle Feng know—I’ll definitely help if I can!” Feng Kai said.

“Uncle Feng, Uncle Zhang, there’s actually something I need your help with!” Li Yi said without hesitation.

“What is it?”

“I’d like to buy two head of livestock from the brigade!” Li Yi said.

The agricultural cooperative hadn’t been dissolved yet, so all means of production were collectively owned, including all the large livestock.

Whenever villagers wanted to get something done, they had to borrow livestock and vehicles from the production team.

However, Li Yi might have to make daily trips to the county seat in the future, and constantly borrowing from others simply wouldn’t work.

Besides, the autumn harvest was just around the corner, and by then the production team wouldn’t have enough draft animals to spare—let alone lend any out!

So, Li Yi decided to buy them!

“You want to buy that big red mule and that big black horse?”

“Yeah, Uncle Feng, you know our situation. We need the mule cart almost every day, and it’s not good to keep borrowing from the team!” Li Yi said.

“Sure. Anyway, the mules and foals left over from last year have all grown up, and I was just planning to sell them. If you buy the big red mule and the black horse, I won’t sell those younger ones!” Feng Kai said.

Zhang Tongfu, however, asked, “I’ll sell them to you, but the price has to be based on market value—we can’t let the other members talk behind our backs!”

“That’s a given. Right now, a mule or horse goes for 250 to 300 yuan. The big red mule and the black horse are both in their prime—I’ll pay six hundred yuan!” Li Yi said.

“Deal!”

“Uncle Feng, I’ll buy the animals now, but I’ll pay the team later. I can write you an IOU!”

“Alright then!”

Feng Kai wasn’t worried that Li Yi would cheat him; if it came down to it, he could just lead the animals back to the production team—no real loss.

“Then it’s settled!”

“Mm-hmm!”

With the business settled, Li Yi didn’t linger any longer. After exchanging a few words with Feng Kai and Zhang Tongfu, he left the village office.

Watching Li Yi’s retreating figure, Zhang Tongfu remarked with a touch of emotion, “That kid’s like a completely different person—he’s really changed a lot!”

“Heh, men are like that—once they get a wife, they’re bound to change a bit!”

“By the way, Old Feng, do you really think Yi can come up with six or seven hundred yuan every day to buy mushrooms from the members?” Zhang Tongfu asked again.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. You know he’s made quite a bit of money lately!”

“But six or seven hundred a day…”

At that moment, Feng Kai glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then said, “Do you know how much those mushrooms he sends to the county seat go for per pound?”

“How much?”

“70 cents!”

“How much?”

“70 cents—not a penny more, not a penny less!”

“Old Feng, who told you that?”

“Heh, Director Liu from the county-run restaurant told me himself. I was sitting right next to him at Xiao Yi’s wedding the day before yesterday!”

“If that kid’s shipping hundreds of pounds to the county seat every day, doesn’t that mean he’s making several thousand yuan?”

“You bet!”

After the initial shock wore off, Zhang Tongfu frowned and said, “That doesn’t add up. I remember city folks don’t really like mushrooms. Even if they do buy them, they usually don’t pay more than 20 cents a pound!”

Feng Kai smiled and said, “That’s where Xiao Yi’s genius lies. The county-run restaurant usually buys mushrooms from outside suppliers for 40 cents a pound, but Xiao Yi’s mushrooms sell for 50 or 60 cents—and later even went up to 70 cents. That’s something no one else can envy!”

“Why is that?”

Feng Kai didn’t know the exact reason, but he could guess it had something to do with Old Master Wang—after all, his eldest son was the top official in the county.

But he couldn’t discuss this with Zhang Tongfu, so he just smiled and said, “I don’t know about that, but all we need to know is that the kid can help the villagers make money!”

“You’re right!”

After that, the two chatted for a while longer before heading home.

………dxmbang

As for Li Yi, after riding his bicycle back home,

Figuring the kids would be back soon, he immediately harnessed the big red mule and drove the cart toward the back mountain!

Sure enough, on the dam of the reservoir behind the mountain, Dongzi and the others had already packed up their mountain produce and were sitting there chatting.

However, the kids didn’t look very happy today, and the atmosphere was a bit gloomy.

Feng Qian and the others noticed something was off with the kids and immediately asked, “Dongzi, what’s going on? You all look pretty down.”

Dongzi glanced at Feng Qian and replied, “We’re all worried that Brother Yi won’t take us out to make money anymore!”

“Why? What exactly happened?”

At that moment, Qiangzi chimed in, “My grandpa said Yi Ge promised the villagers he’d take them out to make money together. When that happens, the whole village will be picking mushrooms for him—he definitely won’t need us anymore!”

Feng Qian furrowed her brow and asked, “Is that true?”

“Yeah. Around noon, my grandpa said he was going to talk to Yi about it. I don’t know how that went!”

Sun Lu thought for a moment and said, “Knowing Li Yi as I do, even if he’s helping the other villagers make money, he definitely won’t abandon you guys!”

“Really?”

“Why not just ask him yourself to find out!”

Just then, a child suddenly shouted, “The big red mule! It’s Brother Yi!”

Everyone looked toward the village and sure enough, they saw the familiar big red mule.

Then, organized by Dongzi, the children carried the mushrooms and other wild produce they had gathered and set off toward the main road below the reservoir.

Soon, the big red mule cart caught up with the children.

After loading all the mushrooms onto the cart, Li Yi distributed the money earned from yesterday’s mushroom picking to the children and the few female educated youth, and was just about to leave.

But just then, Sun Lu suddenly said, “Wait a minute!”

Li Yi stopped immediately and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Well… the kids have something they want to ask you, but they’re too shy to speak up, so I…”

Li Yi turned to look at Dongzi and the others and noticed that something was indeed off with them.

He reined in the mule cart and called Dongzi, Shitou, Qiangzi, and the others over!

Nianzi Mountain Brigade Headquarters!

As soon as 5:30 rolled around, members of the commune began trickling back to turn in their work.

Although the fields weren’t particularly busy at the moment, the members were unwilling to sit idle.

Those with connections and skills went out to earn extra money, while those without such resources simply went about their work in the fields as usual.

They’d earn whatever work points they could. They certainly couldn’t let themselves be truly idle.

However, when the members were turning in their work today, they were told that Li Yi would be speaking to everyone at six o’clock, and Secretary Feng asked everyone to wait at the brigade headquarters.

Before six o’clock, Li Yi set off from home on his bicycle.

When he arrived at the village office, Li Yi saw that quite a crowd had already gathered in the courtyard—men and women, young and old—all ready for a production team meeting.

But upon reflection, he understood—for the vast majority of the commune members, this matter was indeed more important than a regular commune meeting.

After all, this was about whether everyone could make big money following Li Yi—no one dared to take it lightly!

To be honest, over the past month, quite a few families in the village had benefited from following Li Yi.

Take the Liu family, for example: Dongzi and Xiao Jing went out with Li Yi every day to pick mushrooms and sell mountain produce. Together, the brother and sister made at least seven or eight yuan a day.

That adds up to no less than two hundred yuan a month—more than their entire family’s annual income!

Then there’s Qiangzi and Shitou—they bring home five yuan every day, making childless households green with envy.

It took a lot of pestering to finally get Little Yi from the Liu family to agree to lead everyone in making money together—who would dare to be ungrateful!

As soon as they saw Li Yi approaching, everyone immediately parted to make way for him.

Li Yi didn’t stand on ceremony; after parking his bike, he immediately stepped to the front of the group.

“Uncle Feng!”

Feng Kai nodded at Li Yi, then took a couple of puffs on his pipe.

“Comrades, Xiao Yi is here. Let’s hear how he plans to help us all make money. Give him a round of applause!”

“Clap, clap, clap!”

After a round of enthusiastic applause, Li Yi immediately said, “Uncles, elders, aunts, and sisters, I promised you all that once I got married, I’d help you make money together. Today, I’m here to keep that promise!”

“I know you’ve all been itching to join in after seeing me take those kids up the mountain to pick mushrooms every day—you want to make money just like they do. Making money is definitely no problem, but there are a few things I need to make clear up front, and I’d like Uncle Feng to bear witness!”

Feng Kai immediately said, “Xiao Yi, just say what’s on your mind!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “As I mentioned before, I haven’t taken everyone mushroom picking because the state-run restaurant’s demand is limited. Also, I’m worried that if everyone’s busy picking mushrooms, who’s going to tend to our team’s fields?”

“If that delays production, not only will everyone go hungry, but we’ll also have no way to report our results to the higher-ups!”

Feng Kai nodded and said, “Xiao Yi, you’ve got a point. It would be hard to explain if it affected our production!”

Team Leader Zhang Tongfu immediately asked, “Xiao Yi, so what do you plan to do?”

“I can lead everyone to earn money, but we need to agree on three rules!” Li Yi said.

“What are the three rules?”

“First, it must not affect production!”

Li Yi continued, “Starting tomorrow, my family will start buying the mushrooms and wild produce you all gather. We’ll pay 20 cents per pound, but each household is limited to a maximum of 20 pounds per day!”

“The rest of the time, everyone should go out to the fields to work if they need to, or participate in community service if required!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone in the crowd piped up, “Twenty pounds is way too little! I can pick twenty pounds in just a short while up in the mountains!”

“Exactly! Xiao Yi, can’t you accept a little more?”

“Exactly. Twenty pounds isn’t even enough for everyone to spend half a day in the mountains…”

Li Yi motioned for everyone to quiet down, then said, “I understand how you all feel, but have you considered this: there are 160 households in our village. If each family contributes 20 jin, how much would I have to collect in a single day?”

Before anyone could answer, Li Yi shouted, “3,200 jin! That’s over three thousand two hundred jin! At 20 cents per jin, that’s 640 yuan a day!”

“And the county’s state-run restaurant uses at most six or seven hundred jin a day. What do we do with the rest? I’d have to dry them into mushrooms and wait until winter to figure out how to sell them.”

“Never mind how risky that is—the financial pressure alone is unbearable.”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, everyone fell silent.

It’s true—20 jin per household isn’t much, but when you add up the whole village, it amounts to several thousand jin.

It really wasn’t easy for Li Yi to handle that many mushrooms!

At that moment, Feng Kai spoke in a solemn tone: “Xiao Yi is right—20 jin is already quite a lot! If we can sell 20 jin a day, that’s a net income of four yuan, which comes to 120 yuan a month.”

“From now until the end of October, there are still three and a half months left. If we can earn 120 yuan every month, that’s at least 400 yuan in total income—far better than what we get from the production brigade. What more could anyone ask for?”

Hearing that they could earn 400 yuan in just three and a half months, the crowd fell silent, each face lit up with excitement.

What does 400 yuan even mean? It’s almost equivalent to two years’ income for an average family.

Take last year, for example: after deducting the per-capita grain ration, each person received only 83 yuan and 60 fen at year-end.

If a household had only two able-bodied workers, their net income for the entire year wouldn’t even reach 200 yuan.

Now, just by picking mushrooms, they could earn 400 yuan—what more is there to say!

“Xiao Yi, what’s this second rule you mentioned? Tell us right away!” Feng Kai said again.

Li Yi replied immediately, “My second request is that you must not let this interfere with your children’s schooling!”

Hearing this, everyone froze. What kind of request was that?

If we’re making money, why does it have anything to do with the kids’ schooling?

Li Yi explained right away, “I know some of you have kids at home and were thinking of sending them out to pick mushrooms to save yourselves the trouble, but that won’t do.”

“Uncles and elders, you’ve spent your whole lives in this village. You know full well what life here is like—toiling in the fields, never knowing the outside world. You had no choice, and you’ve already missed your chance.”

“But the children do. Now that the country has reinstated the college entrance exams, if we send all the village children to school, in a few years some will go to study in the county seat, and in a decade or so, some will go to the provincial capital or even Beijing to attend university. Their lives hold infinite possibilities—they shouldn’t and must not be confined to this little mountain village for the rest of their lives!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than many of the young villagers were stirred to the core.

It wasn’t that they didn’t understand the importance of education; it was just that reality was sometimes too harsh.

Take tuition, for instance, or living expenses—not to mention the fact that with so many children at home, there’s no one to look after them!

But if a family could earn a few hundred extra yuan a year, none of these would be problems.

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, “Xiao Yi, if you can really help our family make some money, I’ll send all three of my kids to school—not a single one left behind!”

“Count me in! My eldest and second daughters have been wanting to go to school for ages, but we just don’t have the money!”

“That’s right. If we had the money, who wouldn’t want their kids to go to school and learn to read and write…”

Seeing that no one objected, Feng Kai immediately made the decision: “Then it’s settled. When school starts this year, every child in the village who is able to attend will go to school!”

Li Yi spoke again: “Regarding the third rule of our agreement, I hope everyone will act in good conscience. When foraging for mushrooms and wild produce, be sure to look carefully—don’t bring back any poisonous mushrooms. Those can be deadly.”

“Also, make sure to clean them thoroughly after you bring them back. I’ll be inspecting the mushrooms everyone turns in. If a family fails the inspection three times in a row, I won’t accept their mushrooms anymore.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone piped up, “Little Yi, don’t worry. If anyone dares to pass off inferior goods as the real thing, the whole village will turn on them!”

“Exactly. If any poisonous mushrooms slip in, this mountain produce business is finished. No one would be so unethical!”

“Right, we’ve got to help Xiao Yi keep a tight watch…”

……..

After Li Yi finished speaking, Feng Kai immediately summarized, “The three conditions Xiao Yi mentioned are not only fair but also in everyone’s best interest. So I hope everyone will keep them firmly in mind—that way, we won’t let Xiao Yi’s good intentions go to waste.”

“Let’s wrap up today’s meeting here. Tomorrow, each household can send one person up the mountain to pick mushrooms, while the rest must report to the production brigade. Is that clear?”

“Understood!”

………

After leaving the internal medicine clinic, Li Yi noticed his father was in low spirits, so he helped him settle into a nearby bench to rest while he took Tang Xue to the nearby women’s health clinic.

Once they were out of earshot of his father, Tang Xue asked with some concern, “About Dad’s condition…”

“Don’t worry. Once I’ve settled things in a couple of days, I’ll take Dad to the provincial capital!” Li Yi said.

“Okay!”

The door to the examination room in the Maternal and Child Health Department was open, and there was only one female doctor inside.

Li Yi knocked on the door and walked in.

The female doctor glanced at Li Yi and said, “Gentlemen, please wait outside. You weren’t supposed to come in!”

“Got it!”

“Remember to close the door behind you!”

“Got it!”

After about fifteen or sixteen minutes, the door to the examination room finally opened, and Li Yi saw Tang Xue walk out with a dazed look on her face.

Although he already had an idea of what had happened, Li Yi asked with concern, “Honey, what’s going on?”

Tang Xue snapped out of it immediately, her face flushing as she said, “The doctor said… um… said I might be pregnant!”

“If you’re pregnant, you’re pregnant; if you’re not, you’re not. What do you mean ‘might be’?” Li Yi frowned.

To be honest, Li Yi was completely dissatisfied with this result.

He’d brought Tang Xue and his father here today, only to receive nothing but vague answers—it was truly infuriating.

It had to be said that the medical standards in this small county town were indeed quite poor.

But upon reflection, he let it go. Even decades later, this county hospital would still have blunders like misdiagnosing gout as a fracture. Getting a vague diagnosis now was actually pretty good—what more could he ask for?

“The doctor? He said I’m too early in my pregnancy to confirm anything yet, and told me to come back in two weeks, but…”

“But what?”

“But the doctor said that based on her experience, there’s a very good chance I’m pregnant!” Tang Xue said.

“Alright, then let’s come back in two weeks!”

“Okay!”

After that, the two returned to their father’s side!

When he saw his elderly father sitting blankly on the bench—looking somewhat aged and desolate, with even a hint of fear in his eyes—Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

He immediately whispered a few words in Tang Xue’s ear.

Tang Xue looked startled for a moment, but then nodded.

“Dad, we’re back!”

Upon hearing his son’s voice, Li Shankui snapped out of his daze and hurriedly asked, “What about Xiao Xue…?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Father, I have good news for you—you’re going to be a grandfather!”

Hearing this, Li Shankui’s mouth fell open, and he said, his voice trembling slightly, “Is she really pregnant?”

“Yes, she is!”

“Good, good, good! You rascal, you’ve finally done something right!”

Then Li Shankui turned to Tang Xue and said, “Xiao Xue, from now on, you don’t have to do a single thing around the house. If that little rascal dares to mistreat you, I’ll stand up for you!”

Tang Xue immediately replied, “Thank you, Dad!”

“Dad, I’d never bully my own wife!”

“Hmph, who knows about you? Haven’t you done enough of those reckless things already?”

“Alright, I can’t win this argument with you. Let’s just go home!”

“Mm-hmm!”

On the way back, Old Man Li was in high spirits, seemingly having put the whole matter out of his mind.

But Li Yi could still tell he was under a lot of pressure; clearly, the old doctor’s words had really shaken him up.

Li Yi didn’t try to comfort him; he knew his father was a strong man who didn’t need his sympathy.

Besides, Li Yi knew that in his previous life, his father hadn’t passed away until three years later. Since they’d discovered the condition three years earlier this time, it surely couldn’t be too serious.

In short, there was still hope!

……..

By the time they returned to the village, it was already past three in the afternoon!

Since most of the villagers had already gone out to work in the fields, they hadn’t run into many people on the way back.

As soon as he got home, before Li Yi had a chance to tell his mother and sisters about his father’s illness and Tang Xue’s pregnancy, he saw Uncle Feng squatting in their courtyard, puffing away on his pipe with a “puff, puff” sound.

Seeing Li Yi return, Uncle Feng immediately walked over, pipe in hand.

“Uncle, what brings you here?” Li Yi asked right away.

“I had to come. When I was at work today, a whole bunch of villagers surrounded me asking, ‘When are you going to lead us to make some money, you rascal?’” Feng Kai said.

Li Yi replied immediately, “Uncle, when we finish work today, don’t let everyone go home just yet. I want to have a chat with them and tell them about my plan!”

“Alright, I’ll have the members wait for you at the brigade office at six o’clock!”

“Alright!”

After saying that, Feng Kai said goodbye to his dad and left!

After seeing Feng Kai off, Li Yi asked Tang Xue and his father to go inside first.

As for himself, he unloaded the car, settled the big red mule, and only then walked into the house.

Inside, little Zhang Ning was taking a nap, while the others—some sitting on the kang, others squatting on the floor—were happily discussing Tang Xue’s pregnancy.

Upon seeing Li Yi, Third Sister couldn’t help but tease, “You’re quite the stud, aren’t you? Getting Xiao Xue pregnant so fast—impressive!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “What’s the big deal? If I’m any good, we’ll have two kids in three years!”

Tang Xue shot him a disapproving look and said, “You’re always talking nonsense!”

However, Second Sister chimed in, “Having two kids in three years sounds great—they’ll grow up together, and we’ll only have to go through the exhaustion once!”

The eldest sister chimed in, “Xiao Lan’s right. After we have this baby, we should have another one as soon as possible!”

Li Yi just smiled and said, “Big Sis, whether you have a second child or not doesn’t really matter, but don’t forget we’ve got a single guy in the family!”

“What ‘single guy’?” Eldest Sister asked, puzzled.

Li Yi pointed to Li Na standing nearby, smiled, and said, “Right here. The three of us are all settled down and about to have our own kids, but my third sister doesn’t even have a boyfriend yet!”

Their mother, Zhang Guiying, nodded in agreement. “That’s right. We need to find a husband for our third daughter as soon as possible. Otherwise, when people see that Little Yi is already married but she, as his older sister, isn’t, they might start thinking there’s something wrong with our Nana!”

Father immediately suggested, “Why don’t you go see Matchmaker Li…”

Before he could finish, Li Na hurriedly interjected, “Dad, I’m only 22 this year. What’s the rush?”

“You’re 22 and not worried? Do you want to wait until you’re 30 and become an old maid?” her mother couldn’t help but scold her.

“I…”

Seeing that her brother had no qualms about dragging her into the fray, Li Na shot Li Yi a glare.

“Third child, don’t glare at Yi. You’re no spring chicken anymore; you need to find a husband soon!” Dad declared decisively.

“I… I was planning on making a fortune with Xiao Yi!”

“That doesn’t conflict with finding a husband. You can still make money with Yi after you’re married!”

“How can that be the same? I don’t want to work just to support a man…”

Li Yi immediately interjected, “Third Sister, you can learn the business while keeping an eye out for someone you like. In any case, you can’t take your future lightly!”

He knew all too well that in her previous life, Third Sister had never married. Aside from adopting that disabled child, she had truly spent her entire life alone and in poverty.

The past was now a distant memory, and in this life, he didn’t want her to go through that tragedy again!

That was exactly why Li Yi was doing everything in his power to urge her to find a partner!

“You’re such a busybody. Fine!” Li Na said helplessly.

“Heh, I’m just looking out for you!” Li Yi said.

“I’d have to be crazy to believe you!”

“Heh!”

…….

By the time they left the state-run restaurant, it was already 11 o’clock!

Watching Liu Jingshan express his endless gratitude, both Tang Xue and Li Shankui felt that today’s events had been nothing short of surreal.

They had just eaten their fill at the state-run restaurant—at least seven or eight pounds of top-quality beef and lamb alone, not to mention plenty of vegetables, glass noodles, tofu, and the like.

If they’d paid for this meal out of their own pockets, it would have cost at least five or six yuan—maybe even more.

But with Li Yi, not only did they spend nothing, but when they left, the restaurant manager even cheerfully saw them off.

“Son, are we really not paying anything?” Li Shankui asked in surprise.

“Didn’t you see? There’s no need to pay!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“But… but we’re eating here for free. Isn’t that a bit unfair?” Li Shankui said.

But Li Yi just smiled and said, “Dad, do you think the state-run restaurant lost money on this?”

“Hmm! They’re definitely losing money. That’s several pounds of meat!” Li Shankui nodded.

Li Yi then turned to Tang Xue and asked again, “Honey, do you think the restaurant lost money too?”

But Tang Xue shook her head and said, “I don’t think they’re losing money!”

Li Shankui looked at his daughter-in-law and asked, “Why wouldn’t they be losing money?”

“Dad, did you enjoy the hot pot lamb we just had?” Tang Xue asked with a smile.

“Do I even need to ask? Of course it was delicious. I’ve never had beef or lamb this good in my life!” Li Shankui replied honestly.

“There you go. With a dish like that, Director Liu will surely get through his current difficulties. Once the boss is happy, he might even give them a bonus. Compared to that, what’s this meal?” Tang Xue said.

Li Shankui thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “You’re right. In that case, we can enjoy this meal with a clear conscience!”

However, Li Yi smiled and said, “It’s not just that. Now that you’ve tasted this hot pot, barring any surprises, the state-run restaurant will likely list this dish as a new menu item in a few days. With this new dish on the menu, their revenue is bound to skyrocket.”

“If Liu Jingshan were a bit more ambitious and brought out that specialty grilled meat as well, I guarantee the state-run restaurant’s revenue this year might even double.”

“Are there really that many wealthy people in our county?” Li Shankui asked in surprise.

“Heh, there have always been wealthy people; it’s just that sometimes they don’t want to show it off!” Li Yi said casually.

“Don’t flaunt your wealth,” Tang Xue added.

“Hmm!”

Actually, Li Yi had originally planned to start a Korean barbecue business on his own. He believed that with his foresight and a sufficient amount of capital, he could definitely make this culinary concept a success.

In just a few years at most, he could build a restaurant chain on par with Haidilao.

But considering it was only 1980 now, and it would take several more years before the economy fully opened up—with the restaurant industry’s true boom not arriving until the 1990s—Li Yi didn’t have time to wait a whole decade.

So Liu Jingshan was the one who ended up benefiting!

He was confident that with these two culinary delights on the menu, his small state-run restaurant would skyrocket to success—a fitting way to repay the kindness he’d received during his time there.

The bright red mule cart headed west along the state-run restaurant for about twenty minutes before finally spotting the massive sign for the county hospital.

They parked the cart in the hospital’s back yard, which was designated for mule and horse-drawn vehicles, unhitched the big red mule, and tied it to a large poplar tree.

After that, Li Yi gathered some fresh grass for it, then led his father and wife toward the clinic up ahead.

“Xiao Yi, are we really going in to see the doctor? Maybe we shouldn’t?”

Standing at the hospital entrance, Li Shankui actually felt a little scared.

Li Yi smiled and said, “We’re already here—what’s the big deal?”

“I’m not sick…”

“If you’re not sick, why are you coughing nonstop day after day? Besides, even if you’re not sick, just treat this as a checkup. I hope everything turns out fine for you!” Li Yi said.

He knew his father had passed away three years later. Although he hadn’t gone for a checkup at the time, based on his second older sister’s description and his father’s lifelong habit of heavy smoking, Li Yi deduced it was most likely lung cancer.

Otherwise, the condition of a typical illness wouldn’t have deteriorated so rapidly.

So, after settling things at home, Li Yi decided to take him for a thorough checkup.

If the county hospital couldn’t diagnose it, he would take him to the city, to the provincial capital, or even to Beijing.

In short, he couldn’t let this happen to him at such a young age…

Knowing he couldn’t outargue his son, Li Shankui could only sigh and follow Li Yi inside.

At that time, the hospital still followed the previous policy: no registration was required, and payment was only required for prescriptions or IV drips.

He led his father to the internal medicine clinic and knocked on the examination room door!

“Come in!”

Pushing open the door, Li Yi saw an elderly doctor in his sixties sitting inside, with a young man in his twenties reading a book beside him.

The elderly doctor pointed to a small stool across from his desk and said, “That’s for the patient. Sit down!”

Li Shankui glanced at Li Yi, then sat down on the small stool with a resigned look on his face.

“Comrade, where does it hurt?”

Li Shankui opened his mouth to say, “I’m not feeling any discomfort…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi interrupted him: “Doctor, my father often coughs involuntarily. It used to be fine, but lately it’s been getting more and more frequent, so I’m worried there might be a problem with his lungs!”

The elderly doctor glanced at Li Shankui’s slightly deformed fingers and yellowed teeth, and asked immediately, “Does your father smoke a lot?”

“Yeah, he’s practically never without a cigarette!”

The elderly doctor nodded and said, “I see.”

He then took out his stethoscope and began the examination.

After a basic examination, the old doctor frowned and said, “Old comrade, tell me—do you usually experience chest pain, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, or frequent coughing up of phlegm?”

Li Shankui thought for a moment and replied, “I do feel tightness in my chest, and I do get short of breath and cough up phlegm, but it doesn’t hurt!”

“Have you ever coughed up blood?”

“Blood? No… no…”

The senior doctor then glanced at Li Yi and said, “Your father’s lungs are indeed in poor condition; there are many abnormal sounds. Based on my preliminary assessment, there appears to be a lesion. Therefore, I recommend that, if possible, you take him to a major hospital in the provincial capital for further examination!”

Li Yi hurriedly asked, “What kind of further examination? A chest CT scan?”

“You know what a CT scan is?”

“Yeah!”

The senior doctor continued, “I hear the CT scanners at the major hospitals in the provincial capital were just recently installed. If it’s possible, you should definitely get one done—your father’s condition might be a bit tricky!”

This made Li Shankui a bit anxious, and he hurriedly asked, “Doctor, just tell me—what exactly is wrong with me?”

The senior doctor replied immediately, “Our facilities are limited, and so is my expertise. I can’t give a definitive diagnosis, but you really should quit smoking!”

Li Shankui pressed, “What exactly is wrong with me? Why can’t you diagnose it?”

Li Yi already had an answer in mind. He said right away, “Dad, listen to the doctor. I’ll take you to a big hospital in a couple of days!”

“Well…”

Li Yi then turned to the senior doctor and said, “Thank you. I’ll take my father to the provincial capital as soon as possible!”

“Hmm, don’t worry too much. Your father’s lung function is still decent; it shouldn’t be too serious,” the senior doctor said.

“Let’s hope so!”

After that, Li Yi led his father and Tang Xue out.

After breakfast, Li Yi set off with Tang Xue and his father, driving the big red mule cart.

Since they weren’t making liangpi today, Third Sister was left at home.

On the way, Li Shankui told Li Yi about the wedding gifts from yesterday—they’d collected a total of 982 yuan!

Among them, Old Man Wang, Wang Anmin, Wang Anguo, Li Gang, Liang Yukuai, and others each contributed 50 yuan.

Liu Jingshan, the friends from the state-run restaurant, and the various officials from the sugar factory all contributed 10 yuan.

The two brothers-in-law, plus Third Sister Li Na, each gave 50 yuan, while the villagers contributed between 1 and 5 yuan per household.

Basically, families with children working alongside Li Yi all gave 5 yuan, while those without gave anywhere from 1 to 2 yuan.

All in all, the gift money collected yesterday was more than double what had been expected.

To be honest, Li Yi was a bit surprised.

Before the wedding, he thought it would be great to receive 500 yuan in gifts, but he never expected there to be so much.

But when he thought about it, Old Man Wang and his sisters alone had contributed nearly 400 yuan—roughly half of the total.

With this thousand yuan, most of the wedding expenses were covered.

When they arrived at the state-run restaurant, Liu Jingshan was somewhat surprised to see Li Yi.

“Hahaha, I thought you weren’t coming today, you rascal!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “No way! If I didn’t come, that would be breaking my word!”

“Alright, let’s get you weighed right away. I’ve got to swing by the back field in a bit!” Liu Jingshan said.

“What are you going to the Back Pastures for?”

The so-called “back pastures” is the local term for the grazing areas. Although they’re all within the same county, they’re quite a distance from the county seat,

and the roads are rugged and difficult to navigate; in many places, there aren’t even any roads to speak of. Even by car, it would take at least six or seven hours round trip.

Liu Jingshan gave a wry smile. “I’ve got no choice. The County Party Committee Office called yesterday and said a high-ranking provincial official is coming down for an inspection today, and they want us to make sure we handle the reception properly!”

“You certainly can’t take a provincial official’s inspection lightly. Are you planning to slaughter a cow or a sheep out there?” Li Yi asked.

“A sheep, I suppose. A cow is too expensive, and it’d be a hassle to transport back!”

“Wouldn’t local sheep do?”

“The County Party Committee Office specifically instructed us that the high-ranking official is of Mongolian ethnicity. Local mutton isn’t the same as that from pastoral areas—the official would taste the difference the moment he took a bite!” Liu Jingshan explained.

Liu Jingshan sighed and said, “This is such a hassle.

” He could only offer some consolation: “The bigwigs are magnanimous; they won’t hold a grudge against little people like us. Just do your best!”

“I suppose that’s the only option. That’s why I was thinking of getting the leaders some authentic grassland lamb—hoping they’ll be satisfied!”

Li Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Brother Liu, you really don’t need to go to all this trouble!”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it—what kind of mutton hasn’t he tasted? So even if you really do get him some grassland mutton, he might not be satisfied!”

“You’re right, but…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Actually, the type of sheep doesn’t matter. What matters is how it’s prepared. As long as the preparation is innovative and the flavor is good, the rest doesn’t matter!”

Liu Jingshan thought of Li Yina’s mysterious and unpredictable methods, and his eyes lit up immediately. He hurriedly said, “Brother Li Yi, you’ve got to help an old friend out here!”

“Alright, let’s weigh it and then head to the kitchen to talk!”

“Don’t worry about the heavy lifting—let Little Li and the others handle that. Let’s head to the kitchen right now!”

Before Li Yi could say a word, Liu Jingshan dragged him into the kitchen, leaving Li Shankui and Tang Xue standing there, completely baffled.

Once in the kitchen, Li Yi asked right away, “Brother Liu, do you know how many officials are coming this time?”

“Not really sure—they didn’t say!”

Li Yi frowned and said, “If we don’t know how many people are coming for the meal, that’s going to be a problem!”

“Why don’t I go ask?”

“Don’t ask. If we ask the County Party Committee, they’ll think we’re incompetent—that we have to keep asking about something like this. It’ll look bad!”

“Then what should we do?”

“Let’s have a plan B!”

Li Yi then explained, “I’ll teach you two different recipes in a moment. The first is our specialty grilled meat, and the second is a modern-style hot pot!”

“Serve the specialty grilled meat when there are fewer guests, and the modern hot pot when there are more!”

After that, Li Yi had the staff at the state-run restaurant bring over beef and lamb, and he also had some pork sliced up.

Next, they brought over scallions, ginger, garlic, and various seasonings to begin marinating the meat.

At the same time, Li Yi had them freeze some beef and lamb in the refrigerator, and he specifically had them freeze a few teacups of water as well.

To be honest, Li Yi felt somewhat relieved—thankfully, this was a state-run restaurant; otherwise, you wouldn’t find a refrigerator like this in most places.

Don’t let its modest 150-liter capacity fool you—it cost over 800 yuan, equivalent to two years’ wages for an ordinary worker.

Moreover, even with the money, you couldn’t necessarily buy one—you also needed a purchase quota voucher.

While the beef and lamb were marinating, he had someone set up a simple grill—essentially a clean iron plate placed over a charcoal brazier.

Finally, he prepared the dipping sauces, mixing up separate batches of dry seasonings and sauces.

By this point, the meat was nearly ready, so Li Yi gave Liu Jingshan and the others a live demonstration.

First, he brushed the iron plate several times with sesame oil, then placed a plump, marinated slice of pork belly on it.

Instantly, the sizzling sound of the meat hitting the hot surface filled the air, and the rich aroma of the meat quickly filled the entire kitchen.

In less than two minutes, the pork belly was cooked.

Li Yi picked up a piece of the cooked meat with his chopsticks, dipped it in some secret sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

Mmm, that’s the taste!

He immediately urged Liu Jingshan and the others to give it a try!

Everyone followed Li Yi’s lead and reached for their chopsticks.

When the rich aroma of the meat, combined with the scent of the secret sauce, fully stimulated their taste buds, everyone was stunned.

It wasn’t that they’d never had grilled meat before, but the flavor was completely different.

Next, Li Yi grilled some lamb and beef for them, and even threw in a few vegetables—each dish drew gasps of admiration from Liu Jingshan and the others.

After finishing the specialty grilled meat, Li Yi immediately asked Liu Jingshan, “How’s the taste? Is it good enough to serve to high-ranking officials?”

“Absolutely, absolutely! If you keep doing it this way, it’ll definitely work!” Liu Jingshan said excitedly.

“It’s good, but if you want the leaders to praise you, the grilling tools need to be a bit more sophisticated!”

Li Yi then fetched some paper and a pen and sketched out a modern-style barbecue grill and griddle right there on the spot, telling him to hurry up and have someone make a few.

After tasting the specialty grilled meat, Liu Jingshan also developed a keen interest in Li Yi’s other new-style hot pot.

Just as Li Yi had anticipated, while grilled meat was delicious, it wasn’t really suitable for large groups.

On the one hand, it takes a long time to cook, and on the other, the current selection of ingredients is limited and lacks variety!

“Brother Li Yi, that new-style hot pot you mentioned…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “You’ve probably had lamb hot pot before, but have you ever tried ice-boiled lamb?”

“Ice-boiled lamb?”

“Alright, enough with the small talk. It’s almost noon, and my wife and dad are still waiting outside. I’d like to borrow your kitchen and ingredients today to cook a nice meal for them. No objections, right?” Li Yi asked.

“No problem!”

“Great!”

Li Yi immediately began mixing various seasonings and set them aside in a large bowl.

Next, he had someone fetch a small pot and place it on the charcoal grill they’d just used for barbecuing.

He then took the beef and lamb—which were frozen but not quite rock-hard—out of the freezer and cut them into chunks, strips, or slices.

Next, as everyone stared in astonishment, he dropped several chunks of rock-hard frozen meat into the pot, followed by the various seasonings and nearly a pound of lamb chunks…

While the meat was simmering, Li Yi began preparing the dipping sauce.

By the time the dipping sauce was ready, the meat was nearly done.

Li Yi immediately called Liu Jingshan, his father, Tang Xue, and the others to the table to dig in…

……

After spending a while together on the kang, Li Yi glanced at the clock and saw it was almost 5:30. Remembering he still had things to do today, he got dressed and got out of bed.

“Are we setting up the stall today?”

Tang Xue asked as she got dressed.

“It’s not so much about setting up the stall, but I have to deliver the mountain produce to the state-run restaurant. First, Old Li is waiting for it, and second, the mushrooms and such won’t keep, so I have to make a trip into town!” Li Yi said.

Tang Xue knew exactly what he meant—mushrooms are a finicky bunch; if they aren’t dealt with today, they’ll be wilted by tomorrow!

“Do you need me to come with you?”

“Yes!”

Hearing Li Yi’s reply, Tang Xue felt a sudden surge of happiness.

Perhaps it was because they were married, or perhaps it was because Li Yi had won her over with his actions lately—in any case, Tang Xue realized she simply enjoyed being with him.

After getting dressed and freshening up, the two locked the door and headed hand in hand toward the old family home!

Everyone at the old family home was already up; a group of people were discussing yesterday’s wedding!

Just as they were talking, little Zhang Ning suddenly leaned out on the windowsill, pointing outside with her little finger and babbling away.

Everyone looked out the window and saw Li Yi walking into the courtyard, holding his new bride’s hand.

Li Na immediately went outside, then jogged over to Tang Xue. She looked her up and down, staring so intently that Tang Xue began to feel a little self-conscious.

“Sis, what are you looking at?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

The third sister didn’t even acknowledge him, but turned to Tang Xue with a smile and said, “You’ve finally married into the Li family, girl. Call me Third Sister!”

Tang Xue’s face flushed slightly, and she replied at once, “Third Sister!”

“Good, good, good. I accept you as my sister-in-law. If that good-for-nothing dares to mistreat you in the future, just tell me, and I’ll tear his ears off!”

Li Yi: “%￥#@”

Soon, Eldest Sister Li Mei, Second Sister Li Lan, and their two husbands all came out to greet them.

For a moment, the Li household was filled with continuous laughter!

By then, their mother, Zhang Yuehong, had finished cooking, and the whole family returned to the inner room to prepare for dinner.

The food was all leftovers from yesterday’s banquet. Country folk aren’t fussy about such things, and they couldn’t bear to throw anything away.

After sharing some with the neighbors, the rest became the main course for today.

Before they finished eating, Li Shankui, as the head of the household, spoke up: “Xiao Yi, Xiao Xue, from now on, you’re part of this family. Whether you live well or not depends on you. I don’t expect you to become rich and powerful—I just want you to live in peace and harmony!”

Zhang Yuehong turned to her daughter-in-law and said, “Xiao Xue, our Xiao Yi has a stubborn streak and doesn’t think things through. You’ll have to keep a close eye on him from now on.”

Tang Xue nodded and said, “Mother, I will. I just worry he won’t listen to me!”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Li Shankui’s eyes widened, and he shouted, “He wouldn’t dare!”

“If he dares to disobey you, I’ll take care of him—he’s been scared of me since he was a kid!” Li Lan chimed in.

“Spank him…”

Her eldest nephew, Zhang Ning, suddenly blurted out something shocking!

In an instant, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Li Yi couldn’t help but smile wryly. “Man, I got married and lost my standing in the family overnight. What kind of situation is this?”

His second brother-in-law spoke with the wisdom of someone who’d been there before: “This is just the beginning. Once you have kids, you’ll really know what it means to have no standing in the family!”

My second sister glared at him and said, “Zhang Xuefeng, do you have a problem with that?”

“No… no, how could I possibly have a problem with that!”

Seeing her husband back down so quickly, everyone burst into laughter again.

Mother looked at Second Sister with a touch of exasperation and said, “Lanzi, you’re a mother now, yet you’re still so feisty. Only Xiaofeng can put up with you—anyone else would have had their brains scrambled by now!”

“Mom, don’t worry about it. Everyone has their own way of living. This is just how we are!” Li Lan said calmly.

Just then, Yang Wenguang, the eldest sister’s husband, suddenly asked, “Xiao Yi, what are your plans for the future? Are you just going to stick to selling mountain produce and running a small stall?”

At the sound of this question, everyone fell silent, and the family’s gaze fixed on Li Yi.

Li Yi replied immediately, “I’ve already thought this through. I’ve not only made plans for myself, but I’ve taken all of you into account as well. It just depends on whether you’re willing!”

“What kind of plan? Spit it out!” the impatient Li Na demanded.

“My plan has two parts. First, to make money—big money! Second, while making money, to take care of the family and look after all of you!”

Li Yi continued, “For now, the main way to make money is still selling liangpi and mountain produce, but soon I’ll start buying up mountain produce on a large scale throughout the whole village.”

“At that time, I’ll be in charge of delivering goods to the county seat, while Xiaoxue will stay at home to weigh the produce and handle payments for the villagers—and study for her college entrance exams on the side…”

Before he could finish, Li Na asked again, “What about me? What will I do?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Third Sister, your main job from now on will be selling liangpi in town. Starting tomorrow, I’ll personally teach you how to make liangpi and white-skin pancakes, and I’ll also teach you how to make a few other kinds of snacks!”

“Alright!”

Then, Li Yi looked at his eldest sister and brother-in-law and said, “You two should just focus on working at the factory for now. After all, your health isn’t great, and you’re expecting a baby—it’s not a good idea for you to be running around all over the place right now!”

“Alright, thank you, Yi!” her husband replied immediately.

Li Yi nodded, then turned to his second sister.

“Xiao Yi, what are your plans for the two of us?” Li Lan asked.

Li Yi replied immediately, “Second Sister, I hope you’ll stay in the village to help me!”

“Help you? How exactly?”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be buying up mountain produce on a large scale. If all goes as planned, we’ll be receiving several thousand pounds of mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other items every day.”

Li Yi continued, “These forest products not only need to be weighed, but also dried, packed, and so on. In short, Xiaoxue definitely can’t handle it all by herself—she needs you to come help!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than his brother-in-law hurriedly asked, “Well… what about me?”

“Second Brother-in-Law, go back to the village for now. Once you’re there, quit your job at the brick factory and start collecting wild produce in your village!” Li Yi said.

“How do I go about collecting them?”

“One mao per jin. Take as much as you can get!” Li Yi said.

My second sister’s husband furrowed his brow and said, “The mountains behind our village are full of mushrooms and wood ear fungus. You can fill a basket in no time. If we buy everything, we could easily collect thousands of pounds a day—where would we get that kind of money?”

“Money isn’t the issue. I’ll cover the cost of buying the mushrooms, and for every pound you bring to me, I’ll pay you fifteen cents!”

“Doesn’t that mean I’ll make five cents just by reselling them?” my second sister’s husband asked in surprise.

“Exactly!”

“But that’s not fair!”

“It’s fine. I’ll sell them for even more on the open market!”

“Alright, then!”

Just then, Old Man Li Shankui suddenly spoke up: “What about your mother and me? What are your plans for us?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Dad, I think you’re not feeling well. You’ve been coughing nonstop every day. After dinner, why don’t you come with me to the county hospital…”

Before Li Yi could finish, Li Shankui frowned and said, “Why go to the hospital? I’m perfectly fine!”

“It’s not up to you to decide if I’m fine—the doctor has to say so. If you’re really healthy, I’ll find you a job that pays a hundred yuan a month!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, when has your son ever lied to you?”

Li Shankui shot him a look and said, “How many times have you tried to sweet-talk me?”

Li Yi: “%￥#@…”

Ignoring his father’s grumbling, Li Yi continued, “Mom, you’ve got the heaviest workload here. The rest of us are definitely going to be swamped, so you’ll be in charge of logistics for us!”

“What logistics?”

“Cooking, and you’ll have to help Second Sister take care of the baby!”

“Alright!”

……….

When Li Yi woke up, the sky was already beginning to lighten outside.

Feeling a bit dizzy, he crawled out of bed and glanced at the old-fashioned clock on the red cabinet, only to find that the hour hand was pointing at 4, while the minute hand was at 9!

4:45?

What’s going on?

He gently pulled back the curtains and saw that the sky outside was a dull gray, with flecks of starlight still visible in the sky.

Clearly, it wasn’t 4:30 p.m.—it was the middle of the night!

What on earth had happened?

Li Yi felt like he’d lost a piece of his memory!

He’d gotten married yesterday. After the guests left, his wife suggested they have a drink. He’d originally agreed to just one glass with her, but then it seemed like…

Damn it, did I black out?

On his wedding night, he actually blacked out—what the hell is this?

Thinking back to how Tang Xue kept clinking glasses with him yesterday afternoon, Li Yi knew the little vixen must have done it on purpose.

What was she playing at? Did she not want to consummate the marriage with him?

Although he was concerned about her health and wouldn’t have done “that” with her anyway, the thought that she’d deliberately gotten him drunk still left him feeling a bit let down.

Just then, Li Yi felt a pair of fair yet slightly rough hands clasp his right hand.

Turning his head, he found himself looking straight into Tang Xue’s sparkling eyes.

Li Yi had originally wanted to ask her why she’d gotten him drunk, but he didn’t know how to put it.

Most importantly, he felt a bit embarrassed—a grown man getting drunk by a woman was a real blow to his pride!

To be honest, Li Yi never would have guessed his wife could hold her liquor so well.

Yesterday, the two of them had drunk a little over a bottle. He’d had three cups—roughly six liang—and Tang Xue had drunk about the same.

The result was that he blacked out completely, while Tang Xue didn’t even flinch.

You really can’t judge a book by its cover, or measure the depth of the sea with a bucket!

Tang Xue noticed the hint of disappointment in Li Yi’s eyes. She suddenly tightened her grip and pulled him onto her.

Instantly, Tang Xue was on the bottom and Li Yi on top, the two of them staring at each other face-to-face through a thin blanket.

“Don’t be angry. I just suddenly felt like drinking yesterday—I wanted to say goodbye to my past self!” Tang Xue said softly.

“Say goodbye to what?”

“To that family that drove me to despair, to those relatives who broke my heart. From now on, I’m no longer Tang Xue of the Tang family—I’m your wife, Li Yi!” Tang Xue said earnestly.

By the time she said this, a thin film of tears had already gathered in Tang Xue’s eyes.

Clearly, despite the despair and disappointment she felt toward that family, there was still a hint of reluctance in her heart.

Li Yi gently kissed her forehead and said, “Don’t be sad. From now on, you’re my treasure, and I’ll always take good care of you!”

“Mm-hmm, I believe you!”

With that, Tang Xue wrapped both arms around Li Yi’s neck and offered him a passionate kiss.

Li Yi, of course, didn’t hold back and kissed her back…

As their passion deepened, Tang Xue suddenly whispered in Li Yi’s ear, “Take me…”

Those words ignited the passion deep within Li Yi, and he immediately pulled back the covers and slipped underneath.

However, once they had both undressed and their skin touched, Li Yi suddenly snapped back to his senses.

His wife was already pregnant, and she wasn’t even three months along yet. Doing that at this stage could easily lead to complications.

With that thought, Li Yi immediately climbed off Tang Xue, panting heavily.

His reaction startled Tang Xue, and she hurriedly asked, “What… what’s wrong with you?”

Worried she might misunderstand, Li Yi asked, “Honey, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“How long has it been since your period last came?”

“That?”

“Um… you know, that thing women have to deal with every month!”

Tang Xue instantly realized what Li Yi was asking. Her face flushed, and she immediately said, “I… don’t know!”

“Um… How could you not know?”

“My cycle’s never been very regular, and I’ve lost track of how long it’s been—but it’s been a long time!”

Seeing Li Yi’s brow furrow, Tang Xue immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly concerned about this?”

From the look on his wife’s face, Li Yi could tell she didn’t know much about women’s physiology.

After a moment’s thought, Li Yi turned to Tang Xue and said earnestly, “Honey, I think you might be pregnant!”

“Pregnant… are you saying there’s a baby in my belly?”

Hearing this, Tang Xue was a bit stunned. She had actually wondered before if she might be pregnant—after all, they had indeed slept together that day.

But since she hadn’t felt any movement in her stomach lately, she hadn’t given it much thought.

“Yeah, after doing that, if your period doesn’t come within a month, you have to consider the possibility of pregnancy!” Li Yi said.

Tang Xue was clearly a bit startled. She stammered, “I… I don’t know… I’m not ready yet…”

“It’s okay, it’s just a possibility—it’s not certain yet!”

Seeing that Tang Xue seemed a little scared, Li Yi didn’t dare say she was definitely pregnant; he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it all at once.

It took a while for Tang Xue to compose herself.

Then she took Li Yi’s hand and asked, “What if I really am pregnant?”

“If I am, then we’ll have the baby. We’re legally married now anyway, so having a child is only natural!” Li Yi said.

“Hmm, you’re right. I completely forgot we’re already legally married!”

Li Yi lay down beside his wife, wrapping his arm around her waist, and said, “Actually, I think it would be great if you really were pregnant!”

“Why?”

“Think about it. If you get pregnant now, you can stay home, take care of yourself, and study for your exams. Then, once the baby is born, you can go to college—you won’t miss a thing!”

Li Yi continued, “But if you get pregnant after you’ve already started college, you’d have to go to class with a big belly. Not only would it be unsafe, but it would be so awkward!”

Tang Xue thought about it and realized he was right—if she really had to go to college with a big belly, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

But she also understood that Li Yi was just trying to comfort her.

“You’re really good at comforting people. You’ve actually made me feel like I’m really pregnant!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I think if we really had a child, it would definitely be as beautiful as you!”

But Tang Xue shook her head and said, “If it’s a boy, I think it’d be better if he looked more like you!”

“Why?”

“Thick-skinned and tough!” Tang Xue said with a laugh.

Perhaps because they were married now, Li Yi felt that she had become much more cheerful and lively, as if she had suddenly let her guard down.

“Are you calling me thick-skinned?”

“You’re not just thick-skinned—you’re incredibly thick-skinned!”

Tang Xue said with a serious expression, as if stating an ironclad fact, though the smile in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.

Seeing this, Li Yi turned his head, pulled Tang Xue into his arms, and then kissed her gently upturned lips passionately…

……..