Chapter 115: Shopping for Wedding Supplies

Zhang Yuehong was a traditional rural woman; she had never attended school and had little worldly experience.

Nearing fifty, the farthest she’d ever traveled was to Qingshan County, and the highest-ranking official she’d ever met was the commune director.

Having lived a quiet, law-abiding life her whole life, she was on the edge of her seat over what her son and daughter were doing now.

During the tense times of a few years ago, they had seen others rise and fall, so they worried that their son might get into trouble for being too flashy.

So, she felt that having just enough money to get by was sufficient—there was no need to be overly aggressive or take unnecessary risks.

However, her son’s ambition was clearly greater than she had imagined.

It seemed that the “huge” income of a few thousand yuan in less than a month meant next to nothing to him.

Now that her younger daughter has joined her son in running the business, her heart is in her mouth every single day.

But Li Yi understood the direction things were headed and clearly wasn’t going to listen to her, so after chatting for a while, they ended the conversation.

Before long, the sound of “clang, clang, clang” came from outside the courtyard!

Li Yi and his mother looked out at the same time and saw that it was Li Shankui returning in a black horse-drawn cart.

The agricultural cooperative hadn’t been dissolved yet, and nearly all means of production were collectively owned—including the bright red mule cart Li Yi had been using to transport mountain produce into town.

Today, Li Yi had planned to have his third older sister drive the big red mule cart to set up a stall, while he intended to go into town to buy things for the wedding, so one cart simply wasn’t enough.

Left with no choice, he had to borrow another horse-drawn cart from the production team.

Fortunately, the production team wasn’t very busy at the moment, so borrowing the cart went smoothly.

After his father returned, Li Yi loaded the mountain produce onto the black horse-drawn cart, while the liangpi, white-skinned pancakes, and other market goods were loaded onto the big red mule cart.

Then, father and son each drove a cart toward the educated youth settlement!

By the time they arrived at the educated youth settlement, Li Na and Tang Xue were already up and waiting for them at the main gate.

Upon meeting, Li Shan handed the bright red mule cart over to his daughter, then hurried off toward the new house.

Meanwhile, Li Yi, Li Na, and Tang Xue drove the two carts straight toward the county seat!

By the time they reached the county seat, it was nearly nine o’clock. Li Yi sent his third sister to the sugar factory to deliver the cold noodles and white-skinned pancakes, while he took Tang Xue to the state-run restaurant!

After handing over the mountain produce and cold noodles to Liu Jingshan and settling the payment, Li Yi, clutching 1,360 yuan, headed to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative with a sense of satisfaction.

The reason he had so much money today was mainly because the state-run restaurant had finally settled the payment for the cold noodles from the past few days.

A few days ago, the county held a large-scale meeting. To save trouble, Liu Jingshan had Li Yi prepare several hundred portions of liangpi every day, but he hadn’t settled the payment until now.

Now that the conference was over and the state-run restaurant no longer needed to provide meals there, they settled the entire bill for the cold noodles with him today.

After leaving the state-run restaurant, Li Yi was in a great mood and couldn’t help but hum a tune.

Tang Xue thought the tune Li Yi was humming sounded quite nice, so she couldn’t help but ask, “What song are you singing? I’ve never heard it before.”

Li Yi smiled and said, “I’m just humming to myself—there aren’t even any lyrics!”

“Oh, that’s really nice!”

Li Yi smiled but said nothing. How could Liu Dehua’s “Secretly Enchanted” not be good?

But he couldn’t sing it for her. The song wasn’t released until 1993—more than a decade ago—and it was in Cantonese.

If he sang it for Tang Xue, he’d inevitably have to explain its origins—better to save himself the trouble!

Besides, social norms were still very conservative back then, and many of the lyrics in that song would still seem quite explicit to people today.

So, just listen to the melody—there’s no need to sing the lyrics out loud.

……..

Soon, the two of them arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative in a black horse-drawn carriage!

However, Li Yi didn’t go straight inside; instead, he asked Tang Xue to wait at the entrance for a moment.

He first tied the black horse to a nearby post, then walked over to a group of young men standing nearby.

Liu San saw Li Yi approaching and hurried over, saying, “Big Brother, you’re here!”

“Hmm… Do you have any watch coupons?” Li Yi asked straight to the point.

“Yes, but only one!” Liu San replied hurriedly.

“One isn’t enough. Get me another one!”

“My buddy has another one, but it might cost a bit more!”

“How much?”

“You can give me 5 yuan for this one, but I’m not sure about his.”

“Go ask him. Get it for me for no more than 8 yuan; if it’s over 8 yuan, forget it!”

“Alright!”

“Also, get me a radio ticket and 20 industrial coupons!” Li Yi said again.

“I’ve got the cash register tickets and industrial coupons right here!” Liu San’er said.

“Alright, bring them over. See how much it comes to!” Li Yi said.

“It comes to 17 yuan and 60 fen. Just give me 17 yuan, bro!”

Li Yi wasn’t about to take advantage of him over a few cents, so he counted out 18 yuan and said, “I’ll wait for you at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. As soon as you get the watch coupons, bring them over right away!”

“Alright, give me half an hour. Whether I succeed or not, I’ll let you know!” Liu San’er said.

“Deal!”

After that, Li Yi took a stack of vouchers and returned to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Tang Xue looked at Li Yi with some curiosity and asked, “Did you go find those troublemakers just to buy these coupons?”

“Riffraff?”

“Yeah, everyone at our educated youth commune calls the guys hanging around outside the supply and marketing cooperative ‘bad boys.’ They say those guys don’t do any real work—all they know how to do is speculate and peddle goods, and sometimes they even scam people!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t let their current shenanigans fool you—they’ll all end up doing pretty well for themselves in the future!”

“Really?”

“Heh, just look at me. I used to be just like them—a ‘bad boy’ too!”

“You’re not…”

But Tang Xue stopped mid-sentence.

Come to think of it, Li Yi was right in a way. Although he hadn’t been buying and selling goods every day like these guys, he hadn’t exactly been doing anything productive either.

“Alright, don’t dwell on it. I’ve got plenty of tickets. Today, we’ll get most of the stuff we need for the wedding sorted out!” Li Yi said.

“Hmm, but don’t go buying everything you see—just enough will do!”

Tang Xue had seen Li Yi spend money with her own eyes. To be honest, even though she was an educated youth from the city, she was still stunned by his spending power.

In his hands, money wasn’t money at all—it was downright terrifying!

However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “Today, you have to listen to me!”

“Why?”

“Because getting married is a big deal!” Li Yi said with a serious expression.

Tang Xue suddenly recalled what she had said earlier—that Li Yi would make the decisions regarding major family matters from now on. She hadn’t expected him to remember it so clearly.

“Alright then, but you still need to be careful with it. After all, that money didn’t just fall from the sky!”

“Got it. You really are my little housekeeper!”

With that, Li Yi took Tang Xue’s hand and strode into the supply and marketing cooperative!

At 3 a.m., a single beam of light suddenly pierced the pitch-black darkness of Nianzi Mountain Village!

While the entire village was fast asleep, Li Yi was already up!

With only three days left until the sugar factory’s order is due, he now has to make at least 1,200 to 1,300 sheets of liangpi every day.

Without any machinery, this workload was still quite heavy.

More importantly, Third Sister had been helping out a few days ago, which had lightened Li Yi’s workload considerably.

However, since his eldest sister had returned, living space at home had become tight, so last night his third sister and Tang Xue had gone to stay at the educated youth commune.

As a result, the entire task of making liangpi today fell entirely on his shoulders.

He took the dough prepared last night out of the mixing bowl one by one, placed it on the cutting board, and kneaded it into appropriately sized balls. Then Li Yi began washing the dough.

This is a labor-intensive and water-intensive task, and it is also the step in making liangpi that most tests one’s skill.

If the dough is washed properly, the resulting liangpi will be chewy and the yield will be high.

Conversely, if it’s not washed properly, the result will be a small amount of liangpi and a lot of dough lumps.

Just as Li Yi was busy at work, the door to the main house suddenly swung open.

The wooden door’s “creak” was jarring, startling Li Yi.

He looked up and saw his older sister leaning against the doorframe, watching him!

Li Mei hadn’t slept all night. Although she was exhausted, the thought of how the situation might play out kept her wide awake.

It wasn’t until three in the morning that she finally began to doze off, but just as she was drifting off, she heard a noise outside. Not knowing what was going on, she immediately got up to investigate.

Seeing her younger brother vigorously kneading dough all by himself, she was at a loss!

Li Mei had never eaten or even seen liangpi before, so she had no idea what Li Yi was doing.

“Sis, am I keeping you awake?”

“No, I just can’t sleep…”

She stopped mid-sentence; she knew she’d said the wrong thing.

Sure enough, Li Yi looked startled for a moment, then asked, “Is it because of what happened between you and my brother-in-law?”

Li Mei hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, “Yeah.”

“Sis, don’t dwell on this too much! If he really cared about you, we wouldn’t be forcing you to divorce him!”

But Li Yi’s tone shifted immediately, and he said gravely, “If he’s just stringing you along with empty words, and in reality he’s on the same page as his parents and siblings, then don’t blame me, your brother-in-law, for breaking you two up!”

“No… he wouldn’t do that!”

“That would be the best outcome!”

Then Li Yi added, “Sis, I’m not trying to break you two up. I just want you to be happy, not to keep putting up with this just to make things work!”

“Yeah, I know!”

“Sis, go back inside and get some more sleep. I’ve got work to do!” Li Yi said.

“Do you need my help? You look pretty tired,” Li Mei asked.

“Sis, you’re pregnant. I wouldn’t dare ask you to help! And you need to take care of yourself—don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

Feeling her brother’s genuine concern, Li Mei’s mood suddenly lifted, and she nodded. “I know!”

However, she didn’t go back to her room to sleep. Instead, she sat on the doorstep, quietly watching Li Yi work!

Li Yi didn’t say much either; his movements weren’t slowed in the slightest. After more than two hours, he finally finished washing all 250 pounds of flour.

Afterward, Li Yi set up the steamer and began steaming the liangpi!

Li Mei watched in amazement as the lumps of proofed white dough in her brother’s hands were transformed into sheets of skin as thin as cicada wings and chunks of gluten as smooth as tofu.

She recalled how, after returning home yesterday afternoon, her brother had cooked all by himself—his skilled and masterful culinary techniques had truly impressed her.

It was clear that in the two or three years since she’d gotten married, her younger brother had changed a great deal.

Not only had he become more mature, but he had also gained new skills.

What a wonderful younger brother he is…

It was around five or six in the morning—the time when people are both sleepy and hungry!

Once the first batch of liangpi was ready, Li Yi personally prepared two servings—one for himself and one for his older sister—and they sat down in the kitchen to eat.

It was Li Mei’s first time trying liangpi, and she was instantly won over by this delicacy from the Shaanxi region.

Since she was pregnant, her appetite was much larger than usual, so after finishing one serving, she actually felt like she wanted more.

Li Yi picked up on her hint and immediately prepared another serving for her.

After finishing two servings of liangpi, drowsiness suddenly overcame her. Li Mei said a quick goodbye to her younger brother and went back to the inner room to rest.

Meanwhile, Li Yi continued steaming liangpi in the kitchen!

“Beep, beep, beep…”

The production brigade’s shrill whistle signaling the start of work roused all the educated youths and commune members in the village. At the same time, the sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and children crying filled the air.

Nianzi Mountain Village, which had been quiet all night, seemed to come alive in an instant.

Li Shankui and his wife also got up. Seeing their son Li Yi making white pancakes, Li Shankui swallowed hard and immediately moved to grab one.

Li Yi immediately said, “Dad, go wash your face and brush your teeth first!”

Although he knew the villagers didn’t place much importance on such things, he had insisted that his parents wash their faces and rinse their mouths every day since his rebirth, all to ensure his father’s good health!

Li Shankui had clearly grown accustomed to his son’s persistent reminders, so he carried the washbasin outside to wash up.

While his parents were washing up, Li Yi prepared a serving of cold noodles for each of them and placed two freshly baked hot flatbreads on the stove.

After Li Shankui finished washing up, he expertly carried the cold noodles and flatbreads from the stove outside, then squatted under the eaves and began to eat heartily.

Accompanied by the white flatbread, Li Shankui slurped down the noodles and broth together. Finally, he poured a bowl of plain water to rinse out the bowl—saving himself the trouble of washing dishes!

Having eaten his fill, Li Shankui immediately turned to Li Yi and said, “You keep busy for a bit; I’m going to borrow a cart from the production team!”

“Okay!”

Zhang Yuehong helped Li Yi place the white flatbreads into a specially made bamboo basket while asking with some concern, “Son, are you really planning to let your third sister set up the stall all by herself?”

After discussing Sister Wan’s situation last night, Li Yi had announced another matter!

Namely, that for the next few days, he would stop going into town to set up his stall and instead focus all his efforts on preparing for his wedding to Tang Xue.

As for the liangpi business, it would all be up to his third sister, Li Na, from now on!

Upon hearing Li Yi’s decision, Zhang Yuehong felt a bit worried.

Li Yi smiled and said, “What’s wrong, Mom? Are you worried?”

“Well, she is just a young girl after all. What if something happens to her?”

Li Yi immediately reassured her, “Mom, don’t worry. My sister’s been handling everything these past few days—I haven’t even had to lift a finger to help!”

“But this time you’re not even going to pick her up. I’m worried…”

“Don’t worry. My third sister isn’t as overthinker as you are—she’s actually thrilled about it!” Li Yi said.

“Hmph, she’s just a reckless fool!” Zhang Yuehong said, somewhat exasperated.

“Mom, don’t worry. I’m actually going to celebrate Captain Wang’s father’s birthday tomorrow. I’ll mention it to them then and ask their men to keep an extra eye out during their regular patrols!” Li Yi said.

“All right, then!”

Although she was still a little worried, her son had said so, and her daughter was willing too—what else could she say?

…….

Nianzi Mountain Village. The Li Family!

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. After all, Zhang Yuehong was a woman herself and understood her daughter’s predicament all too well.

So she shot her husband a look and said, “You two shouldn’t jump to conclusions so easily. Marriage and divorce are matters for a lifetime—how can you just say ‘marry her off’ or ‘divorce her’ as if it were nothing?”

Li Shankui immediately retorted in a stern voice, “What do you mean? Are you going to just stand by and watch Mei Zi get bullied by them?”

“That’s not what I meant, but you really should ask Meizi what she thinks about this. After all, she’s the one who has to live with it!” Zhang Yuehong replied.

Instantly, everyone’s gaze in the room turned to Li Mei!

“Meizi, what do you think?” Li Shankui asked sternly.

Li Mei thought for a moment and said, “Dad, Xiao Yi, I don’t want a divorce. Wenguang really treats me very well!”

Perhaps fearing her family wouldn’t believe her, Li Mei quickly added, “He really doesn’t know about me being bullied at home. He’s currently assigned to help out at the forestry camp, and besides a fixed monthly salary of 15 yuan, he also receives a small allowance.”

“Most of his salary goes to his parents-in-law, but he secretly keeps the subsidies. He skimps on food and clothes himself, quietly saving it all up for me, thinking that once he’s saved enough, he’ll claim it’s the dowry you’re supplementing!”

Zhang Yuehong sighed and said, “Meizi, you’re bullied every day at the Yang household—why don’t you just tell him?”

“I don’t want to put him in a difficult position. My in-laws already favor my younger brother and sister, and on top of that, he was injured while serving in the military and can’t do particularly heavy work. They’ve always looked down on him…”

Before she could finish, Zhang Yuehong frowned and said, “That doesn’t make sense. If Yang Zhong and his wife really looked down on Wenguang, why would they have spent so much money on his wedding?”

A hundred yuan three years ago was no small sum—many families might not even get a hundred yuan in a whole year!

Not to mention that getting married isn’t just about the dowry—you have to buy other things and host a wedding banquet. All told, it easily comes to two or three hundred yuan!

Li Mei said with a bitter smile, “I asked around. That money was actually his disability compensation. The military gave him a total of 800 yuan. Aside from the 200 yuan we used for our wedding, my in-laws took the rest!”

Hearing this, Li Shankui grew even angrier and shouted, “That money was earned by Wen Guang risking his life! What right do those two old bastards have to complain?”

Seeing his father was getting quite worked up, Li Yi hurriedly said, “Dad, please calm down!”

“Hmph…”

His father’s anger hadn’t fully subsided, so Li Yi quickly added, “Big Sister, whether we get a divorce or not depends on Yang Wenguang’s attitude!”

“What… what attitude?” Li Mei asked.

“As long as he agrees to move out of the Yang household and live with you in the city, we won’t have to get a divorce, and I’ll give you both the job openings I promised.”

Li Yi continued, “But if he insists on staying entangled with the rest of the Yang family, then let him fend for himself. I absolutely will not let you go back!”

Li Mei looked at her younger brother in surprise and said, “Xiao Yi, are you telling Wenguang to split from his parents?”

“Yes! Only by separating can you be the head of the household, and no one will dare to take advantage of you! That’s the bottom line!” Li Yi said.

“Well…”

Li Mei knew this would be difficult. Her husband currently had to contribute 15 yuan to the family every month, and given her in-laws’ stingy nature, they would absolutely refuse to split the household.

And her husband was such a dutiful son—wasn’t this putting him in a difficult position?

Seeing his sister-in-law’s lingering hesitation, Li Yi said in a stern voice, “Sis, leave this to me. If Yang Wenguang doesn’t show some backbone this time, I’ll make him regret it for the rest of his life!”

Seeing the faint glint of murderous intent in her younger brother’s eyes, Li Mei suddenly felt a pang of anxiety.

She had raised her younger brother all by herself; she knew him better than even their mother did.

Clearly, her youngest brother was serious this time. Given his temperament, he wouldn’t rest until he’d turned the place upside down!

…….

While the Li family was discussing the matter, the Yang family in Juziwa was also talking about it.

However, unlike the Li family’s rage, the Yang family felt not only anger but also a deep sense of regret.

Yang Zhong looked at his family, beaten to a pulp, and felt a deep sense of injustice!

Seeing his daughter covering her swollen face as she cleared the table, he couldn’t help but explode: “You good-for-nothing! You went blabbing without seeing the whole picture—are you happy now?”

Seeing her daughter’s distress, Mrs. Yang hurriedly interjected, “You can’t blame Juanzi for this. Who could’ve known that the Li family, once so down-and-out, would end up making it big!”

“Hmph, you just spoil her. Now her reputation is ruined—I’ll see who dares to marry her!” Yang Zhongyu said, his anger still simmering.

Yang Wenjuan thought of how, in front of so many people, she had not only been slapped left and right by Li Yi, but also had the fact that she’d made her sister-in-law wash her underwear exposed—she had truly lost all face.

Now her reputation as a lazybones had spread throughout the entire Orange Hollow, and if things went as expected, it would reach every village within ten miles in just a few days.

By then, everyone would know she was a lazy girl who’d gone out of her way to bully her sister-in-law at home—how on earth was she ever going to get married?

In that moment, Yang Wenjuan felt her life was over!

A thousand grievances welled up inside her all at once, and she could no longer hold back. She crouched down on the ground and burst into tears!

Yang Zhong roared angrily, “Cry, cry, cry! All you know how to do is cry! I’ve told you all to behave yourselves, but you all think I’m out to get you!”

“Why don’t you go out and find out for yourselves what kind of good-for-nothing that Li family scoundrel is? He’s a hothead who’s not afraid to get violent. Now look what’s happened—they’ve come knocking on our door!”

Mrs. Yang Liu also said with a look of embarrassment, “Well… we just felt wronged, didn’t we? It’s not like the Li family gave us even a penny in dowry…”

“Enough. What good does it do to bring up these old, stale grievances? Let’s focus on how to resolve this situation!” Yang Zhong sighed.

Yang Wenxi said with a look of resentment, “Father, we can’t just let this slide. We have to make the Li family pay for this…”

“Now you’re all puffed up, but you didn’t say a word when you were getting beaten up?” Yang Zhong said angrily.

Yang Wenxi’s face instantly flushed crimson. He had wanted to speak up at the time, but Li Yi had completely overwhelmed him; a single shoulder throw had rendered him completely incapacitated.

But he refused to accept defeat. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Dad, we’ve been beaten like this—are we just going to back down?”

Yang Zhong looked at his younger son with a touch of disappointment. Compared to his eldest son’s composure, this lad—though in his twenties—still acted like a child who hadn’t grown up.

“Wenxi, go to the forestry camp tomorrow and bring your brother back!”

“Why bring my brother back? Is it to divorce that woman?” Yang Wenxi asked, his face lighting up with glee.

“What do you mean ‘that woman’? She’s your sister-in-law! And as for divorce—your sister-in-law is carrying the blood of our Yang family. How can you just walk away like that?” Yang Zhong snapped angrily.

“If we’re not getting a divorce, why bring my brother back?”

“What else? To clean up the mess you and your mother have made—to go apologize to them!” Yang Zhong shouted angrily.

“Why should we apologize? Our whole family was beaten up like this—it’s the Li family who should be apologizing…”

“Shut up! If I tell you to go, you go. If you don’t, get out of this house!” Yang Zhong said furiously.

He had finally realized that his two children had been completely spoiled by this short-sighted woman in the family.

With things having come to this, they still couldn’t tell who was in charge.

That afternoon, he had someone secretly go to Nianzishan Village to inquire about the Li family’s situation, and what they found out was truly astonishing.

The Li family had truly struck it rich. That good-for-nothing of theirs had somehow climbed his way up the social ladder; just by selling mushrooms and mountain produce, he’d made a fortune and become the village’s money god.

Now the Li family had not only built a new house and bought bicycles, but was also planning to marry off their son—their life was going so well it was almost too good to be true.

That alone would have been bad enough, but those who went there also brought back news that sent a chill down his spine: that good-for-nothing from the Li family had turned in all six remaining male educated youths in Nianzi Mountain Village to the Public Security Bureau!

The exact reason isn’t clear, but those male educated youths are almost certainly going to jail.

That good-for-nothing is still the same old good-for-nothing—ruthless in his actions and heedless of the consequences.

Those brainless fools at home have now thoroughly offended him, yet they’re still clamoring for him to pay the price—they’ve got absolutely no sense.

Now I can only hope my eldest son has what it takes to placate the Li family—otherwise, this situation is going to be impossible to resolve!

When the villagers saw Li Yi, they all stopped what they were doing, and everyone’s gaze fixed on him.

Li Shankui and Feng Kai, upon seeing Li Yi, strode over.

As soon as he reached his son, Li Shankui looked at him and said, “The whole village is here. You’ve really put us in your debt this time, kid!”

Feng Kai smiled and said, “Yi, don’t feel any pressure. Everyone came of their own free will—no one forced you!”

Li Yi smiled and replied, “Uncle Feng, I know!”

Then Li Yi strode to the front of the crowd and bowed deeply to everyone.

“Uncles, elders, and aunts, thank you all for coming to my home today to help. I, Li Yi, keep my word. This morning I said I’d lead everyone to make money together, and I certainly won’t go back on my word!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a chorus of cheers erupted in the courtyard, accompanied by scattered, uneven applause.

Li Yi motioned for everyone to quiet down, then continued, “I think this drying shed and the storage shed will be ready by tomorrow, but they’ll still need a few days of airing out before they’re usable.”

“Also, there are only seven or eight days left until Xiao Xue and I get married. So I’ll give you all a firm promise: after we’re married, everyone should come register at my place. Then I’ll lead you all in making money together!”

“Great!”

Hearing Li Yi’s firm promise, the villagers erupted once more in thunderous cheers.

This time, everyone knew Li Yi wasn’t just stringing them along.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew electric.

Lately, they’d watched families with children bring money home every day—especially those with several kids, who sometimes collected ten or so yuan from Li Yi in a single day.

Take Dongzi’s family, for example: they have two children working with Li Yi. Dongzi earns five yuan a day, and Xiao Jing earns three yuan a day.

Over the past month or so, the brother and sister had each brought home over a hundred yuan.

This made Dongzi’s mother overjoyed; she told everyone she met how capable her children were and how generous Li Yi was.

This, however, made the childless families green with envy—they were practically itching to have a whole litter of kids right then and there.

Consequently, over the past few days, people have been approaching the Li family and Tang Xue—both openly and discreetly—with the sole aim of begging Li Yi to help them earn money.

Even if they only made one yuan a day, it was still better than earning work points doing farm work.

One work point is worth three cents; even if you earned the full 12 points, that would only amount to 36 cents.

It’s obvious which option is more profitable!

Now that Li Yi has finally agreed, everyone is naturally thrilled!

After saying all this, Li Yi looked up and saw that it was already getting late, so he told everyone to call it a day and finish whatever was left tomorrow.

The villagers, of course, wouldn’t dare disobey the words of Li Yi, their very own God of Wealth.

They immediately gathered their tools, bid farewell to the Li family, and headed home.

Li Yi, however, wasn’t in a hurry to go back; instead, he took a look around the main hall of his new home.

Although the interior wasn’t dry yet, the floor had already been finished.

At Li Yi’s request, the floor of his house was not made of red bricks but was instead poured directly as a concrete slab.

Although we used quite a bit of cement, it’s actually easier to maintain than a typical red-brick floor—after all, the gaps between the bricks make them a hassle to clean.

In addition, the carpenter has already started work and is currently on-site with two young apprentices, making the doors and windows.

After asking a few questions, the master carpenter told him that the carpentry work would be finished in three days at most, and then they could start plastering and painting the walls!

Li Yi did a quick mental calculation; at this rate, the timeline would just barely work out!

Li Yi then urged the carpenters to work as quickly as possible to save time, before taking his parents back to the old house!

When they arrived at the old house, Li Na had already returned from the back mountain!

The bright red cart was loaded to the brim with mushrooms and all sorts of mountain produce.

Since those female educated youth were with the children today, Li Na had brought them back as well, which saved Li Yi the trip to the educated youth camp tomorrow.

When Li Shankui and his wife walked in and saw that their eldest daughter had actually returned, they were both surprised and delighted, and naturally had plenty of questions to ask.

Ever since their daughter got married, she had only come back once the first year; after that, she hadn’t returned even once.

And because they hadn’t provided their eldest daughter with a dowry, they felt they had no right to visit and were ashamed before the Yang family, so they hadn’t dared to call on them.

Little did they know that this parting would last three whole years!

Li Yi didn’t interrupt his mother and older sister as they caught up. After distributing the children’s allowance from the previous day, he began preparing dinner.

It was too hot inside, so Li Yi simply moved the square dining table outside and then set out the dishes from the pot one by one.

Soon, the whole family sat outside to enjoy their dinner.

With the family reunited and delicious food on the table, the atmosphere was naturally cheerful.

Soon, seeing that everyone had nearly finished eating, Li Yi set his bowl down on the table and said, “Mom and Dad, there’s something I need to tell you!”

“What is it?”

Li Shankui stopped packing tobacco leaves and asked in a deep voice.

“From now on, my eldest sister is going to live at home!” Li Yi said.

“Live at home?”

As soon as Li Shankui heard this, he sensed something was wrong. It was one thing for a daughter to visit her parents’ home, but if she were to live there permanently, that would be a problem.

“Yes, Dad, Mom. We had no idea all these years—my sister’s life with the Yang family has been absolutely miserable!”

Immediately, Li Yi recounted in detail to his parents everything he had witnessed that day at the dxmbang, as well as the facts he had uncovered in his previous life.

After hearing Li Yi’s account, everyone was stunned!

Li Shankui and his wife, as well as Li Na, Tang Xue, and the others, were shocked that the Yang family had treated their eldest sister that way.

They were even more astonished that Li Yi had beaten every single member of the Yang family, returned the dowry, and demanded that Yang Wenguang come to finalize the divorce proceedings.

As for Li Mei, she was surprised to learn that many of the things her younger brother had mentioned didn’t happen today, but over the past few years.

Clearly, her younger brother had been keeping a close eye on her life all this time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known the details so clearly.

She even began to wonder if her younger brother had come to visit her at all today—perhaps he’d simply come to confront the Yang family!

“Smack!”

Li Shankui slammed his tobacco pipe down on the table, leaving a dent in the surface.

Then, his swarthy face darkening, he said, “Meizi, is what Xiaoyi said true? Is that Yang family really treating you this way?”

“Father… I…”

Seeing the hesitant look on his daughter’s face, Li Shankui said sternly, “Tell me the truth!”

Li Mei knew there was no escaping it. She nodded immediately and said, “It’s pretty much what Xiao Yi said, but Wen Guang is really good to me…”

“Smack!”

Li Shankui slammed his hand down on the table and shouted angrily, “Good my ass! His parents and siblings have bullied you into this state—how is that ‘good’?”

Then Li Shankui turned to Li Yi and said, “You did the right thing. Since the Yang family has been fixated on that 100-yuan dowry, we’ll just give it right back to them!”

“Meizi, I’m sorry I married you off to the Yang family. From now on, just stay at home with the kids. As long as I have a bite to eat, neither you nor the children will go hungry!”

Seeing this turn of events, Li Mei felt both moved and exasperated. Her father’s temper was exactly like her brother’s, and with him meddling like this, her situation with her husband was likely to become even more precarious.

For the moment, she could only turn a pleading gaze toward her mother, hoping she would say something to stop her father and brother from actually forcing her to get a divorce!

By the time they returned to the village, it was already past 5:00 p.m.—more than an hour later than usual.

Li Yi asked Tang Xue to accompany his eldest sister inside to sit down, while he and his third sister unloaded the items from the car.

Afterward, Li Yi asked his third sister to ride the red mule to the reservoir behind the mountain to pick up Dongzi, Shitou, and the others, while he went into the kitchen to cook.

On the heated bed in the main room, Li Mei watched Li Yi bustling in and out of the kitchen in astonishment. She simply couldn’t reconcile the “domestic god” before her with the memory of her younger brother—the one who used to get into fights and was a good-for-nothing.

Back then, her brother wouldn’t have even thought of cooking—let alone stoking the fire when the rest of them were cooking.

But look at him now—all by himself, tending the fire and stir-frying. Judging by how skilled he was, this clearly wasn’t his first time.

“Xiao Yi, he…”

Tang Xue clearly sensed what her older sister-in-law was thinking. She smiled and said, “He cooks all the time, and his food is actually really delicious!”

“R-really? He’s never cooked before!”

“Sister Na said the same thing, but he really is great at it!”

Tang Xue didn’t dare mention that Li Na had once speculated Li Yi was learning to cook just for her, since she hadn’t had much contact with this older sister-in-law before and didn’t know what kind of person she was.

If she found out Li Yi had learned to cook just to feed her—his sister-in-law—wouldn’t that upset her?

Li Mei had no time to worry about their affairs; she felt that after not coming back for several years, the changes at home were simply too great.

On the way back, Li Mei asked her younger sister all sorts of questions!

When she learned that Li Yi had earned several thousand yuan in less than twenty days—solely by selling mushrooms and other mountain produce, as well as setting up a street stall to sell liangpi—she thought it was absolutely crazy.

What amazed her even more was that her sister mentioned her younger brother had good connections with quite a few officials at the county Public Security Bureau and the sugar factory.

So, even though they set up their stall on the outskirts of the county every day, no one ever came to shut them down.

She also learned that her younger brother had not only built a new house for the family but had also become a respected figure in the village—now, who knows how many people were eager to follow his lead and make money!

At that moment, Li Mei finally believed that everything her younger brother had said before was true—their family had truly turned their fortunes around!

But the more she believed it, the more uneasy she felt!

It was a good thing that the family had turned their fortunes around and was living a better life, but knowing her brother as she did, the more successful he became, the more likely he was to force her to divorce Yang Wenguang.

Her brother Li Yi had the temperament of a stubborn mule—not even eight oxen could pull him back. When he had no means to support her and the child, it was one thing, but now that he actually had the ability to do so, he would certainly not let this matter slide so easily.

Although Li Mei also felt that the Yang family’s behavior had indeed been excessive and that they hadn’t treated her as a daughter-in-law, looking back, she also felt that giving all the dowry money to her brother to settle the matter had been a mistake.

Therefore, if this matter could be put behind them, she still wanted to build a good life with Yang Wenguang.

After all, only she knew whether the shoe fit, and she felt that Yang Wenguang was indeed the right person for her.

Li Yi, in the outer room, wasn’t thinking so deeply about it. He had already thought through the situation regarding his eldest sister and was just waiting to discuss it with his parents over dinner.

Now that his eldest sister was back, he had to prepare a proper feast!

He’d bought ten pounds of meat for his older sister at noon and had her bring it home. Since they didn’t have a refrigerator anyway, he used half of the pork belly to make braised pork.

He had the other half cut into fist-sized chunks, seasoned them with salt, and packed them into a jar along with the rendered lard to make cured pork.

This method of preserving the pork allowed it to keep for a long time; when ready to eat, he simply had to scoop it out of the oil—it had a unique flavor all its own.

Dinner was incredibly hearty. In addition to a huge bowl of braised pork, Li Yi also stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, sautéed some celery, prepared a cold salad, and simmered a pot of soup.

For the main dish, Li Yi made a few scallion pancakes, folded them in half, and cut them into diagonal triangles!

In less than an hour, a table full of dishes that were visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious was ready.

He put all the prepared food into a pot to keep it warm, then said goodbye to his older sister and Tang Xue before hopping on his bicycle to head over to the new house to call his parents to dinner.

However, when Li Yi arrived at the new house, he was instantly stunned by the scene before him.

The courtyard of his new home had been transformed into a massive construction site; as far as the eye could see, there were at least two or three hundred people helping out.

It seemed the entire village had turned out to help him.

The courtyard, which had been completely empty just yesterday, now not only had a perimeter wall up, but several tall walls had also been erected at the planned locations for the side rooms, storage shed, and drying shed.

Now, the beams and rafters were all in place, and all that remained was to cap the roof and lay the tiles!

The transformation was truly astonishing!

It didn’t take Li Yi long to figure it out—it must have been the words he’d spoken that morning before leaving that had made the difference.

He had told them that once the new house was finished—especially once the drying shed was built—he would take them along to make money.

Clearly, the villagers couldn’t wait any longer and had come over on their own to help.

On one hand, they wanted their own drying sheds built sooner so they could start making money with him!

On the other hand, it seemed like they were trying to put him in their debt, so he wouldn’t feel right about leaving them out later.

Although he knew the villagers’ motives were somewhat self-serving, Li Yi still appreciated their efforts—especially since he was genuinely grateful to the villagers.

He knew full well just how reckless he had been in the past few years.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the tolerance of these uncles and elders, he would have been sent to a labor camp by the police long ago.

Then there was the time in his previous life when, after he left the village in shame, his eldest sister passed away not long after, and his third sister stormed off in a huff—leaving the house suddenly devoid of life.

It was the villagers who helped his parents get through the hardest times. Although some gossiped behind their backs, most people still helped out whenever they could.

In his previous life, after Li Yi had made his fortune, he had given a sum of money to every household in the village.

But he felt that small sum wasn’t enough to express his gratitude, so in this life, he’d been determined from the very beginning to help them prosper alongside him.

It was simply because the current circumstances didn’t allow for it that he hadn’t told them about this plan yet.

Since they seemed a bit impatient, it was time to put this plan into action!

After all, with his current connections, as long as it wasn’t too big of a deal, the county officials would turn a blind eye.

Once the pilot program for individual businesses launches in the coastal areas this December, no one will dare to give him any trouble.

It’s only a matter of moving things up by a few months—no big deal!

With that thought, Li Yi unconsciously pedaled a bit harder, and the bicycle sped into the courtyard.

On the bright red mule cart, Li Mei stared blankly ahead, her mind filled with mixed emotions!

She had actually been very happy that her younger brother had come to see her today.

But she never could have imagined that things would turn out this way, much less that her brother would simply take her away from the Yang family.

Although she had so many questions she wanted to ask her brother, she didn’t know where to begin!

Li Yi, on the other hand, felt exactly the opposite. Not only was he not the least bit angry, but he was actually overjoyed!

In his previous life, those scum from the Yang family had run wild for many years before he finally put an end to them.

Most importantly, no matter what he did, his eldest sister was gone—a loss that would remain an irreparable wound in his heart forever.

Now that his eldest sister was safe and sound, and he could even beat the hell out of those scum from the Yang family ahead of time—one word: awesome!

However, he knew he couldn’t let that emotion show on his face just yet; otherwise, it would upset his older sister.

“Sis, is there something you want to say?” Li Yi asked.

“Hmm, do you really want me to divorce your brother-in-law?” Li Mei asked, looking melancholy.

Li Yi didn’t answer his older sister’s question; instead, he asked, “Sis, are you going to divorce my brother-in-law?”

Li Mei shook her head and said, “Probably not. Actually, your brother-in-law treats me pretty well…”

Before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off, saying, “Yes, he treats you well, but at the same time, he turns a blind eye to your situation and lets those scumbags bully you!”

“No, it’s just that he doesn’t know…”

“Not knowing is still his failure. A husband who doesn’t know his wife is being bullied at home is unfit to be a husband!”

Li Yi continued, “This time, I’m not just going to humiliate those bastards from the Yang family—I’m also going to teach Yang Wenguang a lesson. If he really loves you, he’ll obediently follow you to the sugar factory and work there peacefully. Otherwise, this marriage is over!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Mei hurriedly interjected, “This really has nothing to do with your brother-in-law. He truly didn’t know…”

“Sis, you have to listen to me on this. Even if you don’t think of yourself, think of the child in your womb!” Li Yi said.

“The baby?”

“Yes. You’re already more than five months pregnant, and they’re still making you work like this. What if something happens to you?”

“No… that won’t happen…”

“How could it not happen? You know what happened to Zhou Laosan’s wife in our village, don’t you? She was carrying a bucket of water while she was heavily pregnant, and not only did she lose the baby, but she died too!” Li Yi said.

Hearing this, Li Mei fell silent.

Pregnant women are actually very fragile; they could harm the baby at any moment!

And since the baby and the mother are often one and the same, harming one can sometimes mean the loss of both lives!

Although the scenario her brother described was unlikely, it still made Li Mei feel a bit anxious.

She’d been married to Yang Wenguang for over three years, and they’d finally managed to conceive a child. If something were to happen, what on earth would they do?

“Xiao Yi, I know you’re looking out for me. You got so angry because you saw them bullying me, but I don’t want to divorce your brother-in-law!” Li Mei voiced her thoughts.

“Let’s put the divorce aside for now, but the Yang family must make amends to our Li family—and most importantly, they need to give you, my eldest sister, a proper explanation!”

“Well… let’s just drop it!”

However, Li Yi replied sternly, “We can’t just let this slide. I can’t put you and the baby in your belly in danger—not even if those people are the child’s grandparents!”

“But what if they really do pressure my husband into divorcing me?” Li Mei voiced her deepest concern.

Today, her brother had caused a huge scene at his in-laws’ house. Not only had he beaten his father-in-law, mother-in-law, younger brother-in-law, and younger sister-in-law, but he’d also returned the betrothal gifts in front of the whole village and demanded his husband come back to get a divorce.

That was a tremendous insult to anyone. Knowing her in-laws as she did, they certainly wouldn’t let it go.

They might actually try to persuade her husband to divorce her!

“Haha, that’s just perfect!”

Li Yi then added, “Big Sister, don’t worry about having no one to take care of you and the kids after the divorce. Our family is different now!”

“What’s different…”

At that moment, Li Mei suddenly froze.

She thought about how her younger brother had bought so many things when he went out today, and there were still several bags of snowflake powder in the car.

Plus, he’d just pulled out a thick stack of 100-yuan bills and tossed the money to Yang Zhong without batting an eye.

All these signs pointed to one thing: her brother was now well-off.

“Sis, you’ll see what’s different at home once you get back. Don’t ask any questions right now!” Li Yi said.

“Oh!”

Suddenly, Li Mei looked at the road ahead and said, “Little brother, this isn’t the right way. Where are you taking me?”

“To the county seat!” Li Yi replied.

“The county seat? What are we going there for?” Li Mei asked, puzzled.

“Third Sister and Xiao Xue are in the county seat. We have to pick them up first, then head back to the village!”

“What are they doing in the county seat?”

Li Yi smiled but didn’t answer the question. He knew that if he told his eldest sister they were running a small stall in town, she would surely start worrying and asking all sorts of questions.

And given his standing with his eldest sister, even if he explained it himself, she might not believe him.

It would be better to wait until they met up and let Third Sister Tang Xue and the others explain it to her!

Seeing that Li Yi wasn’t answering, Li Mei didn’t press the matter.

That was just her nature—gentle and kind, always thinking of others.

But precisely because of this, she was often taken advantage of.

If it had been her second sister, Li Lan, Li Yi would have been in for a world of trouble—she would have grabbed his ear the moment he dared to ignore her question.

Soon, the mule cart arrived at the county town!

When Li Mei saw her third sister, Li Na, and her future sister-in-law, Tang Xue, setting up a stall right at the entrance of the textile factory, she was completely stunned.

Although she lived in the village, she knew that this kind of activity constituted profiteering, and if caught, it would be announced throughout the entire commune.

If the amount of goods being resold was substantial or the nature of the offense was severe, they could even face criminal charges.

Yet here they were, not only openly setting up shop, but refusing to pack up even after selling out—how audacious!

When Li Na saw that Li Yi had actually brought their eldest sister back, she was both surprised and delighted.

Ever since her older sister got married, the sisters hadn’t seen each other for years, and she had missed her dearly.

As for Tang Xue, she felt a bit differently; suddenly meeting Li Yi’s older sister like this made her feel a little awkward.

While the women were chatting, Li Yi loaded the stall’s goods onto the cart, then cleaned up the trash and spilled liquids on the ground before motioning for them to leave.

Since the mule cart was fully loaded, Li Yi had his eldest and third sisters sit on either side of the cart, with Tang Xue taking the front seat.

Li Yi himself took the reins and walked briskly ahead!

Then, the four of them set off toward the village!

…….

Soon, Li Mei emerged carrying a bag of chicken cakes and, in front of everyone, lifted the lid of the basket holding them.

The basket was filled to the brim with golden-brown chicken cakes; even from a distance, the villagers could seem to smell the enticing aroma.

At the same time, the looks the crowd gave Yang Wenjuan and Yang Liushi changed once again!

As Yang Wenjuan had clearly stated earlier, her family usually bought only one pound of chicken cakes each time they went to the supply and marketing cooperative.

But looking at this overflowing basket—which easily held four or five pounds—it was clearly not theirs.

Instantly, the villagers figured it out: Wen Guang’s wife must have seen that her younger brother hadn’t eaten lunch, so she took out the chicken cakes he’d brought and gave them to him.

As a result, Yang Liushi and her daughter had misunderstood the situation, leading to this whole mix-up!

Although the incident didn’t seem too serious, judging by the circumstances it revealed, the Yang family had indeed acted dishonorably.

Recalling how Yang Zhong had just claimed they treated others like family, everyone was suddenly filled with contempt!

However, Li Yi was never one to go easy on others. Pointing at Yang Zhong’s face, he asked, “Are these the Yang family’s chicken cakes?”

Yang Wenjuan and the others were stunned—obviously not!

“Haha, you Yang family sure are something else. My sister lives under the same roof as you, yet you go out to buy chicken cakes every week, and she doesn’t even know about it. I’m really curious how you manage that.”

As he spoke, a cold smile spread across Li Yi’s face!

To the villagers, that smirk looked like nothing but mockery and sarcasm, making everyone present feel a burning sensation on their faces!

After all, the Yang Zhong family were people from their own village, Juziwa. Doing something like this was truly bringing shame upon the entire village!

“It’s not like that. We bought the chicken cakes mainly to help Juanzi regain her strength…”

Before Yang Zhong could finish his sentence, Li Yi snapped angrily, “She’s already as strong as a bull in a fight—does she really need to be ‘toned up’?”

“Look at my sister—she’s pregnant and still so frail. Doesn’t she need to build up her strength? Don’t you feel a bit guilty saying that?”

Yang Zhong was left speechless by the retort and could only glance at his cousin, Yang Quan.

But Yang Quan couldn’t help him either; he simply didn’t know what to say.

Although he wanted to take his cousin’s side, he also had to consider what the villagers would think. If he, as a village official, lost his authority, who would listen to him in the future?

Li Yi spoke up again: “My sister has been married into your Yang family for three and a half years now. Not only has she been working herself to the bone all this time, but she hasn’t even been able to visit her parents’ home once!”

“I don’t need to spell out the reason, do I? Is this how you people conduct yourselves? Could it be that your Yang family ancestors were the kind of heartless exploiters who’d wake a rooster in the dead of night?”

Yang Wenjuan, however, showed no sign of remorse as she retorted, “And your family is any better? You took a hundred yuan in betrothal money from us but didn’t even prepare a single penny’s worth of dowry. So what, does that make you in the right?”

As soon as she said this, Yang Zhong shouted back, “That’s right! You’re the ones who did wrong first!”

“Bullshit! Who says you have to give a dowry just because you took a betrothal gift? Around here, there are plenty of families who take the betrothal gift without giving a dowry in return. But have you ever seen anyone treat their daughter-in-law this badly?”

Then Li Yi spoke up again: “Besides, since when does the son of the Yang family not make the decisions? Now it’s up to some little girl to call the shots? It’s like we’re going backward in time!”

Yang Quan immediately retorted, “Li’s boy, this whole thing is just a misunderstanding. Besides, you were the ones who were in the wrong first about returning the dowry. Why don’t we just let this matter drop?”

“Let it go? That’s easier said than done!”

Li Yi snorted coldly and continued, “It’s not that the Li family won’t return the dowry—it’s just that a few years ago, we had some family troubles and were short on cash.”

“Things have stabilized now, which is why I’ve come to visit my eldest sister—and to make up for her dowry!”

With that, Li Yi turned and walked into the Yang family’s house, then brought out all the things he had bought for his older sister!

“See? I bought all this today just to visit my sister. Can your Yang family afford to do the same?”

When everyone saw the items Li Yi had brought out, they were instantly stunned.

Besides the sponge cakes he’d brought out earlier, there were several buckets of malted milk powder, a few cans of fruit preserves, and even a huge slab of pork—so marbled with fat it made everyone’s mouth water!

“Whoosh!”

The villagers were stunned once again and began to murmur among themselves!

“The Yang family really has brought this upon themselves. Every family has its hardships—they’re just getting what they deserve!”

“It really is a bit much. Who does things like that? They deserve to be beaten up like that!”

“What do you think will become of this…”

Yang Quan glared fiercely at his younger cousin, then said, “Li’s boy, your Uncle Zhong definitely did something wrong here. I’ll have them apologize to you. How about we just let this go?”

“No way!”

“Then what exactly do you want?” Yang Quan asked in a low, stern voice.

Li Yi sneered, staring at Yang Quan and Yang Zhong. “Haven’t you two been holding a grudge over that hundred-yuan betrothal gift all this time? Well, fine. Today, on behalf of my sister, I’m returning that hundred-yuan betrothal gift to your Yang family!”

With that, Li Yi pulled out a thick stack of bills in front of everyone.

Then he counted out ten crisp 100-yuan bills from the stack and flung them in Yang Zhong’s face.

“I’ve returned the dowry to you. Now I’m taking my sister with me. Tell Yang Wenguang to come back and finalize the divorce!”

Then Li Yi added, “To be honest, I, Li Yi, have absolutely no interest in the measly possessions your Yang family owns!”

With that, Li Yi paid no attention to the others and went outside to lead the bright red mule inside!

He quickly hitched the cart, helped his still-dazed older sister onto it, and then loaded all the purchased goods onto the cart.

Seeing that Li Yi was about to leave with Li Mei, Yang Quan hurriedly said, “Li boy, you can’t do this! You’re putting your sister in danger—she’s carrying the Yang family’s child!”

“Hah. If I let my sister stay in this den of wolves any longer, that’s what would really be harming her!”

Li Yi continued, “Don’t worry. We’ll have this child, but he won’t take the Yang surname—he’ll be a Li!”

The villagers of Juziwa were stunned by Li Yi’s boldness; they hadn’t expected this young man to be so unyielding.

Not only did he beat someone up, but he also flat-out returned the Yang family’s dowry and was determined to secure a divorce for his sister!

Some were also stunned by the stack of cash Li Yi had pulled out!

Though they didn’t know the exact amount, that thick stack must have been at least a thousand or eight hundred yuan.

The cash he carried on him was more than the lifetime savings of many of their entire families—no wonder he was so confident.

Yang Zhong finally snapped out of it and rushed to Li Yi’s mule cart, shouting, “You can’t leave! She’s our Yang family’s daughter-in-law—she has nothing to do with your Li family anymore!”

But Li Yi’s response was a hard slap across his face!

“Smack!”

Five distinct fingerprints instantly appeared on Yang Zhong’s weathered face, starkly visible.

“She is my eldest sister—my sister for life!”

Then, holding the whip handle, Li Yi pointed it at Yang Zhong’s forehead and said again, “She was born to be my, Li Yi’s, eldest sister first, and only later did she become the daughter-in-law of your Li family. You dare say she has no connection to our Li family? Do you believe this old bastard will kill you?”

Stared down by Li Yi’s murderous glare, Yang Zhong felt as if the blood in his veins had frozen solid; he didn’t dare move a muscle!

Li Yi shoved him aside and drove the bright red mule cart toward the gate!

After just a few steps, the mule cart suddenly came to a halt!

Li Yi turned back to face the Yang family and the men and women of Juziwa Village, saying, “Do you know why I’m here today besides visiting my sister?”

“I originally came to tell you that I’d secured two jobs for my sister and Yang Wenguang at the sugar factory in the city, so they could work there. But now it seems there’s no need for that!”

Without another word, Li Yi drove the mule cart away, leaving the Yang family behind, their faces filled with regret!

Juzhiwa Village. The Yang Family!

Li Yi stood with his foot on Yang Wenxi, pointing his finger at Yang Zhong, and glaring at the hundred or so villagers!

The reason he had beaten Yang Liushi and her daughter so brutally today, and had beaten Yang Wenxi to a pulp, was not merely because of the insults they had just hurled at him and his eldest sister.

It was to seek justice for his eldest sister from his past life—settling both old and new scores at once!

Just then, a man in his fifties with a goatee stepped forward from the crowd: “You Li family lad, my name is Yang Quan, and I’m the village party secretary of Juziwa. If the Yang family has wronged your Li family in any way, or wronged your sister, just speak up—I’ll settle this for you!”

“But if you can’t back it up with facts, don’t blame us for handing you over to the police!”

Li Yi glanced at him and said calmly, “I know you’re Yang Zhong’s cousin, but it doesn’t matter. If I, Li Yi, dare to stand here and fight today, it’s because I’m not afraid of you—justice lies in the hearts of the people!”

At that moment, Li Yi fixed his gaze on Yang Zhong, Yang Quan, and the others and said, “Setting aside what happened before, let’s just talk about what happened today. I traveled all this way to bring rice, flour, cooking oil, and all sorts of goodies to visit my pregnant sister. Is there anything wrong with that?”

Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent. What could possibly be wrong with visiting family?

Especially since his sister is pregnant—that makes it all the more important to visit her. Not coming would be the real mistake!

Seeing that no one was speaking, Li Yi fixed his gaze on Yang Quan and asked, “Secretary Yang, do you think there’s anything wrong with this?”

“Well… that’s not wrong!” Yang Quan replied, frowning.

“Hmph, but do you know what I saw when I got here?”

Li Yi then pointed to the huge pile of dirty clothes under the eaves and said, “When I got here, my sister was sitting right there washing clothes. Those aren’t even finished yet—look at the ones hanging on the line; those are the ones she’s already washed!”

“So the whole Yang family went off to a banquet, and my sister was left here doing all the heavy lifting like some kind of maid or servant? And she’s already five or six months pregnant—is this even something you’d ask a person to do?”

As soon as he said this, the onlookers began whispering and murmuring among themselves!

Most people disapproved of the Yang family’s behavior. After all, every family has daughters, and if their own daughter were treated this way by her in-laws, they’d be furious too.

Seeing trouble brewing, Yang Zhong immediately tried to explain: “It’s not like that…”

“Then what is it?”

As he spoke, Li Yi walked over to the pile of dirty clothes, pulled out a few pairs of underwear filthy enough to be mistaken for trash, and said, “Whose underwear is this? I can overlook the clothes you wear on the outside, but my sister has to wash your underwear too? What’s the matter with you—don’t you have hands of your own?”

Then, Li Yi threw the filthy underwear right in Yang Wenjuan’s face.

These undergarments were clearly women’s—and barring any surprises, they belonged to this ugly hag!

Yang Wenjuan was so humiliated by Li Yi’s actions that she immediately covered her face with her hands. Now she’d really made a name for herself—a reputation for laziness!

Being in her twenties and still having her sister-in-law wash her underwear—people wouldn’t say the sister-in-law dotes on her younger sister-in-law; they’d say the younger sister-in-law is lazy.

And in this day and age, once a girl gets labeled as lazy, she’s truly finished!

It would be impossible for her to find a good husband in the future. Before proposing, suitors would certainly come to the village to ask around, and upon hearing this reputation, most would back out!

The other villagers stared at Yang Wenjuan as if she were some kind of strange creature. They all knew the Yang family’s daughter had been spoiled, but they never imagined she wouldn’t even wash her own underwear—that was simply beyond the pale!

Li Yi pointed to the clean clothes hanging on the line and said, “Look at those. There are so many pairs of underwear. I don’t think they’re all just my sister’s, are they?”

Yang Zhong was also provoked by Li Yi’s words. Flushed with anger and humiliation, he snapped, “She’s the daughter-in-law we brought into the Yang family. What’s wrong with her doing a little laundry?”

“What’s wrong with it? How can you be so thick-skinned?”

Li Yi continued, “What’s the matter? Just because you brought a daughter-in-law into the family, you think you’re some kind of feudal lord now? Why don’t you just go fly to the moon?”

“You…”

At that moment, Yang Quan immediately interjected, “It’s true that Yang Zhong’s family was in the wrong here, but you can’t beat someone up like this. That’s against the law, you know that, don’t you?”

“You want to talk about the law? Fine, let’s talk about the law!”

Li Yi continued, “I wasn’t planning on making a big deal out of this with these scumbags—after all, my sister still has to live with Yang Wenguang. But just as my sister and I were catching up, those two idiots showed up!”

“They walked in without even asking when this poor relative had arrived or if I’d had lunch. The moment they stepped through the door, they started yelling, accusing me of stealing their chicken cakes and stealing their stuff. They even called my sister a shameless woman right in front of me!”

“Whoosh…”

The moment those words were spoken, it was as if a depth charge had been dropped into calm waters, instantly setting off a massive wave.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the villagers began whispering and murmuring among themselves once more:

“The Yang family is really acting out of line here. They’re visiting relatives—how can you treat guests like this!”

“I’ve heard they’ve been tormenting Wen Guang’s wife day in and day out. Now that her family’s here to settle things, they’ve finally met their match!”

“I’ve heard that Wen Guang’s brother-in-law is a thug who doesn’t hold back. This mess at the Old Yang household is probably going to end badly today!”

“You’re absolutely right. They’ve got what’s coming to them…”

…….

At that moment, Li Yi spoke up again: “It refers to the intentional fabrication and dissemination of false information sufficient to defame a person’s character and damage their reputation. In serious cases, the punishment is imprisonment for up to three years, criminal detention, surveillance, or deprivation of political rights.”

“You’re slandering me in front of all these people, accusing me of stealing from your house. That’s enough to meet the criteria for a criminal sentence!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Wenjuan covered her face and screamed, “You did steal our sponge cakes! I saw you!”

“Are you sure those chicken cakes were yours?” Li Yi sneered.

“Yes, it’s definitely ours!” Yang Wenjuan shouted.

At that moment, Li Mei, who had remained silent until then, asked in surprise, “Juanzi, you can’t just make things up. When did our family ever buy chicken cakes?”

“We do! Mom goes to the supply and marketing cooperative every week to buy a pound!”

Seeing the bewildered look on his eldest sister’s face, Li Yi’s expression grew even colder.

He turned to his eldest sister and said, “Sis, go get the chicken cake I bought. Let’s show it to the villagers here!”

Li Mei was starting to get a little angry now. She had finally figured it out: the family did indeed have sponge cakes, and they bought them every week—she was just the only one who didn’t know!

Although she had a gentle disposition, she wasn’t stupid, nor was she without a temper.

Without another word, Li Mei turned and walked back into the house!

It was dinnertime, and most people were at home.

On top of that, today was the village chief of Juziwa Village’s son’s wedding—a joyous occasion—and most villagers had just finished the banquet at the village chief’s house and were on their way home.

So when they heard Yang Wenjuan’s blood-curdling screams, they all rushed over to see what was happening!

Following the sound, the villagers arrived at the Yang household and saw Yang Wenjuan wailing in the courtyard. Immediately, someone stepped inside and asked, “Juanzi, what’s going on? Why are you crying?”

“I just heard you shout ‘murder!’ Who died?”

“Right, who’s been killed…”

Seeing people arrive, Yang Wenjuan began to cry even more pitifully.

This woman was a natural actress. Crying and wailing, she exclaimed, “It was my older sister-in-law’s good-for-nothing younger brother! He came to our house again to take things while our family was away, and he even stole our chicken cakes…”

“When my mom and I caught him, he even hit us… Waaah…”

The villagers were instantly enraged upon hearing this. Someone immediately shouted, “Damn it! Stealing stuff and then hitting people? That’s just bullying!”

“That’s a total outrage! He’s got to answer for this!”

“Do you really think there’s no one in our Orange Hollow? You son of a bitch, I’m going to break his legs today…”

Before he could finish, a cold, sharp voice rang out from inside the house: “Whose legs do you plan to break?”

Then, a young man over six feet tall and heavily built emerged from the house!

Even more shocking was that he was actually holding a person by the hair!

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Yang Liu, Old Yang’s wife!

Li Yi flung Yang Liushi down in front of the crowd, his eyes blazing with murderous intent as he swept his gaze over each of them!

His eyes, flushed with rage, were like those of a wild beast. Everyone he looked at instinctively lowered their heads, afraid to meet his gaze!

By then, people had begun trickling in, and before long, a crowd of over twenty had gathered.

“Who just said they’d break my legs? Step forward—I want to see who it is!” Li Yi said coldly.

Though Li Yi stood alone, the air of authority he’d cultivated in his previous life intimidated everyone present so much that not a single word of defiance dared to escape their lips.

Just then, an elderly man in his sixties cleared his throat and said, “Young man, you must be the younger brother of the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yang family. Visiting relatives is one thing, but stealing is another—and hitting people is even worse.”

“Stealing?”

With that, Li Yi strode over to Yang Wenjuan and said coldly, “You just accused me of stealing. So tell these people—what exactly did I steal from your house? How many items? And how much are they worth?”

Yang Wenjuan was instantly stumped by the question. She’d been so busy trying to pin the blame on Li Yi that she hadn’t given it much thought.

Now that Li Yi was pointing his finger at her and demanding an answer, she was momentarily at a loss for words!

Seeing Yang Wenjuan’s flustered state, the crowd realized there might be more to the story than met the eye. Someone immediately spoke up: “Let’s put the theft aside for now—but the assault must be true, right?”

Li Yi replied coldly, “Why wait? If someone called you a thief out of the blue, would you be happy about it?”

Then, Li Yi pointed his finger right at Yang Wenjuan’s nose and said, “Speak up! If you can’t give me a straight answer today, I’ll break your legs!”

Yang Wenjuan had never seen such a scene before; she was instantly terrified and burst into loud sobs!

“Shut up!”

At Li Yi’s thunderous shout, Yang Wenjuan’s crying stopped abruptly, and she stared at him in terror.

“Did you see me stealing anything? Speak up!”

“No… no…”

“You didn’t, yet you dared to call me a thief?”

With that, Li Yi slapped her hard across the face right in front of everyone!

“Smack!”

Yang Wenjuan’s left cheek took a hard slap, and it swelled up instantly!

However, since her right side had already been swollen from the previous blow, it now looked quite symmetrical.

The men, women, and children of Juziwa Village were all stunned. They had assumed that with so many villagers gathered here, the other party would surely be afraid!

But they never imagined that this young man before them would be so bold and ruthless—that he would dare to strike the Yang family’s daughter right in front of so many people.

This, however, sparked anger in some of them. The old man immediately shouted angrily, “Young man, you’ve gone too far! Do you really think there’s no one left in Orange Hollow?”

Yet Li Yi showed no fear. Staring at the old man, he said, “Haha, I don’t know if there are people in Juziwa, but there sure are plenty of subhuman creatures!”

Just then, Li Mei came out. Hearing her brother’s words, she turned pale with fear.

She was genuinely worried that her brother’s words would provoke the villagers’ wrath, and that he’d end up getting beaten to a pulp by the whole village.

“Young man, you’ve really gone too far…”

Before the old man could finish, Li Yi snapped angrily, “If this is going too far, then what about all the despicable things the Yang family has done? Is that not going too far?”

Hearing this, everyone froze and turned their gaze toward Yang Liushi and Yang Wenjuan, who were lying on the ground!

Just then, another commotion erupted outside, and soon they saw Yang Zhong—the father of her eldest sister’s husband—and her younger brother, Yang Wenxi, rushing over.

Upon seeing the two women on the ground, Yang Wenxi flew into a rage: “You bastard! You dare hit my mother and my sister? I’ll kill you!”

With that, the man charged forward, his fist aimed straight for Li Yi’s face.

However, Li Yi didn’t even try to dodge. Just as the guy’s fist was about to land, Li Yi grabbed his wrist, spun his body, and executed a flawless shoulder throw.

“Thud!”

Yang Wenxi’s body slammed violently into the ground. He couldn’t even get back up, only able to let out constant groans of pain.

The scene fell deathly silent—not a sound could be heard!

Yang Wenxi was known throughout Juziwa as a hothead who loved to show off his bravado and fight. Relying on the military grappling techniques his older brother Yang Wenguang had taught him, he had no equal among the villagers.

Yet even someone with such overwhelming fighting prowess couldn’t land a single blow against this young man standing before him!

Instantly, the looks in everyone’s eyes toward Li Yi changed.

Beyond anger, what dominated their expressions was fear!

Most of them were ordinary villagers; while they might dare to shout a few defiant words when outnumbered, when faced with a real tough guy, they were all cowards!

Yang Zhong swallowed hard and said fearfully, “Son, what are you doing? We’re family, after all!”

“Relatives? Hmph. I treat you like family—do you treat us like family?”

Li Yi continued, “Since all the men and women of Juziwa are here today, let’s have a proper talk. How exactly do you treat us as family? And how have you treated my sister?”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Yang Zhong felt a sudden, ominous foreboding rise in his heart!

Upon hearing that her brother had something to tell her, Li Mei immediately set down the plate of sponge cakes.

“What is it? Are you short on money to get married?”

Apart from that, Li Mei couldn’t think of any other reason why her younger brother would have come all this way just to see her.

Li Yi smiled and said, “Sis, it’s not about money! Your little brother here is doing really well now—I’m the one who earned all the money to build our house!”

“Then what is it?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Here’s the thing: I’ve secured a job for both you and my brother-in-law at the sugar factory in our county!”

Li Mei looked at Li Yi closely and said, “What nonsense are you spouting? It’s not that easy to get into the sugar factory!”

“Sis, I’m telling the truth!”

Li Yi continued, “I did the factory director a huge favor a while back. To thank me, he specially set aside two spots for our family!”

Seeing how serious Li Yi was, Li Mei couldn’t help but take him seriously too. She asked, “Really?”

“Of course it’s true—would I lie to you?”

“Only two spots in total?”

“Yeah. Dad and I talked it over, and we decided to give both spots to you and your husband so you two can go to work!” Li Yi said.

“But what about you? What will you do if we both get jobs at the factory?”

Li Mei then added, “You and Tang Zhqing are getting married soon. You two should keep these spots for yourselves!”

“Sis, we have our own things to do now. We don’t need to work at the factory,” Li Yi said.

“What could be more important than a job? This is a chance to work in a factory—are you just going to give it away like that, you silly boy?” Li Mei frowned.

“What do you mean ‘give away’? Big sis, you’re not a stranger!” Li Yi said.

“That still won’t do…”

Before Li Mei could finish, Li Yi cut her off decisively. “Sis, it’s settled. You can have my brother-in-law come back from the forestry camp. When the time comes, I’ll personally drive you both to work!”

“You’re getting bolder and bolder, aren’t you? How dare you start making decisions for your big sister?”

“Heh, you’re my big sister. Your business is my business, so of course I can make decisions about my own affairs!” Li Yi retorted.

Li Mei knew her younger brother had a stubborn streak—he was as headstrong as a mule!

Once he’d made up his mind, there was absolutely no changing it. So she frowned and said, “You rascal, you’re all talk. Do Mom and Dad agree with this?”

“Dad doesn’t have any objections, and Mom wouldn’t dare to object!” Li Yi said.

Li Shankui naturally wanted his son to work at the factory, but since Li Yi himself was unwilling, there was nothing he could do.

As for Zhang Yuehong, she’d never been able to control her son since he was a child, nor could she make decisions for her husband. After Li Shankui had already given in to his son, she naturally had no objections.

“If you give both of these spots to me, won’t Xiao Lan and Nana have something to say about it?” Li Mei asked worriedly.

As for Third Sister, Li Mei wasn’t too worried—that girl had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, so she probably wouldn’t say much.

But Second Sister Li Lan was a strong-willed person. Even though she was the eldest at home, most of the time she had to follow Second Sister’s lead.

She was genuinely worried that Second Sister might feel upset upon learning of this, or even take it out on her younger brother.

Li Yi immediately smiled and said, “Sis, I’ve got Second Sister covered—you don’t need to worry!”

“You know Second Sister’s temperament. Be careful she doesn’t give you a hard time!”

“Hahaha, it’s fine. I’ve already figured out what to do about Second Sister!” Li Yi said.

“Then I’ll discuss this with your brother-in-law…”

Just as they were speaking, the sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Li Yi turned to look and saw two women—an older one and a younger one—walking in.

The older one was around fifty years old; even in the middle of summer, she was wearing a yellow headscarf, seemingly unfazed by the heat.

The younger one was about twenty, not very tall, and a bit plump!

Li Yi recognized them at a glance: the older woman was his eldest sister’s mother-in-law, Yang Liushi, and the younger one was his sister-in-law, Yang Wenjuan.

Seeing them, Li Yi felt a surge of anger welling up inside him. In his previous life, his eldest sister’s miscarriage and subsequent death were directly linked to these two sharp-tongued, spiteful women.

Yang Wenjuan and her mother had just returned from a banquet. As soon as they entered the gate, they spotted the flatbed cart in the courtyard and asked in surprise, “Mother, do we have visitors?”

“I don’t know!”

“Mother, could it be that bunch of penniless folks from Nianzishan?”

“Hmph, do they even have the nerve to show up at the Yang household? Go inside and take a look!”

With that, Yang Liushi led her daughter through the door.

Once inside, the mother and daughter first spotted Li Yi on the kang, and then noticed the chicken cakes in front of him.

Instantly, Yang Liushi bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: “Eldest daughter-in-law, who gave you permission to give our family’s chicken cakes to outsiders? You heartless wretch, siding with outsiders over your own family…”

Li Mei’s face fell, and she hurriedly protested, “Mother, I didn’t…”

Before she could explain, her younger sister-in-law, Yang Wenjuan, shouted from the side, “How can you be so shameless? The cake is right here, and you’re still trying to wriggle out of it…”

“Smack!”

Amid the horrified stares of the crowd, Li Yi slapped Yang Wenjuan hard across her left cheek!

In an instant, Yang Wenjuan’s face swelled up, making her already plump face—which was a full size larger than everyone else’s—look even bigger.

When Yang Liushi saw her daughter being struck by her daughter-in-law’s younger brother, she let out a shriek and then screamed at the top of her lungs, “Oh my God! You monster! You hit her… you hit her…”

Li Mei was stunned to see her younger brother actually strike out without warning.

However, Li Yi showed no sign of stopping. After slapping Yang Wenjuan, he also slapped Yang Liushi across the right cheek.

“Smack!”

Compared to the slap Yang Wenjuan had received, this blow to Yang Liushi was even more brutal. Not only did it send her stumbling backward, but it also knocked out one of her back molars.

The blood and tooth fell to the ground, creating a jarring sight!

Naturally, Yang Liushi and her daughter weren’t going to let it go after being struck. After a moment of stunned silence, the two of them charged at Li Yi together.

Li Yi had never been afraid of a fight. Even when he’d faced so many burly male educated youths that day, he hadn’t flinched—let alone two women.

Li Yi unleashed a flurry of punches from both fists, pummeling Yang Liushi and Yang Wenjuan relentlessly until the mother and daughter were screaming in agony!

Li Mei finally snapped out of it. Forgetting she was pregnant, she rushed forward and grabbed Li Yi’s shirt.

“Xiao Yi, calm down! Stop hitting them!”

Hearing his older sister’s voice, Li Yi feared he might hurt her, so he forced himself to suppress the rage in his heart and stopped!

But his gaze remained fierce and murderous; he looked at the mother and daughter before him as if they were already dead!

Yang Liu and her daughter were terrified under his gaze. Taking advantage of the moment when Li Mei was holding Li Yi back, Yang Wenjuan suddenly bolted out of the house.

As soon as she stepped outside, she screamed at the top of her lungs, “Help! Someone’s being killed…”

…….

Hongqi Commune, Juziwa Village!

Looking at the small mountain village just a stone’s throw away, Li Yi felt incredibly excited.

He was about to see his eldest sister soon, and he could already feel his whole body trembling.

In his previous life, when his eldest sister had passed away from massive hemorrhaging after a miscarriage, Li Yi had already left the village because of the incident involving Tang Xue. By the time he returned, eight years had passed.

And back then, all he saw was a small mound of earth—not even a gravestone.

So, if asked who Li Yi missed most from his past life—aside from Tang Xue and that unborn child—it was his eldest sister.

Heaven had granted him this chance at rebirth, and Li Yi was determined not to let his older sister suffer the same fate as in his past life.

After calming his agitated heart a little, Li Yi called out to the red mule. The intelligent animal immediately quickened its pace and trotted swiftly toward the village.

Li Yi remembered that his eldest sister’s home was in the center of the village—a small, detached house with its own courtyard.

Following the route from his memory, Li Yi drove the cart pulled by the big red mule to the entrance of his eldest sister’s home.

Since the cart was loaded with quite a few items, Li Yi didn’t dare leave it outside. Instead, he pushed open the wooden gate and drove the cart directly into the courtyard.

Li Mei was washing clothes in the courtyard when she suddenly heard a noise outside the gate. She immediately stood up and looked out.

To her delight, she discovered that it was her younger brother, Li Yi, who had arrived.

She immediately tossed the dirty clothes into the basin, wiped her hands on the clothes, and came out to greet him.

Seeing his older sister with her large baby bump, Li Yi hurriedly said, “Sis, take it easy!”

Li Mei smiled and said, “It’s no problem!”

Li Yi immediately unhitched the cart and tied the big red mule to a tree in the shade outside before walking over to his older sister.

Seeing his older sister’s frail figure, Li Yi could no longer hold back his longing. He embraced her tightly, and tears began to fall.

Li Mei was startled by her younger brother’s sudden action. Once she had regained her composure, she hurriedly asked, “Xiao Yi, what’s wrong with you? Have you gotten into trouble again?”

Li Yi just kept crying, saying nothing.

Two lifetimes of longing had made him forget to explain himself to his older sister; he just wanted to vent the remorse and longing in his heart.

“Xiao Yi, what on earth happened? Tell your sister—as long as I’m here, there’s nothing to fear!”

Hearing his older sister’s unfailing concern, Li Yi felt a mix of emotions.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the boundless doting from his sisters that he had been so rebellious in his previous life.

It wasn’t until he lost his sisters’ protection—and was further shaken by the incident with Tang Xue—that he finally came to his senses.

After finally calming his emotions, Li Yi wiped away his tears and said to his eldest sister, who was looking at him with concern, “Sis, I’m fine. I just missed you a little!”

Li Mei immediately let out a sigh of relief and said, “You’re a grown man now, and you’re still being so sentimental. Be careful or you’ll never find a wife!”

Li Yi smiled but said nothing. Instead, he took the sponge cakes, malted milk powder, and other items off the mule cart and said, “Sis, I bought these for you!”

Li Mei exclaimed in surprise, “Why waste your money on this? That must have cost a pretty penny!”

“Money doesn’t matter. The main thing is that you’re pregnant and need to nourish yourself properly—don’t let my grandnephew go hungry!” Li Yi said.

“Hahaha, I’m not even five months along yet. How do you know it’s a nephew?”

“Hahaha, I just know!” Li Yi said with a laugh.

He really did know. As his second sister later explained, when his eldest sister had a miscarriage, she was already more than eight months along, and the baby that was born was indeed a boy.

It’s just a shame…

Li Yi took the items down and headed toward the house. As he passed the covered porch under the eaves, he saw a huge pile of dirty clothes and a large metal basin filled with water.

And right now, there were still dirty clothes in the basin that hadn’t been washed yet!

Thinking of his older sister’s half-wet sleeve, Li Yi suddenly got a little angry. He stared at the pile of dirty clothes and said, “Sis, were you doing laundry just now?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Hmph! Where are all those Yang family folks? Why should you, a pregnant woman, be doing the laundry? It’s such a huge pile—aren’t you afraid of exhausting yourself?” Li Yi snapped angrily.

Li Mei’s heart warmed at her brother’s concerned words.

To avoid worrying her younger brother, she feigned nonchalance and said, “It’s no big deal. It’s just a few clothes. I used to wash them all the time back home!”

“But it’s not the same! Back home, you were a young, unmarried girl, but now you’re pregnant!”

Li Mei clearly didn’t want to upset Li Yi over this, so she immediately took his hand and led him into the house.

“Calm down. What bride doesn’t face a little hardship when she marries into a family? I’m fine, and your brother-in-law treats me well!”

Then, as she poured her brother a glass of water, Li Mei asked, “Did Mom and Dad send you here?”

Although Li Yi felt deeply resentful, seeing his older sister like this, he forced himself to suppress his anger and replied, “Yeah, but I missed you too!”

“Is everything okay back home?”

Although the two villages were less than ten kilometers apart—a distance that wouldn’t take long to walk—Li Mei hadn’t returned to her parents’ home in over a year.

On the one hand, her family’s living conditions were poor—they had only two rooms and didn’t even have a place to stay.

On the other hand, she couldn’t very well return to her parents’ home empty-handed. However, her in-laws were still resentful that she had used all the dowry money to subsidize her parents’ home, so they wouldn’t give her a single penny, making it difficult for her to visit.

“Luckily, my family’s building a new house, and I’m getting married too!” Li Yi said with a smile.

“Really?” Li Mei asked, her face lighting up with surprise.

Then she asked, “Is she from that village? Do I know her? What’s she like?”

“You know her too, Big Sister. It’s Tang Xue, the educated youth from our production team!” Li Yi replied.

“The educated youth Tang? Is she the young girl who gets along so well with Nana?”

Li Mei had a vivid impression of that quiet, demure young girl. Back then, she’d even thought to herself, “How wonderful it would be if such a pretty girl could become my brother’s wife!”

Little did she know her words would come true—she’d actually hit the nail on the head!

“Mm-hmm!”

“Tell me honestly, sis. How could a girl as wonderful as Tang Xue possibly fall for a rascal like you?”

Li Yi glanced at his older sister and teased, “Sis, what are you implying? Am I not good enough for Xiaoxue?”

“Haha, what do you think?”

Although Li Mei doted on her younger brother, she also knew just how unreliable he was. From a girl’s perspective, he certainly wasn’t a suitable match.

Not to mention, Tang Xue’s background was simply out of reach for a humble family like theirs!

Not only was she beautiful, but she was also an educated youth from the city—and reportedly had a high school education.

A girl like that in the city would have suitors lining up for miles—there’s no way her little brother would stand a chance.

Li Yi just smiled and said, “Sis, there have definitely been a lot of misunderstandings between Xiao Xue and me that led us to where we are now, but our relationship is actually really good right now!”

Li Yi then recounted every detail of what had happened between him and Tang Xue to his older sister, even mentioning the possibility that Tang Xue might be pregnant.

After hearing Li Yi’s story, Li Mei couldn’t help but pinch his arm and said, “You, you’re getting more and more out of hand. Thank goodness Xiao Xue isn’t holding it against you—otherwise, wouldn’t she have charged you with indecent assault?”

“You’d better treat Xue well from now on. Otherwise, even if Mom and Dad go easy on you, I won’t let you off the hook!”

Li Yi immediately replied, “I’ll definitely treat her well—she’s my wife, after all!”

“Good to hear! She came all this way, giving up the chance to return to the city, just to marry you. That takes immense courage and determination—you must never forget that!”

“I’ll remember. Don’t worry!”

Then Li Yi added, “Sis, by the way, I came here today to tell you something important!”

“Go ahead!”

……..

On the gravel road leading to the county seat, the atmosphere in the mule cart was somewhat somber!

Tang Xue was in a bad mood, Li Na had something on her mind, and only Li Yi acted as if nothing was wrong.

After a long while, Li Na was the first to break the silence. “Xiao Yi,” she asked, “what are you thinking?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do I think’?”

“Are you really going to take everyone out to gather wild produce and sell it for money?” Li Na asked in a subdued tone.

“Yeah, if they turn us down again this time, I’m afraid it won’t work out!” Li Yi said.

“But… didn’t you say the state-run restaurant doesn’t have a large enough volume to handle that much wild produce?”

Li Yi smiled and said, “That’s true, but mushrooms and wood ear fungus don’t have to be fresh to sell—dried goods are worth a lot too!”

“So you mean if we can’t sell the mushrooms fresh, we’ll just dry them and sell them as dried goods?” Li Na asked in surprise.

“Mm-hmm!”

“But who would buy them?”

“Of course there are!”

Li Yi continued, “It’s currently the growing season for mushrooms and wood ear fungus. There’s no shortage of them in the mountains, so naturally, no one buys the dried ones!”

“But once winter comes and they stop growing, we’ll have to rely on dried goods to get by, so don’t worry about not having a market for them!”

“That makes sense. I thought you were really being pushed to your limits by the villagers, which is why…”

Li Yi smiled and said, “The villagers are certainly a factor, but they’re not the most important one!”

Li Yi continued, “Right now, the idea of ‘equal pay for equal work’ in the collective is still the mainstream. People aren’t afraid of being poor; they’re afraid of others being richer than them. That’s exactly what the saying means: ‘We fear not poverty, but insecurity; we fear not scarcity, but inequality!’”

“Our family has been a bit too flashy lately, so we’ve stirred up quite a bit of resentment. Those few male educated youths are just the beginning. If we keep this up, it won’t be just those few scoundrels who’ll come after us!”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Na and Tang Xue both shuddered.

Villagers are usually simple-hearted, but when they set their minds on harming someone, they can be truly terrifying.

Li Na spoke again: “Aren’t you worried that the villagers will all go foraging and neglect their farm work? How do we solve this?”

“Easy to solve!”

Li Yi continued, “I plan to give each household a daily quota of twenty jin. Don’t take any more than that!”

“What do you mean?”

Clearly, neither Li Na nor Tang Xue understood what Li Yi meant by this “20-jin quota”!

Li Yi smiled and said, “I plan to buy mushrooms from the villagers at a price of 20 cents per jin, but I’ll only accept 20 jin per household per day—and only fresh mushrooms!”

“What if they pick more than that?”

“They can take them home to eat, or throw them away—either way, we absolutely won’t accept any more!”

Li Na’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she said happily, “That’s actually a good idea. No matter how many people are in your family, we’ll only buy a maximum of 20 jin from you.”

“And those 20 jin are exactly what one person can pick in a day. The rest of the family won’t be able to turn their harvest into cash, so they won’t bother spending extra time gathering wild produce!”

Tang Xue thought this was a good idea too, but she added with some concern, “There are over 150 households in the village. If each family gets 20 jin, that’s 3,000 jin a day. At 20 cents per jin, that’s 600 yuan a day!”

“If we can only sell a third of those mushrooms, that means we’ll be stuck with at least 400 yuan in unsold inventory. Can we afford to cover that cost?”

Li Na realized the problem too and turned to Li Yi, saying, “That’s right. Four hundred a day—that’s over ten thousand a month! Where would our family get that kind of money?”

Li Yi just smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Right now, we’re bringing in five or six hundred yuan a day just from the mountain produce, so we can definitely cover it.”

“Besides, it’s already July. In a few months, when the weather cools down, the mushrooms won’t grow anymore. That means we’ll only have to cover the costs for three months at most, and after that, we can just sit back and wait for the money to come in!”

“Three months is thirty or forty thousand yuan! If we lose that, it’ll be like we’ve worked for nothing all year!” Li Na said worriedly.

“It won’t be a waste—just the money we make from the stall alone will let us save quite a bit!” Li Yi said.

Although Li Yi spoke with such certainty and ease, Tang Xue and Li Na were still a bit worried.

After all, to them, even a 10-yuan note was a huge sum; tens of thousands of yuan was simply an astronomical figure.

But what they didn’t know was that Li Yi was absolutely confident about selling dried goods.

In his previous life, this was how he made his first fortune, so he knew exactly what the future held for mountain produce.

Moreover, this was the second year of reform. The economies of some coastal regions were already showing signs of taking off, and people’s incomes were no longer stuck at the “36-yuan-a-month” level; many were now earning monthly salaries in the high tens or even hundreds of yuan.

With money came certain expectations for material living standards, and food and drink became key indicators of improved living conditions.

However, greenhouse technology had not yet become widespread, and in the dead of winter, people had little access to fresh vegetables; the market offered little more than potatoes, radishes, and Chinese cabbage.

Consequently, many turned their attention to dried goods such as dried mushrooms and dried wood ear fungus.

More importantly, the government’s plan to launch pilot programs for individual businesses in coastal regions in a few months’ time has greatly stimulated market activity.

Consequently, starting this winter, the prices of dried goods like mushrooms and wood ear fungus have skyrocketed.

So there’s absolutely no question of losing money!

Li Yi’s only concern now is whether his family can properly store all these dried goods—which is a major reason why he’s limiting the quantity of goods he accepts!

Originally, Li Yi had planned to wait until the warehouse and drying shed were built before starting large-scale procurement of mountain produce.

But now, with the incident involving the male educated youth, he has no choice but to move things up.

Otherwise, he’d end up alienating the villagers who aren’t making any money.

To avoid trouble, large-scale procurement of mountain produce has become inevitable.

Before they knew it, the mule-drawn cart had arrived at the state-run restaurant!

As usual, he unloaded the mushrooms and cold noodles, settled the bill, and then headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.

However, to Tang Xue and Li Na’s surprise, this time Li Yi not only bought a few bags of flour but also quite a few chicken cakes, pork, and malted milk powder—he even bought a jar of snow cream.

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Li Na immediately asked, “Xiao Yi, what are you buying all this for? I thought you just bought Snow Cream for Xiao Xue!”

Li Yi smiled and said, “This isn’t for my wife!”

Hearing this, Tang Xue looked up and asked, “Then who are you buying them for?”

“My older sister!”

“Your older sister?”

“Yeah, I plan to head over to Juziwa in a bit to see her. I’ll take the chance to tell her I’m getting married!” Li Yi said.

Li Na nodded and said, “You really should go let her know. Your big day is just around the corner!”

Li Yi glanced at Tang Xue and asked, “Honey, do you want to come with me?”

Tang Xue thought for a moment and said, “I’d rather not. After all, I haven’t officially joined the family yet, so it wouldn’t be proper for me to visit my future sister-in-law’s home!”

Although Li Yi didn’t think it was a big deal, he realized that such customs did exist in the area, so he didn’t press the issue.

“Alright, then you can go set up the stall at the textile factory with Third Sister in a bit. I’ll come pick you up this afternoon!” Li Yi said.

“Okay!”

……..