Chapter 103: Intimidating the Villagers

Li Yi had just finished loading his goods and was planning to head to the educated youth camp to pick up the female educated youths and their mushrooms before driving to the county seat.

Just then, a young man came over to tell him that the male educated youths had all been arrested and were being escorted to the village committee office.

Not knowing the details, Li Yi immediately drove the bright red mule cart over to check it out.

As soon as he entered the village committee office, Li Yi was startled by the scene before him.

The vast courtyard was packed with people—no fewer than two hundred men, women, and children of all ages—just like a members’ assembly.

With a quick glance, Li Yi spotted Tang Xue standing alone in the crowd and immediately waved to her.

Tang Xue had been feeling a bit self-conscious, but she was also deeply hurt. Having just been slandered by those male educated youths, she had nearly burst into tears right then and there.

Upon seeing Li Yi, she seemed to find a pillar of strength. She ran straight through the crowd toward him, threw herself into his arms, and burst into tears.

Li Yi was startled. He quickly handed the mule cart to his third older sister, Li Na, who was standing nearby, then gently patted Tang Xue on the back and whispered words of comfort.

“Honey, don’t cry. What happened?”

Tang Xue didn’t say a word; she just kept crying!

The villagers around them were dumbfounded. Although they knew the couple was about to get married, seeing them hugging and crying in public like this was still a bit hard for them to accept.

But no one dared say a word. Although Li Yi had turned over a new leaf lately, the intimidation factor of a former troublemaker wasn’t so easily shaken off.

Everyone knew just how wild this kid was. A few years ago, when he was still just a teenager, he’d beaten another local thug from a neighboring village so badly that the man was seriously injured.

If he hadn’t been so young back then, he would likely have been arrested and sentenced.

If they dared to confront him in front of so many people, he might just snap!

After a long while, Tang Xue finally vented her pent-up frustration and then shyly slipped out of Li Yi’s embrace.

“Is someone picking on you? Whatever it is, I’ll take care of it for you. Don’t be afraid!” Li Yi said earnestly.

Hearing this, a wave of warmth washed over Tang Xue. She shook her head and said, “It’s nothing. It’s just that Xu Hong and the others said I was meeting with a man in secret—they’re slandering me, accusing me of adultery.”

Li Yi immediately understood. It must be that the public security officer who’d been staking out the female educated youth dorm had been discovered, and those bastards were deliberately smearing Tang Xue to throw people off the trail!

“Hmph, where are those bastards? I’ll kill them!” Li Yi said angrily.

“Captain Li has already taken them to the county bureau!”

Seeing the look of pure fury on Li Yi’s face, Tang Xue hurriedly interjected.

Although she was deeply moved that her husband was standing up for her, she didn’t want to get Li Yi into trouble over this.

“Hmph, so what if they’re hiding at the county bureau? Since they dared to smear you like that, I’m going to add a charge of defamation to their list of crimes!” Li Yi said in a deep voice.

Dongzi, standing nearby, asked in confusion, “Brother Yi, what’s a defamation charge?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Defamation is the act of intentionally fabricating and spreading false information that is sufficient to disparage a person’s character and damage their reputation—especially in serious cases!”

“Wow, there’s a crime like that? How long would the sentence be for that?” Dongzi asked again.

“Those found guilty of defamation shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of up to three years, criminal detention, control, or deprivation of political rights,” Li Yi said.

Li Yi’s words were like dropping a depth charge into the crowd. In an instant, a buzz filled the air as people whispered to one another, discussing the matter:

“My God, so cursing someone is a crime now? And the punishment is that severe?”

“Yi must be pulling our leg—this is way too scary!”

“I don’t think so. Yi speaks with such conviction; he probably isn’t pulling our leg…”

Feng Kai, a seasoned veteran, saw right through Li Yi’s intentions. He knew Li Yi wasn’t actually planning to press charges against those male educated youths—he was just trying to intimidate the village’s gossipmongers.

Immediately, he shouted, “You all heard what Yiwa said, right? If you keep spreading rumors, you really might get arrested and sentenced. So from now on, keep your gossip behind closed doors—say whatever you want among yourselves—but don’t go blabbing about it everywhere. Otherwise, no one will be able to save you!”

After saying this, Feng Kai glanced at the sun and added, “It’s getting late. Everyone, go home. Don’t let this hold up our work!”

Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, “Wait a minute!”

The crowd then saw a man with a limp, leaning on a cane, step forward. He approached Li Yi and said, “Yi, can I ask you for a favor?”

Li Yi recognized the man before him. His name was Lin Jianhai, a veteran.

He had been injured while serving in the military, and due to his physical condition, his family had always struggled to make ends meet.

“You want to come with me to sell mountain produce and make some money, right?” Li Yi asked.

“Yes. You know my situation, Yi. Four kids and two elderly parents—we’re all relying on your sister-in-law’s labor points to get by. It’s really…”

Before he could finish, Li Yi immediately replied, “Alright, I’ll agree to it!”

“You… you really mean it?”

“Mm-hmm!”

No sooner had Li Yi finished speaking than someone else chimed in, “Yi, you can’t just help Jianhai and leave us out!”

“That’s right! We want to earn money with you too—even if it’s just one yuan a day!”

“Exactly, you can’t play favorites…”

…….

Li Yi knew he had to resolve this issue. Otherwise, even if he dealt with those male educated youths today, who knew who might pop up in the future.

Although he wasn’t afraid, he didn’t have the energy to deal with this kind of thing constantly.

He then raised his hand to signal for silence.

Once everyone in the room had fallen silent, Li Yi spoke up: “Uncles, elders, and aunts, let me make one thing clear: the reason I didn’t bring you all into the mountain produce business earlier wasn’t because I didn’t want you to make money, but because the circumstances didn’t allow it!”

“There were two reasons for this. First, the state-run restaurants couldn’t handle such a large volume of mountain produce. Second, my family didn’t have enough space to store all that stuff!”

“If we couldn’t sell it that day, we’d be stuck with it the next. Our family is poor—we can make a profit but can’t afford to take a loss—so I didn’t dare take everyone on that risk!”

Just as everyone thought Li Yi was about to turn them down again after all that,

Li Yi suddenly changed his tone and continued, “Now that our new house is built, I’ve had Master Zhao and his team set up a drying shed. Once it’s ready, I’ll be able to help you all make money!”

“So from now on, it won’t just be Brother Lin who can make money with me—everyone in the village can, but only once my courtyard and drying shed are built!”

After saying this, Li Yi paid no further attention to the villagers’ reactions.

He simply took Tang Xue by the hand and drove the bright red mule cart away from the village office!

Leaving behind a crowd of villagers with a mix of expressions!

Nianzi Mountain Brigade Headquarters!

Just as those young lads were capturing the male educated youths, Li Gang and his men had finished interrogating Liang Jianhui.

The guy wasn’t exactly a tough nut to crack; after just a few words, he spilled the beans and confessed everything.

Li Gang hadn’t expected this case to be anything more than a routine poisoning incident; it turned out to be a relatively rare organized crime operation.

The reason it was considered rare was mainly because poisoning cases differ in nature from ordinary crimes.

Since the perpetrator chose to harm others through poisoning, it meant he didn’t want to expose himself and intended to act covertly.

Such individuals generally do not commit crimes with others, as having more people involved increases the risk of leaks.

But listening to this guy’s confession—that every single male educated youth at the work-study camp had been involved—was truly hard to believe, even for Li Gang, a criminal investigation team captain with considerable experience.

While shocked, he immediately realized he had been careless.

By making such a public spectacle of the arrests earlier, he had failed to keep an eye on the other educated youths. This had effectively alerted the suspects, and it was possible that those suspects had already fled.

Immediately, Li Gang informed Feng Kai of the situation. He led his team to the male educated youth dormitory while asking Secretary Feng to mobilize the village’s able-bodied young men to join the search for the suspects.

However, just as he began to act, he noticed a commotion outside the village office.

Immediately afterward, Li Gang and his group witnessed a shocking scene.

Several male educated youths were being led over, bound hand and foot, and to their surprise, they were being escorted by a group of young boys.

Seeing Qiangzi and his group looking as though they had returned in triumph, Feng Kai asked in surprise, “Feng Qiang, did you guys catch all of them?”

“Yeah. Brother Yi had long suspected those bastards were up to no good, so he told us to keep an eye on them. As soon as we saw them trying to run, we nabbed them!”

Gangzi chimed in from the side, “Brother Yi’s judgment was spot-on. Those bastards were just trying to run, but we stopped them all!”

Li Gang counted them and asked, “There are four here. Counting the one inside, that makes five. Who’s the fifth one?”

“It’s that bastard Xu Hong!” Feng Qiang said.

“Did he run?”

“Yeah, but Dongzi and Shitou are already chasing him. That kid’s a wimp—he won’t get away!”

“Was this also arranged by Brother Li Yi?” Li Gang asked in surprise.

“Yeah! Brother Yi’s calculations are spot-on!” Qiangzi said.

Feng Qiang and the others didn’t realize that to Li Gang, those words carried a completely different meaning.

He assumed Li Yi had once again predicted that their operation would run into trouble, so he’d made arrangements in advance.

Instantly, Li Yi’s standing in his eyes rose a little higher.

A true master is a true master—he really does leave no stone unturned!

Just then, there was another commotion outside, and soon they saw two teenage boys dragging a young man toward them.

The young man seemed extremely reluctant, struggling with every few steps, but what met him was a barrage of punches and kicks.

“It’s Dongzi and the others coming back. That guy is Xu Hong—that bastard’s been brought in too!” Qiangzi said, sounding a bit excited.

Hearing that the last suspect had been brought in, Li Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When he’d first heard this was a gang crime, he’d immediately had a bad feeling. If any of the suspects had actually escaped, he’d be in for disciplinary action back at the station.

More importantly, as the interrogation had revealed, the first guy they’d caught was just a low-level henchman.

He hadn’t come up with the plan, nor had he procured the poison; he’d merely been sent to carry out the poisoning. At best, he was an accomplice.

If he arrested the accomplice but let the mastermind go, would he even have a future at the county bureau?

Just thinking about it was humiliating!

Fortunately, Li Yi stepped in just in time, plugged the gaps, and brought these bastards back!

Although he’d still be in for a good scolding and dressing-down from Old Wang back at the station, at least he hadn’t completely lost face!

Immediately, Li Gang ordered his men to handcuff all the male educated youths, then escorted them to the vehicle and headed back to the county seat!

……..

The sudden arrest of all these male educated youths by the police sent shockwaves through Nianzishan Village!

No one knew what was going on, and everyone’s gaze turned to the old Party Secretary, Feng Kai.

“Secretary Feng, what on earth is going on? How come those kids were just picked up and taken away like that?” asked Li Bingchen, the village’s highly respected “Third Uncle,” with his hands clasped behind his back.

Feng Kai didn’t want to talk about it, but seeing everyone’s curious expressions, he knew he had no choice but to explain.

Otherwise, who knows what these villagers would be saying behind his back!

So, in front of everyone, Feng Kai recounted how these male educated youths had envied Li Yi for making money selling mushrooms, how they’d been refused when they asked Li Yi to help them make money, and how they’d gone so far as to poison people.

When the commune members learned that these male educated youths had actually laced the mountain produce destined for the county seat with poisonous mushrooms, they were immediately up in arms.

As mountain folk, they naturally knew how terrifying poisonous mushrooms could be.

Sometimes, even the tiniest bit mixed in by accident could cause severe vomiting and diarrhea after consumption.

A few years ago, there was even an incident where an urban youth who had been sent to the countryside died after accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms. It’s safe to say that the mountain folk go out of their way to avoid poisonous mushrooms and are terrified at the mere mention of them.

Yet these male educated youths actually went so far as to lace the mountain produce with poisonous mushrooms out of jealousy—that’s downright insane!

No wonder Li Yi was forced to call the police to arrest them—they truly deserve it!

“How could they do such a thing? Aren’t they worried about poisoning someone to death?”

“Exactly. Never mind killing people—even if it just gives people stomachaches, no one will buy our mushrooms anymore!”

“Those bastards—they’re trying to cut off our livelihood…”

While most people were speaking out in support of Li Yi, some also raised doubts about the situation:

“Yi really is something. Why does he take the female educated youths to make money but not the male ones? No wonder they’re out to get him!”

“Exactly. We’re all neighbors here—why is he siding with those female知青?”

“Could it be that Yi and those female知青 are…”

Most of those who had previously spoken up for Li Yi were parents whose children were earning money with him.

Since their children had earned money, they were grateful to Li Yi and naturally wanted to stand with him.

But most of the people speaking now were those without children, or whose children were still too young to have benefited from Li Yi.

Their mindset at that moment was actually quite similar to that of the male educated youth: they felt a bit uneasy deep down, believing that Li Yi’s actions were underhanded and unfair!

Just as the crowd was arguing heatedly, the sound of a bell ringing—”ding-ling-dong”—suddenly rang out from outside the village office.

Everyone turned to look and saw Li Yi driving a bright red mule cart into the brigade headquarters…

………

Li Gang hadn’t expected things to escalate like this. If these villagers charged in and started beating everyone indiscriminately, not only might the guy they’d caught escape, but they themselves could end up getting beaten to a pulp—or even lose their lives.

They knew full well that once these villagers started fighting, they wouldn’t hold back.

And with so many people present, if someone were actually beaten to death, they wouldn’t even know who to hold accountable!

Without hesitation, he bellowed, “Everyone, stop! We’re from the County Public Security Bureau and are currently investigating a case. Bystanders, step back immediately!”

As he spoke, Li Gang drew his service weapon and pointed the barrel into the air!

Seeing him draw his gun, all the villagers froze in shock.

Although they couldn’t tell if the gun was real or fake, no one dared to make a move—after all, their lives were at stake!

Besides, he had just said they were from the Public Security Bureau. If that was true, wouldn’t any attempt to resist amount to assaulting a police officer?

For a moment, everyone hesitated, frozen in place!

Meanwhile, Tang Xue, standing nearby, was completely stunned!

She had been standing there in a daze, originally assuming that Xu Hong was the mastermind behind the poisoning incident. But she never could have imagined that the one ultimately caught would be Liang Jianhui.

After all, she had no past grievances or recent conflicts with Liang Jianhui—why would he want to harm her?

But just as she was struggling to make sense of it all, she heard Xu Hong publicly accuse her of adultery right in front of everyone—leaving Tang Xue completely speechless.

Instantly, the memory of being cornered on the kang not long ago flashed through her mind, and her body began to tremble slightly.

Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, “So you claim to be a police officer? Who are you trying to scare with that crappy gun—who knows if it’s even real?”

Immediately, others chimed in: “That’s right! Are you trying to bully us because the Nianzi Mountain Brigade has no one to stand up for us?”

“No way. You’ve got to give us an explanation today, or don’t even think about leaving this village…”

Just as the crowd’s emotions were being stirred up again, a commanding voice suddenly rang out from the periphery: “Everyone, stop!”

Hearing the voice, everyone turned to look and discovered it was none other than Feng Kai, the village Party branch secretary.

Feng Kai enjoyed considerable prestige throughout the Nianzishan Brigade. After all, in his youth he had served in a frontline combat unit and was a decorated hero; even at the commune and county levels, high-ranking officials had to show him a certain amount of respect.

Instantly, everyone fell silent, fixing their gaze on him.

Feng Kai stepped forward and first gave a slight nod to Li Gang and the others, then said, “I can vouch for them—they’re public security officers from our county, here in Nianzishan Village to oversee the investigation of a serious poisoning case!”

At that moment, someone in the crowd shouted, “Then what about the situation with the educated youth Tang? Someone saw a strange man in the female educated youth dormitory!”

Feng Kai spoke again: “The educated youth led by Tang are merely cooperating with the investigation. I was informed of this beforehand—there’s absolutely no question of them secretly meeting men!”

He continued, “Young Intellectual Tang and Yiwa have a very good relationship. If I hear anyone spreading rumors about this again, don’t blame me for being blunt!”

Seeing that the situation was under control, Li Gang holstered his gun and stepped forward to address the crowd: “Fellow villagers, our county bureau received a report of intentional poisoning, so we’ve come to investigate.”

“After a night of surveillance, we’ve finally apprehended the suspect. If there’s been any misunderstanding, I sincerely apologize.”

The villagers were stunned to hear that Liang Jianhui was the suspect in the poisoning case.

Only the faces of those male educated youths turned pale, each one filled with dread.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Feng Kai immediately turned to Li Gang and said, “Captain Li, now that the suspect has been apprehended, are you planning to leave?”

Li Gang shook his head and said, “Wait a moment. We’ll take him to the brigade headquarters first and question him.”

“Alright, then come with me!”

Li Gang and his team then escorted Liang Jianhui, following Feng Kai to the village headquarters.

The villagers all followed behind, eager to catch a glimpse of the commotion!

Meanwhile, the male educated youths all looked ashen-faced; not a single one followed them, but instead hurried back to their dormitory.

As soon as they entered, Yang Yi, the most timid of the group, said with a look of terror on his face, “H-how… how could this happen? How did he get caught?”

“Brother Zhou, what are we going to do now? Is Liang Jianhui going to rat us out?”

“Yeah, he’s so timid—he definitely won’t be able to keep a secret…”

Zhou Guangya, the leader of the educated youth group, was also deathly pale. They had only intended to teach Li Yi, that good-for-nothing, a lesson, but never expected it to turn into a poisoning case—this was completely beyond their expectations.

For a moment, he had no idea what to do.

Just then, Xu Hong, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up: “We have only one way out now!”

“What way out?” everyone asked immediately.

“Run!”

“Run?”

“That’s right. Didn’t you hear that the police have already classified this as a poisoning case? That means that good-for-nothing has bribed these officers. If we get caught, we’ll definitely be sentenced. Rather than face that, we’d be better off running!” Xu Hong said.

“But… but we don’t even have letters of introduction. Where are we supposed to run to?”

“That’s right. We don’t have any money either. Even if we escape, we won’t be able to buy food…”

Xu Hong immediately said, “Let’s head to the back mountain first. The woods there are dense—once we’re in there, no one will be able to catch us. As for the rest, we can’t worry about that right now!”

With that, paying no heed to what the others thought, Xu Hong quickly gathered his belongings.

He took all the money and ration tickets he’d saved up, grabbed a water bottle, and hurried out the door.

Seeing this, the others didn’t dare to linger; they all scrambled to pack their things and prepare to flee!

What they didn’t know was that their every move was being watched closely by a group of young ruffians.

No sooner had Xu Hong stepped out of the educated youth commune than he was stopped by Dongzi and Shitou.

The moment he saw these two young punks, Xu Hong knew he was in trouble. These two little bastards were Li Yi’s lackeys, always hanging around him.

Their appearance here at this moment could only mean trouble.

So without hesitation, Xu Hong called out over Dongzi’s shoulder, “Brother Li Yi, what brings you here?”

Dongzi and Shitou weren’t on guard; they actually thought Li Yi had arrived and immediately turned to look.

Xu Hong seized the opportunity to turn on his heel and take off running.

The two young punks immediately realized they’d been tricked and shouted as they gave chase, staging a dramatic game of cat-and-mouse outside the educated youth commune.

Unlike the resourceful Xu Hong, Zhou Guangya and the others weren’t so lucky. They’d barely stepped outside when they were surrounded by Gangzi, Qiangzi, and the rest.

On top of that, they didn’t think the situation was all that serious, so they didn’t try to keep running. They simply surrendered and were tied up by those young punks!

Educated Youth Camp. Female Dormitory!

Tang Xue looked nervously at the plainclothes police officer hiding beside the wardrobe!

After Feng Qian, Sun Lu, and the others had left for work, she was the only one left in the entire women’s dormitory.

Although she knew he was a police officer and wouldn’t harm her, being alone with a man still made her a little nervous.

The officer clearly sensed Tang Xue’s nervousness and unease, and whispered, “Don’t panic—you don’t want to give yourself away and alert the killer!”

“Okay…”

“Listen to me. The others have just left, and there’s a chance they might return, so the killer usually won’t make a move. In 20 minutes, pretend you need to use the restroom and leave the dorm!”

“Okay!”

“Remember, keep your expression natural—don’t let them see anything’s wrong!”

“Got it!”

The twenty minutes slipped by quietly. At the signal from the public security officer, Tang Xue composed herself and walked out the door.

Since the restroom at the educated youth camp was quite a distance from the dormitory and required passing by the male educated youths’ quarters, each round trip took some time.

It was precisely for this reason that Li Yi, Li Gang, and the others believed the poisoner likely took advantage of Tang Xue’s trip to the restroom to mix the poisonous mushrooms into the batch picked by Feng Qian and the others.

As she passed the male educated youth dormitories, Tang Xue made no sound and did not look around; she merely slowed her pace slightly.

However, she didn’t notice anything unusual; the doors to the male educated youths’ dormitories were all tightly shut, as if no one were inside.

Yet, just as Tang Xue’s figure disappeared into the restroom, a shadowy figure peeked out from one of the male educated youth’s dorm rooms.

The figure looked around, and after confirming nothing was amiss, nodded to the person behind them.

Then, clutching a package, he quickly crept toward the female educated youth dormitory.

Upon reaching the female students’ dormitory, the figure feigned a shout.

Seeing no response from inside, they pushed open the slightly ajar door.

Seeing that the room was indeed empty, he immediately shifted his gaze to several baskets on the floor. He pulled a few poisonous mushrooms from the small bag he was carrying and was about to place them inside.

However, just as he made a move, he suddenly heard a stern, commanding voice from behind him: “Don’t move…”

The male educated youth was instantly terrified and turned around immediately!

He discovered that, at some point, a stranger had appeared behind him.

Realizing he’d been caught red-handed, the male educated youth knew he was in trouble. He suddenly leaped to his feet and tried to run out of the dormitory.

The public security officers were well accustomed to such situations; when apprehending suspects, most people do not surrender without a fight.

Therefore, during arrests, they always anticipated various possible scenarios—such as violent resistance or even a desperate attempt to take the officer down with them.

Seeing the man try to flee, the public security officer immediately charged forward, intercepted him, and grappled with him.

Li Gang and the others, who had been hiding in the shadows, also noticed the commotion and immediately rushed over to provide backup.

In an instant, the entire educated youth commune was filled with people running everywhere!

In the male educated youth dormitory, Xu Hong was keeping watch for Liang Jianhui, making sure Tang Xue didn’t return from the bathroom early.

Suddenly, he saw people running toward the camp from outside and heard screams and the sounds of a scuffle coming from the female students’ dormitory. Quick-witted as he was, he immediately realized their plan had been exposed!

Seeing this, Xu Hong’s first instinct was to flee!

But with the household registration system so strict these days, even if they ran, where could they possibly go?

Noticing that the voices coming from the dormitory behind him were men’s, Xu Hong immediately came up with a plan.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he immediately slipped out of the male educated youth dormitory and then left the camp by scaling the wall.

But instead of running away, he headed straight for the southern lowlands where the educated youth were working!

Once he reached the edge of the field, he shouted in front of everyone, “Help! Something’s happened! Help!”

Hearing Xu Hong’s cries, the educated youths and commune members all put down their tools and gathered around.

“Comrade Xu, what’s all the commotion about? What’s happened?”

“Exactly, what’s going on this early in the morning?”

“Hurry up and tell us—what’s going on…”

Hearing the villagers’ questions, Xu Hong replied breathlessly, “Just now, Comrade Liang saw Tang Xue meeting her lover in secret and hiding him in the dormitory. He immediately sent me to call for help while he went to catch them in the act. We’d better go take a look right away!”

At these words, the villagers were all stunned.

“Comrade Xu, this is a matter of someone’s reputation—you can’t just make things up!”

“Exactly! Comrade Tang and Yiwa are perfectly happy together—how could they possibly be cheating?”

“Besides, there are only a handful of people in the village—who could be better than Yiwa…”

As for Tang Xue having an affair, no one would believe it no matter what.

After all, everyone had seen the young couple together day in and day out lately; their relationship seemed very strong. Plus, the Li family’s new house was already built, and the two were about to get married—there was no reason for Tang Xue to do something like this at a time like this.

Xu Hong immediately said, “We saw it with our own eyes—how could that be a lie?”

“Plus, when I came over, I heard them fighting inside. We should all go take a look!”

Seeing that Xu Hong didn’t seem to be lying, everyone began to waver between belief and doubt!

As for the male educated youths, though they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they sensed something was definitely wrong. They immediately grabbed their hoes and other tools and ran toward the village.

Since the distance wasn’t far, they soon returned to the educated youth settlement.

Seeing everyone following him back, a cold smile played on Xu Hong’s lips.

He couldn’t escape, but he could stir up trouble.

Whether Liang Jianhui had been caught red-handed or not, as long as he insisted he’d gone to catch them in the act, he could stir up the emotions of these ignorant villagers.

By then, the thugs that Li Yi had brought in would surely face consequences. Not only could they rescue Liang Jianhui, but they could also take the opportunity to smear Tang Xue’s reputation.

The group of commune members, unaware of his sordid scheme, followed him back to the educated youth commune.

As soon as they arrived at the commune, the crowd saw Liang Jianhui being pinned to the ground by several unfamiliar men, while Tang Xue stood nearby.

Before anyone else could speak, Xu Hong shouted, pointing at Li Gang, who was holding Liang Jianhui down: “That’s the man Tang Xue’s been seeing on the sly—the rest are his henchmen!”

Hearing this, the villagers, unaware of the truth, surrounded them with looks of anger.

Xu Hong continued to fan the flames, saying, “Comrade Liang, you came here to catch them in the act, so how did they beat you up like this?”

Liang Jianhui was no fool; he caught on immediately and shouted, “Everyone, don’t let them get away! I just saw a man in the female educated youth’s dorm, so I came to check it out—and I never expected to catch Tang Xue secretly meeting with this man!”

“I tried to劝 her not to do anything that would bring shame upon us educated youths, but I never expected her lover to get violent—and that he actually had accomplices…”

Seeing Liang Jianhui, his face swollen and bruised, and then glancing at these strangers who had suddenly appeared, the villagers instinctively chose to believe their story.

So, one after another, they grabbed their tools and rushed forward to “rescue” him!

For a moment, the situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control!

Night. The moonlight was serene!

After dinner, Li Yi took Tang Xue’s hand and walked her back to the educated youth commune.

Although, in his view, Tang Xue could easily stay at their place, she firmly refused.

That time she was cornered on the kang had become a lifelong nightmare for her.

Although, looking at it now, that incident might not have been such a bad thing—every cloud has a silver lining!

But the incident had left a significant psychological scar, so she didn’t want to spend the night at the Li family’s house again before they were married.

Li Yi didn’t press the issue.

Besides, he thought this arrangement wasn’t bad either; at the very least, he could accompany her on a walk every evening, which would help them grow closer.

On the way, Li Yi recounted to Tang Xue what Li Gang had told him that afternoon.

Earlier, fearing his parents would worry, Li Yi hadn’t mentioned a word after returning home. But since this matter required the female educated youths’ cooperation, he had to discuss it with them in advance.

Upon hearing that male police officers would be sent to infiltrate their dormitory that night and stay there until morning, Tang Xue was completely stunned.

“Don’t they have any female police officers?” Tang Xue asked, frowning.

“Probably not. Otherwise, they wouldn’t send a bunch of big guys to carry out this kind of mission!” Li Yi replied.

“Alright, then!”

Chatting casually along the way, the two soon arrived at the educated youth camp!

This time, Li Yi didn’t leave but followed Tang Xue directly to the female educated youth dormitory.

After making sure no one was eavesdropping, Li Yi briefly recounted today’s events to Feng Qian, Sun Lu, and the others, and asked them to cooperate with the police investigation.

Upon hearing this, the female educated youth all broke out in a cold sweat.

If something had actually happened, Li Yi would certainly have been doomed, and they likely wouldn’t have been able to escape blame either.

It was clear that the poisoner’s target was by no means limited to Li Yi alone; they, too, were all caught up in the other party’s scheme.

The shock was followed by rage.

Seeing that the female educated youth were about to explode, Li Yi immediately told them to stay calm. If they couldn’t hold back and started cursing, the male educated youth in their dorm might sense something was wrong.

Having been framed yet unable to even vent their anger, the female educated youth felt utterly frustrated.

Upon learning that the police wanted their assistance with the investigation, the female educated youth agreed wholeheartedly, pledging to fully cooperate with the police to help bring the culprit to justice.

After giving the female educated youth these instructions, Li Yi walked out of the female dormitory alone!

As he walked out of the female educated youth dormitory, Li Yi distinctly sensed someone watching him, but instead of looking around, he strode purposefully away from the educated youth camp.

After confirming that no one was following him, Li Yi headed straight for the brigade headquarters.

On his way there, Li Yi saw Li Gang and the others eating—steamed buns and plain water.

Li Yi immediately felt a pang of guilt—he’d completely forgotten to prepare dinner for Li Gang and the others. He said right away, “Wait a moment. I’ll go back and cook you something delicious!”

Li Gang replied immediately, “No need. Secretary Feng was going to stew a hen for us, but we turned it down. We’re here on a case, and we came in secret. It wouldn’t be good if anyone noticed anything unusual!”

Li Yi thought about it and realized he was right, so he immediately dismissed the idea.

He then relayed the female educated youth’s suggestion to the group.

Learning that the female educated youth were fully cooperating with them, Li Gang and the others were very pleased and immediately began making arrangements.

Li Yi didn’t get involved in this matter; after all, he was merely the victim who had filed the report. As for how to investigate the case and apprehend the suspects, that was the police’s job.

………

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Li Yi got up early as usual to start making his liangpi!

At six in the morning, as the whistle signaling the start of work for the production brigade sounded, Nianzishan Village—which had been quiet all night—suddenly came to life.

Households sprang into action, grabbing a quick bite to eat before rushing to the village headquarters to assemble and await the production team leader’s assignment of work tasks.

Meanwhile, Li Yi, who was busy making white flatbread at home, paused briefly. He knew that as soon as the work whistle blew, Feng Qian and the others would leave the dormitory.

If Tang Xue were to go to the bathroom or something at that moment, the venomous snake lurking in the shadows might just strike!

Last night, Li Yi had conducted a detailed analysis of the “sitting in wait” strategy Li Gang and the others had proposed. While this method had a high success rate, it also had its flaws.

First, there was the question of whether the culprit would strike again. If the perpetrator stopped in time, all their preparations from last night would have been for nothing.

Second, was the poisoner acting alone or with accomplices? If it was just one person, it wouldn’t be a problem—they could simply arrest him.

But if there are accomplices, catching just one might tip off the rest.

It’s like trying to catch birds with a sieve—if you trap one, the rest will scatter in all directions.

If anyone escapes, might they retaliate against them?

Li Yi wasn’t afraid for himself. With his fighting skills, even if all the scum at the educated youth camp ganged up on him, he’d have a way to take them all down.

But if they took it out on Tang Xue, or the other female educated youths, or even the village kids who’d been picking mushrooms for him—then he’d be truly helpless.

With that in mind, Li Yi decided it was best to play it safe.

He immediately asked Li Na to keep making pancakes at home while he hurried off on his bicycle to Dongzi’s house nearby.

When Li Yi arrived, Dongzi was feeding the family pigs.

Seeing Li Yi, Dongzi asked in surprise, “Brother Yi, what brings you over this early in the morning?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Put down what you’re doing and go get Shitou and the others over here right away. We’ve got something to take care of!”

“Got it!”

Dongzi then handed the household chores over to his younger sister, Xiao Jing, and hurried off to Shitou’s house nearby.

Soon, seven or eight teenage boys had gathered at Li Yi’s house.

Once everyone was there, Li Yi said, “I’ve got a mission for you guys!”

“What’s the mission, Brother Yi? Just tell us—we’ll handle it perfectly!” Dongzi shouted.

The others chimed in one after another, their demeanor evoking the atmosphere of a gang or secret society.

Li Yi nodded and said, “I’ve got a feeling those male educated youths in the village haven’t been behaving themselves lately. You guys head out to the fields and keep an eye on them. If you see them trying to run away, stop them!”

“Got it! Brother Yi, you can count on us—we won’t let those bastards get away!”

“Right, we can’t let them get away!”

“Brother Yi…”

Li Yi motioned for everyone to quiet down, then said, “I’ve got two things to tell you. First, when you’re watching those guys, don’t make it too obvious, and don’t get too close—just keep an eye on them from a distance!”

“Second, if they’re carrying anything when they run, call the adults to catch them, but you guys have to be careful yourselves.”

“Yes, sir!”

Watching the younger men walk away, Li Yi couldn’t help but let a faint smile touch his lips. The show was about to begin!

…….

That afternoon, when Li Yi and the others returned from the county seat, they were chatting and laughing as usual.

They greeted other villagers and commune members they met along the way, and there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen.

What they didn’t know, however, was that shortly after Li Yi and the others returned to the village, several men in plain clothes had quietly arrived and made their way to the village committee office.

Li Yi was unaware that Wang Anguo’s men had already arrived in the village; he simply instructed his third older sister and Tang Xue to carry on as usual.

Back home, he had Li Na clean up the mess as usual, while Li Yi rode his bicycle with Tang Xue to the new house.

The roof tiles had already been laid at the new house, and Master Zhao was leading his crew in grouting the exterior walls.

This involved using cement to fill the gaps between the red bricks, which not only improved the appearance but also effectively prevented rainwater from eroding the walls, thereby extending the building’s lifespan.

Meanwhile, his father, Li Shankui, was leading a team in leveling the floor inside the house—raising the foundation above ground level to prepare for the upcoming renovations.

Speaking of renovations, rural homes aren’t particularly fussy.

Usually, they just install a drop ceiling and cover it with old newspapers—and that’s considered a finished ceiling.

The walls are simply painted white—no tiles, wallpaper, or diatomaceous earth finishes whatsoever!

The floors were simple too: those who could afford it laid a layer of red bricks; those who couldn’t simply wet the ground with water and then tamped it down.

That’s right—back then, most people’s floors were just dirt, with no tiles, no grout lines, and no baseboards.

So, home renovations in those days were incredibly quick and hassle-free.

According to Li Yi’s estimate, after airing out the room for a day or two to let the moisture dissipate, it’s ready for renovation.

It looks like we can definitely have the house ready by the end of the month!

Overjoyed, Li Yi immediately began discussing renovation plans with Tang Xue.

After all, this house would be where the two of them—no, their whole family—would live, so it had to be comfortable.

Tang Xue actually had no objections to this, and the reason was simple: first, she didn’t know much about it.

Second, Tang Xue felt that things were already great—far better than she had ever expected—so she really had nothing else to say.

After returning from the new house, both Li Yi and Tang Xue were thrilled.

They were finally going to have their own little nest, and both began to imagine the wonderful life ahead.

However, as soon as they got home, Li Yi heard his third older sister say that Secretary Feng had just stopped by and asked him to come to the village committee office.

Although he didn’t know what it was about, Li Yi still hopped on his bicycle and headed to the village office.

When he arrived at the village office, Zhou Yang was surprised to see Li Gang, as well as several young men he’d met at the criminal investigation team.

As soon as he walked in, Feng Kai, puffing on his pipe, said, “Yi, these police officers have already told me what happened. Are you really planning to get to the bottom of this?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Gang interjected, “Secretary Feng, I understand what you mean, but even if Brother Li Yi chooses not to pursue this, we can’t drop the case!”

“Why?” Feng Kai asked, furrowing his brow.

As the village Party secretary, he truly didn’t want this matter to be made public. Regardless of who was responsible, it would ultimately damage the reputation of Nianzishan Brigade.

“Secretary Feng, in ordinary public order cases, we can dismiss the case if the parties involved don’t wish to pursue it. But that’s not possible with criminal cases—especially not one as serious as this, which is a malicious poisoning!” Li Gang said.

“Poisoning? I think those young men were just jealous of Yiwa’s success and wanted to scare him a bit. There’s no need to blow this out of proportion…”

Before Feng Kai could finish speaking, Li Yi interjected, “Uncle Feng, I know you don’t want this incident to tarnish the reputation of our Nianzi Mountain Brigade, but wrong is wrong. If you do something wrong, you have to take responsibility—even a child understands that!”

“Since those people dared to do this, they need to have the courage and resolve to take responsibility! Besides, I don’t think we can protect the reputation of our Nianzi Mountain Brigade if I don’t hold them accountable this time!”

“Yi, what do you mean by that?” Feng Kai asked, frowning.

“Uncle Feng, do you know what they put in our mushrooms this time? Highly toxic autumn-born scaly ears. You should know just how potent the poison in these mushrooms is!”

Li Yi continued, “We should count ourselves lucky that we stumbled upon this problem today. Otherwise, if people had eaten those mushrooms, it would have cost lives.”

“And yet, these people went ahead with it even though they knew full well it would lead to such serious consequences. Just look at how brazen they are—and how utterly depraved their hearts are!”

“If we let them get away with this, who knows what even worse mistakes they might commit next time? Uncle Feng, if you don’t take decisive action now, you’ll end up suffering the consequences yourself!”

Feng Kai fell silent!

After a long while, he sighed and said, “You’re right, Yi. I won’t get involved in this. You guys handle it.”

With that, Feng Kai picked up his pipe and walked out of the village committee office.

He had done his best, but the current situation had spiraled beyond his control; all he could do now was leave it to fate.

After Feng Kai left, Li Gang said with a smile, “Your Secretary Feng seems to care quite a bit about those educated youth!”

“Haha, if something goes wrong, he’s the one who’ll be held responsible as the Party Secretary. How could he not care?” Li Yi said.

“We’ve already gotten a preliminary understanding of what happened. It’s pretty much in line with your earlier assessment. We also think it’s more likely that the male educated youths committed the crime, so we plan to use that as a breakthrough point for our investigation!” Li Gang said.

“How do you plan to investigate?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“In a case like this, it might be worth trying a ‘wait-and-see’ approach!” Li Gang said.

“Lying in wait?”

“Yes. According to you, those female educated youth only just helped you pick mushrooms. That means those male educated youth only recently found an opportunity to poison them, is that right?”

“Yes. To be specific, today was likely their first attempt, because my wife only explicitly refused to take them out to earn money yesterday!” Li Yi said.

“In that case, we’ve got this in the bag!”

Li Gang then explained, “In cases like this, to ensure success and to make sure the blame falls directly on you if something goes wrong, the killer usually commits a series of crimes!”

“So my plan is for my men to sneak into the female educated youth dormitory tonight and stay there until dawn, waiting for the killer to strike again!”

Hearing this, Li Yi frowned and said, “Is it really okay for your men to sneak into the female educated youth dormitory?”

“Of course, you’ll need to give the female educated youth a heads-up—just make sure it doesn’t turn into some kind of scandal!” Li Gang said.

“Alright, I’ll go back and make the arrangements. I’m sure they’ll cooperate!” Li Yi said.

“Hmm! Let us know once it’s all set!”

“Got it!”

…….

Upon arriving at the state-run restaurant, Li Yi first carried the mushrooms the children had picked inside, while the ones Feng Qian and the others had gathered were loaded back onto the car.

Seeing this, Liu Jingshan asked curiously, “Brother Li Yi, why are you keeping a few baskets?”

Li Yi didn’t hold back; he immediately recounted what he had discovered.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jingshan was startled, then said in a grave tone, “Brother Li Yi, you did the right thing. We absolutely must call the police—we can’t let those bastards get away with this!”

To be honest, Liu Jingshan had broken out in a cold sweat just hearing that.

He knew full well that the head chefs in the kitchen rarely inspected the mushrooms while preparing them.

If the vegetable washers hadn’t picked out the poisonous mushrooms, they would have ended up on customers’ plates.

And most of the staff washing the vegetables were locals from the county town; they certainly wouldn’t know how to tell the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms.

More importantly, the people who usually dined at state-run restaurants weren’t just ordinary folks. If a guest accidentally ate one—especially if it were a high-ranking official—the consequences wouldn’t just be serious; they’d be nothing short of catastrophic!

“Don’t worry, Brother Liu. I have a temper, and I’ll find that person!” Li Yi said in a low voice.

“That’s good to hear!”

“Brother Liu, I’ll get some illustrations of poisonous mushrooms for our restaurant later. You can post them in the kitchen so the staff washing vegetables will be more careful when handling them—we can’t let anyone take advantage of the situation!” Li Yi reminded him.

“Got it!”

…….

After settling the payment, Li Yi didn’t go to the supply and marketing cooperative as usual, nor did he head to the sugar factory to set up his stall. Instead, he went straight to the police station.

Upon arriving at the police station, Li Yi headed straight for Wang Anguo’s office.

When he saw Li Yi knock and walk in, Wang Anguo was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. “What brings you here, kid?”

Li Yi smiled and replied, “I’m here to file a report!”

“What? File a report?”

Wang Anguo was taken aback as well and immediately began asking for details.

Li Yi recounted everything that had happened today in full detail, making a special point of mentioning the toxicity of the autumn-born scaly ear fungus.

Realizing this was a serious case of poisoning, Wang Anguo immediately grew serious.

“Brother Li Yi, I’m sure you have someone in mind you suspect, right?”

“Yeah, barring any surprises, it’s probably one of those male educated youths in the village, and the most suspicious one is a guy named Xu Dxmbang Hong!” Li Yi said.

“Do you have a history with that man?” Wang Anguo asked.

“Yeah, that guy bullied my wife, so I beat him up. After that, he came here to report me, and I beat him up again. So he has plenty of reason to want to get back at me!” Li Yi said.

“So what do you want to do?”

“Follow standard investigative procedures—do whatever needs to be done!” Li Yi said.

“Alright, then. Let’s examine the baskets of mushrooms you brought in and see if there are any other poisonous mushrooms besides that one autumn-growing scaly ear,” Wang Anguo said.

“Okay!”

Wang Anguo then called over a few experienced veteran detectives, and they went out to the courtyard to examine the baskets of mushrooms Li Yi had brought.

They wouldn’t have known without checking, but when they did, they were in for a shock.

It turned out that all three baskets contained poisonous mushrooms—different species with varying degrees of toxicity.

Now everyone could see that this was definitely not a simple case of mistaken foraging.

After all, anyone who mistook so many different types of poisonous mushrooms for edible ones wouldn’t have survived this long. It was now safe to conclude that someone had deliberately poisoned them.

Immediately, Wang Anguo ordered his men to file a case according to standard procedure and then set up a special task force to investigate the matter.

The decision to form a task force wasn’t because the complainant was Li Yi, but because public order in Qingshan County had always been good, and major crimes rarely occurred locally.

And a poisoning case like this was a very serious criminal offense—more than enough to warrant the formation of a special task force!

Originally, Li Yi had thought that the police should go directly to the educated youth commune to make an arrest. Given Xu Hong’s spineless nature, a little pressure would be enough to make him spill everything.

However, Wang Anguo was, after all, an experienced criminal investigation captain. He flatly rejected Li Yi’s suggestion and instead decided to personally lead a team to Nianzishan Village to stake out the area—he intended to catch the culprit red-handed.

To avoid alerting the culprits, Wang Anguo instructed Li Yi and Tang Xue to carry on as usual once they returned, doing their best not to act suspiciously.

As Wang Anguo put it, since “Venomous Snake” had already made his move, he would certainly strike again if he hadn’t achieved his goal.

Li Yi agreed with Wang Anguo’s plan.

After all, everyone has their own area of expertise, and when it came to dealing with criminals, Wang Anguo was clearly more professional than he was.

Therefore, after leaving the poisonous mushrooms behind as evidence, Li Yi left the police station with Third Sister and Tang Xue.

After leaving the police station, Tang Xue asked curiously, “If it’s really confirmed that those male educated youth did it, will they go to jail?”

Li Yi replied immediately, “Yes, definitely! Because their actions meet the legal criteria for a charge of poisoning!”

“How many years will they be sentenced to?”

“Whoever commits arson, flooding, explosions, or the release of toxic, radioactive, or infectious pathogens, or otherwise endangers public safety through dangerous means—without causing serious consequences—shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.”

Tang Xue said in surprise, “So the minimum is three years?”

“Yes! That’s just under normal circumstances. If there are special circumstances, a sentence of over ten years isn’t out of the question!” Li Yi said.

“Sigh,” Tang Xue sighed, then fell silent.

Although she didn’t yet know who exactly had poisoned the food, Tang Xue agreed with Li Yi’s deduction that it was likely connected to those male educated youths.

After all, in the entire village of Nianzishan, they were the only ones left with a motive to harm her.

Thinking that they had come here to work in the countryside alongside her, only to end up behind bars, made Tang Xue’s heart sink.

But she couldn’t plead for those men’s mercy. After all, they hadn’t just tried to harm Li Yi—they’d also targeted her, Feng Qian, and the others.

After what they’d done to them, if she were to show mercy and plead on their behalf, what kind of person would that make her?

Li Na clearly sensed Tang Xue’s thoughts and immediately comforted her: “No matter who it is, and no matter how many years they’re sentenced to, they deserve it. Who told them to harm others?”

Li Yi, however, said calmly, “Misfortune and good fortune have no fixed doors; they are summoned by one’s own actions! We can’t control things like this, so you don’t need to blame yourself!”

Tang Xue nodded and said, “I just feel sorry for them. The situation has completely stabilized now, and who knows—maybe they’ll be able to return to the city at some point. But with this incident, they won’t be able to go back even if they want to!”

“They brought it upon themselves. They have no one else to blame,” Li Yi said.

“Mm-hmm!”

……..

The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, Li Yi and Li Na, as usual, drove the bright red mule cart to the female educated youth dormitory, preparing to haul mushrooms to the county seat.

As usual, only Tang Xue was in the dormitory. Seeing Li Yi arrive, the young girl was delighted.

Before the mule cart had even come to a complete stop, Tang Xue emerged carrying a basket brimming with mushrooms.

Li Yi, worried she might harm the baby in her womb, hurried over to take the basket from her hands.

But Tang Xue felt that, having spent several years toiling in the countryside—even during the hardest times, working alongside the men to scoop mud from the lotus ponds to fertilize the fields—this weight was nothing to her.

So she insisted on carrying it herself.

Although Li Yi knew she was trying to lighten his load a bit, she was also proving to him that she wasn’t the kind of wealthy lady who had everything done for her.

But Li Yi was genuinely afraid she might hurt herself. That basket of mushrooms weighed at least fifty or sixty pounds, and with the mule cart already loaded to the brim, she would have to hoist it all the way to the top.

Not only was this a strenuous task, but it also required her to raise her arms as high as possible—one wrong move and she could easily injure the child.

In local parlance, she could “snatch” the child!

So Li Yi was absolutely determined not to let her take that risk!

Just as the two were struggling over it, the basket of mushrooms suddenly wobbled, and some of the mushrooms on the top layer spilled out.

Mushrooms are delicate by nature, and with the impact, some were crushed—clearly no longer edible.

Tang Xue froze in shock. She hadn’t expected this and stood there, momentarily flustered and frozen in place.

As for Li Yi, he was staring intently at the mushrooms on the ground, his expression grave—a clear prelude to a rage-filled outburst.

Tang Xue had never seen Li Yi like this before. She felt a bit scared, and tears were welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry… I…”

Li Na frowned and said to Li Yi, “It’s just a few pounds of mushrooms. Is it really worth getting so upset over?”

Li Yi snapped out of it. Seeing Tang Xue’s panicked expression, he realized she’d misunderstood and immediately said, “Honey, don’t cry. I’m not taking this out on you!”

After saying that, Li Yi spoke in a grave tone: “None of you say a word. Hurry up and put the mushrooms away. I’ll explain everything to you once we get outside!”

“Uh…”

Although they didn’t understand what Li Yi meant, Tang Xue and Li Na still did as he said, picking up the mushrooms that had fallen to the ground one by one and putting them into the baskets.

Meanwhile, Li Yi went inside and loaded the remaining baskets of mushrooms onto the truck.

This time, Tang Xue didn’t rush to help; instead, she watched quietly as Li Yi worked alone.

Soon after, the three of them left the educated youth commune together in the mule cart!

Just as the two of them left, a figure darted out of the male educated youth dormitory, its malicious gaze fixed on the pair as they gradually receded into the distance.

Once they were far from the sent-down youth camp, Li Yi immediately asked, “Honey, did Feng Qian and the others pick all these mushrooms themselves?”

Tang Xue nodded and said, “Of course they picked them themselves. Who else would help them?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong?” Tang Xue asked, puzzled.

“Do you know what I just saw in the basket?”

“What?”

“Autumn-born scales!”

“What? Are you talking about those poisonous mushrooms?” Li Na asked, looking shocked.

“Yep!”

“That can’t be possible. That poisonous mushroom is easy to spot, and since Feng Qian and the others go up the mountain to pick mushrooms all year round, how could they have picked this one?” Tang Xue said.

Li Yi said with a grave expression, “That’s exactly what I don’t understand. If they’d picked up a cow dung mushroom or some other poisonous variety, you could maybe say they didn’t recognize it. But the Autumn Scaly Ear is so easy to identify—so it clearly wasn’t a case of picking the wrong one by mistake!”

“If it wasn’t a mistake, then what was it?” Li Na asked, puzzled.

“If it wasn’t a mistake, then someone deliberately mixed this highly poisonous mushroom into the basket!” Li Yi said, making a startling claim.

“That… can’t be. Why would Feng Qian and the others do something like that?”

Li Yi shook his head. “I didn’t say Feng Qian and the others did it—they have no motive!”

“If it wasn’t them, then who else could it be?”

Li Yi smiled slightly and said, “Besides them, who else could have had access to these mushrooms?”

“Me!”

Li Yi shot her a look and said, “Don’t be silly. You’re my wife—you’d have no reason to harm me!”

Tang Xue said sheepishly, “I was just going along with what you said!”

But then Tang Xue added, “Apart from the few of us, no one else should have access to these mushrooms, right? After all, we clean them up every day and store them in the dorm—no one else can get in there!”

“No, those male educated youths have a chance to get to them!”

“How could they get to them? These mushrooms aren’t left out in the open,” Tang Xue said.

“Heh, did you go to the bathroom this morning—and only after Feng Qian and the others had left?” Li Yi suddenly asked.

“How did you know?”

“I guessed!”

Li Yi then explained, “The only ones who’d have a reason to harm us are those male educated youths, and they’re the ones with the best opportunity to do it. After all, once Feng Qian and the others left, you were the only one left in the dorm.”

“And as long as they could get you out of the way, or take advantage of a moment when you stepped out, they’d have the chance to mix the poisonous mushrooms into these baskets!”

Hearing Li Yi’s analysis, Tang Xue broke out in a cold sweat.

These mushrooms were all finished products that had been carefully selected; they wouldn’t be inspected again before being sent to the state-run restaurant.

And if the chefs at the state-run restaurant failed to inspect them—or if they simply didn’t know how to identify poisonous mushrooms—it could cost lives.

Li Yi was also seething with anger. He had thought this through thoroughly: if poisonous mushrooms were mixed in with these, the consequences would be devastating.

Setting aside the consequences of accidental ingestion, even if no one ate them and they were merely discovered by the head chef at the state-run restaurant, how would they handle the situation?

The simplest solution would be to terminate the partnership. No matter how much money was at stake, safety had to come first—not even Liu Jingshan would dare gamble with something like this.

It wouldn’t take much—just one death, and they’d all be fired.

What infuriated Li Yi even more was that those bastards were truly ruthless—they had actually chosen the highly toxic autumn scaly ear mushroom.

It’s important to note that this mushroom is typically yellowish-brown, making it easy to mistake for the hazelnut mushroom, and it has no distinctive odor, yet it is extremely toxic.

If accidentally ingested, it not only causes dizziness and nausea but also leads to rapid loss of consciousness and shock.

The poisoner’s intentions were malicious; this wasn’t just a simple lesson for Li Yi, but a clear attempt to send him to prison to rot.

“What should we do now?”

By now, Tang Xue was completely panicked. She never imagined those people could be so jealous—they’d even go so far as to poison someone!

Li Yi said in a grave tone, “Don’t sell these baskets of mushrooms today. I’m taking them to the police station in a moment!”

“Why go to the police station? To file a report?” Tang Xue asked.

“Yes. This is absolutely despicable—it’s tantamount to playing with people’s lives. We have to report it to the police!” Li Yi said.

“Alright! I support you on this. That villain must receive the punishment he deserves!” Tang Xue said, her face flushed with anger.

“Right!”

…….

By the time they arrived at the textile factory gate, Li Na had already packed up her stall.

After selling out her goods, Li Na sat under a large tree at the main entrance of the textile factory, waiting for Li Yi to pick her up.

“Jingle-jangle!”

The bells around the big red mule’s neck startled Li Na out of her doze!

She looked up and saw the familiar bright red mule cart, her younger brother on it, and her best friend and sister-in-law, Tang Xue.

Li Na immediately climbed out from under the shade of the tree and walked toward them with a smile.

“Sis, you must have been waiting a long time!”

Li Yi reined in the mule cart and asked with a smile.

“Not too bad, just a little hungry!”

“How could you starve yourself when you run a food stall?” Li Yi asked in surprise.

“I was so happy today that I forgot to keep track of sales. By the time I remembered, everything was sold out!” Li Na said, looking a bit embarrassed.

In truth, Li Na felt a bit wronged and a bit foolish. Usually, her brother would prepare over three hundred servings of liangpi and two or three hundred white-skinned pancakes.

But because the state-run restaurant and the sugar factory had placed large orders these past few days, Li Yi had been swamped with work, so he’d only managed to prepare two hundred sheets of liangpi and a little over a hundred white-skinned pancakes for her.

There was no way that amount could satisfy the frenzied enthusiasm of the textile factory workers, so by a little before one o’clock, Li Na had already sold out of everything.

By the time she realized she was hungry, there was nothing left in the car except for some condiments!

And she was still quite a distance from the county seat, not to mention that all her stall goods were still there—she couldn’t take them with her.

With no other choice, Li Na had to stay put, waiting for Li Yi on an empty stomach.

“Alright, then take a break. I’ll load the stuff into the car and take you into town for a meal!”

With that, Li Yi loaded all the market stall supplies onto the truck one by one, then set off for the county seat with the two women.

Sales had been so brisk these past few days that they were going through a massive amount of flour daily, so Li Yi had to restock at the supply and marketing cooperative every day.

On the way, Tang Xue asked Li Na with some curiosity, “Sis Na, how does it feel to run a street stall?”

Li Na’s eyes lit up as she replied, “Great—it’s really, really great!”

“Is it really that good?”

Before Li Na could answer, Li Yi chimed in, “How could running a stall be good? My sister just loves the feeling of taking money—in reality, it’s really tiring!”

Li Na chuckled and said, “You really know me well, don’t you?”

“It’s not that I know you—you’re just a money-grubber!” Li Yi said.

“So what if I’m a money-grubber? I’m not stealing or robbing anyone—I’m just enjoying it!”

Then Li Na turned to Tang Xue and said, “Xiao Xue, you don’t know that feeling of making money—it’s just so satisfying. Something that’s only worth a few cents turns into a few dimes the moment we resell it. What could be more joyful than that?”

Tang Xue said thoughtfully, “That really is a joyful thing!”

“Xiao Xue, let me tell you, I think I was born to be a businesswoman!”

“Why?”

“Do you know how much I made today?”

“I don’t know, probably around ten or twenty yuan?” Tang Xue guessed.

“Not a penny more or less—38 yuan!” Li Na said proudly.

“My goodness, that much?” Tang Xue said, somewhat surprised.

“Hehe, that’s because I didn’t bring enough stock today. If I had plenty of goods, I could easily make fifty yuan!”

Li Na was confident—this wasn’t her first time setting up a stall. Every time she stood there, the employees would swarm her.

Hundreds of plates of liangpi would be snapped up in an instant—in fact, she’d even sold nearly all of the chili oil Li Yi used to dress the noodles.

This gave Li Na the illusion that even if she were selling rocks or clods of dirt at her stall, people would still buy them!

While that might be a bit of an exaggeration, Li Na could clearly see the potential in this business.

This wasn’t even a question of making money—it was practically a free-for-all to grab it.

Seeing her third sister’s money-grubbing nature, Li Yi couldn’t help but shake his head.

The reason business was so profitable right now was partly due to the scarcity of goods and partly due to government policies.

Since no one dared to set up a stall openly, Li Na was currently operating in a seller’s market, which naturally made things easy.

Once the government lifts restrictions on individual businesses, more people will enter the market. Competition among small businesses will emerge, and things won’t be as easy as they are now.

Still, this era was just too conservative; there were far too few people willing to be the first to take the plunge. As long as you dared to go out and do business, you wouldn’t have to worry about not making money—it was just a matter of how much.

……..

As the three chatted, the carriage arrived at the state-run restaurant.

When Liu Jingshan saw him, he assumed Li Na had come to settle the bill for the morning’s mountain produce and immediately pulled out the receipt to check the details.

Li Yi didn’t stop him. While Liu Jingshan was tallying the accounts, he went to the front desk and ordered a bowl of pork noodles for her.

The noodles were ready in no time, though to Li Yi’s eyes, they were nothing special.

But whether it was because Li Na was truly hungry or not, she ate the bowl with great relish, even finishing every last drop of the broth.

After finishing the meal, Li Yi went to pay the bill, but Liu Jingshan refused to let him.

In his words, it was just the cost of a bowl of noodles—he certainly could afford it.

Li Yi didn’t insist; given their relationship, there really was no need to argue over a bowl of noodles until they were red in the face.

But this incident also showed that Liu Jingshan was truly a great guy to hang out with!

So Li Yi secretly resolved that if the opportunity ever arose, he would take Liu Jingshan along with him!

People like him are rarely lacking in courage or talent; what they lack is simply an opportunity.

After settling the bill for the mountain produce and the liangpi, Li Yi and his companions left the state-run restaurant.

Once they stepped out of the state-run restaurant, they realized it was getting late, so the three of them hurried straight to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, afraid they might be too late and find it closed.

Don’t let the fact that the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was the equivalent of a modern-day supermarket fool you—it was a bona fide government agency, tasked with the important duties of centralized purchasing and distribution, and it operated under a strict schedule.

Once closing time hit, they shut the doors immediately—they certainly wouldn’t make exceptions for ordinary folks!

Today, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was packed!

Even at this hour, it was bustling with activity!

However, since Li Yi and his group had made a name for themselves earlier by taking down that bald director and his mistress, they had greatly intimidated the other staff at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

The staff at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative had already taken a liking to Li Yi, and as soon as they saw him walk in, a middle-aged woman in her forties immediately came over to greet him.

You definitely don’t want to cross this guy—if he gets upset, he’ll really come after you!

“Comrade, you’re back again. What are you buying this time? Let me help you pick something out,” the saleswoman asked warmly as soon as she approached.

“Flour, rapeseed oil…”

With the previous experience fresh in their minds, no one dared to underestimate Li Yi and his group anymore.

A cautionary tale—a hard-learned lesson.

Soon, thanks to the sales clerk’s enthusiastic service, Li Yi and his group had bought everything they needed!

Afterward, the three of them rode the bright red mule back to Nianzishan Village!

After eating and drinking their fill, the roofers waited until the sun wasn’t so scorching before heading to the new house to finish the roof!

Meanwhile, Li Yi drove his bright red mule cart to the county seat to pick up his third older sister and bring her home.

Knowing Tang Xue had nothing to do that afternoon, Li Yi decided to take her along as well.

First, to spend some quality time together on the road, and second, to give her a chance to see the world!

Under the blazing sun, the cart swayed along the rural gravel road.

Li Yi guided the mule while chatting with Tang Xue.

“Honey, the house will be mostly finished by tomorrow. After that, we’ll just need to grout the exterior walls and build the courtyard wall, and then it’s time for the interior work. Do you have any ideas?”

Tang Xue looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how do you want the house to look?” Li Yi asked.

“Well… is there a choice?”

“Of course! It’s mainly for us to live in, so we should do it exactly how we want!”

“I haven’t really thought about it. Back when I was living at home, I shared a room with my younger sister, so my biggest wish back then was just to have my own room. As for how the house looks, I really don’t have any specific requests!”

Tang Xue continued, “When we got engaged, you didn’t mention building a house. I never expected our house to be finished so quickly—I’m really satisfied with it already!”

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “In that case, I’ll just watch the renovation!”

“Okay!”

“By the way, honey, once the house is finished, it’ll probably need to air out for a while before we can move in. So after we get married, we’ll have to stay at the old house for a few more months!” Li Yi said.

“That’s fine, but I don’t want to live with my parents. Just clear out the room you’re living in now, and we’ll stay there!” Tang Xue said.

“Alright! I figure the renovations will take a week at most. We’ll have our hands full by then!”

“Busy with what?”

“Hehe, we’ll have to decorate our wedding suite and start preparing for the wedding!” Li Yi said.

Tang Xue blushed and said, “Didn’t you say we wouldn’t be living in the new house? Why are we decorating it now?”

“We won’t be living there permanently, but on our wedding day, I’ll bring you to the new house—I want to give you a perfect wedding!”

Li Yi continued, “Only a new home is worthy of my bride, Li Yi. I want to make you the envy of every woman!”

Tang Xue said, somewhat moved, “There’s no need for that…”

Before she could finish, Li Yi cut her off, saying, “It is necessary. I have to make sure that when the villagers talk about you, Tang Xue, and me, Li Yi, they think of a perfect wedding—not that time we got cornered on the kang!”

Hearing Li Yi bring up that day’s events, Tang Xue blushed even deeper.

After a long silence, she finally mustered the courage to say, “Actually… actually, I didn’t blame you for what happened that day…”

“You don’t need to comfort me. A mistake is a mistake. A real man has to admit when he’s wrong—I’ve got the courage for that!” Li Yi said with a smile.

However, the expression on Tang Xue’s face was a bit strange. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she didn’t speak. Instead, a hint of apology flickered in her eyes as she looked at Li Yi.

What Tang Xue really wanted to tell Li Yi was that he wasn’t entirely to blame for what happened that day; she bore some responsibility as well.

In fact, she bore even more of the blame.

Why do I say that?

In fact, Li Yi had indeed been very drunk that day, but Tang Xue had only been slightly tipsy—nowhere near the point of passing out.

When Li Yi came back in the middle of the night, Tang Xue knew it.

She even knew when he took off his clothes right in front of her and crawled into bed.

If she had just shouted for help back then, none of that would have happened.

After all, Li Shankui and his wife, as well as Li Na, were right next door; they could have easily arrived before Li Yi did “that” to her.

But Tang Xue didn’t call out. In fact, when Li Yi was fumbling around, unable to find the right spot, she even gave him a hand!

Tang Xue knew exactly what she wanted: even if she had to marry a good-for-nothing like Li Yi, she’d rather not marry that old widower surnamed Liu.

Even if she ultimately couldn’t escape that terrible fate, she refused to let that Liu guy have her first time.

So, rather than saying Li Yi “did that” to her that day, it would be more accurate to say she actively seduced him.

However, although Tang Xue had made all the necessary preparations, she never imagined that Li Yi’s stamina would exceed her expectations.

She’d thought it would be over quickly, but that guy kept at it for over two hours. In the end, completely exhausted, she fainted just before Li Yi climaxed.

When she woke up again, she found herself pinned down on the kang.

That’s exactly why Tang Xue didn’t actually hate Li Yi. Even if she felt a bit resentful, it was only because she was annoyed that he’d taken so long.

Just now, seeing the look of guilt on Li Yi’s face, a twinge of guilt stirred within her, so she wanted to tell him the truth about what had happened.

But just as the words were on the tip of her tongue, Li Yi cut her off, and she lost the courage to speak again.

More importantly, Tang Xue also wondered: if Li Yi knew the truth, would he still marry her?

After all, a major reason he agreed to marry her was because he felt he had taken advantage of her and was deeply remorseful.

If that guilt were gone, wouldn’t the outcome be different?

Secondly, if Li Yi found out that she had seduced him that day, would he look down on her and see her as a loose woman?

These were all things Tang Xue had to consider.

“What are you thinking about?”

Li Yi saw his wife suddenly fall silent and hurriedly asked.

“Well…”

Seeing Tang Xue hesitating to speak, Li Yi smiled and said, “We’re about to become a family. There’s nothing to be shy about!”

Tang Xue nodded and said, “What I want to ask is, if one day you find out I’ve lied to you, what would you do?”

Li Yi smiled and asked, “Would you ever hurt me?”

Tang Xue quickly shook her head and said, “No, how could I ever harm you!”

“Then would you lie to me out of kindness or malice?” Li Yi asked again.

“I suppose it’s out of good intentions. I never meant to harm you!” Tang Xue replied.

“Well, that settles it. Since you have no intention of harming me, it’s understandable if there are some secrets you don’t want me to know!”

In fact, this was exactly what Li Yi was thinking. Just like Tang Xue, Li Yi had his own secrets—ones he absolutely couldn’t share with anyone, such as the fact that he was a reincarnated soul.

But as Li Yi had just said, his decision to keep things from Tang Xue was entirely out of goodwill; he had absolutely no intention of harming her.

In fact, if one of them had to be hurt, Li Yi would rather it be him.

Tang Xue, of course, had no idea that this was what Li Yi was truly thinking. When she heard what he had just said, she was completely overwhelmed with emotion.

After a long while, having calmed her emotional turmoil, Tang Xue finally said to Li Yi, “Thank you!”

“Saying ‘thank you’ between us feels too formal. I don’t want to hear those words from you again in the future, okay?” Li Yi said.

“You’re so bossy!”

“Do you like it?” Li Yi asked with a smile.

“I do!”

“Hahaha, I like it too!”

…….

Back home, his mother, Zhang Yuehong, had already steamed the cake batter and washed the vegetables and meat, waiting only for Li Yi to return to cook.

Seeing her son return with several female educated youth, Zhang Yuehong hurriedly invited everyone inside.

Tang Xue, Sun Lu, and the others knew exactly why they were there, so as soon as they entered, they immediately pitched in to help.

Yesterday, Li Yi had bought ten pounds of meat; he planned to use half for stir-fries and half for stews.

The meat for stir-frying was sliced thinly, while the meat for braising was cut into triangular chunks.

By the time the meat was cut, Tang Xue and the others had already peeled the potatoes, and the other ingredients were nearly ready.

Li Yi immediately began preparing the stew, since it took the longest compared to stir-frying.

He heated oil in a wok, added the meat, and stir-fried it to render some of the fat. Then he added scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers to sauté until fragrant, before adding the potatoes and continuing to stir-fry.

Finally, add water and simmer over low heat.

As for the side dishes—such as Chinese cabbage, tofu, and glass noodles—there’s a specific order for adding them to the pot; different ingredients require different timing.

While the stew was simmering, my mother had already started frying the oil cakes on a makeshift stove with Zhang Xinyao and Feng Qian.

These fried cakes are a local specialty of the northern frontier, made from millet flour.

Those not fried are called plain cakes, while the fried ones are called fried cakes.

These treats are usually only eaten during festivals or family celebrations, mainly because they use so much oil that most families simply can’t afford them.

Originally, Mother had thought that since it was just a house-raising ceremony, steamed buns would suffice for the main meal.

After all, the family was planning a celebration soon, so there would be plenty of time to enjoy the fried cakes then.

But Li Yi strongly disagreed. Putting the ridge beam in place was a joyous occasion in itself—how could they skimp on it?

Anyway, for him, a meal of fried cakes was no big deal—it certainly wouldn’t break the bank.

After setting the stew aside and chopping up the other side dishes, Li Yi hopped on his bicycle and headed over to the new house.

For such a “big event” as the beam-raising ceremony, how could he, as the homeowner, not be there in person!

By the time Li Yi arrived at the new house, the carpenters had already finished preparing for the beam-raising ceremony. All the purlins were in place, ready to be hoisted onto the roof.

The reason people place such importance on the beam-raising ceremony is, on the one hand, because building a house is a major undertaking in rural areas—it can potentially drain a generation’s lifetime savings, and the house will be home to several generations after it’s completed.

That’s why rural people pay close attention to so many details when building a house.

Secondly, the process of “raising the ridge beam” is not only relatively dangerous, but the alignment of the beam—whether it’s straight or crooked—also affects the quality of the house. After all, if the ridge beam isn’t straight, the rest of the structure will be crooked!

Consequently, many people in rural communities place great importance on the “raising the ridge beam” ceremony.

The date for the Li family’s beam-raising ceremony was specially chosen by the old master, all for the sake of good luck.

The master also stated that today’s date avoids inauspicious influences like the Tai Sui, making it an auspicious day.

Not only that, but the time for the beam-raising ceremony was set for noon.

The master explained that as noon approaches, yang energy is at its peak and yin energy is entirely absent, making it an auspicious time.

Upon seeing Li Yi arrive, Master Zhao, who was presiding over the beam-raising ceremony, immediately asked him to come forward to “hang the red cloth.”

“Hanging the red cloth” refers to wrapping a piece of red cloth around the center of the beam before the ceremony and affixing red paper at both ends of the beam inscribed with auspicious phrases such as “Great Auspiciousness for the Beam-Raising” and “The Azure Dragon supports the jade pillar; the White Tiger spans the golden beam,” as a symbol of good fortune.

After “hanging the red cloth,” the “beam offering” ceremony follows. Before the formal raising of the beam, the host family must perform a ritual offering.

For the “Beam Sacrifice,” three trays of offerings must be prepared, along with fresh flowers and the carpenter’s chalk line and T-square. Incense, candles, and joss paper are then lit for the ritual.

During the ceremony, after lighting the incense and candles, Master Zhao chanted: “Today, we perform the ‘Beam-Raising Ritual.’ Heaven and Earth open wide; wealth flows abundantly; people and horses thrive. Golden Boys and Jade Girls lend their strength to lift us upward; the roof is completed in perfection; all gather in this magnificent hall. Finally, firecrackers are lit to dispel ‘evil spirits.’”

Once everything was ready, the beam-raising ceremony officially began!

There are specific rules for this as well: eight young men whose parents are both alive and who have auspicious birth charts must be selected to climb onto the wall to “pull the beam.” Young men whose parents are not both alive or who have inauspicious birth charts are not permitted to “pull the beam.”

As the “beam-pulling” begins, the carpenter chants aloud: “Below, the golden rooster crows; above, the phoenix descends. Everyone, give it your all—let’s build this magnificent hall!”

Once the beam is hoisted onto the ridge, its position must be adjusted—a process commonly known as “stabilizing the beam.”

During “stabilizing the beam,” the principle of “the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right” must be observed: the left end of the beam is raised slightly, while the right end is lowered slightly.

Once the beam is in place, the final step is “throwing the beam,” which refers to scattering sorghum.

Master Zhao stood atop the beam and tossed sorghum mixed with candies, peanuts, and colored paper from the air.

At the same time, firecrackers prepared earlier on the construction site outside the new house were lit, and amid the lively crackling sounds, the beam-raising ceremony was finally completed.

Seeing that it was about time, Li Yi immediately called out to his father and the other workers to pack up and head home for lunch, while he rode ahead on his bicycle.

Back home, his mother immediately asked about how the beam-raising ceremony had gone.

Li Yi patiently recounted the details of the ceremony, and upon learning that everything had gone smoothly, his mother was overjoyed.

The biggest fear with a beam-raising ceremony is that some kind of accident might occur. After all, those heavy solid wood beams—if one were to fall from above and hit someone, it could truly be fatal.

Even if it didn’t kill anyone, it wouldn’t be a good omen!

People in the countryside take this very seriously, so hearing that everything went smoothly naturally made her very happy.

Li Yi, however, hadn’t cared much about this before; he didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits.

But after experiencing rebirth, for some reason, he too began to feel a sense of apprehension.

After all, if something as extraordinary as rebirth could happen to him, what else was impossible?

Fortunately, everything went smoothly—a good omen!

In a good mood, he got to work with renewed energy.

Before the workers returned, Li Yi took charge of the wok and started cooking!

Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, Sun Lu, Zhong Na, and the others were seeing Li Yi cook for the first time. They watched as he skillfully handled the spatula, and one after another, dishes that were visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious came fresh off the stove.

Everyone looked at Tang Xue with envy!

Originally, after the two were caught in bed together, they had all felt sorry for Tang Xue, thinking that such a fine young woman had been taken advantage of by Li Yi, that good-for-nothing.

Even after the Li family agreed to marry Tang Xue into the family, no one still held out much hope for them, because Li Yi really wasn’t a suitable match.

But looking back now, they actually found themselves envying Tang Xue a little.

Ever since they’d made their relationship official, Li Yi had been like a different person—not only had he started working hard to make money, but his previously violent temper had also mellowed considerably.

And his treatment of Tang Xue was beyond reproach—the cupboard in their dorm was packed with all sorts of delicious food and useful items, each one making them green with envy.

Now he’s even learned how to cook—he’s practically the perfect man!

But while they were envious, they weren’t jealous.

They all understood Tang Xue’s character; a kind-hearted girl like her deserved to be treated well.

So, everyone was genuinely happy for Tang Xue that she’d found such a good match!

At three in the morning, Nianzishan Village was beautiful. The sky was dotted with starlight, and a light had come on in Li Yi’s house.

The light from the house mingled with the starlight above, yet everything appeared hazy and indistinct.

The distant green mountains had turned into a dark, forbidding mass.

The occasional bark of a dog echoed through the village, adding a touch of mystery to this quiet hamlet.

Since there was simply too much liangpi to make today, Li Yi had no choice but to get up several hours early to rush through the work; otherwise, it would be impossible to deliver over a thousand portions of liangpi to the city before noon.

Li Yi skillfully placed batches of proofed dough into clear water to wash them, filling all ten or so of his newly purchased, massive aluminum basins to the brim.

Washing the dough was hard physical labor, so even though early morning was the coolest time of the day, Li Yi was still working up a sweat.

At four o’clock, his third older sister, hearing the commotion, climbed out of bed and came over to help.

Although she was happy to see her younger brother had turned his life around and become so hardworking, Li Na’s heart was filled with joy.

But seeing him rise before dawn every day to make liangpi, spend his days driving a mule cart to set up stalls and deliver goods, and sort mountain produce at night—busy as a spinning top—she couldn’t help but feel a pang of concern for him.

So, whenever she could, she tried to help out as much as possible!

What could she do? After all, she was the older sister!

Watching sheet after sheet of liangpi come out of the pot and get placed in large basins to set aside, both sister and brother were delighted!

Every sheet they made meant 15 cents in their pocket.

Don’t look down on 15 cents—in an era where people haggled over every penny, 15 cents could buy an incredible amount.

For example, a pound of flour costs just 16 cents, rice is 18 cents, corn is 9 cents, and cabbage is 2 cents. Even a movie ticket in town costs only 20 cents.

So a profit of 15 cents per sheet of liangpi was practically a windfall!

Most importantly, making liangpi doesn’t require much skill; in most households in Qin Province, people make it themselves. It’s only up here in the north that people consider it a rarity.

But regardless, right now this is a unique business opportunity—and it’s a surefire way to make money!

By 8:00 a.m., over 1,400 servings of liangpi were ready, filling two large buckets.

The siblings then went to the vegetable garden to pick greens for the side dishes.

But they soon realized there weren’t enough vegetables in the garden.

The Li family’s vegetable garden was quite large—nearly an acre—and every year they grew more vegetables than they could possibly eat, occasionally even sneaking some into town to sell.

But this year, since Li Yi had started this small business selling liangpi, their vegetable consumption had skyrocketed. In just half a month, they’d already used up nearly all the vegetables they’d grown themselves.

So Li Yi asked Uncle Shuanchu next door for permission and went over to pick a few baskets of vegetables from his garden.

Of course, he paid for them!

If they were short on a particular vegetable at home and asked their neighbors for some, it would naturally be free.

But this was a different matter, and since the quantity was substantial, he had to pay.

However, time was a bit tight today, so he didn’t discuss the price with Uncle Shuan Zhu in detail—they’d settle that when he got back!

At eight o’clock, the bright red mule cart finally set off for the educated youth commune.

By the time they left the sent-down youth camp, the entire mule cart looked rather overloaded.

Because there was so much cargo, not only was the entire cargo area filled with baskets of all sizes, but there was even a layer piled on top.

Even though everything was tied down with ropes, it still looked pretty dangerous.

Li Na suggested borrowing another cart from the production team, but Li Yi shot down the idea.

Their family had already borrowed one mule cart from the production team; borrowing another would invite gossip from the others.

Since borrowing wasn’t an option, he decided to buy one!

That’s right—the mule cart they were currently using didn’t belong to Li Yi’s family; it was borrowed from the production team.

Ever since the days of the agricultural cooperatives, all means of production—including cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys—as well as tools, had been collectively owned. Before the nationwide implementation of the household contract responsibility system, ordinary members did not own their own large livestock.

The main reason Li Yi had been able to use the big red mule for so long was that his father, Li Shankui, was the production team’s wagon driver, and the big red mule was under his care.

During the off-season, to make it easier to care for the big red mule, Li Shankui brought it home—a decision that unexpectedly turned out to be a great help to Li Yi.

However, field work would soon pick up again, so the matter of the cart had to be addressed.

After all, borrowing the production team’s mule cart every day didn’t seem right; having one of his own would always be more convenient.

But he’d have to discuss this properly with his father first!

…….

Since they had set out late today, it was already 10:30 by the time they arrived at the State-run Hotel.

After hurriedly unloading 400 portions of liangpi and five or six baskets of mountain produce, Li Yi didn’t wait for Liu Jingshan to settle the payment; instead, he headed straight for the sugar factory on the outskirts.

After delivering the cold noodles and white flatbreads to the sugar factory, Li Yi didn’t wait for payment either, and then hurriedly left.

He had no choice—today was the beam-raising ceremony for the new house back home, and Li Yi had to hurry back to cook for the workers helping build it.

After leaving the sugar factory, Li Yi dropped Li Na off at the entrance to the textile mill, unloaded the cart, and then rode his big red mule back to the village.

Compared to a horse-drawn cart, riding a mule was much faster.

Don’t let the mule’s appearance fool you—it may not look as majestic or imposing as a horse, but it actually combines the best traits of both horses and donkeys. Whether in terms of endurance or speed, it far surpasses a horse.

The bright red mule covered the dozen-mile journey in just over half an hour.

Li Yi first made a trip to the educated youth commune. With the house-raising ceremony at his family’s home today, they needed to prepare meals for over twenty people—a task Li Yi certainly couldn’t handle alone.

So Li Yi had already arranged for Tang Xue and the other female educated youth to come help.

By the time Li Yi arrived, Tang Xue, Zhang Xinyao, Feng Qian, and the others were already ready. When the female educated youth saw that Li Yi had actually ridden over on the big red mule, their eyes widened in surprise.

Already tall and handsome, Li Yi looked full of vigor and vitality as he sat atop the mule, just like a knight from ancient times.

Riding up to Tang Xue, Li Yi swung himself down from the mule’s back and said to her, “Want to give it a try?”

Tang Xue was quite tempted, but she still said, “I don’t dare!”

“It’s fine. I’ll hold the reins for you. We won’t run—we’ll just walk slowly!” Li Yi said.

“You really won’t run?”

“Yep!”

Tang Xue was just a teenager, naturally full of curiosity about new experiences.

After receiving Li Yi’s assurance, she nodded immediately.

Then, Li Yi helped her onto the back of the bright red mule, had her grab a tuft of its mane, and, holding the reins himself, the group headed straight for Li Yi’s home!