Chapter 8: Beating Up Xu Hong
In the male educated youth dormitory, Xu Hong was drinking with a few close friends from his hometown!
Since the government had already begun arranging for the educated youth to return to the city, the village brigade rarely assigned them farm work anymore, making their lives much easier.
Xu Hong felt extremely resentful because the girl he had his eye on was about to marry the village’s notorious ne’er-do-well, and the two had even been caught in bed together. To make matters worse, that slut refused to give him her spot to return to the city.
So, after causing a scene with Tang Xue, he bought two bottles of liquor and returned, asking his fellow villagers to join him in drowning his sorrows!
Just as they were getting into the swing of things, they suddenly heard a loud “thud,” followed by the wooden door being kicked open from the outside!
Immediately, a towering figure appeared in the doorway!
“Who’s Xu Hong? Get the hell out here!”
Upon seeing Li Yi, the educated youths in the dormitory all instinctively shuddered!
Li Yi didn’t recognize them, but they all recognized him!
In the entire Nianzishan Brigade, the person you absolutely couldn’t cross wasn’t the village Party secretary Feng Kai, nor the village chief Chen Tingying—it was this guy.
It wasn’t because he was particularly powerful, but because the kid was bold, a real troublemaker, and had no moral boundaries.
He was exactly the kind of person who, like a toad on your foot, didn’t bite but was still a nuisance—even the Party Secretary and the Village Chief found him a headache!
When Xu Hong saw Li Yi, he instinctively flinched, but then, remembering that the girl he’d been pursuing had been snatched away by this scumbag using such despicable tactics, his eyes immediately turned red with rage.
He kicked the stool out from under him and shouted at Li Yi, “That’s exactly who I am!”
Li Yi was already seething inside, and hearing this kid speak in such a defiant tone sent him into a rage.
Without another word, Li Yi took a swift step forward and kicked the small square dining table.
Under the force of Li Yi’s kick, the small square table flew straight toward Xu Hong!
“Boom!”
Xu Hong’s stomach made intimate contact with the table. The immense force sent his body flying backward, and he was pinned beneath the table.
In an instant, the leftover food and dishes on the table crashed down on Xu Hong—it was as disgusting and humiliating as it could possibly be!
At that moment, the other educated youths finally snapped out of it. They were all Xu Hong’s friends, and seeing him being bullied, they couldn’t stand it. While some rushed to pull Xu Hong off the ground, others stepped forward to confront Li Yi.
“What gives you the right to hit someone? Is there no law anymore?”
“Exactly! Are you picking on us educated youth just because we’re from out of town?”
“If you don’t give us an explanation today, we’re going to see Secretary Feng right after this…”
However, Li Yi’s piercing gaze swept over the group of educated youths, and he coldly replied, “An explanation? You’ll get it once I’m done beating him!”
With that, Li Yi charged at Xu Hong once more. The blow from earlier had been merely an appetizer; today, he was determined to make this foul-mouthed bastard pay the price!
Seeing Li Yi charge at Xu Hong again, the other educated youths were instantly enraged. Someone shouted, “This is outrageous! Take him down!” and in an instant, the group in the room all lunged at Li Yi.
Yet Li Yi showed no fear whatsoever; fighting was his specialty.
Not only was he naturally a tough, aggressive guy, but in his previous life, he’d even trained in martial arts. Normally, three or five people wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
In an instant, Li Yi landed a punch squarely on one of the educated youth’s face, sending stars dancing before his eyes and blood gushing from his nose as he staggered backward.
Next, he grabbed the fist of another attacker coming at him, then used the momentum to execute a shoulder throw, slamming the man hard onto the ground.
Then, with a sweeping kick, he dodged another man’s side kick while knocking him to the ground, and as the man was about to hit the ground, he kicked him in the stomach.
In an instant, the man took a heavy blow and was sent flying backward, finally crashing into a wooden bed on the side of the room, where he was rendered incapacitated.
In less than a minute, all four educated youths in the room—except for Xu Hong—had been rendered incapacitated.
Watching Li Yi walk toward him step by step, Xu Hong’s calves trembled, and his mind—previously clouded by anger and alcohol—cleared.
“You… what do you want… don’t come any closer…”
Li Yi gave a cold smile, stepped forward, and grabbed him by the hair. Not bothered by the disgusting slop all over the guy, he slapped him hard across the face several times, leaving Xu Hong bleeding from the nose and mouth, seeing stars!
“Aren’t you supposed to be tough? Let’s hear you scream a little.”
“Bullying a woman? You’re a fucking disgrace to real men. Try touching her again, if you dare!”
“You dare to mess with my wife? You really think I’m some saintly saint…”
The sounds of the fight alerted people in the other dorm rooms, and soon the doorway was swarming with onlookers. But when they saw that it was Li Yi doing the beating, no one dared step forward to stop him.
Just then, Li Na and Tang Xue rushed over with the village Party secretary, Feng Kai. Upon seeing the scene inside, Feng Kai immediately shouted, “Stop it!”
When Li Yi saw that it was the old Party Secretary Feng Kai, he immediately let go of Xu Hong, who had already been beaten to a pulp!
Feng Kai immediately stepped into the room. He looked at the beaten educated youths and the mess scattered across the floor, then fixed his gaze on Li Yi and asked, “Did you do all this?”
“Yes!” Li Yi didn’t deny it; he admitted it straight away!
“Why did you beat them? With this kind of thuggish behavior, I could have the police come and arrest you!” Feng Kai demanded in a stern voice.
“There’s a reason I hit them, of course. Otherwise, who would be so bored as to do something like this for no reason?”
“What reason? If you don’t give me a clear explanation today, I’ll definitely call the police station and have you locked up for ten days to two weeks!” Feng Kai shouted.
Although he was a local, he was also the village Party branch secretary, and he had to handle this matter fairly; otherwise, it would easily provoke discontent among the educated youth.
Besides, he truly believed that Shan Kui’s good-for-nothing son deserved a lesson; otherwise, who knew what kind of trouble he might cause.
However, Li Yi’s next words took him completely by surprise: “Because he’s bullying my wife!”
“Bullied your wife? Where did you get a wife?”
Li Yi pointed to Tang Xue standing behind Feng Kai and said, “Xiao Xue is my wife. Although our relationship did start with a misunderstanding, Xiao Xue is close friends with my third older sister. Both my parents and I like her—she is the wife our Li family has chosen.”
“But now my wife has been bullied. Don’t you think I should stand up for her?”
Feng Kai had been in the front yard organizing reports when Li Na and Tang Xue suddenly dragged him over, so he didn’t know exactly what had happened.
Hearing this, he immediately sensed there was more to the story and asked, “So, from what you’re saying, those guys bullied Xiaoxue, and that’s why you hit them, right?”
Li Yi pointed at Xu Hong and said, “It wasn’t them—it was him. It’s this bastard who bullied my wife!”
“Xu Hong? How did he bully Xiao Xue?” Feng Kai asked, furrowing his brow.
Deep down, Feng Kai didn’t like Xu Hong. Although the guy wasn’t as good-for-nothing as Li Yi, he wasn’t very diligent during production either and often cut corners.
Li Yi knew he had to set the record straight—not to exonerate himself, but to make sure all these educated youths knew that Tang Xue was his wife. Anyone who dared to gossip or spread rumors behind her back had better think twice about whether they had the guts to face the consequences.
So, right then and there, he publicly exposed how Xu Hong had bullied Tang Xue!
By the time Li Yi returned to Nianzishan Village, it was already past three in the afternoon.
Instead of going straight home, he drove his mule cart to the educated youth settlement in the village committee compound.
Since a large number of educated youth were returning to the cities and those with connections had already left, the once bustling compound now seemed deserted.
In his previous life, Li Yi had once accompanied his third older sister here to deliver something to Tang Xue, so he vaguely remembered that Tang Xue lived in a side room on the west side of the courtyard.
After tying the mule’s reins to a massive poplar tree that took two people to encircle, Li Yi took the twisted bread and headed toward Tang Xue’s quarters.
Just as he reached the doorway, he heard stifled sobs coming from inside, along with the soothing voice of his third older sister, Li Na.
Fearing something had happened to Tang Xue, Li Yi pushed the wooden door open with all his might!
What met his eyes was a room in utter disarray: the table had been overturned, its contents scattered across the floor. Li Yi even spotted a thermos on the ground, with shards of glass strewn everywhere—the inner liner had clearly shattered.
Tang Xue was slumped on the cold floor, sobbing uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling slightly, her expression heartbroken and despairing.
Her older sister, Li Na, was holding her close, offering constant comfort.
The sound of Li Yi pushing open the door startled the two. When they saw it was him, they both froze.
Although Li Yi didn’t know what had happened, he could tell that Tang Xue had clearly been wronged.
He immediately strode over. Under the stunned gazes of the two women, he scooped Tang Xue up from the cold floor and laid her on the wooden bed nearby.
Then, Li Yi looked at his third sister and asked, “Sis, what happened?”
Li Na was about to speak when she saw Tang Xue frantically shaking her head at her.
Li Na snapped out of it instantly. She’d really lost her mind—she knew exactly what kind of person this kid was.
If he found out what had happened, he’d cause an absolute uproar, and the resulting chaos would be impossible to contain.
With that in mind, she immediately tried to come up with an excuse to brush it off!
However, Li Yi was no ordinary person—he was a billionaire tycoon from decades in the future. How could he not see through the two women’s little schemes?
So, before Li Na could say a word, he cut in: “Sis, no matter what happened, we’ll face it together. Running away won’t do any good!”
“Besides, the village is this small—you can’t hide anything here. Even if you don’t tell me, I can find out just by asking around. Don’t even think about trying to fool me!”
Li Na opened her mouth, then finally shot Li Yi a withering glare and snapped, “It’s all because of the trouble you little bastard caused—and you still have the nerve to ask!”
Li Yi knew this must be related to what happened yesterday, so he said awkwardly, “Sis, let’s talk about the issue at hand. No need for personal attacks!”
“Hmph. You know Xu Hong, right? He’s the one who trashed this place!”
“Xu Hong? Who’s that?” Li Yi asked, furrowing his brow.
Li Na clearly hadn’t expected Li Yi to have no idea who Xu Hong was, so she quickly explained, “Xu Hong is just like Xiao Xue—they’re both educated youths from Qin Province, so they’re practically hometown friends.”
An image of a guy with a sharp nose and sunken cheeks instantly popped into Li Yi’s mind. Such a character had occasionally appeared around Tang Xue in the past, often claiming to be her fellow villager—it must be that guy.
“Why would he smash up Xiao Xue’s dorm room?”
“It’s all for that spot to return to the city!”
“A spot to return to the city?”
“Exactly! Xiao Xue has already secured a spot to return to the city, but with this incident, if she marries you, she’ll no longer meet the requirements to return, and she’ll have to give up that spot!”
Li Na continued, “Xu Hong knows about this too, so he came looking for her today, trying to get Xiao Xue to give him that spot. But Xiao Xue is torn about it right now—she hasn’t decided whether to give up her return-to-city spot, so naturally she couldn’t agree to anything!”
“I never expected that guy to lose his temper so suddenly. Not only did he say a lot of nasty things, but he also flipped the table over!”
Upon hearing this, Li Yi immediately frowned and asked again, “The spot belongs to Xiao Xue. How she chooses to handle it is her own business. Giving it to him would be a favor; not giving it to him is her right. What gives him the right to flip the table?”
Li Na glanced at Tang Xue, then at Li Yi, and said, “He… he used to be after Xiao Xue, but she turned him down! And you, you’ve spread the word about Xiao Xue’s… that whole thing all over the brigade. Maybe that bastard found out and got jealous, so he came in spewing nothing but filth!”
“What exactly did he say?”
“Well…”
Seeing that Third Sister was hesitant to speak, Li Yi pressed her immediately, “Sis, at a time like this, what’s there to be shy about?”
Just then, Tang Xue suddenly looked up and shouted in a hoarse voice, “You wanted to know what he said, didn’t you? Fine, I’ll tell you! He said I’m promiscuous and immoral, that a young woman like me crawls into other men’s beds on my own, that I’m a slut, and that I should be dragged through the streets…”
Hearing this, Li Yi flew into a rage.
He didn’t bother listening to the rest. He tossed the twisted doughnut he was holding onto Tang Xue’s bed, turned on his heel, and stormed out the door, heading straight for the dormitory of the male educated youths in the front courtyard!
Seeing this, Li Na knew things had gone terribly wrong!
Her younger brother was a hothead; once he got worked up, no one could stop him. If she didn’t hold him back today, blood would definitely be shed!
With that thought, she rushed out and called out urgently, “Xiao Yi, stop right there…”
Without turning his head, Li Yi said, “Sis, you go back and watch over Xiao Xue. I’m going to find that bastard. How dare he bully my wife? Does he really think all the men in the Li family are dead?”
“Xiao Yi, don’t be so impulsive. It’s not worth getting into a fight over this…”
“What do you mean it’s not worth it? That son of a bitch is picking on my wife. If I don’t stand up for her now, I’ll be a cuckold!”
With that, he shook off Li Na’s attempt to stop him and continued charging toward the male educated youth dormitory!
Inside the room, Tang Xue listened as Li Yi kept calling her “wife” outside the door. Her heart, which had been lifeless until then, suddenly stirred with emotion!
Li Yi might not be the perfect match, but it was clear he truly cared about her.
Moreover, after that incident, he’d decided to marry her right away—he certainly had a sense of responsibility.
If it weren’t for his family’s truly dismal circumstances and his own utterly tainted reputation, marrying him wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.
But that thought only flashed through her mind for a moment—everyone in Nianzi Mountain Brigade knew exactly what kind of person Li Yi was!
Being lazy and good-for-nothing was one thing, but he also loved to pilfer and steal—stealing a chicken today, snatching a few eggs tomorrow. If anything went missing in the village, he was the one to blame.
On top of that, he was the ringleader of the local rascals—all the fifteen- and sixteen-year-old troublemakers in the village listened to him. That bunch of half-grown boys had no sense of responsibility; last year, they even killed and roasted one of the brigade’s sheep. In the end, Li Shankui had to pay compensation to the brigade to settle the matter!
Could anyone possibly marry a man like that?
At this thought, tears welled up in Tang Xue’s eyes once again!
After lunch, during a break, Li Shankui puffed on his pipe and asked, “Xiao Yi, I want to ask you—what are your plans for the future?”
“What do you mean, ‘what am I going to do’?”
“You’re about to get married soon. You can’t just sit around at home forever—you’ve got to find something to do!”
Before Li Yi could answer, Li Na, sitting nearby, chimed in with a look of disdain: “He’s so delicate and soft—what could he possibly do? He can’t even bend over to work in the fields, and he doesn’t have any connections to get a job at the factory!”
Tang Xue instinctively glanced at Li Yi and found that he was indeed just as Li Na had described: his skin was fine and fair, with a delicate, porcelain-like complexion. Paired with his square jaw and broad brows, he was actually quite handsome.
If it weren’t for his somewhat tattered clothes, he wouldn’t look a bit out of place among the young men in town.
But the more she saw this, the more sorrowful Tang Xue felt inside!
What good is being good-looking? It doesn’t put food on the table!
This was the countryside, after all. Every young man here was the family’s main laborer—everyone worked the fields until their hands ached, their skin weathered by sun and wind until it looked like a baked potato, and their hands were covered in calluses.
In the entire Nianzishan Brigade, aside from Li Yi, it would be hard to find anyone with skin as soft and delicate as his.
The thought of having to spend the rest of her life with a man who couldn’t lift a finger or carry a load made Tang Xue want to burst into tears!
If it weren’t for certain special reasons keeping her from returning to the city, she’d really just want to walk away…
“Dad, what do you think about me going to the county seat to sell liangpi?” Li Yi suddenly spoke up.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Li Shankui’s face fell, and his voice rose sharply. “Are you out of your mind? That’s profiteering! If you get caught, you’ll end up in jail!”
Hearing the word “jail,” Zhang Yuehong also panicked and hurriedly said, “Son, you can’t be so reckless! If all else fails, we’ll just farm the land here. With me and your father helping out, we’ll never let you and Xue go hungry!”
Li Yi immediately retorted, “It’s just setting up a small stall to sell some liangpi. How is that profiteering?”
Li Yi continued, “Dad, I read in the newspaper a few days ago that because so many educated youth have returned to the city and are unemployed, the government has allowed them to set up street stalls to make a living.”
“Besides, the authorities have made it clear that cases of profiteering are primarily handled by the Administration for Industry and Commerce. Only serious or major cases requiring investigation are handed over to the public security authorities. Even if selling cold noodles is deemed profiteering, the worst that could happen is having our illegal earnings confiscated by the Administration for Industry and Commerce—we’d definitely never go to jail!”
Li Shankui hesitated for a moment, but then said firmly, “That still won’t do. Look around the city—who dares to do something like that? If we get caught, we’ll be made an example of!”
“Dad, just like my third sister said, I can’t stand the hard work of farm labor, and no factory will hire me. You can support me for a while, but can you really support me for the rest of my life?”
Li Yi continued, “Liangpi is definitely a novelty here in Qing Shan County. It’s delicious, affordable, and doesn’t cost much to make. Even if—just to be safe—they really don’t let us set up stalls in town, we won’t lose much. So I want to give it a try!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Li Shankui’s expression softened slightly. After a long silence, he finally spoke up: “You’re really not just trying to make a quick buck?”
“It really isn’t!” Li Yi said firmly.
“Well… then go ahead and give it a try. If they really don’t let you sell them, just stop!” Li Shankui said.
“Alright, I’ll take your advice!”
At that moment, Li Na, standing nearby, frowned and said, “You’re actually planning to go sell this stuff? Will you even make any money?”
“I don’t know if I’ll make money, but I certainly won’t lose any!”
Although he said this, Li Yi knew full well that setting up a street stall at a time like this was practically a surefire way to make money.
The reason was simple: on the one hand, due to government policies, no one dared to openly set up street stalls, so there was no competition.
On the other hand, with the development of the economy, people’s incomes had clearly risen.
And with more money came increased spending—which meant there was a market.
With a market and no competitors, it would be a travesty of justice if he didn’t make money.
However, Li Yi couldn’t bring himself to tell his family outright; otherwise, they’d just think he was bragging. He’d wait until he’d actually made some money and let the results speak for themselves!
“As long as you don’t lose money, that’s fine. Do you need any help?” Li Na asked again.
Although she didn’t believe her good-for-nothing younger brother could really make money selling liangpi, this was the first time Li Yi had expressed a serious desire to make a living, so she still wanted to help him—what if it actually worked out?
Li Yi immediately shook his head and said, “No, thanks. I can handle this on my own!”
“Alright then!”
Just then, Tang Xue, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up: “Uncle, Auntie, wait a minute—I want to go back to the educated youth commune!”
Li Shankui opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, all that came out was a “Hmm.”
He was a bit worried the girl might face hardship if she went back. Although only half a day had passed, the entire commune was buzzing about the incident; Li Shankui and the others had already heard plenty of gossip when they returned from the fields.
If possible, he really didn’t want Tang Xue to go back to the educated youth commune; she could just stay at his house.
But that would be even worse. Sleeping with a man before marriage and then moving straight into his family’s home—it would be hard for her to hold her head high in the village from then on.
Li Yi had obviously thought of all this too, so he didn’t try to keep her. Instead, he turned to his third sister, Li Na, and said, “Sis, take Xiao Xue back this afternoon. Don’t go out to work in the fields for the next few days. If anyone dares to gossip, don’t hold back—just give them a piece of your mind!”
Li Na was also a bit concerned about Tang Xue’s state of mind, so she nodded immediately and said, “Alright!”
Hearing this, Tang Xue felt a slight stir in her heart.
Although he was a bit of a rough-and-tumble guy, he wasn’t entirely without merit. At the very least, he was responsible, knew how to cook, and cared about her.
If he had a proper job, life with him wouldn’t be so bad after all!
For a moment, she couldn’t help but get lost in thought!
…….
After lunch, the elderly Li Shan Kui and his wife rested for less than half an hour before heading out into the blazing sun to work in the fields. However, they left the mule cart behind, as Li Yi needed it.
At 2:30 p.m., Li Yi drove the mule cart, taking Tang Xue and Li Na back to the educated youth compound in the village committee compound.
Afterward, he drove the mule cart toward the back mountain.
Since he planned to set up a stall selling liangpi, he had to prepare some supplies.
He had the ingredients at home, but what he lacked were bowls and chopsticks.
In later times, liangpi was typically served in plastic bags, but there was nowhere to get those supplies now.
At first, Li Yi had planned to use bowls, but upon seeing the few large bowls at home—all chipped and cracked—he could only shake his head in resignation.
He wanted to buy a few bowls, but he was completely broke, and new bowls weren’t cheap—plus he needed quite a few of them—so the idea quickly faded from his mind.
After much deliberation, Li Yi finally came up with the idea of using bamboo tubes as bowls!
Bamboo tubes were indeed a decent container, and they were everywhere. With a little polishing, they could easily serve as bowls.
After fiddling around in the bamboo grove for two hours, Li Yi returned home with half a cartload of thick bamboo.
Next came the process of making the bamboo cups. He used a saw to cut the bamboo into 12-centimeter-tall sections, then smoothed them with a file until both the inside and outside were smooth and refined.
But that wasn’t all. Li Yi then grabbed a carving knife and began etching simple patterns onto the bamboo tubes.
Li Yi spent the entire afternoon making these preparations.
By the time the sun set, he had made 50 bamboo tubes and over sixty pairs of bamboo chopsticks. He had also sifted more than ten pounds of flour and fried nearly half a bowl of chili oil.
With all these preparations complete, Li Yi’s venture to set up a stall selling liangpi was ready to go—all that was missing was the right opportunity!
The process of making liangpi is quite complex, but that didn’t faze Li Yi.
In his previous life, he had spent a long time in the Guanzhong region, where he not only developed a taste for this dish but also studied it under a local master chef for a period.
However, when he took a look at the flour at home, he was stunned once again.
Making liangpi requires medium-gluten flour, but the flour at home was milled using traditional methods, containing not only flour but also a fair amount of wheat bran and impurities.
With these impurities present, not only was the flour’s efficiency low, but the resulting liangpi wouldn’t be chewy enough.
Without hesitation, Li Yi fetched the fine mesh strainer from home and scooped two large bowls of coarse flour from the jar to sift!
After filtering, the bran and larger particles were removed, leaving behind the all-purpose flour needed to make liangpi.
He then mixed the flour with water in a 2:1 ratio, kneaded it into a dough, and let it rest to develop gluten.
The key to making liangpi is “washing the dough”—that is, placing the rested dough in water to wash out the gluten and create a dough slurry.
This process is both time-consuming and labor-intensive, taking Li Yi a full half hour.
After completing these steps, steam the gluten for at least half an hour. Strain the batter, let it settle, and once it separates into layers, skim off the clear liquid from the top.
Next, Li Yi fetched a large metal tea tray from home, brushed it with oil, poured in the batter, and steamed it. The liangpi was ready in 5 minutes, while the gluten took 10 minutes.
Soon, the noodles were ready!
He cut the sheets into long strips, tore off a piece, and popped it into his mouth. It was smooth, chewy, and had a faint wheat aroma—in a word: delicious!
Over the next while, Li Yi used up all the remaining batter, making a total of 11 sheets of li pi.
Whether liangpi tastes good depends partly on how well the sheets are made and partly on how well the dipping sauce is prepared.
Liangpi itself has no flavor; it’s all about the texture. The other sensory and visual pleasures come from the seasonings and toppings.
Li Yi searched the kitchen for a long time but found only aged vinegar and salt; he couldn’t find anything else.
Relying solely on aged vinegar and salt clearly wouldn’t meet Li Yi’s standards, but luckily he spotted a bunch of dried chili peppers hanging on the wall. He immediately took them down, crushed them, and made a batch of chili oil.
The importance of chili oil to liangpi is beyond question. A good chili oil should be a vibrant, glossy red, with a rich, aromatic fragrance that fills the air when you take a close sniff.
When a bowl of liangpi is set before you, whether it’s visually appealing and whets the diner’s appetite depends entirely on the chili oil.
After preparing these, Li Yi went to the vegetable garden in the courtyard, picked a few seasonal fresh vegetables, washed them, and set them aside as side dishes.
Soon, a bowl of Guanzhong liangpi, rich in color, aroma, and flavor, was ready.
Eating liangpi on its own clearly wouldn’t do. After all, the famous Guan Zhong “San Qin Set Meal” includes not only liangpi but also roujiamo and Bingfeng soda.
Soda is a luxury item that’s impossible to come by, and there’s no meat for the roujiamo either—but we can make the bread!
In Li Yi’s hometown, the buns from Guanzhong are called “ping,” so Li Yi set to work kneading the dough and making flatbreads!
Compared to making liangpi, making pancakes is much simpler. In no time, a dozen or so palm-sized white pancakes were ready.
Just as Li Yi took the last white flatbread out of the pan, he heard the big yellow dog in the courtyard suddenly bark. Looking up, he saw that Third Sister and Tang Xue had returned.
It turned out that Li Na had taken Tang Xue for a walk in the mountains. She had given her best friend—who was two years younger than her—a good talking-to and offered plenty of comfort, repeatedly apologizing for her good-for-nothing younger brother. Finally, she managed to ease Tang Xue’s heartache.
Seeing that it was already noon and guessing her parents would be returning from the fields soon, she took Tang Xue home to prepare lunch for them.
But the moment she stepped through the courtyard gate, she sensed something was off. From a distance, a peculiar, mouth-watering aroma wafted toward her, making her swallow involuntarily.
“Xiao Xue, can you smell that? It smells so good!”
Tang Xue nodded instinctively and said, “It smells like the oil from fried pancakes, but there’s something else mixed in too!”
“Maybe Mom’s back. She must have been worried you’d be mistreated as her daughter-in-law, so she came home early to cook something special for you!” Li Na said.
At the sound of the words “daughter-in-law,” a flash of pain crossed Tang Xue’s eyes.
At eighteen or nineteen, she was in the prime of her youth, and she, too, had fantasized about one day donning a crimson wedding gown and marrying the man of her dreams.
But she had never, ever imagined that her prince charming would be someone like Li Yi.
At this thought, tears welled up in Tang Xue’s eyes.
But being stubborn by nature, she forced herself to hold them back, refusing to let them fall.
Li Na, standing nearby, noticed Tang Xue’s unusual demeanor. After silently cursing her good-for-nothing younger brother once more, she quickly changed the subject: “Xiao Xue, don’t overthink it. Let’s go inside and see what delicious treats Mom has made for us!”
However, when the two entered the room, they were surprised to find that their mother wasn’t there—it was Li Yi who was bustling around the stove!
When they saw the several large bowls of strange noodles and the plate of slightly golden-brown flatbreads on the bedside table, their eyes widened even more.
They both knew exactly what kind of person Li Yi was.
Although the Li family was of modest means, Li Yi was the late-in-life son of Li Shankui and his wife, and they doted on him immensely!
On top of that, he had three older sisters. Even though the family wasn’t well-off, Li Yi had never really suffered any hardships growing up.
Even during the collective farming era a few years back, Li Yi never had to work the fields to earn labor points, let alone do any housework.
From childhood to adulthood, Li Yi had never even washed a single pair of socks!
As for cooking, that used to be his eldest sister Li Mei’s job. After she got married, it was passed on to his second sister Li Lan, and after she got married, it’s now Li Na’s responsibility. All Li Yi has to do every day is come home on time for meals—that’s all.
“Xiao Yi… did you make all this?” Li Na asked in surprise.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Hehe, try my cooking!”
Li Na took Tang Xue by the hand, walked over to the bedside table, and took a closer look. Then she said, “Xiao Yi, what on earth is this? It looks pretty good, and it smells delicious too—I just wonder if it tastes good!”
Before Li Yi could answer, Tang Xue whispered, “This looks like the liangpi from back home!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “It is liangpi!”
Just then, the sound of a bell rang out from the courtyard, and they saw Li Shankui and his wife driving a mule cart into the yard.
Li Shankui skillfully unloaded the cart, watered the animals, and fed them hay, while Zhang Yuehong put away her hoe, went inside to wash her hands, and prepared to help with the cooking.
When she saw the liangpi and white flatbreads on the kang table, she immediately said to Li Na, “Na Na, why didn’t you take out that piece of cured pork and stir-fry it to help Xiao Xue regain her strength?”
Li Na hurriedly replied, “Mom, I’m not the one cooking today…”
“You silly girl, Xiaoxue hasn’t even married into our family yet, and you’ve already had someone else cook for her…”
Before her mother could finish, Li Na hurriedly explained, “It wasn’t Xiao Xue who made it either. To tell you the truth, your son made all of this!”
“Xiao Yi… how could that be…”
Just then, Li Shankui walked in after tending to the family’s red mule. Hearing Zhang Yuehong’s words, he immediately asked, “What are you talking about?”
“Husband, Nana says the meal on the table was made by Xiao Yi!”
Li Shankui glanced at the food on the table and froze for a moment, then frowned and said, “Did you buy this from somewhere? Don’t waste your money on this stuff in the future.”
Li Yi chuckled and said, “Oh my god, take a look at what this is before you speak!”
Li Yi continued, “This is called liangpi—a specialty from Qin Province. Don’t even mention that I’m as broke as a church mouse right now; even if I had the money, you can’t find this stuff for sale in our county!”
“Hmph!”
Li Shankui wore an expression that said, “I’d have to be a fool to believe you,” leaving Li Yi looking utterly embarrassed!
He knew his son inside out—he probably couldn’t even cook a piece of meat properly. The idea that he’d managed to whip up such a delicious dish was as likely as the sun rising in the west.
Fearing the two of them would start butting heads again, Zhang Yuehong hurried out to smooth things over. “All right, enough said. Just try the food and see if it’s good!”
Then, at Zhang Yuehong’s urging, all five members of the household sat down at the table. Each picked up a large enamel bowl and began to eat.
The fiery red chili fully awakened their taste buds, while the cool, smooth liangpi chased away the summer heat!
It was their first time trying liangpi, and whether it was Li Shankui and his wife or Li Na, they all nearly bit their tongues off—it was that delicious.
Even Tang Xue, who was from Qin Province, thought that Li Yi’s liangpi was more authentic than that of many seasoned chefs, and she polished off a whole large bowl.
“So you really made this yourself?” Li Shankui asked, looking skeptical.
“I made it. How does it taste?”
“Hmm, it’s okay!”
Seeing her father’s expression—clearly not what he was thinking—Li Na pursed her lips and said, “What do you mean ‘not bad’? This liangpi is absolutely delicious! With my brother’s skills, he could even make a living by setting up a stall in the county!”
Hearing this, a light bulb went off in Li Yi’s head; it seemed he had found the key to unlocking the door to wealth.
By the time they finished discussing the wedding, it was already past ten in the morning. Li Shankui and his wife were worried about the beans in the fields, so after leaving Li Na behind to look after Tang Xue, the elderly couple hurried off to work in the fields.
Meanwhile, Tang Xue felt somewhat out of place staying at the Li household, but she was too embarrassed to return to the educated youth commune, worried that others might accuse her of being immoral.
With no other choice, Li Na accompanied her to the back mountain to clear her head!
Soon, Li Yi was left alone at home, and only then did he have time to properly think about what to do next!
He went back inside to find a piece of paper and a half-used pencil, then made his way to the large willow tree in the courtyard.
Spreading the paper on the millstone, he held the pencil and pondered for a moment. Gradually, his gaze hardened, and he began to write furiously!
Ten minutes later, looking at the small “list” before him, Li Yi smiled with satisfaction.
The contents of the list were very simple:
Item 1: Do everything in my power to prepare for the wedding, marry Tang Xue in grand style, and win her wholehearted acceptance.
Item 2: Earn money to build a house and improve our family’s living conditions!
Item 3: Help Tang Xue get into a top-tier university!
Item 4: Save his older sister’s life and prevent a tragedy from happening!
Item 5: Take my father for a medical checkup…
He slowly set down the pen in his hand, tore the paper covered in writing into shreds, and scattered them into the air.
Watching the scraps of paper drift away like snowflakes in the wind, a faint smile appeared on Li Yi’s face.
Although his current life was marked by poverty and scarcity, his heart was filled with joy.
Unlike in his previous life, where he had more wealth than he could count yet was poor in every other way—dying with not a single relative by his side—that loneliness and isolation were far more terrifying than mere poverty.
Since Heaven had granted him a second chance to choose, he was determined to live this life to the fullest, leaving no regrets!
As for the immediate future, the most important and urgent task was to make money!
The decision to get married was settled, but money remained a major problem.
In this day and age, weddings still call for a certain level of pomp and circumstance. Although a house or a car wasn’t required, nor was a wedding procession or a wedding planning company, a dowry was still essential.
Tang Xue only asked for 88 yuan as a dowry—it might not sound like much.
But nowadays, even an industrial worker makes twenty-seven or twenty-eight yuan a month, so 88 yuan is equivalent to three months’ wages for a worker who doesn’t eat or drink.
In the countryside, some people might not even be able to save that much in a whole year.
In addition, families with the means were expected to provide the bride with the “three wheels and a radio”—that is, a bicycle, a sewing machine, a watch, and a radio.
Although these might seem like ordinary items to people from later generations, in this era, they were indeed the top-tier household goods that ordinary people aspired to own.
At the same time, the “three wheels and a radio” were not only the greatest wealth ordinary people could possess in that era, but also one of the key criteria for most women when choosing a spouse.
If any family could offer the “three wheels and a radio,” matchmakers would wear out the threshold of their home.
Tang Xue was originally from the city; marrying Li Yi, a country boy, was already a step down for her. On top of that, she had to give up her eligibility to return to the city and, for some inexplicable reason, had lost her virginity. Consequently, this marriage was bound to be the subject of gossip.
The best way to silence the village gossip was to throw a lavish wedding, so everyone could see that Tang Xue’s marriage to the Li family wasn’t out of desperation, but because she had good taste.
Her marriage to the Li family wasn’t about giving up the comfortable life of the city to endure hardship in the countryside—it was about coming to enjoy a life of luxury.
So, although her father, Li Shankui, had only agreed to buy Tang Xue a watch, Li Yi was determined to provide her with the full set of “three rotations and one chime.”
Of course, items considered symbols of family wealth were all quite expensive. Take bicycles, for example: one cost at least 120 yuan, and they were sold on a ration ticket system—even with money, you couldn’t necessarily buy one.
To acquire all four of these items would cost at least 400 yuan; if one were to opt for major brands, even 500 yuan might not be enough.
Add to that the dowry and the cost of the wedding banquet, and a conservative estimate puts the total at seven or eight hundred yuan.
But Li Yi was well aware of his family’s situation. If he had to describe it in one word, it would be—poor!
In the past, with a large family and the cost of sending the children to school, they had barely managed to save anything.
In recent years, with Li Yi’s eldest and second sisters getting married, the family’s situation had improved slightly, but with a spendthrift like Li Yi around, they hadn’t managed to save much.
So relying on his family to throw a lavish wedding was clearly out of the question; he’d have to handle everything on his own.
This was also why Li Yi had set the wedding date for a month from now—he needed that month to procure the three sets of wedding attire and the musical instrument, as well as Tang Xue’s dowry.
Making money wasn’t a problem for Li Yi; after all, with his memories from his previous life, earning a fortune was a piece of cake.
For instance, if his memory served him correctly, there was a general’s tomb buried beneath the cliff behind the village, containing a vast amount of gold, silver, and jewels as burial offerings.
If he could just quietly open the ancient tomb, take a portion of the burial artifacts, and sell them, he could become rich overnight.
But Li Yi didn’t want to do that. Having been reborn, he wanted to earn money honestly with his own two hands; he wanted every penny spent on his family to be clean.
Still, figuring out how to earn seven or eight hundred yuan within a month—that certainly required some careful consideration!
…….
It was already past eleven o’clock. His parents were working in the fields and clearly couldn’t come back to cook, and his third older sister was out with Tang Xue, so Li Yi decided to cook lunch for the family himself.
He went back inside and searched carefully, only to find that the large jar where they stored grain was half-full of flour—and nothing else.
Forget about meat—there weren’t even eggs, the most common food in the countryside!
Li Yi knew that his mother had surely taken the family’s eggs to the supply and marketing cooperative to trade for daily necessities again.
Looking at the meager ingredients he’d “scraped together,” Li Yi couldn’t help but let out a wry smile!
Even the most skilled cook can’t work miracles without ingredients. His cooking skills were decent, but they relied on an abundance of ingredients and a full range of seasonings.
Given nothing but half a vat of flour, he was truly at a loss!
He knew supplies were scarce in this era, but the extent of the scarcity truly took Li Yi by surprise.
After all, it was already the 1980s, and the coastal regions had long since been opened up—how could things still be this poor?
Maybe he should just steam a basket of buns and boil a pot of congee—that’s what his mother usually did.
But then he remembered that Tang Xue was supposed to have lunch at his place today. This would be the first meal his wife would eat at his home since they’d officially become a couple—he couldn’t just slap something together.
Besides, it was summer—the thought of eating steamed buns and hot porridge in the middle of the day was enough to kill his appetite.
Suddenly, Li Yi thought of a delicious dish that could be made with just flour—liangpi!
The sweltering summer heat easily saps one’s appetite, which is nothing short of torture for foodies.
Regions across the country have their own solutions to this problem, and for northerners, the answer is liangpi.
The very fact that liangpi is served cold ensures its unbreakable bond with the sweltering summer.
In the sweltering heat, what could be more appetizing than sour and spicy liangpi?
With that in mind, Li Yi didn’t hesitate any longer and sprang into action!
In his past life, Tang Xue had asked him the same thing!
Only back then, his answer had been no, because Li Yi had always harbored a secret crush on Wang Xuemei, the village beauty from the neighboring village. Determined to marry Wang Xuemei, he simply couldn’t see Tang Xue as a potential wife.
Although Tang Xue was far superior to that village beauty in every way—whether in looks, figure, or intellect, she could easily outshine her—the blind Li Yi simply thought Wang Xuemei was more attractive.
It was precisely because of Li Yi’s heartless response that Tang Xue was utterly devastated. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, she left Nianzi Mountain Village in a fit of grief and returned to her family in the neighboring province.
However, what no one could have anticipated was that three months later, the tragic news arrived: Tang Xue was dead!
It was a suicide—and she took a child with her!
It turned out that just two months after returning home, Tang Xue discovered she was pregnant. At that time, getting pregnant out of wedlock was absolutely intolerable in society. Her parents’ scolding and the neighbors’ gossip ultimately broke her spirit.
And so, on a cold winter night, she took her own life—at the tender age of 19—with a pair of scissors!
When the news broke, the entire Li family was plunged into grief and remorse.
Li Yi’s third older sister, Li Na, driven by guilt and hatred toward her younger brother Li Yi, left home immediately and never returned for the next forty years, sending only a sum of money to her elderly parents each year.
Her father, Li Shankui, was consumed by guilt for failing to raise his son properly—a failure that had indirectly led to the death of such a fine young woman. Plagued by depression, he finally passed away three years after Tang Xue’s death.
Li Yi, too, found himself unable to hold his head high in the village because of this incident and was forced to leave his hometown to make a living elsewhere.
Although he rode the wave of reform and opening-up to become a billionaire, he developed a deep-seated aversion to women. He remained unmarried his entire life, had no children, and was tormented by remorse every day.
It could be said that his cold-hearted decision had cost Tang Xue her life, and her death had shattered the Li family, leaving them broken and bereaved.
In his previous life, Li Yi recalled the question Tang Xue had asked him countless times, and each time, the regret tore at his heart!
If fate gave him another chance, he would definitely give a different answer!
Tang Xue had been waiting for Li Yi’s answer, but when she saw that he remained silent for so long, a deep sense of despair welled up inside her.
Gritting her teeth against the discomfort in her lower body, she staggered toward the door. She never wanted to see that bastard again!
Just then, Li Yi finally snapped out of it. He pulled Tang Xue into his arms and said firmly, “I’ll marry you!”
Tang Xue froze for a moment, then asked tremblingly, “Do you really mean it?”
“I do!”
“Waaah…”
Hearing Li Yi’s affirmative answer, Tang Xue could no longer hold back. She crouched down and burst into tears!
Although Li Yi had agreed to marry her, Tang Xue still couldn’t accept the reality that she had lost her virginity so carelessly.
Moreover, she had already received notice to return to the city; once she married Li Yi, she would inevitably lose her eligibility to return.
The thought of spending the rest of her life in this remote, impoverished mountain village filled Tang Xue with overwhelming sorrow!
Hearing Tang Xue’s sobs, Li Na was the first to rush into the room. She immediately unleashed a flurry of punches on Li Yi while roaring, “You bastard! How could you make Xiao Xue cry again? Are you still thinking about that little brat from the Wang family and refusing to marry Xiao Xue?”
“I’m telling you, if you don’t marry Xiao Xue today, don’t ever call me your older sister again!”
As soon as she said this, the villagers and educated youths watching the commotion outside couldn’t take it anymore. They all spoke up to condemn Li Yi:
“That guy’s a total scumbag! If Xiao Xue’s willing to marry him, it’s like the Li family’s ancestral graves are smoking with joy—and he’s still not happy!”
“You’re absolutely right. I really feel sorry for Xiaoxue—how did this little bastard get the better of her?”
“That kid is nothing but a good-for-nothing…”
Li Yi couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. He hurriedly turned to his third sister and said, “I’m willing to marry Tang Xue!”
With that, Li Yi strode out the door and addressed the villagers and young intellectuals gathered at the entrance: “Uncles and aunts, I admit that I did something wrong yesterday while drunk, and I’m willing to take full responsibility.”
“I’m making a public pledge here: not only am I willing to marry Tang Xue, but I’ll also bring her into the family with the most generous dowry and a palanquin carried by eight men. I mean what I say!”
Village Party Secretary Feng Kai was the first to speak up. He shouted, “Good! Now that’s a real man. I’ll also speak on behalf of the village: if you two get married, I’ll allocate an extra person’s share of land to your family!”
Just then, a female educated youth with two braids in her hair suddenly asked from the crowd, “When are you going to marry our Xiao Xue?”
Li Yi recognized the woman. Her name was Zhang Xinyao, and she was a close friend of Tang Xue’s.
Li Yi thought for a moment and replied, “Marriage is a sacred matter, and I don’t want Xiao Xue to suffer any hardship. So our family needs to make proper preparations, and then we’ll bring Xiao Xue into our home in grand style!”
“How long? Give us a definite answer!”
“A month, I suppose. In a month, we’ll hold a wedding banquet and invite everyone!”
“Since Xiao Xue has already agreed, we’ll wait a month for you. If you dare to go back on your word, even if Xiao Xue doesn’t press charges, we’ll report you to the county authorities!” Zhang Xinyao said.
“Hmm!”
Seeing that the matter had finally been settled, Secretary Feng immediately said, “All right, it’s settled. Everyone, please disperse. Go on!”
Seeing there was nothing more to watch, the crowd quickly dispersed!
…….
Although the onlookers had left, the atmosphere in the Li household remained heavy!
With an incident like this, not only had Tang Xue lost her reputation, but the Li family had also been thoroughly disgraced!
Moreover, the Li family already had many children and was so poor they barely had enough to eat. A wedding was a significant expense—where were they supposed to come up with that kind of money?
Once the crowd had dispersed, Li Shankui immediately summoned everyone in the household into the room to discuss arrangements for Li Yi’s wedding.
In the low, dimly lit room, Li Shankui sat crouched by the stove, while Zhang Yuehong and Li Na stood on either side, shielding Tang Xue, whose eyes were bloodshot. Only Li Yi sat perched on the edge of the kang.
“So, how do you plan to go about this wedding?” Li Shankui asked his son.
Li Yi glanced at Tang Xue, who looked haggard, and said, “Let’s hear what Xue has to say first!”
Li Na chimed in, “Right, let’s hear what Xiao Xue has to say first!”
Tang Xue opened her mouth, but in the end, she didn’t say a word.
Zhang Yuehong, standing nearby, hurriedly said, “Xiao Xue, if you have any requests, just speak up—Auntie will do her best to accommodate you!”
Tang Xue hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and said, “I don’t want to tell my parents about the wedding…”
“That won’t do! How can you get married without telling your parents?” Zhang Yuehong exclaimed.
“I… I don’t want them to see me getting married this way!”
“But… but how long can you keep something like this a secret? Besides, haven’t you already received the notice to return to the city? Your parents must have received it too—you can’t hide this from them!”
“Auntie, I’ll write them a letter saying there’s been a last-minute change at the county office, and my return to the city has been postponed until next year! I’ll keep it a secret for as long as I can!”
Seeing that his mother was about to say something else, Li Yi immediately cut her off and said, “Let’s go with what Xiaoxue says on this!”
Then Li Yi turned to Tang Xue and asked, “What are your requirements regarding the dowry?”
“I know your family’s situation. I don’t want a dowry—just clear out the room you’re living in…”
Before Tang Xue had even finished speaking, Li Shankui and Li Yi said in unison, “No way!”
Li Shankui took a couple of puffs on his pipe and said, “Child, it’s our family’s fault that Little Yi has wronged you. That you’re willing to marry into the Li family is a blessing our ancestors have earned over eight generations—how could we possibly let you marry into this family under such unfair terms?”
“I’m making the final call on this: an 88-yuan dowry, a watch, three new outfits, and all brand-new bedding!”
Li Yi added, “I won’t go into the details, but whatever others have, you must have too; and even if others don’t have it, I’ll do my best to make sure you do! In short, I’ll bring you into our family in style—no one will ever have anything bad to say about you behind your back!”
Hearing Li Yi’s words, Tang Xue felt a slight stir in her heart.
The only reason she wanted Li Yi to marry her was because she had already lost her virginity to him; marrying him was her only option.
But she knew exactly what kind of person Li Yi was: uneducated, idle, a drunkard and womanizer, a gambler and swindler. Though he hadn’t committed any major crimes, he was full of bad habits.
Even Li Na, her own older sister, looked at him with utter disdain whenever she mentioned him.
So she truly hadn’t expected Li Yi to speak with such conviction. For a moment, her heart was filled with a mix of emotions—it was incredibly complicated!
“Sniffle, sniffle…”
In a daze, Li Yi seemed to hear a girl crying, followed immediately by a commotion that grew louder and louder.
Struggling to open his eyes, Li Yi stared at the scene before him, completely bewildered!
What met his eyes was no longer a hospital ward, but a dim, cramped mud-brick hut. The smell of disinfectant had vanished from the air, replaced by a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Through the paper window screen, Li Yi saw a crowd gathered outside and faintly heard their chaotic voices:
“What a disgrace! How could Tang Xue end up in bed with that street thug from the Li family? What was she thinking?”
“You’re telling me! Little Tang is about to go back to the city—what on earth are we going to do now?”
“If word of this gets back to the village committee, do you think Little Tang will be in trouble?”
“Ah, it’s truly a case of a fine flower planted in cow dung. What a pity for Tang Xue, a virgin girl…”
In bed?
Tang Xue?
A glimmer of clarity pierced Li Yi’s muddled mind, and he turned toward the sobbing figure in the corner!
Although the girl was wrapped in a thin blanket, her little head buried between her legs, Li Yi’s heart still skipped a beat!
It was her—Tang Xue, the woman who had haunted him with guilt his entire life!
“Smack!”
Li Yi slapped himself hard across the face, and half his face swelled up instantly!
It hurt!
Is this real?
Had he really gone back forty years?
After forcing himself to calm down, Li Yi tried to piece together his current situation.
Judging by the situation outside, he must have gone back to the day after he’d accidentally slept with Tang Xue, and now he was cornered on the kang.
Tang Xue wasn’t a member of the Nanzishan Brigade; she was a female educated youth who had been sent down here from her hometown in Qin Province three years ago.
Because she was close friends with Li Yi’s third older sister, Li Na, Tang Xue often visited the Li household and was deeply loved by Li Yi’s parents.
Just a few days earlier, Tang Xue had received a notice from the county authorities instructing her to return to the city, marking the end of her life as an educated youth in the Nianzi Mountain Brigade.
To bid farewell to Tang Xue and several other educated youths returning to the city, the Nianzi Mountain Brigade held a farewell party. At the party, many people got drunk, including Tang Xue.
To look after her tipsy best friend, Li Na took Tang Xue back to her own home and put her up in her younger brother Li Yi’s room—after all, her brother hadn’t been home for several days, so it wouldn’t matter if she slept there for one night.
However, no one could have anticipated that Li Yi would return home in the middle of the night—and he, too, had had quite a bit to drink.
And so, Li Yi and Tang Xue ended up in bed together by accident!
Early the next morning, several educated youths from the village came to the Li household looking for Tang Xue, intending to pack her things and head back to the city. Instead, they caught the two of them in bed together.
Word of the incident quickly reached Li Yi’s parents and the rest of the villagers, who now gathered outside Li Yi’s room to gawk at the spectacle!
Outside the wooden door, Feng Kai, the Party branch secretary of Nianzishan Brigade, glared darkly at Li Shankui, who was crouched on the ground beside him, and demanded angrily, “Shankui, how could your family do such a thing? How am I supposed to explain this to the county authorities?”
Li Shankui said nothing, merely taking deep drags from his pipe. No one knew what was going through his mind!
It was Li’s mother, Zhang Yuehong, who spoke up anxiously, “Uncle Feng, please think of a way out of this! Little Yi won’t end up in jail, will he?”
Feng Kai said in a grave tone, “If Xiao Tang decides to press charges against your son, he’ll definitely be sentenced to prison!”
“Oh my God, the sky is falling… Xiao Yi is our only son. He can’t go to prison…”
Perhaps not wanting to hear Zhang Yuehong’s wailing, Secretary Feng cut in sharply, “Enough with the fuss. Right now, there’s only one way—and it might just save Xiao Yi!”
“What’s the solution?”
“Have Xiao Yi marry Tang Xue—but only if Tang Xue agrees!”
Hearing this, Li’s parents fell silent!
Never mind that their son was uneducated, unemployed, and unqualified to be with Tang Xue—according to the policies from above, once an educated youth married locally, they could no longer be arranged to return to the city.
Because of this, many educated youth had been filing for divorce at the county Civil Affairs Bureau recently.
Tang Xue had already received her notice to return to the city. If she were to get married now, she would likely lose her eligibility to return—and surely no one would agree to that!
At that moment, Li Yi’s third older sister, Li Na, stood up and said, “I’ll go ask Xiao Xue!”
“Creak!”
The wooden door of the mud-brick house swung open, and Li Na’s spirited figure appeared in the room!
She first glared angrily at Li Yi, then said coldly, “Get dressed and get out of my way!”
Knowing his third older sister was furious, Li Yi didn’t dare say a word. He hurriedly found his clothes on the kang, pulled them on, and headed for the door.
The moment he opened the door, everyone’s gaze fixed on Li Yi.
Li Shankui, who had been smoking just moments ago, suddenly stood up, grabbed a cattle whip from nearby, and charged toward Li Yi, lashing the whip straight across his back.
Li Yi remembered that lashing from his past life all too well—not because of the pain, but because he had run away, and his father had broken his arm chasing after him to beat him.
So, when he saw the whip coming at him, this time he made no move to dodge!
“Ouch!”
The excruciating pain made Li Yi’s whole body tremble, but he didn’t dodge or run—instead, he knelt directly before his elderly father!
Enraged, Li Shankui’s anger was not appeased by his son’s kneeling; the whip in his hand cracked and lashed against Li Yi’s body.
Soon, Li Yi’s clothes were torn in several places, and his back was covered with seven or eight bloody welts.
At that moment, Zhang Yuehong snapped out of her daze. She rushed forward to stop Li Shankui, wailing, “You old fool! Do you want to beat my son to death… waaah…”
“Get the hell out of my way! It’s you, you old hag, who spoiled him rotten—drinking, gambling, whoring, swindling, and cheating. Now he’s done something so utterly depraved. Do you really want to watch him get dragged to the execution ground while you munch on peanuts?” Li Shankui shouted furiously.
Just as the commotion was reaching its peak, Li Na emerged from the house and shouted, “Everyone, stop arguing!”
The crowd fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on Li Na!
Li Na ignored the others and said to Li Yi, “Go inside. Xiao Xue has something to tell you!”
Li Yi stood up from the muddy ground, gritting his teeth against the pain in his back, and turned toward the mud-brick house.
Once inside, Li Yi saw that Tang Xue had already gotten dressed, but her expression remained sorrowful and desolate—a sight that tugged at his heartstrings.
“I’m sorry!”
Tang Xue didn’t respond to Li Yi’s apology, but instead said in a hoarse voice, “Will you marry me?”
Hearing those words again, Li Yi felt a surge of mixed emotions, and for a moment, he was completely lost in thought!