Chapter 18: You Face a Blood-Calamity (New Book, Please Support)

Early the next morning, Li Yi was already up and busy. Unlike the previous days when he did everything by himself, after learning that selling cold noodles at a street stall could indeed make money, Li Shankui had assigned Li Na to help Li Yi at home.

Li Yi was naturally pleased by this arrangement.

To be honest, with the production team paying only three fen per work point, Li Yi really looked down on it. After all, girls like Third Sister, who worked hard all day, only earned seven or eight work points, which amounted to just over twenty cents. Yes, you read that right—just twenty cents! And that was in good years; during disastrous harvests, they could come away with nothing at all.

This was precisely why the educated youth scrambled to return to the cities, and why rural girls preferred to marry a slightly flawed man if it meant moving to the city.

With Li Na’s help, Li Yi had everything prepared before nine o’clock. Then, he hitched the mule cart and set off for the county town again.

This time, however, he didn’t bring Li Na—not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. Although it was already 1980, the authorities’ stance on private enterprise and commerce remained ambiguous. Take the infamous “Foolish Melon Seeds” case, for example; the owner was repeatedly arrested and released just for selling melon seeds.

Hence, setting up a stall still carried risks. One misstep could lead to accusations of profiteering.

Li Yi wasn’t afraid and had plans to deal with it, but he didn’t want Li Na to take such a risk.

Seeing her younger brother adamant about not wanting her there, Li Na was somewhat annoyed but helpless. She knew his temper well—spoiled as the eldest young master, no one could change his mind once it was made up.

With no other choice, Li Na went to the educated youth settlement to help watch over her brother’s wife.

Li Na was well aware that many unmarried young men both at the settlement and in the village had their eyes on Tang Xue. Some even gossiped behind her back, bitter and spiteful about previous incidents. She was determined to keep a close eye, ensuring no one undermined her or bullied Tang Xue.

County town. State-run restaurant.

As Li Yi arrived, he spotted Liu Jingshan standing by the restaurant’s entrance, looking around as if waiting for someone.

Seeing Li Yi’s familiar red mule cart, Liu Jingshan hurried over.

“Hahaha, Brother Li Yi, you finally made it!” Liu exclaimed.

Li Yi, a bit surprised, replied, “Liu, you weren’t waiting for me here, were you?”

“Of course! I’ve been waiting for over an hour!” Liu smiled.

“If there’s something you need, just tell me. Why would you, the manager of a state-run restaurant, wait here for me?” Li Yi asked, somewhat flattered.

“To be honest, Brother Li Yi, a high-ranking city official has been inspecting our Qingshan County these past few days. He’s been dining at our state-run restaurant every day. After trying the mushrooms you sent, he was very pleased and hopes our restaurant can regularly supply the city’s state-run restaurants with mushrooms,” Liu explained.

Li Yi knew Liu was here to request more mushrooms. After all, he had only supplied him with about two hundred jin recently, barely enough for the county’s own state-run restaurant, let alone surplus for the city.

“So, you want me to send more mushrooms?” Li Yi grinned.

“That’s right. I was wondering if you could…”

Before Liu finished, Li Yi cut in, “Liu, you know mushrooms are wild fungi, and production is unpredictable. I really can’t guarantee regular, fixed quantities.”

Liu’s eyes flashed with disappointment but he nodded in understanding.

Then Li Yi shifted his tone, “But while I can’t guarantee the wild mushrooms’ volume, we can prioritize supplying the city with those, and use alternative varieties locally. Would that work?”

“Oh? How so?” Liu asked eagerly.

“Besides wild pine mushrooms and trumpet mushrooms, the mountains are rich with other varieties: inch mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, white jade mushrooms, lion’s mane mushrooms, and wild wood ear and white silver fungus. These are also rare delicacies,” Li Yi elaborated.

He continued, “I’ll have the villagers gather more of these other mountain products. You can send the pine and trumpet mushrooms to the city first, and we’ll use the others here in the county. It shouldn’t affect things much.”

Liu pondered, “That’s a good idea, but I still have some concerns.”

“Don’t worry, Liu. I’ll work on some new dishes for you. I guarantee your restaurant’s performance will soar!” Li Yi said confidently.

“Alright, let’s go with your plan. And send some of the other mountain goods over, too.”

“No problem!”

With that, they weighed and tallied the three large baskets of mushrooms Li Yi had brought.

One hundred eighty-seven jin, totaling 131 yuan.

Holding the money as he left the state-run restaurant, Li Yi felt like he was floating. Although in his previous life he had a net worth of hundreds of billions, to Li Yi, not even a hundred million could compare to the satisfaction of this modest sum.

It wasn’t about the amount, but that now he had someone to share his joy with.

In his past life, he could only watch the numbers in his bank account grow coldly and alone.

As Li Yi stepped out, preparing to head to the sugar factory to set up his stall, he was suddenly and swiftly bumped into by someone rushing from outside.

Caught off guard, Li Yi fell to the ground.

“Sorry… sorry, I’m really in a hurry!” the man apologized, helping him up.

Li Yi noticed the olive-green uniform and wide-brimmed hat—it was clearly a policeman.

Thinking the man might truly be in urgent need, Li Yi said, “I’m fine. Comrade, if you have urgent matters, please go ahead.”

“Thank you so much…”

Just as the man turned to leave, Li Yi suddenly called out, “Wait!”

“Comrade, what else is it?”

Li Yi looked closely at the man’s face and, recognizing him, pulled a one-yuan coin from his pocket.

He approached and slipped the coin into the policeman’s breast pocket, saying, “Comrade, keep this.”

“Comrade… fellow villager… we don’t accept even a needle or thread from the people…”

Li Yi smiled, “This money isn’t for you to spend—it’s to save your life.”

“To save my life?” The policeman looked confused.

“I see your complexion’s darkening; you’re likely to face a blood-related disaster soon. Keep this coin in your pocket and don’t take it out. It can save your life when the time comes.”

The policeman stared at him as if he were crazy.

Li Yi added, “Believe it or not, just keep it for now. If you’re lucky enough to survive, you can give it back later.”

Without waiting for a reply, Li Yi turned and left, leaving the man standing there, dumbfounded.