Chapter 25: Do You Know How to Count? (Please vote!)

The man who had been waiting for Li Ye for quite some time was the same hawker selling sesame candy whom Li Ye had encountered outside the gate of the County No. 1 Middle School when he retrieved his Phoenix bicycle that day.

Upon seeing Li Ye, he hurried over with a smile. "Brother, have some candy, have some candy..."

"I don't eat candy."

Li Ye did not slow his pace, but the hawker blocked his path and produced a pack of Da Fengshou cigarettes. "Brother, have a smoke..."

"No need, I have my own. Do you need something from me?"

Li Ye brushed aside the offered cigarette, pulled out a "Da Qianmen" for himself, lit it, and looked up at the sky at a thirty-five-degree angle. He cast a sidelong, indifferent glance at the man, who was shivering in the cold.

Li Ye wasn't putting on airs on purpose. In his previous life, he had been a "warm-hearted person." When he first entered the workforce, he was kind to others, eager to help, smiling at everyone, and taking on any task. In the end, he worked himself to death without receiving any gratitude, and everyone wanted to step on him and exploit him. Having learned his lesson, Li Ye realized that when dealing with certain people, one cannot be too kind or offer them a pleasant face.

From his previous encounter at the school gate, Li Ye knew this guy was a crafty merchant with the typical cunning and petty cleverness of the era. If he was acting sycophantic today, he clearly wanted something. If Li Ye were too easygoing, the man would treat him like a "child," which would be highly detrimental to Li Ye’s future plans.

Projecting authority requires the right conditions, after all. If a three-year-old were to lecture a fierce general like Zhang Fei, would the general bow in submission? He would be more likely to give the child a hammer blow to send him flying into a ditch. To get a man in his thirties to follow the arrangements of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old student, one had to employ certain tactics.

"Hehe, there is indeed a small matter I need your help with, brother."

"Need my help? What can a student like me do for you? I wasn't planning on buying any sesame candy today."

"You... you might not be able to do it directly, but your relative at the north side police station can..."

Li Ye raised an eyebrow. "How do you know I have a relative at the north side police station? Besides, I don't even know your name. Why should I help you?"

"I... I’m just out of options..."

The sesame candy hawker wore a bitter expression and began to pour out his troubles to Li Ye. His name was Hao Jian. After coming to Qingshui County as an educated youth, he married a local woman and settled in Chenzhuang Township, thirty miles away. Now that the political climate was warming up, he had been selling sesame candy in the county seat for over half a year, and things had been going smoothly.

However, he had run into a group of street thugs today who ate and took his goods without paying. Seeing that twenty pounds of candy—his entire livelihood—was about to be lost, the usually peace-loving Hao Jian had tried to stop them, leading to a scuffle that drew the attention of the police. While the officers had lectured the thugs, they had also confiscated Hao Jian’s candy and ceramic basin because of his heavy non-local accent, ordering him to return to his village to get a letter of introduction to prove he wasn't a vagrant.

Hao Jian was selling the candy in secret; how could he possibly get a letter of introduction? The newspapers might have acknowledged "individual enterprise," but the county had yet to issue any clear directives. Would those stubborn old men in the village write him such a letter? After much thought, Hao Jian recalled hearing Lu Zixue boasting at the school gate that the police station chief was Li Ye's relative, so he had come to try his luck.

"Student Li, I really have no other choice. I have a seventy-year-old mother at home and a sick four-year-old child. We rely entirely on the money from that candy to get by."

"I was supposed to use the money from today's sales to buy medicine for my child. Now that the capital is gone..."

Hao Jian sounded truly pathetic, sniffling and weeping, making it impossible for Li Ye to distinguish between truth and falsehood. He threw his cigarette butt on the ground and asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

Hao Jian immediately said, "Just tell them I'm the uncle of a good friend of yours..."

Li Ye asked with a mocking smile, "And then?"

Hao Jian blinked. "What? What do you mean 'and then'?"

Li Ye said coldly, "If I say you're my friend's uncle, you'll be able to use my name and the influence of the police station as a shield, so you won't have to fear those street thugs anymore, right?"

"..."

Hao Jian was stunned, his mouth tasting bitter. *[As expected, he’s a damn brat of the elite, sharp as a fox and not a good person.]*

After a long silence, Hao Jian said sheepishly, "I didn't think of it that way... just help me out, and you can have my candy for free from now on."

"Who cares about your candy?" Li Ye curled his lip, popped a White Rabbit creamy candy into his mouth, and asked, "Show me the prescription for your child's medicine."

Hao Jian quickly took out two empty medicine bottles and a nearly shredded prescription from his pocket and handed them to Li Ye. Li Ye looked at them; he couldn't understand the medicine or the prescription, but it at least lent some credibility to Hao Jian’s story.

"Let's go, I'll go take a look with you."

Li Ye returned the items to Hao Jian and turned toward the north side police station. Hao Jian, who had already given up hope, was startled and hurriedly followed.

When they arrived at the station, Li Ye's uncle-in-law, Zhao Yuanchao, was not there, which caused Hao Jian's heart to sink once more. Sesame candy... it wasn't exactly durable.

However, Li Ye gave his pack of Da Qianmen to Hao Jian, walked into an office, and emerged a moment later with his arm draped over the shoulder of a young man. Li Ye gestured toward Hao Jian. "Here, he's the one. He's a relative of a good classmate of mine. Chenzhuang Township is thirty miles away; see what kind of paperwork is needed?"

The young man laughed. "Forget the paperwork. We're fellow disciples; you're embarrassing me!"

Two minutes later, Hao Jian had his ceramic basin and candy back, not a single ounce missing. He hurriedly took the Da Qianmen Li Ye had given him, offered one to the officer, Wu Xiong, and slipped the rest of the pack into Wu Xiong's pocket. The movement was smooth and natural—he was clearly a businessman worth cultivating.

The young officer told Hao Jian, "Remember, my name is Wu Xiong. If Liu Er and his lot give you trouble again, come straight to me. Who do they think they are?"

Hao Jian nodded repeatedly, gaining a new appreciation for Li Ye's influence. He had gone to Li Ye as a last resort, never expecting things to go so smoothly. As they left the station, Hao Jian asked about Li Ye's relationship with Wu Xiong. Li Ye replied nonchalantly, "We’re fellow disciples who practice martial arts together."

Hao Jian looked at Li Ye with even more respect. *[Looking at how tall and lanky this kid is, he probably hits pretty hard...]*

"Brother, take some of this candy. I’ll pay you back for that pack of cigarettes in a few days." Hao Jian wrapped a large portion of candy—nearly a quarter of his basin's contents—in a newspaper and handed it to Li Ye.

Li Ye waved his hand and asked, "Have you ever been to the provincial capital?"

Hao Jian, confused, nodded. "Been a few times. I have a couple of educated youth friends who invited me over to visit after they returned to the city."

Li Ye said firmly, "Take this candy and go to the provincial capital to check out the market. If it's feasible, I want a stake in your business."

"..."

Hao Jian’s smile froze. A few seconds later, he began cursing inwardly. *[Damn it, I knew this kid wasn't a good egg. I offered him free candy, and he still wants to keep taking a cut of my profits? Even the old landlords weren't this ruthless!]*

"Taking a stake" meant getting a share of the profits. Hao Jian had hoped to occasionally seek Li Ye's help and maintain their relationship by providing free candy. Now, Li Ye wanted a cut—he was essentially trying to skin him alive!

"This is a small, low-capital business... the provincial capital is eighty miles away... it's not worth it... sigh..."

Hao Jian squeezed out a smile, trying to refuse, when suddenly a five-yuan bill appeared before his eyes. Li Ye handed the five-yuan note to Hao Jian and said, "Go to the provincial capital and investigate carefully. Focus on finding people like yourself... what’s the point of retail? If you’re going to do it, do wholesale."

Hao Jian touched the five-yuan note, feeling as if it weren't real. In this day and age, the largest denomination was ten yuan. He usually collected coins and small change for his candy; he might not even see a five-yuan "big bill" in an entire month. One had to realize that giving birth at the county hospital only cost eight or nine yuan in total medical expenses.

Yet now, a "little kid" had casually handed him five yuan just to have him "make a trip to the provincial capital?"

*[Doesn't he know the bus ticket to the provincial capital only costs a few cents?]*
*[Isn't he afraid I'll take the money and do nothing?]*

Hao Jian pondered this and finally realized that despite the boy's youth, he clearly wasn't afraid of Hao Jian swindling him out of five yuan. Once he understood this, Hao Jian's mind became sharp. He tucked the five-yuan note away and asked, "Brother, this wholesale you mentioned... what does it mean?"

Li Ye asked, "What is the cost per pound for your sesame candy?"

Hao Jian replied, "About thirty cents! If I can buy grain at the state-set price, it could be even lower."

Li Ye said, "Then how about you sell it for sixty cents?"

Hao Jian was stunned. He usually sold it retail for one yuan a pound, and he had even sold it for two yuan to some fools. How could he sell it for sixty cents?

Li Ye glared at Hao Jian and curled his lip. "Are you numerate? Is your addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division up to scratch?"

Hao Jian rolled his eyes. *[What is that supposed to mean? I'm at least a junior high graduate, aren't I?]*