Chapter Thirty-Two: Who Has Planned for Every Contingency?

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After arranging several matters with Hao Jian, Li Ye stopped paying attention to the sesame-candy business and told Hao Jian not to come looking for him at school unless something serious happened.

Hao Jian obeyed. He did not show up for several days. On the fifth day, however, he had Jin Peng return the Phoenix bicycle.

“Hao Jian has some ability,” Jin Peng said. “He’s doing a decent job with the business. In just these few days, they’ve sold more than sixteen hundred pounds of sesame candy, and the volume will probably increase in the days ahead. Yesterday, we managed to get hold of a flatbed cart, so we won’t need the Phoenix for now. You don’t have a bicycle, Little Ye, and it’s inconvenient. Besides, this bike attracts too much attention.”

Li Ye nodded. “All right, then. Just be careful. Safety comes first, making money second.”

“Of course I know that.” Jin Peng thought for a moment, then said meaningfully, “Don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on things.”

Li Ye understood what he meant. Jin Peng had apparently slipped into the role of an overseer, keeping a close watch on Hao Jian so he would not cause any trouble.

“As long as you know what you’re doing,” Li Ye said. “After all, you and Qiangzi have a share in the profits. We’ll divide the money at the end of the month.”

Jin Peng chuckled and left.

In only a few days, he had already earned more than thirty yuan—almost as much as a skilled construction worker made in an entire month. How could he possibly not be delighted?

* * *

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed. By the end of the month, Li Ye had reached the stage of submitting his novel, *Undercover*.

“Li Ye, are we really submitting it to only two publishers? Shouldn’t we send it to a few more? I can copy manuscripts very quickly. I can make another copy by tomorrow.”

The little mute, Wen Leyu, was helping Li Ye put the manuscript into envelopes as she urged him again, still unwilling to give up.

Li Ye smiled confidently. “Two publishers are enough. Trust me. I guarantee you’ll receive a share of the royalties.”

Wen Leyu shot him a sidelong glance and said with mild reproach, “Must you always talk about money? I don’t want any share of your royalties.”

When Li Ye had asked Wen Leyu to proofread the manuscript, he had promised to pay her for her work. At first, she had not taken it seriously, assuming he was joking. But now that Li Ye had brought it up again, she felt it was inappropriate.

They were already so familiar with each other. Why bring money into it?

Li Ye did not argue with her. Instead, he finished organizing the two thick envelopes, personally went to the post office, paid the overweight postage, and sent them to two publishers—one in the provincial capital and one in Island City.

He was deeply grateful for the relaxed submission policies of publishing houses in the 1980s. In later generations, anyone who dared submit the same manuscript to multiple publishers would be permanently blacklisted by editors.

A fickle opportunist like you can forget about becoming my disciple.

As for the possibility that both publishers might accept Li Ye’s manuscript and create some uncontrollable situation, that was impossible as well.

The novel was quite long, so Li Ye sent only the first quarter of it. At the end, he humbly added: “If you are interested in publishing this work, please send back a contact telephone number, and I will submit the complete manuscript.”

Once he had their telephone numbers, it would be time to negotiate terms.

* * *

After leaving the post office, Li Ye did not immediately return to school.

That day was the one he had arranged with Hao Jian to divide the profits, and he needed to hurry to Chenzhuang Township, thirty li from Qingshui County.

Hao Jian had originally planned to bring the money to the county town for the division, but Li Ye had never visited the sesame-candy workshop. He decided to make the trip and see it for himself.

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Riding the Phoenix, Li Ye slowly crossed the streets beneath the winter sunset. He saw employees from the cinema beside the road painting a huge poster for *Romance on Mount Lu* on the display board outside the entrance.

*Romance on Mount Lu*—the classic film that had moved Li Ye’s parents’ generation in his previous life. The romantic tale of a beautiful, wealthy woman who had returned from overseas and fell in love with a local young man fulfilled every longing in the youthful hearts of that era.

Zhang Yu, who played the female lead, was probably responsible for stealing the hearts of countless innocent young men in their dreams.

A popular commentator in later generations once claimed that eighty percent of *Romance on Mount Lu*’s enormous success lay in the heroine’s identity as a wealthy young lady who had returned from abroad.

If Zhou Yun had been changed into a country girl, then no matter how devoted she was to the male lead or how touching and complicated their relationship became, the film could never have achieved the same sensation.

Yet when Li Ye looked at Zhang Yu’s large, round face on the poster, he simply could not associate her with the image of a beauty of her era.

Instead, Wen Leyu—tall, slender, and quiet—had appeared in his dreams once or twice.

Li Ye laughed and mocked himself. “Ah, an advanced sense of beauty has made me so unconventional.”

Chenzhuang Township lay thirty li from Qingshui County. After meeting up with Jin Peng, Li Ye spent an hour on the road and arrived after nightfall.

When he got there, he discovered that Hao Jian’s home stood alone on a hill, at least two li from the village.

“Hao Jian is from somewhere else,” Jin Peng explained. “Because he married a beautiful girl from this village, the locals ostracized him. When he built his house, they pressured him into putting it far away from the village. Still, that has made things more convenient for processing the sesame candy.”

Li Ye looked around. “Convenience always comes with drawbacks. It’s awfully desolate here. How is the security?”

“Nothing has happened so far. Hao Jian’s wife’s younger brother came over a few days ago to help cook the syrup. Qiangzi has been staying here the whole time, and he’s also raising several dogs. If you’re worried, I can simply move in too.”

Li Ye considered it. “Let’s see how things go first. If it doesn’t seem workable after a few days, you can move in. I’ll give you an additional hardship allowance.”

Jin Peng smiled but did not refuse. He was a clever man who knew exactly what he ought to do—and what he ought to be paid.

Li Ye and Jin Peng entered the courtyard and saw Hao Jian, Wang Jianqiang, and a thin young man in his twenties loading a cart.

Food production in those days involved very little concern for hygiene. Once the sesame candy had dried, it was packed directly into washed fertilizer sacks, which were then stacked one by one on the flatbed cart.

Li Ye counted them. There seemed to be eight or nine hundred pounds.

When Hao Jian saw Li Ye and Jin Peng enter, he said to the thin young man, “Erzhu, take the dogs out for a walk. Cui’er’s mother, go to the supply store and buy two packs of cigarettes.”

The thin young man untied two local dogs and took them outside to run around. A very attractive woman led a little girl out through the gate.

As the girl walked, she kept turning around to look at Li Ye. She was small and thin, shy and timid, and so pitiful that she tugged at the heart.

Li Ye asked Hao Jian, “How is your daughter’s illness?”

“She’s doing all right. She hasn’t had another attack these past few days. Once I save up a little more money, I’ll take her to a major hospital in one of the big cities.”

Hao Jian led Li Ye into the house, while Jin Peng and Wang Jianqiang instinctively stood guard at the courtyard entrance. The whole arrangement made it look as though a gathering of spies were taking place.

Hao Jian lifted one of the openings in the earthen bed and dragged out a bundle.

“I don’t think we can keep dividing the money once a month,” he said. “There’s too much of it. These past few days, I’ve been lying on the bed unable to sleep properly.”

“Too much money?” Li Ye laughed. “When you first tried to swindle me at the school gate, did you ever imagine there would come a day when you’d complain about having too much money?”

Hao Jian shook his head and gave an embarrassed grin. Back then, when he had sold candy outside First High School, he really had intended to fleece Li Ye as a gullible sucker. Who could have imagined that only a few days later, the two of them would have become entangled in a full-fledged gang?

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“Puff, puff…”

Hao Jian patted the dust from the bundle and unfolded it layer by layer, revealing stacks of banknotes inside.

“I followed your instructions and divided everything in advance. Your share is 1,396 yuan and 52 cents. I bought five pairs of shoes according to the list you gave me, which cost 87 yuan and 30 cents… I rounded your amount down to 1,320 yuan… My share is 950 yuan… Jin Peng…”

Although Li Ye had once seen tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of yuan in his previous life, his heart still warmed at the sight of the pile of banknotes that belonged to him.

Among the more than one thousand yuan, there were not many ten- or five-yuan notes. Most were one- and two-yuan bills, forming a large, fluttering heap.

Even that was the result of Hao Jian giving the larger bills to Li Ye whenever possible. The other shares consisted almost entirely of small-denomination notes.

Li Ye put the money into his shoulder bag, then called Jin Peng inside and gave him nearly two hundred yuan as a “delivery fee.”

Jin Peng had expected it and accepted the money calmly. But when it came time to divide Wang Jianqiang’s share, the simpleminded young man unexpectedly refused to take it.

“Brother, that’s too much, too much… I don’t want it… As long as I have enough to eat… I’ve been eating my fill every day these past few days…”

Li Ye thought about Wang Jianqiang’s family situation, then took the money back and said, “I can hold this money for you for now, but you must remember the amount yourself. You earned eighty-nine yuan this time. I’ll give you nine yuan now and keep the remaining eighty yuan for you. Do you understand?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ll remember, Brother.”

Wang Jianqiang happily accepted the nine yuan, grinning so broadly that his mouth nearly reached his ears.

Once all the money had been distributed, Li Ye and Hao Jian agreed that they would divide the profits once every half month from then on. If the amount became too large, they would divide it once every ten days.

Just as Li Ye was preparing to leave, Hao Jian handed him a package.

“These are the shoes you asked me to buy for you in the provincial capital. There’s something else, too. A few days ago, the village officials asked what we’ve been busy with lately. I managed to cover it up, but they may ask again in the future. Could you use your connections to get us some official paperwork?”

Li Ye’s eyes narrowed. “What connections? What paperwork?”

Hao Jian looked somewhat uneasy, but continued, “The other day, I heard Jin Peng say that your grandfather works in the grain system. The grain system used to organize rural cooperative households for food processing…”

Li Ye gave Hao Jian a cold look, then pushed the bicycle away with Jin Peng.

Halfway back, Li Ye asked Jin Peng, “Were you the one who told Hao Jian about my grandfather’s position?”

Jin Peng smiled. “Do you really think I let it slip by accident?”

Li Ye asked in confusion, “Could it be that you deliberately told the old man?”

“Little Ye, we’ve been constantly buying rice, glutinous rice, and other raw materials these past few days. Do you think the old man hasn’t heard anything? He used to be an investigator.”

“…”

Li Ye froze for a moment, then understood.

It turned out that just when he thought he had planned everything perfectly and left nothing to chance, his family had already been quietly covering his back.