Chapter Forty: You Are Delusional!
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“Those are the math, physics, and chemistry exam papers! Weren’t they sent over from one of the big cities through someone you know?”
The papers used by Class One of the repeat-year students were all mimeographed by the school. But at the time, Teacher Ke had specifically said they were “papers prepared by Li Ye.” Though Xia Yue and the others had not believed it, Li Dayong had.
Li Dayong looked big and burly, but he was exceptionally perceptive. Ever since Li Ye and Wen Leyu had begun working on their novels, the practice papers handed out in class had quickly become rather unremarkable.
Wasn’t that obvious enough? It was all thanks to my brother!
Li Zhongfa was deeply puzzled, because he had never pulled strings to obtain any papers for Li Ye.
With his level of understanding—he could not even recognize all twenty-four letters of the English alphabet—he had no idea that high-quality exam papers were an effective way to improve one’s score on the college entrance examination.
Thus, Li Zhongfa asked Li Ye in confusion, “Exam papers from a big city? Did that girl from the Lu family send them to you...?”
“Not her.”
Li Ye denied it flatly.
He truly could not understand why the people around him still believed that he and Lu Jingyao were entangled with each other.
Li Zhongfa realized he had guessed wrong. He had thought the girl from the Lu family genuinely intended to fulfill her father’s promise and help Li Ye “get into the capital.”
But now it seemed she had flown up a branch and become a phoenix...
Still, Li Zhongfa could not help feeling that his grandson was no longer quite so infatuated with that phoenix.
The old man continued, “Then where did you get the papers, Xiaoye?”
“I wrote them myself,” Li Ye said. “At first, I only had Dayong and a few close friends copy them down for practice. Later, the teachers thought they ought to be shared with everyone...”
Li Zhongfa frowned and asked solemnly, “Just how much use can these questions really be?”
Li Ye thought for a moment, then answered modestly, “Given our class’s current situation, if we keep studying like this, they should be able to raise our scores by around one hundred and fifty to two hundred points.”
“...”
Everyone around them was dumbfounded.
In those days, even Li Zhongfa, who prided himself on being a rough, uneducated man, knew what an improvement of one hundred and fifty to two hundred points meant.
But precisely because they knew what it meant, nobody believed Li Ye’s “nonsense.”
In an era when scoring just over three hundred points was enough to get into a junior college, he was claiming that he could help his classmates improve by one hundred and fifty to two hundred points?
What would happen if word got out?
Countless parents would certainly drag their children to his door, begging him to help raise their scores.
“Come, come, this is my grandson. Please take extra good care of him. We’re not asking for one hundred and fifty points—one hundred would be enough... Let me kowtow to you first.”
Good heavens!
Li Zhongfa smacked his lips and said to Li Ye, “You have to take responsibility for making grand claims. Tell your grandfather the truth. How many points can you really raise?”
Li Ye had no way to answer. Even if he told the truth, they would not believe him. Was he supposed to lie instead?
At that moment, Li Dayong spoke up loyally from the side.
“Grandpa, I wouldn’t dare say it’ll be more than a hundred points, but it really does work. I used to rank somewhere in the thirties in math and physics in our class. In the exams a few days ago, I ranked fourteenth in math and eleventh in physics... Several other students improved a great deal as well...”
Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian exchanged glances, then slapped their thighs at the same time.
“Oh, dear!”
“You two are idiots!”
Li Zhongfa had not even spoken when Li Kaijian lost his temper and began firing at Li Ye.
“Do you two foolish boys know that the college entrance examination isn’t a contest of scores, but of rankings? Only so many people are admitted. One point more or one point less can mean an entirely different fate.
“When you help other people raise their scores, you’re pushing yourselves down the rankings...”
Li Ye smiled. “It’s not that serious. I’ll definitely get in anyway. Besides, Dad, what kind of attitude is that? You’re a veteran, aren’t you?”
In truth, Li Ye knew that soldiers were not all blindly devoted to self-sacrifice. He was only saying this to shut Li Kaijian up.
When facing danger, soldiers would charge into the fray without hesitation. But one should never assume that soldiers were ignorant of human nature and worldly affairs.
Just look at the veterans around them. Apart from those who were exceptionally honest and plainspoken, most were actually very worldly and adept at handling people. Every one of them had a sharp eye for the situation.
Li Kaijian opened his mouth to curse, but the words would not come out. After all, as the workshop director, he normally loved lecturing others about moral commitment.
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But Grandma Li would not let the matter rest. She poked her beloved grandson directly on the forehead.
“You’re just an innocent fool, always thinking about other people. Do they ever think about you? When Lu Jingyao took the college entrance examination last year, did she help you? Why haven’t you learned your lesson?”
Only the old lady of the family dared mention Lu Jingyao in front of Li Ye. Everyone else knew better than to bring up what was best left unmentioned.
Everyone fell silent. Even Li Dayong stood to the side, looking terribly awkward.
He had firsthand experience of what Grandma Li was talking about.
For instance, the little group led by Xia Yue had obtained a set of new papers from the county’s No. 1 High School, yet they had refused to let Li Dayong and the others copy them.
Where else could one find a straightforward, selfless, and loyal person like Li Ye? He had handed out paper after paper, only to receive wave after wave of sarcastic remarks in return.
After Grandma Li poked him on the forehead, Li Ye could only explain, “Grandma, you’ve misunderstood. How could I be a foolish boy?
“As the saying goes, one fence needs three stakes, and one capable man needs three supporters. I was merely seeing how many people would repay kindness. I gave them a hand, and in the future, I’ll have a few helpers. That’s all.”
Grandma Li still was not satisfied. She muttered that her grandson had suffered a loss.
Li Ye kicked Li Dayong lightly in the shin, and the latter hurriedly stepped forward to draw the fire.
“Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Kaijian, everything Li Ye said is true. Li Ye has stopped preparing papers for the class because so many people are ungrateful...”
In recent days, because Li Ye had stopped explaining problems to his classmates, many of them had been making snide remarks and spreading rumors. Li Dayong, Hu Man, and the others argued with them every day.
But fewer and fewer people believed that Li Ye was acting “for the good of everyone,” while more and more people mocked him as selfish and self-serving.
By now, the “Li camp,” centered around Li Dayong and Hu Man, had been reduced to only a handful of people.
“You see? You see? I told you you were a foolish boy. You were kind to them, and they turned around and cursed you...”
“That’s enough!”
Li Zhongfa shouted, then asked Li Ye and Li Dayong, “How many of those people who will repay your kindness do you actually have?”
Li Ye considered it for a moment. “Seven.”
“Including Wen Leyu, there are seven,” Li Dayong added.
“Seven is already quite a lot,” Li Zhongfa said. “Last year, not even seven students from the entire county managed to get into college.”
“What do you plan to do from now on? If the teachers ask you for more questions and papers, what will you do?”
Having weathered countless storms in his life, Li Zhongfa immediately found the crux of the matter.
Judging from the current situation, Li Ye could no longer prepare questions or explain problems for all his classmates. But what about the teachers?
There was still plenty of time before the college entrance examination. The seven of them could not possibly stop doing new practice papers. When the teachers came to Li Ye asking for more questions, how would he deal with them?
Students and teachers stood on opposite sides.
Students crowded onto a narrow bridge, wishing they could knock everyone else off and leave only themselves standing on it.
Teachers, however, wanted all the students under their care to cross the bridge smoothly, one after another, in orderly fashion.
One followed the selfish impulses of the heart; the other held the lofty banner of public justice. When the two collided, an individual was clearly the weaker party in moral terms.
Li Ye nodded. “That is indeed troublesome. In a few days, I plan to have Dayong and the others start working through practice problems. The teachers are bound to notice.”
Li Zhongfa’s expression turned stern.
“You don’t need to worry about this. I’ll handle it for you.
“Also, how are you planning to receive that editor from Island City? Do you need me to find a few people from the county literary federation to keep him company?”
“No need,” Li Ye refused. “It’s difficult to negotiate the price with outsiders present.”
“The price?” Li Zhongfa asked, startled. “What price?”
“The manuscript fee!” Li Ye said, rather puzzled. “The state currently sets manuscript fees at three to ten yuan per thousand characters. My goal is the top rate—ten yuan. Actually, I care more about the royalties after reprinting. That’s where the endless flow of money will come from.”
Li Zhongfa: “...”
Li Kaijian: “...”
The entire Li family, along with Li Dayong: “...”
After a long while, Li Zhongfa finally asked, “Xiaoye, are you writing novels for the money?”
“Of course,” Li Ye replied firmly. “Who would do it for free?”
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Li Kaijian’s face was filled with disdain and contempt.
“You’re so young, yet all you know is money. You’ve got your head stuck in a money jar...”
“What’s wrong with doing it for money? What’s wrong with doing it for money? You two grown men aren’t even as sensible as my grandson!”
Grandma Li was furious. She scolded her husband and son several times, then asked Li Ye, “Good boy, how much money can this novel earn?”
Li Ye thought it over. “Only a few thousand yuan at first. After that, it’ll be a steady stream...”
“Oh!”
Everyone was astonished. In those days, several thousand yuan was an enormous sum of money.
But Li Zhongfa’s heart stirred as he suddenly thought of something.
The money Li Ye had earned selling sesame candy still felt dangerously conspicuous. He kept it hidden at home and hardly dared spend it. But if a large sum of manuscript fees came in, wouldn’t that neatly cover everything?
At that thought, Li Zhongfa looked up at his grandson—and happened to meet Li Ye’s eyes.
Li Ye smiled smugly.
Grandpa, you guessed right. That’s exactly what I was thinking.
...
Dong Yuejin had spent more than ten hours on a slow green-skinned train, followed by another two hours on a bus, before finally reaching Qing County.
After getting off, he asked for directions along the way and eventually arrived at Qing County No. 2 Middle School.
“Who are you looking for? What department are you from?”
The old gatekeeper, Old Liu, stopped Dong Yuejin in a booming voice.
“I’m here to see Li Ye. I’m from Blue Sea Publishing House. Here is my employee identification.”
Dong Yuejin took out his work ID and handed it to Old Liu.
Old Liu accepted it and pretended to examine it, his turtle-like eyes rolling upward as he secretly sized up Dong Yuejin.
He could not read, but he knew how to judge people.
At a glance, Dong Yuejin was a typical intellectual, clearly “one of the teachers” at the school.
As a school gatekeeper, Old Liu knew how troublesome teachers could be. They could spend an entire day arguing over the tiniest matter.
“The office is over there... Forget it, I’ll take you.”
Old Liu cursed his bad luck inwardly, but after thinking it over, he still led Dong Yuejin away.
Ever since Jin Peng had given him a beating some time ago, Old Liu had harbored a grudge against Li Ye.
But a wise man did not fight when the odds were against him. Seeing that Li Ye was about to rise in prominence, Old Liu knew he could not afford to provoke him. All he could do was swallow his pride.
“Principal Chang, this comrade is from a publishing house. He’s here to see Li Ye, so I brought him over.”
“From a publishing house?”
Principal Chang, who had been reading some documents, abruptly raised his head and came forward with a broad smile.
“You’re from Great River Publishing House, aren’t you? Ah, welcome, welcome!”
“...”
Feeling the principal’s sincere grip as they shook hands, Dong Yuejin muttered suspiciously to himself, Great River Publishing House? That’s not right...
He suddenly realized what was going on and guessed that Li Ye had pulled off the clever trick of submitting the same manuscript to multiple publishers.
“Oh, yes, well... Could I see Li Ye? Our editor-in-chief gave me a task. I must meet Li Ye himself as soon as possible.”
“I understand, I understand. Li Ye is a good boy, though he can be rather stubborn. But young people are bound to have some spirit and vitality...
“After receiving your call, we already gave him a good talking-to and provided him with some educational guidance...”
Dong Yuejin was completely bewildered.
A child? Principal, what on earth are you talking about?