Chapter 65 When Doing Business, I Must Call the Shots

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Ye's private study room closed for the winter break, but not without encountering "immense" resistance.

Accustomed to home-cooked meals, private tutoring, and the cozy environment of the grain supply station, Hu Man and the others stubbornly refused to leave.

"Please, Li Ye, Xiaoyue and the others still have classes tomorrow! Just let us study here for one more day!"

"You don't even have to write us any test papers. There are still many problems we haven't mastered yet; we can just review by ourselves."

"We don't need meals provided. I've eaten too much meat these past few days. I saved two cabbages at home, and shredding a cabbage heart will do for a meal."

Hu Man, Han Xia, Jiang Xiaoyan, and the others looked at Li Ye with wronged expressions, treading carefully as if serving a creditor, terrified that he might throw a tantrum, flip the table, and refuse to help them anymore.

Li Ye felt a headache coming on. Over the past two months, the friendship within the group of eight had soared while his own intimidation factor steadily declined. If he didn't lose his temper, he wouldn't even be able to chase them away.

"Stop dawdling, all of you! Come back after the sixth day of the lunar new year! It's already the twenty-seventh—even the collective farm's donkeys get a holiday, can't I have two days off?"

"We really won't get in your way..."

Hu Man and the others still wanted to insist, but Li Ye interrupted, "Alright, alright, it's time for you all to go back and accompany your families. Taste a meal cooked by your mothers, pat your fathers on the backs, and show some filial piety."

The girls looked at each other, and Han Xia muttered softly, "My mom's cooking isn't delicious."

Li Ye remained silent for a long moment before saying solemnly, "After the Spring Festival, we will enter the final sprint review, and time will pass very quickly. Preliminary exams, college entrance exams, and going to university—it will all pass in the blink of an eye. In a novel, it probably wouldn't even take eight or ten chapters."

"Have you ever thought about it? Once you go to university, wanting to eat a meal cooked by your mom might require crossing thousands of miles. Trust me, by then you will definitely regret not spending more time with your mothers while you were young."

"..."

Moved by his words, the girls lowered their heads and began packing their things in silence, preparing to go home.

However, before leaving, they told Li Ye, "The three of us discussed it. As soon as we tell our families, we'll come back and live with Wen Leyu to keep her company."

"Huh?"

Li Ye hadn't expected these girls to give him such a pleasant surprise.

With a few classmates to keep her company, Wen Leyu would certainly spend the New Year much more comfortably.

Li Ye cupped his hands and said, "Then I must thank you all! But rest assured, I am not a stingy person; there will definitely be rewards."

Jiang Xiaoyan hastily shook her head. "We should be the ones thanking you. Besides, Wen Leyu is our classmate, so it's only right that we help out."

Han Xia flashed a mischievous smile and said, "Li Ye, I really admire you. To coax a girl, you actually managed to come up with something like Pavlov's dog... and some world-famous experiment..."

"Hahahaha!"

The girls laughed as they left, leaving Li Ye with a wry smile.

Eavesdropping was one thing, but he was telling the truth—why did they treat it like a joke?

***

After seeing Hu Man and the others off, Wen Leyu also left.

There were still people in the school dormitory today, and with that small bronze gong tucked inside her schoolbag, she felt completely safe.

However, Li Ye asked Li Dayong to stay behind.

After dark, Hao Jian, Jin Peng, and Wang Jianqiang arrived pulling a flatbed cart.

The cart was piled high with New Year goods that Li Ye had asked Hao Jian to bring back from the provincial capital, along with an inconspicuous burlap sack.

Once the four of them entered the room and locked the door, Hao Jian opened the sack and emptied its contents right onto Li Ye's small heated brick bed.

Stacks upon stacks of cash blinded the three men.

Li Dayong didn't dare to believe his eyes, Wang Jianqiang was dumbfounded, and even Jin Peng, who usually carried himself with the composure of a seasoned general, licked his lips with glowing eyes.

"Here is the ledger. You can check the numbers."

Hao Jian arranged a stack of ledgers, opened the topmost one, and handed it to Li Ye.

Li Ye glanced at the final figures, which were roughly what he had anticipated, so he didn't bother looking closer.

A messy ledger of petty accounts—what was there to see?

He jutted his chin and said, "Stop staring, brothers. Let's split the money!"

Hao Jian tossed away the cigarette in his mouth, picked up the ledger, and divided the cash into three piles.

Jin Peng's share was noticeably larger, amounting to the sum of Wang Jianqiang's and Li Dayong's shares combined.

Li Dayong first lowered his head, blankly staring at the several stacks of banknotes belonging to him, then looked up at Li Ye in a daze and asked, "Brother, is this for me?"

Li Ye nodded. "Yes. You originally bought into the partnership with your bicycle, so now here is your share. Don't be polite, just take it!"

"I won't be polite then!"

Li Dayong opened his broad palms and shoved the money into his chest in two or three motions, bulging and conspicuous.

Wang Jianqiang reacted much slower, only panicking just then as he stammered, "No, no, no, Brother, I don't want it. I don't want this much, it's too much... too much."

In reality, it was only a little over a thousand yuan, but because it included many one- and two-yuan bills, it looked like a massive fortune.

Ever since Wang Jianqiang joined the partnership, he had either been running errands to the provincial capital with Hao Jian or staying behind in Chenzhuang Township boiling maltose candy. He had put in genuine physical labor, so calculating his share at one cent per catty was entirely fair.

Yet Wang Jianqiang had never seen so much money in his life, let alone imagined it. Now that he suddenly possessed such a sum, he was completely flustered and terrified.

渚"Alright, Jianqiang, we've been helping you save your money all along! If you don't want the money, are you expecting to work for free?"

"But, but..."

Wang Jianqiang faltered, stuttering without being able to make a coherent point, until finally, he burst into loud sobs.

None of them laughed at him.

Poor, simple-minded Wang Jianqiang had been unloved by his maternal grandmother and neglected by his uncles since childhood. Factories wouldn't hire him, his family didn't care for him, and even at mealtime, people complained that he wasted food.

Now that he had finally proven his worth, the overwhelming emotions caused him to completely break down, and grievances suppressed for who knows how many years burst forth like a breached dam, impossible to hold back.

In the end, Uncle Gu, who was guarding the gate outside, came over to knock on the door and ask if something was wrong before Wang Jianqiang finally stopped crying.

Li Ye placated Wang Jianqiang and said, "Enough nonsense, this year's business is over. What are your plans for next year?"

Hao Jian immediately chimed in, "Jin Peng and I discussed it. On the third day of the lunar new year, we're heading down to Guangdong Province together."

Li Ye pondered for a moment and asked, "You're both going? Have the arrangements for the maltose wholesale side been settled?"

"All arranged," Hao Jian replied. "Right after the New Year, there's a slow season lasting over ten days with hardly any orders. Even if there are, Qiangzi and Xiao An can handle the deliveries. They know all the routes well, so it definitely won't delay anything."

"Alright then, let's establish the rules for this trip to Guangdong right now."

Looking at Li Dayong, Jin Peng, and Wang Jianqiang, Li Ye asked, "For the next step, do you want to buy into the partnership with a capital stake, or keep earning commissions like before?"

Jin Peng didn't hesitate for a second. He pushed his entire stack of cash straight across the table toward Li Ye.

He had joined late and entered with empty hands; he had long envied Hao Jian making money, and only a fool would pass up such an opportunity now.

Li Dayong hesitated for a moment, then also pulled out his money and placed it in front of Li Ye.

Wang Jianqiang hadn't touched his share yet, but now he sheepishly reached out, gave it a token push forward, and smiled awkwardly, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Amused, Li Ye asked Wang Jianqiang, "Qiangzi, do you even understand the difference between buying into a partnership and earning commissions?"

Wang Jianqiang shook his head like a rattle-drum, yet said firmly, "I don't understand, but I'll follow Brother wherever he goes."

Li Dayong echoed, "Me too. It doesn't matter if I don't understand, as long as Brother, you understand."

Li Ye turned to Jin Peng, who smiled and said, "Isn't it just taking a risk? Earning commissions means no fear of losing money, but what kind of ambition is there in being afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind?"

"Fine," Li Ye pointed at the money on the bed and began allocating it. "Jin Peng puts in two thousand, Qiangzi puts in one thousand, Dayong puts in one thousand, and Hao Jian, how much are you putting in?"

Hao Jian gnawed on his back teeth as his brain spun rapidly.

He had nearly ten thousand yuan in hand, but his young daughter was sick, and Jin Peng's words just now reminded him—what if they lost it all...

"I'll put in six thousand," Hao Jian decided.

"Then I'll put in ten thousand."

As Li Ye's words fell, Li Dayong's saucer-like eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

So his own brother was already a ten-thousand-yuan man!

It turned out that Li Ye's three-thousand-yuan royalty was just what was on the surface, while the real fortune was hidden away in the dark.

Li Ye helped Hao Jian count out the money and returned the rest to Jin Peng and the others.

Wang Jianqiang refused to take his back, asking to keep it stored with Li Ye instead, and Li Ye didn't refuse—being trusted by others was also a form of enjoyment.

Then Li Ye straightened up, his tone resolute. "Our business isn't massive, but the rules must be established first. Shares will be calculated based on how much money everyone contributed, but Hao Jian, Jin Peng, and Qiangzi will take an extra share of wages. Dayong and I aren't putting in physical labor, so we only take profit dividends."

Jin Peng immediately protested, "Xiao You, what are you saying? Taking a share in the capital and then taking wages on top of that—there's no such logic."

Li Ye waved his hand and continued, "Money is a good thing; no one dislikes having it. But money is also a bad thing; countless bonds of brotherhood have been ruined by money alone."

Jin Peng looked slightly stunned, Hao Jian looked a bit uncomfortable, while Li Dayong and Wang Jianqiang could only exchange blank stares, failing to grasp Li Ye's meaning.

Li Ye explained, "Take our business, for example. Hao Jian and Jin Peng put in the most physical effort, yet I take the lion's share. As time goes on, friction is bound to arise."

"But I can tell you clearly: if any of you are unhappy one day, I will immediately withdraw my capital and walk away. However, as long as I have a stake in this business, I call the shots."

"What are you talking about!"

Hao Jian hurriedly persuaded him, "We don't mean that at all! You are our Zhuge Liang! Without you, where would we go to make this kind of money? Just a few months ago, I was still shedding tears over a few yuan for my daughter's medicine!"

"Things are better said clearly," Li Ye smiled. "There is no such thing as absolute fairness in this world. Laying everything out in the open makes brotherly bonds last longer, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, everything Wild Brother says is cultured. I'll listen to Brother," simple-minded Wang Jianqiang chimed in hastily to pledge his loyalty.

The others also patted their chests and made their vows.

Only Jin Peng looked at Li Ye with a half-smile before finally saying, "Xiao You, are you trying to keep me in line?"

"Hmm?"

Li Ye glanced sideways, staring at Jin Peng without speaking.

He usually didn't get involved in the day-to-day operations of the business, so if he didn't lay down the law right now, when would he?

At that very moment, however, Jin Peng suddenly reached to his waist, and a gleaming dagger instantly appeared in his hand.

*[Damn it, I forgot this is 1981, and controlled weapons haven't been cracked down on yet!]*