Chapter 66: Even the Simple-Minded Have Their Little Schemes

"Peng-ge, what are you doing? Put that down right now!"

Seeing Jin Peng bare the blade, Li Dayong was the first to cry out in an attempt to stop him.

Wang Jianqiang, after a brief moment of shock, lunged forward to wrap his arms around Jin Peng's waist, shivering as he pleaded, "No, no, no, Peng-ge, please don't."

Li Ye reacted the fastest. Initially intending to dodge and retreat sharply, he suddenly realized Jin Peng's blade was plunging directly toward his own palm.

By the time he recognized the danger and lunged forward to intervene, it was already a step too late.

Jin Peng's knife pierced through his own palm, and fresh blood immediately began to well up.

At the same time, Li Ye's hand tightly gripped Jin Peng's right hand, which held the knife.

Perhaps if Li Ye had been just a fraction of a second slower, Jin Peng's left hand would have been stabbed right through.

Suppressing his rising anger, Li Ye asked in a deep voice, "Peng-ge, what on earth are you doing?"

Jin Peng, however, smiled and said, "Xiao Ye, I don't know why you don't trust me, but I'm doing this to make you understand that I, Jin Peng, am not someone who forgets the roots of his kindness."

"I was never an obedient kid growing up, and I caused no end of trouble for my family. Don't look at me grinning and joking all day long; when the lights go out and I'm all alone, I worry too... I worry that by the time my old mother gets truly old, she won't even live to hold a grandson."

As he spoke, tears actually began to stream down Jin Peng's face.

"But I'm not worried anymore, truly not worried at all! A few days ago, I hooked up with a girl—you guys guess how much it cost?"

Jin Peng chuckled through his tears. "Two packs of Peony cigarettes and three bottles of Maotai liquor, and I got her placed as a worker at the garment factory! She agreed to marry me on the spot, hahahahaha."

Watching Jin Peng, who was bleeding and crying at the same time, the corner of Li Ye's mouth twitched downward in a helpless grimace.

He truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

So, he resorted to teasing, "Three bottles of liquor? When your family gives gifts, do you give in odd numbers?"

Jin Peng brightened up with a laugh. "I bought four bottles, but on the way back I couldn't help myself and drank one with Hao Jian. Damn, it tasted so good! Didn't even need any dishes to go with it..."

Jin Peng's eyes were already bloodshot as he shouted loudly, "If it weren't for you, Xiao Ye, would I, Jin Peng, ever get to drink Maotai? If it weren't for you, Xiao Ye, would I ever be able to get a wife? Given all this deep grace, how could you look at me like I'm some ungrateful wolf? I swear..."

"Alright, alright, no need to swear. I believe you, I believe you. Just hand me the knife first..."

Acting much like someone coaxing a child, Li Ye managed to take the knife away from Jin Peng's hand.

*Snap!*

Hao Jian suddenly slammed his hand down on the table and shouted, "Well said! The fact that the few of us could gather here today must be the arrangement of the heavens. If you ask me, we should drink blood wine and become sworn brothers of different surnames!"

"Right, Hao Jian is right!"

"Hehe, good... a good idea..."

"I've got a bottle of old Baigan in my cart..."

Watching Li Dayong and the others—some rushing to find bowls, others retrieving liquor—Li Ye was left momentarily dumbfounded.

*[Are young men in the 1980s really this reckless?]*

In his past life, Li Ye had seen several uncles and elders from his father's generation who either had cigarette-burn scars on their hands or tattoos representing their ranking in sworn brotherhood.

However, his father had once explained that none of those guys were actual mobsters or toughs; rather, living in an era starved of spiritual entertainment, they had simply listened to too many martial arts storytelling books and fallen victim to adolescent delusions of grandeur.

*Tsk~*

Li Ye clicked his tongue and let out a helpless, bitter laugh.

*[Here I am, a dignified transmigrated emperor, and the pioneering team I've assembled consists entirely of chuunibyou delusional youths?]*

Delusional or not, when Li Dayong, Wang Jianqiang, and even Hao Jian rolled up their sleeves without a single frown to brew the blood wine, the raw, passionate flavor of the "martial brotherhood" was simply too intense and intoxicating to ignore.

Swept up in the mood, Li Ye stroked his small knife, contemplating whether his index or middle finger looked more agreeable for a slash, which naturally earned him a round of good-natured laughter.

"Hahahaha~ It doesn't hurt at all, Xiao Ye, not one bit."

Every finger is connected to the heart; to claim it didn't hurt was pure nonsense to trick ghosts.

"Sigh~~"

In the end, Li Ye opted to slash his forearm instead, breaking the skin and shedding blood.

They mixed a bowl of blood wine and split it among themselves. Li Ye hurriedly spoke up first—otherwise, if someone happened to suggest the oath of *"Not seeking to be born on the same day, month, and year, but only wishing to die on the same day, month, and year,"* would he be expected to echo it or not?

His soul had already transmigrated once; what if some mystical mishap actually bound their fates together?

"This is the new society now, so our oaths should also adopt some modern terminology. Let's skip all that stuff about the same month, same day, and same year. Everyone just listen to my lead!"

***

"Sharing wealth and honor, never forgetting each other—which means no matter how wealthy any of us become in the future, we must never forget the brothers who shared hardships with us in poverty."

Hao Jian, Jin Peng, and the others looked slightly blank. These new terms were entirely foreign to them! Yet, listening to Li Ye's explanation, it actually carried a rather profound ring to it.

Without giving them time to ponder over it further, Li Ye raised his large bowl and declared with a sincere expression, "Sharing wealth and honor, never forgetting each other! Bottoms up!"

After taking a sip, he slammed the bowl down, shattering it to pieces.

"Sharing wealth and honor, never forgetting each other! Bottoms up!"

"Bottoms up!"

As soon as they finished drinking, Li Ye hurriedly dragged Jin Peng off to the hospital. The cut on his hand was not shallow; even if he managed to avoid tetanus, he was bound to end up with a massive scar.

Hao Jian originally wanted to tag along as well, but Li Ye chased him away. In the dead of winter, Hao Jian still had to haul a handcart forty *li* through the night road.

After Hao Jian left, Li Ye lowered his voice and asked Jin Peng, "Peng-ge, earlier—did you cut yourself to show me, or to show him?"

Jin Peng was startled for a moment before replying with a serious expression, "Of course I wanted to make you understand that I'm not an ingrate, but as for Hao Jian..."

"He's a crafty schemer. When I discussed with him who should lead the trip down to Guangdong Province, he hoarded his own money and didn't dare to go. But if I went alone, he was terrified we'd cut him out of the loop. Just think about it—without our connections and channels, he couldn't even gather the raw materials for maltose..."

"Bah, he lucked out and got a massive bargain today."

Jin Peng's point was that by drinking blood wine with them and establishing the bond of "brotherhood," Hao Jian had scored an incredible advantage.

Li Ye smiled without commenting. Given his current circumstances, Hao Jian already qualified as a capable lieutenant; securing his loyalty with merely the title of a "brother" meant he was the one who had truly profited.

After taking Jin Peng to the hospital to get stitches and medicine, Jin Peng suddenly brought up Wang Jianqiang just as they were parting ways.

"You need to be careful on the first day of the Chinese New Year. Qiang-ge's family will definitely come over to pay New Year's greetings to the old master, so you should keep your guard up."

"What kind of guard?"

"I managed to get a bicycle ticket through Ma Rui and bought a bicycle for my wife. Qiang-ge's family somehow found out about it..."

"Qiang-ge's mother nagged my mother for ages fishing for information, and I reckon she's got some scheme in mind. Qiang-ge's family... *heh*."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Ye called Wang Jianqiang over and asked, "Qiang, do you know what to say when you go home today?"

Wang Jianqiang flashed a wide grin and replied, "Brother, I won't say a word! For the past few months, I've just been tagging along with Peng-ge to earn my meals!"

"Good, you're not completely foolish yet."

"Hehe inventories~"

Jin Peng, however, warned, "Qiang's mother is a formidable and difficult character. Xiao Ye, you'd better stay on your toes. After all, she's still your elder."

"I won't even be home on the first day of the New Year. What can she possibly do to me?"

Li Ye had already made up his mind: on the first day of the New Year, he was going to accompany Wen Leyou and had no time to entertain any troublesome "elders."

***

However, while high is the dao by a foot, high is the demon by ten. Li Ye had only prepared his defenses for the first day of the New Year, but the visitors arrived on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Li Ye was busy working on his manuscript in his room when he saw that simpleton Wang Jianqiang being dragged through the front door by a short-stump of an old woman.

"Oh, Master is home! My goodness, Chief, you're even hanging up the laundry yourself? Sister-in-law, really now, how could you let the honorable grandfather of the house do this kind of chore?"

"Oh, Xiao Yue, why is this overcoat of yours so pretty? Is it woolen?"

"How come I don't see Big Auntie? It's been ages since I last saw my auntie; I must have a good long chat with her today."

Wang Jianqiang's mother had barely been inside the house for a few minutes before she acted completely at home, mingling with every member of the Li family as if she owned the place.

Li Ye's younger sisters, Li Juan and Li Ying, hearing that their own mother was being picked on by an outsider, both ran into Li Ye's room and pressed their faces against the window to look outside.

As the crown prince of the household, Li Ye occupied the room with the best lighting; the windows in his sisters' room were dim and offered a poor view.

"Brother, who is that old bat? It's already the twenty-ninth and she shows up empty-handed—what is she here for?"

"Qiang's mother. She's here to shake us down for money."

Li Ye was deeply annoyed. Coming over empty-handed on the twenty-ninth of the twelfth month was downright stingy.

Well, her skin was thick enough, and she clearly hadn't come with good intentions.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the old master summoned Li Ye over.

"Xiao Ye, that fellow named Hao Jian—is he connected through you? Now that Qiang has done work for him but hasn't received his wages, this matter ultimately falls on your shoulders."

"........"

Li Ye blinked repeatedly, staring at Li Zhongfa, who was sitting imposingly and putting on official airs, feeling a strong urge to spit out a mouthful of complaints.

*Didn't you know the situation with Hao Jian perfectly well? Why aren't you, Chief Li, stepping in to smooth this over instead of leaving me, a mere low-ranking nobody, to take the fall?*

"There is indeed a classmate's relative named Hao Jian, but all I did was recommend him to set up a cooperative processing workshop. Weren't the paperwork and procedures handled by my older sister?"

Li Ye shifted his gaze toward his eldest sister, Li Yue.

To his dismay, Li Yue curled her lip and said, "I have so many things to deal with every day, how am I supposed to remember every Hao Jian or Li Jian? Hurry up and help the boy get his money back."

*Oh, wonderful! You people take all the credit and benefits while refusing to lift a finger, is that it?*

Li Ye was furious.

This year, he had earned a hefty sum in manuscript fees, and no matter how he spent the money, nobody could find fault with it. Hence, he had treated his grandmother and the entire family to a trip to the provincial capital, where woolen coats and leather overcoats were bought for everyone!

And now, when trouble knocked, none of them wanted to manage it?

Fine, just you wait; next year, you won't get a single penny out of me.

"Ahem," Li Zhongfa made frantic eye contact with Li Ye and said, "Is Hao Jian currently at home? Qiang should be making at least a dozen yuan or so a month, right? Why don't you advance twenty or thirty yuan first so Qiang can take it home to celebrate the New Year?"

Li Ye remained silent. So they all knew he was the wealthy patron, making him fair game for slaughter, huh?

However, while he stayed quiet, Wang Jianqiang's mother let out a sharp, piercing squawk that startled the entire Li family.

"Thirty or twenty yuan? How on earth is that enough?! Master, you don't understand—Qiang has been out there for three or four months, working his fingers to the bone for those people day and night. Even Jin Peng, who went with him, managed to get a 'Flying Pigeon' bicycle! Why shouldn't our family's Qiang get himself a 'Thousand-Li Horse' bicycle?"

*Good grief, what a lion's mouth she's got!*

Even Li Yue couldn't listen to any more of this nonsense. "Big Auntie, temporary workers only make eighteen yuan and fifty cents a month! You want a bicycle after just four months of work? I've been working for a full year and I'm still walking on my own two feet!"

Qiang's mother immediately snapped back, "Ah, Xiao Yue, you don't know anything about how things are nowadays—money has lost its value!"

"Doesn't Li Ye make two or three thousand yuan just by writing books? Our Qiang has been working for so long, sweating day and night—shouldn't that be worth several hundred?"

"All these cooperative workshops fall under the jurisdiction of the grain supply system. We are our own people here, and we can't let capitalists bully us, right? Besides, aren't the laboring masses the most glorious of all?"

"........."

Li Ye was utterly stunned. He finally understood why Li Zhongfa and his sister Li Yue were refusing to get involved no matter what—wasn't this outright extortion?

Wang Jianqiang had run away from home for four or five months, and his family hadn't even bothered to look for him, perfectly content to let him freeload meals from Jin Peng and save grain for the household.

Now that they saw Jin Peng making money, they turned around demanding equal treatment.

Were his grandfather and sister pushing him, the naive young hothead, onto the stage so he could settle the score with a single slap?

Li Ye dropped his expression into a frown and said coldly, "Sixth Auntie, I don't know what kind of work Qiang was doing for them, but they fed him, housed him, and even bought him a new leather-padded cotton coat for the New Year. Why on earth are you calling them capitalists?"

With that, Li Ye suddenly turned to Wang Jianqiang and asked, "Hey, Qiang, where is your leather cotton coat? Are you saving it to wear on the first day of the New Year?"

When Li Ye had seen Wang Jianqiang the day before yesterday, the latter had been wearing a brand-new leather cotton coat. Today, however, he had changed into a tattered cloth cotton jacket that was visibly too small, stretched tight across his frame.

Wang Jianqiang shifted uncomfortably on his stool and muttered in a low voice, "That leather coat didn't fit me right, so I traded it with my second brother."

Even the members of the Li family couldn't watch this any longer. Li Zhongfa let out a dry cough, stood up, and walked away.

With all these tangled family relations, it was simply impossible to sort out.

Wang Jianqiang's mother felt a brief flash of awkwardness, but she immediately turned back to tearfully pour her grievances out to Grandma Li: "Oh, Big Auntie, just look at this! Every family has its own difficult scriptures to chant. Back when your family was struggling, didn't I lend you two catties of cornmeal?"

"Now that your family has turned things around, Qiang's second brother is turning twenty-two after the New Year and still doesn't have a wife. He doesn't even have decent clothes to wear when he goes out, nor a bicycle—good girls won't even look him in the eye..."

A combined onslaught of snot and tears thoroughly sickened Li Ye.

He had no choice but to step in and say, "Sixth Auntie, don't get me wrong. I was just worried that Qiang might have been taken advantage of! A leather coat costs forty or fifty yuan!"

Then, Li Ye asked Wang Jianqiang in a deep, stern voice, "Qiang, did Hao Jian ever tell you how much wages he actually owes you?"

Wang Jianqiang kept his head down and answered, "I didn't earn as much as Peng-ge, but it's one hundred and eighty yuan. My mother said... to leave twenty for me."

Li Ye was thoroughly astonished.

Turns out, even this honest simpleton had his own little schemes.

Wang Jianqiang had not only concealed the thousand-yuan bonus pool, but he had also hidden a portion of his regular earnings as well.

Very well. He finally understood the truth behind the saying: *"A man without a secret stash of money has no dignity."*

He had a bright future ahead of him, indeed.