Chapter 107: Brothers Like This Are Easier to Get Along With

“Xiao Ye, you’re going back? I’ll have San Shui book your ticket right away—I’ll make sure you get a lower berth.”

“Li Ye, you should head back too—the results have been out for days. By the time you get home, your university acceptance letter might already be waiting.”

When Li Ye told Hao Jian and Jin Peng he planned to return to Qingshui the next day, both sighed with relief.

Ten days ago, home had called to inform Li Ye he’d ranked first in the province and urged him to return immediately.

At the time, Jin Peng and Hao Jian assumed Li Ye would return soon, but they never expected him to ignore his family’s summons entirely.

Jin Peng and Hao Jian found this incomprehensible.

Is there anything better than topping the imperial exams?

Aren’t your classmates over the moon right now?

Why stay in Yangcheng, where it’s 40 degrees, when you could go home and bask in the admiration of all your friends and relatives? Do you want to turn into a black man?

Even a beautiful reporter’s been camping at your house, wanting to take you out to dinner—what if you come back looking different and she doesn’t want you anymore?

But over the next ten days, Li Ye’s actions made Hao Jian and Jin Peng realize they must never again view Li Ye through the lens of a mere student.

Li Ye could read accounts—he tore apart Hao Jian’s self-satisfied ledger as worthless, exposing glaring flaws in procurement and shipping procedures.

Li Ye could trace relationships—he didn’t even need Jin Peng or Hao Jian to uncover the entire network of their shady associates.

Even the decent women San Shui often helped couldn’t escape Li Ye’s scrutiny.

After identifying the problems, Li Ye didn’t just rant—he calmly offered suggestions.

Hire a professional accountant at high pay, establish clear personal conduct rules, implement precise improvement plans.

After resolving everything, Li Ye still granted Jin Peng and Hao Jian full “autonomy.”

Yet this subtle, measured control left Hao Jian and Jin Peng sitting on pins and needles, drenched in cold sweat.

This isn’t a high school student!

This is clearly a seasoned veteran of the business world!

Only now did they understand Li Ye’s words: “We must ensure the business runs smoothly no matter who’s in charge.”

If Li Ye could train this small team into what it is today in just one year, how long would it take him to replace them?

Don’t think that because you’re far from the emperor, you’ve forgotten you’re just a “partner,” or who the real “proprietor” is.

Especially yesterday’s lecture Li Ye gave San Shui left both men deep in thought.

【Business is business, sentiment is sentiment—don’t mix them.】

I’m making you rich, and we’re good brothers—but those are two different things!

………………

In the middle of the night, Li Ye suddenly heard someone knocking.

He rolled off the bed without making a sound.

【Sss, has the decadence of the Empire really seeped in this far?】

These past days, Li Ye had heard that because this area hosted many foreign enterprises, all sorts of temptations had sprung up like mushrooms after rain, specifically targeting pure, innocent boys like him.

If the person outside was a leggy girl in skimpy clothes, it’d be hard to handle!

“Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, wake up!”

Li Ye sighed and went to open the door for Jin Peng.

When he opened it, he found Hao Jian standing outside—both looked grim.

“What’s wrong, Brother Peng?”

“Something’s wrong,” Jin Peng said heavily. “San Shui and the others haven’t come back. I just asked the front desk—something happened tonight.”

“Come in and explain.”

Li Ye let them in and quickly learned the details.

Jin Peng hadn’t slept—he’d waited for San Shui to return so he could give him a serious warning.

But now it was nearly two a.m., and San Shui and the others still hadn’t returned from dancing.

Jin Peng grew uneasy, so he woke Hao Jian.

Hao Jian, quick-witted, used cash to ask the inn staff for information, then came back helplessly to report to Li Ye.

Li Ye forced himself to stay calm. “Did they say anything before leaving? How much money did they take?”

“They said nothing. I don’t know how much money they had, but I think I saw San Shui carrying several pairs of silk stockings.”

“Silk stockings?”

Li Ye looked at Jin Peng, puzzled.

Jin Peng rubbed his forehead. “I heard once that when you go looking for that kind of thing, silk stockings work better than cash.”

Li Ye now understood what San Shui had been up to.

Black silk stockings were originally designed for special workers—decent women never wore that color.

Only later, pressured by the idea that “wildflowers smell sweeter than home flowers,” did pure girls reluctantly accept this magical weapon to keep their husbands’ hearts.

Li Ye began putting on his shoes and clothes, directing Hao Jian: “Go ask the inn staff—where’s the most likely place? If something went wrong, where should we look?”

Hao Jian immediately replied: “I just asked around—they said they have a relative here who’s willing to help us search.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Go now!”

Li Ye was truly annoyed.

He didn’t care about San Shui’s fate—but Zou Zhiguo absolutely must not get hurt.

Zou Zhiguo’s grandfather was a soldier Li Zhongfa brought from Qingshui. Li Zhongfa returned home whole and healthy; Zou Zhiguo’s grandfather was buried thousands of miles away.

Zou Zhiguo’s grandmother wept and demanded Li Zhongfa: “You came back rich and promoted—where’s your brother? Why did you leave him out there?”

The two families stopped visiting for years, but Li Zhongfa always carried that thorn in his heart.

Li Zhongfa had tried to compensate, but Zou’s grandmother no longer trusted him.

Later, during Li Zhongfa’s downfall, Zou Zhiguo’s grandmother became convinced he was a “cursed omen.”

Zou Zhiguo never hated the Li family as a child, but his quiet, withdrawn nature made him unlikable.

This time, when he finally spoke up and wanted to come along, Li Zhongfa repeatedly warned them: “Watch him closely.”

And now this?

【I told you to take him to see the world—you took him to brothels and opera? I’ll stab you dead, you damn nuisance.】

Half an hour later, a man named Lao Xing arrived at the inn and led Li Ye and the others out to search.

Lao Xing knew the area well and quickly reached the most likely location.

But from afar, Li Ye stared and muttered, “Damn.”

A long line of men and women crouched on the roadside outside—there wasn’t even room inside the courtyard.

Among them were plenty of flowered skirts and high heels—Jin Peng’s favorites—making him suck his teeth and step forward to get a closer look.

“What are you going over there for? Let Lao Xing ask.”

Lao Xing questioned people for a long time but found no trace of San Shui or the others.

They searched several more places but found nothing.

Jin Peng grew anxious, but Li Ye exhaled in relief.

With the few yuan San Shui and Zou Zhiguo carried, no one would risk murder for theft.

As for other shady “immortal jumps,” those weren’t serious matters.

Everyone was tired from the long search and decided to return to the inn to discuss further.

Just as they neared the inn, they spotted San Shui and the three greenhorns hurrying toward them.

“Good you’re safe. If anything happens again, come find me.”

Lao Xing felt embarrassed, as if taking money without delivering results damaged his reputation.

But Jin Peng felt it was a miracle—he sensed that beside him, Li Ye appeared calm, but was about to explode.

Li Ye didn’t take San Shui and the others back to the inn—he chose a quiet spot.

Then he smiled and asked: “Where are the silk stockings? How many did you spend?”

“.”

“Not many, heh—heh, one pair of long ones was enough, two or three short ones…”

San Shui grinned. Ma Qianshan and Mu Weimin hung their heads, embarrassed. Only Zou Zhiguo’s face turned red—he wanted to speak but held back.

Li Ye smiled at Zou Zhiguo: “Zhiguo, tell me—was tonight fun?”

Zou Zhiguo hesitated a long time: “I don’t know. I stood outside. When people came, I yelled and they ran.”

San Shui quickly added: “We’re fine—we just hid in the rice fields for hours. Really nothing happened.”

“Heh~~”

Li Ye laughed. “Nothing happened? Do you know what the consequences would’ve been if something had?”

“We’ve worked hard to build this business, walking on thin ice. What you think is a small thing could destroy everyone’s efforts.”

“This past year, things have gone smoothly—do you think traveling outside is as easy as drinking and eating at home? Should I let you get drunk?”

Li Ye pointed at San Shui, then looked at Jin Peng: “What do you think?”

“.”

Jin Peng’s lips trembled; his cigarette fell to the ground.

His gaze at Li Ye shifted from disbelief to shame and sorrow.

Jin Peng clenched his teeth, found a thick branch nearby, and snapped off a piece.

He walked to the visibly uneasy San Shui and pressed the branch against his mouth.

“Bite down. Don’t scream.”

"What?"

Before San Shui understood what his brother Jin Peng meant, something was shoved into his mouth, then his lower abdomen exploded in searing pain, and he curled up helplessly on the ground.

"Bang bang bang~"

Jin Peng punched San Shui again and again, making him emit continuous muffled cries of pain.

"I’ve told you how many times, how many times—go somewhere safe, go to a big place—why won’t you listen, why won’t you listen?"

"You can’t even control your own pants, so why go corrupting others?"

Jin Peng hit him brutally; San Shui crawled and scrambled all over the ground but couldn’t escape his fists and kicks.

But to Li Ye’s eyes, it was nothing but bitter helplessness—and the silent plea of a man bowing his head in apology.

Last night, during discipline Zhengdun , Li Ye had clearly forbidden the “Five Poisons”—drinking, eating, gambling, prostitution, and smoking—and ordered that anyone caught doing the last two be fired immediately.

As for the other three, he couldn’t reasonably demand they be stopped.

He needed business talent, not monkish ascetics.

Even monks fancy nuns! Who doesn’t have a vice?

But San Shui’s scheming had crossed Li Ye’s line.

The three great bonds of brotherhood: studying together, fighting side by side, sharing... San Shui was showing respect to Ma Qianshan and the others?

No—he was dragging them into his mess to gain leverage over them, building his own little fiefdom.

【To play petty tricks on Li Ye? You’ve truly lost your mind.】

Jin Peng kept punching for two full minutes before wiping sweat and snot from his face and walking over to Li Ye.

Li Ye said to Zou Zhiguo: “Take them back first. Don’t make a scene.”

Once everyone had left, Li Ye squatted down with Hao Jian and Jin Peng.

Jin Peng pulled out a cigarette pack and handed one to each of them, smoking in silence.

When the cigarette was finished, Li Ye said softly: “This is the last time.”

“Yeah.”

Jin Peng quickly agreed, forcing a nervous smile.

His fellow disciple still had feelings—he’d be dead meat if the Private Secretary were here today.

“Brother Li Ye, it’s not all San Shui’s fault. I’m old, but even I see those girls... and feel sorry for them.”

Hao Jian quickly tried to smooth things over—after all, Li Ye had looked terrifying just now. He might need Jin Peng’s help someday.

“Pfft~”

Li Ye tossed away the half-smoked cigarette, sneering: “Worth a pack of socks? What kind of trash? Embarrassing!”

“...”

Jin Peng and Hao Jian stared blankly for a long while before sheepishly laughing.

Jin Peng rubbed his buzz cut, embarrassed—but inside, he felt less tense.

A brother with a bit of a wild streak was far easier to get along with than a “saint.”

When Li Ye got off the train in the provincial capital, it was pre-dawn.

He was wondering where to kill a few hours when he spotted his cheap old man standing on the platform, craning his neck to look around.

“Over here! Over here!”

Li Ye dragged his big bag and waved at Li Kaijian.

Li Kaijian hurried over, snatched the bag, and slung it onto his back.

“What’d you bring? So heavy—how’d you even manage on the train?”

“Stuff for family! Take it easy! There’s a tape recorder inside.”

“Tape recorder? Any tapes?”

“Yeah. Deng Lijun’s.”

“Good. We’ll listen when we get home.”

Li Kaijian immediately perked up; the heavy bag no longer felt so burdensome.

Outside the train station, Li Ye barely squeezed himself and the giant bag into the backseat of the Xingfu 250; Li Kaijian was nearly crushed against the fuel tank.

“You should’ve told me you were bringing so much! I could’ve had your grandpa send a car to pick you up.”

“No way! Would Grandpa even do that?”

Li Zhongfa never openly took public perks—his little courtyard at the second-grain store even paid the unit rent every month!

But Li Kaijian sneered: “The State Grain Bureau’s running some project in Qinghe County—your grandpa’s whole unit’s riding your coattails. They’re all begging you to open your mouth and connect.”

Li Ye understood: Wen Qingsheng was returning the favor, letting a few grains of sand slip through his fingers into Qinghe County.

But Li Ye wasn’t some lofty idealist—he immediately proposed a small idea.

“Then get Grandpa to get me a driver’s license.”

“Driver’s license? What do you need that for?”

In 1982, Li Kaijian had no concept of a private car—but this year, “Shaolin Temple” had already hit theaters, and next year the Kung Fu Emperor would be cruising Beijing in a sports car. Wasn’t a proper time-traveler supposed to keep up with the times?

Li Ye was too lazy to explain: “Just say yes or no.”

Li Kaijian waved his hand: “That’s nothing! If your grandpa won’t do it, I’ll do it for you.”

“Vroom~”

The motorcycle roared onto the main road, its headlights slicing through the deep night like arrows.

(End of Chapter)