Chapter 158: I Am the Economic Advisor

At 8: 0, the discount promotion at the Second People's Mall finally ended.

Hu Man, Jiang Xiaoyan, and the others were utterly exhausted; they collapsed wherever they could, wiping sweat or rubbing their legs.

In retail work, the legs usually give out first—standing for long hours is brutally tiring on the legs.

The other students mobilized by them were either still joking and laughing, or too worn out to speak, panting heavily.

Even talking now felt like too much effort.

At that moment, Ma Qianshan emerged with the new accountant from Yangcheng.

"Sorry to keep everyone working so late! We've prepared some light snacks, plus a fifty-cent meal allowance—please come over to collect."

"Food? Come on, let's go—I'm starving!"

A student from Min University stood up and hurried over to grab several cakes to fill his stomach.

These college students had high social responsibility; when Hu Man asked, they readily volunteered—but hunger can't be staved off by spirit alone; they'd been working nonstop and were famished.

"Don't leave yet, classmate—here's your social practice fee and meal allowance, please take it."

"Social practice fee? There's money too?"

The student was stunned, automatically taking it—and saw it was three yuan and fifty fen.

"Of course there's money," Ma Qianshan joked. "We're not bloodsucking capitalists—why would we make college students work for free? Everyone, come get your pay! It's just a little, don't complain it's too little!"

"Not little at all! I was just wondering what those classmates meant by 'paid social practice'—now I get it!"

"."

The dozen or so students recruited by Hu Man and the others each took their money and left happily, waving goodbye as they went.

But Hu Man, Jiang Xiaoyan, and the others just looked at each other, hesitating to approach Ma Qianshan for their pay.

Ma Qianshan smiled and said, "Come on, you lot—I can't clock out until I've handed out all the money! If you don't come, how long am I supposed to work overtime?"

After exchanging glances, finally their class monitor, Hu Man, spoke: "We were just helping out—we shouldn't take money. We're just waiting for Li Ye. If it's inconvenient, we'll wait outside."

"Why shouldn't you take money?" Ma Qianshan said seriously. "Every drop of sweat from students has value and deserves fair compensation—otherwise, it dampens their work enthusiasm."

Li Dayong stared at Ma Qianshan in surprise, thinking: He's truly changed in just three days.

Ma Qianshan used to just brawl and argue on the streets—barely above "What are you looking at?" level—but now he's giving lectures like a pro?

He had no idea that among Li Ye's economic tutoring students, Wang Jianqiang was the most serious, and Ma Qianshan was second.

As Jiang Xiaoyan and Hu Man hesitated whether to take the money, Wen Leyu stood up, patted her butt, and walked straight to the accountant.

The accountant, Lin Guifen, was a retired veteran from her unit, lured north to Beijing by Zhou Lijuan's offer of 150 yuan plus year-end bonus to put her skills to use.

She handed Wen Leyu three yuan and fifty fen, but Wen Leyu didn't take it—she said calmly, "I want two."

Lin Guifen blinked, speaking in thick-accented Mandarin: "One per person—everyone's treated equally."

But beside her, Ma Qianshan quickly kicked her foot and pointed at Li Ye's name on the payment list.

Lin Guifen instantly understood, pulled out another short-term wage slip, and gave it to Wen Leyu together.

Wen Leyu's eyes narrowed slightly, a faint smile on her lips as she walked away.

She didn't know Ma Qianshan—back at the Second Grain Store, she'd only met Jin Peng, Hao Jian, and Wang Jianqiang; Ma Qianshan hadn't joined yet.

But now, Ma Qianshan clearly knew her.

………

Li Ye was now talking with Jin Peng—the first time "Pengcheng Factory Seven" had held a promotion in a big mall. It looked wildly successful on the surface, but problems had surfaced beneath.

Jin Peng scratched his head. "Xiao Ye, your 'smile service' is hard to implement. Everyone believes in equality—why should salesclerks bow down and smile at customers?"

"Plus, we only have a few full-timers; most are short-term workers—we can't force compliance by cutting bonuses."

"Then emphasize equality first!"

"Tell your full-timers clearly: no arguing with customers, no outbursts of temper."

"If you keep fighting or even hitting customers, it's not just about bonus deductions—it's about losing promotion eligibility."

Li Ye knew salesclerks of this era had big tempers, but he hadn't expected them to be this strong-willed.

Ma Qianshan dared not defy Li Ye's wishes, but these workers weren't here to smile for strangers.

Out of caution, Li Ye hadn't even mentioned "the customer is God"—just "smile service"—yet the new clerks reacted so fiercely.

Of course, Li Ye never fully agreed with "the customer is God." He only accepted "the customer comes first"—buyer and seller are equal in dignity.

So when he proposed "smile service" to Jin Peng, he stressed repeatedly it was merely a sign of respect.

But even this business mindset was far ahead of the current environment.

Yet the influential marketing concept of "the customer comes first" had already emerged overseas in the nineteenth century.

In that era, when modern services were still underdeveloped, this strategy succeeded wildly and was quickly adopted as a new standard across the service industry.

But domestically, after private economy was abolished, everyone was "comrade," and goods were scarce—customers were lucky just to buy anything; you want me to smile?

Who do you think you are?

"I'll have Ma Qianshan explain this to them," Jin Peng frowned. "But there's another problem—some new hires asked me right away when they'd get housing. How do I answer them?"

"Puh~"

Li Ye laughed.

In 1982, workers were still bold enough to demand housing on their first day.

But it wasn't their fault—most ordinary people could only hope for housing from their unit; few could afford to buy, or even thought of buying.

"Jin Ge, find out the Second People's Mall's housing allocation rules first, then explain clearly to them."

"I checked—minimum three years' service, but even five-year veterans often don't get housing."

"Then buy a few apartments first!" Li Ye said. "After buying sihe courtyards, don't renew leases when they expire—assign your own staff to live there, but make it clear: it's rental, not allocation."

"Alright, Xiao Ye, you've got real vision. I bought a few more places these past few days—and already, prices have gone up again."

Jin Peng was utterly awed by Li Ye. Housing prices were rising daily; now, even the Zaojunmiao courtyard didn't seem too expensive at ten thousand yuan.

"Even if prices rise more, can you really afford to miss a few bucks?"

"."

"Hehe, true," Jin Peng rubbed his head, slightly blushing. "Should I bring my wife over? A house with no one in it feels lifeless."

Back in Qingshui County, he'd been anxious about when he'd ever have a future. Now that he had wealth and property, with food and warmth, it was time to think about that.

Li Ye gave a half-smile. "Do as you like. But don't drive without a license."

"."

………

Li Ye had talked with Jin Peng a long time; when he returned, Jiang Xiaoyan and the others had already collected their pay and were chatting happily.

Though they received monthly school subsidies, this was the first time they'd earned cash through their own sweat—and it carried deep meaning.

Only when you earn money with your own hands can you truly be called an adult.

"Li Ye, they insisted on giving us money! Look!"

Jiang Xiaoyan felt embarrassed seeing Li Ye, the three yuan and fifty fen in her hand suddenly feeling hot.

Li Ye said: "This is earned money—clean money. Every week, we'll have promotions here. If your schoolmates want social practice, bring them to Team Leader Ma. Earning through labor isn't shameful."

"Hehe, then I'll take it."

Jiang Xiaoyan and the others laughed, tucked the money away, and whispered with Han Xia, debating whether to come back next week for extra cash.

Four weeks a month, earning ten or so yuan—that's pure profit. Save up a hundred yuan, and you can bring Mama to Beijing to visit!

They finished cleaning the counters, locked up, and Ma Qianshan drove up in the 130.

"Alright, classmates, I'm heading that way—I'll drop you off at school."

"That's great! I'll definitely come back next week!"

Actually, this was Li Ye's idea—the streets were growing increasingly unsafe; whether boy or girl, better to be careful at night.

Ma Qianshan first dropped off Li Ye and Wen Leyu at school, then turned around to deliver the others—perfectly timed so as not to interfere with Li Ye and the girl's lakeside stroll.

Nine to nine-thirty was intimate time.

Hand in hand, breathing the crisp autumn breeze, they strolled slowly along the lake.

Wen Leyu suddenly asked: "Is your 'Pengcheng Factory Seven' promotion deeply connected to you?"

Li Ye didn't pause or think—he replied casually: "I'm their economic advisor—planning strategies, directing operations. If you ask about depth of connection, yes, it's deep."

Wen Leyu studied Li Ye's eyes carefully for several seconds, then pouted.

She never cared much about Li Ye's business deals with Jin Peng—she only cared whether he liked being with her.

Besides, her mother, Professor Ke, had thoroughly investigated the Xiushuijie incident—and never mentioned anything to Wen Leyu afterward, meaning she tacitly approved Li Ye's actions.

"Then tell me—how exactly did you advise them?"

Li Ye frowned. "You're an English major—why so interested in economics? Planning to become a little boss's wife?"

Wen Leyu kicked him hard. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Alright, alright!"

Li Ye quickly explained everything—Pengcheng Factory Seven's entire series of business moves since arriving in Beijing.

Of course, he didn't mention he was the major shareholder; Wen Leyu didn't ask.

After twenty minutes of talking, Wen Leyu felt as if she'd taken a sip of aged liquor—slightly dizzy.

In three months, he'd opened up such a big scene? So impressive?

The girl kept glancing sideways at Li Ye, watching him speak confidently, her hand unconsciously gripping his tighter.

But her tone remained casual: "Hmm, not bad. Your advisor role hasn't disgraced Peking University."

"Of course," Li Ye said proudly. "Believe in your own judgment—you chose right."

"………"

"You're shameless! Pfft～"

Wen Leyu spat, but her small hand still didn't let go.

Today Lao Feng's computer broke; he tinkered for a long time but couldn't fix it, so he could only Mianqiang type on his phone—very uncomfortable. If anything feels off, please forgive me; if there are errors, I'd greatly appreciate you pointing them out so I can fix them quickly.

Thank you to reader "Wang Yun Shan Ren" for the 500-coin tip, and thank you to reader "Huo De Zi Zai" for the tip—thanks to both of you, seniors. thanks(w)

(End of chapter)