Chapter 186: Wen Leyu: You Took Our Money

The books that Pei Wencong urgently bought for Li Ye were very useful; Li Ye returned to school one day later than planned, and none of the teachers gave him any trouble.

Everyone understood: given Professor Zhang's attitude, it was obvious he intended to take Li Ye as his "direct disciple," and since Li Ye had a proper leave slip, how could they not show him some respect?

Only homeroom teacher Mu Yunning threw out a stern warning— if he didn't rank in the top ten on the final exam, he shouldn't expect a scholarship.

Li Ye would definitely rank in the top ten.

How could the first-year coursework possibly stump him, a "photographic memory" prodigy?

With just his biological hard drive's memory function, Li Ye could answer eighty percent of the exam questions; the rest he could deduce by analogy, and he'd still score eight or nine out of ten.

At the end of January 1983, universities in Beijing began gradually closing for the holiday.

Li Ye had warned Li Dayong and the others in advance; they agreed to buy tickets together and return to Qingshui County.

Before their planned return trip, Wen Leyu invited Li Ye home for a meal.

But when he arrived, Li Ye realized Wen Leyu had invited him home to "eat and take away."

"These are from my father, for your grandfather and your father; these are from my mother, for your grandmother, your mother, and your sisters."

"This one is for you—don't look at it yet! Wait until you get back to Qingshui County to open it. Promise you won't look!"

Wen Leyu pried through the pile of gifts with her small hands, carefully counting each item for Li Ye, like a hamster hauling her family's goods to supplement her husband's household.

Li Ye was half-amused, half-exasperated; knowing Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng, he'd expected a big bundle of New Year goods—but not this much.

Li Ye smiled and said, "How am I supposed to carry all this? You know how packed the trains are during Spring Festival."

But Wen Leyu had already planned ahead: "I asked my brother to get you a sleeper ticket, then have Li Dayong, Yan Jinbu, and the others each carry a little—easy as pie to get to Dongshan."

Seeing Li Ye still looked embarrassed, Wen Leyu beamed: "If you feel guilty, bring back some of those walnuts next year—I and my mom both love them."

"Alright then!" Li Ye reluctantly agreed. "What does your dad like? Doesn't he like walnuts too?"

"My dad likes alcohol. Just bring back a few bottles of Fangzi baijiu."

"Pfft, if I only brought back a few bottles of Fangzi baijiu, I'd be a total fool."

Li Ye smirked and whispered, "Tomorrow, come with me to Friendship Store—we'll buy your dad some foreign liquor. They probably have lots of kinds."

Wen Leyu blinked. "My dad does like vodka, but you need foreign exchange coupons. Do you have any?"

"Of course I do."

Li Ye proudly pulled a stack of US dollars from his pocket and flicked them with his fingers, making a "sasa" sound.

Wen Leyu, who had grown increasingly calm and composed, finally looked startled.

She lowered her voice: "Where did you get this money?"

Li Ye whispered back: "Didn't I tell you? I made money in Hong Kong—I asked for a bonus."

"You can just ask for a bonus?"

"Of course—in capitalism, in Hong Kong's society, if an employee feels he's done outstanding work, he can directly ask his boss for a raise or bonus."

"That's not right," Wen Leyu immediately corrected him. "You're not an employee working for capitalists—you're a citizen of Zhongguo standing up firmly for your legitimate rights."

"Right, right, that's exactly what I meant."

Li Ye could only nod repeatedly, acknowledging Wen Leyu's higher political awareness.

But he hadn't expected her awareness to be this high.

"Mom, come quick—Li Ye actually made foreign exchange!"

"."

Li Ye gripped the stack of US dollars tightly, feeling they were sprouting tiny wings and about to fly away.

Teacher Ke, at her current rank, no longer cared much for money—but foreign exchange was still a scarce commodity in this era!

When Teacher Ke heard Wen Leyu's call, she didn't pay much attention, strolling over slowly—she'd seen foreign exchange before; the education system annually needed substantial foreign exchange to buy foreign-language books.

But when she saw not a few bills, but a whole stack in Li Ye's hand, she was genuinely surprised.

"Where did you get this foreign exchange?"

"Mom, didn't I already tell you? Li Ye made money in Hong Kong—"

Before Li Ye could speak, Wen Leyu chattered nonstop to her mother, explaining clearly and logically.

Teacher Ke didn't doubt it—just days ago, Peking University had reported a case: their literature society's work "The Lonely Garrison Looking Homeward" had been published in Hong Kong, promoting Zhongguo's history and boosting national self-respect, and so on.

Digging further back, "The North Wind Soaring" by Qinchun Dao had already been published in Hong Kong magazines, and reportedly, the publisher Blue Sea received ten thousand US dollars per quarter for reprint rights.

But even that ten thousand dollars had to be centrally allocated; Blue Sea Literature Society might have gotten less than three thousand. How much did Li Ye have in his hand now?

At least five thousand?

"Li Ye, what do you plan to do with this money?"

"I just discussed with Wen Leyu—we'll go to Friendship Store to buy your husband some good liquor, then two coats for her and you, Teacher Ke, and several pairs of leather shoes for Wen Dage."

These were plans Li Ye had already made; though he hadn't yet earned the title of son-in-law, he couldn't show up for the New Year with nothing, especially after they'd given him so many New Year gifts!

But as Li Ye listed everything precisely, watching Teacher Ke smile silently, he finally sighed and gave in.

He shoved the money into her hands: "I'm turning this in. You decide how to use it."

This made Teacher Ke laugh, but after thinking it over, she still took the money.

Wen Leyu was stunned—she hadn't been showing high political awareness; she'd just wanted to show off to her mom!

How had the money suddenly become public property?

"Don't look at me like that—this money, Li Ye didn't lose out."

"Donated?"

Wen Leyu's eyes widened.

Li Ye quickly lowered his head, hoping Teacher Ke wouldn't look into his eyes.

This future mother-in-law was terrifying.

Luckily he only had five thousand today—if he'd brought the full ten thousand, he wouldn't have a single penny left for himself!

But after Li Ye left, Wen Leyu trailed after Teacher Ke like a little tail, babbling nonstop.

"You took our money, you took our money—I wanted to buy Dad good liquor, and an imported fur coat too…"

"Didn't I tell you? He didn't lose out."

"I still feel cheated—you took our money, no matter how you spin it, you took our money."

The logic made sense—Wen Leyu wasn't unaware of it.

But can a woman's nature be measured by logic?

Lao Feng miscalculated the date and forgot today was the first day of the tenth lunar month; according to our customs, we return to our hometown on this day to pay respects at ancestral graves—hundreds of kilometers round-trip, wasting too much time. No chance of extra updates, not even enough to meet the minimum daily quota. I'm truly ashamed—please forgive me, and I'll postpone the extra updates by two days.

(End of Chapter)