Chapter 23: Still Need to Make Money

The first snow of '81 finally fell.

The biting wind and snow whistled past, making this land feel the coldness of winter overnight.

With great perseverance, Li Ye shook off the temptation of the warm quilt, put on his clothes quickly while shivering, and headed to the classroom against the cold air.

Cold, too cold.

Only now did Li Ye understand the meaning of "climate warming" in later generations. Qingshui County could barely be considered a "northern city," yet it frequently had low temperatures of minus twenty degrees, which was very rare in later generations.

And the heating conditions in this era were even more lacking.

Inside the dormitory of County No. 2 Middle School, there was no heating equipment at all. At night, the temperature not only froze water into ice but even covered the walls with frost.

The boarding students covered themselves with quilts and pretended to be cold birds, suffering bitterly.

And the stove in the classroom was basically a facade project. The daily quota was just a handful of firewood and a few catties of coal cakes, and it would be finished after smoking for a while.

But even under such difficult conditions, it couldn't stop the students' enthusiasm for learning.

When the sky was just getting light, students were already self-studying in the classroom. Li Ye, who came at the ringing of the bell, was a "lazy person" with no prospects.

However, as soon as Li Ye sat down at his seat, several people leaned over.

"Brother, after eating, explain these questions to me, okay?"

Li Dayong handed Li Ye two still-warm roasted steamed buns and half a jar of warm water, then waited on the side with a paper.

County No. 2 Middle School didn't provide breakfast. The steamed buns were from last night. If you wanted to roast them hot while the stove was smoking, you had to have the ability to squeeze onto a bus at Wang Ba Fen.

Li Ye gnawed on the steamed bun while taking out his paper and throwing it over, saying: "First compare the answers yourself, and if there's anything you don't understand, ask me."

Li Dayong and the others hurriedly took the paper and gathered together to copy and discuss.

After Li Ye finished eating, the class monitor Hu Man quickly handed Li Ye a water bottle for warming hands, and then placed the paper with questions marked in front of Li Ye.

The hot water in the water bottle was saved by everyone, and it could still be seventy or eighty degrees. In this weather and under these conditions, it was already a luxurious enjoyment.

"This set of questions is actually not difficult. Let's look at......"

Li Ye tucked the hot water bottle into his arms, warming his hands while explaining the questions in a few strokes, and then sent Hu Man, Fu Yingjie, and the others away.

The paper was issued during last night's self-study, and he and Wen Leyu had finished it long ago, but it was much harder for Li Dayong and the others.

But Li Dayong and Fu Yingjie weren't the most difficult ones. The most difficult ones were the "top students" of Class 1, Xia Yue and Jin Shengli.

After Mr. Ke issued the paper with novel question types, Xia Yue and the others swept away the grievances of the past few days and felt proud and elated.

Although Mr. Ke emphasized that "Student Li Ye provided the paper, and the school printed it," they felt that the school provided these precious papers, which had nothing to do with Li Ye, and they didn't owe Li Ye any favors.

Xia Yue and the others held their breath, swearing to prove who was the "top student" in Class 1.

But reality was very skinny. After just two days, Xia Yue and the others were hit hard.

Mr. Ke usually issued the papers during self-study, and before the self-study ended, Li Ye and Wen Leyu would finish them all.

As a result, even by the next day, Xia Yue, Jin Shengli, and the others were still worrying about the difficult problems on the paper!

By this time, Hu Man, Li Dayong, and the others would go to Li Ye to explain the questions, and then discuss and share them with other students.

But this discussion and sharing stopped automatically when it reached Xia Yue and the others.

Everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding and drew a clear line with Xia Yue and the others' small circle.

Even the best-tempered class monitor, Hu Man, didn't give Xia Yue and the others a good look and refused their "advice" neither softly nor hard.

"Eating chewed food like a baby all day, what's the use?"

By now, Xia Yue and Jin Shengli were only left with being stubborn. It's just that they mocked Hu Man and the others for "eating ready-made food" a few days ago, but now they could only go to the teachers for advice. It was clearly the same routine, but they still felt they were a line higher than Hu Man and the others.

Li Ye didn't want to bother with them now. Only when they got used to the happiness of doing papers every day and suddenly had no papers to do, could they reflect their true hearts.

。

Just before noon, a teacher suddenly came to repeat Class 1 to find Li Ye.

"Li Ye, Li Ye, your family is here to find you, waiting at the school gate!"

"My family?"

Li Ye was a bit puzzled and hurriedly walked out.

He was afraid that something urgent had happened at home.

Li Dayong also thought of this and hurriedly followed.

Today is Sunday. Except for the repeat classes, no one has class. The empty campus is white, and you can see far away at a glance.

From afar, Li Ye saw a small figure at the school gate, stomping and jumping in the cold, which was actually his cheap sister Li Juan.

Li Juan was carrying a large bundle, shrinking her body in the cold wind, looking even more thin, weak, and lonely.

Li Ye hurriedly shouted: "Juan, what's wrong?"

Li Juan heard Li Ye's call but didn't answer immediately, just jumped hard and smiled at Li Ye.

Li Ye hurried to the gate in three steps and two, and asked: "Juan, why are you here? Is there any emergency at home?"

Li Juan hurriedly shook her head and said: "It's okay, it's okay. You should have gone home to get living expenses yesterday. Mom saw you didn't go back, so she asked me to send you cotton clothes and a mattress,

Grandpa issued a pair of fur-lined cotton shoes, and I sent them to you too. It's just right to wear them in turns."

Li Ye felt warm in his heart and hurriedly reached out to take the bundle on Li Juan's back, only to find that the right side of Li Juan's whole body was soaked with sewage and had frozen into ice slag.

And Li Juan walked from the west of the city to the east of the city through the snow. She must have stepped into a snow nest, and her cloth cotton shoes were soaked long ago.

He hurriedly asked: "Where did you fall? Are you hurt? The cotton shoes are soaked, you must be frozen to death, right?"

Li Juan shook her head like a rattle: "No, no, brother, I'm really okay..... It doesn't matter if the cotton shoes are soaked, I'll just go back and roast them by the fire."

Li Ye felt quite distressed and asked again: "Then why don't you go in and find me? Why are you blowing cold wind here? If it really doesn't work, go into the guard room and wait for me!"

Li Juan shrank her neck and said in a low voice: "They won't let me in."

"Won't let you in?"

Li Ye was a bit puzzled and turned to look at the guard room at the school gate.

Although the school has regulations that do not allow outsiders to enter and exit, they have always turned a blind eye. Who is so upright and firm in this weather?

And looking at the chimney of the guard room, there is clearly a stove inside. Logically speaking, a little girl is frozen like this, everyone should let her in to warm up. Why let this child blow cold wind outside?

The person in the guard room happened to look out and made eye contact with Li Ye, rolled his eyes and curled his lips, and turned his head back.

This is interesting.

Li Ye raised his foot and was about to go over to ask, but was pulled by Li Dayong's arm.

"Sun Laoliu, the gatekeeper, is a distant relative of Xia Yue. He's probably looking for trouble!"

So, it was still his own pot.

Li Ye thought about it and lost the idea of stepping on the stinky dog poop. Stepping on it wouldn't kill him, but getting a sole full of poop would be disgusting.

He handed the bundle to Li Dayong and said: "Let's go! Brother will take you to eat first."

Li Juan hurriedly shook her head and took out a stack of money from her pocket: "No, no, Mom is still waiting for me to go back to eat. This is your living expenses for this month."

But Li Ye ignored Li Juan's opposition, pulled her arm, and walked away.

At this time, the window of the guard room suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged old man said with a gloomy face: "School isn't over yet! Are you trying to skip school?"

Li Ye turned his head and glanced at him, cursing: "None of your business? Watch your gate, don't let anyone steal it."

"Who are you cursing? Come back here! I'll tell your head teacher....... let your parents come......."

Sun Laoliu was furious, stretched his neck and shouted at Li Ye, but Li Ye ignored him and pulled his sister away.

If it were other students, they might really be bluffed by this old man, but Li Ye, who had lived two lives, knew these doors and paths too well.

The more you are cowardly, the more arrogant he is. He really thinks he is a big shot.

They just use chicken feathers as arrows to trip people up. If they really dare to make trouble to the Academic Affairs Office and ask Li Ye to call his parents, Li Ye will call his grandfather over and let him have a good drink.

Daring to let my granddaughter freeze at the door, did you forget the flat-price grain given to you a few days ago?

。。。。

A few hundred meters east of County No. 2 Middle School, there is a state-run mutton soup restaurant. It's almost noon and it's Sunday, and the steaming smell can be smelled from far away.

Li Juan had no intention of pulling with Li Ye anymore. It was good enough that she didn't let her saliva flow out.

After entering the mutton soup restaurant, Li Ye bought two bowls of mutton soup and a stack of meat fire-roasted buns, and started eating with Li Juan.

Li Juan was a bit reserved at first, but after half a bowl of mutton soup, she was sweating all over and started devouring it.

Li Ye watched the little girl eat the fire-roasted buns and mutton soup, and even drank the soup base clean. Her appetite was not much smaller than his own.

Li Ye stood up to buy more, but Li Juan hurriedly persuaded him: "Don't buy it, brother, I can't eat it, I really can't eat it."

Li Ye waved his hand: "I'm not full either, buy another bowl, let's share it."

Li Juan then stopped, waited for Li Ye to buy it back, and ate it all again in a while, not knowing if her small stomach was full or not.

Watching Li Juan burp comfortably, Li Ye asked with a smile: "How long has it been since you ate meat at home?"

Li Juan stretched out a finger and said: "It's been a week since I saw meat."

"........."

Li Ye touched the stack of money in his pocket and felt ashamed in his heart.

His father gave him twenty yuan of living expenses every month, his grandfather supported him with ten yuan, and his sister added five yuan, so the living expenses sent to him this time were a full thirty-five yuan.

In this era, a catty of meat is less than eight mao, so thirty-five yuan is enough to eat every day without finishing it.

But the family hasn't eaten meat for a week. He is really too ruthless in gnawing on the old.

"Let's go, I'll take you to buy a pair of cotton shoes."

After eating and drinking, Li Ye planned to take Li Juan to buy a pair of fur-lined cotton shoes at noon.

Today Li Juan came through the snow and stayed in the mutton soup restaurant for a while. The ice on the shoe surface all melted. Thinking of that feeling, it was really heartbreaking.

In this era, whether it is the labor service agency or the military service agency, there are fur-lined cotton shoes for sale, which are snow-proof and moisture-proof, and a pair costs more than ten yuan. Li Ye can still afford it.

Li Ye thought that the timid Li Juan might push back, but Li Juan didn't push back immediately after hearing it.

She hesitated for a while before saying: "Brother, I don't need to wear leather cotton shoes, but Yingying freezes her feet every year. Buy her a pair to reduce her suffering!"

Li Ye felt sour in his heart and gave birth to the idea of "making money." ===== CHAPTER 24 =====