Chapter 245: But You Are My Savior!

"Godfather, Cuicui kowtows to you."

"."

"Godfather, Cuicui kowtows."

Jin Peng, Wang Qiangqiang, and Li Ye took turns sitting on the chair, solemnly accepting Cuicui's kowtows—thus officially gaining a foster daughter.

In the old days, people took foster fathers to ensure their children would grow up healthy and well-cared-for, so there were many superstitious rituals.

But after discussing it, Jin Peng and the others greatly simplified the ceremony.

Six-year-old Hao Cuicui obediently knelt down and bowed three solid head knocks to Jin Peng, Wang Qiangqiang, and Li Ye; each received a new set of shoes, hat, and clothes, and the ceremony was complete.

Of course, the godfather's red envelope for the foster daughter was also a must.

Hao Cuicui bent her little legs and knelt on the ground, banging her forehead hard against the earth; her forehead only turned slightly red before she pocketed three thousand yuan—a fortune.

In 1983's economic conditions, Hao Cuicui, with three thousand yuan, was already a bona fide little rich girl.

After the ceremony, men and women naturally sat at separate tables: men drank, women chatted.

Today, Wang Qiangqiang brought along his "good sister" Huang Suwen, whose crisp, rapid Beijing dialect made the women's table livelier than the men's by a third.

Jin Peng couldn't help asking Wang Qiangqiang: "Qiangzi, how far have you and Huang's girl gone? Can you take her home to meet your mom this year?"

Wang Qiangqiang's face instantly flushed; he fidgeted for a long while before mumbling: "I don't even know what stage we're at."

"All I know is I don't wash my own clothes or cook anymore, but I don't know if she'd be willing to come back to Dongshan with me."

"Damn! You're such a blockhead—you're waiting for her to propose to you?"

"It's not that I don't know—I just don't dare ask."

"Do you even need to ask? My wife's already engaged to me, and she washes my clothes every day. Go ask Huang's girl—besides washing her own family's clothes, who else's has she washed?"

Jin Peng couldn't help laughing and scolding: in this era still rigid about gender boundaries, if Huang Suwen didn't care for Wang Qiangqiang, even the most careless girl wouldn't wash his clothes or cook for him.

"Alright, no more household gossip—Hao Jian, tell us about your Guangjiao Society results!"

Li Ye turned to Li Dayong and saw his expression was off; he immediately changed the subject.

Hao Jian cleared his throat and said: "We signed contracts worth $2. 8 million total, but due to our exhibition qualifications, they only allocated us twenty percent in foreign exchange."

"But I've connected with someone at the Foreign Trade Bureau—he'll help us import some secondhand sewing equipment from Hong Kong, just need to pay a small handling fee."

"But we have no choice—Fan Xiuling has complained many times: our sewing machines are too outdated, and many garments can't meet design standards."

"So after all this, we estimate we'll have at most $150, 00 to $180, 00 left in foreign exchange—Li Ye, should we keep it as operating capital or split it?"

Hao Jian looked at Li Ye, hesitating, hoping he'd make the right decision.

If it were up to him, he'd naturally want to split the $150, 00—dollars were incredibly useful in this era.

And Li Dayong, who had just been utterly dejected, now perked up, eyes wide.

Did Pengcheng Factory Seven really have dollars?

And $150, 00 of them?

Even as a "minor shareholder," he could get $15, 00.

Li Dayong knew well: since Lin Qiuyan got her study-abroad slot, she'd been scrambling everywhere to trade for foreign exchange, treating it with such reverence—

Let me put it this way: if a thousand dollars were placed before Lin Qiuyan, her gaze would be warmer than when she looked at Li Dayong.

What if $15, 00 were placed before Lin Qiuyan?

But Li Ye's next words made Li Dayong instantly deflate like a punctured balloon.

"What can you do with $150, 00 split up? Are you planning to buy a car or a house? Haven't you seen how far behind we are from the world?"

Li Ye said seriously: "We're in a position of catching up—every penny must be spent where it counts."

"Our anti-counterfeiting equipment, our sewing machines—they all need upgrading. Did the Guangzhou Light Industry Research Institute even receive you last time?"

"But if you took foreign exchange? Even improving our domestic sewing machines would boost our productivity, wouldn't it?"

"Also, I must warn you," Li Ye lowered his voice: "The situation is still unclear—keep a low profile. Admit you're a ten-thousand-yuan household, don't go calling yourselves Hao Millionaire or Jin Millionaire."

"."

Jin Peng chuckled, rubbed his scalp, and fell silent.

He was glad he hadn't spoken up—if he'd said he wanted to split the money to buy an imported car, Li Ye would've ripped him apart by now.

Li Dayong, meanwhile, hung his head, silent and desolate.

While everyone was striving forward, what had he accomplished?

After eating and drinking well, Wang Qiangdong drove the rattling Beijing 130 to take Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Li Dayong back to school.

Li Dayong had planned to ride his bicycle home, but he'd drunk too much; Li Ye said nothing, tossed his bike into the truck bed, and pulled him into the back seat.

When they reached Beijing Institute of Industry, Li Ye whispered to Wen Leyu: "Wait five minutes—I'll see Dayong off."

Wen Leyu nodded obediently, her sweet demeanor making Li Dayong ache again.

Why was the difference so stark?

Li Ye walked just a few steps with Li Dayong, then pulled out a stack of dollars, said nothing, and shoved them into his hand.

"Brother, you don't need to—really, you don't need to."

"Enough. It's my royalty money—take it and use it."

Li Ye sighed, watching Li Dayong's hesitation: "Dayong, I admit perfect love is rare and unpredictable."

"We're brothers—I support whatever you want to do. But I still urge you: love is mutual care, not one-sided groveling."

"Don't keep trying to tear out your heart to prove your love—someone who truly likes you won't let you do that."

"Give her this thousand dollars. See what she gives you back, then decide if it's worth it."

Li Dayong held the dollars Li Ye gave him—they felt scorching hot.

"Brother, she's not really bad—just has a big temper."

"Big temper's a big deal? What else do you want?"

"Then—if I give her the dollars, what should she give me?"

"She gives you a fuck—figure it out yourself!"

"."

The Beijing 130 arrived at Peking University; Wen Leyu and Li Ye got out, holding hands as they strolled around Weiminghu.

"Li Dayong seemed off today—he's lost a lot of weight. Is it because of Lin Qiuyan?"

Though Wen Leyu usually ignored everyone and only smiled at Li Ye at the Second Grain Store, she still cared about her classmates because of their shared experience there.

Li Ye sighed: "Yes. Lin Qiuyan's going abroad to study, but Li Dayong failed his TOEFL."

"We were just talking about Wang Qiangqiang and Huang Suwen at dinner—Dayong got upset."

"What's the connection between Wang Qiangqiang, Huang Suwen, and Li Dayong?"

"It's all about comparison," Li Ye shook his head. "Qiangzi told us Huang Suwen washes his clothes and cooks for him—he's utterly spoiled."

"And you, Wen Leyu? Gentle, considerate, never argue with me. Compared to that, doesn't Dayong feel wronged?"

"."

"Hmph~"

Wen Leyu blinked her big eyes at Li Ye for a long time, then puckered her lips and huffed: "Why should he feel wronged? He chose her—he bears the consequences. Who else can he blame?"

Because of a quarrel between Lin Qiuyan and Jiang Xiaoyan at the Lantern Festival night market, Wen Leyu had no good impression of Lin Qiuyan.

Yet even as she scolded Li Dayong, her small body leaned against Li Ye, rubbing gently—like a cat nuzzling its caretaker.

Wen Leyu, as Li Ye said, never shouted at him; even when she had minor tantrums, she quickly softened and made amends.

But she always thought it was natural—didn't Li Ye treat her with the same tender, careful devotion?

At school, when everyone queued for showers, Li Ye renovated a luxury bathroom at Zaojunmiao—how often did he use it himself? He always let Wen Leyu use it.

When he taught her bayonet drills, he didn't want her hands to get calluses—he stitched soft leather gloves himself, stitch by stitch. Was that man's work?

And when had Li Ye ever shouted a single word at Wen Leyu?

Love is mutual—Wen Leyu understood this phrase more deeply than anyone.

They circled Weiminghu for a long time; as they walked, Wen Leyu pulled out colorful candies from her pocket.

"Here, want a candy?"

"Huh? Where'd you get Toffee?"

Because Wen Leyu loved sweets, Li Ye had recently been carefully controlling her diet, selecting fruit varieties in her lunchbox with care.

Wen Leyu grinned proudly: "Cuicui gave them to me. She took out all her candies and let me and Huang Suwen pick—such a thoughtful little girl."

Li Ye smiled: "Cuicui's such a timid child—she barely speaks to me. I didn't expect her to get along so well with you."

Wen Leyu nodded seriously: "I really like Cuicui. And she likes me too."

Li Ye was surprised—Wen Leyu never lied. If she said she liked Cuicui, she truly did.

Hao Jian and Jin Peng always thought Wen Leyu was unapproachable—never imagined she'd be like this.

Li Ye put a candy in his mouth, savoring the slow melt of sweetness, as Wen Leyu's soft voice drifted beside him.

"I heard Cuicui's mother say—if Hao Jian hadn't met you, Cuicui might have..."

"Anyway, Cuicui's mother cried and said you were Cuicui's savior, sent from heaven to save her—Cuicui calling you godfather is only right."

"Don't say that! What savior? Sent from heaven? I didn't even know Hao Jian had a sick daughter when I met him—it was all coincidence."

Wen Leyu stopped walking the moment she heard Li Ye's words.

She turned to face him, standing directly before him.

Then, her eyes misty with tears, she whispered: "But you're my savior too—wasn't I just another Hao Cuicui back then?"

「.

Li Ye, whose heart was as still as water, could not resist the quiet intrusion of these words.

Originally, Wen Leyu liked Hao Cuicui because both had endured unspoken hardships.

Wasn't Wen Leyu herself once nearly speechless, as timid as Hao Cuicui, equally unwilling to interact or communicate with others?

Li Ye opened his arms and pulled Wen Leyu into his embrace, gently patting her back.

"It's all over now. Forget all the unpleasant memories. Otherwise, we still have decades of good days ahead—your little head can't hold so many beautiful memories!"

This time, Wen Leyu did not resist; she nuzzled her head against Li Ye's shoulder and wiped away her damp eyes.

The two embraced for a long time before returning together to the dormitory.

But as they neared the girls' dormitory, Wen Leyu suddenly grabbed Li Ye's hand and turned toward the boys' dormitory.

"You're going the wrong way~"

"I'm not lost. Bring me your dirty clothes—I'll wash them for you."

「.

Li Ye paused, half-laughing, half-exasperated: "No need. I can wash them myself. Besides, if you take them to the girls' dorm, people will gossip."

"I'm afraid of gossip?" Wen Leyu's eyes flashed. "Besides, who dares gossip about me?"

"Then how about this: when we go to Zaojunmiao on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I'll bring my dirty clothes. You can wash them when you have time, okay?"

Wen Leyu thought for a moment, then nodded: "Fine. Don't forget to bring your socks too."

「.

Li Dayong's grievance was entirely justified—he'd be wrong not to feel wronged.

Thank you to the reader who tipped 600 coins, and thank you to reader "Ye Linran." Thank you both.

(End of Chapter)