Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty-Five: Can You Count? (Please Vote!~~)

The man who had been waiting for Li Ye was the candy vendor he’d met that day at the county No. 1 Middle School gate when he retrieved his Phoenix bicycle.

Seeing Li Ye, he hurried over with a smile.

“Brother, have some candy...”

“I don’t eat candy.”

Li Ye kept walking without stopping, but the vendor blocked him and pulled out a pack of Da Fengshou cigarettes.

“Brother, have a smoke...”

“No thanks, I’ve got my own. What do you want from me?”

Li Ye pushed away the offered cigarettes, pulled out a Da Qianmen for himself, lit it, then tilted his head up thirty-five degrees, glancing down with cold eyes at the shivering man.

This wasn’t Li Ye deliberately putting on airs!

In his previous life, Li Ye had once been a “kind-hearted” person—polite to newcomers, eager to help, always smiling, always ready to work.

In the end, he worked himself to exhaustion and gained nothing, while everyone tried to step on him and take advantage of him.

So Li Ye eventually understood: with certain people, you can’t be too kind; you can’t give them a good face.

From his previous encounter at the county No. 1 Middle School gate, Li Ye knew this guy was a shrewd merchant, possessing the era’s distinctive cunning and petty cleverness.

Today, out of nowhere, he was being overly friendly—clearly he had come seeking a favor. If Li Ye was easygoing, he’d treat Li Ye like a child, which would seriously undermine Li Ye’s next plans.

Even the aura of authority needs conditions, right? Would a three-year-old child talking big to a brute like Zhang Fei get bowed to?

More likely, he’d get knocked into a ditch with one blow.

To make a middle-aged man in his thirties follow the orders of an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old student, you need to play some tricks.

“Hehe, yeah, I do have something. I need your help.”

“You need my help? What can a student like me do for you? I didn’t come here to buy candy today.”

“You can’t help... but your relative at the Chengbei Police Station can...”

Li Ye rolled his eyes. “How do you know I have relatives at the Chengbei Police Station? Besides, I don’t even know your name—why should I help you?”

“I... I just had no other choice...”

The candy vendor, face twisted in distress, began pouring out his troubles to Li Ye.

His name was Hao Jian. After coming to Qingshui County for rural reassignment, he married a local woman and settled in Chen Zhuang Township, thirty li away. With the weather warming, he made candy to sell in town—and for over half a year, business had been smooth.

But today, a gang of street hooligans ate his candy, took it, and refused to pay. Seeing his twenty jin of candy about to vanish without return, Hao Jian, who always believed in peace bringing profit, argued with them—and ended up fighting. The police were called.

The police did reprimand the hooligans, but Hao Jian spoke with a strong accent. They seized his candy and clay pot, ordering him to return to his village for an introduction letter proving he wasn’t a vagrant.

Hao Jian had sneaked out to sell candy—how could he get an introduction letter?

The newspapers had acknowledged “individual economy,” but the county hadn’t issued clear directives yet. Would those old-fashioned villagers in his village give him one?

After much thought, Hao Jian remembered overhearing Lu Zixue shout at the county No. 1 Middle School gate: “The chief of the Chengbei Police Station is Li Ye’s relative!” So he came here, hoping to get lucky.

“Li student, I really have no other choice—my mother is seventy, my child is four or five and sick, and I depend entirely on this candy income...”

“I planned to sell today’s candy to buy medicine for my child, and now I’ve lost everything...”

Hao Jian spoke pitifully, tears and snot streaming, and Li Ye couldn’t tell if it was real or fake.

He tossed his cigarette on the ground. “What do you want me to do?”

Hao Jian immediately said: “Just say I’m your classmate’s uncle...”

Li Ye smirked. “And then?”

Hao Jian blinked. “What? What ‘and then’?”

Li Ye said coldly: “If I say you’re my classmate’s uncle, then you’ll use my name as a shield, leverage the police station’s connections, and scare off those street thugs—right?”

“.........”

Hao Jian was stunned, chewing his lips, tasting only bitterness.

【Damn, this kid’s a real little bastard—shrewd as a fox.】

After a long silence, Hao Jian mumbled: “I didn’t mean it like that... Just help me out. From now on, you can eat my candy for free.”

“Who wants your candy?” Li Ye sneered, pulled out a Da Bai Tu candy, popped it in his mouth, then asked: “Show me the prescription for your child’s medicine.”

Hao Jian quickly pulled two empty medicine bottles and a crumpled prescription from his pocket and handed them to Li Ye.

Li Ye glanced at them—he didn’t understand what illness they treated, but they at least lent credibility to Hao Jian’s story.

“Alright, come with me.”

Li Ye returned the bottles and prescription to Hao Jian, then turned toward the Chengbei Police Station.

Hao Jian, who had given up all hope, froze, then hurried after him.

When they arrived at the Chengbei Police Station, Li Ye’s uncle-in-law Zhao Yuanchao wasn’t there. Hao Jian’s heart sank again.

This candy... doesn’t last long.

But Li Ye gave Hao Jian his own pack of Da Qianmen, then walked into an office and soon emerged, arm around a young man.

Li Ye nodded toward Hao Jian. “There—he’s a relative of a good classmate of mine. Chen Zhuang Township is thirty li from here. What procedures do I need to get your stuff back?”

The young man laughed. “What procedures? With us being brothers-in-arms, you’re embarrassing me!”

Two minutes later, Hao Jian got back his clay pot and candy—all twenty jin, not a single li missing.

Hao Jian quickly pulled out the Da Qianmen Li Ye had given him, lit one for Wu Xiong, then slipped the whole pack into Wu Xiong’s pocket—swift, natural, unmistakably a born businessman.

The young man told Hao Jian: “Remember my name’s Wu Xiong. If Liu Er and those guys bother you again, come straight to me. They’ll regret it.”

Hao Jian nodded eagerly, gaining new respect for Li Ye’s influence.

He’d come to Li Ye today only as a last resort—but hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.

After they left the police station, Hao Jian asked Li Ye what his relationship with Wu Xiong was. Li Ye replied casually: “Training partners.”

Hao Jian looked at Li Ye with new eyes.

【This kid’s got long limbs—he must hit hard...】

“Brother, take this candy. I’ll pay you back for the Da Qianmen later.”

Hao Jian pulled out a newspaper, wrapped up a large bundle of candy—about a quarter of his pot—and handed it to Li Ye.

Li Ye waved it off. “Have you ever been to the provincial capital?”

Hao Jian, confused, nodded. “A few times. I had two sent-down youth friends who invited me over after they returned to the city.”

Li Ye said firmly: “Take this candy to the provincial capital. Check the market. If it’s viable, I’ll invest in your business.”

“.........”

Hao Jian’s smile froze. Seconds passed, then he began silently cursing.

【Damn it, I knew this kid was shady—I gave him free candy and now he wants to permanently suck me dry? Even landlords aren’t this ruthless!】

“Investing a share” meant taking a cut from a business. Hao Jian had only planned to keep offering Li Ye free candy to maintain the connection.

Now Li Ye wanted to “invest a share”—this was like peeling off a layer of skin!

"My little business... it's eighty li to the provincial capital... not worth it... sigh..."

Hao Jian forced a smile to refuse, when suddenly a five-yuan note appeared before his eyes.

Li Ye handed the five yuan to Hao Jian. “Go to the provincial capital, investigate carefully. Focus on people like you. Retail won’t get you far—go wholesale.”

Hao Jian held the five yuan, feeling unreal.

The largest bill then was ten yuan—he sold candy by the fen or jiao, rarely seeing a five-yuan note in a month.

Remember, giving birth at the county hospital cost only eight or nine yuan total.

Yet here was a “kid,” casually handing him five yuan just to “make a trip to the provincial capital?”

【Doesn’t he know the train ticket from county to capital is only a few jiao?】

【Aren’t you afraid I’ll take the money and do nothing?】

After thinking it over, Hao Jian finally realized: despite his youth, this boy truly wasn’t afraid he’d steal the five yuan.

Once he understood, his mind cleared. He tucked the five yuan away and asked: “Brother, what do you mean by ‘wholesale’?”

Li Ye asked: “How much does each jin of your candy cost?”

Hao Jian said: “Three mao. If I could get grain at state price, it’d be even lower.”

Li Ye said: “What if you sold it for six mao?”

Hao Jian stared blankly—he usually retailed at one yuan per jin, and had even sold to fools for two yuan. How could he sell it for six mao?

Li Ye glared at Hao Jian. “Can you count? Can you do addition, subtraction, multiplication, division?”

Hao Jian rolled his eyes.

【What kind of question is that? I’m a junior high graduate, you know!】