Chapter 356

On the eve of Labor Day, Li Ye's class held a class committee meeting, and Li Ye was forced to attend.

Zhen Rongrong asked Li Ye: "Comrade Li Ye, where do you think our class should go for the Labor Day activity?"

Li Ye shrugged: "You decide. I don't know Beijing well."

Zhen Rongrong said seriously: "Li Ye, you can't act like this. You're now a core member of the class committee—you must actively participate in class management. Your opinion matters."

My opinion... is already important?

Li Ye, surprised, thought for a moment and said: "How about rowing on Houhai? At this time of year, the willows along the shore are lush green—very beautiful."

The weeping willows along Houhai were indeed at their most beautiful in late spring, so Li Ye wasn't just making it up.

But Chen Xiaoling said: "Houhai is so close—we've been there so many times already. It's not interesting anymore."

Li Ye thought again and said: "Then what about Xiangshan? Or Badaling?"

He Dazhuang said: "Is Xiangshan even a spring destination? It's perfect in autumn. Besides, we went last year."

"I'll take one can."

"One can each—let's support it!"

Someone noticed Li Ye hadn't bought anything and asked:

Li Ye watched as his classmates each spent several yuan to buy a can of Dongfang Mo Shui and realized its decades-long success was no fluke.

A video recorder in 1984 wasn't cheap either!

But after seeing Dongfang Mo Shui's price tag and hearing the clerk's product pitch, Li Ye had to admire Factory Director Li's marketing genius.

Fine. I'll shut up. My opinion doesn't matter.

"How far is Baiyangdian? A round trip would take half a day—would our class activity just become a bus ride?"

After much back-and-forth discussion among the committee members, they finally voted on a decision—to visit Xiushuijie Market.

And as a social practice, observe what hidden economic issues lurked in the market frequented by foreigners.

Inside the store, a television played a commercial featuring a football team's endorsement, drawing many customers to stop and watch.

"I'll take two cans."

"Li Ye, won't you buy a can and try it? It's delicious."

"Look! That's the domestic sports drink from TV."

"Come on, Li Ye earns money from writing—he only drinks Coca-Cola. He's not like us working for a salary."

Li Ye reluctantly followed the group, taking a bus from the northwest corner of Beijing to Xiushuijie—only to find the place packed like a bustling fair.

"Stop it, stop it—don't joke around like that among classmates!"

But Zhen Rongrong and others weren't interested in these ancestral relics—they preferred new gadgets.

"This is a high-tech product, precisely formulated after 120 experiments, designed to replenish the body's trace elements."

Well! Truly a group of studious young people.

"."

Zhen Rongrong's face fell. She glared at He Dazhuang, then led the group out of the Dongfang Mo Shui store.

Like Dongfang Mo Shui. Like Pengcheng Hongniu.

Li Ye stood outside, studying the largest store in the market, lost in thought.

Li Ye shook his head and smiled, offering no explanation.

He had a whole box of Dongfang Mo Shui at home, kept to compare with Pengcheng Hongniu—he knew exactly what it tasted like.

How could anyone still be in the mood to play?

While buying embroidery, Li Ye noticed several foreign visitors staring in awe at the double-sided embroidery, muttering "Oh! Ooh!" as they pulled out cash with ease.

Wen Guohua had followed Li Ye's advice—not renting out every shop in Xiushuijie at once, but reserving some to invite traditional specialty producers from inland regions.

Items like embroidery and Xuan paper flooded into Xiushuijie, with excellent results.

"."

"Then it really is different from the other two."

"Three yuan per can—more expensive than Coca-Cola and Pengcheng Hongniu!"

But Zhen Rongrong and the others were enthusiastic, splitting into two groups to stroll along both sides of the shops, occasionally pulling out notebooks to chat with shopkeepers and jot down observations.

Li Ye sighed and said: "Then let's go to Baiyangdian—you've never been there."

Li Ye also wandered aimlessly, occasionally buying one or two things he liked—embroidery or silk scarves from Suzhou and Hangzhou.

When Xiushuijie first opened, Dongfang Mo Shui wasn't there. Now every shop was in high demand—Factory Director Li must have paid a steep price to take over this one.

On Labor Day morning, only about twenty people from the 82 World Economics class joined the group activity; everyone else had some excuse not to come.

Li Ye had planned to take a sick day and spend the day alone with Wen Leyu.

But Zhen Rongrong, Sun Xianjin, and others strongly urged Li Ye to attend the group activity—after all, consistently skipping group events might hurt his chances of joining the Party later.

"Hahaha~"

Pengcheng Hongniu was priced at 2. yuan, Coca-Cola at just over 2 yuan per can—but now Dongfang Mo Shui was priced at 3 yuan.

Wen Leyu cherished even small gifts, never dismissing them as worthless.

He Dazhuang called out, and the twenty-some students rushed into the Dongfang Mo Shui store.

These two drinks occupied the prime spots in Xiushuijie Market, close to each other—step outside and you could easily see each other's storefronts.

Not far from the Dongfang Mo Shui store stood the Pengcheng Hongniu and Fenghua brand shops.

Li Ye entered the Fenghua store, spent over twenty yuan on a canvas shoulder bag, and put his embroidery and specialty purchases inside.

Plastic bags weren't popular yet—everyone brought their own bags. Li Ye hadn't brought one, making things inconvenient.

When Li Ye stepped out, he found Zhen Rongrong had already left the Pengcheng Hongniu store.

"Definitely different—Pengcheng Hongniu only costs 2. yuan!"

"Yeah! But I bought one can—it's really good. Want to try?"

"."

"Tastes good, but Dongfang Mo Shui is high-tech."

Li Ye was surprised.

【Don't choose the right one—choose the expensive one.】

A famous saying from the 1990s—Factory Director Li had figured it out.

"But Pengcheng Hongniu's ad was shot so well—it makes you think their product must be great, or else the women's volleyball team wouldn't endorse it."

"That's true. I feel the same—Dongfang Mo Shui's ad seems copied from Pengcheng Hongniu."

Zhen Rongrong, Chen Xiaoling, and others disagreed slightly, saying Pengcheng Hongniu's ad was well-made.

How could it not be?

Dongfang Mo Shui's ad was filmed by Factory Director Li using connections at the city TV station—but who filmed Pengcheng Hongniu's ad?

Chang'an Film Studio sent over a senior cinematographer.

The camera angles, lighting, music editing—it was a completely different league.

"Foreign stuff is all flashy."

"What foreign stuff? That's a company from Hong Kong—it's our own people."

"Alright, alright, stop arguing."

Zhen Rongrong noticed the new canvas bag on Li Ye's shoulder and quickly changed the subject: "Li Ye, how much did that bag cost? It looks nice!"

Li Ye said: "Twenty-eight yuan. Bought it at the Fenghua specialty store over there."

"Twenty-eight yuan?"

"Of course—you earn money from writing. A bag for twenty-eight yuan... Fenghua's prices are getting ridiculous. They say 'support domestic goods,' but the other day I saw a suit that cost over a hundred yuan."

"I saw it too—they called it the Elite Series. The fabric was truly good, but way too expensive."

"Hmph~"

Li Ye finally snapped at He Dazhuang: "Fenghua has a Teen Series for students—you went straight for the Elite Series. Don't you know the Elite Series sells for ninety dollars overseas?"

He Dazhuang stared in disbelief: "Ninety dollars? That's impossible!"

Li Ye said: "Ask Qiao Dapeng—he saw it with me at the Lijiapo mall. Now do you still think Fenghua's prices are high?"

"."

Zhen Rongrong glanced between Li Ye and He Dazhuang, picked up her notebook, and jotted down this Fenghua phenomenon—she planned to investigate further, maybe even write an article.

He Dazhuang felt awkward—he'd been trying to mend his relationship with Li Ye these past days. He thought his teasing was just friendly banter among close friends.

But why, despite all his efforts, couldn't they ever see eye to eye?

"Excuse me, please move aside, thank you!"

A voice with the sharp tang of Shanxi old vinegar rang out beside Zhen Rongrong's group.

Zhen Rongrong and the others quickly stepped aside—they'd accidentally blocked half the aisle.

A short girl carried two large food boxes on a shoulder pole—she'd been unable to pass.

When she saw Li Ye, she froze, then lowered her head and hurried past.

Li Ye didn't move. He stood in the middle of the path and smiled: "Yu Jiao, you see me and pretend not to recognize me? That's your plan—just keep your head down?"

The short girl was Yang Yu's younger sister, Yang Yujiao.

Earlier, Li Ye had suggested his sister Li Yue take several shops in Xiushuijie and open a store for Yang Yu's mother.

Yang Yu's mother hesitated, so Li Ye gave her an idea: deliver meals to the shop owners and staff of Xiushuijie.

Everyone was too busy to go out to eat—adding a few cents for delivery would surely boost sales.

Now looking at Yang Yuqiao's large multi-tiered food box, it seems her business is doing alright.

Yang Yuqiao looked up and said awkwardly, "Brother Li, I didn't notice you just now."

Li Ye looked at Yang Yuqiao's eyes—they seemed familiar.

Yes, that look—the one a sanitation worker mother gives when she sees her child passing by with classmates, lowering her head as if pretending not to know them.

But what was Li Ye to Yang Yuqiao?

No.

Li Ye seemed to understand: Yang Yuqiao didn't want these Jingda classmates to know she was Yang Yumin's sister.

Li Ye reached out, took Yang Yuqiao's small shoulder pole, and casually slung it over his own shoulder.

"If you're hungry at noon, come to your mom's place for a bowl of noodles."

"."

Yang Yuqiao stared at Li Ye, not moving, biting her lip, words caught in her throat.

Li Ye leaned closer, lowered his head, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Yuqiao whispered, "My brother's at the shop—it wouldn't look good if anyone found out."

Li Ye's tone turned serious: "Girl, remember this—earning your own money through honest labor, without stealing or cheating, is never shameful. If your brother thinks you're bringing him shame, then screw him."

Yang Yuqiao jumped in fright, pouting Weiqu ly, then reluctantly led the way.

She understood perfectly what Li Ye meant by "screw him"—it meant Xiao Yue wouldn't be seeing her brother anymore.