Chapter 512: Escort and Protection

Because his three younger sisters took turns absorbing Li Ye's literary aura at night, Li Ye did not go to Jin Peng's house that evening and could only call Jin Peng the next morning.

"Peng Ge, I'm going to the county No. 2 High School today to accompany my sister for the exam. If you don't have anything urgent, I'll come see you tonight."

"Accompanying the exam? Oh, I'll come find you then! I've finished all my real business and am just stuck with trivial annoyances—perfect chance to come hang out with you for some peace."

Ninety-nine percent of men, before and after marriage, are too busy and exhausted to enjoy the absurdly tedious "rituals," all eager to get it over with and rush to the bridal chamber.

Li Ye hung up the phone, took out the spirited Li Juan, and treated her to a private car ride.

But today Li Ye only dropped Li Juan off at the school gate, then parked his car under the same shade tree from yesterday, without entering the campus.

Soon after, Jin Peng's Crown sedan pulled up behind Li Ye's car.

Jin Peng got into Li Ye's Santana and grinned: "You really care about your sister! I've never heard of such a thing as accompanying an exam—I wouldn't have understood your phone call if I hadn't been studying culture lately."

Li Ye looked at Jin Peng and said: "I'm here to accompany her not because my sister is delicate, but to guard against any possibility."

"Guard against what?" Jin Peng blinked. "What possibility, Xiao Ye?"

Li Ye stretched his neck and said calmly: "You know about the clash I had with the Bi family over the New Year, and how I ended up in the police station?"

"They're too scared to provoke me directly—but if they show up these days to cause trouble, won't that ruin Li Juan's entire future?"

Only then did Jin Peng understand why Li Ye, after returning to Qingshui, hadn't rushed to his house to help, but instead came to look after his sister Li Juan.

Before and after the Spring Festival, the Bi family had tried to reconcile with Li Juan as father and daughter, but were harshly rejected by Li Juan and Li Ying, causing them great humiliation.

Never let your guard down—mindset affects the Gaokao immensely; a single point difference can mean crushing hundreds of competitors, so these days, the Bi family must not get near Li Juan.

Jin Peng rubbed his scalp, smirking: "You should've told me sooner! If you had, I'd have sent a few guys to take care of them right away. Who keeps guarding against thieves for a thousand days?"

Li Ye glanced at Jin Peng and smiled: "Maybe I'm just being paranoid? Wouldn't that make the Li family look petty? As a businessman, you've got to learn a little hypocrisy."

"Hypocrisy? You mean being a brother to someone's face and stabbing them in the back? But you say it so elegantly—it sounds like an actual skill! Hahaha~"

Jin Peng laughed for a long while, then slowly calmed down.

"I've got something to tell you," Jin Peng said seriously. "I've been handing over the distribution channels with Xiao Xia Yue lately, and I've found a few old friends who've actually learned this skill you mentioned."

"But don't worry—I'll take them with me to Russia. Those I can't take, I'll sever all ties with them completely. No more San Shui incidents."

Li Ye had no idea about this, but he could understand it—Pengcheng's Seventh Factory's distribution network, built over years, had swollen to an astonishing scale, and many in the network believed it was Jin Peng's personal empire.

Now, suddenly replacing Jin Peng with Xiao Xia Yue, some would inevitably mutter about "burning the bridge after crossing" or "picking fruit after climbing down the mountain"—San Shui was a perfect example.

But Li Ye truly despised "picking fruit" behavior.

In his past life, he'd experienced this exact scenario: after finally building up some performance and securing his own base,

his superiors would wave a hand and hand his newly won market to their own loyalists, forcing him to go open new territories elsewhere.

So Li Ye was absolutely not burning the bridge—he'd originally planned to send Ma Qianshan or Chen Chen Ergou, but Jin Peng insisted on going himself; he was the kind who loved "roaming the martial world."

And as Jin Peng himself said: "I get a huge cut every year—who else should go? What's Ma Qianshan and the others earning? Risk their lives for what?"

Jin Peng owns ten percent of the Pengcheng operation—he's a bona fide billionaire now. So anyone accusing Li Ye of burning the bridge is just a nobody who doesn't know shit.

People like Ma Qianshan and Chen Chen Ergou are still grumbling that Jin Peng is hoarding too much, grabbing another juicy piece of meat for his own bowl!

Li Ye pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the car, lit one for Jin Peng, then asked with a smile: "Have you convinced your family? You just got married, and now you're going to be separated from your wife—won't she hate me?"

"Don't even bring that up," Jin Peng groaned. "I told her clearly: I'm out there earning money for you two, you stay home and take care of my parents.

But lately, for some reason, she's been listening to someone's gossip and insists on coming with me to Russia. What's a woman doing tagging along with a bunch of guys on a mission?"

"Pfft~"

Li Ye laughed: "So that's what's been bothering you these days?"

Jin Peng rubbed his forehead, exasperated: "Exactly. If I were going to Beijing or Pengcheng, I'd let her come along.

But according to you, Russia's going to be unstable—she's a woman, it'll be inconvenient."

"It's not just unstable!"

Li Ye exhaled, solemnly: "Over the past few years at Peking University, I've read many Russian economic reports,

and had Pei Pei Wencong dig up tons of research data from developed countries on Russia. After analyzing it all, I think Russia's situation isn't just bad—it might be nearing its end."

"Nearing its end?"

Jin Peng stared at Li Ye in shock, thinking his ears had betrayed him.

Red Russia—the empire whose stomps made the whole world tremble—how could it be nearing its end?

Li Ye smiled: "Peng Ge, just remember this—don't tell anyone else. If I'm wrong, I'll be laughed at."

Jin Peng snapped to attention, nodding rapidly: "I won't tell anyone. I know your economic forecasting skills—

if you say Russia's collapsing, then it's collapsing. Can you estimate how many years it has left?"

"If I project from a political economy standpoint… maybe five more."

After Li Ye's previous uncanny predictions, he'd always explained them as "economic forecasting"—any social issue could be analyzed through economic shifts,

and Li Ye was the direct disciple of China's top economist Zhang Zhang Qiyan, so no one suspected he was a reincarnator; everyone just thought he was a genius in economics.

Jin Peng sat up straight, thought carefully, then said to Li Ye: "If that's true, twenty men might still be too few.

I originally planned to take only ten, but all the folk tales say: when a nation is about to fall, chaos follows. That place isn't our turf—too few men won't get things done."

Li Ye said: "The second group is already being selected. Even twenty won't be enough later. But Peng Ge, no matter how many you take, it's only for emergencies and petty thieves.

When doing business with them, don't knowingly walk into tiger territory. Go with the flow, leverage the situation, avoid foreseeable risks—don't bring your hometown boys to fight head-on."

"Once you get there, don't obsess over making money right away—focus on building relationships. I heard some officials there have sunk deep into corruption. Find out the real strength of those factories."

Li Ye explained several key points to Jin Peng—he wanted him to start trade with Russia five years early not for today's small profits, but to prepare for the big deals five years from now.

"Diiii~"

Just as Li Ye and Jin Peng were deep in discussion, a car horn blared from behind.

They turned around and saw Ma Qianshan, Wang Qiang, and Chen Chen Ergou returning.

The Beijing business had grown too big to operate without leadership for long, so they'd returned two days early to attend Jin Peng's wedding.

Li Ye saw them get into the car and asked Wang Qiang: "Qiangzi, where's Xiao Xia Yue?"

Wang Qiang replied: "Bro, we dropped off our sister first. We didn't let her drive—we thought she was tired. She said she wasn't, then we went to Peng Ge's place and found out you were here."

"Yeah! When we got to Peng Ge's, we happened to catch the matchmaker chatting with your mom,

saying how hard it is for Peng Ge to be out there, and how he needs a caring woman to look after him. Peng Ge—if your wife goes with you, who's going to serve whom? Hahaha~"

"Serve your ass!"

Jin Peng laughed and swatted them, and the group roughhoused in the car, shaking the Santana like a vibrating vehicle.

But they didn't play long before Li Ye said coldly: "Enough."

Ma Qianshan and Chen Chen Ergou instantly stopped, staring at Li Ye in surprise.

Li Ye's tone had been unusual.

Jin Peng, quick-witted, followed Li Ye's gaze—and saw Bi Bi Hongwei, Han Han Chunmei's ex-husband, and an elderly woman who looked like his mother.

"They actually came?"

Jin Peng's eyes flashed with menace; he opened the door to get out and beat them up.

But Li Ye grabbed him and whispered a few instructions.

"Alright, Xiao Ye, don't get out. Leave it to us. Qiangzi, Chen Ergou, come with me."

Jin Peng called out, and with Wang Qiang, Chen Chen Ergou, and Ma Qianshan, they stormed over.

Five years ago, these men had once roamed the streets of Qingshui County like wild beasts. Though they now looked respectable, their ferocity hadn't faded.

Bi Bi Hongwei had also spotted the three sedans parked near the school gate—cars were rare back then, and three suddenly clustered together meant "important people" were nearby.

So when Jin Peng and the others charged over aggressively, Bi Bi Hongwei instinctively tried to flee.

"Stop!"

Jin Peng and the others surrounded Bi Bi Hongwei.

"No unauthorized persons allowed near the exam site. Come with us to the police station—explain why you're trying to sabotage the exam."

"Yeah, he looks like a spy. Take him away."

"Sabotage your grandma's leg!"

Bi Bi Hongwei was furious: "Which eye do you think I'm sabotaging with? Do your spies look this poor?"

And Bi Bi Hongwei recognized Jin Peng—he instantly knew what was going on.

"I—I—we were just going to the grain and oil shop… to buy soy sauce."

Directly across from County No. 2 High School was the Second Grain and Oil Shop, so Bi Bi Hongwei had no choice but to claim they were buying soy sauce.

But Jin Peng and the others didn't listen. They dragged Bi Bi Hongwei and his mother into Ma Qianshan's car and sped off to the Beicheng Police Station.

There, Li Ye's fellow disciples would handle it carefully.

This whole scene left Old Liu, the school gatekeeper, utterly stunned.

Those two had just asked him a couple questions about Li Juan—and now they were dragged away? Where's the law?

But soon after, the law arrived.

Ma Qianshan's Santana pulled back up to the school gate—but Old Liu noticed the occupants weren't Jin Peng or Ma Qianshan anymore; they were real Public Security officers.

Two officers got out, stuck red paper on the wall, and began writing calligraphy: "To Ensure Smooth Gaokao, Provide Escort and Protection."

"Fucking hell—now even the gatekeeper's job is being stolen? Escort and protection… who the hell are you protecting?"