Chapter 523: How Good Is My Father

"Five hundred and something?"

Li Li Mingyue stared for a long time, then muttered sourly, "Well, their luck's been decent—but mock exams don't count. They need luck during the Gaokao too."

"You're being too reckless. Five hundred sounds high, but what if the mock exam papers were too easy? The Gaokao is a single national test."

"In my opinion, you should apply to a provincial university—better yet, just go for a junior college. That's a sure way into college."

Li Li Mingyue was mid-sentence, full of passion, when she suddenly felt her son stepping on her foot.

Then she noticed Li Kaijian and Zhao Zhao Yuanchao's expressions had darkened.

In the past, Li Li Mingyue had been used to acting like the eldest sister at home, scolding this one and that one, and no one dared defy her.

But since the family's little demon, Li Ye, took off, this former family queen had lost all her former glory.

She needed to keep a low profile.

Fortunately, her younger sister Li Li Mingxiang and cousin Zhao Zhao Meiwen weren't angry—they both turned to look at Li Ye, specifically at his head.

Today, Li Li Mingxiang's family had braved the rain specifically to compare exam answers with Xiao Juan.

Based on the past few days' exams, both girls believed they had "performed exceptionally"—and the reason, naturally, was that they had "absorbed literary qi" from Li Ye's head.

Li Ye couldn't help but touch his head.

Will you guys keep coming to massage my head every time you take postgraduate or certification exams?

Li Li Mingyue glanced at Li Ye, suddenly remembering something, then turned to Wu Wu Juying with a resentful tone: "Mom, why didn't little Ye help Aiguo back then?"

"I heard his classmates all got into Beijing universities because they benefited from him—if Aiguo could've gotten into a Beijing university too, wouldn't he have been able to stay in Beijing? After all, he's his own cousin."

"Enough about the kids—this soup and dishes are cold. Just eat!"

Grandma Wu Wu Juying swept her children with a glance, invoking the authority of the family elder to forcibly shut down this emotionally charged topic.

But Li Ye waved his hand calmly and said: "Back then, even if I'd told my cousin I'd guarantee he'd get into a Beijing university, would he have believed me?"

"How could he not believe you?"

Li Li Mingyue seized what she thought was Li Ye's weakness and immediately prepared to launch into a full rebuttal.

Why help distant classmates but not your own flesh and blood?

But Li Ye cut in: "He didn't believe me. You know I studied with my classmates myself—but did you ever ask me?"

"You didn't believe me during winter break, you didn't believe me before the pre-exam, and even before the Gaokao results came out—did you believe me?"

"We're family. Do we have to ask you outright?"

Li Li Mingyue fell silent. They were family—when you had a chance to help your cousin, shouldn't you just do it without being asked?

But then she realized: her own son had always looked down on Li Ye.

Li Ye started his self-study room in winter, and by New Year's, the two brothers had already fought. Expecting that stubborn fool to lift up her son? It was unrealistic.

Li Ye smiled faintly: "Alright, I'll tell you outright now: I think the Grain Bureau won't necessarily be better than the county fertilizer plant. Do you believe me?"

"How could a fertilizer plant compare to the Grain Bureau? Xiao Ye, you have no sense at all—one's a factory, the other's a government office."

Li Ye spread his hands, a faint smile on his lips: "See? You don't believe me at all."

Li Ye was a soul-transmigrated man—he bonded with those who treated him kindly. You give me an inch, I give you a yard. But if you treat me like dirt from the start, do you really expect me to chase after you?

Do you think you're the chosen one of this world?

Then who am I?

"Alright, alright, let's drop this. Where's Xiao Xia Yue?"

Li Li Mingxiang, the kindest of the three siblings, seeing her elder sister and second brother about to clash again, quickly changed the subject.

Li Ye said: "My sister took the train back to Beijing this afternoon."

Li Li Mingxiang exclaimed: "Why so soon? She just got back yesterday!"

Li Ye nodded: "She came back yesterday. My father wanted her to stay home for a couple days, but she was anxious about her job in Beijing, so she took the train back."

Li Li Mingxiang sighed: "Oh dear, this child is so busy—I was hoping to have a proper chat with her!"

"Exactly! What's a girl doing working so hard? I heard she's out there doing sales, showing her face everywhere—how improper."

Elder sister Li Li Mingyue sneered at Li Kaijian: "I say, Kaijian, why don't you go into business? There's no future in the fertilizer plant. Look at Jin Peng—he's made a fortune!"

Li Kaijian rolled his eyes, raised his wine cup, clinked it with his brother-in-law Zhao Zhao Yuanchao, and downed it in silence.

Four years ago, he was the workshop director of the fertilizer plant—how could he possibly sink to the level of a street hood like Jin Peng?

Even now, if he had to start from scratch at Pengcheng's Factory Seven, he couldn't bring himself to lower his dignity.

I'm a Party member. I won't disgrace myself like that.

At nine p. m., the rain that had fallen all day finally stopped. Zhao Zhao Meiwen had finished comparing answers with Li Juan and happily went home with her parents.

Elder sister Li Li Mingyue rode home with her younger sister's car.

The courtyard suddenly fell silent. Grandma Wu Wu Juying's gaze settled on Li Ye, as if weighing whether to punish this good grandson tonight—Lu Lu Jingyao's matter still hadn't been explained!

But the designated "enforcer," Li Kaijian, asked Li Ye a different question.

"Xiao Ye, when you said the fertilizer plant won't be worse than the Grain Bureau—was that just offhand, or did you study it?"

Li Ye's reputation as an economics expert had been validated not just among Pei Pei Wencong and others, but also among Li Kaijian and Li Li Zhongfa—hence this question.

"I didn't say it lightly," Li Ye explained. "The Grain Bureau thrives only because of the state's monopoly on grain procurement and distribution. These policy advantages aren't guaranteed to last."

In fact, as early as 1985, the mainland had issued Document No. 1, beginning pilot reforms in grain policy—some crops were already being deregulated. But most people's habitual thinking hadn't anticipated the full liberalization of grain markets.

Li Ye continued: "But the fertilizer plant is different—it's manufacturing. We're an agricultural giant with sustained, long-term demand for fertilizer."

"Still, fertilizer plants require continuous technological investment. Ammonium carbonate sells well now—but what about urea, potassium fertilizer, compound fertilizers?"

Li Ye rattled on at length, leaving Li Kaijian utterly stunned.

But Li Li Zhongfa, an old fox with decades of experience, didn't wait for Li Ye to finish—he cut right in: "Xiao Ye, are you saying the county fertilizer plant is worth co-investing in?"

Li Kaijian suddenly understood and turned to look at Li Ye.

Of course—his son had been dragging Hong Kong investors to fund this project and that one, but why had he never once considered the family's own fertilizer plant?

Li Ye smiled and asked: "Grandpa, first tell me—how's my father's management ability? Can he run a big enterprise?"

"You're doubting me?"

Li Kaijian's hand instinctively reached for his military belt.

Damn it—I've been a mid-level manager for years. I'm eight times better than Jin Peng and Hao Hao Jian.

"Hmm, your father lacks some management experience—but once he's promoted to deputy plant manager, he'll gain the necessary experience."

Li Kaijian: "."

(End of Chapter)