Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-Five: The Jianghu Puzzle

Li Ye found Teacher Ke that evening and learned she had indeed taken leave from school to go to Jingcheng.

Teacher Ke also told Li Ye to take the completed portions of “Fenghuo Taobing.”

Teacher Ke didn’t specify what she planned to do, but Li Ye could guess: she intended to use the New Year holiday to carry the manuscript to Jingcheng and network.

But Li Ye thought it wasn’t the right time.

“Teacher Ke, I’ve only written less than four hundred thousand characters so far; Shi Cheng has just appeared and we’re far from the exciting part...”

Web novels are clearly longer than traditional ones; for example, “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” is 1.2 million characters, and “The Deer and the Cauldron,” even at its longest, is only 1.5 million.

But Xiao Zhi Xianxian’s “Fenghuo Taobing,” even if abandoned, has over 1.9 million characters. (Here, Lao Feng pays tribute to Xiao Zhi Xianxian—wondering if the master is still well.)

Even if Li Ye cut some fluff, because Xiao Zhi Xianxian’s writing was already strong, he couldn’t compress it below 1.5 million characters—so 400,000 was truly insufficient.

Teacher Ke sighed helplessly: “I know it’s not yet the exciting part, but four hundred thousand characters isn’t small—it’s enough to show off.”

Li Ye glanced at Teacher Ke’s eyes and saw her urgency and anxiety—he immediately understood she truly couldn’t wait.

Li Ye reluctantly said: “Alright, I’ll push myself these few days and write a few more ten thousand characters, trying to add more scenes for Shi Cheng.”

But Teacher Ke said: “Actually, no need—if someone’s interested in this novel, we can send later parts in batches later.”

“Batches?”

“Yes,” Teacher Ke said, “I heard Hong Kong has a ‘serial’ writing method—thousands of characters daily, continuous serialization—and the effect seems good.”

【Of course it’s good—later generations’ countless web novels all rely on this trick: hooks, cliffhangers... even adjusting plot on the master’s demand...】

【Teacher Ke, you’re brilliant—clever people really are clever, I can’t help but admire you.】

Li Ye truly admired Teacher Ke—being able to grasp the concept and advantages of serialization in the closed, 1980s Qingshui County showed vision far beyond ordinary people.

“Alright! When are you leaving? I’ll organize the manuscript as soon as possible.”

“I’ve already organized it—I’m leaving tomorrow—but I have a favor to ask you.”

“A favor?”

Li Ye was surprised, because Teacher Ke rarely asked anyone for help; even when other teachers at school offered assistance, she handled it calmly, subtly discouraging them.

Li Ye was the “only” exception—but only regarding novel collaboration; in daily life, she never troubled him, not even when Wen Leyu ate with him—she still used the manuscript editing fee as an excuse!

If you called her “aloof,” it wasn’t quite right—Li Ye felt Teacher Ke deliberately maintained a detached clarity.

But today, Teacher Ke had a favor to ask—it must be significant.

Li Ye said seriously: “Whatever it is, Teacher Ke, if I can help, I will. If I can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”

Teacher Ke smiled: “It’s this—I can’t take Xiao Yu with me to Jingcheng. She’s spent years clinging to me, and she’s timid... while I’m gone, could you look after her?”

Of course I can! If she's willing, I could take full care of her... No, no, no, am I really that kind of person?

Li Ye immediately agreed: “Of course, Teacher Ke—I’ll bring her to my place for the New Year. But will Wen Leyu be willing to stay alone in Qingshui?”

Teacher Ke nodded: “I spoke with her yesterday—she’s willing.”

Li Ye’s last worry vanished—Wen Leyu had even skipped college to stay with her mother, yet now she was willing to separate temporarily.

He glanced at Wen Leyu nearby and saw the girl was still a little shy.

Li Ye confirmed Teacher Ke’s train time, then woke up Li Dayong, who had just crawled into bed, and that night he went with Jin Peng and Hao Jian to the provincial capital.

In the dead of winter, setting out at two a.m. on bicycles was no fun.

Li Ye rode only half the forty kilometers, then lay on the flatbed cart pretending to be a dead dog, letting Jin Peng and Hao Jian drag him along.

When they reached the provincial capital, it was still dark, but the sesame candy vendor waiting to collect goods was already at the street corner beside the morning market.

Bags of sesame candy were weighed and paid for—almost no one spoke; this silent, strange atmosphere gave Li Ye the feeling of a later-generation crime film.

“They’re extremely cautious now—when money comes easy, they don’t want to draw attention, preferring quiet, hidden wealth.”

Li Ye nodded, watching the bustling morning market ahead.

Rural folks sold cabbage and radishes; city dwellers sold old clothes and furniture; even old bicycles were for sale.

Li Ye felt tempted—his eldest sister still didn’t have a bicycle!

Jin Peng quickly said: “Don’t buy those bikes—they might be stolen goods.”

Li Ye gave up—back then, a single bicycle could trigger a whole chain of major cases; getting falsely implicated wasn’t worth it.

Hao Jian’s sesame candy wasn’t sold in one place—it had to be distributed to three locations. By the time the entire flatbed cart’s stock was wholesale sold, dawn had broken.

The four exhausted men ate a hot breakfast first, driving away the cold from their bones.

Li Ye took five hundred yuan from Hao Jian and told him to head back.

Hao Jian had just been thinking about how to hide the money on his solo return—since Li Ye and the others were carrying it, he was happy to hand it over.

After parting ways, Li Ye, Jin Peng, and Li Dayong headed straight for a lane west of the provincial capital’s train station.

At a crossroads alley, Li Ye saw over a dozen people, huddled in groups, squatting or standing, each hunched over, smoking silently.

This was a small black market for trading ration coupons in the provincial capital.

Li Ye was here to exchange grain coupons for Teacher Ke.

In 1981, eating out required more than money—most places demanded grain coupons; without them, you could still manage locally, but traveling outside without them meant you couldn’t eat at all.

Teacher Ke, going to Jingcheng, needed national grain coupons.

Teacher Ke earned temporary worker wages at No. 2 Middle School, with minimal grain coupon allocation—she barely saved any.

Traveling was hard; for a woman, harder still. With Wen Leyu involved, Li Ye couldn’t ignore this.

Logically, Li Zhong could’ve gotten national grain coupons easier—but Li Ye didn’t want his family asking questions, and he needed other things too.

Seeing Li Ye and the others approach, the men grew wary, clutching their bags tightly.

Li Ye noticed their positions were ideal for quick escape.

Jin Peng glanced around, then led Li Ye toward a man with a side-parted haircut.

“Brother, got any national grain coupons?”

“Pfft—what kind of question is that? If I didn’t have national grain coupons, why would I be here?”

The side-parted man exhaled smoke, smirking at Jin Peng, then sizing up Li Ye and Li Dayong with clear disdain.

His accent was clearly northern—either from Qingshui or Beiyang—and the other two were just kids—obviously no money to spare.

Li Ye didn’t care about his gaze and asked directly: “What other coupons do you have? Cigarette coupons? Liquor coupons? Can you get sleeper train tickets? How’s the exchange rate?”

The side-parted man’s eyes lit up: “What kind of cigarettes? What kind of liquor?”

Li Ye said: “Zhonghua cigarettes, Maotai liquor.”

The side-parted man rolled his eyes, grinning: “You’re joking me this early? What coupon can buy Zhonghua cigarettes?”

Li Ye fell silent—he knew first-grade cigarettes required coupons, but since his rebirth, he’d never bought Zhonghua himself and didn’t know the market.

Jin Peng waved his hand: “Just get the grain coupons first—national, fifty jin.”

The side-parted man stretched his neck: “One point two yuan per jin—fifty jin is exactly sixty yuan.”

“.........”

Jin Peng and Li Ye froze.

This price wasn’t just black market—it was absurdly, outrageously black.

They’d checked beforehand: the going rate in the provincial capital was around five jiao per jin, four jiao normal, six jiao acceptable—this guy’s price had doubled.

Jin Peng turned to leave—was he taking them for fools?

But the side-parted man shouted toward the alley entrance: “Others charge more—I’m the cheapest!”

Sure enough, when Jin Peng and Li Ye asked others, the prices were even wilder.

Li Ye smiled and walked back to the side-parted man.

“Alright, you’re the cheapest—I’ll take fifty jin each, plus some liquor and cigarette coupons.”

The side-parted man eyed Li Ye sideways: “You got that much cash?”

Li Ye reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick wad of bills, and flashed it—hundreds of yuan.

The side-parted man blinked, dropped his cigarette, nodded toward the alley, and motioned for Li Ye to follow.

Li Ye followed him into a side alley, then noticed a young man squatting nearby also walked in.

The young man was bald, his gaze sharp, radiating an unusual, fierce toughness.

The side-parted man smirked: “Don’t worry—he’s my brother, just back from the southern battlefield. He won’t bother you if you don’t bother him.”

No wonder the side-parted man dared to bully and extort—he had backup.

But no matter his backup, Li Ye wouldn’t be cheated.

Li Ye stretched his ankle and kicked the alley wall.

“Thump~”

The brick wall trembled slightly.

Jin Peng and Li Dayong reacted just as fast—each kicked the wall in succession—“Thump-thump!”—as if they might knock it down.

The bald man instantly stepped forward, shielding the side-parted man, glaring fiercely at Li Ye and the others.

Li Ye twisted his wrist, calmly asking: “What price did you say again?”

Fighting was out of the question—if intimidation worked, why fight?

The three moved in unison, slowly advancing toward the bald man.

The bald man’s gaze was sharp, unmoving—but he told the side-parted man behind him: “Go.”

Two simple words revealed his tension.

A real pro knew the score—even a battle-hardened soldier couldn’t be sure he could take on all three.

But the side-parted man didn’t flee—he stepped aside, clasped his hands in a bow.

“Brothers, we’re all here for livelihood—peace is key. Asking high, bargaining low—no need for knives or guns. Mountains and rivers will meet again... black eating black isn’t friendship...”

The bald man went on a rambling rant, leaving Li Ye in an awkward limbo.

Well then! This guy’s also a martial arts enthusiast.