Chapter 585: A Bunch of Good Examples

When Li Ye, Wen Watching Wen Leyu, and Fu Fu Yiruo arrived at UC Berkeley, they saw over a hundred Chinese international students, with more arriving in small groups and joyfully joining the crowd.

So he asked Zhen Zhen Rongrong: "Are there really this many mainland Chinese students at Berkeley?"

Zhen Zhen Rongrong pressed her lips together and said: "Some came from other schools, and others graduated but haven't returned home yet."

"."

Before leaving China, Zhen Zhen Rongrong had angrily resented Li Ye's question—"Will you come back?"—believing he doubted her integrity as a longtime Party member.

But after arriving in the Lighthouse, she finally understood why he had doubted.

It wasn't just the material gap—skyscrapers, modern cities—but the sheer number of "pioneers" still stranded in the Lighthouse, each one serving as a perfect example of "people climb upward."

It was like the brutal conditions of WWII: if one out of a hundred rats out others, he's a traitor; but if twenty out of a hundred do…

How high can the moral standards of the remaining eighty really be?

Choosing between feasting on meat and wine while chasing girls, or clinging to a red heart while chewing tree bark—this was a profound test of human nature, perhaps even more revealing than pepper water.

For instance, Zhen Zhen Rongrong now faced this thought: "If everyone else stays, isn't it stupid for me to go back?"—and she knew this wasn't an isolated idea.

"Enough of that nonsense. Help us unload the stuff—otherwise we won't make it in time for New Year's Eve dinner."

Li Ye noticed Zhen Zhen Rongrong's melancholy and called out to her to help unload goods from the pickup truck for the upcoming feast.

"Li Ye, why did you buy so much? And all these vegetables? You really…" Sigh.

"Can we just show up with Zhang Zui? We're not that kind of people."

Seeing the meat and vegetables piled in the pickup, Zhen Zhen Rongrong had no idea how to praise Li Ye.

While arriving empty-handed to the gathering was inappropriate, Li Ye had brought far too much.

Especially the obscure vegetables.

In the Lighthouse, some vegetables were cheap—potatoes, for example—but others were exorbitant, like water spinach.

Many international students, after living here long enough, craved a plate of leafy greens more desperately than sex.

"Whoa, Zhen Rongrong, did you win the lottery? How'd you get so many veggies? We can make dumplings with leek and egg filling today!"

"My classmate brought them—he didn't want to come over just to eat for free."

"Wow, is your classmate working at some big company? So generous? I just saw Xia Zhe—did you know he got into Boeing? Starting salary: thirty-two thousand dollars a year!"

"No, my classmate came to the Lighthouse for an internship—the company pays well."

"Will he stay after the internship?"

"Probably not—he's going back to the mainland."

"What? That's no future! Why not stay in the Lighthouse?"

"."

Zhen Zhen Rongrong smiled awkwardly and glanced at Li Ye.

But Li Ye wasn't angry—he was already with Wen Watching Wen Leyu and Fu Fu Yiruo, mixing in with the dumpling-making classmates, chopping filling, rolling dough.

Li Ye understood the old saying: people climb upward, water flows downward. Everyone has their own path—if you think this is upward, go ahead.

Besides, when the overseas study window opened, the authorities already anticipated this: even if only two or three out of ten returned, the mainland still won.

Those who enjoy labor are welcome anywhere. After Li Ye took over the chopping from a boy whose arms were aching, everyone quickly grew familiar.

When Zhen Jie arrived, the atmosphere became even livelier.

"Hey, classmate, can you slaughter a chicken?"

"What?"

Li Ye was swinging two cleavers, chopping swiftly, when a girl rushed over, blushing, asking for help.

She shyly said: "Some overseas Chinese gave us a few live chickens—we… we can't kill them."

Li Ye nodded: "I can kill chickens, but are you sure the Lighthouse students won't think we're too cruel?"

Today's gathering brought together mainland students, and some students from other countries had come to join in.

Some Lighthouse residents disliked killing animals—would Li Ye's bloodletting and scalding feathers trigger discomfort?

"No, no, no," the girl shook her head vigorously. "We'll kill them over in that corner—we've got four chickens, but one already flew away."

Li Ye couldn't refuse. He followed the girl over and saw three roosters tied by their feet, along with several classmates looking utterly defeated.

Seeing their hopeless expressions and the proud, upright roosters, Li Ye could easily imagine what had just happened.

It wasn't their fault—even if they cooked at home, slaughtering chickens was always done by adults; children never got involved.

Li Ye had been head chef at Zaojunmiao—he could kill chickens effortlessly. Chop, chop, chop—two roosters had their throats slit in quick succession.

But as he prepared to kill the third, a piercing scream suddenly rang out, making his hand tremble.

"Ah~! How can you be so cruel?!"

Who the hell is this idiot?

Li Ye, one hand gripping a cleaver, the other holding a chicken, turned angrily.

It was someone he knew—Ruan Ruan Shujun, the frail, postpartum daughter of the Ruan family.

Before Li Ye could speak, Wen Watching Wen Leyu, standing nearby, snapped: "If you think it's cruel, don't eat. You nearly made Li Ye cut his hand off with your screaming."

"But… but it's a life…"

Ruan Ruan Shujun clutched her sleeve, eyes welling up, looking like a fragile, saintly mother ready to weep at any moment.

Zhen Jie stepped forward and sneered: "Ruan Ruan Shujun, you pity a chicken's life—what about human lives?"

"."

Ruan Ruan Shujun's tears fell. Just days ago, she had personally strangled a human infant.

"Zhen Tian Xizhen, why are you still so blunt? Hahaha, little Ruan's soft-hearted—she can't stand killing. Don't be hard on her!"

A tall man walked up from behind Ruan Ruan Shujun, smiling as he called out Zhen Jie's name.

Zhen Jie narrowed her eyes and asked coolly: "Xia Zhe, is your job so idle? Eight hundred miles from Seattle—you have time to come here and gawk?"

Xia Zhe shrugged: "Thanks to the Lighthouse's work system and convenient transport—I only work five days a week. Flying over takes no time."

Li Ye narrowed his eyes and remembered the name Xia Zhe.

Boeing—now a major corporation.

Xia Zhe noticed Li Ye's gaze and walked over, extending his hand: "Hello, Xia Zhe."

Li Ye raised his cleaver: "Li Ye. I'm busy killing chickens. Not convenient."

"Hehehe~"

Xia Zhe smiled: "Are you a new international student this year? I was at Tsinghua, got my master's here at Berkeley, now at Boeing."

Li Ye replied coolly: "I was at Peking University. I'm not sure where I'll get my master's—but if I work, it'll be in the mainland."

"."

Xia Zhe's eyelid twitched inexplicably.

Peking University?

Is he challenging Tsinghua?