Chapter 66: The Simpleton Has His Own Little Plans

“Peng Ge, what are you doing? Put it down!”

Seeing Jin Peng draw his blade, Li Dayong immediately shouted to stop him.

Wang Qiang merely paused for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Jin Peng’s waist, trembling: “No no no, Peng Ge, don’t!”

Li Ye reacted fastest, but just as he was about to leap back, he saw Jin Peng’s blade plunge toward his own palm.

By the time he realized something was wrong and lunged forward to intercept, it was too late.

Jin Peng’s blade pierced his own palm, blood gushing out immediately.

Li Ye’s hand gripped Jin Peng’s right wrist holding the knife tightly.

If Li Ye had been even a fraction slower, Jin Peng’s left hand would have been pierced through.

Li Ye suppressed his anger and asked coldly: “Peng Ge, what are you doing?”

Jin Peng smiled: “Xiao Ye, I don’t know why you don’t trust me, but I’m doing this to make you understand—I, Jin Peng, am not an ungrateful man.”

“I’ve never been a well-behaved kid—I’ve caused my family nothing but trouble.

Sure, I act cheerful all day, but when no one’s around at night, I worry… I worry that when my old mother grows old, she’ll never hold a grandchild.”

As Jin Peng spoke, tears rolled down his cheeks.

“But now I don’t worry anymore—not at all. A few days ago, I hooked up with a girl. Guess how much it cost?”

Jin Peng grinned: “Two packs of Peony cigarettes, three bottles of Maotai—and I got her hired as a worker at the garment factory. She was ready to marry me right then. Hahaha!”

Watching Jin Peng bleed and cry at the same time, Li Ye’s mouth twisted in disbelief.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So he teased: “Three bottles? Do you even send gifts in odd numbers?”

Jin Peng laughed: “I bought four. On the way back, I couldn’t hold back—I drank one with Hao Jian. So good! Didn’t even need snacks…”

Jin Peng’s eyes were bloodshot as he shouted: “If not for you, Xiao Ye, would I ever get to drink Maotai?

If not for you, Xiao Ye, would I ever get a wife? For this debt, how can you see me as a traitor? I swear—”

“Alright alright, no need to swear—I believe you, I believe you. Just hand me the knife first…”

Li Ye took the knife from Jin Peng’s hand like soothing a child.

“Slap!”

Hao Jian suddenly slammed the table and shouted: “Well said! For us to gather here today is fate itself. I say we drink blood wine and become sworn brothers!”

“Yes, Hao Jian’s right.”

“Hehe, good… good idea…”

“I’ve got a bottle of Lao Bai Gan in my cart…”

Watching Li Dayong and the others scramble for bowls and wine, Li Ye was stunned.

【In the 1980s, were all these guys this reckless?】

In his past life, Li Ye had seen several of his father’s uncles and cousins—each with cigarette burns or tattoos marking their birth order.

But Li Ye’s father had said those guys weren’t “social types”—they were just products of a spiritually barren era, having listened to too many martial arts storytelling tales and fallen into middle-school delusions.

“Tsk~”

Li Ye pursed his lips, helplessly smiling.

【I’m a reincarnated emperor, and my founding team is all middle-schoolers?】

But even if they were childish, when Li Dayong, Wang Qiang, and even Hao Jian all pulled open their skin without flinching to mix blood wine, that raw, fiery sense of brotherhood in the martial world was overwhelming—too potent, too intoxicating.

Drunk on the moment, Li Ye held the small knife, sizing up his left hand, wondering which finger looked best for the cut—only to draw a round of good-natured laughter.

“Hahahaha~ It doesn’t hurt, Xiao Ye, not at all!”

Ten fingers connected to the heart—you think I believe you?

“Sigh~~”

Li Ye still cut his arm, splattered blood everywhere, and let it drip.

They mixed the blood wine into one bowl, each took a sip, and Li Ye spoke first—

Otherwise, if he heard “We won’t be born in the same year, month, or day, but we’ll die together,” would he accept it or not?

Souls could be reincarnated—what if fate twisted again?

“We live in a new society now—oaths need new words. No more talk of same year, same month, same day. Listen to me!”

“If we grow rich, don’t forget each other—meaning, no matter how wealthy we become, never forget the brothers who suffered poverty and hardship with us.”

Hao Jian, Jin Peng, and the others stared blankly—this phrase was new to them. But after Li Ye explained, it made a strange kind of sense.

But Li Ye didn’t give them time to think—he raised the big bowl, face earnest: “If we grow rich, don’t forget each other—drink!”

He took a sip, then smashed the bowl on the ground.

“If we grow rich, don’t forget each other—drink!”

“Drink!”

After drinking, Li Ye immediately dragged Jin Peng to the hospital—his wound was deep; even if he avoided tetanus, he’d be left with a big scar.

Hao Jian wanted to come too, but Li Ye sent him away—it was winter, and he still had to haul his cart forty miles home through the night.

After Hao Jian left, Li Ye whispered to Jin Peng: “Peng Ge, just now—were you stabbing for me… or for him?”

Jin Peng paused, then turned serious: “Of course I wanted you to know I’m not ungrateful. But Hao Jian…

He’s a sly fox. When we discussed who’d lead the trip to Guangdong, he hoarded his money and dared not go.

But when I went, he feared we’d leave him behind. Think about it—if not for our connections, he couldn’t even gather ingredients for candy…”

“Spit! He got a huge advantage today.”

Jin Peng meant that by drinking the blood wine with them, Hao Jian had gained the status of “brother”—a huge windfall.

Li Ye smiled but said nothing. Given his current situation, Hao Jian was already a capable lieutenant—earning his loyalty with the title of “brother” was the real win.

After taking Jin Peng to the hospital for stitches and medicine, as they were leaving, Jin Peng suddenly brought up Wang Qiang.

“Watch out on New Year’s Day—Qiang’s family will definitely visit Grandpa. You’d better be prepared.”

“Prepared for what?”

“I got bicycle tickets from Ma Rui and bought my wife a bike. Qiang’s family found out…

His mother grilled my mother for hours—probably up to something. Qiang’s family… hmph.”

Li Ye thought for a moment, then called Wang Qiang over: “Qiang, when you go home today, what are you going to say?”

Wang Qiang grinned: “Brother, I won’t say anything—I’ve just been eating with Peng Ge these past few months!”

“Good. You’re not completely stupid.”

“Hehehe~”

But Jin Peng said: “Qiang’s mother is a tough one, Xiao Ye—you still need to be careful. She’s your elder.”

“I’m not home on New Year’s Day—what can she do to me?”

Li Ye had already decided—he’d be spending New Year’s Day with Wen Leyu, no time for “elders.”

………………………

But the Dao rises a foot, the Devil rises a foot higher—Li Ye only prepared for New Year’s Day, and they showed up on the 29th of the 12th lunar month.

Li Ye was writing in his room when he saw Wang Qiang, that fool, being dragged in by a short, wiry woman.

“Uncle’s home! Oh my, you, the big boss, are hanging clothes yourself? Little sister, how could you let your father-in-law do this?”

“Oh, Xiao Yue, your coat looks so nice—is it wool?”

“Where’s Auntie? I haven’t seen her in ages—I must talk to her properly today.”

In less than five minutes, Wang Qiang’s mother had ingratiated herself with every member of Li’s family, as if she’d lived there her whole life.

Li Ye’s sisters, Li Juan and Li Ying, hearing their mother being scolded by an outsider, ran to Li Ye’s room and peered out the window.

As the family’s crown prince, Li Ye had the best-lit room; their rooms had dim windows and poor visibility.

“Brother, who’s that old woman? She showed up empty-handed on the 29th—what does she want?”

“Qiang’s mother. She’s here for money.”

Li Ye was annoyed—showing up empty-handed on the 29th? So stingy.

Hmm. Thick-skinned. Not here for good.

Sure enough, within minutes, Grandpa called Li Ye over.

“Xiao Ye, that Hao Jian—is he your connection? Now Qiang’s working for him but isn’t getting paid. This problem falls on you.”

“……”

Li Ye blinked, staring at Li Zhongfa, who sat like a high official giving orders—he wanted to spit out a mouthful of old grime.

Don’t you know Hao Jian’s situation? Now you, Big Boss Li, won’t fix this for me, and you want me, a nobody, to take the blame?

“I do have a classmate whose relative is named Hao Jian, but I just recommended him to set up a cooperative processing unit—the paperwork was probably handled by my sister, right?”

Li Ye turned his gaze to his elder sister, Li Yue.

Li Yue sneered: “I’ve got so much on my plate—I don’t remember any Hao Jian or Li Jian. Just go get the money for him.”

So you all enjoy the benefits but do nothing, huh?

Li Ye was furious.

This year he earned a fortune from royalties—no one could criticize how he spent it, so he took the whole family to the provincial capital, buying each person a wool coat or fur coat!

Now trouble comes, and no one lifts a finger?

Fine. You wait—next year, not a single cent.

“Ahem,” Li Zhongfa shot Li Ye multiple glances: “Is Hao Jian home now? Qiang gets at least ten yuan a month, right? Why don’t you just advance him thirty or forty yuan so he can have a proper New Year?”

Li Ye stayed silent—so everyone knows I’m rich and I’m supposed to get shafted, right?

But he stayed silent; Wang Qiang’s mother let out a shriek that startled the Li family.

“Thirty or twenty? That’s not enough! You don’t know, Uncle, Qiang’s been away for three or four months, slaving day and night for them.”

“Even Jin Peng got himself a Flying Pigeon! Why shouldn’t my Qiang get a Thousand-Mile Horse?”

Wo ni ma, what a huge lion’s mouth!

Li Yue couldn’t take it anymore: “Auntie, temporary workers only get eighteen yuan and fifty fen a month—you want a bicycle for four months? I’ve been working a year and still walk everywhere!”

But Qiang’s mother immediately retorted: “Little Yue, you don’t understand—money’s worthless these days.”

“Li Ye writes a book and makes two or three thousand! My Qiang’s worked this long, day and night—doesn’t he deserve several hundred?”

“Cooperative households are under the grain system—we can’t let capitalists exploit our own people! After all, laborers are the most honorable, right?”

“.........”

Li Ye was stunned—he finally understood why Li Zhongfa and his sister Li Yue refused to get involved. This wasn’t just demanding—it was extortion!

Wang Qiang had been away for four or five months, and his family didn’t even look for him—they just let him tag along with Jin Peng to eat, saving grain at home.

Now that Jin Peng was making money, they wanted equal treatment.

Were Grandpa and Sister trying to make me, this fool, step in and deliver one slap... to settle everything?

Li Ye’s face darkened. “Auntie Liu, I don’t know what kind of work Qiang did for them.”

“But for these months, they fed and housed him, and even bought him a fur-lined coat for the New Year—how can you call them capitalists?”

Here, Li Ye suddenly turned to Wang Qiang: “Hey, Qiang, where’s your fur-lined coat? Still saving it for New Year’s Day?”

The day before, Li Ye had seen Wang Qiang wearing that new fur-lined coat—but today he’d swapped it for a tattered cotton-padded jacket, clearly too small and stretched tight.

Wang Qiang shifted on the bench and muttered: “That fur coat didn’t fit me—I traded it with my second brother.”

The Li family couldn’t bear it anymore. Li Zhongfa coughed, stood up, and walked out.

With kinship tied up like this, there’s no way to push back.

Wang Qiang’s mother was embarrassed too, but quickly turned to Li’s grandmother: “Auntie, you see—every family has its own hard-to-recite scripture. When your family was struggling, didn’t I lend you two jin of corn flour?”

“Now your family’s better off, but my Qiang’s second brother is already twenty-two after the New Year, still no bride, no decent clothes, no bicycle—no girl even looks at him...”

She poured out a flood of snot and tears—Li Ye felt sick.

He could only say: “Auntie Liu, don’t misunderstand—I’m just afraid Qiang’s being cheated! A fur coat costs forty or fifty yuan!”

Then Li Ye asked Wang Qiang in a low voice: “Qiang, did Hao Jian ever tell you how much he owes you?”

Wang Qiang kept his head down: “I didn’t earn as much as Peng Ge—I got one hundred and eighty. My mom said... keep twenty for me.”

Li Ye was shocked.

Turns out, even the simpleton had his own little schemes.

Wang Qiang hadn’t just hidden the thousand-yuan contribution—he’d also concealed the rest of the money.

Good. Now I finally understand: “A man without secret savings has no dignity.”

Promising.