Chapter 68: If You Are Given Wealth, You Are Useless!

Teacher Ke had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by a waiter at the Guangming Hotel, who said there was a phone call for her at the front desk.

She hurriedly got out of bed in her slippers, ran down the stairs, and rushed toward the front desk on the first floor.

Her heart was very panicked.

Today was New Year's Eve, and it was at this time that the call came; the implication was self-evident.

"Is it success? Or failure?"

Teacher Ke felt as if there were two little people in her brain, hacking at each other with swords, swearing to fight until one of them died.

There were three flights of stairs, and Teacher Ke reached the bottom in less than half a minute. Because she tripped on the second floor, one of her slippers flew off, and she didn't even have time to pick it up.

She grabbed the phone, having no time to catch her breath.

"Hello, hello... I am Ke Zhiyu."

"Xiao Yu! It's your Uncle Peng."

"I... I recognize your voice..."

Teacher Ke's heart seemed to be in her throat, waiting for the verdict of fate.

"Come over tomorrow to pay me a New Year's visit!"

"Boom~"

Teacher Ke felt her head being heavily struck. A strong joy, like warm sunshine, instantly spread throughout her body, dispelling the damp and cold haze.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, there would be many people going to pay their respects to Uncle Peng. The fact that he asked her to come over was enough to explain everything.

"I... I understand. Thank you... Uncle Peng."

"Hmm, remember to come early!"

"Beep beep beep beep~"

The phone hung up, and Teacher Ke, whose heartstrings had been taut just a moment ago, slowly squatted on the ground. The faint sound of sobbing continued for a long time.

"Woof woof woof~ woof woof woof"

Li Ye, in his sleep, seemed to hear a dog barking.

He turned over in a daze... Oh crap, it was Da Huang barking.

He jumped off the small heated brick bed and ran outside as soon as he put on his shoes.

For the past few days, he had been sleeping in his clothes, just for fear of hearing a dog barking outside.

It was the New Year, and Uncle Gu, who watched the gate, had also gone home to hold his child. Li Ye didn't care about the influence and jumped over the wall directly.

It was a distance of 89 meters, with a school wall in between. Li Ye ran wildly, and in his urgency, he performed another feat of leaping over walls.

After jumping over the wall, Li Ye saw two beams of flashlight light shining where Watching Wen Leyu's dormitory was.

"He's here, he's here, Li Ye really came."

"Heh, it's really effective!"

Li Ye, who was running at high speed, slowed his pace speechlessly.

He recognized the voice; it was his biological sister, Li Yue. Just listening to her teasing tone, he could imagine what was going on.

Sure enough, after Li Ye walked up to them, his sister Li Yue was already laughing until she was doubled over: "Hahahaha, Pavlov's dog, Brother Xiao Ye, you just ran faster than a dog! Hahaha~~~"

Li Ye endured his toothache and said, "Sister, haven't you heard the story of the beacon fire teasing the feudal lords?"

Li Yue made an "o" shape with her little mouth and said exaggeratedly, "Oh right, oh right, the beacon fire teasing the feudal lords! You are our family's little emperor, and Xiao Yu also has the appearance of Baosi!"

Watching Wen Leyu's face turned red, and she hurriedly pulled Li Yue: "Sister, don't talk nonsense, otherwise it won't be effective in the future."

"That depends on what Brother Xiao Ye thinks. As long as he is willing, it will be effective every time."

Watching Wen Leyu's face turned completely red, and Li Ye said unhappily, "Calling me here in the middle of the night just to watch me make a fool of myself?"

"Who wants to watch you make a fool of yourself?"

Li Yue stopped acting weird and put on the airs of a big sister, saying to Li Ye: "It's already three o'clock, and you still have so many complaints about getting up. Hurry up and go pay respects to the Old Locust Tree!"

Li Ye wailed: "Isn't it four o'clock?"

Li Yue scolded: "Don't you have to go home to pick up Grandma? What's the matter, you're not convinced on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you want to practice with me again?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go, I'll go."

Bloodline suppression is really not a good thing.

Before the age of fourteen, Li Ye had never beaten Li Yue once. Boys developing late is really a disadvantage.

By the time he was over fourteen, the shadow of being suppressed had already taken root in Li Ye's heart, and plus he had become sensible, so this "lifelong feud" could not be avenged.

Li Ye first returned to the Second Grain Store to put on his big cotton coat and hat, and then, enduring the throbbing pain in his head from lack of sleep, he went home to pick up his grandmother and walked toward the Old Locust Tree in the north of the county town.

Not long after walking, he discovered that he wasn't the only one suffering.

Many children of about his age, and children younger than him, were being dragged by the elders in their families, gathering toward the north with sleepy eyes.

By the time they reached the vicinity of the Old Locust Tree, it could almost be described as a "sea of people."

Li Ye discovered several students from the County No. 2 Middle School and also saw Zhou Chenggong.

This guy's home wasn't in the county town. Appearing here at this time, he must have rushed over from the countryside outside the city in the middle of the night.

Li Ye's grandmother took Li Ye, Hu Man, and others and squeezed into a barely decent position, about thirty or forty meters away from the century-old locust tree.

Then Wu Juying, like the old women next to her, set up offerings and began to chant.

"Bless my grandson to be admitted to university... bless the family with peace... bless the family with descendants..."

Countless buzzing prayers were like magic sounds filling the ears, converging into a sound wave array, spreading and vibrating within a radius of several hundred meters.

Li Ye felt something unusual beside him. He turned his head and found that Hu Man, Han Xia, Jiang Xiaoyan, and others were also praying, and they even brought a few offerings.

"You guys also..."

Hearing Li Ye's surprised voice, Hu Man and Han Xia pursed their lips and smiled.

Jiang Xiaoyan explained in a low voice with embarrassment: "When I came, Mom told me to come and pay respects."

Well!

Li Ye finally understood why those "masters" in the eighties could be so successful and fool so many smart people.

"What are you doing? Be sincere."

Li Ye's grandmother discovered Li Ye's "lack of piety" and kicked him on the calf. Li Ye had no choice but to perform a perfunctory kowtow.

But the next moment, the pitch-black night suddenly brightened for a moment.

Li Ye looked up in surprise, looking at the pitch-black sky; there wasn't a single star.

The rumbling thunder followed. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it actually thundered.

The crowd gathered around the Old Locust Tree appeared to be in a commotion, and a group of old-fashioned women were muttering.

Grandma said to Li Ye: "Brother Xiao Ye, don't be afraid. Thunder in spring is the Heavens striking monsters! It has nothing to do with us."

Li Ye laughed a little. Nothing to do with God, and striking monsters? Aren't I a...

"Clap~"

The second bolt of lightning flashed above Li Ye's head, and the winding, snake-like, scorching bright trajectory was clearly reflected in his eyes.

Li Ye was a bit dazed.

【Could it be that I, this monster... am going through a tribulation?】

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for the daughter-in-law to return to her parents' home.

Early in the morning, Li Kaijian took Han Chunmei, Li Juan, and Li Ying out. Because Li Ye and Li Yue were not born to Han Chunmei, the two of them didn't go, and Han Chunmei didn't feel there was anything wrong with that.

At ten in the morning, Li Ye's two aunts brought their husbands to the door to send liquor to Li Zhongfa, the old father-in-law.

The eldest aunt, Li Mingyue, married Cui Zhixian, a township cadre in Hexi Township, west of the county town.

The second aunt, Li Mingxiang, married Zhao Yuanchao, the director of the police station north of the city. Both of their marriages looked smoother and happier than Li Kaijian's.

And the children of both families were either high school graduates who had started working or were "three-good students" at school, and were pulled out every year to "set an example" for Li Ye.

In previous years, the second day of the Lunar New Year was the most difficult day for Li Ye and his grandfather.

It wasn't until Li Kaijian married Han Chunmei last year that they finally escaped this disaster. This year, Li Ye wrote *The Lurker*, which was finally a moment of pride.

Zhao Meiwen, the little cousin from the second aunt's family, had liked to pester Li Ye since she was small, and this time was no exception.

"Cousin Brother Xiao Ye, I read *The Lurker* you wrote a few days ago. It was really well written, but why did you write Zuo Lan to death! How could you be so heartless?"

A little fan girl, of course, had to be treated well.

Li Ye patiently explained to her: "How to describe a novel character depends on the prototype in life, and secondly, it must obey the needs of the plot..."

"In the war years, there were many heroes and martyrs who sacrificed like Zuo Lan. A tragic ending also makes it easier for people to remember and cherish those martyrs."

"Pfft~~"

Li Ye was looking at the stars in Zhao Meiwen's eyes and speaking with great enthusiasm when he was interrupted by a sneer.

Li Ye frowned and looked over, discovering it was his eldest aunt's son, Cui Aiguo.

This kid was in high school in Hexi Township and was said to be in the top three in the grade. Because he was attached to his home, he didn't come to the county town to go to school and had always looked down on Li Ye, this academic failure.

Now Li Ye looked at his eyes and knew that this kid was unconvinced and unwilling to let Li Ye, the former academic failure, steal his limelight as an academic master.

Li Ye looked coldly at Cui Aiguo and asked, "What are you 'pffting' at?"

Cui Aiguo tilted his head and said disdainfully, "Looking at you bragging, as if that book was written by you."

Li Ye narrowed his eyes: "It wasn't written by me, so it was written by you?"

"Pfft," Cui Aiguo curled his lips: "I don't have that ability, but I also absolutely won't do shameless things. Our Chinese teacher said that a child without life experience simply cannot write a novel."

【The wealth of the heavens is placed in front of you, and you are useless!】

Li Ye darkened his face and pointed his finger outside.

"For the sake of our relatives, I won't beat you today. Go stay outside and don't be an eyesore to me again."

"You... don't regret it."

Cui Aiguo didn't expect Li Ye to be so bold, not even giving face in front of his own parents.

After he left in a huff, cousin Zhao Meiwen mysteriously said to Li Ye: "Cousin Brother Xiao Ye, the eldest aunt is going to play matchmaker for you today. I think it's going to fail."

"Matchmaker? What matchmaker?"

"It's the daughter of Wu Kezhang Sun from the Finance Bureau. She's 24 this year, and her face is as black as Bao Gong... Wu Kezhang Sun used to be in Hexi Township and was a colleague of the eldest uncle..."

Zhao Meiwen provided Li Ye with free intelligence like a little secret agent, which made Li Ye feel disgusted.

People often say that if you don't know what status you have in someone else's heart, then look at the blind date they introduce to you.

He, Li Ye, is handsome and elegant, and you're pairing him with a Bao Gong? Who are you insulting?

And in '81, a 24-year-old girl who still doesn't have a partner—what kind of situation is this?

Think about those older leftover women in later generations, and you'll understand what's going on.

Don't boast about being a big girl or a little fairy; they are all old aunts.

"Brother Xiao Ye, Brother Xiao Ye, hurry over."

Two minutes later, the eldest aunt called Li Ye over and asked with a smile: "The eldest aunt has found a marriage for you, a perfect match. Why don't you go see her tomorrow?"

Li Ye didn't even lift his eyelids and asked: "Eldest aunt, is she good-looking?"

Li Mingyue's smile stiffened, and she said reluctantly: "You child, why haven't you learned your lesson? Being good-looking is not a good thing. Her father is only 45 this year and is about to be promoted..."

"Being good-looking is very important," Li Ye interrupted directly: "My grandfather and grandmother are good-looking, so my father and two aunts are good-looking."

"My father and mother are good-looking, so my sister and I are good-looking. If I marry an ugly one, my descendants... will all be implicated."

".........."

Li Zhongfa, Wu Juying, Zhao Yuanchao, and Li Mingxiang were all stunned, and then collectively turned their heads to look at Cui Zhixian and Cui Aiguo.

Cui Zhixian had a bitter, deep-seated face, and Cui Aiguo inherited 88% of his genes. That face was so ugly...

"Brother Xiao Ye, what kind of talk is this? The meaning of life lies in making contributions to the motherland. Personal appearance is insignificant in front of xx..."

Cui Zhixian blushed and started lecturing Li Ye as an elder.

Li Ye turned and left. The thunder in the sky didn't strike me dead; are you guys trying to disgust me to death?

However, when it was time for dinner, Li Ye's mood improved slightly.

It was estimated that the second aunt had said something to the grandmother, and the grandmother's face was black.

She didn't serve any of the meat dishes or good dishes she had prepared. It was a gathering of potatoes and radishes, a meeting of cabbage and tofu—all vegetarian meals. The originally planned good liquor didn't even have a shadow.

The eldest aunt, Li Mingyue, muttered a few words, expressing a little dissatisfaction, and Wu Juying directly slapped the table.

"Eat if you want, get out if you don't!"

"If I don't slap you a few times for using your nephew to do favors, you should burn incense!" ===== CHAPTER 69 =====