Chapter 777: If You Want to Make Money, Just Make Money; Don't Get Involved in Other Things

The summer of '87 arrived particularly early. By the 28th of June on the solar calendar, it was already the 3rd of the sixth lunar month.

At this time of year, the capital was already very hot. People would break into a sweat with even the slightest vigorous movement, especially the cooks in front of the stoves; standing by the furnace fire made it even hotter.

Han Chunmei was feeling the heat right now. Because the family was hosting a joyous occasion today, there would likely be three or four tables of guests. In the kitchen, they couldn't just let Li Yue, Li Juan, Li Ye, and the rest of the younger generation do all the work, could they?

Grandma Wu Juying usually did the cooking, but just a moment ago, Li Yue's mother-in-law, Yang Huaihua, had arrived. Once she arrived, she insisted on helping in the kitchen, so Wu Juying had pulled her aside to chat outside.

Today was the Li family's banquet; they couldn't very well let the guests cook for themselves, could they?

Besides, word was that the old master's comrades-in-arms would be arriving soon, and those female guests needed a hostess to entertain them, didn't they? Han Chunmei felt very insecure about entertaining guests, so she had no choice but to take charge in the kitchen.

However, even though Han Chunmei was sweating, she felt wonderful inside.

Although her own son's full-month banquet a few days ago had only been one table, and today Li Ye's son's full-month banquet had several tables, Han Chunmei didn't feel awkward at all; she still felt wonderful.

Because everyone who came today, whether she knew them or not, addressed her with great respect as "the child's grandmother."

Although Han Chunmei had never taken it for granted that Li Ye was her own son, these repeated titles were an acknowledgment of her status in the Li family and a guarantee that little You'an would be able to live harmoniously in this home in the future.

Although Han Chunmei never asked about the family business, she knew that as long as she had a place in the Li family, then regardless of whether it was little You'an, Li Juan, or Li Ying, they would all be well-provided for in the second half of their lives.

Especially since Li Ye seemed to like his little brother very much; these days, he was always picking him up to play for a while. The two brothers would babble in a language no one could understand, and every time Han Chunmei saw it, she couldn't help but get teary-eyed.

She had suffered enough in the first half of her life; wouldn't the second half just get sweeter and sweeter?

When little You'an was born, why had Han Chunmei insisted that Li Ye name him?

Look at the rank of the child's father-in-law and mother-in-law. Look at the people standing at the kitchen door—Hao Jian, Pei Wencong, and Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng—what kind of figures were they?

So, think about it: "Li Ye's brother"—wasn't he the kind of little young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, just like they say in Hong Kong?

Speaking of Hao Jian, Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng, and Wang Jianqiang, the brothers were all standing right there at the kitchen door!

Li Ye had gone into the kitchen, and the brothers couldn't sit still in the room, so they stood at the kitchen door chatting aimlessly. Fortunately, they hadn't seen each other for half a year, so they didn't lack topics to talk about.

Especially that guy Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng; he had been knocking about in the Soviet Union for two years and had traveled almost all over Eastern Europe. He had seen all sorts of things, and his stories left Wang Jianqiang and Li Dayong stunned, while even Hao Jian listened with rapt attention.

"Let me tell you! The Soviet Union is no longer the red base camp we imagined. The people there actually like the West more than we do."

"When I first met the Soviet soldiers I did business with, I thought we were all in the red camp, and I almost started talking to them about 'class brotherhood'."

"As a result, when I got to their house, I saw nothing but Western electrical appliances, and they were so familiar with the stars from the Lighthouse that I almost let something slip."

"Brother Peng, does that mean you're saying the two of them aren't fighting for first place anymore? That the Soviet Union has been infiltrated by the Lighthouse?"

"Yo, Qiangzi, you actually know the word 'infiltrate'? It seems that hanging out with your Brother Xiao Ye all day has really boosted your political level!"

"I don't have any political level. I just care about family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs—I just think about them blindly, just thinking blindly..."

Wang Jianqiang gave a sheepish laugh, then suddenly saw a few people turn in at the door. Leading them were Wen Qingsheng and Teacher Ke, the couple.

Wang Jianqiang hurriedly shouted into the kitchen: "Brother, Brother, your mother-in-law is here, stop working for a moment!"

Han Chunmei hurriedly said: "Xiao Ye, put down the wok quickly and go serve your mother-in-law."

Li Ye was busy stir-frying in the big wok! Without even turning his head, he said: "I'll be done in two minutes. I'll go once I'm finished."

Han Chunmei said anxiously: "I'll stir-fry the rest. You go and receive them quickly."

"No, no, it just needs a little more heat. I'll be done immediately."

"No, you..."

Han Chunmei was speechless with anxiety. In her view, for a mother-in-law like Teacher Ke, Li Ye should be serving tea and water by her side. With Li Ye looking like this, how could he look like a son-in-law who didn't take his father-in-law seriously?

But in reality, it wasn't Li Ye showing off; it was because when they renovated this kitchen, Li Ye had insisted on installing a charcoal stove. Otherwise, for a situation like today's three-table banquet, a liquefied gas stove really wouldn't have been enough.

It was just that while the charcoal stove's fire was fierce, once the blower started, there was a lot of smoke and fire. A woman with little strength really couldn't flip this oversized wok; only Li Ye could stir-fry that perfect "smoky" flavor.

Just as Han Chunmei was feeling anxious, Teacher Ke had already walked to the kitchen door.

"Li Ye, are you busy?"

"Eh, Mom, I'll be done here in a second. Please sit for a while!"

"Sit? What sit! I've come to give you a hand."

Teacher Ke lifted her leg and walked into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves as she walked.

Han Chunmei hurriedly tried to stop her with a sheepish smile, but Teacher Ke said with a smile: "Don't be formal with me! When Li Ye came to my house for meals, I was always the one helping him while he cooked."

"Li Ye's stir-frying level is much higher than mine. He hasn't been to my place lately, and I've really been missing that flavor..."

"..."

Han Chunmei felt awkward. When Teacher Ke had put it that way, not letting her help would be being formal, but letting her help... that was just too awkward.

However, Li Ye wasn't pretentious; he directly instructed Teacher Ke: "Mom, help me get a few plates. This dish is about to come out of the wok."

"Got it... It smells just like that flavor. It's so fragrant."

Li Ye's big wok could stir-fry four dishes at once. Teacher Ke arranged the plates, and Li Ye plated them with a few scoops.

Then Li Ye threw down the wok and hurriedly led Teacher Ke outside.

It was true that his mother-in-law was approachable, but she was a ministerial-level cadre after all; you couldn't really treat her like a cook, could you?

Once Li Ye and Teacher Ke left the kitchen, whether it was Han Chunmei, An Xiaolian, and the group of women, or Hao Jian, Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng, Wang Jianqiang, and Li Dayong, they all clicked their tongues and sighed repeatedly.

What is a mother-in-law who dotes on her son-in-law? What is a foolish son-in-law who has no sense of propriety? This pair was exactly that.

Teacher Ke was led out of the kitchen by Li Ye. She didn't immediately go to the living room to join Wen Qingsheng, but instead asked Li Ye at the corner of the veranda: "Those people at the kitchen door are all your business partners, aren't they?"

Li Ye was a bit surprised, because by now, Teacher Ke already roughly knew about his business; why was she asking what she already knew?

But he could only explain: "Yes, Mom. Back when we were in Qingshui County, everyone pooled their money to start the business. Because I had royalties, I took the larger share."

At the time, Li Ye had no choice but to be the majority shareholder! Look at those poor devils Hao Jian, Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng, and Wang Jianqiang—how much capital could they have pooled together? At least Li Dayong had a bicycle!

Teacher Ke said in a deep voice: "Starting a business together is a good thing, but just now I heard that Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng talking about politics. You must warn them about this point: do business when doing business; don't get involved in things you shouldn't get involved in."

"..."

Li Ye was stunned. Only then did he realize that the conversation between Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng and Wang Jianqiang had been overheard by Teacher Ke. For someone like Teacher Ke, she had a strong sensitivity in certain areas.

Although Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng was only joking, he was now hanging out in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe all day, and Hao Jian often went abroad to Japan, South Korea, and the Lighthouse. So if they said something shocking, it might bring trouble to Li Ye.

After all, the situation in '87 was very different from after '92.

"I know, Mom. I've already warned them about this long ago. They were just chatting aimlessly just now."

Li Ye had indeed warned Hao Jian and the others that they must separate business from politics, because there were all sorts of ready-made examples in later generations.

The attitude of the mainland toward the private economy was: if you want to do business, just earn your money peacefully; don't get involved in things you shouldn't.

For example, the two most famous horses: one just kept his head down and made money without caring about anything else.

The other, however, said shocking things like "If XX doesn't make changes, we will change XX." This was typical meddling, and the consequences were self-evident.

However, just as Li Ye was halfway through his sentence, he suddenly thought of something and changed the subject: "They don't usually talk about those things, but this time Watching Watching Watching Jin Peng came back from the Soviet Union and saw that many situations there were very similar to ours, so they started chatting."

"For example, back in '58, the Lighthouse recruited 10,000 students from the Soviet Union in the form of full scholarships and free tuition. Then, after these students returned to the Soviet Union, they very smoothly took up important positions in many key posts..."

"..."

Teacher Ke glanced at Li Ye, her eyebrows arching just like Wen Leyu's.

She had originally only intended to warn Li Ye, but Li Ye seemed to be warning her instead.

Because Teacher Ke was the one in charge of the issue of overseas students!

Plus, Li Ye never spoke useless nonsense to her, so what did Li Ye mean by this? ===== CHAPTER 778 =====