Chapter 823: Li Ye

Tuesday, morning.

Li Ye, who had slept well through the night, woke early, went outside to the corridor for five minutes of light exercise, then turned on his portable phone and dialed Fu Guiru at the Lighthouse.

But his mother Fu Guiru was switched off—switched off.

“Huh? At her age, forty or fifty, she’s still throwing a tantrum with me? Hehehehe~”

Li Ye wasn’t worried at all; Fu Guiru couldn’t possibly be wielding a rolling pin to beat him now.

Besides, if Fu Guiru had turned off her phone to sleep, then conditions at the Lighthouse must be fine—otherwise, with her nerves on edge, how could she possibly sleep after hanging up?

At 7:30, Lu Zhizhang and the others got up for breakfast, then prepared to head to Mitsubishi Company for further detailed negotiations.

But during breakfast, the TV in the dining room suddenly aired news related to the Lighthouse stock market.

“Dow Jones Index closes down 23%. Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve delivers statement. To fulfill its responsibilities as a central bank, the Federal Reserve System reaffirms its commitment to ensuring liquidity in the financial system to support the normal functioning of the economy and financial markets.”

The TV aired twenty straight minutes of financial news without pause; everyone eating in the dining room was stunned.

“Huh? What’s this mean? Lighthouse news is being broadcast nonstop for half an hour on Japanese TV? Has something huge happened?”

“Exactly! Hey, you, Deputy Factory Director Li, explain this to us—what’s going on?”

Li Ye glanced at Gu Jianqi and Secretary Guo, both pale-faced, then explained: “The Lighthouse stock market has crashed. The authorities have begun announcing emergency funding to stabilize it.”

“Crashed? Wait, a few days ago I read in Japanese newspapers that the Lighthouse would collapse before Japan! Only a few days later, and it’s already happening?”

“I told you—Japan’s economic experts are truly sharp. They said the Lighthouse would collapse first, and it did. No wonder Japan’s been outshining the Lighthouse these past few years.”

Several people, all armchair strategists, freely praised Japan as superior to the Lighthouse.

But Xiao Jingen took a different tack: “I remember that newspaper article also said the Lighthouse’s stock collapse would drag down Japan’s market.”

“So do you think Japan will collapse next? If it does, will Mitsubishi offer us better terms?”

“Possible. Very possible.”

“Deputy Director Xiao, you’re truly brilliant—no wonder Section Chief Inoue broke his usual habits yesterday and accepted all our conditions!”

“Oh my, we agreed too quickly yesterday! We must be cautious now—drag this out, squeeze more benefits for the state.”

“.”

Ma Zhao and Lu Zhizhang listened as everyone turned into Zhuge Liang, and both turned to look at Li Ye.

Li Ye said plainly: “I think delays invite trouble—we must finalize all import arrangements as soon as possible.”

“Li Ye, you’re too hasty.”

“Do as Li Ye says—finalize all details immediately.”

Ma Zhao cut off further discussion and made a cold, decisive call, then glanced at Gu Jianqi.

Among them, only Gu Jianqi might voice opposition; though Ma Zhao ignored him, he still owed the man his seniority and would at least pretend to consider him.

But Gu Jianqi was acting strangely now—staring blankly, lost in thought, unusually docile.

…………………………

Li Ye and the others reached consensus and headed straight for Mitsubishi Company to complete the final contract signing—but fate intervened. After arriving, they waited over half an hour in the conference room without seeing Section Chief Inoue.

“Japanese are late again—something’s definitely up today!”

“Huh, could it be that good things come after delays?”

“Don’t talk nonsense—the big picture was settled yesterday. They won’t back out now.”

“You never know—Japanese are notoriously untrustworthy.”

“.”

Impatient, Ma Zhao and the others sent Liu Muhán to inquire about the delay.

Soon after, Liu Muhán returned and said: “Section Chief Inoue says your contract is being printed—please wait a moment.”

Ma Zhao said: “If the contract is being printed, that means they’re ready to sign?”

“Probably.”

Liu Muhán nodded slowly but didn’t tell Ma Zhao that Inoue’s side seemed chaotic—many employees had stopped working and stood silently around a computer, the atmosphere heavy with tension.

“Ding ling ling~”

At 9:15, a phone rang suddenly in the conference room.

Everyone first looked at Li Ye, then turned in surprise to Gu Jianqi.

Both their phones rang simultaneously—unusual even decades later, let alone in the 1980s.

Li Ye answered first. A cold, sinister voice came through: “So? You finally woke up? Sleep well last night?”

Li Ye walked out as he replied with a smile: “I slept great! You must’ve slept well too? I called you at six this morning—you were off, didn’t answer.”

“I didn’t sleep well at all!”

Fu Guiru snapped: “Everyone waited for your news last night, and you turned your phone off. Do you know what happened last night?”

“Of course I know!”

Li Ye chuckled: “I watched TV this morning—the single-day drop broke records. Your son, lucky as ever, predicted it perfectly. Mother, you’ve got the bearing of a general—calm, commanding. You must’ve made a fortune.”

“You really did predict it perfectly—but last night, my heart nearly burst. I’m still feeling awful.”

Fu Guiru’s voice was hoarse—clearly, she’d been stricken with panic.

No one could watch tens of billions of capital spiral upward without suffering a heart attack.

Li Ye’s smile vanished instantly—he was alarmed. Fu Guiru was elderly, had endured great hardship, and early menopause complications weren’t impossible.

“Mom, are you having heart trouble? Did you bring any emergency heart medicine?”

“I’m angry at you! Don’t talk about heart disease. Wait—I’m already on the plane! When I get to Japan, I’ll beat your ass bloody.”

“Hey hey, as long as you’re calmer, break my legs—I won’t dodge.”

“I wouldn’t dare break your legs!”

“Hahahaha~”

Li Ye hung up, smiling broadly as he walked back to the conference room. With his exceptional hearing, he faintly heard Gu Jianqi shouting in the stairwell.

"What deposit? Just give me my money back—three million eight hundred thirty thousand total. I’ll waive the change—just give me three million eight hundred thousand!"

“What? Can’t sell now? Are you joking? Yesterday you told me clearly—buy or sell anytime! Why can’t I sell now?”

“Where am I supposed to find the margin right now? In half an hour? Do you think I’m a magician?”

“.”

Li Ye slipped quietly back into the conference room, sat calmly, and watched the storm unfold.

Some people deserve a helping hand to build goodwill—but others? You’re lucky if they don’t kick you in the back.

An hour passed. Section Chief Inoue still hadn’t arrived. Gu Jianqi, who had gone out to make calls, hadn’t returned.

Ma Zhao grew impatient and sent Liu Muhán again to find out what was happening.

This time, Liu Muhán brought back the truth: “Japan’s stock market has crashed. Many employees invested their own money—now everyone’s panicked. We’ll have to wait a little longer.”

“What?”

Ma Zhao said anxiously: “Didn’t you say just the other day that stock markets rise and fall normally? How could this affect our contract signing?”

“This…”

Liu Muhán helplessly looked at Li Ye.

Li Ye explained: “Normal fluctuations are fine—but if there’s an unexpected crash… people die.”

“Die? How could people die? What kind of logic is that?”

Everyone stared at Li Ye in shock, thinking he was exaggerating.

But Li Ye knew clearly: the 1987 crash led to thousands of suicides in the Lighthouse—and Japan, with its extreme tendencies, would suffer even worse consequences.

“It’s like borrowing money from loan sharks in old society—once you lose, you can never repay. Better to end it all. Every crash brings people jumping from buildings.”

“Li Ye, that’s too terrifying. I’ve seen Japanese people these past few days—they’re polite, civilized. How could they…”

Xiao Jingen’s words trailed off mid-sentence.

Because his seat faced the window—he saw something shoot past the glass with a swift “whoosh” and fall.

“Someone jumped!”

With a scream, everyone in the conference room rushed to the window, tiptoeing to look down.

But before they could make out what was below, another figure fell—then a second, then a third.

The third one looked familiar.

Xiao Jingen’s face turned white. He whispered: “Was that… Secretary Guo?”

Li Ye swallowed hard and said quietly: “Yes. It was Secretary Guo.”

“You cursed mouth! Save him!!”

Everyone bolted for the door—but at the stairwell, they saw Li Ye sprinting upward.

“Li Ye, where are you going? Secretary Guo jumped!”

“He’s dead. We need to save others.”

“.”

Everyone froze. Xiao Jingen’s legs gave out—he collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Gu Jianqi was someone their faction had brought in to counterbalance Li Ye—but instead, he’d dragged down a whole damn pile.