Chapter 863: I

At 2 p.m., Wen Guohua and Pan Xiaoying returned exactly as Wen Leyu had predicted; based on the timing, Wen Guohua and his father-in-law had barely had a few drinks.

Breaking up early at his father-in-law’s house on the second day of the New Year was highly unusual—either the father-in-law disliked his son-in-law, or the son-in-law didn’t care for his father-in-law.

But Wen Guohua clearly wasn’t either case.

As soon as Pan Xiaoying walked in, she warmly smiled at Wen Leyu: “Your big brother finally came home, and all he could think about were his two nephews—he kept zoning out while drinking with my dad.

So I hurried him back to check on Xiao Bao and Xiao Dou—oh, Xiao Yu, these two baskets of yours are amazing! The babies lie in them without getting tired, and you can even hook them onto the car.”

Wen Leyu smiled sweetly: “These infant baskets were bought by Li Ye from Pengcheng. I brought you a full set—you should be able to use them in a few more days.”

“Really? You and your husband still remember me, unlike your brother, this wooden stick—he came back from the south with nothing for me, not even a string of lychees!”

“Lychees? ‘A rider dashes through red dust, the concubine smiles; none know it’s lychees arriving.’ Sister, you want to be Yang Guifei?”

“Hahaha, I’d love to be Yang Guifei, but your brother isn’t Emperor Xuanzong.”

Wen Leyu and Pan Xiaoying chatted warmly, while Brother-in-law Wen Guohua gave Li Ye a glance and pulled him aside.

“Later, your sister-in-law might bring up a big business deal—keep your wallet tightly shut, don’t turn into a charity kid.”

Li Ye’s heart tightened—he had to admire Wen Leyu’s “divine foresight.” Pan Xiaoying had praised her little sister-in-law, and sure enough, there was a plan behind it.

But Li Ye smiled and said: “Big deal? How big? Brother, we’re family—no need for formalities. I’m happy to spend a little to keep things peaceful.”

After Li Ye spoke, Wen Guohua declared proudly: “Peaceful? Why would it hurt peace? Does she dare profit and then act innocent?”

Li Ye gave a thumbs-up, silently praising his brother-in-law—truly formidable, the real head of the household.

More than two years ago, Pan Xiaoying was merely a reserve cadre grinding through seniority in the postal system, but after marrying into the Wen family, she became the pioneer representative of postal system technological reform.

In those two years, Pan Xiaoying led Factory 501 to one technical breakthrough after another, powerfully supporting nationwide postal and telecommunications upgrades, accumulating ample political capital.

That’s why Wen Guohua could casually say she’d gained an advantage and must obediently behave gently—she had no right to cause friction.

But Pan Xiaoying clearly thought differently—she believed her “big deal” was a win-win.

“Li Ye! I just discussed a business cooperation plan with Xiao Yu, but she said she doesn’t understand this stuff, so I want to hear your opinion.”

Li Ye glanced at his young wife and replied neutrally: “Business cooperation? I don’t understand that either!”

Pan Xiaoying laughed: “Li Ye, don’t be modest—you brought in two tech projects this year at Factory One, and you studied economics. If you don’t understand, no one in our family does.”

“Then tell me, sister-in-law, what kind of cooperation plan?”

Hearing Li Ye relent, Pan Xiaoying’s eyes brightened.

Today she’d already been rebuffed twice—once by her husband, once by her sister-in-law. She’d assumed Li Ye had been warned by Wen Guohua, but he was still “too green.”

Pan Xiaoying leaned closer to Li Ye, smiling sweetly: “Li Ye, you know mobile phones, right? Phones you can carry around and call anytime, anywhere.”

Li Ye answered honestly: “I know—I’ve used them in Lighthouse, Hong Kong, and Japan. Pengcheng Fengyu has also done exploratory research on mobile phones.”

“See? I told you you’d know!”

Pan Xiaoying beamed: “Jingcheng started discussing mobile phones years ago, but last year Pengcheng beat us to it.

So now we’re officially launching our own mobile project—it’ll be so convenient! When Xiao Yu wants to grab coffee with you, she can find you anytime—think how romantic that’d be.”

“No no no, sister-in-law, you’ve got to think both ways—once mobile phones are in use, I won’t be able to sneak a drink with coworkers anymore. That thing’s like a kite string—she flicks her finger at home, and I’ve got to rush right back!”

“.”

Pan Xiaoying, mid-rant, froze.

Wen Leyu and Wen Qingsheng also blinked, then burst into loud laughter together.

“Hahahaha~ Mobile phones as kite strings? Xiao Ye, that’s so vivid—and hilarious!”

“If Li Ye’s right, we shouldn’t even implement this project—will men ever have any freedom again?”

“.”

Pan Xiaoying laughed for a long time, then said: “Alright, enough jokes—Li Ye, tell me: does this project have cooperation value?”

Li Ye’s smile faded. He said coolly: “Sister-in-law, I remember you mentioned Jingcheng’s mobile project before—wasn’t it supposed to be completed this January? Why are you seeking partners now? Did something go wrong?”

Pan Xiaoying had indeed mentioned Jingcheng’s mobile project to Li Ye—this project and pagers were discussed simultaneously.

According to the memories stored in Li Ye’s biological hard drive, Jingcheng launched its first-generation mobile network in 1988, supporting at most 2,000 households and only 73 concurrent calls.

So when Pan Xiaoying mentioned this project, Li Ye felt both suspicion and excitement.

He was suspicious—how could such a tiny capacity require partnership?

And excited—could Pan Xiaoying’s “big deal” be about letting him invest in mobile communications?

In his past life, Li Ye vaguely recalled that one of the three mobile giants had originally been private before becoming state-owned.

“Let me explain,” Wen Guohua said, glancing at his wife. “At first, Jingcheng planned a small-scale pilot—Factory 501 was one of the key participants.

But your sister-in-law thought the scale too small, the results too unrealistic. She proposed a nationwide plan: linking all provincial capitals with mobile networks for joint testing.

So the original plan was delayed. The new plan has a huge funding gap—much of the equipment must be imported with foreign exchange.”

“But Li Ye, you know our mainland’s economic level—pagers already cost thousands per unit. Mobile phones will cost ten thousand or more. Who can afford them? How long to break even? And the first batch is experimental—huge risk.”

Wen Guohua laid out every risk in detail. Li Ye finally understood: his butterfly wings had altered history.

Without his support, Pan Xiaoying wouldn’t have become head of Factory 501, wouldn’t have proposed the new plan, and wouldn’t have stalled the original one.

Li Ye paused, then fixed Pan Xiaoying with a gaze: “Building mobile networks in all provincial capitals simultaneously—sister-in-law, you’re not trying to blanket the whole country with mobile coverage, are you?”

Pan Xiaoying blinked, then slowly nodded: “I do have that idea. So the first step is critical.”

Wen Leyu and Wen Qingsheng stared at Pan Xiaoying in shock—they knew she had big ambitions, but not this big.

In 1988 mainland China, to imagine mobile phones covering the entire country? That ambition couldn’t be called “big”—it was insane.

Even the United States hadn’t covered all its cities yet!

Are you trying to surpass Britain and America?

How much money would that take?

But Li Ye truly admired his sister-in-law, Pan Xiaoying.

But Li Ye truly admired his sister-in-law Pan Xiaoying.

Li Ye feigned a sharp breath and asked again: “Sister-in-law, have you solved the technical issues?”

Pan Xiaoying’s eyes lit up. Li Ye hadn’t asked about cost—he asked about technology. That meant

Pan Xiaoying suddenly felt: Li Ye might be the one in the family who truly supported her.

After all, even the elders had opposed her plan—too much investment, too risky.

“Li Ye, the technology isn’t that hard. Engineer Ni assured me—once funding is secured, the tech is fully ready.”

“Li Ye, the technical side isn’t that difficult—Engineer Ni assured me that as long as funding is in place, there’s absolutely no technical problem.”

Li Ye suddenly remembered something: “Sister-in-law, how big is your funding gap?”

Pan Xiaoying pursed her lips and held up one finger.

【Are you selling me missiles?】

Li Ye scoffed: “Sister-in-law, we’re family—no riddles. Just give me the number.”

Li Ye scoffed: “Sister-in-law, we’re family—no need for riddles. Don’t beat around the bush, just give me the number.”

Pan Xiaoying chuckled awkwardly: “One hundred million… dollars.”

Li Ye finally understood why Wen Qingsheng told him to “hold onto his wallet”—one hundred million U.S. dollars in 1988 was astronomical.

And that was just for provincial linkage—future nationwide expansion would demand endless further investment.

At current economic levels, no one believed it could turn profitable—they didn’t know how long it would bleed red ink.

But Li Ye leaned back on the sofa and said coolly: “Sister-in-law, you said ‘cooperation,’ right? Let’s not even discuss what percentage one hundred million dollars would buy—wouldn’t a nationwide telecom enterprise be forbidden from private investment?”

But Li Ye leaned back against the sofa and said coolly: “Sister-in-law, you just said this was a partnership. Let’s not even talk about what percentage a billion dollars would buy—would a nationwide communications enterprise even allow private investment?”

Pan Xiaoying, Wen Leyu, and Wen Qingsheng all stared oddly at Li Ye.

After all, the companies Wen Leyu oversaw all had state-owned backgrounds—how could private investment apply?

But Li Ye added: “We can’t decide this ourselves—we need Mom to weigh in.”

This matter was too important. Whether you’re called state-owned or private depends on who says so. To protect your interests, you need Teacher Ke to analyze and endorse it.

This matter is too important—whether they call you a state-owned enterprise or a private one determines everything, so to protect your interests, you need Teacher Ke to analyze and vouch for you.

Pan Xiaoying froze, then shot up from the sofa, her swollen belly wobbling as she dashed toward Teacher Ke’s room.

“Mom! Mom! We need your judgment on something!”

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, slow down—don’t fall!”

Li Ye shouted from behind, but Pan Xiaoying ignored him.

【One hundred million dollars! I, Pan Xiaoying, am about to soar to glory~】

Sitting on the sofa, Brother-in-law Wen Qingsheng gazed tenderly at Li Ye, silent for a long time.

“Brother, what’s with that look?”

“Nothing. I’m just thinking what project I should start. I’m not greedy—just give me a number, and I’ll take it.”

"No problem, Big Brother I'm thinking about what project would be suitable—I'm not greedy, just give me a number and I'll take it."