Chapter 126: Making Money

In April 1932 in Jinling, inside the study of Li Mansion, Li Yuxuan paced back and forth across the rosewood floor with his hands clasped behind his back, his army boots striking a regular rhythm. Outside, the sycamores were newly green and the spring light was bright, yet nothing could dispel the dark cloud over his brows.

"Dad, aren't you tired of walking back and forth?" Li Nian'an, reclining in the high-backed chair, couldn't help complaining, the Shenbao in his hand shaking with a rustling sound, "You're going to wear a hole in this floor."

Li Yuxuan stopped pacing, his brows furrowing into a "river" shape, and said, "I'm pondering the fate of the Fifth Army."

"Oh, you know about the Fifth Army too," Li Nian'an set the newspaper down, his tone teasing, "They were just pulled back from the Northeast and sent to Shanghai, and now you're worried again?"

"You don't understand," Li Yuxuan sighed heavily, "We need to find a way to make money."

"???", Li Nian'an sat up abruptly, "Is the family already so poor the pot won't even open?"

Li Yuxuan was taken aback by his son's question: "Why would you say that?"

"You actually still want to make money?" Li Nian'an exaggeratedly cleared his ears, "Did I hear that right? Since when has General Li cared about food and fuel?"

"What's wrong with me making money?" Li Yuxuan looked at his son inexplicably.

"Mainly, whenever you're short of money, you go to the Chairman for it," Li Nian'an counted with his fingers, "Last year you asked for troops' pay, the year before for equipment, the year before that for pension... Which time wasn't a simple request?"

Li Yuxuan's aged face flushed, he muttered, "There's no way, the Chairman no longer trusts me."

He sat opposite his son, lifted the tea that had gone cold, and said, "Last month I asked him for money to train troops; he refused, saying I spend lavishly—that was one thing. He also said the troops I trained wouldn't obey his commands..."

"Isn't that the truth?" Li Nian'an raised an eyebrow.

"... and he even said my privately raised army still asks him for money," Li Yuxuan continued, growing more aggrieved, "Tell me, dad, am I that kind of person?"

"That doesn't sound like you," Li Nian'an leaned closer, teasing, "You didn't get the money, yet you didn't weep to the Chairman? By your usual practice, shouldn't you be sniffling and tearful, calling him Young Master, saying it's all for the Party and the country?"

Li Yuxuan's expression grew even more awkward: "The main problem is that each time I asked him for money, he wasn't there. Once I went at breakfast time on purpose, and the guard said he had gone to Zhongshan Mausoleum. The next day I went early again, and they said he was at Tangshan soaking in hot springs."

"What a coincidence?" Li Nian'an suppressed a laugh.

"What's more infuriating is the phone," Li Yuxuan said angrily, "Every time I speak, it clicks off! Once I deliberately changed my tone and said, 'Please connect me to the Chairman,' and guess what? The operator said outright that the Chairman wasn't there!"

Li Nian'an finally couldn't hold back a laugh, "Then you didn't ask Auntie Song and the others for money?"

"I did!" Li Yuxuan grew even more irritated, "Minister Song was polite, saying something about Jingxing, that the nation was in a tumultuous autumn, finances were tight, and finally gave me five hundred dollars to send me off like a beggar!"

"Five hundred dollars isn't a small sum!"

"What is that enough for?" Li Yuxuan glared, "The Fifth Army's monthly pay is that amount! When I go after it later, they all disappear! Minister Kong says he's off to Shanghai for inspection, Minister Chen says he's hospitalized..."

Li Nian'an looked at his father's troubled expression and finally dropped the joking tone, "Then how do you plan to make money?"

"I'm already thinking of a solution," Li Yuxuan resumed pacing, "I'm wondering if I could take on a side business..."

"A side business?" Li Nian'an's eyes lit up, "You don't intend to open a class, do you? Teaching people how to beg poverty in front of the Chairman?"

"Nonsense!" Li Yuxuan retorted with a laugh, then said seriously, "I'm wondering if we could use the Fifth Army's surplus equipment to do some business."

"Arms trafficking?" Li Nian'an jumped up in fright, "Dad, are you crazy? I still want to stay alive. I still want to go to Nanyang!"

"Who said we should traffic arms?" Li Yuxuan glared at him, "I'm talking about renting some transport vehicles to help merchants move goods. The fighting in Shanghai has just ceased, and material transport is tight..."

"And then charge a handling fee?" Li Nian'an asked.

"That's called rational resource utilization!" Li Yuxuan declared confidently, "Besides, I also plan to open a pig farm around the garrison."

"Raise—raise pigs?" Li Nian'an thought he had misheard.

"What's wrong?" Li Yuxuan grew more excited, "When the soldiers are idle, raising pigs can improve meals, and the surplus can be sold. I've even done the math: one pig..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Nian'an quickly interrupted, "You, a distinguished Fifth Army commander, want to raise pigs? Would that look respectable if it got out?"

Seeing his father's worried face, Li Nian'an suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Dad, I have an idea."

"What idea?" Li Yuxuan looked at his son expectantly.

"Du Yuming and the others aren't your students?" Li Nian'an lowered his voice, "Have them co-sign a petition, claiming the Fifth Army soldiers are starving, and if pay isn't issued they'll mutiny..."

"Nonsense!" Li Yuxuan shouted, "That's blackmail!"

"Then you can keep figuring out how to raise pigs," Li Nian'an shrugged indifferently.

Li Yuxuan paced around the room a few more times, then stopped abruptly, "Actually... there's another way."

"What method?"

"In that battle at Modu, didn't the Fifth Army capture a lot of Japanese equipment?" Li Yuxuan's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Some light weapons... when they're recorded, we can be a bit flexible..."

"You're trying to eat without pay!" Li Nian'an exclaimed.

"What do you mean eating without pay?" Li Yuxuan said seriously, "It's called flexible handling of spoils! Besides, those three‑piece caps—we're not accustomed to using them, and stored in the warehouse they'd just rust..."

"And then?"

"Then..." Li Yuxuan lowered his voice, "I know a few Nanyang merchants; they're very interested in these souvenirs..."

Just as the father and son were scheming, a guard's report came from outside, "Army Commander, someone from the Chairman's residence is here, asking you to come over."

Li Yuxuan and Li Nian'an stared at each other.

"Could it be that the plot has been exposed?" Li Nian'an asked anxiously.

"Nonsense! We haven't even..." Li Yuxuan straightened his uniform, took a deep breath, "I'll go right now."

Two hours later, Li Yuxuan returned with a spring in his step, a sealed envelope still in his hand.

"Dad, what's making you so happy?" Li Nian'an asked curiously.

"The Chairman approved a special fund for me!" Li Yuxuan waved the envelope proudly, "He said it was to reward the Fifth Army's heroic performance in the Songhu Resistance!"

"The sun rose in the west?" Li Nian'an couldn't believe it, "You didn't beg for money?"

"Of course not!" Li Yuxuan held his head high, "I just reported the battle situation and mentioned the soldiers' hardships. The Chairman then voluntarily said he'd allocate a special fund!"

He opened the envelope, pulled out a check, and his complexion immediately fell.

"How much?" Li Nian'an leaned forward to look.

"... five thousand dollars," Li Yuxuan said weakly, "Not even enough for half a month's pay."

The father and son exchanged a glance and sighed together.

"It seems," Li Nian'an patted his father's shoulder, "the pig-raising plan still needs further study!"

Li Yuxuan gazed at the sunset outside the window, murmuring, "Perhaps... I could start with a small-scale chicken farm first..."