Still Have to Make Money

The first snow of 1981 finally fell.

The biting wind and snow howled past, and overnight, the land felt winter's icy chill.

With tremendous willpower, Li Ye tore himself away from the temptation of his warm bedding, hissing and sucking in cold air as he hurriedly dressed, then braved the oncoming chill out of the dormitory and toward the classroom.

Cold. Too cold.

Only now did Li Ye understand what "global warming" meant in later generations. Qingshui County could barely be considered a "northern city," yet temperatures routinely dropped to more than twenty degrees below zero—a rarity in later times.

And the heating conditions of this era were desperately lacking.

There was no heating equipment whatsoever in County Second High School's dormitories. At night, it was not merely cold enough to freeze dripping water; frost even hung from the walls.

The boarding students wrapped themselves in blankets like cold-call birds, shivering through their suffering with a "duo luoluo, duo luoluo."

The classroom stoves were basically just for show. The daily allotment was a bundle of firewood and a few pounds of coal briquettes; they were spent the moment they gave off a puff of smoke.

Yet even such harsh conditions could not dampen the students' enthusiasm for studying.

Before dawn had fully broken, students were already doing self-study in the classroom. People like Li Ye, who arrived just as the bell rang, were useless "lazybones."

But as soon as Li Ye sat down at his desk, several people gathered around.

"Brother, could you explain these problems to me after breakfast?"

Li Dayong handed Li Ye two still-warm toasted buns and half a mug of warm water, then stood to one side holding a test paper.

County Second High School did not provide breakfast. The buns had been left over from last night, and if someone wanted to warm them over the stove during the brief time it was smoking, they needed the skills to squeeze onto a bus at Bawangfen.

As Li Ye gnawed on a bun, he pulled out his own paper and tossed it over. "Compare the answers yourselves first. Ask me about whatever you still don't understand."

Li Dayong and the others hurriedly took the paper, gathering together to copy down the answers and discuss them.

Once Li Ye finished eating, class monitor Hu Man quickly handed him a hot-water bottle to warm his hands with, then laid the test paper marked with questions before him.

The hot water in the bottle had been saved up by everyone. It was still seventy or eighty degrees, already a luxurious pleasure in this weather and under these conditions.

"This set of questions isn't actually difficult. Let's start with—"

Li Ye tucked the hot-water bottle into his coat, warming his hands as he swiftly explained the problems, then finally sent Hu Man, Fu Yingjie, and the others away.

The papers had been handed out during evening self-study yesterday. He and Wen Leyu had long since finished them, but Li Dayong and the others had struggled far more.

But Li Dayong and Fu Yingjie were not the ones having the hardest time. The ones struggling most were Xia Yue, Jin Shengli, and the others who styled themselves as Retake Class One's "top students."

After Teacher Ke handed out the paper with its novel question types, Xia Yue and the others swept away the frustration they had endured for days and felt utterly triumphant.

Although Teacher Ke had emphasized that "Li Ye provided the papers, and the school printed them," they felt that the school had provided these precious papers. What the hell did it have to do with Li Ye? They certainly did not owe Li Ye any favors.

Xia Yue and the others held their breath, determined to prove who the real "study god" of Class One was.

But reality was painfully bony. In just two days, Xia Yue and the others had been dealt a crushing blow.

Teacher Ke generally handed out the papers during self-study periods, but before self-study even ended, Li Ye and Wen Leyu would have already completed every question.

Yet even by the next day, Xia Yue, Jin Shengli, and the others would still be frowning over the difficult problems on the papers.

By then, Hu Man, Li Dayong, and the others would go to Li Ye for explanations, then discuss and share the solutions with the other students.

But the scope of that discussion and sharing automatically stopped once it reached Xia Yue and her group.

Everyone seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement, drawing a clear line between themselves and Xia Yue's little circle.

Even Hu Man, the best-tempered of them all, showed Xia Yue and the others no pleasant expression, firmly yet politely refusing their "requests for guidance."

"Like nursing babies, always eating chewed food from someone else's mouth. What fucking use is that?"

By now, all Xia Yue and Jin Shengli had left was their stubborn mouths. They mocked Hu Man and the others one moment for going to Li Ye to "eat what was already made," but the next moment, they could only seek out teachers for advice. It was clearly the same routine, yet they still felt themselves a notch above Hu Man and the others.

Li Ye could not be bothered with them now. Once they grew accustomed to the blissful enjoyment of doing papers every day, only when there were suddenly no papers left to do would their true hearts be reflected.

Near noon dismissal, a teacher suddenly came to Retake Class One looking for Li Ye.

"Li Ye, Li Ye, someone from your family is here to see you. They're waiting at the school gate!"

"Someone from my family?"

Li Ye was puzzled and hurried outside.

He feared something urgent had happened at home.

Li Dayong thought of the same possibility and quickly followed him.

It was Sunday, and aside from the Retake Class, no one else had classes. The empty campus was blanketed in snow, so one could see far at a glance.

From a distance, Li Ye saw a small figure at the school gate, stamping her feet and hopping from the cold. It was his adopted little sister, Li Juan.

Li Juan carried a huge bundle on her back. Hunched over in the freezing wind, she looked even smaller, frailer, and lonelier.

Li Ye quickly called out, "Juan, what happened?"

Hearing Li Ye call her, Li Juan did not answer immediately. She merely jumped hard a few times and smiled at him.

Li Ye covered the distance in two strides and asked, "Juan, why are you here? Did something urgent happen at home?"

Li Juan hurriedly shook her head. "No, no. You were supposed to go home yesterday to get your living expenses. Mother saw that you hadn't come back, so she asked me to bring you your padded clothes and bedding.

"Grandpa was issued a pair of fleece-lined leather cotton shoes, so I brought those too. With two pairs, you can alternate wearing them."

Warmth filled Li Ye's heart. He quickly reached out to take the bundle from Li Juan's back, only then noticing that the entire right side of her body had been soaked with dirty water and was crusted with ice.

And Li Juan had trudged through the snow from the west side of town to the east. She had probably stepped into a snow-filled pit, and her cloth cotton shoes were already soaked through.

He hurriedly asked, "Where did you fall? Are you hurt? Your cotton shoes are soaked through. You must be freezing, aren't you?"

Li Juan shook her head like a rattle-drum. "No, no, Brother, I'm really fine. It doesn't matter that my shoes are wet. I'll be fine once I go home and warm myself by the fire."

Li Ye felt deeply distressed and asked again, "Then why didn't you go in and find me? Why stand here in the cold wind? You could at least have waited for me in the guardroom."

Li Juan shrank her neck and said softly, "They wouldn't let me in."

"They wouldn't let you in?"

Li Ye was somewhat puzzled and turned to look at the guardroom by the school gate.

Although school rules forbade outsiders from entering, people had always turned a blind eye. In weather like this, who was being so rigid and unyielding?

Besides, judging from the guardroom chimney, there was clearly a stove inside. A little girl had been frozen to this state; anyone with a heart should have let her go inside to warm up. How could they leave the child outside in the cold wind?

The person in the guardroom happened to glance outside and met Li Ye's eyes. He rolled his eyes, curled his lips, and turned his head away.

Now that was interesting.

Li Ye raised his foot, intending to go over and ask a few questions, but Li Dayong tugged his arm.

"The gatekeeper, Old Liu Tou, is a distant relative of Xia Yue's. He's probably just stirring up trouble for no reason."

Well then, it turned out to be his own fault again.

Li Ye thought it over and gave up the urge to step in dog shit. One step would not kill him, but it would leave his shoe covered in stinking filth and disgust him.

He handed the bundle to Li Dayong. "Let's go. Brother will take you to eat first."

Li Juan hurriedly shook her head and pulled out a stack of money from her pocket. "No, no. Mother is still waiting for me to go back for lunch. This is your living expense for the month."

But ignoring Li Juan's objections, Li Ye grabbed her arm and led her away.

At that moment, the guardroom window suddenly opened, and a middle-aged old man said with a dark face, "School isn't over yet! Are you trying to skip class?"

Li Ye turned and shot him a look. "What the fuck is it to you? Watch your gate. Don't let someone steal it."

"Who are you cursing? Get back here! I'll tell your homeroom teacher. I'll have your parents come in."

Old Liu Tou flew into a rage, stretching out his neck as he yelled at Li Ye. But Li Ye ignored him and led his little sister farther away.

If it had been another student, they might truly have been intimidated by the old man. But Li Ye, who had lived two lives, understood these tricks all too well.

The more timid you were, the more overbearing he became, as if he really thought himself some great figure.

All people like him could do was wield a chicken feather as an imperial decree and trip people up. If he really dared make a fuss in the Academic Affairs Office and demand that Li Ye bring in a parent, Li Ye would call his grandfather over and make him swallow a bitter cup.

You dared make my granddaughter stamp her feet outside in the cold? Were the low-priced grain rations from the other day given to you for nothing?

A few hundred meters east of County Second High School stood a state-run mutton soup restaurant. It was nearly noon and also Sunday; the steam rose in waves, and one could smell it from far away.

Li Juan no longer had the mind to argue with Li Ye. It would already be impressive if she could stop herself from drooling.

After entering the restaurant, Li Ye bought two bowls of mutton soup and a stack of meat flatbreads, then started eating with Li Juan.

At first, Li Juan was still somewhat restrained, but after half a bowl of mutton soup went down and sweat broke out all over her body, she began wolfing down the food.

Li Ye watched the little girl swallow flatbread and mutton soup, even drinking every last drop of the broth. Her appetite was surprisingly not much smaller than his.

Li Ye stood up to buy more, but Li Juan hurriedly stopped him. "Don't buy any more, Brother. I can't eat anymore. I really can't."

Li Ye waved his hand. "I'm not full either. I'll buy another bowl, and we'll split it."

Only then did Li Juan stop protesting. When Li Ye brought it back, she finished it again in no time. He had no idea whether her tiny belly was about to burst.

Seeing Li Juan comfortably let out a full belch, Li Ye smiled and asked, "How long has it been since the family ate meat?"

Li Juan held up one finger. "We haven't seen even the shadow of meat for a week."

"..."

Li Ye touched the stack of money in his pocket, silently ashamed.

His father gave him twenty yuan a month for living expenses, his grandfather supplemented another ten, and Older Sister added five. Thus, the living expenses sent to him this time totaled a full thirty-five yuan.

At the moment, a jin of meat cost only a little over eighty cents. Even if he ate meat every day, thirty-five yuan would be impossible to finish.

Yet his family had not eaten meat for a whole week, while he was living off his family so fiercely.

"Come on. I'll take you to buy a pair of cotton shoes."

After the siblings had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Ye planned to take Li Juan to buy a pair of fleece-lined leather cotton shoes during lunch break.

Li Juan had come through the snow today, and after sitting in the mutton soup restaurant for a while, all the ice on the surface of her shoes had melted. Just imagining how that felt made one's heart ache.

At the moment, both the Labor Protection Service Store and the Military Service Store sold fleece-lined leather cotton shoes. They kept out snow and moisture, and a pair cost more than ten yuan. Li Ye could afford them.

Li Ye had thought timid Li Juan might refuse for a while, but after hearing him, she did not immediately decline.

After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Brother, I don't need leather cotton shoes, but Ying's feet freeze every year. Buy her a pair instead."

Li Ye's heart soured, and the thought of "making money" rose within him.

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