Still Need to Make Money

The first snow of '81 finally fell.

The biting wind and snow howled past, and in the span of a single night, the land felt the chill of winter.

With immense willpower, Li Ye broke free from the allure of his warm bed, quickly throwing on his clothes with a rustle and dash, braving the biting wind as he headed to the classroom from the dormitory.

Cold, so cold.

Only now did Li Ye understand the meaning of "global warming" in later generations. Qingshui County could barely be considered a "northern city," yet it easily plunged to minus twenty degrees Celsius, something rarely seen in later years.

Moreover, the heating conditions in this era were severely lacking.

The dormitories at County Second High School had no heating equipment whatsoever. At night, the temperature wasn't just below freezing; frost would form on the walls.

The boarding students would huddle under their blankets, pretending to be cold birds, shivering and suffering.

And the stoves in the classrooms were mostly for show. The daily quota was just a bundle of firewood and a few coal cakes, which would be gone in the time it took to smoke.

Yet, even with these harsh conditions, it couldn't dampen the students' enthusiasm for learning.

As dawn broke, students were already self-studying in the classrooms. Li Ye, who arrived just as the bell rang, was considered a "lazy bum" for being so late.

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

"Brother, can you explain these problems to me after you eat?"

Li Dayong handed Li Ye two still-warm baked buns and half a jar of warm water, then took a test paper and waited beside him.

County Second High School didn't provide breakfast. The buns were from last night, and trying to warm them up by the stove required the same skill as squeezing onto a bus at Babao Station.

Li Ye ate his buns while taking out his own test paper and tossing it over, saying, "Check the answers yourself first, and then ask if you don't understand."

Li Dayong and the others quickly grabbed the test paper and gathered around to copy and discuss.

By the time Li Ye finished eating, the Class Monitor, Hu Man, quickly handed Li Ye a hot water bottle to warm his hands and then placed the test paper with marked questions in front of him.

The hot water in the bottle was saved by everyone. It was still around seventy to eighty degrees Celsius, which was a luxurious comfort under these weather conditions.

"This set of problems isn't actually difficult. Let's start by looking at..."

Li Ye tucked the hot water bottle into his embrace, warming his hands as he quickly finished explaining the problems before sending Hu Man, Fu Yingjie, and the others away.

The test paper was distributed during last night's self-study. He and Wen Leyu had finished it long ago, but Li Dayong and the others had a much harder time.

But Li Dayong and Fu Yingjie weren't the ones struggling the most. The most challenged were Xia Yue and Jin Shengli, who considered themselves the "top students" of Class One.

When Teacher Ke handed out the test paper with its novel question types, Xia Yue and the others felt a surge of relief, their long-held frustrations vanishing.

Although Teacher Ke emphasized that "the test paper was provided by student Li Ye, and the school printed it," they felt that the school had provided these valuable papers, and it had nothing to do with Li Ye. They didn't owe Li Ye any favors.

Xia Yue and the others held a grudge, determined to prove who the real "academic ace" of Class One was.

But reality was harsh. Within just two days, Xia Yue and the others were discouraged.

Teacher Ke usually distributed the test papers during self-study periods, and before the self-study period ended, Li Ye and Wen Leyu would have completed them.

As a result, even by the next day, Xia Yue, Jin Shengli, and the others were still puzzling over the difficult questions on the paper!

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

But this scope of discussion and sharing automatically stopped when it came to Xia Yue and the others.

It was as if they had reached a tacit understanding, drawing a clear line between themselves and Xia Yue's clique.

Even the most good-tempered Class Monitor, Hu Man, showed no favor to Xia Yue and the others, politely but firmly refusing their requests for guidance.

"Babbling like babies eating pre-chewed food all day, what's the point?"

By now, Xia Yue and Jin Shengli could only resort to tough talk. However, after mocking Hu Man and the others for getting "ready-made" help from Li Ye, they themselves had to turn to the teacher for guidance. It was the same approach, yet they still felt superior to Hu Man and the others.

Li Ye didn't bother with them now. It was only when they got used to the blissful enjoyment of doing test papers every day and then suddenly had no papers to do that their true nature would be revealed.

As it was nearing lunchtime and school was about to end, a teacher suddenly came to Retake Class One looking for Li Ye.

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

"My family?"

Li Ye was a little confused and quickly walked out.

He was worried that something urgent had happened at home.

Li Dayong also thought of this and hurried to follow him.

It was Sunday, and no one was attending classes except for the retake class. The empty campus was covered in white snow, making it visible from a distance.

From afar, Li Ye saw a small figure at the school gate, stomping his feet and jumping to keep warm. It was his cheap little sister, Li Juan.

Li Juan was carrying a large bundle, her body hunched against the cold wind, making her appear even smaller, frail, and lonely.

Li Ye quickly called out, "Xiao Juan, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing Li Ye's call, Li Juan didn't reply immediately. She just jumped vigorously and flashed a smile at Li Ye.

Li Ye rushed to the gate in three big strides and asked, "Xiao Juan, why are you here? Is there an emergency at home?"

Li Juan quickly shook her head and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. You should have come home for living expenses yesterday. Mother saw you didn't come back, so she sent me to bring you some cotton clothes and bedding."

Grandpa sent over a pair of shearling cotton shoes and had them delivered to you. You can alternate wearing them, and it'll be just right."

Li Ye's heart warmed, and he quickly reached out to take the bundle from Li Juan's back. Only then did he notice that the entire right side of Li Juan's body was soaked in sewage and had even started to freeze.

Furthermore, Li Juan had walked from the west side of town to the east side through the snow. She had likely stepped into a snowdrift, and her cloth cotton shoes were already soaked through.

He quickly asked, "Where did you fall? Are you hurt? Your cotton shoes are soaked through, you must be frozen!"

Li Juan shook her head like a rattle drum, "No, no, Brother, I'm really okay. It's fine that my cotton shoes are soaked; I'll just go back and warm them up."

Li Ye felt quite distressed and asked again, "Then why didn't you come inside to find me? Why are you standing out here in the cold wind? If anything, you could have waited for me in the guardroom!"

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

"They wouldn't let you in?"

Li Ye was a little confused and turned to look at the guardroom at the school entrance.

Although the school had regulations against outsiders entering, they usually turned a blind eye. Who would be so rigid and unyielding in this kind of weather?

Moreover, judging by the chimney of the guardroom, there was clearly a stove inside. Logically, anyone would let a little girl who was freezing like this come in to warm up, so why would they make this child stand outside in the cold wind?

The person in the guardroom happened to look out and made eye contact with Li Ye. He rolled his eyes, pursed his lips, and turned his head back.

This was interesting.

Li Ye was about to walk over and have a word when Li Dayong tugged at his arm.

"The gatekeeper, Old Liu Tou, is a distant relative of Xia Yue. He's probably just looking for trouble!"

Well, it turned out to be his own fault.

Li Ye thought about it and lost the urge to step on the dog poop. Stepping on it wouldn't kill it, and he'd just get his shoe sole covered in disgusting, smelly feces.

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

Li Juan hurriedly shook her head and took out a wad of cash from her pocket, "No, no, Mom is waiting for me to go home for dinner. This is your living expenses for this month."

But Li Ye ignored Li Juan's objections and pulled her arm as they walked out.

At this moment, the guardroom window suddenly opened, and a middle-aged old man said with a stern face, "It's not even dismissal time yet! Are you trying to skip school?"

Li Ye turned his head and shot him a glare, cursing, "What's it to you? Just watch your gate properly, don't let anyone steal it."

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

Old Liu Tou was furious. He stretched his neck and shouted at Li Ye, but Li Ye ignored him and walked away with his sister.

If it were any other student, they might have been intimidated by this old man, but Li Ye, having lived two lives, understood these tricks too well.

The more you cower, the more aggressive they become. He really thought he was someone important.

They were just using their authority to cause trouble. If they really dared to report him to the academic affairs office and make Li Ye call his parents, Li Ye would just bring his grandfather over to have a good talk with them.

You dare let my granddaughter freeze and stomp her feet outside? Were the subsidized grains you got a few days ago for free?

A few hundred meters east of County Second High School, there was a state-run mutton soup restaurant. It was almost noon, and it was Sunday. The steaming aroma could be smelled from afar.

Li Juan no longer had the mind to bicker with Li Ye. She was doing well just to stop her saliva from dripping.

After entering the mutton soup restaurant, Li Ye bought two bowls of mutton soup and a stack of meat flatbreads, and he and Li Juan began to eat.

Li Juan was a little reserved at first, but after half a bowl of mutton soup and sweating all over, she started to eat ravenously.

Li Ye watched the small girl devour the flatbreads and mutton soup, even drinking all the broth. Her appetite was not much smaller than his own.

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

Li Ye waved his hand, "I haven't eaten enough either. Let's buy another bowl, and we can share it."

Li Juan then relented and waited for Li Ye to buy it. Soon, she ate it all. He wondered if her small stomach could handle it.

Seeing Li Juan let out a comfortable burp, Li Ye smiled and asked, "How long has it been since we had meat at home?"

Li Juan held up one finger and said, "It's been a week since we've seen meat."

"..."

Li Ye touched the wad of money in his pocket and felt ashamed.

His father gave him twenty yuan for living expenses each month, Grandpa subsidized another ten, and his sister added five. So, the living expenses he received this time were a full thirty-five yuan.

At this time, a pound of meat only cost a little over eighty cents. Even eating meat every day with thirty-five yuan, they wouldn't be able to finish it.

Yet, the family hadn't eaten meat for a week. He felt he was being too much of a freeloader.

"Let's go, I'll take you to buy a pair of cotton shoes."

After the siblings were full, Li Ye planned to take Li Juan to buy a pair of shearling cotton shoes during their lunch break.

Li Juan had braved the snow to come today, and after staying at the mutton soup restaurant for a while, the ice on her shoes had all melted. Thinking about that feeling made him feel incredibly sorry for her.

Currently, both the Labor Protection Service Store and the Military Service Store sold shearling cotton shoes, which were snowproof and moisture-proof, costing a little over ten yuan a pair. Li Ye could afford them.

Li Ye had expected the timid Li Juan to refuse again, but Li Juan didn't immediately decline after hearing this.

After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Brother, I don't need to wear shearling cotton shoes, but Xiao Ying's feet get frozen every year. Let's buy a pair for her!"

Li Ye's heart ached, and he had the thought of "making money."

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