Using Xi'er to Pay Off Debt?

Li Ye pulled Li Dayong out of the classroom. Li Dayong skillfully pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed Li Ye a cigarette, and lit it for him with a match.

"Brother, you shouldn't have stopped me just now. He Weiguo that bastard is pushing his luck. If we let him off this time, he'll be in the sky next time."

While others feared He Weiguo's teacher uncle, Li Dayong wasn't scared. His maternal grandfather's entire family was in the power system, and those in charge of electricity were as powerful as those managing radishes.

But no matter how powerful Li Dayong's maternal grandfather was, if he really cracked He Weiguo's head open, it would still be a lot of trouble. That's why Li Ye had stopped him just now.

"It's not worth getting worked up over someone like him. Cough, cough, cough, cough."

Li Ye only took one puff before coughing from the harshness.

What is this stuff?

Li Ye picked up the cigarette in his hand and examined it closely. He then disdainfully threw it away.

It was bad enough that it had no filter, but the tobacco inside was black, uneven in length, and mixed with many small sticks. It was clearly made from scrap material.

But before the cigarette Li Ye threw could hit the ground, Li Dayong nimbly darted out and snatched it up ahead of several classmates.

"My bad, my bad. I forgot your throat isn't quite recovered from the fever, Brother. But this is all the tobacco I have. Unlike you, I can't afford Da Qianmen."

"..."

Watching Li Dayong extinguish the cigarette and carefully put it back into the flattened pack, Li Ye couldn't help but want to laugh.

However, he patted his pocket and, as expected, pulled out a pack of Da Qianmen.

"Here, smoke mine!"

Li Ye took out a cigarette and gave it to Li Dayong. He then glanced at the gazes of those around him and casually started handing out cigarettes.

Several familiar classmates eagerly took them, lit them, and began to enjoy puffing away.

Students these days weren't like the "little emperors" of later generations, who had hundreds of yuan in their pockets and wouldn't bat an eye at taking a girl out for Häagen-Dazs or to a hotel.

Most people were generally poor. A few jiao of pocket money a month was normal, and having a few yuan was considered being a "rich man."

With little money in hand, they had to spend it frugally. Students from poorer backgrounds would roll their own cigarettes with tobacco leaves. The eight-fen "Jingji" and nine-fen "Dazhong" were quite presentable for student smokers.

If you smoked a one-and-a-half-fen "Jinyu," you'd have quite a bit of face among students. If you bit the bullet and bought a two-and-three-fen pack of "Dafengshou," it was guaranteed to draw a crowd of envious, jealous, and hateful stares.

And Li Ye was the kind of person who often drew such stares.

Li Ye had a rather difficult childhood. His father and grandfather were both jobless, and he had no memory of his mother. It was rumored she divorced him for special reasons and never appeared again.

After his grandfather and father regained their jobs, Li Ye received compensatory pampering. The Da Qianmen in his pocket and the brand-new Warrior shoes on his feet were luxuries that his little friends envied immensely.

In this era, Warrior shoes were much more impressive than Nike or Adidas from Li Ye's previous life. Anyone who owned a new pair of Warrior shoes would have their appearance and aura boosted by several points.

Therefore, Li Ye had been living quite well for the past few years, until a few months ago when Lu Jingyao's betrayal turned a pure, kind, and confident handsome young man into a timid, insecure, and withdrawn introvert.

Li Ye and Lu Jingyao were high school classmates. He was handsome, and she was beautiful. In the throes of youth, they sparked a flame of love.

However, in this era, although the term "free love" had long existed, Chinese people were still very reserved and traditional.

If middle school students in '81 were in a relationship, it was definitely considered "not studying well." Holding hands could get you criticized by a teacher, putting an arm around someone's waist could get you expelled, and if you dared to kiss, you'd be drowned in a sea of spit.

So, Li Ye followed the normal folk process – engagement.

Although the country was implementing family planning at this time, local customs weren't corrected that quickly. It was very normal for eighteen-year-olds to get engaged. Some of Li Ye's classmates were even married without a license at twenty!

Last winter, Li Ye begged his family to propose. At the cost of 120 yuan, a Phoenix bicycle, plus fish, meat, and various other supplies, the Li family and the Lu family became in-laws.

The betrothal gifts alone were remarkable throughout Qingshui County.

Li Ye's grandfather was an old revolutionary who worked in the grain system after regaining his job, and his father was a workshop director at a fertilizer plant. Their conditions were quite good.

Lu Jingyao's father, on the other hand, was merely a temporary teacher at a middle school without official status. By all accounts, the Lu family was the one benefiting from this marriage.

After the engagement, the Li family not only paid to build a house for the Lu family but also used their connections to help Lu's father secure official status. They truly treated Lu Jingyao as their granddaughter-in-law.

But everything changed a few months ago when Lu Jingyao was admitted to university.

After Lu Jingyao received her acceptance letter, the Li family immediately decided to proceed with the marriage of the two young people.

Dreaming of the upcoming wedding night, Li Ye excitedly went to the Lu family to share the "good news" with Lu Jingyao.

In his eyes, his love for Lu Jingyao, which had defied his family's objections due to their unequal social standing, was finally about to bear fruit. The family planning supplies he had secretly hidden were about to be put to good use.

However, the Lu family's reaction was a thunderbolt from the blue for Li Ye.

The fragmented memories Li Ye inherited from the original owner clearly recorded the events of the next day.

Lu Jingyao's father, who had been mediocre for half his life, nervously visited the Li family's home carrying two large fish and half a pig, and then pulled out a sum of money that was clearly pieced together.

"My Jingyao got into university. She might not return to our Qingshui County after she starts working, so... I won't delay your Li Ye anymore. I'll return the betrothal gifts... We still owe you 45 yuan, and I'll pay it back soon."

The Li family's anger was understandable.

If it were just two young people dating freely, it would be one thing if they broke up. But Lu Jingyao and Li Ye had gone through the formal engagement process and had received congratulations from Li family's relatives and friends.

Could such humiliation be tolerated?

Even Xiao Yan couldn't tolerate it!

Lingering and pestering was not the style of a soldier. Li Ye's father, Li Kaijian, ignoring Li Ye's pleas and making no attempt to salvage the situation, immediately threw the returned betrothal gifts out the door, cursing his own blindness and declaring the gifts were fed to the dogs.

But in turn, Li Kaijian took out his anger on Li Ye, beating the original owner with a belt until his backside was raw and he couldn't even sit on a stool.

[We all go to the same school, why can't you get into college?]

[If you hadn't insisted on marrying his daughter, how could I have lost so much face?]

Li Ye felt wronged. Even though his butt was swollen from being beaten and he couldn't ride his bike, he still had Li Dayong give him a ride to find Lu Jingyao and question her.

When they arrived at Lu Jingyao's house, the Lu family's main door was shut, refusing to receive Li Ye. It was the loud-mouthed Li Dayong who directly started cursing, attracting all the neighbors. Only then did Lu's father lead Lu Jingyao out to meet Li Ye.

Lu's father said with some embarrassment, "I actually quite like you, Li Ye. If you can get into BJ next year, I won't stop you two."

While Lu's father was saying this, Lu Jingyao stood by with her head bowed, saying nothing. However, her tightly clenched fists and trembling body clearly showed the resentment in her heart.

The simple-minded Li Ye believed Lu Jingyao's father's words and enrolled in the repeat class at County No. 2 High School to prepare for the exams.

But a few days ago, a remittance slip from the capital was sent directly to the school.

Lu Jingyao had actually sent Li Ye 45 yuan.

University students in the 1980s received a "stipend." The state would give Lu Jingyao a monthly subsidy of 22.5 yuan for her living expenses. She had saved up 45 yuan in just a few months. How strong was her desire to get rid of Li Ye?

No matter how slow Li Ye was, he understood Lu Jingyao's resolve.

Even worse, some girls who had been good friends with Lu Jingyao received letters from her. No one knew what they had fabricated, but overnight, a flood of rumors spread throughout the school.

Li Ye was portrayed as "Huang Shiren," forcing the Lu family to repay a debt, and threatening to use Lu Jingyao, the "Xi'er," as collateral if they didn't.

The original host, who had been carefully protected by his family since childhood, had never been smeared like this. He fell ill that night and his soul departed, allowing the Li Ye of decades later to take over.

Li Dayong's reason for being so angry and seeking out He Weiguo earlier was also because of this matter.

Everyone knew that Li Ye had just recovered from a serious illness because of Lu Jingyao, and now He Weiguo was saying such hurtful words. Li Dayong wished he could smash He Weiguo's head in.

As he was finishing a cigarette, several girls walked over and stood in front of Li Ye.

Li Ye recognized one of them, a girl with a round face, as Lu Jingyao's "best friend," Xia Yue, who had also received a letter from Lu Jingyao a few days prior.

Xia Yue handed Li Ye a book, saying coldly, "This is a law book that Jingyao jie sent you. Study it well."

Li Ye looked at the prominent red title on the book cover, "New Marriage Law," and asked in surprise, "Are you sure it was sent to me?"

Xia Yue raised her eyebrows and said, "Of course it was sent to you. People like you need to read more books and learn more about the law, lest..."

Before Xia Yue could finish, Li Ye interrupted her, saying coldly, "Since it was sent to me, why did you open it yourself? Don't you know it's illegal to open someone else's mail?"

"..."

"Isn't it ridiculous for someone who breaks the law to mock others for needing to learn the law?"

Xia Yue was stumped by Li Ye's retort. She opened her mouth but couldn't say a word.

Seeing the strange looks from the surrounding onlookers, Xia Yue's round face instantly turned red with shame.

"Hmph, no matter how you argue, you're still Huang Shiren."

Finally, Xia Yue resorted to her ultimate "spoiled brat" move, threw the book at Li Ye, and turned to leave.

"Who are you calling Huang Shiren? Stop right there! You've been spreading rumors these past few days, haven't you..."

Li Dayong immediately shouted, but Xia Yue and the other girls walked away as proudly as peacocks.

Li Ye stopped Li Dayong from chasing after them and opened the book Lu Jingyao had sent. He discovered that it had already been read, with many paragraphs and articles marked with conspicuous red pen.

The "New Marriage Law" was promulgated on January 1, 1981, and it emphasized "freedom of marriage." The parts marked in red pen were precisely related to this.

Li Ye was truly speechless.

What kind of karma did the original host accumulate in his past life?

How could such a handsome, well-off, and kind-hearted young man choose to date a girl who wielded the weapon of the law?

Did he know how dangerous that was?

What was the difference between that and those medical women who explained the principle of sponge expansion while clapping, and whose frenzied attacks always missed vital points?

The former cost money, the latter cost lives. What kind of game was this?

Seeing Li Ye's continued silence, Li Dayong thought he was still upset about Lu Jingyao and said resentfully, "Brother, why don't you and I go to the capital to find her? Since she dares to be Chen Shimei, I'll make sure the whole school knows about it..."

Li Ye smiled and shook his head. "Chen Shimei was a top scholar. Does she have the qualifications?"

Li Dayong said unhappily, "So we'll just let her bully us like this? It's too much!"

Li Ye closed the book and said softly, "Not necessarily. But going to the capital is too much trouble. Why should we go the long way around?"

"Brother, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing. After school today, come with me to collect a debt."

Li Ye had originally decided not to bother with Lu Jingyao anymore, as it was the original host's past entanglement. But now, it seemed he had to give her a warning, so she wouldn't keep causing trouble endlessly.

In those days, "reputation" was very important. Being labeled as Huang Shiren could even affect future employment or marriage prospects.