A Big Deal

As noon approached, Li Ye was engrossed in writing his novel when Old Liu Tou, the school gatekeeper, arrived at Retake Class One. With a grim expression, he informed Li Ye that someone was looking for him outside.

Li Ye found it very strange.

He had a bit of a history with Old Liu Tou, so why would the old man come to the classroom to deliver a message for him?

Li Dayong immediately grew wary and said, "Brother, could this old geezer still be holding a grudge and have people waiting outside to beat you up?"

Li Ye scoffed, "What are you imagining? Do you think this is Romance of the Three Kingdoms? It'd be great if it were."

Li Ye tidied up his novel manuscript and handed it over to Wen Leyu.

"Keep this safe for me, don't let anyone else see it!"

"Okay, don't worry."

Wen Leyu accepted it with a solemn expression, as if she were receiving a heroic mission.

Seeing the stack of paper in Li Ye's hand, Li Dayong's heart sank. He stared intently at the stack with a displeased look.

He would never have imagined Li Ye was writing a novel; he only thought Li Ye was writing letters.

Who was he writing to?

Besides a certain woman he hated with a passion, Li Ye hadn't written letters to anyone else.

Brother, didn't you just swear a few days ago that you were done with that troublemaker? How are you... involved with her again? You're really down on your luck. A good horse doesn't go back to eating its old grass...

Wen Leyu, noticing Li Dayong staring fixedly at the papers in her hands, also widened her eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

"."

Li Dayong had no comeback against the sharp-tongued Little Mute.

He had clearly seen Wen Leyu and Li Ye acting "sweetly" recently.

If there was even the slightest possibility of Wen Leyu getting involved with Li Ye, Li Dayong wouldn't have argued or bickered with her.

He had deeply experienced Li Ye's protective temper.

So, Li Dayong turned to Fu Yingjie and activated his "Transfer Damage" skill.

"What are you looking at? I'm talking to you, you're still looking? Nobody is allowed to look!"

"."

The bewildered Fu Yingjie opened his mouth, but ultimately had no choice but to endure this undeserved misfortune.

Li Ye got up and headed out. At this point, he had a strong suspicion that Hao Jian and the others had returned from the provincial capital, though their arrival was a bit earlier than expected.

Li Dayong followed Li Ye out, still a little uneasy. What if Old Liu Tou was seeking revenge for that day?

However, when they reached the school gate, they didn't see any thugs. Instead, they saw their fellow disciples, Jin Peng, Hao Jian, and Wang Jianqiang.

"Brother Peng, why are you here?"

"I came to find you and Li Ye!"

Jin Peng was smoking and spat. "What's with that old geezer at the gate? I said I wanted to come in and find you, and he was being a complete jerk! He wouldn't let me in. Fine, I won't go in, but I'll make him obediently call the person out for me."

Li Ye and Li Dayong exchanged a look, then both turned their gaze towards the guardhouse.

Old Liu Tou had his back to them, but the large footprints on his cotton jacket told the brothers everything they needed to know.

Did they not know Jin Peng's character?

Even street thugs avoided him. If it weren't for his mother keeping a tight rein on him, he would have been ruling the county and already locked up in jail.

Old Liu Tou must have been beaten by Jin Peng earlier, which was why he was holding back his anger when he went to Retake Class One to call Li Ye.

What do you call being fierce on the outside but weak on the inside?

This was it.

He could bully the school kids easily, but he wouldn't even dare to make a sound against a bully from outside the school.

Li Ye didn't tell Jin Peng about what happened that day; if he had, it would have likely led to more trouble.

The five of them went to a mutton soup restaurant a few hundred meters away. In the middle of winter, each of them had a bowl of mutton soup, slurping it down. It was wonderfully comforting and warm.

Li Ye asked Hao Jian, "Why did you guys come back for lunch today? So soon?"

Hao Jian glanced at Li Dayong and didn't speak.

Li Ye said, "He's our brother, he's tight-lipped. You can tell me."

Hao Jian then said, "We didn't expect to be back so early either. We only visited two places and sold out all the malt candy. We ran out of stock, so we figured we'd hurry back to make more candy. The other places we had appointments with are still waiting!"

Li Ye was a bit surprised. "That smooth? Do they think our candy is high quality? Or is it low priced?"

Since there was an unexpected outcome, he had to analyze the reason. This was a habit he'd formed in his past life.

Hao Jian shook his head. "Neither. Some of their relatives and friends also got involved, wanting to try a few pounds each to test the waters."

Li Ye understood.

Nowadays, people are timid. When they want to do something, they like to band together, emboldened by the idea that "the law does not punish a crowd."

This was good for Li Ye. After all, one more person meant another point of sale and another potential customer. There were always a few who would get involved, slowly forming a terminal market.

However, Hao Jian continued, "But it wasn't entirely smooth. When we did business with the second group, they took advantage of their numbers and tried to haggle down prices and ask for credit. But two of our brothers handled it."

Li Ye was startled. This was no small matter. A strong dragon couldn't suppress a local snake. If the other party had bad intentions, any connection should be severed immediately, otherwise, it would be more harmful than helpful.

"Tell me, what trouble did you run into?"

"No trouble."

Seeing Li Ye's serious expression, Jin Peng quickly said, "The other side just showed a hint of something, and before I could say anything, Qiangzi hit himself on the forehead with two bricks. Those people were scared stiff on the spot."

"..."

Li Ye was also a bit stunned. He thought that having Wang Jianqiang tag along was just for a free meal, but he never expected this simpleton to be useful in this way.

Seeing Li Ye's bewildered look, Jin Peng reached out and took off Wang Jianqiang's cotton hat, revealing a patch of bruising on his forehead.

Wang Jianqiang, who had been slurping his mutton soup, looked up and gave Li Ye a simple, silly grin.

But the sharp-eyed Li Ye clearly saw a flicker of panic in his eyes.

This kid... was afraid Li Ye would scold him and not let him come along anymore.

Li Ye pursed his lips and quietly instructed, "Qiangzi, in the future, when you encounter something like this, follow Jin Peng's lead. Even if you have to hit yourself, one hit should be enough. Got it?"

"Yes, yes, I got it, brother. Hehehehe, it doesn't hurt, hehehehe."

Wang Jianqiang genuinely didn't feel any pain. The real pain was when his mother, older brother, and younger brother complained about him wasting food.

"How could it not hurt? But brother Qiangzi's two bricks were worth it. Jin Peng and I looked closely, and those people were no tough guys; they couldn't stir up any trouble."

Hao Jian was a shrewd person. Seeing Li Ye's concern for Wang Jianqiang, he immediately began to praise him subtly.

Of course, today's events also made him realize that he couldn't manage alone in the provincial capital. Having these two people help him was a great support.

With Hao Jian livening up the atmosphere, the dinner table quickly became lively. The few of them ate and drank, very animated.

But slowly, Li Ye noticed that Li Dayong's mood was off.

His close friend's gaze towards Li Ye seemed filled with resentment.

Li Ye asked, "Dayong, what's with that look?"

Li Dayong lowered his head and said, "Brother, why didn't you guys bring me along when you went to the provincial capital? Do you think I'm useless?"

It turned out that Li Dayong, after listening to Jin Peng and Hao Jian's animated stories, finally understood what had happened.

Originally, he had just thought that Jin Peng and the others had gone to the provincial capital, made some money, and came back to treat him and Li Ye to a good meal!

But now, seeing this, it was clear that these people were partners in a business, and a "big business" involving several yuan at that, yet they had left him out.

He thought about his relationship with Li Ye and felt he shouldn't have been excluded.