Chapter Summaries

At Wen Guohua’s wedding banquet, Li Ye learned that Director Ma was recruiting Bao Xiaorui as a transport driver and discussed the prospects of Beijing’s new light automobile joint venture. Li Ye advised Director Ma’s hesitant friend to join the new company, leaving Director Ma eager to hear more about its future.

• Uncle Bao agreed to let Bao Xiaorui work under Director Ma, who promised to arrange a driver’s license and an Isuzu truck for him.
• Director Ma and Li Zhongfa discussed imported vehicles, instant noodles, and the new joint venture involving COFCO, Beijing Second Automobile Factory, and Hong Kong Seres.
• Li Ye recognized that Hong Kong Seres’s investment in the joint venture came from his partnership with Pei Wencong and reflected on his plans to enter the automobile industry.
• Director Ma asked Li Ye whether his friend should join the new company in Shunyi or remain at Beijing Second Automobile Factory.
• Li Ye advised the friend to join the new company, warning that its prospects depended on the three partners working together; Director Ma agreed to drink with him.

Li Yue tried to take her infant son south while sending Wu Juying back to Qingshui, but her grandmother saw through the plan and insisted on coming along. At university, Li Ye learned that Wen Leyu’s mother had approved their internship plans, leaving the couple set to go abroad together for two months.

• Li Yue persuaded Wu Juying to let her take Little Dun’er south by explaining how An Xiaolian had her second child in Hong Kong, but Wu Juying insisted on accompanying her.
• Li Ye declined to tell He Dazhuang where he would intern, and He Dazhuang left without learning his plans.
• Wen Leyu visited Li Ye at Capital City University, and he guessed that her mother had approved their internship plans.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu celebrated the news, knowing they would go abroad together and stay together for two months.

Li Ye and his classmates received internship assignments, and He Dazhuang persuaded the class to send letters to former class monitor Zhen Rongrong with Li Ye. At home, Li Ye prepared Wen Leyu to intern with him at Seres Company in Hong Kong, then teased her until she fled into the dark alley.

• Zhang Zhiqiang warned the Class of '82 against beginning romances shortly before graduation, and Li Ye agreed that long-distance assignments could hurt people.
• He Dazhuang bragged about his Ministry of Finance internship, then enlisted the class to send letters to Zhen Rongrong through Li Ye, who said he would visit Lighthouse for Seres Company.
• Li Ye carried the students' letters to Zaojunmiao, where he cooked for Wen Leyu and gave her English investment documents to study for their internship at Seres Company.
• Wen Leyu realized Li Ye had invited her to intern overseas with him, blushed at his teasing, and hurried out into the alley as he warned her about the broken light and coal by Old Meng's door.

Wen Leyu recovered from her fall, and she and Li Ye discussed leaving for the Lighthouse before Spring Festival to pursue business opportunities. After Li Ye revealed his investment ties to Pei Wencong and Seres Company, Wen Qingsheng and Teacher Ke teased him about marrying Wen Leyu and left the match discussion to the elders.

• Wen Leyu healed from her knee injury after Li Ye took her to the hospital, and she repeatedly reassured him that her fall was not his fault.
• Wen Qingsheng objected to Wen Leyu and Li Ye leaving before Spring Festival, while Teacher Ke supported their trip for a serious internship and business negotiations.
• Li Ye explained that he and Wen Leyu wanted to invest their royalties and that Pei Wencong had an experienced investment team.
• Li Ye told Wen Qingsheng and Teacher Ke that he had helped Pei Wencong build his business and was a major shareholder of Seres Company.
• Wen Qingsheng raised the elders' planned discussion about the couple, and Li Ye said he would leave the matter to them.
• Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng praised their own judgment, while Wen Leyu privately thought she had been the first to choose Li Ye.

Li Ye and Wen Leyu sent Li Juan, Zhao Meiwen, and their companions home before flying south, while Hu Man reflected on how their old group had drifted apart. In Pengcheng, Li Ye reunited with Li Yue and Mu Yunning and joined them on the drive to see Little Dun'er.

• Li Ye warned Li Juan and Zhao Meiwen to stay with Hu Man and the others as they returned to Qingshui, then left the station with Wen Leyu.
• Hu Man reflected on how the group of friends had dwindled over the years and remembered the moment Li Ye changed after she pulled a fountain pen from his hand.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu flew from the capital to Yangcheng, planning to visit Li Yue and Little Dun'er before entering Hong Kong to meet Pei Wencong.
• Li Ye met Li Yue and Mu Yunning at the airport, where Li Yue explained that she wore sunglasses to deter people from approaching her.
• Mu Yunning drove Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Li Yue away from the airport in their Crown car so they could return to Little Dun'er.

Li Ye learned that Fu Guiru had been estranged from Wu Juying because of a family betrayal tied to an overseas letter. Fu Guiru identified Li Mingyue as the person who reported her and vowed to make her pay, leaving Li Ye trying to keep his mother from acting impulsively.

• Li Ye visited Li Yue and her family in the dormitory complex, where he explained Little Dun'er's changing preferences between formula and breast milk.
• Li Yue told Li Ye that Wu Juying kept Fu Guiru away from the baby, and Li Ye wondered whether Wu Juying resented their mother.
• Wu Juying took Li Ye and Little Dun'er outside, sat beneath Fu Guiru's window, and had Li Ye read a newspaper article about local businesses.
• Fu Guiru told Li Ye that Wu Juying was trying to draw her into a conversation, but she refused to approach her because of their past conflict.
• Fu Guiru revealed that Li Mingyue had reported her after she received an overseas letter, and she vowed not to forgive her.
• Li Ye urged Fu Guiru not to do anything illegal and promised to help her vent her anger.

After Fu Guiru assigned Fu Yiruo to accompany Li Ye and Wen Leyu to Hong Kong, the three visited Li Ye’s hilltop mansion. Wen Leyu joined Li Ye in the pool and offered to teach him proper swimming, leaving their lesson awkwardly intimate.

• Wu Juying left Pengcheng, and Fu Guiru interpreted her visit with Li Ye as a warning that she would take responsibility for the family’s affairs.
• Fu Guiru told Li Ye to bring Fu Yiruo to Hong Kong to help with work and keep an eye on him, teasing him about having a child before Wen Leyu graduated.
• Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Fu Yiruo crossed into Hong Kong and visited Li Ye’s mansion, where Wen Leyu treated it as a vacation home rather than their shared home.
• Fu Yiruo told Li Ye that Wen Leyu was already swimming, so he changed into his swimsuit and went to join her.
• Li Ye showed that he could only dog-paddle, and Wen Leyu began teaching him swimming in the shallow end while Fu Yiruo teased them.

Li Ye traveled to the United States to negotiate a joint computer venture with An Wang Computers and considered how to protect the company’s future assets. When Wang Lie mishandled their meeting, Li Ye’s anger signaled that the negotiations—and An Wang’s chance to avert its decline—were in danger.

• On the flight to the United States, Li Ye asked Wen Leyu to assess investment manager candidate Witt Jeff and assured her that yellow skin would one day be honored.
• Li Ye and his group traveled from New York to Boston to pursue a joint venture with An Wang Computers and learn from its technology.
• Pei Wencong told Li Ye that An Wang had stepped down and Wang Lie had taken over, and that Wang Lie wanted to revisit some terms.
• Li Ye refused to postpone the meeting and went with his group to An Wang Company that afternoon.
• Wang Lie arrived twenty minutes late, and Li Ye's companions recognized that Li Ye was angry.

Li Ye and his colleagues discovered that An Wang Company had changed its proposed joint research partnership into a sales agency deal because Wang Lie doubted mainland China's computer-buying power. The meeting ended with Li Ye questioning John Chambers about his role at Fengyu Company.

• An Wang introduced the meeting, and John Chambers presented An Wang's expensive computers and proposed that Fengyu distribute them in the mainland market.
• Pei Wencong challenged Wang Lie over the shift from joint research and development to agency sales.
• Wang Lie said An Wang wanted to test mainland demand before deciding what products to develop.
• Pei Wencong realized Wang Lie doubted mainland consumers could afford computers and worried Li Ye would react angrily.
• Li Ye calmly questioned Chambers about his former work at IBM and his view of China's technology and research potential.
• Chambers asked Li Ye what position he held at Fengyu Company.

Li Ye’s delegation sought joint research and production with An Wang Company, but Wang Lie mocked the proposal and pushed for a cautious sales partnership instead. Li Ye ended the talks and turned his attention to other manufacturers and buying Microsoft shares discreetly.

• Wang Lie asked Li Ye about his position at Fengyu Company, then laughed at Li Ye’s proposal for joint research and production.
• Pei Wencong challenged Wang Lie’s attitude, but Wang Lie proposed starting with agency sales and discussing deeper cooperation in three to five years.
• Li Ye walked out after warning that An Wang Company might not exist in five years, and Wen Leyu translated the remark as a prediction of bankruptcy.
• Wang Lie asked John Chambers to repair relations with Li Ye’s delegation, while Pei Wencong apologized to Li Ye on the way back to the hotel.
• Li Ye told Pei Wencong to stop pursuing An Wang Company and contact other manufacturers, then warned him to acquire Microsoft shares through dispersed purchases.

Li Ye and Pei Wencong visited Jeff to explore making him their American venture-capital partner, but Jeff declined, saying he was content with his life. Li Ye initially took Jeff’s family’s views on children to mean they would not build wealth for their descendants, but the chapter ended as he learned he had misunderstood Jeff.

• Luo Runbo contacted small manufacturers about possible joint ventures or contract factories in Hong Kong while Pei Wencong took Li Ye, Wen Leyu, Fu Yiruo, and the others to visit Jeff.
• Jeff welcomed the visitors with his wife and children, and Li Ye and the others exchanged gifts with the family.
• Pei Wencong explained that they wanted an American partner to help them invest in high-tech companies, but Jeff declined because he was satisfied with his current life.
• Jeff’s wife said that their children would have to shape their own futures, prompting Li Ye to reflect on differences between American and Chinese family traditions.
• Near the end of dinner, Li Ye learned that he had misunderstood Jeff.

Li Ye and Pei Wencong failed to persuade Jeff to return to venture capital, though Jeff shared his insights into Silicon Valley. After leaving, Li Ye decided to take Fu Yiruo and Wen Leyu sightseeing in New York before heading to San Francisco, while Wen Leyu teased him about delivering a letter to Zhen Rongrong.

• Jeff told Li Ye and Pei Wencong about his past financial failure and refused to take another investment risk, though he offered advice about venture capital.
• Jeff explained why Silicon Valley’s specialized companies, open production, and mobile workforce could help it surpass Boston.
• Li Ye asked Jeff about Silicon Valley’s acceptance of failure, apologized for pressing him, and left with Pei Wencong.
• Wen Leyu and Fu Yiruo said Jeff had given up his dream out of family responsibility, and Li Ye agreed not to pressure him.
• Fu Yiruo persuaded Li Ye to take her and Wen Leyu sightseeing in New York before they went to San Francisco.
• Wen Leyu teased Li Ye about delaying his delivery of a letter to Zhen Rongrong, and Li Ye accused Fu Yiruo of teaching her to get jealous.

Li Ye revised the New York itinerary to include sights he wanted to see, then took Wen Leyu and Fu Yiruo to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Awed by the aircraft carrier, the three resolved to build an even bigger one someday.

• Fu Yiruo teased Wen Leyu for limiting their sightseeing plans to accommodate Li Ye, and Li Ye expanded the itinerary with destinations he wanted to visit.
• Fu Yiruo joked about being paid as their driver and translator, while Li Ye promised to buy her and Wen Leyu shoes on Fifth Avenue.
• Wen Leyu reassured Fu Yiruo that Li Ye would always be her brother and promised to buy her an extra pair of shoes.
• Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Fu Yiruo visited the Intrepid and were struck by the aircraft carrier's immense size.
• Li Ye said they would build a bigger aircraft carrier in the future, and Wen Leyu and Fu Yiruo joined him in the resolve before a contemptuous snort interrupted them.

Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Fu Yiruo encountered tourists who mocked China and later watched a World War II display aboard the USS Intrepid. The chapter ended with Li Ye and Wen Leyu affirming that the war and its victims should not be forgotten.

• A woman mocked mainland China’s military ambitions, and Li Ye refused to accept her companion Porter’s insincere attempt to apologize.
• Li Ye recalled a former-life acquaintance who claimed his unusual confidence helped him attract girlfriends.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu stopped at a screen showing Pacific naval battles because their grandfathers had fought in the war.
• A white woman mistook Li Ye and Wen Leyu for Japanese, and Wen Leyu explained China’s casualties before she apologized.
• Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Fu Yiruo agreed that people should remember the war.

Wen Leyu told Teacher Ke about her trip with Li Ye and confessed that the wealth gap overseas had made her feel guilty about spending money instead of saving it for investment in the mainland. Teacher Ke defended Li Ye’s spending, then fell silent after learning he had bought tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of shoes, leaving the call’s abrupt disconnection unexplained.

• Wen Leyu called Teacher Ke and reported that she and Li Ye had visited an aircraft carrier and Fifth Avenue, and planned to visit Columbia University and Wall Street.
• Wen Leyu told Teacher Ke that Li Ye had bought shoes for her and Fu Yiruo, and that she worried they should save money for mainland factories after seeing how far ahead overseas was.
• Teacher Ke told Wen Leyu to trust Li Ye’s judgment about money, while Li Ye stroked Wen Leyu’s head as she explained her concerns.
• Wen Leyu revealed that Li Ye had spent nearly sixty thousand dollars on shoes, including a pair for Teacher Ke that cost over four thousand dollars.
• Teacher Ke asked whether Wen Leyu planned to buy clothes next, and Wen Leyu said they would head to Silicon Valley to pursue opportunities before the call abruptly cut off.

Li Ye reassured Wen Leyu about spending money and welcomed Witt Jeff as an investment partner before traveling with Wen Leyu and Fu Yiruo to San Francisco. There, Li Ye spotted Zhen Rongrong working at a restaurant after failing to reach her by phone.

• Li Ye told Wen Leyu he would invest his earnings in mainland manufacturing but would not live frugally, and he promised to teach her to earn and spend her own money.
• Witt Jeff visited Li Ye, explained that his wife supported his dream of trying again, and accepted Li Ye’s welcome as an investment partner.
• Li Ye, Wen Leyu, and Fu Yiruo flew to San Francisco and explored Chinatown after they could not reach Zhen Rongrong at UC.
• Li Ye bought two small items from an antique shop owner, then refused a street seller’s attempted thumb-ring scam when his bodyguards intervened.
• Wen Leyu pointed out Zhen Rongrong working at Cao Family Restaurant, leaving Li Ye dismayed that she was still serving dishes.

Li Ye and Wen Leyu reunited with Zhen Rongrong in San Francisco, where she was working at a Chinese restaurant while covering for a sick classmate. When Ai Lao San tried to intimidate her over an unpaid bill, Zhen Rongrong and Sister Zhen stood their ground and made him pay in advance.

• Li Ye and Wen Leyu spotted Zhen Rongrong working at the Cao Family Restaurant, and she joyfully invited them inside to eat.
• Zhen Rongrong explained that she was covering a sick classmate’s shifts, and Li Ye encouraged her to treat the work as English practice.
• Ai Lao San ordered food but refused to pay first, and Zhen Rongrong confronted him about the thirty-one dollars he owed from a previous meal.
• Ai Lao San accused Zhen Rongrong of pocketing his money and threatened to report her for working illegally.
• Sister Zhen challenged Ai Lao San to report the restaurant and warned that Chinatown businesses would blame him for any immigration inspection.
• Ai Lao San backed down, paid for shrimp with broccoli, and canceled the rest of his order.

Ai Lao San was beaten by three Vietnamese men after hiding his jade ring, unaware that Li Ye’s bodyguard Brother Jin had hired them. Li Ye and Wen Leyu later drove Zhen Rongrong and Sister Zhen back toward school, where Sister Zhen warned that Zhen Rongrong’s kindness to a sick classmate would bring her trouble.

• Ai Lao San brooded over his family’s lost fortune and was ambushed and beaten by three Vietnamese men in a dark alley.
• Ai Lao San hid his jade thumb ring in a wall crack, then retrieved it after the attackers searched and left.
• Brother Jin paid the Vietnamese men two hundred dollars, while Wenger questioned why they had not done the job themselves.
• Li Ye and Wen Leyu waited in Chinatown for Zhen Rongrong to finish work, then offered to drive her and Sister Zhen to school.
• Zhen Rongrong explained that she was carrying a meal to a sick classmate, and Sister Zhen called her too soft-hearted.

Li Ye explained that helping others required enough strength to avoid harming oneself, while warning that Zhen Rongrong was sacrificing her own interests for classmates. Sister Zhen tried to convince Zhen Rongrong that Ruan Shujun was exploiting her, but Zhen Rongrong remained unconvinced.

• Li Ye arranged to bring Zhen Rongrong her classmates’ letters and gifts the next day.
• Li Ye told Wen Leyu and Fu Yiruo that Zhen Rongrong’s costly meal for a classmate showed she was wronging herself to help others.
• Sister Zhen confronted Zhen Rongrong about her generosity toward Ruan Shujun and said Ruan Shujun did not treat her as a true friend.
• Sister Zhen reminded Zhen Rongrong that Ruan Shujun had not paid her for covering three restaurant shifts and warned her to take care of herself in the Lighthouse.

Zhen Rongrong confronted her roommate Ruan Shujun about relying on her to cover work and search for Cadill, but agreed to help for a few more days. Meanwhile, Li Ye began organizing his venture capital firm in San Francisco with Jeff and Gary.

• Zhen Rongrong noticed Fafna chocolate wrappers and challenged Ruan Shujun for asking her to find Cadill while depending on her to cover restaurant shifts.
• Zhen Rongrong told Ruan Shujun that Cadill had deceived her and said she no longer wanted to help, but agreed to cover a few more shifts when Ruan Shujun pleaded.
• Li Ye received Jeff's call and met Gary, whom Jeff planned to hire as his assistant for establishing the venture capital firm.
• Gary asked about the firm's investors, and Li Ye said its funding sources extended beyond Hong Kong to Britain, France, and Germany.
• Li Ye learned that Gary's previous company had failed and explained the high risks and potential rewards of Silicon Valley venture capital as he prepared to launch his own firm.