After lunch, while resting, Li Shankui took a puff from his tobacco pipe and asked, "Little Yi, tell me, what are your plans for the future?"
"Plans for what?" Li Yi replied.
"You're about to start your own family soon. You can't just stay idle at home forever. You'll need to find some work, right?"
Before Li Yi could respond, Li Na chimed in with a dismissive tone, "What could he possibly do? He's all soft-skinned and pampered. He can't bend over for farm work, and we have no connections to get him a job in a factory."
Tang Xue instinctively glanced at Li Yi. She found that he really did look as soft-skinned as Li Na described—fair, smooth skin, with a handsome square face and strong brows.
If not for the worn-out clothes he was wearing, he wouldn't look any different from the young men in town.
But the more she thought about it, the sadder she felt.
What's the use of looking good? You can't eat off a pretty face!
This is the countryside. Every family's sons are their strength, doing hard labor daily. Everyone's hands are rough with calluses, and their skin tanned and weathered by the sun.
Apart from Li Yi, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else in the entire Nianzi Mountain Brigade with such soft skin.
The thought of spending her life with a man who couldn't handle real labor made Tang Xue's eyes well up with tears.
If it weren't for certain reasons keeping her from returning to the city, she'd really want to leave this all behind.
"Dad, what do you think about me selling liangpi noodles in town?" Li Yi said suddenly.
Li Shankui's face darkened instantly. His voice rose as he replied, "Are you out of your mind? That's speculation and profiteering! If you get caught, they'll throw you in jail!"
Hearing "jail" made Zhang Yuehong worry as well. She said urgently, "Son, don't be foolish! Worst case, just stay here and farm with us. With your father and me here, we'll make sure you and Tang Xue don't go hungry!"
Li Yi replied calmly, "It's just a little food stall selling liangpi. How can that be considered speculation and profiteering?"
He continued, "Dad, I read in the newspaper a few days ago that with so many educated youths returning to the cities and waiting for jobs, the government is now letting them 'set up stalls' to make a living."
He added, "Also, the paper said that cases of profiteering are mainly reviewed by the Industrial and Commercial Administration. Only severe or major cases are sent to the Public Security Bureau. Even if selling liangpi is ruled as profiteering, the most they'd do is confiscate the income—there's no risk of jail."
Li Shankui hesitated but still said firmly, "I don't care if the city allows it. No one else is doing this here; if they catch you, you'd be made an example of!"
"Dad, just like Sister Na said, I can't handle hard labor, and factories won't hire me. You can support me for a while, but not for life, can you?"
Li Yi added, "Liangpi is totally new in Qing County—tasty, affordable, and low-cost. Worst-case scenario, even if I can't set up a stall in town, we won't lose much. So I want to give it a shot!"
Hearing this, Li Shankui's expression softened, and after a long pause, he asked, "Are you sure it's not profiteering?"
"It's not," Li Yi assured him.
"Alright... then go ahead and try. But if they really won't let you sell, you stop at once," Li Shankui replied.
"Got it. I'll follow your word!" said Li Yi.
At this point, Li Na frowned and asked, "Are you really planning to sell this stuff? Will it even make money?"
"I don't know if it'll make money, but we won't lose any," Li Yi replied confidently.
Although Li Yi said this out loud, he knew perfectly well that setting up a stall at this time would be like making money in his sleep.
The reason was simple: First, due to current policies, nobody dared to openly set up a stall, so he had zero competition.
Second, with economic growth, people's incomes were noticeably rising.
With more money around, naturally, consumption would increase, meaning there was a market.
A market with no competition? If he couldn't make money off that, it would be downright unreasonable.
Still, he couldn't tell his family all this; otherwise, they'd just think he was bragging. Better to let the money do the talking when the time came!
"So long as you don't lose money. Need any help?" Li Na asked again.
Though she didn't quite believe her "good-for-nothing" younger brother could make a living selling cold noodles, this was the first time he seemed genuinely motivated to try something. She wanted to support him—just in case it actually worked out.
Li Yi immediately shook his head. "No need. I can handle this on my own."
"Alright, then."
At this point, Tang Xue, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up, "Uncle, Auntie, I'd like to go back to the educated youth center this afternoon."
Li Shankui opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only managed a hesitant "Mm."
He was a bit worried she'd face hardship when she got back. Though only half a day had passed, the whole brigade was already buzzing with gossip, and he'd heard plenty of whispers on his way back from the fields.
If he could help it, he wouldn't want Tang Xue to return to the youth center at all. Better if she just stayed here.
But that wouldn't work either. She wasn't even married yet; living at a man's house like this could ruin her reputation, making it impossible to hold her head high in the village.
Li Yi clearly understood this too. He didn't try to make her stay. Instead, he turned to his third sister, Li Na, and said, "Sis, go with Xiao Xue this afternoon. Take a few days off from the fields. If anyone dares to spread rumors, don't hold back—shut them down."
Li Na, who was also worried about Tang Xue's well-being, nodded immediately. "Got it."
Hearing this, Tang Xue felt a slight twinge of emotion.
This guy might be a bit of a rascal, but he wasn't entirely without merit. At the very least, he showed some responsibility, he could cook, and he genuinely cared about her.
If he could establish a proper livelihood, maybe they could make things work after all.
For a moment, she found herself lost in thought.
After lunch, Li Shankui and his wife rested for barely half an hour before braving the scorching sun to head back to the fields, leaving behind the mule cart since Li Yi needed it.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, Li Yi took the mule cart to escort Tang Xue and Li Na back to the educated youth center at the village committee.
Afterward, he drove the cart toward the back mountain.
Since he was planning to set up a stall selling cold noodles, he needed to get some things ready.
The ingredients were all available at home; what he was missing were bowls and chopsticks.
Nowadays, vendors often used plastic bags to hold cold noodles, but he didn't have any access to that kind of packaging.
Initially, Li Yi thought of using bowls, but seeing the few chipped bowls around the house, he could only shake his head helplessly.
He considered buying a few new bowls, but his pockets were cleaner than his face right now. New bowls weren't cheap, and he'd need quite a few, so he quickly dismissed the idea.
After some thought, he decided to use bamboo tubes instead!
Bamboo tubes were ideal containers, and they were everywhere. With a bit of smoothing, they could work perfectly as bowls.
After spending two hours in the bamboo grove, Li Yi returned home with half a cartload of thick bamboo stalks.
Then began the process of making the bamboo tubes. He sawed each bamboo stalk into 12-centimeter sections and filed them down until they were smooth and polished inside and out.
But he didn't stop there. Li Yi fetched a carving knife and etched simple patterns onto each bamboo tube.
The entire afternoon was spent in preparation.
By sunset, he had crafted 50 bamboo tubes, over sixty pairs of bamboo chopsticks, sifted through about ten kilograms of flour, and prepared half a bowl of spicy chili oil.
With everything set, Li Yi's cold noodle business was ready to go—all that was missing was the right opportunity!