Early the next morning, Li Yi got up and got busy.
Unlike the previous days when he had to do everything himself, after realizing that selling cold noodles could indeed be profitable, Li Shankui had asked Li Na to stay home to support Li Yi.
Li Yi was naturally pleased about this!
To be honest, with the production team offering only three cents for a work point, he found that hard to accept.
After all, girls like Sanjie worked all day for only seven or eight work points, which amounted to just over twenty cents.
That's right—just twenty cents!
And that was in a good year; in a disaster year with no harvest, one could end up with even less than twenty cents for a whole day's work.
This is also why young intellectuals were so eager to return to the city, while girls in the countryside would rather marry a less desirable man than stay in the village.
With Li Na's help, Li Yi had everything ready before nine o'clock.
He then hitched up the mule cart and headed to the county town again.
However, this time he didn't take Li Na—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't!
Although it was already 1980, the authorities' stance on private economies and businesses was still not entirely clear.
Take the famous "foolish melon seeds," for instance; just because they were selling seeds, the sellers had been arrested and released multiple times.
So, setting up a stall still carried risks—one wrong move could land you in trouble for speculation!
Li Yi wasn't afraid himself; he had his strategies, but he didn't want Li Na to take the risk with him.
Seeing her brother adamantly refusing to let her join him at the stall, Li Na was genuinely upset, but there was nothing she could do.
She knew her brother's temperament—he was definitely a spoiled young master, and once he made up his mind, no one could change it.
With no other option, Li Na could only head to the young intellectuals' point to keep an eye on her sister-in-law.
Li Na was well aware that whether at the young intellectuals' point or among the unmarried youths in the village, many were keeping an eye on Tang Xue.
Moreover, some people liked to belittle what they couldn't have, spreading gossip after the previous incident. She had to watch out for Tang Xue, ensuring that no one would steal her away or bully her.
In the county town, at the state-run hotel!
When Li Yi arrived, he saw Liu Jingshan standing at the hotel entrance, looking around as if he were waiting for someone!
Seeing Li Yi's familiar red mule cart, Liu Jingshan quickly came over to greet him!
"Haha, Brother Li Yi, you finally made it!"
Li Yi asked in surprise, "Brother Liu, you weren't really waiting here for me, were you?"
"Of course! I've been waiting for over an hour!" Liu Jingshan said with a laugh.
"There's no need for a big manager from the state-run restaurant to wait here for me if you need something. Just give the word!" Li Yi responded, a bit flattered.
"To be honest, Brother Li Yi, a high-ranking official from the city has been inspecting Qingshan County these past few days and has been dining at our state-run restaurant. After trying the mushrooms you delivered, the official was quite pleased and hopes that we can regularly supply a batch of mushrooms to the city's state-run restaurant," Liu Jingshan explained.
Li Yi understood that Liu was here to request a supply.
After all, over the past few days, he'd only been able to provide a couple hundred pounds of mushrooms to the county's state-run restaurant—barely enough to meet their own needs, let alone supply the city.
"You're hoping I can bring in a bit more?" Li Yi asked with a smile.
"That's the idea. I was wondering if, maybe, you could…"
Before he could finish, Li Yi said directly, "Brother Liu, as you know, mushrooms are a wild resource, and their yield isn't consistent. I can't guarantee a steady supply."
At this, a trace of disappointment flashed in Liu Jingshan's eyes, but he nodded in understanding.
However, Li Yi then continued, "Brother Liu, although wild mushrooms aren't guaranteed in quantity, we can prioritize the supply for the city and use some alternative ingredients for ourselves. Would that work?"
"Oh? What do you mean?" Liu Jingshan asked quickly.
"Brother Liu, besides wild pine and trumpet mushrooms, the mountains have inch mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, white jade mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms, and more. There's also wild wood ear and silver ear fungi—all rare and delicious mountain products!"
Li Yi continued, "I can ask the villagers to gather more of these mountain delicacies. You can send the pine and trumpet mushrooms to the city, and we'll use the other varieties in the county. There shouldn't be a big difference."
Liu Jingshan thought for a moment and said, "That might actually work, but I'm still a little worried."
"Brother Liu, no need to worry. I'll help you come up with some new recipes to ensure your restaurant's performance stays solid!" Li Yi said confidently.
"Alright, let's go with that plan. And send some of those other mountain goods along in the future too."
"No problem!"
With that, they weighed and counted the mushrooms Li Yi had brought, calculating the total.
187 pounds, totaling 131 yuan!
As he left the state-run restaurant with the money, Li Yi felt like he was walking on air.
Even though he'd been worth billions in his past life, to him, these few hundred yuan brought more satisfaction than those billions ever had.
It wasn't about the amount of money—it was that now, he had people with whom to share the joy of his earnings.
In his past life, he'd watched his bank account grow from a lonely, empty place, as the numbers climbed, leaving him numb and hollow.
Just as Li Yi left the restaurant, planning to head to the candy factory to set up his stall, someone came running toward him in a hurry.
Moving so quickly, the person didn't see Li Yi, and Li Yi didn't notice in time, resulting in a direct collision that knocked him to the ground.
"I'm so sorry… I'm really sorry, but I'm in a hurry!"
The person had a polite attitude, apologizing while helping Li Yi up.
Li Yi noticed that the man wore an olive-green uniform and a peaked cap—clearly, he was a police officer.
Realizing that the person might genuinely be in a hurry, Li Yi quickly said, "I'm fine. If you're in a rush, please go ahead!"
"Thank you so much…"
Just as the man was about to leave, Li Yi suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out, "Wait a moment!"
"Comrade, do you have something else to say?"
Li Yi looked closely at his face, confirming it was someone he recognized, then pulled a one-yuan coin from his pocket.
He stepped in front of the police officer and directly placed the coin into the officer's breast pocket, saying, "Comrade, take this!"
"Comrade… fellow townsman… we can't accept anything from the people…"
Li Yi smiled and replied, "This money isn't for you; it's to save your life!"
"Save my life?" The officer looked puzzled, clearly not understanding what Li Yi meant.
"I noticed that your forehead is dark; you might be in for some misfortune soon. Keep this coin in your pocket and don't take it out. It could save your life at a critical moment!"
Seeing the officer looking at him as if he were crazy, Li Yi added, "Whether you believe it or not, just take this coin. If you miraculously survive, you can return it to me later!"
With that, Li Yi turned and walked away without looking back, leaving the officer standing there, dumbfounded.