Leaving the state-owned restaurant, Li Yi felt a bit heavy-hearted.
If he hadn't mistaken, that police officer just now should be Wang Anguo, the head of the county's criminal investigation team.
If nothing changes, in just a few days, he would lose his life in an operation to apprehend a suspect.
In his previous life, Li Yi had personally witnessed that very pursuit. The fugitive was a hardened criminal, moving across provinces, armed with a gun.
Since the officers didn't expect the suspect to be armed and had underestimated his vigilance, they made a grave error during the chase, letting him slip into a busy market area.
In the midst of the pursuit, Wang Anguo, leading the charge, was close to capturing the suspect when the criminal fired his gun.
The bullet struck Wang Anguo in the chest, and he died heroically on the spot.
That day, Li Yi had been in town for business and witnessed the entire tragic scene of Wang Anguo's sacrifice.
Seeing this courageous protector of the people again in this life, Li Yi couldn't bear the thought of him dying at the hands of such a worthless thug.
However, it wasn't something Li Yi could openly discuss with him, so he could only offer a subtle warning, slipping that coin into the place he'd been wounded.
It was the only thing he could do, and he hoped it might change Wang Anguo's fate.
At the same time, Li Yi was also conducting a bit of an experiment. He wanted to see if altering someone's destiny in this time period would have any major impact.
After all, he was already trying to change Tang Xue's fate, and he would eventually work to prevent her tragic end as well.
So, before taking that step, Li Yi needed to understand if his actions might lead to any unforeseen consequences.
With these uneasy thoughts, Li Yi made his way to the sugar refinery.
As usual, it was surrounded by workers eager to enjoy his cold noodles.
Setting aside his concerns, Li Yi started his day of street vending.
At one-thirty in the afternoon, after selling the last portion of cold noodles, he packed up his stall and headed straight to the county's supply and marketing cooperative for restocking.
Ideally, he would've gone to the cooperative right after selling the mushrooms, which would've allowed him to return to the village as soon as he finished vending.
Unfortunately, while he wasn't short on money, he lacked food coupons.
Without the coupons, the price of flour was about one-third higher. For a 50-pound bag, that meant an extra three yuan.
So, he had no choice but to wait until after his sales to collect food coupons and then head to the cooperative.
Though the constant back-and-forth was tiring, it was something he had to put up with.
Arriving once again outside the cooperative, Li Yi was just about to go inside when he noticed someone waving at him from across the street.
Looking closely, he recognized the ticket scalper he'd met the other day!
After securing his cart, Li Yi walked over quickly.
"Got something for me?"
The scalper glanced around and said, "Brother, I found out about the industrial coupons you wanted. There's one for a bicycle and one for a sewing machine. Which one do you want?"
Li Yi's eyes lit up immediately. "I'll take both!"
"Both… both of them?"
"Yes, both of them. Just name your price," Li Yi confirmed.
"Ten yuan for the bicycle coupon, eight for the sewing machine. Is that okay?" the scalper asked cautiously.
"Deal!"
With that, Li Yi pulled out two large-denomination bills and handed them over.
The young scalper, clearly experienced in these dealings, took the money from Li Yi and carefully examined it. Satisfied, he pulled two tickets wrapped in a handkerchief out of his inner pocket and returned two yuan in change.
Li Yi checked the tickets and, seeing no issues, said, "I'm also looking for a wristwatch ticket and a radio ticket. Think you could get those?"
"The wristwatch shouldn't be too hard, but the radio ticket... that'll cost extra," the scalper replied.
Li Yi chuckled at the unexpected twist, thinking of a popular saying from his previous life about people always asking for "extra cash."
"'A decade as fresh meat goes unnoticed; one demand for extra cash makes you famous!'" he thought. Was this guy also a time-traveler?
But watching him here, furtively trading tickets, Li Yi dismissed the notion. If he were really a time-traveler, he wouldn't be taking these risks; even a small business venture could be highly profitable without the need for this shady work.
"Money's not an issue. Just bring the tickets here and look for me. I'm usually around every day," Li Yi said.
"Alright, give me two days."
With tickets and cash on hand, Li Yi decided to go ahead and purchase a big-ticket item to take home.
He walked directly into the supply and marketing cooperative. Being a Sunday, it was packed, and he waited in line for quite a while before finally reaching the counter.
The salesperson, an old acquaintance by now, smiled when she saw him. "Back again? What's brought you to the cooperative today?"
"Haha, restocking food supplies for work—gotta make those trips daily!"
Then he added, "The usual: 60 pounds of white flour, two pounds of salt, and five pounds each of vinegar and soy sauce…"
Once he had everything, Li Yi asked, "By the way, do you have any bicycles in stock?"
"We do! Three arrived yesterday. Thinking of buying one?" she replied.
"Yes, I'd like to. Just not sure if I've brought enough cash," Li Yi answered.
"The 28-inch model is 175 yuan, and the 26-inch model is 165 yuan," she informed him.
Li Yi did some quick mental math: he'd earned 131 yuan from selling mushrooms and recouped 65 yuan from the cold noodle business. He'd also brought along 10 yuan in small bills. After spending 18 yuan on supplies, 20 yuan on the bicycle and sewing machine tickets, and giving Wang Anguo that one-yuan coin, he still had 167 yuan left.
He was a little short for the 28-inch model, but he had enough for the 26-inch women's bicycle.
Thinking about how he was mainly buying it for Tang Xue to use, he said, "Alright, I'll take the 26-inch one!"
The salesperson looked at him in surprise. "You're really buying it?"
Though bicycles weren't as rare as a few years ago, they were still a luxury in these planned economy days, often requiring a ticket for purchase. In a remote county like Qing County, buying a bike was still a remarkable thing.
What's more, Li Yi hadn't even hesitated, treating it like he was buying a head of cabbage.
Little did she know, standing before her was someone who had returned from several decades in the future, someone who had negotiated billion-dollar deals countless times. A mere hundred-yuan bicycle wouldn't faze him in the slightest.
"I've got just enough money, so let's do it," Li Yi said casually.
"Alright, pay up, and I'll take you to choose a bike!" she replied.
"Sure thing!"