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Chapter 44: The Shock of Hundreds of Thousands
Li Yi was startled awake by the sound of movement outside his bedroom. Sitting up in confusion, he listened carefully and soon recognized Xu Qingnan's deliberately suppressed voice. Without hesitation, he got out of bed and walked toward the living room.
As he opened the door, he saw Xu Qingnan had returned. In addition to her, several others were present, including his father, Li Fengnian, and his sister-in-law, Xu Qingyao. His precious daughter lay asleep in Xu Qingnan's arms, her small face peaceful and serene.
When Li Yi stepped into the room, all eyes immediately turned to him.
Xu Qingyao's face flushed as she instinctively hid behind Xu Qingnan. Only then did Li Yi realize he was standing there shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts—an undeniably improper sight.
Fortunately, he remained calm, or perhaps it was simply his thick skin. He merely smiled faintly, turned around, entered his room, and returned moments later wearing a simple vest.
Seeing that Li Fengnian was about to leave, Li Yi quickly called out, "Dad, stay a little longer. I have something important to discuss with you!"
After speaking, he gently took his sleeping daughter from Xu Qingnan, carried her back to the bedroom, and carefully placed her on the bed. Then, he retrieved a handbag from his room before returning to the living room.
The old house's living room was small, and the family gathered around a tiny dining table. Though cramped, the warmth of the moment was unmistakable.
Li Yi smiled and asked, "Dad, how's work been lately? Is everything going well?"
Li Fengnian's expression brightened as he responded, "Not bad! Just busier than before."
Despite no longer being the workshop director, he had been promoted to deputy director of the meat processing plant—a significant step up.
Li Yi nodded, "No matter how busy you are, make sure to take care of yourself. Your health is the foundation of everything."
"Yeah, I know," Li Fengnian said with a chuckle. "By the way, how's your fruit business going?"
He was aware that Li Yi had been selling fruit, but since he had been away on a business trip, he hadn't kept up with the details. He had only heard occasional mentions from others.
For Li Fengnian, it didn't matter whether his son was successful in business or not—as long as he wasn't out causing trouble, he was content. With three family members working, they collectively earned around three to four hundred yuan a month, which was more than sufficient. Even if Li Yi didn't contribute financially, there was no financial strain.
Li Yi smiled. "Everything went smoothly."
He then pointed to a stack of packaging boxes in the kitchen. "These are the only ones left. The quantity is too small to sell, so I brought them home."
Li Fengnian frowned. "That's quite a lot. Can we finish all of it?"
Li Yi shrugged. "If we can't, we can give some away. You and Mom have bosses and friends you need to maintain relationships with, right? You can use these as gifts—it'll save money!"
Seeing that Li Yi had already made up his mind, Li Fengnian decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he asked, "So, did you make a profit or suffer a loss?"
Without answering directly, Li Yi simply smiled and opened the suitcase he had brought from his room.
The moment the lid was lifted, the entire family was stunned.
The box was filled with stacks of colorful banknotes—some in denominations of 100, some in 50s, others in 10s. The sheer volume of cash was shocking.
"Wow! That much money?" Xu Qingyao exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Xu Qingnan, too, was stunned. She turned to Li Yi. "Is this entire box full of money?"
"Yes," Li Yi replied calmly.
"Oh my god!" Xu Qingnan gasped. "I've seen you carrying this box back and forth every day. I thought it was just filled with account books. Weren't you afraid of losing it?"
Li Yi chuckled. "Not really."
Li Fengnian, still slightly surprised, commented, "Well, it looks like you did make a profit."
"Yes, I did."
Without hesitation, Li Yi took out a thick stack of cash from the suitcase and handed it to his father.
"Dad, take this. It's my way of showing respect to you and Mom."
Li Fengnian hesitated. "We have enough at home. You don't need to do this. Your mother and I haven't even needed you to contribute yet."
"That's different," Li Yi insisted. "What you and Mom have is yours. This money is from me and my sister to honor you—it's separate."
Xu Qingnan chimed in, "Dad, Xiaoyi is right. Just accept it."
Hearing this, Li Fengnian's eyes grew moist.
Nothing warmed his heart more than hearing those words from his son. For a moment, he even felt disoriented, unable to believe this was happening.
Finally, he took the money and sighed, "Alright, but think of it as me saving it for you."
"No," Li Yi shook his head. "This is for you to spend."
Li Fengnian waved his hand, his face turning solemn. "The current situation is unstable. Our factory's efficiency is declining by the day. It's best to save some money—otherwise, if we get laid off, how will the family survive?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and sighed deeply.
As a deputy director, he was fully aware of the factory's worsening condition. Hundreds of employees and their families depended on it, and he had no idea what they would do if it shut down.
Seeing the cheap cigarette in his father's hand, Li Yi frowned. "Dad, don't worry too much. There's always a way forward. Also, you should cut back on smoking—it's bad for your health."
At that moment, Li Fengnian felt something catch in his throat. Rubbing his eyes, he found himself deeply moved.
He never expected—perhaps never even dared to hope—that his son would say such words to him one day.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Xu Qingyao suddenly asked, "Brother, how much did you make this time?"
Since she had grown up in the Li family from a young age, she had always referred to Li Yi as her brother. Even after Xu Qingnan married him, she continued the habit.
"Hundreds of thousands."
"Wait… what? Hundreds of thousands?"
Xu Qingnan and Li Fengnian were equally shocked. They thought they had misheard him and stared at him in disbelief.
Li Yi, unbothered, calmly explained, "After deducting all expenses, we made over 340,000 yuan. After giving shares to Wei Laosan, Da Chu, Wei Zi, and Xiao Wu, I personally pocketed around 234,000."
Silence. Absolute silence.
What Li Yi said was beyond their ability to comprehend. For ordinary workers earning just over 100 yuan per month, even 10,000 yuan was an astronomical figure—let alone hundreds of thousands.
Even Li Fengnian, a seasoned workshop director, found it hard to believe that his son had earned such a fortune in just a few days.
Xu Qingyao was the first to recover. "Brother, did you really make that much?"
Instead of answering, Li Yi took out three bankbooks from his bag.
Handing two of them to Xu Qingnan, he said, "Sis, keep these. One account holds 210,000 yuan for future business investments, while the other has 10,000 yuan for household expenses."
Then, he handed the third passbook to Xu Qingyao. "Yaoyao, this has 5,000 yuan—your pocket money."
"Five thousand? That much?"
Li Yi smiled. "Yes. Use it to buy what you need. And eat well at school—I know you've been skimping on food."
Blushing, Xu Qingyao pouted. "I don't!"
Li Yi smirked. "Then why are you still as thin as a bean sprout?"
"Brother, you're so annoying!"
As they playfully argued, Li Fengnian sighed and silently watched his family, his heart full of complex emotions.
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