Chapter 27: The Power of Authority (Part 1)

The night was as cool as water, the autumn wind gradually turning chilly, rustling through the trees on campus.

Li Yi came out of the school and went straight to where Tong Jun had set up his stall.

Tong Jun was manning two stalls, haggling enthusiastically with a male student who was buying a book. Seeing Li Yi, he called out, "Xiao Li, you came just in time. Help me watch the clothing stall over there."

Li Yi smiled, "Fatty, come with me, I'll buy you a drink."

Tong Jun refused, "It's still early. We can do business for another hour. Every extra bit counts."

"Come on, is this petty money worth more than our brotherhood?" Li Yi said, smiling, and handed the book to the male student, "Here, take it! Go read it!"

The male student looked at the sullen Tong Jun and happily took the book and left.

"Fatty, you wasteful brat! How can you give away my books? If you want to buy me a drink, fine, but at least let me pack up my stall first," Tong Jun shouted.

"These items aren't worth much. Just consider it a way to spread some wealth. Give them to the students," Li Yi said, raising his voice to shout, "Special thanks! Everything is free! Come and take what you need!"

"Hey! Li Yi, are you out of your mind? This is all my money! My entire fortune!" Tong Jun was furious, his whole body shaking with anger.

Li Yi ignored him and shouted a few more times. At first, no one believed him and just gathered around to watch. Li Yi shouted, "It's free! Don't you want it? Are you stupid?"

A few girls touched the skirts and asked, "Are the clothes free too?"

"Sure, take whatever you like."

"Really? For free? No regrets?"

"Free, no regrets!"

The girls took the skirts they liked and quickly left, afraid Li Yi would change his mind.

This sparked a frenzy among the onlookers. The more restrained ones took only what they liked, while the greedier ones grabbed as much as they could, wishing they had more hands and strength.

Tong Jun, exhausted, slumped to the ground, pointing at Li Yi, "Li the Madman, if I can't afford food, I'll cook you and eat you!"

Li Yi laughed, "You won't starve!" He pulled Tong Jun's fat hand, "Get up, let's talk. We're going to do big business. Let's have a drink first."

"Alright! When life is good, we must enjoy it. Even if we spend all our money, it will come back!" Tong Jun was quite pragmatic; he didn't dwell on what couldn't be changed.

They found a barbecue stall. Li Yi ordered a large table of barbecue and a few bottles of beer, and they toasted with one bottle.

"Fatty, I want to start a company, and I want you to be the general manager," Li Yi said with a smile.

"Ha!" Tong Jun choked on his beer, spraying it all over Li Yi.

Li Yi pretended to be angry, "Is what I said that funny?"

"Not funny, but you should tell a better joke."

"I'm serious!" Li Yi said calmly.

"Oh?" Tong Jun, seeing his serious expression, became serious too, "What do you want me to do? Not a shoe-shining company, right? That's popular now, but it's women's work. I'm a man, and even if I could put aside my pride, others might not let me shine their shoes."

"Shoe-shining company? Not a bad idea," Li Yi mused, as if considering its feasibility.

Tong Jun was stunned, "Hey, Li Yi, you're not serious, are you?"

"Ha, what do you want to do?"

Tong Jun scratched his head, "I don't know. What do you think I can do? You know me better."

"I think you're destined to be a laborer! Carrying cement and wielding a trowel on a construction site," Li Yi laughed.

"Sure, if I could be a foreman, that would be great. Think about it, there's plenty of labor in our village. But to get people to work for you, you need jobs. We don't have the connections or the capital. Once you gather people, you need to feed and house them, which costs money," Tong Jun thought it through carefully.

"Do you really want to do it?" Li Yi suddenly realized that real estate could be a good investment.

"Of course! With a few ten thousand yuan, I'd be willing to try!"

"Money is just a bastard! Let's register a company tomorrow. A million yuan should be enough, right?"

"What? A million yuan?" Tong Jun stood up abruptly, staring at Li Yi as if he were an alien.

"You heard me! Sit down, people are looking at you!"

Sure enough, a man at the next table shouted, "Poor kid, what are you pretending? A million yuan? Have you even seen a hundred yuan?"

Tong Jun was about to argue, but Li Yi pulled him back, "This hot temper! Don't stoop to their level!"

Li Yi didn't argue, but the man at the next table came over. The young man, hearing Li Yi's words, grabbed Tong Jun's chair and pulled it, causing Tong Jun to fall backward.

Tong Jun quickly got up.

Li Yi rushed forward, pointing at the man, "You! Apologize to my friend! Or you'll regret it."

The young man, a local, didn't look like a good person. He took advantage of Li Yi and Tong Jun being outsiders and students, assuming they wouldn't make a big deal out of it. He became even more arrogant, pushing Li Yi's hand away and spitting out, "Brat, don't be ungrateful! He fell on his own. Why blame me? Who told him he couldn't sit properly?"

Li Yi's anger flared. He grabbed a beer bottle and, without hesitation, smashed it on the young man's head.

With a loud crack, the bottle shattered, glass flying everywhere. The beer and blood mixed, blurring the young man's vision. He staggered to his feet, pointed at Li Yi, but before he could say anything, he fell down again.

Three other men with the young man, seeing him fall, snapped out of their shock and lunged at Li Yi.

Li Yi, still holding half of the broken beer bottle, shouted, "Who's not afraid to die, come on!" Seeing their hesitation, he added, "Why don't you take him to the hospital?"

At that moment, a police car pulled up. A few officers got out and called to the owner, "Ten bottles of beer! Bring us some meat and vegetables."

The three men immediately shouted, "Someone's beating people! Help!"

The police officers, hearing the cries for help, gathered around. The lead officer asked, "What's going on? Do you need to call 110?" He looked at Li Yi and laughed, "Isn't this Li Yi?"

"Who are you?" Li Yi smiled, "Captain Chen, hello!"

Chen Xiang shook Li Yi's hand, "Brother, we really have a connection!"

The three men, seeing Li Yi's familiarity with the police, turned green with fear, "Comrade, my friend was beaten..."

Chen Xiang squatted down, patted the man on the ground, and splashed water on his face.

The man woke up, saw Chen Xiang and the others, and, realizing he was in the wrong, dared not speak.

Chen Xiang clapped his hands, "It's over! Both sides were at fault. If you sue, you'll both get fifty lashes. Listen to me, let it go!"

The four men, seeing Chen Xiang's support for Li Yi, didn't dare say another word. They glared at Li Yi and left.

Chen Xiang laughed, "Brother Li, let's have a drink! I have something to talk about with you."

Li Yi was happy to meet such a person and nodded, "Sure, let's drink until we're drunk!"

A group of men, including the police officers who were seasoned drinkers, drank as if they were pouring water.

When they were about three-quarters drunk, Chen Xiang's pager beeped.

Chen Xiang looked at it and burped, "I'll take a call."

A moment later, Chen Xiang returned, saying casually, "Brothers, there's a situation. Three cars collided on Construction North Road, and seven or eight people died!"

Everyone sobered up a bit.

A police officer laughed, "Car accidents happen every day, nothing strange about it! Just let the Construction North Road team handle it."

Chen Xiang glared at him, "Car accidents aren't strange, but it's strange that leaders from the city and provincial committees are on the scene! It's said that one of the dead is from the provincial committee!"

Everyone gasped and pushed their chairs back, standing up.

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