Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Li Siblings (Part Two)

I nodded, clearly understanding the meaning behind Li Dabiao’s words. Indeed, in this era, finding a job was no easy feat. If I hadn’t experienced rebirth, perhaps I would still be just an ordinary high school student now. At this moment, I glanced at Li Dabiao’s younger sister, who was quietly eating beside us, and asked with a smile, “Brother Li, I still don’t know your sister’s name. Would you introduce us?”

“Haha, look at me, I almost forgot.” Li Dabiao patted his sister’s delicate shoulder. “This is my sister, Li Siyan. She’s sixteen this year. Xiao Qiang, how old are you?”

“I’m a year older than Siyan,” I replied with a smile. “Siyan, you’re in your third year of middle school, right? Which school do you attend?”

“I go to the Sixth Middle School in City C.” Li Siyan answered with a bright smile, not a trace of shyness. It seemed she was an open and straightforward person.

“The Sixth Middle School? The affiliated junior high of No. 6?” Hearing this, I couldn’t help but frown slightly. “Siyan, isn’t that school kind of chaotic? Why did you choose to study there? There are a lot of delinquents.” From what I remembered, the Sixth Middle School was the type of place where underachievers gathered, and its academic atmosphere left much to be desired.

The smile on Li Siyan’s face froze the moment I said this. She lowered her head and mumbled, “For someone like me, an outsider, it’s hard enough just to get into a school. The Sixth doesn’t require a sponsorship fee, so I went there…”

Seeing her expression, I thought I’d said something wrong and quickly explained, “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. I spoke carelessly. Actually, it doesn’t matter where you study—gold will always shine wherever it is.”

“Mm,” Li Siyan answered softly, stealing a glance at her brother. Seeing his face clouded over, she ducked her head even lower in fear.

“Siyan, you… you lied to me?!” At this moment, Li Dabiao’s face was a picture of shock. He suddenly threw down his bowl and chopsticks and roared at his sister, “Didn’t you say the Sixth was a good school? Didn’t you say the students there had great grades? You… you actually went to a school full of delinquents? Are you trying to drive me mad?”

“No, brother, listen to me…” Li Siyan was truly frightened, waving her small hands frantically. “The Sixth might be a bit chaotic, but the teachers are good. I’ll study hard, I promise, you don’t have to worry.”

“Not worry? Hmph! How can I not worry about a school like that?” Li Dabiao leapt to his feet in anger. “Didn’t I tell you, even if I have to work three jobs a day, I’ll make sure you go to a good school! No wonder the fees were so reasonable—turns out they don’t charge sponsorship because it’s a bad school!”

“Brother, don’t be angry, Qiang is watching us.” Siyan pleaded, looking anxiously at her brother and whispering, “I just wanted to save you some money to send to Mom. We haven’t seen her in so long, and we don’t even know if her illness has improved… Brother, we came out here for Mom, didn’t we? We were hoping to find some relatives in City C, but we haven’t found any. How could I bear to watch you work yourself to death…”

“Siyan… even so, you shouldn’t have lied to me! Do you know how hurt I am? I really feel like a failure right now—a failure who can’t even support his own sister’s education!” Li Dabiao slumped back into his chair, his face full of defeat.

Watching their exchange, I had basically figured out their situation. It seemed Li Dabiao had brought his sister from their hometown in the mountains to the southern city because their mother was gravely ill and needed money. They’d hoped to find some old relatives, but when that failed, they could only stay, working odd jobs while still searching. I thought for a moment—if Li Dabiao had come to City C for any other reason, I might not have been able to help. But if all they lacked was money, that was hardly an issue for me. After all, I was a billionaire now—what was a little money to me? With what I knew, I could buy tons of gold if I wished.

With this in mind, I gave an awkward smile and said to Li Dabiao, whose face was still full of pain, “Brother Li, a hard life doesn’t mean a man is useless. It only means he hasn’t had the right opportunity yet. I may not be able to find you the best opportunities, but I can help in other ways. If you don’t mind, since we hit it off so well, why don’t we become sworn brothers?”

I’d thought it through—Li Dabiao was straightforward and a good man, and I needed someone like him to help me carry out my grand plans. If we became sworn brothers, he could accept my help openly, and in turn, he could fight alongside me.

Li Dabiao looked at me strangely, then forced a smile and nodded at once. “If you don’t mind my poverty, I’d be honored. Let’s swear before heaven and earth right now!”

“Good!” I stood up from the bed, ignoring the pain from my wounds, and knelt beside Li Dabiao before the Buddha portrait hanging on the wall.

“I, Xiao Qiang, from today on, am sworn brothers with Li Dabiao, sharing joys and hardships all my life, never to betray!”

“I, Li Dabiao, from today on, am sworn brothers with Xiao Qiang, sharing joys and hardships all my life, never to betray!”

We looked at each other, then I laughed and bowed deeply. “Please accept my salute, brother. From now on, your family is my family, your troubles are mine—together in adversity, together in fortune.”

“Haha! With such a fine younger brother, my life is worth it!” Li Dabiao said enthusiastically, helping me up. Then he called out to Li Siyan, “Siyan, go get the family wine. Your brother Xiao and I are going to have a good drink!”

Hearing her brother, Siyan’s face, which had just brightened, faltered, and she said awkwardly, “Brother, you’re getting ahead of yourself. We… we don’t have any wine at home…”

I immediately pulled out my wallet, took out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills, and handed them to her. “Siyan, go buy some good wine your brother likes!”

When I shoved the money into her hand, both of them were stunned. That stack of hundreds was at least a thousand yuan—enough for three months’ wages on a construction site. They had never seen so much money before. In 1997, a thousand yuan was a fortune for a poor family, but for me, it was nothing—hardly worth mentioning.

“No, Xiao, what are you doing? That’s your parents’ money—you shouldn’t spend so recklessly.” Li Dabiao tried to take the money away from Siyan and return it to me, but I stopped him quickly. “Brother Li, listen—honestly, if there’s one thing I have, it’s money! Maybe you won’t believe me, but I’ll explain everything in a bit. Don’t worry, this money is all earned by me, not from my parents. Siyan, go buy the wine, and use what’s left to get some nice clothes. Take it as a meeting gift from your new brother.”

Siyan held the money, not knowing what to do. After gazing deeply at me, Li Dabiao relented, turning to his sister. “Go on, Siyan, but don’t buy anything too expensive—no need to waste your brother’s money.”

“Alright… I’ll go then.” With her brother’s permission, Siyan nodded and walked out. Li Dabiao helped me back to the bed, and knowing he was direct by nature, I quickly made up a story about how I’d designed a software program and sold it to a foreign company for a hefty profit. I figured a man from the north like him wouldn’t understand computers anyway. Of course, I didn’t mention my billions—just that the software sold for ten million.