That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1382 Li Ye is still the same Li Ye
As Ma Zhaoxian had predicted, the merger between the two companies was progressing slowly. In May, they were busy testing Li Ye and inviting him to visit, but later they seemed to lose heart and ignored Li Ye for almost two months.

If Li Ye hadn't known that a power struggle was underway and that both sides were in a weighing-the-bone phase, he would have thought the merger was doomed to fail.

However, the news that the light vehicle company was going to be merged and upgraded gradually spread.

At the end of July, Li Ye received a call from his classmate Chen Xiaoling: "Hey, Li Ye, I heard you got promoted again, right? You didn't even tell everyone about your promotion so we could celebrate with you. That's not very friendly of you!"

Li Ye chuckled and said, "You have the nerve to say that to me? Among all of us classmates, who advances as fast as you? You sneak up a level and advance two without even realizing it."

Chen Xiaoling was assigned to the Organization Department. Although she might not be promoted as quickly as Li Ye, she would definitely not be slow. The promotion mechanism, which seemed shrouded in mystery to outsiders, was as transparent to them. They could figure out roughly which milestones would be in which month, and a delay of three months would be considered a major mistake.

Moreover, after several years of being influenced by him, Chen Xiaoling now speaks in a somewhat "domineering" manner.

"Stop being silly, Li Ye. A few of us classmates want to celebrate for you today. Will you do me the honor?"

"Of course, of course, I am flattered and extremely grateful."

"Stop talking nonsense, same place, six o'clock this afternoon, don't be late!"

“Okay, okay.”

Li Ye quickly agreed. After all, he was the second youngest in his class and was taken care of by Zhen Rongrong and Chen Xiaoling like a younger brother. Now that they were organizing a get-together, he couldn't put on airs.

A little after 5 p.m., Li Ye arrived at Lao Zhao's Restaurant outside the south gate of Peking University ahead of schedule.

It's been six years since we graduated. We're no longer the poor students who had to spend ages calculating what to order. We can afford to eat at the best restaurants now, but when we get together, we mostly go to this family restaurant that holds so many memories.

"Boss, give us a room, and two braised pork knuckles and two servings of sweet and sour pork."

Li Ye ordered several dishes in one go. In his memory, when everyone came to have a meal together, Chen Xiaoling and several other classmates would always fight over the food.

At 5:45, the rest of the people arrived. After meeting, they were all a little emotional, because although they all stayed in Beijing to work, some of them had not seen each other for four or five years.

After the food was served, Chen Xiaoling and Pu Xianghe were quite moved: "Look, look, Li Ye even ordered for us! After all these years, he still remembers that I like this kind of food!"

Li Ye smiled and looked at Pu Xianghe's belly.

This guy used to be skinnier than a monkey, but now he's almost as big as Pigsy.

"Come on, let's have a drink to celebrate Comrade Li Ye becoming a key reserve cadre!"

"Hahahaha~"

After two glasses of baijiu, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively. Chen Xiaoling also subtly brought up something, making Li Ye understand that she had taken the lead in organizing this gathering today. Celebrating her own promotion was just the prelude; the main purpose was for Fu Lianbing.

After graduation, this old classmate was assigned to a steel plant in Beijing, where he was appreciated by the head of headquarters and rose rapidly through the ranks, seemingly destined for a bright future.
However, last year, the gang leader was executed for 144 million yuan.

After hearing the amount of 144 million RMB, Li Ye felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Because he made money too quickly and too easily, his assessment of the 144 million figure in the 1980s and 1990s was inaccurate.

What will this little bit of money mean decades from now?

A house, a car, and a dowry might not be enough to cover all the expenses, but in this situation, it could make a big shot reincarnate.

Even though he lost money, he still enjoyed 144 million. But Fu Lianbing, whom he appreciated, was investigated and punished severely regardless of the facts. He was sent from the headquarters to a subordinate steel rolling mill, which was on the verge of extinction, and was even disliked by others.

“Old Fu has had a run of bad luck last year. He suffered an unexpected disaster. If he hadn’t been clean, who knows how bad his luck would have been. But after getting into that kind of trouble, his future will be difficult. Now he has an opportunity, but he can’t make up his mind. Everyone, please give him some advice.” After Chen Xiaoling finished speaking, she first looked at Pu Xianghe and then at Li Ye.

Pu Xianghe winked and smiled without saying a word.

This guy was assigned to ICBC, dealing with money all day long. Over the years, he not only developed a big belly, but also honed his shrewdness to an extreme degree.

Seeing Fu Lianbing's awkward smile, Li Ye couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

This guy used to be a confident and cheerful young man, but after suffering a setback, he instantly became so humble.

Li Ye immediately asked, "Old Fu, do you want to move to another unit, or do you want to go into business? If you want to move, you'd better be patient and wait. After all, your rank isn't low, and it'll be a bit difficult to transfer to our unit. But if you want to go into business, that would be much easier."

Before Li Ye could finish speaking, Fu Lianbing's smile froze, and he couldn't help but sniffle.

Li Ye is still the same open-minded Li Ye.

Fu Lianbing quickly said, "Thank you, Li Ye. I know my situation. I don't expect to be transferred, but our unit is encouraging everyone to take on contracting jobs, so I'd like to give it a try, though I'm not sure if I'm confident."

Li Ye nodded and asked, "The domestic steel market isn't doing well right now, it's really hard to predict. What are your company's main products?"

Fu Lianbing said somewhat embarrassedly, "The scope of the contract is quite large. I heard that your company is going to merge with Southwest Heavy Truck. Our company can produce automotive leaf springs."

"Ah~"

Li Ye sighed softly, poured Fu Lianbing a full glass of wine, and then said quietly, "For this matter, why didn't you just give me a call? Why are you being so coy like a little girl?"

The heavy truck deal isn't finalized yet! However, our factory has expanded its production capacity for light trucks and mini-trucks this year. I'll get you the specifications later, and you can have your technicians take a look. If it's feasible, we can start by settling on a deal worth around ten million.

Fu Lianbing pursed his lips tightly, and tears welled up in his eyes.

After he fell from grace, everyone avoided him, and he wasn't sure if his former classmates and friends could lend him a hand.

After all, without any shared interests, such "help" between classmates usually only happens once, and it's over after the first time, regardless of the final outcome.

It would be fine if it were actually used, but I'm afraid that if I bring it up, I'll get a cold shoulder, which would be both embarrassing and humiliating.

Seeing how open and honest Li Ye was, Chen Xiaoling turned to look at Pu Xianghe.

"Old Pu, what's your opinion?"

Pu Xianghe quickly moved closer to Fu Lianbing and asked with a smile, "Old Fu, do you need a loan? Just say the word, and I'll definitely help you with anything I can."

Chen Xiaoling kicked Pu Xianghe's stool with a clever move.

"What do you mean by 'if only you could do it'? If you could do it, why would I need to come to you?"

"I'll get it done, I'll definitely get it done."

"."

Fu Lianbing's tears finally fell.

He raised his glass, toasted Li Ye and Pu Xianghe, and downed it in one gulp.

Although it may seem a little unreasonable, having such a chance to turn one's life around is a rare and precious opportunity!
(End of this chapter)