Chapter 22

Li Dong could only put on a miserable face and wait for the criticism session, but fortunately, the four people were taken care of. Now, the Red Guards and the young activists were all behaving themselves, not daring to go out, let alone grab anyone to criticize and struggle against, whether verbally or physically. All that had come to a halt.

Otherwise, someone like Li Dong, who enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle, would surely have been labeled with the帽子 of bourgeois hedonism and would have been forced to have his head shaved and stand on stage to be criticized. In those days, even eating a meat meal required careful thought to avoid being labeled, and people would close their doors and eat secretly.

Fortunately, Han Guofu and his group were not young activists. They aimed to criticize and educate to save and heal people. Han Guofu and his group began a series of brainwashing sessions for Li Dong, teaching him to learn from the exemplary Eighth Company, to make do with old things, and to mend and patch for another three years. They emphasized that one should not indulge in hedonism but should work hard and honestly, not be lazy, and work diligently for the country, the people, and the new socialist era.

Li Dong nodded vigorously, agreeing with everything they said. The intentions were good, and as a good student of the new century who had taken moral education classes, Li Dong, who always wore a mask of hypocrisy, promised earnestly to change and to follow their advice.

He nodded in agreement, even though he didn't really mean it, firmly believing that Han Guofu and his group were right and would not contradict them, eating and drinking as he pleased.

"Now is a good time. As long as you can endure hardship and work hard, you can have enough to eat. After the autumn harvest, you can fix up your house, marry a capable wife, and maybe next year you'll have a chubby baby. Work hard for a few more years and you can build a new house."

Li Dong shuddered. Everything else was fine, but the thought of a chubby baby made him shudder.

Han Guofu felt that Li Dong was still teachable. "We must not lose the spirit of hard struggle and thrift. We must be frugal in our daily lives to ensure we have enough oil and salt and don't go hungry. As the saying goes, even if you harvest ten thousand stones of grain, you should still eat simple meals."

"This is right. Thrift is a family treasure that we must not forget. You must not act recklessly anymore. As the saying goes, a thousand days of chopping wood cannot be burned in one day." Han Guohong, who had read a few years of school, was a cultured person. "We are farmers and must act within our means, being frugal and not imitating the hedonism of capitalists and old landlords."

"We must not indulge in such a lifestyle. We must live within our means and not have hedonistic thoughts or exaggerate. These are wrong, as the great leaders have said." The elders, including Uncle Liu, added a few words, emphasizing the importance of thrift and hard work, and not imitating capitalists or old landlords.

The matter of the brick and tile house was brought up again, with the elders believing that Li Dong's promise was too grandiose. Li Dong felt helpless, thinking that his words were seen as exaggeration and boasting. It was just about building a brick and tile house, why was there so little trust?

However, speaking of trust, things had improved in the past two years. In the previous years, children would report their parents, daughters would report their mothers, and spouses would report each other, leading to a complete breakdown of human relationships and family ties. You never knew which word might be misinterpreted and reported by someone else.

"Xiaojuan, you must watch your dad closely and not let him spend money recklessly." Grandma Wu patted Xiaojuan's hand, feeling sorry for the poor child. A household without a woman in charge was not a household.

Xiaojuan nodded vigorously, promising to keep a close eye on her father, manage the household, and make him change his ways. "Grandma Wu, I know, I will definitely watch Dad."

"Now that Xiaojuan is old enough to earn work points, you must work hard and not act recklessly anymore." Grandma Wu said earnestly. "This year, you should marry a wife and next year have a chubby baby."

"Ah, Xiaojuan earning work points?"

Li Dong was about to nod and agree to having more babies, but when he heard about Xiaojuan working, he quickly said, "Uncle Guofu, I wanted to talk to you about Xiaojuan's schooling. I heard we need a certificate from the production team?"

"Schooling? What schooling?"

Grandma Wu, Han Guofu, and Uncle Liu were all puzzled, wondering why he was bringing up schooling.

"Xiaojuan, schooling. I plan to send her to the commune school when it starts this year." Li Dong said matter-of-factly, as it was natural to send a child of her age to school.

"Why should a girl go to school?"

Grandma Wu was about to say more, but Uncle Liu interrupted. "Think carefully about schooling. It affects the food supply."

At that time, rural people did not see the value in education, thinking it was useless and a waste of time that could be spent earning work points and food. In the production team, only the third son of the team leader went to the commune school, while the other children did not.

Children as young as five or six could earn work points, which was much better than going to school, especially for a girl. Grandma Wu shook her head, thinking that Li Dong was not good at calculating.

After Grandma Wu and Uncle Liu left, Han Guofu called Li Dong to a corner.

"What are your plans for the brick and tile house?" This boy had been quiet, and Han Guofu felt there must be something going on. "You must not act recklessly or engage in illegal activities."

Han Guofu had heard that speculators were appearing again, which was a bad trend, and many young people were being corrupted. While he could not control other villages, in Han Village, anyone who engaged in speculation would have their legs broken.

Li Dong thought to himself, what recklessness? Did Han Guofu know something? He needed to come up with a plan, or it would be hard to explain the money for the house. "Uncle Guofu, what are you talking about? The last time I went to Uncle Er's place, he said my father left me a house in the city. I thought I wouldn't go back to live in Han Village, so I decided to sell it."

"A house in the city?"

Han Guofu's eyes widened. Li Dong thought he had him. "Yes, I'm no longer registered in Han Village. What use do I have for a city house?"

"You, you silly boy, a city household registration is so valuable. You could just transfer your household registration back."

"Ah, that might be too late. I sold it a few days ago. It might already be sold. City houses are easy to sell." Li Dong pretended to be a bit slow, not thinking clearly, and said he couldn't go back to the city, as it was not as peaceful as the countryside.

Han Guofu regretted it deeply, slapping his chest. "I've let you down. I should have inquired more before registering you here."

"No, Uncle Guofu, it's not your fault."

Great, Li Dong was overjoyed. Uncle Guofu felt guilty, which would make things easier for him in the future.

"Regarding the brick and tile house, I'll help you look into it. Cement is hard to get, so be prepared."

Han Guofu sighed. Many people wanted a city household registration, which meant access to rationed food. With Uncle Er's connections, he might even help Li Dong find a stable job, but he had let the boy down.

Li Dong watched Han Guofu leave with a sigh, thinking that now he had a legitimate reason for the money for the brick and tile house. He just needed to earn more money. He checked the numbers on his screen, which were now close to forty.

At the current rate, Li Dong could activate the time travel function in a week. He needed to catch more softshell turtles, as there were many in the reservoir, but his tools were not good enough, and he could catch only two or three a day. He still needed to catch ten more.

Catching wild fish was even harder. Were the farmers of that time really so naive? If fish and shrimp were easy to catch, even if they were not tasty, people would still catch them to supplement their food supply. After all, having enough to eat was the top priority, but fishing tools were limited, and fish were not as easy to catch as imagined.

Instead of wasting time and energy, it was more practical to work hard and earn work points. Li Dong was different in this regard. A single softshell turtle could be worth hundreds or thousands of yuan in the future, making it a big profit. He could use the money from selling turtles to buy的确良 (polyester) shirts, which would also be a big profit.

Li Dong was quite frustrated. He had many ideas for making money, but after arriving, he found it was much harder than he thought. When he went back to 2018, he read some novels about that era.

In those stories, people made huge profits, but in reality, it was a different story. There were patrolling militiamen in the countryside, and fishing could lead to severe criticism sessions. If you tried to run, they would shoot you.

The risk of being robbed was high, and traveling by train was the only relatively safe option. Selling goods in the city could lead to trouble, with the production team finding you and possibly breaking your legs.

Speculation was as serious as robbery, murder, and rape in those days, and reporting it was considered a good deed. If you told others you were doing business, you would be reported and arrested, and a bullet could send you back to your hometown.

Li Dong was quite conflicted. He was not a bold person, and speculation was a capital offense. He could not tell anyone, not even Xiaojuan, who only knew he was selling fish, which was considered a minor offense.

"Ah."

Five hundred yuan sounded easy, but it was actually quite difficult. Selling shirts in the county was risky, and the last time he did it with Huang Yingnan, they were almost caught and later targeted by some hooligans.

Selling shirts in the city would be even harder. Li Dong planned to be more cautious, as it was a matter of life and death. Although he knew that speculation would be officially recognized in a few years, it was not the case now. The class struggle was still the main focus, and he could not risk his life.

"Ah, what a pity. Huang Yingnan might not even be his real name, and he might not be from the Chi Kou commune."

They had met by chance, and Li Dong had used Liu Dehua's name. Huang Yingnan might have used a pseudonym. As for contact, it was a joke. In those days, communication was mainly by shouting and yelling. The commune had a telephone, but Han Village did not even have a loudspeaker.

Rural areas still relied on ringing bells to gather people for meetings. The only way to contact someone was by address, and writing letters or sending telegrams was a luxury.

"First, I need to accumulate more sun points."

Li Dong called the first row of numbers "sun points." He needed to accumulate a hundred before returning to 2018. He would bring things back and then think about selling them, as there was no sign of success yet.

"Really frustrating. I have to do heavy labor for a whole week starting tomorrow."

Li Dong was being reformed through labor, as decided by the entire leadership of Han Village and some respected villagers. "What am I doing? I shouldn't have shown off."

Xiaojuan, seeing her new father sighing, came over to massage his shoulders.

"Xiaojuan, you must study hard, get a good job, and earn money to support your father. Then your father will be comfortable."

"Um," Xiaojuan nodded, thinking she must study hard, earn money, help her father marry a wife, have a chubby baby brother, and have a brother to carry her when she gets married.