Chapter 28

Leaving the small courtyard, Li Dong came to the small grove at the village intersection and pressed the start button.

His vision went dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in 2018.

"I'm back."

Li Dong immediately turned on the lights to check the items he had brought over: four bottles of liquor, ten softshell turtles, twenty pounds of sweet potatoes, over ten pounds of vegetables, five to six pounds of large black fish, and five nearly one-pound eels, plus a wooden bucket, all intact.

There was no problem at all, and the time travel was very smooth. Could it be that he was really overweight last time?

Li Dong checked the numbers on the screen:

70:00:00

250

1978.9.7

Li Dong roughly understood the meaning of the numbers. The first line was the duration of sunlight exposure, the second line was likely the weight, and the third line was the time point of departure.

"In that case, the weight limit for carrying items cannot exceed 250 pounds, including my own weight and the total weight of the items. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been an overweight issue last time."

Li Dong compared the situation of the previous collapse and estimated, "Large items can't be brought over."

He first put the softshell turtles, black fish, and eels into the pond, placed the four bottles of liquor in the cabinet, and divided the sweet potatoes and vegetables into two portions. He would take one part to the farm tomorrow and the other part to the city for his daughter.

After tidying up, it was only around ten o'clock in the evening. He had been in 1978 for nearly half a month, but only about two hours had passed here. One hour here was roughly equivalent to six to seven days in 1978, while one day in 2018 was about one hour in 1978.

Li Dong calculated that he had arrived in 1978 around eight o'clock in the evening and would stay until ten o'clock the next morning, about ten hours. He should stay for about eight to nine days before returning, otherwise, it would be easy to be discovered when it got light. "After finishing this job for Mr. Tian, I'll plan what to bring over."

After tidying up, Li Dong took a hot bath and had a comfortable sleep. His insomnia was long gone.

Labor sometimes has its benefits, but the early morning habit made Li Dong laugh and cry. He woke up around six in the morning and couldn't fall back asleep. He got up and tended to his vegetable garden until eight.

After having breakfast at home, Li Dong caught the softshell turtles in a net and put them in a bucket, leaving two behind.

He planned to keep the black fish and eels for his daughter. On his way to the farm, he coincidentally met Han Weiguo and his son, Han Xiaohai.

"Dad, I've been telling you, you should go out and play when you have nothing to do. Staying at home is boring," Han Xiaohai said. He worked in tourism and made about 200,000 yuan a year, which was decent in a small city.

"Who says it's boring? I still need to take care of the farm," Han Weiguo said, not wanting to leave home, as going out would cost money and be tiring.

"The farm will probably close soon. How many customers do you get in a week?"

As they were talking, they saw Li Dong approaching with a bucket. Han Weiguo glared at Han Xiaohai, who pouted. "I didn't say anything wrong. The farm isn't doing well, and why did Li Dong open it? Everyone knows."

His wife had left him, and he couldn't stay in the city, so he impulsively came to the countryside to open a farm, thinking it would be easy to do business.

Everyone in the village was waiting to see the joke. The farm wouldn't last long with few customers. Only his father thought Li Dong could make it, which was hard to understand.

"Uncle Weiguo, Xiaohai is back."

"Yes, he came to see me. What are you doing?" Han Xiaohai, though he didn't think much of Li Dong, greeted him with a smile.

"I'm bringing some softshell turtles to the farm's pond, a friend brought them over."

Li Dong had vaguely heard Han Xiaohai and Han Weiguo complaining, but it was their business, and he didn't want to get involved.

"Softshell turtles, perfect. We don't know what to have for lunch. Dad, why don't we stew one? You can't just eat vegetables all the time in the countryside," Han Xiaohai said, looking into the bucket.

"Xiaohai, that's not right. These softshell turtles are for Mr. Tian. How about I give you some eels instead?" This was true; the softshell turtles were reserved for Tian Liang.

"What Mr. Tian? Softshell turtles aren't that special, and they need to be reserved?"

"Xiaohai, don't talk nonsense. Last time, Tian Liang paid a thousand yuan for two softshell turtles."

"So what? Is there something special about these softshell turtles?"

Han Xiaohai, being young, was already annoyed with Li Dong's pretense. "Why do you need to reserve them? I know the situation at your farm."

"Nothing special, just some wild softshell turtles, which are hard to get."

Li Dong smiled and said nothing. "Alright, Uncle Weiguo, I'll go ahead."

Han Xiaohai watched Li Dong leave with the bucket, feeling even more annoyed. "Does he look down on me?"

"How much do you think a softshell turtle sells for?"

Han Weiguo glared at his son. "How much? Do you think they sell for three to five hundred?"

Han Xiaohai said dismissively, "Supermarket softshell turtles cost at most three to five yuan per pound."

"Three to five hundred, you buy a lid. Last time, Mr. Tian paid two thousand for two softshell turtles."

"Two thousand for two softshell turtles? Is he crazy?"

Han Xiaohai thought all the talk about wild softshell turtles was nonsense. "How many wild things are there these days?"

"You're the one who's crazy. Do you think rich people are all fools? They are very shrewd."

"Where did you get these wild softshell turtles?"

Han Xiaohai's eyes lit up. "A thousand yuan each, if you could get a few a day, you'd be rich."

"Ask me, who should I ask?"

Han Weiguo glanced at Li Dong's back. "He opened the farm, not for fun. Besides, he's been a teacher for so long, he must have connections."

Han Xiaohai thought, "Sure, sure, you're right," but he doubted it. "Who knows? Maybe he's just fooling around. A thousand yuan each, that's a lot of money. Is running a farm really that profitable?"

Li Dong arrived at the farm, opened the gate, and the big black dog wagged its tail to greet him. "Alright, I'll get you some food after I'm done."

After placing the softshell turtles, Li Dong fed the dog, cleaned the farm, and worked until around nine, but there were no calls for meals.

Li Dong decided to lock the farm and go home. He took the softshell turtles, black fish, and eels, and brought two bottles of Xinghua Daqu to visit his daughter in the city.

The weather was nice, and Li Dong walked to the intersection. After waiting a few minutes without seeing a bus, he decided to walk. It took him just over two hours to reach the city.

"The class hasn't ended yet."

Standing at the gate of No. 11 Middle School, Li Dong checked the time. There were still about ten minutes before the class ended.

"Ring, ring."

"Baby."

Li Jingyi and her classmates waved goodbye and were about to go to the intersection to wait for her aunt when someone called her nickname. The voice was familiar, and the person looked familiar too. After a moment, Li Jingyi looked at Li Dong uncertainly. "Dad?"

She couldn't believe it. Her father had changed so much. His big belly was gone, his skin was a healthy bronze, and he looked ten years younger. She was unsure if it was really her father.

"Can't you recognize your dad?"

Li Dong was also surprised when he looked in the mirror this morning. He looked ten years younger, with a bronze complexion and a muscular body, no extra fat. He wasn't sure if it was due to time travel or physical labor.

"Did you go to Africa, Dad?"

Li Jingyi stared at Li Dong, circling around him. In just over a month, her father had changed completely, looking younger but much darker. "Dad, did you fall in love? I heard love can make you look younger."

Li Dong was speechless. "You're a little devil. By the way, Baby, no one is picking you up for lunch?"

"My aunt is picking me up for lunch."

Gao Jia, who was a bit late today, saw a tall, muscular man holding Li Jingyi's hand. She ran over, looking furious, which surprised both Li Dong and Li Jingyi.

"Scoundrel, let go of her hand."

"Auntie."

"Jiajia."

Gao Jia was stunned. "Brother-in-law?"

"What, don't you recognize me?"

Gao Jia was dumbfounded. "Brother-in-law, did you get plastic surgery in South Korea?"

"Plastic surgery?"

Li Dong was amused. "I've been exercising because there's not much to do at the farm. Who can get plastic surgery like this?"

"That's true."

Gao Jia became excited. "Brother-in-law, tell me, how did you exercise? You look ten years younger, and your body is amazing." She patted Li Dong's chest, which was all muscle.

Not just Gao Jia, but Li Jingyi was also surprised. "Dad, were you kidnapped by aliens?"

No more big belly, all muscle. This was too unbelievable. Was this still the lazy, homebody dad she knew?

"Don't be silly. Let's go home. I brought some good things this time. Look, wild softshell turtles, black fish, and eels. They're really good."

Li Dong was proud, but he didn't notice Li Jingyi's skeptical expression.

She remembered that two years ago, Li Dong had brought a bag of fish he claimed were wild, but her grandfather had found out they were farmed, which was embarrassing.

"Brother-in-law, did you get scammed again?" Gao Jia was skeptical, and Li Dong was taken aback.

Just as he was about to say that he had caught them himself, his phone rang.

"Mr. Tian, it's me. I'm in the city. About the softshell turtles, don't worry. I contacted a friend and managed to get a few after a lot of effort. I couldn't get ten, but I have six. A thousand yuan each. It's not about the money; wild softshell turtles are hard to get. I'll do my best."

After hanging up, Li Dong saw Gao Jia and Li Jingyi looking at him in surprise. "What's wrong?"