Chapter 3

"Xiaojuan, is your home far from here?"

Li Dong was making small talk. Just now, Han Guofu had told him about Xiaojuan's situation. This child was pitiful; her mother, a knowledge youth, had left her and her father last year when she was admitted to a vocational school and returned to the city. Her father, after a quarrel with her mother in the city, threw himself into the Yangtze River and never came back.

There were no grandparents at home. Now, to put it nicely, she was eating from a hundred families, but with everyone struggling to feed themselves, how much could they give? She looked about three or four years old, but she was actually six or seven.

Her hair was yellow and matted, her face not pale but dark, yet her big eyes were very lively. She was somewhat timid, and her voice was very soft.

"Not... far."

But this "not far" took six or seven minutes to walk. The road was not good at night, full of pits and holes, far from the smooth stone paths that would come later.

Holding a lantern, which belonged to Han Guofu's family, Li Dong had seen this kind of thing in museums but had never used one before. The production team had no electricity, and at night, they could only use kerosene lamps. Of course, not many families could afford this luxury, so they went to bed as soon as it got dark.

It was only around seven or eight o'clock, but the whole village was already quiet, with no dog barking. There was no extra grain to feed dogs, let alone cats. If anyone raised such things, they would be criticized for being wasteful.

The village was dark and quiet, except for the occasional sound from the mountains. Li Dong was a bit scared on this journey.

The phrase "pitch dark" was something Li Dong now understood deeply. After much effort, he finally arrived at Xiaojuan's house with the help of the lantern's light. It was so dark he couldn't see clearly, and the lantern's light was weak. Moreover, Li Dong was really tired, having walked unevenly for a few minutes, and he was already weak.

The mosquitoes were also terrifyingly numerous, biting him all over. Once he got inside, Li Dong just wanted to find a bed and lie down, not caring about the condition of the room.

But it was so hot, and there were so many mosquitoes. The wooden bed was hard and uncomfortable, and he couldn't sleep, tossing and turning.

"Xiaojuan, why are there so many mosquitoes?"

"What do you usually do at home?"

How could he sleep with the mosquitoes biting like this? Normally, after such a long drought, there should be fewer mosquitoes.

Xiaojuan got up and took out some reed sticks, which she lit, producing a lot of smoke. Li Dong was puzzled. What was this? Was it mosquito repellent? It was too pungent.

Forget it, Li Dong thought with a bitter smile. This was 1978, a time when just being alive was good enough. What more could he complain about? He should just sleep.

The buzzing of the mosquitoes was unbearable, and he tossed and turned for half the night before finally falling asleep. A cool breeze came in the middle of the night, which was nice.

In the morning, he found Xiaojuan lying next to him, holding a broken fan. The cool breeze at night was from her. When Li Dong moved slightly, Xiaojuan got up and looked at him with her big eyes.

"Did you fan me last night?"

"I chased away the mosquitoes."

No wonder he slept so well in the second half of the night, with no mosquitoes and a cool breeze. Xiaojuan had been chasing away the mosquitoes. "You go back to sleep. I'll go for a walk."

When Xiaojuan saw Li Dong get up, she scrambled to her feet. The captain had given her a task: to watch over the uncle and make sure he didn't drown himself. Thinking of drowning, Xiaojuan remembered her father, who had disappeared after drowning.

Li Dong was helpless. Why was this little girl following him so closely? He looked around the room. It was drafty everywhere, no wonder there were so many mosquitoes. There was no furniture in the house, just two large chests, a wooden table, a long bench, and a few small stools.

There was a broken water jar and a small rice jar. Li Dong opened the rice jar and found it empty.

The water jar was under the window, with a large crack. The window was just a few sticks propped up, but the walls were covered with newspaper, suggesting that Xiaojuan's mother, a knowledge youth, had some connections.

Although the house was not completely empty, it wasn't much better. The rice jar was empty, and the water jar had no water. There was a stove in a shed, but the pot was broken. There were no kitchen knives, but a set of bowls and chopsticks for a family of three.

Now, only Xiaojuan was left. Li Dong sighed. This child was truly pitiful.

He looked outside. The walls were made of mud bricks, but the foundation was made of stones, and the roof was thatched. This house was considered quite good for the time, and the stone foundation was envied by many.

"You don't have to follow me. I'm just going to wash my face."

Li Dong planned to wash his face at the stream. There was no canal around the village yet, so he had to go to the stream. Fortunately, it wasn't far, though the stream was almost dry. Li Dong wanted to go down to the streambed to scoop some water, but Xiaojuan held him back.

The little girl tightly held onto Li Dong's sleeve, looking pitiful, leaving Li Dong puzzled. "What's wrong?"

Xiaojuan just shook her head, leaving Li Dong both amused and frustrated. "I'm just washing my face. Can't I use this water?"

Xiaojuan still shook her head. Li Dong didn't know what to say. "Alright, alright, I won't wash my face here. I'll go to the captain's house." Han Guofu had said he could eat breakfast at his house, and Li Dong didn't refuse, as he had no choice.

When they arrived at Han Guofu's house, there were over ten people, and it was lively. A few children were running around the yard. When Li Dong and Xiaojuan arrived, Han Guofu's two daughters-in-law gave them a cold look. The family's food supply was already low, and now two more mouths to feed.

Fortunately, Han Guofu was the boss at home. For breakfast, they had rice porridge with some wild vegetables and rice cakes. There were no vegetables, not even pickled vegetables, as they required salt. Just filling their stomachs was enough.

"What are your plans?"

Han Guofu saw that Li Dong was in good spirits and thought that if his problem wasn't solved, it would be a problem. No one had extra food to give.

"Is there anyone else in your family?"

Li Dong shook his head. He was from the future, so who could he find?

"Captain, I want to register in our production team."

Getting an urban household registration was too difficult, almost as hard as making an atomic bomb. Registering in the production team was the most practical option.

"Register in our production team?"

Han Guofu paused. This wasn't impossible. Many knowledge youths had registered, and some had been there for over ten years, getting married and having children.

"Alright."

Han Guofu clapped his hands and made a decision. "In that case, Xiaojuan's house will be yours, and Xiaojuan will be registered under your household. Is that okay?"

"Ah?"

Li Dong was surprised and looked at Xiaojuan, who was looking down. "Alright, Xiaojuan will live with me."

"Xiaojuan, do you agree?"

Li Dong turned to the little girl, thinking that he was taking over her home, and she might have objections. Surprisingly, she nodded.

"Good, I'll go to the commune to get it done."

Registering was simple. The captain's proof and a written statement were enough. No need to investigate his parents. The registration was done in the morning, and Li Dong officially became a member of the Han family production team.

Li Dong was tall and looked strong, so the production team had no objections. One more mouth to feed in exchange for a hardworking laborer was a good deal.

"After work, everyone will come to see your new home."

Han Guofu said, as it was a new home, and it would be a celebration. Li Dong felt a bit embarrassed, as he had nothing to offer. "By the way, here are your clothes. My wife washed and dried them for you."

When he took the clothes, his wife had commented that the fabric was good, didn't shrink, and the shorts were thick. The clothes were worth at least five yuan, and the shoes were expensive too.

Li Dong was now wearing Han Guofu's clothes, which were patched and misshapen. Having clothes to wear was good enough. In the countryside, it wasn't uncommon for teenagers to go around bare-bottomed. New clothes were rare, and it was a treat to see a new set every few years.

"You don't need to take them off. You don't have any other clothes, so keep them."

Han Guofu waved his hand when he saw Li Dong about to take off the clothes. The captain had a few sets of clothes, and this one was already worn out.

Li Dong felt embarrassed but realized he only had one set of clothes. He couldn't go without changing. It was embarrassing for a modern person from the future to be short of clothes.

He needed to quickly understand the current situation. At the very least, he needed to secure food and clothing.

"By the way, here's something from your pocket."

Han Guofu took out some fish bait. Li Dong was surprised to find it had come with him. He took the fish bait, thinking it could help him catch some fish and shrimp. This was the Yangtze River basin, with many waterways, and the reservoirs were full of fish and shrimp.

"It's mine. I bought it last time I went to the city."

Li Dong took it, thinking about catching some fish later, but he didn't want to say it in front of Han Guofu, as the reservoir belonged to the collective, and he might get caught.

During the day, Li Dong explored and gathered some information. The propaganda slogans were still about revolution and struggle. He also learned about the self-allocated land and the raising of chickens and ducks.

Han Guofu's family had the most: five ducks and five hens, a total of ten. Having more than ten was considered capitalist, and people would report it. Reporting was considered honorable.

It wasn't a joke. If caught, one could be imprisoned for ten to twenty years, and speculators could be executed for a few dozen yuan. Li Dong didn't want to be caught and executed.

He planned to go to the reservoir at night to catch some fish and shrimp to improve their diet. He had been eating rice porridge and wild vegetable rice cakes for the past two days, and his stomach was empty.

No wonder people wanted meat. Without fat, even a few drops of oil in a pot were rare, let alone lard. It was hard to get full.

In the evening, everyone came over. Li Dong was now part of the Han family production team. Han Guofu brought a bag of rice, about ten pounds, and others brought half a bottle of vinegar, half a pound of soy sauce, a pack of salt, or a few beans.

No one came empty-handed. The rice jar finally had some rice, about twenty to thirty pounds. The accountant, Han Guobing, brought half a pound of cooking oil, which was a valuable item, costing over seven jiao per pound and hard to buy.

Most families didn't have much cooking oil, and half a pound could last a family for half a month.

Li Dong was happy to have oil to fry fish, which would be delicious. He thanked everyone and saw them off. Back in the house, he saw Xiaojuan cleaning and quickly came to help. They planned to cook a fish tonight and stew it for tomorrow.