Chapter 32

"Good wine?"

This put Li Dong in a bit of a bind. What good wine could a small village farm offer? The most expensive was the Gujing Gongjiu, which cost about two hundred yuan, and then there was the Jiuhua distillery's Ganlu, which cost over a hundred yuan. Would a boss like Tian Liang be satisfied with these?

"Let's skip the wine."

Liu Kechang, seeing the look on Li Dong's face, guessed the situation and stepped in to ease the awkwardness between Li Dong and Tian Liang.

"But how can that be, Chief Liu? We agreed to have a drink."

Tian Liang secretly regretted forgetting to bring some good wine. At the very least, he should have brought a couple of bottles of Wuliangye.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Tian, Chief Liu. Next time, I'll definitely prepare some good wine."

Li Dong quickly apologized. There was no right or wrong in this matter.

"It's no big deal. With such large wild eels and wild softshell turtles, this trip is worth it." The other employees from the client company laughed, noting that nowadays, health is more important, and not drinking is also good; they could have tea instead.

A few of them went fishing, and Li Dong arranged for the fishing gear to be delivered. On the farm, Han Weiguo started preparing lunch, with Han Xiaohai helping. "Dad, he only gave fifty yuan for all this work. That's a bit stingy. You should mention it to him when you have the chance."

"Alright, you should talk less and help me wash the vegetables faster."

Han Weiguo was a man of principles. Once a deal was made, it couldn't be changed; that would be dishonorable.

Li Dong spent the morning shuttling between the reservoir and the farm, delivering tea, fish feed, and other supplies. The reservoir was quite large, and without some fish feed, it would be hard to catch fish.

Around 11:30, Han Weiguo had almost finished preparing the dishes. Li Dong rode his tricycle to the reservoir to call everyone. "Chief Liu, your skills are getting better. Look at these beautiful carp."

"Pretty good."

Liu Mingdong was quite happy. Although he didn't catch the most fish today, the few large carp he did catch were beautiful.

"Chief Liu, Mr. Tian, take a break. The food is ready at the farm."

"Alright, Chief Liu, let's go eat."

Tian Liang smiled and called Liu Mingdong and the other guests back to the farm to wash their hands and take their seats. "Let's have a drink. Mr. Li, you have some wine over there, let's take a look."

"Sure."

The wine was the same as usual, and Tian Liang and the others went over to take a look.

Two bottles of 1978 Gujing Gongjiu in the cabinet caught their attention. Such bottles were rare these days.

"Hey, there's some old wine here?"

"Oh, this wine isn't for sale."

Li Dong's words made Tian Liang and the others a bit uncomfortable. If the wine wasn't for sale, why was it displayed?

"Mr. Tian, don't misunderstand. This was a gift from a classmate."

Li Dong, though not skilled in social graces, wasn't stupid. Seeing Tian Liang's expression, he knew there was a misunderstanding. "These two bottles are quite old, and I plan to keep them for myself."

"Keep them?"

Liu Mingdong, who was washing his hands, heard this and came over. "Gujing Gongjiu, this is old wine. The bottle looks quite old, doesn't it?"

"1978."

"1978?"

Liu Mingdong became excited. "1978 Gujing is quite rare now. The market price isn't cheap, Mr. Li. You must have a good relationship with this classmate."

"Back in school, I saved his life."

"No wonder."

Liu Mingdong liked the wine more and more, but it was a bit expensive.

Seeing Liu Mingdong's interest, Tian Liang was delighted. "Brother, how about this? Let me have these two bottles for my brother's sake. I'll get you a few bottles of Maotai later."

"Mr. Tian, this wine isn't comparable to ordinary Maotai."

Liu Mingdong's words surprised Tian Liang and the others. "Chief Liu, is there something special about this?"

"Mr. Tian, have you heard of a bottle of Maotai selling for hundreds of thousands at auction?"

"I've heard of it. Is this wine...?"

"Though it can't match the price of a decades-old Maotai, a 40-year-old Gujing now sells for about 30,000 to 40,000 yuan on the market." Liu Mingdong smiled. "I've learned a lot. I didn't expect Mr. Li to have such a treasure."

"Chief Liu, you're joking. I don't know much about it; I just display it."

30,000 to 40,000 yuan per bottle was a surprise to Tian Liang. He didn't dare to open such expensive wine, even though he was wealthy. In the end, he chose two bottles of Ganlu, a local wine costing about 200 yuan, which was considered decent.

During the meal, Tian Liang mentioned the project payment, but Liu Mingdong didn't immediately agree.

Tian Liang, determined, found Li Dong during a break to serve more rice. "Brother, help me out."

"Mr. Tian, you're too polite. If I can help, I will. You've been very supportive of my business." Li Dong was sincere; Tian Liang was one of his regular customers.

"Can you let me have those two bottles of old wine?"

Tian Liang's request made Li Dong understand. Tian Liang must have a big favor to ask of Liu Mingdong, or he wouldn't have offered such a valuable gift as wild softshell turtles.

"I know it's difficult, but I appreciate it. If I need anything in the future, I'll ask."

Tian Liang was worried about the project payment. Despite his wealth, most of his assets were in machinery, and he had limited liquid funds. He also had many employees to feed, and a delayed payment would be a serious issue.

Li Dong looked troubled, considering for a while, and then decided. "Alright, Mr. Tian, since you put it that way, I can't be too picky."

"Thank you, brother."

Tian Liang bowed and took out his phone, transferring 88,888 yuan to Li Dong, who was shocked. "Mr. Tian, that's too much."

"Not at all, not at all."

The market price was one thing, but this wine was hard to come by. It was a favor for him to part with it, and the meal and the wild softshell turtles were also valuable.

Tian Liang put the wine in his car. Liu Mingdong, who didn't drive, brought back two boxes of mooncakes and a box of tea. "Nothing much, brother, but thank you for your help."

"Mr. Tian, you're too polite."

After seeing off Tian Liang and the others, Li Dong returned to the farm. Han Weiguo had already prepared several dishes: eel stew, bamboo shoot stir-fried with meat, a mixed fish pot, and a loofah and egg soup.

"Thanks, Uncle Weiguo, Xiaohai, let's eat."

Li Dong took out a bottle of Muttonong, which cost about 100 yuan. "Uncle Weiguo, Xiaohai, let's have a drink."

"Sure."

"Brother Li, I just heard from Dad that these softshell turtles are wild?"

Han Xiaohai looked at the turtles in the pond, which didn't seem much different from those in the supermarket.

"Yes."

Li Dong smiled. "Wild softshell turtles are hard to come by. Mr. Tian has been urging me, so I managed to get these few."

"The price must be high."

"About 200 to 300 yuan per pound, but they're hard to get."

Li Dong pointed to the pond. "These six turtles would cost at least 5,000 yuan."

Han Xiaohai was amazed. 5,000 yuan, plus the meal, it must be at least 6,000 yuan. Even if he didn't know the profit, it was clear that running a farm in the countryside was very profitable.

Han Xiaohai didn't know that Li Dong had just received over 80,000 yuan, or he would have been even more impressed.

In the afternoon, after seeing off Mr. Tian and his group, Li Dong tidied up the farm. With no more turtles or wine and no orders for the next day, he decided to go home.

"Right."

Li Dong remembered the two boxes of mooncakes and tea Mr. Tian had given him. The Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, and he wondered what day it was in 1978. He checked his phone.

"September 17, that's about ten days away."

Li Dong looked at the date on the screen, 1978.9.7, and realized it was exactly ten days away. "Back then, mooncakes were hard to get. Even the commune might not have them, and in the county, you needed a ration ticket, with a limit of half a mooncake per person."

"Perfect, I didn't know what else to bring. Now I do."

Li Dong opened one box, removing all the packaging. The box weighed about three pounds, but without the packaging, it was only a pound and a half. "I'll keep one box for the kids."

He decided to give the tea to his father-in-law since he didn't drink much.

After tidying up, Li Dong returned to the old house. "The items ordered from Taobao won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. I'll go to the city to buy a few colored turtles tomorrow."

After a two-day delay, on the evening of August 26, 2018, around 8:00 PM, Li Dong locked the courtyard gate, secured the wooden door, and closed the windows before returning to his bedroom and turning off the lights. "Activate."

A sudden jolt startled Li Dong, thinking something had gone wrong. He quickly checked everything.

"Nothing is missing?"

"Good, good."

It was around 3:00 AM. Li Dong organized the items he had brought and left the small forest, quietly returning home. He hid the clothes under the bed and stashed the small items in a nearby storage area.

"Da-da?"

Xiaojuan heard the noise and woke up, holding a shiny object. Li Dong was startled. "Xiaojuan, it's me."

"Da-da, you're back."

Xiaojuan was delighted, throwing away the knife and hugging Li Dong. She had been waiting for him to return and had just fallen asleep. The slightest noise woke her up. "Don't worry, don't worry, hehe, go back to sleep. Dad brought you some good things, I'll show you in the morning."

"Okay."

Xiaojuan nodded and soon fell asleep in Li Dong's arms. Li Dong carefully laid her down and was about to get up when Xiaojuan grabbed his clothes. "Dad, don't go, light the mosquito coil." She was so frugal that she wouldn't even use a mosquito coil when she was alone.

Li Dong lit the mosquito coil and lay down. It was a bit chilly, but he wasn't sleepy. He lay in bed thinking about how to handle the clothes.

He couldn't go to the textile factory; he had almost been caught the last time. Should he go to the black market? Li Dong hesitated, as the black market was very unsafe.

Selling vegetables was safer, as it was something they could eat, and at most, it would be considered a minor offense.

But buying clothes was different. These weren't produced by him, and it would be considered speculation and profiteering.

In the past few days, Li Dong had read about Deng Xiaoping and realized that his previous views were incorrect. 1978 wasn't just about theoretical debates; there were also violent conflicts.

Some rebels were unwilling to give up their power and secretly encouraged others to join armed struggles. Some members of the Gang of Four were still active, and this continued into the early 1980s.

Moreover, Deng Xiaoping didn't become the core leader until the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee at the end of 1978. There were signs that he faced criticism in 1979 due to a military defeat.

It was better to be cautious. At least until the end of 1980, when it was announced that educated youth could solve their own employment and start private enterprises with no more than seven employees, including themselves, and that they must participate in labor, it was safer to be careful.

"Ah, if only I had someone to help." Li Dong sighed. "I need to get Liu Dehua from Chikou to help."