Chapter 33

"Ouch."

Li Dong was dreaming about drinking Maotai, eating peanuts, and singing folk songs, with girls on both sides, one pouring wine and the other serving dishes. A middle-aged woman was fanning him, none other than Gao Lan. Li Dong was feeling very comfortable and content.

But suddenly, with a puff, the beautiful dream was gone. Li Dong's nose hurt, and he grabbed a round object, finding more on his face. They weren't just one. What were these things?

"Are they still alive?"

Li Dong was stunned and shivered in fear. He quickly took out a lighter, and in the flickering light, he saw what had crawled into his nostrils. "Colorful turtles?"

"How did they get on my face?"

The two small colorful turtles wriggled in Li Dong's hand. He slapped his forehead. "Could these two have undergone a genetic mutation like mung beans?"

Sure enough, the other three colorful turtles were still in the box, only these two had crawled out. "These two little rascals scared me." He blew out the light, and a beam of moonlight shone through the hole in the roof.

"The new house can't be built right away, but the roof needs to be fixed."

Thinking about the physical labor involved in fixing the house, Li Dong sighed. He was, after all, the "Chikou Liu Dehua." Sighing, he thought about the daily physical labor. "Time to sleep, I need to send Xiao Juan to school tomorrow."

Early in the morning, Han Guofu was sweeping leaves in the yard when he saw Li Dong coming, a bit puzzled. He wondered if the boy was up to something.

"Uncle Guofu, are you busy?"

"What's up?"

"Isn't it about the house in the city? Let's go see if it's sold yet."

Li Dong had mentioned this to Han Guofu before. When the house was mentioned, Han Guofu felt a bit guilty. "Alright, go ahead."

He went back to the house, wrote a letter of introduction, signed it, and stamped it, then handed it to Li Dong. Li Dong took it. "Uncle Guofu, is there anything you want me to bring back?"

"Bring what? We have everything at home. Just don't spend the money recklessly."

Han Guofu was worried that the boy might buy something unnecessary. "Come back early. The sweet potatoes can't be left out for too long. It's best to make them into sweet potato chips."

"Got it, Uncle Guofu."

With the letter, Li Dong happily returned home. Xiao Juan had already prepared breakfast: steamed sweet potatoes, millet porridge, and a dish of pickled vegetables.

The meals were similar in most households, and this life was considered quite good.

"Xiao Juan, wait a moment."

Li Dong took out a package wrapped in oil paper and opened it, revealing a whole piece of braised beef. Han Xiaojuan blinked, pouted, and said, "Dad, you're selling meat again." Xiao Juan felt a bit helpless; other families only ate meat a few times a year.

Well, they ate meat every day at home. Who lived like that? Grandma had asked her to keep an eye on Dad, but the meat really smelled good.

"I'll cut it."

Xiao Juan took the beef, cut a small piece into thin slices, and placed it on a small plate. She took out some peanuts, which she had boiled in the morning. Frying was impossible.

A small plate of braised beef and boiled peanuts made Li Dong happy. The combination was good, with millet porridge, sweet potatoes, beef, and pickled vegetables. Life was good.

"Uncle, we're here."

While eating, a few kids, including Han Xiaohao, ran in. In those days, no one accompanied children to school; they went together. They came to find Xiao Juan, and when they saw the meat, their eyes widened. "Wow, Xiao Juan's family is eating meat this early in the morning."

This was too much. The kids were drooling, and Li Dong knew he had to bribe them. If Uncle Guofu found out they had eaten meat early in the morning, he would be furious. Even the chairman didn't eat like that. Li Dong thought that if Uncle Guofu and others knew they had eaten braised beef early in the morning, the scene would be terrifying.

He quickly called the kids over and gave each a piece of meat. Xiao Juan was heartbroken, not because she was stingy, but because everything was precious in those days.

"Delicious."

"Don't tell your grandpa."

"Uncle, I promise."

"I promise too."

The kids agreed to anything to get more meat. "Good, now have some candy." Xiao Juan snatched the candy, thinking they had already eaten meat, and more meat was too much.

"We're not stingy, Xiao Juan."

Xiao Juan reluctantly gave the candy to the kids and said, "Bring a basket of pebbles to our house after school."

Pebbles, Li Dong thought, Xiao Juan was smart. "Good idea. Tell the other kids that whoever brings a basket of pebbles will get a piece of candy."

"Really, Uncle?"

Picking pebbles from the riverbank was easy. A basket for a piece of candy, the kids were so excited they almost didn't want to go to school. "Of course, we need pebbles to build a new house."

"Uncle, you're so nice."

Li Dong smiled and nodded. Using child labor and still being praised, it was a good feeling.

"Alright, let's go to school."

The kids, having eaten meat and candy, were happy and followed Li Dong to the commune. He sent them to school and reminded them, "Xiaohao, protect Xiao Juan. Don't let anyone bully her."

"Uncle, don't worry. If anyone bullies Xiao Juan, I'll beat them up."

"I'll beat them up too."

"Good, good. I'll buy mooncakes for you when I go to the city."

What good kids. Xiao Juan pouted, having heard about mooncakes from her mother, but never tasted one. By the time she realized it, Li Dong had already left.

"Mooncakes cost ten cents each." Xiao Juan remembered her mother's words and ran out of the school gate.

But Li Dong was gone, and Xiao Juan was worried. Ten cents each, she hoped her father only bought one.

This time in the city, Li Dong didn't bring much. He wanted to explore and make a good impression. He bought a pack of cigarettes from the supply cooperative and mentioned it to Gao Weimin's girlfriend, so Gao Weimin would know he was in the city for his sake.

Hehe, Li Dong brought two watches, one for a man and one for a woman. Gao Weimin looked wealthy and might buy both.

In the city, Li Dong observed that the streets were relatively calm, but in the alleys, he saw a few young men with bags, hurrying along. Most of them were trading small items like thread, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. Even so, they had to be cautious, avoiding the patrol teams. Speculation and profiteering were not allowed.

Li Dong walked around and found at least ten people, which surprised him.

He wanted to connect with these people, as they were all speculators, but as soon as he approached, they ran away, seeing him like a cat sees a mouse.

What was going on? Li Dong didn't realize that his official attire and demeanor made people think he was a government official.

"Am I so handsome that people feel ashamed to be around me?"

Sigh, what could he do? He couldn't act like them, carrying a bag and luring people into alleys. That wasn't his style. "No, I'll go back and think about it. Without their cooperation, I can't show off my acting skills."

He wandered around, feeling that excellent people were always envied. He visited the department store, checked the watch prices, and found them to be 120 yuan, not as good as the ones he brought.

First, he would make money from Gao Weimin. He didn't stay long and bought half a pound of dumplings at a state-owned restaurant. He didn't have enough food coupons, so he sighed and walked back to the commune, arriving at noon just as the school let out.

Xiao Juan and the other kids were sitting by the flower bed, eating sweet potatoes. Seeing Li Dong, they stood up. "Uncle, you're back."

They all stared at Li Dong's package, which seemed fuller. Xiao Juan's eyes widened, fearing he might have brought mooncakes, which would make her cry.

Li Dong noticed Xiao Juan's hopeful look, knowing his daughter expected something good.

"Hey, why are you here?"

"Isn't it, Huang Shengnan, you?"

Li Dong wondered why she wasn't working. Did she have relatives in the city?

"I heard Xiao Juan started school, so I rode over to buy her some stationery." She took out a pen and a steamed bun. "I just bought it from the commune canteen. Eat it while it's hot."

The commune canteen sold steamed buns, pancakes, and rice, but meat buns and dumplings were only available in the county town.

A steamed bun was a good thing in the countryside, white and fluffy. Han Xiaohao felt his sweet potatoes weren't as good, and the other kids looked at Xiao Juan with envy.

"Xiao Juan, eat it."

Huang Shengnan only had two food coupons left. She usually didn't eat steamed buns and swallowed hard.

"Wait, don't eat it yet."

Li Dong opened the lunch box, revealing fragrant meat dumplings and sliced beef. "Dad will make you a meat sandwich."

Huang Shengnan swallowed hard. A meat sandwich and meat dumplings, could Xiao Juan finish them? "She won't finish, that's a waste."

Li Dong invited the other kids to join, and Huang Shengnan joined in, grabbing a meat dumpling. It was delicious.

The kids grabbed a meat dumpling each, savoring the meat. The other kids watched, drooling. The students who stayed for lunch were from distant villages, while those from the commune went home.

Most brought vegetable pancakes, sweet potatoes, or corn. A meat dumpling or a meat sandwich was a luxury.

"Want a piece?"

Li Dong had cut half a pound of beef for the city, but he returned early.

"I brought a steamed bun for Xiao Juan, how can I eat this..." She said, but quickly grabbed a piece of beef. The braised beef, with its rich flavors, was something they never tasted in those days.

It was delicious, spicy, and tender. Huang Shengnan almost cried, having not eaten beef in years. She looked at Li Dong with longing, seeing him as a meat warehouse.

Meeting him three times, each time eating meat, Huang Shengnan's eyes were full of desire, which startled Li Dong.

Li Dong slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten about this good helper. "Huang Shengnan, do you want to eat meat every day?"

"Every day?" Huang Shengnan's eyes were full of braised meat. Li Dong knew he had succeeded.