Chapter 38

"Didn't Chicheng Zishang say he hadn't seen a swan for decades?"

Li Dong subconsciously thought, "Oh, I'm so silly, it's not a big deal to see swans in 1978."

"Really a swan!"

Li Dong threw his stick and thought, "Great, I was thinking of raising two swans to guard the house. Hey, it's not bad at all." "Hahaha, swans, what a good thing."

"Uncle, are you okay?"

Han Xiaohao was scared by Li Dong, thinking he must have been stunned by hitting the goose.

"No, no, it's a good thing, Xiaohei, quickly tell Uncle where the goose you caught is?"

"In the bushes ahead."

Sure enough, when the two of them came to the bushes, they found a slightly smaller swan hanging in the air, its wing drooping, indicating it was injured. Li Dong walked over subconsciously, and Han Xiaohao quickly shouted, "Uncle, Uncle, it will peck you."

Han Xiaohao held a stick, and he had just been pecked by the swan, but he didn't lose and hit the swan with the stick, seemingly disabling one of its wings.

"It's fine." Li Dong thought, "I'm not afraid of a disabled swan."

But as soon as he got close, the swan pecked his arm, and it hurt. "Damn, I'll turn you into a preserved goose sooner or later. You don't have any status now." In 1978, there was no concept of protecting animals. If you ate it, that was it. No one would say anything if you killed a swan or a tiger and shared the meat.

This thing would only become rare in the late 1980s and 1990s.

"Little one, I'll grab your wing," Li Dong said, and the swan couldn't peck him anymore. "Hehe, not bad, at least ten pounds."

"Xiaohao, Uncle will give you five yuan, and this big goose belongs to Uncle."

"Uncle, you're so nice." Five yuan, Han Xiaohao never expected it. He thought one yuan would be enough. This was too much, and he didn't know how to spend it.

Li Dong held the injured swan, intending to go back, but the bigger one in the sky flew down, trying to attack him from the air. But Li Dong was prepared and hit it with his stick. "Hahaha, you delivered it to me."

With two big geese, Li Dong was delighted. The bigger one weighed at least twenty pounds, which was quite a lot. "Little one, pecking people, huh? Now you're quiet. Don't provoke me, or I'll pluck your feathers and fry you."

Back home, Li Dong was stunned. He only had a little over one yuan in his pocket. He had just promised Han Xiaohao five yuan, and he couldn't break his word.

He was a role model for the children and couldn't lose face.

Tying up the two swans, Li Dong approached Xiaojuan. "Daughter, Dad needs to talk to you."

"What is it, Dad?"

Xiaojuan looked at Li Dong warily. Li Dong smiled and pointed to the two swans outside. "Dad just bought two big geese for five yuan, but Dad doesn't have enough money in his pocket. Daughter, can you lend Dad ten yuan? I'll pay you back twenty yuan later."

Xiaojuan quickly covered her pocket, where the key to the cabinet was. She looked at Li Dong warily. "I don't want twenty yuan." What? Daughter, this is double the amount, even a loan shark wouldn't make such a profit.

"Daughter, these are swans. If we take them to the city, we can get at least six or seven yuan each," Li Dong said. "How about this: I'll give you these two swans as collateral, and you can give them back to Dad after I pay you back."

Xiaojuan's little hands were too tight. Li Dong was helpless. He had overestimated himself. He hadn't earned the money yet, but he had already made a big promise. He had just bought some mountain goods, and the money in his hand wasn't enough.

"Daughter, I don't want the big geese. They eat a lot, Dad. Why didn't you pluck their feathers and bring them back?"

Li Dong thought Xiaojuan would protect the swans, as beautiful big swans were loved by children in the future. But he didn't realize that in 1978, no one would keep such a thing because they ate too much and could fly away. It was better to raise chickens, which could find their own food.

Big geese ate too much, and few people were willing to raise them. Xiaojuan thought it would be better to kill them, pluck their feathers, and hang them to dry as preserved geese.

"I'll pluck their feathers and make preserved geese for you," Li Dong said, determined to get the money first. Xiaojuan hesitated and nodded. In her mind, two preserved geese were worth five yuan. She took out the key, opened the cabinet, and carefully took out the small cloth bag with the money, layer by layer.

She took out five yuan and handed it to Li Dong, still looking reluctant and worried. Li Dong was really hurt. His daughter didn't trust him. "Didn't we agree on ten yuan?"

Xiaojuan heard ten yuan and was about to take back the five yuan. Li Dong quickly took the five yuan, feeling he had failed as a father.

Li Dong sighed, turned around, and saw Xiaojuan locking the cabinet and writing something in her notebook.

Li Dong glanced at it and felt even worse. It read, "On that day, that month, Dad borrowed five yuan and promised to pay back ten yuan." "Xiaojuan, you have to trust Dad. I'm not a liar."

"I do trust you, but I'm afraid I'll forget."

Well, daughter, you're right, Li Dong thought, feeling both amused and frustrated. "Daughter, I'll go to school soon. When you pluck the feathers, don't throw them away. They can be sold for money."

Really, she wants to kill the geese, Li Dong thought, seeing Xiaojuan's serious face. Daughter, these are swans, known as honghu in ancient times. Killing them for meat is too cruel.

Xiaojuan packed her schoolbag and was ready to go. Li Dong was helpless. "I'll give you more pancakes and pour more oil. It's your last meal."

He wiped his mouth and looked at the two featherless geese, no, white swans, with sadness.

"Xiaohao."

Just as Li Dong was about to give Han Xiaohao the five yuan, the boy gave him a meaningful look. "What's wrong?"

"Hey, I heard Xiaohao caught a big goose?"

Zhang Qiuju, Han Weijun, and Li Chunhua all came over. No wonder Han Xiaohao was giving him meaningful looks. He had been boasting too much and now looked helpless with his parents and grandmother there.

There was no way he would get the money. At most, he would get a few cents as a reward. His grandmother would probably say she would save the money for his education and marriage, and at most, give him a cent to buy candy.

"Aunt, sister-in-law, Brother Weijun."

Li Dong quickly welcomed them into the yard. Sure enough, they saw the two big geese. "Did Xiaohao catch all of these?" Zhang Qiuju was still skeptical. How could her son be so capable?

"Mom, I caught the smaller one."

Han Xiaohao whispered, the bigger one was caught by Uncle with a stick.

"Oh, only the smaller one."

Well, she looked disappointed, but she didn't hesitate to catch the goose and take it home. "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, Xiaohao sold the goose to me."

"Sold? For how much?"

Zhang Qiuju glared at him. This kid, making decisions at such a young age. She would have to scold him later.

"Four and a half yuan."

Han Xiaohao gave Li Dong a meaningful look. Li Dong understood. He gave him five cents instead of one yuan.

"How much?"

"Four and a half yuan?"

The neighbors, including Grandma Wu, were all excited. Hearing that Han Xiaohao had caught a big goose and sold it to Li Dong for four and a half yuan, they were impressed. With that much money, they could buy forty to fifty pounds of grain.

This kid was really capable. Zhang Qiuju didn't expect so much money. She watched Li Dong count the money, unable to look away. "Four and a half yuan, sister-in-law, here you go."

Zhang Qiuju instinctively reached out, but Li Chunhua snatched the money and counted it. "Four and a half yuan, I'll save it for Xiaohei's education and marriage." She fumbled in her pocket and took out a cent, hesitating for a long time before giving it to Han Xiaohao. "Xiaohei, here's a cent to buy two candies. Save the rest for me."

Han Xiaohao looked disappointed. A cent to buy candy and save the rest. Uncle, really, he had given him meaningful looks. Zhang Qiuju looked disappointed that her son had caught the big goose and sold it, but she hadn't gotten a cent. She wished he had told her secretly.

The villagers were all excited by the four and a half yuan. They were all thinking about setting up traps to catch geese or wild chickens to make some money.

No one mentioned the socialist tail-cutting. They all thought about setting up traps at home. If they could catch a big goose, it would be even better. Even if they couldn't catch a big goose, catching a wild chicken would still make some money.

The villagers were all stimulated by the four and a half yuan. Li Dong sent off Li Chunhua's family and patted Han Xiaohao's head, giving him fifty cents. "One yuan is too much, Uncle is afraid you'll spend it all."

"Ah, Uncle."

Han Xiaohao was delighted. Fifty cents, though much less than five yuan, was still the most money he had ever had. He was so excited that he almost boasted again, but he remembered the four and a half yuan his grandmother had taken and held back.

"I won't say, the big goose was sold for five yuan." Han Xiaohao happily went to school. Li Dong watched his daughter leave with Han Xiaohao and the other kids. What did she mean by showing five fingers before leaving? Sigh, this frugal daughter.

He looked at the two swans. The bigger one was still trying to fight, spreading its wings. "I'm just checking your wife's injury. Don't take my kindness for granted."

Maybe the swan understood Li Dong's words, or maybe the stick in his hand had an effect.

The big swan didn't peck him. Li Dong checked the smaller swan's wing, which wasn't completely broken and didn't seem to be caused by Han Xiaohao. It was probably an old injury, which explained why they found the swan by the reservoir, unable to fly.

It was good that it wasn't too serious. He would fix it and apply some Yunnan Baiyao to the leg, which was badly bruised by the grass rope.

After finishing, Li Dong started thinking. What to do with these big eaters? Chickens and ducks were fine because they could lay eggs and help with household expenses, but what about these? If he let them go, they would definitely fly away.

But if he didn't let them go, what to do? They ate too much, especially these two big ones. The bigger one had a wingspan of about 1.5 meters and could almost peck his forehead when it jumped.

What to do? Cut grass to feed them? They ate aquatic plants and snails. How to get those?

Work all day and then take care of them? No way, Li Dong wouldn't do it.

If he fed them with grain, that would be even worse. Han Guofu would come and beat him for wasting grain, which was a big taboo. He could be criticized or even sent to prison, though it might not happen in Han Village, but criticism and education were inevitable.

I'm so difficult, Li Dong thought. If he had just twisted their necks, it would have been better. But his 21st-century kind heart couldn't do it.

"Ah, I'll keep them for now. If they get better, I'll keep them at the reservoir and make a swan lake. If they try to run, I'll twist their necks and bring them back for Xiaojuan to eat."

"Ah, I'm so difficult."

What to do? Scratch his head, forget it, eat and go to work. Just as he was about to eat, he heard a bicycle bell and a familiar voice. "Li Dong, are you home?"

"My dear, you finally came. If you didn't, I would be in trouble."

He slapped his thigh. "My benefactor has arrived. Hahaha, Xiaojuan's account book will be cleared tonight. Imagine me taking out ten big bills. What will Xiaojuan's face look like? Daughter, Dad will show you something."