Chapter 41

"Brother, come in quickly."

The bicycle was locked in the yard, and Gao Weimin and Gao Min carried their bags into the house. It was just getting dark outside, but it was already quite dim inside.

Li Dong lit a lamp, and the kerosene lamp was quite bright. Gao Min secretly observed and found that there was indeed not much furniture, just as Gao Weimin had said.

"Hey?" Gao Min noticed a white mosquito net hanging over the bed, which was very beautiful.

Although it was just an ordinary white mosquito net, it must be said that even in the 21st century, it wasn't fancy, but in 1978, it looked very fashionable and trendy.

"Sit down quickly, the house is small."

Li Dong made a cup of tea for Gao Weimin, and Gao Min made a cup of orange juice.

"Thank you."

The two sat down and saw Li Dong light something that looked like incense, but it was black.

Seeing their puzzled faces, Li Dong smiled and introduced it. "This is mosquito coil I had someone bring from outside. It repels mosquitoes, and it works pretty well."

Mosquito coil, well, the two had never heard of it before. There were so many new things, and Gao Weimin thought he shouldn't underestimate people.

After lighting the mosquito coil and making tea, Li Dong also brought out some mooncakes and a handful of nuts. "Try some cashews, I heard they are imported, I don't know much about them."

"Imported goods."

Impressive, Gao Min thought. She really underestimated him. Li Dong found the taste of cashews to be average, but he grabbed a handful when he left, as they were available abroad and wouldn't cause any trouble.

"Delicious."

Oily nuts were always fragrant in this era. Li Dong invited the two. "Xiao Juan, start stewing the beef, add more sweet potato starch. Stay for dinner tonight."

"No, no, we have things to do at home."

"Yes, we cooked at home. Don't be polite, Comrade Li Dong. We came to thank you for your help." Gao Min had come specially to express her gratitude. Both of them were wearing the watches he had given them, which were very nice.

"You're too polite, Sister."

Li Dong was good at building relationships. "The relationship between Weimin and me, this is nothing."

"We still need to express our gratitude."

Gao Weimin smiled and took out a stack of tickets, including food coupons, daily necessities, and alcohol. It must be said that working in the supply cooperative and the commune gave them more access to things, which was much better than farmers who had no resources at all.

"How can I accept this?"

While saying this, Li Dong didn't refuse, as these tickets were what he needed. "Weimin, have a cigarette. Sister, do you mind?"

"No, no, go ahead."

Li Dong casually lit a cigarette for Gao Weimin and noticed Gao Weimin looking at his lighter. "Do you like it? I'll give it to you."

"Oh, how can I accept this?"

Gao Weimin happily accepted the disposable lighter and tucked it into his pocket like a treasure. "Thanks." This was a good thing. When he went to pick up his bride, he could take it out to light cigarettes for Gao Min's uncles and elders, making them feel impressed.

"What are you thanking me for, just a lighter."

Li Dong didn't know that Xiao Juan was seething. Her dad was good at everything, but he was lazy and extravagant, not caring about things. This wasn't a good habit, and she needed to find a wife who would take care of things.

Well, Xiao Juan added another item to her list of requirements for a future mother-in-law, but Li Dong didn't know about it. He glanced at the alcohol Gao Weimin had brought, not thinking much of it until he saw the words "Wuliangye." This was a good thing.

This stuff wasn't easy to get, though not as hard as Moutai, it wasn't something you could buy easily.

Gao Weimin and Gao Min said a few words of thanks and were about to leave. They had come to deliver the tickets, alcohol, meat, and malted milk. As they were leaving, Gao Min nudged Gao Weimin and pointed to the mosquito net inside.

Gao Weimin felt a bit embarrassed. He had come to thank Li Dong, and now asking for a favor felt a bit awkward. "What's wrong?" Li Dong saw Gao Weimin hesitating as he saw them out.

"Brother, I have a question. Where did you buy that mosquito net?"

"Mosquito net?"

Li Dong didn't know how to answer. "I'm not sure if they sell it in D County. A relative brought it for me. What, are you planning to buy one?"

"Yes, I think it looks nice."

"Sure, I can get you one. What color do you want?"

"Are there other colors?"

"Yes, pink, red, and blue."

Li Dong smiled. "I'm not picky, I chose white."

Gao Min nudged Gao Weimin. "Let's get a red one, it's festive."

"Sure, I'll get you a big red one."

Li Dong thought about it. In this era, red was very festive for weddings.

"How much?"

"Let's not talk about money. Consider it a gift."

Li Dong waved his hand. Mosquito nets weren't expensive in the future, and it was a good gift to strengthen their relationship. If Gao Weimin often brought good alcohol, it would be even better, as he seemed to have some connections.

"How can I accept this?"

Gao Weimin thought Li Dong was a good person. Not only him, but Gao Min also found Li Dong to be honest and loyal, someone worth befriending.

"Why are you being so polite?"

Li Dong smiled. "I'll send it to the supply cooperative in a few days. I won't keep you. You should stay for dinner."

"No, we cooked at home. Next time, I'll treat you to a meal."

Gao Weimin pushed his bicycle, planning to return before it got completely dark. Li Dong saw them off, waving until they got on their bikes. He vaguely heard them talking about the mosquito net.

"What's wrong?"

When he got home, he saw Xiao Juan pouting. What was wrong with her?

Xiao Juan had seen her dad give away the lighter and the mosquito net for free, which was too extravagant. She needed to find a wife who could control her dad. Li Dong didn't know that Xiao Juan was thinking about what kind of wife to get for him.

He thought Xiao Juan was upset because he had given things to Gao Weimin. He pinched her nose and smiled. "Look, these are all gifts from them."

"Wow."

A stack of various tickets, which could be used like money, though most people wouldn't sell them. Ordinary families didn't have enough tickets.

"100 pounds of food coupons."

"10 pounds of meat coupons."

"2 pounds of cake coupons, and fabric coupons, everything."

There were quite a few, especially the food and meat coupons, which made Xiao Juan's eyes light up. "Great, with these tickets, we have enough for the engagement gifts."

"What?"

Li Dong was confused. Xiao Juan put the meat and cake coupons in her cabinet. "What do you mean?"

"Dad, you're really capable."

Praised by Xiao Juan, Li Dong felt proud. "Whatever, as long as you're happy. I can't give you the alcohol, I'll keep it for Dad. Hang the meat up so the rats don't eat it."

"Okay."

"Keep the malted milk for the engagement gifts."

"Sure, whatever you say."

Li Dong didn't understand what engagement gifts were, but he didn't think about it. He was hungry. "Don't bother, let's eat. Dad is hungry."

"I'll serve you."

Stewed beef with sweet potato starch, stir-fried black rice, and steamed rice. This dinner was top-notch in Han Village. No one ate meat for dinner, let alone extra oil. The autumn harvest had been poor, and everyone was tightening their belts for the hard times ahead.

With a poor autumn harvest, the next year's food supply would be in crisis. They needed to save as much as possible. After dinner, the men went out, and the women washed and dried the wild fruits they had picked during their work breaks to make dried fruit.

The men went out to set traps for grass. In the morning, Han Xiaohao had caught a big goose and sold it for 4.5 yuan, which everyone had seen. Who wouldn't be envious? 4.5 yuan could buy 40 to 50 pounds of grain.

After dinner, Li Dong took a bamboo pole and went to the reservoir to catch turtles. The turtles were getting harder to catch, and there weren't as many wild fish as he