Chapter 48

Returning to the small grove, Li Dong was startled to realize how fortunate it was that he had come back. If he had delayed a few more days, he might have run into someone when the sky was bright, and that would have been hard to explain. He certainly couldn't kill someone to keep quiet.

"Ah."

"I need to think of a solution quickly."

Li Dong considered renting or buying a house in the city. Houses weren't expensive these days; in a small county like Chicheng, a single room could be bought for three to five hundred yuan, though availability was a matter of luck.

Sighing, he decided to sell his clothes first and think about what else he could trade. The electronic watches he had traded before were broken. Could electronic products not cross time? What was he supposed to do? He had planned to trade such items because they were quite valuable.

"Let's go back first."

This time, he brought quite a lot of things, mostly food and daily necessities, including a kitchen knife, a shovel, and even a basket, all wrapped in a new bedsheet.

Li Dong shouldered the large package and carried a bucket of bean oil as he walked out of the small grove.

Just as he reached the village entrance, he froze, recognizing a familiar face. Aunt Wu was carrying a basket for collecting manure, staring straight at the large package on Li Dong's back.

"Aunt Wu, collecting manure."

As soon as he said it, Li Dong wanted to slap himself. What a stupid thing to say; his brain must have been short-circuited.

"Ah, yes, I'm back."

Aunt Wu kept staring at the bulging package on Li Dong's back, wondering what the boy had brought back from the city this time. His relatives must have given him some good things.

Li Dong was frustrated. It was just dawn, and he had already run into someone.

Next time, he would have to time it better. Fortunately, he only met her at the entrance. If he had arrived a bit later, Aunt Wu might have run into him in the grove, which would have been disastrous.

"Aunt Wu, you're busy. I'll go home first."

Saying this, Li Dong quickly ran towards his house, while Aunt Wu stared at the large oil bucket in his hand.

"Oil, at least ten pounds." Aunt Wu smacked her lips. What a wealthy family his relatives must be.

When Li Dong got home, Xiao Juan was just getting up to boil water and cook. Seeing her father return with a large package, she hurried out to greet him.

Dada had gone to the city to sell mountain goods, wild chickens, and geese, which Xiao Juan knew about, but she didn't know if he had sold them or how much money he had made.

"Come inside quickly."

"Hehe, look what Dad brought you."

Li Dong took out a pair of shoes, which he hadn't forgotten. "Try them on."

The pair of Huili shoes fit perfectly. Although Xiao Juan thought it was a waste—shoes cost one or two yuan each—she didn't know that Huili shoes in the department store cost ten yuan. If she had known, she would have insisted Li Dong return them.

Of course, returning them was impossible. These weren't bought from a department store. Li Dong opened the package, revealing mosquito nets and a set of red bedding, which he had prepared as a wedding gift for Gao Weimin.

Xiao Juan thought they were beautiful and assumed Dada had bought them for her wedding. "Dada, I'll put them away for you. We'll use them when you get married."

"Ah, what are you talking about?"

Li Dong, who was drinking water, spat it out. "You little thing, what are you thinking? These are for Uncle Gao."

"Put them in the cabinet."

There were rats at home. Li Dong had used rat poison once, which kept them quiet for two days, but they soon returned.

"Oh."

Xiao Juan was a bit disappointed. They weren't for Dada's wedding, and they were so beautiful. She was reluctant to give them away. "Quickly hang up the meat, tofu, and rice. This time, I brought mostly food, including cured meat, tofu, bean curd, and some eggs."

A jar of beef chili sauce and a jar of chili oil, all good things, were taken from the farm kitchen.

Seeing all the food, especially the meat and eggs, Xiao Juan's face turned sad, almost to the point of tears. How could they afford to eat so much? When would they save enough to marry a pretty wife?

Buying geese, wild chickens, and mountain goods had cost more than ten yuan, and now it was all food.

Xiao Juan couldn't hold back her tears. The team leader had already calculated that their family's work points were insufficient this year, and they would have to buy expensive grain at over ten cents per pound. Dada ate a lot and didn't like coarse grains. What could they do?

She had hoped to earn some money by selling mountain goods, but now, after spending more than ten yuan, they had only brought back some eggs and meat, which wouldn't last long. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted lending Dada five yuan, expecting to get ten back, only to lose the principal.

Li Dong didn't notice at first, but then he saw Xiao Juan wiping her tears. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she happy with all the good food?

"Don't cry. This is nothing. Dad will make you eat meat every day."

"Wah."

Hearing that, Xiao Juan was shocked. How much would that cost? Her savings wouldn't last two months. She cried even harder. "I don't want to eat meat. I want to save money for Dada to build a house, get married, and have a chubby baby."

"Dada, can we not eat meat?"

What was wrong? Didn't she like meat? Li Dong slapped his forehead. This girl was being unreasonable. "Xiao Juan, don't cry. Don't cry. Look at this."

"What's wrong with Xiao Juan?"

Aunt Wu, who had seen Li Dong carrying a large package and a bucket of oil, lost interest in collecting manure. She returned and, passing by Li Dong's house, heard Xiao Juan crying and couldn't help but come in to see what was happening.

Li Dong was caught in the act of taking out money to comfort Xiao Juan, pulling out five hundred yuan. He had already figured out Xiao Juan's thoughts, and sure enough, she stopped crying when she saw the money.

So much money! Aunt Wu glanced at the cured meat, mutton, oil, tofu, eggs, and lard on the table, all good things. Li Dong was so focused on comforting Xiao Juan that he didn't notice Aunt Wu had come in.

"Aunt Wu?"

"Why is Xiao Juan crying?"

"It's nothing, nothing."

Li Dong thought it was a coincidence. Fortunately, he had only taken out five hundred yuan. If he had taken out more, it might have scared Aunt Wu. "Aunt Wu, come in and sit down."

"No, no, I need to go back and cook."

As she spoke, she glanced at the good things on the table, shaking her head. How much did all this cost? His relatives must be spoiling him. These things were enough for the New Year, but it was a waste. Ah, the boy didn't know how to manage money.

Aunt Wu shook her head and, when she got home, couldn't stop thinking about it. She mentioned it to a few old people on her way to work, and they were all amazed. How did the boy get so many good things?

"You see, isn't this a sign of poor money management?"

"Indeed."

They said this, but they were a bit envious. Who didn't want to eat meat? But their family situations didn't allow it. Besides, these things were hard to buy. Having relatives in the city was indeed a good thing.

"This boy."

By morning, the news that Li Dong had brought back a lot of good things from the city had spread. When Han Guofu heard about the meat, eggs, and pork, his forehead veins bulged. This boy must have sold the house.

Who else would let him be so extravagant? Just eating, what could be done? "I'll go check. If he's not careful, he'll eat next year's food."

Li Dong didn't go to work that morning. He had taken a day off and was preparing a good lunch for Xiao Juan, cooking green peppers with eggs, stir-fried cured meat, and fried tofu, using plenty of oil. He was happily cooking.

He didn't notice that Han Guofu and Han Guobing had come. They smelled the delicious food as soon as they reached the courtyard.

The aroma was overwhelming. Both were hungry and couldn't help but swallow their saliva. "This brat, eating meat in the morning. Even landlords didn't waste like this."

"Uncle."

Xiao Juan was feeding her chicks, which she cherished. The last time, two colorful turtles had bullied the chicks and were punished by Xiao Juan.

"Uncle Guofu, Uncle Guobing, you're here."

"Perfect, we haven't eaten yet. Let's join you."

Li Dong smiled. "Fresh tofu."

Tofu was hard to come by in those days, and they rarely had the chance to eat tender tofu.

Han Guofu and Han Guobing had come to criticize Li Dong for his extravagance and to prevent bad habits from spreading in the team. In previous years, such bourgeois hedonism would have been criticized and even publicly denounced.

But it smelled so good. They looked at each other and decided to criticize Li Dong after eating. "Alright."

Xiao Juan pouted. They didn't have enough food at home, and now they were inviting guests. What had she done to deserve this? She had a careless Dada who didn't know how to save.

Rice, stir-fried cured meat, stewed tofu, and scrambled eggs, with a soup. Three adults and one child, Li Dong first packed Xiao Juan's lunch before bringing out the dishes.

"There's not much, just make do."

This was too modest. Han Guofu and Han Guobing saw the oil in the dishes and thought Li Dong was being too extravagant.

"We need to educate him thoroughly!"

Han Guofu, as the team leader, couldn't allow such bad habits to spread. "Xiao Juan, eat quickly and go to school."

Li Dong wasn't stupid. He knew the situation was exposed. He needed to handle it carefully.

He quickly served the team leaders, and they couldn't resist eating two large bowls of rice with the good dishes.

Xiao Juan, with her schoolbag, left with Han Xiaohao. Now, only Li Dong was left in the house.

"What's going on? You promised last time."

"Uncle Guofu, I sold some mountain goods and got some money. These things don't require coupons, so I bought more. Xiao Juan needs to be well-nourished for school."

Li Dong thought, "I knew it. Fortunately, I was prepared. I can't show off my food anymore, or Han Guofu will make me work hard, like carrying water or pushing a wheelbarrow, which would be exhausting."

"No coupons?"

"How did you get them without coupons?"

"Let's not talk about that. Since you bought them, don't waste them."

Han Guofu wiped the oil from his mouth. It was delicious. The coupons must have been arranged by Li Dong's second uncle.

"Your roof needs to be repaired. I'll find a time to help you fix it. I'll provide lunch, but save the meat and eggs. Don't overeat."

"Alright, Uncle Guofu. When do you want to fix it?"

"Maybe in a couple of days."

Everyone was tired recently. Han Guofu thought they could rest for a day or two. The rice fields were fine, and other crops had been watered. It was a good time to repair the warehouse and Li Dong's house, which was leaking.

It was fine when it didn't rain, but when it did, the house would turn into a water curtain cave. Han Guofu had been considering this for a while. This was a good opportunity to reduce Li Dong's negative influence.

This hedonism was unacceptable. Farmers should focus on farming, earning food, and being frugal. When could they live like this, with meat, eggs, and oil? This wasn't the lifestyle of a farmer.

He needed to educate Li Dong thoroughly and make him renounce bourgeois hedonism.

"In the morning, you'll join the water-carrying team."

Li Dong knew Han Guofu was punishing him. Carrying water was exhausting, and he was already tired from the work he had done in the past ten days. By the end of the morning, he was exhausted.

"I can't do it, Uncle. If you make me carry water again, I'll jump into the reservoir."

His shoulders were swollen, and his legs felt like lead. He couldn't do it anymore.

"Get lost. In the afternoon, you'll push the wheelbarrow in the sorghum field." Han Guofu glared at Li Dong.

In the afternoon, while pushing the wheelbarrow with everyone, Li Dong was asked by some young people if he would still buy mountain goods and wild chickens.

Everyone knew Li Dong had secretly gone to the city to sell mountain goods and had brought back a lot of things. They all had ideas.

Who didn't want to make more money and eat more meat, especially the young people?

"Sure, I'll buy. I'll buy a lot. Mushrooms and black fungus for five cents more, wild chickens for ten cents more, and rabbits for two yuan."

"Two yuan?"

A wild rabbit for two yuan excited not only the men but also the women. Two yuan could buy a lot of things, even two pounds of meat.

"I have a hunting gun. I'll go into the mountains."

"Hunting gun?" Li Dong thought, "They haven't been confiscated yet. How could I forget?"