Chapter 50

Li Dong couldn't avoid the task of shoveling manure, a job typically done by men. Fortunately, today Han Weijun and Han Weiguo were helping, so Li Dong had a much easier time, even having the leisure to think about taking leave to go to the commune.

The production team had a strict policy on leave. Not only could you not take leave without permission, but if you skipped work without permission, you'd be reprimanded and wouldn't get far. Without an introduction letter, you'd be caught as a vagrant in the city and might even get beaten. During criticism and education sessions, a whipping was often added.

Li Dong didn't dare to sneak into the city; he was afraid of being beaten, unlike Zhang Quezi and others who were willing to take risks. "Brother Li, what are you thinking about?"

Li Dong patted his pocket and grinned. "I've run out of cigarettes. I'm thinking about buying a few more packs at the commune."

"Filtered ones?"

At the mention of filtered cigarettes, the young guys' eyes lit up. The older generation smoked tobacco, but the young ones pursued fashion. If you didn't smoke filtered cigarettes, you weren't considered cool. However, most of them didn't have money, so they could only dream about it.

"Brother Li, can you bring me two packs of Apricot Flower?"

Apricot Flower was a local brand, cheaper than Dujiang by more than half, and it didn't have a filter, costing 15 cents per pack. "Sure."

"Can I pay with pheasants?"

"No problem."

"Uncle Guohong is coming, everyone, hurry up."

As soon as they heard Han Guohong was coming, everyone scattered, swinging their hoes and picks, digging out the manure. There were no gloves, so they had to use their bare hands to move the manure to the carts and wheelbarrows.

Every production team had a manure pile, and there was competition among the teams. The team with the largest and neatest pile had the most face at the team meetings. After all, crops depended on fertilizer, and at that time, chemical fertilizers were in short supply, prioritized for major grain-producing areas.

In Chicheng, a small county, the annual supply of chemical fertilizers was limited and mostly allocated to the flat areas along the river. In the mountains, chemical fertilizers were almost nonexistent, and organic fertilizers were the only option. Production teams would typically buy manure and urine from the cities during the winter.

Li Dong heard for the first time that manure and urine had to be bought with manure tickets and urine tickets. Otherwise, people wouldn't sell them. They had to beg and plead to get the tickets, or the production team's animal manure wouldn't be enough to build the manure pile.

Even so, the manure supply was still insufficient, and every year, there was a call for people to donate manure and urine. Usually, the team would buy manure and urine from the members, but often, they couldn't get enough. Everyone had a small plot of land, and the manure was needed for their own use.

Li Dong was stunned. No wonder picking up manure was considered a glorious act, a model to learn from. In Xiaojuan's textbook, there was an article about a young team member picking up manure and donating it to the commune.

"Indeed, the best manure stays in the family."

If a child defecated or urinated outside and came home, they would be severely beaten. Li Dong had seen this with his own eyes.

For the whole morning, Li Dong worked with everyone, shoveling and transporting manure. He stuffed his nose with dry grass, but the smell of manure still filled his nostrils. It was truly a nightmare. By noon, Li Dong went to the reservoir to wash and changed his clothes.

He couldn't stand the smell anymore. When Han Guofu and the others found out, they rolled their eyes. What kind of person was this, throwing away clothes after shoveling manure once? This was wasteful. Li Dong had no choice but to pinch his nose and wash and dry the clothes.

"City kids are too particular."

"Isn't that the truth."

Fortunately, Li Dong didn't have to shovel manure in the afternoon. He helped the women transport cotton, a much easier job. "This kid dresses better than the girls."

"Isn't that the truth, new clothes."

"He looks like a bridegroom."

"With his good looks and this outfit, he's a real bridegroom."

Li Dong had no other clothes to change into, so he wore a new set of autumn clothes, which made the young guys envious.

Only a bridegroom could wear such clothes. Li Dong, pushing a wheelbarrow to transport cotton for the women and young wives, was teased.

In those days, no one dressed like that. Most people wore new clothes for three years, old clothes for three years, and patched clothes for another three years.

"Are these clothes expensive?"

Of course, the clothes worn by cadres were expensive. Li Dong thought to himself. "What, you want a set?"

Han Weiguo smiled sheepishly. He definitely wanted a new set of clothes, especially for dating. A new outfit would give him a lot of face. "If you really want it, it's not impossible. Pheasants, wild chickens, or wild fruits are all fine."

"Really?"

"Of course. If you can catch a wild boar, I'll get you two sets, for autumn and summer, for men and women."

For men and women, Han Weiguo's face turned red with excitement. Wild boars, he had a hunting gun, so he wasn't afraid. He would go into the mountains.

Li Dong saw this and thought, is this kid serious? Going into the mountains to hunt a wild boar, wild boars were no joke. "How about this, five wild rabbits, or a wild deer."

"Five wild rabbits?"

Han Weiguo heard that five wild rabbits could get him a new outfit, and he wondered if it was a trick.

Li Dong guaranteed it, as long as he got five wild rabbits, he would get him a new outfit.

Wild rabbits weren't easy to catch. In those days, there were many wild animals, but a lot of people hunted them for food, so they weren't as easy to catch as in the future.

After convincing Han Weiguo, Li Dong, amidst the women's laughter, finally finished transporting the cotton. Sigh, he thought, it wasn't easy, working under so much pressure.

"I can't do this, I need to take leave tomorrow to relax."

What's wrong with using soap, smelling good, wearing new clothes, and being called a bridegroom? He accepted the name, unable to hide his good looks. The people's eyes were too sharp, and he couldn't help it.

Li Dong washed his face and took half a piece of cured meat to Han Guofu's house.

"Uncle Guofu."

"What brings you here?"

"I need to repair the house, and we don't have much grain at home. My second uncle gave me some grain tickets, so I'll go to the commune tomorrow to buy some grain." Li Dong smiled, sitting down and placing the cured meat aside.

This kid liked to use tricks, but what he said was true. Repairing the roof required meals. "Alright, you can go tomorrow. I'll tell Uncle Guobing."

After getting the leave, Li Dong intended to leave the cured meat, but Han Guofu threw it back at him. "Get lost."

"Just a little cured meat."

Han Guofu raised his tobacco pipe. If you try this again, I'll beat you.

Li Dong didn't give up, but the matter was settled, so he happily took the cured meat home. "What should we have for dinner? Lamb, or a hot pot?"

He found some hot pot seasoning. He was quite clever. He cut a piece of hot pot seasoning, not too much, as it was too spicy for Xiaojuan. He soaked some mushrooms and black fungus, and went to the family plot to get some wild vegetables, radishes, cucumbers, potato slices, and sweet potato starch.

"We don't have a hot pot, so we'll use a clay pot."

The small stove was used, and in a large iron pot, he melted the hot pot seasoning with oil, added some other seasonings, and poured it into the clay pot.

"Smells good."

The aroma of the hot pot seasoning filled the small yard.

When the schoolchildren passed by, they sniffed and looked at Xiaojuan enviously. Uncle Li was making something delicious, it smelled so good.

Not just the children, but the whole village could smell it. In those days, there was no such thing as spicy hot pot seasoning, and the aroma of the oil-melted seasoning was intense. Even from a distance, people could smell it, and the young guys were tempted.

Why can't we live like Li Dong? We can hunt pheasants, wild rabbits, and gather mountain goods to eat meat too.

Some of the older people grumbled, "This kid, how can he waste so much? It's not a festival, and he's eating meat. How can we live like this? We'll end up in a famine."

The team cadres also heard about it from their children and sighed. "We should find a good wife for this kid soon, or he'll waste everything."

"Isn't that the truth?"

But no one said it out loud. They all thought, this kid is hopeless. Who would marry him? It would be like jumping into a fire. He's not smart, lazy, and eats a lot. Who would want him?

The matchmakers in the village had given up on Li Dong. Even if they didn't, it was impossible. Everyone in the surrounding villages knew him.

Li Dong's reputation was so bad that Xiaojuan's dream of saving money to marry a handsome and capable husband might not come true.

Xiaojuan didn't know how bad Li Dong's reputation was. He had no money, a leaky roof, and wasn't smart. Buying geese for four or five yuan was foolish.

Lazy and gluttonous, his work points were even less than a woman's. How could he support a family, especially with a stepdaughter? Who would send a girl to the commune to study? Earning work points and food was the right thing to do.

Li Dong's image was so bad that every village with daughters warned them to stay away from him. Even though he was once from the city, his brain wasn't good, and he was lazy and gluttonous, likely to become a debtor.

At this moment, Li Dong had no idea that he was now considered worse than dog feces, which at least could be used as fertilizer.

"Come on, Xiaojuan, does Dad's lamb taste good?"

Xiaojuan nodded. She didn't care anymore. As long as Dad could earn money, her piggy bank was almost two hundred yuan, which increased her tolerance for his gluttony. Of course, the hot pot was really delicious.

Father and daughter ate until their mouths were greasy and their bellies were full, resting for a while.

"Xiaojuan, Dad will go to the commune tomorrow to buy grain and repair the house. Give me the grain tickets from last time."

Li Dong picked his teeth, feeling comfortable.

He planned to go to the reservoir to wash and chat with Han Weiguo and the young guys. Life was fulfilling.

The grain tickets, cake tickets, meat tickets, and daily necessities tickets were kept by Xiaojuan. She found them and handed them to Li Dong.

"One hundred pounds of grain, that much?" Li Dong had forgotten that Gao Weimin had given him a hundred pounds of grain tickets. He couldn't carry that much.

He needed to borrow a donkey cart from Uncle Guofu, or carrying a hundred pounds of grain for ten miles would be exhausting.

"Borrow a cart?"

When had anyone borrowed a cart from the production team? This was the first time in Han Village.

"That's a lot of stuff, Uncle Guofu. Can I pay? One yuan a day, how about that?" Li Dong was generous, and Han Guofu, hearing that this kid was willing to pay one yuan to avoid carrying the grain, agreed.

"Get lost, go to Uncle Guobing."

"Hehe."