Chapter 54

Over the next two days, Li Dong followed the roof repair team to learn how to make grass mud balls, place small beams, and lay reeds.

It wasn't just that he learned a lot; the reeds used for the roof were carefully selected high-quality reeds. After laying the reed mats, the grass mud balls were spread and smoothed out, followed by neatly arranged rice straw.

Repairing a thatched cottage was no simple task, and Li Dong had learned a lot.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll go over there."

After the warehouse was repaired, everyone packed up their tools and called out to Li Dong, saying they would go to his house the next day to repair the roof. "Come early, I'll steam white flour buns and stew fatty meat for everyone."

"That's great, I'll come early."

"Ha ha ha, is there enough?"

"Of course, ten pounds of flour."

Li Dong gestured, and everyone was delighted. Ten pounds of flour, how many buns would that make?

"Bring your kids along too." Li Dong was so generous that he scared himself.

"This kid is generous."

Everyone was happy and went home to tell their wives, and the whole family was pleased.

Only Han Guofu frowned. This kid, a little bit in his stomach and he starts to show off. Ten pounds of white flour, how can you eat it all in one meal? Is this the way to do things?

Han Guofu wanted to teach him a lesson, but this kid was too reckless. However, when he heard his daughter-in-law telling the kids to go to Li Dong's house early the next morning to eat white flour buns,

The kids were so excited they were jumping around. "One bun each is enough, don't take too many."

"Got it, Da."

The two daughters-in-law agreed and told the kids to let Da give them some meat, and not to forget.

Li Dong started kneading the dough late at night, fermenting it, and finally using the yeast. At three in the morning, Li Dong started steaming the buns. The steamer was borrowed from Han Guofu's house, and it wasn't very big, capable of steaming only twenty buns at a time.

At a rate of twelve to thirteen buns per pound of flour, he needed to steam at least six batches. He had to start early. He cut five pounds of meat, leaving some for lunch, and added some radishes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms.

Finally, he chopped a wild chicken and made a big mixed stew. The whole pot smelled so good that the entire village could smell it.

"How much meat did this kid stew?"

"Really fragrant."

By five or six in the morning, the buns were almost done, piled high in a basket. The pot of stew was bubbling, and Xiao Juan rubbed her eyes and got up.

"Really fragrant."

"Isn't it?"

Li Dong smiled, took out a chicken leg, and gave it to Xiao Juan. "Try the chicken leg. Later, Dad will pack some buns and stewed meat for you to eat at noon."

"Okay."

Xiao Juan, suppressing her saliva, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and gnawed on the chicken leg, eating the big white buns. When Han Xiaohao and the other kids arrived, Li Dong didn't neglect them. "Wash your hands quickly and eat the buns."

Han Weijun, Han Weiguo, and the other men came into the house, and the yard was already occupied by the kids, each holding a bun with a piece of fatty meat inside.

"Brother Weijun, you're here, eat while it's hot."

The men didn't hesitate; the buns and meat were so fragrant that no one could resist. However, they didn't eat too much meat, each taking a piece to satisfy their hunger, and giving the rest to their kids.

Over a hundred buns, seven men, Li Dong, and over twenty kids, they finished more than half in no time. Li Dong was amazed. "I'll make some noodles."

He had brought a few pounds of noodles from the farm. In those days, noodles were a luxury. He boiled some water and added the noodles to the remaining meat broth, making a fragrant, oily meat noodle soup. The men, who hadn't eaten much of the buns to save for the kids, were now eager to eat the noodles.

The yard was filled with the sound of slurping. Li Dong, seeing that there were still about ten buns left, cut some beef and sent it to the elderly in the village. "Xiao Juan, take some to Grandma Wu and Grandpa Liu."

Li Dong's act of kindness earned him praise from Han Weijun and the others, calling him righteous.

In the morning, everyone worked hard, and Li Dong barely had a chance to help. At noon, Li Dong cooked rice and stewed all the pork. In the morning, everyone had saved the meat for the kids, so they hadn't eaten much.

At noon, Li Dong not only stewed pork but also a pot of mutton and radish. He opened four bottles of liquor and prepared some cucumber and fried peanuts. The table was too small to hold everything.

"Let's take it outside."

A few men carried a large grinding stone, which was big enough to serve as a round table.

"Come, come, have some wine to relax."

Each man had half a pound, and they drank and ate meat without hesitation, not showing any signs of fatigue.

"Fried peanuts are the best."

"Absolutely, they're delicious but use a lot of oil. The cucumbers are also good."

Li Dong was a bit proud; it was the seasoning he brought that made it so good.

At noon, he cooked two pots of rice, ten pounds of rice, and over twenty pounds of cooked rice. Seven or eight people ate it all, along with four bottles of liquor and two large bowls of meat dishes.

By the end of the day, Li Dong's roof was repaired, and the courtyard wall was built with small stones. The small stones couldn't be used for the foundation, but cement was hard to come by in those days.

Repairing the roof had almost depleted Li Dong's meat and vegetables. Building a brick house would take at least half a month, requiring a hundred pounds of pork and hundreds of pounds of rice and flour.

No wonder building a house was a big deal. Li Dong looked at the newly repaired roof and the patched courtyard wall, feeling quite pleased.

But his happiness was short-lived. He was out of meat and could only eat pickled vegetables for dinner. "I've spent all my money and eaten all the meat. How can I live like this?"

The next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the production team didn't take a break. Li Dong couldn't accept this and went to find Han Guofu. "Uncle, I've run out of food repairing the roof. Tomorrow, I'll go to the city to borrow some grain."

Han Guofu, hearing this, wanted to hit him with his pipe. The kid had provided enough white flour buns, rice, and meat and wine, raising the standard for roof repairs.

Next time, no one would be able to afford to hire people. Li Dong thought Han Guofu didn't want to give him a day off, but he had other plans. He and Huang Shengnu had agreed to meet, and Liu Dehua and Huang Yingnu were planning to make a comeback.

"Uncle Guofu, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival. I just want to send some turtles to the city to show my filial piety."

"Fine, here's the letter of introduction. Get lost."

Han Guofu had already written the letter and was ready to give it to him.

"Thanks, Uncle."

Li Dong happily went back and, the next morning, instructed Xiao Juan. "There's some beef left in the bowl. Steam some rice and cut it up to eat. Don't forget."

After instructing Xiao Juan, he gave some water to the deer and grabbed a handful of salt. Li Dong, carrying a large bag, set off, bringing forty pieces of的确良 (polyester) shirts and fifteen sets of Zhongshan suits, leaving early in the morning.

At the commune, Li Dong waited for the cart, thinking about whether to raise the price of the shirts, as girls still liked to look pretty.

"Are you getting in?"

"Of course."

"Get in quickly."

"Five cents."

"Here."

Sitting on the cart, Li Dong thought about getting a bicycle, as this was too inconvenient.

After about an hour, the cart arrived at the inn. The middle-aged driver waved his whip. "We're here, get off quickly."

The service was terrible, almost as bad as being whipped.

Li Dong rolled his eyes and got off the cart, carrying his heavy bag.

"Hey?"

"You?"

"You?"

Li Dong and Huang Shengnu met in a comical way. Li Dong had a small mustache, and Huang Shengnu wore glasses. "Comrade Liu Dehua, you're late."

"Comrade Huang Yingnu, you're early."

Huang Shengnu looked at Li Dong, who was wearing new clothes. "Are all these new clothes?"

Li Dong also looked at Huang Shengnu, who had tanned but was still cute. Her clothes were a bit faded, which wouldn't do. "Change your clothes."

Li Dong had brought some autumn clothes and gave a set to Huang Shengnu. Smuggling was dangerous, so Li Dong planned to pretend to be a factory leader.

The clothes needed to look decent. Huang Shengnu took the clothes and was surprised. "Change quickly, let's sell them early, and I'll take you out for a meal."

Hearing about the meal, Huang Shengnu, who hadn't tasted meat in a week, became a foodie, drooling at the thought of meat slices and meatballs. "I, Huang Yingnu, am back in the game."

After changing at the cinema, they sneaked to the textile factory. With their previous experience, they were more skilled this time. Li Dong waited while Huang Shengnu pretended to look for a relative. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the factory had let out early.

Li Dong waited, holding a piece of的确良 (polyester) shirt with a floral sleeve. After a while, Huang Shengnu returned with a drooping head. "What happened?"

"Something's wrong."

"Something's wrong?"

Li Dong was alarmed, looking around to see if anyone was following. "What happened?"

"Guess what happened?"

Li Dong was almost in a panic. He relied on the clothes to make a living. Now, they only had rice and sweet potatoes left, and the last bit of beef was for Xiao Juan's lunch. He couldn't play guessing games.

The situation was simple. The last time Li Dong sold shirts, the buyers had copied the design and made their own, selling them for eight cents each. They had access to fabric and didn't need cloth coupons, so they sold them widely.

Li Dong suddenly remembered the female workers who had pooled money to buy the clothes. "This is blatant piracy. There's no justice in this world." Li Dong couldn't report it, as it would only make things worse. "What do we do now?"

"Should we try the bakery?"

"Difficult."

Li Dong thought, in such a small city, everyone was likely related. If someone wore new clothes, it would spread in two days. Sure enough, when they went to the bakery, they were disappointed. The bakery had already dominated the market in the city.

Li Dong had underestimated the people of forty years ago and suffered a significant loss. "Let's go, we need to buy tickets and leave."