Chapter 56

Li Dong muttered, "What's going on? I gained eighty-five pounds? Wait, that's not right. This number, my weight is one hundred and sixty-five, and the items I'm carrying weigh eighty-five pounds. Now, the weight of the items I'm carrying has doubled."

What's happening? Li Dong muttered and looked more closely at the three rows of numbers. The Sun Value, which Li Dong named for the first row of numbers, had exceeded two hundred. "Could it be that when the Sun Value exceeds one hundred, the weight of the items I'm carrying increases?"

This discovery delighted Li Dong. It meant that in the future, he could carry large items. If he stored more Sun Values, could he carry items weighing hundreds or even thousands of pounds?

"Great."

"Uncle, what's wrong?"

Li Dong clapped his hands and exclaimed, "It's good," which frightened the kids.

"It's nothing, nothing. I just said your torch is good."

"I made it with ramie stalks. Uncle, do you want one?"

"Sure, make one for me, and I'll give you mooncakes to eat."

Li Dong knew that ramie stalks were the middle part of the ramie plant left after the outer skin was stripped off and dried. They were light and white, perfect for making torches. They didn't produce ash like reeds and were lighter and burned smoothly.

In those days, ramie had many uses, such as making ropes and cloth. Li Dong often saw it when he was a child, but it gradually became less common in the early 21st century.

Ramie stalks were usually about one and a half meters long, and a dozen or so could make a small torch. Li Dong found it interesting and learned to make a few.

"Hasn't the wild ramie been harvested this year? Where did you get these ramie stalks?"

The kids exchanged glances and lowered their heads. They had secretly taken firewood from the production team's reserve, from last year. These little rascals.

"It's okay, don't worry. I won't tell."

"Hey, isn't that a sycamore seed ball?"

"I know, you're preparing to play with fireballs, right? Why didn't you soak them in kerosene?" Li Dong had played with them when he was a child and felt a sense of familiarity.

"Dad, we're not allowed to soak them in kerosene."

Kerosene cost three or four mao per pound, and they were too frugal to use it for lighting, let alone soaking seed balls. These kids were afraid of getting their bottoms beaten, but they still wanted to try and couldn't find the kerosene.

"Xiaojuan, we're not stingy. I'll ask your dad to buy ten or eight pounds of kerosene."

Huang Shengnan rolled her eyes. Kerosene would evaporate if not stored properly, so they couldn't buy too much.

"Xiaohei, soak a few for Uncle."

"Okay, Uncle, I'll do it right away."

The kids were overjoyed. Uncle was really a good person. Li Dong pinched Xiaojuan's chubby cheeks, which made the little housekeeper hum unhappily, making pig sounds that made Li Dong laugh.

"Xiaojuan, it's a holiday. Let's play. Next time, your dad won't soak them for them."

"Hmph."

Xiaojuan wasn't stupid. She wouldn't believe him. Li Dong knew what Xiaojuan liked. He understood her little thoughts. Xiaojuan reluctantly took out half a bottle of kerosene and said to Xiaohei with a pout.

"Xiaohei, just soak five."

"Okay."

Xiaojuan's stern face made Xiaohei a bit afraid, as if she were his mother.

The kids soaked the seed balls, each taking one happily, and shared two milk candies. Kids were easily satisfied.

"If we could watch a movie, that would be even better."

"Last year, they showed movies during the holiday."

"Why isn't the commune showing movies this year?"

"Do you know, Uncle?"

How would I know? Huang Shengnan muttered, "What are they showing? A bunch of people discussing the truth, almost coming to blows."

"The Great Debate on Truth?"

Li Dong thought, it really was happening at this time. No wonder. "When I have time, I'll see if I can borrow a projector to show you a few more movies."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Great, last time I didn't get any bullet casings. This time, I'll definitely pick up a few."

"Me too."

Li Dong was amused by the kids' words but remembered that he had done similar silly things when he was young.

"Alright, go back and eat. We'll light the torches later."

The kids scattered, and Li Dong tidied up. The two bottles of Maotai were valuable and needed to be stored properly. The chairs were good, but they were too heavy to carry this time.

"Sit down, Comrade Huang Shengnan. Xiaojuan, take care of your aunt."

Li Dong prepared to cook. He heated the hot pot base, and the aroma filled the yard, making Huang Shengnan restless. It smelled so good and spicy.

He added water to the hot pot base and let it boil. While it was cooking, Li Dong cut the last of the mountain powder, dried tofu, mutton, radish, potato, and the last two tomatoes he had brought.

"Don't just stand there."

Li Dong opened a tin can containing almond cookies, mooncakes, fried peanuts, and milk candies. He put them in a large bowl. "Have a snack."

Huang Shengnan saw the milk candies, mooncakes, almond cookies, and fried peanuts, and her mouth watered. There were so many good things, and even city people might not have so many during the holiday.

Last year in the capital, each person only got three liang of peanuts and two liang of sunflower seeds.

The hot pot was simple to cook. Once it boiled, it was poured into a sand pot and placed on a small stove with a few pieces of firewood. "Don't be shy, help yourself."

"Try the mutton."

"It's delicious."

The hot pot was full of oil, and Huang Shengnan's mouth was watering. If Xiaojuan weren't there, she would have dug in.

"Enjoy it while it's hot."

"Spicy, spicy, delicious."

"Have some dumplings."

Half a catty of meat dumplings, but this half catty was not the same as in later times. It was made from half a catty of flour, about thirty to forty large meat dumplings.

"Delicious."

As Huang Shengnan ate the meat dumplings and hot pot mutton, tears came to her eyes. Li Dong sighed. "Eat more meat, and you won't miss home so much."

Mentioning home made Huang Shengnan cry even more. Her home was long gone, but she was Huang Shengnan, the Huang Sister from Chikou. After a few large meat dumplings, she wiped her tears and forgot all her worries.

"Really delicious."

Han Xiaohao and the others came over after dinner, drawn by the smell of the hot pot. The kids' mouths watered.

"Xiaohei, you're here. Come in quickly."

There were still some meat dumplings left, and he gave each of them one to taste. The kids now considered Li Dong as family, no, the closest family. They were willing to share everything with him, and they thought Uncle was a great person.

After the dumplings and hot pot, they cleaned up. Li Dong wanted to keep Huang Shengnan for the night, but seeing the situation at home, he decided to send her back. "No need to send me. I know the way. I'll be there soon."

"Alright, take the flashlight."

"I'll return it when I have time." Huang Shengnan took the flashlight and thanked him.

Li Dong took out ten yuan and gave it to Huang Shengnan, but she refused, saying she had already taken clothes and two meals. Taking money would be too much. "Take it. Jin Shui might earn more than you."

"That's impossible."

"You don't understand. Why do you think he left his name? This guy probably knows we're not from Huacheng." Li Dong laughed. "But it's good. We can find him if we need something."

"Oh."

Huang Shengnan thought, is that true? But she took the ten yuan. "Thank you."

"Don't be so formal. We're the Chikou Duo."

"Right."

Huang Shengnan left, and Li Dong planned to play with the kids for a while. However, before he got back to the village, the bell at the village entrance rang.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

The bell wouldn't ring for no reason. Li Dong grabbed a kitchen knife and rushed to the village entrance.

"What's happening?"

"Uncle, what's going on?"

Seeing Han Guobing, Li Dong asked urgently.

"Wild boars are destroying our corn. Get ready."

"Wild boars?"

Li Dong thought Han Weiguo was joking a few days ago, but it was true. Some people carried pitchforks, others hoes, and even shovels. Li Dong's kitchen knife was a rare weapon.

The most impressive were the five or six homemade guns. Li Dong decided to stay back. Joking aside, these guns were terrifying. He didn't want to get hit by a stray bullet.

"Uncle Guofu."

Impressive, the production team had rifles. Seeing Han Guofu with a rifle, Li Dong was momentarily stunned. The whole village, young and old, carried guns, pitchforks, hoes, and even kitchen knives.

The kids were sent home. This wasn't a joke. It was a pack of wild boars. Any kid who complained would get a beating. The kids' torches were also confiscated. Li Dong thought the kids must hate the wild boars.

Wild boars destroying crops were mortal enemies in those days. There was no concept of protecting animals. If they ate your crops, they would leave their flesh behind.

About thirty people, with homemade guns, faced a pack of wild boars. Li Dong saw at least a dozen, of various sizes. The guns fired, and the boars ran.

Everyone charged forward, and Li Dong was stunned. This was too dangerous. "What are you standing there for? Chase the boars."

"Ah, okay."

Li Dong thought, with a short weapon like a kitchen knife, it was too risky. Fortunately, his kitchen knife was thick and sturdy, made by an old blacksmith. If it were a supermarket knife, it would break before cutting through the boar's skin.

"Charge."

To show he wasn't a coward, Li Dong charged with his kitchen knife. The boars scattered, and he saw a few young boars caught by pitchforks. It was brutal.

Suddenly, a dark shadow charged at him. "Quick, get out of the way."

Li Dong dodged instinctively and swung his kitchen knife at the shadow. His hand tingled, and the knife got stuck. Li Dong was stunned. Han Guofu fired several shots, and the boar finally fell.

Wow, Li Dong's kitchen knife was stuck in the boar's neck, with only the handle visible. His body had become much stronger, and his strength had increased. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to cut through the boar's skin.

"Wow, that one cut almost killed it."

"True, with just the homemade guns, we could only scare them away."

This time, they killed five boars, four of which were young, weighing twenty to thirty pounds each. The only large one weighed at least two hundred pounds.

"This kid is good."

Li Dong chuckled, thinking he had been scared stiff. Wild boars had thick skin and incredible resilience. It took several shots to bring it down after being cut.

"How do we divide the boars?"

"According to the old rules, whoever contributes the most gets half."

Everyone looked at Li Dong, who was stunned. "That's too much. How about this? I'll take twenty pounds of meat and the pig's stomach. My second uncle has a bad stomach, and I'll send it to him."

"Deal."

Han Guofu agreed. The boar was large, weighing over two hundred pounds, and could yield at least one hundred and twenty pounds of meat. Each family could get two to three pounds, which would be a good holiday treat. However, wild boar meat was very gamey, and people preferred to trade two pounds of wild boar meat for one pound of domestic pork.