Chapter 61

"It's Li Dong, it's been a while since I last saw you."

"Indeed, it's been quite a while. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much, I opened a farm in the mountains and have been busy with it lately." Li Dong put the snake skin bag aside, opened the shoe cabinet, took out his slippers, and changed into them. He walked over, picked up the teapot, and poured tea for the three elders before sitting down.

"Have a cigarette."

"I don't smoke anymore, I'm too old for it."

None of them smoked, so Li Dong put the cigarette back in the pack and the lighter away. Since the elders didn't smoke, he didn't want to smoke either.

"Old Gao, Li Dong is here. You two chat, I'll leave with Old Liu."

"Leaving so soon?"

Gao Guoliang stood up to see them off. Li Dong took the snake skin bag and pulled out two bottles of Gujing.

"Dad, I brought you two bottles of old wine, from 1975."

"1975 Gujing?"

Gao Guoliang got excited. Good heavens, 1975 Gujing could cost tens of thousands of yuan per bottle.

"Don't get scammed."

"Dad, this is a gift from a classmate, he didn't charge me."

Li Dong thought to himself, he wished he could be scammed, but there were no fake wines back then.

Gao Guoliang carefully picked up the Gujing, the more he looked, the more he was convinced it was genuine 1975 Gujing. He had learned a lot from his visit to the Gujing Museum with Old Zhang and others.

"It's in great condition." Gao Guoliang liked it more and more, then suddenly slapped his forehead. "Oh, I forgot, I have something to tell Uncle Zhang. Wait a moment, why is Old Zhang in such a hurry? Li Dong, you sit here for a while."

Saying that, Gao Guoliang took the wine and rushed out to catch up with Uncle Zhang and Uncle Liu. Li Dong was taken aback. "What's going on? So urgent? Dad, should I help?"

"No, no, I'll be back in a minute."

Gao Guoliang waved his hands and disappeared in a flash. What's the rush?

Zhang Fengqin put away the pheasant, rabbit, and eel, and cut the wild boar meat before coming out of the kitchen. She saw Li Dong sitting alone in the living room, with no sign of Old Zhang, Old Liu, or Gao Guoliang.

"Where's your dad?"

"He went out to talk to Uncle Zhang about something."

Zhang Fengqin glanced at the remaining bottle of Gujing on the table and immediately understood. "That old man. I'll go check, Li Dong, you sit here."

As she walked, she muttered, "That old rascal, can't keep anything to himself."

Li Dong couldn't help but laugh. His future father-in-law was quite amusing. He thought there must have been something important, but then he realized that bringing wine for a chat was just an excuse. "Old child, old child, that's true."

"Ha ha ha, two bottles, come in, let me show you, it's quite something."

Li Dong flinched, spilling some tea. He wiped it up, thinking, "He's like a child with a new toy."

What was even more surprising was that not only Gao Guoliang, but also Zhang Fengqin had brought a few old sisters from downstairs into the house.

"What's going on? My mother-in-law isn't usually like this," Li Dong muttered, but he didn't forget to greet everyone. "Aunt Wang, Uncle Zhang, please sit."

There weren't enough cups, so he used disposable ones. The room was full of elders, and Li Dong was busy pouring tea and making everyone comfortable.

It got crowded. The living room wasn't large, and with seven or eight people, they had to bring in a couple of stools.

"Aunt Liu, sit here."

"Hey, there's still wine here."

"It must be what Li Dong brought. This boy even brought wine for your dad?" The aunts were delighted, as Zhang Fengqin had just mentioned the wild boar meat.

"He brought two bottles of old wine." Li Dong stood by, thinking it was almost like his first visit.

"What kind of wine is this? It's quite old, isn't it?" Aunt Wang looked at the bottle, remembering something from her childhood.

Gujing bottles from that era were almost extinct now.

"Indeed, it's over forty years old." Gao Guoliang was quite proud.

"Over forty years?"

"Where did you get this wine, Li Dong? You're quite capable."

"I heard old wine is quite expensive, isn't it?"

The old sisters were surprised, and so was Zhang Fengqin. "Li Dong, you're just starting your farm, don't spend all your money on wine for your dad."

"Mom, this wine was a gift from a friend, I can't afford it."

"Can't afford two bottles of wine?"

The old ladies whispered, thinking that while old wine was expensive, it wasn't unaffordable, a few hundred or thousand yuan.

"This wine costs at least 15,000 yuan per bottle, and some people would pay 20,000." Gao Guoliang heard the old ladies whispering and thought, "Women, they don't understand anything. Let me educate you."

"15,000 to 20,000 yuan per bottle?"

That was equivalent to three or four months of their retirement pay. The old ladies were shocked.

"Is it really that valuable?"

Zhang Fengqin quickly took the wine and handed it to Li Dong. "This child, you need money for your business, sell the wine."

"It's a waste to give it to your dad."

Gao Guoliang smiled bitterly. He hadn't said he would drink it. Zhang Guodong and Liu Guochang were also amused. Who would drink such expensive wine? They would keep it as a treasure, not drink it. They would study it with their old friends as a hobby, not spend 20,000 yuan on a bottle of wine.

"Don't worry, Mom. My friend gave me several bottles. I brought two for Dad, and I sold two a few days ago." Li Dong smiled and handed the wine to Gao Guoliang, who gratefully accepted it. "Good boy, I'll give you the money later."

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

He definitely wouldn't take the money. He had bought the wine for 3.5 yuan per bottle, and a shirt could buy two bottles. It was too cheap.

Zhang Guodong and Liu Guochang were envious. Why didn't they have such a good son-in-law?

"Let your dad give you the money, or he might get scammed buying wine."

Zhang Fengqin huffed. This son-in-law was truly something. She called her old sisters to the kitchen to cut and distribute the wild boar meat.

The old sisters happily took the wild boar meat and left, leaving only Zhang Guodong and Liu Guochang in the living room.

"Old Zhang, Old Liu, stay for lunch. Li Dong brought wild boar meat and pheasant."

"No, no."

Zhang Guodong and Liu Guochang looked enviously at the two bottles of Gujing in Gao Guoliang's hands. They wanted to stay and study the wine, but Zhang Fengqin's invitation made them leave reluctantly.

"You, go to bed with the wine."

"Sure, why not."

Gao Guoliang was overjoyed, but Li Dong felt a bit uneasy. This was causing family tension, and he decided not to bring wine next time.

"Then, Dad, Mom, I'll go buy a cake for Jingyi."

"Her mom has already ordered it, go pick it up."

Li Dong took the order slip and left. He first went to the fourth son's shop to pick up his car, which had been in for repairs for almost a month.

"If you don't come soon, we'll start charging for parking."

"It's clean now."

"Thanks."

Li Dong drove out of the shop, feeling a bit rusty after not driving for a while. He went to the cake shop to pick up the cake and then to a nearby clinic to check his leg wound.

"It's nothing serious, just a minor injury. Take some antibiotics and you'll be fine."

He bought some bandages and alcohol to avoid the wound healing too quickly and to make it easier to take leave.

It was only 10:30, and his daughter wouldn't be out of school for another hour.

"Let's go back to the farm and get some mountain goods and dried fruits. Jiajia will be upset if we don't."

The round trip took about an hour. Li Dong packed the mountain goods and picked some vegetables. He also cut a few more pounds of wild boar meat.

By the time he returned to the city, it was nearly 11:40, and he was a bit late due to traffic.

"I was going to pick up Jingyi, but it's too late now."

He parked the car and went upstairs. Li Jingyi opened the door.

"Dad, you're finally back. I was about to call the police."

"Little rascal, what are you talking about?"

Li Dong handed the cake to his daughter and whispered, "Is Mom back?"

"Not yet, she's busy."

Li Jingyi was used to it. She had a dream of becoming a busy person too. "Come in."

"Brother-in-law."

"Jiajia, this is for your colleague."

Li Dong handed a bag of mushrooms, black fungus, dried wild fruits, and bamboo shoots to Gao Jia. "Mom said—"

"I just drove back to the farm."

"Brother-in-law, it's fine. You can bring it tomorrow."

"Since I have time now, and I have a reception tomorrow." Li Dong was pulled aside by his daughter.

"Comrade Li, come sit down. Be honest, where did you get those swans?"

"Hey, are you interrogating me?"

"I'm giving you a chance to be honest, Comrade Li. You need to have the right attitude." The little girl was genuinely worried. Gao Lan had mentioned that swans were a second-level protected animal, which scared her.

"Child, how can you talk to your dad like that?"

"It's okay, Mom, we're just playing."

Li Dong smiled and ruffled Li Jingyi's hair. "You, don't ask your aunt. The swans weren't tied up. If they were caught, they would have flown away long ago."

"Ah, that's true. Comrade Li, I apologize for doubting you. I overestimated your ability and underestimated your character."

Li Dong almost choked. "You little rascal, my ability is high, and my character is beyond reproach."

"Right, Dad's character is this." Li Jingyi gave a thumbs up and rubbed Li Dong's arm. "As for ability, that's debatable, but I believe you're the best dad."

"Little flatterer."

Gao Jia couldn't resist pinching Li Jingyi's chubby face. She was a smart and mischievous little girl.

"Little aunt, my face is already chubby enough. If you pinch more, I'll look like a New Year painting."

"That's cute."

Gao Jia laughed and leaned on the sofa. The little girl made the house lively.

"Stop fooling around, see what Dad got you."

Two colorful turtles in a transparent box were taken out of Li Dong's pocket and placed on the coffee table.

"Is this... a band-aid turtle?"

Li Jingyi was shocked. Oh my God, Dad, no wonder Mom wants a divorce. I also want a divorce. In the next half hour, you will lose your adorable, gentle, capable, and well-behaved daughter and get a little witch instead.

Watch my tickling skills, Comrade Li. Hahaha.