Chapter 64

Li Dong spent the afternoon busy in the vegetable garden, and at the same time, he asked someone to tidy up a few plots of sloping land he had contracted. When he returned, he planned to plant rapeseed, which would be better than leaving the land idle.

"A few paddy fields should also be well managed. Raising rice flowers and fish doesn't require high yields, but it can at least earn back the cost of the wine."

Although Li Dong's farm only contracted a few plots of land, it still covered more than a hundred acres. Leaving it all idle would be a waste. More projects would give guests something to do when they visit.

"It won't work; the farm still needs to hire two people regularly."

Over a hundred acres of land, Li Dong alone couldn't manage it. It wouldn't be practical to hire temporary workers every day. As the sun set, Li Dong carried a hoe and a basket, heading towards the village. Unexpectedly, he met Han Xiaohai, who was driving back.

"Xiaohai is back?"

"Mr. Li, are you busy?"

Han Xiaohai poked his head out and glanced at Li Dong's attire, thinking to himself, "He really takes himself for a farmer. What is he thinking?"

"Clearing the weeds in the vegetable garden."

Li Dong greeted him and walked away. Soon, the piglet would be delivered, and Li Dong planned to return to 1978. It had been nine days, and he calculated that it would be around 4 or 5 in the morning when he returned. He couldn't be late, or he might run into early risers collecting manure.

"That would be a mess," Han Xiaohai muttered as he watched Li Dong walk away. When he got home, he couldn't help but mention it. Han Weiguo, annoyed by Han Xiaohai's chatter, retorted, "What do you know? He sold a few bottles of wine for over 200,000 yuan a few days ago. Don't talk nonsense."

"What?"

Han Xiaohai, who was munching on a cucumber, choked. "Dad, are you drunk?"

"You, forget it. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Han Weiguo had been muttering about this for a few days. Seeing his son's disbelief, he shook his head. "Forget it. Even I find it hard to believe."

"What kind of wine?"

"Moutai."

"Old Moutai?"

Han Xiaohai, who knew a bit about it, wondered where Li Dong got these good things from. He had underestimated him.

Li Dong didn't know that his wine sales had kept Han Weiguo up for several days. He was now playing with the newly delivered piglet, which weighed over ten pounds and was no cheaper than a thirty or forty-pound pig. "The preparations are almost ready."

He weighed the items: the bicycle with the added light and seat, fifty pounds; a large bag of alarm clocks, ten pounds; the piglet, fifteen pounds; cooked beef and mutton, ten pounds; fresh mutton, five pounds; a copper pot with hot pot ingredients and seasonings, about five pounds.

"Two sets of autumn and winter coats, two pairs of work shoes, and a pair of autumn shoes for Xiaojuan."

He also prepared a wool coat, leather shoes, and dress pants for himself to attend the wedding. After tidying up, Li Dong looked sharp. "Handsome, I wonder if I'll outshine the groom. That wouldn't be good."

He was too handsome, and Li Dong wondered what to do. "I'll wear a hat if I have to." "Almost forgot to bring the copied notes."

"Right, and the Damascus knife. The wild boar was too dangerous last time, so I need to bring it for self-defense."

The items added up to over 160 pounds. For safety, Li Dong packed them in a sheet and tied them to the back of his bicycle.

He locked the yard and the house, then pushed the bicycle and led the piglet into the bedroom, closed the windows, and prepared to leave.

"Start."

In a blink, Li Dong opened his eyes and found himself in a small forest outside Han Village. It was still dark.

"It's still early."

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Li Dong waited for a few minutes, then pushed the bicycle and led the piglet out of the forest.

When he entered the village, he completely relaxed. It was still early, and no one was up yet.

He opened the yard gate and just entered the yard when the house door opened. Xiaojuan, holding a cleaver, stared at Li Dong.

"Dad?"

"Xiaojuan, why are you up? Did I wake you?"

Li Dong stopped the bicycle. Xiaojuan rubbed her eyes and finally saw clearly. She couldn't believe it and rubbed her eyes again to confirm that her dad had brought back a bicycle, the first one in the village.

"Good, go back to sleep."

Li Dong didn't expect to wake her; he had been very quiet.

"Dad, is this a bicycle?"

"What else could it be? How about it? Now you can ride to school, and your feet won't get sore. Are you happy?"

"Did you really buy it?"

"Of course, isn't it nice?"

Li Dong said proudly, and Xiaojuan's mouth opened wide in surprise.

Li Dong thought she would be thrilled, but Xiaojuan pouted. "The bicycle is so expensive. It would be better to save the money to build a new house. Dad, you're spending money recklessly again."

Pfft, Xiaojuan didn't know how much a bicycle cost, but she knew it wasn't cheap. If Dad saved the money, it would be enough to get married and find a pretty village girl, not a cheap one who fled from famine.

"Really, Dad, you're so careless!"

Li Dong didn't know about Xiaojuan's thoughts of finding him a pretty village girl. He just smiled bitterly, wondering why his two daughters were so different from other children.

"The bicycle is already bought and can't be returned. Don't worry, I'll earn more money and won't spend it recklessly next time."

"Okay, stop pouting. Look, what did Dad bring for you?"

He tugged the rope, and the piglet grunted. Xiaojuan was immediately attracted and cheered, hugging the piglet. She was so happy that she waved the cleaver, which scared Li Dong.

"Xiaojuan, put the cleaver down first."

"Ah."

Xiaojuan blushed and ran into the house to put the cleaver down, then ran out and squatted to hug the piglet. "Dad, I'll help you make bricks and build a pigpen for the piglet."

"Sure, I'll help you build the pigpen when I get back."

"Is Dad going out again?"

"You forgot, Uncle Gao invited Dad to his wedding."

Li Dong pinched Xiaojuan's nose, and she played with the piglet, remembering that there was no pig feed at home. She wanted to go out to collect some.

Li Dong originally planned to take Xiaojuan to Gao Weimin's house this weekend since she didn't have classes. But Xiaojuan didn't want to go and wanted to stay to watch the piglet. Without a pigpen, the piglet might run away.

"Listen to me. Let's eat first, and then go collect pig feed."

"Okay."

Li Dong unpacked the large bag and took out the items: a bag of flour, a bottle of oil, and some beef and mutton. Xiaojuan's eyes widened, and her mouth pouted higher and higher, almost reaching the hanging oil.

Not only that, but there were also new clothes and shoes.

How much did this cost? Xiaojuan felt more and more heartbroken. She decided to go with Dad next time, ride on the bicycle, and watch him to prevent him from spending money recklessly. "What do you want for breakfast? How about a meat bun?"

Xiaojuan immediately shook her head. "No, save the meat for building the house. I'll have sweet potato porridge."

"Eating only coarse grains isn't good."

He made a few pancakes, cut some cooked beef, opened the chili oil, and cooked sweet potato porridge. It tasted pretty good. "Alright, Xiaojuan, stay at home. I'll go help Uncle Gao. Make something to eat for lunch. There's meat, so don't be frugal."

Li Dong left, pushed the bicycle out of the yard, and it was just getting light. "Dad?"

"Aunt?"

At the village entrance, he met Han Guodong's wife, who was collecting manure. She stared at the bicycle, wondering when Xiaojuan's dad got it.

"Aunt, you're busy."

He greeted her and didn't delay. He turned on the bicycle light, got on, and rode away. The bicycle worked well on the dirt road.

"Where did this kid get the bicycle?"

Wang Chunlan muttered and decided to ask Xiaojuan later.

Li Dong rode to the entrance of Gao Village. Gao Weimin was a prominent figure in the village, and his father was now the deputy secretary of the commune, also the head of the production team in Han Village, Gao Village, and Bi Family.

He asked around and found the large courtyard on the west side of the village. Li Dong, riding a bicycle and wearing a wool coat, looked like a cadre.

"Gao Weimin's dad is really capable."

"Indeed, look, cadres are coming over."

"Let's go see, maybe we can get a cigarette. I heard they have filter cigarettes."

Gao Weimin's house had a large courtyard with three brick and tile houses, which were rare in that era.

Ding ding ding

Gao Weimin was in the courtyard, greeting a few friends who were helping with the wedding. They were about to ride to pick up the bride.

"Gao Weimin, nice, a Shanghai watch."

"Sure, come, have a cigarette."

Gao Weimin showed off his Shanghai watch, which caught the attention of his friends.

"What's this?"

"A lighter, a new invention by the Japanese."

Gao Weimin said nonchalantly, but the fact that he had a new Japanese invention was impressive.

"Gao Weimin, you're really capable."

"Let me see."

"Wow, there's a picture on it."

"What's inside?"

The liquid in the lighter was intriguing.

"Who knows? Japanese things are varied." Gao Weimin said nonchalantly. "Have a cigarette."

"I'll try it."

"The flame is big, Japanese things are really strange."

"Ha ha ha, don't burn your hair."

The disposable lighter made Gao Weimin stand out among his friends. He planned to use it more during the wedding to impress his in-laws.

"Who's that?"

They were interrupted by the clear sound of a bicycle bell. "I'll go see."

"Gao Weimin."

Li Dong got off the bicycle, and Gao Weimin was slightly surprised to see him. He really borrowed a bicycle, and it even had a light, especially the leather seat, which was very nice, much better than his half-old bicycle.

"New bike?"

Gao Weimin examined it closely and confirmed it was new. "Brother, can I borrow it?"

"Sure."

Li Dong didn't mind. He pushed the bicycle in, and the young men were surprised by his neat wool coat and shiny leather shoes, which made Gao Weimin's Zhongshan suit look plain.

"Gao Weimin, who's this?"

"From Han Village, Li Dong."

Gao Weimin smiled. "My good friend, here to help. How about this bike?"

"Indeed, it's very nice."

"New?"

"Got it yesterday."

Li Dong smiled. "By the way, congratulations on your wedding. Here's