Chapter 67

At this moment, Li Dong felt the tears welling up inside him. The money was truly given by himself. Li Dong slapped his forehead; at the time, Xiao Juan seemed to have said something about saving money, but he had proudly taken out all the money from his pocket and spent it. At that time, the little girl's eyes had widened with joy.

After that, Li Dong didn't want to recall the events. His eyes were filled with tears of salt, and he felt he had sinned. The alcohol had led him into a pit, and he hadn't left a single cent. Li Dong wished he could slap himself.

Li Dong was both crying and laughing. "I see, no wonder the girl was so happy. It turns out I did this myself."

"Xiao Juan, look, Dad was drunk. That was all Dad's money. How about giving half to you and keeping the rest for Dad?"

Xiao Juan looked at Li Dong, who felt a bit guilty. But why should he feel guilty? He remembered that at the time, he had boasted, saying, "Take this money for now, and Dad will earn ten or twenty times more later." He had boasted so much.

"Or a third of it would be fine."

"Or how about fifty or sixty yuan?"

Xiao Juan still didn't speak. This little girl was like a small pi yu (a mythical creature that only takes in and never gives out). Li Dong smiled bitterly. He had boasted so loudly, and now he was in a bind. Once the money went into the little girl's piggy bank, it would be hard to get it out.

Li Dong looked at Xiao Juan with a pained expression. "Give me a little, at least ten or twenty yuan to keep in my pocket?"

"Sure."

Xiao Juan smiled and took out a large note from her pocket, handing it to Li Dong. Li Dong was stunned. A large note was ten yuan. He had taken out over four hundred yuan, and now he only had ten yuan left.

Well, ten yuan is ten yuan. At least his pocket wasn't empty.

But in just a short while, Li Dong was dumbfounded. Han Weiguo, Han Weidong, and Han Weijun brought over wild chickens and rabbits, and the expenses added up to six yuan.

After the women from the village finished their work, they brought over some mountain goods, but fortunately, it wasn't much.

"The weather is too dry. There are no new mushrooms or wood ears on the mountain, and even the wild fruits are hard to pick."

"Indeed, we haven't picked much fruit these past two days."

Each family contributed two or three cents, or even just a few cents. In total, it added up to one and a half yuan. Li Dong was dumbfounded. Now he only had three yuan left. He felt cheated. The ten yuan was what the little girl had given him to buy mountain goods.

Angry, Li Dong decided to act like a father and educate this stingy little girl.

Li Dong entered the house and saw Xiao Juan writing her homework on the table. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He regretted drinking and causing trouble.

"Xiao Juan, are you doing your homework?"

He leaned in to take a closer look and was puzzled. What was this? A work points book? No, why was it a work points book?

"Dad."

Li Dong took the work points book with some confusion. The first line read "Collecting pig grass," with three characters and two pinyin. One basket of pig grass was worth one cent. This pig grass was quite expensive. Building a pig shed was worth fifty cents, and making mud bricks was worth one yuan and one cent.

There were over ten items listed. Working a day earned one cent as a completion bonus. Li Dong didn't understand what this was.

"I made this work points book for Dad."

Li Dong muttered, "I already have a work points book." Suddenly, he realized and stared at Xiao Juan.

"Is this for Dad?"

"Yes."

Xiao Juan was delighted to have finally finished it. She had asked Grandpa Guobing for help. Dad liked to spend money recklessly and didn't know how to save. Grandpa Guobing said he should make a spending book for Dad. This way, Dad would understand the value of earning money through labor and would work hard and not spend money recklessly.

Li Dong was stunned. He stared at Xiao Juan, feeling terrified. This little girl had created such a terrifying work book. He felt like he was being pushed to his limits.

Li Dong had been thinking about how to get more money from Xiao Juan, but now he was completely dumbfounded. He vowed never to drink again. It was a trap.

"Dad."

"Little girl, who taught you this?"

"Grandpa Accountant." Xiao Juan blushed, determined to study hard and make a work points book for Dad herself.

"I knew it. It must have been Han Guofu and the other old men who came up with this 'bad' idea and tricked my innocent daughter."

If Li Dong knew what Xiao Juan was thinking, he would have been speechless. "Why is my life so hard? I have a daughter who gives me no peace."

"Da, do you want to go catch turtles?"

Seeing Li Dong about to leave, Xiao Juan asked curiously.

"No, I'm going to collect pig grass."

First, he needed to earn one yuan. This was really pushing him to his limits. But this book seemed useful. He would make one for Jingyi too. Yes, he would do that. He should also get some math problems for Xiao Juan.

This child had too little homework and too much free time. Math problems would save her from a carefree childhood. Li Dong thought to himself.

Xiao Juan was delighted and prepared a sickle and a basket for Li Dong. Carrying the basket and holding the sickle, Li Dong headed straight to Han Guobing's house. "Uncle Guobing, you scoundrel."

He planned to steal a few baskets of pig grass from Han Guobing's house. This was a wicked plan. Han Guobing had made this work points book to make his life miserable. What was even worse was that the wages in the book were ten times higher than what Xiao Juan had set.

According to Han Guobing, one basket of pig grass was worth one cent. This was pushing him to his limits. Fortunately, his daughter had carefully increased the wages tenfold.

Am I stealing your pig grass or what? No, I'm going to steal it now.

After Li Dong left, Xiao Juan counted the money again. She now had seven hundred and twenty-three yuan and five cents.

While Li Dong was sleeping in the afternoon, Xiao Juan not only made the work points book but also visited a few matchmakers in the village. She was very concerned about finding a wife for Dad.

However, Xiao Juan was still young, and the matchmakers, who were all grandmothers, clearly didn't want to mention Li Dong.

In this era, being lazy and not working was a serious problem. As for the relatives in the city who were wealthy, although people envied them, they weren't too concerned. They might be brought down at any time, and even Dad's bicycle might be confiscated.

Being diligent and earning work points for food was the right way. When Xiao Juan asked, the matchmakers raised their conditions, demanding brick houses, three major appliances, and a motorcycle. This was taking advantage of Xiao Juan's lack of knowledge.

Xiao Juan was stunned. A brick house would cost a lot of money.

There were also watches, bicycles, sewing machines, and radios. Xiao Juan's face turned pale. The matchmakers even calculated the total cost, which was at least a thousand yuan. Xiao Juan was relieved when she heard this.

She now had seven hundred yuan, and Dad had a bicycle and a watch. She still needed a sewing machine and a radio, which would cost about five hundred yuan. After calculating for a long time, she realized she needed to save more money. Otherwise, it would take a long time to earn five hundred yuan.

Xiao Juan didn't want to grow up and still not have a wife for Dad. How could she have a big, healthy son without a brother? This child was quite determined.

Moreover, the village was full of gossip. People said that Li Dong, with a child from a previous marriage, couldn't find a young and beautiful wife. A thirty-year-old widow with two children from the neighboring village might be a better match.

Hearing this, Xiao Juan secretly shed tears. She was determined to help Dad change his bad habits and find the most beautiful wife in the village. Li Dong didn't realize how obsessed Xiao Juan had become.

When the village women saw Xiao Juan's pale face and heard her muttering about calculations, they thought she was scared. They thought it was for the best, as it would save them from having to explain the situation to her. They couldn't say anything bad about Dad in front of a child.

Li Dong didn't know about the two baskets of pig grass he had stolen. He was speechless. There wasn't much pig grass at Han Guobing's house, and taking more would be noticed. "Forget it, I'll get two baskets from Uncle Guofu. He's at least eighty percent responsible for this work points book."

Li Dong spent about an hour and managed to get ten baskets of pig grass, much to Xiao Juan's delight.

Earning one yuan was not easy. He had visited four or five families, including the village officials, and taken two baskets from each. He took the most from Han Guofu's house, three baskets.

"I'm so hard up." Li Dong thought about the next day and the need to collect pig grass again. He sighed, feeling that he was out of practice after being lazy for so long.

"I don't want to think about it. I'm going to sleep."

In the morning, Li Dong was shocked to see the yard full of pig manure. "Did the piglets have diarrhea? They're pooping so much."

"Xiao Juan, do you want to eat roasted suckling pig? Dad will make it for you."

"No."

Xiao Juan was delighted. "Dad, we don't have a manure pile yet. Now that Xiao Bai has pooped so much, we can make one."

Xiao Juan was happy. Grandma Wu had once told her that she chose Grandpa Wu because his manure pile was the largest in the village.

Li Dong had no choice but to make the manure pile. It would be very smelly if not done properly. He was extremely reluctant.

But his daughter was happy, and she even gave him ten cents for the work. As a good father, he should fulfill his daughter's wishes.

"I'll do it."

After ten minutes, Li Dong was satisfied with the manure pile in the corner of the yard. It looked like a cow's manure pile. Xiao Juan was overjoyed and hugged Xiao Bai. "Xiao Bai, eat more grass and poop more. Don't forget to feed Xiao Bai, Dad."

"Got it."

"Also, remember to make the manure pile. Don't try to throw it away secretly." Xiao Juan warned Li Dong, remembering his reluctant expression when making the manure pile.

"Make it, make it, make it as big as a mountain."

Ah, making manure piles was a common task in the village. In the past, matchmakers would first look at the manure pile to judge a family's diligence. A large manure pile meant a hardworking family.

Li Dong didn't care much about this, but Xiao Juan was very enthusiastic. He couldn't stop her from making the manure pile. Besides, he earned ten cents each time. Li Dong realized he was being controlled by Xiao Juan.

"Making manure piles, the crops will thrive with manure."

"Good."

Several women and grandmothers who collected manure passed by and praised the manure pile, ignoring Li Dong's expression of despair. "If you keep getting up early, you'll collect all the manure."

"Xiao Juan is going to school."

After making the manure pile and sending Xiao Juan to school, Li Dong bandaged his leg, rolled up his pants, and walked to the village entrance.

He went to work, pulling weeds in the cornfield. He was comfortable, occasionally boasting and singing, which was much easier than cleaning the reservoir.

"I heard Weidong and the others dug up a big turtle."

"What, a big turtle?"

"From the reservoir?"

After work, Li Dong heard the news. The reservoir was being cleaned, and they had dug up a turtle weighing over ten pounds. Li Dong ran to Han Guofu's house.

"Brother Weijun, is the big turtle at your place?"

Han Guofu was smoking a pipe and, hearing Li Dong mention the big turtle, hit him. "You're the big turtle, you little rascal."

"Hey, Uncle Guofu, I just borrowed a few baskets of pig grass. Is it worth hitting me?"