Chapter 70

"Auntie."

Li Chunhua and Han Weiguo's mother, along with a few other aunts, brought the bedding over. Fortunately, it was just a bit chilly that day, and a thin blanket was enough to cover them.

Two people to a bed, there was no time for fussing, and the bedding was packed up. They even brought dinner, and Li Dong glanced at it, finding it acceptable. The rice balls were at least made with white rice on the outside.

It was fine to eat coarse grains at home, but when going out to do business, one still cared about appearances. Li Chunhua's rice bowl, besides eggplant and radish, also had two pieces of meat.

"This is forty cents, take it to Uncle Guofu and get half a catty of wine to warm up."

"Alright, Auntie, you can rest assured, leave it to me."

Li Dong patted his chest to guarantee, packed the bedding in two large snake skin bags, and placed them on the back of his bicycle. He went into the house, cut some cooked beef, and seeing the copper hot pot nearby, decided to pack it along.

He added meatballs, vermicelli, and radish to the hot pot and told Xiao Juan to go to bed early.

"Don't wait for Dad, he might not be back tonight."

"Be careful, Dad, ride slowly."

"Don't worry, Dad's bike has a light."

After packing everything, Li Dong rode his bicycle out. A bike with a light was indeed useful, as there were no streetlights to light the way in those days. Without a light, one could easily fall into a pit and get bruised and scratched.

"Ouch."

"Who's there, stop?"

"Is it you, Weimin?"

"It's Li Dong."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm delivering bedding to Guofu, it's all because of the pigs."

"It's not just the pigs, it's those monkeys from the south causing trouble."

Gao Weimin, carrying a rifle, offered a cigarette to Li Dong. "Want one?"

Li Dong lit the cigarette and noticed Gao Weimin looking at his lighter. "What, want one?"

"Never mind, my pocket isn't rich these days."

Gao Weimin shook his head; the lighter wasn't cheap.

"Five yuan each, it's okay."

Li Dong put it away and asked Gao Weimin quietly, "What's up, didn't they cancel the militia patrols?"

"Ah, it's because of the trouble in the south."

Gao Weimin smiled bitterly. "Otherwise, who would come out in the middle of the night to freeze, when they could be cozy in bed with their wives?"

"Hehe."

"Alright, you go ahead, I'll go over and wait for dinner."

"See you when we have time, let's get together."

"Sure thing."

The militia patrols were back, as Huang Shengnan said, it was best to avoid going into the city these days for safety. It wasn't as if they lacked food.

Arriving at the food station, there was already a queue at least half a mile long. The inspection speed was slow, and Li Dong was puzzled. What was going on? Were the inspectors taking a break?

"Brother Weijun, why isn't the queue moving?"

"It's because of the grading."

"A family brought two pigs, and they were both graded as level eight. They're not happy and are causing a fuss."

Han Weijun explained. "It's getting out of hand, almost to the point of physical conflict. They contacted the slaughterhouse to kill and weigh the pigs on the spot."

This time, it was two months earlier than usual. The pigs hadn't even put on their autumn fat, so there wasn't much meat. The grading was from good to poor, from level five to level nine. Normally, a pig would sell for sixty to seventy yuan.

Now, they were selling for forty to fifty yuan, which was a significant difference. Of course, there would be a fuss. The inspectors at the food station were also stubborn, and the situation almost turned into a fight.

People from various villages weren't just one or two; they came in droves. The food station had no choice but to contact the slaughterhouse to kill the pigs on the spot, and both sides agreed.

"No wonder."

Li Dong untied the bedding, which had marks from each family. "Brother Weijun, this is for your family, Weiguo, Weidong, and Weichao."

"What's this?" The bedding was taken, and Li Dong opened a snake skin bag, pulling out a large pot. What was he doing?

"It's a hot pot, this is the food each family brought."

"Uncle Guofu, Auntie asked me to give you forty cents to buy half a catty of wine."

Li Dong took out forty cents and handed it to Han Guofu with a smile. "I thought, with wine, we need some food. I cut some meat and made some meatballs, vermicelli, and radish. I'll buy a bottle of hot water, and we can cook the hot pot to warm up."

By this time, the food had cooled, but Li Dong set up the copper hot pot, bought a piece of charcoal and a bottle of hot water for ten cents, and poured it into the pot. After a while, the broth started to bubble.

Han Guofu bought loose wine, but not half a catty, rather two bottles, as half a catty wasn't enough.

"It's bubbling, Brother Li." Han Weiguo was drooling at the sight of the meat, the broth smelled so good.

"Add the ingredients."

Meatballs, beef, mutton, radish, and vermicelli were all added, and soon the pot was bubbling with a fragrant aroma. Han Weiguo, Han Guofu, Han Weidong, Han Weijun, and Han Weichao, who were already hungry, had their stomachs rumbling and mouths watering.

"Is it ready, Brother Li?" Han Weiguo and Han Weichao, the young ones, couldn't resist the smell.

"Wait a bit."

"Pour some broth and soak the rice to eat first." Li Dong smiled and scooped a spoonful of broth for Han Weiguo.

"Sure thing."

The broth was so fragrant, and the rice soaked in it was delicious. The young ones quickly scooped up the broth.

"Brother Li, you thought of everything, even bringing a spoon. Otherwise, we'd be in trouble." Han Weiguo ate the rice soaked in broth with big bites.

"Delicious."

"Really fresh."

The seasonings from the 21st century were indeed fresh, especially the mutton broth. As the fire heated up, the aroma became more intense, and the farmers delivering pigs stretched their necks to see what was so fragrant.

When did Han Village become so prosperous, eating meat? People wondered.

"This old Han, he's doing well."

Bi Qingzhu, smelling the aroma, ran over. "Wow, cooking a hot pot."

"This is warm."

Han Guofu, seeing Bi Qingzhu, smiled and pulled him to sit down. "Old Bi, come sit, have a drink."

"Is there wine?"

"My wife was worried about the cold and insisted on sending wine."

Han Guofu, proud, took a sip and handed the bottle to Bi Qingzhu. There were no chopsticks, so they drank directly from the bottle. "No chopsticks, use mine to eat the meat."

Bi Qingzhu saw there was plenty of meat, even meatballs. This guy was really well-off.

After a few bites of meat, Bi Qingzhu ran off, unable to stand Han Guofu's pride. "Go, go ask if there's any meat for sale, buy some and some more wine." He didn't want Han Guofu to be the only one proud.

He had to return the favor. Han Guofu, sipping his wine, was so proud, even singing a little tune.

"Uncle Guofu, have some broth, warm up."

"Sure, sure."

Han Guofu thought, eating meat was so satisfying, especially in front of Old Bi. The comfort was almost like getting married.

Han Village was bustling, eating warm food and enjoying the fragrant meat. Other production teams, without food, were even hungrier, their stomachs growling. Even the rice balls and steamed buns that were usually fragrant were less appealing compared to Han Village's feast.

Seeing the meat and meatballs in the hot pot, and the wine, everyone's mouths watered. Some young people from other production teams complained quietly, wondering why their teams didn't provide better meals, seeing how well others lived.

A little wine with the hot pot, the warmth was indeed comforting.

Several team leaders came over to the food station, drawn by the aroma of the hot pot.

"Which production team is this?"

"Han Village."

"Is it managed by Old Gao?"

"Sure is."

"The aroma is quite tempting."

Gao Weimin and Gao Jianjun, seeing Li Dong, knew he had settled in Han Village. This must be his doing.

"Let's join the fun. I'll go to the canteen and ask Old Zhang if he has any mutton. We can share a bit, how about it?"

"Sure, Old Gao, you treat us, we won't be shy."

Several team leaders came over, bringing meat, wine, and vegetables.

"Secretary Gao."

"Don't stand, we're here to join in."

"I cut two pounds of mutton, Secretary Gao is treating us, let's have a bowl of broth."

"Wow, the aroma is so good."

The young ones, seeing the leaders, quickly made room. Li Dong, seeing the mutton, wasn't sure whether to take it or not.

"Take it."

Li Dong took the mutton, which was well-cut, and added it to the pot in portions to avoid foaming.

"Uncle Gao, you eat first. I'll get more water and add more broth. Everyone will have a bowl of hot broth later."

He bought a piece of charcoal and a pot of hot water for ten cents, added more seasonings, and a bit of chili, as mountain people liked spicy food to ward off dampness.

"Good, add more chili."

"Old Huang can add it himself later."

Gao Jianjun brought bowls and chopsticks from the canteen, ready for a big feast. Li Dong also enjoyed a bowl of mutton broth, which was indeed delicious. He didn't expect the canteen to have such good food.

"Fresh, what seasonings did you use? It's so fresh."

"Sure is. If we had some steamed buns, it would be perfect."

The team leaders, who hadn't eaten, were even hungrier after a bowl of mutton broth.

"Secretary, the steamed buns are here." Old Bi arrived just in time.

"Perfect." The team leaders were all happy, everything they needed was there.

Li Dong added water twice, but the broth was still not enough. Other production teams, seeing the abundance, came over to share the hot mutton broth. Li Dong, amused, felt like he was running a mutton broth shop. In the end, the broth was mostly water, but it was still