Chapter 78

"Brother, is it really tiger bone?"

Li Dong didn't expect General Tian to come so quickly, it had only been an hour or so. He must have rushed over. This guy is really something, Li Dong thought, as they were both men, he understood a bit.

"Absolutely tiger bone."

Li Dong said quietly, "General Tian, this matter can't be talked about outside."

"You can rest assured."

Tian Liang thought that if it was tiger bone, it would be fine. As for the details, he didn't care.

"Want to take a look?"

Li Dong hesitated for a moment and nodded. "General Tian, follow me, it's inside."

The tiger bone wine was in the inner room, which was Li Dong's office and study, as well as a collection room. The tiger bone wine was placed in a cabinet. Opening the cabinet, Tian Liang took a few steps forward. The gray-black jar had been around for quite some time.

"Collected from the mountains?"

"Sure is."

Li Dong smiled and opened the jar, pouring a small cup of the medicinal wine. The scent of the wine was strong. "The hunter who killed the tiger was also an old doctor. This tiger bone wine not only contains tiger bone but also various Chinese herbs. General Tian, would you like to try it?"

"Not now, I have a meeting this afternoon."

Tian Liang hesitated; he really couldn't drink now. "Brother, give me two bottles to try."

Li Dong found two beer bottles, and Tian Liang shook his head. "Brother, isn't this a bit too simple?"

It's not that there are no good bottles, but beer bottles are fine. After filling two bottles, Li Dong sealed them. Tian Liang really had something to do and didn't even have time to look at the wild softshell turtles and loaches.

Before leaving, he pulled Li Dong aside and asked quietly, "Brother, can you get tiger penis wine?"

"This is a bit difficult."

"A bit difficult, but is there a way?"

Li Dong nodded. The tiger penis wine might be broken, and going back now wouldn't help. He hoped there was still some left, and he could add herbs and let it steep for a while, which should have some effect.

"I just took a look."

"I'm not afraid you'll laugh, but for this jar of tiger bone wine, I almost knelt down."

Li Dong smiled bitterly. "If that old man wasn't short of money recently, and if there were more tiger bones, this wine wouldn't have ended up in my hands. A tiger only has one penis, it's hard to get."

"Brother, think of a way. The price is no issue, I'll make it up to you later."

"I'll try."

"Thanks, brother."

Tian Liang wanted to pay, but Li Dong waved his hand. "Try it first, if it works, we'll talk. If it doesn't, consider it a gift."

It wasn't good to take money now. If it didn't work, no matter how well he spoke, it would just be talk. Besides, Li Dong was afraid the tiger bone wine wouldn't work for Tian Liang. If he took the money now, he might lose a wealthy customer.

"You're a good brother."

"By the way, I have a box of tea and a few baskets of crabs in my car."

Jin Jun Mei, a box of which costs a few thousand yuan, plus a few baskets of large crabs, each weighing about five to six ounces.

"General Tian, you're too kind."

"Just a small thing. I'll go now, call me if you have any news."

After seeing Tian Liang off, Xu Yue found Li Dong. Xu Jian and Xu Yue had just discussed the effects of the tiger bone wine, and Xu Yue was a bit skeptical. Her father had chronic rheumatism and back pain, and many medications didn't work well.

Unexpectedly, drinking a cup of tiger bone wine at the farm had a good effect. Xu Yue came to ask Li Dong if he could give her some tiger bone wine. The price was negotiable. Xu Jian and Han Wenjing were both retired university students from the old class, and their retirement pay, combined with investments over the years, meant they weren't short of money.

"I'll give you two bottles."

Li Dong filled two bottles of tiger bone wine. The price was hard to set. If it was too high, Li Dong would feel embarrassed, but if it was too low, it would be a loss.

"Whatever you think is fair."

Xu Yue bit her lip and transferred 5,000 yuan. Two bottles for 5,000 yuan was not cheap, but it wasn't expensive either. In this era, the price of tiger bone wine was hard to determine. If it worked for Tian Liang, it might be worth 10,000 or 20,000 yuan.

Li Dong explained the precautions for using the tiger bone wine and told her not to talk about it outside.

"You can rest assured."

At noon, the food wasn't lavish but was quite refined. There were a few specialties: wild loaches stewed with black pork, a pot of small fish, braised chicken with chestnuts, and a few vegetables they had picked themselves, plus a stewed softshell turtle.

They also made sweet and sour meatballs for little Qiqi and a stewed chicken egg. Han Weiguo's cooking was excellent, and little Qiqi finished a small bowl of sweet and sour meatballs.

"Really delicious."

In the afternoon, they had planned to go into the mountains to pick wild fruits and chestnuts, but seeing the stone mill and the stone roller in the yard, Xu Jian and Han Wenjing couldn't resist the urge to try.

Li Dong bought a few dozen pounds of corn and rice from the village. They used the stone roller to grind the rice and the stone mill to grind the corn. Xu Jian and Han Wenjing pushed the roller, sweeping as they went, and it was a good team effort.

Han Weiwei took photos along the way. She had a theme in mind, love, and this farm trip was really interesting.

Not only did they see swans and red-crowned cranes, but they also enjoyed the food and now reminisced about the past.

"Even a wheelbarrow?"

By chance, Han Xiaotao's father brought a wheelbarrow, water wheel, and farming tools in the afternoon.

"I'll try."

Xu Jian actually knew how to push it. Han Wenjing sat on the wheelbarrow, and Xu Jian pushed it. Han Weiwei captured this moment on camera.

In the evening, Han Weiwei wrote an article and published it on Today's Chicheng. Many people were interested, and she replied to all the comments.

Li Dong didn't know about this. After seeing off Xu Yue's family, he started to get busy. The wheelbarrow, water wheel, and cart delivered in the afternoon took up a lot of space, and the yard was a mess.

"For my daughter, I'm not making it easy for myself."

He ordered five wheelbarrows, five water wheels, wooden buckets for carrying water, and even two pestles.

"Let's put the water wheels by the paddy fields for now."

He planned to put the stone mill and roller under the big tree outside the yard. He had three small and two medium-sized stone mills, plus a large roller. He dug the roller from a deserted field in the village, cleaned it, and had a frame made for it.

He found out that the stone roller in Han Village had been used until the mid-1980s. The roller could grind rice and corn, but it was a bit difficult to operate, and Li Dong was still a beginner. The stone mill was easier to use, and a small one could be operated by one person, while larger ones required two people or animals like donkeys or mules.

After setting up the stone mill, roller, and water wheel, it was already dark. Li Dong was quite tired after a day of work, but the animals were still restless. The wild boy and Dahei were causing chaos, while Xiaohua was well-behaved.

Li Dong sighed and gave the animals their food, especially the hay, feed, and water for the horses. The cranes and swans by the reservoir didn't need to worry, as they could find their own food.

After tidying up, Li Dong made a simple meal. Just as he sat down, his phone rang.

"Jiajia."

"Sister's husband, your farm is going to be popular."

"What's up?"

"Check the article on Today's Chicheng."

Li Dong was confused and opened WeChat to search. The article made his farm sound like a paradise for all ages, but the photos were really beautiful, whether it was the swan heart reflection, the dancing red-crowned cranes, or the Xu Jian couple grinding.

The photo of little Qiqi and the little梅花鹿 dancing with the red-crowned cranes was especially harmonious. Children and girls would probably be enchanted by these photos. These photos were just taken, and it was Xu Yue or Han Weiwei who wrote the article.

Li Dong called Xu Yue and found out it was Han Weiwei who wrote it. He asked Xu Yue to thank her and invite her to come again, promising free accommodation.

"I wonder how many people will come to fish tomorrow."

Li Dong was happy but also a bit worried. He had just finished working and now had to prepare again. He needed fishing gear, hats, and called Han Weiguo to come and prepare. Some people might eat there.

He needed to stock up on water and drinks in the fridge, pick some vegetables from the garden, and ask the meat vendor to save ten pounds of pork. He also set more fishing nets to catch more fish and shrimp.

He worked until around ten o'clock, and he was quite tired. Fortunately, he had been trained in the production team, or he would have been exhausted.

The next day, Li Dong found something was off. Usually, a few people came in a day, but this morning, more than ten people came. However, they didn't seem to be there to fish. They were all young couples.

Li Dong guessed right. There were few fishers, and most were there to take photos. Some even asked Li Dong.

"Boss, how much to play with the mill?"

"Boss, how much to play with the water wheel?"

Some even wanted to rent the wheelbarrow, and the most outrageous asked if he could use the horse cart for a wedding. What a joke, aren't you here to fish?

"Boss, do you sell fish?"

"Sure."

Li Dong thought, "This is a fishing place, of course, I sell fish."

"Great, boss, I'll buy two pounds of carp."

Wait, you're not fishing, but you're buying fish from me? Li Dong was more confused when several pairs came to buy fish. It turned out they were buying fish to feed the red-crowned cranes.

A couple of fishers caught two carp, and the cranes flew over. The girl was delighted and threw the fish to the cranes. The cranes ate the fish and danced, which delighted the other couples. The girls were envious, and their boyfriends wanted to show off.

Li Dong was amused but also a bit frustrated. The cranes were helping the farm make money, and fortunately, he had set more nets the day before.

He put up signs and boxes for the water wheel, mill, wheelbarrow, and cart, charging five yuan for a half-hour experience.

He thought few would play, but by the end of the day, the water wheel had earned nearly 100 yuan, and the mill, wheelbarrow, and cart had earned nearly 200 yuan. Adding the fish, fishing, and drinks, he made nearly 600 yuan.

However, few stayed for lunch, and most brought their own food. Fortunately, they were considerate, and Li Dong didn't find much trash.

"I need to make more trash bins."

His fishing and leisure farm was being misused. Young couples were using the water wheel for romance, the wheelbarrow for sweetness, and fishing and feeding the cranes for fun. The mill was a place for flirtation.

"What's going on?"

For the next week, it was the same. The water in the paddy fields was full, and Li Dong had to move the water wheel to other fields. Love was a powerful force.

"Ah, what a mess."

Finally, a serious fisher came.

"General Tian, the effect is good, but don't take it all. I'll give you two more bottles."

No way, he still needed the tiger bone wine to attract more wealthy customers.

"Director Liu, you know, I'll save two bottles for you. It's not much, but you and General Tian can come tomorrow, and I'll arrange everything."

Li Dong was happy to have a customer.

As for the young couples, only two pairs stayed for lunch, earning 250 yuan. Han Weiguo's share was 100 yuan, and after deducting costs, Li Dong made about 20 yuan, not counting the cost of washing dishes and picking vegetables.

"Finally, a big customer. This time, I'll make more."

"Uncle Weiguo, come early tomorrow and prepare all the dishes."

Li Dong looked at the numbers on his screen. He had been back for nearly ten days and was finally approaching 200 yuan.

198:45:52

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1978.9.27