Chapter 99

"Ah, today was really tiring."

Li Dong was assigned a light task, but how could the river work ever be truly light? Digging soil was relatively easier than carrying loads, but by the end of the day, his feet were sore.

He thought about soaking his feet, but a group of young literati came to discuss literature and borrow newspapers. Li Dong was quite annoyed. He was a fake literary youth, and talking about eating boiled fish slices seemed more reliable than discussing literature.

As for the young girls, forget it. He was a proper person, and none of them were as attractive as Huang Shengnan.

"By the way, Huang Shengnan seems to have come to the river work too."

After wiping his feet, Li Dong got up to find Huang Shengnan. Han Weiguo had just dug up a black fish, which was a good thing. He planned to make some black fish slices for hot pot later.

"Han Weiguo, Han Weiguo, get up quickly."

"Brother Li, what's up?"

"You said you could get vegetables, go get some, we'll have hot pot later."

"Hot pot, got it."

Han Weiguo patted Han Weidong and Han Weichao, who were sleeping on the large communal bed. Except for Li Dong, who had a slightly larger space, everyone else was packed closely together, with over ten men in the tent.

"I saw a vegetable field not far from here during the day." Han Weidong suggested they go to the nearby field.

Since they were close to the city, it was likely a farmer's field. They decided to "borrow" some vegetables. Stealing? How could they, they were cultured people, so they used more elegant terms. They sneaked out and got a few cabbages and radishes.

"Where did you get the lotus roots?"

"Hehe, we dug them up, there's a large lotus root field."

Han Weiguo laughed, and Li Dong took the lotus roots. Han Weichao pulled out a tomato and some peppers from his pocket, which was a nice touch.

"I'll go clean the black fish."

He also went to the commune office to ask if Huang Shengnan wanted to discuss the culture of food. Huang Shengnan, hearing about the black fish and hot pot, was almost drooling. To get a meal, she had volunteered to participate in the labor.

Unfortunately, the daily food allowance wasn't enough, but now it was great. Comrade Li Dong was truly a good person.

The black fish was sliced thinly, and the lotus roots and radishes were cut into pieces. The vegetables were washed and torn. They squatted in a depression by the riverbank, dug a pit, and put in some firewood to wait for the hot pot broth to bubble.

Smelling the aroma of the hot pot broth, they couldn't help but smack their lips, waiting for Li Dong to start adding the ingredients.

"Add the ingredients."

Li Dong used a lighter as a lamp and started adding the black fish slices. It was ready in a short while. Each of them held a lunch box and didn't hesitate to eat, even though the food was hot and they were moaning, they couldn't stop putting it in their mouths.

"Delicious, really delicious."

"Yummy, the fish meat is so tender."

A three to four-pound black fish, with the bones used for broth and the meat for hot pot, was almost finished in no time.

"Fortunately, Brother Wei Jun isn't here, or this bit of meat wouldn't even be enough for him to fill his teeth."

"Exactly."

"Stop talking, add the vegetables."

When the meat was gone, they added vegetables. Li Dong took out five steamed buns, one for each person.

"Meat buns?" Han Weiguo exclaimed in surprise.

"Keep it down."

Han Weiguo immediately shut up. They broke the buns into pieces, put them in the boxes, and added a spoonful of hot pot broth, along with lotus root slices, radishes, and vegetables, and ate with relish.

"Lotus root in hot pot is amazing."

"Radishes are good too."

"Let's get more next time."

"Remember to change the place." Li Dong felt comfortable, thinking that this bag of hot pot ingredients would last for at least three meals. Having a hot pot snack on a cold night was a real treat.

"You should come with us next time."

As a foodie, Huang Shengnan felt it was her duty to join in the vegetable "borrowing" action.

"Sure."

"Still, vegetables are vegetables, fish meat is better."

"Right, we might dig up more black fish tomorrow if we move more mud."

The black fish in hot pot was really delicious. Li Dong thought, this is nothing, next time he would get some mutton and meatballs, which would be even more satisfying.

The river work was extremely tiring, and the one pound of grain allowance was rough grain, not all fine grain. Without some strategy, it was impossible to get full. As a cultured person, Li Dong didn't want to compete with everyone.

Most importantly, he couldn't outcompete these people. How could he, a cultured person, compete with them for food?

It was a loss, he shouldn't have written for the magazine. To maintain his image as a cultured person, he couldn't be too aggressive. Without articles in the magazine, carrying loads wasn't too tiring.

"This time I brought over 200 pounds of small grain tickets. I'll go into the city to get some buns and fried dough sticks."

Cultured people need to eat too. Li Dong patted his full stomach, feeling comfortable. The next day, he felt energized to work.

The following days were even more tiring. Li Dong stopped digging soil and started pushing carts. As the mud was dug deeper, the slope became steeper, making it harder to push or pull the carts.

The most frustrating part was when the carts couldn't move anymore, and they had to go back to carrying loads. After a rain, Li Dong felt the weather getting colder, and his stomach getting hungrier after work.

"Han Weiguo, get something to eat tonight, something warm."

"Got it."

In the afternoon, they caught some fish and shrimp and hid them in the tent. In the evening, they "borrowed" some vegetables again. Li Dong rode his bicycle, claiming to get mail, and bought some meat dumplings, two bottles of wine, and a pound of peanuts.

Unfortunately, he arrived late, and the fried meatballs were gone. He returned to the site, and Han Weijun hugged him, patting his shoulder.

"Good job, the magazine from Shanghai."

"What?"

He learned that the mailman had delivered another letter for him, which Han Weijun had received. As his ideological reformer, Zhang Daming, the deputy team leader, was responsible for opening the mail.

Was there no personal privacy? Could the mail be opened casually? Li Dong firmly opposed it. Zhang Daming promised not to do it again, and Li Dong calmed down.

"How much is the fee?"

"Quite a bit, nine yuan."

A magazine, and he was really published. Not bad, he could read it in the evening. The sample book contained more than just Li Dong's article. After reading the content, Li Dong sighed. It was indeed a copy.

Sigh, there are too few connoisseurs in the world, truly a pity for this thousand-mile horse.

Li Dong's reputation as a writer was solidified. In just a few days, he had been published in the provincial newspaper and the Shanghai magazine. He might even be published in the Beijing newspaper soon.

Whether or not he was published in newspapers or magazines, Li Dong didn't care much. What mattered was the fee. He had tried to keep it a secret, but these people didn't leave him any privacy. And the mailman, how did he do his job, running dozens of miles to the site every day to deliver mail, was he bored?

Regardless, they started the fire. Han Weiguo, Han Weidong, Han Weichao, Huang Shengnan, Li Dong, and Gao Weimin, who had come at some point, gathered around the iron pot. The firewood burned brightly, and the hot pot broth bubbled with spicy oil.

The pot was a bright red, and the aroma was overwhelming. If they were closer to the tent, the other commune members would have jumped up.

"Brother Li, it's bubbling!" Han Weiguo, who had been watching the pot, excitedly reminded everyone.

"Then what are you waiting for? Add the fish slices."

This time they had caught a lot of fish and shrimp, filling two large basins, using Li Dong's basin. The others' basins were too smelly, and the fish would be inedible.

"Here."

"The shrimp is ready."

Without hesitation, each of them scooped up half a lunch box, moaning from the heat. After finishing the fish, shrimp, and vegetables, they added some meat dumplings, and Li Dong felt satisfied, patting his stomach.

"Why are you here, Weimin?"

"The team decided to reward you with 20 pounds of grain for being published in the Shanghai magazine."

"Wow, 20 pounds of grain."

Han Weidong, Han Weiguo, and the other young men were amazed. Twenty pounds of grain was a significant amount.

"Plus a ten-yuan bonus."

Gao Weimin smiled. "I was assigned to deliver the grain and bonus to you."

"Thank you, Secretary Gao."

A good thing, free is free. He didn't expect to be rewarded for being published in a magazine. If he had known, he would have written more. Thinking about his talent being buried, Li Dong sighed.

"Come, let's have a drink."

After finishing the two bottles of wine, Li Dong started boasting. He talked about magazines, newspapers, and even movies.

"Let's get Huang Xiaotian to show a movie on the riverbank."

"Let's show the 'Reforming Wulong Bay.'"

Hearing about a movie, Han Weiguo, Huang Shengnan, and the others were excited and asked Li Dong the next day.

"What? What movie?"

"Brother Li, you forgot what you said yesterday. You said you would invite a projectionist to show a movie for everyone."

Han Weiguo's shout made everyone from the production team and other villages look at Li Dong. Zhang Daming even ran over.

"Li Dong, you're great. Writers are capable. If you can do this, I'll give you a day off."

What? I don't remember saying that. Zhang Daming assigned the task, and Li Dong had no choice but to accept it.

He rode his bicycle back to Han Village, took the film reel, wrapped it in a cloth, and set off.

He arrived at the Chicheng Cultural Station, showed the letter from Zhang Daming, and found Huang Xiaotian.

"New film?"

"Kung Fu film from Hong Kong."

"Really?"

Huang Xiaotian had heard of it and quickly pulled Li Dong to the cinema. They closed the door, adjusted the machine, and started the film. It was an old kung fu film, which Li Dong found uninteresting, but Huang Xiaotian was very excited.

"Too good."

The action scenes were average to Li Dong, but for Huang Xiaotian, who had never seen a Hong Kong kung fu film, it was a treasure.

"Li Dong, you're amazing, you got this film."

Huang Xiaotian felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to borrow the film for a few days.

"Keep it, it's a gift."

Huang Xiaotian was hesitant. "No, no, it's too valuable."

"Then, how about this, if you feel bad, help me with something."

Li Dong explained his idea of showing a movie for the river workers.

"The river work is tough. Sure, I'll talk to the leadership. We'll be there the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Great."

Mission accomplished, Li Dong rode back to the site and reported the news. Zhang Daming was very happy and patted Li Dong on the shoulder.

"Good job."

Zhang Daming ran off, and soon the news spread to the nearby communes.

The Xiangshan production team was inviting a projectionist to show a movie, and everyone worked harder. Li Dong received a call from Huang Xiaotian, saying he would come the next afternoon.

This made Zhang Daming very happy. He gave Li Dong and Han Weiguo a few young men the afternoon off to go into the city to pick up the projectionist, and provided a large cart.

"Going to the city." Han Weiguo and the others were very excited. It was rare to go to the city, and they had the team leader's permission, holding tickets and grain tickets, they were very happy.

"Brother Li, how did you convince the projectionist? When will you invite him to show a movie in our village again?"

"Sure, when I build my house."

Li Dong thought he would get another kung fu film.