Chapter 104: This Is the Best Gift for the Mountains

The snow chicken tastes truly excellent.

Liang Yuemei had already mastered the technique for cooking wild game: use plenty of seasoning to mask the gamey, wild smell.

In the past, she would surely have been reluctant, but now Li Long returned periodically bringing large bags of seasoning. Since he wouldn't listen to her, she let him be.

The result was that whether it was wild boar, roe deer, or wild rabbit, everything came out tasting wonderful.

Now Liang Yuemei also followed Li Long's advice, making fine grains the staple of their daily diet. After all, the two children were growing and couldn't be deprived. She still remembered the first time Li Long brought back frozen mutton and they made hand-grabbed meat at home; she recalled Li Juan devouring it ravenously.

A mother's heart aches.

Heaven is vast, earth is vast, but the children are most important. Since the family had enough, since her husband agreed, and since her brother-in-law suggested it, they would make fine grains the staple so the children could grow up healthy.

But every time she steamed buns, Liang Yuejuan would still make a few half-corn, half-wheat ones for herself and Li Jianguo to eat.

Li Long couldn't persuade her, so he stopped trying. Having lived two lives, he understood the common mindset of the people now: the land hadn't been distributed yet, grain was scarce, and every bit saved counted.

"Juan, Qiangqiang, these are chicken legs. You eat these; the meat is fragrant!" At the table, Li Long gave a leg to each of the two children, then picked up a wing for himself and happily gnawed on it.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuejuan exchanged a glance and both smiled.

The meal was delicious. After serving a bowl of the snow chicken soup and drinking it happily, Li Long said at the table:

"Tomorrow I have to go into the mountains again to deliver some things over there."

"Alright, be careful on the road," Li Jianguo said. "Don't push yourself if something happens."

"Yes," Li Long replied, then went to the east room. Since he couldn't sleep right after eating, he lit a kerosene lamp and, using the dim light, began reading "The Tang Dynasty Knight-Errant."

Living this second life, entertainment was severely lacking. There was no constant electricity now, so a television was out of the question. Should he get a radio?

It would have to be battery-powered. Wait, should he bring two radios into the mountains?

Li Long read and thought. When he felt sleepy, he climbed onto the kang, pulled back the quilt, blew out the lamp, and went to sleep.

The next day, he still got up early, went out to the toilet to relieve himself, and jogged back. He felt the temperature had risen considerably; it wasn't as cold as before the New Year.

It seemed the snow wouldn't be far from melting. The days of smashing ice holes to catch fish were nearing their end.

Going to the west room, he saw Liang Yuemei cooking cornmeal porridge. Seeing a few chunks inside, he asked while washing his face:

"Sister-in-law, what did you put in the porridge?"

"Beetroot. I cut a few pieces and added them to make the porridge sweeter."

"Good," Li Long replied. "Mixed grains are nutritious." Inside the room, Li Jianguo was sprinkling water and sweeping the floor, Li Juan was organizing her schoolbag on the kang, and Li Qiang was playing with a tin frog, endlessly amused.

Li Long thought to himself, time really flies; Li Juan would be starting school soon.

The news about the school expansion should be coming down soon, right?

Gu Xiaoxia was also worried. She had graduated several years ago, and some of the content was already fading from her memory. Even if Gu Boyuan tutored her now, she might not understand it all.

Her recent studies, once Wu Shufen found out, were casually mentioned to her mother, Wang Yuzhen, and soon the whole village knew.

Now, whenever Gu Xiaoxia went out, people asked if she was still planning to take the university entrance exam, which made her very embarrassed. She blamed Wu Shufen and simply stopped going out. When Wu Shufen found out, she came over specifically to apologize, hinting in her words that Gu Xiaoxia shouldn't be so obsessed; what use was studying those textbooks? They were useless when the team needed labor.

Gu Xiaoxia was also conflicted, but Gu Boyuan's words strengthened her resolve:

"If this is an opportunity, and you give it up now without seizing it, will you regret it for the rest of your life? Not everyone wants you to do well like Li Long does."

Gu Xiaoxia's mind suddenly cleared.

After breakfast, Li Long dressed and rode his bicycle out the door.

With the temperature rising, he no longer needed those uncomfortable leather boots; cotton-soled rubber shoes were enough outside. Once inside the mountains, he would switch to felt boots.

Before reaching the production team, he met Gu Xiaoxia coming out to dump furnace ash. Li Long squeezed the brakes, stopped, propped his foot on the ground, and asked with a smile:

"Have you eaten? Is Uncle Gu doing well?"

"My father is fine, and we've eaten," Gu Xiaoxia said. After dumping the ash and lifting the sieve, she hesitated, then asked in a low voice:

"Li Long, do you say... is that news of yours definitely true?"

Li Long didn't know about the rumors circulating in the team regarding Gu Xiaoxia; he just thought she was anxious, so he said:

"Rest assured, within half a month—Li Juan and the others are about to start school, so there should be definite news before school begins. Study hard. Those teachers who can pass the junior high exam should take it; there are dormitories, it's close to the township, and the salary is high. You high school graduates earn a tier more than junior high graduates."

With Li Long's words, Gu Xiaoxia's mood improved significantly. Having a specific timeframe of at most half a month made her less anxious.

!.

Back home, Gu Xiaoxia was still humming the "Brother Liu" segment from "Hua Mulan." Gu Boyuan, who was reading at the table, asked with a smile:

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

"I ran into Li Long. He said there would be news within half a month at most, and that high school graduates earn a tier more than junior high graduates..."

"You still have to pass the exam first. Now that there's news, why aren't you studying?" Gu Boyuan urged with a smile.

"Yes, I'm going right now."

Li Long rode his bicycle to the big courtyard. After loading the shoes, he wrapped the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle in cloth, tied it to the bike frame, and rode toward the mountains.

As he rode, he thought he should ask his sister-in-law to make a gun holster when she had time; carrying it wrapped in cloth like this was inconvenient. In the future, he could just buy a canvas fishing rod bag, but such things didn't exist now.

Arriving at the winter camp, the dogs were still barking, but it was a welcome sound. Halimu came out, saw Li Long carrying another large bag of items, stepped forward to take it, and said:

"Li Long, every time you come bringing things, we feel ashamed."

"There's no need to feel ashamed. The things you bring me each time are worth far more than these."

"We can't fit them all," Halimu said with a smile. "There's too much."

"If you know people, give it to them, or take it to other herdsmen and trade for sheep, sheepskins, or whatever works," Li Long added casually. "Are there herdsmen deeper in the mountains? They probably find these things inconvenient too."

Li Long's words gave Halimu a new idea.

In that case, it seemed—possible?

Entering the winter camp, Halimu showed the rubber boots Li Long had brought to his family. Indeed, they were greeted with great enthusiasm!

These were truly good things!

Everyone, including the elderly grandmother, started changing shoes to try them on and see if they fit.

They were so happy!

(End of this chapter)