Chapter 15

Li Long of the Li family is a spendthrift; this is recognized in the production team.

He doesn't work hard on his own family's chores, doesn't work hard for the team, but is very enthusiastic about other people's business. His brother Li Jianguo can't summon him, but if his fox friends or his object of affection Wu Shufen says a word, he works very fast.

It's no wonder that the Lu family sister-in-law would come specifically to tell Liang Yuemei about this.

In fact, she didn't lack the idea of watching the fun.

In the past, when Liang Yuemei heard this, she would usually complain about her brother-in-law, but this time Liang Yuemei defended Li Long:

"Little Long really intends to get some wood back this time. He has this heart, so we must support him, right?"

The Lu sister-in-law was a bit surprised. How did Liang Yuemei change her nature?

"Your brother-in-law has been fired by the factory, and the money you spent has gone to waste. I see you're still acting like nothing happened." The Lu family sister-in-law shook her head. "If it were me, I would have scolded him long ago!"

Liang Yuemei smiled while sewing shoe soles and said:

"Who doesn't make mistakes? As long as he can change and make progress, that's fine. I feel that Little Long has changed a lot this time. Being fired can also be considered a good thing. Don't the elders often say that a fall into a pit makes you wiser?"

She thought to herself, the frog-chicken Li Long caught the day before yesterday and the fish he caught yesterday, if they were really sold for money, it wouldn't be a small amount.

Besides, borrowing the horse cart yesterday was done beautifully, not at all like the spendthrift from before. With such a big change, she was gratified enough; why say anything else?

"Brother-in-law, sister, I'm here!" A greeting came from outside. Liang Yuemei stood up excitedly upon hearing it and responded:

"Wenyu, hurry inside!" As she spoke, she went to open the door.

The person who came was Liang Yuemei's younger brother, Liang Wenyu.

He walked in carrying a bag of things, put them by the wall, took off his cotton hat, smiled at the Lu family sister-in-law, and then asked Liang Yuemei:

"Where is my brother-in-law? I heard Li Long is back? He's not working anymore?"

Liang Yuemei didn't expect the news to spread so quickly. With an outsider present, she couldn't say much, so she nodded and said:

"Yeah, your brother-in-law is busy in the east room. Why are you here?"

"Mom and Dad asked me to come and see you and bring some things." Liang Wenyu said, "By the way, where are Juan and Qiangqiang?"

"They're also in the east room, go take a look." Liang Yuemei said.

The Lu family sister-in-law actually wanted to watch the fun. Although Liang Wenyu was not old, as the eldest son of the Liang family, he was relatively strong. He had always looked down on Li Long, and the Lu sister-in-law, as a neighbor, had heard about this.

But now that the Li family had guests, she couldn't stay long, so she greeted Liang Yuemei and went home.

After people left, Liang Wenyu said:

"Dad asked me to bring some white flour and twenty yuan. Li Long is back, so your family's coal must not be enough to burn. Dad's meaning is to buy some in the team first and get through it..."

Liang Yuemei could hear the resentment in her brother's words, and she smiled and said:

"No need. Li Long went into the mountains to haul wood and will be back today. Once the wood is hauled back, our family's firewood will be enough for the winter. By the way, let's go to the east room and take a look; your brother-in-law is preparing fish. Take a few back when you go."

"Fish? Where did the fish come from?" Liang Wenyu's eyes lit up when he heard there was fish. The production team he was in was in the southwest, and the water used for irrigation there was machine-pumped wells uniformly drilled by the county well-drilling company in the past.

The production team's land plots were small, and there were no lakes or rivers, so they couldn't eat fish. The production team where Li Jianguo was located was uniquely blessed, and almost everywhere there was water, there were fish, so Li Jianguo often sent fish to his in-laws' house, and Liang Wenyu ate the most.

"Li Long took your brother-in-law to break ice holes in the small lake to catch them; there are quite a few."

"That must be suffering! In such cold weather, it's a wonder Li Long could think of it." Liang Wenyu said while following his sister to the east room. "He only knows how to play." Liang Wenyu had opinions about Li Long, which Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei both knew, after all, Li Long was truly useless before. Liang Wenyu and Li Long were about the same age and could basically take on the main responsibilities at home, while Li Long was still like a child who hadn't grown up, hanging around, unable to do anything, and first at the table.

Entering the east room, Liang Wenyu was greatly surprised when he saw so many fish in the laundry basin:

"Brother-in-law, you have too many fish!"

"Wenyu is here!" Li Jianguo was gutting fish, and Li Juan and Li Qiang were helping. Seeing Liang Wenyu behind Liang Yuemei, they all greeted him.

"These fish were caught by Little Long breaking ice holes. I didn't expect that breaking two ice holes in winter could get so many fish, and they're so big! Little Long said when he left that he would send some to you when he got back. By the way, there are also two frog-chickens."

"You said this was done by Li Long? And there are frog-chickens?" Liang Wenyu couldn't believe his ears.

That Li Long who couldn't do anything?

"Yeah." Li Jianguo wanted to laugh when he saw Liang Wenyu's expression, but he also felt a bit proud. "Although he was fired this time, he has changed a lot."

"Uncle, the frog-chicken was really caught by my uncle, it's delicious!" Li Qiang wiped his nose and said loudly.

He was different from Li Juan. Li Juan still remembered that she had to help with chores at home, but Li Long didn't have to. Li Qiang only remembered his uncle roasting sparrows for him, catching frog-chickens, catching fish, and that fun glutinous rice paper.

"Good, good." Liang Wenyu, full of questions, squatted down and helped Li Jianguo clean up.

With the whole family working together, the speed was much faster, and the fish were cleaned before lunch.

!.

"Wenyu, take ten back and stew fish soup for Mom and Dad in winter." Li Jianguo said, "We'll do it again before the New Year, and we'll send some more to you then."

"Ten—this one isn't small, it'll be hard for me to carry." Liang Wenyu said so, but didn't refuse. Among these fish, there were thirty or forty that weighed over a kilogram, and even more palm-sized crucian carp, so he didn't stand on ceremony.

Li Jianguo put the fish in the snow to freeze, and then the whole family washed their hands and went to the west room. Liang Wenyu asked:

"Brother-in-law, Li Long went into the mountains to haul wood? Can that work? That place in the mountains is sparsely populated and has no good roads, it can't work, right?"

"He said one of his coworkers is from Qingshuihe Commune and lives right on the edge of the mountains." Li Jianguo sat on the head of the kang, rolled a cigarette of Mohe tobacco, took a hard puff, and only after feeling recovered did he say:

"Little Long has changed a lot since he came back this time. He borrowed the horse cart himself and planned it well, so let him toss about. Anyway, there's nothing to do in winter."

"Fine, it's a pity about that job." Liang Wenyu sighed. Actually, he also wanted to work in Wucheng, but as the eldest in the family, he naturally had to stay with his parents. He just felt that the job was a pity.

"There's nothing to pity." Li Jianguo smiled. "A job opportunity, if it can teach Little Long a lesson, that's fine too."

"He lost his job, can his object of affection handle it?" Liang Wenyu asked again.

"Broken up." Li Jianguo shook his head. "It spread in the team that he was fired, and that girl came over to tell Little Long that it couldn't continue. If it can't, it can't. We'll talk about it later, no rush."

Li Jianguo still had quite a bit of confidence in his younger brother.

Of course, people in the team didn't think so. In just this one day, it had already spread in the team that the Li family's spendthrift had spent work points to borrow the team's horse cart to go into the mountains to haul wood.

Many people were waiting to see Li Long's joke.

(End of chapter)