Chapter 154: Finding Something for the Elderly to Do

Passing the middle school, Li Long saw classes were in session and no students were on campus, so he abandoned his plan to find Gu Xiaoxia. Passing the elementary school, he saw students had not yet been dismissed, so he did not look for Li Juan either, and rode all the way back to the village.

Before entering the village, Li Long noticed the water in the reed lake had risen; he guessed the flood was about to come down. He wondered if the preparations he had paid for with his own money as part of the public labor would actually be useful this year.

By the time he returned to the Li household, it was nearly noon. Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei had already come back, and Li Qiang was feeding chickens in the yard. To Li Long's surprise, Li Qiang was holding some crickets. Li Long couldn't help but ask:

"Qiangqiang, did you go catch 'tiao mazis'?"

In the local dialect, crickets are called "tiao mazis." Usually, after the irrigation ditches are cleared and the excavated soil dries, crickets hide inside; lifting a clod of earth often reveals many. Of course, sometimes what emerges isn't a cricket but a frightening "jiajia zui" (mole cricket), a scorpion, or a small centipede.

"Yeah! Mom said if we feed the chickens more insects, they'll lay more eggs!" Li Qiang said seriously, then asked:

"Uncle, what was that moving thing in the sack you brought back this time?"

"Wild piglets," Li Long said as he propped up his bicycle and began untying it.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei came over to help, unloading the sack containing the wild piglets, followed by the large half-carcass of the wild boar.

"Did you get this yesterday?" Li Jianguo asked in amazement while lifting the wild boar. "In just a short while, you managed to get all this?"

"After you left yesterday, I rode my bicycle west, intending to visit a friend. Halfway there, I saw tracks where wild boars had been rooting, along with hoofprints of small wild piglets, so I thought I'd try to set a trap..."

"These little wild pigs are so cute!" Li Qiang peered into the open sack and exclaimed in surprise.

At that moment, one of the piglets, perhaps seeing the daylight, suddenly pushed outward, startling Li Qiang. He loosened his grip, and the sack's opening fell to the ground. Two quick piglets immediately burst out and started running around the yard!

Li Long, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed the sack's opening to prevent the other three piglets from escaping. After quickly tying the sack shut, he immediately set off to chase the piglets.

The little wild pigs, probably starved, ran straight for the chicken feed trough upon escaping, grunting as they ate.

Li Long stepped forward, squatted down, and grabbed one piglet by its hind legs, lifting it up.

The other piglet headed straight for the gate outside. Li Jianguo quickly dashed over and blocked its path. As the piglet tried to squeeze under his legs, Li Jianguo reached down and grabbed it.

"These little wild pigs are quite lively," Li Jianguo said with a happy laugh. "They're strong too, fiercer than domestic pigs!"

"Five in total, but they can't be raised together," Li Long observed. He realized wild piglets couldn't be kept with domestic pigs; they were far more aggressive.

"Then what should we do?"

"Put them at Uncle Luo's place first. I'll take some of the feed I brought back last time; it should last them a while," Li Long said after thinking. "When I asked for that courtyard earlier, I told the team leader I needed to raise something. Now these little wild pigs can go there."

"That works," Li Jianguo said, though somewhat reluctant. He knew it was the only option. The family had only one pigsty; domestic pigs were fine there, but wild pigs simply couldn't be kept together with them.

Li Long put the piglets back into the sack, tied it securely, loaded some feed, and then said to Li Jianguo:

"Big brother, you two clean up the pork first. I'll take this over to Uncle Luo."

"Cut a piece of meat to take with you," Liang Yuemei said. "Uncle Luo never gets to eat meat; it's quite pitiful."

Li Long cut a piece of pork belly, took it, and rode his bicycle toward the horse stable.

Uncle Luo was cleaning up hay and fodder inside the stable. Seeing Li Long arrive, he smiled happily and said:

"Xiaolong, you've finally come. If this keeps up, I won't even know what to do with myself."

"Uncle Luo, I knew you were bored with nothing to do, so I've found you some work. I caught a few little wild pigs in the mountains; see if you can raise them."

"Little wild pigs!" Hearing the piglets squeal intermittently, Uncle Luo was somewhat surprised. "I've never raised such things before; I don't know if they can survive."

"If they can survive, raise them; if not, there's nothing we can do," Li Long said lightly. "By the way, take this pork belly. Stew it and eat it yourself. Wild boar meat has very little fat."

"That's still better than having no meat at all. Thank you, Xiaolong," Uncle Luo said happily. "Put the feed here. Hurry and get the piglets into the pen. This large pen will do. Let them run around freely for now; otherwise, their squealing will bring the whole team here."

In fact, the piglets had been squealing pitifully all the way back, and indeed, many people had come to watch. Li Long thought these little creatures were truly energetic; squealing all the way from the mountains, their voices were still strong.

Carrying the sack to the large pen, seeing Uncle Luo had closed the gate tightly, Li Long tipped the piglets out one by one.

"One of the piglets is injured?" Uncle Luo, sharp-eyed, leaned in with the meat in hand for a quick look and asked.

"Yes. I used a snare; the wire snare was too tight and cut into its leg."

"That shouldn't be serious; it'll heal in a few days," Uncle Luo said. "Then I'll feed them the same cooked pig swill I use for domestic pigs."

"That's fine," Li Long said. "No need to be too particular. In the mountains, they eat anything, even grass roots."

"That works," Uncle Luo chuckled. "With these little fellows, I'll have something to do."

"Then Uncle Luo, you carry on. I'll go back, eat, and head into the mountains again."

"Go ahead, go ahead," Uncle Luo said, his eyes fixed on the wild piglets, feeling more agile than before.

Elderly people fear having nothing to do; when they have tasks, their spirits are high.

Riding back, when team members asked him along the way, Li Long didn't hide anything. He simply said he had caught a few wild piglets and asked Uncle Luo to help raise them.

Many team members went to see the spectacle, and the news quickly reached Xu Chengjun's ears.

"So the Li family's Xiaolong really caught something to raise," Xu Chengjun thought. His original instruction to Li Long to raise something in the horse stable had been merely an excuse. He knew well that if Li Long hadn't bought the stable, it would likely have been demolished, turned into construction waste, and vanished completely within a few years.

Now, at least the animals were there, the team's income increased, and Uncle Luo had work to do. It was a perfect solution, a good thing.

He hadn't expected Li Long to remember that instruction. He felt Li Long was indeed quite good.

He wondered how his cousin was doing in the mountains and whether he had caused any trouble.

For lunch, the Li family stewed braised pork using the wild boar meat. Though lean, it was fresh meat and tasted excellent. Li Qiang ate two bowls of rice with the braised pork and had several pieces of meat, prompting Liang Yuemei to scold him repeatedly, mainly worrying he might get diarrhea.

After eating and resting a while, Li Jianguo and others prepared to hitch a horse cart to work in the fields. Li Long said to him:

"Big brother, in a few days I'll bring back some more wood to make tables, chairs, and other furniture. I'm setting up a winter shelter in the mountains and need to furnish it." "What?" Li Jianguo didn't quite understand. "You set up a winter shelter in the mountains?"

"Yes. Some herder friends helped me build a winter shelter with wood; it's two rooms. I plan to make furniture in our style inside," Li Long said somewhat embarrassedly. "They only know how to build wooden kang beds; I thought making cabinets, tables, and such would be better."

"You..." Li Jianguo didn't know what to say. He studied Li Long carefully, feeling he needed to get to know his younger brother anew.

In these few months, what exactly had he done? He had even gotten herders to build him a house!

Li Jianguo had dealt with those herders before; they weren't as easy to communicate with as ordinary people might think.

"I just helped them carry some things, sold items they didn't need, and made some profit in between. They thought I was quite honest..."

Saying this, Li Long felt somewhat embarrassed; he really wasn't that honest.

But Halimu and Yushanjiang and others were convinced otherwise.

Whenever Li Long felt guilty, he developed a compensatory mindset, trying to get them even better things. Halimu and the others, thinking Li Long had suffered losses, would find mountain resources for him—thus forming a cycle.

A virtuous one.

"Alright, there's a carpenter in the township who does excellent work. I'll haul the wood over to you in a few days. Actually, our team's Carpenter Zhang is also quite skilled, but he went to Wucheng a couple of days ago to do some construction work someone recommended; it pays well."

Li Long knew Carpenter Zhang was a laid-back sort who couldn't bear to just live in the village. He often ran between Wucheng and Shicheng. He looked down on Li Long's small-scale efforts, and eventually, he found big jobs in Wucheng. After making money, he moved his whole family there.

!.

Compared to someone like that, Li Long felt he was truly content with modest wealth.

"Just make a table, five or six stools, a cabinet, and a five-drawer chest," Li Long said after thinking for a moment. "There are only two rooms, a bit smaller than our house. Big Brother, shouldn't we get some furniture made for our home too?"

"Wait until I have some free time in a couple of days. I'll take apart the kang, install a bed, and get to work," Li Jianguo said confidently. "We'll have to take down the fire wall too. Don't worry about these things; just focus on your business in the mountains."

Ever since Li Long gave Li Jianguo three hundred yuan last time, Li Jianguo no longer viewed Li Long's activities as mere idleness. Between the two brothers, one struggled outside while the other farmed and raised pigs in the village; that was just fine.

Everyone knew the changes Li Long had brought to the family over the past few months. Li Jianguo also knew Li Long was impatient with trivial matters, so he wouldn't burden him with such things.

While Li Jianguo and the others went to the fields, Li Long rode his bicycle to the preschool with Li Qiang. After dropping Li Qiang off and watching him enter the classroom, he turned and rode toward the county seat.

Passing the middle school, Li Long glanced over. The school was still in session, so he continued pedaling toward the county seat.

After school let out, Gu Xiaoxia came out of the classroom. She habitually checked the road beside the school, then looked at the entrance to her dormitory. Seeing no one, she felt slightly disappointed.

Li Long rode to the large courtyard, parked his bike, locked the gate, and let out a long breath, feeling he could finally rest a bit.

Weeds were already sprouting from the cracks in the courtyard's blue brick pavement. The jujube tree in the front yard was thick and had begun to bud, but Li Long knew that unless the tree was pruned, it wouldn't bear fruit.

There was also an apple tree, which had already bloomed with white flowers. Li Long didn't know what variety of apple it was or whether it tasted good.

With nothing else to do, Li Long decided to sweep the fallen leaves in the courtyard with a large broom while thinking about some matters.

Harimu, Yushanjiang, and the others were building his winter shelter. So, when it was finished, according to his own customs, he should invite everyone for a "house-warming," which was essentially a way to thank these enthusiastic Adaxi.

Counting the time, preparations needed to be made today, with the event starting the day after tomorrow.

Since Harimu mentioned that drinking white liquor might cause some Adaxi to behave badly, Li Long decided to prepare other beverages instead, such as beer, small champagne bottles, and red and white wine.

Li Long didn't have many liquor coupons. The alcohol he bought previously was exchanged for black-market coupons at the morning market. It seemed he needed to visit the morning market again before heading into the mountains tomorrow. If grain was still available there, he would buy some more and exchange it for coupons.

There weren't many items available at the Department Store. Wusu Beer hadn't appeared yet, so Li Long wasn't sure what beer he could find, but small champagne bottles were available.

As for food, besides sesame cakes, candy, melon seeds, and peanuts, considering their lifestyle habits, they might only accept beverages, alcohol, and candy.

It was quite a headache.

Never mind, let it be.

After sweeping the fallen leaves into a pile, Li Long put down the large broom, got on his bike, and left.

In his previous life, he had a very bad habit of doing many things only when they were imminent. For instance, regarding the plan just now, in his past life, he would have exchanged for coupons the next morning before going to the Department Store.

This made him very passive, but he never managed to change it in his entire life.

After being reborn in this life, Li Long became much more proactive. He planned to check the market first, then the Department Store, and also the Cultural Palace. The Cultural Palace usually sold melon seeds and peanuts because movies were shown there.

If all else failed, he could approach Li Xiangqian. Li Long felt there was no harm in seeking out Li Xiangqian for such mutually beneficial arrangements.

Only with give and take can one call someone a friend.

Riding his bicycle to the market, Li Long discovered that even at this hour, people were still setting up stalls, though the goods were quite simple: iron farming tools, willow-woven tools, cured meat, and dried fish.

He looked around but couldn't find the vendor who sold coupons last time. Disappointed, he turned toward the Cultural Palace.

There, Li Long encountered a girl selling melon seeds and peanuts for five cents per paper cup. The cup was folded by herself, a pointed-bottom triangular type. Li Long bought a cup to taste; the seeds were well-roasted, so he bought all the remaining few kilograms of roasted melon seeds from the girl.

Unfortunately, there were no peanuts, and these were oil sunflower seeds, which would turn one's mouth black if eaten in excess. The advantage was their fragrance.

Carrying a bag of melon seeds, Li Long looked around for a while and then spotted a vendor who appeared to be selling coupons.

That's the one.

(End of Chapter)