Chapter 181

"Your dad went home today, you know, right?" Li Long sat on the bed in Gu Xiaoxia's dormitory, asking while watching her busy.

"I know. When my dad and the others came back by car at noon, they stopped here at the school. I had just finished eating at the time and met my dad."

"By car?" Li Long was a bit surprised, "They came back by car?"

"Yeah!" Gu Xiaoxia nodded, then asked Li Long strangely, "Isn't it the car you arranged? My dad and the others, eleven people, brought their bedding and came back by car. My dad said it was the car you arranged... wasn't it you? If it wasn't you, who could it be? They don't know anyone from the supply and marketing cooperative..."

Li Long understood immediately, smiled, and said:

"It must be that Section Chief Li from the supply and marketing cooperative; this time, the job of weaving carrying poles was arranged by him... My relationship with him is not bad; you could say we didn't know each other before the fight."

"That person is actually quite good." Gu Xiaoxia nodded, "It must be because your relationship with him is good that he arranged the car."

Li Long nodded and then said:

"After this job of weaving carrying poles is finished, I don't intend to go into the mountains for a short time. We'll see later; I'll rest in the team for a period first. If you want to go into the mountains, we'll go then."

"Then what about that wooden house in the mountains? No one will go to live there, right?"

"No. There are few people in the mountains to begin with." Li Long said, "Usually, people won't destroy things in the mountains, unless there are drifters who go to dig herbs, but such people are few. By the way..."

He brought the egg basket in, taking out eggs while saying:

"I bought some eggs this time; I'll leave ten here for you, and I'll take the rest back for Juan and Qiangqiang to eat."

"No, no, I've received my salary, I can buy them." Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly came over to stop him, "You bring things every time; if you do this again, I won't let you in next time..."

"It's always inconvenient to buy things in the township." Li Long said with a smile, "Didn't you also make shoes for me? And egg cakes, these are oily and can be stored; when you are busy and don't have time to cook, these can fill your stomach."

Looking at Li Long naturally putting these things down, Gu Xiaoxia suddenly had an impulse. She said to Li Long in a low voice:

"Li Long, find someone... go to my dad to propose marriage."

Li Long felt a jolt hearing this and asked subconsciously:

"What did you say?"

That sentence just now had exhausted all of Gu Xiaoxia's courage. She didn't speak anymore, turned around, and hurriedly packed things, not answering.

But Li Long really heard it.

He stood up instantly, murmuring in his mouth:

"Will it be a bit fast... will it affect your work? No, no, no..."

His words made Gu Xiaoxia turn around abruptly.

Li Long saw Gu Xiaoxia's pale face and immediately understood that his words had made her misunderstand, so he hurriedly went over and said:

"I will definitely marry you—but not now; it will delay your future now!"

One sentence made the tears that Gu Xiaoxia was holding back flow out. She wiped her face, with an expression of relief: "I thought... I thought..."

"I just wanted to say, you just arrived at the school and got married after working for a few days; it's not good for you. And the height you can reach later is far more than the township middle school; it's not impossible to reach the county..."

Doesn't Li Long want to get married?

Naturally, he wants to; he is clearly a hot-blooded young man.

But he had long thought that given the current situation and Gu Xiaoxia's ability, as long as she worked hard, she could move up all the way. If she only wanted to stay in the township middle school, that was no problem.

But she must want to strive for a broader space.

Then, getting married now was not a wise move.

And Li Long felt that his current "foundation" was still a bit thin, so he had to work harder.

Gu Xiaoxia hadn't fully understood Li Long's words yet, and she didn't feel she could go any further.

"You should take an adult education course first, the correspondence kind; academic qualifications are very important later." Li Long imparted the experience from his previous life, "It will be useful for evaluating professional titles and taking exams later."

Gu Xiaoxia was only twenty-one or twenty-two, and there was plenty of room for advancement.

"Hmm... okay." Gu Xiaoxia was still dazed at this time.

When Li Long came out of the dormitory, Gu Xiaoxia followed him with her head down. When he was pushing his bicycle, she bumped into him:

"Here, this is the key to my dormitory. Next time you come, if I haven't returned, you go in first..."

Li Long was happy, took the key, and his mood was beautiful.

Passing by the primary school, Li Long saw that the students were already coming out, so he went to find Li Juan. As a result, someone from the same village said Li Juan had already returned, so he rode his bike to chase after her and found Li Juan two hundred meters away from the school.

"Juan, get on." Li Long hung the egg basket in front and let Li Juan sit on the back seat. Li Juan sat on happily, and Li Long took her, humming a song, and rode back home.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei hadn't returned yet. What surprised Li Long a little was that Li Qiang was holding a bottle with jumping spiders inside, and he was feeding the chickens.

Seeing Li Long and Li Juan return, Li Qiang said excitedly:

"Uncle, Uncle! Chicks, look at our chicks, they are very good at eating jumping spiders!"

"Hmm, hmm, eating more makes them grow fast; by autumn, we can slaughter them to eat." Li Long said with a smile, "Are you hungry?"

"Hungry." Li Qiang said honestly.

"Then you and your sister wash your hands and go into the room to eat egg cakes." Li Long took out the egg cakes from his bag and shook them, "Wash your hands clean, otherwise the smell of the jumping spiders will be very strong."

"I know!" Li Qiang immediately went to the well to wash his hands.

There was a gourd ladle on the well platform with half a ladle of water in it. When using the well to pump water, this water would be poured into the well to seal it, and under the action of atmospheric pressure, the water could be "lifted" up.

Catching jumping spiders here, to prevent them from escaping, usually involved pinching their heads after catching them, flattening their heads to keep them in a semi-dead state. This way, your hands would get stained with the jumping spiders' body fluids, which smelled bad.

"Uncle, I have to go cut pig grass." Li Juan said.

"Eat before you go; let Qiangqiang go with you." Li Long said, "I'll go too."

Once he said this, Li Juan was happy.

"Then Uncle, we have to be fast," Li Qiang said while eating egg cakes, "The little loudspeaker is about to broadcast; let's cut grass and come back quickly, we still want to listen to the little loudspeaker."

Li Long remembered that there was a little loudspeaker on the radio every afternoon at this time; he didn't expect Li Qiang to be addicted to it.

"Alright, then let's go quickly." Li Long smiled, "Where is there a lot of pig grass? Do you want me to ride a bike to take you there?"

"Over there in the large fields to the east." Li Juan said immediately, "The grass here in the grain fields has all been cleared; there's a lot over there, wild bamboo shoots, bitter greens, sweet greens, creeping vines, and gray amaranth..."

"Alright, I'll ride a bike to take you there!"

Li Long put away the small-caliber rifle and rode his bike to take Li Juan and Li Qiang to the large fields to the east. At this time, the wheat in the fields hadn't headed yet, the corn was only half a person high, and in some places, the yellow soil was still exposed.

Li Long put his bicycle beside a small tree and went with Li Juan to pull bags to find pig grass at the edge of the fields.

There was little pig grass in the wild; it was basically at the edges of the fields or in the canals that had been watered. Li Long originally came with a playful attitude; he walked leisurely, and whatever he saw, he put into the bag. "Uncle, look, there's a pile of dead fish in this canal pit, they're all rotten!"

Li Qiang shouted at the edge of the canal. Li Long walked over, and five or six meters away, he smelled a strong fishy stench.

The position Li Qiang pointed to was a canal opening, where a pit would be washed out due to sudden water release. After watering, water would be stored in the pit, and naturally, fish would be stored too. Now there were small crucian carp three to five centimeters long in the pit, dead, and flies and maggots covered the pit.

"Come over quickly." Li Long greeted Li Qiang, "It's like this every year, stay away, it's very dirty."

These small crucian carp were small fish from last year, and they grew enough to spawn over the winter; they were considered basic fish in the little Haizi, and as long as the fields were watered and the gates opened, this situation would occur. Now they were still small fish, but by autumn, the ones left in these water storage pits would be big fish.

As for whether anyone would discover them and take them home?

Most wouldn't be discovered, but a small part would be—Li Long remembered that after Li Qiang grew to ten years old in his previous life, his habit was to go to the canal a day or two after watering, and he would usually return with a full load.

Because Li Qiang knew how to play, he later became the child king. Once, he inadvertently revealed this situation to another child under his "command," and this child leaked it to another child who was younger than Li Qiang but older than that child.

The result was that one time before Li Long had time to go to the canal, that older child took a net and went down the large canal, returning with more than ten kilograms of palm-sized crucian carp, and specifically showed off to Li Qiang.

Li Qiang was furious that time.

!.

This could be considered Li Qiang's first time being poisoned by society, being "betrayed."

However, Li Long didn't tell Li Qiang about this kind of thing; some experiences are necessary in life, and even if others tell you, you might not remember them, so you have to experience them once to have a deep impression.

The three of them cut pig grass quickly; Li Long's bag was almost full, and Li Juan's was almost half a bag. Looking at the time, Li Long said:

"Let's go, return. After you go back, you can listen to the little loudspeaker."

Li Qiang let out a "wow" and ran toward the bicycle. At this time, the people working in the fields hadn't returned yet.

Li Long made the two bags of pig grass average, tied them well, and hung them on both sides of the bicycle back seat. Then Li Juan sat in the back, Li Qiang sat on the crossbar, and he pedaled the bicycle back.

On the road, they met Tao Daqiang's father, Tao Jian She, driving a donkey cart to the fields. Li Long stopped the bike and asked:

"Uncle Tao, where are you going?"

"Going to put some manure in the fields." Tao Jian She said with a smile, "Daqiang is back, Without Xiao Long, thanks to you for helping out."

"That's nothing." Li Long waved his hand and was about to pedal away when Tao Jian She hurriedly asked:

"Daqiang was still thinking about finding you to ask, asking if we are still catching fish, our family still owes you money."

"Not owing anymore, that roe deer antler was worth it." Li Long waved his hand, "Really not owing anymore, alright, I'm going back."

Li Long pedaled his bike away from Chen. Tao Jian She didn't expect that Li Long had really wiped out the account.

Back home, Li Juan chopped pig grass, and Li Qiang helped put the chopped pig grass into the basket. Li Long opened the window, turned on the radio, and tuned to the Central People's Broadcasting Station so that both children could hear it.

He went to the idle room to take a piece of cured meat, soaked it in water in the kitchen first, and also grabbed a handful of chili peppers to soak.

When it was soaked, he made cornmeal paste, boiled water, and let Li Qiang watch it. When the cornmeal paste boiled, Li Long had already pulled one or two green onions from the vegetable garden and pulled a handful of wild amaranth, preparing to stir-fry the cured meat.

At this time, the classic sound of "Da-di-da, Da-di-da... the little loudspeaker has started broadcasting" came from the radio.

Li Qiang immediately patted Li Juan:

"Sister, Sister! It's started, it's started!"

Li Long smiled and went out to stir-fry. Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei worked hard, so Li Long planned to stir-fry a cured meat and an egg. In this era, in an ordinary family, this was considered a big dish.

When Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei returned, the meal was already set on the table—Li Long had pasted unleavened pancakes on the side of the pot, one side was charred yellow, and Li Qiang and Li Juan were sharing a pancake in small bites.

Returning from hard work and having hot food to eat, the children were also happy, and Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei felt even more comfortable.

Family members don't need to be polite. After eating, Li Long told Li Jianguo and went to the home of the village director, Xu Chengjun.

"Without Xiao Long is here, have you eaten? If not, sit down and eat a little?" Xu Chengjun was eating—or rather, he was drinking. Only he was left at the dining table, Mingwa wasn't there, and Ma Hongmei was tidying up in the kitchen. Seeing Li Long come, she smiled and poured him a glass of water.

"I've eaten." Li Long smiled, sat opposite Xu Chengjun, and said: "Team leader, the work is finished, the supply and marketing cooperative received it very smoothly, and I brought the money back, look..."

"Then you wait." Xu Chengjun didn't drink much, his mind was still very clear, and he turned his head to Ma Hongmei and said: "Mingwa's mom, you go and let Mingwa call the accountant."

"I don't even know where Mingwa went, I'll go, it's not far." Ma Hongmei wiped her hands with her apron and hurried out.

In less than five minutes, the village accountant Chen Qiang arrived in the courtyard carrying a broken briefcase.

"Old Chen, Without Xiao Long said to settle the account for weaving carrying poles, you take a look and coordinate."

"Alright." Chen Qiang sat beside Li Long.

Li Long took out a stack of money from his inner pocket and put it on the table, saying:

"A total of three hundred and seven carrying poles were woven, the supply and marketing cooperative checked them and they were qualified, one carrying pole is five yuan, this is one thousand five hundred and thirty-five, Brother Chen Qiang, you count it."

"Good, good." Chen Qiang took the stack of money, spat on his fingers, and counted quickly.

Ma Hongmei walked back, her eyes lit up when she saw the stack of money, and then she went to the kitchen again.

Chen Qiang counted it twice and then nodded:

"That's correct."

"Then give me a note, a receipt." Li Long said, "This way, the work is finished on my end."

"No problem." Chen Qiang was prepared, took out paper and pen from his bag, and wrote stroke by stroke on the bag.

In this era, those who can be accountants don't have bad handwriting.

After Chen Qiang finished writing, he looked at Xu Chengjun. Xu Chengjun turned around, felt around in the table drawer, took out a seal and inkpad, stamped the receipt, and handed it to Li Long.

Li Long took the receipt, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile:

"Then my business is finished."

Just as he was about to get up and leave, Xu Chengjun hurriedly called him:

"Without Xiao Long, I heard... is there work in the autumn?"

"Doesn't that have to wait until autumn?" Li Long smiled, "But we can't just pick people randomly then, otherwise this work... is not easy to do."

Xu Chengjun immediately guaranteed:

"Without Xiao Long, when the time comes, tell me who you want! I definitely won't pick people randomly!"

(End of chapter)