Chapter 22

At dawn the next day, Li Long climbed up.

After tidying up his things and pressing the stove with coal, he went to the east room.

The light over there had been turned on early. When Li Long went over to wash, sister-in-law Liang Yuemei was stir-frying vegetables, and Li Jianguo was already packing rice cakes for him.

"Eldest brother, don't pack so much, can't eat it." Li Long said a word and went to wash his face.

There was a double-happiness character on the enamel washbasin, this was set up when his eldest brother got married, and in the blink of an eye, it had been more than ten years.

Thinking about it, actually, if it weren't for himself, with his eldest brother's diligence and his sister-in-law's frugality, his eldest brother's family should have lived better.

"Packing more is fine, if can't eat, bring it back." Li Jianguo lowered his head and said while packing, "If you're hungry from working, it's uncomfortable. A poor family has a rich road, the family is fine anyway, it's troublesome when there's no village in front and no shop behind outside."

"That's right, bring more, by the way, the mutton boiled last night, bring some too." Sister-in-law Liang Yuemei said while stir-frying vegetables, "Eating meat gives strength to work."

Li Qiang shouted on the kang in the inner room:

"Mom, I also want to eat meat!"

"Eat, eat, eat, only know how to eat!" Liang Yuemei heard her son's words and directly retorted, "Didn't eat enough last night? Your uncle is going to work!"

Li Qiang suddenly didn't speak. The two children in the family were afraid of Liang Yuemei, the old saying is strict father and kind mother, but in the Li family, it was the other way around.

After Li Long finished washing his face, Li Jianguo handed the satchel to him and said:

"Warm water is also packed in the kettle, but it can only be drunk in the first half of the day, it will freeze in the second half of the day, if thirsty, eat a handful of snow."

At this time, thermos cups hadn't appeared yet, when going out and thirsty, if encountering no village in front and no shop behind, a handful of snow would solve the problem.

Breakfast was sweet potato porridge, rice cakes, and stir-fried pickles.

Liang Yuemei served the sheep offal soup left over from yesterday, gave Li Long a bowl, and distributed the remaining little bit to Li Juan and Li Qiang. And the few sheep offal were basically served in Li Long's bowl.

Li Long looked at Liang Yuemei's habitual actions, his nose was a bit sour, he distributed the sheep offal in his bowl to Li Juan and Li Qiang's bowls, and said with a smile:

"I'll just drink the soup—sister-in-law still treats me like a child."

"Then aren't you a child in front of us." Li Jianguo said while eating pickles, "How old are you? Not married means you're a child."

"Alright." Li Long lowered his head and drank the soup, "This sheep soup tastes really good!"

Liang Yuemei said with a smile:

"Then I'll boil soup when you come back. Yesterday I cut some sheep heart and sheep liver, today your brother will clean up the sheep stomach and boil it tonight."

"Alright. Maybe I can haul a sheep back tonight." Li Long finished the soup and wiped his mouth, saying, "If I haul it back, then send half to Uncle Liang's side."

Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo looked at each other, and she said:

"Wenyu came over yesterday, I let him take some fish over, so don't send this meat..."

"That's different." Li Long remembered very clearly, in the previous few years, until the following few years, the Li family didn't receive less help from the Liang family, the biggest reason was himself. First it was work, then it was setting up things after separating the family.

He felt it was really good to live again, the feeling of paying back debts was really not bad!

"The way of eating is different. Mutton is the taste of mutton, fish is the taste of fish. I can run a few more trips before the New Year, maybe I can bring back a few more sheep, then our family can have a fat New Year!"

"Have a fat New Year... uncle, what is a fat New Year?" Li Qiang raised his head while chewing a piece of sheep heart.

"That is..." Li Long thought for a moment and said, "During the New Year, let you eat mutton in big chunks, eat as much as you want!"

"Really?" Li Qiang heard this, and stars appeared in his eyes.

Li Juan was also full of longing.

"Really, it must be really." Li Long patted his chest. Just for Li Qiang's words, he had to work hard!

After eating, he went to the east room to dress neatly, Li Long carried the satchel and walked out.

Just arrived outside the door, he saw Gu Ermao wandering outside, Li Long was a bit surprised. Didn't this guy break up with him?

"Little Long, heard you're going into the mountains, take me along?" Gu Ermao still had that cheeky look.

"Can't take you." Li Long refused decisively, "I made an appointment with Daqiang, that horse cart can't take many people, if take too many, can't haul things."

"Little Long," Gu Ermao saw Li Long refuse directly, and hurriedly explained: "Listen to me, I didn't deliberately pass the news of you being fired to Wu Shufen, she is like that, you believe me, actually..."

Li Long had already shaken him off and walked towards the horse stable.

Gu Ermao still wanted to follow, but Li Long walked fast, and he had been freezing outside for a while, couldn't keep up, and was left behind.

"Damn it, not taking me, right? You can go, I can go too!" Gu Ermao became ruthless, "Isn't it just the mountains? Who can't go?"

Li Long was still wondering why Tao Daqiang hadn't appeared. When he arrived at the horse stable, he found that Tao Daqiang was squatting in the corner of the wall outside the horse stable.

"Daqiang, why didn't you go to my house?" Li Long asked strangely, "Why are you huddled here?"

"I saw Ermao go to your house." Tao Daqiang said in a low voice, "I guessed he must be looking for you to go to the mountains, thinking if he wants to go, I might not be able to go..."

Tao Daqiang is not stupid.

Li Long said with a smile:

"Didn't I tell you, the two of us go, not taking him. In the future, it's also the two of us, you know?"

!.

"Alright!" Hearing Li Long say this, Tao Daqiang immediately became happy, "Just the two of us!"

When he got up in the morning and walked out, his father Tao Jian She said a word to him, which made Tao Daqiang not recover for a long time.

"Daqiang, look, you went to the mountains with Li Long once, these fur gloves are there, and the leg of mutton is also there. Look, if Li Long wants to go again, let your brother go for you? He has a family to support, is smarter than you, can bring back more things."

"Li Long said not to take others, just me!" Tao Daqiang lied.

"Then remember the road, after this trip, don't follow Li Long, you and your brother borrow the team's horse cart and go, if can haul back a sheep, our family can also have a fat New Year."

Tao Daqiang knew himself, even if he remembered the road, it was impossible to trade for a sheep.

People trust Li Long, don't trust him.

His own brother Dayong also can't do it.

Li Long found Old Luo to hitch the horse cart, and the two of them went to the county town together, first bought brick tea and salt, thought about it and bought two packs of rock sugar, weighed half a kilogram of loose fruit candy, and then drove the horse cart into the mountains.

Because he was familiar with the road, when he arrived at Halimu's winter shelter, it was earlier than yesterday.

This time, the dogs were already barking when they saw the horse cart coming.

However, the two dogs didn't run over when barking, and their tails were also wagging. Li Long guessed that this should be recognizing them.

Unhitch the horse cart, lead the horse to the side of the winter shelter, Halimu had already come out from the winter shelter.

Seeing Li Long and Tao Daqiang, Halimu took the initiative to reach out:

"Li Long, are you good?"

"Good, good." Li Long shook his hand heavily, "Troubling you again."

The Kazakh ethnic group attaches great importance to etiquette. Yesterday they weren't familiar, today they were familiar, the etiquette that should be there still had to be there.

Halimu took the horse reins and tied them to the wooden post, and after putting the fodder well, he let Li Long and Tao Daqiang into the winter shelter.

Entering the winter shelter, after his eyes adapted, Li Long saw the things by the stove, his eyes lit up:

"There are good things!"

(End of chapter)