Chapter 241: Gu Xiaoxia's double happiness

Li Long rode his bicycle and took Gu Xiaoxia back to the middle school. At first, neither of them spoke.

However, Li Long could clearly feel that although Gu Xiaoxia was also quite reserved, because they were engaged, their relationship had become much closer. When the road was uneven and the bicycle was unstable, she no longer just grabbed the ring on the back seat, but would subconsciously grab his clothes.

This was obviously an expression of a closer relationship.

"Do you still need to prepare lessons when you go back?" Li Long took the initiative to ask, "Do you need to guard the school after the holiday?"

"No more lesson preparation. The exam is coming soon, now the main thing is to urge the students to review well—the class is already finished. After the holiday, I can go home. We female teachers don't need to guard the school."

Li Long felt it was quite good. At least they were happier than the teachers in his previous life. He remembered that it seemed the further it went, the more responsibilities teachers had, and they would be arranged for many tasks unrelated to teaching during the holidays, and the pressure was getting greater and greater.

Of course, he only knew some things that could be seen on the surface, and he didn't know the specifics.

And the degree of respect students had for teachers now was also different. The authority of teachers was still continuing because of "Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Kin, Teacher," and corporal punishment still existed.

It was just that Li Long felt that in the schools here, similar things were much less than in the interior. After all, for one thing, the population was small, and for another, it was a newly built village and township, and many traditional things had been destroyed.

Of course, parents generally attached importance to the education cause, both boys and girls had to go to school, and those who studied well received a high degree of attention in the village, which was inevitable.

Gu Xiaoxia would also chat with Li Long about those who studied well and those who were relatively naughty in the class. Li Long joked and said:

"Although you attach importance to those who study well now. But let me tell you, eight out of ten times, in ten or twenty years, the ones who remember you and often come to see you will be those naughty ones. Those who studied well and took exams to leave, found good jobs, and have the opportunity to come back to see you, won't be many."

"No way, right?" Gu Xiaoxia obviously didn't believe it.

"Then... have you seen your teacher?" Li Long suddenly asked.

"My high school teacher was rehabilitated and returned to the interior!" Gu Xiaoxia retorted, "After that, we didn't have much contact, otherwise, I would certainly go to see them."

"Hmm, you are affectionate and righteous." Li Long had to say.

"That's more like it!" Gu Xiaoxia was a bit proud. Engaged, it felt different, and some aspects of her personality could also be let go.

Talking and laughing, they arrived at the school.

The sun was already slanting to the west. Li Long sat in Gu Xiaoxia's dormitory for a while. Teachers living in the school came back one after another. Some came to greet Gu Xiaoxia, brought her things, and some came to watch the excitement.

Li Long knew it wasn't suitable to stay any longer, stood up, and said:

"I'll come over tomorrow."

"When will you come over tomorrow?" Gu Xiaoxia was reluctant, but she also knew Li Long wasn't suitable to stay any longer.

"I'll go set nets after I go back, and go sell fish early tomorrow morning. After selling the fish, by the time I get to your place, it should be noon. Do you cook at noon? If you don't cook, shall I ride the bicycle and take you to the county to eat?"

"How would that be in time? I'll cook and wait for you." Gu Xiaoxia said.

"Okay." Li Long smiled.

Li Long rode his bicycle and left the school, rushing toward the team.

Gu Xiaoxia started tidying up the things she brought.

Among them were two bags of sugar, which were sent by the Li family when they got engaged. Gu Xiaoxia planned to distribute them to her colleagues, which was considered expressing an attitude.

It also put an end to the thoughts of those who had designs on her.

This was Gu Xiaoxia's own idea.

Teacher Wang walked over from the room next door, leaned against the door, and said with a smile:

"He sent you over? This is the first time, right? Are you... sugar?"

"Hmm, we're engaged." Gu Xiaoxia's voice wasn't high, and she was still shy, but she was very serious, and her tone was very firm.

"Is it really certain to be him?" Teacher Wang was still a bit surprised, "Don't consider it anymore?"

"No more consideration." Gu Xiaoxia shook her head and said, "It's just him."

"I know you'll say, without him you couldn't have come here, but you have to distinguish what is gratitude and what is love..." Teacher Wang had watched the process of Gu Xiaoxia's transformation over these few months. She believed Gu Xiaoxia would go higher and further.

If she was tied down by a rural person, it would be a pity.

"Teacher Wang, have some sugar." Gu Xiaoxia stood up, grabbed a handful of sugar for Teacher Wang, and then said with a smile, "Let me tell you a little story he told."

"What did he say that made you remember it so deeply?" Teacher Wang took the sugar, peeled one, put it in her mouth, and then said vaguely, "Let me hear it."

"In ancient times, a man saved a woman. If that woman took a fancy to that man, she would say, 'This kindness cannot be repaid, only by giving myself to you'..."

"Pfft!" Teacher Wang's laugh point was relatively low, and she laughed directly, "You don't say, there really were such things in ancient times..."

"It's not over yet!" Gu Xiaoxia continued, "If that woman didn't take a fancy to that man, she would say, 'This life-saving kindness cannot be repaid, I will be a cow or a horse to repay you in the next life'."

"Eww..." Teacher Wang immediately got the taste, — "You really don't say..."

"Quite ironic, isn't it?" Gu Xiaoxia said, "Also quite real, isn't it?"

"Then are you... the former?" Teacher Wang asked tentatively, "If someone else provided you with information, would you..."

"When he first told me, I thought he was hinting at me. But he also said, this isn't a hint, it's just a little segment... or a joke. What he wanted to tell me is that the relationship between us reaching today was pushed forward step by step, not because of one thing. So, our feelings can withstand the test..."

Teacher Wang didn't speak.

She suddenly discovered that Li Long, whom she thought was illiterate, wasn't as shallow as she imagined.

His academic qualifications weren't high, but that didn't mean his experience and knowledge were few.

Li Long rode his bicycle and first turned to Tao Daqiang's house. Seeing Tao Daqiang feeding the donkey in the courtyard, he shouted:

"Daqiang, do you have time? Let's go set nets."

"Yes, yes!" Before Tao Daqiang could speak, Tao Jian She shouted from the vegetable garden, "Daqiang, you go."

Tao Daqiang put down the grass in his hand, patted his hands, and walked toward Li Long with a foolish smile.

"Brother Long, you go back first, I'll be there soon." Tao Daqiang didn't want to ride the bicycle; he felt it wasn't convenient for Li Long to take him.

Li Long didn't force it, exchanged greetings with Tao Jian She, adjusted the handlebars, and rode toward home.

Li Long heard the footsteps behind him. When he turned his head to look, he found Tao Daqiang was running with big strides, only ten or twenty steps away from him.

He scolded with a smile:

"Not sitting in the car, insisting on running..."

"Just exercising, I run fast."

Li Juan and several girls were jumping rubber bands outside the Li family courtyard. Although it was hot during the day, the sun was about to set now, and the temperature had dropped a bit.

Seeing Li Long come over, the girls hurriedly moved aside. Li Long smiled and entered the courtyard.

Li Qing Xia and Du Chunfang were habitually bickering. Li Jianguo and Liang Wenyu were feeding the pigs—the few pigs in the courtyard had grown half-grown, and now was the time they were eating fiercely. Every time they were fed, they were fighting for it. Li Jianguo said he was worried these guys would jump out of the pigsty.

The wall of the pigsty was 1.5 meters, so they shouldn't be able to jump out, unless they were forced.

Li Qiang wasn't there; he should have run off to play.

"What, still setting nets?" Seeing Tao Daqiang panting heavily behind Li Long, Li Qing Xia asked.

"Yes." Li Long joked, "We're engaged, we have to earn more money to build a house and buy furniture."

"That's true. Go, I'll go with you. Although I don't have much money, I can help a little bit." Li Qing Xia stood up, rolled up his sleeves, "Father and son soldiers on the battlefield, after all."

Li Long smiled. The three of them carried the tires, carried the nets, and carried the basin with the cage cloth together toward the small lake.

Meng Zhiqiang was walking back from the small lake with a bag, stepping deep and shallow, and happened to run into Li Long and the three.

"Uncle Li, Xiao Long, are you... going to set nets?"

"Yes." Li Long said with a smile, "Idle is idle. Catch some fish, go sell them tomorrow." "Yes." Meng Zhiqiang was also speechless. He was the same. But Li Long was really idle. This year, for public labor, he hadn't seen Li Long even once.

Thinking back, he hadn't seen Li Long before either. At that time, he thought Li Long was idle, but now, Li Long had become his role model.

Arriving at the small lake, Li Qing Xia let Li Long go set the nets, while he took off his outer clothes, carried the basin, and went into the water, setting that "artifact" for catching loaches by the reed clusters nearby.

Li Long watched his father go into the water and shouted:

"Dad, put the basin a bit lower, it's best if it's near the bottom. Those gully fish like to stick to the bottom."

"Good, good, good, I know." Li Qing Xia held the basin in one hand and still had time to wave his hand, signaling Li Long to do his own thing well.

Li Long was in a good mood, and the nets were set very quickly. Tao Daqiang threw five or six nets on the shore, and Li Long had already set six nets and returned.

"Brother Long, your nets were set fast today."

"Haha, you organized the nets smoothly, so I set them fast." Li Long smiled, and the three of them went back together.

The one who took the nets the next day was Tao Daqiang. He strongly requested to take the nets himself and let Li Long watch.

!.

Li Qing Xia still followed. The fish in the basin this time were very face-saving, almost pushing the cage cloth on top open. He returned to the shore and laughed. This basin of fish was at least ten kilograms or more!

"Xiao Long, you sell this fish, don't give me the money. You're getting married, I don't know if I can make it, save it first." Li Qing Xia said to Li Long in a low voice.

"Dad, I have money." Li Long said with a smile, "Just this one time of poles, I earned much more than you guys..."

"You have yours, if I don't give, what does that look like?" Li Qing Xia shook his head, then saw Tao Daqiang had already taken all the nets, and accelerated his speech:

"We'll talk about the rest later."

Returning to the Li family, picking the fish, putting them in bags, Li Juan was happily waiting on the side of the bicycle with her schoolbag again.

Li Qiang was going to preschool. Looking at his sister, he said with some dissatisfaction:

"When I go to primary school, I'll let Uncle take me..."

"When you go to primary school, you'll go in the team, why would you need Uncle to take you?" Li Juan said with a smile, "Wait until you're in the third grade!"

The quarrels between children were all play in the eyes of adults, so no one stopped them. Li Long took Li Juan, who had finished breakfast, and hurried out the door.

Outside the village, he watched Meng Zhiqiang, who was carrying a fish bag, lowering his head and hurrying forward, so he exchanged greetings and continued to hurry forward.

Meng Zhiqiang looked at the two bags of fish carried on the back of Li Long's bicycle, and the bag of fish hanging on the front handlebars. A rough estimate was that these fish weighed at least seventy kilograms.

He had heard Tao Daqiang say that Li Long usually set six to eight nets, and on average, one net could catch ten kilograms of fish.

Why could he only catch less than ten kilograms of fish with four nets?

Was it because he set them on the edge, or other reasons?

Li Long didn't know that Meng Zhiqiang was already thinking about the reasons for catching fewer fish. He dropped Li Juan off at the primary school and hurried toward the county.

Taking the tools at the courtyard, he went to Shicheng.

He arrived early today, and there were still positions at the stall. He propped up the stall, put down the basin, and poured the fish. As soon as people saw it was three basins, they immediately knew loaches were coming. So before Li Long shouted, they surrounded him.

Li Long was also considered a star stall owner here, shouting loudly, the scale was hung high, the words were spoken nicely, and he was never soft-hearted or soft-mouthed to those who squeezed maliciously, so the fish sold very quickly.

In more than an hour, after the fish were sold out, Li Long breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his throat was a bit hoarse.

Tidying up the things, he went to the milk tea shop to drink milk tea, and Li Long sat under the shed outside, watching the whole old street.

There were quite a few hoodlums and ruffians turning around on the street, and the joint defense team members came over from time to time, but they usually wouldn't care about those who were idle if they didn't cause trouble.

Just now when Li Long was setting up the stall, some ruffian-looking people passed by, but they didn't care about Li Long—he didn't know if it was because of his reputation or because the timing wasn't right.

The Uyghur young man with a Yudong accent chatted with Li Long from time to time, and the two of them were considered familiar.

Returning from Shicheng, arriving at the county courtyard, after putting down the things, Li Long looked at the time and felt it was about right, so he went out of the courtyard, ran into a large car selling watermelons shouting there at the exit of the city, and hearing it was three cents per kilogram, he bought a sack directly.

Watermelons were really cheap at this time. Hearing Li Long bought a lot, the watermelon seller directly knocked open a watermelon, handed half to Li Long, and insisted he eat it.

When letting guests taste watermelons now, the way was also rough, not like later generations where they were specially cut into teeth, all were directly knocked open, broken into a few pieces by hand, different sizes, and just gnawed.

"Is this a watermelon from the wild land?" Li Long asked, "Or a watermelon from the plain forest farm?"

Xiayedi was a place belonging to Shicheng, and the watermelons were very famous, even becoming famous nationwide later in the industry.

The plain forest farm was a forest farm in Maxian, which also produced watermelons. Ordinary people usually recognized these two places for eating watermelons.

"From Xiayedi. It's hot this year, the melons ripen early," the stall owner had a Yudong accent, "There are many people planting melons, losing money... sigh."

"Planted in your own land? How much ration land did you divide?"

"Two mu of land per person." The stall owner said while gnawing on the watermelon, "There are many people in the family, ten or so mu. Planted five mu of watermelons, need to earn some money for the children to go to school. The watermelons had a bumper harvest this year, but they can't be sold at a price."

Li Long knew that even in two years, the price of watermelons would only rise to five cents, and until the nineties, one kilogram of watermelons would be calculated in cents.

As for calculating by the piece, that was already after the new century.

The stall owner helped Li Long load a sack of watermelons onto the back seat of the bicycle. Li Long paid and rode away.

This sack of watermelons weighed more than seventy kilograms, and it only cost two yuan... really cheap.

Arriving at the township middle school, the students here had just finished school, and those close to home were leaving the campus one after another.

Most students were still in the school, some were resting on the desks in the class, some were playing in the campus, and a very small number went to the school canteen.

It was called a canteen, but actually, someone opened a jelly stall in the school, selling jelly at noon.

When Li Long rode past the jelly shop, he saw the plates of jelly in the glass cabinet and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Haven't eaten it for a long time!

The jelly in various places in the Northern Frontier had its own characteristics. The Shicheng jelly closest to Maxian was mainly thin, sour, the seasoning was mainly vinegar, minced garlic, etc., the side dish was cucumber shreds, and some added coriander. The jelly and cold skin in the Ili River Valley, besides the sour vinegar seasoning, also had special hot ingredients, made with eggs, spices, etc., and poured on top, the taste was different.

The cold skin in Maxian tended to have the characteristics of the state city, quite Uyghur flavor, mainly the side dish used was blanched and cut leeks, which was quite special.

He planned to buy two cents of jelly to use as a side dish after putting down the watermelons at Gu Xiaoxia's place later.

Arriving at Gu Xiaoxia's dormitory, Li Long parked the bicycle, and when he dragged the watermelons into Gu Xiaoxia's dormitory, he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, lowering her head and not knowing what she was thinking.

"What's wrong?" Li Long felt something was a bit wrong, immediately put down the watermelons, sat beside Gu Xiaoxia, and asked with concern: "Are you... not feeling well somewhere? Or have you suffered any grievances? Tell me."

Gu Xiaoxia only then reacted, looked at Li Long, listened to his concerned words, was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, revealed a joyful but also somewhat complicated expression, and said:

"Nothing... no, something happened. But it's not... it's like this." She felt what she said was wrong, and said directly, "Just before school finished, the school received a notice from the Education Bureau, wanting to borrow me to work at the Education Bureau for a period of time..."

"That's a good thing!" Li Long smiled when he heard this, "This is the Education Bureau taking a fancy to your talent. By the way, did any leaders from the Education Bureau come to inspect in the past period?"

"Yes. In June, Deputy Director Wang of the Education Bureau came to inspect the work, sat in on my class, looked at my lesson plan, and asked me about some text work..."

"Then it should be this person who appreciates you more..." Li Long nodded, and then became a bit nervous, "This Deputy Director Wang... is it a man or a woman?"

"A woman." Gu Xiaoxia answered, and then reacted, lightly punching Li Long, "Why? Worried it's a man?"

"Of course, you're so excellent, I'm worried about being snatched away!"

"Then you don't believe me?" Gu Xiaoxia was a bit angry.

"What are you thinking?" Li Long smiled, moved closer to Gu Xiaoxia, and leaned together, "You're excellent, naturally you will attract others' attention—I certainly trust you. It's mainly worrying about others harassing you."

Gu Xiaoxia listened to Li Long's explanation, nodded, and her expression softened.

She thought for a while and asked Li Long again:

"Then should I go or not?"

"Of course go! Such a good opportunity!" Li Long said firmly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 242 =====