Chapter 34

Li Jianguo came in from outside, closed the door, took off his hat, and cursed:

"It's too cold. This Heaven doesn't want us to have a good winter!"

"How is Xiaoxia's dad?" asked Liang Wenyu, who was preparing to render oil from meat in the pot.

"He's alright, he can get out of bed now." Li Jianguo shook his hat and placed it on the fire wall to dry, then said while changing his shoes:

"It's just from exhaustion, plus malnutrition. Even then, he was putting on a front with me, wanting to give me money. I told him to shove it! Back when we were digging the canal together, that cornmeal bun he stuffed into my hand was worth more than money. He just laughed and said that bun was truly valuable, enough to trade for two big fish and a 'quack-quack' chicken!"

Liang Wenyu smiled and said nothing.

"Where are Juan and Qiangqiang?" Li Jianguo glanced around, saw no one in the room, and asked.

"They took their knuckle bones to play at the Lu family's place. She can't help but show off when she has something good."

"That's normal, isn't it? The Lu family's girl is always showing off those two knuckle bones of hers; look how jealous she made Juan." Li Jianguo laughed. "Now that she has her own, she has to return the favor, right? Juan isn't the type to suffer a loss."

"I don't know how Without Xiao Long's fish sales went today." Liang Wenyu changed the subject. "If they didn't sell well, he won't be catching any tomorrow, right?"

"I think he still has to catch them. Those two ice holes can't just go to waste." Li Jianguo said. "After lunch, I'll go and cast a few more nets. If we can catch a bit more, Without Xiao Long and the others can go early tomorrow."

"Then what are you doing later?"

"What else? I have to process the remaining five chickens. On the second day of the New Year, you take two when you go back with Juan and Qiangqiang, and bring some fish and a lamb leg too, so our parents can have a good New Year."

"Alright." Liang Wenyu smiled, feeling warm inside.

For the past two years, her parents had helped them out quite a bit, and there were certainly people gossiping about it. But neither her parents nor Li Jianguo said anything. As the eldest son-in-law of the Liang family, Li Jianguo always showed up when there was trouble at his father-in-law's house and could hold things down. Back then, Liang Wenyu was still a minor, and some people thought their family was easy to bully, but Li Jianguo had settled every single issue.

Now that life was better, Liang Wenyu was even happier.

Li Long first took Tao Daqiang to the Tao family's place. After dropping off the rice, flour, and meat, he turned the sled around and headed home.

He felt the sled was still too slow; it would be great if he could get a bicycle.

Just as he was thinking about it, Tao Daqiang rushed out of the courtyard and asked:

"Brother Long, are we going tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'll go check the lake later. If I can catch fish, we'll go tomorrow."

"Then I'll be over right away," Tao Daqiang said excitedly.

Tao Jian She looked at the pile of rice, flour, and over two kilograms of fatty meat on the ground, feeling a bit dazed.

His son had hit the jackpot!

But if their family did this themselves, wouldn't they earn even more?

After all, if his son could bring back so much, then the Li family's second son must be getting double that.

It seemed this fish-selling business was doable!

Tao Daqiang entered the room and saw his father staring at the things on the ground, his eyes rolling around, and he immediately felt suppressed.

"Go, cut a piece of meat and send it to your brother," Tao Jian She ordered. "Your brother has children, take some rice and flour too."

"I'm not taking any!" Tao Daqiang said with a dark face. "My brother's family slaughtered a pig, and they sent more than half the meat to his father-in-law's family, only giving us a pig's head and trotters. I spent all summer cutting grass for that pig, did he ever think of me? Every year the fine grain we get is given to him; am I not a person?"

Tao Daqiang had felt suppressed every time he came home these past two days and couldn't help but want to get out.

But today he knew that if he left, these things would be sent by his father to his eldest brother's place.

He didn't want the things he had worked so hard to earn to go to that eldest brother who almost never looked him in the eye.

Actually, Tao Dayong hadn't been like this before, but after getting married and moving out, the changes became greater and greater.

Tao Jian She raised his pipe, wanting to hit Tao Daqiang, but looking at his youngest son's stubborn eyes, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.

"That's your brother!" "Your brother's family doesn't have better conditions than ours, why don't you know how to take care of things here? The wood I pulled back was taken by him, the lamb legs I caught were taken by him, the fish were taken by him. There's no fuel at home, you only add that little bit of coal every day, why doesn't he know how to send some coal over?"

Tao Daqiang was originally simple-minded and rarely said so much in one breath.

This was also because he had seen how close the Li Long and Li Jianguo brothers were these past few days, while his own relationship with his brother's family had turned out like this.

Should he just give unconditionally?

Just as he was speaking, the door opened.

Tao Dayong walked in. Seeing the things on the ground, his eyes lit up:

"Yo, Daqiang, not bad, pulling back so many things? Good, good, good, not bad! It seems I'll get a landing net tomorrow, and we can go try it out too."

He took off his hat and said while preparing to change his shoes:

"Why is it so cold in the room?"

"There's no coal, and the wood I pulled back to burn was taken by you, of course it's cold!" Tao Daqiang said unpleasantly. "You have coal at home, why don't you bring some over?"

"What are you talking about? How much coal can I have at home? I think the wood is quite good, thinking of making some furniture in the spring. Can't you and that Li family kid pull two more loads and have some?"

"Do you think that's easy to pull?" Tao Daqiang had changed a lot in the last two days. He sneered and sat down to look at his brother. "Look at how many carts went out yesterday, how much did they pull back?"

*Bang! *

Dayong's expression froze for a moment, then he hit Daqiang with his hat:

"What's wrong with you? Did you eat gunpowder? How are you talking to me?"

"Why can't I say it? The wood I pulled back was taken by you, the lamb legs I pulled back were taken by you, the fish were taken by you. Are you eyeing the things I brought back today, planning to take them away again?"

Tao Dayong just stood there, stunned.

He really had planned to do just that.

But once his younger brother said it out loud, the taste changed.

"Daqiang, what are you saying?" Tao Jian She didn't want his two sons to quarrel and scolded Tao Daqiang. "That's because your brother's family has children, and that's your nephew!"

"I'm stupid, but I'm not a fool! Two lamb legs, at least one went to my sister-in-law's family, believe it or not?" Tao Daqiang suddenly had the urge to say everything that had been bottled up in his heart today. "Dad and I haven't even had a bite!"

Tao Dayong stopped talking.

Two lamb legs; his father had sent one over, and he had taken one back. One of them had been sent by his wife to her maiden family that very night.

He had come over now because his wife had seen Li Long and Tao Daqiang pulling the sled back and had urged him to come over and divide the goods.

He had been used to it, but now hearing his younger brother say it like that, and looking at his father's increasingly aged face, Tao Dayong wanted to refute, but didn't know what to say.

"I'll still be following Without Xiao Long to pull wood later. Brother, that wood is for us to burn until spring. Don't blame me for not making it clear to you; if you take it again, then I won't be willing!"

Tao Dayong didn't take anything in the end and slammed the door as he left.

Tao Jian She complained to Tao Daqiang for a long time:

"Why are you two brothers getting angry? Your brother hasn't always been like this."

"Then he should just live his own life well, why does he have to take things from here?" That was Tao Daqiang's only point.

He was no longer afraid of his father scolding him; at worst, his father could go live with his brother's family, and he would be free.

But his father wouldn't, and his sister-in-law wouldn't allow it.

Tao Daqiang didn't want to take advantage of his brother, but he wanted to live a good life with his own hands and didn't want to be taken advantage of by others for nothing.

Thanks to book friend Meiying Gudu for the tip, thanks to book friends 20230716100533245, Nanhai Xiaobailong 001, and 20220525072459517 for their monthly ticket support, thanks to everyone for their recommendation tickets, follow-up reading, and various suggestions. Remember to finish reading the updated chapters while enjoying the May Day holiday.

(End of chapter)