Chapter 35: Standing Up for His Niece

"Dad, let's keep this stuff at home and make our own meals." Tao Daqiang warmed up, grabbed a quick cornmeal bun to tide him over, put on his clothes, and said to Tao Jianhua:

"Don't let my brother take it away again, and don't send it over either. If you send it over, I won't bring anything back home from now on; anyway, we can't eat it even if we have it. It's almost New Year; we can't possibly just eat buns for the holiday, can we?"

Tao Jianhua said nothing, so Tao Daqiang went out.

Tao Jianhua knew his eldest son would definitely get scolded by his wife when he got back, but who was to blame?

He was stuck in the middle, finding it difficult, but he knew the goods really couldn't be sent to the eldest son anymore.

The youngest son had just started to show promise; if his own actions dampened the boy's spirit, that would truly be trouble.

Although he had said that after he was gone, Daqiang would still rely on Dayong for help,

thinking about his daughter-in-law's personality, it was uncertain whether that would even work out. He couldn't possibly go to Dayong's house with his head held high, could he?

Tao Dayong returned empty-handed and was indeed scolded by his wife.

"You didn't bring anything back? I saw there was a lot of stuff on that sled; why didn't you bring it back?"

"We took the rice and flour; that was left for Dad." Tao Dayong said while taking off his shoes. "I couldn't possibly bring everything home, could I? The wood is back, but Dad's house is freezing; there's no coal left. I'll take some coal over in the next couple of days."

"Take what? What will we burn at home if you take it over? Daqiang can go with Li's second son to haul wood; let him haul some more!" Ma Chunhong was unwilling to take her family's things to her father-in-law.

"Then just haul the wood back and send it back." Tao Dayong was also getting angry. "That cart was borrowed from the Li family, and the road was cleared by the Li family; why should they haul whatever you tell them to? I told you not to bring all the wood back then, but you went and took every single piece back..."

"But my brother is getting married next year; this wood looks great for making furniture..." Ma Chunhong, knowing she was in the wrong, lowered her voice.

"So your brother just eats without hauling? If you want to find wood for your brother, I have no objection, but shouldn't we consider that my father is so old, his house is freezing, and we should send some coal over?"

Ma Chunhong turned her head and said nothing, obviously unwilling.

Tao Dayong felt angry at his own cowardice, so he put his shoes back on and prepared to go out.

Ma Chunhong naturally knew what her husband was thinking; she blocked the door and shouted:

"Tao Dayong, if you dare take the coal out of the house, I'll go back to my parents' home!"

"Then get out!" Thinking of what his brother had said, and reflecting on what he had done these past two years, Tao Dayong felt a sharp pain in his heart. He grabbed Ma Chunhong and pulled her aside, then went out to the coal shed.

Damn it, I really am scum!

Ma Chunhong was pushed to the ground by Tao Dayong. Seeing that her husband had no intention of pulling her up, she sat on the floor and wailed.

When Li Long pulled the sled home, he saw Li Juan and Li Qiang walking angrily from a neighbor's house toward their own.

"Juan, Qiang, what's wrong?" Li Long asked hurriedly.

"Uncle, you're back?" Qiang ran over. "My sister and Lu Nier were playing with sheep knucklebones together. She insisted that my sister's two knucklebones were hers. My sister asked for them, she wouldn't give them back, and then her brother chased us out!"

In the past, Li Long would have generously said, "Forget it," but having lived two lives, Li Long knew how sensitive children of Li Juan's age were. If her family didn't support her, a rift would definitely form between her and her family later on.

"Come on, Uncle will go get them for you!" Li Long drove the sled into the yard, didn't go inside, and took Li Juan and Li Qiang straight to the Lu family's house.

Liang Yuemei heard the noise inside the house and came out to look. She saw the things on the sled but didn't see anyone. She went outside the gate and still saw no one, so she started moving the things into the house first.

She carried them down one by one. Seeing so many things, Liang Yuemei was overjoyed; now she really didn't have to worry about the New Year.

Especially the five kilograms of vegetable oil; that solved a major problem for the family.

And those few kilograms of pork belly were equally important. For the New Year, if there were only chicken, fish, and mutton, it always felt like something was missing.

When Li Long arrived at the Lu family's gate, he heard the sound of children laughing inside.

He knocked on the door, then faintly heard someone whisper inside:

"It must be Li Juan again; hide it quickly..."

Li Long simply pushed the door open. In the main hall, he saw Lu Nier hiding something behind the heated wall.

"Bring it out!" Li Long said with a dark face. "Li Juan's knucklebones were found by me in the mountains; they are a set, and they are different from yours!"

"I didn't take them!" Lu Nier stood directly in front of the heated wall and shouted back, though her voice inevitably carried a hint of guilt. "Then bring them out and let us see."

"Why should we show you?" Lu Nier's brother, Lu Tietou, was fourteen. He picked up a fire hook from the side and bluffed.

The guy was tall and burly; he probably relied on his strength to chase Li Juan and the others away. But Li Long was not afraid of such a kid.

"Won't bring them out? Then don't blame me for not being polite." Li Long's voice remained calm but sounded quite scary. "My Li Juan never lies. Since she was playing at your house, if something is missing, it must be here. It's best to bring them out now; if I have to search and find them, it won't sound good."

He took two steps forward and shoved Lu Tietou, who was blocking him, aside. Tietou was still young; he had height but no strength. Pushed aside, Tietou felt very humiliated and tried to move forward again, but Li Long slapped him aside once more. Tietou lost his balance and sat down heavily on the ground.

Li Qiang couldn't help but laugh.

Lu Dasao, who was in the side room kitchen, heard the commotion, came over with a spatula, saw Li Long, paused for a moment, and said with a smile:

"Oh, Xiao Long is here. Come, come, sit down."

"No need to sit. I'm here to get the knucklebones for my Juan." He pointed to Lu Nier's position.

"Then give them to Li Juan." Lu Dasao, unaware of what had happened, hurriedly told Lu Nier, "If you want to play later, just go to the Li family's house."

!.

The two families lived opposite each other and had always had a good relationship; Lu Dasao didn't think much of it.

Lu Nier still wanted to lie, but Li Long pointed behind the heated wall and said:

"You don't need me to take them, do you? If I start searching, it will cause quite a bit of trouble!"

Lu Dasao caught the tone. She glared at Lu Nier and said:

"Bring them out. If they aren't yours, give them to her quickly!"

Li Long sighed with relief. Lu Dasao was reasonable, so this matter would be easy to resolve.

Startled by her mother's voice, Lu Nier shivered, slowly reached behind the heated wall, and pulled out a handful of knucklebones.

"Two of them are mine." Li Juan stepped forward and said.

"Give them to Juan quickly," Lu Dasao repeated, glaring at Lu Nier.

"It's fine. If you want to play later, you can come to my house or come here." Li Long's tone softened a bit.

In these times, there were parents who didn't understand reason, and there were parents with high standards, but there were more who cared about saving face and didn't want their children to be criticized for their character.

"Exactly." Seeing Li Long say that, Lu Dasao knew he was giving her a way out. She smiled and said, "You two are so close; it's better to play together."

Li Juan took the knucklebones Lu Nier handed over, turned around, and went straight to the door.

"Then Sister-in-law Lu, we'll head back first."

"Alright, I won't keep you. Come by the house sometime." Sister-in-law Lu replied with a smile.

Leaving the Lu house, Li Juan and Li Qiang both wore smiles on their faces.

"Uncle, you're truly amazing!" Li Qiang gave a thumbs-up. "We never thought of that before..."

"Things are different now compared to before," Li Long sighed softly.

Indeed, things were different.

(End of this chapter)