Chapter 37: Distinguishing Between Close and Distant Relations

Tao Daqiang finished dinner at the Li household. Li Long told him to come call him at six the next morning. He agreed and headed home.

It was pitch black outside. Fortunately, the moon was large, and with the reflection from the snow, the road was clearly visible.

Upon entering his own courtyard, he saw a light in the room. Thinking of his father’s habits, he decided to break some coal to take inside; he couldn't keep freezing.

At worst, once he earned money tomorrow, he would have Brother Long take him to buy some coal. In any case, they had to take the horse-drawn cart to sell fish tomorrow.

When he reached the coal shed, Tao Daqiang was surprised to see quite a bit of extra coal. Thinking of a possibility, he immediately scooped up a dustpan full and carried it into the house.

Tao Jianshe was still leaning against the kang, smoking. The room was thick with smoke.

"Did my brother bring this coal over?" Tao Daqiang asked.

"Mm." Tao Jianshe sat up straight, watched Tao Daqiang put down the coal, and pointed to the kang, saying:

"Change your clothes and sit over here to talk."

Tao Daqiang rarely saw his father act so solemn; he felt a bit uncomfortable.

He quickly changed his clothes and sat on the kang.

"Your brother scolded your sister-in-law and brought the coal over. He said what you said made sense—he’s a Tao, and he has to think of the Tao family. He originally said he’d have your sister-in-law’s younger brother return the wood, but I thought, we’re all relatives, so if the wood was given, let it be."

That his brother could change was a surprise to Tao Daqiang, but since there was a change, he nodded, letting the wood go.

"Then, you two brothers shouldn't hold any more petty grudges," Tao Jianshe said, tapping his pipe. "People say that when brothers are of one mind, they can cut through metal. Even though your brother has set up his own household, he’s still your brother."

"I know that."

"There’s one more thing. I see that you and the Li family’s second son are making good money catching fish. You can't leave your brother out of this. I’ll go borrow a landing net tomorrow. From now on, don't follow the Li family’s second son anymore. They’re two brothers; what are you doing stuck in the middle?"

Tao Daqiang was about to explain, but Tao Jianshe raised a hand to stop him:

"They are two brothers, and don't you two have two brothers as well? Tell the Li family’s second son tomorrow that you won't be catching fish with him anymore; you and your brother will go together. There are plenty of fish in Xiaohai; it’s public property, whoever catches them gets them. From now on, you two catch them, and you two go sell them together. Split the money evenly. Take this opportunity to earn more before the New Year so you can have an easier time in the spring."

Tao Daqiang fell silent.

Did his father have a point?

Naturally, he did. In fact, if Li Long didn't bring him along, he could have earned more money.

That he was brought along was entirely because he had actively clung to Li Long. Of course, Li Long was kind-hearted and loyal; this Tao Daqiang firmly believed.

But was he willing to abandon Li Long to go do this with his brother?

Tao Daqiang asked himself, and he was resistant.

His own brother wasn't the shrewd type. He might be okay at catching fish, but he certainly wouldn't be able to sell them well. Tao Daqiang had followed Li Long around and hadn't even figured out all the tricks yet. Among the rural people nowadays, how many could think of various methods as flexibly as Li Long?

In all likelihood, if they went to sell fish, they would be just like those people at the black market—sitting there, not even knowing how to shout to attract customers, just waiting for people to come and ask.

However, his father’s meaning was also very clear. No matter how good the Li family was, they were outsiders. If he didn't even help his own brother, what kind of person was he?

It left him unable to voice any opposition.

At this moment, Tao Daqiang felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

After seeing Tao Daqiang off, Li Long went to the home of the team leader, Xu Chengjun.

"Here to borrow the horse-drawn cart?" Xu Chengjun looked at Li Long, his expression slightly awkward.

He had taken his brother-in-law into the mountains, only to find that things were not as simple as he had imagined. The snow, nearly a meter deep, was impassable, and he had no idea which path Li Long had taken.

As the production team leader, he couldn't bring himself to ask Li Long for the route. So, the cart hadn't been used the next day and was borrowed by others instead. As it turned out, two days passed, and not a single family returned with a large pile of wood, so the team’s horses had been left idle.

"Mm, I’m going to the county town tomorrow to look around, need to borrow the cart." Li Long placed three yuan and twenty cents on the table. "Need it for two days."

"Fine." Xu Chengjun took the money and wrote a slip. "Going to the county or the mountains?"

"Depends on the situation," Li Long said vaguely.

Xu Chengjun knew Li Long was selling fish. Although the policy hadn't been completely relaxed, he also knew that some things were no longer strictly managed, or even managed at all. Not many families in the entire production team had radios, but his family did.

Listening to the policies discussed on the radio, Xu Chengjun knew the wind had changed. Therefore, he didn't stop Li Long and the others from selling fish.

Li Long took the slip to find Old Luo, who smiled as he accepted it:

"Sigh, you’re still the capable one. Those other people took the cart out, all feeling like wood in the mountains was everywhere for the taking, but when they came back, they all looked miserable—don't even mention how disheartened they were. They didn't even know how to take care of the horses; they were worn out!"

Old Luo could say such things, but Li Long didn't respond, only saying he would come early tomorrow morning to hitch the cart. Old Luo agreed.

Li Long returned home, called out to Li Jianguo through the window, and went back to his own east room.

Before dawn the next day, Li Long was woken up by Li Jianguo. After a hurried breakfast, he went to the stables to hitch the cart and then headed to the Tao household.

!.

Tao Daqiang soon came out, and they headed toward the Li household together.

After loading the fish, the two drove the cart toward the county town. After traveling more than three kilometers, Tao Daqiang hesitantly told Li Long what his father had meant.

"That’s a good thing." Li Long was somewhat surprised. Had Tao Jianshe and Tao Dayong had a change of heart?

Was it because Tao Daqiang had become "useful" that the Tao family now valued him?

It was indeed a good thing. At the very least, it could change Tao Daqiang’s life, and it seemed to be changing in a good direction, which made Li Long sigh with emotion.

"Then we..." Tao Daqiang had thought Li Long would be angry, but seeing Li Long’s expression, he was left confused.

"You should feel at ease following your brother to catch fish," Li Long said after a moment of thought. "After I sell the fish today, I’m going to take a break and plan to go into the mountains to have a look."

Tao Daqiang fell silent.

He was the one who had proposed "splitting up," so why did he feel abandoned when Li Long said that?

"You guys will definitely have no problem catching fish," Li Long said while driving the cart. "But you still need to be vigilant when selling them. Although the management is looser now, if you get careless, there are still people who will arrest you."

"If you see people wearing armbands coming, run immediately. Even if you have to leave the fish behind, you must save yourselves; otherwise, the fines will be quite troublesome."

Listening to Li Long’s words, Tao Daqiang felt as if he were being taught secret techniques, and his nose felt a bit sore.

Talking and chatting like this, they arrived at the county town before the sky had fully brightened.

"You stay here, I’ll drag the fish over to sell," Li Long said. "I won't drag too many at once; that way it’s easier to run if something happens. You stay far away, and if you find the situation is wrong, drive the cart toward the north of the city immediately. We’ll meet at the Meat Canteen after circling around."

Seeing Tao Daqiang nod, Li Long carried over ten kilograms of fish and headed toward the black market spot.

There were still quite a few people selling things, but basically, no one was talking much.

Seeing someone leave, Li Long immediately carried his bag over to occupy the spot, spread out the urea bag, and laid out the fish.

In this day and age, getting a bit of meat wasn't easy, so as soon as he laid them out, people immediately came over to ask the price.

It was a good start.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 41 =====