Chapter 613: Rather than envy, take action

Steamed rice at noon, stir-fried pickled vegetables with meat, stewed fish, spicy sheep head meat, and a stir-fried egg.

Just four dishes, but the portion was very sufficient, served in an enamel basin, steaming hot, looking satisfying.

Eating the food Sister Yang cooked every day, occasionally eating a meal cooked by the older sister-in-law, Gu Xiaoxia really had a great appetite. Usually, she ate one bowl of rice, but today she ate one and a half.

If her stomach really couldn't eat anymore, she felt she could still eat.

"Older sister-in-law, the food you cooked is too delicious." Gu Xiaoxia praised sincerely, "I haven't eaten such delicious food for a long time."

Gu Xiaoxia ate happily, and Liang Yuemei also had light on her face. She smiled and said:

"Hey, it's just home-cooked food, it's this fish that's fresh, and the sheep head meat Little Long got is also clean. If you like eating it, then let Little Long pull you back every Sunday, and I'll cook it for you!"

She hadn't treated Gu Xiaoxia as an outsider before, and now they were even more of a family. Looking at Gu Xiaoxia, who was pregnant, Liang Yuemei felt as if the next generation had already grown up.

Very gratified.

"Did you sweep that courtyard clean?" Li Jianguo asked Li Long while eating.

"Swept clean, and the stove is set up. That house hasn't had a stove set up for a long time, it's very damp. I plan to add another stove of charcoal in the afternoon, and then tell Daqiang to help set up a stove every day to bake the house."

"Why trouble Daqiang?" Li Jianguo waved his hand, "His family's baby is so small, and he still has to catch fish every day, he's busy. I'll go over every noon to set up the stove."

"Isn't that running far?" Li Long said, "Troublesome."

"What's troublesome? Ride a bicycle, isn't that a few minutes' road?" Li Jianguo settled the matter, "For family matters, don't trouble others if you don't have to."

"That's fine. But if it snows heavily, you have to call people to help sweep. I'll tell Daqiang and the others too, if it really snows heavily, after they finish their own work, go over together."

This matter was settled. The in-law relationship between the Li family and the Gu family was different from ordinary families.

Li Jianguo and Gu Bo Yuan themselves had a good relationship, and Liang Yuemei almost watched Gu Xiaoxia grow up, and there was even a period of time when Gu Xiaoxia often ran to the Li family. Many female knowledge came from Liang Yuemei.

And Liang Yuemei pitied Gu Xiaoxia back then, almost treating her as a daughter. Actually, for a considerable period of time after Li Long came, Liang Yuemei felt that Li Long wasn't worthy of Gu Xiaoxia.

Because of this relatively close relationship, the sense of proportion that should exist in closeness didn't exist here. Gu Bo Yuan was alone, and now in the county seat, Li Jianguo took the initiative to take on the work of cleaning up that courtyard, and he didn't feel it was inappropriate at all.

Gu Bo Yuan would also smile and say, that pancake back then really wasn't given in vain.

After eating and resting for a while, Li Qinxia and Li Jianguo pulled the sled to Little Haizi. Gu Xiaoxia wanted to help Liang Yuemei, but Liang Yuemei didn't let her, letting her go to the front courtyard to stay in her own room and rest.

Gu Xiaoxia had heard Li Long say that although the two of them didn't live there every day, a stove was set up in the front courtyard room every day, just to avoid dampness.

She was curious, and then went to see. Li Long was going to Little Haizi, so Gu Xiaoxia pulled Li Juan over.

A stove was indeed set up in the room, and there was no smell of dampness at all.

When Li Long went to Little Haizi with his father and older brother, he said:

"Older brother, when we pull the fish to Shicheng to sell, we have to pull the sled. The tractor has to be parked in the parking lot, and our fish and sheep offal have to be pulled over by sled."

"Hmm, alright." Li Jianguo nodded, "Then isn't the sheep offal sold in the team? This year, Ma Jinbao's sheep were mostly sold to the township acquisition station, and not many sheep were slaughtered. If the sheep offal is sold in the team, it should be able to be sold, right?"

Li Jianguo was a veteran who built the village. To tell the truth, his feelings for the Fourth Team were deeper than for the village of his old home.

So when he had sheep offal, he first thought about whether to sell it to the team first, give it to the team people to eat, and also gain a good reputation.

If Li Long hadn't brought sheep offal back, it would really be difficult for people in the team to buy sheep offal. The sheep offal in the food factory's meat shop was cheaper than meat and was bought out by others early.

The winter before last, the sheep offal Li Long hauled back was bought quite a bit by people in the team. That year, quite a few people in the team also said this sheep offal was delicious and full of oil and water.

Li Long didn't hear much, but Li Jianguo heard a lot. For half a year that year, people kept saying it in front of Li Jianguo.

So as soon as Li Long mentioned the sheep offal matter, Li Jianguo first thought about selling it to the team, giving it to the team people to eat, and also gaining a good reputation.

Li Long's household registration was still in the team, and Li Jianguo knew his younger brother didn't plan to leave the countryside, so he had to plan for his younger brother.

Although Li Long didn't care much about the impression he had in the hearts of the team people, Li Jianguo cared.

A person lives a lifetime, living not just for oneself. If the reputation stinks, then no matter how rich, one will still be scolded by others.

That reputation must be good, and being more generous, just like how Li Long left the food factory, there were people who made up a good reason to say it wasn't his fault.

World affairs are like this.

"Alright, then I'll haul the sheep offal back tomorrow. By the way, older brother, we can't finish the sheep heads and sheep hooves either, you keep some, and sell the rest. They are all from the team, sell them if they give money."

"Alright." Li Jianguo nodded. He also liked eating sheep heads and sheep hooves, but this thing was laborious. Besides, even if his own family could eat, how many could they eat? Li Long hauled back a large pile, most of it was better to sell.

When they reached Little Haizi, the three Liang brothers and the three people from the Tao family had already arrived.

By the time they reached Little Haizi, the three Liang brothers and the three people from the Tao family had already arrived.

At present, they could get ten or twenty kilograms of big fish a day, and they could get ten or twenty yuan in their hands.

If Li Long sent a big job, this money really didn't count for much.

But now it was the middle of winter, most people in the team stayed at home, only spending money and not earning money, with no way to earn money.

That rabbit in the wild wasn't something everyone could snare.

So quite a few people were envious of being able to earn so much money in a day.

So, being able to make this much money in a single day, there were quite a few people who were green with envy.

However, this work wasn't something everyone could do. Don't let the sound of breaking ice holes and fishing fool you into thinking it's all fun; some people in the brigade tried to follow suit, but they quit after just one day.

The Li family, Tao family, Liang brothers, and Meng family had all been at Little Haizi for these few years, catching fish in winter and summer, so naturally, they knew where the water was deep and gathered fish.

You casually hit an ice hole, the water was less than a meter deep, could fish come there?

And this thing also required patience and a little bit of technique.

Besides, this thing requires patience and a little bit of skill.

The principle was very simple, but if not told, then maybe some people wouldn't figure it out in a lifetime.

Watching these people earn money, it was impossible for others in the team not to be envious. But what was the use of envy? Either be humble and learn from people, bring something to these people's homes, and ask for advice.

Or just learn from Xie Dafa, go set rabbit snares, and if you catch three or five rabbits a day, you can also earn ten or twenty yuan.

Or just watch.

When encountering those who humbly asked for advice, Li Long naturally didn't begrudge pointing out a few sentences. The fish couldn't be caught up, and the money couldn't be earned up. He had already walked in front, leaving the people of his own team far behind.

So he wasn't worried about being surpassed by others.

So, he wasn't worried about being surpassed by others.

The whole village knew about Li Long collecting fish. Tao Dayong followed and worked for a few days, and there were already dozens of yuan more in his hands.

It was very difficult for his personality not to go to the door shop to show off.

So actually everyone knew, as long as you catch big fish, Li Long guarantees to collect them.

This really solved many people's worries. People guaranteed to collect them, what were you still hesitating about?

But some men were just unwilling to go.

"Go do what? It's freezing cold, isn't it comfortable to stay on the heated brick bed? Is the family lacking that one or two mao?" This was what some men said.

Others simply hid from women and went out to play. Visiting neighbors was also not something to talk about.

As for why such things happened, why they didn't go to catch fish, the thoughts were mixed, and it was unclear.

Li Long and the three arrived at the ice hole, knocked open a thin layer of ice on top, and started catching fish after a while.

The three of them reached the ice hole, knocked away the thin layer of ice on top, and would start fishing in a little while.

The coldest days of winter are the peak period for fishing. Once this period passes, the weather isn't as cold, the fish become scarcer, and fewer people come to these ice holes. "Big Brother, we've collected nearly a ton of fish during this period, haven't we?" Li Long asked his brother loudly while fishing.

The money in his hands was also almost used up.

Even if Li Long didn't say it, he had to say it. These two days of collecting fish were still using the old man's money.

Even if Li Long hadn't said it, he would have had to bring it up. For the past two days, they had still been using the old man's money to buy the fish.

Li Long thought what his older brother said was also right. Going to sell fish was relatively simple. Hauling twenty or thirty platters of sheep offal was troublesome. After all, the quantity was small, it was better to sell fish directly.

Li Jianguo didn't speak, Li Qinxia directly agreed. Having collected so many fish, he had long been thinking about going to Shicheng quickly and exchanging this fish for money. Looking at such a large pile of fish now, only collecting and not selling, the money in his pocket kept going out, and he didn't feel good in his heart.

Li Jianguo didn't speak, but Li Qing Xia responded directly. Having collected so many fish, he had long been thinking about rushing to Shicheng to turn the fish into money. Looking at such a large pile of fish right now, only buying and not selling, with money constantly flowing out of his pockets, he felt uneasy.

Li Qing Xia, Li Jianguo, and Li Long took turns fishing in the two ice holes. When Li Long rested and looked at the ice surface, eh? To his surprise, there were a few more groups of people on the ice.

Looking from afar, it was really people from the team.

Looking from afar, they really were people from the brigade.

Li Long was happy, quite good, knowing how to exert effort to earn money, that was quite good.

He simply went over to see and found it was really people from the team. Three new families, two he wasn't familiar with, Li Long went over to greet them, and another one that surprised him was Jia Weidong.

He simply went over to take a look and found that they really were people from the brigade. Of the three new families, he wasn't familiar with two of them, so Li Long just went over to greet them. The other one who surprised him was Jia Weidong.

Seeing Li Long come over, Jia Weidong pulled the corners of his mouth, which was a smile.

His wife took the initiative to speak:

His wife, however, took the initiative to speak:

"Collecting, can still collect for a week."

"We'll collect, we can probably collect for another week."

Li Long looked at the position they were in and couldn't help but say:

"Weidong, this position of yours isn't very good. It looks far from the west bank, but actually, the water below this area isn't deep, and fish can't gather here."

"Ah?" Jia Weidong stopped his hand in confusion, and his wife looked at the ice hole that had been dug nearly halfway, and also stopped her hand.

"Look," Li Long pointed to other large empty spaces:

"There are people who have dug there, no fish came out, so they left. Look at us, Daqiang's side, Dacheng's side, all found deep water areas, there are no reeds nearby, the water is deep so there are many fish, there are no reeds nearby, then the outside air can't get in, so the fish are suffocating..."

Jia Weidong understood, looked around, and also felt troubled.

He knew the deep water areas, and there were people nearby. Where else could he go?

He knew there were people near the deep-water areas he was aware of, so where else could they go?

"Near the dam mouth," Li Long pointed and said. "That's where the water is deepest. It's just that because there's a dam there, it can let in air, so everyone hasn't broken the ice there. If you want to fish, that's the best place to go."

Li Long had said it clearly enough. Jia Weidong picked up the steel bar and said to his wife:

"Go, let's go to the dam mouth."

"It's already dug halfway here..." The wife was a bit reluctant.

"Even if it's dug through, if there's no fish, isn't it digging in vain?" Jia Weidong saw it very clearly.

"Even if we break through, if there are no fish, wouldn't it be a waste of effort?" Jia Weidong saw it very clearly.

For those familiar in the team, as long as they had the idea of working hard to earn money and put it into action, Li Long was willing to pull them.

It was a matter of convenience, being able to change a family's life, why not do it?

It was a simple task that could change a family's life; why not do it?

Jia Weidong went to the dam mouth to break the ice. The water there was indeed deep, and there must be plenty of fish below, but the ice layer was also thick.

After resting for a while, Jia Weidong took a net to catch fish, and until the sun was about to set, he only caught two or three kilograms of crucian carp and some small dogfish.

The biggest one was still a carp less than a kilogram. Carp of this size weren't delicious.

Jia Weidong's wife was a bit unhappy, feeling this place wasn't very good. Jia Weidong felt it was all according to Li Long's words.

He used a net to probe the bottom of the ice hole, and the two-and-a-half-meter net couldn't see the bottom. The water here was indeed deep.

For safety's sake, he also piled the ice dug out around, serving as a warning.

Don't let anyone fall in.

The Li family of three caught a total of ten-plus kilograms of fish in the afternoon, and there were about ten kilograms of big fish over one kilogram, which wasn't much.

He was in a hurry to go back. Li Jianguo saw the harvest in the afternoon wasn't as much as in the morning, so he didn't stay here much.

As soon as they returned, others also started to pack up, preparing to return, going back to hurry to take the big fish to the Li family to sell.

On the way back, Li Long took out five hundred yuan for his older brother as money for collecting fish.

Li Jianguo only took three hundred, saying it was enough. There was still a week, and it really wouldn't cost much money.

After returning, Li Long first drove the Jeep to Gu's house to add some coal to the stove, then pressed it with coal dust, and returned to the large courtyard.

Gu Xiaoxia had returned from the front courtyard, and they were preparing to eat dinner here.

That was, after Li Long was reborn, slowly the Li family got used to eating three meals. Actually, when Li Long wasn't there in the summer, most of the time it was two meals, and that meal at night could at most count as a midnight snack.

The whole family ate dinner happily, and Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia drove back.

When eating, Li Qinxia and Du Chunfang were the happiest. People are afraid of loneliness when they get old, and the more people in the family, the happier they are.

So seeing Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia leave, Du Chunfang was a bit unhappy.

"Little Long is coming back tomorrow, what are you unhappy about?" Li Qinxia enlightened her, "Or do you want to sit in the car and go to the county seat with them?"

"I'm not going, I don't like to move." Du Chunfang thought about it and still shook her head, feeling that staying here was the most comfortable. Leaning against the fire wall every day, doing a little work if there was any, and squinting for a while if she didn't want to do it, how comfortable!

"That's it then." Li Qinxia smiled and filled a pot of smoke for himself, "Such good days, still thinking about this and that, I think you're just idle."

Du Chunfang wanted to refute, but didn't know where to refute from.

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei didn't persuade either, thinking it was quite fun to listen to the old couple bickering.

Li Qiang was forced by Li Juan to do homework in the inner room. He was quite obedient at this time, mainly anxious to finish writing so he could watch TV in his grandfather's room later.

After watching, tomorrow when playing with old cows with friends, he could still brag a bit. That was a big color TV!

When Li Long and the others returned to the county seat, it was already dark. They weren't there, so Sister Yang and the others just cooked a simple dinner, and Gu Bo Yuan didn't come over either.

Li Long let Gu Xiaoxia enter the room first, and he moved the sheep offal to the tractor.

Thirty platters of sheep offal couldn't be loaded into the Jeep, so he could only drive the tractor back tomorrow. Older brother was right, this thing was considered not bad, so it was better to leave it for the team people to eat.

Even if half of them remembered the Li family's kindness, it was good for the older brother, father, and mother who stayed in the village.

After moving the sheep offal, Li Long drained the water in the Jeep, then went to the glass room behind, added charcoal to the stove that was about to go out, pressed it with dust, and only then came out and returned to the room.

After rushing around for a day, now was the most comfortable time.

After simple washing and changing clothes, sitting and hugging his wife while watching TV, basically there was nothing more happy than this.

Busy all day, wasn't it for such a life? (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 614 =====

After finishing moving the sheep offal, Li Long drained the water from the jeep, went to the glass room at the back, added coal to the dying stove, pressed it down with coal dust, and only then did he come out and return to the house.

After a day of rushing about, this was the most comfortable moment.

After a simple wash and changing clothes, sitting there holding his wife and watching TV, there was basically nothing happier than this.

He was busy and bustling; wasn't it all for this kind of life? (End of chapter)