Chapter 68: Li Long's

"Why?" Li Jianguo asked.

Liang Wenyu was also looking at Li Long, wanting to hear his thoughts.

"Think about it, if Dad receives the money, what will he do?"

"What else can he do? Go to the market to weigh a few kilograms of meat, buy some rice and flour, and then weigh some oil to prepare for the New Year."

"And the rest?" Li Long continued to ask.

"The rest... probably go to the card table to play cards, and maybe brag about how filial the son over here is." Li Jianguo laughed as he said this; he could imagine what his father would do.

"Then do the relatives know?" Li Long asked.

"That's for sure. Once the money is sent, the loudspeaker in the brigade shouts, and then the whole team knows." Li Jianguo had stayed in his hometown for more than ten years, so he naturally knew.

In fact, things were sent to the hometown at the end of every year, but little money was sent, after all, there wasn't much money left after it was divided. This year, because of Li Long, there was more money in his hands, so he wanted to send more money.

And his father didn't spend much money usually, but once he had money, he liked to go out and show off, and would even play those one-fen or two-fen cards at the card table.

"Then what do you think will happen when spring comes?"

Li Long asked this, and Li Jianguo was stunned. What would happen?

"If you send fifty back, when spring comes, a group of relatives from the hometown will come here to stay, saying that Dad agreed and let them ask you for work, and let you help them find a way out."

Li Long's words were very plain, but they fell into Li Jianguo and Liang Wenyu's ears like a flash of lightning.

Li Jianguo felt that his father could really do this!

Don't look at Li Jianguo's father, Li Qing Xia, saying that as long as Li Jianguo took good care of Li Long, he didn't need to worry about anything else, but if someone really asked him for help, let him tell Li Jianguo, and let Li Jianguo help them find a way out, he would absolutely not refuse.

By then, a group of people would come...

Li Jianguo simply didn't dare to think about the situation that would follow.

But in fact, this was exactly what happened in his previous lifetime. In his previous lifetime, Li Jianguo would send things back during the New Year, making the family feel that life over here was good, and then people would come one after another to find Li Jianguo.

The village name in his hometown was Lijiazhuang, and most of the people in the village were surnamed Li, most of whom had relative relationships. Young people with close relationships who came out to find a way to live wanted to rely on those who came out first.

But in ten years, more than a dozen people came to rely on Li Jianguo. Li Jianguo racked his brains to think of ways for them, half of whom settled down here, some became workers, some went to the production and construction corps to settle down, and most lived better than Li Jianguo.

But after Li Jianguo passed away, none of these people came to see Liang Wenyu—a group of ungrateful wretches! Of course, he himself in his previous lifetime could be counted as one—this lifetime, he was paying back the debt.

"Then we can't send that much." Li Jianguo sighed, "Then... send twenty."

"Yeah, anyway, the future is long, Dad and Mom are in good health, and filial piety is still to come."

Li Long remembered that his parents both lived to be over ninety, so it wasn't a matter of this moment.

After this matter was determined, Li Jianguo gave Li Long another task:

"I'll cut five kilograms of meat, you carry it and take red paper to the Gu family, and ask Big Brother Gu to write two pairs of couplets."

"Alright." There were still more than ten days until the New Year, this was something that had to be prepared, and Li Long didn't think much about it.

When he arrived at the Gu family, Gu Xiaoxia opened the door, and was a bit surprised to see Li Long carrying things.

"My brother asked your dad to write two pairs of couplets for our family, this is the payment for the writing." Li Long raised the meat in his hand.

"Little Long is here, right? Come in quickly." Gu Bo Yuan's voice came from the inner room.

Li Long handed the meat to Gu Xiaoxia, took the red paper, brush, and ink, and entered the inner room.

"Little Long is not bad, he even knows about payment for writing." Gu Bo Yuan said with a smile, "It seems the trip to Wucheng wasn't in vain."

"I heard it from my brother." Li Long smiled, placed the cut red paper on the table, "Big Brother Gu, is your health better?"

Gu Bo Yuan was a high-achieving student who graduated from Southwest University of Political Science and Law. As for why he came here, Li Long didn't know the reason, but it was nothing more than those few types. "Much better, thanks to your fish and meat." Gu Bo Yuan smiled very freely, "You've been very capable this winter, and I've followed suit and benefited."

Li Jianguo sent fish and meat twice, making the Gu family's life much better.

"Then my brother also said, if it weren't for you, he probably wouldn't have been able to stay here."

Li Long clearly remembered that Li Jianguo had said it several times. One was the steamed bun Gu Bo Yuan gave him, and the second was when Li Jianguo was preparing to leave here to try his luck elsewhere, Gu Bo Yuan's words made him stay:

"I've been to many places in the country, and I don't want to leave when I get here. Why? This place is big, can grow rice, and there are fish in the water puddles. With rice and fish, and a vast land with few people, other places might not be better than here, so stay."

Li Jianguo stayed. Nothing else, at least he didn't go hungry during those difficult days.

"It's hard for him to remember those old sesame and rotten millet things." Gu Bo Yuan spread out the red paper and asked Li Long:

"What kind do you want to write?"

In this day and age, there weren't so many requirements for couplets, Li Long said with a smile:

"Popular and easy to understand, clear at a glance."

"Then that's too easy."

Gu Bo Yuan thought for a moment, waved his brush, and started writing, and it was indeed popular and easy to understand:

!.

"Smooth sailing, good every year; everything goes as you wish, rising step by step. Horizontal scroll: Lucky star shines high."

"Intensive cultivation, harvest year; diligent and thrifty family management, surplus year; horizontal scroll: Country is strong and people are rich."

It didn't pay attention to antithesis, it was just easy to understand.

And this font, it was truly good. Li Long felt it was better than the calligraphy of many famous calligraphers in later generations.

After the ink dried, he took the couplets and left. Gu Xiaoxia sent Li Long to the courtyard gate and suddenly whispered:

"Li Long, I... can I learn to do business with you?"

"Do business?" Li Long was a bit surprised, "How did you think of doing business?"

"My family has no money." When Gu Xiaoxia said the first sentence, the original caution and timidity disappeared, and her voice and tone became fluent, "My dad is in poor health, and he can't even afford medicine, I..."

"I know." Li Long nodded, "Actually, I have inside information that after spring, our commune and brigade are going to expand the school, by then... I think you can take an exam."

Li Long clearly remembered that by then Gu Xiaoxia took the brigade's primary school exam. In fact, with her high school level, it would be no problem to teach at the commune's junior high school.

After all, in this day and age, there was a severe shortage of knowledgeable people here. Li Juan's math teacher taught without even graduating from primary school.

With Li Jianguo's level, he could also go to teach, but Li Jianguo knew that the salary from teaching was not enough to support the whole family, and he felt that farming was more suitable for himself, so he stayed in the team to farm.

Gu Xiaoxia asked incredulously:

"Is it true?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Li Long nodded and said, "I think you'd better start reviewing now. By then, if you can go to teach at junior high school, the monthly salary will be at least a few dozen yuan, isn't that better than you farming?"

Gu Xiaoxia hesitated.

"But my family is now..."

Li Long thought for a moment and said:

"I'll lend you twenty yuan first, and when you pass the exam and get your salary, you can pay me back, how about that?"

Twenty yuan, in this day and age, could do many things.

Li Long was not a saint, just based on the relationship between the two families, plus what Li Jianguo had done, Li Long vaguely felt that this was actually quite good.

At least better than Wu Shufen, right?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 69 =====