Chapter 706: The Li Family Once Had a Treasure

Three days in a sleeper berth, and Li Li Qing Xia sat quite comfortably.

The people in the middle and upper berths were dressed more smartly than he was, carrying travel bags, all speaking Mandarin, and being very careful about eating and sleeping.

Then they looked at Li Li Qing Xia; although they didn't ask, their gazes were filled with curiosity and puzzlement.

After all, in these times, few farmers could afford a sleeper berth—and Li Li Qing Xia's standard farmer attire made him seem somewhat out of place.

But Li Li Qing Xia seemed completely unaware, eating when he should eat and sleeping when he should sleep. When the dining car attendant brought food around midway, he even bought a portion to taste, though after finishing it, he declared it not delicious.

Although that money could have bought two bowls of mixed noodles in the county town, Li Li Qing Xia knew clearly that everything on the train was expensive, so he said nothing.

He had money, and quite a bit of it was visible, but fortunately, security in the sleeper cars was still quite strict at this time; ticket checks were rigorous, and no idle loiterers wandered about here, which put Li Li Qing Xia at ease.

After all, traveling alone round-trip with a substantial amount of money and some goods, if he had been in the hard-seat section, he might very well have been robbed.

Now he felt that his youngest son buying a hard-sleeper ticket was truly a good choice; it was comfortable.

The money he had saved over the past two years from catching fish was actually intended to subsidize his children.

But judging by the current situation, his eldest son's family assets were among the best in the production team; his second son was a worker, and although his finances might be slightly tighter than the eldest's, he should have enough; Little Xia and her husband certainly lacked for nothing, as Chen Chen Xingbang was a smart man who knew how to make money.

As for Li Long, needless to say within the production team, even across the entire county he was notable, so there was absolutely no need for him to worry.

With no place to spend this money, his attachment to it had faded.

If he could use this cash on hand to accomplish something truly useful and significant, then it would be worth it.

Three days later, Li Li Qing Xia disembarked feeling refreshed and clear-headed, exiting the station. In his youth, he possessed strength in both arms, and although he was older now, he had never stopped working; casting nets to catch fish every day was also exercise, so carrying those few items was nothing at all.

Outside the train station, it was quite lively: vendors shouted while selling goods, some pushed tricycles to help haul luggage, and others carried shoulder poles, eager to help carry loads.

There were also beggars asking for money.

Clutching his belongings cautiously, Li Li Qing Xia navigated through these crowds and walked toward the bus station.

It was already afternoon when he got off the train; he planned to inquire clearly about the ticket situation for the return journey, and then decide whether to stay overnight or depart by bus.

The bus station was not particularly far from the train station, less than a kilometer away; Li Li Qing Xia walked, occasionally stopping, and frequently wiped sweat from his brow.

The climate in his hometown was simply different from that in Northern Xinjiang; even though the sun was nearly setting behind Luoshan, the "Autumn Tiger" was still fierce, and it was hot.

Upon arriving at the bus station, he carried his things into the ticket hall to inquire, only to learn that tickets to the neighboring county were not available until the next morning, so Li Li Qing Xia decided to return tomorrow to purchase one.

There was no dedicated bus service directly to Li Lou; one had to take a bus from the county town to the neighboring county and disembark midway.

The neighboring county was over forty kilometers from this county, and Li Lou's location was somewhat remote in the middle, roughly twenty-something kilometers away.

Li Li Qing Xia found a noodle shop near the bus station to eat. Having stayed in Northern Xinjiang for more than two years, he had grown accustomed to eating mixed noodles. Since this restaurant served noodles, he thought for a moment and told the owner:

"Comrade, boil me a bowl of noodles, just fish them out without the broth. Then stir-fry me a dish; stir-fried shredded potatoes will do."

"How can you eat noodles without broth?" the owner asked, somewhat perplexed. "How about I ladle out half the broth for you?"

"No, no, just cook the noodles normally, and after cooking, simply fish out the noodles," Li Li Qing Xia said, setting down his things, wiping his sweat, and explaining to the owner once more.

"Alright then." The owner hesitated slightly. "No broth, but I'll still charge you the price for noodle soup, okay?"

"Fine, no problem. By the way, please ladle that broth into a separate bowl for me; I'll drink it after I finish eating."

Mixed noodles were not yet available here; Li Li Qing Xia had simply had a sudden inspiration to create a do-it-yourself version.

The sound of stir-frying rose up, and the sound of cutting noodles followed shortly after.

In a short while, a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes was served; just as Li Li Qing Xia was about to eat, a large bowl of noodles was also brought out.

They were not the round, rod-like pulled noodles, but square-cut strips—yet what made Li Li Qing Xia frown was that there was still half a bowl of broth at the bottom.

The owner brought out another bowl of broth and said to Li Li Qing Xia:

"How can one eat noodles without any broth? I've left you a little bit of broth; this way it tastes better."

Li Li Qing Xia gave a wry smile and said to the owner:

"Go get an empty bowl, fetch a head of garlic, and oh, bring some vinegar as well."

Hearing this combination, the owner felt it didn't quite match up.

But business was slow at this hour, and since Li Li Qing Xia had paid the full price for both the noodles and the stir-fried dish, naturally, service had to be provided.

Li Li Qing Xia took the bowl handed to him by the owner, strained the noodle broth out of his noodles, then poured half the plate of shredded potatoes into the large bowl, added some vinegar and mixed it, before peeling a clove of garlic and beginning to eat.

The owner watched curiously the entire time, his face eventually filled with bewilderment and incomprehension.

What kind of way to eat is this?

Li Li Qing Xia felt that the owner's stir-frying was quite good; although the noodles were not quite the same as those in Northern Xinjiang, eating them this way at least barely counted as eighty percent similar to mixed noodles, so it would have to do.

After finishing, Li Li Qing Xia drank half a bowl of the noodle broth, feeling seventy-five percent satisfied, then nodded to the owner, stood up, grabbed his bag, and prepared to leave.

"Fellow villager, fellow villager, what was that way of eating you just did?" the owner could not restrain his confusion and finally asked.

"You know Northern Xinjiang, right? That is Northern Xinjiang mixed noodles," Li Li Qing Xia said. "Very filling, and delicious."

Li Li Qing Xia went to find an inn to stay at, and after closing his shop, this owner began to ponder the matter.

Northern Xinjiang mixed noodles, ah; it sounded quite appealing. Although this method of eating was a bit strange, that person ate with such relish, so it should be quite good, right?

The next day at noon, during a lull in business, the owner made a portion for himself; after boiling the noodles and fishing them out, he mixed in stir-fried shredded potatoes, added some vinegar, and ate it with garlic, and indeed, it tasted quite flavorful.

Thus, from this day forward, this small restaurant added a new dish to its menu: Northern Xinjiang Mixed Noodles!

The next day, Li Li Qing Xia emerged from the inn, bought a baked cake by the roadside, and ate while walking to purchase his bus ticket. After securing the ticket, he carried his bag to a state-run store outside the station to buy some items, then found a spot at the station entrance to sit and wait.

"Eh?" Just as Li Li Qing Xia was observing the people around him, he suddenly heard a familiar voice ring out nearby:

"Third Grandfather, why are you here?"

Li Li Qing Xia turned his head to look, and the person speaking to him was unexpectedly Li Junhai, the son of Li Li Anmin.

Li Junhai was in his twenties; after graduating from high school, Li Li Anmin had used connections in the county to find him a job at a food processing factory, granting him the status of a worker.

"Junhai, why are you here?" Li Li Qing Xia asked with some surprise. "Aren't you working today?"

"I took leave; my father told me to pick someone up, saying they are from Shandong and share our same surname."

Upon hearing this, Li Li Qing Xia immediately understood; this must be about picking up those coming to update the genealogy.

It was said that this branch of the Li family had originally migrated from Shandong, where a collateral branch remained, and contact had been maintained intermittently. Although the Li family was not currently a great clan, and the main branch here in Li Lou had no particularly outstanding figures, if the genealogy was to be revised, the collateral branches would certainly need to be invited to join in the update.

After all, we are all one family.

"Where are they?" Li Li Qing Xia asked.

"My dad said their car would arrive this morning; I've been waiting a while, but no one from that trip he mentioned showed up, so I figured they might be late and decided to wait a bit longer."

"Then let's wait together; once they arrive, I'll take them back, and you just stay in the county town."

Li Junhai wasn't married yet and lived in the factory dormitory. His father was the principal of the brigade school, and his grandmother had originally lived in Li Lou but later moved with his father to the housing assigned by the school.

"Third Grandfather, how is Northern Frontier? Several of my uncles went there, Li Junshan also went to work as a laborer, and I see you've gained weight; is it easier to earn money over there?"

Very few people from all of Li Lou managed to secure state-supplied grain rations in the county town or the prefecture. That Li Junhai could become a worker in the food factory was entirely due to his father's connections—although Li Li Anmin was merely the principal of the brigade school, having served in that role for twenty or thirty years, he still had a network of relationships.

The people of Li Lou were aware of this fact.

Therefore, obtaining state-supplied grain rations was truly as difficult for them as climbing to heaven.

But looking at Li Li Qing Xia's side of the family, the whole household had moved away, and one after another, first Li Li Anguo became a worker, then Li Li Junshan, who went out with Li Li Anguo, also became a worker.

Later, it was heard that Li Li Qing Xia's son-in-law had also become a worker at the food factory, and along with him, Li Xia's household registration had been transferred to the city.

You could say that if a whole family moved away and only one became a worker, that would be understandable, but if everyone who left became workers, others wouldn't believe there wasn't something behind it.

At first, everyone thought that the Northwest was a bitter and cold place, where even being a worker might mean low wages and a hard life.

But unexpectedly, news from Li Li Junshan's father revealed that Li Li Junshan's wages plus bonuses totaled over fifty yuan; even in winter, when it was slightly less at over thirty yuan, basically no work was done during that season. How wonderful!

It was said that the Chen family in the neighboring village now regretted their decisions to death.

"It's alright," Li Li Qing Xia said with a smile, "there are fewer people and more opportunities over there; never mind becoming a worker, even as a farmer, the land allocated there is more than what we get here."

"Then how many mu of land do you have, Third Grandfather?" Li Junhai asked, full of curiosity.

"Five mu," Li Li Qing Xia said proudly.

"So much?" Li Junhai was truly shocked, "My entire family doesn't even have five mu of land!"

His household registration was in the county town, while his father's, mother's, and grandmother's registrations were still in Li Lou, where they had all been allocated land; the total for the three of them added up to a little over four mu but less than five.

"Hehe, my five mu are all good land, yielding two hundred kilograms per mu." Having been in Northern Frontier for two years, Li Li Qing Xia had grown accustomed to using kilograms.

"Truly impressive!" Li Junhai exclaimed.

Of course, if asked whether he would go to Northern Frontier, he certainly would not, after all, he was now officially a worker.

No mistake—one chapter—released—inside—look!

But Li Junhai knew how difficult it had been for him to become a worker; his father had not only pulled strings but also spent a lot of money, resulting in his having to postpone marriage with his girlfriend because he hadn't saved enough yet.

The two waited until Li Li Qing Xia's bus was about to depart without the others arriving, so Li Li Qing Xia went to board the vehicle while Li Junhai went to the post and telecommunications office to call the school and inquire about the situation.

By the time they returned to Li Lou, it was still morning; Li Li Qing Xia, carrying his bag, headed straight for the brigade school.

Since there would be no hot meal ready at home anyway, he might as well go beg a meal.

Dinner at Li Li Anmin's home wasn't ready yet; when Li Li Qing Xia entered the courtyard, Li Li Anmin had just returned home and finished washing his hands.

"Oh, Third Uncle is back; I just received Xiao Hai's call," Li Li Anmin said with a smile, welcoming Li Li Qing Xia into the room. Li Li Anmin's old mother lay on the inner bed covered with a quilt; hearing the commotion, she struggled to rise and make her way to the doorway, looking at Li Li Qing Xia and saying:

"Has Third Uncle returned? It's been some time since we last met; you look very energetic, unlike me, whose waist and legs no longer obey."

She struggled to come over, but Li Li Qing Xia quickly waved his hands and said, "If you're feeling unwell, just go back inside and lie down; we're not outsiders."

Li Li Anmin then helped the old lady back into the room to continue lying down. Since the rooms were connected, she could still hear the conversation outside from within.

Li Li Anmin's wife was cooking; she came out of the kitchen to greet Li Li Qing Xia before going back in.

Li Li Anmin entered the kitchen and told his wife to cook more noodles, or dried noodles if necessary, then came out, pulled up a stool, and sat down with Li Li Qing Xia to chat.

Like his son, Li Li Anmin was very curious about life in Northern Frontier and asked a string of questions.

Remembering what Li Long had said, Li Li Qing Xia bent down, took a bottle of liquor packed in a plastic cage from his bag, and handed it to Li Li Anmin, saying:

"Take this wine; give your mother a cup to drink every night."

"What kind of wine?" Li Li Anmin asked.

"Tiger bone wine," Li Li Qing Xia said proudly, "Made from genuine old tiger bones!"

"What? Tiger?" Li Li Anmin asked in surprise, "Where did you get it?"

"It was obtained by Xiao Long's friend; they hadn't seen any in those mountains for many years, but one appeared last year and was killed by Xiao Long's ethnic minority friend, so the bones were kept."

"Does this... actually work?" Li Li Anmin had actually tried many prescriptions to treat his mother's waist and leg pain, but the results weren't very good.

Although his family received his salary, which was better than that of ordinary commoners, his son becoming a worker had exhausted their savings, and treating his mother's illness also cost money, making some good medicinal ingredients truly unaffordable.

"This... must be expensive, right?"

"I don't know whether it's expensive or not, but here with us, it costs nothing," Li Li Qing Xia laughed. "Don't worry about the price for now; just let your mother drink it and see the results. If there's improvement, that's great, and I'll send more later; if it has no effect, then we'll think of other methods."

Li Li Qing Xia's words moved Li Li Anmin deeply.

As the principal of the brigade school, he appeared quite glorious in others' eyes, with relatives even coming to borrow money. But in reality, their life was tight enough. Surely he knew that tiger bone wine was good for treating waist and leg pain?

But that wine was expensive! Moreover, unlike the bottle Li Li Qing Xia gave, which contained an actual bone steeping in it, those weren't like that.

With those mass-produced tiger bone wines, who knows how many bottles of wine a single tiger bone was used to steep.

They had some effect, but certainly not as strong as this one.

His inner gratitude toward Li Li Qing Xia was truly profound.

After all, when other relatives came around, they most likely wanted to borrow money or ask for help pulling strings.

This Third Grandfather, as an elder, had acted impeccably in this matter.

When the food arrived, during the meal, the conversation shifted to matters of the older generation and the compiling of the genealogy.

While eating, Li Li Anmin brought up a matter:

"Third Uncle, I vaguely remember my father mentioning something; he said it seemed our ancestors also had a treasure, which was kept in rotation by several branches of the family, but later it disappeared before it reached our branch... Is that true or false?"

"It's true," Li Li Qing Xia replied, not expecting that before he could mention his main business, Li Li Anmin would drag up an old story, which simultaneously reminded him of Li Long's hobby.

"Back then, during my grandfather's generation, when my father, who was your grandfather, was only in his thirties or forties, it was a time of turmoil; wars were everywhere, there were bandits and robbers, and foreign devils from various countries were in our region.

At that time, many large tombs around Luoyang were excavated, and later it was said that we had some here too, with bandits and rogue soldiers leading people to dig everywhere.

In the end, they left without digging anything up. Later, I don't know how it happened, but my grandfather and his brothers dug up a ding in the field.

I don't remember what that ding looked like; I only know it was considered a treasure. However, with the chaos of war, no one dared to show it. Several families of my grandfather's generation took turns keeping it.

Li Qingxiao ate noodles, thought again of the "fake tossed noodles" he had eaten yesterday, smiled, picked up a chopstickful of noodles, ate, and continued speaking:

"Our branch is the third of four. Back then, there were four branches in total. It was said that one branch would keep it for five years, taking turns, and we would see how to handle it later if an opportunity arose. But as it turned out, after the first and second branches finished their turns, when it was our branch's turn, the second branch said it was gone."

"So it was just gone?" Li Li Anmin asked, puzzled. "Didn't you look for it?"

"How could we look? At the time, it seemed they mentioned war and such. Where could we look? Our branch has always been here. Part of the other two branches moved away. Those were chaotic times of war.

Over the course of ten years, my grandfather didn't remember to ask. By the time he thought of it, they said it was gone. We couldn't exactly start a fight over it."

Hearing him say this, Li Li Anmin sighed.

Actually, it wasn't regret; it could only be said that worldly affairs are unpredictable. After all, that era was fifty or sixty years ago. It was too long ago, and since it was just hearsay, there wouldn't be much longing for it.

Not to mention him; even Li Qingxiao, having only heard of it and never seen it, didn't feel it deeply.

However, he remembered that his son Li Long liked collecting. Thinking about the time he would spend here, once his main business was done, he wondered if he should also look for some old things to take back.

After finishing this story, and with something on his mind, Li Qingxiao didn't stay long at Li Li Anmin's house. He picked up his things and returned to his own home.

He hadn't returned in two years, but the house was still there. Although people were asked to look after it when he left, a cold stove and cold pot were inevitable. He would have to clean it thoroughly in the afternoon.

After he left, Li Li Anmin went to the school. Since he wasn't teaching classes, he began to revise the family tree in his office.

The old family tree existed. The major historical records passed down needed to be reviewed again to see if any changes were needed or if there were taboo items to avoid. As for the newly added sections, the existing scrolls of the family tree basically just needed to be continued in the original order.

The content regarding the founding ancestor of this branch at the very beginning would basically remain unchanged. What needed changing were the major historical records and the preface to the genealogy.

He had participated in this matter when he was young, so he was considered an insider. However, the overall responsibility did not lie with him, but with the clan elders of several branches—including Li Qingxiao, the clan head of this branch.

Of course, each branch had its own representative, and they needed to sit down together to discuss things.

It was said that this time the commotion was quite large. Several collateral branches hoped to be included in the family tree. This still required all the representatives to judge together; one could not simply enter if they wanted to.

When Li Qingxiao arrived in front of his own house, he saw that Li Li Junfeng was already waiting.

News of his return had been known since the morning. After finishing this meal, Li Li Junfeng had already led people to clear the grass in the courtyard. As for inside the house, it certainly hadn't been touched.

"Go ahead and get busy; I'll do this slowly." Li Qingxiao didn't let Li Li Junfeng participate. This small task was nothing to him.

Li Li Junfeng still insisted on cleaning up the hygiene, asked about the situation in the Northern Frontier, and then left.

Taking advantage of the sun today, Li Qingxiao first took out the quilts to dry.

There were still many things to do afterward. (End of this chapter)