Chapter 776

When leaving, Li Long left the wolf they had hunted and one Mongolian gazelle for the company.

Otherwise, there were too many things to fit.

"Without Xiao Long, let me tell you, if you have time to come again after the Spring Festival, I can still get you dozens of skins." Old Chen accepted the wolf and gazelle, then gave Li Long a guarantee.

"From now on, any skins our company hunts will be saved for Without Xiao Long. Anyway, it's only a few dozen kilometers; for others, it takes a day or two to walk, but for Without Xiao Long, isn't that just a matter of stepping on the gas?"

Wang Mingjun looked at Li Long's jeep with quite a bit of envy. This thing could only be ridden by regiment leaders, and there was only one per regiment farm. Basically, except for the regiment commander and the political commissar, no one else could even think about riding in it.

Although he heard from Li Jianguo that this vehicle belonged to the Prefecture Supply and Marketing Cooperative, it was clearly visible that this vehicle was at Li Long's disposal.

This works too.

Li Long left the wolf and gazelle; this stuff wasn't rare for the company, but Wang Mingjun appreciated Li Long's favor and intended to stuff some more things into the vehicle. Li Long took the opportunity to ask for some bullets.

"Heh, that's easy to get." Wang Mingjun turned his head and had the clerk bring over an iron box of bullets.

It was relatively convenient to use guns in the Production and Construction Corps at this time; the militia training was much stricter than in local townships, and bullets were easy to get.

Li Long and the others got in the vehicle and left. Wang Mingjun and Old Chen watched the jeep drive away before slowly walking back.

"The old quartermaster can still drink as well as ever." Old Chen sighed with emotion. "I saw his steps were still steady when he left."

"That's for sure, I never saw him drink too much back in the day..."

"Was there one time? I remember it seemed like when people from the Shicheng Winery came over to provide guidance, that female technician challenged him to a drinking contest, and it seemed like he drank too much?"

"Did he drink too much that time? How come I don't know?" Wang Mingjun asked suspiciously. "I also remember that time; it seemed like our company's distillery had just been set up not long before... your memory is really good."

"Heh, how could I not remember? I was thinking at the time that the female technician had taken a liking to the quartermaster..." Old Chen had a gossipy look on his face. "If it hadn't been for the fact that the quartermaster was called back by his father not long after..."

"What a pity." Wang Mingjun turned his head to look, then suddenly asked, "How much did these skins earn?"

"Adding it all up, a little over two thousand." Old Chen said. "The price Without Xiao Long gave is indeed fair, several hundred more than the middlemen who collected skins back then."

"Someone who can drive a jeep wouldn't care about that little bit." Wang Mingjun nodded. "There are so many Mongolian gazelles in the sand hollow to the north; why don't we organize the militia to hunt again before the New Year? Each family can divide the meat, and just hand the skins over to the company."

"Good, I think that's good too." The company didn't raise cattle or sheep, but raised some pigs, though not many. Most of the meat had to be found in the sand hollow.

There are many things in the sand hollow: Mongolian gazelles, red deer, wolves, wild donkeys, hedgehogs, foxes, snakes...

Except for foxes, which are too smelly and nobody eats, nothing else was spared.

For the two of them, this was a small matter; the big matter was still farming in the spring. However, on this boring winter day, Li Jianguo and the others coming for a visit provided the people at the company headquarters with many days of conversation topics.

On the way back, Li Jianguo sat very steadily, his eyes bright, and he showed no signs of vomiting from the alcohol.

"... Back then, the company's land wasn't big, and every year we were reclaiming new land. What to plant was decided on a whim. Take planting these apples for example; it was the fifties or sixties. Grain harvests were bountiful, enough to eat and to hand over, and there was no motivation to plant more grain, so we thought about planting other things."

"At that time, we had a good relationship with the Shicheng Agricultural Research Institute, so we thought about getting some of every kind of seedling. In the end, the ones that grew well were apples and pears."

"The liquor was made together by the staff who knew how to brew. I just felt that since it was winter, it was okay for everyone to drink occasionally; it was better than what you could buy. The liquor just brewed had a heavy yeast taste, but some people loved drinking this, saying this was the taste that grain liquor should have."

"Heh, my drinking capacity was trained during that time. I even saw a woman with an even greater drinking capacity. At that time, she came to the side of our distillery, looked at the liquor in the vat, took an enamel tea mug, scooped up a full mug to taste, and while tasting, she said which one tasted better... Father, do you remember? When I went back for the first time in the sixties, the liquor I brought was the one that female technician said was the best we had here."

"Mm-hmm, I remember, I remember..." Li Qing Xia nodded while listening. He actually hadn't drunk too much, but he had things on his mind at the moment.

"... What a pity..." Li Jianguo suddenly said with a sigh, but then he changed the subject:

"The staff back then could really eat. I learned how to steam buns during that time. Back in our hometown, where would we have white flour to steam buns? If we had a little white flour, it was all used for noodles during the New Year. The company didn't have high yields of wheat back then, but there was a lot of land!"

"Steaming buns requires a lot of kneading, and my strength was also trained during that time. The old company commander said I was gentle and refined; being a clerk was fine, but being a quartermaster wouldn't work. To be a quartermaster, you have to have strength, and you have to be able to keep those old loafers in the mess squad in check, so I practiced..."

"Steaming buns is really strenuous work. The dough has to be kneaded a lot, and the dough ball is also big. After it rises, it has to be kneaded many times, then let rest, so that the steamed buns come out big, white, fragrant, and delicious..."

"I really didn't expect them to still remember me. It counts as not having stayed here in vain..."

Li Long turned his head to look at Li Jianguo, feeling that his older brother's spirits were quite high, so he asked:

"Big brother, that Company Commander Wang said you fought together; what was that situation?"

"Heh, wasn't it just that border resident rebellion back then? So many people were running west at that time, listening to the nonsense of people over there, saying things like eating bread and butter every day... What's so good about that butter? What's so good about that bread? It's not as good as steamed buns!"

"At that time, our Corps pulled people over to clean up the mess. You wouldn't believe it; those people were all crazy when they left. They didn't want anything, dragging their families along, and they just left. Tents, cattle, and sheep were thrown all over the mountains, and we were just gathering these up."

"That doesn't count as fighting, does it?"

"Heh, we were afraid of spies back then, so we all carried guns. We couldn't sleep soundly when we slept, just afraid of something happening. We were comrades-in-arms back then. Although I had never been a soldier, at that time, I felt like I was a warrior..."

Li Long had also heard of the Yita border resident incident in the sixties. Later generations have more interpretations, and in a few days, because of the Reform and Opening-up, living conditions here are better, while over there, because of the collapse of the Soviet Union, prices are skyrocketing. Many people who went over back then chasing a "good life" will think about coming back, saying they were originally Chinese.

Of course, the country hasn't opened this gate. You can leave, we let you leave, but wanting to come back, that's not up to you to decide.

Coming out on this trip, Li Long felt the biggest harvest wasn't those few Mongolian gazelles, nor those skins, but these experiences that his older brother told along the way.

If it weren't for coming on this trip, if it weren't for drinking too much today, I'm afraid his older brother would never have talked about these things.

In Li Long's perception, his older brother was always so steady. As long as it wasn't an emergency involving close relatives, he really often thought thrice before acting.

Deep down, he was that kind of traditional intellectual—not the cynical kind, but truly the kind who could reason well with you, and if you didn't reason, he was also slightly versed in martial arts.

But basically, everyone was willing to listen to his reasoning. There weren't many intellectuals in the Fourth Squad, and intellectuals with brains were even fewer.

Li Jianguo counted as one, and Gu Bo Yuan counted as one. But Gu Bo Yuan was the kind where if you asked him for help, he'd have to see his mood and whether he wanted to; most of the time he wouldn't help, unless it was friends or family.

Li Jianguo was different. As a veteran of the village, one of his inner benchmarks was to make the village better. So unless it was someone like Gu Ermao's family with whom there was a feud, otherwise, no matter who came to his door seeking help, he would at least help by offering an idea or something similar.

Li Long even thought that his own "Hot Secretary" personality was actually a "sublimation" of his older brother Li Jianguo's true nature.

"Hot Secretary" is short for "enthusiastic secretary." In these days, the team leader manages the work, and the secretary manages political work. In fact, what is mainly reflected is helping everyone solve difficulties and untie ideological knots.

So "Hot Secretary" refers to those who are very enthusiastic about helping others solve difficulties.

Li Qing Xia was worried along the way that his eldest son might vomit from the alcohol; after all, the road wasn't very smooth, and the vehicle was piled with so many smelly skins that it didn't smell good.

Unexpectedly, until they drove to the Li family courtyard in the Fourth Squad, Li Jianguo was clear-headed. He didn't need anyone to support him when getting out of the vehicle, and he walked steadily.

Liang Yumei and the others heard the sound of the jeep and all came out of the house, including Du Chunfang, who was also standing at the door looking on with concern.

Li Long got out of the vehicle, saw that his father and older brother were fine, and started moving things inside.

"Where did all this come from? Bought it?" Liang Yumei looked at the fruit and asked suspiciously.

"Passed by the company where big brother used to stay, and they gave it to us," Li Long explained. "Big brother's old colleagues are still there, and we had a drink there."

"I smelled it; your big brother got drunk again," Liang Yumei shook her head. "This will be uncomfortable for two or three days."

Vomiting alcohol hurts the stomach; not vomiting hurts the liver.

"Don't put all this fruit in the room." Liang Yumei put two baskets of fruit in the kitchen and started dividing them. "You take a basket back, and this liquor..."

"I don't want the liquor," Li Long hurriedly waved his hand. "I'm not lacking in that."

"Then the honey, you take a crate of honey back." Liang Yumei intended to split it equally.

Li Long pulled another Mongolian gazelle off the vehicle and said, "Freeze this first, wait until my big brother wakes up to deal with it. I'm going back after I finish this."

"Don't you want to rest a bit before going back? You've been driving for almost a whole day..."

"No need, no need, it's only a half-hour trip back," Li Long waved his hand. "I won't stay, I'm going back."

When he went back, he brought Han Fang with him. Han Fang was holding an apple in her hand, gnawing on it; this was something Liang Yumei had stuffed into her hand.

"Uncle, this apple is really sweet!" Han Fang said with a smile while eating.

"Mm, eat it, there's more when you finish," Li Long said with a smile. "We brought back over ten kilograms this time."

When the jeep drove back to the courtyard, the sun had already almost set behind the mountains.

The days were slowly getting longer. When Gu Xiaoxia got off work, it wasn't completely dark yet. When she came back at noon and knew Li Long hadn't returned, she knew he must have gone to handle something again.

When he returned, seeing Li Long organizing those skins in the side room, Gu Xiaoxia asked while putting away her bicycle:

"You collected quite a few skins today? Where did you go?"

"Followed big brother to the company where he used to stay—originally father said to go north to hunt Mongolian gazelles, but it just so happened we passed by there, had a drink there, and collected some skins."

"Uncle also brought back apples and pears," Han Fang added at the door, "and honey, the apples are so sweet!"

"Not bad, not bad." Gu Xiaoxia was also quite curious about the place where Li Jianguo used to stay. "Is it a Corps company? What did big brother do there?"

She used to call him Uncle Li; Gu Xiaoxia wasn't used to calling him Big Brother at first, but now it's slowly getting better.

"Quartermaster. His former mess squad leader is now the quartermaster, and he was very enthusiastic." Li Long clapped his hands, closed the door of the side room, and said while going to wash his hands, "It's a good thing I was driving, otherwise I would have gotten drunk too."

"Big brother got drunk?"

"Drank too much, probably will take two or three days to recover," Li Long smiled. "But it felt like he drank to his heart's content."

Going to the northern company was a small interlude in life. Next, every household in Maxian was preparing for the New Year. Firecrackers had already started to ring out sporadically in the county town and villages. The sound of electric firecrackers and small firecrackers was different, and the power of the "thunder" firecrackers was even greater.

In the county courtyard, not many things were prepared for the New Year. Gu Xiaoxia could take leave on New Year's Eve, and she planned to go to the team's courtyard then, and come back when the three-day holiday ended.

"Sister Yang, come with us then. It's lively in the team during the New Year, and Xiao Fang will have playmates." At dinner, Gu Xiaoxia discussed with Sister Yang, "Just have a good rest when you go over; his father and I will take care of the children."

"No, Xiao Fang and I will stay in the county," Sister Yang shook her head, her attitude quite firm. "We won't join in the fun. We'll just go to the southern courtyard to take a look; it can't be left empty all the time."

"What's there to look at?" Gu Xiaoxia actually still wanted Sister Yang to go to the team for the New Year together; she really intended to let Sister Yang have a rest. She could rest in the county too, but it was a bit cold and lonely.

"No matter what, my daughter and I have lived there for some days." Sister Yang smiled.

Since Sister Yang had already decided, Gu Xiaoxia didn't say much more. These days, Sister Yang had used her time to prepare some food for the New Year. Gu Xiaoxia and the others didn't need to bring any, so just let Sister Yang and the others eat it here.

Anyway, it was only three or four days, which was enough.

The closer it got to New Year's Eve, the denser the sound of firecrackers became. Early on New Year's Eve, Li Long first put up couplets and the "Fu" character for the courtyard. After breakfast, he started the jeep, and together with Gu Xiaoxia, hugged Mingming and Haohao, who were wrapped up tightly, into the vehicle, said goodbye to Sister Yang and Han Fang, and drove to the Fourth Squad.

"Xiao Fang, let's go, let's go to the small courtyard." Sister Yang finished cleaning the kitchen, carried a bag, said something to Han Fang, and the two of them went out the door.

"You didn't go to the Fourth Squad, are you a bit unhappy?" Sister Yang asked Han Fang while walking.

"A little." Han Fang dared to tell her mother the truth now. "I was thinking about playing with Sister Juan."

"There will be opportunities later; today we have important things to do."

The two walked to the small courtyard south of Wuyi Road. The courtyard gate was locked, and the snow at the door was very thick.

Sister Yang let Han Fang wait by the roadside. She stepped on the deep snow to unlock the door, pushed the courtyard gate open with effort, took out the tools leaning against the wall, and first cleared a path.

Han Fang didn't wait there; she also went into the courtyard to get tools and cleared the snow with her mother.

A neighbor heard the movement, poked their head out in the courtyard to take a look, looked curiously, and then shrank back.

They had originally thought this mother and daughter wouldn't come back, but didn't expect to see them now.

The relationship was average, so they didn't say hello.

Sister Yang chatted with Han Fang while clearing the snow, talking about the rules and customs of the New Year in their hometown. Originally, they should have come to clear the snow in their twenties, but they didn't have time then.

Fortunately, now it was just pushing the snow in the courtyard into the vegetable plot, which wasn't very heavy work for the two of them.

It was already February 19th. The snow actually wasn't as thick as before; some had already turned into thin ice, and some had settled, so it took over an hour to basically push the snow in the small courtyard clean.

Sister Yang took a big broom to sweep the snow on the brick ground clean, while Han Fang took the key from her mother, opened the door, and started setting up the stove.

Although Sister Yang didn't say it, Han Fang already felt that her mother was cleaning this place as if it were her own home.

Although living in the big courtyard was very comfortable, both of them knew clearly that that wasn't home, at least not their own home.

That was why Sister Yang wouldn't go to the Fourth Squad on New Year's Eve, but cleaned this place up instead.

Even if they didn't live here, at least it had to be clean, tidy, and have the atmosphere of the New Year.

After the courtyard was cleaned, it was the room. After the room was cleaned, they started setting up the offering table.

Because Han Fang's father had passed away less than three years ago, they didn't put up couplets here.

At the head of the offering table was the portrait of Han Fang's father, and there were three dishes: pig head meat, steamed fish, and braised chicken.

The incense burner was something Sister Yang had collected from a stall set up by someone else before the free market was built. It was made of copper and looked quite simple and elegant, so she used it here.

Lighting the incense and letting Han Fang kowtow, the matter was considered finished.

Near noon, the sound of firecrackers over the county town became denser and denser. Some families also ate dumplings and set off firecrackers at noon on New Year's Eve. Folk customs from all over the country gathered here, even forming habits different from other provinces in the country.

Some people just did whatever they liked.

Sister Yang let Han Fang go play. She cleaned up the kitchen and set up a fire. She planned to eat this noon meal here.

As for staying up for the New Year, they still had to go back to the big courtyard.

It was just a ritual.

Maybe next year they would be here all the time.

Han Fang asked Sister Yang for the key to the main room. She didn't play, but went to clean that side.

The child was precocious and knew her mother was in a bad mood today, so she didn't disturb her and went to do what she should do.

According to Li Long, this courtyard would be Sister Yang's family's in the future. Sister Yang's idea was that she would pay when the time came.

After all, taking care of the children and cooking, Li Long's side never stopped paying her wages, and they were generous, so this counted as keeping clear accounts.

As for how much to give when the time came, that was another matter. At least for now, they couldn't leave.

Listening to the sound of firecrackers outside and looking at the cold but familiar kitchen, Sister Yang inexplicably felt much more at ease. (End of chapter)