Chapter 91

The next day, Li Long habitually got up early. Seeing Liang Yumei still cooking, he went out to the horse stable, found Old Luo to harness the horse-drawn cart, and drove back.

Returning to the courtyard, Li Long pulled a small bundle of alfalfa from the haystack for the horse to eat, and he entered the house himself.

Li Juan and Li Qiang had already gotten up, and the bedding had been tidied up. Today, the two children wanted to dress beautifully and spiritedly to go to the street.

Breakfast was cornmeal porridge, steamed white flour buns and cornmeal cakes, stir-fried salted mutton, and a small bowl of salted chives mixed with sesame oil.

"Mom, why not grill steamed bun slices?" Li Qiang asked.

"Eating too much of that will cause internal heat." Liang Yumei said while serving the bowl, "If you have internal heat, your teeth will ache."

Hearing this, Li Qiang obediently followed to hold the bowl, and Li Juan followed behind, just like a hen protecting chicks, for fear that her younger brother would drop the bowl.

If the bowl was dropped today, making it impossible to go to the street, she could beat Li Qiang up later!

After eating, Li Long took out two five-yuan notes from his pocket, one for Li Juan and one for Li Qiang:

"Take it, this is your budget for today, buy whatever you want."

"Too much, Little Long." Liang Yumei immediately stopped him, "One yuan is already a lot..."

At this time, there was basically no habit of giving children pocket money in the countryside. Even if given, it was at most a few cents. Li Long took out five yuan at once, which was indeed too much.

Even Li Jianguo said:

"Little Long, too much, one yuan for each person is enough."

Li Long thought it was his own carelessness. Li Juan sensibly handed the money back to Li Long, and Li Qiang also returned the money.

"Fine, then one yuan today. I'll save this five yuan for you, and you can come to me later if you want to buy something."

After eating, Liang Yumei went to the Lu family across the street and told Lu Lu Dasao to help look after her house.

Lu Lu Dasao asked Liang Yumei:

"Sister, is there no one at home? Where are you going, visiting relatives in advance?"

"No, Little Long said our whole family is going to the street, driving to buy some New Year's goods before the New Year." Liang Yumei complained on purpose, "I insisted on not going, why spend that money, Little Long said making money is for spending, he even gave the two children pocket money, letting the children buy things themselves."

"This Little Long is quite capable of messing around." A flash of envy appeared in Lu Lu Dasao's eyes, "But being able to earn and spend is a good thing, and I don't know which girl can catch his eye."

Lu Lu Dasao introduced two girls, but Li Long didn't agree to either, which was also a regret of hers.

Liang Yumei didn't take this topic, and after giving instructions, she turned and returned to the Li family.

Li Jianguo pressed the stove, locked the door, let Li Long and the others get on the cart, and he held the reins and drove the horse-drawn cart onto the main road.

"Brother, shall I drive?" Li Long said on the horse-drawn cart.

"You just sit well. Watch Juan and Qiangqiang, don't let them move around." Li Jianguo waved his hand, "Let's go!"

With light steps, more than an hour later, number seventy-six brought the Li family to the county town.

"Go to the department store first, then to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative," Li Long had already thought about the plan for this trip, "eat at the Big Meat Canteen at noon, I'll treat. If there is still time in the afternoon, see if Juan and Qiangqiang go to the Zhang Xin Hua Bookstore, if they go, buy a book, if not, we'll go around, and then go home.

Big Brother, Sister-in-law, how about it?"

"Fine." Liang Yumei nodded. She didn't come to the county often either, and her gaze turned to Li Jianguo, "Father, look..."

"Fine." Li Jianguo knew that there was really nothing to go around outside the county town now, so the places where things were sold in the department store and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative could be gone around.

The horse-drawn cart drove to the department store. At this time, there were quite a few people rushing to buy New Year's goods, and people could be seen coming and going outside.

Tying the horse-drawn cart, Li Long said to Li Jianguo and his family of four:

"Brother, Sister-in-law, you go in and go around first, I'll watch the horse-drawn cart outside. I'll go in after you come out in a while."

"Fine." Li Jianguo knew that Li Long came often, so he didn't refuse, and gave the reins to Li Long. "You two, if there's anything you want to buy, if the money isn't enough, come out and find me." Li Long said quietly to Li Juan and Li Qiang.

The family of four entered the department store, while Li Long was basking in the sun outside. Leaning against the wall of the department store, with the sunlight shining on his face, thinking about the current days, compared to the previous life, Li Long smiled.

This is what you call a happy life!

Seventy.

In a while, Liang Yumei walked out of the department store and said to Li Long:

"Little Long, you go in, I'll watch the horse-drawn cart."

"Sister-in-law, you won't go around anymore? It's only been a while? The building has two floors, and there are clothes for sale upstairs, take a look?"

"What's there to go around, there are too many people, it makes my brain ache." Liang Yumei waved her hand, "You go in, I'll watch outside."

"Fine." Li Long didn't force it. His sister-in-law was used to being frugal, feeling that clothes and shoes were better made by herself, and food was also better at home, but she had never treated her brother-in-law badly.

Entering the department store, he heard a noisy sound at every counter, and the salesclerks had to speak loudly to let customers hear their words.

!.

Just glancing at it, Li Long saw Li Jianguo talking about something with Li Qiang on the food side, while Li Juan was picking things at the stationery counter.

In this era, the awareness of preventing human traffickers is very weak. Of course, it is rare to see human traffickers in this northwest border area. So although ten-year-old Li Juan didn't come out many times, seeing the stationery she liked, she still dared to pick it here alone.

Li Long came to Li Juan's side and saw her looking at the price tag on the pencil box with full attention.

Finally, she picked a common iron pencil box, six cents.

There were fewer people here, Li Juan looked at the pencil box in the salesclerk's hand, and just intended to pay the one yuan she was holding tightly, Li Long pointed to the other new-style double-layer pencil box and said:

"Comrade, please take this one."

Hearing the voice, Li Juan turned back in surprise, saw Li Long, called "Little Uncle" in a low voice, Li Long smiled at her and said:

"Uncle bought the pencil box for you, use your own money to buy pencils."

"We are going to use fountain pens." Li Juan said in a low voice.

"Then buy a fountain pen—Comrade, please take that fountain pen."

The pencil box was one yuan eight, the fountain pen was nine cents, Li Juan held them in her hand, happily.

She followed behind Li Long and came to Li Qiang's place together.

Li Qiang had already exchanged his one yuan for the shrimp-crisp candy here. Li Jianguo didn't object, just reminded him to eat less every day, otherwise he would get cavities.

Li Jianguo led Li Qiang and took Li Juan out of the department store. Li Long started to buy things for himself. A pair of felt boots, a pair of wool socks, a leather jacket, a pair of new cotton pants.

He planned to go hunting in the mountains every few days after the New Year, and it wouldn't work without a good set of equipment.

After leaving the department store, he went to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, where there wasn't much to buy, and then the family went to the Big Meat Canteen.

Li Long went directly to find Manager Zhong Guo Qiang and asked for a simple "private room" separated by a screen, intending for the family to have a happy meal.

Thanks to book friends Zou Shentou, Qiu Xiaoluoyan, book friend A Tuiwan, and Ba Chongyu Jing for the tips, thanks to everyone for the monthly tickets and recommendation votes, thank you very much! Yesterday, a small loudspeaker recommendation was superimposed, and the collection increased a lot in the afternoon, which looked quite happy.

I hope the data will still be gratifying today.

Continue to ask for votes, ask for collections, ask for follow-up readings!

(End of chapter)