The fish were all sold before the sun had even set, so Li Long went to the shops along the Old Street to buy red paper, brushes, and ink.
As he hurried back on the horse carriage, he did the math in his head. He had made a total of 161 yuan from the fish. After deducting the five yuan for Tao Daqiang, the money for supplies and food, and the fifty yuan he owed his elder brother—which was his share of the fishing earnings—he had exactly one hundred yuan left in hand.
Since he already had five hundred yuan left over from previous fish sales, this brought his total to six hundred yuan.
He planned to head into the mountains to visit Harimu's home tomorrow. Li Long intended to wake up early to buy enough rice, flour, and oil at the black market, and then head to the department store to buy tea, granulated sugar, and salt.
Although Harimu's family certainly had enough tea and salt, there was constant exchange among the herders; using these goods for bartering was the most convenient and mutually satisfying method.
Oh, right—he also needed to bring enough bullets.
"Brother Long, are we catching fish again tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow... yeah, let's. But I won't be fishing. Ask my brother when the time comes; I have to go into the mountains."
"Then, Brother Long, can I use bullets to trade for some meat at your house?"
"Trade for what? I'll just carve out three or five kilograms for you," Li Long laughed. "Tell me, do you want pork belly, ribs, or leg meat?"
"Fatty meat, I want to render some oil," Tao Daqiang said, shaking his head. "I'd rather trade. I want to get more."
"Fine."
"I also want to use money to buy some charcoal..."
"I'll give you ten yuan first, then you go to the brigade to buy the charcoal. Ten yuan should get you a hundred or two hundred kilograms; that'll last a while."
Tao Daqiang nodded. Since they were fishing again tomorrow, the other five yuan would count as an advance on his wages.
By the time they returned to Ma County, the sun was nearly down. Li Long bought a few large meat buns, and the two of them ate while rushing back, finally arriving at the brigade before dark.
Li Long returned the horse carriage, while Tao Daqiang went to buy charcoal; the two went their separate ways.
Upon returning to the Li house, mutton soup was warming in the pot, and Li Jianguo was processing fish with Liang Yuemei.
"Brother, did you catch more fish today?"
"Yeah, there's nothing else to do anyway," Li Jianguo said with a smile. "We got fifty or sixty kilograms today. Not as much as yesterday, but the fish are beautiful."
"Then see if you want to go again tomorrow. I'm heading into the mountains tomorrow; I need to return the items I promised after selling the jade."
"That's only right," Li Jianguo said. "Buy a good amount; you can't let them lose out."
Liang Yuemei pointed to the pot
"Have some mutton soup first. There are steamed buns and pickles on the stove. Help yourself."
"Alright." Li Long didn't stand on ceremony. He ladled himself a large bowl of mutton soup, feeling the chill slowly dissipate as warmth spread through his body.
Li Juan and Li Qiang were playing on the *kang* bed. Seeing Li Long enter, Li Qiang held up a frog and said to him
"Uncle, so many people wanted to play with my frog today, but I only let my good friends Xiaodong and Shitou play with it."
"It's your toy. You can let whoever you want play with it."
Li Juan sat on the *kang* hugging a doll. She looked at Li Long, and when he looked back, she gave a shy smile.
*That's it. A little girl should smile more. It was no good with her face always so serious before!*
While Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei cleaned up the small fish, Li Long pulled out fifty yuan and handed it to his brother.
"Brother, this is the money from today's fish sale."
"Why don't you keep it?" Li Jianguo shook his head. "I have some here."
"Brothers should keep their accounts clear. This is your share; I'm keeping mine," Li Long said, patting his pocket. "I'm not giving mine to you; I need to save up to get married."
"Hahahaha!" Both Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei laughed, knowing Li Long was joking.
"Did you buy the red paper?"
"I did. Red paper, ink, and brushes. I put them in my room."
"Alright, don't bring them over here. When the time comes, I'll tell you how to cut them."
Because he had to leave early tomorrow, Li Long went to the east room to rest after eating.
Li Jianguo used a key to open the chest and put the money inside. Looking at the thick stack of ten-yuan notes, he locked the door and said with some emotion
"It feels like a dream. How does it feel like this money comes so easily?"
"That's because Xiao Long is capable," Liang Yuemei said. "Otherwise, we'd still be in debt."
"True." Li Jianguo felt a bit indignant. He was supposed to be the one looking after his younger brother; why did it feel like the roles had reversed?
But then he thought about it and smiled. His brother was doing well; he should be happy, shouldn't he?
Also, with the New Year approaching, should they send some money back home?
He decided to discuss it with Li Long once he returned from the mountains.
Early the next morning, Li Long went to the stables to hitch the horse carriage and departed in a hurry.
News spread through the brigade that Li Long had successfully sold fish and that Tao Daqiang had bought ten yuan worth of charcoal.
Many people who had originally doubted Li Long's fish-selling venture fell silent. Not only did he sell the fish, but he also shared the money with Tao Daqiang. What did that prove? It proved Li Long was capable—he could make money without getting caught.
Since Li Long had left in such a rush, those wanting more details could only turn to the Li family or Tao Daqiang.
The eldest sister-in-law of the Lu family couldn't get any useful information from Liang Yuemei, and others who came to pry naturally got nothing.
As for Tao Daqiang, having experienced the previous incident, he understood the gravity of the situation. Consequently, he claimed to know nothing—even when his father and elder brother, Tao Dayong, came to ask.
When his sister-in-law, Ma Chunhong, sarcastically accused him of being disloyal to his own blood, Tao Daqiang simply said: "The Li family paid twenty yuan of the fine for my brother's arrest."
That single sentence silenced Ma Chunhong completely.
Tao Daqiang went with Li Jianguo to catch fish at the Small Sea, while others in the brigade were also fishing; they didn't mind. It was a public waterway, after all, and no single family could catch everything. Besides, the more people fishing, the less they would stand out as "the protruding nail."
However, they could still feel the envious gazes of others.
Li Jianguo knew that this profitable fish-selling business would eventually spread and would no longer be a private secret.
But he wasn't worried; he had a feeling that Li Long had many ways to make money.
***
Li Long arrived at the black market, which was still crowded.
Even though people were fishing, there was always a way to bypass the rules; these people were quite shrewd.
Li Long found two stalls selling grain. After asking the prices, he bought out all forty kilograms of rice and sixty kilograms of flour on display!
It cost him over fifty yuan in total, but he didn't feel a hint of regret. He also bought two five-kilogram jugs of vegetable oil. He had wanted to buy more, but that was all they had.
After the purchase, Li Long decisively led his horse away without stopping for a moment, lest he be caught.
After eating breakfast at the large meat canteen, he went to the department store to buy tea, sugar, salt, and some fruit for the children. Buying things felt like going to war; after all, it was worrying to leave the horse carriage unattended. Fortunately, he could see outside through the department store windows, and seeing that he was buying a lot, a clerk came out to help, which put Li Long's mind at ease.
Leading the reins of his heavily laden carriage, Li Long arrived near Harimu's winter shelter. When Harimu came out at the sound of barking dogs and saw the goods, he froze in place.
"Adashi (friend), Jiaxi ma (are you well)? These are things I brought for you." Li Long's smile was etched into Harimu's mind, likely for a lifetime.
He hadn't truly expected anything in return for the jade he gave Li Long. He could see that when Li Long gave these gifts, it was out of a sincere desire for them to have a better life, with no ulterior motives.
That is what friends are for.