Chapter 49: People are different; you have to admit it!

As Li Long pulled the horse carriage back toward the production team, those still outside watched him in astonishment.

A group of children were playing with an old ox on the road, which had been pressed as smooth as ice. Seeing Li Long approaching, they immediately swarmed around him.

Li Long looked around and asked one of the familiar children

"Gawa, where is Qiangqiang?"

"People said you were arrested. Qiangqiang took the old ox and went home crying. Were you arrested?"

Li Long immediately understood why people were looking at him so strangely. He smiled and shook his head.

"No, I went into the mountains," Li Long explained.

"You're lying! You didn't even bring any wood back!" one child thought Li Long was lying.

"But I brought back wild boars." Li Long smiled and pushed aside the straw to reveal two wild boars. This was something that couldn't be hidden no matter what, so he decided to use the children's mouths to dispel the rumors and gossip.

Seeing that large wild boar—even with only its head exposed—the two dagger-like tusks gave the children a fright!

Only after confirming the boars were dead did the bolder children dare to step forward. They cautiously touched the tusks and then quickly retreated, exclaiming

"The teeth are really huge!"

Li Long smiled and led the carriage back.

Some curious children had already run quickly to the Li family home to deliver the news, and the other children stopped playing with the ox and followed the carriage toward the Li house.

Upon receiving the news, the entire Li family ran out of the courtyard. Seeing Li Long, Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei finally felt relieved.

Li Qiang still had tear stains on his face. Seeing Li Long, he burst into tears again, rushing forward and shouting

"Uncle! Uncle! They said you were taken away by people and wouldn't come back..."

"They're talking nonsense. I went into the mountains, you know that," Li Long said with a smile, patting Li Qiang's head.

Although Li Juan wasn't crying, it was clear she was suppressing her joy; she just watched with a smile on her face.

"Why did it take you so long to get back?" Li Jianguo complained. "The whole family has been living in fear."

In truth, nothing had actually happened, but with Gu Ermao and Tao Dayong being arrested one after another, the rumors had spread. It would be a lie if Li Jianguo said he wasn't worried.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Come into the courtyard first!" Liang Yuemei said with a smile. "Xiaolong, you haven't eaten yet, right? Go inside and change your clothes. I'll have your brother take the carriage back, and I'll heat up your food!"

No matter what the family had been through outside, once they entered the house, there would be a bowl of hot food. Everything else could be discussed after eating.

This was the simplest sentiment of one's own kin.

Li Long remembered an Arab scholar he had seen in his previous life talking about the first thing Chinese people say to each other as a greeting: "Have you eaten?" It was the simplest thing, often unnoticed in daily life, but it contained the most sincere emotion.

Now, he was experiencing it firsthand.

Others care about how much money you've made, whether your life is glamorous or destitute, or whether you have cars, money, or houses; but family greets you home with hot food first.

After driving the carriage into the courtyard, the two brothers unloaded the wood and straw. Li Jianguo looked at the two wild boars in surprise

"You hunted all of these?"

"No, I hunted the small one, and a friend hunted the big one. They don't eat this stuff, so I brought them both back."

"This one is huge!" Although Li Jianguo had seen wild boars before, this was the first time he had seen one this large. "It must be at least two hundred and fifty or sixty kilograms!"

"But the meat isn't as tasty as domestic pigs," Li Long said. "And they haven't been bled."

"It's still meat!" Li Jianguo emphasized. "It's good enough just to have meat to eat! Come, let's take the pigs down. You go change your clothes first. I'll return the carriage, then I'll boil water to pluck the hair!"

With two pigs' worth of meat, enough to last a year, why worry about the hard work?

It was a joke!

Li Jianguo made Li Long truly feel the leadership and influence of the old production team's pioneers.

He carried the jade into the house; the stove in the east room was still warm. By the time he put the stone away, changed his clothes, and prepared to eat, the courtyard had already become lively.

The eldest brother of the Lu family, Uncle Chen from the backyard, the village butcher Qin Laosan, and even Old Luo from the horse stable had all come over.

"Not bad, Xiaolong," Old Luo said, entering the east room with a pot in hand, smiling at Li Long. "People were saying you were arrested along with Tao Dayong. I didn't expect that not only were you not arrested, but you also brought back two wild boars. Good job, you're a real man!"

"Tao Dayong was arrested? What about Daqiang?" Having changed his clothes, Li Long was startled. Tao Dayong must have been caught selling fish, so was Daqiang also caught?

"Daqiang escaped. He said you warned him beforehand," Old Luo laughed. "It seems this business isn't for everyone."

While helping Old Luo set the pot on the stove, Li Jianguo had already poured in half a bucket of water, and next, they added snow brought in large baskets from outside.

The stove door was opened, wind whistled in, and the fire flared up instantly. The snow melted quickly, and the water in the pot began to heat up.

The courtyard grew even more boisterous. Everyone was commenting on the wild boars. Even though they didn't need to be slaughtered immediately, processing them would be just as much trouble.

While Li Long was eating in the west room, he heard Liang Yuemei mention the arrests of Gu Ermao and Tao Dayong, including the twenty yuan Li Jianguo had lent to Tao Daqiang.

"Just give him the money then." Li Long pulled twenty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Liang Yuemei.

"The last few times Daqiang went out with me, he got a share of what we sold. His money was being kept with me; consider this him taking it back."

Liang Yuemei took the money, wanting to say something, but held her tongue.

As he ate, Li Long continued

"If Daqiang wants to come again later, he'll just be working for wages."

There was no doubt about Tao Daqiang's ability to work, and he was obedient—the fact that he wasn't caught this time was proof. His decision not to call his brother to work with him was a calculated move.

Li Long could tell his sister-in-law had thoughts on the matter; it wasn't that she doubted him, but rather that she found it hard to understand.

Seeing that everyone was outside, Li Long spoke in a low voice

"Sister-in-law, I have news. When spring comes, the land will be distributed. Our family will get quite a bit of land. When that time comes, my brother will still need to do the farm work. I'll just handle some side businesses. Farming is still the main thing; I don't need the work points, but my brother can't afford to lack them."

Liang Yuemei was stunned by the mention of land distribution. She looked outside and asked

"Is it really going to be distributed?"

"It is. Many provinces did it long ago; we are quite late," Li Long said. "But the first distribution won't be much, though it will be our own land. I was thinking of hauling some manure back from the mountains then—oh, and the team's equipment might be distributed too. We need to earn more money now, because if we draw a horse or something, we'll have to pay to buy it, right?"

Li Long remembered clearly that the last time the team distributed "village products," every household drew lots, from number one to number forty-seven—there were only forty-seven households in the whole team.

Li Jianguo had drawn number two. Number one was the team's Dongfanghong tractor, which required over a thousand yuan to buy; number two was the big red horse from the horse stable, which cost over a hundred. Li Jianguo had simply given up his number.

But farming required transportation. Li Jianguo later spent fifteen yuan on a small donkey and paid someone to build a carriage frame for the wood, and only a year later did he finally have a donkey cart.

If they prepared the money now and bought a horse directly if they drew it, wouldn't they be able to use it immediately?

The area near Harimu's winter den was full of cattle and sheep manure!

Currently, Li Long did not take Li Jianguo with him when he went out to sell things, because Li Jianguo's prestige was too high; if the two of them had a disagreement, who would listen to whom? Furthermore, with two men in the house, if something went wrong, they couldn't both be arrested. It was safer to leave one behind.

When Li Long finished eating and appeared in the courtyard, the gaze of the men there had changed.

Look at them—they were all young men of roughly the same age, all wanting to go out and do business. Some went out and were arrested, while others not only made money but also brought back two wild boars!

Those two pigs must weigh at least three hundred kilograms. Even if wild boar meat was cheap, at half the price of domestic pork, that would be eighty cents per kilo. Three hundred kilograms would be over two hundred yuan!

People truly are different!

(End of Chapter)