Chapter 24: In This Era of Ration Coupons

Having money in hand, Li Long did not bother with the woman's feelings; he had other matters to attend to.

Hurrying to the department store, Li Long asked Tao Daqiang if there was anything he needed to buy.

"No thanks," Tao Daqiang said, shaking his head. "I'm not lacking anything."

"Do you want me to buy you a pair of shoes?" Li Long pointed at Tao Daqiang's feet. "Those shoes of yours won't last much longer. How about I get you a pair of rubber-soled cotton shoes this time?"

"No, no, no, there's no need." Tao Daqiang shook his head and waved his hands vigorously.

"No need to buy anything. Brother Long, I didn't do much this time. Just give me some wood when the time comes. This wood is quite good; I was thinking of waiting until next spring to make some furniture for my family."

This was indeed a legitimate matter.

The wood that Li Long and Tao Daqiang hauled was basically pine. Aside from a few arm-thick branches, most of it consisted of logs thick enough to require two arms to embrace.

While these were easy to find in the mountains, they were excellent materials for making furniture outside the mountains.

In these days, there were very few sellers of finished furniture. Every household used furniture made by carpenters, and most of the wood was provided by the families themselves.

Li Long remembered that in his previous life, his brother Li Jianguo had prepared some pine boards early on to make furniture for when Li Qiang got married. In this area, pine was considered high-quality wood.

However, because the 1990s passed and furniture factories rose to prominence, even in rural areas, people gradually began buying ready-made furniture. By the time Li Long passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage, those pine boards were still sitting in an unused room at his sister-in-law's house.

But in this era, if a family could make a set of pine furniture, they would definitely be looked upon with admiration by others.

He hadn't expected Tao Daqiang to have such foresight. Not bad, not bad at all!

It turned out Tao Daqiang wasn't a fool at all.

Li Long didn't think much of it; at worst, he would just make a few more trips, and eventually, he could replace the furniture in his eldest brother's house. After all, his brother's house currently only had a chest of drawers and a tall cabinet, both made over ten years ago with much of the lacquer peeled off.

The cost of making furniture wasn't high right now. If he made a few more trips into the mountains, he wouldn't just cover the cost of the furniture; he might even be able to buy a sewing machine or a bicycle.

Entering the department store, Li Long first went to the food counter to buy a kilogram of fruit hard candies for Li Juan and Li Qiang. Then he bought two packs of sugar cubes and two cans of preserves.

All of this totaled less than ten yuan. He then inquired about bicycles and sewing machines. A heavy-duty "28-inch" Yongjiu bicycle cost 167 yuan, and a sewing machine was 85 yuan—both required coupons.

Li Long had no coupons. He remembered that the Commercial Bureau seemed to issue coupons to the communes every year, with each production team receiving about one or two. If he wanted coupons, his only option was Xu Chengjun.

Originally, Li Long wanted to buy some fine grains like flour and rice, but he didn't have food coupons either.

Telling Tao Daqiang to wait, he ran toward the black market from his memory. That location was on the outskirts of town and sold not only flour and rice but also meat—both domestic and wild game.

However, when he arrived, the place was a mess, and there was nothing left.

But looking at the footprints in the snow, the bloodstains, and the marks left by things being pressed into the snow, Li Long had a good idea. People definitely frequented this place, but it was likely an early morning market that had already dispersed.

Before returning to the department store, he saw Tao Daqiang looking somewhat nervous and said with a smile

"Let's go, we're heading back."

On the way back, Li Long said to Tao Daqiang

"Since we hauled back two sheep this time, I'll give you half a sheep..."

"No, no!" Tao Daqiang waved his hands hurriedly. "Brother Long, I'm really not being polite. If I take this mutton back, I won't be able to go out with you next time.

My dad... my dad wanted my brother to follow you, but I wouldn't let him. I said only I could go. My dad also told me to remember the path so I could take my brother up the mountain later..."

Li Long gave Tao Daqiang a surprised look.

What surprised him wasn't whether Tao Jian she had come up with this idea, but that Tao Daqiang would actually speak of it.

However, he felt gratified; he felt he had judged the man correctly.

Tao Daqiang was a man of principle. If he felt Li Long was good to him, he would never betray Li Long, unless Li Long betrayed him first.

As for why Li Long didn't bring Gu Ermao? Because after being brought once, Gu Ermao would try to ditch him the very next day to go into the mountains to haul things on his own.

In truth, while doing this, Li Long had already anticipated that others might follow suit.

"It's fine, Daqiang. You should take what you're owed; I can't let you follow me for nothing." Li Long thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give you a sheep leg instead. And I'll leave more wood for you, alright?"

"Yes, yes!" Tao Daqiang smiled. "Brother Long, I'll keep following you in the future!"

"Alright," Li Long nodded with a smile.

The two men drove the horse carriage back. The people in the production team were also speculating about what they might bring back from this trip.

There wasn't much entertainment these days. Li Long being fired from the factory had been big news, and his breakup with Wu Shufen the day after his return had been another major headline. When the village women gossiped about family matters, they certainly had plenty of fresh topics.

Li Long going into the mountains to haul things had become their latest topic of discussion. At first, everyone said the same as Sister-in-law Lu—that Li Long wouldn't make it. But when Li Long returned from the mountains with wood and sheep, the discussion immediately split into two camps.

Today, Li Long had gone into the mountains again, which caused many to start speculating once more about what he might bring back.

Even Ma Hongmei, the wife of the team leader Xu Chengjun, was speculating

"Do you think that boy Li Long can bring back wood this time?"

"Definitely." Xu Chengjun had led people into the mountains before. Although the paths were difficult, he knew that the fact Li Long could bring back wood the first time meant the boy had already mastered a proper route into the mountains.

He had seen the conditions in the mountains more than most people in the village, so he naturally knew that the frozen sheep couldn't have been "found" by chance. That meant the boy must have already established connections in the mountains.

"Then do you think he can find more sheep today?" Ma Hongmei was still thinking about that sheep leg. Although mutton wasn't as fatty as pork, the taste was truly excellent!

"Of course he can," Xu Chengjun nodded. "Maybe even more than one."

"Then will he give our family another leg? Or half a sheep?"

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Chengjun glared at her. "What kind of relationship does he have with you that he'd give you so much? His family lent the horse carriage for work points and gave a sheep leg; what more do you want?"

"I was just thinking that this Li kid is quite sensible..." Ma Hongmei said sheepishly.

"The more sensible he is, the more he knows his limits! Giving us a sheep leg is a courtesy, but giving a whole sheep? On what basis? If he were superstitious about pigs, why haven't you shared some of your own meat with him?"

Ma Hongmei's face turned bright red, but she still whispered

"I was just thinking... if there's more mutton, maybe we could take some to my father."

"Then have your brother come over early tomorrow morning to hitch the horse carriage and go to the mountains. If you get something, it's luck; if not, there's nothing you can do!" Xu Chengjun said while rolling a cigarette. "Don't just watch others eat meat because they have connections; don't just be envious."

"But my brother doesn't know how to get there," Ma Hongmei said with difficulty.

"I'll take him," Xu Chengjun said without looking up. "I know the entrance to the mountains. I don't know if we can get sheep, but getting wood wouldn't be bad either. I saw that the wood the Li kid gets is high-quality pine. If we stock up, it'll be great for making furniture in the spring!"

In fact, many families were harboring the same idea.

(End of Chapter)