Chapter 41: There are Good Things on the Mountain

The horse carriage rattled back to Ma County, and only then did the two men relax. Although the county town was still quite unfamiliar to them, at least it was their hometown, which was different from a strange city.

"Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative," Li Long said. "First, to see if they have any wire mesh, and second, I need to buy some fine iron wire."

"Brother Long, what are you buying fine iron wire for?" Tao Daqiang asked curiously.

"I saw quite a few rabbit tracks in the wild. I plan to make some rabbit snares to see if I can catch any."

Rabbit meat was at least more plentiful than "gua gua" chicken. In his previous life before being reborn, once the environmental management around here was improved, the wetlands returned and wildlife increased; in the winter, people would set rabbit snares and could catch over a dozen rabbits a day.

Even at three yuan a piece, he could make a decent profit!

Li Long believed the black market would become increasingly prosperous, with more and more sellers, and people's mindsets would become more flexible, leading to more wealthy individuals.

In short, life would get better and better, so he might as well take this opportunity to earn as much money as possible.

"Brother Long, you know how to set rabbit snares?" Tao Daqiang asked in surprise. "Is that stuff easy to make?"

"I just tinker with it," Li Long smiled. "I'll just use fine iron wire to make a loop and set it where the rabbit tracks are."

Even so, the way he spoke filled Tao Daqiang's eyes with admiration, completely devoid of the ruthlessness he had shown when fighting earlier.

Fine iron wire was sold by the kilogram at one yuan per kilo. Li Long weighed out three kilograms, rolled them up, and placed them on the carriage.

"Brother Long, I want to buy some steamed buns to take back for my dad," Tao Daqiang suddenly said as they passed the Big Meat Canteen. "My dad has never even eaten meat buns like these..."

"Sure, I'll buy some to take back too." Li Long tapped his forehead; he had been so focused on himself that he hadn't thought about bringing anything for his family. Neither Juan nor Qiangqiang had ever eaten the buns from here.

Li Long bought eleven, and Tao Daqiang bought six. After paying, the two packed the buns into a satchel and drove the carriage back.

By the time they reached the production team, it was pitch black. Li Long told Tao Daqiang to head home first while he went to the stables to return the horse. He gave Old Luo a meat bun, which Old Luo accepted with a smile, the wrinkles on his face spreading like chrysanthemums.

Among those who borrowed carriages from the team, none were as tactful and considerate as the second son of the Li family.

Carrying a urea sack and wearing his satchel, Li Long walked back with a light step, humming a song as he went: "The great river flows to the east, the stars in the sky follow the Big Dipper..."

As he was humming, a figure suddenly appeared ahead. Li Long stopped in his tracks and asked warily

"Who is it?"

"It's me."

Wu Shufen? What was she doing here?

Li Long didn't say anything; after all, the two of them had nothing to do with each other anymore. It seemed he had heard his sister-in-law mention the other night that Wu Shufen's mother was trying to introduce her to a worker from the neighboring production team, though whether it worked out was unknown.

When his sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, mentioned it, she had been quite cautious, fearing it might affect Li Long's mood.

In his previous life, Li Long had indeed been quite devoted to Wu Shufen, pining for her for several years. And Wu Shufen had also faced many tribulations in her romantic life; she had dated many people, but those she liked didn't like her back, and because she was beautiful, others she didn't like kept pestering her, leaving her unmarried for years.

He thought about it, but Li Long had no desire to have anything to do with her. That was in his previous life. Now that he had been reborn, why would he act like a simp?

It would be a waste of time.

Seeing that Li Long was actually walking around her, Wu Shufen was somewhat surprised. Over the past two days, her ears had been filled with news about the second son of the Li family—how he had found several sheep in the mountains, how he had caught fish from the reservoir and made a lot of money, and how he had become more spirited, and so on.

Wu Shufen didn't exactly regret it, but she couldn't figure out if Li Long had finally come to his senses or if he was just reacting to the shock of their breakup.

She had happened to run into him while returning from visiting someone, wanting to see exactly what had changed in her ex.

She just hadn't expected Li Long to actually walk around her!

This dealt a severe blow to Wu Shufen's pride—he wouldn't even deign to look at her, nor would he take the initiative to speak to her?

Li Long didn't think that much. He had been working hard all day and just wanted to get back, change his clothes, and lean against the heated wall to rest. As for chatting with Wu Shufen—it was the dead of winter, and it was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees below zero; he wasn't in the mood!

Wu Shufen opened her mouth to call out, but ultimately remained silent; her pride would not allow it.

Li Long was glad she didn't speak. In the pitch darkness and the surrounding silence, if she were to shout, he would be in for a lot of trouble.

When he arrived home, Li Long pushed open the door and saw a pot sitting on the stove containing mutton soup.

His heart felt warm. It was already past dinner time; he must have saved this for him.

"You're back?" Li Jianguo came out from the inner room and said upon seeing Li Long, "I was going to come out and look for you if you didn't return soon."

"Dad already went out to look three times," Li Juan interjected from the kang bed.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Hurry and change your clothes, then come over. The steamed buns and mutton soup are still hot," his sister-in-law poked her head out from the kitchen. "You must be exhausted."

"No, I'm not that tired." Li Long felt truly warm inside. He took off his satchel and handed it to Liang Yuemei.

"Sister-in-law, I bought some large meat buns. We can steam them tomorrow for breakfast."

"We get to eat meat buns tomorrow!" Li Qiang shouted happily upon hearing this.

"Why spend money like that," Liang Yuemei said habitually as she took the buns.

"Juan and Qiangqiang have never had them, let them have a taste," Li Long smiled. His sister-in-law wasn't truly scolding him; it was just the habitual frugality of a housewife.

He then pulled out ten yuan and handed it to Li Jianguo.

"Brother, this is the money from selling the fish. This is your share. I won't hand over my share to you."

"What are you doing? Keep it for yourself," Li Jianguo pushed the money back. "Keep it safe."

"Big brother, as the old saying goes, even close brothers keep clear accounts," Li Long said with a smile. "This is the share you deserve. I'm keeping the rest for myself."

Hearing Li Long say this, Li Jianguo hesitated, glanced at his wife, and then accepted the money.

Li Long went to the east room, changed his clothes, and returned to the west room to eat.

"I went to get some more fish today. But not many this time; it feels like there aren't many left under the ice holes," Li Jianguo said while rolling a Mohe cigarette by the kang. "Are you going to sell fish again tomorrow?"

"Not going," Li Long said, dipping his white flour buns into the mutton soup. "Daqiang's dad wants Daqiang to catch and sell fish with his brother."

"What?" Liang Yuemei looked up at her brother-in-law.

"They're no longer partners?" Li Jianguo wasn't surprised at all. "Tao Jianshe is a narrow-minded man. But that's fine. If Daqiang isn't coming, the two of us will do it."

"I'll rest tomorrow. I'm going into the mountains," Li Long said with a wave of his hand. "I'll bring back some wood and see if I can get another sheep. The main issue is that the county is so small, and there aren't many people who can afford fish. Today, we actually had to go all the way to Shicheng to finish selling them."

"You went to Shicheng?" Li Jianguo said in surprise. "That's a long way for you to travel!"

"There's no choice. There are still too few people in the county who can afford fish, and we don't dare go peddling through the alleys."

"That's fine," Li Jianguo nodded. "It's good to take a break for a couple of days."

And so, the matter was settled.

The next morning after eating the buns, Li Long got up, packed the dozen or so bullets he had hidden, went to the stables to hitch the carriage, and headed toward the mountains.

A great surprise was waiting for him.

(End of Chapter)