Chapter 15: Can a Profligate Ever Succeed?

Li Long of the Li family was a spendthrift, a fact universally acknowledged in the production team.

He was lazy with his own chores and slacked off during team labor, yet he was always the first to show up with great enthusiasm whenever someone else had something going on. His older brother, Li Jianguo, couldn't manage him, but if his band of fair-weather friends or his girlfriend, Wu Shufen, gave him a word, he would run to work faster than anyone.

It was no wonder Sister-in-law Lu had come specifically to tell Liang Yuemei about this.

In truth, she wasn't entirely without the desire to watch the drama unfold.

In the past, whenever Liang Yuemei heard such news, she would usually complain about her brother-in-law, but this time, she made excuses for Li Long

"Xiao Long truly intends to bring some timber back this time. He has the intention, so we should certainly support him, right?"

Sister-in-law Lu was somewhat surprised. Had Liang Yuemei undergone a change of character?

"Your brother-in-law has been fired from the factory; all the money you spent is gone, yet you act as if nothing is wrong," Sister-in-law Lu shook her head. "If it were me, I would have gone there to scold them long ago!"

While stitching a shoe sole, Liang Yuemei said with a smile

"Doesn't everyone have moments when they make mistakes? As long as he can change and improve, it's fine. I feel like Xiao Long has changed quite a bit this time. Being fired might even be a good thing; as the old folks say, 'failure is the mother of wisdom.'"

She thought to herself that the frogs Li Long had caught the day before yesterday and the fish he had caught yesterday would actually bring in a decent amount of money if sold.

Furthermore, the way he had handled borrowing the horse carriage yesterday was impressive; he didn't act like the spendthrift he used to be at all. With such a massive change, she was too relieved to complain.

"Brother-in-law, Sister, I'm here!" A greeting came from outside. Upon hearing it, Liang Yuemei stood up excitedly to respond

"Wenyu, come inside!" She went to open the door.

The visitor was Liang Yuemei's younger brother, Liang Wenyu.

He walked in carrying a bag of things, set them against the wall, took off his cotton cap, gave a smile to Sister-in-law Lu, and then asked Liang Yuemei

"Where's my brother-in-law? I heard Li Long is back? He quit his job?"

Liang Yuemei hadn't expected the news to spread so fast. With an outsider present, it wasn't easy to say much, so she simply nodded and said

"Yes, your brother-in-law is busy in the east room. Why are you here?"

"Father and Mother sent me to check on you all and bring some things," Liang Wenyu said. "By the way, where are Juan and Qiangqiang?"

"They're in the east room too, go check on them," Liang Yuemei said.

Sister-in-law Lu actually wanted to stay and watch the spectacle. Although Liang Wenyu was young, as the eldest son of the Liang family, he was quite assertive. He had always looked down on Li Long, a sentiment that Sister-in-law Lu, as a neighbor, had also heard.

But now that guests had arrived at the Li house, it wasn't appropriate for her to linger. She stood up, greeted Liang Yuemei, and headed home.

Once she left, Liang Wenyu said

"Father told me to bring some white flour and twenty yuan. Now that Li Long is back, your family's charcoal will definitely not be enough for burning. Father's idea is for you to buy some from the team first to get through the season..."

Liang Yuemei could hear the resentment in her brother's voice. She said with a smile

"There's no need. Li Long went into the mountains to haul timber; he'll be back today. Once the wood is brought back, we'll have enough firewood to last the whole winter. Oh, come, let's go to the east room. Your brother-in-law is cleaning fish; take a few back with you when you leave."

"Fish? Where did fish come from?" Liang Wenyu's eyes lit up at the mention of fish. His production team was located to the southwest, where the irrigation water came from a unified mechanized well drilled by the county years ago.

Their production team's plots were small, with no lakes or rivers, so they couldn't eat fish. The location of Li Jianguo's production team was exceptionally blessed; there were fish almost anywhere there was water. Consequently, Li Jianguo often sent fish to his in-laws, and Liang Wenyu ate them more than anyone.

"Li Long took your brother-in-law to the small pond to break holes in the ice and catch them. There's quite a lot."

"That must be quite a struggle! In this cold weather, I'm surprised Li Long even thought of it," Liang Wenyu said as he followed his sister to the east room. "He only knows how to play around."

Both Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei were aware of Liang Wenyu's grudge against Li Long; after all, Li Long had truly been a good-for-nothing in the past. Liang Wenyu and Li Long were of similar age, and Wenyu was already capable of taking on major responsibilities at home. Meanwhile, Li Long was still like an ungrown child—unreliable and useless at everything, except for eating.

Entering the east room, Liang Wenyu was greatly surprised to see so many fish in the washing basin

"Brother-in-law, you've got way too many fish here!"

"Wenyu, you're here!" Li Jianguo was busy gutting fish, with Li Juan and Li Qiang helping. Seeing Liang Wenyu behind Liang Yuemei, they all greeted him.

"Xiao Long caught these by breaking holes in the ice. I didn't expect that breaking two holes in the ice during winter would yield so many fish, and such large ones too! When Xiao Long left, he said he'd bring some to you when he returned. Oh, and there are two frogs as well."

"You're saying Li Long did this? And there are frogs too?" Liang Wenyu could hardly believe his ears.

That useless Li Long?

"Yes." Seeing Liang Wenyu's expression, Li Jianguo felt a mix of amusement and pride. "Even though he was fired this time, he has changed a lot."

"Uncle, the frogs really were caught by my uncle, they're delicious!" Li Qiang said loudly, wiping his nose.

He was different from Li Juan. Li Juan remembered that she had to help with the housework, but Li Long didn't have to. Li Qiang only remembered his uncle roasting sparrows for him, catching frogs and fish for him, and that fun rice paper.

"Alright, alright." Filled with questions, Liang Wenyu squatted down to help Li Jianguo clean the fish.

With the whole family working together, the speed increased significantly, and the fish were cleaned before lunchtime.

"Wenyu, take ten of them back to make fish soup for Father and Mother this winter," Li Jianguo said. "We'll do it again before the New Year and send more to you then."

"Ten—these aren't small, it'll be a struggle to carry them." Although Liang Wenyu said this, he did not refuse. There were thirty or forty fish weighing over a kilogram, and even more small crucian carp the size of a palm; he didn't stand on ceremony.

Li Jianguo put the fish in the snow to freeze, then the family washed their hands and went to the west room. Liang Wenyu asked

"Brother-in-law, Li Long went to the mountains to haul timber? Is that feasible? The mountains are remote and have no good roads; it can't work, can it?"

"He said one of his coworkers is from Qingshuihe Commune and lives right by the mountain," Li Jianguo said. He sat on the edge of the *kang*, rolled a Mohe cigarette, and took a heavy drag. Only after feeling somewhat refreshed did he continue

"Xiao Long has changed a lot since coming back. He borrowed the horse carriage himself and has a good plan, so let him try. There isn't much else to do in winter anyway."

"Alright then. It's a pity about that job, though." Liang Wenyu sighed. In truth, he also wanted to work in Wucheng, but as the eldest son, he naturally had to stay with his parents. He just felt the job was a waste.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Li Jianguo smiled. "A job opportunity is worth it if it teaches Xiao Long a lesson."

"Now that he's lost his job, will his girlfriend stay with him?" Liang Wenyu asked again.

"They broke up," Li Jianguo shook his head. "Word has spread through the team that he was fired. That girl came over and told Xiao Long they couldn't be together anymore. If it's over, it's over. We'll deal with it later; there's no rush."

Li Jianguo still had quite a bit of confidence in his brother.

Of course, the people in the production team did not think so. Within a single day, the news had already spread: the Li family's spendthrift had used his work points to borrow the team's horse carriage to haul timber from the mountains.

Many people were waiting to see Li Long make a fool of himself.

(End of Chapter)