Chapter 22: Gu Ermao Blocks the Door

On the second day, Li Long climbed out of bed at the crack of dawn.

After packing his things and pressing the coal into the stove, he headed to the east room.

The lights had been lit there early. When Li Long went in to wash up, his sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, was stir-frying vegetables, and Li Jianguo was already packing steamed cakes for him.

"Big brother, don't pack so much, we won't be able to finish it all," Li Long said as he went to wash his face.

The enamel washbasin featured a "Double Happiness" pattern; it had been acquired when his brother got married, and ten years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Thinking about it, if it weren't for him, his brother's diligence and his sister-in-law's frugality would have surely led to a better life for his brother's family.

"It's fine to pack more; if we can't eat it, we'll bring it back," Li Jianguo said, looking down as he packed. "If you get hungry while working, it's a miserable feeling. It's better to be 'rich on the road than poor at home'—it's easy to manage at home, but it's a hassle when you're out in the middle of nowhere."

"Exactly, take more. Oh, and I boiled some mutton last night, take that too," Liang Yuemei added while stir-frying. "Eating meat gives you strength for the work."

From the inner room, Li Qiang shouted from the kang bed

"Mom, I want meat too!"

"Eat, eat, eat—all you know is how to eat!" Liang Yuemei snapped back immediately upon hearing her son. "Haven't you had enough from last night? Your uncle is going off to work!"

Li Qiang fell silent instantly. Both children in the house were afraid of Liang Yuemei; while the old saying goes "strict father, kind mother," in the Li household, it was the other way around.

After Li Long finished washing his face, Li Jianguo handed him his satchel and said

"I've filled the canteen with warm water, but it'll only last half a day. By the afternoon, it'll be cold, so if you get thirsty, just eat some snow."

Thermoses hadn't appeared yet; if you were thirsty while traveling and found yourself in the middle of nowhere, a handful of snow solved the problem.

Breakfast consisted of sweet potato porridge, steamed cakes, and sautéed pickles.

Li Yuemei ladled out the leftover mutton offal soup, giving Li Long a bowl and dividing the rest between Li Juan and Li Qiang. Most of the precious offal was concentrated in Li Long's bowl.

Watching Liang Yuemei's habitual gesture, Li Long felt a slight sting in his nose. He divided the offal from his own bowl into the bowls of Li Juan and Li Qiang, saying with a smile

"I'll just have the soup—Sister-in-law, you still treat me like a child."

"Well, aren't you just a child in front of us?" Li Jianguo said, eating his pickles. "How old are you anyway? Until you're married, you're still a child."

"Alright then." Li Long lowered his head to drink the soup. "This mutton soup tastes great!"

Li Yuemei said with a smile

"Then I'll brew more soup for when you return. I only cut a little heart and liver yesterday; your brother will clean the mutton stomach today to cook for tonight."

"Good. Who knows, I might even pull in a whole sheep tonight," Li Long said, wiping his mouth after finishing the soup. "If I do, I'll send half over to Uncle Liang's place."

Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo exchanged a glance. She said

"Wenyu came by yesterday, and I had him bring some fish over, so we won't send meat..."

"That's different." Li Long remembered very clearly that for several years before and after, the Li family had received significant help from the Liang family, and the biggest reason was him. First it was work, then it was the provisions for their separation.

He felt that being able to live a second life was truly wonderful; the feeling of paying back debts was quite good!

"The way you eat them is different. Mutton tastes like mutton, and fish tastes like fish. I can make a few more trips before the New Year, and maybe I can bring back a few more sheep. Then our family can have a 'fat' New Year!"

"A fat New Year... Uncle, what's a fat New Year?" Li Qiang asked, looking up with a piece of mutton heart in his mouth.

"It means..." Li Long thought for a moment, "during the New Year, you can eat big chunks of mutton, as much as you want!"

"Really?" Li Qiang's eyes lit up with stars at those words.

Li Juan also looked on with longing.

"Really, it's definitely true." Li Long patted his chest. For the sake of Li Qiang's words alone, he had to work hard!

After eating, Li Long went to the east room, dressed neatly, slung his satchel over his shoulder, and headed out.

Just as he reached the door, he saw Gu Ermao outside, which took him by surprise.

Hadn't this guy had a falling out with him?

"Xiao Long, I heard you're heading into the mountains. Take me with you?" Gu Ermao still had that same smirking face.

"I can't," Li Long refused flatly. "I've made an arrangement with Daqiang. The horse carriage can't carry many people; if we take too many, we won't be able to haul anything."

"Xiao Long," seeing the direct refusal, Gu Ermao hurriedly explained, "Listen to me, I didn't mean to spread the word about you being fired to Wu Shufen. She's just like that. Believe me, actually..."

Li Long had already brushed him off and was walking toward the horse station.

Gu Ermao tried to follow, but Li Long walked fast, and after being out in the cold for a while, he couldn't keep up and was left behind.

"Damn it, you won't take me, huh? If you can go, I can go too!" Gu Ermao grew resentful. "It's just the mountains! Who do you think can't go!"

Li Long was still wondering why Tao Daqiang hadn't appeared, but when he reached the horse station, he found Tao Daqiang crouching in the corner of the outer wall.

"Daqiang, why aren't you at my house?" Li Long asked curiously. "Why are you huddling here?"

"I saw Ermao going to your house," Tao Daqiang said in a low voice. "I guessed he'd definitely come looking for you to go to the mountains. I thought if he was going, I might not be able to..."

Tao Daqiang wasn't stupid.

Li Long smiled and said

"Didn't I tell you? It's just the two of us going, not him. From now on, it'll always be just the two of us, understand?"

"Alright!" Hearing this, Tao Daqiang immediately brightened up. "Just the two of us!"

When he had woken up and headed out this morning, his father, Tao Jianshe, had said something that had left Tao Daqiang reeling for a long time.

"Daqiang, look, you went to the mountains with Li Long and now you have leather gloves and mutton legs. If Li Long wants to go again, why don't you let your brother go in your place? He has a family to support; he's smarter than you and can bring back more things."

"Li Long said he's not taking anyone else, just me!" Tao Daqiang had lied.

"Then remember the way. When this trip is over, don't go with Li Long anymore. Borrow the village's horse carriage with your brother. If you can haul back a sheep, our family can have a fat New Year too."

Tao Daqiang knew himself; even if he remembered the way, he wouldn't be able to trade for a sheep.

People trusted Li Long, not him.

Even his brother Dayong wouldn't be able to do it.

Li Long had secured a horse carriage from Old Luo, and he and Daqiang went to the county town together. They first bought brick tea and salt, then after some thought, bought two packs of sugar cubes and half a kilogram of loose fruit candies, before driving the carriage into the mountains.

Because they were familiar with the route, they arrived at Halimu's winter shelter a bit earlier than yesterday.

This time, the dogs started barking as soon as they saw the carriage approaching.

However, the two dogs didn't run over while barking; their tails were wagging, so Li Long guessed they recognized him.

After unloading the carriage, he led the horse to the edge of the winter shelter. Halimu had already emerged from the shelter.

Seeing Li Long and Tao Daqiang, Halimu proactively reached out his hand

"Li Long, are you well?"

"Well, well." Li Long gave him a firm handshake. "Troubling you again."

The Kazakh people place great importance on etiquette; they weren't close yesterday, but now that they were, the proper formalities had to be observed.

Halimu took the reins and tied them to a wooden post. After setting out the fodder, he ushered Li Long and Tao Daqiang into the winter shelter.

Once inside and after his eyes adjusted, Li Long's eyes lit up when he saw the items near the stove

"There are good things here!"