Passing the Middle School, Li Long saw that classes were in session and there wasn't a single student on the grounds, so he abandoned the idea of visiting Gu Xiaoxia. When he passed the primary school, the students hadn't been dismissed yet either, so he didn't look for Li Juan and rode straight back to the village.
Before entering the village, Li Long noticed that the water in Reed Lake had risen. He guessed the floodwaters would probably be coming soon. He wondered whether the preparations made through the communal labor he'd paid to cover this year would do any good.
It was almost noon when he reached the Li family's home. Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei were already back, and Li Qiang was feeding the chickens in the yard. To Li Long's surprise, he was holding some crickets. Li Long couldn't help asking:
"Qiangqiang, did you go catch some hoppers?"
In the local dialect, crickets were called hoppers. Once the dirt dug out during canal clearing dried, crickets would hide inside the clods, and lifting one could reveal a whole lot of them. Of course, sometimes what came out wasn't crickets, but frightening pincer-mouths-mole crickets-or scorpions, or little centipedes.
"Yes! Mom said if we feed the chickens more bugs, they'll lay more eggs!" Li Qiang said earnestly, then asked:
"Uncle, what's moving inside that sack you brought back this time?"
"Little Wild Boar." Li Long propped up his bicycle and began untying the load as he spoke.
Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei came to help unload the sack of wild piglets, followed by the better part of a side of wild boar.
"You got these yesterday?" Li Jianguo asked in surprise as he carried the wild boar. "You got all this in that little bit of time?"
"After you