Borrow the Horse Cart Again?

"You were out all day, and all you brought back was a few pieces of wood and a kilo of sesame cakes? That Li Family boy brought home a sheep. How come you didn't get a share?"

Tao Daqiang had come home in high spirits, but when he handed the sesame cakes to his father, he was met with a furious tongue-lashing from Tao Jianshe.

His father's scolding left him dazed. It took him a while to recover enough to defend himself:

"That sheep was brought in by Brother Long, so of course it belongs to him. I went along to help, and Brother Long even bought me a pair of gloves!" He held up his new rabbit-fur gloves for his father to see.

"So he bought you off with a pair of gloves!" Tao Jianshe had been quite pleased at first, too. But then someone told him that Li Long had brought home a sheep, and he figured that since his son had gone along, he ought to get some meat out of it.

"At least I get meals at their house! I come home and there isn't even any food for me! I don't get to eat the fish I bring back, so what good would bringing home meat do me?" In the past, Tao Daqiang would never have dared talk back. But today, once again, there was no meal waiting for him, and the fish was gone, too. He couldn't help shouting at Tao Jianshe:

"At least they gave me something!"

His son was actually shouting at him. Tao Jianshe froze, a flicker of panic crossing his eyes. Then he picked up his pipe and brought it down on Tao Daqiang's head.

"Two days out and you think you're all grown up, huh? You dare talk back to your father? If you're so capable, go live with someone else! If you're so capable, stop calling yourself a Tao! As long as you're a Tao and you live in this house, I make the rules! Want to eat? Cook it yourself!"

Tao Daqiang panted like an ox, choking on his frustration, while Tao Jianshe coughed repeatedly in anger. Just then, someone knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" Tao Jianshe demanded irritably.

"Uncle Jianshe, it's me, Li Long." Li Long's voice came from outside.

Tao Jianshe immediately grew flustered. He had just been bad-mouthing the young man, and now he was right outside.

Unable to bring himself to speak, he shot Tao Daqiang a look.

Tao Daqiang didn't notice his father's signal, but he was already heading over to open the door.

"Uncle Jianshe, Daqiang. We've butchered that frozen sheep. This leg is Daqiang's share." Li Long handed the leg of mutton to Daqiang, then said to Tao Jianshe:

"Don't worry, Uncle Jianshe. The meat's perfectly good to eat. We're already cooking Mixed Lamb Offal soup at home."

"Xiao Long, sorry for the trouble of bringing the leg all the way over. Really, you shouldn't have..." His face burning with embarrassment, Tao Jianshe hurriedly sat up. "You could've just had Daqiang bring it back... Come in and sit down!"

"I won't stay. I still have to go to the team leader's house. I need the horse cart again tomorrow, so I have to let him know."

"You're going again tomorrow?" Tao Jianshe immediately asked. "Will you take Daqiang along?"

Li Long looked at Tao Daqiang and asked:

"Well, Daqiang, do you..."

"I'll come to your house tomorrow morning," Tao Daqiang said.

"All right. I'll wait for you tomorrow."

Li Long left, pulled another leg of mutton out of the snow outside, and carried it to Xu Chengjun's house.

"You want to borrow the horse cart again?" Looking at the leg Li Long had brought, Xu Chengjun hesitated. "What about the work-point payment..."

"I'll pay it, same as before." Li Long pointed at the leg. "This meat's clean. The sheep froze to death in the mountains. It belonged to a herder—I made sure to ask. We're cooking Mixed Lamb Offal soup at home. It's safe to eat."

"All right. Leave the work-point money here, and I'll write you a slip. But you'll have to use a different horse tomorrow."

"Whatever you say, Team Leader." Li Long smiled and took out the money.

Back at the Li Family home, Li Juan and Li Qiang each held a sesame cake, munching as they watched the pot of Mixed Lamb Offal soup.

"You know, Xiao Long has really changed so much," Liang Yuemei said with a sigh of wonder. "He even knew to take the team leader a leg of mutton when he went to borrow the cart for tomorrow. I wonder if they'll dare eat it."

"Why wouldn't they?" Li Jianguo was still cutting up the mutton. The hide had already been hung outside to freeze, and the offal had been cleaned first. A faint raw-meat smell mingled with the aroma of simmering Mixed Lamb Offal throughout the room.

"From what Xiao Long said, he might bring back another sheep tomorrow. We'll be able to get through this winter comfortably. It's just that this sheep isn't very fat..."

"As long as there's meat to eat, that's good enough. I thought we'd have a hard winter this year," Li Jianguo said with a smile. "We've got fish, mutton, and Gugu Chicken. I wouldn't trade this life for an immortal's!"

"That's true! We'll be able to have a proper New Year this winter!" Liang Yuemei said, smiling. "We aren't short of firewood anymore, either. Xiao Long really is capable!"

"Yeah, I never imagined Xiao Long would change this much."

"Uncle also said he wants to catch fish and sell them in the county town," Li Qiang suddenly chimed in. "He said one fish could sell for more than a yuan!"

Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei exchanged a glance, neither saying a word.

Did Li Long seem like someone who could sell things?

Before, the answer would definitely have been no.

But after the past couple of days, it was hard to say!

Before long, Li Long pushed the door open and came in.

"Everything settled?" Li Jianguo stopped cutting the meat and looked up.

"All settled," Li Long said. "I'll take the cart out again first thing tomorrow."

As he spoke, he took ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to Liang Yuemei.

"Sister-in-law, here's the ten yuan I earned today. Take it."

"I can't take this." Liang Yuemei hurriedly waved her hands. "You already gave us ten yuan before. We don't need the money right now. Keep it."

"Sister-in-law, take it first and hear me out." Li Long pushed the money toward her. "I've got something to ask my brother, too."

Liang Yuemei glanced at Li Jianguo, who nodded and said:

"Put it away for now. Xiao Long, what is it?"

"I went to a herder's house today. He has a gun but no ammunition, and he said there are wolves around. I was wondering if you still had any rounds for the Type 56 semiautomatic, Brother. Could you give me some?"

"I've got a few dozen rounds. Take them all." Li Jianguo stood, unhooked a ring of keys from his waist, and found the key to the chest of drawers in the bedroom corner. He opened it, took out a paper-wrapped package, and handed it to Li Long.

Li Jianguo had bought the wood and hired someone to make the five-drawer chest when he got married. The paint was beginning to peel now, but it was still perfectly serviceable. The Li family kept their more valuable possessions inside.

"They gave us that frozen sheep, so we ought to thank them properly." Liang Yuemei already knew it had come from Harimu's family. "Next time you go, buy them some tea or something."

A sheep was worth dozens of yuan, while a packet of tea cost only a yuan or two. They couldn't just keep taking advantage of someone else's generosity. That was Liang Yuemei's simple reasoning.

"I will." Li Long nodded. "There are plenty of valuable things in the mountains. If I bring more back, our family can get rich, too."

"Dad, when we eat the legs, give my little brother and me a knucklebone each," Li Juan said as soon as she saw Li Jianguo resume cutting up the meat.

Li Long remembered the Ankle Bones Nasen and the others had been playing with at Harimu's house, and an idea stirred in his mind.

There were dozens of Ankle Bones on that wooden sleeping platform. Surely asking for a few wouldn't hurt?

Girls had so few toys these days. A girl with a few Ankle Bones to play tossing games with was practically royalty among the children, just as impressive as a boy with two iron spinning tops.

That evening, quite a few households on the production team talked about the Li family.

Some people even lost sleep over it.

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(End of chapter)