"Actually, the first time I came here, I'd already worked my way up to quartermaster in the Corps. If Dad hadn't kept sending telegram after telegram telling me to go home, I'd be a Corps cadre of some rank by now," Li Jianguo said as he and Li Long sorted out the meat in the yard.
"Why did Dad want you to go back?"
"Because Second Older Brother and you were both little. He was the only one at home, with nobody to help hold the family up. He couldn't manage." Li Jianguo sighed. "Things back home were different from here. Just like what happened today-the more brothers you had, the stronger you were..."
Although Li Qingxia belonged to a senior generation, in an age when one extra mouthful for you could mean someone else went hungry for half a day, seniority did not necessarily count for much.
That was why Li Qingxia had called Li Jianguo home, so he could help support the household.
Li Long understood, but did not agree. Still, there was no way to say who was right or wrong. Li Jianguo was the eldest son, after all.
"Less than a year after going back, I knew I'd be finished if I stayed. I wouldn't be able to help the family, and I'd be trapped there for good, so I came to Northern Xinjiang again.
"Once I reached Northern Xinjiang, I didn't want to go back to the Corps. I'm not someone who can stand too many restrictions, so I stayed in the county seat. Since I had some education, they assigned me to the Planning Team..."
"The Planning Team?" This was a new term to Li Long, and he was a little curious.
"Mm. Back then, it wasn't like now, with communes and villages everywhere.