No stove had been set up in the Li family's East Room, mainly because Li Jianguo had not expected Li Long to come back so soon.
"Your Second Older Brother, Brother-in-law, Junshan, and the others only left yesterday. I drove them to the county bus station in the horse-drawn cart. They said there was a train home that evening. They'd take a bus to Wu City Railway Station, then buy their train tickets. By my reckoning, they should get home next Wednesday."
"They took quite a lot with them, didn't they?" Li Long said with a smile. "Still, with several strong men, they shouldn't have any trouble."
"What trouble could there be? They'll be fine."
Liang Yuemei asked:
"Xiao Long, have you eaten? These steamed buns are almost ready. If you're not in a hurry, wait until they're done and I'll stir-fry something for you two. Have a drink?"
"Sure." Li Long accepted without standing on ceremony, smiling. "Then I'll look forward to your cooking, sister-in-law. Stir-fry some pickled vegetables. I haven't had any for days."
"Sure, I'll slice some meat and fry it with pickled vegetables." Liang Yuemei readily agreed, then added wistfully, "This time last year, who could have imagined we'd be eating white-flour buns every day?"
"Exactly. Of the grain the team distributed, eighty percent was coarse grain and twenty percent refined. Never mind us-even Juan and Qiangqiang couldn't have refined grain every day..."
"And even then, you let me eat refined grain along with Juan and Qiangqiang!" Li Long put in. Although he had made up for a great deal over the past year, his face actually reddened as he said this. He really had been thoughtless back then.
"That's all in the past. In our team now-never mind the team, even in the whole brigade