When the tractor puttered back into the village, quite a few people who had been keeping an eye on things heard it.
Those who were not particularly close to the family felt awkward about visiting right away. After all, they had only just returned from selling melon seeds in Stone City. Wouldn't rushing over to ask seem far too eager and calculating?
There were always people who were more impatient, and others who were closer to them, so everyone else could simply listen as the news spread.
Sister-in-Law Lu, for instance.
Liang Yuemei, Du Chunfang, and Chen Lirong were all in the yard, pressing the last of the specially picked-out watermelon seeds-the curved ones.
The rest were drying in the Front Courtyard. Chen Lirong went over to check on them now and then, not to guard against thieves, but mainly to chase away chickens and birds. Nobody would dare enter someone's yard to steal things in broad daylight. Anyone caught would be beaten, and even if they were beaten to death, nobody would pursue the matter.
It was nothing like later years.
All one could say was that, gradually, the world had changed.
That was why, in his later life, Li Long had seen videos about people who injured themselves or died while stealing from someone's home, then demanded compensation from the homeowner and took the matter to court.
And the courts actually accepted cases like that? It really felt utterly absurd.
The most disgusting part was that even when the homeowner bore no responsibility, they still had to pay a certain amount in humanitarian compensation.
Wasn't that fucking encouraging immoral people to do evil?
The tractor pulled into the yard. Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo climbed down, and Li Long switched off the engine and got off.
He planned