Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Old Zhang, who had been holding in his anger, finally found a place to go and chuckled gleefully, "There's someone even more of a liar and a liar."

Li Guaizi went back to beat his nephew.

Li Ju'an laughed heartily from behind: "Brother Li, don't lecture the kids before meals, swallowing your anger will make you sick."

Later, he heard that Li Guaizi had beaten his nephew so badly that he couldn't get off the bed for three days.

Making dumplings on the day of Lidong (the beginning of winter) is a lively affair in every household.

Once the dumplings are served, each household inevitably critiques the work done by each person in charge. They might point out flaws like torn dumpling wrappers, bland fillings, or excessive saltiness.

But the Li family didn't have these problems.

The large iron pot lid was lifted, releasing billowing white steam. The aroma of wheat mingled with the fragrance of the filling, making one want to take a deep breath.

Glug glug, one by one, the plump white dumplings floated to the surface, like lively little boats.

With a slotted spoon, Mother scooped the plump white dumplings into the pot, then scooped them up through a glass of water and ladle them into a large plate.

On the kang table were three large basins of plump, white dumplings. The dumpling wrappers were thin and even, and none of them were broken, making them very appealing.

Li Ju'an stirred the garlic sauce, added minced garlic, vinegar, and chili oil to the soy sauce, and the aroma of the dipping sauce immediately wafted out.

He picked up a plump white dumpling with his chopsticks, dipped it in garlic sauce, and sautéed it. The sourness of the vinegar and the spiciness of the garlic and chili, mixed with the aroma of wheat, made his mouth water.

He couldn't wait to stuff a big mouthful of the steaming dumplings into his mouth. The hot dumplings were so hot that he kept exhaling hot air, but he couldn't bear to spit them out.

The moment he bit into the dumpling wrapper, the delicious flavor of the pork and cabbage filling, along with its rich, savory juices, filled his mouth, making him reluctant to swallow it.

Mmm! That's the taste!

The dumplings my mother made back home taste just like the real thing.

He was so moved that his nose tingled and his eyes reddened slightly. In his previous life, during his years of wandering south, he often missed the dumplings his elderly mother used to make back home, but sadly, he hadn't tasted them for decades. Now, he suddenly tasted the familiar flavor of dumplings, and he felt a surreal, almost unreal, sensation.

When his mother, Song Lanhua, saw him get so excited that he cried while eating dumplings, she was amused: "What's wrong? Did you cry because it's hot? I told you to eat slowly, but you were in such a hurry. Blow on it and let it cool down before you eat."

On the kang table, his mother's concerned words and his younger sister Li Xiao's innocent, cheerful smile stirred up a torrent of emotions in Li Ju'an's heart. Memories of his rebirth and regrets flooded his mind, and the tide of emotions rose and fell uncontrollably.

He glanced at the Li family's simple, clean, but somewhat shabby mud house, his eyes filled with determination and resolve, and suddenly shouted, "Mom, the first thing I do when I have money is to build a new house, a big one."

After the land was distributed to individual households, those with connections built new houses, beautiful two-story buildings. The Sun family, in particular, built a three-story house, spacious and bright. Sun Weimin would boast to everyone he met about how impressive his family's house was. Even the village head, Yang Dezheng, would bring village committee members from neighboring villages to visit the Sun family's new house when they visited, making them very proud.

His dream of the Li family mansion was a beautiful two- or three-story house, where his mother and sister could live a good life and stop envying other people's lives.

Lu's little niece came over to visit and play with Li Xiao.

Li Xiao, the younger sister, used to be very introverted and quiet. To put it simply, she was timid and didn't dare to go out and play with her friends. But after Li Ju'an was reborn, he caught jerky, hunted wild boars, and even went with the forest farm to help with hunting. He accumulated a good reputation in the family village, so that Li Xiao was always excitedly surrounded by her friends when she went out.

"Li Xiao, it's your brother."

"Li Xiao, I want your brother to teach me how to disassemble a gun."

"I heard your brother is an amazing shot, he can shoot pigs and cows like Wu Song fighting a tiger! Why don't you have your brother take me into the mountains for a bit?"

Children all admire strong young men, and the kids in the village who played with Li Xiao were no exception. Li Xiao thus went from being an unknown, quiet little girl to becoming the center of attention for a group of children.

Li Xiao also gradually transformed from an introverted and timid little girl into a bolder one, and made new friends, including Lu's little niece.

Lu Wenqian is two years older than Li Xiao. She had already finished eating her dumplings and started chattering nonstop as soon as she entered the door.

“My brother said he was going to go into the mountains to set traps tomorrow, but Grandpa wouldn’t let him go and even chased after him on the kang (a heated brick bed) to beat him. My brother is stubborn, and this time he was really angry. He said that if Grandpa didn’t let him go, he would quit his temporary job at the forest farm, ask Old Tao to buy a dog, and go hunting in the mountains like your brother.”

The "brother" that Lu Wenqian mentioned is Lu Zhiqiang.

Lu Zhiqiang was truly stunned this time. After fighting with Sun Weimin, he got beaten up by the old man. The old man beat him up, and then his own father beat him up. It seemed like he was the only one who got bruised and battered, while Lu Jinyang next to him acted as if nothing had happened, not getting involved at all.

This made Lu Zhiqiang even angrier. Pointing at Lu Jinyang, he shouted in frustration, "He agreed to lend the dog, and he even got a share of the malted milk powder. Why are you only targeting me? Am I not your biological son?"

It's said that people are more concerned about unfairness than scarcity. If the two Lu brothers had been beaten together, they could have found a kindred spirit in each other. But Lu Jinyang was a model student, a good student, and always obediently admitted his mistakes. Before the old man could even crack the whip, Lu Jinyang had already knelt down and sincerely apologized. How could the old man possibly bring himself to punish him?

Unfortunately, Lu Zhiqiang was stubborn. Even after Dahuang died after being borrowed, he refused to admit his mistake and blamed it all on Sun Weimin. The more the old man of the Lu family thought about it, the angrier he became. After a fierce fight with the Sun family, he went home and locked Lu Zhiqiang in the door to beat him again.

This made Lu Zhiqiang completely rebellious. His family forbade him to go hunting in the mountains, but he refused to listen and insisted on going!

Moreover, he insisted on going into the mountains with Li Ju'an, so he cleverly sent his younger sister, Lu Wenqian, to Li's house first to sound out their intentions.

Lu Wenqian was still just a 10-year-old child, and she couldn't keep anything to herself. While chatting with Li Xiao, she would glance at Li Ju'an with her big, almond-shaped eyes to see how he would react and whether he was willing to go down the mountain with her brother.

Li Ju'an naturally guessed what the little brat was thinking. His eyes swept over Lu Wenqian, and he immediately thought of the news he heard in the village after he went south in his previous life.

Lu Wenqian had beautiful almond-shaped eyes and a straight nose, unlike the rest of the Lu family. As she grew up, she became a stunning beauty. In her previous life, she excelled in her studies and went to study in a big city, becoming the only female college student in the village. Later, in the 90s, after graduating, she stayed on to teach at the university, becoming the only highly educated person in the village.

This feeling was very strange to him, as if each person was standing in front of him and he could know the future of these villagers, which he found incredible.

He glanced at Lu Wenqian a couple more times, and suddenly Lu Wenqian lowered her face, twisted her hands, and kicked her feet, which were embroidered boots, absentmindedly, staring at her toes.

Li Ju'an directly refused her: "Your brother wants to go into the mountains to set traps? There isn't even a hunting dog. If he encounters any wild animals, there's no one to warn him. It won't work. You should tell your brother to give up on this idea as soon as possible and listen to what I say."

Lu Wenqian looked up and retorted, "Brother Li, you didn't bring any dogs when you hunted the jumping cats and wild boars last time, and Da Hu only came later. If you can do it, why can't our brother?"