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

The next day, Li Ju'an set off from the production brigade. Before he left, Brigade Leader Chen insisted on giving him another half-carrot of pork.

According to Captain Chen, this half-carcass of pork belonged to the pig that was killed by the bear in the pig farm. The culprit has been found, and now that the bear is dead, the pig can finally rest in peace.

Li Ju'an and his group set off down the mountain with their mule sleds. Before leaving, he looked back and saw Yang Tingting leaning against the door of the clinic next door, looking in his direction.

When Yang Tingting saw him leave, she waved vigorously to say goodbye.

Seeing Yang Tingting's unusual behavior, the nurse jokingly asked, "What's wrong, Sister Yang? Have you taken a fancy to the bear-slaying hero?"

"In the past, there was Wu Song fighting the tiger; now there's a little hero fighting the black bear."

Yang Tingting sneered at the two nurses, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who would be interested in him? Hunting men smell terrible."

The nurse laughed even harder and teased, "Isn't it true that men have to be attractive? If they're not attractive, they're just pretty boys, right?"

The two nurses looked at Lu Zhiqiang, who was still lying in the ward, groaning and moaning.

Lu Zhiqiang's skin was indeed fairer, which was due to the strict discipline of the Lu family patriarch. If it weren't for the elders in his family keeping an eye on him, he would have long since become lawless, spending his time like a street thug, getting into fights, gambling, and playing cards.

Now Lu Zhiqiang keeps glancing at the pretty female nurse, whimpering and complaining of aches and pains, clearly harboring some ill intent.

Yang Tingting was pretty. She scoffed at Lu Zhiqiang and whispered to her colleagues on duty, "That pretty boy, he screams even when he gets a shot. I could kill several of him with one punch."

The nurses at the clinic burst into laughter. Lu Zhiqiang, like a simpleton, only thought the women's smiles were really beautiful. He groaned and pretended to be in pain, making him even more reluctant to leave.

"Comrade, have you paid the medical bills?"

Lu Zhiqiang was so focused on looking at Yang Tingting that he only came to his senses when he saw her delicate, green fingers outstretched towards him, along with the hospital bill.

Medical expenses? You didn't say you'd have to pay for a hospital stay overnight.

"Isn't it all publicly funded medical care? Why do we still have to pay?"

Yang Tingting didn't lower her outstretched hand. She raised her delicate willow-leaf eyebrows and said, "The prescription and doctor's visit are free, but you have to pay the registration fee. You think you can get away with 5 cents?"

In the 80s, the medical system was publicly owned. Employees of government agencies and public institutions enjoyed free medical care, while employees of state-owned enterprises enjoyed labor insurance medical care. They could get medicine and see a doctor for a fee of five cents, which was just for registration.

Lu Zhiqiang was embarrassed by the rebuke. He scratched the back of his head and quickly pulled out a one-cent coin from his pocket. He pulled out five coins before handing them over.

The female nurses, seeing his embarrassed and blushing face, all covered their mouths and laughed. Yang Tingting ignored him, glared at him with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, collected the registration fee, and sent him away.

"Everything's alright now. Hurry up and pack your things to go down the mountain. The production team will be sending more wounded soldiers soon, so don't just sit there doing nothing."

Lu Zhiqiang felt embarrassed. He had never been stared at by so many women before, and he was even asked to leave by a pretty nurse. He couldn't save face.

A surge of anger rose within him, and he retorted, "You think I'm just hogging the toilet without using it? You'd better take responsibility for your words, lady. Who told me to take my pants off and then insist on giving me a shot? And if I didn't take them off, you'd try to pull them down. Watch out, I'll report you for indecent assault!"

He straightened his back and finally stood up for himself.

The crackdown in the 80s was extremely strict. Two young men were once sentenced to death and life imprisonment, respectively, for hooliganism after attending a dance. There was no crime against men, but also against women; anyone guilty of hooliganism was severely punished!

Yang Tingting stared in astonishment with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, so angry that she almost couldn't catch her breath, which made her laugh out loud.

The laughter of the female nurses around them grew even louder; the younger nurses couldn't contain their joy and were laughing so hard they were clutching their bellies and stomping their feet.

"Oh my god, this is hilarious! This is the first time I've ever heard of someone refusing to take their pants off for a shot, and then calling it indecent assault. Dude, have you never had a shot before? How can you give a shot if you don't take your pants off?"

Lu Zhiqiang stubbornly insisted, "Call your male nurses to do the injections."

There are no male nurses in clinics, and even in large county hospitals, all the nurses are female. When it comes to getting an injection in the buttocks, regardless of age or gender, everyone has to turn around, sit on the injection table, pull down their pants, and expose a piece of their buttocks. This is also called an intramuscular injection.

Facing the cold needle and the stern face of the nurse, getting an intramuscular injection was a childhood nightmare for many. If someone nervously held their gluteal muscles, the needle might stick in and be impossible to pull out, causing even a strong man to howl in pain.

The nurses at the clinic laughed even louder.

Yang Tingting glanced at the medical report, took out a syringe, inserted the needle, then quickly shook the small medicine bottle to mix it well. She deftly pried open the cap and inserted the syringe to draw in the medicine. Then she inverted the syringe, her large almond-shaped eyes fixed on the needle, and slowly pressed the syringe to squeeze out the air from the medicine.

"Patient number 3 in the inpatient department, Comrade Lu Zhiqiang, it's time for your injection."

If you're not discharged, you can continue treatment; you'll need daily anti-inflammatory injections.

Lu Zhiqiang stared at the slender silver needle and the drop of medicine squeezed out of it, the shadow of childhood injections in his buttocks resurfacing. A thin layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead from nervousness. He quickly waved his hand and said, "No, I don't want to stay here anymore. I'll be discharged right now. Thank you, nurse. I'm going down the mountain now, all done!"

Lu Zhiqiang fled the hospital and went down the mountain, followed by a group of young female nurses who giggled and their laughter carried far.

……

By this time, Li Ju'an had already gone down the mountain and returned to his family village.

He returned to the Li family home with his bountiful harvest, enjoying the warm warmth of the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). At the courtyard gate, Li Guaizi and Song Desheng were still discussing how to sell the meat. The two men, leading a sled with a large black bear's head hanging from it, had spread the news far and wide.

Li Ju'an from the Li family was the cannon fodder; he shot down a black bear and a very large snake.

Song Lanhua, Li Ju'an's mother, kept nagging worriedly. When she saw Li Ju'an return, she was so busy checking him for any injuries that she didn't even notice what he had brought back.

“A bear weighs over 800 pounds, and a pound of meat can only be sold for 9 cents. Why are you risking your life for a bear? If something happens to you, how will we mother and son survive?”

Song Lanhua, Li Xiao's mother, hugged her and cried. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became, and she even started to blame Li Ju'an.

Li Ju'an didn't explain, he just kept smiling.

His mother didn't know that a bear weighed less than 800 jin (400 catties), but only a little over 400 jin (200 kg). A jin of bear meat wouldn't even sell for 9 mao (0.9 yuan), and the locals would only accept 35 mao (0.35 yuan). But he wouldn't tell his mother these things, afraid that she would worry even more and think it wasn't worth it.

"Mom, I also thought the price was too low, so I took all the bear meat to the production brigade's canteen."

Song Lanhua, the mother, became even more worried.

The production brigade was located in a very remote area, frequented by wild animals. She heard from Qian Dingxiang that a few days ago, something had happened at the pig farm—more than a hundred pigs had disappeared. Qian Dingxiang didn't say exactly how they went missing, and she didn't know either. But it seemed they had been attacked by wild animals.

“You silly child, what are you going to do at the production brigade? Although our family isn’t as well off as some of the other families in the village, we’re not lacking in food, clothing, or other necessities. We’re not talking about making a lot of money or buying a big house. As long as our family is peaceful and healthy, that’s enough.”

Li Ju'an knew his mother was worried about him, so he quickly changed the subject and tried to cheer her up with a grin.

"Mom, I have some good news. Do you want to hear it?"