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

Li Ju'an pretended to put on a stern face and scolded: "What sister-in-law? I'm only 18, I haven't had enough fun yet! Getting married is just trapping men."

Before his mother could retort, Song Desheng said sarcastically, "That's not how it works. I'm only in my early twenties. You, a naive girl, can't imagine the benefits of marriage."

He only realized there were women around after he finished speaking, and he immediately regretted it and slapped himself.

Li Xiaotian asked innocently, "Brother, what is a virgin?"

Li Ju'an nudged Song Desheng: "Whoever calls someone a 'youngster' is a 'youngster'."

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Song Desheng apologized to Li Xiao with an embarrassed smile: "I'm a novice, I am, I am."

Li Guaizi couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. He took a big bite of braised pork and sighed, "Yeah, this is the first time I've ever seen a man who's married but still a virgin."

Song Desheng: "..."

Li Ju'an and Li Guaizi exchanged a glance, which infuriated Song De. He wanted to slap himself in the face; he shouldn't have argued with those two bastards, he hadn't gained anything from it.

The atmosphere at the kang table was harmonious, and Li Ju'an continued to ponder the land policy of distributing land to individual households.

In remote areas, none of the villagers wanted the land; they all crowded around for the best spots.

He remembered that in his previous life, in 85, a road was built through the village, a long road that led from a remote gully all the way to the foot of the mountain and directly to the county town. The fields around this road also saw their prices skyrocket. What was once considered a "remote" place by the villagers suddenly became incredibly valuable because of this road.

If he can get this remote location in the ditch during this land distribution, he'll be rich when the village builds roads to connect the village in five years.

After much deliberation, he decided that when the village discussed dividing the land, he was determined to take over the fields in the ditch. No matter what others said, he was determined to get them.

……

After a hearty meal, Li Ju'an filled a cloth bag with bear bile, kept it warm in his bosom, and then, together with Li Guaizi and Song Desheng, took the forest farm's small train to the county town.

It was a bit late to go to the market after lunch, but the pharmacies and supply and marketing cooperative purchasing stations in the county town were sure to still be open.

His mother, Song Lanhua, gave him a few instructions, then stuffed two sticky rice cakes into his arms, along with some money. He refused the money, clutching the still-warm sticky rice cakes as he bid farewell to his mother.

As he passed by the Lin family's house, he saw Lin Mei washing clothes with a mallet in the courtyard, while the old lady of the Lin family was smoking a pipe and teaching her how to do laundry.

Lin Mei wore a simple floral cotton-padded jacket with her sleeves rolled up, revealing her snow-white skin. Her two long braids were loosely draped over her shoulders. Beside her was a thermos of hot water, and she was using alkaline water to scrub the clothes on the washboard with a brush.

Her body swayed gently with the force of the brush. After washing with the alkaline water, she poured warm water from the Shuangxi basin onto her clothes. The laundry water flowed around her, making a soft gurgling sound, and her snow-white forearm was faintly visible in the warm water. She was like a pure white flower, serene and beautiful, quietly blooming with her own beauty, captivating all who looked at her.

Li Ju'an slowed his pace a bit.

Song Desheng immediately stepped forward and teased him, "What's wrong? You've got your eye on someone? What your sister said was absolutely right. Brother, give it your all and hurry up and bring your sister a wife."

Li Ju'an lightly patted the back of his head and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Their parents have very high standards and look down on rough men like us who go into the mountains to hunt."

He only glanced at Lin Mei before feeling his face flush. Sure enough, even if he met the girl he liked in his youth again, he would still feel a flutter in his heart. He quickly led the mule away, but Lin Mei called out to him crisply, "Li Ju'an, are you going down the mountain? Why don't you get some hot water before you go?"

He looked up and saw the girl standing in front of him, and was somewhat stunned. The winter sun was shining brightly, and Lin Mei was in the prime of her youth. She had bright eyes and white teeth, and her long, shiny black braids cascaded over her shoulders, her smile gentle and beautiful. She glanced at the stern old lady beside her and beckoned Li Ju'an over.

Even though she was wearing a thick coat and cotton-padded trousers, completely concealing her good figure, it couldn't hide her captivating charm.

In his previous life, Li Ju'an would have lived like a fool, letting the girl do whatever she wanted. Then, when the girl reached a certain age, she would still listen to her family, go to the county town for matchmaking, and marry a respectable man with a stable job in the government, who could also help support the family.

Now, looking at the girl he once loved so much, Li Ju'an knew that mutual affection couldn't change anything; only economics determined the superstructure. Power and money were the best tonics for marriage, extremely so.

He didn't step forward. Instead, he opened the lid of the old Deer Brand thermos in his leather bag, breathed out a mouthful of hot air, took a sip, and said, "No need, I brought it with me." He then turned to the old lady of the Lin family and smiled, "Auntie, we're going to the county town. Should we bring you something back?"

The old lady of the Lin family pointed to the pipe in her hand.

Li Ju'an immediately understood and laughed, "Alright! I'll pack you a bag of good cigarettes."

The old lady of the Lin family used a very long pipe, more than two feet long. After filling it with tobacco, she couldn't reach it to light it herself, so she sat outside in the yard and had Lin Mei light it for her. Then she taught Lin Mei how to wash clothes.

The old lady of the Lin family nodded, indicating her satisfaction. She pressed her hand against her lower back, stood up with her cane, and slowly went into the house to sit by the brazier on the kang (a heated brick bed).

At this moment, Sun Weimin was frantically barking throughout the village. His loud voice carried far, and he was completely enraged. The reason was that he had led the Sun family and more than a dozen fine hunting dogs into the mountains to cleanse the granary, only to find it empty!

Black Bear has already been killed.

How could Sun Weimin tolerate this? Moreover, the news that Li Ju'an had taken down a black bear by acting as the cannon fodder had spread throughout the village, so the entire village was filled with Sun Weimin's ferocious shouts.

"Where's my guts? You fucking beat me up like a bear, where's my guts?"

Sun Weimin searched all the way here and just happened to see Li Ju'an standing at the door of the Lin family's house. Lin Mei was washing clothes with her sleeves rolled up, revealing a section of her tender, translucent forearm.

He had been rejected by Lin Mei multiple times, and this time he was humiliated by Li Ju'an during the warehouse cleanup. His temper flared up immediately, and he shouted in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh dear, our village beauty is taken. What have you two been up to? Your eyes are a little strange."

When Lin Mei saw that it was Sun Weimin spouting nonsense again, she picked up a basin of clothes and went into the house.

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll tell Uncle Sun and have your dad beat you up.”

Li Ju'an replied, "No need to trouble Uncle Sun. I'll beat him until he can't move, then I'll lay him on the ground and we'll both go to the hospital together. Uncle Sun will have to pay my medical bills."

Song Desheng laughed, "How rude!"

Sun Weimin was worried about having no one to talk to, and he didn't want to really confront Lin Mei. Relying on the fact that he had three relatives from the Lin family behind him, he had enough manpower and was not afraid of a real fight, so he turned around and vented his anger on Li Ju'an.

"Li Ju'an! You despicable scoundrel, you stole my bear!"