Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

"I was wrong, please don't be angry."

"Don't talk to me, I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Hey Zhe, how about I bring you a bottle of my dad's good wine next time? You'll forgive me then, right?"

"No way, I'm scared. What if you pull out a gun? How am I supposed to live?"

"I don't drink it, I'll give it to you."

"My family has no shortage of alcohol."

"Then I'll get you something nice to eat."

"No need, my dad has already gone back to work at the school. He earns over a hundred a month. My family isn't short of money. I can buy whatever I want to eat."

"Then how can you forgive me?"

"All I want right now is for you to shut up and stop talking to me."

"Oh."

Li Xiangdong leaned against the donkey cart, watching the two of them talk back and forth. A Zhe was unmoved by reason, while Hou San was like a child who had made a mistake, trying to please people.

"Alright, Hou San, A Zhe is fine. Let him calm down. But you should remember this in the future. There's no village or shop in sight. What if A Zhe gets kicked by a donkey?"

"I understand, Brother Dong."

Hou San huddled in a corner of the donkey cart, head down, fiddling with his fingers, looking aggrieved as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Looking at his current appearance, Li Xiangdong thought to himself, "He really is a child who will never grow up. No wonder Hou Jianshe went to great lengths to have me keep an eye on him."

If no one was watching, Hou Jianshe would definitely not have let Hou San come out on the bus. He would probably be working as a ticket seller now, just like Hou San's older sisters.

"Zhe, did your dad go back to school?"

Li Xiangdong was a little curious about this. His father seemed afraid to stand on the podium anymore, so why was he back at school?

Ah Zhe nodded. "I went back, but I'm not teaching anymore. I took on the role of deputy director of the department, and the work assigned to my dad was mainly in management."

Li Xiangdong smiled and said, "That's a promotion! Congratulations!"

Ah Zhe laughed and said, "The main reason is that my dad's old boss is back. He's now the vice principal of the school. The reason my dad and I were exiled to the southwest was because my dad spoke up for his old boss. Now, my dad has turned misfortune into blessing."

"Dongzi, I should thank you. If it weren't for what you said to my father, he definitely wouldn't have gone back."

Li Xiangdong was greatly surprised to hear what A Zhe said; he had no idea about this in his previous life.

It seems that as long as Ah Zhe and his father don't plan to go abroad again, Ah Zhe's father's future is limitless.

A-Zhe's father is knowledgeable in economics. Taking advantage of this favorable situation and having the backing of a university vice president, if he were to transition from academia to politics, he could very well become the next Shi Yuliang!

He waved his hand, "It has little to do with me. It's mainly because your father figured it out himself."

Ah Zhe said earnestly, "Don't say that. My dad's decision to go back to school has a lot to do with you. He even told me to invite you to our house for a drink."

Li Xiangdong smiled and nodded, "Sure, your dad's treating me to drinks, I'll definitely go."

The person inviting him for drinks was the future Shih Yu-liang, so of course he had to go!

If he doesn't go, what if this future political heavyweight gets angry?

Li Xiangdong and A Zhe chatted about his father's recent situation. Hou San shamelessly came over, only to be given a few eye rolls from A Zhe. The three of them then started chatting and laughing again.

The donkey cart swayed and rocked until the sun was high in the sky before finally returning to the guesthouse.

Li Xiangdong and his two companions first put the sacks and cricket boxes back into their room.

"Hou San".

"What's wrong, Dong-ge?"

Li Xiangdong pulled Hou San to his side and whispered, "Zhe and I are going to Uncle Zheng's house to familiarize ourselves with the place. You stay inside and keep an eye on our things. You know Wang Chenghao, right? It seems like he's got his eye on us."

Hou San asked in surprise, "What is that little bastard Wang Chenghao trying to do?"

Li Xiangdong patted him on the shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe he's just suspicious, or maybe he already knows we're making money by trading crickets and wants to figure out how we do it so he can follow us and do it too."

Hou San was still counting on Li Xiangdong to help him make a fortune, but now that Wang Chenghao had come along, he frowned and said, "Brother Dong, should I try to transfer Wang Chenghao away? Let him go somewhere else."

Li Xiangdong thought for a moment, "Let's talk about this later. If he's just suspicious, wouldn't transferring him just prove there's a problem? Let's wait and see."

"Okay, Dong-ge, I'll listen to you."

Hou San carried a chair and followed Li Xiangdong and the others out of the house. "Brother Dong, you and A Zhe can go ahead without worry. I'll just sit at the door."

Li Xiangdong nodded and said, "Okay, then we're off."

Ah Zhe laughed and patted Hou San on the shoulder, "You'd better do a good job as the doorman. If you get things done, we'll move on from the donkey kicking me."

Upon hearing this, Hou San patted his chest happily, "Ah Zhe, don't worry."

After giving instructions to Hou San, Li Xiangdong and A Zhe left the guesthouse and boarded a donkey cart.

"Uncle Zheng, here's the fare."

Uncle Zheng smiled and took the one yuan that Li Xiangdong handed him, saying, "Hold on tight."

The village is indeed very close to the guesthouse, only about a ten-minute walk away.

To Li Xiangdong's surprise, there were actually several large brick and tile houses in this seemingly poor village.

"You mean this family? This used to be the home of the landlord in our village. All the land in our village used to belong to them. My dad used to herd cattle for them. Later, he was taken to the county for execution and died. Now, only one son is left in the family."

Uncle Zheng chuckled and answered Li Xiangdong's questions. While speaking to Li Xiangdong, he was constantly expressing his gratitude to the organization and the leaders in his heart.

If these landlords hadn't been overthrown, he wouldn't have been able to catch a donkey cart, and most likely, like his father, would have had to work as a farmhand, herding cattle to support his family.

"Yes, we have those bottles and jars you mentioned. His family's property was divided up by our village once, but a lot of their things were smashed back then."

"We also have silver dollars, lots of them. My family received more than a dozen back then. We sold some when the harvest was bad, but we still have some at home now."

Li Xiangdong handed Uncle Zheng a cigarette, "Uncle Zheng, tell me more, I really enjoy listening to these kinds of stories."

Uncle Zheng chuckled as he smoked, "Then I'll tell you the rest."

“He only has one son left, and he doesn’t like to talk to people in our village. He usually stays at home alone. But I think he must be hiding something in his house.”

Li Xiangdong asked, "Really? Why do you say that?"

Uncle Zheng replied, "The smell of meat often wafts from his house. Landlords hide money; they're all very cunning. It's just a pity that they don't allow fighting landlords anymore. My youngest son still needs money to get married."

Li Xiangdong laughed when he heard this. The situation was different now; the focus was on economic development, so naturally, people wouldn't be playing cards anymore.

Moreover, the oppressive force on ordinary people now is not the landlord class...