Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Mr. Li still escorted them to the outside of the train station building before riding his bicycle home alone.

"Brother Dong, Xiao Hei and Xiao Huang..."

"I know what you're going to ask. Don't worry, I'm not hungry or cold."

Li Xiangdong wasn't lying to him; he would secretly feed the children at mealtimes.

They were so afraid the two puppies wouldn't have enough to eat; if he hadn't discovered it in time, the two dogs would have been stuffed to death.

The three chatted and yawned, and after putting their things in the rest compartment, they went their separate ways to get to work.

"Bell... Dongzi."

Li Xiangdong was carrying a tin kettle to heat water in a thermos when he heard someone call him. He turned around and saw Wang Chenghao standing awkwardly behind him.

"What's your business?"

Wang Chenghao pursed his lips. "Why isn't Hou San with you?"

"He went to add water to his love life. If you're looking for him, come back later."

Li Xiangdong turned back to his work. Wang Chenghao was too long-winded. He should just say what he wanted to say. Why did he have to ask Hou San to give him some breathing room?

Wang Chenghao pondered his words carefully before understanding their meaning: anyone with eyes could see that Hou San liked Kong Dani.

"Hehe, you're quite funny. I'm not looking for him, I'm looking for you."

"What do you want? I've finished my water, I need to get another kettle of hot water."

Li Xiangdong waved the tin kettle in his hand, signaling Wang Chenghao, who was blocking his way behind him, to move aside.

"I'll go with you, we can talk as we walk."

Wang Chenghao moved aside and followed him into the boiler room after he passed by.

"I came here to tell you that we lost money on the crickets we dealt in last time. There are really some tricks to it, so I don't plan to deal in them anymore for the time being. I'm going to study them properly in the next period of time."

"You lost money?"

Li Xiangdong asked with feigned surprise, then his expression changed and he laughed, "Trading crickets doesn't require much capital. As long as you drink less and smoke fewer packs of cigarettes this month, you'll get all the money you lost back."

Wang Chenghao nodded. "You're right. It's not that I'm worried about the money. I came here to ask you for a favor."

"Beg me? Tell me what it is first."

"It's not a big deal. If you can make money by trading crickets, someone must have taught you, right? I just want you to introduce me to an expert in crickets."

After hearing what he said, Li Xiangdong stopped and turned around to look him up and down carefully.

"You don't need to look for anyone else. If you want to learn, you can become my apprentice. My requirements aren't high. We can just follow the old rules: three years as an apprentice and two years as a servant. During this period, you also need to give me something on the three major festivals and two birthdays. After five years, I will teach you the real skills. How about that?"

Wang Chenghao's face grew increasingly grim as he listened. He looked at the smiling Li Xiangdong, forcing a smile through his dark expression. "Are you kidding me?"

"You're the one who's teasing me! Don't think you're smart and everyone else is stupid. We're not that close."

"If you make money, I'll watch from the sidelines. If you lose everything, I'll still watch from the sidelines. We're just ordinary colleagues, nothing more. Do you understand?"

Li Xiangdong left immediately after speaking; people like that are really boring.

If Wang Chenghao had approached him sincerely from the beginning and expressed his desire to join, he would most likely have agreed, since the team would grow and he would earn more money.

But this guy went and set up his own territory, and now that he's losing money, he's realized it's not what he expected, and he's trying to outsmart him again.

So he didn't intend to save face for Wang Chenghao, otherwise Wang Chenghao would think he was an easy-going fool.

Li Xiangdong didn't tell Hou San about this little incident before departure, otherwise Hou San, with his short temper, would definitely have gone over and gotten into a fight with Wang Chenghao.

It's really not worth it for someone like that; just avoid them in the future.

With Hou San, this big shot, backing him up, Wang Chenghao absolutely can't cause any trouble. Even if you gave him three times the courage, he wouldn't dare to have any bad intentions.

These days, there are many water stations in remote, desolate places, specifically for refilling water for trains that need to stop temporarily when they are short of water. If Wang Chenghao dares to cause trouble for them, he will have Hou San transfer Wang Chenghao to such a place!

The train jolted occasionally as it moved forward, and Li Xiangdong and Hou San, with smiles on their faces and full of enthusiasm, went through the carriages to pour hot water into every cup and mug that was offered to them.

People's happiness index is high now. As long as they have enough to eat and drink, most people have smiles on their faces, unlike in the future when you won't see two smiling faces on the street.

The smiles of the people also touched Li Xiangdong. They thanked him repeatedly, saying "Thank you, comrade" and "Thank you for your trouble," which made him very happy.

Although his arms ached from carrying the metal water bottle for so long, he and Hou San were like two busy little bees, running back and forth between the carriages.

There's no other way; the people need them so much!

"Oh my god, I'm exhausted!"

Hou San stood at the junction of the two carriages, put his tin water bottle on the ground, and refused to move.

He leaned against the carriage, let out a long breath, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Brother Dong, let's take a break. My arms can't lift the kettle anymore."

Before Li Xiangdong could speak, the passengers crowded nearby started to chime in.

"You two young comrades need to take a good rest. Look how tired you are, your heads are covered in sweat."

"Let me tell you, I often travel to other places on business, and I've seen plenty of people cheating and shirking their duties on trains, but it's really rare to see people like these two young comrades!"

Hearing everyone's praise, Li Xiangdong waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Please don't praise us like that. Comrade Hou Quan and I just started working. On the day we joined the company, our leaders repeatedly told us that we must do a good job of serving the people."

"well said!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a cadre uniform with a pen in his shirt pocket was the first to clap and cheer, which drew applause and cheers from the surrounding passengers.

"This young comrade is Hou Quan, right? What's your name, young comrade? We'll definitely write a letter of commendation to your unit when we get there."

"That's right. Young comrades who have just started working should be praised, and I should be included in the letter of praise."

“I’ll write one too. Our company gives out a few stamps every month, so they’ll come in handy.”

Li Xiangdong smiled and declined, saying, "What we do doesn't deserve a letter of praise from everyone. It's just what we should do."

After he finished speaking, he pulled Hou San away, dawdling as he walked, saying, "Hou Quan, let's go back to work. There are still two carriages left to go to. What did the leader tell us? We must do a good job of serving the people!"

Just as Li Xiangdong was about to say a few more words, Hou San, whose face was flushed from the praise, broke free from his hand.

"Brother Dong, I haven't taken my tin kettle yet."

Just then, a passenger came over carrying a metal water bottle. "Young man, you've left your water bottle behind."

Li Xiangdong nudged Hou San, "Hou Quan! Hurry up and take this, and thank this comrade quickly."