Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Ah Zhe felt like Hou San had played him, and he angrily said, "Why are you in here if you're not going to the toilet? Get out if you have nothing to do!"

Hou San chuckled and said, "I'm happy to do it, hey~ it's none of your business, Little Zhe~"

A provocative figure standing with his hands on his hips and jumping up and down.

The other one, though squatting, looked like he could pull up his pants at any moment without a care in the world.

Li Xiangdong was worried that the two would get into another fight in the restroom, so he said, "Let's hurry up and leave, Hou San, stop joking around."

Hou San was pushed out by Li Xiangdong, who kept saying, "Little Zhe, I'm leaving. Remember to call me when you run out of paper. If I don't hear you, just use your fingers to pick at it."

Li Xiangdong pushed Hou San out of the toilet, and they could still hear A Zhe's roar from a long distance away.

After preparing hot water, the two returned to their room and rested on their single beds.

"Dongzi, Hou San."

After entering the house, A Zhe closed the door behind him.

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Why didn't you stay in your own room to rest? Are you going to continue arguing with Hou San about who's superior?"

Hou San lay on the bed with his legs crossed. "Ah Zhe, I really am 19 this year. If you don't believe me, I'll show you my household registration book when we go back to Beijing."

A Zhe ignored Hou San, walked over and sat on Li Xiangdong's bed. "Stop laughing. I have something important to tell you two."

He glanced at the two of them mysteriously, "I just overheard some news that a ship is docking tonight, and some of our crew members are planning to go and pick up the cargo."

"Are you itching to go along?" Li Xiangdong stared intently at A Zhe. No wonder he could put aside his grudge with Hou San in the restroom; it turned out his mind was on this.

Upon hearing this exciting news, Hou San sprang out of bed and went to A Zhe's side to ask, "Where is the ship docking? When are they leaving?"

Ah Zhe shook his head and said, "I don't know. I overheard this news by accident. I'm not familiar with them at all. Who would tell me something so important?"

Hou San shrank his neck and grinned slyly, "If they don't say anything, we can just follow them around."

Li Xiangdong lay on his side on the bed and said lazily, "I'm not going. You two can go by yourselves."

Hou San asked, "Brother Dong, aren't you curious?"

Li Xiangdong shook his head. "Not curious."

Ah Zhe advised, "Dongzi, let's go together. Hou San and I won't feel at ease without you."

"No, we're not going. We don't have any money. What's the point of going with them?"

Li Xiangdong thought to himself, "It's because of the two of you that I feel uneasy!"

Ah Zhe was speechless, but Hou San said urgently, "Brother Dong, have you forgotten? I brought money with me! Let's go buy some things and bring them back to the capital to resell and make money!"

"Hou San, you got some money? How much? How did you get it?"

Ah Zhe asked three questions in one sentence.

"Of course, a full two hundred yuan!"

After Hou San unzipped his pants and took out the money, he spat it out and started counting the money smugly in front of A Zhe.

Li Xiangdong straightened up and looked at Hou San, instructing him, "Keep this money safe. We agreed to go to Shandong Province on the next train, and this money will be very useful then."

"what?"

Hou San stood there dumbfounded, forgetting all about counting the money. "There are good things in Shandong Province?"

"Ah."

Li Xiangdong nodded. "Uncle Hai and his group went to Ningyang in Shandong Province. The crickets there are very famous. We don't have enough money right now, so we can make some money by trading crickets from Ningyang to Beijing."

A Zhe asked, puzzled, "Aren't crickets everywhere? Why do we need to come all the way to Shandong Province to get them?"

"You should prepare the money first."

Li Xiangdong glanced at him and explained, "The crickets of Ningyang have been known as the number one insect north of the Yangtze River since ancient times. In the past, they were all presented as tribute to the emperor for his amusement."

Hou San's slanted, triangular eyes gleamed brightly. "Brother Dong, can we make a lot of money?"

"A cricket traveling from Ningyang to the capital can double your money. Do you think that's profitable?"

In his previous life, Li Xiangdong had played with crickets. Everyone called them the "soft gold" of the insect world, and their price would only continue to rise. In later generations, crickets became the pillar industry of Ningyang.

"Doubling?"

Hou San looked at the two hundred yuan in his hand, swallowed hard, and thought to himself that he was rich.

A Zhe asked in disbelief, "How can a cricket earn so much? Does anyone still play with these things?"

"There are plenty of rich people. Just because ordinary people don't have money doesn't mean everyone is poor. You have to remember that there is never a shortage of rich people."

While Li Xiangdong was explaining, he was thinking about those enthusiasts. They still fought crickets during the three years of hardship, so how could no one be playing now?

In the wave of unemployment that followed, recent college graduates all went to deliver food, while the wealthy still spent tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan on fishing rods and figurines, spending money just like ordinary people buying cabbage.

"Don't worry, Dongzi, I'll steal the money to get it back for you once I get home!"

Ah Zhe began to curse and swear, telling Li Xiangdong to wait for his good news.

"Ah Zhe, don't say that."

Li Xiangdong quickly interrupted him, "Although we've been childhood friends, you have to understand, I'm helping you make money. Don't make it sound like I'm forcing you."

When A Zhe heard Li Xiangdong's words, his face turned red with anxiety. "Dongzi, that's not what I meant. I just don't know how to speak properly. You can't misunderstand."

Li Xiangdong smiled. He knew A Zhe was a fool. "Now you not only need to hurry up and find a way to make money, but there's something else you shouldn't forget. Hou San and I are tied together. What about you?"

Ah Zhe suddenly shouted, "Hou San!"

Hou San was startled. "What are you going to do? I'll never call you Little A Zhe again."

"What are you talking about? I've forgotten about what happened earlier. Didn't you say you'd help me change my shifts? You remember, right?"

Ah Zhe grabbed Hou San and held his hand tightly. "We're good brothers. You can't just go off and make a fortune with Dongzi and leave me behind, right?"

Hou San rolled his eyes. "Ah Zhe, are you stupid? If we were going to the south, then I would definitely need to help you, but we're going to Shandong Province. Can't you go find the leader to switch shifts yourself?"

"Only my brother Dong could think of making money by trading crickets in that place. Others would be happy to stay away from it. If you just ask, there are plenty of people who would want to switch shifts with you."

Ah Zhe slapped his forehead. "How could I not have thought of that!"

As he spoke, he released Hou San. Remembering Hou San's hand reaching into his crotch earlier, he quickly wiped it on his clothes.

Hou San leaned close to Li Xiangdong and said with a smile, "Brother Dong, I'll listen to you. I'll keep this money and not spend it. But can you come with us to take a look? I've never seen a delivery before."

Li Xiangdong pushed Hou San's head away and waved his hands repeatedly, "I'm not going, and I advise you two not to go either. We have a safe way to make money, why take the risk? If the police catch us, it's a minimum of three years, with no upper limit."

"If you two think you're lucky to be alive, or if you like the cabbage soup and black bread in prison, then pretend I didn't say anything. Anyway, neither of you has a wife or kids, so go ahead and do as you please."

Upon hearing Li Xiangdong's words, A Zhe and Hou San sat on the bed with their heads drooping and remained silent.

Li Xiangdong enjoyed this rare moment of peace and quiet until someone came to tell them to go to the cafeteria for dinner.

Hou San looked at the stir-fried radish and braised cabbage in front of him, and the only dish with a hint of meat was scrambled eggs with scallions. "The food is terrible. It's not even as good as what we ate on the train."

"Hey~ Hou San, you still owe me a meal of Goubuli steamed buns."

Ah Zhe suddenly remembered this.

Hou San shook his head and said, "No, I didn't agree to that. I've already asked around, and that stuff costs 9 cents a pound. I can't afford it."

"So expensive?"

Li Xiangdong was initially surprised to hear the price, but when he thought that it would cost 35 yuan each in later years, he didn't react so strongly.

"It is indeed a bit expensive. If the three of us eat our fill, the cost of one meal will be enough..."

A Zhe nudged Li Xiangdong with his elbow halfway through his sentence, "Dongzi, did you see those two? I overheard them talking in the bathroom."

Li Xiangdong followed A Zhe's gaze, then turned back to look at him, "You mean?"

"Um"

A Zhe nodded.

"I know those two people."

Hou San, with red eyes and gritting his teeth, said, "They lived in the same compound as me. They bullied me a lot when I was a child and went around telling other people that I was stupid and wouldn't let anyone else play with me."

Li Xiangdong put down his chopsticks and asked curiously, "Why did they say you're an idiot?"