Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiangdong saw Wang Erkui raise his hand and press a bright red handprint on the paper.

"Brother Er Kui, aren't you going to look at what I wrote?"

Wang Erkui shook his head. "Brother Dong, I can't read."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangdong looked at Wang Erkui, who was rubbing the ink on his fingers, and thought to himself that he really couldn't read.

He had previously noticed that Wang Erkui couldn't even count money properly, so he suspected that Wang Erkui was illiterate. But if he asked him directly, he was worried that it would hurt Wang Erkui's pride.

Li Xiangdong folded the note and put it in his pocket. Now he felt relieved. He had some explanation for where the watch came from, and at least he could appease his family when he got home.

"Dong-ge, why did you write so much on the note?"

"It's mainly because you're a good person, Er Kui, so I naturally had to emphasize how generous and righteous you are."

"I'm not as good as you say."

"I'm fine, Brother Er Kui, don't be modest."

...

...

Li Xiangdong waved goodbye to Wang Erkui and his son, and as he watched their figures disappear into the distance, he touched the note in his pocket.

"Dongzi, stop looking. Everyone's gone. We should go back now."

A-Zhe, who was carrying a cricket box, looked at his childhood friend with a puzzled and confused expression.

Is it really necessary for two grown men to pull such a stunt?

"Let's go, let's hurry back."

Li Xiangdong smiled, and the three of them turned around and strode towards the guesthouse.

Hou San sidled up to Li Xiangdong and asked, "Brother Dong, tell us quickly, how did you and Wang Erkui escape from Qin Liu's gang? And where did you two hide?"

A-Zhe, who was standing nearby, added, "What about these three cricket boxes? What's going on? And why are we giving Wang Er-Kui half the money for the crickets?"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "You two certainly have quite a few questions. Well, here's the thing..."

He briefly recounted what happened after Hou San and A Zhe left, focusing, of course, on Wang Er Kui's methods.

That skill of knocking someone out without them even noticing is truly remarkable!

"Brother Dong, if you put it that way, Wang Erkui is indeed quite fierce. I wish I had been there back then."

Hou San's eyes lit up; he wished he had been there at the time.

Ah Zhe curled his lip and said, "Hou San, use your brain and think about it carefully. It's only because Wang Er Kui didn't have any bad intentions back then, otherwise Dongzi would have been in danger."

Upon hearing A Zhe's words, Li Xiangdong nodded in agreement. He had indeed been keeping a close watch on Wang Er Kui.

Fortunately, Wang Erkui didn't lose his temper and knocked him down in the cornfield as well.

He still feels a little scared when he thinks about it now, after all, he and Wang Erkui had only just met, and people's hearts are not easily tested.

"Brother Dong, let me see your watch."

"Give."

Li Xiangdong took out a watch from his pocket and handed it to Hou San.

Hou San looked at the watch and commented, "It's just so-so, nowhere near as good as mine."

Li Xiangdong smiled, took the watch back from his hand, and put it in his pocket. "It works, so it's fine. I just need it to tell time."

Ah Zhe laughed and said, "Hou San, not everyone is like you, showing off their watch to everyone they meet."

"Cut~"

Hou Sande replied smugly, "I'm happy to, Lord Hou."

The three chatted as they left the main road and turned onto a side path. In front of them, behind a low courtyard wall, was a lush green vegetable garden.

Li Xiangdong stopped and said, "A Zhe, go knock on their door and ask if they're selling cucumbers in their yard. If not, exchange some with grain coupons. We can't let our crickets go hungry."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Upon hearing this, A Zhe went up and knocked on the door.

Li Xiangdong and Hou San squatted at the door, waiting for A Zhe to talk to the homeowner.

A moment later, A Zhe came out carrying more than a dozen cucumbers. "Dongzi, is this enough? My satchel is full too."

Li Xiangdong stood up and said, "That's enough. We don't need this much. We can eat the rest as snacks on the way."

Hou San stepped forward, pulled a cucumber from A Zhe's arms, wiped it on his clothes, broke it in two, and asked, "Brother Dong, do you want some?"

"Eat it yourself."

"Hou San, give me half."

The three returned to the guesthouse. Li Xiangdong first went to the pool to wash up, but without drying himself, he took a kitchen knife from Hou San and started cutting cucumbers.

Li Xiangdong looked up at Hou San beside him and said, "See? You cut it into a thin strip like this."

He handed the cleaver back to Hou San, saying, "Here, I'll go put cucumber strips in the bamboo tube."

Placing cucumber strips inside the bamboo tube is a skill; they need to be weighed down with cotton to prevent them from falling into the tube and potentially injuring the crickets inside.

He took Ah Zhe under his wing, teaching him as he went, which significantly accelerated the process.

"How much did you two spend this time? Hou San, include the cost of your braised chicken and the cost of our noodles in the bill."

"You two put in a lot of effort this time, so let's forget about the 60/20 split we agreed on before. We'll split the profits from selling the crickets back in the capital."

"Let's make it clear that this is the only time; in the future, the profits will still be split 60/20."

"Hehe, thanks, Brother Dong."

Hou San put down the cleaver, took out a handful of banknotes and began to count them. "Brother Dong, I spent a total of seventy-nine yuan and eighty cents."

Li Xiangdong nodded. "What about you, A-Zhe?"

“I gave Wang Erkui 30 yuan for the three boxes of crickets. With other miscellaneous expenses, I spent a total of 60 yuan and 3 mao. Let’s just say 60 yuan.”

"Okay, yours will be charged at sixty yuan, and Hou San's at eighty yuan."

Hou San and A Zhe nodded in agreement with Li Xiangdong's words, not caring about a few cents.

Just as the three were chatting enthusiastically, Gao Xinmin arrived uninvited.

He stood at the doorway and looked around the room, which was filled with bamboo tubes, bamboo scraps, and debris.

"You three are really good at making trouble. Clean everything up in a bit, otherwise I won't be responsible if the guesthouse causes you any trouble because of this."

The three hurriedly stood up and said, "Yes, conductor."

"Uncle Gao, we'll clean up in a bit."

Li Xiangdong stood up and ushered Gao Xinmin into the house. He took the cigarette that A Zhe offered and lit it for Gao Xinmin. "Uncle Gao, what brings you here?"

Gao Xinmin, smoking a cigarette, said, "So you don't want me to come over?"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "No, the three of us think you're very kind. I'm just afraid of interfering with your work."

"It won't delay you. My job is to bring you back safely."

Gao Xinmin looked at it carefully for a while and exclaimed in surprise, "Are you feeding crickets cucumbers? Are you treating them like royalty?!"

Hou San, slicing a cucumber, said, "Of course I have to treat you like royalty. I'm counting on..."