Reborn in the Great Northern Wilderness in 1982, I farmed and hunted to support my whole family.

Li Mu and Tian Xiaohu got up at the same time and rushed out of the restaurant, only to see a man in a military overcoat coming towards them.

As he got closer, Li Mu noticed that the man was holding a knife, and a woman in a floral cotton-padded jacket was chasing after him, shouting as she went.

Without a doubt, this guy was a thief. As he got closer, Li Mei reached out and grabbed the shovel next to the restaurant.

"Stop running!"

Tian Xiaohu also grabbed a broom and stood next to Li Mu.

"Get out of my way, or I'll make you regret it."

The man in the military overcoat brandished the knife in his hand menacingly.

"Stealing and still so arrogant?"

Li Mu swung his shovel and started hitting the ground.

The soldier in the overcoat couldn't dodge in time and had his knife knocked away. Tian Xiaohu went up and hit him a few more times, making him roll all over the ground.

"Money, my money, my life-saving money."

As she spoke, the woman pressed her general's coat down on her.

At this moment, Li Mu also recognized that the woman's name was Zeng Dazhen, and that her daughter Tao Yimei was a classmate of Li Mei.

"Aunt Zeng, it's you!"

Tian Xiaohu also recognized Li Dazhen and quickly stepped forward to help.

The three of them worked together and finally subdued the thief. Li Dazhen then pulled out a floral cloth bag from inside her military overcoat.

"They're all here, they're all here..."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and started scratching the face of the soldier in the overcoat. In no time, the overcoat turned into "shredded potatoes".

Li Mu pulled Zeng Dazhen aside and asked, "Aunt Zeng? What are you doing here?"

"Your uncle is sick, and I came to sell him medicine, but who knew I'd run into this bastard."

As Zeng Dazhen was about to scratch, Mu pulled her back again.

"Aunt Zeng, have you bought all the medicine?"

Zeng Dazhen said she had already bought the medicine and was about to go home when it was stolen from her as soon as she left the pharmacy.

"Then hurry home, don't keep your uncle waiting."

Zeng Dazhen thought Li Mu's words made sense, and before leaving, she spat on the face of the soldier in the overcoat.

Watching Zeng Dazhen walk away, Li Mu loosened his general's overcoat.

"You should go too, but remember to do something worthwhile in the future."

The man in the military overcoat was surprised that Li Mu would let him go, and said blankly, "I, Er Dongzi, will remember this favor."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Er Dongzi?

Li Mu seemed to vaguely recognize the name, but couldn't quite place it.

Back at the restaurant, Xu Jiacai looked at the two and said, "Don't blame me for being nosy, but mind your own business in the future."

Li Mu nodded. He understood what Xu Jiacai meant; offending some thieves could lead to retaliation.

They were all fellow villagers from the same village, how could Li Mu possibly ignore it?

After the meal, Xu Jiacai gave each of them two bowls, saying that they should meet again at the market in the future.

Before returning to the village, the two went to a department store and saw a 26-inch blue Forever bicycle displayed in the window.

"This car is really cool! Bro, when do you think we can get one together?"

Tian Xiaohu was practically drooling.

"Don't rush, catch a few more rabbits, and it would be best if you could catch a few foxes too."

Li Mu recalls that fox fur scarves were popular for a period of time in the late 80s, and he remembers that one cost more than a hundred yuan.

A bicycle costs 360 yuan, which is the price of a few fox fur scarves.

Back home, Li Mu handed the "clam oil" he had bought to his mother.

"Mom, you can use this from now on."

When Liang Meifen saw that it was "clam oil," she was both surprised and delighted. "Second son, why did you buy this? It's quite expensive. It's alright, Mom."

"Mom, look at your hands."

As Li Mu spoke, his nose tingled and he almost shed tears.

"Mom is fine, she's used to it."

Liang Meifen tried to cover her cracked hands, but there was no way to hide them.

"Mom, don't worry, I will make sure you live a good life from now on."

Li Mu said with great confidence.

"Mom, I believe you, I believe you."

Liang Meifen said, her voice choked with emotion.

Who bought the wine?

"Good wine! Are you having guests?"

Li Guozhang's voice came from the outer room.

Li Mu's father has returned.

"Dad, I bought this wine for you, so please drink less."

Li Guozhang had no other hobbies besides drinking his whole life.

"You bought it? Where did you get the money?"

Li Guozhang was very afraid that his son would go astray, after all, things were very chaotic outside.

"Didn't I catch a few rabbits? I'll take them to the market to sell."

Li Mu was cautious; he never mentioned earning a little over a hundred.

One hundred was a huge sum of money back then.

"Buying rabbits? Don't get cocky, speculation is a criminal offense."

In 82, at the beginning of the reform and opening up, many people still considered doing business to be speculation and profiteering.

"Dad, are you looking at that old almanac from back then? The government is encouraging self-employment now."

As Li Mu spoke, he took out the newspapers he had bought and placed them on the table.

The headline on the front page was: The government encourages the development of the individual economy...

Seeing the newspaper, Li Guozhang remained defiant, saying, "These things change all the time, you'd better not be so smug."

Li Mu knew that his father was just like that, never admitting defeat verbally, so he chuckled twice and said, "I know."

Li Mei then found the tools and started making animal traps with the No. 2 wire she had bought.

There's nothing in the mountains that doesn't know how to do this, but due to policy changes in recent years, no one dares to go hunting in the mountains anymore.

Li Mu was busy in the backyard when he suddenly heard his mother, Liang Meifen, call out, "Second son, someone is looking for you."

"Ah, I heard that."

Li Mu agreed and got up to leave, thinking it must be Tian Xiaohu.

But when they arrived at the front yard, they found Tao Yimei there, carrying a basket of eggs.

Tao Yimei is a famous beauty in the surrounding villages, and it is said that she is already engaged to Liu Mancang from the next village.

Liu Mancang's father was the village chief, and the family lived a very comfortable life.

However, Li Mu remembered that Tao Yimei was not happy after marriage. Liu Mancang drank, gambled, and committed domestic violence.

Later, because Tao Yimei gave birth to a girl, he almost beat her to death. Li Mu thought to himself that he would have to persuade her if he had the chance in the future.

"Li Mu, did my mom ask me to thank you?"

Tao Yimei said with a slightly shy smile.

Despite being classmates, they barely spoke a word to each other at school during that conservative era.

"No need to thank me, we're all from the same village, come in and sit down."

Li Mu generously invited Tao Yimei into the house.

"Is the third son's illness better yet?" Li Guozhang asked.

"It's better now, I've taken too much medicine."

Tao Yimei placed the eggs on the kang (a heated brick bed) before telling the story of Li Mu catching the thief.

“Well done, you take after your father in that respect, just like someone who stands up for what is right.”

Li Guozhang was just trying to praise himself in a roundabout way. Liang Meifen retorted, "Follow your lead? You really know how to flatter yourself."

"Take these eggs back for your dad to help him recover. We raise chickens at home too!"

Liang Meifen knew that the Tao family wasn't wealthy, and she wondered how they had managed to save up those few eggs!

“My mom said that thanks to Li Mu today, you must keep these eggs.”

She got up and left, and Li Mu didn't know how to stop her.

Only after Tao Yimei left the courtyard did Liang Meifen speak, saying, "Such a good girl, wouldn't it be wonderful if she were my daughter-in-law?"

"How about I ask Aunt Zhang to put in a good word for me tomorrow?" Li Guozhang also quite liked Tao Yimei.