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

As Li Mu spoke, he pulled Liang Meifen closer to the house and reached into his pocket to take all the money out and put it on the kang (a heated brick bed).

One hundred, fifty, ten, five.

This huge sum of money truly shocked Liang Meifen.

"Where did all this money come from? You little rascal, you haven't done anything bad, have you?" Liang Meifen said, tidying up all the money together.

It totaled 725 yuan.

This is too much!

“This is just the beginning. Your son will only earn more than this in the future; he can't possibly earn less.”

Li Mu spoke with a smile, his face revealing an undisguised air of confidence and determination.

"No, if you put it that way, I think it's enough to buy you a permanent job in the county. I think..."

Money is a good thing; who doesn't like it?

However, Liang Meizhen clearly felt that she would rather Li Mu have a stable job than take risks in order to earn money.

“Mom! What are you saying? What can a stable job do? A few dozen yuan a month at most. It's nowhere near as profitable as collecting mountain produce or fishing.”

Li Mu interrupted Liang Meifen before she could speak again, and quickly said, "Please keep this money; I have more here."

“You can discuss it with my dad later, and we can build two more plots of land next to our house. We’ll start building new houses in the spring.”

This was something he had been planning for a long time.

The original plan was to settle the house issue first, and then help his older brother get married.

That way, at least his older brother will be able to move into a new house before his wedding.

But now we can only get married first and build the house later.

Thinking of all this, Li Mu continued, "But we also need to tidy up the house before the New Year. If you need money anywhere, just let me know."

After a few comforting words, Liang Meifen's eyes reddened and filled with tears.

"Son, you've really grown up. I don't know what good deeds I must have done in my past life to give birth to such a little lucky charm like you."

Although Liang Meizhen spoke jokingly, she was genuinely touched.

Li Mu, however, couldn't bear to see this, and quickly said, "Alright, Mother, don't cry. I'll go buy meat. Many aunties and grandmothers in the village bought meat today. If we go too late, we won't be able to buy any good meat."

As he spoke, Li Mu turned and left.

Seeing this, Liang Meifen quickly wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes and shouted, "Buy less, don't buy alcohol for your father!"

"So that he won't start bragging again after drinking some cat pee!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mu, who had already walked away, raised his hand and waved to Hui. He looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, but he was already carrying the weight of his entire family on his shoulders.

Thinking about what had happened recently, Liang Meifen turned around and couldn't help but wipe away her tears again.

Meanwhile, Li Mu strode over to Zhang the butcher's house at the village entrance.

As soon as I entered, I saw the two aunties who had settled their accounts for the mountain goods at Tao Qingshan's house earlier.

"Oh! Muzi's here."

"Muzi, have you gone home?"

The two aunties greeted Li Mu at the same time, and Li Mu responded with a smile: "Aunties, you're all here too? What are you planning to eat tonight? Dumplings or stewed meat?"

"Dumplings! The New Year is almost here, we have to eat dumplings first."

"Yes, we also make dumplings at home."

In Northeast China, meals are often of high quality, including dumplings and stewed pork with vegetables.

If you want to eat meat but also want to save money by not buying too much meat, these dumplings are the best choice.

Moreover, although life is not easy now, it is still better than in previous years when we couldn't even get enough to eat.

Hearing what the two said, Li Mu quickly replied, "I also love dumplings. My mother used to say that a half-grown boy would eat his father to death, so she would only make dumplings once a year."

"I'm going to eat my fill this year."

Li Mu chatted and laughed with the two aunts. When Zhang the butcher came out of the house upon hearing the noise, he greeted Li Mu with a smile when he saw Li Mu coming into the yard.

"Here you are, everyone. The meat is very fresh today; I brought it back in the dark this morning. Please find a place for yourselves."

As they were talking, the four of them arrived at the table where the pork was placed.

The way meat is sold now is different from later generations; there are designated areas where you can choose whichever you like.

Instead, the butcher decides where to sell, and if you buy too much, he won't have any left to sell; if you buy too little, he won't hesitate to cut off your meat.

Another point is that people at this time generally ate animal fat, that is, oil made from pork fat or pork back fat.

Therefore, when buying meat, I prefer cuts with more fat and less lean meat.

“I think that’s wrong. If you buy fat meat with little lean meat, you can render more oil from it,” Butcher Zhang said with a smile, his knife moving down to make a cut.

The aunt, who wanted to choose again, immediately said anxiously, "One jin! I only brought enough money for one jin, I don't have any more!"

He was afraid that if Butcher Zhang chopped off four or five pounds of meat, he wouldn't have the money to buy it.

Another auntie also chose a location while she was there.

He even gave Li Mu some advice, "Mu boy, you should go for the front section. It looks like there's more lean meat, but the fat is thick."

The front shank meat, which is the part at the base of the front leg.

"Thank you, Auntie! I'll buy that plot of land then, and I'll also get two pork bones to make soup when I get home."

"Then I'll have one too. This pork bone stew with cabbage is delicious."

Li Mu chatted and laughed with the aunt in front of him, and in the process, he cut all the meat.

However, just as Li Mu was about to take the meat back, Zhang the butcher's wife, Liu Cui, suddenly walked quickly out of the house.

"Young Mu, wait a minute..."

Liu Cui called out to him with a smile, then stepped forward with a beaming smile and asked, "Young Mu, you're seventeen now, right? Do you have a girl you like?"

The girl I like, Tao Yimei!

Tao Yimei's beautiful face flashed through Li Mu's mind, and he felt his face instantly burning.

"No! Auntie, are you trying to set me up with someone?"

"That's right! My niece is eighteen this year, just like me, she's very pretty!"

Li Mu looked at Liu Cui's round, fleshy face and felt an awkward chuckle inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Auntie, I'm still young! My mom said I'm not allowed to date before I'm twenty."

As he spoke, Li Mu felt as if he were carrying a rabbit, and quickly left Zhang the butcher's house.

Liu Cui shouted loudly behind him, "Then let's take a look at each other first..."

No! He definitely doesn't want to.

Li Mu's legs moved as fast as they could, as if he were afraid Liu Cui would catch up.

In his previous life, he had met Liu Cui's niece.

He's 1.8 meters tall and weighs over 200 kilograms; he looks like a giant iron tower when he stands there.

However, they are quite adept at working and making a living.

If I were to introduce her to Tian Xiaohu... I wonder if Tian Xiaohu would be willing.

As Li Mu was thinking this, he had already arrived at his doorstep.

Unexpectedly, bursts of laughter suddenly echoed from the once quiet courtyard.

Li Mu walked into the house with some doubt and saw his mother sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), surrounded by three women with a happy expression on her face.

The scene was truly like a star being surrounded by admirers.