Back to 1993: The family splits up at the start, and the ingrates regret it so much they cry.

“Buying rice is not wasteful; our business can't function without rice,” Wang Peng said with a smile. “Waiter, please make the arrangements.”

Three thousand catties is a large transaction, so the waiter immediately notified the manager.

The leaders immediately arranged for people to prepare the goods.

Wang Peng went to the vegetable section to buy some ingredients for making fried rice, such as eggs, carrots, and green onions.

Three thousand kilograms of rice were packed into more than a dozen bags, and the leader personally delivered them to the door. They were piled up in the living room of the rented house, forming a wall of rice.

The three rooms of the rental house are connected, facing south, with the living room in the middle and bedrooms on both sides.

My younger cousin sleeps in the east bedroom and my older cousin sleeps in the west bedroom. They can see each other's beds just by looking up, so it would definitely be awkward to take off their clothes to sleep.

"That's fine too. The rice blocks my bed, so I'll just treat it as a screen," Li Fang comforted herself.

The next second, she became anxious again, "Pengdi, let's set up our stall tomorrow."

"No rush, let's go to your house first," Wang Peng said.

If I'm going to "dominate" my cousin for a long time from now on, of course I need to tell my second uncle and aunt.

Li Fang hadn't been home for a long time either, and hearing her cousin say that made her homesick too.

The door was locked, and the siblings walked back to Licun.

……

Licun.

Li Guixi's family.

My second aunt, Zhao Li, returned from hiding due to the family planning policy. She was holding her newborn baby in her arms and sitting on the bed, crying softly.

She had a tumor on her left calf, about the size of an egg.

The doctor said it was a benign tumor, but it must be surgically removed as soon as possible, otherwise it will slowly turn into a malignant tumor.

—That is, cancer.

The surgery cost 250 yuan, but the family only had a little over 70 yuan.

He tried to borrow money from all his relatives and friends, but still couldn't get any.

"Don't cry." Li Guixi felt bad. "I'll go borrow money from the boss again."

Zhao Li cried again.

"Why would you want to see him? Do you want to be laughed at by him?"

"Your older brother is a real scoundrel. Every time he borrowed money from us, we lent it to him."

"Now you borrow money from him, and not only does he refuse to lend it, but he also laughs at you for being penniless?"

Listening to his wife's complaints, Li Guixi couldn't help but sigh deeply, for poverty-stricken couples face endless sorrows.

"Mom, I'm home," Li Fang called out as she entered the house.

She ran into the main room carrying five pounds of eggs, saying, "Dad, Mom, Peng bought these eggs for you."

"This child," Zhao Li quickly covered her legs with the blanket, looking at Wang Peng, "You're here, why did you buy eggs?"

The careless Li Fang didn't notice her mother crying, the tumor her mother was covering up, or her father's tears.

But Wang Peng discovered it.

“Aunt, I can’t come empty-handed, can I?” he said.

“Why not?” Zhao Li sighed. “I’ve heard about what happened to you. Your parents are blind. If you come to stay at our house from now on, it’ll just be one more pair of chopsticks.”

After complaining, she looked at her daughter, who was noticeably fatter than before, indicating that she hadn't suffered much while following Wang Peng.

"Dapeng, say a few words to your aunt, I'll go cook." Li Guixi stood up.

"No rush," Wang Peng stopped him. "Auntie, what's wrong with the tumor on your leg?"

The air suddenly went quiet, and Li Guixi and Zhao Li were both stunned.

"A tumor? What kind of tumor?" Li Fang reached out and lifted the blanket.

Zhao Li couldn't stop it; the blanket was pulled back, revealing a tumor the size of an egg.

Looking at the tumor, Li Fang burst into tears.

"Don't cry." Zhao Li quickly put the baby down and held her daughter's hand.

Wow--

The baby cried.

Wang Peng hurriedly picked up his little cousin and asked, "Second Uncle, do you have enough money for the surgery?"

Li Guixi was taken aback. Realizing that she could no longer hide it, she sighed again.

Suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes, "Your aunt needs two hundred yuan more for surgery..."

"Dad, why didn't you say so sooner?" Li Fang quickly reached into her pocket. "I have money. I'll get the surgery done right now."

The elderly couple were dumbfounded.

Before they could ask, Li Fang added, "This is my salary for watching the melons. Pengdi also sells fried rice, and he will pay me a salary there as well."

At this point, she became even more agitated, "Dad, please take Mom to have the surgery quickly!"

Li Guixi's head was buzzing.

Two hundred yuan is a lot of money. This year, garlic is only one cent per pound, so this amount of money can buy a thousand pounds of garlic.

"Xiaofang, don't worry. The surgery requires going to the provincial capital, and there's no time today." Zhao Li said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Two hundred is too much!" Li Guixi kept one hundred and returned the other one hundred to Wang Peng before turning to leave.

"Dad, where are you going?" Li Fang asked him hurriedly.

“I’m going to Li Laosan’s house to sell garlic,” he said.

There are still a thousand catties of garlic at home, which can only be sold for a hundred yuan. Even if we sell them just now, it won't be enough to cover the surgery costs.

That's enough.

Wang Peng chased after him and stopped him, saying, "Second Uncle, wait a few days before selling. The price of garlic will go up soon."

He had been thinking about this the whole way here.

Ping'an County was designated to have responded to the national call this month to invalidate all the county's ration coupons.

In other words, the price of garlic may also rise.

"Garlic prices will definitely rise before the end of this month, I guarantee it." He then returned the hundred yuan to his second uncle.

Li Guixi couldn't break free, so she scratched her head and said, "Okay, I believe you. We'll consider selling garlic next month."

That night, Wang Peng slept at his second uncle's house.

My second uncle sent my younger cousin to his mother-in-law's house overnight.

The next morning, Wang Peng accompanied his aunt to the provincial capital for surgery.

The provincial capital is 150 kilometers away from Ping'an County, and the bus fare is seven yuan.

The four arrived at Huaihe Hospital in the provincial capital.

Wang Peng took care of his aunt, running errands to buy her food and running around taking care of her. At three o'clock in the afternoon, he took his aunt to the operating room.

The tumor on her leg was easy to remove, and the surgery was very successful. However, my aunt needs to be hospitalized for observation for one day.

If there is no bleeding from the incision, you can be discharged from the hospital.

Finally having some time, Wang Peng inquired along the way and arrived at the provincial capital's wholesale market.

Buy several hundred disposable lunch boxes shaped like instant noodle buckets and disposable plastic spoons.

The money owed to Du Geda cannot be touched, and the income from selling melons is about to be used up.

However, he had already prepared the ingredients for his fried rice business, so he wasn't worried.

The surgical incision was normal, and the hospital allowed my aunt to be discharged.

The next morning, the four left the hospital, took a bus back to Ping'an County, and then rented a horse-drawn carriage to return to Licun.

"Gui happy!"

"Hurry up and sell me your garlic."

"You might not believe it, but garlic prices have gone up to 80 cents."

Li Laosan, who was in the garlic business, waited outside Li Guixi's house and grabbed Li Guixi's arm.

For a moment, everyone, including Wang Peng, was stunned; they hadn't expected the price of garlic to actually rise.

Two days ago, a pound of garlic cost 10 cents; now it has risen to 80 cents.

Wang Peng didn't expect the price surge to come so quickly and so dramatically.

"Gui happy!"

"On the day you went to the provincial capital, the county suddenly invalidated all the coupons, including the garlic coupons used to buy garlic."

"The tickets are no longer valid, so garlic prices have skyrocketed. That's great!"

Li Laosan couldn't suppress his grin; he had hoarded tens of thousands of kilograms of garlic and became rich overnight.

"Really, the price has really gone up?" Li Guixi stared blankly at her nephew.

The mother and daughter stared at Wang Peng, and Li Fang even showed a silly smile like a fangirl.

"Second Uncle, don't just stand there, hurry up and sell the garlic!" Wang Peng said happily.

The rice he bought for three cents a pound before must have gone up in price now.

"Sell, sell!" Veins bulged on Li Guixi's forehead.

Packing, weighing, loading...

Li Guixi received 800 yuan for exactly 1,000 jin of garlic.

He took out two hundred and gave it to Wang Peng, his face very serious.

After listening to my nephew's prediction of a price increase, I sold an extra 700 yuan worth of goods.

"Great Roc!"

"This is all thanks to you, and I'll pay for your tuition."

"If you dare not accept it, then don't acknowledge me as your second uncle anymore."

Well, now I have no choice but to accept it.

"Second Uncle, it's not that bad." Wang Peng had no choice but to accept the money.

"That's more like it, haha!" Li Gui laughed out loud. "I'm going to buy some wine; I must get completely drunk today."