Chapter 136 - 133: Returning to the Hometown
That night, the wind was biting cold, but rare sounds of laughter and joy filled Wang Dongfang’s small courtyard. All the goods had been sold. The three of them—Wang Dongfang, Wei Guo, and Liu Qiang—had each made over two hundred yuan. That was a year’s salary for most people, and it only took them three days!
"Bro, I won’t waste words on thanks. Just know that from now on, if you ever need us, we’ll be there, no questions asked!" Wang Dongfang downed the baijiu in his cup, wiped his face, and spoke with solemn gratitude. When he had been on the verge of starvation, it was Li Xiu who had given him a chance to get back on his feet.
Wei Guo also drained his cup and said with a wry smile, "Dongfang’s right. My own parents, my own brothers and sisters—they all look down on me. They think I’m just a burden for coming back. I’m sick of living like this. To be honest, I was planning to leave after the New Year and just wander wherever. It’s just me, anyway. As they say, ’when one person is fed, the whole family doesn’t go hungry.’ Without money, even your own mother and father won’t give you the time of day. Seriously, Bro, from now on, I’m sticking with you. To hell with everyone else!"
"Alright, your wife and daughter are waiting for you at home, Bro," Liu Qiang said, draining his cup with emotion. "Da Guo and I will be staying here with Dongfang. When you come back after the New Year, just look for us here if you need anything. I won’t say more. You know the situation we’re all in. We all get that you did this on purpose to give us a leg up. We won’t say anything more. From now on, your word is law. As long as you’re not asking us to kill someone or burn something down, we’re in, no questions asked."
"Good. We’re all kindred spirits. Everyone hits a low point sometime. Before I married your sister-in-law," Li Xiu began, "I was practically kicked out of my family with nothing to my name. I didn’t even have a place to live. No house, no money, no wife... nothing. I had only just met her, but her family didn’t look down on me. I thought to myself back then, ’I’ve been working a man’s job in the production team since I was fifteen. Heaven never seals off all paths. I’m in my twenties now—there’s no way I can’t provide for my own wife.’"
Seeing the three of them staring at him with wide eyes, Li Xiu laughed. "I went into the deep mountains and old forests where no one else dared to go, and I hunted whatever I could find. I struggled through one whole winter, and with that, I built a house and married my wife. I built the best house in the village and married the best wife in the village. And look now—my wife got into the best university, and she gave me the most adorable daughter. So, the old saying is true: ’Never bully a young man for his poverty.’ You’re all still young. You have plenty of time to fight for your future. What is there to be afraid of? As long as we brothers have each other’s backs, the future is full of promise!"
His words made the three men’s blood boil. ’That’s right,’ they thought, ’what is there to be afraid of? If we fight, if we scrap for it, we can carve out a future for ourselves. Besides, meeting Li Xiu was the luckiest thing that ever happened to them. He was their great benefactor.’
Having fed his future partners a healthy dose of "chicken soup for the soul," Li Xiu ambled home. ’Now that they’re properly motivated,’ he thought, ’I won’t have to work so hard or be separated from my wife anymore. I have people to handle things for me now. At least, there will be far fewer tasks I have to do myself.’
When he got home, Zhou Lian and Nuonuo were still awake, waiting for him. Seeing him walk in, the mother and daughter’s eyes lit up. Li Xiu couldn’t resist immediately showing off to his wife. "Bao’er, guess how much we made this time?"
Zhou Lian looked at him in astonishment. "They’re all sold? It’s only been a few days!" It was no wonder she was surprised. That pile of watches and radios were valuable commodities. A month’s salary was only ten or twenty yuan back then. For that much merchandise to sell out completely in just three days... ’Are people really that rich these days?!’
"Sold out in three days, and we earned almost ten thousand yuan!" Li Xiu said happily. He knew they could make money, but he never expected it to be this easy! ’This opportunity is too good to pass up,’ he thought. ’When I get back after the New Year, I’m going to go all out and build an inheritance for my daughter and son!’
Zhou Lian was utterly stunned. ’It’s not even the craziest part of the 80s yet. Is money really this easy to make? In my last life, I worked myself to the bone for decades and still couldn’t even earn enough to buy a house for my son and daughter. Were Li Xiu and I just too foolish in our past life, or has heaven given him some kind of cheat code in this one?’
Li Xiu handed the money to Zhou Lian. "Bao’er, put this away. I promise I’ll give you and our child a good life from now on."
Holding his wife and daughter in his arms, Li Xiu smiled in contentment. ’The good days are just beginning.’ He thought for a moment, then said, "Bao’er, let’s pack our things. We’ll buy tickets to go back home tomorrow. We can still make it in time for the Little New Year!"
Zhou Lian smiled too. ’With so much merchandise, I thought it would take at least ten days. I would have been happy if they just finished before the New Year. I never expected everything to be sold in just three days. That’s incredibly fast!’
「On the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month」
Li Xiu, carrying a large bag on his back and his daughter in his arms, and Zhou Lian, with a small bag on her back, arrived at the train station. The family of three bought their tickets and waited to board. The trains were all the same speed back then; a morning departure meant they wouldn’t arrive until the next morning.
Upon arriving at the county town’s train station, Li Xiu found an ox-drawn cart. The three of them finally had a chance to catch their breath once they were settled on it. As they neared the village entrance, they ran into many villagers returning from the market. Seeing Li Xiu and his family returning with so many bags, large and small, it wasn’t long before the news had spread throughout the entire village.
When they got home, Grandma Li was there. She was overjoyed to see her grandson, granddaughter-in-law, and great-granddaughter. She quickly took Nuonuo from them, urging them to get onto the *kang* to warm up.
The room was very warm. Before leaving, Li Xiu had stockpiled plenty of firewood, worried there wouldn’t be enough to last the winter and that his grandmother would get cold. Grandma Li had figured they would be back soon, so she had been keeping the house toasty warm for the past two days, afraid her little great-granddaughter would catch a chill when she arrived.
Before long, Uncle Li’s family, Third Uncle Li’s family, the young couple Li Bao and his wife, as well as Li Gui and Ge Yulian, had all arrived. Soon, the room was packed to the gills. Grandma Li sat on the *kang*, smiling with her eyes narrowed in delight. ’Except for Second Uncle’s good-for-nothing family, everyone’s here!’ she thought.
They had just come to see that the family had arrived safely and were already preparing to leave. The family of three had only just gotten back; they needed time to settle in. Besides, the visitors couldn’t be of much help, and with the New Year just around the corner, every household was busy.
Leaving Nuonuo in Grandma Li’s care, Li Xiu and Zhou Lian quickly unpacked their luggage and took out the New Year’s gifts they had prepared. There was one set for Uncle Li, one for Third Uncle Li, and one each for Li Gui and Li Bao. Grandma Li’s gifts would stay here, as they had all agreed to celebrate the New Year at Li Xiu’s home this year.
Seeing their luggage nearly halved in volume, Zhou Lian breathed a sigh of relief. ’So many relatives,’ she thought. ’If we had to deliver gifts to each family one by one, it would take forever.’
After a simple meal, Li Xiu picked up the gifts intended for the "old family home" and headed to his parents’ place. No matter what, these gifts had to be delivered this year. For the sake of his wife’s reputation, he couldn’t give anyone an opportunity to criticize her.
He ran into many people along the way—his parents lived more than half the village away, after all. Enduring the villagers’ looks of envy and jealousy, Li Xiu walked slowly, smiling and greeting everyone he passed. He was making a blatant statement to the whole village: his wife was virtuous and kind. Let’s see who would dare find fault with her during the New Year’s visits.