My 1978 Hotel

Chapter 10: The first delicious meat bone soup after settling in 78 years
Li Feng thought to himself that it was a good thing that he was young and dodged well so he didn't get hit much. Why was this old man so unreasonable and would just hit people whenever he wanted?

Fortunately, this happened in the 1970s. If it were later, I would have just laid down. You are so capable that you can't even afford to drink cornmeal porridge.

"No, Uncle Fuguo, let's talk it out nicely and reasonably, why are you hitting me?"

"Hitting you is gentle."

Damn it, Han Fuguo was so angry. This bastard was only interested in eating meat and drinking. How could this be good? He was just a second-rate guy in the city. How could I be so blind to let him settle down? Now it’s too late to regret.

"Brother Anmin, please stop Uncle Fuguo and order."

Li Feng couldn't afford to hit the old man a few times, Captain. If he did, the travel experience would be over immediately. From now on, forget about bringing people here for tourism. I'm afraid they would be beaten out with sticks before even entering the village.

"Da, why don't we go back to the dam first?"

Han Anmin saw people gathered around, pointing and watching the fun, and his face flushed. "Old Third is a commune cadre after all. If this gets out of hand, it will be embarrassing for him."

"Okay, let's go back to the dam."

Good guy, the old man has a bad temper. Li Feng muttered, why is he so angry? I just borrowed it and didn't say I wouldn't return it. I'll stew some rock sugar snow pears to drink later. "Brother Anmin, what's going on with Uncle Fuguo?"

"Noisy?"

Han Anmin thought to himself, "I want to beat you up. Not only do you have to eat big meat bones, but you also have to eat white flour and drink wine. Even landlords in those days didn't treat you like this."

"I just borrowed some food coupons. I can pay them back in a couple of days. Why did you hit me? It hurts."

"return?"

Han Anmin looked Li Feng up and down and said, "What are you going to use to pay back? You are not a commune cadre, and it is not easy to get food coupons. Except for the water tank in your house, all the other tanks and jars are empty. What are you going to use to pay back? I'm afraid your work points will not be enough to exchange for food by the end of the year, and you will even have to pay more."

Return the hammer. Han Anmin wanted to hit Li Feng a few times, but forget it. The third child in my family is a commune cadre, and I can't lose his face. I'll go back and beat him up. We'll talk about it when we get back to the dam.

Seeing that Han Anmin was convinced by him, Li Feng thought that there are still many reasonable people.

"And a granny bear."

Han Fuguo couldn't stand it any longer. How could he have been deceived? How could he not realize that this guy was a hedonist? Now it happened to him. He was afraid that at the meeting at the end of the year, the other brigade cadres would laugh at him to death.

He picked it up as a treasure, but he never thought it was a bad fruit. This guy Han Fuguo's pipe showed signs of rising again. Li Feng quickly moved his butt. He couldn't afford to provoke him, but he couldn't hide from him either. Why did this old man have such a hot temper? He was not tall but had a big temper.

"Uncle Fuguo, I don't like what you said. What? You don't believe me? It's just one dollar. I can't pay it back."

The mission reward alone is two or three dollars, so one dollar is just a drop in the bucket. Li Feng's nonchalant attitude almost made Han Fuguo furious. It's just one dollar. Boy, one dollar means nothing in your mouth.

Do you know how much you can buy with one dollar? A white flour steamed bun is only four cents, a meat bun is only five cents, a pound of salt is only fifteen cents, enough to feed a family for a month, and a sesame seed bun or fried dough stick is only three or five cents.

Fortunately, the kid said that a dollar was nothing, and Han Fuguo couldn't hold it in any longer. Fortunately, Li Feng dodged quickly and jumped off the handlebars. "Uncle Fuguo, let's talk it over. We are all reasonable and civilized people."

"Let me tell you about a hammer and an axe."

Let's talk about the reason first. This bastard, Han Fuguo was so angry. He thought he had found a good young man who was capable, hardworking and studious. It turned out that he thought too much about this guy. He was a picky eater and only wanted meat, flour and wine.

Well, why do you still feel that the one dollar I lent you is not enough, you little bastard? I’ll beat you to death.

"Da."

Han Anmin was helpless. This Li Feng was really something. He should just stop talking. "It's getting late. Let's go back first."

"Yeah."

Li Feng was afraid that the meat and bones would go bad in the hot weather if he went back first. He had bought them with money. Han Fuguo glared at Li Feng, and now he was regretting it so much.

Along the way, Li Feng did not provoke Han Fuguo again, letting the old man be angry.

He loved to learn and kept pestering Han Anmin to teach him how to drive a cart. Driving a cart seemed easy, and if he mastered it, he could get a reward for the task, which was pretty good. "Brother Anmin, your driving skills are really top-notch."

"That's nothing. Anda is even better at driving a cart."

"Really."

Li Feng thought that this old man had a bad temper, but he seemed to be quite capable. Han Fuguo was too lazy to pay attention to Li Feng and was thinking about how to deal with Li Feng, the picky guy. He couldn't let Hanjiaba produce a glutton.

That guy's reputation in Hanjiaba will be ruined. The commune might also frame him. Even the third brother will probably be embarrassed.

"Oh, what should I do?"

Han Fuguo glanced at Li Feng, who was staring at him. He felt that he had been fooled by this kid's mouth. Alas.

It was almost twelve o'clock when we returned to Hanjiaba. After all, the commune was not very close to Hanjiaba. It took one or two hours to go back and forth for more than ten miles, and the meeting also took up some time.

"Go home first."

Han Fuguo saw Li Feng happily running home with the big bone in his arms, his eyes wide open.

Li Feng couldn't take care of Han Fuguo anymore. The good stuff had to be washed and put into the pot quickly, otherwise he would be late for noon.

"Da Ya, Er Ya, look what good things I brought you."

Daya and Erya had just finished work and were preparing to make steamed corn bread. They were delighted to hear that their father had returned. They knew that Li Feng was going to settle down in the commune today. Daya was a little worried at first, but she was finally relieved to see Li Feng coming back.

After today, they will truly be a family with Li Feng. They have a father and are no longer the wild children without a mother or a father as described by the bad kids in the dam.

Especially Daya, who was sensible at an early age, otherwise she would not have stubbornly insisted that Li Feng was the father she adopted.

"Abba."

"Look, this is some good stuff."

Li Feng opened the lotus leaf to reveal a large bone with some meat inside, and chuckled. "Look at this good stuff. I'll cook it later. You two should drink more broth. You haven't seen any oil in a few days. What's wrong? You're crying."

"This child is crying for joy."

Daya was really scared. Where did so many meat and bones come from? How much would they cost? She knew that Li Feng didn't have a penny in his pocket.

It's really scary to suddenly have so many meat and bones.

"Dad, I don't want to eat..."

"Why don't you eat? You need to eat more of these good meat bones." Li Feng patted Daya. As for Erya, her eyes were full of meat bones, her mouth was watering, and she was so happy. "Eat more later. You look so skinny and small. This won't do. You need to eat more meat in the future to grow up handsome."

"I don't eat meat, I want my dad."

Daya burst into tears. How could she eat meat in the future? She didn't even know where the meat and bones came from. She was afraid that Li Feng would do something out of line and be arrested and shot.

"Stop crying."

Li Feng helped Daya wipe away her tears. "For these few pieces of meat and bones, I got beaten up by your third father."

"what?"

"Why did Sandie hit Dad?"

"It's all because of these pieces of meat and bones. The old man is old and has a bad temper. But what's wrong with lending him a dollar to buy some meat and bones? It's not like you won't pay him back." Li Feng muttered. Daya breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, but then she took another breath.

Dad borrowed money to buy meat bones to eat. This is so delicious. Besides, how can I pay back the money? Daya can't hold back her tears again. "Sister, don't cry." Erya helped Daya wipe her tears, but the little girl still looked at the big bones out of the corner of her eyes.

"Wash it first and put it in the pot quickly, otherwise we won't be able to drink hot soup at noon."

Daya sighed helplessly and could only help her father wash the bones. In fact, she was reluctant to wash them at all, because all that would be washed away was meat fat. If Li Feng hadn't insisted, she would never have washed them. She was too distressed to bear it. "Okay, put it in the pot."

Salt and some other seasonings, Li Feng didn't care about many things. The big firewood started burning, and soon the aroma of meat spread. If Daya's family didn't live at the east end of the dam and there were no houses on both sides, someone would have come to the door by now.

The aroma was so tempting that Li Feng couldn't wait any longer and quickly scooped up a mouthful of the oily bone soup with a wooden spoon. "Xiang, bring the bowl over quickly. Let's drink the soup first and then chew the bones."

"Uh-huh."

Erya nodded her little head vigorously, and Daya sighed. What else could they do now? They had to let Dad eat first.

…………

"I'm afraid this bastard has eaten meat by now."

Han Fuguo puffed on his pipe with a sour face.

"That's all right. I think the kid is okay. I'll educate him more. After all, he's used to a good life in the city, so he'll eventually change."

Shi Chunhua handed Han Fuguo the mixed grain and sweet potato rice. "Eat first. We have to go to work later."

"Eat, eat."

"By the way, take the cornmeal with you after work."

Han Fuguo said, "I'll talk to Lao Wu and the others later. Don't give us any money. I'm afraid if we give him money, he'll just eat the meat and bones. Better give him more cornmeal and white noodles."

"to make."

Shi Chunhua also thought it made sense. Since they had settled down in Hanjiaba, they were considered to be residents. According to the rules, each family had to show their appreciation. Several team cadres had taken the lead and each family would give a few cents. However, when she thought about Li Feng borrowing money to buy meat bones, she decided not to give any money. It would be better to give more for free.

In the afternoon, Li Feng used the excuse of shoulder pain to carry 60% of the manure, but he felt relaxed. When he got home from work in the afternoon, he didn't expect that the men and women in the village came to his house as soon as he washed his face.

"Aunt Abacus, what are you doing?"

"Send some cornmeal to your family."

"Quick, pour it into the tank."

"Oh, this is too much."

After a while of busy work, we bought corn flour and sorghum rice, you bought five pounds and I bought three pounds. It was the first time for Li Feng to encounter such a thing. He was surprised at first, but gradually he became moved. These are really a group of simple and lovely people.

In fact, the families in the dam were not rich, but they still gave the greatest help to him, a newly settled educated youth, to the best of their ability.

"Dong dong dong."

"Shout sister-in-law, why are you here? Come in quickly."

Li Feng knew something about Dahan's sister-in-law. Her husband died when he was serving as the head of the printing company. During the entire Hanjiabao anti-Japanese war and the fight against the United States, Dahan had never been absent. This also resulted in there being almost no one with the word "rich" left.

Several older members of the An generation also sacrificed their lives, including the husband of Dahu's sister-in-law. Only two elderly people and two children are left in the family. Dahu's sister-in-law has been supporting the family alone all these years. Fortunately, the children are growing up slowly.

But the family has never been rich, with old and young people, so no matter how capable a woman is, it won't help.

"Don't complain about my sister-in-law having few things."

I shouted to my sister-in-law who was holding a gourd filled with white noodles, which were made from dried sweet potatoes.

"What are you saying, sister-in-law?"

Li Feng quickly declined. He couldn't accept it no matter how shameless he was. "I can't accept this. Your family isn't rich."

"Why do you look down on my sister-in-law?"

As he said that, he pushed Li Feng aside and handed the ladle to Daya. "Daya, empty the jar."

"Sister-in-law, this..."

"If you say anything more, you're looking down on me."

"Thank you then."

Seeing that his sister-in-law was really angry, Li Feng stopped talking, but his eyes felt a little hot.

"Okay, I'm going back."

She took the gourd ladle handed over by Daya, shouted "sister-in-law" and turned and left. She is a strong woman.

"Abba."

"Let's cook."

Li Feng looked at the almost full water tank, and saw half a bag of sorghum, corn, etc. "What should we do? We have to return the favor."

(End of this chapter)