Reborn in 1982, the prodigal son returns

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Zhao Dazhuang was already squatting by the wall waiting. When he saw Lin Nuo come out, he quickly stood up, slung the sack over his shoulder, and grinned.

"Brother Nuozi, where are we going today?"

"Don't go too deep into the old forest. There are many wild animals in spring, and encountering a wild boar is no joke."

Lin Nuo slung the musket over his shoulder and inspected the powder cartridges and pellets:

"How much of what I taught you yesterday do you still remember?"

Zhao Dazhuang scratched his head and counted on his fingers:

"Pheasant footprints have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward, with little spacing; rabbit footprints are shallow in the front and deep in the back because their front legs are short and their hind legs are long; wild boar footprints are as big as a bowl, and they walk in a muddy, sloping manner..."

He spoke haltingly, but at least he didn't miss anything.

Lin Nuo nodded:

"good."

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open again. Liu Jianguo poked half his head in, clutching a hemp rope in his hand, chuckling:

"Nuozi, I'll go with you for a walk. It won't be a wasted trip; I'll help you carry your things."

Lin Nuo glanced at him, recalling how Liu Jianguo had been refused when he tried to borrow a musket before. He realized that Liu Jianguo really wanted to learn.

"Okay. Take the basket, don't just bring the rope. Spring is here, the wild animals are awake, and the incident with that tigress from a while ago is still fresh in our minds, be careful."

Liu Jianguo quickly agreed and ran home to get a basket.

The three people walked along the village road toward the back of the mountain.

Zhao Dazhuang walked to Lin Nuo's right, and Liu Jianguo walked to his left. After walking for about the time it takes to eat a meal, Lin Nuo stopped beside a bush, squatted down, and used a stick to push aside a clump of withered grass.

"Watch closely."

He pointed to a series of footprints on the ground:

"Pheasant. Fresh, no more than an hour old."

He turned his head and looked at Zhao Dazhuang:

"Tell me, how do you set this trap?"

Zhao Dazhuang squatted down and traced the footprints with his finger:

"Follow the footprints to find the path it usually takes, set a snare in the passage, with the snare opening facing the direction the pheasant came from, about a fist's height off the ground. Cover the snare with branches, leaving only the opening exposed, and scatter a few kernels of corn."

After listening, Lin Nuo took a wire sheath from the basket and handed it over:

"Come here."

Zhao Dazhuang took the wire, but it was a bit unruly in his hands, and he couldn't get it right. Lin Nuo squatted beside him watching without urging him. Liu Jianguo also came over, craning his neck to look.

On the third try, Zhao Dazhuang finally got the slipknot right, and the opening was about the right size. He secured the loop to the root of the shrub and scattered a few kernels of corn. Lin Nuo checked it again and adjusted the opening one finger higher:

"The pheasant walks with its head up; the snare opening is too low for it to squeeze through. Got it?"

Zhao Dazhuang nodded vigorously, pulled out a crumpled little notebook from his pocket, and wrote it down.

"Do you have a bad memory?"

Zhao Dazhuang scratched his head sheepishly:

"I'm afraid I'll forget. Brother Nuozi taught me real skills, and I have to remember them well."

Lin Nuo didn't say anything more, stood up and continued walking. His impression of Zhao Dazhuang improved even more. This man was not only hardworking, but also dedicated.

The three men wandered around in the mountains for most of the day, setting more than a dozen traps.

"Alright. You two come to collect the snares first thing tomorrow morning. Remember, set off before dawn, as pheasants and rabbits are more active in the morning. If you catch any alive ones, don't grab them directly with your hands; put them in a sack, or you'll get pecked or bitten. If you catch any big ones, don't move them yourself; come find me."

Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Jianguo responded in unison.

By the time they descended the mountain, the sun was high overhead. Lin Nuo walked ahead, musket slung over his shoulder, his steps light and quick. Zhao Dazhuang followed behind, muttering to himself:

"Pheasant footprints have three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward; rabbit footprints are shallow in the front and deep in the back."

Lin Nuo listened without saying anything.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Zhao Xiuying got up earlier than anyone else. She put on a cotton-padded coat, slipped on cloth shoes, pushed open the door of the main room, and a cold wind rushed in, making her shrink her neck, but she didn't stop and went straight to the chicken coop.

The sound of clucking came from the chicken coop.

She squatted down, pushed open the small wooden door of the chicken coop, and a smell of chicken droppings mixed with hay hit her. She didn't mind and reached into the coop.

Zhao Xiuying insists on checking when the chickens lay eggs every day.

My fingers touched something warm.

Her hand paused for a moment, then she slowly pulled the thing out and looked at it. It was an egg, with a little blood on it; it was a first-laid egg.

"His dad!"

Zhao Xiuying's voice came from inside the chicken coop:

"Dad! Come quick! He laid an egg!"

Lin Weiguo was tending a fire in the kitchen, holding fire tongs and stuffing firewood into the stove. Hearing the shout, his hand trembled, and he almost dropped the fire tongs.

He put down the fire tongs, stood up, wiped the ash off his hands on his trousers, and strode to the chicken coop door.

He stood at the door and looked inside. Zhao Xiuying was holding the egg in her hands, as if it were some kind of treasure, her eyes shining brightly.

"Did it really lay an egg?"

"See for yourself!"

Zhao Xiuying handed over the eggs, her voice tinged with laughter.

Lin Weiguo took it; the egg was warm in his palm.

Zhao Xiuying reached into the chicken coop again and pulled out another one.

"There's one more!"

Zhao Xiuying was overjoyed, and then she reached in again, one, two, three... and pulled out more than twenty eggs in one go. She arranged the eggs one by one in a basin.

"Fifty-four chickens, twenty-six of which laid eggs on the first day. These chicks were well-chosen."

Zhao Xiuying squatted at the entrance of the chicken coop, holding a basin in her hands, her eyes glued to the eggs.

Lin Weiguo hummed in agreement and squatted down to watch for a while:

"I'll go call Nuozi."

Lin Nuo had already heard the commotion. He came out of the east room, walked to the door of the chicken coop, and looked inside. The bowl was covered in egg whites. He grinned, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Mom, what did I tell you? Raising chickens is better than farming!"

Zhao Xiuying rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't suppress the urge to smile.

"You're so clever."

Despite saying that, his hands didn't stop working, wiping each egg clean.

Su Wanqing also squatted down, picked up an egg, gently twirled it in her hand, and smiled:

"It's so beautiful."

Lin Weiguo stood to the side, watching the family gather around the egg basket, his throat moved, and he muttered:

"Nuozi, how much do you plan to sell each of these eggs for?"

Lin Nuo squatted down, picked up an egg, and held it up to the light to examine it:

"The supply and marketing cooperative buys eggs for 13 cents each, and I sell them to Zhao Jianming for 12 cents each. It's one cent cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative, but he gets the goods directly, without haggling or owing money, and pays in cash. We save on the middleman, so it's more cost-effective."

Lin Weiguo thought for a moment and nodded:

"Okay. As long as you understand."

Zhao Xiuying covered the egg basket, stood up, and patted the dust off her knees:

"Should we deliver it to the county town today?"

"Yes. Brother Zhao is waiting; he's been urging me several times already."

Lin Nuo went inside and changed into a clean cotton-padded jacket. Then she took out the small accounting notebook from the drawer and put it in her pocket.

Su Wanqing stood at the door of the east room, watching Lin Nuo bustling around:

Be careful on the road.

"Understood, Teacher Su."

Lin Nuo chuckled, picked up the basket, and pushed open the courtyard gate.

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, several aunties had already gathered there, watching what Lin Nuo had taken.

Aunt Wang, with her sharp eyes, was the first to spot the basket Lin Nuo was carrying on his shoulder. It was covered with an old cloth, but it couldn't hide its bulging shape.

"Hey, Noko! What's this? An egg?"

Lin Nuo smiled and switched the basket to his shoulder:

"Yes, the first batch."

"How many?"

Aunt Liu put down the shoe sole and craned her neck to look into the basket.

"More than twenty."

Aunt Wang smacked her lips and put the basin she was holding on the ground:

"My goodness, how much do these cost? A little over ten cents each, so more than twenty would be over two dollars, which is equivalent to planting an acre of land."

Lin Nuo didn't reply, quickening her pace. Behind her came Aunt Liu's voice, quite loud:

"Nuozi has connections now, we can't be envious of that."

Another aunt lowered her voice:

"I heard he signed a contract with a restaurant in the county town, and the prices are much higher than those at the supply and marketing cooperative."

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you? My cousin's neighbor works at that restaurant and saw it with her own eyes. The restaurant owner's surname is Zhao, and he treats Nuozi very well, always treating her to meals and giving her cigarettes."

Aunt Wang sighed, her voice tinged with bitterness:

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

The town's shuttle bus was already waiting at the station. The diesel engine chugled, the bus trembled slightly, and a plume of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, slowly dissipating in the morning light.

Lin Nuo carried the basket onto the bus, placed it at his feet, and sat down. The basket took up half the aisle, and he tightened the old cloth around it to prevent the smell of chicken droppings from escaping.

The driver saw him in the rearview mirror, turned around, and asked with a smile, "Brother, delivering goods to the county town again?"

Lin Nuo recognized him; it was the same driver. He was the one who drove the last time they transported the roe deer. Lin Nuo wondered if this driver was lucky or unlucky.

"Hmm, eggs."

"Eggs? You raised them yourself?" The driver turned off the engine, turned around, leaned over from the driver's seat, and looked curiously into the basket.

"Um."

The driver clicked his tongue, took a cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.

"Brother, you're really something. Wild game and eggs, you're living the good life. Which village are you from again? Liujiagou?"

"Um."

"Liujiagou produces talented people."

The driver tucked the cigarette behind his ear and started the car.

"Did you know that the person from your village who did the heroic act was reported to the provincial authorities the other day?"

Lin Nuo didn't reply, turning her face towards the window.

People in the carriage started whispering among themselves. These days, one thing can be talked about for ten days or half a month. The Lin Nuo incident is still hot.

Someone glanced at Lin Nuo several times, finally unable to resist asking the person next to them, "Isn't this young man... the one who went up in the provincial newspaper?"

The person next to him craned his neck to look and lowered his voice:

"I think so. I saw him last time I was on a bus, carrying a roe deer. It was the same driver that time."

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue, lowering his voice even further, but the carriage was quiet, and he could hear it clearly.

"My goodness, that's incredible. It's in the provincial newspaper; hardly anyone in our county has ever been featured there. I heard he held a musket to the thug's head and didn't even blink."

"Absolutely. That thug had a gun, but he wasn't afraid at all. How many young people these days have that kind of guts?"

Lin Nuo pretended not to hear and turned his face toward the window.

By the time we arrived in the county town, the sun was already high in the sky.

Pushing open the glass door, a delicious aroma of food wafted out. Upon seeing Lin Nuo, Zhao Jianming immediately came out from behind the counter and rushed over to greet her.

"Brother Lin! You're here?"

He glanced down at the basket, his eyes lighting up even more:

"This is... an egg?"

"Hmm, the first batch. Brother Zhao, please take a look at the goods."

Lin Nuo put the basket on the ground, squatted down, and lifted the old cloth. Zhao Jianming also squatted down, reached out and picked up an egg, looked at it against the light, weighed it in his hand, and nodded. He picked up another one, shook it near his ear to make sure the yolk wasn't broken. He picked up yet another one and brought it close to his nose to smell it.

"It looks good and is of a uniform size."

He put the eggs back, looked up at Lin Nuo, and smiled:

"Is this the first batch of eggs? They're not very big, but they're fresh. The first batch of eggs is very nutritious; city people recognize them."

Lin Nuo nodded:

"Brother Zhao is an expert."

Zhao Jianming stood up, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and offered one to Lin Nuo, but Lin Nuo did not take it.

"Brother, how much?"

Lin Nuo remained calm and extended one finger:

"Twelve cents each. Sold individually, no bargaining."

Zhao Jianming paused for a moment, his voice laced with a hint of mockery:

"Brother, the supply and marketing cooperative buys eggs for about 13 cents each, and it's cheaper if you buy a lot. You're offering 12 cents a day, you've got a good business sense."

Lin Nuo smiled too:

"Brother Zhao, why don't you take this and fry a plate of eggs? Selling it for a dollar isn't expensive, is it? A plate of frying eggs uses three eggs, costing 36 cents. Add oil, salt, and firewood, and it's less than 50 cents. You'll make a net profit of 50 cents. You won't lose money on this deal."

Zhao Jianming laughed heartily and patted Lin Nuo's shoulder heavily, making Lin Nuo's shoulder slump.

"Alright! Twenty-two it is. Your eggs are fresh, the customers will know. Old Li, bring the basket!"

The chubby chef ran out of the kitchen, counting as he went: "One, two, three... twenty-six, twenty-six in total."

Zhao Jianming counted out three yuan and twelve cents from the drawer and handed them to Lin Nuo:

"Twenty-six times twelve cents is three dollars and twelve cents. Brother, you count it."

Lin Nuo took the money, didn't count it, and put it directly into his pocket, patting it: "Brother Zhao, I trust you."

Zhao Jianming carefully arranged the eggs on the kitchen shelf, stacking them neatly layer by layer. He spoke as he did so, without turning his head:

"Brother Lin, if you can supply a stable amount of eggs, I won't need to source them from elsewhere. How many do you produce each day?"

Lin Nuo thought for a moment:

"Twenty-six on the first day. It will stabilize after that, and I estimate that twenty or thirty a day will not be a problem. The chickens have just started laying eggs, so the yield is not stable yet, but it will be fine in a month."

"That's enough, that's enough."

Zhao Jianming clapped his hands, turned around, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from under the counter, took one out, and handed it to Lin Nuo:

"Brother, your roe deer meat is so good, the customers all say it's delicious. Next time you hunt something good, send it to me again. Pheasant, rabbit, soft-shelled turtle, ginseng, whatever you have, I'll take it all."

Lin Nuo took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, but didn't light it.

"Alright, Brother Zhao, I'll head back now."

"What's the rush? Eat before you leave! I'll have Old Li fry some eggs, using the ones you brought!"

Zhao Jianming grabbed Lin Nuo's sleeve.

"No, I have things to do at home. I still need to keep an eye on the chicken coop; my family can't manage it all by themselves."

Lin Nuo pushed open the glass door.

Zhao Jianming didn't insist on keeping him, saw him to the door, and patted Lin Nuo on the shoulder:

"Take care on the road. I'll pick you up at the station next time you come."

"Brother Zhao, you're too kind."

Lin Nuo walked out of the restaurant.

After leaving the restaurant, Lin Nuo didn't rush to the station. Instead, she turned a corner and headed towards the post office.

The post office is located at the crossroads of the main street in the county town. It has a gray-white terrazzo wall and the four large characters "People's Post and Telecommunications" are hung at the entrance, with some of the red paint peeling off.

He pushed open the door and went in. There weren't many people in the lobby. The staff behind the counter were sorting through letters with a stack of kraft paper envelopes in front of them.

Lin Nuo took out the brown paper envelope from his pocket. The envelope was addressed to "Editorial Department of County Newspaper".

He handed over the envelope:

"Comrade, send a letter. Registered mail."

The staff member took the letter, weighed it, affixed a stamp, stamped the envelope, and handed back a receipt. Lin Nuo folded the receipt, put it in his pocket, next to the three yuan and twelve cents.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, an elderly man wearing glasses behind the counter looked up, glanced at him, then looked at the address on the envelope, and asked:

"Young man, are you submitting a piece of writing?"

Lin Nuo paused for a moment, turned around, and nodded:

"Um."

The old man looked at him through his glasses with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. There was a newspaper spread out on his table, the provincial newspaper that had published Lin Nuo's story.

"What's your name?"

"Lin Nuo".

The old man thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He picked up the newspaper and pointed to the headline:

"You're Lin Nuo? The one who stood up for others on the bus?"

Lin Nuo was surprised that even the post office staff knew his name, and scratched his head a little embarrassedly:

"Good luck."

The old man waved his hand, put down the newspaper, walked out from behind the counter, looked Lin Nuo up and down several times, and nodded:

"Not bad, young man, you have guts. I'm a retired editor from the county newspaper, my surname is Chen. What kind of articles do you write? Novels? Essays?"

Lin Nuo quickly pulled the receipt from his pocket, and then pulled out a business card:

"Teacher Chen, I didn't write it, my wife did. Her name is Su Wanqing, and she runs a school in the village. This piece is called 'The Old Locust Tree,' and she wrote it."

Old Chen took the receipt, glanced at it, then handed it back to him, took out a business card from his pocket, and presented it with both hands:

"Young man, go back and tell your wife that next time you have a manuscript, just send it to me, and I'll take a look. If it's well-written, I'll recommend it to her. I've been working at the newspaper for several years, and I know the editorial connections."

Lin Nuo accepted the business card with both hands, glanced down, and saw the words "Chen Yuanzhi" printed on it, followed by an address and phone number. He quickly thanked him.

"Teacher Chen, thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

Old Chen waved his hand, his tone becoming serious:

"Don't thank me, good manuscripts are hard to come by. Back in our day, finding a decent manuscript took forever, sifting through a huge pile. It's a good thing your wife is willing to write. Go back and tell her to write well, not to be afraid of not writing well, she'll get better with practice."

Lin Nuo carefully tucked the business card into his pocket:

"Teacher Chen, I will definitely pass on the message."

Old Chen nodded, sat back down behind the counter, put on his reading glasses, and picked up the provincial newspaper to continue reading. Lin Nuo turned to leave, but Teacher Chen spoke up:

"Young man, I've seen your story of acting bravely. You and your wife are both admirable!"

By the time Lin Nuo arrived home, the sun was already setting. He pushed open the courtyard gate, and saw Su Wanqing sitting at the table in the east room, writing.

She heard footsteps, looked up, and her gaze fell on Lin Nuo's face, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

"Has it been mailed out?"

"Sent."

Lin Nuo sat down next to her, took the receipt out of his pocket, and placed it on the table:

"It won't get lost."

Su Wanqing picked up the receipt and looked at it:

"The post office staff...didn't say anything?"

Lin Nuo smiled, took out Chen Yuanzhi's business card from his pocket, and handed it over. Su Wanqing took the card, looked down at it, and her eyes widened.

"A retired editor from the county newspaper? How...how do you know him?"

"He recognized me. He said I was the one who stood up for justice on the bus."

Lin Nuo repeated Old Man Chen's words verbatim.

"They're just being polite, don't take it seriously."

Su Wanqing spoke:

"Teacher Chen said that good articles are hard to come by. He's telling you to write them well."

Lin Nuo reached out and took her hand in his.

"Teacher Su, I told you, you can do it."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything, but rested her head on his shoulder.

"Teacher Su."

"Um."

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to Dawu's place. Xiaoyu said she wants to see you."

"it is good."