Reborn in the 1980s, starting with fishing and hunting to build a fortune

Li Xiangyang mixed the deer blood wine, scooped out two jin (1 kg) and put it into a sheepskin bag. Taking advantage of the still faint light of dawn, he carried five jin (2.5 catties) of venison out the door.

He wanted to deliver it to Chen Guodong before nightfall.

dong dong...

dong dong dong...

"Who is it...? Knocking on the door so late, don't they let people get some sleep?"

Chen Guodong's wife, Zhou Chunmei, pushed open the door and came out with a somewhat complaining tone.

"Aunt Chunmei, it's me, Li Xiangyang from Zhenshan's family. Is Uncle Guodong here...?"

Li Xiangyang greeted everyone with a smile as always.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Li Xiangyang, Zhou Chunmei's expression softened somewhat.

Li Xiangyang handled the matter of sending them a small fish last time very well.

It left a deep impression on her.

and,

Chen Guodong later praised him many times at home, so she concluded that Li Xiangyang was a person who knew how to act appropriately.

He's a decent person now, no longer the hoodlum he used to be in the village.

Therefore,

Without asking any further questions, he smiled and opened the courtyard gate.

Even though Chen Guodong isn't home right now.

"Your Uncle Guodong won't be back for a while. Would you like to come in and sit for a bit...?"

"OK!"

Li Xiangyang agreed readily, and seeing the courtyard gate open, he stepped inside.

Zhou Chunmei was somewhat surprised to see Li Xiangyang enter.

He muttered to himself:

"Weren't you looking for Guodong? He's not home...would you like to come in and sit down?"

But the words have already been spoken and the person has already come in, so it's impossible to turn them away now.

He smiled and led Li Xiangyang into the house, asking as they walked:

"Xiangyang, what brings you to your Uncle Guodong so late? Are you here to ask about Donkey Egg stealing the sheep the other day...?"

The village has been abuzz with news lately about Donkey Egg stealing sheep, and it's something that's involved with Li Xiangyang, as Zhou Chunmei knows.

However, the commune later said that it had nothing to do with Li Xiangyang, and even Donkey Egg was released because there was insufficient evidence to prove he stole sheep.

"Yes, Aunt Chunmei, that's why I came here."

Li Xiangyang was just wondering where he could find a reason to visit, and now he had one, so he quickly chimed in:

"Luckily, Uncle Guodong came to my house with me, otherwise I would have been tortured to death by my second uncle."

Li Xiangyang's words were not false.

At the time, his second uncle, Li Zhenhai, was indeed determined to use him to eliminate his own family in order to gain merit.

However, he cleverly resolved the situation.

As for Chen Guodong... I did want to help him at the time, but I didn't actually do much.

But none of that matters now; having this reason is enough.

"Oh, look at you. Your Uncle Guodong was just doing his job. He even praised you for being clever when he came back."

Zhou Chunmei responded with a smile.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Li Xiangyang stop and hand her the things in his hand.

"Never mind, Aunt Chunmei, since Uncle Guodong isn't home, I'll come another day."

I hunted a deer today and got some venison and deer blood wine. I'm sharing them with you all to try.

It's worthless, so please don't look down on it.

"You killed a deer?"

Zhou Chunmei was shocked.

I did see Li Xiangyang bring something in, but I didn't expect it to be meat.

It's still venison!

Li Xiangyang nodded without offering any further explanation.

Before she could react, he put down the venison and deer blood wine and turned to leave.

That night,

News of the Li family's hunt of a red deer quickly spread throughout the village.

Most people treat it as a topic of conversation during their leisure time, since it's a rare occurrence.

but,

There's always a small group of sensitive people who immediately become envious.

Under the deep, dark night,

The kerosene lamp light shining through the mud-brick house appeared exceptionally clear.

Intriguing, mocking laughter could be heard from inside the room from time to time.

"Donkey Egg, look at you, you coward. You keep saying you want to get back the face you lost to Li Ershazi."

So many days have passed, and they're living a much more comfortable life than ever; now they're even eating venison.

The tall, thin man who started the trouble was another hoodlum in the village, Da Mao.

Seeing that Donkey Egg was squatting on the ground without saying a word

On the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove),

Another short, stocky man, Tie Zhu, who was fiddling with cards, decided to add fuel to the fire and sneered:

"Say something? Donkey Egg, why are you lying on the ground without making a sound? Are you afraid of Li Ershazi and don't dare to get revenge?"

If you're a real man, go and give him a piece of your mind, and make him cut some venison for you as an apology.

If you're a coward, afraid of him... then forget it.

Provoked by Da Mao and Tie Zhu, the prideful Donkey Egg finally couldn't sit still any longer. His face flushed red, and he jumped up:

"Stop being so sarcastic. When have I, Donkey Egg, ever been afraid of Li Er Shazi?"

Just wait and see,

Tomorrow I'll have him obediently cut twenty catties of venison and bring it over to us.

After saying that, he angrily slammed the door and left.

See here,

Da Mao and Tie Zhu exchanged a glance and smiled.

They didn't care whether Donkey Egg regained face; they were just envious that Li Xiangyang got to eat venison.

……

The next day,

Around 5 a.m., a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon.

Wisps of white smoke billowed from the Li family's chimney as Grandma Wang Guiying prepared breakfast for her two sons.

West Room,

Li Xiangyang handed the adorable baby Li Doudou to his wife, Liu Xiulan.

After being reborn, Li Doudou became his precious treasure, and he would hold her every night to sleep.

Because Liu Xiulan has been drinking crucian carp soup every day recently, she has plenty of breast milk, which has made Li Doudou noticeably plumper.

It looks very appealing.

This made Li Xiangyang feel that his hard work over the past few days had not been in vain.

After Liu Xiulan had settled Li Doudou in her arms, Li Xiangyang tiptoed up and added more fresh coal to the kang (heated brick bed).

He pushed open the door and went out.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I saw my mother preparing breakfast for them, and my brother was already sitting in front of the stove eating.

Li Xiangyang began:

"Mom, you've worked so hard. It's the dead of winter, and you still have to get up so early to prepare breakfast for my brother and me."

"When I make money, I'll find you two maids."

"You still want to hire a maid? If you have the money to hire a maid, just give it to your mother."

Wang Guiying glared at Li Xiangyang reproachfully, then smiled and invited him over for breakfast.

Since Li Xiangyang suggested fishing to sell, the atmosphere in the Li family has improved a lot, and they are always laughing and talking every day.

"Brother, come and eat. We need to finish eating so we can go out sooner. We have fish and venison to sell today, and I feel like we don't have enough time."

Li Xiangdong's mouth was stuffed with venison buns, and he spoke indistinctly.

"Brother, let's not sell the fish today. The black market sells out early, and we have to deliver fish to the state-run restaurant and take venison to the purchasing station later. We don't have enough time."

"Oh, not going to sell fish today...?"

Li Xiangdong was somewhat surprised.

However, he didn't say anything more, feeling that Li Xiangyang must have his reasons for making such an arrangement.

This was something Li Xiangyang had planned before going to bed last night: go to the state-run restaurant first, then to the purchasing station. It was their first time going there, and they didn't know how long it would take.

Rushing to the black market in a hurry doesn't guarantee you'll sell much, and arriving late risks getting you arrested.

and,

Once they sell the venison to the purchasing station, they'll definitely have enough for next year's ranch lease fees.

With extra money, he planned to purchase as many supplies as possible.

Whether it's due to the impact of the snowstorm or policy changes, prices will definitely change every day once next year starts.

Therefore,

Today, besides delivering fish to the state-run restaurant and selling deer at the purchasing station, I also need to buy supplies. In the afternoon, I'll go fishing in Chahar.

Time was actually very tight.

I'll go to the black market to sell fish tomorrow.

After arranging the itinerary, Li Xiangyang sat down next to Li Xiangdong and started eating breakfast.

Today's breakfast was very plentiful, with eggs, cornbread, venison buns, and pickled vegetables, a welcome change from my previous daily corn porridge with pickled vegetables.

It's so much better.

The two brothers ate very well, which made Wang Guiying, who was cooking nearby, smile.

This was a wonderful time that she never dared to dream of before, even better than the Lunar New Year.

"Xiangdong and Xiangyang, eat slowly. There's a big pot of fish soup simmering in the pot. We'll have it when you come back this afternoon."