The strong fisherman in the courtyard

Li Ming nodded. "I'm not from our village. I'm a purchaser for the Sijiucheng Steel Mill. I'm planning to go down to buy some things. Would it be convenient for you to send a message to our commune or brigade?"

As he said this, he handed a cigarette to the burly man in front of him. As the saying goes, cigarettes build bridges and wine paves the way.

The big man took the cigarette and looked at it. Wow! Daqianmen, this is what officials smoke in Beijing. He immediately took out a match, lit it and put it in his mouth.

"I am the captain of our brigade and also hold a position in the commune. However, I am afraid that you will not be able to receive anything if you come at this time."

"There was a severe drought this year, and the village couldn't even harvest enough food. Plus, everyone is eating in the canteen now, so few people have anything stored."

Perhaps this Daqianmen was useful, and the big man took Li Ming to the shade of the tree and talked a few more words.

"Well, who said it wasn't true? The factory workers haven't seen the smell of meat for two months. I came here just to try it. It would be great if I could, but there's nothing I can do if I can't."

Li Ming sighed and lit one for himself.

"By the way, I don't know your name yet?"

The sturdy man grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth, "My last name is Li, Li Qiang."

"My last name is Li too, Li Ming, haha."

"We are still a family!"

The two smiled at each other. Nowadays, a few words or a cigarette can almost bring people closer.

"Brother Li, if there are no mature pigs here, then can you take a look at any piglets? If there are any, could you please help me contact them?"

Li Qiang did not ask what the piglets were for. Nowadays, there are basically big canteens, and coupled with the severe drought, those who have piglets at home are worried about how to raise them. Now that Li Ming asked, it could be of great help.

"That's true. We have two children at home, but are you going to take them in through the government or on your own?"

"Well, if the government wants a child, I'll take it! We live in a separate courtyard in the city, and my mother complains that there is not much work to do every day, so I was thinking about whether I could get some children for her to feed, which would also help her pass the time."

Comrade Li Ming is very good at speaking. After all, he has been influenced by many novels, so how could he not have this ability?

"Okay. But what about the price?" Although Li Qiang didn't mind the channel, he cared about the money. There was little food and many people now, so the more he had money on hand, the more time he would have to wait in case anything happened.

"How about the price of fresh meat in the market? I'll give you 78 cents per pound." After Li Ming said this, Li Qiang's eyes lit up. You know, you can only earn a few work points by working in the fields all year round, and the work points are even less valuable when converted into money.

If these two piglets at home can be exchanged for money, then I will have enough money for the dowry for my child’s marriage in the village in the future.

"Our two piglets are already one month old. Each piglet weighs at least 15 kilograms. Can I give you two piglets weighing 30 kilograms each?"

Li Ming nodded without any hesitation to indicate that it was okay.

It's not a loss to get two piglets from the captain this time. Next time he comes, if there's anything good, he will definitely keep it for me.

Chapter 14 Fishing Friends

"Okay, then let's walk. Brother, please ride to the village entrance and find a deserted place to wait for me. You know the current situation. I have to go back and find a sack to carry it over." Li Qiang said after taking his last puff.

"Okay, then I'll go to the village entrance and wait for Brother Li." Li Ming also knew the situation. Some communes are very busy right now, and it would be embarrassing if Li Qiang was seen by others even if he was the team leader.

Li Ming rode his bike straight to the village entrance. No one cared since he was not from the village.

I squatted on a corn field at the entrance of the village and smoked two cigarettes before I saw Li Qiang walking out of the village with a large sack on his shoulder.

"Brother, I brought you some piglets, take a look." Li Qiang said as he handed over the sack.

Li Ming opened it and saw two little piglets stacked on top of each other and crawling around in the sack, grunting.

"Hehe, this is a perfect time. Most people are working in the fields right now, so no one noticed me along the way."

Li Ming looked at the two lively piglets and nodded, "Okay, Brother Li, no problem, just count the money."

After saying that, he stuffed the RMB notes, both in small and large amounts, into Li Qiang's hand. He watched Li Qiang count the money with a smile on his face before continuing to speak.

"Brother Li, I'll take these two piglets with me. During this time, can you help me keep an eye out for anyone in our Shibalidian who wants to sell grain or something? I'll come again next month, and we can trade with them then."

"Okay, brother Mingzi, don't worry. I will pay attention and wait for your next visit." Captain Li Qiang received benefits this time and earned more money than he could earn in a year's work points. Naturally, he was very happy and agreed to the deal.

The two exchanged a few more polite words before Li Ming rode his bike back to Sijiu City.

On the way, he found a deserted place, threw the two piglets directly into the breeding space, and ran home happily.

This trip today was not in vain. By the end of this month, the first batch of pigs in the space will be ready for slaughter. Then I can take them to the steel mill for processing, earn some money, and also get my permanent job.

Li Ming hummed a tune from later times and seemed quite relaxed on the way home.

The courtyard of the steel rolling mill.

Li Ming got off the bicycle and pushed it towards his home.

I happened to see my mother supervising the renovation of the newly renovated house, "Mom, I'm back."

When Li's mother saw her eldest son pushing the cart back, she didn't even bother to chat with the aunts in the yard and hurried over.

"Did you get anything today?" Li's mother was quite worried about her son's first trip to the countryside to purchase goods.

Li Ming parked the car under his eaves before speaking, "Well, it's not possible for the first time to be so smooth."

Then he whispered in Li's mother's ear, "There's not enough food in the countryside now. A few months ago, their commune canteen had plenty of fish and meat, and the food was better than ours in the city. Now they are just eating coarse grains, and even fine grains are rare."

"Although I didn't receive anything this time, I did get all the information. We still have to stock up on food."

Mother Li nodded gently, "I understand, you should go back and rest for a while. This is your first time going to the countryside, so you must be very tired."

"Well, don't you know what my physique is like? Don't worry."

"I'm going to go fishing in Jinshui River later. If we can catch some fish, we can save a meal of food."

Mother Li laughed loudly when she heard her son's plan, but she also knew that she was thinking about the family, so she didn't stop him.

"Go ahead, be safe, and come back when it's time for dinner."

"Okay." After saying that, Li Ming went back to the room, took out his homemade fishing rod and picked up a bucket, and prepared to set off for the Jinshui River.

In later generations, the Jinshui River became a tourist attraction in Dongcheng District, Beijing, and is divided into the Inner Jinshui River and the Outer Jinshui River.

The Inner Jinshui River is about 2100 meters long and flows through the front of Taihe Gate in the Forbidden City. It flows from northwest to south to the front of Wuying Gate, turns east, crosses Taihe Gate Square, then turns north, turns east, passes in front of Wenyuan Pavilion, turns south, exits the palace from the water gate in the southeast corner of the Forbidden City, and merges into Tongzi River in the southeast of the Forbidden City. The Outer Jinshui River is about 600 meters long and is located east of Tiananmen Square. It merges into Yuhe River at the east end, then flows south and merges into the South Moat of the Inner City (the moat of Qiansanmen), and then merges into Tonghui River from the South Moat.

But now there is not so much talk, the people are the most fishing here. Whenever there is a weekend, or there are retired old people in the family, hey, it is better to come here on weekdays to fish.

"Hey, I came here to fish and I happened to meet you, Little Leo."

Li Ming had just strolled to the bank of the Jinshui River and found the area he often visited when he heard an old man shouting at him.

Turning to the left, I saw an old man in his seventies, tall and wearing dark clothes, but in good spirits, holding a fishing rod and fishing by the river.

This old man is someone Li Ming met while fishing in the past few years. He is considered a fishing buddy. Everyone calls him Old Man Zhang. His exact name is unknown, but Li Ming has noticed that every time he goes out fishing, he is always accompanied by guards and secretaries, and is picked up by a car.

Judging from later experience, this old man must have been at least a bureau-level cadre, and he was definitely higher than a bureau-level cadre before his retirement.

After fishing for a long time, the two became familiar with each other. Old man Zhang called him Xiao Li, and he called him Old man Zhang.

Anyway, Li Ming had no intention of being in politics for his whole life, so naturally he had no intention of climbing up the social ladder. However, these two people became close friends regardless of their age difference.

"Old man Zhang is here! He brought two bodyguards with him today. I'm not saying anything bad about you, but even if you brought ten bodyguards with you, you'd still be a hopeless air force player who can't catch any fish."

Li Ming didn't tolerate old man Zhang and would just scold him. This was just a habit of the two of them. The guards and secretaries nearby were used to it.

Old man Zhang curled his lips and said, "Can't you just hope that I, an old man, will be a little better? I've already caught it today."

Li Ming stretched his head to look into his bucket and laughed.

"What kind of fish are you catching? They are so small that they will be used by your grandchildren! Even your cat will hate them if you bring them home."

Old man Zhang's beard was shaking with anger. "I want to see what big fish you can catch today!"

"Okay, just watch." After saying that, Li Ming skillfully put the bait in and cast the rod, his movements were done in one go.

After fishing for less than five minutes, old man Zhang's mouth was already restless.

"Xiao Li, I remember that you graduated from technical secondary school, how was it going? What kind of job were you assigned to?" The old man came up to Li Ming with a curious look on his face to inquire about the news.

"As for me, I'm a purchasing agent for the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill now. My salary will be 42.5 yuan after I become a regular employee." Comrade Li Ming's answer sounded very arrogant.

The guards and secretaries standing guard on the side had their mouths stretched to their ears but they were reluctant to laugh.

Li Ming glanced at the two men and said, "You two wooden men, laugh if you want to. It's okay. I'll make you do something bad if you hold it in again."

When Old Man Zhang heard this, he burst out laughing, and the two door gods beside him couldn't help but laugh too.

Chapter 15 Watching a Show

"Young man, work hard. Sooner or later you will earn more than an old man like me." Old man Zhang said to Li Ming with a smile.

Li Ming ignored the old man and started to gently shake the end of the fishing rod. The old man knew that he had caught a fish and quickly dropped his fishing rod and walked over to squat aside.

"Hey, Xiao Li, stop shaking, hurry up!" Old man Zhang was giving orders excitedly.

"Don't give orders blindly, old man. If the fish runs away again after you pull it, you have to compensate me! You are an air force player, just watch from the side." Li Ming directly retorted and continued to compete with his fish.

Only when he felt that he had lost all his strength in luring the fish did he lift the rod with all his strength and hook the fish directly up.

"Yes, a big grass carp weighing more than two kilograms is much better than your nest of fish roe and fish grandchildren." Li Ming glanced at Old Man Zhang in a pretentious manner.

"Hey, I don't earn as much as you, a cadre, but I'm not an air force, and I can fish!"

What do you mean when you expose others but not their shortcomings? Bah! This old man exposed his shortcomings, so he has to expose this old man's bottom line.

The wrinkles on Old Man Zhang's face were squeezed together, and he muttered to himself, "It shouldn't be like this. How can a young man like you fish better than an old hand like me?"

Li Ming laughed, "You know what? This is called the novice protection period!"

Old Man Zhang immediately retorted, "Then your novice protection period is quite long! It's been several years!"

"That has nothing to do with you. Are you going to exchange fish to show off at home today?" Li Ming glanced at him sideways.

"No! I have to catch a big one today!"

This is also a stubborn old man. He angrily picked up the fishing rod he threw on the ground and prepared to continue fighting with the fish.

"Okay, then I'm leaving! I've gained something today, which is good. I can have a better meal tonight." He picked up the bucket and was about to leave.

"Boy, if you are not satisfied with what you do, you can tell me. I still have some face after retiring."

Old man Zhang raised his head and gave instructions to Li Ming.

They have known each other for two years while fishing here. Old Zhang likes this young man Li Ming from the bottom of his heart. He never asked him for a job or a house before, even when they were dividing jobs or houses. After all, everyone who fishes in this area knows Old Zhang's abilities.

Everyone else was eager to flatter him, but this guy was the only one who talked to him like a normal young man bickering with a normal old man. This made Old Zhang feel comfortable, but also a little confused.

I always feel that this kid doesn't belong to this world. Sometimes he says shocking things, and sometimes he is as calm as water. This shouldn't happen to a guy who is not even 20 years old.

"You won't need it for now. Just save your dignity and let your grandson use it."

Comrade Li Ming naturally knew that this old man was no ordinary person, but the problem was that he didn't need his help. What's more, he was just a fishing friend. If he really encountered trouble, no matter how awesome the person was, how much could he help him?

It would be better for him to develop slowly. He is not afraid now if he really encounters a fatal problem. At worst, he can just deal with the person who raised the problem in the dark of night, and then stuff it into the space. Even the emperor won't be able to find it!

Li Ming's answer did not surprise Old Man Zhang, who just sat there and laughed. The guards and secretaries beside him were also used to the communication between the old and the young, and they were also happy to watch the two bickering.

Holding the fish bucket in his hand, he walked slowly towards the courtyard.

As soon as he reached the door, Li Ming heard a lot of noise in the yard, which sounded like someone was arguing.

Comrade Li Ming put the fish bucket in his hand back into the house, and then walked towards the central courtyard. At this moment, his mother was packing up with the decoration workers, and it was time to get off work.

Standing in the middle courtyard and looking inside, it was Xu Damao and He Yuzhu who were arguing with each other! Although Xu Damao was not good at fighting, he was really good at talking!

"Silly Zhu, what gives you the right to shake the spoon for grandpa?" Xu Damao pointed at He Yuzhu and cursed angrily.

"Grandpa is happy! So what if I just don't like you?" He Yuzhu acted like he was the boss and he was the third in command.

Xu Damao took two steps back and continued to curse He Yuzhu behind the pillar of the corridor.

"Bah! You deserve to be a childless person, you idiot! You are destined to be a childless person for the rest of your life!"

Comrade Li Ming couldn't help but sigh, this Xu Damao is really venomous, every move is aimed at He Yuzhu's weak spot! He Yuzhu is estimated to be 22 or 23 years old now. If he is not married at this time, someone will definitely talk behind his back.

He Yuzhu was not in a hurry to take action today. "Xu Damao, you are not much better! You are not married!"

"I have my parents to help me find it!" Xu Damao said and ran away as if he knew that He Yuzhu would definitely bully him in a moment.

Sure enough, when Sha Zhu heard this, he took off his stinky shoes and threw them hard at Xu Damao.

"Ouch!"

Hit the bullseye!

"Shazhu, you big fool, you threw stinky shoes at your grandfather, I'll throw it away for you!"

After saying that, Xu Damao stopped running. He picked up the shoes on the ground and threw them out of the courtyard wall.