Everyone in the village knew that Li Zhaokun was an unreliable man.
His children, however, were all very sensible.
The eldest daughter was good at taking care of the house and handling household chores, but she was still single. With an unreliable father and a bunch of burdens to carry, who would dare to get involved with such a family?
A few years ago, there was a wealthy family that took a liking to the eldest daughter of the Li family and wanted to marry her.
Li Zhaokun, however, started talking about the "four big things": a watch, a radio, a sewing machine, and a bicycle.
Wow, he was even more extravagant than people in the city.
The family was so frightened that they immediately backed off and never mentioned marriage again.
Most people called Li Zhaokun a good-for-nothing.
After such an incident, who would dare to propose marriage to the Li family?
Li He was the best student in both the town and the county. A few years ago, some even said that Lizhuang was going to produce a top scholar.
Li Long was also a strong young man and was good at work. The remaining two girls, the fourth and fifth siblings, were also very smart.
Everyone in and outside the village cursed Li Zhaokun for being unlucky, wondering what kind of fortune he must have had in his previous life to deserve such a family.
As soon as they got home, the happiest person was the little girl. She held the twisted candy tightly in her hands, her face filled with joy.
"Put it in the cupboard quickly. How much have you eaten? Do you still want to eat?" Li Mei snatched the bag of fried dough twists and placed it on the cupboard.
The little girl burst into tears!
In fact, she was crying out of grievance. She kept licking the twisted candy in her mouth, refusing to take a bite.
How could she have eaten too much?
Li He was taking a shower by the well. Seeing the little girl crying, he quickly wiped her face with a towel.
"Don''t cry, I''ll buy you some White Rabbit candy tomorrow, okay?"
Seeing that the little girl hadn''t stopped crying, he added a threat, "If you keep bothering me, you''ll get nothing."
"Aguo is the best. Don''t forget him tomorrow."
The little girl immediately stopped crying at the promise of candy.
"Lao Si, make me some tea in a big bowl."
Li He called out to Lao Si. The tea leaves at home were all old and accumulated, only suitable for brewing simple tea.
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At that moment, Li Long seized the opportunity while their mother was busy at the stove. He pulled his eldest sister into the inner room and took out a handful of money from his pocket.
Li Mei was overjoyed but didn''t show much excitement.
Although the fourth sister was a girl, she was quick-witted. When she saw her second and third brothers return home smiling, carrying rice and meat, she knew they must have made some money.
Her mother had resisted asking too many questions, but now she followed them inside with a curious expression.
Li Mei counted the money over and over, three times in total. The fourth brother also held it in his hands, counting it several times without letting go.
"Third brother, there are 27.52 yuan and 3 jin of meat coupons left," the fourth brother said confidently after counting again.
"My brother told my eldest sister to keep it. It will be used for tuition when school starts, and we need to eat meat every meal," Li Long whispered, looking outside the house.
"We can''t let Mom know, or else Dad might come back."
The two sisters rolled their eyes. Did that even need to be explained?
The siblings reached a silent agreement: "Prevent fire, theft, and parents."
"You little rascal, still thinking about eating meat every meal? Why did you buy pork belly? It has no oil at all."
Li Mei felt a little distressed and gave Li Long a slap on the head. These days, people preferred to buy big fatty cuts when purchasing meat.
"It was my brother''s idea. He said he''d go to the county town every day to collect eels."
Li Long felt wronged. He couldn''t make decisions on his own and had to listen to his brother.
"How do we collect eels?"
Mei frowned. The second brother seemed too restless. It was only the third day of the holiday, and he had never been like this before.
"Ask him yourself."
Li Long sighed, feeling completely misunderstood.
The fragrant rice, paired with a pot of braised pork and potatoes, filled the whole family until their faces were greasy, scraping even the bottom of the pot clean.
While cooking, their mother, Wang Yulan, originally wanted to save half of the meat. But under Li He''s insistence, she ended up cooking it all.
Li He watched as the little girl licked the bottom of her bowl clean. His heart ached, and he gave her the last piece of meat from his bowl.
Li He felt that apart from his parents, no one in his family was truly a good person.
"Sister, use old clothes to make a pair of big shorts for me and the third child. Make the legs three inches long."
Li He missed wearing big shorts. Long pants made him break out in prickly heat.
"Got it. I''ll do it after dinner. It''s not a big deal."
Li Mei was skilled at needlework, and making shorts was an easy task.
She found an old, shabby pair of pants, cut the cuffs with scissors, and finished sewing them up with needle and thread. It only took about ten minutes.
After dinner, Li He''s wish to take a nap was dashed.
First, Liu Dazhuang arrived, followed closely by Pan Guangcai.
"Erhe, take these and sell them tomorrow. I have plenty at home. If we eat them, it wastes too much oil. I''ve been keeping them in the mud cellar, but a lot of them have burrowed holes and run away."
Liu Dazhuang opened his bag, revealing at least fifty kilograms of eels and loaches.
Pan Guangcai, a shrewd man, brought five jin to try selling. After getting 70 cents, he said he had more at home and went back to fetch them.
By the time Li He finished weighing everything, he had collected around 305 kilograms.
But most of the suppliers didn''t want cash.
One of them even turned back halfway upon hearing there was no cash payment; otherwise, he could have collected more.
They didn''t finish until 3 o''clock. The two brothers had no time to go out and catch eels themselves.
Since they didn''t have a cement pool or a large basin, they simply put the fish in bags, tightened the openings, and threw them into the ditch, planning to retrieve them later that night.
Li Mei handed a notebook to Li He.
"Look at this. You haven''t even started, and you already owe 31.21 yuan."
"It''s okay. I know what I''m doing. Sister, give the third brother 10 cents and tell him to buy a pack of cigarettes for Lao Guaitou and borrow the production team''s cart."
Production team equipment was usually kept in the cowshed under the management of Lao Guaitou, a five-guarantee household. In exchange for cigarettes or money, the old man was willing to lend it out as a favor.
"As long as you know what you''re doing."
Li Mei didn''t say much.
She had followed her brother in the afternoon and observed everything clearly. He was impeccable in his dealings with people, generous and magnanimous, far better than most.
Besides, he was educated—naturally smarter than others.