Chapter 7: Following Dad, Three Meals a Day Missed for Five Days
"Dad, I think this kid is quite capable of enduring hardship."
At Team Leader Han Fuguo's house, Han Anmin took a bite of corn paste and a mouthful of mixed grain steamed bun and said, "Why don't you let him settle down? I think he's not bad."
Han Fuguo took a few puffs of his dry tobacco and pondered for a moment. He always felt this kid wasn't one to endure hardship, but today he carried manure for a whole day without a single complaint of being tired. It was a dirty and exhausting job, and he even saw Li Feng's shoulders were chafed, purple and blue, but he gritted his teeth and persevered.
It was strange. He might not have other abilities, but he had a knack for judging people. Could he have misjudged this time? "How about this, let's observe him again tomorrow. If he truly proves himself, the day after tomorrow morning when I go to the Commune for a meeting, I'll take care of his household registration."
"That works too."
Han Anmin finished a steamed bun, wiped his mouth, picked up his bowl, and in three or five gulps, finished a bowl of corn paste. In those days, people's stomachs lacked oil, and most were big eaters, especially those doing physical labor who couldn't get full even after eating two or three catties of grain a day.
"The day after tomorrow, when you go, bring some pickles for An Jun."
Shi Chunhua said while clearing Han Fuguo's bowls and chopsticks. "That child hasn't been back for many days. Ask him if there's so much work at the Commune that he can't even come home."
"Mom, An Jun is now a cadre at the Commune; he can't be like a child anymore."
Han Anmin's second brother, Han Anbing, wiped his mouth, put down his bowls and chopsticks, and said, "I heard that recently, Deputy Secretary Wu of the Commune thinks highly of Third Brother. I'm afraid it won't be long before our family has a Commune cadre."
"Where did you hear that from?"
Shi Chunhua was very interested in this matter. Third Brother had always been the family's pride, a vocational school graduate. It must be said that Han Anjun caught a gap in the human torrent of his time. That year, he was admitted to a vocational school and was assigned to work as a small cadre in the Commune after graduation.
Don't underestimate a small cadre; his intern salary was thirty-eight yuan and five cents, and now that he's a full-time employee, it's over forty yuan. One person's salary was almost equal to that of an entire family. When a child in the family achieves something, parents will naturally pay more attention, especially since this child is not yet married.
"I also heard it from Yinghong," Han Anbing mumbled. His wife had mentioned this a few days ago, and now his wife was back at her parents' house, so he couldn't find anyone to ask.
"When you go to the Commune later, inquire about it thoroughly." Shi Chunhua gently patted Han Fuguo, who was puffing on his dry tobacco. "Got it, I'll ask Third Brother when I'm at the meeting."
"Then you must keep it in mind; don't forget."
"I won't forget."
"Alright, clean up and go to bed quickly. There's still work to do early tomorrow morning."
In the countryside, people generally went to bed soon after eating and cleaning up. Li Feng, however, found it a bit hard to adapt. Normally, he wouldn't go to bed at seven or eight o'clock; he'd play with his phone or go fishing, sleeping at least after ten o'clock.
"Ouch."
Besides, Li Feng couldn't sleep at all right now. Not to mention the pain in his shoulders, his whole body was incredibly sore and swollen. He had never done such heavy work in his life; if it weren't for the mission, he would have given up long ago.
He had been tormented all day. Earlier, when carrying the manure, he was supported by a burst of conviction and didn't feel too uncomfortable.
Now his body was reacting, and it was killing him. Da Ya and Xiao Ya had massaged him for over an hour, and the two children were so tired they fell asleep. Li Feng couldn't very well wake them up again, could he? "This is truly killing me."
"No way. Once this manure-carrying mission is complete and I have money, I'm not doing this again."
To hell with the challenge experience! No wonder they used rewards as temptation; it was truly agonizing, so uncomfortable. Li Feng's body was sore, swollen, and exhausted. He groaned "ouch, ouch" for two or three hours before finally falling into a deep sleep.
"Ouch, I can't, I can't."
Early in the morning, Li Feng felt his entire body was falling apart; he was dying. He had never experienced such fatigue and soreness in his life, and this time he was truly getting a taste of it. "These damn keyboard warriors, one by one, saying how good the 60s and 70s were, how good they were. This Ni Ma is no life for a human."
Thinking about life in the 21st century, it was simply heaven on earth. Li Feng had never endured such hardship. His grades were good from a young age, and his family's adults never made him do any work.
"Dad, I'll rub it for you."
"Gently, gently."
Li Feng grimaced in pain; it hurt too much. His body felt as if it had been run over by a car.
"Ouch, gently."
Xiao Ya was startled. She saw her older sister rubbing and kneading Li Feng and imitated her sister's actions, never expecting Li Feng to react so strongly. "Xiao Ya, you go light the fire; I'll massage Dad."
"Oh."
Xiao Ya was a little disappointed.
"What are we eating for breakfast?"
"Porridge and vegetable dumplings."
Li Feng felt even weaker upon hearing that. Eating worse than pigs, waking up earlier than chickens, and working more than dogs—this Ni Ma was no life for a human. "No way, I have to complete the mission quickly, get the reward, and buy meat. Yes, I must buy meat to eat."
For the first time, Li Feng longed for meat so much. Previously, pork was nothing to Li Feng; he could eat it whenever he wanted, but he simply wasn't keen on it. Now, if you gave him a piece of raw pork, he'd gnaw on it for a couple of bites, if for no other reason than for the fat.
After a long while, Li Feng recovered. The soreness and pain had subsided a bit, and only then did he prop himself up with his aching hands. "Da Ya, stop massaging; take a rest."
"I'm not tired."
Da Ya's small hands were trembling violently; how could she not be tired? Li Feng wasn't a fool. "Alright, I'm hungry. Get something to eat."
"I'll serve you food."
Da Ya immediately stood up upon hearing this, but the little girl had been kneeling for too long, and her legs went numb, causing her to fall onto the bed frame. Li Feng quickly caught her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Slow down."
"Mm."
Da Ya gritted her teeth and went to the kitchen, propping herself up to serve the meal. "Second sister, take it to Dad; I'll tend to the fire."
"Oh."
Xiao Ya didn't know that Da Ya had lifted her clothes and seen a purple bruise where she had fallen. "Da Ya, bring me my shoes."
"Coming, Dad."
She pulled down her clothes as she spoke, gritted her teeth, and ran a couple of steps.
Li Feng put on his shoes and took the bowl. His stomach was indeed a bit hungry, and in three or five bites, a bowl of corn paste was down. "Is there more?"
"Yes."
Actually, there was only one bowl left in the pot. After Li Feng finished the second bowl, he suddenly remembered the set lines he had laid. "I'm going to check the set lines; you two eat."
"Sister, I'm hungry."
When Li Feng was present, Xiao Ya never dared to say she was hungry, fearing Da Ya would scold her. "There's still some leftover in the pot; I'll serve it to you." There was still a small half-bowl of paste at the bottom of the pot. Xiao Ya happily took it and started eating, only remembering after a few bites. "Sister, you eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Da Ya smiled and patted Xiao Ya's head. "When Dad comes back and asks, just say we both ate."
"Oh."
Li Feng came to the small stream in front of the door and pulled up the Sophora japonica branches . Tied to them were dog tail grass stems, and on the dog tail grass were hooks made from locust tree thorns. Surprisingly, he caught more than ten Gou Pazi (Gobies), and they were quite plump. These amounted to at least two liang.
"I'll keep them for two days, then catch more. The reward will also come down, so I'll buy some fatty meat to render oil and deep-fry them. It'll be delicious." At this moment, thinking about the fried fish, the pain in his body lessened a bit.
First, he took the fish off the hooks. Li Feng held the fish in tree leaves and happily returned to the small courtyard.
"Da Ya, Xiao Ya, come and see."
"Fish?"
Da Ya was delighted to see so many small fish, and Xiao Ya's eyes lit up even more, thinking how delicious small fish were. Her mother had made them roasted small fish before; although it was without oil and low on salt, it was still meat, wasn't it? Even a mosquito's leg, no matter how small, still had a hint of meatiness.
"Find a wooden basin and keep them for now. Catch more, and I'll deep-fry them for you later," Li Feng said happily.
"Deep-fry them?"
Da Ya was startled to hear "fried fish"; it required oil. Where would she borrow oil for Dad? Even white flour was extremely rare, let alone oil. Da Ya's nose tingled, and she almost cried.
"Don't get happy yet; we have to buy a piece of fatty meat first, otherwise, without oil, we can't eat them."
The more Li Feng spoke, the happier he became. Next to him, Xiao Ya almost jumped for joy. Only Da Ya grew more and more anxious. And buying fatty meat? This was simply terrifying! Da Ya's tears began to fall, patter, patter.
"Don't cry, don't cry."
This child, Li Feng patted Da Ya. He had seen her hard work these past few days. "Just wait, in a few days, we'll be able to eat meat and white steamed buns, hahahaha."
"Dad, I won't eat."
Da Ya grew even more anxious. White steamed buns too? The more she thought, the more flustered she became. She was a little afraid that Dad was going to do something bad.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Quick, hide the small fish."
These were caught from the stream and belonged to the public. If they were seen, it might be fine, but if someone made a big deal out of it, they might be criticized. This was not a good thing.
As he spoke, Li Feng handed the small fish to Da Ya and went to open the door himself.
"Captain, please come in and sit."
"No sitting, it's getting late, time to go to work."
"Look, I completely forgot."
Although Li Feng was not feeling well, for the sake of eating meat and white steamed buns, he had to at least persevere and complete the tasks issued by the system. "Wait for me; I'll tidy up and go with you."
"Alright."
He gave Da Ya and Xiao Ya a few instructions. The two little girls would follow the elders to weed the fields later; this was the work the team had found for the two children earlier. Da Ya earned six work points a day, and Xiao Ya earned four work points a day, which was considered the team's care for these two children.
After tidying up, Li Feng followed Han Anmin to the dam entrance. On the way, Li Feng had already clarified that he would still be carrying manure today. This was good; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to complete the mission. "Are your shoulders okay?"
"Nothing much, just a purple bruise and some broken skin. It's nothing; it's just work. Small injuries and pains, just bear with them, and they'll pass."
"Ouch, that's not a small bruise."
Han Anmin saw Li Feng pull open his vest, revealing a large purple bruise, and the broken skin was also red and swollen. "Later, you carry less; take it slowly."
"How can that be? That would be special treatment."
Li Feng was a hundred and one thousand percent willing in his heart. Are you kidding? This was specifically for Han Anmin and others to see. How could you guys have the nerve to make an injured person carry a full bucket of manure? Of course, he still had to keep up appearances.
Li Feng insisted repeatedly, and Han Anmin increasingly felt that he had been too subjective earlier. There were good educated youths too, he thought. Look, Li Feng was so honest. When he said not to let him carry a full bucket, others also spoke up.
"Alright then, when I'm better, I'll carry a few more loads later. I can't let everyone suffer a loss."
Han Fuguo nodded upon hearing this. He was probably truly mistaken; this was an honest person. He would take care of the household registration matter first thing tomorrow morning. This way, the educated youth settling in with Da Ya and Xiao Ya's family—this was a good thing.