Chapter 22 Gu Ermao Blocks the Door The next day, Li Long got up at dawn. After packing up his things and loading the stove with coal, he went to the east room. The lights over there were turned on early. When Li Long went over to wash up, his sister-in-law Liang Yuemei was cooking and Li Jianguo was already packing steamed cakes for him. "Brother, don't eat so much. You can't finish it all." Li Long said and went to wash his face. There is a double happiness character on the enamel washbasin. It was bought for my eldest brother when he got married. It has been more than ten years in the blink of an eye. If I think about it, if it weren't for me, with my eldest brother's hard work and my sister-in-law's frugality, my eldest brother's family should have lived a better life. "It's okay to pack more. If you can't finish it, bring it back." Li Jianguo said as he lowered his head and packed, "If you get hungry while working, it will be uncomfortable. Poor family, rich road, everything is easy to deal with at home, but it's troublesome to be out there in the middle of nowhere." "That's right, bring more. Oh, and bring some mutton that I cooked last night." Sister-in-law Liang Yuemei said as she cooked, "Eating meat will give you energy to work." Li Qiang was on the kang in the inner room, yelling:
"Mom, I want to eat meat too!" "Eat, eat, eat. All you know is to eat!" Liang Yuemei retorted upon hearing her son's words, "Didn't you eat enough last night? Your uncle has to go to work!" Li Qiang stopped talking immediately. Both children in the family were afraid of Liang Yuemei. As the old saying goes, a strict father and a kind mother, but in the Li family it was the other way around. After Li Long washed his face, Li Jianguo handed him the bag and said: "There is warm water in the kettle, but it's only drinkable in the first half of the day. It will be frozen in the second half. Eat some snow if you are thirsty." At that time, thermos cups had not yet been invented. If you were thirsty when you were out and there was no village or shop nearby, a handful of snow would solve the problem. Breakfast is sweet potato porridge, steamed cake, and fried pickles. Liang Yuemei served the remaining mutton offal soup from yesterday, gave one bowl to Li Long, and gave the rest to Li Juan and Li Qiang. The few mutton offal that were left were basically all served in Li Long's bowl. Li Long looked at Liang Yuemei's habitual movements, and his nose felt a little sour. He divided the mutton offal in his bowl into the bowls of Li Juan and Li Qiang, and said with a smile: "I'll just drink the soup - my sister-in-law still treats me like a child." "Then you are just a child in front of us." Li Jianguo said while eating pickled vegetables, "How old are you? If you are not married, you are still a child." "Okay." Li Long lowered his head and drank the soup, "This mutton soup tastes really good!" Liang Yuemei smiled and said: "Then I'll make some soup when you guys come back. I cut up some sheep hearts and livers yesterday, and your brother will clean out the sheep stomachs today and cook them tonight." "Okay. Maybe I can pull in a sheep tonight." Li Long finished his soup, wiped his mouth and said, "If I pull one, I'll send half of it to Uncle Liang." Liang Yuemei and Li Jianguo looked at each other and she said: "Wen Yu came over yesterday, and I asked him to bring some fish, so I won't send the meat..." "That's different." Li Long remembered very clearly that in the first few years, and even in the last few years, the Li family had received a lot of help from the Liang family. The biggest reason was himself. First, it was for work, and then for buying things for the separation of the family. He felt it was great to be able to live again, and it felt great to pay off his debts! "The way they are eaten is different. Mutton tastes like mutton, and fish tastes like fish. If I can make two more trips before the New Year, maybe I can bring back a few more sheep, and then our family will have a prosperous New Year!" "Have a prosperous new year...Uncle, what does a prosperous new year mean?" Li Qiang asked while chewing a piece of lamb heart. "That's it..." Li Long thought for a moment and said, "During the Chinese New Year, I'll let you eat big chunks of mutton. Eat as much as you want!" "Really?" When Li Qiang heard this, stars appeared in his eyes.
Li Juan also had a look of longing on her face. "Really, it must be true." Li Long patted his chest. Just for Li Qiang's words, he had to work hard! After dinner, Li Long went to the east room, dressed himself, put on his bag and went out. As soon as he got outside, Li Long was a little surprised to see Gu Ermao standing outside. Didn't this guy break up with him? "Xiaolong, I heard that you are going into the mountains, can you take me with you?" Gu Ermao still had that playful look on his face. "I can't take it." Li Long refused flatly. "Daqiang and I have an agreement that the carriage cannot take too many people. If we take too many people, we won't be able to carry the things." "Xiaolong," Gu Ermao saw Li Long's direct refusal and hurriedly explained, "Listen to me, I didn't mean to tell Wu Shufen that you were fired. She is just like that. Believe me, actually..." Li Long had already shaken him off and was heading towards the stable. Gu Ermao wanted to follow, but Li Long walked too fast and he had been freezing outside for a while, so he couldn't keep up and was left behind. "Fuck, you're not taking me with you, right? If you can go, I can go too!" Gu Ermao was furious, "It's just in the mountains, right? You're just saying no one can go!" Li Long was still wondering why Tao Daqiang didn't show up. When he arrived at the stable, he found that Tao Daqiang was squatting in the corner outside the stable. "Da Qiang, why don't you come to my house?" Li Long asked curiously, "Why are you staying here?" "I saw Ermao go to your house." Tao Daqiang whispered, "I guess he must have asked you to go to the mountains too. If he wants to go, I may not be able to go..." Tao Daqiang is not stupid. Li Long smiled and said: "Didn't I tell you, we'll go alone, without him. From now on, it'll be just the two of us, okay?" "Okay!" Tao Daqiang immediately became happy when he heard Li Long say that, "Just the two of us!" When he got up and was walking out in the morning, his father Tao Jianshe said something to him that left Tao Daqiang speechless for a long time. "Da Qiang, you see, you went to the mountains with Li Long, and now you have the leather gloves and the lamb leg. If Li Long wants to go again, why don't you let your brother go instead of you? He has a family to support, and he's smarter than you, so he can bring back more things." "Li Long said he wouldn't take anyone else but me!" Tao Daqiang lied. "Then remember the way. When you come back this time, don't follow Li Long. You and your brother can borrow the team's carriage and go over there. If you can bring back a sheep, our family can have a prosperous New Year." Tao Daqiang knew that even if he remembered the way, he would not be able to exchange for the sheep. People trust Li Long but not themselves. Even my own brother Dayong can’t do it. Li Long asked Lao Luo to hitch a horse-drawn carriage, and he and Daqiang went to the county together. They first bought brick tea and salt, then thought about it and bought two bags of sugar cubes, weighed half a kilogram of loose fruit candy, and then drove the carriage to the mountains. Because we were familiar with the road, we arrived at Halimu's winter home earlier than yesterday. This time the dog started barking when he saw the carriage coming. However, the two dogs did not run over when they were barking, and their tails were wagging. Li Long guessed that they must have recognized him. After unloading the carriage and leading the horses to the winter kennel, Halimu had already come out of the kennel. Seeing Li Long and Tao Daqiang, Halimu took the initiative to extend his hand:
"Li Long, are you okay?" "Okay, okay." Li Long shook his hand vigorously. "Sorry to bother you again." The Kazakhs attach great importance to etiquette. Even if you were not familiar with someone yesterday, you may be familiar with them today, and you still have to observe the proper etiquette. Halimu took the horse reins and tied them to a wooden stake. After putting down the fodder, he let Li Long and Tao Daqiang into the winter den. After entering the winter den and waiting for his eyes to adjust, Li Long saw something next to the stove and his eyes lit up: “There’s something good!” (End of this chapter)