1983 Small Island, Starting From a Large Farmer

Chapter 10 Heading to the county seat

 After Zhou Xiaoying boiled the hot water, Li Duoyu was kicked out again.

He sat on the stone in the courtyard, looking at the coastline, and continued to listen to the melodious music on the other side of the sea. Today Miss Deng sang "Don't Pick Wild Flowers on the Roadside".

The little fat man, who had eaten and drank enough, burped and sat next to Li Duoyu.

“Uncle, I heard from grandma that you helped my aunt print papers today.”

 “Do you want to know?” Li Duoyu said with a smile.

Little Pangdun looked forward to it, lowered his voice, and said in Li Duoyu’s ear:

“Uncle, can you tell me the question? My father said that if I get 100 points, he will give me a new schoolbag.”

Li Duoyu looked kind, and then shouted to Zhou Xiaoying who was still taking a bath:

“Xiaoying, Haoran would like to ask you if you can tell him what topics are included in the papers printed today.”

 After hearing this.

Li Haoran froze on the spot, having the urge to die on the spot. What made him collapse the most was that his aunt really responded to him.

“You told Haoran that the test content is all about the key points of painting, and the test will be the day after tomorrow, so he should review it carefully.”

Li Duoyu smiled and said, "Haoran, did you hear that?"

Little Fatty's eyes were red and he looked at Li Duoyu: "Uncle, I want to break off our relationship with you this time."

 “No, I haven’t bought you an exercise book yet.”

Hearing this, Li Haoran burst into tears and led his mother and second sister-in-law out.

“Why are you bullying Haoran when you have nothing to do?”

Chen Huiying rolled her eyes at him and quickly hugged her precious grandson to comfort him.

Second sister-in-law Zhu Xiuhua also looked at Li Duoyu angrily: "Haoran, our family, is recruiting you or provoking you. Why make him cry?"

Li Duoyu didn't expect to attract this giant Buddha, so he had to tell the truth: "No, I'm just going to the county town tomorrow and told him that I would give him some exercise books. He was so moved that he cried."

Zhu Xiuhua knew what kind of material her son was. He was not moved but clearly frightened.

But when he heard that the fourth child was going to the county town, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Duoyu, you are going to the county town tomorrow. Have you gone to Shangfeng Town? If so, help me buy a few meters of good-looking cloth."

Li Duoyu smiled and stretched out his hand:

“You can help me buy it, but give me the money first.”

Zhu Xiuhua smiled awkwardly: "Your second brother's salary is just that much. You buy it for me first, and I will pay you back next month. Or if you lend me some money, I will ask your brother to write you an IOU."

Li Duoyu, who has been born in two generations, feels very happy. No matter what era he is in, it is the uncle who owes money, and he must not talk about this.

“You bought pig’s trotters today, how could you have no money?”

Zhu Xiuhua suddenly choked on her words and her face was burning. After returning home, she looked at Li Yaoguo lying on the rocking chair and shaking the cattail leaf fan, and his anger instantly grew.

　　　“Lie down, lie down, lie down, you will know how to lie down in one day, there is no rice to cook at home, and you don’t work hard to make money.”

Li Yaoguo looked depressed on the recliner. Why can any fire burn me?

 While going to bed that night.

Li Duoyu stopped fussing and told Zhou Xiaoying: "Tomorrow I will go to the county to find my uncle. I may go to Shangfeng Town. Is there anything you want to buy?"

 “How long will it take to go?”

"Maybe two or three days. I have already told my parents that you should eat with them for the next few days."

“I have everything at home, but I don’t seem to have anything to buy.”

 After hearing this, Li Duoyu was stunned for a moment. Do you have everything at home?

Except for the three-way machine that Li Duoyu used to dance disco, there is really nothing at home. It can even be described as a house with only four walls.

The only dressing table was given to her by the second sister-in-law when they separated.

Smuggling has been very popular in the past two years. Some of the first people on the island to do this business have TVs and small refrigerators at home. Even Agui's family has a Toshiba washing machine.

Even the second sister-in-law Zhu Xiuhua wears imported fabrics, while his wife only has four sets of clothes in total, and they have been worn for several years. The latest set was bought the year she got married.

This woman is so sensible and heartwarming.

Li Duoyu couldn't help but turn over and hug her, only to find that there was no such obstructive little pillow tonight.

Comrade Xiaoying, the revolution has not yet succeeded, how can we be so careless?

 “What are you doing?” Zhou Xiaoying exclaimed.

Li Duoyu chuckled: "I'm not doing anything, so I'll just rub it in."

Zhou Xiaoying sighed helplessly. They were a legal couple with certificates. There seemed to be nothing he could do about things like this:

"Be careful when you go to the county town and look for good things, you know? It's not like our village. There are pickpockets everywhere. If you stay in a hotel, you must lock the door." "I know, let's go to bed quickly."

 “How can I sleep if you do this?”

Zhou Xiaoying was upset by him, but not long after, she heard the sound of even breathing. The person who was causing trouble just now fell asleep.

 Maybe I’m too tired.

Today I helped my father crack oysters, and went to discuss the sea with my mother. After school, I also printed papers with her.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoying couldn't help but feel a little moved. She moved her body involuntarily towards Li Duoyu, but not much. She was really afraid of waking him up.

 The next day, Li Duoyu unexpectedly slept late.

 When he woke up, Zhou Xiaoying had already gone to class, and there was a breakfast left for him on the table.

 The second elder has also prepared things and is waiting for him. There are 10 kilograms of dried salted fish, 10 kilograms of dried oysters, and more than a dozen cooked fish made from Balang fish.

And Chen Huiying looked at Li Duoyu, who looked like a trend-setter, wearing toad glasses and carrying an imported genuine leather handbag.

“It’s so messy outside. If you carry such a good bag, thieves will definitely pay attention to it. Please change it quickly.”

 After saying that, Chen Huiying dug out a large green canvas bag from home.

“Take off those sunglasses and go to your brother-in-law to do some work. Keep a low profile and don’t know if you have any questions. Do what you need to do and don’t cause any trouble to your brother-in-law.”

"I know, I know."

Li Duoyu, who had been completely transformed, boarded the only passenger ship on Dandan Island, carrying large and small bags on his back.

 The passenger ship only runs once a day.

The deck was filled with all kinds of seafood, and there were all kinds of dry goods placed in the aisles. There were also people carrying various chickens and ducks, and some smoking directly. The whole cabin had various smells that were indescribable.

 As for this smell, Li Duoyu not only did not feel unhappy at all, but actually missed it, because in later generations, after the bridge was opened on Dandan Island, this kind of scene would no longer be seen.

After about half an hour's boat ride, we arrived at Qingkou Pier opposite the island. As soon as we got off the boat, there were many young people selling tapes and watches gathered around them, shouting all kinds of things.

 “Ms. Deng’s new tape, would you like a piece?”

“Brand-new imported plum blossom watch, fully automatic, better than the one in Shanghai.”

 “Radio and calculator, do you want them?”

In this day and age, such gangsters usually have two jobs. They will deliberately squeeze into the crowd when everyone is carrying large and small bags and has difficulty moving.

However, doing this business is also very risky. If you are caught, you will not be as easy to talk to as later generations, and you will really be beaten half to death.

 In the process of moving the dock.

Li Duoyu encountered "three hands" and reached into his pocket, took out a few things, and stuffed them into his own pocket at lightning speed.

 Li Duoyu did not stop.

Instead, he smiled happily because it was the damaged paper from which the test paper was printed yesterday, and Li Duoyu also wrote two big curse words on it.

 I just don’t know if those three hands can be understood without any education.

 After leaving the pier.

Li Duoyu got on the minibus heading to the county seat. It took about half an hour to get to the bus station in the county seat. Then he spent thirty cents to hail a rickshaw and took him to the gate of the Lianjiang County Fisheries Research Institute.

 In the early 1980s, generally only important units and some privileged classes had landline telephones.

If you want to find someone at this time, you can either write a letter in advance to let him know, or do like Li Duoyu, go directly to the reception room at the door of his unit and tell the guard who you want to find.

“Uncle, can you call Chen Dongqing for me?”

When asking, Li Duoyu handed the uncle a pack of imported cigarettes. The uncle didn't show any politeness and just put it in his trouser pocket.

Experiences in his previous life taught him that he should never underestimate the janitor of his unit, because he might be a relative of the leader.

If you really engage in breeding in the future, you will inevitably have to deal with the Fisheries Research Institute, and it will be even more necessary to build a good relationship.

“Young man, if you want to join our unit, you need a letter of introduction. If you are just looking for Chen Dongqing, I can give you a letter, but I don’t know if he is free.”

“By the way, what’s your name and what’s your relationship with Chen Dongqing?”

"My name is Li Duoyu, Chen Dongqing is my brother-in-law, and my mother asked me to give him something."

 “Okay, you fill out the form here when you come to visit, and I will help you make a trip.”

 “Okay, thank you sir.”

 (End of this chapter)