novelden Chapter 141 Rice and Cabbage
Chapter 141 Rice and Cabbage
"Never mind him, let's eat the dumplings first, and then we'll have a good talk with him when he gets back."
As she spoke, Jiang Xuefen ladled a bowl of dumpling soup for Li Mu and placed it in front of him: "Drink some soup; the soup will help you digest your food."
Li Mu picked up the bowl, gulped it down in one go, let out a satisfied burp, and said, "That felt so good."
Jiang Xuefen looked at Li Mu and couldn't help but laugh: "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
Li Mu patted his round belly and laughed, "Mom, the dumplings you made are so delicious, I want to eat them every day from now on."
He picked up another dumpling and put it in his mouth. Just then, footsteps came from outside the door. Li Jianjun pushed the door open and entered, smelling of alcohol.
Jiang Xuefen smelled the alcohol and frowned: "Why did you drink so much again? Didn't I tell you to drink less?"
Li Jianjun waved his hand: "It's nothing, I was just happy and had a couple more drinks."
"Did you go bragging again? Did you say we were going to grow rice?" Jiang Xuefen asked while clearing away the dishes.
Li Jianjun hiccuped and laughed, "I told them, and Old Zhao, Old Qian, and Old Sun from the next village all know. They even said they want to work with us too. I said we need to discuss it and see if we can bring them along."
Jiang Xuefen stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Jianjun in surprise: "What? They want to work with us too? Where are we going to get so much land?"
Li Jianjun immediately lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Don't worry about the land, I've already thought it through. We can reclaim that wasteland at the edge of the village. Although it's not a large area, it's enough to grow a few acres of rice. As for Old Zhao and the others, we can allocate a plot of land for them to cultivate themselves, and we'll be responsible for purchasing their rice."
Li Mu grabbed a handful of melon seeds and remained silent, pretending not to hear.
Jiang Xuefen frowned: "Reclaiming wasteland? That will take a lot of effort. We don't have the time or energy for that."
Li Jianjun waved his hand: "Oh, don't worry, I've already inquired. Although that wasteland is overgrown with weeds, the soil is not bad. As long as we take good care of it, we can definitely grow good rice. As for time and effort, we can find some able-bodied young men in the village to help and just pay them some wages."
Li Mu couldn't stand it anymore. That was the problem with Li Jianjun; he started bragging before anything even got started.
He put down the sunflower seeds: "Dad, are you going to do it or am I? What can you do besides bragging? Don't you know our family's situation? There are only three of us, and you want to reclaim wasteland and bring Old Zhao and the others along to grow rice? Have you lost your mind?"
These words made Li Jianjun's face instantly turn ugly. He sat up straight and glared at Li Mu: "You child, how can you talk like that? I'm just trying to make our family live a better life."
“Look at our village, which family isn’t struggling to make ends meet? If we could grow rice well, people would be begging us for money and we could make a fortune! Why don’t you understand?”
Li Mu sighed. He knew that it was pointless to reason with Li Jianjun; the guy would get drunk and start spouting nonsense.
He looked at Jiang Xuefen; she was still the one who made the decisions at home.
"Alright, Mu Zi, don't take it to heart. That's just how your dad is; he likes to brag when he's drunk. I'll have a good talk with him when he sobers up."
Li Mu had no time to worry about any of that. After washing up, he went back to his room and drifted off to sleep.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he was awakened by a commotion. He could hear Li Jianjun and Jiang Xuefen arguing outside, their voices growing louder and louder, accompanied by the sound of things being smashed.
Li Mu frowned, wondering what was wrong with the two of them again.
He put on his clothes, went out of the room, and saw Li Jianjun and Jiang Xuefen standing in the yard, arguing heatedly.
"Look at you, bragging like that when you're drunk. Let's see how you handle this when Old Wang and the others come tomorrow!"
"How am I bragging? I'm telling the truth. If we can grow rice well, we'll definitely make money!"
"Making money? Is it Mu Zi who makes it, or our whole family? Don't you even think about it? Where would we get the skills and experience?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jianjun sobered up a bit. He widened his eyes and said defiantly, "How do you know we can't do it? Why don't we give it a try? How will we know if it will work if we don't try?"
Jiang Xuefen was so angry at Li Jianjun's arrogant attitude that she trembled. She pointed at Li Jianjun's nose and said, "You try? What do you have to try with? You've squandered all our savings, and you still have the nerve to try? If you're really brave, then try with your own money, don't drag me and Muzi into it!"
Li Jianjun was hit where it hurt by Jiang Xuefen's words. His face turned pale, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Li Mu stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Dad, stop listening to gossip outside and coming back to cause trouble. Mom, stop bringing up Dad's past. We need to move on. You two should just stay home! You have to make such a fuss and become a laughingstock!"
Li Jianjun lost face and fell silent, simply keeping his head down and smoking one cigarette after another.
Seeing this, Jiang Xuefen knew that arguing any further would be pointless, so she sighed, turned around, and went back into the house.
Li Mu went out and drove his tricycle to pick up Li Jianjun and Tian Xiaohu. Li Chuzi, along with Li Ergou and Zhang Biaozi, stayed in the village to pick blueberries and dry wild vegetables. They also took care of the rabbits and the fishpond.
Li Mu drove his tricycle, bumping along the way, until he arrived at the place Old Wang had arranged.
Old Wang and his two older brothers were already waiting there. When they saw Li Mu arrive, they went to greet him.
Which way to go?
"Brother, get in the car. I'll give you a ride. That place is a long way from here."
The group boarded the tricycle, and Li Mu started the engine. The tricycle sputtered and kicked up a cloud of dust as it headed toward the barren land on the mountainside, dozens of miles away from Lijia Village.
On the way, Lao Wang chatted with the two older men, while Li Mu focused on driving the tricycle, occasionally chiming in their conversation.
"Brother, you used to be farmers, did you ever encounter any particularly difficult problems?"
Old Wang took a puff of his cigarette: "Farming is never easy. Especially in our area, the climate is so changeable. Sometimes it's terribly dry, and sometimes it's terribly flooded. But we're all farmers, dependent on the weather, so we just have to grit our teeth and keep going."
Li Mu nodded, indicating his understanding.
"Hey, why didn't you three young men go swimming?"
Going south was commonly known as "going to sea," as it offered more opportunities. At the time, it was a hot topic, and many young people flocked south in search of a chance to make a living.
Li Mu smiled and said, "We still feel more secure about farming. You see, with so many people in our country, someone has to farm, right? Otherwise, what will we eat and drink?"