Chapter 419 Everyone is running towards a better life
The whole family came out of the bus station in a lively manner, and then got on the horse-drawn carriage and donkey-cart.
"Take the bedding first, and let's go to the cafeteria to eat." Li Jianguo arranged, "After dinner, we will return to the team. The accommodation has been arranged. Anguo, take care of the children. Protect your hat and face. I think the children have frostbite on their hands. They need to be treated when they get home." "Okay," Li Anguo said, giving the two children Xue Ping and Xue Qin a blanket. Tuck well.
Because Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang, and Li Junshan have all stayed here until winter, they know how cold the winter in Northern Xinjiang is. It is now the end of February, and the weather is not particularly cold anymore, so Li Long Judging by the clothes they were wearing, they could still stand it.
The group arrived at the big meat canteen and tied up the carriage and donkey cart. Li Long took the lead and walked inside to order food from the waiter.
He didn’t ask for everyone’s opinions, and ordered oily pork noodles per head. One plate for adults, add another noodle, and one plate for two children. Let’s eat first.
All the way off the train, Li Qingxia and the others just had breakfast at the train station. They were really hungry when they got here.
“I really miss the noodles here.” Li Qingxia smelled the taste and said with a smile, “The noodles I eat when I go back are different from this, and the taste is different.”
"That's right." Chen Xingbang said with a smile, "All the noodles made in my hometown come with soup, and you can't find any without soup. This gluten makes you very hungry after eating it."
Chen Lirong took care of Xue Ping and Xue Qin and drank tea. She was still a little uncomfortable with the unfamiliar environment.
Xue Ping and Xue Qin have somewhat adapted to the climate here. They are drinking water and looking at the environment here curiously.
It was past meal time, and there were not many people eating. Most of them came and went in a hurry, but a few were slowly savoring the taste of the food.
Manager Zhong came over from behind. He heard from the waiter that Li Long had brought so many people here, so he came over to say hello.
“Comrade Xiao Li, are you bringing your family over for dinner?”
"Yes, have a happy New Year, Manager Zhong. This can be considered as a wish for you in your old age." Li Long stood up with a smile, "My parents came from the mouth, as well as my brother's family, my brother-in-law and my nephew. They just came down today. Train, the food here is delicious and solid. Hui, why don’t you just bring it here?”
In fact, there are only a few restaurants in Ma County that are open to the public. The Big Meat Restaurant is the most famous, and it is located right on the main road. Everyone eats outside. That's basically it.
But everyone was carrying the sedan chair, and Li Long said this, and Manager Zhong was happy to hear it. He smiled and said:
"Okay, okay, happy new year to uncle and aunt, I won't disturb you for eating. Let’s go to the back hall and ask for your food. The children must be hungry soon, right?”
He went to the back hall.
Chen Xingbang whispered:
"Look, we will definitely have more food than usual."
"How do you know?" Du Chunfang asked softly.
“The last time Xiaolong brought a few of us over for dinner, the manager came over and talked about it, and then I ate a lot more food.”
Li Anguo and Li Junshan knew it. Everyone nodded. But Chen Lirong didn't expect that this brother-in-law was quite proud.
Sure enough, when the noodles and vegetables were served shortly, the portions were quite large.
“Meat, so much meat!” Xueping shouted out all of a sudden, “Mom, there’s so much meat in this dish!”
This shout was quite abrupt in the cafeteria. Chen Lirong's face turned red with embarrassment and she covered Xueping's mouth.
Xue Ping struggled a bit, and Xue Qin looked at her mother in surprise.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Li Long hurriedly waved his hand to his second sister-in-law:
"This rice is fried pork noodles with beef cut into pieces. Xueping has never eaten it before, so it is normal to have some surprises."
This is not only an explanation to Chen Lirong, but also to other people who are eating. The person explained - so as not to make others feel that the cafeteria is partial to this side.
Sure enough, when Li Long said this, the people at the other tables also reacted - it turned out to be the first time to eat it, and it was from the mouth. No wonder.
Some people even had a touch of pride on their expressions.
"It's okay, it's okay." Li Anguo whispered after Chen Lirong took her hand away, "It's okay, Xueping and the others will just get used to it."
Du Chunfang was still a bit patriarchal and had some objections to the "fuss" of her two little granddaughters, so she curled her lips slightly.
"Eat it, otherwise it won't taste good when it gets cold." Li Jianguo said, "Anguo, mix it for your wife, Xiaolong, Junshan, mix the noodles for Xueping Xueqin. "For a moment."
When Li Jianguo said this, everyone else stopped talking and started mixing noodles.
Li Long knew that after his second brother returned, although the food at home might be improved, he would definitely not eat meat every day. It was understandable that the children would cry for meat.
Thinking about the first day after I was reborn, Li Qiang’s voice of wanting to eat meat is still very clear in my mind.
Less than a year has passed, and Li Qiang no longer feels much about eating meat. Sometimes he even picks up pickles when eating vegetables, and he is no longer so thirsty for meat.
I believe that one year from now, the two sisters Xue Ping and Xue Qin will be about the same, right?
First of all, the food is very fragrant, with real ingredients, heavy oil, heavy salt, and large pieces of meat. Secondly, I am hungry, so there is a sound of noodles being sucked on the table. Even though it was the first time for the two children to eat noodles, they quickly mastered the method and ate it. One noodle for two people was not enough, so I added another noodle to make it full.
After eating and drinking noodle soup, they rested in the cafeteria for about ten minutes. After the food in their stomachs "calmed down", Li Long and the others got up and went out.
On the carriage, Chen Lirong asked Li Anguo in a low voice:
"How much does this meal cost?"
"About ten yuan." Li Anguo knew that a meal of oily pork noodles would cost at least one yuan and six, and a pound of food stamps would be required. How would this be calculated? It costs about ten yuan.
"So much..." Chen Lirong was shocked, "...enough to buy two hundred kilograms of grain! The family can eat for two to three months if they save..."
She said The main grain is corn flour, whole grains, which is what I usually eat at home.
Li Anguo looked at Li Long who was following the donkey cart and whispered:
"Don't worry about this. Xiaolong can make money. Look, we will definitely not eat corn noodles during this period. We can only eat rice and white noodles every day..."
"Dad, is it true?" Xueqin Relying on Li Anguo, a Hearing this, he immediately became energetic:
“Can I eat white flour steamed buns every day?”
Xue Ping also asked:
“Can I eat rice often?”
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"Yes, yes." Li Anguo felt a little sad. Although he brought back a lot of money, Chen Lirong did not spend it carelessly. She still ate two thick rice and one thin rice, with dried sweet potatoes and the like. It is said that life should be slow and steady, and what should be saved should be saved.
After all, after arriving in northern Xinjiang, not to mention being helpless, at least I had no land and I didn’t know what the source of income was, so I had to save money.
Li Anguo knew that this was not easy to persuade, so he didn't say much. He just thought that after arriving in Northern Xinjiang, he could find a job as soon as possible and earn money to support his family.
As for when I first came here, I owed everything to my eldest brother and my younger brother first, and I will pay it back when I make money later.
He knew that Li Jianguo and Li Long definitely didn't care, but he had to remember.
After eating, it wasn’t that cold when we got in the car. Even Du Chunfang said in the car:
“It doesn’t feel that cold, the temperature is low, but I feel like I’m wearing thicker clothes, which is better than in my hometown. Better."
"That's right." Although Li Qingxia has never spent the winter here, he knows the truth:
“We eat white flour and meat, and the food in our stomachs is very hungry. As long as we are not hungry and have something in our stomachs, we can carry the cold. What do we eat at home? There is no oil or water in the corn noodles. , How can you endure the cold like this?" Several men took turns getting out of the car and walking for a while to stretch their bodies. By the time the team arrived at Li's house, the sun was already setting.
As soon as we entered the courtyard, we could smell the aroma of food. Li Juan and Li Qiang were waiting in the courtyard early.
Children are most looking forward to seeing relatives at home at this time. In the past, it was because relatives could have a delicious meal, but now it is because of the excitement and because it is said that children will come, so there will be one more thing to play with. Are you with me?
Xue Ping is about the same age as Li Qiang, and Xue Qin is still two years younger. Although she was already familiar with Li Jianguo and Li Long on the carriage, she suddenly felt a little shy when she met other strangers.
Liang Yuemei wore an apron and greeted everyone one by one. When Tao Daqiang saw everyone getting out of the car, he was about to go back, but was stopped by Li Long.
"How can you go back now? Leave after eating."
"If you don't want to eat, you won't eat. I just added three noodles in the big meat restaurant, and now I haven't finished digesting them in my stomach." Tao Daqiang waved his hands hurriedly, "I have to go back and see home. You also know that my wife is pregnant. This ..."
"Okay." Li Long knew that he actually thought he was. Outsiders couldn't stand to stay in such an environment any longer, so they stopped trying to persuade them, "Let's go to Xiaohaizi and have a look when things get stable here in two or three days."
"Okay. "Tao Daqiang smiled and nodded, talked to Li Qingxia and Li Jianguo, and then led the donkey cart away.
"What a good boy." Li Qingxia sighed.
The family entered the house noisily. Li Anguo, Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan's luggage has not been taken down and will be sent to the horse number later. Li Qingxia and Du Chunfang entered the east room, and Li Long also brought things in.
After simply tidying up, they were ready to eat. In just a moment, Li Juan and Li Qiang had become familiar with Li Xueping and Li Xueqin. Li Juan took her three younger siblings to the small table in the kitchen to eat, and Chen Lirong also insisted on being here— —Liang Yuemei wanted her to go to the main table, but she refused to go and said she would take care of the children here.
In fact, she didn’t need to take care of her at all. Li Juan and Li Qiang took good care of Li Xueping and Li Xueqin, introduced them to the food here, and even brought their toys for them to play with. No There was no look of disgust at all, and Chen Lirong felt her eyes were a little wet.
Although doing this on the first day they met may have been an act, at least it made her see that their family was welcome here.
The meal was very sumptuous, even richer than the New Year’s Eve dinner at home, which was beyond Chen Lirong’s expectation. Li Anguo brought back a lot of money, but first of all, he needed to spend a long time, and secondly, when he decided to go to Northern Xinjiang with his family, he had to set aside enough travel expenses, as well as the necessary expenses after the family came over. It was impossible I have always let my eldest brother and my younger brothers support my family, so I don’t spend much money during this time in the village.
So the New Year’s Eve dinner is much better than previous years, but it’s not too good either.
Otherwise, Li Xueping would not have shouted out like that when eating fried pork noodles.
Looking at the two children's bowls filled with meat - this was given by Li Juan and Li Qiang. Although the two children Li Xueping and Li Xueqin had eaten a lot at lunch, they were still eating big mouthfuls at this time. Chen Lirong was ashamed and blamed herself.
“Hey, it’s nothing. You don’t know, Li Rong. Back then, about a year ago, Xiaolong got a frozen sheep back from the mountains. At that time, the family was cooking meat. Juan and Qiangqiang were doing it. Children eating meat are much more dangerous than this!" Liang Yuemei saw Chen Lirong's embarrassment and said with a smile:
"Children, when they grow up, It's a good thing to eat more during the day. When I go back later, I'll get some big hawthorn pills for digestion. This year, the family has been keeping a lot of these things. Xiaolong gets meat from the mountains from time to time. The child eats a lot, so he often accumulates food and is prone to fever."
"Thank you, sister-in-law..." Chen Lirong was a little moved.
"Thank you, we are all a family, come and eat, don't just look after the children, you eat too. I cooked this dish myself, I don't know if it tastes good or not."
"Yes, yes. , the same taste as home..." Chen Lirong lowered her head and started eating.
After having dinner and chatting for a while, Li Long took No. 76 and brought the second brother and his family, plus Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan, to the horse number.
Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan live in the house next to each other. There is still a faint fishy smell in it, but it is not a problem. Li Anguo's family is in the house next to Li Long.
Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan greeted Old Uncle Luo skillfully and then went to pack their things. Li Xueping and Li Xueqin called Grandpa Luo at Li Anguo's prompting. Old Luo was so happy that he stuffed a dollar into each of the two children's hands:
"Here, it's still the New Year before fifteen, and this is the New Year's money."
The two children were a little at a loss and looked at their mother.
In their hometown, only Li Qingxia would give them one yuan as a new year's gift, while the others would only receive one or two cents at most.
"Take it." Li Anguo nodded, "Thank you, Grandpa Luo."
"No, thank you for nothing!" Old Uncle Luo put his hands behind his back, his face flushed, "Okay, you guys Clean up first, tell me what you need, tell Xiaolong, You have rice noodles and pots in your house. You usually cook and eat in the kitchen. If there is any inconvenience, you can cook it on the stove. Okay, I will go and settle down No. 76. Clean it up first.”
After Lao Luotou left, Li Long spoke:
"Second brother, second sister-in-law, you clean up first. By the way, it was inconvenient just now. Come, Xueping, Xueqin, this is what my uncle is giving you two." The new year's money for each of them, just keep it..."
Chen Lirong was shocked when she saw that Li Long had given the two children ten yuan, and hurried over to push Li Long's hand:
"Xiaolong, this is not okay, this is too much..."
"This is what I owe." Li Long explained, "As an uncle, I have never paid The two children have given me lucky money, and this is the first time they meet, so I have to make up for it next year. By the way, take this..."
Li Long took out two more safety buckles tied with red strings and stuffed them into the hands of the two children respectively:
"This is carved from Hetian jade. The jade is good jade. It is for safety. You two keep it." ——Oh, ask your mother to keep it for you. Wear it when you are older. Don’t lose it... Sister-in-law, there is a jade Buddha here for you. I also gave them away, please put them away."
After giving these, Li Long straightened up and said:
"Okay, you can pack them up, I'm next door, I'm a little tired. , I’m going to take a rest.”
After Li Long left, the two children obediently handed over the money and jade to their mother.
Chen Lirong looked at Li Anguo, a little at a loss.
"Keep it." Li Anguo said, "Xiaolong is right, this is his intention, we will make up for it when he has children."
"This... ...It's too much. Xiaolong is a big spender." Chen Lirong put the money away, and looking at the two children's eyes, she handed the jade into their hands and said, "Okay. Play with it, but don’t throw it away. Give it to me later and I’ll collect it for you. These two pieces of jade are not cheap.” Li Anguo asked his father and knew that Li Long got them. Jade is a good material. It may not be worth much in his hands, or he may get it cheaply, but if you put it in your mouth and hand it to someone who knows the goods, it will cost at least a few dozen dollars.
"This...how can I pay it off?" Chen Lirong sat beside the wooden bed with some annoyance, muttering, holding the jade Buddha in her hand, feeling very sad.
"Then when Xiaolong gets married, gets a wife, and gives birth to a child, you just need to help and take care of him more." Li Anguo is a man and thinks simply, "He can make money, so I think it's natural for him to do it when we meet for the first time." Take care of everything.
You should understand now why I want to come here. Look, in our original village, it was normal. It is more lively than here, with more people and more people to help you with anything.
But there is also trouble. If you get rich, many people will want to come and take a bite of you. You can feel it here. Come, the eldest brother’s family, including Xiaolong, and that young man, does it feel different?”
Chen Lirong nodded. Yes, there are benefits on both sides, but there are fewer people here, and there are fewer things to do. At least for now, the living standard is better than that in the hometown, and the two children can have enough food and good food. This alone is enough.
Li Long was lying on the bed reading a book, and soon Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan came over together. The two men cleaned up quickly. They didn't want to rest at this time. They came to Li Long to inquire about the situation.
"I was asking around when you didn't come. There is no suitable job yet." Li Long knew about Chen Xingbang and Li Junshan's 7? , he said, "But don't worry, it will still be more than a month before the snow melts and you can work. How can I find a way to make money in this more than a month."
"Well, if it doesn't work, just I'll still follow you." Chen Xingbang also thought about it, "I'll work for a while to save my capital, and I'll do some small business or something."
My brother-in-law has the ability, but he doesn't think there's anything wrong with working with Li Long. Wrong. After a trip to Northern Xinjiang and a trip back home, Chen Xingbang finally understood that making money and living a good life these days is the most realistic thing, but in fact it is all nonsense.
"Well, I have to build a house just after spring melts and the snow melts. You have to help me." Li Long said with a smile, "You are all craftsmen. I count on you whether the house is built well or not."
"That's no problem." Li Junshan had no say in other things, but when it came to building a house as a big job, he was really confident, "Uncle Xiaolong, just wait and see!"
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(End of this chapter)