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Because of the craftsmanship involved, a fire starter cost far more than matches. Liu Qingsong had now produced one, which struck her as highly unusual.
Liu Qingsong knew second elder sister would ask that. He shook his head, then used the explanation he had prepared: "Second Sister, can you stop being so suspicious all the time? To tell you the truth, I found this fire starter and the scrap steel I sold to Blacksmith Wang in the adobe-brick house where grandpa and grandma used to live."
Liu Qingsong's grandpa and grandma had passed away long ago.
The adobe-brick house had become a dangerous building in the Locust Tree Production Team.
No, to be precise, it had already collapsed into ruins.
This much Liu Lijuan knew.
When she heard this, Liu Lijuan let out a long sigh and stopped suspecting Liu Qingsong. After all, her grandpa had been a skilled craftsman when he was alive.
Things like fire starters, tools, bows and crossbows, hunting rifles, he could make them all.
It was just a pity that the craft had not been passed down.
Thinking of this, Liu Lijuan felt a bit wistful.
She also found herself missing her grandpa and grandma, who had always been so good to her.
Liu Qingsong guessed what Liu Lijuan was thinking. "Second Sister, I found more than a fire starter in grandpa and grandma's adobe-brick house. I also found a usable bamboo crossbow and some other useful things. Do you want me to bring them out for you to see?"
These words seemed to be said quite casually.
In fact, he was laying the groundwork for taking things out of the Myriad Realms Garbage Dump later and preventing Liu Lijuan, his second elder sister, from becoming suspicious.
Liu Lijuan never imagined all this. She shook her head when she heard him. "Keep the usable bamboo crossbow for yourself. You can go hunting in the Back Mountain during winter; I won't need it."
"Good! Good!" Liu Qingsong nodded. This was the response he had been waiting for.
With no one else around, Liu Qingsong hoisted the Pickling Crock onto his shoulder and headed for the kitchen. "Second Sister, while..."
The words weren't even finished.
Auntie Li appeared at the Main Gate and interrupted him.
Auntie Li carried a Porcelain Basin filled with chinese chestnuts, with more than a dozen eggs on top. "Lijuan, Old Wang told me to bring your family some chestnuts and eggs to eat. Don't turn your nose up at them."
"No, no! How could I turn my nose up at such fine things?" Liu Lijuan looked at the Porcelain Basin brimming with chestnuts and the more than a dozen eggs. She felt flattered and deeply warmed.
After all, in the Locust Tree Production Team in 1978, ninety-nine percent of families traded eggs for oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and other daily necessities.
Auntie Li's family wasn't well-off either, so they were no exception.
Now she was sending eggs to Liu Lijuan's family as a return gift.
To her, this really felt far too generous, so much so that she didn't dare accept it.
Auntie Li ignored her hesitation and placed the Porcelain Basin of chestnuts and eggs in Liu Lijuan's hands. "If you don't mind them, take them. Compared with the Diaozi Fish your Qingsong gave Pangdun yesterday, this gift is nothing."
"This..." Liu Lijuan started to speak, then stopped.
"Second Sister, accept them!" Liu Qingsong set down the Pickling Crock on his shoulder and urged her from nearby.
He was not trying to take advantage of Auntie Li. He knew she was straightforward and plainspoken.
If a gift she gave wasn't accepted, it would directly offend her.
More importantly, rural people in 1978 were mostly simple and honest, without ulterior motives.
If you overthought things, it would instead strain relations between neighbors.
Worst case, whenever there was something good to eat later, he could just send more over to Auntie Li.
But he could not give away the Wild Mountain Goat from the Back Mountain today.
Not even a little bit of it.
This wasn't him, Liu Qingsong, being stingy.
If he brought it out and word spread, the person who had set so many Animal Traps in the Back Mountain would surely learn about it.
And if that person came looking for trouble with him in secret later, it simply wouldn't be worth it.
"Alright then!" Seeing that Liu Qingsong was urging her to accept the chestnuts and eggs from Auntie Li, Liu Lijuan had no choice but to reluctantly accept them, and just as she was about to chat a bit more with Auntie Li, Pangdun came running up, drenched in sweat, with little sister and Little Mochi in tow.
"You little rascal, why are you running so fast?" Auntie Li couldn't help scolding at the sight.
"I... I..." Pangdun glanced at Auntie Li, then glanced at Liu Qingsong, and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"What happened?" Liu Qingsong knew Pangdun, little sister, and Little Mochi must have encountered some trouble, so he asked with concern.
"No... nothing happened." Pangdun scratched his round head with a foolish grin. "It's just... it's just..."
Stammering, he couldn't manage to get a coherent explanation out for the longest time.
This made little sister anxious, and she spoke up: "Third Brother, someone was cursing at you by the river and told me and Little Mochi to get lost."
"Mm, mm! That person was fierce—so fierce, even fiercer than my grandpa and grandma." Little Mochi lifted her head and chimed in indignantly.
"Is that so?" Liu Qingsong's brow furrowed.
Liu Lijuan and Auntie Li exchanged a glance, their expressions darkening as well.
Auntie Li asked little sister: "What's this person's name who was cursing at your brother? Is he someone from our production team?"
"He's from our team. He... he's called Wang Jiahe, and Wang Xiaohe came too!" little sister answered earnestly.
"There were a few other outsiders too, but they looked familiar to me," Pangdun added.
"What were they doing by the river?" Liu Qingsong found this a bit hard to understand.
Auntie Li and Liu Lijuan were puzzled too.
Wang Jiahe was the older brother of that beast of a team leader, Wang Xiaohe.
He and the Production Team Accountant Zhong Xinbing usually worked together in secret and stayed holed up in the Brigade Headquarters. Why had he come to the river with several outsiders today?
"Could it be..." Liu Lijuan thought of a possibility.
Liu Qingsong had a vague idea why the brothers Wang Xiaohe and Wang Jiahe had brought outsiders to the river, but he was not certain.
So after collecting his thoughts, he said to Liu Lijuan: "Second Sister, it's still early for lunch, why don't... I take little sister and Little Mochi to the river to do some fishing?"
As for fishing.
That way he could find out what Wang Xiaohe and Wang Jiahe were doing at the river.
And also give that Wang Jiahe, who had cursed at him, a taste of his own medicine.
Liu Lijuan guessed what Liu Qingsong was thinking.
So without the slightest hesitation, she agreed: "Alright! Take little sister and go take a look by the river. I'll call you back when lunch is ready."
"Yeah!" Liu Qingsong nodded.
Upon hearing this, Little Mochi and little sister.
They hurried to the rear courtyard on their Short Little Legs to fetch the Fishing Tackle Box and Bamboo Fishing Rod.
Seeing this, Pangdun grew anxious: "Brother Qingsong, I want to go fishing with you too."
"Sure!" Liu Qingsong agreed with a smile.
There was no way around it, Auntie Li had been so good to his family, he couldn't very well refuse.
More importantly, Pangdun's father, Wang Yaoqing—Uncle Wang—had thoroughly offended Wang Xiaohe yesterday for second sister's sake and could no longer participate in the team's Post-Autumn Hunting.
Under these circumstances.
If he went fishing and still didn't bring Pangdun along.
Then he wouldn't be human, but a beast instead.
"Oh..." Seeing Liu Qingsong agree, Pangdun cheered and ran off toward the house entrance to fetch his fishing rod.
"Don't run so fast!" Seeing this, Auntie Li hurriedly quickened her pace to follow behind him.
Liu Qingsong watched the mother and son disappear from view. When little sister and Little Mochi returned with the Worn Fishing Tackle Box and Bamboo Fishing Rod, he told Liu Lijuan he was leaving and went to join them.
After waiting a moment at the Main Gate.
They met up with Pangdun and headed toward the Diaozi River together.
……