Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 5 The First Pot of Gold
It's about two o'clock in the afternoon.

After lingering for several hours, Li Zhe was finally escorted out of the credit union lobby. Unlike when he arrived penniless, his backpack was now bulging with fifty 100-yuan bills and one hundred yuan notes.

Damn, this feels so unreal.

Li Zhe originally came to inquire about interest-free loans and, if all went well, to submit a loan application form. Who would have thought that, during lunchtime, Director Sun would stamp the form with a red seal!

Whether the procedures were followed was not a concern for Li Zhe. In those days, the banking system was poorly managed, and as long as you found the person in charge, it was just a matter of a word.

Even after the carriage had gone quite a distance, Director Sun was still standing at the door waving.

Zhao Tiezhu, who was driving, covered half of his face with the brim of his straw hat and asked in a muffled voice, "Brother Zhe, we haven't been fooled in this matter, have we?"

Li Zhe had a similar misconception, but then he thought, apart from the loan application, he hadn't lost anything. What else could be worth someone coveting? It couldn't be his faded old clothes!

"Brother Zhe, where are we going now? Back to the village?"

"Heading to the supply and marketing cooperative."

"Alright, let's go!" Zhao Tiezhu cracked his whip, and the carriage sped up a bit.

The carriage turned into a small street. Li Zhe looked around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly took the money out of his backpack, stuffed it into a yellow urea bag, rolled it up, and handed it to Zhao Tiezhu. "Sit down, and don't get out of the carriage no matter who tells you to."

"Hey." Zhao Tiezhu's face turned red, feeling as if a golden egg had been laid under his butt, and also touched by the trust placed in him.

Zhao Tiezhu often helped people transport goods and was very familiar with the roads in the town. He parked the horse-drawn cart directly in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, where the slogan "Develop the economy and ensure supply" on the facade had turned white in the sun.

Li Zhe gave a few instructions and then entered the supply and marketing cooperative. Behind the glass counter, a saleswoman with a long braid was dozing off, propping her head up with her hand.

In 1988, apart from some scarce commodities, many things could be bought without ration coupons. Li Zhe bought 4 jin of pork, 20 jin of flour, two bottles of Fenjiu liquor, several common vegetables, and a bag of compound fertilizer.

White sugar required a ticket, so I only managed to buy half a pound of brown sugar.

As Li Zhe left the supply and marketing cooperative carrying his things, he smelled the aroma of sesame seed cakes and turned around to see an old man squatting under a tree selling sesame seed cakes.

He'd been craving this for years. "Grandpa, how much are the sesame seed cakes?"

The old man stood up from under the shade of the tree, lifted the wicker basket covered with a cloth, and said, "Six cents each, fresh out of the oven, want to try a couple?"

"Four in total."

The crispy sesame seed cake is golden in color, with a crispy crust and a layer of sesame seeds sprinkled on top, making it look very appetizing.

Li Zhe got into the carriage and handed Zhao Tiezhu two sesame cakes, saying, "Have some to eat first."

After saying that, Li Zhe took a bite. The sesame seed cake was crispy and delicious, with distinct layers, and it smelled amazing.

Zhao Tiezhu ate just as fast as Li Zhe. After a few bites, he didn't bother to rest and drove the carriage back to the village under the scorching sun.

Normally, Zhao Tiezhu would find a shady spot to sleep and wait for the weather to cool down before continuing his journey.

But today is different; with a huge sum of money sitting on my backside, I dare not linger outside.

Once outside the town, there were cornfields as tall as a person. Li Zhe's heart pounded, fearing that a few heroes from Liangshan might jump out.

After walking for a while, Li Zhe realized he was overthinking things. In this sweltering heat, there wasn't a single person to be seen, not even a dog.

The village is not far from the town; it only takes about twenty minutes to get there.

Even so, Li Zhe's skin was burning from the sun, he was hot and thirsty, and his throat felt like it was on fire.

The carriage stopped in front of the Li family's house. Li Zhe unloaded the things and left more than a pound of meat for Zhao Tiezhu. "Zhuzi, take this piece of meat back and eat it tonight."

Zhao Tiezhu said in a hoarse voice, "No need, you have a lot of family members, you can take it back and eat it."

"Stop talking nonsense, Dahuang is about to give birth too, remember to give it some meat broth." Li Zhe waved his hand and went home with the urea bag on his back.

There was no sound from inside the house; Li Zhe guessed his parents and sister were taking a nap. He went back to the west room first, put away the money and his belongings, then scooped half a ladle of water from the vat and gulped it down in one go. Two basins of water were drying in the yard, for bathing that evening. Li Zhe took off his coat, wearing only his shorts, and washed himself in the yard, feeling refreshed and as if he had been reborn.

After traveling for half a day, Li Zhe felt like his body was about to fall apart. The room was stuffy and hot, and he couldn't stand it at all.

He spread out a mat under the shade of the tree and lay down on it. A breeze made him feel quite comfortable. The only thing that bothered him was the cicadas in the Chinese toon tree by the west wall, which were making a terrible racket.

Li Zhe, still half-asleep, heard noises coming from the main room.

"Mom, come and see!" The little girl squatted by the basin of water, her pigtails almost touching the water. "Meat, we have meat!"

"What are you yelling about? It's not a holiday, where did you get meat from?" Wang Xiuying came out of the east room in her cloth shoes, glanced into the basin, and was stunned. "This... where did this meat come from? Old Li, Old Li."

"Here you are." Mr. Li also came over and said in surprise, "Wow! This must weigh two or three pounds, right? It's just a little thin."

Wang Xiuying went to the west room but didn't see anyone. She then looked into the yard and asked, "Second brother, did you bring the meat back?"

Under the shade of the tree, Li Zhe sat up from the mat, picked up a clod of dirt and threw it at the Chinese toon tree, "Keep barking! Tomorrow I'll make a sticky pole and stick you all down to feed Big Yellow."

"I'm asking you something."

"I bought these. We'll stew meat for dinner tonight. I also bought flour; we'll make something dry for dinner."

Old Li shouted in a loud voice, "Second brother, did you buy this wine too?"

"I bought it for you."

"Good, good, my son has grown up and knows how to be filial to his father." Old Li grinned, holding the Fenjiu bottle and looking at it again and again. "This is genuine good wine."

"Good my foot!" Wang Xiuying came out of the main room, arms crossed, and asked, "Second son, who told you to buy these things? You didn't even discuss it with the family. Are you trying to ruin our lives?"

"I was just in town on business, so I bought it on the way," Li Zhe said casually, focusing on making sure it was easy to say.

"Hmph, all they know is how to waste money."

The little girl ran over, hugged Li Zhe's shoulder, and whispered, "Second Brother, can we really eat meat tonight?"

Li Zhe hooked her nose with his finger and laughed, "Not only can you eat meat, but I also bought you some good stuff."

"What good stuff?"

Li Zhe led the little girl into the west room, took out a yellow paper package, untied the string, and revealed the brown sugar inside.

"Oh, it's brown sugar!" The little girl swallowed subconsciously, stretched out her right hand, then pulled it back, and glanced outside. "Second brother, can I eat it?"

Li Zhe felt a pang of sadness, picked up a piece of brown sugar and put it in the little girl's mouth, "Eat it, I bought it for you."

"Sweet, so sweet!" The little girl squinted her eyes, looking blissfully happy.

Wang Xiuying peeked out and glanced at the scene, but didn't say anything.

Does she not want her family to eat well?
It's because my family is poor.

"Mom, have some candy."

The little girl picked up a piece of brown sugar and stuffed it into Wang Xiuying's mouth.

"Mother doesn't like sweets, you eat it yourself." Wang Xiuying wrapped the brown sugar up again and handed it to the little girl. "Take it outside, Mother will steam brown sugar buns for you later."

"Thank you, Mother. I love sugar buns the most." The little girl put the brown sugar in her mouth, held the sugar bun in both hands, and carefully walked out of the west room.

Wang Xiuying stared at her son, "Second son, tell me the truth, what did you do today?"

(End of this chapter)