Reborn in the 1980s, starting with fishing and hunting to build a fortune

Chapter 120 Precious Herbs

"Wow—this—this—so much money!"

Li Zhenshan, Wang Guiying, Zhao Lijuan, and Liu Xiulan were all surprised.

Her eyes were sparkling, and she was so excited that she stammered a little.

Six hundred and eighty-five yuan were neatly laid out on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

That's equivalent to three and a half years' wages for an average farmer.

Even five-year-old Xiaochunsheng, standing to the side, said with a silly grin, "Wow—Mom, Mom, we have so much money! Can we buy me lots and lots of candy?"

""

As she spoke, she curiously reached out to touch it, but Zhao Lijuan, in her haste, slapped her hand away.

"What are you carrying, you little brat! Go away, go play outside."

Oh, and you better keep your mouth shut for your mother when you get out there. If you dare to say anything out loud, I'll give you a good spanking when I get back, you hear me?

"Mmm-hmm-hmm."

Li Chunsheng was so frightened that he quickly covered his mouth with his small hand and nodded repeatedly.

It made the whole family laugh.

Wang Guiying glared at Zhao Lijuan with a hint of anger, and said with heartache, "Chunsheng is still young, how would he understand these things? You, his mother, shouldn't keep scaring him."

She then reached out and took Chunsheng's hand: "Come here, Chunsheng, Mom will give you some candy. After you eat the candy, you can't talk nonsense outside, okay?"

"Mmm, Grandma is the best." Xiao Chunsheng smiled immediately when he heard there was candy, revealing two cute little teeth.

"Xiulan, you should quickly put the money away and hide it well. Don't let anyone else into your west room unless necessary, and always lock the door when you go in or out."

Li Zhenshan felt it necessary to give some advice regarding such a large sum of money.

"Yes, Dad, I know." Liu Xiulan nodded, and suddenly she felt that managing the money in the Li family was not so easy.

She was thinking that she should find an opportunity to have Li Xiangyang make an iron box and lock it with several locks. Otherwise, she would always feel uneasy about hiding so much money in a camphor wood box.

At that time, there were credit unions in the pastoral areas, but the herders were already doing well just to make ends meet, so they didn't have any extra money to save, and naturally they didn't have the awareness to deposit their money in credit unions.

Most people hid their money in boxes, under beds, in cracks in walls, in grain bins, or sewn into their clothes.

Therefore, theft cases still occurred frequently in rural areas at that time, and they only subsided somewhat after the crackdown in 1983.

"Father, while it's still early, my brother and I will take Wangcai out for a stroll. We'll have a good drink when we get back tonight."

As Li Xiangyang spoke, he took out the bottle of Ningcheng Laojiao liquor from the sack and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Zhenshan's eyes lit up instantly, even more so than when he saw so much money.

Although he wasn't a heavy drinker, Ningcheng Laojiao was a fine wine known as the "Maotai of the North."

Which man celebrating a wedding wouldn't want to have a couple of drinks?

He had only heard of it before, but had never seen it.

After all, this is a high-quality wine, produced in limited quantities, and is a specialty product, not a commodity sold in the free market.

Under the national policy of unified purchase and sales, sales are not allowed to individual consumers indiscriminately.

You need money, connections, and special favors to get it.

Li Zhenshan suppressed his joy, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Xiangyang. This kid is sensible now, knowing how to be filial to his father. However, he still had to complain, after all, this wine wasn't cheap.

"Xiangyang, why did you buy such expensive wine again? It's too expensive. A few cents' worth of sweet potato liquor would be enough for me."

"Oh, since Father says so, then I'll take it back and return it."

As Li Xiangyang spoke, he reached out to take it, completely deviating from the expected pattern.

This made Li Zhenshan anxious, and he quickly hid the wine behind his back.

"You little rascal, you've already bought it, what kind of talk is it to return it? Hurry up and go out with your brother and come back as soon as possible."

"Haha, good, good, good."

Li Xiangyang knew that Li Zhenshan was unacceptable.

Since the family can afford to drink alcohol now, Li Zhenshan would definitely like to try it too.

Twenty days ago, when his family was struggling to pay the fifty yuan ranch rent, he would have definitely been beaten by Li Zhenshan if he had taken out this liquor.

The two brothers drank some milk tea and fed Wangcai some dried fish before heading out. They decided not to collect sheep today, but to go hunting.

No sooner had Li Xiangyang and his brother left than Liu Guifang rushed to their door, looking flustered with swollen eyes from crying, seemingly unsure of what she wanted.

The brothers Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong headed east as soon as they left the house. Today they were going to the small valley where they had previously hunted a wild boar.

Li Xiangyang deduced that since there were wild boars there before, there must be many other animals as well.

Wild boars are like Lei Fengs in the eyes of small animals, helping to clear paths and forage for food.

Heavy snow can block the mountains, especially in years with severe snow disasters. With no one clearing the snow in the wild, the snow is usually very thick, which can make it difficult for animals such as rabbits, pheasants, and crickets to move around or reach the food under the snow.

But wild boars have hard noses and great strength, and they will dig through the snow to find grass roots, acorns, stems, and insects to eat.

As a result, the snow pits and snow paths dug out by wild boars became "natural passages" for small animals.

The scraps left over by wild boars became a life-saving food for pheasants, rabbits, squirrels, and jays.

Therefore, this is why Li Xiangyang judged that there would be more wild animals in that mountain valley.

"Brother, we've made quite a bit of money now, what should we do next?"

Li Xiangdong suddenly asked.

"Well..." Li Xiangyang scratched his head. "I haven't thought about it yet. I was just thinking of improving the family's living conditions first. Do you have any ideas, brother?"

"Hmm..." Li Xiangdong was silent for a moment, then replied softly, "I think when we have money, we can contract a few hundred more acres of ranch. If Dad hadn't injured his back this year, our ranch could have made money."

Li Xiangdong wasn't good at hunting, and he felt that hunting was a matter of luck. The fact that they had been able to catch so much prey recently was purely due to good luck, but one can't always be lucky and catch prey every time they go out.

He still felt that it was more practical to contract more pastures and raise sheep peacefully.

"Sure." Li Xiangyang did not object to the suggestion.

Anyway, the ranch lease fee isn't expensive now. Find an opportunity to get a 50-year lease from the brigade at a low price, and you can make up for it by raising a few sheep later.

"Brother, do you really think it's okay?" Li Xiangdong asked earnestly.

"It really works!"

Keep an eye out for any issues; if anyone is struggling, we'll take them over. Anyway, Dad's back injury should be almost fully healed in another month or two.

"You and Dad will each manage a ranch, and I'll help out. In my spare time, I'll go hunting and do some side jobs to supplement the family income."

The two brothers chatted casually along the way and didn't seem tired at all.

Wangcai hadn't been out for a while, and he was very excited as soon as he came out, sniffing this and digging that. Li Xiangyang had to scold him several times before he would obediently continue on his way.

"Brother, once you cross that hillside, you'll reach the valley we just left. Let's find a sheltered spot to make a fire and warm up."

"Then sit down for a while, brother, I'll go cut some dry grass."

Li Xiangdong also felt his feet were getting numb from the cold, so he walked towards a patch of withered grass not far away.

Li Xiangyang didn't stand on ceremony. He rested first so he would have the energy to chase prey later, and then found a place that was sheltered from the wind and snow to sit down.

A little while later, Li Xiangdong came running over happily, carrying a large bundle of dry grass.

"What's making you so happy?"

"Brother, isn't it amazing that there are still flowers in this freezing cold?"

"What kind of flower?"

"It's nothing, just these little yellow flowers. I thought I'd pick some to show them something new."

As Li Xiangdong spoke, he took out a small yellow flower bud from his pocket.

Li Xiangyang glanced at it and immediately asked, "Brother, is there only one? What else is there beside it?"

"Hmm, there's only one little yellow flower left, and it's surrounded by little purple bumps. You can have this one."

Li Xiangyang took it and examined it carefully for a while, and then his face gradually showed great joy.

These little yellow flowers with purple bumps, aren't they the famous and precious Chinese herbal medicine "Dongdonghua" from eastern Inner Mongolia?

"Quick, brother, take me there quickly! Have you found some treasure this time?"