dkrc Chapter 76 The Wolf Pack Attacks
Chapter 76 The Wolf Pack Attacks
The plump woman looked at the empty fish stall in front of her, a hint of sorrow in her expression, and said softly:
"Oh dear... I only left a little late, and all the fish are already sold out... Young man, your business is booming!"
"Auntie, business is alright today, but why are you so late?"
Li Xiangyang smiled, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and put it in his mouth to smoke.
He recognized the plump aunt in front of him; she was the woman who had helped him out of a predicament yesterday.
"Sigh, I had an upset stomach before I left home this morning, so I was delayed for a while. I'll stop here now."
Young man, are you coming again tomorrow? I'm really looking forward to your fish for my New Year's Eve dinner.
Aunt Pang queued at the supply and marketing cooperative for half a day yesterday, but didn't buy anything. So she thought she would come to Li Xiangyang's place this morning to buy a fish to take home.
Otherwise, her family wouldn't have had any big dishes for their New Year's Eve dinner this year.
"Tomorrow...maybe I won't be able to come."
Li Xiangyang couldn't guarantee that.
He was almost driven to the brink of collapse by the time he got here this morning.
Moreover, the weather can change in an instant, and it's hard to say whether we'll wake up tomorrow to find the roads completely submerged in snow.
Hearing Li Xiangyang say this, the plump woman was clearly disappointed, her lips pursed. Li Xiangyang didn't comfort her; instead, he smiled.
"Auntie Pang, I'm not sure if I can come tomorrow, but I've saved one of these fish for you today."
As he spoke, he pulled out a small fish weighing about ten pounds and a carp weighing five and a half pounds from the sack behind him, and said with a smile:
"Auntie, which one do you want?"
Yesterday, the plump woman helped Li Xiangyang out of a predicament, and Li Xiangyang was very grateful. He had specially saved these two fish for her.
"Oh... there are fish too? That's wonderful, thank you so much, young man."
The plump woman's mood instantly brightened when she saw the two fish. She was even more surprised that the young man in front of her, whom she had only met once, had saved the fish for her. She smiled broadly.
"Let's take this puppy; we have a large family."
"Okay, it weighs ten pounds, so it's three yuan and fifty cents. Just give me three yuan."
Li Xiangyang weighed the fish and handed it to Liu Jianguo, asking him to string it up with reeds.
"Okay, okay, then thank you even more, young man."
The plump woman smiled even more broadly: "If you come late, you can still buy fish and get a 5-cent discount!"
"I often come here to buy things, and everyone I know calls me Auntie Fatty. You can call me Auntie Fatty from now on. I'm going back now."
"Alright, Auntie Fatty, have a safe trip."
After Aunt Pang left, Liu Jianguo was both puzzled and heartbroken, and asked in a low voice:
"Brother-in-law, isn't waiving 5 cents for her this time too much?"
He had seen generous people before, but he had never seen anyone as generous as Li Xiangyang. Why should he give a 5-cent discount to someone he had just met?
That's 5 cents!
Li Xiangyang was not surprised by Liu Jianguo's question and patiently explained:
"She helped me out of a difficult situation yesterday, so this is a way of returning the favor and also making a new friend."
For people like us who travel all over the country, having more friends means having more options.
Although Li Xiangyang did not like to curry favor with the powerful, he still wanted to make more friends who were loyal and capable.
Like this plump aunt, who looks kind and simple on the surface, she was able to speak up for him, a stranger.
What exactly does she do? What is her background? These questions remain unanswered for now.
But based on her loyalty yesterday alone, she deserves to be a close friend.
"Yes, I understand, brother-in-law." Liu Jianguo knew that Li Xiangyang was teaching him how to do things again, so he quickly wrote it down.
"Alright, Xiangyang, I see you guys are leaving soon, so I'll pack up and head back too."
Liu Quan suddenly interjected.
His tone carried a hint of disappointment as he finished speaking and began tidying up his soap stand.
These days, stalls selling winter supplies and food are doing quite well, but his daily necessities, which are a bit pricey, are getting very few customers.
He squatted there all morning.
Just watching Li Xiangyang sell things made me feel a little uneasy. It wasn't jealousy, but I just felt a bit lost.
Everyone here is out selling things to make a living. Li Xiangyang earns money every day, but he can barely afford to eat. How can anyone feel at ease with that?
And... he also planned to sell the soap in the morning so he could buy a fish to take home.
"Uncle Quan, wait a moment."
Seeing Liu Quan get up to leave, Li Xiangyang chased after him, carrying the carp he had just caught: "There's another carp here, take it back and eat it."
Ever since Liu Quan was given a few crucian carp last time, Liu Quan has been helping Li Xiangyang reserve seats every day. This friendship, formed by chance, is truly rare.
and,
Li Xiangyang noticed that Liu Quan had been secretly glancing at the fish at his stall several times that morning.
I figured he probably wanted to buy a fish too, but I didn't buy one from him, maybe because I didn't have enough money.
That's why I didn't say it.
When Li Xiangyang presented him with a large carp, Liu Quan was immediately excited:
"No, no need, it's too, too expensive..."
He instinctively wanted to refuse.
Before he left home in the morning, his wife told him to buy a fish to take home later, so that they could have a fish for their New Year's Eve dinner this year, as it symbolizes abundance year after year.
He was thinking of buying a bar once he sold a few more bars of soap, but to his surprise, he didn't sell a single bar today.
He was an honest man and wouldn't do anything to take advantage of others. Since he had no money in his pocket, he was naturally embarrassed to ask Li Xiangyang for credit.
He knew the price of the carp; this carp cost at least one yuan.
He only earns a few cents from selling a bar of soap that costs 3 cents. How many bars of soap would he have to sell to earn enough to buy this fish?
It's too precious.
Therefore, he absolutely cannot accept it no matter what.
but,
Li Xiangyang didn't give him a chance to refuse, stuffed the fish into Liu Quan's hand, and turned to leave.
Liu Jianguo couldn't understand Li Xiangyang's actions one after another for a while, but he could clearly feel the smile on Li Xiangyang's face.
今天拉了220斤鱼，6只兔子，六张兔子皮毛跟3只鸡出来。一共卖了96块5毛钱。
After deducting Liu Jianguo's 4 yuan wages, there was still 92 yuan and 5 cents left.
Another fruitful day.
It was past noon when Li Xiangyang drove the carriage back to the Li family home.
Just as I was about to get off the carriage and open the courtyard gate, I saw that the sled had been carelessly abandoned in the yard.
Li Xiangyang suddenly had a bad feeling. Usually at this time, Li Xiangdong would go back to Chahar Lake to fish.
"What... what happened...?"
Just as he was wondering, Liu Xiulan heard a noise outside the courtyard and knew that he had returned, so she pushed open the door and ran out.
Although she hadn't spoken yet, her eyes were red, and there was a clear hint of panic in them: "Xiangyang, you're finally back!"
"What's wrong, Xiulan? Don't be anxious, tell me slowly."
Li Xiangyang jumped off the carriage and walked over.
"Waaaaah, I was so scared this morning! Our sheepfold was attacked by wolves!"