Chapter 95: This Is Too Mischievous

After lunch, Liu Xing took Guazi and Xiao Budian to rest in the back courtyard.

Meanwhile, Liu Dongju went out to look for Zhao Dongkui.

Before long, she had brought him back.

And not only him—she had also brought two others.

They were Zhao Ji, the village head of Old House Village, and Nie Sun, the group leader.

Judging from their flushed faces, they must have been drinking quite a bit before gathering together.

Liu Xing looked at the scene with a touch of helplessness, but said nothing more. He got straight to the point. “Brother-in-law, last time my sister talked to you about renovating the house for a shoe shop. Have you thought it over?”

He already knew Zhao Dongkui would agree, but it was still best to ask clearly in advance.

After all, the house belonged to Zhao Dongkui. If they did not make things clear now, any misunderstanding later would be troublesome.

“What is there to think about? Just go ahead and renovate it. Are we still going to divide things into yours and mine?” Zhao Dongkui said with a sweep of his hand.

“All right.” Liu Xing nodded.

Liu Dongju knew Zhao Dongkui was drunk, so after shaking her head, she helped him back to the room to rest.

Xiao Budian hated seeing his father, Zhao Dongkui, in this drunken state. She pouted, whispered a few words to Guazi, and then tiptoed after them.

Liu Xing saw it, but did not interfere. He simply pulled over a stool and invited Zhao Ji and Nie Sun to sit. “I wonder if there are any idle bricklayers or carpenters in Old House Village lately?”

“If there are, I’d like to trouble you two to help me invite a few to renovate my brother-in-law’s house. It’s not a big job—just whitewashing the walls, patching up some damaged areas, and making a few shoe cabinets.”

After a pause, Liu Xing added this.

The reason he needed Zhao Ji and Nie Sun to help recruit people was because they were the ones in charge of Old House Village. Anyone they brought would have at least some skill. If he went himself, he might not be able to hire anyone at all.

In other words, if Zhao Ji and Nie Sun had not come to Liu Dongju’s house, Liu Xing would have gone looking for them anyway.

“Bricklayers are easy enough to find. I could bring dozens over if needed, but carpenters...” Zhao Ji stroked his beard and looked at Nie Sun. “Is your younger brother Nie Quan at home?”

“He’s been home lately, but I can’t guarantee he’ll come,” Nie Sun replied with a frown.

“Why not?” Liu Xing asked in confusion. He wasn’t refusing to pay.

“Nie Quan used to work with his master at a construction site, but recently the boss ran off. Since he never got paid, he came back. We don’t even know whether he’s recovered from that yet,” Zhao Ji explained softly.

“Oh, I see.”

Liu Xing suddenly understood.

He had thought wage arrears for migrant laborers were a problem only in the nineties. He had never imagined they already existed in the eighties.

“Why don’t I go ask Nie Quan and see? If he’s willing, I’ll bring him over later. If not, I’ll help you invite an old carpenter from the village, but I can’t promise when,” Nie Sun said.

“Fine.” Liu Xing nodded.

He knew recruiting labor could not be rushed. That was why he had already told his parents he would be staying in Old House Village for several days.

“Then I’ll go find Nie Quan now,” Nie Sun said, rising to his feet. “How many carpenters do you need? If one man can’t handle it, that won’t do.”

Carpentry had its own rules about the master hand and the assistant hand. In the countryside, craftsmen who traveled with a single bundle usually brought an apprentice.

If the work was simple, it did not matter who did what.

But if it was complicated, there were strict expectations.

The master had to be the master hand, and the apprentice the assistant hand. If the homeowner discovered otherwise, there would be scolding.

Liu Xing had been reborn and had learned carpentry from his third uncle, so he naturally understood the subtleties. At that, he could not help smiling. “I need to make quite a few shoe cabinets. One carpenter definitely won’t be enough. Please help me invite a few more. As for who’s master hand and who’s assistant hand, I don’t mind.”

“That’s good.” Seeing that Liu Xing understood the trade, Nie Sun left with a smile.

Zhao Ji watched him go. “Liu Xing, why don’t I go and find some skilled bricklayers for you right now? When they arrive, let them eat dinner here at your sister’s place, and we can talk about the renovation?”

“Good.” Liu Xing nodded.

That was exactly what he wanted.

“But I should say this first: you don’t have to pay wages, but three meals a day must be guaranteed, and there should be cigarettes and liquor too,” Zhao Ji added, worried that Liu Xing might overlook it.

“Fine. My sister isn’t a stingy person, and the wages will be paid as well,” Liu Xing assured him.

“Then I’ll go find people for you now.” Zhao Ji patted Liu Xing on the shoulder, stroked his beard with a smile, and left.

Liu Xing watched the village head depart and was about to head to the market to buy some meat dishes.

Then, from the room on the right, came Zhao Dongkui’s cry of pain.

Next, Xiao Budian came running out with Guazi, their tiny legs moving quickly, both little faces bright with delighted smiles.

“What were you doing in there?” Liu Xing asked with concern.

Xiao Budian lowered her little head and dashed off in a flash.

Guazi had originally wanted to run too, but Liu Xing caught her in his arms. With no other choice, she had to confess honestly. “Big brother, Xiao Budian was playing a beard-plucking game with me just now. My brother-in-law’s beard... I... I...”

She could not bring herself to continue.

Liu Xing did not know whether to laugh or cry. “You little troublemaker. You mustn’t do this again.”

“Yes, yes!” Guazi nodded obediently.

In truth, she had not wanted to pull her brother-in-law’s beard. It was Xiao Budian who said it was fine, and out of curiosity she had plucked out two hairs. Of course, this also had to do with a promise Zhao Dongkui had once made to Xiao Budian: that if he ever got drunk, they could pull his beard as punishment and warning.

Otherwise, Xiao Budian and Guazi would never have dared.

“Go play, then. Keep an eye on Xiao Budian.”

Liu Xing had guessed the whole story well enough. After reminding her, he set Guazi down.

“I will.” Guazi ran off with a giggle.

At that moment, Zhao Dongkui emerged from the room, crying out again and again, his right hand rubbing his chin nonstop. “Those two little imps nearly pulled my beard right out.”

Liu Xing laughed when he saw him.

Only then did he realize that when it came to mischief, he was not even one-tenth as crafty as Xiao Budian and Guazi.

“Serves you right for going out drinking for no reason,” Liu Dongju said from the doorway, her pretty face full of exasperation. “There used to be two pounds of pork belly in the kitchen a few days ago. How come it’s all gone now? And there was half a sack of peanuts too. Why is even the woven sack missing?”

“Well... we ate it all,” Zhao Dongkui admitted, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Then what are Zhao the village head and Leader Nie supposed to eat when they bring the bricklayers and carpenters over tonight? Even with money, you may not be able to buy pork at the market now,” Liu Dongju said, tossing the problem back to him.

“Should I go take a look at the market?” Zhao Dongkui said with a sheepish grin.

“That’s the only choice.” Liu Dongju sighed and took ten yuan from her pocket, handing it to him.

“Let’s go!” With money in hand, Zhao Dongkui suddenly found his confidence. He turned and led Liu Xing toward the market street.

Liu Dongju shook her head at Zhao Dongkui’s behavior, but said nothing more and went back to the kitchen to work.

...

At the market, the street was wide open and sparsely populated.

Zhao Dongkui brought Liu Xing first to the tofu stall on the street and had two jin of fried tofu weighed out, along with five blocks of soft tofu. Seeing that Zhao Liang’s family across the way was selling carp, he quickly paid for the tofu and went over.

Zhao Liang was Zhao Dongkui’s cousin. He was big and burly, and his family was fairly well off. But he was also a notorious local hooligan at the market, and all the stall fees in the market were collected by people he led.

Of course, being a hooligan did not mean being a bad person. On the contrary, Zhao Liang was well liked in the market and had a very good relationship with Zhao Dongkui.

When he saw Zhao Dongkui bringing Liu Xing over, he hurried forward with a smile. “Brother, weren’t you drunk earlier? How come you’re out walking around again?”

“We’ve got guests coming tonight, so I need to buy some dishes to take back,” Zhao Dongkui said, pointing at the carp in the wooden basin. “How do you sell this? Give me one.”

“If it’s for you, how could I charge you?” Zhao Liang tossed away the cigarette in his hand, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the biggest carp, and put it into a woven sack. “But I’m coming over tonight to join the fun at dinner.”

In fact, these carp had been netted from an unbid pond in the production team, so they cost him nothing. Otherwise he would never have been so generous.

Normally, when it was not market day, there would not even be anyone selling fish here. Today Zhao Dongkui was lucky; otherwise, how would he have seen carp at all?

Hearing this, Zhao Dongkui nodded immediately. “Good, good. Come on over.”

Liu Xing, standing to the side, could only laugh and cry.

This Zhao Liang clearly had other intentions.

If he went to his elder sister’s house, he would probably cause trouble later.

But that could only be grumbled about in his heart; there was no way he would say it aloud.

Seeing the supply and marketing cooperative directly across the street, Liu Xing said a word to Zhao Dongkui and walked over.

Just as expected, the cooperative’s doors had already been sealed, and by the official seal of the industrial and commercial bureau at that.

Such a seal carried serious weight. It meant that Xiao Daode, the owner of the supply and marketing cooperative, would probably not be able to come back any time soon. But for Liu Xing, this was a good thing. If he grasped the opportunity well, it would not be hard at all to establish the shoe shop in the market within the next half month.

“Liu Xing! Liu Xing!” Zhao Dongkui’s voice came from behind.

“Hmm?” Liu Xing turned back.

“Come here,” Zhao Dongkui waved him over.

“Oh.” Seeing Zhao Liang whispering something beside Zhao Dongkui, Liu Xing became alert.

But when he approached, he realized he had been overthinking it.

It turned out Zhao Liang wanted Zhao Dongkui to pool money with him to buy a fat pig and sell it in the market, splitting the profits fifty-fifty.

Zhao Dongkui only had the thought of doing it, but not the nerve, so he had come to ask Liu Xing’s opinion.

If Liu Xing did not object, he knew his wife would certainly pass it.

“Brother, aren’t you afraid the supply and marketing cooperative’s Xiao boss will come after you?” Liu Xing did not state his view at once, but teased Zhao Liang instead.

After all, if Xiao Daode were still in charge of the cooperative in the market, even ten Zhao Liangs would not dare buy a fat pig, butcher it, and sell the meat here.

Right now, pork could only be sold by the supply and marketing cooperative and by individual vendors with proper business licenses. In the countryside, no one else dared do it.

Except during the New Year pig slaughters.

If caught, one’s future would basically be ruined.

Even if Zhao Liang was a hooligan with some backing, he could not withstand that kind of trouble.

“Xiao boss can barely protect himself right now. He still wants to come after me?” Zhao Liang said with complete indifference. “Let me tell you, if I didn’t have so little money on hand, I could have taken over his supply and marketing cooperative by now.”

“As for selling a bit of pork, that’s nothing. In a few days I’m even planning to sell fish openly and aboveboard,” he added with a grin after a pause.

“You’re impressive,” Liu Xing said, giving him a thumbs-up. “But where are you going to buy this fat pig?”

Ordinary families would not be selling fat pigs at this time.

And if they did, the supply and marketing cooperative people would already have reserved it.

“Well, it’s a long story. The son of Widow Wang is ill, and the only valuable thing her family has is one fat pig. So she wants to sell it to pay for her son’s treatment. Earlier, she nearly got cheated on the price by the people from the cooperative, so I thought I’d help where I could. After all, Widow Wang is one of our Zhao people,” Zhao Liang said with a light sigh, revealing the inside story.

“Oh, I see.”

Liu Xing suddenly understood, and his opinion of Zhao Liang’s character rose by several notches. “Then take my brother-in-law to buy it. I’ll speak to my sister for you. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be absolutely fine.”

For him, the shoe shop renovation also needed pork to entertain the workers. If Zhao Liang and his brother-in-law could buy a fat pig, it would save him a great deal of trouble. Otherwise, without meat coupons, he would have to go to the city or the black market to buy it.

“Only, how much does a whole fat pig cost these days? Don’t buy one that costs too much. My sister probably won’t agree,” Liu Xing said, worried there was a trick, and asked again.

“The supply and marketing cooperative buys at four mao eight a jin, while the butcher in Old House Village buys at five mao eight. So tell me, how much should I pay Widow Wang per jin?” Zhao Liang asked back with a faint smile.

“So cheap?” Liu Xing froze.

He had thought it would be at least seven or eight mao a jin.

At the price Zhao Liang mentioned, pork sellers were making quite a fortune indeed.

“Cheap?” Zhao Liang did not agree at all.

If it were cheap, ordinary people would not only get to eat pork during the New Year.

“I won’t say any more. Take my brother-in-law to buy it,” Liu Xing said, taking the tofu and carp from Zhao Dongkui’s hands. “But try to have the fat pig butchered before dark. My sister needs pork to entertain guests tonight.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Zhao Liang said with a smile.

“It’s just the money...” Zhao Dongkui scratched his head.

He did not feel comfortable asking Liu Dongju for it.

“When you get back, I’ll give it to you,” Liu Xing said seriously.

It was almost impossible for his elder sister to pay for an entire pig.

He knew she did not have more than a hundred yuan on her, and that was only from careful saving. Otherwise, there would be hardly any money at all.

“Good!” Zhao Dongkui nodded repeatedly.

“Then let’s go.” Zhao Liang knew Zhao Dongkui could not make decisions at home, so he led him toward the alley to the west.

Liu Xing then went his own way back to his elder sister’s house.