Li Yi knew that his father was dragging him along to see Uncle Feng, the village party secretary, so he followed closely behind him.
Sure enough, before long, his father brought him to the Feng household!
At that moment, Uncle Feng’s family was having dinner: thin porridge with potatoes, along with a few steamed buns mixed with cornmeal.
With a large family of over a dozen people, this meager meal looked rather meager.
Actually, this was to be expected. Although Uncle Feng was the village party secretary, he didn’t receive a salary; his annual income was the same as that of an ordinary member of the production brigade, relying on the grain rations distributed by the brigade.
So, don’t assume that just because someone is the village Party branch secretary, they’re guaranteed to have enough to eat—in reality, that’s simply not the case!
When he saw Li and his son push open the door and walk in, Feng Kai was taken aback for a moment, then immediately asked, “Brother Shan Kui, Xiao Yi, what brings you over here? Have you eaten yet?”
Li Shankui immediately said, “Damn it, we came over here to talk to you about the village’s food rations!”
Feng Kai asked right away, “What’s wrong with the rations, Brother Shankui? Surely the Li family isn’t short on grain, is it?”
Before his father could speak, Li Yi picked up the thread: “Uncle Feng, my dad noticed that the village has a pretty big grain shortage this year. Many families might not even have enough for their basic rations, so he wants me to help out the villagers. Do you think that’s necessary?”
Feng Kai’s eyes lit up instantly, and he hurriedly asked, “Is it necessary… Of course it is! Little Yi, do you have a plan?”
“Yeah, I have a few ideas. Uncle Feng, just listen and let’s run through them together!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, go ahead. I’m all ears!”
“My idea is to build a livestock breeding base in our village!”
“What… a livestock farm? What are you planning to raise, kid?” Feng Kai asked immediately.
“Sheep and cattle!”
“Sheep and cattle? We do have a few cows in our village, but we don’t have any sheep!” Feng Kai said in surprise.
“Uncle Feng, let me explain. Our village didn’t have much of a grain harvest this year, but we’ve got plenty of straw and such. In past years, we’d just give that stuff to the villagers to burn as firewood…”
Before he could finish, Uncle Feng’s eldest son, Feng Dahu, chimed in, “If not for firewood, what else can we do with it?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Besides being used as firewood, straw can also serve as fodder for livestock—and it’s top-quality fodder at that.”
Feng Kai was a sharp fellow; he caught on immediately and asked, “So you’re suggesting we use this straw to raise cattle and sheep?”
“Yes,” Li Yi replied. “If we raise the cattle and sheep well, sell them for money, and distribute the proceeds to the members, wouldn’t that solve the problem of food shortages?”
“That may be so, but with so many people in our village, a few cattle and sheep won’t make a difference. And where would we even find that many?” Feng Kai asked.
“I’ve already thought that through. We can go to the rear pastures (grazing areas) to buy cattle and sheep!”
Li Yi continued, “In the Back Pastures, there’s a designated slaughter season—September. Except for the ewes set aside for breeding, all lambs over six months old will be slaughtered!”
“But there are also some lambs and calves that are only one or two months old. Since they’re too small to slaughter, these little lambs and calves become a burden to the herders.”
“How do they become a burden?” Feng Dahu asked, puzzled.
Before Li Yi could explain, Feng Kai spoke up: “Winters on the back pastures are simply too cold. These little lambs and calves have a hard time surviving—they either freeze to death or starve to death. You tell me, aren’t they a burden?”
“I see!”
Li Yi immediately said, “So my idea is that we send people to the Back Pastures right now to specifically buy these lambs and calves that the herders don’t want, and then bring them back to our village to raise.”
“Also, once the cattle and sheep have grown up, I’ll buy them back at market price. What do you think?”
Feng Kai took a few puffs on his pipe, thought for a moment, then said, “It’s a good idea, but pulling this off won’t come cheap. First of all, buying the cattle and sheep will require a large sum of money.”
“Uncle Feng, you needn’t worry about the money. I can provide the funds to help everyone buy the lambs and calves, but regardless of the profit, I’ll take half of the net profit!”
Feng Kai’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “Xiao Yi, so you’re saying you’ll buy the cattle and sheep, the team will help raise them, and once they’re sold, the village gets half the money?”
“Exactly!”
“Alright, I’ll discuss it with the other village officials tomorrow and get back to you!” Feng Kai said.
“Hmm, then please make a quick decision—I’m leaving for Beijing in a day or two!” Li Yi said.
Hearing this, Feng Kai asked immediately, “Qiangzi mentioned this to me the other day. Are you really planning to go to Beijing, kid?”
“Yeah!”
“Have you figured out what you’re going to do there?”
“Not yet!”
“Do you really want to take Qiangzi, Dongzi, and the others with you?”
“Yeah, but only if their parents agree. If they don’t, I won’t take them!” Li Yi said.
“Here’s what we’ll do: take Qiangzi with you when you leave, and don’t worry about paying him. Just make sure to bring him back safe and sound when you return!” Feng Kai said.
“Alright!”
Meanwhile, Qiangzi, standing nearby, said with a smile, “Grandpa, do you agree to let me go to Beijing with Brother Yi?”
“You can go, but you’d better listen to Little Yi and stay out of trouble!” Feng Kai said.
“Okay, okay, whatever you say!”
“You little rascal… Ah, just follow Yi’s lead and learn from him!” Feng Kai said.
“Got it!”
After wrapping up the serious business, the Li family took their leave and stepped out of the Feng residence!
As soon as they stepped out the front gate, Li Shankui frowned and said, “You didn’t mention anything about having to chip in when we were at home!”
Although he wanted to help his fellow villagers, Li Shankui wasn’t willing to have his own son foot the bill just to help others.
Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, are you worried I’ll lose money?”
“Of course! They say a family’s wealth isn’t counted if it’s on four legs—raising livestock always comes with risks!” Li Shankui retorted.
“Father, that may be true, but we’re not buying newborn lambs or calves—the survival rate is still quite high.”
Li Yi continued, “Most importantly, the prices for these sheep and cattle in the Back Grasslands aren’t high right now. I estimate a sheep won’t cost more than 20 yuan—it might even be as low as ten or so yuan. After all, a pound of mutton costs less than two yuan!”
“But once the lambs grow up, even if we only slaughter 30 to 40 jin of meat, that’s still seventy or eighty yuan—a three- or fourfold profit. And with cattle, the profit would be even higher!”
Li Shankui furrowed his brow and asked, “Are you really sure about this?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Li Yi continued, “Besides, even if there really is a risk, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just consider it my way of repaying the villagers. I’ve taken advantage of them quite a bit over the years, and they’ve been so understanding. Now that everyone is in trouble, it’s only right that I help out.”
“Money is just a material thing. Even if we lose it, we can always make it back later!”
Li Yi spoke these words from the bottom of his heart. However, his gratitude toward the villagers wasn’t entirely due to their current situation; it stemmed more from his past life.
In his past life, he had left home out of guilt. His eldest sister had passed away, his third sister had run away, and only his second sister remained in Yaogou Village, able to visit their parents only occasionally.
During that time, his parents had been in poor health, relying entirely on the support of the villagers.
Especially those younger brothers—during the years he was away, they ran back and forth, doing all sorts of chores and truly helping out a great deal.
Li Yi had always kept these things in mind, which was why he wanted to take this group of younger brothers with him to the capital, hoping to help his fellow villagers get through this food crisis.
As for money, if he lost it, so be it!
Besides, according to Li Yi’s analysis, while the possibility of losing money couldn’t be ruled out entirely, it was negligible!