By the time Xiaogouwa had finished washing up, put on a clean vest, and returned to the house, Ergouzi’s dinner was ready.
When the lid was lifted and the dinner was brought into the house, both Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, who had come with him, fell silent.
Little Dog’s family dinner was simply too simple… no, it was downright meager!
A bowl of watery congee with four or five yam tubers floating in it, plus a small bowl of cold-tossed bitter greens (wild vegetables)—it’s no exaggeration to say there wasn’t a single drop of oil in this meal.
If the porridge had been a bit thicker, it might have been acceptable, but Xiaogouwa’s was truly just watery rice gruel. With so much water and so little rice, the resulting porridge was nothing but water—the liquid and the grains remained completely separate.
Even so, Erdouzi and his two younger sisters ate it with such relish that it was enough to make anyone’s eyes well up.
“Is this all you’re having for dinner?” Li Yi asked in a subdued voice.
Xiaogouwa nodded first.
“Is it because your family can’t afford to buy rice or flour?”
Xiaogouwa shook his head, then smiled and said, “Brother Yi, hasn’t it always been like this in the village?”
Hearing this, Li Yi fell silent.
It was true—Xiaogouwa’s family wasn’t the only one struggling in the village; the vast majority of households were in a similar situation.
As long as they had a full meal at noon, dinner was usually just a meager bite—forget about eating well or having enough; as long as they could “get by” until morning, that was enough.
Thin porridge with yam tubers or watery noodle soup with potatoes—these were the most common dinners for villagers!
Even in the homes of the village Party secretary and the brigade leader, the most they’d add was a black-flour steamed bun.
After a long silence, Li Yi asked in a low voice, “How have things been lately?”
“It’s been great. Ever since I learned how to deliver lambs and calves from Vet Cui, I’ve earned quite a few labor points. I should get a bigger share of money and grain at the end of the year!” Xiaogouwa said happily.
“What’s that? Does the brigade give extra work points for delivering lambs and calves?”
“Yeah, they give 10 labor points for each one. I’ve earned over 800 labor points these past few months!”
Hearing this, Li Yi felt a pang of sadness.
He knew the going rate for labor points in the village: one point was worth about three cents, so those 800 points amounted to just 24 yuan.
But for Xiaogouwa, that was already a considerable sum.
With that in mind, Li Yi pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to him.
Xiaogouwa looked at Li Yi but didn’t take it. Instead, he said, “Brother Yi, what are you doing?”
“It’s your pay!”
“What wages?”
“I told you before to help me look after the sheep and cattle, and take care of my parents while you’re at it. This is the pay I’m giving you!” Li Yi said.
“I don’t want it. This is just what I’m supposed to do—how could I possibly take your money?”
“But we agreed on this…”
Before Li Yi could finish, Xiaogouwa cut him off: “Brother Yi, I know you want to help us, but we really don’t need it!”
“We might be struggling a bit right now, but at least we have a roof over our heads and food to eat. The uncles and aunts in the village look out for us too—we can still get by!”
Seeing the stubborn look on the boy’s face, Li Yi couldn’t help but give him a stern look and said, “You may be young, but you’ve got a lot of ideas. I said it’s a salary, so it’s a salary—I’m not doing this out of pity for you!”
“Yi…”
“Stop beating around the bush. Take the money. I’ve got something to tell you!”
Seeing that Li Yi was adamant and had more to tell him, Xiaogouwa finally took the envelope.
“There’s 500 yuan in here. Use this money to fix up the house first. Don’t let the roof collapse in the middle of winter—that could cost someone their life!”
“Got it!”
“Also, buy a few sets of clothes for Erdouzi, Daya, and Eya—especially thick winter clothes. That’s absolutely essential!”
Li Yi continued, “Once school starts in a few days, send them all to school. As long as their grades are decent and they can keep up with their studies, I’ll keep supporting them!”
“Got it, Brother Yi. Actually, I went to the school a few days ago to ask about this, and they agreed to take them in!” Xiaogouwa said.
“That’s great!”
Li Yi then added, “Xiaogouwa, I’m planning to invest in building a large-scale livestock farm in the village, with an investment of around 100,000 yuan.”
“The farm will be a joint venture with the village—I’ll provide the capital, and the village will contribute labor and feed. I plan to appoint you as the deputy manager of this farm!”
“Me, deputy manager?”
“That’s right. Uncle Feng will be the manager, and you and Gangzi will both be deputy managers—one in charge of the sheep farm, and the other in charge of the cattle farm!” Li Yi said.
“Well… are we up to the task…?”
“Why not? I’ll bring in two professionals from Beijing to teach you the ropes. It’ll only take a few years to learn!” Li Yi said.
“Alright then, I’ll follow Brother Yi’s lead!”
“Good. Since we have some time these next few days, starting tomorrow, you and Gangzi should contact the brick and stone factories. Then start hauling bricks and stones. Let’s aim to get this farm built before winter arrives!” Li Yi said.
“Alright, I’ll talk it over with Gangzi and Uncle Feng tomorrow!”
“Alright…”
After chatting for a while longer, Li Yi finally left Xiaogouwa’s house with Zhang Ziqiang.
On the way back, Zhang Ziqiang suddenly asked, “You… are you really planning to spend 100,000 yuan to build a farm here?”
Li Yi looked at this “bandit” comrade and asked in return, “Why do you ask?”
“I mean, you’re already so rich—over there, you can make tens or even hundreds of thousands just by batting an eyelid. Surely you wouldn’t bother with such a small sum?” Zhang Ziqiang said.
“Theoretically speaking, I really don’t need to waste my time on such a small sum, but is that really the point?”
Before Zhang Ziqiang could answer, Li Yi continued, ““This is Nianzishan Village, my hometown. Every single person here is a fellow villager who watched me grow up. This small sum I don’t think much of might be enough for them to feed their families for an entire year, cover medical expenses for treatment at the county hospital when they fall ill, or even pay for their children’s education, their son’s wedding, or their daughter’s dowry…”
“So you invested in this farm for the sake of the local people?”
“You could put it that way, but that’s not the whole story!” Li Yi replied honestly.
Although the idea of building a farm had only just been brought up, Li Yi had actually been thinking about it for quite some time.
After all, his main business back home was the restaurant industry—specifically, restaurants specializing in grilled and hot-pot meat dishes—so his reliance on beef and mutton was significant.
Although beef and lamb prices were currently standardized across the country and remained within his acceptable range,
However, Li Yi was well aware that with the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, price liberalization was inevitable.
Although the state didn’t fully liberalize grain and oil prices until 1993, starting from 1984 to 1985, the prices of the vast majority of products had already begun to be impacted by market forces, resulting in significant fluctuations.
Under these circumstances, establishing his own beef and mutton supply chain was essential.
Fortunately, their location sat at the intersection of agricultural and pastoral regions, offering ideal conditions for establishing a breeding base. Moreover, it would stimulate the local economy and help villagers lift themselves out of poverty—truly a win-win situation!
In response to Li Yi’s words, Zhang Ziqiang remained silent, as always.
He trusted his own judgment: Li Yi was investing in this farm solely for the benefit of the villagers.
After all, Zhang Ziqiang was well aware of the brilliant achievements this young man—who was a few years his junior—had made elsewhere. Someone like him would never be interested in the meager profits from raising cattle and sheep!
With that in mind, he knew exactly how he would report Li Yi’s activities and his assessment of him to his superiors upon his return.
At the same time, Li Yi’s image in his mind couldn’t help but grow larger and more imposing.
However, what Zhang Ziqiang didn’t know was that Yang Qian, far away on Hong Kong Island, was fretting over the very same matter.
PS: Chapter 2 is here!