Chapter 151: Yang Zhqing’s Parents Have Arrived
After locking the door to the new house, Li Yi drove the big black horse-drawn cart straight back to the old family home!
By then, Third Sister had already returned from the reservoir with the mushrooms the children had picked.
Their mother had already prepared dinner. After tending to the big black horse, the family gathered around the small table under the eaves to eat.
Dinner was simple: millet porridge, a few boiled potatoes, and the steamed buns left over from lunch.
Of course, this was just their usual home-cooked meal, but there was a surprise!
That surprise was the grilled meat Li Yi had brought back from the state-run restaurant!
Just as Li Yi had anticipated, the shrewd Liu Jingshan had indeed already prepared to vigorously promote the specialty grilled meat Li Yi had taught him at the state-run restaurant. He had people specially build a dozen or so grills and even purchased a new set of tableware.
Now that everything was ready, all that was left was to launch the soft opening!
And today, Li Yi, along with Liang Yukuai and the others, served as guinea pigs!
To be honest, even though Liu Jingshan and his team had only mastered about 60% of the technique, the quality of the local beef and lamb was simply outstanding.
Paired with this new style of cooking, the flavor was truly unforgettable!
Even seasoned veterans like Liang Yuke and Director Ge couldn’t help but sing its praises after tasting it.
The meal was a real treat for everyone!
But Li Yi thought of his third older sister, who was running a street stall, so before leaving, he specially grilled a box for her. Then he realized it wouldn’t be right to bring it to her but not to Tang Xue and his second older sister.
And then there were his parents—he couldn’t possibly play favorites!
In the end, Li Yi and Liu Jingshan borrowed a few takeout containers and grilled up a full five containers of meat.
Eating the grilled meat with millet porridge was actually quite a unique treat.
During the meal, Li Yi recounted the story of his eldest sister and brother-in-law getting hired.
Learning that his eldest daughter and son-in-law had successfully secured jobs at the county sugar factory, Li Shan Kui’s previously gloomy mood instantly brightened.
He immediately asked, “Is Meizi doing okay? I wonder if the work at the sugar factory is too hard!”
Li Yi knew his father was worried about his eldest sister, so he immediately replied, “She’s fine. Director Liang assigned her to the logistics department to oversee the warehouse—it’s not tiring at all!”
“That’s good, that’s really good!” Li Shankui said with a look of delight on his face.
Seeing his father so happy, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel a lump in his throat—for his father, and for the women of that era.
Young people in later generations all know that when a woman gets pregnant, she’s pampered—fed well, given plenty to drink, and provided with a balanced diet.
Generally speaking, if a woman became pregnant after marriage, she was the most cherished princess in the family—without a doubt.
Her parents, in-laws, and husband all pamper her, and she undergoes regular prenatal checkups. A few days before delivery, she goes to the hospital to await the birth, and after a safe delivery, she returns home to continue being pampered.
But that’s how women are treated decades later; back then, it was nothing like that—at least, the vast majority didn’t have that kind of good fortune.
In this day and age, most women cannot afford to rest at home after becoming pregnant; they must continue participating in collective labor until the baby is born, at which point they begin their “confinement period.”
In fact, many women were still working just hours before giving birth. For example, when my mother gave birth to my third older sister, she was working on a water conservancy construction site during the day and gave birth to her that very night.
There are even more extreme examples: some women were working in the threshing yard when they suddenly felt something was wrong, and then gave birth right there!
In short, this era was not particularly kind to women, especially pregnant women.
Compared to Father’s concern for Eldest Sister, Third Sister was more worried about the family business.
“Xiao Xue, Second Sister, how’s the mushroom harvest going?”
Second Sister replied immediately, “We harvested over 3,600 pounds in total!”
“That much?”
“Yeah, but we only spent a little over 670 yuan—the rest was given to us for free by the villagers!” Li Lan said.
Hearing this, Father frowned and said, “Xiao Yi, we can’t keep taking advantage of the villagers like this!”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Dad, don’t worry. It’s just the beginning—everyone’s still figuring out the right amount. They won’t pick this much in the future!”
“Hmm, that’s good to hear!”
Just then, Third Sister spoke up again: “By the way, Xiao Yi, Dongzi asked me to let you know that they picked a little less mushrooms today!”
Hearing this, Li Yi simply nodded.
It was only to be expected. Although the area behind the mountain was vast and the mushrooms plentiful, it couldn’t withstand so many people picking them every day.
Back when the adults didn’t go picking, the children naturally had no pressure.
But now that every household in the village had sent their able-bodied men to join the mountain foraging efforts, the children’s territory had naturally been encroached upon, and a decline in the harvest was inevitable.
And this was just the beginning.
Barring any surprises, their harvest would certainly keep shrinking.
Unless they’re willing to venture deeper into the forest to forage, but Li Yi absolutely won’t allow them to do that—it’s too dangerous.
“Xiao Yi, how do you plan to settle the accounts with the kids?” Second Sister suddenly asked.
“Just like before!”
“But… shouldn’t we lower it a bit?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “When I was at my lowest, it was these kids who stuck by me and helped build up the mountain produce business. Now that they’re harvesting less, am I supposed to pay them less?”
“To be honest, I really couldn’t bring myself to do that. Sometimes we can’t just look at short-term gains and losses!”
Tang Xue nodded in agreement. “You’re right. We’re not losing anything anyway—let’s just consider it paying back a favor!”
Li Lan shot her brother and sister-in-law a look and said, “So I’m the only one who has to play the bad guy?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “No, I know you’re just looking out for me, Second Sister. But let’s just leave things as they are for the kids for now.”
“Besides, it’s already July. In just over a month, school will start, and this little group of theirs will disband!”
“I suppose that’s fine…”
Just as they were speaking, everyone suddenly heard the courtyard gate being opened from the outside, and then saw several figures pushing the gate open and walking in.
The sun had already set, and in the fading light of the sunset, Li Yi recognized the man leading the group as Feng Kai, the village Party branch secretary, and another as Zhang Tongfu, the village brigade leader.
He didn’t recognize the remaining two middle-aged people—a man and a woman—as they weren’t from the village.
As soon as they entered, Li Shankui stood up and greeted them: “Old Feng, Old Zhang, who are these two comrades?”
Before he could finish speaking, the two middle-aged people suddenly knelt stiffly before everyone.
This sudden turn of events completely startled the Li family.
Li Shankui immediately said, “You… you must get up! What on earth is this?”
Feng Kai sighed and said, “Comrade Yang, you and your husband need to get up right away. Otherwise, I won’t be able to say what I need to say!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Yi suddenly spoke up: “Mr. Yang, are you relatives of Yang Yi, the educated youth?”
The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, “Yes, yes, yes! I’m Yang Yi’s father, and this is my wife!”
“What are you doing here?”
“You… you must be Comrade Li Yi!” the middle-aged man asked cautiously.
“I am Li Yi!”
“Comrade Li Yi, I’ve come to beg you to spare my son, Yang Yi. He’s not a bad person at heart; he was simply misled and manipulated by others. I… I…”
Before the man could finish, Li Yi asked in a stern voice, “You may go. I can’t help you with this!”
With that, Li Yi turned and walked straight into the house, leaving the Yang couple standing there, staring at each other in disbelief!