Thirteen labors are most glorious

  Li Wei pulled her reluctant grandfather, carrying two large bags of food, and finally strolled around in a circle.

  What was called "a circle" were just a few shopping malls in the bustling commercial district, with names that carried the flavor of the times. For example, Youth Store, Women and Children's Store, People's Mall. Li Wei knew that more than ten years later, except for the People's Mall, all the others had gone with the times.

  Li Wei still had three thousand yuan in her pocket, a large sum of money given by Grandpa Li. She bought a set of clothes for both Li Lin and Li Lianhui, spending less than one-third of the money. As for where the money came from, Li Wei first promised not to waste it, then moved her grandfather with emotion:

  "Grandpa, you said that even if you don't have a little private money, occasionally want to drink a small wine and invite friends to eat a simple meal, can my grandma approve every time? Once my grandma doesn't give you a tight hand, you might not be able to afford it. If you lose face at a critical moment, how can you still mix in the circle of friends? So, grandpa, I also need to have some private money, otherwise, if something unexpected happens and I don't have money on hand, my parents will stop me, what can I do? This life, without money, what's the point of living? This life, without money, is there any fun in it?"

  Cheng Lao Ye Zi had long since grown impatient and interrupted Li Wei's tragic performance:

  "Alright, alright, don't use the same tricks you used on your dad on your grandpa, it's just a few tens of yuan, do you have to make such a big fuss? I won't tell your mom about this. Honestly! What kind of child are you, with so many wicked ideas, and you're still so young, already knowing how to swindle money from people's hands... who did you learn this from? Your mom wasn't like this when she was little... is it a problem with your paternal grandfather's side?"

  Li Wei unexpectedly got a windfall and felt relieved, but at the same time, she felt a little guilty towards her father. "Dad, I'm sorry, I'm an unfilial daughter," she said, actually it's not my fault, it's grandma and grandpa's problem.

  Wandered around the food stalls for half a day, and as Master Cheng suggested, I should have packed up and gone home early, men are naturally not fond of shopping, regardless of age.

  Li Wei wasn't enthusiastic about the goods in these stores either, but compared to the future, it was like heaven and earth eighteen layers apart. However, she still held onto her last thread of hope and dragged her grandfather to take the tram, rushing towards the memory of Changjiang Road - the largest small commodity wholesale market in Hou Shi City.

  According to Li Wei's memory, she heard from her university classmates that it was originally a free market where you could buy anything.

  It's the weekend today, there shouldn't be many people.

  As expected. Although it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon, Li Wei got off the bus and took a look around. It was still bustling with people. The free market was right by the side of the road. There were flowers, birds, fish, insects, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, pancakes, fruits, clothes, hats, shoes, and socks. Almost every aspect of social life was covered, even the most trivial details.

  Li Wei saw the antique stall. She had heard that this thing was profitable once understood. After a few years, people's lives became richer. No matter whether they understand or not, they are willing to spend money here. Unfortunately, she didn't know anything about it. Moreover, now even rice is hard to afford. Let's think of something more practical.

  As she walked, Li Wei seemed to have grasped some doorway.

  In those days, people were not very rich. Small vendors were generally looked down upon. The term "individual household" was even a derogatory term. Where did people get so many things to sell? Just look at the fabric seller with only one piece of flower cloth; the shoe seller with just three pairs of thick and sturdy labor insurance shoes; the vendor selling a single hammer; and the one selling safety helmets...

  No need to say. Li Wei understood it after a moment's thought. Many emotions rely on the mountain eating the mountain, and each unit has its own master. Since they are the masters, of course, the things in the unit are just like their own things. Want to take it? Just take it!

  Li Wei lost interest in strolling. Grandpa, on the other hand, regained some interest and took a walk. Then they headed back home.

  In the evening when I returned home, my daughter would definitely ask her old father to stay and have dinner at our place before letting him go.

  The old man still wanted to drink two cups, and his son-in-law Li Zhaoxing also took out a small wine bottle. Li Wei jumped out and refused to let him drink. Grandpa was not happy and made it difficult for Dad. In the end, Mom Cheng Min supported Li Wei, and the old man glared at his daughter and granddaughter, so this wine did not get drunk.

  Li Lin was extremely satisfied with the red sportswear that her grandfather had bought for her, and as soon as she put it on, she disappeared, probably to show off at someone's house. Li Lianhui was only slightly excited about his blue sportswear, guessing he wasn't old enough to care about looks yet, but he was wildly enthusiastic about the two big bags of food his sister had brought back.

  At night, after sending off her grandfather, Li Wei found the green military canteen that her father used when he was a soldier. She washed it and scrubbed it clean, tightened the lid to test if it leaked, and it worked fine. She would use it to carry water tomorrow.

  Starting next week, we have to eat lunch at school, still bread and dry rations. There is no water in the school, but there is a small well, which is used by the whole school. After Li Wei was reborn, she insisted on boiling water for her family, mainly for her younger brother and sister. Tomorrow, she said that we have to bring our own thermos of boiled water, can't let these two little flowers of the motherland get thirsty.

  Ke Liwei couldn't take it after just one week.

  There are three reasons, not enough water to drink. The front and back tables including Luo Jia Erpao Wu Feng Er Paozi didn't bring any water, that one jug of water was only enough for half a day's drinking. It's also unknown whether someone else's water is better to drink, Luo Er and Er Paozi would stare at the water bottle when they had nothing to do, making Li Wei feel uneasy if she didn't give them a sip during class. And previously they all went to Xiao Yangjing to drink directly from the faucet, now they don't go there either.

  Secondly, although eating Mantou for a living is considered an improvement in life, there are also students who cannot afford to bring their own lunch at noon. Li Wei really couldn't bear eating it, she would rather eat some cornmeal pancakes and cabbage soup, which at least felt like a hot meal.

  Three siblings, two steamed buns for 2 jiao and a loaf of bread for 1.2 yuan, they need at least 6 yuan or 3.6 yuan every day for lunch, with no weekends off. That means the three siblings spend at least 8.64 to 14.4 yuan per month, while their father's monthly salary is less than 40 yuan. Just for their lunch alone, it takes up almost a quarter of his salary, not counting the cost of stationery and daily necessities. And as for their mother, her temporary work has great uncertainty.

  Although it was possible to have a child in November and bring her own lunch, Li Wei's heart was still heavy.

  Looking at the small vendor selling mahua by the school gate being crowded by students, Li Weimeng had an idea. At dinner that night, she said to her mother: "Mom, I see many of my classmates buying mahua and bread from the small vendor by the school gate, why don't you also make some mantou or baozi and sell them there? You'll definitely earn money, besides, you can't go out to work during winter anyway."

  Cheng Min looked up and glanced at Li Wei, ignoring her. Li Wei called out "Mom" again, and Cheng Min said disdainfully, "What do you know as a child? Just focus on your studies, don't interfere with adult matters. Your mom is doing fine now, not to the point of becoming a small vendor."

  Alright, Li Wei was a bit off the mark. Although individual businesses have emerged in some cities, in rural areas, people are deeply rooted in agriculture and workers with stable income from wages are still better off. The embryonic form of individual businesses, small vendors, is not well received. Moreover, it often gives people an impression of speculation and profiteering rather than doing a proper job.

  This involves the dignity of my mother, and Li Wei didn't say much. Starving to death is a small matter, losing one's integrity is a big deal. Moreover, it hasn't reached the point of starving, and even more so can't force my mother to lose her integrity, let alone whether she can convince my mother or not. Besides, with my father's income in the village, we are already considered an upper-class family, and my mother is content in her heart. When one is poor, they think of ways to change their situation, but in my mother's mind, we are not poor now, and are even quite well-off.

  Although Li Wei knew that this was the beginning of a great era, at this time, those who dared to think and act boldly were the first batch to get rich. At this time, as long as you dare to do it, there is basically no great risk, after all, the current social and economic conditions have given people too many opportunities.

  The entire 1980s to mid-1990s was a golden period for personal entrepreneurship.

  Realizing this, Li Wei felt that she should do something. But what? Taking stock of the resources at her disposal, she had 20 yuan in cash, no equipment, and no personnel... The only people she could mobilize were the twins, or maybe add Er Baozi and Wu Feng to the mix. The Luo brothers were an uncertain factor, especially Luo Er, who was always quarreling with Li Lin and Li Lianhui, and even when they weren't fighting, they would still play together, leaving Li Wei completely speechless.

  The conditions are there, Li Wei feels a bit helpless and unable to get her old mother moving, everything is in vain.

  By the end of October, schools began to mobilize students to collect firewood for winter heating. Due to local conditions, mountain firewood is scarce, and most students collect corn cobs or soybean stalks that are left on the ground after harvesting, drying them out along with their roots, called "douzhaier".

  Many students take pride in handing in bean sprouts, after all, the teacher also requires everyone to go to the field to pull out the bean sprouts and hand them in. Lazier students, on the other hand, hand in corn cobs left over after their parents have removed the kernels from the corn, which is not as glorious as handing in bean sprouts.

  In her previous life, Li Wei and her three siblings had been eating corn cores all along, what a sweat!

  Although Li Wei's family no longer has a large field, they had previously agreed to rent it out and would receive some corn stalks and corn cobs as firewood after the autumn harvest. So those things were available too. However, Li Wei was unwilling to take the corn cobs from her own home again, so on the weekend, she mobilized her twins and Wu Feng's two chubby daughters to go to the field to pull out soybean stalks.

  Everyone carried a wicker basket, treading on the shallow autumn frost, walking deeply and shallowly on the ridge. Li Lin and Wu Feng chattered and chattered, don't look at Wu Feng's voice being very small in class, but when speaking behind his back, he was not nervous at all. Li Lianhui and Er Baozi, on the other hand, were having a great time, not like they came out to work, but rather like they were on an outing.

  Li Wei gazed out at the autumn fields and took a deep breath of the cool, refreshing air, then burst into loud song:

  I walked over the ridge

  A patch of autumn color on the ridge

  Golden leaves on branch tips

  The wind comes with a rustling sound

  As if singing an ode to the seasons

  I walked through the countryside

  There is always something to gain

  The fragrance of rice wafts from the fields

  The farmer is busy harvesting

  A smile flickered on his face

  The blue sky is vast and broad

  Adorned with a few white clouds

  Green mountain is not lonely

  There is a small river flowing gently by

  I walked over the ridge

  Heart filled with autumn colors

  If you were with me

  Will you accompany me

  Revisit the joy of the past

  The green mountain is not desolate, there is a small river flowing through it, what about me...

  Thus passes away!

  Because the land was still relatively soft, each of them pulled out a basket of bean sprouts in less than half a day. Er Pangzi and Wu Feng were doing alright, but the twins only managed to pull out less than half a basket before they went off to play. Occasionally, they would come back and work for a bit, but when their hands started to hurt, they would stop again. Anyway, with Big Sister around, they were laughing and running around, having a great time.

  Li Wei's hands were in pain, but thinking of her younger siblings who would still be playing at home if she hadn't dragged them to school, she endured the pain and worked hard, sweating all over, and managed to finish three large baskets.

  Wu Feng finished her own work and continued to help Li Wei, which touched Li Wei's heart. She told Wu Feng not to bother, but Wu Feng insisted on helping silently. Li Wei's palms were burning with heat, she didn't believe that Wu Feng wouldn't feel the pain, and she looked at this girl with increasing admiration.

  And Er Pangzi helped pull out a few and then ran off to play.

  But he knew to come and help, Li Wei was still quite happy, didn't go wrong with him, haha!

  When I got home at noon, the gloomy sky finally started raining. Although the rain wasn't heavy, several people still got wet when they arrived home. That night, Li Wei had a fever, but the twins were fine. Cheng Min gave her daughter some antipyretic medicine to take, and then covered her with a quilt, sweating out the fever, which temporarily subsided.

  At this time, generally headache and fever, will not easily get injections, taking some medicine will be fine. Only when it develops into pneumonia that severe, will go to the hospital for injections, as for hanging drips, that is a serious illness requiring hospitalization.

  Like the economy, bacteria have developed rapidly. After more than a decade, headaches and fevers can no longer be alleviated with just a few drops of medicine.

  After tossing and turning all night, Li Wei got up in the morning still feeling weak all over. Her mother felt her forehead, which was still a bit hot, so she let Li Wei stay home and rest for the day, and go back to school when she's better tomorrow. Li Wei didn't feel like getting up, so she snuggled back into bed again.

  Everyone who went to school and work had left, leaving only Li Wei lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Originally, her mother wanted to stay behind to take care of her, but she was a big girl now, so there was no need for anyone to take care of her. After eating the medicine and drinking some rice porridge under her mother's care, she finally persuaded her mother to leave.

  Her mother works one day and earns one day's pay, can't afford to waste time.

  When the mechanical clock on the wall struck eight, Li Wei woke up. After a good nap, her body didn't hurt as much anymore. Looking at the empty room, she thought of a comedy sketch she had seen before:

  Those who go to work have left, those who go to school have also left. Now, I, this old lady, will sing a song for everyone - Little Bite (Grass)!

  There is no tall tree, there is no fragrant flower~~~ I am a small grass that nobody knows~~~

  Li Wei sang as she crawled out of bed, folded the quilt neatly and put it away, sat on the warm kang, rarely had a day off without taking care of the kids or doing household chores, suddenly didn't know what to do.

  After a while, Li Wei felt a little hungry. The few mouthfuls of thin porridge she had for breakfast were not enough. She went downstairs to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, seeing the corn bread on the shelf. Li Wei lost her appetite, thinking of her favorite wonton soup, planning to make some herself, adding some scallions and chives, which sounded delicious.

  She did it, went to the west room and found a bag of white flour, picked it up and weighed it, probably around five or six kilograms. Looking at the rice bag again, it seemed less than ten kilograms. This was all the fine grains they had left at home. The remaining cornmeal and millet were not too little either. Li Wei sighed, what kind of day is this? Luckily her mother still thought it was okay.

  As she glanced at the flour bag again, a bright idea suddenly flashed through her mind. Anyway, she was off work today and had nothing to do, so why not... make some buns to sell?