In the end, Li Jianguo agreed to Li Long’s plan, but he insisted on going along.

“No need, brother,” Li Long replied. “I’ll be able to bring back more if I go alone. The team’s horse is already underfed, so adding an extra person would mean we’re hauling dozens of kilos less in wood.”

Li Jianguo didn’t have much to say to that.

“Fine, then I’ll go talk to the team leader and borrow the horse,” he offered, determined to help in some way. He always felt it was best to handle things for Li Long to make sure everything was done right.

But Li Long, sensing this, replied confidently, “No need for that either, brother. I’ll handle it.”

“You’ll handle it? How?” Li Jianguo found it hard to believe. His brother seemed like a completely different person—how would he be able to take care of something like this on his own?

“Do you really think borrowing the horse from the team is that easy?” Li Jianguo asked. “The team only has three carriages, three horses, and two donkeys. If you want to haul wood, you’ll need a horse-drawn cart. These horses are the backbone of the team’s fieldwork, so the team leader won’t just lend them out. You think he’ll agree just because you ask him?”

“I don’t plan to go empty-handed,” Li Long said, standing up. “Brother, Sister-in-law, you two go ahead and get started on lunch. I’ll go out for a while. If I come back with what I need, we’ll go forward with my plan. If I can’t get it, then we’ll see about getting some Guagua Chicken tonight.”

Li Long headed to the east room, leaving Li Jianguo and Liang Yuemei exchanging puzzled glances.

“I think the time he spent at the factory really helped,” Liang Yuemei said. Yesterday, she’d felt bad about him losing his job and the fifty yuan they’d paid, but after seeing the changes in him, she thought it had been worth it.

She didn’t mind supporting her husband’s younger brother, but she’d felt like she was raising a thankless wolf. Seeing Li Long now, though, she felt he was finally maturing. She was even starting to think of him like a son.

Li Jianguo shrugged, “Let’s see what he does. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll talk to the team leader myself. Worst case, I’ll go with him tonight to get some Guagua Chicken.”

The family’s decision not to eat the pork had left them without meat for winter, which was a thorn in Li Jianguo’s side. He’d been anxious about having enough fuel to burn through the winter, but now, seeing how Li Long was stepping up, those problems didn’t seem as overwhelming.

He realized that if his brother kept acting this way, things might work out after all.

Meanwhile, Wu Shufen returned home feeling unsettled. Her mother, Wang Yuzhen, noticed and asked, “What happened? Did that Li boy refuse to break up and decide to cling to you?”

“No, he agreed to the breakup,” Wu Shufen replied.

“Well, that’s good news,” Wang Yuzhen said, smiling with relief. “We’ll find a man working in town, with a proper job! That Li Long never looked like he’d make it in the city anyway.”

But seeing her daughter’s unhappy expression, she asked, “Then why do you look so upset?”

“Because when I went over there, I saw Li Long’s family plucking Guagua Chicken. Do you know how many Guagua Chicken he caught yesterday, Mom? Five!” She held up five fingers. “He didn’t even think to give me one! Even if we broke up, we could still be friends, couldn’t we?”

If Li Long had heard her, he’d have realized that entitlement isn’t limited to any one time period. Some people expect the world to revolve around them, even when it’s unreasonable.

“Forget the Guagua Chicken,” Wang Yuzhen replied, brushing off her complaints. “They’re probably eating Guagua Chicken because their family doesn’t have pork. We’ve got our own pig, and I’ll cook you some meat for lunch.”

“Mom, I want chicken, too,” Wu Shufen said, sulking.

“Hey, old man,” Wang Yuzhen called over to her husband, “Shufen wants Guagua Chicken. Go and catch her some!”

“Go yourself! Where am I supposed to get Guagua from in this weather?” he grumbled.

Meanwhile, Li Long put on a cotton hat, heavy coat, felt-lined socks, and leather overshoes. He grabbed his tools—a pickaxe, pry bar, and a net from the storage shed. He was heading to the small pond to break the ice and fish, and he needed to be prepared for the deep snow.

Near the village were a few ponds that had been there for as long as anyone could remember. They contained fish—mostly crucian carp, some carp, and occasionally grass carp.

A few years later, a flood destroyed the dam of Xiaohaizi, which had been transformed into a reservoir, and the fish were washed into the Weihu Lake downstream. The young and strong men in the village all took their homemade harpoons to fish. The largest fish Li Long had seen was nearly 1.5 meters long and weighed 20 to 30 kilograms.

The ice on the pond was likely around thirty to forty centimeters thick, so it would take him an hour or two to break through. But with fish scarce in winter, he knew that a little effort could go a long way toward a good haul.

As Li Long opened the door, his nephew Li Qiang spotted him. “Uncle, where are you going? Can I come?”

“Not this time,” Li Long replied. “There’s too much snow, and I won’t be able to watch over you.”

With that, he headed south out of the village.