In his later years, Gu Ermao’s shameless attitude led him to marry a beautiful wife, but unfortunately, he didn’t treat her well. He gambled, picked fights, and hit her so often that she eventually ran away. Afterward, he drifted aimlessly through life. Since each villager had their own land, he managed his parents’ land as well, but when the rental prices rose, he foolishly rented it out for ten years. He lost all of the tens of thousands of yuan he earned in just one night.

Two years before Li Long’s own death, Gu Ermao was barely surviving, and the village aid program tried to help him, but he was a classic case of “mud that couldn’t hold shape.” He passed away a year before Li Long, alone in his dirt house.

Now, looking at Gu Ermao’s face, Li Long felt nothing but dislike. He swatted Gu’s hand away and said, “I’ve got things to do. Get out of my way.”

Gu Ermao pulled his hand back, grinning and rubbing his hands together. “Why so serious? I was just joking! I came over to tell you some news: Zhao Changjiang’s family in the town just bought a television! I came to invite you to check it out. It’s a television! You can watch whatever you want, even those little movies, right in the house! Wu Shufen’s going, too, so go home and get ready!”

He glanced at the fish Li Long was holding. That fish was big and beautiful!

In the past, whenever he mentioned that Wu Shufen would be somewhere, Li Long would change his mind and follow along, even if he wasn’t interested at first. After all, even though they’d heard Wu Shufen had broken up with him, Gu Ermao assumed Li Long wouldn’t take it well.

Gu had also heard that Li Long had caught a guagua chicken the night before and a lot of fish today. It seemed he’d picked up some skills while away in Wucheng. Although Gu Ermao had decided yesterday to put Li Long in his place, the thought of the meat Li Long could bring home made him decide to stay friendly with him.

Otherwise, where else would he get meat?

“No thanks,” Li Long waved him off, ignoring the mention of Wu Shufen. “I’ve got things to handle. If you want to go, go by yourself.”

With that, Li Long walked around Gu Ermao and headed to Captain Xu Chengjun’s house.

Gu Ermao called after him a few times, but Li Long pretended not to hear. Having a second chance at life meant he could let go of meaningless relationships. He’d wasted his first life on them.

Li Long knocked on the door, which was opened by Xu’s son, Mingwa, a nine-year-old boy. Glancing up at Li Long and the fish he was holding, Mingwa turned and called into the house, “Dad, Li Qiang’s uncle is here! He brought fish!”

Xu Chengjun was a former soldier. After his service, he’d started as the militia leader in the production team, known for his decisiveness. After five years, he’d taken over as team captain(team leader). As captain, he’d used his connections to form a side job crew that gathered fritillary bulbs and codonopsis roots to sell at the county station. This brought extra cash to each household, making him well-liked.

“Li Long, come on in,” Xu greeted him, stepping down from the kang with a warm smile. “No need to bring fish, just stopping by is fine. I heard you quit working at the factory in Wucheng?”

“Well, my ability is limited. I didn’t go to school much, so my knowledge level is limited. I can’t do some work, so I came back. Today, I caught these carp at the pond, so I brought a couple over for you to try.”

“These fish are big!” Xu’s wife, Ma Hongmei, beamed at the sight. “Cutting through the ice is tough work, isn’t it?”

“Not too hard, we’re young,” Li Long replied, handing her the fish. Turning to Xu, he added, “Captain, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Go ahead,” Xu said, putting out his cigarette. Nowadays men didn’t avoid smoking around kids, and secondhand smoke wasn’t considered an issue. “If it’s something I can do, I’ll help out.”

“Captain, you know my family’s situation. I’m back now, but the coal and firewood my brother prepared aren’t enough for the winter. I’d like to borrow the team’s horse and cart to haul some firewood from the mountain.”

“That might not be the best idea,” Xu said, shaking his head slightly. “Not only is the mountain far away, but you’d also be in unfamiliar territory. If you got lost or worse, how would I face your brother?”

“I understand your concern,” Li Long said, smiling. “One of my co-workers lives near Qingshui River. He and I get along well, and he returned with me. I plan to visit his home and get some usable wood from his area, without going deep into the mountains.”

“Hm…” Xu considered this before responding. “If that’s the case, I won’t stop you. But this is still business. Our team only has a few horses, and using the cart will cost work points.”

“How many points?” Li Long had expected this, so he wasn’t surprised.

Seeing that Li Long neither complained nor argued, Xu was a bit impressed. He’d assumed Li Long was bringing the fish to avoid paying for work points.

It seemed the young man had matured in his time in Wucheng.

“Usually, a person earns one point a day in the summer and two in the winter. A horse earns ten times that—so twenty points a day. Each point’s worth is about eight cents, meaning it’ll cost a dollar and sixty cents for a day’s use of the horse. No charge for the cart. How’s that?”

“Sounds good,” Li Long agreed, taking out the money on the spot.

Xu didn’t hesitate either. He took Li Long’s money and wrote him a note:
“This note grants Li Long from our team use of one horse and one cart. Captain Xu Chengjun, Year X, Month X, Day X.”

“All right, Captain. You can rest early. I’ll head over to the stables and let Uncle Luo know in advance.”

“Alright.” Xu didn’t stop him and closed the door once Li Long left.

Watching him go, Xu’s wife, Ma Hongmei, remarked, “Li Long has matured.”

“I heard from Li Qiang that they had guagua chicken for lunch, which his uncle caught,” Xu’s son, Mingwa, said as he admired the two fish, wiping his nose and imagining how they’d taste.

“Hmm, he seems different from before. City life has a way of maturing people,” Xu agreed. “Though it’s a shame he got dismissed—it’s unfortunate.”

“Well, whatever the case, these fish look good. Let’s have fish tomorrow,” Ma Hongmei said.

Back home, Li Long picked out one more fish and went to the stable.

The stable was where the team kept its horses, with a caretaker named Old Luo, whose full name Li Long didn’t know. Everyone simply called him Old Luo. He was a bit hunched, in his fifties, and lived in a small room near the stable, complete with a heated kang and stove.

Seeing the fish and Xu’s note, Old Luo cheerfully agreed to prepare the best horse for Li Long.

Meanwhile, Tao Daqiang returned home excitedly, only to find that there was no food left for him.

His heart sank.