When Tao Daqiang happily handed his father the sesame cakes he’d brought home, he was shocked to be met with an angry outburst.

“You went out for a whole day, and all you bring back is a handful of wood and these cakes? That Li family kid managed to bring back a whole sheep—why didn’t you get a share of that?” Tao Jianshe scolded, clearly displeased.

Daqiang was caught off guard, stunned for a moment before he managed to respond, “That sheep belongs to Brother Long; he traded for it. I was just there to help him. Besides, he bought me these new rabbit-fur gloves!” He showed his father the gloves proudly.

“Oh, so a pair of gloves was enough to buy you off?” Tao Jianshe was initially pleased, but someone had told him about Li Long bringing back a sheep, but his son hadn’t brought back any meat.

“And besides, I ate well at their place, but I came home to no dinner at all! Even the fish I brought home was gone. What good would meat be if I couldn’t even eat it?” In the past, Daqiang wouldn’t have dared to talk back. But tonight, with no food waiting for him and his fish nowhere to be found, he couldn’t help but shout, “At least Brother Long actually gave me something!”

For a moment, his father was taken aback, his expression stunned. Then, he grabbed his pipe and swung it at Daqiang’s head, shouting, “Think you’re tough now, don’t you? Talking back to your father? If you want to keep acting this way, you can leave! But as long as you’re under my roof, you’ll listen to me! Hungry? Make your own dinner!”

Breathing heavily, Daqiang felt anger and frustration boiling inside. His father was equally fuming, coughing from the effort of shouting. Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

“Who’s there?” Tao Jianshe demanded irritably.

“It’s me, Li Long,” came a voice from outside.

Tao Jianshe suddenly panicked. He had just been saying bad things about someone, and now the person was outside.

Glancing at his son, he gave him a quick nod, gesturing for him to answer the door.

Daqiang didn’t notice his father’s signal but quickly went to open the door.

“Uncle Jianshe, Daqiang, I’ve brought over the leg from that frozen sheep. This is Daqiang’s share,” Li Long said, handing a large, frozen leg to Daqiang. He turned to Tao Jianshe and added, “And don’t worry, Uncle, the meat is fine. My family’s already cooking a stew.”

“Ah, Xiao Long, thank you for bringing this over,” Tao Jianshe replied, embarrassed. Rising from his seat, he added, “Daqiang could’ve brought it himself—come on in and rest a bit!”

“No, thank you, Uncle. I need to stop by the captain’s house. I’ll be borrowing the cart again tomorrow, so I need to let him know.”

“You’re going out again tomorrow?” Tao Jianshe asked, quickly adding, “Will you be taking Daqiang?”

Li Long looked over at Daqiang. “Will you go?”

“I’ll meet you at your place in the morning,” Daqiang said quickly.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you then.”

Li Long took his leave, pulling a second leg from the snow and heading over to the team leader, Xu Chengjun’s house.

“You need the cart again?” Xu asked, eyeing the sheep leg Li Long had brought. He hesitated before adding, “But you’ll have to pay for another day’s use.”

“No problem,” Li Long said, gesturing to the leg. “And this sheep leg is from a clean source. It was frozen in the snow at a herder’s camp, and my family’s already cooking the rest. It’s safe to eat.”

“Alright, then.” Xu nodded, reassured. “Leave the payment here, and I’ll write up a note for you. But you’ll need to use a different horse tomorrow.”

“Whatever you say, captain,” Li Long agreed cheerfully, paying the fee.

Back at Li Long’s house, his niece and nephew were happily nibbling on sesame cakes while they watched the pot of lamb stew.

“Li Long really has changed,” his sister-in-law, Liang Yuemei, commented.

“Bringing a leg for the captain along with the cart fee. I just wonder if the captain’s family will eat it.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” replied his brother, Li Jianguo, who was busy butchering the rest of the lamb. The sheep’s skin was hanging outside to freeze, and the room was filled with the smell of lamb offal cooking. “If Xiao Long brings back more meat tomorrow, we’ll be set for the winter, even if this lamb is a bit on the lean side.”

“Lean or not, having meat is what matters. I was worried about how we’d make it through winter,” Li Jianguo laughed. “Now we’ve got fish, lamb, and even guagua chicken. Life’s good!”

“It really is! This winter, we’ll be able to celebrate the New Year properly!” Liang Yuemei added with a smile. “We’ve even got enough firewood. Li Long’s is really capable.”

“I didn’t expect him to change this much.”

“My uncle said he wants to sell fish in the county,” piped up Li Qiang. “He said each fish can sell for over a yuan!”

Li Jianguo and Yuemei exchanged glances, unsure what to make of it.

Was Li Long really capable of becoming a seller?

In the past, that would have seemed ridiculous.

But after the past few days, maybe it wasn’t so impossible.

Soon, Li Long returned home.

“Did everything go smoothly?” Li Jianguo asked, pausing his butchering to look up.

“Yes, it’s all set.” Li Long replied. “I’ll be up early to take the cart again.”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out ten yuan and handed it to Yuemei. “Sister-in-law, here’s the ten yuan we earned today. Take it.”

“Oh, I can’t take that,” Yuemei said, waving her hands. “You already gave us ten yuan before, and we don’t really need more. Keep it for yourself.”

“Sister-in-law, please take it,” Li Long insisted, pushing the money into her hands. “I have something to ask my brother about anyway.”

Yuemei glanced at her husband, who nodded and said, “Alright, take it. Li Long, what do you need?”

“I went to a herder’s place today. They have a gun but are out of bullets, and there are wolves around. Do you have any extra ammunition?”

“There are a few dozen left. Take them all,” Jianguo said, standing and retrieving a keychain from his belt. Unlocking an old cabinet in the corner, he retrieved a paper-wrapped package and handed it to Li Long.

The cabinet was one Jianguo had commissioned with custom wood when he married. It was worn and peeling now, but it still held the family’s most valuable items.

“The herders gave us that frozen lamb, so it’s only right we show our thanks,” Yuemei added. “When you go next, bring them a little more tea or something.”

Yuemei’s practical approach was simple but fair: a single lamb was worth much more than a small bag of tea.

“I understand,” Li Long replied. “The mountains are full of valuable resources, and if we can collect enough, our family will be better off.”

“Dad, when we eat the lamb, save a knuckle for me and my brother!” said little Li Juan, eyeing the lamb being cut up.

This reminded Li Long of the knuckle bones he’d seen the herder’s children playing with, and an idea struck him.

A few knuckle bones would make perfect toys.

These days, there are few toys for girls. Having a set of knucklebones is a treasure—she would be like an emperor among the children, just as boys with iron trinkets were the stars among their friends.

That evening, many families in the village talked about the Li family, with some so affected they could hardly sleep.