Li Xiu's separation from his family caused quite a stir in the village. Everyone praised him for being honest, filial, and devoted to his younger siblings. Seeing him constantly bustling about, they started asking what he was up to. Seizing the opportunity, Second Sister-in-law Ge spread the word that he was building a house and was already engaged. The villagers gossiped among themselves.
"Good thing he's found someone. Otherwise, with nothing to his name, which family would let their daughter marry him!"
Some also inquired if his engagement had been called off. After all, everyone knew Li Xiu had left his family with practically nothing. They just didn't know if his fiancée's family was aware of it.
Second Sister-in-law Ge quickly clarified that the initial betrothal gifts had already been sent. Li Xiu had bought the young woman two sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a catty of malt candy, two catties of meat, and a fish. Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement. Li Xiu was truly generous. Usually, the initial gifts only consisted of one set of clothes and a catty of candy; poorer families might not even provide clothes.
Second Sister-in-law Ge added that the engagement ceremony would be held on October 8th in the new house Li Xiu was building. The villagers all clamored that they would have to go and see the new bride then.
Li Xiu paid no mind to the village commotion. He was busy. First, he found people to start digging the foundation, which he had them dig deeper than usual, as he planned to build a taller stone house. Then he found men to quarry stone from the mountains and others to fell trees.
That night, he made another trip to Daqing Mountain. He took down a wild boar and also caught three rabbits and two pheasants. After cleaning them, he headed to the county town under the cover of darkness. He had already found out where the man lived.
A groggy Wang Yuan opened the door and was stunned to see Li Xiu standing at the entrance, holding the rabbits and pheasants. 'How did this kid find my home?' Seeing Li Xiu lift the game in his hands, Wang Yuan quickly glanced around outside before yanking Li Xiu inside. Only after shutting the door did he ask, "How did you find this place?"
Li Xiu smiled and handed him the items. Wang Yuan took them and told Li Xiu to sit down and talk. Wang Yuan pushed up the glasses on his nose—indeed, this was the same middle-aged, bespectacled man who had bought two wild pigs from Li Xiu last time.
When Li Xiu didn't answer, Wang Yuan didn't press the issue. He was a purchasing manager at the distillery, and many people in the county knew him. What he didn't know was that Li Xiu had seen him in his previous life on the news, by which time he was already the director of the county's investment promotion bureau.
"Did you need me for something?"
"I have another wild boar. Do you want it?"
"Is that all? Of course, I want it. I'll take as many as you've got." Meat was scarce for every family, and the last two wild boars had been a huge help to him.
"How much for these rabbits and pheasants? Do you want to pay with cash or ration coupons?" Wang Yuan asked, looking at the game on the floor.
Li Xiu shook his head. "I want to buy cement and red tiles."
Wang Yuan chuckled. This kid had good luck. The last time he needed a sewing machine coupon, his wife happened to have just gotten one. This time he needed cement, and Wang Yuan had just had dinner with someone from the cement factory a couple of days ago. "Are you building a house? People in the countryside are using cement and red tiles now?"
Li Xiu shook his head. "No, I'm getting married, so I want to build a nicer house. The rabbits and pheasants are a gift for you. If you have connections, I'd appreciate your help."
Wang Yuan quickly shook his head. The three rabbits and two pheasants had to be worth over ten yuan. How could he accept them for free? "How much cement and red tile do you need?"
"Red tiles for a seven-room house and cement for a ten-room house. You can just take these. As for the wild boar, you can pay me cash for it. I'm short on money for building the house right now."
Seeing that Li Xiu was sincere, Wang Yuan didn't refuse again. 'He's getting married, isn't he? He must be short on all kinds of ration coupons in the countryside. I'll just help him get some extra.' "Alright then. I'll go with you to see the meat first. You can help me bring it to the factory. When it's light out, I'll take you to get the cement and red tiles."
When they got downstairs, Wang Yuan looked at the pile of meat, then up at Li Xiu. This one pig was nearly the size of the last two combined. Li Xiu smiled and said, "It's a boar in its prime. I haven't weighed it yet. We can do it at your factory."
Li Xiu hoisted the pork onto a carrying pole and followed Wang Yuan to the distillery. On the scale, the gross weight came out to 390 catties. Li Xiu spoke directly, "I haven't dressed this pig. How about ninety cents a catty?"
Looking at the straightforward Li Xiu, Wang Yuan nodded. "You're a frank kid. Do the windows of your house have glass?"
At this, Li Xiu's eyes lit up, and he quickly shook his head. Glass was incredibly hard to come by; you couldn't buy it even if you had the money.
"In that case, I'll get you glass for seven rooms. There, we don't need to give you money for the meat. The cement, red tiles, and glass should be about the same value. I'll even find someone to deliver it all for you." Wang Yuan wanted to build a good relationship with him; then he wouldn't have to worry about meat for the New Year.
"Great. I'll add a few dishes to your table for New Year's Eve dinner," Li Xiu said with a smile, returning the favor.
As soon as dawn broke, Wang Yuan took Li Xiu with one of the factory's cargo trucks and a driver. They went straight to the cement factory, found the factory director, got an authorization slip, and loaded the cement. Then they went to the kiln works, found the deputy director, got another slip, and loaded the red tiles. Finally, they went to the glass factory, where Li Xiu watched Wang Yuan secure an authorization slip by promising the factory director one rabbit and one pheasant.
Li Xiu said gratefully to Wang Yuan, "Once my house is built, I'll go into the mountains and make it up to you."
Wang Yuan clapped Li Xiu on the shoulder. "Deal. I won't be polite with you. Meat is scarce everywhere right now. When the time comes, I'll get you some extra coupons so you can marry your bride in style!"
"Great. Once the glass is loaded, let's take the driver for a meal. You can get to work after we eat," Li Xiu said happily.
After the meal, Li Xiu saw Wang Yuan off, then climbed into the truck and gave the driver directions. All along the way, Li Xiu couldn't stop smiling. One wild boar, three rabbits, and two pheasants, all traded for the most difficult materials to acquire for his house—glass, cement, and red tiles. It was an excellent deal. In another two days, the stone and wood would be almost ready.
He glanced at the driver beside him, his eyes darting thoughtfully as he struck up a conversation. "Uncle, if you help me haul something in a couple of days, I'll get you some meat. What do you think?"
The driver turned his head to look at him and smiled. "The meat the factory gave out for the Mid-Autumn Festival was from you, wasn't it?" When Li Xiu nodded, he continued, "Sure. You just get what you can. I've got two growing boys at home who are craving meat something fierce. Any meat will do." The driver was a sensible man. For a country fellow to get meat, he had to go into the mountains, and the mountains were no easy place to enter. To put it bluntly, people risked their lives for it. This kid was truly bold. If it were easy, the cities wouldn't have such a meat shortage.
"Okay, I'll try to get more. I'll come find you at the factory in a few days, Uncle," Li Xiu readily agreed.
"How about the day after tomorrow? I have the day off."
"Okay. The afternoon of the day after tomorrow, I'll come find you."
"Just come to the distillery's dormitory building and ask around. You'll find my place. I'll be home that day."
"Alright. Thanks for the trouble, Uncle."
Before long, they arrived at the village. Li Xiu had the driver go directly to the new home site. Li Bao, who had been helping out there for the past two days, saw Li Xiu get out of the truck and ran over. "Big Brother, where did you get all this?" Li Bao asked in astonishment, staring at the glass and red tiles on the truck.
Li Xiu patted his shoulder. "Call some people over to help unload. The driver has to get back soon!"
In a moment, a crowd gathered. Many people had seen the truck enter the village and were looking on with curiosity. Nowadays, very few people built houses with cement and red tiles, and no one in the entire village had ever used glass. With many hands, everything was quickly unloaded.
Li Xiu pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and placed it on the driver's seat. He turned back and said, "You can head back first, Uncle. I'll come find you the day after tomorrow."
The driver nodded. As he got into the cab, he saw the cigarettes and paused for a moment but said nothing. He simply waved to Li Xiu and drove off.