lcionline Chapter 231 The Joy of Comic Books
Chapter 231 The Joy of Comic Books
The eagle was alert. This particular eagle was a hunting falcon trained by Zhao Pao, so Li Ju'an wasn't worried about getting into a fight. First, the eagle was wary and only caught traps set by hunters that contained prey. Second, what decent person would set traps and then sit there for nights on end, staring at them?
It was only because Li Guaizi was so resentful that he had squatted there for a short while. In the brief moment he was distracted, the falcon still managed to escape.
Therefore, Li Ju'an wasn't worried. If even a hunter as experienced as Li Guaizi hadn't succeeded in catching a hawk, other hunters wouldn't bother trying.
In recent days, hunters from several surrounding villages have been complaining, blaming some foolish, heartless person for coming into the mountains to steal game. But in previous years, there were far too many game thieves. Besides the mountain people, there were also merchants from the south. Once they entered the mountains and saw fur on the ground, they would definitely take it without hesitation, regardless of the rules in the mountains; whatever they found was their own fur.
Li Ju'an divided the prey he had caught in the trap with the Lu brothers. He wanted the red fox, the pheasant, the silly half-pound cat, and the jumping cat, and told the Lu brothers to take them.
Li Dong tried to reach for it again, but the three of them beat him up again, so he stopped talking, though he could still mutter nonsense.
Li Ju'an led Da Hu back to the family village under the cover of night.
He entered the courtyard and gently pushed open the door. Glancing at the dim oil lamp inside, he knew his younger sister, Li Xiao, was already asleep. His mother sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), knitting a sweater by the light of the oil lamp.
My mother's hands were calloused, and the veins on the backs of her hands were visible from hard work. She knitted with remarkable dexterity. With two knitting needles, she would weave rows of dense and delicate stitches, like turning leaves on a canvas.
Song Lanhua looked up and saw her son had returned. She quickly added some firewood to the stove, invited him to sit down and warm himself by the fire, and then went to heat up some cornmeal porridge to feed Da Hu.
Afraid of waking Li Xiao, Li Ju'an lowered his voice and said, "Mom, the dogs have already been fed outside. I'll feed them tomorrow."
His mother, Song Lanhua, responded and asked him, "Son, I'll take out the cotton wadding from your quilt tomorrow."
Li Ju'an was puzzled and asked his mother what she was doing. Was she making a cotton-padded jacket?
Mother Song Lanhua said, "I won't make a cotton-padded jacket. If I were to make one, I'd need new cotton. Your old quilt is too thin. Tomorrow, Aunt Li has a cotton quilt frame. We can borrow it, take apart both old quilts, take out the cotton wadding, and fluff it up again to make you a thick, sturdy cotton quilt."
"Mom, don't go to all that trouble."
"It's fine, I'm just sitting at home doing nothing anyway."
By the light of the oil lamp, Li Ju'an looked at his mother, who was always busy, her hands covered with thin calluses from working. The Lantern Festival had just passed, and the handicraft work in the commune had not yet been assigned. His mother was always busy at home, cooking, tidying up, and tending the fire.
The Li family wasn't large, so the work wasn't too bad; the mother still had three or four hours of free time each day. If it were the Lu family, with so many people, Lu's mother would be leading her sisters-in-law every day to tend the stove, start the fire, and move coal. The coal chunks were large and needed to be broken up, the coal slurry needed to be mixed with yellow mud, and they also had to shovel ashes from the stove. Lu's mother was truly busy non-stop; with so many people, she was constantly cooking, and the rest of the time was spent preparing meals.
Suddenly, Song Lanhua, the mother, looked up and said, "Son, how much pocket money have you given your sister?"
Li Ju'an paused, wondering why his mother was asking this. He was always generous with his allowance for Li Xiao. Most of the money he earned from selling his game at the market was deposited in a current account at the Postal Savings Bank. He would bring the rest back as pocket money, giving Li Xiao 2 or 3 mao each time.
Li Xiao was a thrifty child. She didn't spend money recklessly; she always put it in a cookie box and carefully hid it in a drawer.
Li Ju'an asked curiously, "Mom, why are you bringing this up? What happened to my sister?"
Mother Song Lanhua sighed and said, "My daughter has recently become obsessed with picture books. Today, Zhang's niece came over and brought a picture book of 'How the Steel Was Tempered,' and my daughter said she wanted to borrow it. And do you know what Zhang's niece said?"
"What do you say?"
Mother Song Lanhua said unhappily, "I don't know who Zhang's niece learned it from, but she has to give the maid four cents for a book and then sit there reading it. This price is much higher than in the city."
Li Ju'an knew that Zhang's niece was studying in the county town and had come to the village to visit relatives during her winter vacation.
City kids think differently from kids in the countryside. He's so young and already knows how to ask for book fees. He guessed he probably learned it from the people outside the movie theater.
Outside the workers' cinema in the county town, there was a comic book rental stall. Many children would sit there and read them; the price was two cents per book. Many older and younger children simply sat on the ground and started flipping through the comic books. Groups of children gathered in front of the rental stall, creating quite a sight.
After reading the books, the children would reluctantly return them and then discuss them animatedly. The boys especially loved the thrilling stories like "The Three Heroes Battle Lü Bu at Hulao Pass," "Zhao Zilong Rescues His Lord Single-Handedly at Changban Slope," "Li Yuanba's Great Battle at Siping Mountain," and "The Eight Great Hammers Make a Scene at Zhuxian Town."
Girls, being more meticulous, would use the comic books they held as models to copy the characters. If there were an art competition, these paintings, depicting figures clad in armor, galloping on horseback, and so lifelike, would elicit unanimous cheers and praise.
Li Ju'an said, "That girl from the Zhang family is quite shrewd; her prices are two cents higher than those outside the movie theater."
"That's right."
Song Lanhua, the mother, didn't want to explain things directly to the Zhang family. After hearing the whole story, Li Ju'an said, "Okay, leave this to me, Mom. Don't worry about it."
The mother wondered what method her son could use to solve this problem. Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Just get a few comic books for my sister."
The mother, Song Lanhua, was astonished, her eyes widening. Comic books weren't cheap back then. A typical comic book cost two or three cents, which was a luxury for a child. So, aside from the children, they spent most of their time renting comic books from bookstalls.
Early the next morning, Li Ju'an first dragged a dog sled to dig out the specimens from under the snow in the yard. He then delivered the remaining two red foxes, one large pelt, and three red deer to the head of the forest farm.
He figured that it would be three or four days after the Lantern Festival, and Director Chen should be back at work by now.
Assistant Chen glanced at him, noticing the fresh and rare specimen, and waved him inside, saying he was really lucky; Boss Chen had just arrived this morning, and he was here right away.
Leader Chen was very satisfied with the specimen. Without saying a word, he called his assistant and said, "Okay, call Master Xu later and see if he's free. Have Master Xu take Li Pao to practice driving."
Assistant Chen had just responded with a "yes" when Boss Chen slapped his forehead and said, "Master Xu has been sent to the county town to deliver goods these past two days. We'll wait for him to come back. It'll be less than ten days. Li Pao, wait for news. I'll have Old Zhang from your village bring you a message later."
Old Zhang is the same Old Zhang from the security department; Li Ju'an is acquainted with him.
Li Ju'an responded with a "yes" and turned back to the village to wait for news.
If it were anyone else, he would have to be careful, but having lived two lives, he knew that the head of the forest farm was a good person with a good reputation in various organizations. He would always keep his promises.
But this Mr. Xu sounds familiar... There are many people with the surname Li in the village, followed by Zhang, Sun, Lu, and Lin. The surname Xu is uncommon, it sounds like someone from out of town.
Without much thought, he went back to the Li family's old house, called Li Xiao who was playing jump rope, and led his sister to catch the forest farm's little train to the county town to buy comic books.
Li Xiao was originally playing jump rope with Lu Wenqian, Zhang's niece, and Sun's youngest daughter. When Li Xiao was called away, there was one less person to play jump rope.
Lu Zhiqiang squatted there, watching his sister jump rope. Suddenly, the little girl was missing, and Lu Wenqian cried out in distress, pulling on Li Ju'an's sleeve, insisting that he not take Li Xiao away and that Li Xiao stay: "Brother Li, if Li Xiao leaves, we will be one person short."
Li Ju'an turned his head and nudged Lu Zhiqiang, who was sitting on a hen's lap, and said, "Isn't there your brother too?"
Lu Zhiqiang got excited at the mention of it and was in a good mood. He ran to his sister and jumped around a couple of times with rubber bands. Since rubber bands are usually tied together one after another, his grumbling caused several to snap, requiring them to be re-strung. Lu Wenqian was furious and yelled.
Lu Zhiqiang laughed and said, "What's wrong? You're usually quite fierce at home, and I've covered for you a lot, haven't I? You're not happy about me jumping around a bit?"
Seeing that his younger sister was truly angry, he could only smile and run over to flatter her. But how could girls of that age be so easily fooled? The three girls, around ten years old, threw a tantrum at him, and Lu Zhiqiang, ruthlessly rejected, could only apologize with a grin, remove the broken rubber bands, and string the good ones back together. Only then did he obediently stand there, holding the rubber bands for his younger sister, and the little girls finally calmed down.
The village was filled with the joyful sounds of children playing jump rope again. Li Ju'an, with Li Xiao, had already boarded the forest farm's miniature train and driven far away.