Chapter 3: Every Chick Has Its Own Way of Peeing

In this era, people still cared about saving face.

Under the pointing fingers and whispers of the neighbors, Wang Qinghe realized he had no reason to continue the commotion, so he temporarily retreated with his backup. However, as he left, he issued a stern warning—this matter wasn't over. If Li Qing didn't come to the Wang family to kneel and apologize, there would be a divorce!

After seeing the troublemakers from the Wang family leave, the neighbors crowded around, curious to know what had happened. The entrance of the Li family's courtyard was soon packed with onlookers.

After all the commotion, the sun had already begun to set.

One by one, the members of the Li family returned home: Old Master Li Daoyun, the family head Li You, the matriarch Zou Ni, the third sister Li Jie, and Li Qing's eldest daughter Li Lingling, who was attending kindergarten at the forestry farm.

Upon learning what had happened, Li You, known for his fiery temper, immediately erupted. First, he cursed Wang Feng, calling her a fool with nothing better to do after a few full meals. Then, he berated Li Qing for being spineless. And as he got more heated, even Li Xian and Li Pi were roped in, accused of failing to keep things under control and letting outsiders witness their family's shame.

Zou Ni, who felt sorry for her son, suggested with teary eyes that if Wang Feng disliked their current house, they might as well give her the old house in exchange.

Li You, his thick eyebrows furrowed, pointed at the family: "You foolish woman! Exchange houses? Exchange houses! Where would these five people live if we did that? How would the eldest's family fit in one room?"

Facing her husband's outburst, Zou Ni had no choice but to stay silent and continue preparing dinner.

At this moment, Old Master Li Daoyun put down his pipe and said, "Enough, stop complaining. Let's let the matter rest for a while. After a few days, when things calm down, you and Daniu should take Xiao Qing to the Wang family and see if you can bring Qing's wife back."

Old Master Li Daoyun had led a rather legendary life. Born into a landlord's family, he later fell on hard times, became a beggar, joined a Taoist temple to become a priest and fortune-teller, and even fought as a bandit against the Japanese. Later, he sided with the Kuomintang and eventually surrendered to the Communist forces. Despite his early years spent as a fortune-teller, which made him somewhat superstitious—so much so that he spent his free time refurbishing his coffin and earned the nickname "Old Coffin" around the forestry farm—he was still sharp and had a clear mind, even in his seventies.

With his father speaking up, Li You sighed, knowing his anger wouldn't be resolved that evening. Frustrated, he crushed out his cigarette on his shoe sole and stormed out, unsure of what to do next.

That evening, the family divided into three groups: Li You and his wife occupied one of the two kangs (heated brick beds) in the east room, while Li Jie and Li Lingling took the other. The large kang in the west room was shared by the three Li brothers and their grandfather.

Although the weather wasn't particularly hot, Li Qing's loud snoring and Li Pi's teeth-grinding made it impossible for Li Xian to sleep. Tossing and turning like an egg in a frying pan, he could hear the faint murmuring from his parents in the other room through the brick wall that separated them.

"Sigh, the eldest can't control his wife. If this one leaves after the first one ran off, what will we do? He'll be a bachelor for life..."

"So, what are you saying? Should we really build a couple of new rooms for them? That would cost a lot of money!"

Silence fell in the room.

After a while, Li You's voice returned, "The second one will graduate from the forestry technical school next year, and the fourth one will be sixteen the year after that…"

Ugh,

Li Xian rolled over under his blanket.

Damn it.

He had lived for over twenty years only to come back and still be stressed over house matters.

What kind of world is this?!

"Grandson."

In the darkness, hearing Li Xian's long sigh, Old Master Li Daoyun spoke softly from the side, "Worried about the family?"

Li Xian was startled and whispered, "Grandpa, you're still awake?"

Crap.

A match flared on the other side of the kang, and the smell of dry tobacco soon filled the air. "I'm old; I hardly sleep anymore. But you're still young. Why worry so much, huh? Every chick has its own way of peeing. The more you worry about something, the bigger it becomes. If you don't think about it, it'll pass on its own."

Li Xian couldn't help but laugh at his grandfather's Buddhist-like mindset.

Resigned, he shook his head. His personality couldn't accept the notion of "I don't consider it a problem, so the problem doesn't exist."

It had been six days since he came back. He couldn't just keep drifting aimlessly like this. It was time to figure out a way to do something…

He thought this as his grandfather's pipe occasionally glowed in the dark.

The next day, Li Xian got up early, which was rare these past few days. Seeing Li Jie looking depressed, he knew she had overheard their parents' conversation the night before.

It's all because of money.

Li Xian thought.

With thoughts weighing on his mind, he quickly washed up, skipped breakfast, and headed out. He walked aimlessly along the forestry farm's path, pondering ways to make money.

At this time, there were no concrete roads in the forest area. All the paths, big or small, were paved with gravel. The base was a kind of yellowish clay, compacted and dried until it was as solid as a road surface. A layer of fine sand covered the top, which, during this season, was also sprinkled with a layer of willow fluff. As he walked, the sand made a pleasant crunching sound underfoot.

It was 1992…

Li Xian vaguely remembered that the elderly leader should have just finished his southern tour. This year was the most critical since the concept of reform and opening up was proposed in 1978.

One could say that the Chinese economy would begin to take off starting from this year.

The group of people known as the "92 faction," who later played a crucial role in China's economy, should now have ventured into the business world, seizing the rare, once-in-a-century opportunity to accumulate their initial wealth.

But knowing all this was useless.

His current problem was that he had nothing—knowing these historical milestones didn't give him the power to dominate this era.

To put it bluntly, he didn't even have ten yuan in his pocket right now.

All morning, Li Xian wandered along the gravel path.

The midday heat of late August was a bit stifling, and the cicadas chirped softly from the roadside.

Though it was the off-season for farming, most people in the forestry farm didn't completely slack off. Almost no one had as much idle time as Li Xian.

They say that people living by the mountain rely on the mountain, and those by the water rely on the water. In the forestry farm, which had both mountains and water, the locals always found ways to receive nature's bounty.

Just as Li Xian reached the end of the forestry farm, he saw a group of women sitting by the roadside, chatting and peeling something while laughing and talking.

Li Xian stopped to watch and noticed they were holding walnuts still covered in their green husks and leaves.

Seeing him approach, one of the women stood up and said, "Isn't this Li Xian? What, heading up the mountain?"

Li Xian looked closely and recognized her as Aunt Ma, their neighbor from the backyard.

"No, just bored at home, so I'm out for a walk." He replied loudly, "Aunt Ma, what are you doing?"

"Oh, the walnuts are ready. We went up the mountain to pick some. The green husks are a hassle, and the juice stains everything, making it hard to clean up. So we're peeling them here before taking them back."

As she spoke, Aunt Ma's hands worked nimbly, peeling the walnuts without missing a beat.

"Is that so," Li Xian nodded, "Well, I'll leave you to it then, Aunt Ma."

"Hey, wait a minute, Xian! Auntie has too much stuff. If you're free, help me carry some back. By the way, what's going on with your brother and sister-in-law?" Aunt Ma quickly asked as Li Xian was about to leave.

I see your hands are full, but your real interest is in gossip, isn't it, you sly devil!

Li Xian glanced at Aunt Ma's small basket and felt at a loss for words.

Hmm?

However, as he looked at the scattered walnut husks littering the roadside, something seemed to click in his mind.

He immediately walked over.

Seeing this, Aunt Ma laughed, "Yesterday, your uncle said your brother and sister-in-law had a fight about building a new house?"

Li Xian ignored her, instead picking up a piece of walnut husk from the ground.

"What are you doing with that sticky stuff? It'll stain your hands and clothes, and you won't be able to wash it off! So, what happened next? Did your

 sister-in-law get in touch?" Aunt Ma kept probing, undeterred by Li Xian's silence.

But as Li Xian looked at the walnut husk in his hand, a slow smile began to spread across his face.

The path to riches, it seems… has been found!