Chapter 200: A Pair of New Cloth Shoes

With the matter of Bangye Heibai settled, Li Xian finally had some free time after being busy for several days.

The county officials, perhaps realizing that it was inappropriate for the prestigious Black Pottery Association to be located in a shabby place, decided to vacate a small school in the Pig Hair Troupe area. This school had very few students even before, and its student numbers had been reduced by a fifth due to the rumors spread by the Cat-Faced Old Lady. The school was allocated to the Association as a new venue.

Without the buzz of students, the house became much quieter.

Recently, there had been heavy rain, and the whole house felt as if it had been washed with detergent, appearing both ancient and clear. When Li Xian brought in two pieces of pig's head meat, he felt much refreshed.

In the courtyard, Wang Lin and Old Qin were engaged in a game of chess. Seeing the pig's head meat that Li Xian brought, Old Qin smiled and conceded, heading straight to the kitchen with the meat.

Li Xian took this opportunity to sit opposite Wang Lin.

Noticing Li Xian's apparent joy and humming an unknown tune, Wang Lin handed over his tea mug and asked, "So, have you found another way to make money recently?"

Li Xian took a few gulps of tea, wiped his mouth, and replied with a smile, "Ah, it's still about the alcohol. But this time, it's something special. Combining alcohol with black pottery. Just watch, I'm going to sell this white liquor, which costs over three yuan to make, for thirty-nine yuan a bottle!"

If someone had said this a year ago, Wang Lin would have slapped them awake. But having witnessed Li Xian's transformation from a coffin salesman to a successful entrepreneur involved in paper mills and liquor production, Wang Lin had to believe it.

However, as a former forestry bureau director, Wang Lin felt somewhat uneasy seeing Li Xian's success in Bangye and Beilin.

"You're a forestry person, yet you're sending all the good stuff outside. How about revitalizing your hometown?"

Wang Lin grumbled.

Hearing this, Li Xian chuckled, "Old man, you're mistaken. I did set up a sawdust factory in the forestry area, and there's a paper pulp base at the bureau, isn't there?"

"Bullshit," Wang Lin retorted, "How many people have you employed with that liquor factory and black pottery factory? How much impact do those sawdust factory and paper pulp base really have?"

Li Xian shrugged, feigning grievance, "Coming to Bangye was at Liu Weihai's personal invitation, with resources and policies brought to me. The forestry bureau didn't even approach me."

He grinned, "If you want the donkey to work, you have to feed it well, right? This donkey of mine can work anywhere. If you could talk to Director Xu and get us some policies and resources, the forestry bureau is vast and rich, and there are many opportunities for making money."

Wang Lin snorted. Although he despised Li Xian's opportunistic attitude, he was secretly pondering.

Li Xian's brains had played a crucial role in the success of the Bangye liquor and black pottery business, and Liu Weihai and the government's support were indeed well-executed.

Now that the economic situation was clearer and the market economy was inevitable, Wang Lin thought he should find an opportunity to bring Chaoyang over to learn a thing or two and also to win over this troublesome guy.

While Wang Lin was lost in thought, Li Xian lowered his voice and asked, "Hey, Wang, how are my godfather and Master Zheng doing these days?"

Wang Lin knew immediately whom Li Xian was referring to.

Recently, the two old men had been in a fierce competition, but they had eventually grown tired of it. Now, both had focused their attention on the widow Su.

Hearing Li Xian's question, Old Wang looked at his watch and, feeling it was about time, nodded towards the front gate.

"Just watch."

As he spoke, Zheng Weishi's hearty laughter came from outside the gate.

"When I was a team leader at the May Day Forestry Farm, the educated youth didn't know anything but slogans, and I didn't have much regard for them. I remember one time, a new batch of educated youth came, and when they were asked to carry manure, they struggled with the load. One of them even spilled the manure everywhere. When I went to help him, guess what he said?"

"That little rascal pushed me away, telling me to save the manure for the team instead of helping him. Hahaha…"

Li Xian glanced over and saw Zheng Weishi holding a fan, fanning the amused Su Ma, while Wu Shengli carried a basket of vegetables, looking flushed as he laughed along with the others.

"Heh, I was still in the army at that time, and those new recruits were also quite interesting." After a long time without being able to join in the conversation, Wu Shengli finally found a topic, stepping forward to Su Ma's side. "There was a new recruit who was only fourteen, having changed his registration to join the army. The old soldiers teased him, asking who was stronger, his father or his mother. Little Su, guess what he said?"

Su Ma was taken aback. "Why would anyone ask such a strange question?"

Wu Shengli laughed heartily, ignoring her question, "He said he couldn't tell, that they seemed equally strong. At night, sometimes his father was on top, sometimes his mother was. Hahaha…"

Seeing Su Ma's face turn red, she swore and stomped away. Wu Shengli's smile froze.

Zheng Weishi snatched the vegetable basket from him and followed Su Ma into the kitchen.

Seeing Wu Shengli's awkwardness, Li Xian couldn't help but laugh.

Soon, the kitchen was filled with cheerful voices. Wu Shengli, frustrated, picked up an axe in the courtyard.

Seeing his demeanor, Li Xian thought he was going to confront Zheng Weishi and quickly went over to ask, "Godfather, what are you doing with the axe?"

"The cutting board that Su Ma uses is broken. I'm going to make a few wedges for her."

Wu Shengli, carrying the axe, muttered as he walked towards the kitchen.

Watching Wu Shengli quietly become the repairman and hearing Zheng Weishi's cheerful talk making Su Ma laugh, Li Xian sighed.

Ah, only knowing how to work and not speak, always suitable as a backup option.

He set a characterization for Wu Shengli in his mind.

---

That evening, after dinner in the courtyard, everyone gathered in the main room to watch television.

The TV dramas of the time were generally well-made, but Li Xian was already bored of the "Three Kingdoms." They were now showing the later part of the Three Kingdoms, where his favorite characters had almost all died. He wasn't interested. As the room became crowded and hot, he took a deck chair to the courtyard to enjoy the cool air.

The people of Pig Hair Troupe were generally fond of good meals, and the smoke from the burning wood, accompanied by its fragrant smell, mixed with the croaking of frogs in the pond.

Patting his round stomach, Li Xian sighed contentedly.

Looking up, he saw Su Ya standing behind him, looking charming.

"Hey, what's up? Learning black pottery? It's not even nine yet." Li Xian teased as usual.

Over time, Su Ya had gotten used to his casual manner and knew he was not just talk. She wasn't upset anymore, merely wrinkling her nose.

"What's hidden behind your back?" Seeing Su Ya's hands behind her, Li Xian got up from the deck chair and smiled.

Su Ya smiled slightly, pointed at the worn-out plastic slippers on Li Xian's feet, then pulled out a pair of cloth shoes and handed them to him.

The cloth shoes were the common type with a multi-layered sole, the upper part was pure black cotton, and the soles were thick and tightly woven.

To accommodate someone who might not want to put on shoes, the shoe tongue was specially adjusted with a loose strap, making it somewhat akin to a convenient slip-on.

"Wow!" Li Xian received the shoes with delight. Looking at them and then at Su Ya's smiling face, he laughed, "A token of affection?"

Su Ya raised her eyebrows, snatched the shoes back, and took out the insoles.

On the white insoles was an embroidered image.

Li Xian looked closely and his face turned stern.

That was…

A big head, round eyes, a mischievous smile resembling his own, and a small body…

It was clearly Su Ya's depiction of the little doll he had made that day, embroidered with his likeness on the insoles!

Meanwhile, Su Ya, who was quietly laughing, made a stomping gesture.

"There's no fun in stepping on others. Why not step on yourself?"

As Li Xian hopped around in mock anger, Su Ya turned and ran.

Hiding behind the side room, watching Li Xian feigning anger by the pond, and occasionally flaunting the shoes, Su Ya's face flushed as she hid behind a pillar.

Touching the little black pottery doll tied with red string around her neck, she felt her heart race a little faster.