"That’s right," Zhang Rongqing added. "Brigade Leader, I think while everyone’s here, any family that doesn’t want to raise the cow should just say so now. It’ll save us trouble later."
Liu Guozhi saw that Zhang Yazhen’s face had turned green with rage and inwardly shook his head. He glanced at Xiong Jianjun. "Jianjun, what do you say?"
"I’ll do it!" Xiong Jianjun snapped, then stood up and turned to leave.
"Jianjun, wait!" Liu Guozhi called out, stopping him. He took out a piece of paper. "Today, in front of and Accountant Jin, the families who agree to raise the cow will co up and sign their nas and leave a thumbprint. This will prevent trouble down the road."
Zhang Rongqing nodded. "The brigade leader’s idea is perfect."
This was only the beginning. If the ox got sick later on, everyone would have to chip in for dicine. It would be a huge hassle if soone tried to back out then.
Seeing that the other families had no objections, Liu Guozhi had them sign and press their thumbprints onto the paper. He then handed the agreent to Accountant Jin and said with a smile:
"After the New Year, the household responsibility system will be in place. You’ll all be busy with odd jobs and businesses, trying to make money. Old Jin and I can’t be at the brigade office every day. I’ll make an announcent on the loudspeaker later. If you have any issues, resolve them now. Don’t complain later that you can’t find us."
Everyone laughed and agreed. With sullen faces, Zhang Yazhen and Xiong Jianjun turned and walked away.
Li Guizhi glanced at Lin Lan with a smile. "Let’s head back."
Lin Lan nodded, and they walked out together.
Inside the eting room, Liu Guozhi said to Accountant Jin, "I heard He Xianghua has also set up a food stall?"
Accountant Jin nodded. "He Xianghua said it was Lin Lan’s idea. We really misjudged her in the past."
Liu Guozhi was suddenly reminded of the saying, "Better to slight a white-haired elder than a poor youth." He sighed. "Yes, we underestimated her before."
"Looks like the winds are really changing," Accountant Jin remarked.
Liu Guozhi nodded thoughtfully. "I heard from Little Wang that the coastal areas are seeing huge changes."
Accountant Jin gathered his things, locked them in a drawer, and looked up at Liu Guozhi. "Brigade Leader, how are things going with your Liu Fang and Mr. Wang from the school?"
A satisfied smile spread across Liu Guozhi’s face. "We went to see Mr. Wang’s family yesterday. Their living conditions are much worse than what we have here in Lexing. But since they won’t be moving back to Dashiqiao to settle down after getting married, we gave our approval."
Accountant Jin grinned. "So when can I expect an invitation to the wedding banquet?"
Liu Guozhi bead. "We’ll hold it after the New Year."
"With all your children married off, it’s ti for you to relax and enjoy life."
"Relax and enjoy life? What’s there to enjoy!" Liu Guozhi sighed, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked out.
’Best not to say more,’ Accountant Jin thought, rembering Liu Guozhi’s preference for sons over daughters. He just smiled, picked up his keys, and followed him out of the eting room. He secured the door with a padlock, and they went their separate ways.
As soon as Liu Guozhi got ho, he heard Sun Xiuhua’s curses coming from next door. He frowned and asked Xu Chunyan, "What’s wrong with them now?"
Xu Chunyan shot him a look. "Jinbao’s wife is pregnant. Sun Xiuhua had a fortune-teller look into it, and they said it’s a girl, so now she wants Jinbao’s wife to get an abortion."
’I rember when I was pregnant with our second child, a daughter,’ she recalled. ’Liu Guozhi also consulted a fortune-teller back then. He was told it was a son and treated wonderfully throughout the pregnancy. But when the baby was born and turned out to be a girl, his face went ashen. After that, he wouldn’t even look at her.’
Seeing Xu Chunyan looking at him with a smirk, Liu Guozhi’s old face flushed. He glared and said, "That’s ridiculous! Who’s so skilled they can tell if a baby is a boy or a girl while it’s still in the womb? You should go over and talk so sense into them."
"I have no ti to ddle in other people’s affairs!" Xu Chunyan said, her face dripping with sarcasm. "This kind of nonsense is a tradition in your Liu family!"
Stung into silence by Xu Chunyan’s retort, Liu Guozhi turned and went to Liu Jinbao’s house. He found Liu Jinbao sitting in a bamboo chair with his legs crossed, watching his mother curse at his own wife.
Xu Li sat there with her head down, utterly silent, as if Sun Xiuhua wasn’t yelling at her at all.
When Sun Xiuhua saw Liu Guozhi standing at their gate and frowning, she gave an embarrassed laugh and slapped Liu Jinbao. "Jinbao, hurry and get a chair for your uncle." Then she asked Liu Guozhi, "Big Brother, what brings you here?"
Liu Guozhi stared at her. "Causing such a ruckus day in and day out. If you have the energy to curse out your daughter-in-law, you’d be better off going to the brigade to feed the pigs. You might even get an extra couple pounds of pork for the New Year."
"The pigs aren’t mine," Sun Xiuhua grumbled, not moving an inch.
Liu Jinbao brought a chair over for Liu Guozhi. "Have a seat, Uncle."
Liu Guozhi looked at Liu Jinbao with deep disappointnt. "Look at you, loafing around all day. Have you been gambling again?"
"It’s the off-season for farming, what do you expect to do?" An idea flashed in Liu Jinbao’s mind, and he looked at his uncle with a sly grin. "Uncle, how about you talk to my dad? Tell him to retire so I can take over his position! Xu Li’s already pregnant. I don’t earn a single cent. How am I supposed to support a wife and child in the future?"
Sun Xiuhua smacked him on the back. "You little curse! You gambled away so much money! Why did I give birth to a good-for-nothing like you!"
"Stop it!" Liu Guozhi yelled. He turned back to Liu Jinbao and said earnestly, "Your father can’t retire for another two years. You can take over his job then. In the anti, you should find so small business to do. You could earn so money for the family."
Liu Jinbao grinned cheekily and held out his hands. "Uncle, you need startup money to do business. Lend so, and I’ll go."
Liu Guozhi shot him a glare. "First, figure out what kind of business you want to do. Then you can co find ."
"Alright!" Liu Jinbao practically jumped for joy. He eagerly pulled Liu Guozhi to the chair. "I’ll go make you so tea."
"You little rascal!" Liu Guozhi slapped him lightly. He turned to Sun Xiuhua. "Fortune-tellers are never accurate. Stop making a fuss. If the Family Planning officials hear about this, they’ll call you in for a ’study session.’"
Sun Xiuhua pouted. "Then what should we do?"
"Just deal with it! Go get your husband, and I’ll talk to him," Liu Guozhi snapped, then turned and left.
Sun Xiuhua glanced at the silent Xu Li, then at Liu Jinbao making tea in the main room. Fuming, she stord out of the house and headed for the brigade office.
****
Not long after Lin Lan returned, Li Xiangyang arrived. He handed her an individual business license. "Dongzi said it’s one license per shop. We still need to get permits for selling small ho appliances and for the pastry shop."
Lin Lan glanced at the handwritten business license. The main scope of business was listed as "General rchandise," while the secondary scope was blank. She said to Li Xiangyang, "Tell Dongzi to fill in the secondary scope next ti, too."
Li Xiangyang nodded. "Dongzi said that ’General rchandise’ covers electronic products."
Lin Lan said, "We can’t register all the shops under my na. You go get the paperwork to apply for another general rchandise license. Tomorrow, I’ll get the paperwork to register the pastry business."
"Okay. I’ve got Carpenter Zhong and the others working on the clothing shop." Li Xiangyang secured the handcart. "Zhigang is in the Anshu Woods today. I’ll help you get the cart out first, then I’ll go find Dongzi."
"Mm-hmm," Lin Lan agreed, heading into the room.
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