Zhao Sufang's second sister, Zhao Suxin, also married into a family surnamed Li from the same village, but not the same Li family as Li Xiangdong's.

It is said that Li Xiangdong's family was a branch of Li Wenzhong, the Duke of Cao, who was the nephew of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After several migrations, they settled in Lijiapo.

My second aunt's husband's family, the Li family, I've never heard of them having so many stories about them; they're just an ordinary family.

However, my second aunt's husband's family is doing quite well now, because his parents are still alive, and they have four sons. Their sons have sons, and the whole family is full of able-bodied men. They earn a lot of work points and get a lot of grain.

Because my second aunt's husband's family did not separate and all lived in the same big courtyard, even though Director Hu required each family to raise only two chickens, there were too many people and too many quotas, so they raised a lot of chickens, ducks and geese.

When Li Xiangdong arrived, his second aunt and uncle were not home; they had gone to the fields to pick up wheat to earn work points.

His mother had already discussed it with his second aunt's mother-in-law; the price would be six cents a pound, including the cash value. This price wasn't high, but it wasn't low either.

My second aunt's mother-in-law was a smooth talker. When she saw Li Xiangdong carrying Li Yan away, she kept praising the two children for being so adorable and Zhao Sufang for being good at having children, unlike her second sister, whose children were all rough and big, and looked like they were from the dirt.

Zhao Sufang didn't want to hear others talk about her second sister, so she changed the subject. Her second aunt's mother-in-law was also perceptive and quickly called her two grandsons, who were playing in the yard, to help catch the goose.

The saying "a goose is just as good as a dog at guarding the house" means that a goose's guarding skills are no less than a dog's. If it sees a stranger, the goose will flap its big wings, stretch its neck, and twist the person with its beak. It's a sure thing, and the twisted flesh will be blue and purple.

When Li Xiangdong was seven or eight years old, he hated dogs and grabbed a goose, insisting on riding it. As a result, the goose pecked him twice, a memory he still vividly remembers.

The two grandsons chased the goose all over the yard, causing a commotion, and finally caught the goose by its wings. The goose, still holding its neck, kept quacking and squawking.

Li Yan was so frightened that she hugged her second brother's neck with her two little arms, buried her head in her chest, wanting to look but not daring to.

We weighed it on the scale, and it was twelve pounds! What a big, fat goose!

Zhao Sufang gave her second aunt's mother-in-law seven yuan and twenty cents. She accepted it with a smile and said, "Whatever you want to eat next time, we have it at home. You don't need to go outside to buy it!"

That's as if they didn't buy the goose themselves!

Zhao Sufang responded, grabbed the goose, called her son and daughter, and came out.

"Mom, don't you want to talk to that old woman from the Li family?" Li Xiangdong asked gossipy.

Zhao Sufang sighed, "Li's mother is so cunning and quick-witted. She always sets traps with her words, and if you're not careful, you can easily fall into them."

Li Xiangdong chuckled to himself. Actually, his second aunt was quite shrewd. It just goes to show that like mother-in-law, like daughter-in-law. Birds of a feather flock together!

"Mom, we haven't bought dried potatoes and dried green beans yet?"

"Why buy that? We already have some at home!"

When the three of them got home, Zhao Sufang boiled a large pot of water and then soaked a handful of dried potatoes and a handful of dried green beans in cold water. The dried potatoes were yellowish-white and had no black mold at all, while the dried green beans were a dark greenish-brown.

Li Xiangdong tried to kill the goose by throwing it outside, but the goose was too resilient and was no match for him! Once it broke free of its restraints, it flapped its wings and ran wildly around the yard, pinching anyone who came near.

Having no other choice, Li Xiangdong went back into the house and retrieved his father's shotgun.

At that time, the government had not yet banned guns among civilians, and almost every household had an old-fashioned musket. During the off-season, people would go to the fields to hunt birds and rabbits, so people were used to calling it a bird gun.

The shotgun was loaded with small lead bullets and steel balls, which was definitely insufficient for dealing with large prey. Of course, they didn't have wild boars or tigers around here. However, it would be more than enough to deal with geese.

Li Xiangdong, who hadn't touched a gun in many years, was quite excited when he first touched the smooth barrel. Relying on his memories from his previous life, he familiarly loaded the gun and aimed.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Three gunshots rang out, and the goose fell to the ground.

Zhao Sufang covered her youngest daughter's ears inside the house, and only let go when she saw Li Xiangdong enter the house and put the gun away.

"Is it insured?"

"Let's go!"

Guns are dangerous weapons; if you're not careful, accidents can easily happen.

Zhao Sufang poured hot water over the goose, plucked its feathers, chopped the meat, and stewed it in a pot. Following Li Xiangdong's advice, she added two small chili peppers, so that when they ate the meat later, it was spicy, which was both appetizing and delicious.

The oil used was wheatgrass seed oil. Anyway, there were still three big bottles left at home, so it didn't hurt to use it. Li Xiangdong poured a lot in at once. Zhao Sufang was used to living a frugal life, and she felt a little sorry for the large pool of oil in the pot.

"Mom, we won't have to worry about using oil anymore! I think the brigade headquarters released tens of thousands of catties of wheatgrass seeds. Think of how many catties of oil that can be pressed out!"

There were also more than ten sacks of roasted wheatgrass seeds in the west room of Li Xiangdong's house.

The main difference is that this era is different from later generations. Later, when life got better, almost nine out of ten people had the "three highs" (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high fatty liver). Now, people don't have much oil in their bodies, so eating more oil won't harm their health.

Zhao Sufang taught her son, "Always be prepared for times of scarcity. Life is about taking it slow and steady. If you live extravagantly, how can you expect to have a good life?"

“Yes, yes, yes, you won’t go poor from eating or dressing, but you will go poor if you don’t plan ahead!” Li Xiangdong chimed in.

"Get out of here, or you'll make me angry!" Zhao Sufang said with a laugh.

Li Xiangdong took out two walnut shortbreads, ate a bite himself, fed a bite to his little sister, and instructed, "Mom, make the shortbreads thinner, and soak half of them in the soup, so that the shortbreads will have a crunch and a salty taste!"

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