The Cao family had been thieves for generations. Cao Hong's grandfather was caught stealing and beaten to death.
Cao Hong's father and mother were notorious thieves who made life miserable for their neighbors in the village. Things that were just left at the door would be stolen in the blink of an eye.
Cao Hong's mother, in particular, stole almost anything—vegetables from the fields, fruits from the trees, farm tools left in the fields, chickens that accidentally escaped, and so on.
So one time when she was stealing in another village, she was beaten and her leg was crippled, but that didn't stop her from stealing. She still seized every opportunity to steal.
Cao Hong carried on the traditions established by his grandfather and parents, and began burglarizing homes. He once broke into a house, but was caught and beaten half to death. He was eventually detained by the police for a period of time. Later, he was sentenced to six years in prison for stealing fiber optic cables during a crackdown.
He had only been released a short time before he started going back to his old ways.
"Grandpas, what's going on here...?"
According to the village's seniority system, Cao Hong should call Wang Tianxiao "grandfather," which is just a common way of addressing him.
Cao Hong's eyes fell on the Wang Tianxiao brothers, and his small eyes held a hint of inquiry.
However, Wang Tiancheng didn't want Cao Hong to know about the wild rabbit, so he became even more nervous and his expression became somewhat unnatural, which aroused Cao Hong's suspicion even more.
"Just came back from outside."
Wang Tianxiao didn't want to have too much to do with Cao Hong, so he said something indifferently, bypassed Cao Hong and continued forward, with Wang Tiancheng hurriedly following behind.
Cao Hong looked at the two men's backs with a face full of doubt, shook his head, pushed the bag on his back up a bit, and hurried home before dawn.
After returning home, Wang Tianxiao first blew out the cold air at the entrance of his cave dwelling before pushing the door open and going inside.
Li Yali woke up early and was still sewing shoe soles. Seeing Wang Tianxiao's face, which was blue with cold and exhausted, she said with heartache, "Why did you stay out all night in this cold weather?"
Then, noticing the two bags on Wang Tianxiao's back, his eyes lit up. "He actually picked up so many, it's like he just picked them up off the street."
"Of course, for your man, catching a few wild rabbits is a very simple thing."
"You're bragging again, look at how capable you are," Li Yali brushed the hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear and said with a playful laugh, "Tiancheng, aren't you going to leave some for the child?"
"Yes, I will. Once I sell it and make money, I'll share it with Tiancheng. If he takes it in, there's also Lao Liu inside. If Lao Liu knows, Lao Si will know too, then..."
Li Yali gave a wry smile. Her husband hadn't finished speaking, but she understood what he meant.
She is simply kind and gentle, not unintelligent.
"There's still hot water in the kettle, so quickly soak your feet and come up for a nap."
"No, thank you," Wang Tianxiao said, picking up the thermos and pouring some water into the enamel basin. While washing his face, he said, "I'm going to take the rabbits to the city later. I can sell them for a good price while they're still alive. If they die in a day, not many people will want dead rabbits."
"The city?" Li Yali's gentle eyes were full of concern. "That's more than 30 miles away. Can your body handle it? You didn't sleep all night."
"It's alright, I'm very strong. Every time I go back to work, it takes me a whole day and night to ride back, and I'm never exhausted." In his previous life, Wang Tianxiao didn't communicate much with his wife when they were young, mainly because he was rather dull and withdrawn, so his wife was gradually influenced and didn't talk much either.
Throughout his life, he has absorbed many trendy ideas and witnessed the sweet talk of young people in the new era when they talk to their lovers. Therefore, compared to before, he knows many more ways to please women.
Li Yali, a girl born in the early 1960s, had never encountered such a slightly greasy way of speaking before, and was completely unable to handle it. She could only laugh at his shamelessness over and over again.
"By the way, shopkeeper, how many days will you be staying at home this time?"
When the topic of his workplace comes up, Wang Tianxiao has mixed feelings. The forest farm holds his youthful memories, but also his disappointments. Regardless, he can never go back to the neighboring county. Life is short, and being with his wife and children is the greatest happiness.
He's been reborn, so how could his life possibly have no chance of turning around?
As long as he is good at business and rides the wave of the times, he can also learn from others and become a trendsetter in the mountains.
"One week, but I will resign after one week. I don't plan to do this anymore."
"How can this be?!" Li Yali was very nervous. "No matter how tough the forest farm is, it's a government job with a guaranteed income, unlike us ordinary people who can only toil in the fields to make a living."
Wang Tianxiao knew why his wife thought that way. Not to mention the limitations of people in this era, even more than 30 years later, many young people's only dream is to pass the civil service exam and get a government job. This is why there is a saying that the end of the universe is to pass the civil service exam.
Not only does having a government job guarantee a stable income, but it also provides social status.
Unlike farmers who work hard to cultivate the land, they are still looked down upon when they go out into the world. This is a remnant of thousands of years of feudal ideology and a manifestation of their inherent inferiority.
Some people feel that those who work for the government are superior to ordinary people.
"There's no place like home," Wang Tianxiao said, checking on the rabbits and setting aside the three less lively ones.
“I still want to stay near our home so I can be with you and the kids. Besides, with your abilities as a man, you wouldn’t let your wife and kids go hungry, would you?”
"Heh, Comrade Wang Tianxiao, I've noticed that you haven't accomplished much since you came back, but you're already bragging like the sky is the limit, as if no one in the world is as good as you."
His wife jokingly laughed.
"Don't you know how strong I am?" Wang Tianxiao looked at his wife meaningfully.
Li Yali didn't react at first, but just laughed like she was coaxing a child, "Strong, strong, strong, my man is the strongest, the best in the world, okay? Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Haha, it's alright, it's barely passable."
"But then again, shopkeeper, I have no objection to whatever you do. You can make up your own mind. As long as you are healthy and our family can live peacefully, I will be content."
Li Yali stroked her belly, her face full of maternal tenderness. Recently, the baby had started kicking her belly.
She actually longed for a man to be by her side; what woman would want to spend every day alone in an empty room?
"It's getting late. I'm going to the city now. It's over 30 li away, and the roads are slippery and difficult to walk. It'll probably take two hours. Lao Wu is home today. If it's inconvenient for you, you can ask him. I've already spoken to him."
Wang Tianxiao looked at the sky outside the window and said.
"Yes, I know, don't worry. I've managed just fine even when you're not around."
Wang Tianxiao nodded, picked up the bag of rabbits, and went out the door.
Early in the morning, he wanted to stay with his wife on the kang (a heated brick bed), but life wouldn't allow it.
There are a lot of problems right now, and without quickly earning enough to live a basic standard of living, this knot cannot be untied completely.
If he hadn't had no other choice, he wouldn't have been able to stay in that pit-dwelling courtyard for even a day longer.
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