He was unwilling to step away from business day after day. After the Mid-Autumn Festival rush, he was so exhausted his head swam, and this outing was just to catch his breath.
He kept chattering, while Li Feng poured bowl after bowl of wine.
When the topic of marriage came up, Chen Laomo talked back and argued with him.
“You’re biased. You only ever think of Big Brother. Don’t think I don’t know—you still want to split half the money from the tofu workshop with him. Why? Am I not your son? If I don’t fight for myself, I’m the family’s donkey! If you won’t find me a wife, I’ll find one myself!”
Li Feng didn’t stop him. He turned to Chen Laomo and said, “I understand you. I know you’ve had it hard.”
Then he poured several more bowls of wine for Chen Laomo as well.
It had been a long time since the two of them drank so freely. The more they talked, the more worked up they became, both grabbing at Li Feng to air their grievances. In the end, it all came down to money.
Chen Laomo had gotten married, and Li Feng hadn’t given a wedding gift yet—that really wasn’t right. Better to take out the silver today and settle it.
The eldest son still hadn’t arranged a marriage. With things already this chaotic, how could Li Feng bear it? His business had already reached the prefectural city; this bit of silver was nothing. He might as well give it all together.
Now that both sons were married, how could they keep living behind the workshop? People couldn’t be expected to sleep in the livestock shed forever. They wanted to rent a small courtyard and asked Li Feng if he had any ideas.
Old Man Chen also said he couldn’t do heavy labor anymore. He’d never hired help in his whole life. Speaking drunkenly and without reserve, he said even Lu Yang’s small shop had hired four people, so he wanted a helper too.
His vision swayed. Seeing Li Feng nod, he changed his tune: “Hire two… hire three… hire four!”
Chen Laomo drank too much, staggered to his feet, and went to the latrine.
Li Feng led the way, taking him to the back courtyard.
The back courtyard had makeshift pens—dogs, mules, rabbits, and chickens.
Before entering the latrine, Chen Laomo spotted the last three and said to Li Feng, “You keep so many at home, you can’t finish them anyway. Later, grab us some rabbits and chickens to take back to the county to eat.”
Li Feng narrowed his eyes. “You’ve got some nerve.”
Little Liu had just cried over the chickens and rabbits not long ago. Killing one male rabbit today was only because they didn’t need extra breeding stock. Giving them away for free? Not a chance.
Chen Laomo swayed off to relieve himself. When he came out, he saw Erhuang circling Li Feng. He stared at Erhuang with a hungry look. Back at the table, he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
A drunk has no restraint. He asked Li Feng, “Have you ever eaten dog meat? You raise dogs—you must have eaten it, right? I’ve never had dog meat. They say it’s good to eat in winter…”
Erhuang wasn’t tied up. When Li Feng went to the front, Erhuang followed. Chen Laomo stared outside again, giving Erhuang that hungry look once more, drool nearly spilling out.
Old Man Chen still had a shred of sense. Seeing Li Feng’s face darken, he reached out to cover Chen Laomo’s mouth, telling him to shut up.
Father and son had just aired their grievances, despising each other, both full of bitterness. At a moment like this, how would a son listen when his father spoke?
Li Feng said, “I invited you for a meal. Since you want to eat dog meat, come with me.”
Chen Laomo praised him as generous and loyal and followed him out the door.
The moment they stepped outside, Li Feng grabbed Chen Laomo by the collar and slammed him onto the open ground of the courtyard. He put two fingers to his lips and blew a sharp whistle. Hearing it, Erhuang lunged at Chen Laomo.
Old Man Chen sobered up in terror. He wanted to save his son, but his legs had no strength. He could only clutch Li Feng’s arm and beg.
The commotion outside was so loud that the three people in the kitchen all came out.
It was the first time Lu Liu had seen Erhuang pounce on someone. He froze in fright. Then he saw that Erhuang was only pinning Chen Laomo with his front paws, jaws clenched tight, a warning growl rumbling in his throat. He wasn’t biting. Chen Laomo, clearly lacking any judgment, kept struggling, again and again being pinned down, making the situation look dire.
Just then, Wang Meng and Er Jun arrived as agreed to help out. Seeing Erhuang fighting with someone in the yard, they hurried in and looked to Li Feng.
“Da Feng, what’s going on? Tell Erhuang to let go. It’s still an animal—if it bites wrong and gets the neck, that’s deadly.”
Li Feng said, “He wants to eat Erhuang.”
Wang Meng and Er Jun both froze. They’d grown up in the mountain stronghold, hunters by trade, and had never heard of anyone wanting to eat dog meat.
For a moment they thought they’d misheard. When they realized it was true, the way they looked at Chen Laomo turned ugly.
Li Feng explained the reason. After thinking it over, Lu Liu still tried to persuade him.
Before the meal, he had asked Li Feng why he was being so generous inviting people to drink. Li Feng had been afraid he’d lose control and beat someone to death.
Now Li Feng had been drinking and his temper was provoked. Erhuang was obedient, but Chen Laomo wasn’t. If he attacked Erhuang and pushed the dog too far, one bite to the neck and it would all be over.
Lu Liu wanted to go over to Li Feng, but Chen Guizhi supported him, holding his arm and not letting him go.
Old Man Chen lay beside Li Feng like a heap of mud, writhing. With Lu Liu’s big belly, what if he got bumped?
So Lu Liu shouted to Li Feng, “Da Feng, tell Erhuang to stop! Just let it go. Don’t you still have things to do? You can deal with them later. I’ll make Erhuang something good to eat. Don’t be angry!”
Li Feng could hold his liquor and wasn’t drunk. His eyes had been on Erhuang the whole time. When Lu Liu spoke up, he called Erhuang back. The dog returned obediently. Chen Laomo still lay where he was, kicking and flailing, having wet his pants in fright.
There was no need to waste food or wine anymore. Li Feng set out at once, sending the Chen father and son up into the mountains.
To outsiders, he said his father-in-law and brother-in-law had gotten drunk and were throwing a drunken fit, insisting on going into the mountains to play. With no choice, he took them to stay there for a couple of days.
They entered the mountains that day. Li Feng wouldn’t return that night; he planned to go farther ahead to dig up ginseng.
Wang Meng would also stay in the mountains, mainly in Da Qiang’s hunting grounds. Both of them brought weapons.
Er Jun had come from New Village and hadn’t brought any weapons.
He even told Li Feng to wait. “I’ll go with you. The deep mountains are too far and too dangerous. Last time we even ran into a wolf pack.”
Li Feng shook his head. “No need. I’ll go straight through without stopping. Five days round trip. You, San Miao, and Si Hou collect more mushrooms. I’ll head down as soon as I’m back.”
The forest was vast. A five-day round trip to the deep mountains meant going day and night without rest.
Er Jun looked at Wang Meng’s weapons, took his spear, and went with Li Feng.
Da Qiang’s hunting grounds were close. They didn’t stop along the way and delivered the men by nightfall.
The two were sleeping like dead pigs. Wang Meng would have to make do with them for the night.
Unable to stand the stench of urine on Chen Laomo, Wang Meng stripped off his pants, dug a pit outside, and buried them.
Li Feng and Er Jun continued deeper into the mountains.
Down the mountain, Lu Liu and his mother tidied up the small shop and the kitchen. Shun Ge’er took a shovel, scraped up the soil and gravel in the yard, turned it over, rinsed it with water, spread some stove ash on top, and tamped the stones flat again.
That night, Lu Liu indeed made Erhuang a good meal. The dog had no idea why it suddenly got extra food again and ate happily.
Lu Liu said, “A dumb dog has good fortune.”
He slept alone that night. Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn reunion; today, he was all by himself.
He had asked Li Feng why he was in such a rush to dig up ginseng. Li Feng told him it was because Lu Yang had changed his prescription.
The new nourishing formula used ginseng, but Lu Yang had none left.
The ginseng Xie Yan bought earlier had already been used in medicine. Lu Yang had made a trip to the prefectural city and used most of it up. Staying at home lately, it was probably all gone.
Even after digging ginseng, it would take time to prepare the medicine. He might be able to take the new medicine in September.
A trip to the prefectural city would take up a whole month. If they delayed, the year would be over. Better to do it early.
Lu Liu was deeply moved. He didn’t have much ability—he was only good at making people happy and couldn’t really do anything for his brother. Da Feng held up the sky for him; what he cared about, Da Feng treated as his own concern.
Lu Liu forced himself to close his eyes and sleep. When he couldn’t, he counted mountain after mountain, tree after tree—counting until he fell asleep. The next morning, he got up and sorted fabric, sewing clothes whenever he could.
The shoes he made for his brother were already finished, just waiting to be delivered to the county. Now he could start making a padded winter coat for Li Feng.
