In 1983, a small island started from a large farmer

The day of winter solstice.

The hot glutinous rice balls were just taken out of the big iron pot and rolled twice in a sauce pan filled with soybean powder, crushed peanuts and white sugar.

It was done in the blink of an eye. Li Duoyu quickly picked up the rice with chopsticks and put it in his mouth to eat.

"Hot, hot, hot!"

Chen Huiying, who was picking up dumplings, said disdainfully: "You are so old, but you are still so greedy. Eat too much. Be careful of getting a stomachache."

Li Duoyu chuckled. This thing tastes best when it is hot. He also often ate it during the winter solstice in his previous life.

But it no longer has the same feeling as it did at that time. I always feel that eating together when everyone is here is a particularly happy thing.

Li Duoyu couldn't help but praise: "I feel that the rice cooked by my mother is the best in our Dandan Island."

Chen Huiying frowned and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Your aunt did better than me."

"How can they be compared? My mother's work is definitely better." Li Duoyu asked Li Puyi who was sitting next to "Guaiguai".

"Isn't it that rice cooked by grandma tastes the best?"

Little Tutu, who was fixed on the bamboo chair, seemed very unhappy and muttered, "Dried figs (dried radish) are much more delicious than this."

All the adults present looked at Xiao Tutu, and then immediately looked at Li Haoran who was eating rice silently.

Zhou Xiaoying asked with a smile: "Who gave you the dried figs?"

Li Haoran, who was eating rice, froze on the spot, swallowed the rice in one gulp, and said quickly:

"When I went to the cooperative yesterday, Xiao Tutu happened to find me and I bought him a small bag."

Chen Huiying, who was picking up dumplings, said angrily, "Little Tutu doesn't like to eat, so you are not allowed to buy snacks for him in the future, okay?"

"Got it, Grandma."

"Then why can my brother eat it but I can't?"

Li Duoyu pinched his little face and said, "If you are willing to eat well, Daddy can buy you food."

"Okay, I'll have two bowls of noodles today."

Li Duoyu had a look of disgust on his face. He was too familiar with his son. He said nice things to him but would start to cheat after eating only half a bowl of food.

Other people’s children don’t have enough to eat, but why is it that his children have turned into little brats who don’t like to eat?

Could this be the retribution for making too much money?
Zhou Xiaoying was also overwhelmed, and finally handed the task of feeding to her mother. She found that she really did not have the patience and could not take care of her own child.

In the courtyard, Lao Li kept pacing, unable to sit still. He would check the alarm clock from time to time, his eyes fixed on the sea, and he would mutter:

"What's going on with the ferry today? Why hasn't it arrived yet? Is it waiting for someone again?"

On the day of the winter solstice, most of the villagers on Dandan Island will go home. For them, the festive atmosphere of the winter solstice is even more lively than that of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Because the winter solstice has special significance for both farmers and fishermen.

This day is also the day with the shortest day and the longest night in the year.

After the winter solstice, the cold air arrives and people will start to count the nine cold days.

Every nine days is called "nine", and after eighty-one days, peach blossoms will bloom, which means the arrival of spring.

For ancient fishermen, after the winter solstice was the time to dry the nets, because the big fish all went to the deep sea to spend the winter, and thus became difficult to catch.

Over time, it became a custom that on the day of the winter solstice, the fishermen would come back to celebrate the festival, and on this day not only would everyone eat "yuan" (round dumplings), but every household would also worship their ancestors.

This year's winter solstice, eldest brother Li Jinchuan also came back, and Li Duoyu only found out about it in the morning.

"Next time, tell Big Brother to call directly and I can go to Rongcheng to pick them up. It will save them the trouble of taking the bus with two children."

Chen Huiying replied: "Your brother said that he was worried that you were too busy and was sorry to bother you."

"We are all brothers. It would be a bit strange to be so polite."

Old Li, who was smoking a cigarette in the courtyard, looked anxious and muttered, "This Old Zhang is becoming more and more unreliable. The ferry is already half an hour late. How about we take a boat to see what's going on? I wonder if he's waiting for some reckless guy again."

Chen Huiying said speechlessly: "Why are you in such a hurry? The ferry on our island is not particularly punctual. It will only depart when the ferry is full. Today is the winter solstice, so there will definitely be people waiting."

Old Li said disdainfully: "If there are too many people, we can make one more trip. The boat is not very big. If there are so many people, the food will not taste good. It will be very uncomfortable for the children."

Everyone naturally knew that Lao Li was worried about his grandson. After all, the eldest brother brought the child back to the island this time.

At this moment, Li Haoran pointed to a corner of the island and said, "Grandpa, the ship seems to be coming."

When Lao Li saw the boat, he continued to curse: "Why is it so slow?"

After saying that, he washed his hands and trotted towards the pier.

Seeing the boat coming, Li Duoyu quickly stuffed another bowl of rice into his mouth and followed Lao Li. His elder brother had returned, and it would be a bit unreasonable for a "local boss" like him not to go and greet him.

About twenty minutes later, the ferry slowly docked, and even the deck was filled with people, more than twice as many as usual.

Before the boat even docked, young people on the deck jumped off the ferry by stepping on the tires.

On the other hand, those in the cabin were more obedient, and some even shouted, "Don't crowd, let the women and children go first."

Because Jiang Yuqin was holding a child, everyone let her get off the boat first, and the captain even tightened the ropes to move the boat closer to the dock.

Seeing Jiang Yuqin holding the child through the cabin door, Lao Li hurried over and stretched out his hand to protect the mother and child.

After all, there is a gap between the ship and the dock. If you fall in and are squeezed, it could be fatal.

Since Li Duoyu was standing at the door, he kept saying, "Don't be anxious, sister-in-law. Go slowly."

No one dared to push and they all waited for Jiang Yuqin and the little girl beside her to arrive at the dock before they dared to leave the cabin.

This time when they came back, my eldest brother and sister-in-law were both dressed rather simply, and my eldest brother was just wearing ordinary work clothes.

Compared with the year before, this year's big brother does have a leadership style.

My sister-in-law may have just given birth to a child not long ago. She looks a little swollen, probably because she is breastfeeding. Her overall clothing is loose and not as exquisite as before.

Next to the two of them was a girl with a dimple on one side. When she saw Li Duoyu and Lao Li, she hurriedly said, "Hello, Grandpa and Uncle."

Being called so enthusiastically, Lao Li was a little overwhelmed and replied helplessly: "Hello, Xiao Min."

Li Duoyu smiled and said, "I'm in the first year of high school this year."

Jiang Yuqin said: "Xiao Min didn't go to high school. She was admitted to an art school."

“That’s amazing.”

Jiang Yuqin didn't want to say much. In order to get into the art school, Jinchuan used a lot of connections and treated her to many meals to get her in.

Li Duoyu glanced at the child in Jiang Yuqin's arms. His eyes were closed and he was sleeping soundly. Jiang Yuqin smiled and said, "Every day he eats and sleeps, and he rarely opens his eyes."

Li Duoyu smiled and said, "All children are like this."

Although Old Li washed his hands and wanted to hug the child, he didn't dare to say it. He just looked at his grandson with a smile on his face.

At this moment, Li Duoyu finally understood what inter-generational affection meant. His eldest brother Li Jinchuan had been standing there for such a long time, but Old Li had never opened his eyes to look at him, and his attention was all on this child.

"There are too many people at the dock. Let's go home first."

At this moment, a man with a pale face walked down the cabin, then immediately squatted down and started vomiting.

After seeing him, Li Duoyu looked extremely disgusted: "He grew up on an island and he still gets seasick."

Zhang Defa cursed: "I'm not like you guys who drive around in a boat every day. I only take a boat a few times a year."

"Fuck you, give me a cigarette so I can take a break."

"You don't have any cigarettes yourself."

"I'm still a student, okay? I don't have money, I can't afford it."

Li Duoyu said speechlessly: "How can you pursue Yao Xue if you are like this? You don't want her to support you, do you?"

"You are right. She is the one supporting me now. She not only washes my clothes and cooks for me, but also buys study materials for me."

Li Duoyu was stunned for a moment. Fortunately, the one he was dating was not Xiao Rong. If he knew that his little sister was supporting a man in this way, he would kick her.

Li Duoyu couldn't help but ask, "When will you graduate?"

"It will take another three years."

After hearing this, Li Duoyu suddenly felt a little emotional. It is really not easy to study medicine, and it is really difficult to make it through.

Li Duoyu casually threw a pack of cigarettes over, and Zhang Defa said with a smile: "As a big boss, if you don't smoke imported cigarettes, it will be beneath your status."

"It's good enough if you can smoke it. You're still picky. If you don't like it, just give it back to me."

Zhang Defa quickly put the cigarette in his pocket. He hesitated for a while, then said, "Actually, I came back this time specifically to see you."

Seeing Zhang Defa's shy look, Li Duoyu chuckled and said, "You asked me to do this. You are going to marry Yao Xue, and your mother-in-law asked you to buy four big items, right?"

Zhang Defa was quite speechless: "Not so fast, I haven't even met her parents yet, but I plan to move out of school and rent a house outside."

Before he could finish, Li Duoyu said on the spot: "Come to our company as a medical consultant and be responsible for the health issues of our employees. While you are in school, I will give you a subsidy of 80 yuan every month."

Zhang Defa was dumbfounded. He was really trapped by money recently and had no other options. He needed money to study, to give gifts to his tutor occasionally, and even to go out for dinner with Yao Xue.

Although the money is currently paid by Yao Xue, this is not a solution. If he continues to study for another three years, he and Yao Xue will both be thirty years old.

Even if the two of them were not in a hurry, the girl's parents would have been anxious to death, not to mention Yao Xue's relatives, each of whom was more anxious than them.

In short, he is in urgent need of financial resources now, but he knows very well that it is very difficult to become a doctor unless one is well-educated and lucky like Li Xiaorong.

Now he is specializing in oncology under the guidance of his mentor. He is very busy every day. Sometimes, he even has to skip classes to help out, so it is difficult for him to earn extra money.

"No kidding, give me 80, I don't have that much time, I can only stay in your company for two days a month at most."

"Two days is enough."

Li Duoyu suddenly remembered something, that is, Lao Li and Xiaoying both passed away because of bad things, and Zhang Defa happened to be in the oncology department.

Under the current circumstances, my old classmate can at least get the position of director.

Having a classmate who is the director of the oncology department makes me feel quite safe.

"Is your hospital importing a CT machine this year?"

Zhang Defa was very surprised: "Wow, Director Li is really very capable. You even know that this thing is called a CT machine."

"You must be joking. How can you make so much money if you are not good? I want my parents to go for a check-up. Can you arrange a time for them?"

Zhang Defa thought for a moment and said, "Okay, no problem. I'll take care of it."

Just when Li Duoyu thought that everyone had left, his third uncle came out of the cabin with a snakeskin sack on his shoulder.

Behind him followed a young man with an almost bald head. He kept his head down out of habit, and seemed reluctant to leave this small space. He was also afraid of the sunlight outside.

Uncle San saw Li Duoyu and said to the young man behind him: "Your brother is here, go say hello to him quickly."

When Li Duoyu saw the young man in front of him, the memory of death suddenly attacked him.

When he came out of prison that year, it was Lao Li who went to pick him up. The situation now is exactly the same.

Maybe because I was used to living in a cramped house, I was afraid of open spaces. Most importantly, I didn’t know how to face the villagers and relatives again.

Someone once said that once you go to jail, your life is ruined, and it is indeed true.

In his previous life, after Li Duoyu came back, he had been hiding secretly at home. The label of a labor camp prisoner made him always incompatible with normal people. Even the factory didn't want him, which eventually made him choose to smuggle himself.

Li Yujun scratched his head and said with a little embarrassment: "Brother, you haven't left yet."

Li Duoyu smiled and said, "If you left, I would have almost missed picking you up."

Maybe because Li Duoyu had such an experience before, he could especially understand Li Yujun's current mood.

Li Duoyu patted him on the shoulder and said, "What happened in the past is in the past. Go home and rest for a few days, and then work hard next time."

After hearing this, Li Yujun instinctively stood up and said, "I understand."

Li Duoyu couldn't help but laugh. If someone suddenly called his name when he wasn't paying attention, he might actually shout, "Here."

Since Li Yujun was not very tall, only about 1.67 meters, Li Duoyu glanced at him from a high position.

It was discovered that there was a place on Li Yujun's scalp where there was no hair. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that there was a wound on his head.

Li Duoyu couldn't help but ask: "When did you get this wound?"

“I was beaten as soon as I entered.”

Uncle San sighed and said, "That place is really bad. Once people know that your family has some money, you will be beaten if you go in. The more severe the beating, the more willing your family will be to pay protection money."

"We also saw that the Yu Army was beaten so badly, so we send money there every year."

In fact, his cousin was not a bad guy, he just had bad luck. Li Duoyu said, "Go home and have a rest first, we will go to worship our ancestors together later."

After hearing this, Li Yujun's eyes turned red on the spot. What he regretted most until now was that he couldn't see his grandma for the last time.

He was raised by his grandmother since he was a child. When he thought that his grandmother had been gone for nearly two years, Li Yujun, who would not cry even when being beaten in prison, burst into tears on the spot.

"Brother, I was wrong. I was really wrong. I should have listened to you at that time." (End of this chapter)