Chapter 124

"Why don't we go to the Dongdan Vegetable Market and have a look. If there really isn't any, I'll go to the factory guesthouse and get some."

As the deputy factory director, Li Jiandong was in charge of all the entertainment supplies that belonged to him. They were all unplanned and he could buy them with his own money if he didn't need them.

This is also why factory managers at this level don’t have to worry about not having food to eat. It’s a kind of hidden benefit.

It’s just that this kind of thing is hard to say and it’s easy to make others jealous if they see it.

Li Jiandong usually wouldn't go to get the meat in broad daylight. Even if he wanted to, he would wait until all the workers and cadres had left after working overtime that day.

The same thing happened to Xu Damao at the Agricultural Research Institute. The director of the institute was one level higher than the director of the steel mill, so he knew very well that it was inconvenient to get the meat during the day.

So he said:

"Forget it, let's go back and see if other people have any. If they do, let's borrow some. Didn't the Third Uncle plan to bring a fish? I'll go shoot a few sparrows when we get back. It's just a meal, at least it will be enough."

Xu Damao didn't want to cause trouble for Li Jiandong. It wasn't like he had nothing to do. He could normally eat steamed bread and pickles, so what would be wrong with eating less meat?
When Li Jiandong heard about playing mahjong, he was also a little tempted.

His sharpshooter skill was already one level away from reaching the maximum level.

Unfortunately, Xu Damao didn't hunt much this year, and Li Jiandong's experience as a sharpshooter didn't increase much.

Now he is still short of more than 10,000 experience points, which is about the cost of one hundred sparrows. Although Li Jiandong does not really need the sharpshooter skill, he wants to see what special skills he can get as a reward after reaching the maximum level.

So he nodded and said:
"Then let's go back and borrow some meat, and then go to the eastern suburbs to hunt sparrows. There are a lot of sparrows there, and it will only take a short drive to get there."

"Row."

Xu Damao carried the vegetables into the car and Li Jiandong also sat in the driver's seat.

I sent the dishes back first, then asked other people and found out that Xu Damao wanted to set up a few tables when he returned.

Several families who had just bought meat gave away their own meat first.

However, there is a limit on the amount of meat you can buy now. Each person can only buy two taels. The total amount of meat from these households is only eight taels, which is less than one catty.

So after lunch, Li Jiandong took his slingshot and drove Xu Damao to a reservoir in the eastern suburbs.

There are grass, trees and water here, and there is a wheat field not far away. It is the favorite place for sparrows to stay, because there are many insects and grass seeds in the grass, and there is water to drink in the reservoir. If you throw a stone there, a large group of sparrows will fly up with a "whoosh". Some people can shoot down several sparrows with one shot from a shotgun.

After arriving at the place, Li Jiandong and Xu Damao first picked up small stones.

Each of them picked up two trouser pockets, and then took a vegetable basket to catch sparrows.

[Ding your apprentice Xu Damao, hit a sparrow with a slingshot, and you will be rewarded with 100 points of sharpshooter experience. ]

[Ding your apprentice Xu Damao, hit a sparrow with a slingshot, and you will be rewarded with 100 points of sharpshooter experience. ]

【Bell your apprentice】

The reminder sound keeps ringing.

Finally, at around three o'clock in the afternoon, the sound of the skill reaching full level was heard.

[Ding your apprentice Xu Damao, hit a sparrow with a slingshot, and you will be rewarded with 100 points of sharpshooter experience. ]

[Your sharpshooter skill has reached the maximum level, and you have acquired the unique skill: Clairvoyance (master)/Eagle Eyes (apprentice).]

Li Jiandong only felt a coolness in his eyes, and quickly opened the disciple-recruiting system.

【clairvoyance】

When you focus your attention in one direction, your line of sight will quickly extend forward, and if there is no obstruction you can clearly see targets thousands of miles away.

【Eagle Eye】

Possessing eyes like an eagle, it can easily see targets within ten miles.

People can easily see things dozens of miles away if there are no obstacles, but it is impossible to see clearly.

Moreover, the target dozens of miles away must be large enough; if it is too small, it will not be visible.

Now Li Jiandong can not only see thousands of miles away, but he can also see very clearly.

However, the prerequisite is that there must be no obstruction, which greatly limits the effectiveness of the clairvoyance.

But even if you can't see a thousand miles away, seeing ten or a hundred miles away is enough.

"Eh? Master, my eyesight seems to have become stronger."

At this time, Xu Damao also felt that his eyes suddenly saw more clearly.

He could even see the sparrows blinking on the branches more than ten meters away.

However, he did not suspect the system, and of course he could not understand such a thing as a system.

He thought that his eyesight had been improved by aiming at sparrows for a long time and exercising regularly.

"Really? Then you can kill a few more. I'll take a rest first."

Li Jiandong put away the slingshot. In the past two hours, they had shot nearly two hundred sparrows. If this happened in later times, the offender would be sentenced to ten years in prison.

This is enough to eat, and Li Jiandong now wants to try his clairvoyance.

Concentrating his mind and looking in one direction, Li Jiandong's vision quickly extended outward. The feeling was very wonderful, just like carrying a telescope.

It’s a pity that the surrounding terrain is relatively low, and any extension of a few miles will be blocked by hillsides or something else.

"When I go hunting in the mountains at the end of the year, I should be able to use my clairvoyance from the top of the mountain."

Li Jiandong thought that if nothing unexpected happened this year, there would still be a shortage of meat in the village.

With the clairvoyance, Li Jiandong can find wild boars more easily, and hunting will become more fun.

But let’s forget it today.

Li Jiandong was just about to look away when he suddenly spotted a hidden figure out of the corner of his eye.

This person was at least a thousand meters away from Li Jiandong. He was lying on a patch of grass in the distance, looking at Li Jiandong with a telescope in his hand.

Li Jiandong's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be an enemy spy?
Acting stealthily, holding a telescope and hiding in the distance to observe, this is the precise image of an enemy spy.

Moreover, Li Jiandong's current identity is also worthy of the attention of enemy agents.

After all, he had successively developed hydraulic excavators and several hydraulic shock absorbers and power-assisting devices for automobiles.

Mechanical things are not only valued by our country, but also by foreign countries.

It is understandable that they sent people to keep an eye on him, and it is even possible that they would send people to assassinate him.

Thinking of this, Li Jiandong couldn't help but shudder.

Although his dynamic vision can clearly see the trajectory of bullets, it is almost impossible for him to be assassinated in a frontal combat.

But what if someone suddenly shoots you from behind?

What if poisoning is used?

This was the second time Li Jiandong had foreseen enemy spies, and he had no idea what these people would do.

But he must be vigilant. It would be best to catch the person and interrogate him thoroughly, find out who is behind this and catch them all in one fell swoop.

However, just when Li Jiandong was about to call Xu Damao to drive after him.

The person on the opposite side suddenly put down the telescope, then lay down in the grass and retreated, disappearing in less than two seconds.

"Oh no, we've been discovered?"

Li Jiandong glared and wanted to rush into the car and chase after him.

But soon he stopped and slowly calmed down.

The other party must have noticed that I was staring at that place and became alert, so he retreated.

However, at such a long distance, the other party didn't know that he had clairvoyance. Even if he had doubts, he couldn't be sure that he had really discovered him.

If I chase after him, it would be equivalent to confirming the other party's guess. If I fail to catch up with him, it would be easy to alert the enemy.

By then, if they find someone else to keep an eye on me, I will have no clues at all.

Now, Li Jiandong has remembered the other person's appearance, if he tracks him again.

Li Jiandong was confident that he could take him down quickly. His sharpshooter skills were even better than his pistol skills. Within 30 meters, he could easily make the opponent lose his combat effectiveness and the chance to escape.

"Master, what do you see?"

Xu Damao suddenly asked.

He just saw Li Jiandong suddenly rush forward two steps, and then suddenly stop where he was. This action seemed a bit strange, so he asked this question.

Li Jiandong shook his head:

"Nothing, I thought I saw a rabbit, but I was wrong."

Li Jiandong did not tell Xu Damao that he had seen a suspected enemy spy.

Telling him about this would not help at all. Instead, Xu Damao's overreaction might arouse suspicion from enemy agents.

As for whether the target of this enemy spy is Xu Damao, this point can also be ignored.

After all, Xu Damao was away from home all year round, so even if the enemy spies were targeting him, they should have been targeting him in the south. Moreover, he was studying agriculture, and the enemy spies paid relatively less attention to agriculture. Most importantly, Xu Damao was only a member of the hybrid rice team, so even if they were targeting him, they should have been targeting the senior leaders of the Agricultural Research Institute.

"Let's continue. We'll go back after we kill a few more." Li Jiandong pretended to be calm and asked Xu Damao to continue killing sparrows. He had to act out the whole act.

If we leave now, the enemy spies might still get suspicious if we see them.

While he picked up the slingshot to shoot sparrows, he was already thinking about how to catch this enemy spy.

It is certain that you have to pay more attention to it at ordinary times, but you can't guarantee when the other party will appear and where he will appear. If you want to catch the enemy spy, the best way is to set a trap for him so that he has to show up.

Once his mind was opened, Li Jiandong slowly began to come up with ideas.

After playing for a while, Li Jiandong asked Xu Damao to get in the car, and then the two drove back to the courtyard together.

This time they killed more sparrows. Li Jiandong and Xu Damao could be said to have hit every target with their bullets. In more than two hours they killed more than 300 sparrows, almost filling up a vegetable basket.

There were so many sparrows that they couldn't eat them all by themselves, so Li Jiandong asked Xu Damao to take the basket and give a few sparrows to each family.

There were 20 households in the courtyard. Those with smaller populations got seven or eight sparrows, and those with larger populations got more than ten. After all were distributed, there were still fifty or sixty sparrows left, which was enough for Li Jiandong and his family to eat in the evening.

He Daqing came to the backyard before four o'clock to prepare dinner.

Yan Bugui also came back early, with a big carp weighing more than three kilograms in the bucket.

"Great, Old Yan, you really caught a big fish. This fish must be more than three pounds, right?"

He Daqing saw Yan Bugui coming back with the fish and joked with a smile.

Yan Bugui flattened his mouth and said, "What? This is what I bought. There were at least a hundred people fishing today, and only a few big fish were caught. The others were taken away by the restaurant. This one was caught by my colleague and I bought it."

One hundred people is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that there are a lot of people fishing.

The main thing is that there is nothing else to do besides fishing, so even catching a small crucian carp is better than nothing.

Of course, some people do odd jobs on weekends to earn some pocket money, but odd jobs are generally tiring, such as going to the grain station to carry rice and flour, or going into the mountains with the team to cut wood.

How could a "weak scholar" like Yan Bugui have the energy to do those things?

Maybe you'll be exhausted after a day's work, and the little money you earn won't even be enough for medicine.

Yan Bugui is such a calculating person that he would never do such a stupid thing as risking his life for money.

"Old Yan, I'm sorry to have cost you so much money. It's just a fish. You won't lose out if you can taste the cooking skills of the Qing Dynasty."

Xu Fugui also came out to make fun of Yan Bugui.

People often make fun of him, but Yan Bugui doesn't get angry. He just laughs and says, "That's right. It's been a while since I've eaten food cooked by Daqing. The last time was when my son Jie Cheng and Yu Li got married."

He Daqing also said:

"If you want to eat, it's easy. Hurry up and help Damao get married soon. I'll cook for you then."

Yan Bugui said:

"Why are you rushing Damao? Your Zhuzi hasn't gotten married yet, right, Lao Li?"

Li Jiandong was listening beside him without interrupting.

Hearing this, he also laughed:

“Zhu Zi really should consider this, and Damao should also make plans sooner if he has the chance.

His current job lasts for more than half a year, and he works hard all day, so he doesn't have much time to find a partner."

Since going to the countryside and starting to do farm work, Xu Damao's entire personality has changed.

He used to be a bit cunning, but now he has become much more simple.

He seemed to have lost interest in women.

When the courtyard was marrying beautiful women one after another, Xu Damao used to be envious.

He even secretly set a goal for himself that when he finds a wife in the future, he must find one who is similar to the women in the courtyard.

However, he himself did not realize that in the past two years, it seemed that all his energy was focused on hybrid rice, and he had not thought about women for a long time.

Especially after he went to the countryside and saw those hungry and skinny children, Xu Damao developed a sense of responsibility and focused more on farming. He even put his family behind his mind, let alone dating.

"Hehe, Deputy Director Li is right. My Damao really doesn't have time to date, so his mother and I have already helped him find a girlfriend, but I don't know if it will work out."

Xu Fugui suddenly burst into laughter.

As soon as these words were spoken, Yan Bugui and He Daqing's appetite was immediately whetted.

"Lao He, have you found a girlfriend for Damao? Where is the girl? Why didn't you bring her back to see?"

Yan Bugui asked with great interest.

He Daqing also said:
"You're not bragging, are you? Or maybe you cheated someone to show movies to people in the countryside."

He Daqing was using this method of provoking the opponent. Under normal circumstances, Xu Fugui would have immediately revealed his blind date partner in protest after He Daqing's provocation.

But today, Xu Fugui just laughed and said:
"The secret cannot be leaked."

Li Jiandong looked at his appearance and had some guesses in his mind.

If this match was really going to work out, Xu Fugui would have probably told it long ago. The reason he was embarrassed to say it was because he was not sure about this blind date.

Xu Damao is quite a big shot now, a cadre-level researcher at the Agricultural Research Institute.

Not only is the salary not low, but because of the proximity to the water, one gets the upper hand, and there are more food coupons than can be used up.

In addition, Damao himself is good-looking and has a good temperament.

With such conditions, it would be more than enough to find a female cadre or a female college student, let alone an ordinary woman.

Xu Fugui felt unsure, which meant that this blind date candidate was better than the female cadres and female college students.

In addition, history has been revised many times, so there is no doubt that the blind date partner is Lou Xiao'e.

Facts also proved Li Jiandong's guess.

The next day, Li Jiandong was at work when Xu Fugui came to his office.

"Deputy Director Li, I want to discuss something with you."

Xu Fugui's attitude was humble, and it was obvious that he wanted to ask for help.

Li Jiandong put down the document he was reviewing and asked, "What's the matter?"

"It's like this. Didn't we say yesterday that Damao's mom and I had found a marriage for Damao?

Damao's mother has already made an appointment with others to come to my house tomorrow morning.

However, the other party's family is relatively well-off, so I would like to ask you to take half a day off tomorrow to help Damao town to deal with the situation. Is that okay with you?"

Xu Fugui wanted to discuss this matter with Li Jiandong yesterday, but at that time he was not sure whether Lou Bancheng would come.

This morning, Sun Xifeng went to Lou Bancheng's house and mentioned it. As a result, Mrs. Lou decided on the spot that she would visit him today.

Sun Xifeng thought that her family had not prepared anything at all, so she tried to persuade them to wait until tomorrow.

Xu Fugui also knew that he was inferior to others, so he turned to Li Jiandong for help.

No matter what, Li Jiandong is also Xu Damao's master, so it is reasonable for him to get involved in this matter.

Li Jiandong thought about it and felt that since he was not busy at work these two days, it would be no big deal to take half a day off, so he agreed to Xu Fugui's request.

Another day passed in the blink of an eye.

After getting up in the morning, Li Jiandong began to tidy up his face in front of the mirror, shaving his beard and straightening his hair.

At about 7:30, a car drove up to the entrance of the alley.

These days, private individuals are not allowed to buy cars. Logically speaking, since Lou Bancheng is neither a cadre nor an engineer, he should not be allocated a car.

However, because he saw through the situation early on and handed over the steel mill, the leaders above gave him some preferential treatment as a sign of encouragement.

One of them is that you can continue to use the original car.

The car stopped at the entrance of the alley, attracting a lot of people's attention.

Xu Fugui and Sun Xifeng had already been waiting at the entrance of the alley with Xu Damao. When they saw the car stop, they went over to greet it.

"Mr. Lou, Mrs. Lou, you are here."

Sun Xifeng bent her waist very low.

Lou Bancheng stepped down from the driver's seat and hummed expressionlessly. However, Mrs. Lou was very kind and said with a smile:
"Xifeng, this is your son Damao, right? He is such a handsome man."

Mrs. Lou was very satisfied with Xu Damao at first sight. At least he looked clean and healthy, stood straight and had an impeccable temperament.

Lou Xiao'e followed Mrs. Lou. She had a baby face that looked a little cute. She stared at Xu Damao with her big eyes.

It just so happened that Xu Damao was also looking at her. When their eyes met, Lou Xiao'e was shocked and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look again.

Sun Xifeng smiled and said:

"Mrs. Lou, you are too kind. However, my Damao is indeed more successful than us two old men, and his character is really beyond reproach. The neighbors all know this."

(End of this chapter)