Chapter 004: Small Matters Lead to Great Calamity

Liu Xing's parents didn’t have any special skills either, but having heard that pig farming was lucrative, they scraped together what little they could and bought two piglets from the production team to raise. If memory served him right, before the pigs even grew up, more than half of the meat had already been pre-ordered. As for who had ordered it, it was naturally those relatives and friends who had lent money to his parents.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing felt a pang of distress. But since things had already come to this, there wasn’t much he could say. After all, this was how life was for farmers in the 1980s.

From the kitchen drifted a rich, delicious aroma. It was a scent unique to spicy boiled fish, and Liu Xing recognized it immediately with a twitch of his nose. Just as he was about to head to the kitchen, Guazi, holding a wooden bowl, was the first to dash out of the room, closely followed by Liu Ye, who also held a bowl—though his was so large it dwarfed even Guazi’s little head.

Liu Xing could only shake his head at the sight, though he was also quite pleased. After all, to be able to eat pure, natural spicy boiled fish right after being reborn was a rare treat indeed.

"All of you, out! Can’t you see it’s not done yet?" His mother, Zhou Qiuxiang, shouted from the kitchen. Immediately after, he saw Guazi and Liu Hang being chased out with a bamboo switch. But the bamboo never actually struck; she always pulled back at the last moment.

Witnessing this, Liu Xing quickly called out, "Mom, do you need my help?"

"No need, just wait and eat," his mother replied. A moment later, she emerged from the kitchen, carrying a large basin of spicy boiled fish. Though her forehead was covered in sweat, the joy in her eyes was impossible to hide.

She set the dish on the wooden table and said, "You don’t have to wait for your dad. He’s eating a feast out tonight, don’t worry about him."

At those words, Guazi and Liu Ye cheered and ran to the kitchen to fill their bowls with rice, then sat around the table and began to eat heartily.

Liu Xing glanced at the spicy boiled fish—it was made with wild celery and chili peppers, the familiar aroma and technique he remembered. He took out a set of bowls and chopsticks from the cupboard and walked toward the kitchen.

In the 1980s, a kitchen was really just a small room made of mud bricks. Apart from the soot-blackened earthen stove, the rest of the space was stacked with firewood. On the stove still sat leftover sweet potato rice from lunch.

Zhou Qiuxiang, thinking her three children wouldn’t come back this time, hid in a corner to eat alone. Because the rice was cold, she nearly choked several times.

"Mom, why aren’t you eating the fish?" Liu Xing asked, his heart aching at the sight.

"I already had a bowl earlier. The rest is for you and your brother and sister," Zhou Qiuxiang replied, somewhat embarrassed.

"Who are you fooling?" Liu Xing snatched the sweet potato rice from her hands. "I’ll eat this. You go to the room and have some fish."

"Don’t, child!" Zhou Qiuxiang hesitated, torn. Although the basin of spicy fish was large, she didn’t think it enough for the whole family. It was just as well her husband wasn’t home; otherwise, she’d have to cook more rice.

Liu Xing didn’t argue, carrying the sweet potato rice back to the main room.

Before he even entered, a familiar, long-missed voice greeted him: "Ah! What a lucky day—spicy boiled fish for dinner!"

The speaker was none other than Liu Xing’s father, Liu Dazhao. Clearly, he hadn’t really eaten out. Otherwise, he’d never have said that.

Liu Xing paused in surprise, then entered at a slower pace. When he saw his father sitting by the window—much younger and sturdier than he remembered—his throat tightened and for a moment he couldn’t speak. But he quickly gathered himself, sat casually beside his father, ladled some fish soup into his bowl, and began to eat.

"Guazi told me you caught this carp while herding the cattle?" Liu Dazhao asked with a gentle smile.

"Mm," Liu Xing nodded.

"And the nest," Guazi piped up, raising her little hand, eager not to let her contribution be forgotten.

"I know," Liu Dazhao laughed, scooping Guazi onto his lap. "You really are my lucky star, catching carp straight out of the river!"

"No more talk—today we must have some wine," he declared, rising and limping toward the kitchen.

There was a bottle of grain wine in the kitchen. It was cheap, but his favorite.

Liu Xing was not drawn to the mention of wine. Instead, he was alarmed by the way his father limped and asked, "Dad, what happened to your foot?"

"Don’t mention it. When we were digging the canal, I swapped places with Yang Yongxin and got scratched by a rusty nail," Liu Dazhao replied with a sigh, then disappeared through the doorway.

Hearing this, Liu Xing shuddered all over. In his memory, his father's right foot had indeed been injured after swapping places with Yang Yongxin and being scratched by a nail, eventually leaving him disabled. This was no small matter. If it wasn’t treated promptly, the consequences could be dire.

He remembered vividly: to treat that injury, his father had borrowed from almost every relative and friend, but due to the backwardness of medical care, he was left crippled in the end. Of course, his father’s own negligence played a part; he’d thought a scratch was nothing, that he could tough it out. Who would have imagined that the nail in the canal was highly toxic, and by the third day the wound was festering? By the time the barefoot doctor in the village was called, it was too late. The right leg was immobile and badly swollen.

With no other options, they finally took him to the Eighth Hospital in the city. Though his life was saved, he was left disabled for life.

The cost only worsened the family’s situation. Apart from the one calf they didn’t sell, everything of value was gone.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this incident set the family’s finances back several years. Not until 1987 did they finally pay off the debts.

Thinking of all this, Liu Xing felt an uncomfortable ache inside. He quickly finished the sweet potato rice in a few bites, put down his bowl, and walked into the kitchen. Seeing his parents chatting and laughing, he interrupted without hesitation: "Dad! Your foot injury isn’t something trivial—you must have Dr. Wang take a look."

Dr. Wang was the village’s barefoot doctor and his father’s old classmate. As long as his father was willing to go, the medical fees would be the least of their worries.

But Liu Dazhao frowned. "What do you know, you’re just a child. It’s just a scratch. I’ll sleep and have some wine, and it’ll be fine."

"Just a scratch?" Liu Xing retorted, holding out his hands.

"See for yourself," Liu Dazhao said, lifting his right foot.

Liu Xing looked, and Zhou Qiuxiang craned her neck to look as well. There was a three-centimeter gash on the sole, with black blood oozing out. She was startled. "Dazhao, this is serious! There might still be something inside. It must be cleaned, or it’ll get infected."

"I told you, he has to see a doctor," Liu Xing insisted, rejecting his mother’s suggestion.

"Nonsense!" Liu Dazhao shot Liu Xing a glare. "Just pour some grain wine on it to disinfect, that’ll do."

"Wife, I’ll leave the cleaning to you," Liu Dazhao added, grinning awkwardly at Zhou Qiuxiang.

"Alright!" Zhou Qiuxiang quickly ran out and returned with a basin and sewing kit.

Liu Xing felt a headache coming on, but knowing he couldn’t win against his father, he had no choice but to help.

When a black iron wire was fished out from his father’s foot with a needle, the kitchen fell silent.

"Dad, you really should go to Dr. Wang and get an antibiotic injection," Liu Xing said softly.

Liu Dazhao said nothing, just lowered his head.

As Zhou Qiuxiang cleaned the wound, she sighed, "Child, it’s not that your father doesn’t want to go, but our family really has no money left. The money from selling eggs last week was taken by your second sister for living expenses. The fields are about to be plowed, and we don’t even know where we’ll get the money for fertilizer and pesticides. If we don’t save every penny… we won’t even have enough to eat."

"But isn’t Dad working outside with Foreman Li from the team? How could he not get paid at all?" Liu Xing couldn’t help asking.

He already knew there was no money at home. He’d lived through it himself. But not a single cent? That he hadn’t expected.

"Don’t mention Foreman Li to me, it makes me furious," Zhou Qiuxiang shot a glance at Liu Dazhao. "He’s been working for more than three months, not only hasn’t he been paid a cent, but he’s even spent money from our own pockets for living expenses."