Chapter 10, Uncle.

Bamboo in Chengdu is relatively rare. This patch of bamboo was actually discovered by Mr. Li Junge when he was searching for materials to make fishing rods in the Bifeng Mountain. At that time, to be on the safe side, he transplanted some to his own backyard and also transplanted a portion to his uncle's backyard. Surprisingly, the bamboo in both households survived and grew well.

Li Junhua, the third son, still stays in the village. However, he has also moved out and started a new life. Just now, his sister-in-law called him and asked him to come over for dinner with his wife, and also to meet Li Jungu.

As soon as Li Junguo heard it, he couldn't stay any longer. He quickly ran down the mountain while saying, "Then I have to go and see, I need to inform Fourth Grandfather and Uncle and Aunt, I'll come to visit them another day."

Uncle Duan picked up the wine bowl and said, "Come, come, come. Erpi has finally come back for a visit. Let's all have a drink together, consider it a welcome."

Grandpa Si smiled and said, "Your teaching method won't work. Here's what I think: we can clear out three rooms in the ancestral hall and divide them into three sections based on age. In the morning, the children can do their homework for two hours, then read books and help me with research. I can also give them some tutoring."

Li Junhua wanted to say something, but seeing that Li Jungé had already disappeared, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "This kid is still the same as before!"

When I saw Uncle Dai picking wine, Mr. Li said, "I just drank plum wine at home yesterday. Uncle Dai, I think the orange wine looks good. How about we drink that at noon?"

Li Jungé comforted, "There are still two or three months left, we will surely come up with a solution."

Li Jungé said, "It was right for my uncle to organize everyone to plant fruit trees back then. At that time, the Li family downstream used to mock our village. Later on, they followed us and started planting as well. These years, life in the village has been better. Uncle, your contribution is immeasurable."

They were very enthusiastic when they met Li Junguo.

Lychee buying and selling used to attract urban bosses to come and inspect the trees and flowers. Once they have made a decision and agreed on the price, they would pay a deposit to the farmers, and the tree would then be theirs.

Uncle smiled and said, "I don't quite understand these things, but anyway it's a good thing. Whatever you say, I'll do."

Uncle then brought out the orange wine and poured a large bowl, then distributed it evenly into everyone's bowls.

In Shudu Mountain Township, besides having their own paddy fields and slopes, every household also has large areas of firewood mountains. Hardworking families plant bamboo, trees, and fruit on the mountains, while the lazier ones have native miscellaneous trees, which used to be the source of firewood for the family in the old days.

Aunt and cousin-in-law moved quickly and quickly made several vegetarian dishes, a pot of pickled cabbage and bitter bamboo shoot soup. The two women sat at the lower end, and that's it. Everyone started eating with their chopsticks.

The two continued walking up the mountain and passed through a small patch of bamboo forest.

After having dinner at Uncle's house, we left Grandpa Si to chat with Uncle while Li Junguo and Li Junhua wandered around on the firewood hill at Uncle's house.

Uncle said: "Alas, several township and village chiefs have turned gray over this matter. In previous years, as long as we brought lychees to the dock, many buyers would come to purchase them. We never worried about selling them."

Li Junge said, "This matter requires a lot of work, so I think it should be entrusted to Fourth Grandfather to take charge of the overall situation. We can start by getting some initial ideas and then gradually gather information. Since the children will be on summer vacation, we can assign them the tasks of reading and copying. We can accomplish something during the summer vacation."

Erpi is the nickname of Li Jungé, and the whole table burst into laughter.

Li Junhua sighed and said, "In previous years, the spring for the apple trees was already set, and these few trees would bring in an income of around 40 to 50 thousand yuan each year. This year, I estimate we will face a famine."

Alas, it's because my village of Lijiagou is too remote and people are unwilling to come. If you don't want to wander outside anymore, it would be appropriate to come back and become the village head.

Li Junhua smiled and said, "It should be done by now. He has shown off to me several times, saying that this time the product will satisfy you."

Uncle Da Bo was both happy and surprised when he heard it: "Oh, this is a big deal in our clan." After speaking, he looked at Fourth Grandpa and said, "Old Uncle, can your body handle this?"

Uncle was very happy to hear it: "This is a good idea. During summer vacation, the whole village is full of children who misbehave without any adult supervision. This year, I will send them all to the ancestral hall and let Fourth Grandfather discipline them. Anyone who misbehaves will be punished with a rattan cane!"

Uncle waved his hand and said, "Your uncle is now like a dog meat bun—can't show his face. Now, in several villages, there are college student village officials who are doing well. They have ideas, drive, knowledge, and plenty of tricks up their sleeves."

Lizhu bamboo shoots are a treasure in the bitter bamboo shoots series. People in Shudu usually use pickled vegetables to make dishes, such as stir-fried pork slices with bitter bamboo shoots and pickled vegetables, which can be called a classic among the bitter dishes in Shudu.

A family sat down to prepare for dinner. The younger sister-in-law went to the kitchen to help, and soon brought out a plate of cured pig's trotters, a plate of assorted cured meats, a plate of salted edamame and peanuts, and some cold dishes. She called the men to the table first, and then she and her mother-in-law prepared several hot dishes.

Three people sat down and had tea, chatting about their daily lives.

Li Junguo walked side by side with Li Junhua. Li Junguo saw a grove of lychee trees, with about six or seven trees, all of them old trees, with luxuriant branches and leaves. The tree tops were covered with small, tender fruits the size of fingernails. Each fruit had small bumps on its skin. Li Junguo said to Li Junhua, "Oh, the fruits have grown well this year."

The eldest son, Li Junwei, just turned forty this year. He and his wife opened a small restaurant in the county town. Due to inconvenient transportation, he hasn't been back for almost half a year. His son is fourteen years old this year and is studying in the third year of junior high school in the county town.

Afternoon, I don't care anymore, everyone goes home. This way, they can both study and play, so the children won't waste their summer vacation.

Li Junge said to his uncle again, "By the way, there is another matter. Fourth Grandfather wants to compile a family history for our Li family, starting from Duke Demao and continuing to the present."

Li Jun'an, the second son, has been working outside for many years. He found a wife from another province and can only return home during this year's Spring Festival. His daughter is studying in the county town with his elder brother, Li Junwei.

Auntie brought a plate of stir-fried garlic sprouts with preserved meat and put it down. She also said with a smile, "That's right, Erpi was quite mischievous when he was young. The two of them secretly cut my preserved meat and grilled it by the river. They were afraid that I would find out, so they rubbed the knife edge with soot. But those two kids didn't realize that the knife edge was so neat and tidy, and the adults could tell at a glance."

Lizhu is a variety of bitter bamboo, which can also be used as medicine. It is known as bitter bamboo leaf, bitter bamboo shoot, bitter bamboo rhizome, bitter bamboo decoction, and bitter bamboo root. It has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, cooling blood, and clearing phlegm.

Uncle laughed as soon as he heard it: "How did you come up with this nickname? It's even more unpleasant than your second cousin's."

Lizhu, also known as Chaganzhu, Yekuzhu, Gangzhu, with a diameter of three to five centimeters, and a maximum height of more than ten meters. The culm is straight, with tough and uniform texture, moderate thickness, strong resilience, and resistance to insect damage. Lizhu is most famous for its production in Huaiji County, Guangdong. It used to be exported in large quantities for making ski poles due to its lightweight nature. Americans have also used plasticized Lizhu to make aircraft components. Nowadays, it is widely used in the production of fishing rods, ski poles, tables, chairs, bookshelves, screens, birdcages, and other high-end crafts, earning the title of "King of Bamboo".

Uncle is from the older generation and believes in the "Good people come from the Huangjing stick" ideology.

Li Jungé quickly shook his head: "No, no, I'm not cut out for it with my lazy nature. But I have a responsibility towards the villagers. Liang Yatou is now serving as the deputy head of Pan'ao Township. She will be coming to my house for dinner this weekend. Oh, and there's also Wang Congjun, the old busybody who used to frequently visit my house. He is now the deputy director of the county government office. I'll inquire about the waterway matters later."

From now on, all the fruits that are produced will be yours. When they mature, you can take them away after paying the remaining balance. This can be considered a primitive form of futures trading.

Uncle Da let Grandpa Si sit at the head of the table, sat on the left himself, and was about to invite his own son to sit next to him. Li Jungé pulled his little cousin over and said with a smile, "Little cousin, sit next to me. When we were young, I used to follow him around like a little tail. Let's have a good chat, just the two of us."

This brings us back to the trivial matters of the village.

Litchi, longan and green olives are the specialties of the entire Jiachuan County and also important cash crops. Due to the higher latitude, their ripening period is two to three months later than that in Guangzhou and Fujian, so the prices are relatively good. Many households in Lijiagou rely on litchi to earn enough for a year's living expenses.

This year, with the waterway cut off, even the guests of Bao Shu no longer come. The lychees from the entire village cannot be exported.

Uncle Li Sicheng is 65 years old this year, and this is his last term as village chief.

Three people discussed for a while, but there was no good solution.

Li Jungé continued the previous topic and asked, "Uncle, transportation is inconvenient this year. What the Fourth Grandfather just said is really a matter of concern. It will not only affect the Li Family Gully, but also the entire Pan'ao Township, won't it?"

Little cousin laughed and said, "Oh, I dare not call you a follower. You are a college student and work in a big city, while I am just a country bumpkin."

Li Junhua pointed to the bamboo forest and said with a smile, "Piva, this is the one you planted. Look how well it has grown."

As we chatted until almost noon, my cousin and his wife also came over. My cousin is 35 years old, not very tall but a spirited man. His wife is a rural woman, and their son Li Yusong is only 8 years old and studying at the local primary school in Panao Township. He didn't come because he has lunch at school.

These years have been relatively good, with lychees and longans supporting us, and the younger generation going out to work. Every family can still get by. Sigh, it's just that in this last year, the waterway has been cut off, which is a bit worrisome. Anyway, no matter what, it depends on your generation next.

Li Jungé smiled and said, "I've learned another trick. When I have a child in the future, I will definitely tell them to cut the cured meat diagonally when stealing it."

Li Jungé smiled and said, "I wasn't just a tag-along. Every summer, I followed you to catch birds in the mountains and catch shrimp in the river. You were the one who taught me how to swim."

Mr. Li Junge took a look at the bamboo forest. Many of the bamboo are already over six years old and can be harvested. He said happily, "These are all good things. I wonder if the wicker craftsman has finished my things."

This year is troublesome. In previous years, all the bosses who used to wrap the trees didn't come. If the village wraps the boat, it will take a month to do it all. The cost is also unbearable. Moreover, how to sell and split the accounts is also a troublesome matter.

After a few rounds of drinking, Uncle said, "Erpi, I'm getting old. Even if I finish this term as village chief, I won't be able to do it anymore. Our generation is all old people who only know how to farm and can't come up with any ways to make money."