Chapter 53 Encounter with Liu Dazhi

After work, Li Shengli went home with a lunch box filled with vegetables. Now he didn't have to cook in the evening.

After returning to the courtyard and putting down the lunch box, Li Shengli first lit a fire. It was so cold that it was freezing.

After lighting a fire, Li Shengli sat beside the stove to warm himself. It was so cold that the old man who was playing chess at the entrance of the alley didn't come out.

In the evening, Li Shengli heated up the leftovers on the stove. After dinner, Li Shengli sat by the stove reading a book. There was a piece of paper with a sweet potato on it behind the stove. This was his midnight snack.

Time flies quickly, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Lee Seung-ri stayed at home and rarely went out. Soon it was the New Year. It was cold and Lee Seung-ri didn't want to go out, but the New Year was coming soon, and he had to celebrate it alone.

Another holiday came, Lee Seung-ri put on cotton clothes and trousers, wrapped a scarf around his neck, put on a cotton hat on his head, and put on cotton gloves on his hands. Lee Seung-ri did not tie the two gloves together with a rope like ordinary people, because Lee Seung-ri felt that this was too rustic and inconvenient.

After putting on warm clothes, Li Shengli prepared to go to the market. He was free anyway and hadn't bought any New Year's goods yet. There weren't many private jobs at the moment as everyone was celebrating the New Year.

Riding slowly along the way, the cold wind blew into his neck. Fortunately, he was wearing a scarf. Li Shengli pulled the scarf up to cover most of his face.

I rode my bike slowly all the way to Xidan Market.

After parking the car and paying the storage fee, Li Shengli put his hands in his pockets and walked into the mall.

The mall is bustling with people, there are candy sellers, clothes sellers, snack sellers, and each counter is crowded with people.

Li Shengli counted the tickets in his hand and decided to buy some candy, peanuts, melon seeds, and other daily necessities.

Li Shengli glanced at the large army crowded in front of the counter, took a breath and squeezed forward. If these things were not bought early, they would be sold out. The supplies at this time were not as abundant as in later generations. It would not matter if he bought them before the New Year.

Li Shengli walked forward while paying attention to the people nearby. There was no surveillance at the moment, so there were a lot of petty thefts. The people buying things in front were waving money and tickets in their hands. Li Shengli looked at his own dress and movements that were exactly the same as these people and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Why did this movement look so familiar? How was it different from those aunties who rushed to buy things in later generations?

Li Shengli finally squeezed to the front of the counter. It was not so convenient to pay at this time. The salesperson in front asked the customer what he wanted to buy while collecting the receipt. After collecting the receipt, he wrote down the items the customer needed on a piece of paper. After writing, he clipped the rope hanging above his head with a clip and pulled it back. The clip quickly went into the hands of the picker at the back.

After the picker picks the goods, he will give them to the customer. This process tests the salesperson's quick eyes and hands.

After finally buying the things, Lee Seung-ri squeezed out of the crowd with his bag. After coming out, Lee Seung-ri wiped his sweat. He sweated all over himself while shopping.

Looking at what he was holding in his hand, Li Shengli smiled with satisfaction. He never felt that peanuts and melon seeds were so difficult to eat.

Lee Seung-ri started walking around the mall carrying things in his hands. As he walked, he came to a place where clothes were sold. Lee Seung-ri looked at the clothes hanging in the store and the people coming and going to look at the clothes and sighed, "There are no tickets."

"Lee Seung-ri, it's you." Just as Lee Seung-ri was sighing, a greeting voice came from behind him.

Li Shengli turned his head and saw a middle-aged man holding a little girl's hand, looking at Li Shengli happily. He looked familiar.

Li Shengli looked at the familiar man in front of him and went over his thoughts carefully.

Oh, I seem to remember. Isn't this the person I rescued a while ago? His name is Liu Dazhi, from the textile factory.

"Are you Liu Dazhi?" Li Shengli confirmed with a questioning tone.

"It's me. What a coincidence to meet you here." Liu Dazhi's face was full of joy. If he hadn't met Li Shengli last time, his money and tickets would have been robbed, and he might have been injured. He had always wanted to find a time to thank Li Shengli properly.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Liu Dazhi asked Li Shengli curiously.

"I'm here to buy New Year's goods. After I'm done, I'll come over here to look at the clothes shop."

Seeing Liu Dazhi, Li Shengli's heart moved. Liu Dazhi worked in a textile factory and should be able to get some cloth without tickets. "Is this your daughter?" Li Shengli asked curiously, looking at the little girl hiding behind Liu Dazhi.

"Yes, my daughter, come on Lili, call me uncle." Liu Dazhi patted his daughter gently and gestured to her to call him with a proud look on his face.

"Hello, uncle." Liu Dazhi's daughter Lili called out crisply.

When Li Shengli heard this, his heart was moved. What a scoundrel! Liu Dazhi was such a despicable guy. He lied to him about giving birth to a daughter even though he didn't even have a wife now.

Li Shengli quickly grabbed a handful of candy from the paper bag he was carrying and stuffed it into Lili's mouth.

"You are so good. Come, uncle will give you some candy."

Lili looked up at her father with a finger in her mouth.

"I can't accept this." Liu Dazhi quickly put forward his hand to refuse. Everyone has a fixed amount of supplementary food every month. He felt embarrassed to accept so much from Li Shengli.

"It's not for you." Li Shengli pushed away Liu Dazhi's rejecting hand, "Look, this child is so well behaved, what's wrong with me giving her some candy?"

Lili looked at Liu Dazhi for help. Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Liu Dazhi gestured to Lili to accept it.

"Why don't you thank your uncle?" Seeing his daughter taking the candy, peeling a candy and putting it in her mouth enjoying the delicious food, Liu Dazhi patted his daughter gently.

"Thank you, uncle." Lili thanked him in a vague voice with candy in her mouth.

"You're welcome, but remember to rinse your mouth after eating the candy." Li Shengli reminded. He didn't pay much attention to it when he was a child, and he couldn't bear the pain from tooth decay.

"Brother, I haven't seen you buy any clothes." Liu Dazhi took a look at the things Li Shengli was carrying. They were all food and drinks for the New Year, and there were no new clothes.

"Oh, what clothes can I buy? I can't even buy a pair of pants with these few tickets." Li Shengli didn't really have much demand, as he still had the work clothes issued by the factory.

It was only then that Liu Dazhi noticed that Li Shengli was still wearing blue work clothes.

"Look at me..." Liu Dazhi slapped his head and then felt happy. He was worried that he had no way to thank Li Shengli.

"Well, brother, you know I work in a textile factory. Every year the factory gives us some slightly defective cloth as welfare. So..." Liu Dazhi paused and thought about it in his mind.

"The production has not been good in the past two years. I can still get 15 feet of cloth that does not require cloth coupons." Liu Dazhi reported the number to Li Shengli after removing the cloth he needed for his own use.

"That's impossible." Although Li Shengli wanted the cloth very much, it was a welfare benefit provided by the factory and he would probably have to use some favors to get it.

"Well, what's the big deal? I'll send it to you when I get it." Liu Dazhi said with a generous smile.

"Dad, Mom is still waiting for us." At this time, Liu Dazhi's daughter tugged at the corner of Liu Dazhi's clothes and said.

"Look at me, I almost forgot. I'm leaving first. You are from No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, right?" Liu Dazhi was pulled out by his daughter and confirmed with Li Shengli before leaving.

Li Shengli nodded.

"Okay, I'll come find you then." Liu Dazhi waved his hand and said goodbye.

"Lili, slow down." Liu Dazhi staggered after being pulled.

(End of this chapter)