Chapter 271: Chapter 271 - 270, If You Haven’t Retired from the Army

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When they got home, Li Xu took Zhang Kun’s clothes and handed them to Li Lei. “Go take a shower and change your clothes.”

Zhang Kun was about the same height as Li Lei, so the clothes should fit.

Li Lei silently took the clothes and went to the bathroom to take a comfortable hot shower.

When they came out of the bathroom, the three children had already returned.

Seeing Li Lei there, Ji Zi’ang happily pounced on him. “Eldest Uncle, why are you here?”

Li Lei smiled and said, “Why can’t I come if there’s nothing?”

Ji Zi’ang tugged at Li Lei’s clothes. “Of course, you’re always welcome at our house!”

He tugged at them and said in a strange tone, “Eldest Uncle, you look like you’re wearing my father’s clothes!”

Li Lei had something on his mind, so he reached out to rub Ji Zi’ang’s head and looked into the kitchen.

After a pause, he ran into the kitchen to help Li Xu.

Seeing how busy Li Xu was, he did not know how to speak, so he simply did not say anything.

It was only six o’clock after cooking.

The dishes had just been served when Zhang Kun came back.

“Have you eaten?” Li Xu asked hurriedly.

Zhang Kun shook his head. “I haven’t eaten yet. I was in a hurry to come back. I left after cooking for them.”

In the past, Zhang Kun would wait for all the employees to finish eating before leaving. When he waited, he would eat as well.

There had been a lot of rain in the past two days. He was afraid that it would be too late and the road would be difficult to walk. Every day, he would leave after cooking, and he would not eat there.

Li Xu turned around and went to the kitchen to get Zhang Kun some bowls and chopsticks.

Zhang Kun sat beside Ji Zi’ang and greeted Li Lei, “When did you come?”

Li Lei whispered, “I just came not long ago!”

Li Xu returned from the kitchen and instructed, “Stay here tonight. Don’t run back and forth. The weather is not safe either.”

Li Lei nodded in silence. “Alright. I’ll go straight to Xiaoning’s place tomorrow!”

After dinner, Li Xu and Zhang Kun cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen.

Zhang Kun urged her, “Go out and talk to Xiao Lei. I think he’s looking for you for something!”

Li Xu turned around and saw Li Lei sitting on the sofa. No one knew what he was thinking, but his face was blank.

Li Xu took a towel to wipe her hands. She slowly walked to the living room and sat down beside Li Lei.

Li Lei came back to his senses and looked at Li Xu.

“Is there something you need me for?” Li Xu was the first to speak.

She knew her younger brother had a monotonous personality and liked to keep everything to himself.

Li Lei nodded. “Yes, I want to discuss something with you!”

“What is it? About the shed?”

Li Lei nodded again. “It’s about CEO Liu, who has been working with us all this while. Xiao Yong and I went to look for him. He said they can’t move the vegetables out of the cold storage now. The cold storage is already full, and they can’t accept our family’s vegetables shortly. We can’t even drain the water from the ground now. Forget about the batch that hasn’t grown yet. We didn’t invest much capital either. Several batches have already matured. It’s a pity to just rot in the ground like this.”

Li Xu nodded thoughtfully and asked, “How many are there?”

“There are also some tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants. In total, they should weigh over 4.0,000 pounds!”

Tomatoes would mature in half a year. Not to mention how much effort was spent in the process, just the amount of fertilizer alone was unknown. It was really a pity to just rot in the ground like this.

“We can’t sell that much at the current price. What about lowering the price? Even if we sell one pound for 10 or 20 cents, we can at least get some money back. These vegetables won’t go to waste. They were all painstakingly grown.” Li Lei discussed with Li Xu with some eagerness.

He had been in the army for many years and developed a habit. He couldn’t bear to see food go to waste.

The thought of more than 4.0,000 pounds of vegetables rotting in the ground made his heart ache.

How many years could it be eaten for?

At this moment, Ji Yuanyuan walked to the side and silently turned on the television.

It was already seven o’clock. It was time for the news broadcast.

Li Xu shook her head. “The market in this neighborhood is only so big. Even if the price is lowered, the two stores will only sell at most two thousand pounds a day. It might take close to a month for forty thousand pounds to be sold out. This season, the temperature is so high. These vegetables won’t last for a month. At most, it will last for two weeks a week. By then, they will be rotten.” After Li Xu finished speaking, the siblings were silent.

Ji Zi’ang and Ji Zixuan also knew that their mother and uncle were discussing important matters. The two watched the television seriously and did not say a word.

“At 10 am today, the Yangtze River reached its highest water level in history. The Yangtze River dike reached its most critical moment. Protecting the Yangtze River dike is protecting people’s lives. It’s protecting 4.9,000 square kilometers of…”

Hearing the voice on the news broadcast, Li Lei looked up at the television in surprise.

He muttered, “The situation in H City is already so serious now?”

“As of this morning, a total of more than 100,000 troops have been gathered. This is the largest number of troops gathered on the Yangtze River since the crossing of the river campaign…”

Hearing this, Li Lei’s expression became even more eager. He muttered again, “The Army I was in before I retired also went to participate in the rescue.”

Ji Yuanyuan blinked his eyes and looked at Li Lei. He said, “If Uncle hadn’t retired, we might still be able to see Uncle’s figure on the television today!”

Hearing his Niece’s words, Li Lei’s eyes immediately turned red.

That’s right. If he hadn’t retired, he would still be fighting alongside his comrades right now, right?

Li Lei’s eyes were fixed on the television screen, trying to find a familiar face.

Zhang Kun finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen.

He stood behind Li Lei and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

On the television screen, a young soldier was carrying a sandbag as he ran in the middle of the flood.

His young and tender faces were full of remorse.

That scene was really too shocking. Not only Li Lei but even a few children were also staring at the television.

Unfortunately, Li Lei could not find a familiar face on the TV screen until the news ended.

Ji Yuanyuan took the remote control and turned off the TV.

The atmosphere in the living room suddenly became silent.

Looking at Li Lei’s face, Li Xu suddenly let out a long sigh.

A moment later, she asked, “Are you going to look for Xiaoning tomorrow?”

Li Lei nodded. “Yes, I’ll go and see her on the way!”

“How about this, I’ll take all the vegetables at home, but the price can’t be calculated like before. I don’t have that much money on hand now. I’ll count it as 25 cents, a total of 10,000 yuan. Go back and ask your parents if it’s okay! Help me ask Xiaoning tomorrow if her father can find a few cars for a long journey!”

Hearing Li Xu’s words, Li Lei looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean? If you can’t sell these vegetables, why did you buy them? Our parents are indeed very anxious, but they can’t transfer the risk to you! No, I don’t have to ask our parents. Even I won’t agree..”