Chapter 25 Selected Poems

Chapter 25 selected poems

The two of them stayed in the bookstore for an hour, picking and choosing between books. Li Haitang took a quick look at the books that Li Tao had chosen and didn't say much. He carried them to the counter and prepared to pay the bill together.

Li Tao immediately chased after him, took his book in his hand and said, "No, you don't have to pay. Dad gave me money this morning. I'll buy it myself." After that, ask the boss to settle the bill for him first.

Seeing that they had bought so much, the shop owner offered to give them a discount, "The twelve books are eight yuan and eighty cents in total. I'll give you a bookmark."

"Okay, thank you." Li Tao took out a reunion from his pocket and put it on the counter.

The boss took out the bag and packed it for him. After looking for change, he continued to settle the bill for Li Haitang. "This female student, there are nine books in total. After the discount, it is fourteen dollars and sixty cents. Send a small notebook."

Li Haitang smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, boss."

After leaving the bookstore, the two of them did not linger on the street any longer and hurried towards the bus station. The afternoon bus back to Ping shan town leaves at 1: 50. If they miss this one, they will have to live in the county today.

When they trotted all the way to the bus stop, it was only five minutes away from the departure time. At this time, Li Tao wanted to go to the toilet, so she had to find a passerby to ask the location of the toilet, and immediately took him over.

After Li Tao went to the bathroom, the two of them rushed to the parking lot. At a corner, Li Haitang, who was running too fast, collided with the man who came rushing from the other side.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two heavy objects landed on the ground in a row. Li Haitang, who was holding a book, and another man in a flowery shirt and flared pants fell to the ground. Both of them bared their teeth in pain.

"Sister hoi tong, how are you?" Li Tao, who had run a distance, came back again and immediately helped her up from the ground, asking with concern.

Li Haitang frowned and looked at his left arm. It was scratched and bled a little. He shook his head and comforted him, "It's okay. It's okay."

She raised her head to look at the young man standing up opposite her. He was dressed in a flowing manner. When she bumped into him, she noticed that there was a hard thing on his waist. She guessed something in her heart and pretended to be innocent. She apologized voluntarily, "Brother, I'm sorry. I drove too fast and hit you. Are you hurt?"

The man opposite wanted to extort money, but when he saw that she was a beautiful little girl, he called out "Brother" sweetly and sweetly. Suddenly, he couldn't bear to destroy the little flower. He waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I'm not hurt. I ran faster too. It's none of your business. If you're in a hurry, then go."

Li Haitang smiled sweetly at her, with a grateful expression on his face. "Thank you, brother. Goodbye, brother."

"Hey, bye." The other party was dazzled by the sweet smile on her lips.

Li Haitang picked up the book and pulled Li Tao away quickly, but in his heart, he was complaining to himself: oh my god, I Li Haitang actually had a day to pretend to be obedient. God, please don't look down on me and thunder.

At the last minute, they finally got to the car. After sitting in their seats, the two of them took a deep breath. Li Tao wiped the sweat off his face and said in a low voice, "Sister hoi tong, when the man just got up from the ground, I saw a knife at his waist."

Li Haitang also wiped his sweat with toilet paper, took a few deep breaths and said seriously, "You have a good eye. You should be careful when you meet such people outside in the future. Be smart and be careful when you speak. Don't get yourself into trouble."

Li Tao's eyes were bright and bright. Today, he saw more than he had seen in the past few years. He finally understood Li Haitang's strong desire to go out. At this moment, even he had a strong desire to go out and see the wonderful world outside.

The bus staggered out of the county town, feeling sleepy in the summer, and Li Haitang fell asleep leaning against the window and blowing the hot wind.

Li Tao didn't wake her up until the car stopped in Ping shan town. After getting out of the car, Li Haitang went to the store to buy two popsicles to cool down. The sisters and brothers each ate one and walked home with the sun above them.

After returning to li family village, the two of them went back to their own homes separately. Li Haitang washed his cold face, opened the ceiling fan, and continued to sleep on the bed.

The days passed calmly, and the wang family's small grocery factory was quickly established. Six workers were recruited in the early stage, and Duan Meifang and his wife had a total of eight people. They sold nearly a kilogram of peanut butter every day, and the supply was still in short supply. Li Haitang and Wang Li went to work every morning and went home to study in the afternoon.

That night, while Li Haitang was writing at home, Li Jianguo and Li Tao came over again, and this time they brought her a thick letter.

Li Haitang took a look at the envelope and jumped up with joy, "It was sent by the poetry magazine. I thought the poem I submitted last time had never been there. I didn't expect to write again."

Li Tao looked at her anxiously and said, "The postman delivered it this morning, but when you weren't home, he sent it to my house. Open it and see what the letter says."

"Okay. Dad, have a seat." Li Haitang smiled, then tore open the envelope and took out all the thick stationery in the house.

There was no concept of privacy in Li Tao's mind at all. He leaned over to look at it with her and said, "Tsk tsk, your poem really passed. The chief editor even wrote to you personally."

"This is the poem editor-in-chief's handwriting. It's really nice. It's better than our homeroom teacher's. This pen-and-ink handwriting is similar to the one on the sticker."

"Slow down. I haven't finished reading it. I'll read it after I finish."

Li Haitang had no choice but to stop and give him a white look, "Li Tao, when can you change your mind? When I see you now, I think of flies. You buzz around my ears like a fly every day. My ears are getting calluses."

Li Tao's small face flushed red from her anger, "You are a fly!"

A rare smile appeared on Li Jianguo's dark face. He saw the changes in his son these days and naturally knew that he was influenced by Li Haitang. Seeing that the two of them got along quite well, he felt a little relieved.

Li Haitang laughed at his eagerness to jump but did not dare to, "You are a man. You have to be steady. Only a little brat will always chatter."

Li Tao choked in her throat. She seemed to make sense. He wasn't a kid. He was a man. The man really had to be steady, so that he could be manly. He gave her a hateful look and shut his mouth decisively.

Li Haitang saw that he was quiet, and a smile flashed in his eyes. Then he continued to read the first page and turned to the second page after he finished reading it.

The content of the second page attracted their attention. It talked about the remuneration. Li Tao, who had just said he wanted to be steady, was excited again. "The chief editor of this poetry magazine said that your poem was well written and the price was high. The price the other party offered you was fifty yuan for a poem."

This time, Li Haitang did not dislike him for being noisy. He glanced at him indifferently and asked, "Fifty yuan, is it a lot?"

Li Tao's small head was as sharp as a chicken pecking rice. Fifty yuan was a huge sum of money in his eyes, "Dad's salary is only forty yuan a month. You can write a poem for fifty yuan. Isn't that much?"

As Li Haitang listened to him, he finished reading the rest of the story and told him faintly, "I invested six poems last time, all of them over, and there was 300 yuan for the draft."

"Gulp!" A swallowing sound came from the unsteady Li Tao.

"Haha... Haha..." Li Haitang was amused by his appearance. He was indeed a little kid.

Li Jianguo also stood up with a smile on his face and walked over to ask, "Haitang, which newspaper did you publish these poems in? When can I see it?"

"It has been published. The latest issue should have been published three days ago in the high school campus poetry journal. The other party sent a newspaper along with the letter." Li Haitang opened the newspaper, looked carefully, and found it in the lower right corner of the front. "Here, for the newcomers, this position is very good."

After the father and son finished reading, Li Tao said quietly, "You are indeed the top student in the middle school examination. None of our teachers are as good as you."

"Not bad." This is the high school campus poetry journal, and the poems she wrote are definitely outstanding among the students.

Li Jianguo asked with a slight smile, "Only one more poem has been published here. When will the other five poems be published?"

"One a week." Li Haitang glanced at the publication date of the newspaper and guessed, "The next one should be in the newspaper next monday."

Li Jianguo noted in his heart that he planned to go to the post office next week to buy a copy of the newspaper, which was memorable.

After reading the rest of the letter, Li Tao glanced at the unfinished manuscript on the table and asked, "Didn't you submit your martial arts novel as well? When will there be a reply?"

Li Haitang shook his head and said, "I don't know. I think the review of the new manuscript is slow. You see, it took me more than half a month to reply to this poem, and this martial arts novel will take so long."

Before her novel was published, she had won Li Tao, a die-hard fan. Every two days, he would come over to see her draft, make a decent comment, and then brag among his friends.

So, as soon as Li Haitang went out, people in the village would ask him: how is your novel? What's the use of writing that? Was it written by all the students in the Tam city 1 middle school?

After that, Li Haitang asked, "Dad, I think a lot of people in the village are starting to harvest rice. There are a lot of four mu fields in the family. What are you going to do this year?"

Li Jianguo glanced at Li Tao and said, "The two of us can't do so much work. It's also the busiest time in the granary. We can only ask for three days off. I said hello to his second and third uncles a few days ago and paid them to help me with the work. Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I will harvest the rice. The day after tomorrow, I will plow the fields and plant the late rice seedlings a few days later."

Li Haitang had been eating rice and vegetables from Li Tao all this time. When she was busy with the farm work, she naturally had to help out. "Then I'll come over tomorrow morning to help you cut the rice and take care of the lunch and dinner."

Li Jianguo smiled and said, "Don't come over to cut the rice in the morning. There are about ten people, big or small, who can do it. We don't have any meat dishes at home. Come and ride your bike to town tomorrow and buy us some food. In addition, cook us some tea at home and bring it to the fields."

"Sure." Preparing food and tea for so many people was a tiring task, no easier than working in the fields.