Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 142 Being taken seriously, the scenery of Liulin Lake

"Your name is Chen Xin, right? Ask your aunt to give you candy!"

Lin Heng went to the carriage and brought a bag of White Rabbit candies over, looked at the children and said with a smile.

"Uncle!" Chen Xin called shyly.

"Very good, two pills per person, come and get them yourself." Lin Heng laughed and said.

"Thank you, uncle!"

A group of children from the Chen family all ran over and happily received the candies.

After the candy was distributed, Lin Heng looked at Xiulan: "Where is the horse bolt?"

"Just pull it in and put it in the yard. The carriage will also be pulled in." Chen's father, Chen Changxia, came over to help.

"it is good."

Lin Heng pulled the horse, Xiulan's father and elder brother helped lift it, and the carriage entered the yard.

After removing some of the tools for pulling the cart from Hong Zao, Lin Heng pulled it and tied it under a cherry tree in the yard.

"Dad, you caught so many fish." Following Xiulan into the house, Lin Heng asked with a smile when he saw a bunch of fish placed under the eaves.

"It's all from Liuhu. It's not much. On good days, I can catch big silver carp and red tail." Xiulan's elder brother Chen Zhidong said with a smile.

"It's much better than ours." Lin Heng said with a smile.

"You want to go, we can take you with us tomorrow." Xiulan's third brother Chen Zhiliang said.

"Okay." Lin Heng nodded in agreement, really interested in going to see Liuhu Lake.

After entering the house, Xiulan's parents quickly arranged for Lin Heng and Xiulan to sit down, poured sugar water for Xiulan, and brought some dried sweet potatoes and dates.

"Xiulan, Lin Heng, you and your dad sit down first, and I'll cook for you." Chen's mother, Wang Zhi, took Lin Heng's arm and said with a smile. The more she looked at this uncle, the more she liked him.

"Okay mom, you should fry this rabbit too, otherwise it will go bad. I got it on the road today." Lin Heng agreed and handed her the big gray rabbit again.

"Okay!" Mother Chen smiled and took the things away.

Father Chen looked at Lin Heng curiously and asked, "I remember you didn't know how to hunt before, right? Not only can you do it now, but you also use a bow and arrow?"

"Yes, I learned it in the past two years." Lin Heng nodded and said with a smile.

"It's a good thing, you can eat for a long time through hunting." Father Chen nodded, thinking that he had really made a mistake at first. This uncle turned out to be a studious and inquiring person, and hunting skills were not easy to learn.

His impression of Lin Heng also changed a lot for a while.

Next to her, Xiulan's sister-in-law Zhang Shuiqin looked at the two and couldn't help but ask: "Lin Heng, can I ask what you do now? You don't even feel like farmers anymore?"

Everyone else also looked over. In fact, everyone wanted to ask this when they first met, but they were too embarrassed to ask.

Xiulan took over the conversation: "We must be farmers. Lin Heng made some money from hunting and opened a purchasing station in the town. He barely made some money."

"Buy station, I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money!" Chen's father and others were shocked and looked at the two of them.

No wonder life has become so good. It turns out that we started a business.

Xiulan's eldest brother Chen Zhidong asked with a smile: "The buying station can make money. As long as it can be opened, it can earn several thousand a year, right?"

Zhang Shuiqin and Liu Hua were also shocked. They thought that Lin Heng Xiulan had not come back for a long time and was pretending to be fat. Now it seems that she has really made a fortune.

Several people were immediately envious. Zhang Shuiqin regretted that she had made the relationship so tense before Xiulan got married.

As for third sister-in-law Liu Xue and fourth sister-in-law Liu Hua, they are already thinking about how to have a good relationship with Xiulan.

Xiulan shook her head and said with a wry smile: "We just started the business this year and haven't made any money yet. Lin Heng built a fish pond and wanted to raise fish, but he couldn't get any money at all."

Naturally, she can't say that her family still has more than [-] yuan in savings. Her parents may not ask, but her sister-in-law will definitely ask to borrow money.

Her family is now crowded together. They have wanted to build a new house for many years, but the money has never been enough and they have not been able to build it.

Now that she has no money, she can borrow less even if she really has no choice. She told her husband in bed last night not to talk nonsense.

Even if she lent her husband's hard-earned money to her brother, she was reluctant to do so, because the money was destined to not be returned in a short time.

"It just opened this year." Disappointment flashed in Xiulan's sister-in-law Zhang Shuiqin's eyes.

Xiulan's fourth brother Chen Zhicai asked curiously: "Doesn't that mean we have to compete with other buying stations?"

The names of the Xiulan brothers and sisters are easy to remember. The last word of the eldest brother, third brother, and fourth brother's names together is "dongliangzhicai". The second sister's name is Chen Xiuhua, and her name is Chen Xiulan.

"It was like this before, but a few days ago another buying station owner was caught gambling. Maybe he can make more money later." Xiulan shook her head and said.

"This is a good thing. If you run your business well in the future, you won't have to suffer from poverty." Father Chen said with a smile. It was also a good thing for him to have a rich uncle. No matter what obstacles he couldn't overcome, he could still have a place to borrow money.

After chatting for a few more words, Chen's father was left alone to accompany them. Everyone else went to work. The fish would be spoiled if it was not taken care of.

"Dad, let me help you catch fish. Don't treat Xiulan and me as guests." Lin Heng stood up and said, there was no point in sitting still.

Chen's father quickly pressed him down: "No way, you can't make your clothes dirty, the fish smells very bad."

Xiulan knew that Lin Heng couldn't sit still, so she said, "Dad, just go and do your work. Don't worry about us. I'll take Lin Heng around for a walk."

Father Chen nodded: "That's okay. If you need anything, just tell us. Just put your things in my and your mother's room. You can sleep in our room today."

"Okay." Xiulan stood up, took her daughter and Lin Heng to her parents' bedroom, and put the bows and arrows on the desk in the room.

After putting the things away, Xiulan looked at Lin Heng and said with a smile, "Let's go, I'll take you out for a look."

"Actually, my back hurts." Lin Heng chuckled.

Xiulan glared at him and said angrily: "As if you blame me!"

She took the initiative to repay her husband last night, but only once. Later, he was still interested and asked her to cooperate with some strange postures. You can't blame her.

Lin Heng spread his hands, he couldn't be blamed anyway.

The two took their daughter out to watch Xiulan's father and three brothers handling fish.

The large fish they catch here can be sold directly to fishmongers, the white fish and the like must be made into dried fish before they can be sold, and some are eaten directly.

Just like most people in Nanping County go to the mountains to collect medicinal materials and fungi, they rely on the mountains to eat and the water. There is plenty of water here and there are many people fishing.

There are also people who collect medicinal materials and hunt, but the number is much smaller than that in Nanping County.

However, because it can rely on both mountains and water, Lushui County is wealthier than Nanping County and City. It is ranked in the middle and upper reaches of the top ten counties in Taibai City, while Nanping County is in the middle and lower reaches.

Of course, because Taibai Mountain is in Nanping County, the value goes up the further it goes.

"Dad, is there anyone contracting Liuhu here?" Lin Heng asked with a smile.

"Of course not. Liuhu Lake is nearly [-] acres and is publicly owned. Anyone who lives nearby can go fishing." Father Chen shook his head.

"Oh." Lin Heng nodded. Now he makes a living by fishing, so he probably won't be allowed to contract even if he wants to.

After chatting for a while, he went to the kitchen to take a look, and brought a basin of water to Hong Zao. After Hong Zao drank up one basin, he gave another basin to him. Xiulan went out to get some corn leaves and came back to feed it.

Then the two of them took Xiaoxia for a walk in front of their house, because it was too sunny at noon and they couldn't go very far.

"Every time I come here, I have to sigh with emotion at how peaceful your home is."

Under a bent jujube tree, Lin Heng looked at it and said with a smile.

The area around Liulin Village is very flat. The mountains in the Qinling Mountains are one or two kilometers away. Four or five kilometers further in, there are high mountains similar to those in Hongfeng Village.

The environment here is more suitable for raising fish and shrimp than Hongfeng Village, but these days it is better to do it on your own territory. If you rush to do it elsewhere, you will probably lose everything.

"I just think it's good to have mountains." Xiulan said with a smile. She just likes mountains, but she thinks this flat land is meaningless.

"Let's go shopping in the afternoon." Lin Heng glanced around. The last time he came here was a long, long time ago in his memory.

"Okay." Xiulan nodded and went back to the house with Lin Heng.

Xiulan's father and several brothers have packed up all the fish and shrimps. Except for what they will eat today, the rest have been made into dried fish.

After killing, sprinkle salt and wine to marinate for a while, spread it on a bamboo mat and cover it with a gauze to dry. If the sun is good, it will usually be completely dried in four or five days.

This kind of dried fish also tastes good, more chewy, and has a different taste than directly fried fish.

A group of people sat at home and chatted for a while, telling each other how they were doing.

Although they are not far apart, the altitudes of the two places are different and the conditions are also different. The rice down here has been harvested, but the rice down there in the south has just turned yellow.

Lin Heng envied them that there was plenty of water here and they could fish. They were envious of Lin Heng's mountain delicacies, including matsutake, morels, hericium, and more. There are very few of them here, and they don’t pick up many every year.

"Lin Heng, is it difficult to hunt with a bow and arrow?" My uncle Chen Zhidong was very interested in this.

"This is much harder than holding a shotgun. If you haven't learned how to do it, it's better to use a shotgun." Lin Heng shook his head and said.

You can try your luck when shooting shotguns with balls, but you can't try your luck with bows and arrows.

After a pause, he smiled and said: "Brother, if you want to experience it, you can come to my house when winter comes in a few days, and I will take you up the mountain to experience it." "That's fine, I'll go when I have time." Chen Zhidong was a little moved.

Third uncle Chen Zhiliang said: "We have a lot of pheasants and ducks on the edge of Liuhu Lake. Lin Heng, you can also try it with a bow and arrow."

"That's what I thought. I'll go take a look with my bow and arrow in the afternoon." Lin Heng said with a smile.

On the other side, the three sisters-in-law also chatted with Xiulan. They were as friendly as sisters, and there was no flaw in them at all.

They gathered around Xiulan and talked most about her clothes, shoes and watch, showing unconcealable envy.

Xiulan also brought them gifts, which were osmanthus soap made by herself. It was not worth much, but it was a very nice little gift.

After chatting for a while, they went to the kitchen to see their mother.

In a short time, the food was ready, and there were many people in the family, so a big round table was set up.

"The dishes are so rich, too much." Lin Heng praised as he looked at the dishes that were served.

Twelve dishes of various sizes were prepared. In addition to vegetables, there were also braised carp, dried crucian carp with chopped pepper, fried dried white strips, stir-fried rabbit and a plate of fried bacon.

It's really not lacking. Lin Heng has been hungry for a long time, and now his appetite is even more intense.

"Haha, these are not good dishes. Come on, let's have a drink first." Father Chen raised his glass with a smile.

After taking a sip of wine, Lin Heng said that the wine was too strong, too strong.

But the dried crucian carp with chopped pepper and fried white strips were too much for his taste.

"Dad, eat fish!" Xiaoxia hid in Lin Heng's arms, pointing to the braised carp with her little finger.

"Come on, eat slowly." Lin Heng picked up a piece of carp, picked at the thorns repeatedly and fed it to her mouth.

The children at home just picked up the food and went out with the meal, without even serving it to the table. This is basically the case in rural areas in this era.

After feeding Xiaoxia, Lin Heng picked up the wine glass again and said with a smile: "Dad, come here, let me toast you."

After he had a drink with his father-in-law, mother-in-law and eldest brother, Xiulan spoke. He was not allowed to continue drinking, saying that he could not drink.

Lin Heng was indeed feeling dizzy. Seeing him like this, a few people just let it go.

Lin Heng sat down and took a few bites of the food to calm himself down. The wine at his father-in-law's house was really a bit strong.

After dinner, Chen's mother Wang Zhi made the bed again and asked Lin Heng and Xiulan to take a rest at noon.

Lin Heng went to bed and fell asleep. Xiulan took off his shoes.

When he woke up again, he looked at his watch and it was already past four in the afternoon, and his head was a little groggy.

After putting on his shoes, he walked out of the house and saw no one was there, so he had no choice but to go out.

After walking around a bit, he saw Xiulan in the vegetable field. She and her mother were both here, and Xiaoxia was also running around in the vegetable garden.

"Xiulan!" Lin Heng came over and shouted.

"Dad, eat vegetables." Xiaoxia ran towards him, holding a radish leaf on her mobile phone.

Lin Heng glanced at his sweetheart and pulled her back.

Xiulan came over and said with a smile: "You wake up, then I will take you for a walk around the area."

"You help mom, it's the same for me playing here." Lin Heng shook his head and said.

Chen's mother, Wang Zhi, waved her hands quickly: "I don't need any help here. You can go shopping quickly."

Xiulan also nodded and said, "I'll just talk to mom and let's go."

After saying that, she pulled her daughter and Lin Heng out.

"Are you sober? Do you have a headache?" Xiulan looked at him and asked.

"Fortunately, you are too drunk. You will get drunk every time you come." Lin Heng said with a helpless smile.

Xiulan squeezed his hand and asked with a smile: "Then do you still remember when you were drunk last time?"

"Haha, remember, but I really didn't mean it." Lin Heng laughed.

That was the first time Xiulan took him home. At that time, they had just held hands and had done nothing else.

When he was drunk, Xiulan went to the room to ask him about his situation. He pressed her against the wall and kissed him, and her father saw him.

Xiulan rolled her eyes at him: "You're still laughing. Your behavior made my dad think you were unreliable and he refused to agree to my marrying you."

In this day and age, there is no one who presses his daughter against the wall and kisses her before she gets married. The old father is so angry that his teeth are broken.

Lin Heng came closer and whispered: "I can't help it, I like you so much. When I first saw you, I thought you were the kind of person I would dream of marrying."

Xiulan pouted after hearing this, and looked at him with a pair of beautiful red phoenix eyes, her expressions conveying affection, like autumn water touching the heart.

While the two were chatting, a dark-skinned man pulling a buffalo came towards them. He looked like he was in his twenties or thirties.

He glanced at Xiulan and Lin Heng, his eyes a little complicated, and said hello with a smile: "Chen Xiulan, long time no see, you still haven't changed much."

Xiulan showed a smile and asked, "Are you herding cattle?"

"Yes." The man nodded and walked over with the cow.

This was not the first man I met while walking. Several men in their twenties deliberately ignored Lin Heng and only talked to Xiulan.

Lin Heng didn't say anything, so he pulled Xiulan and Xiaoxia and smiled.

At this time, the eyes of these men are much more complicated, with a mixture of frustration, regret, loneliness and other emotions.

At first, many people liked Xiulan. They passed by her every day to say hello and wanted to marry her home.

In the end, Lin Heng, a man from another county, picked the peaches. How could they not be angry?

What makes them even more angry is that Lin Heng returned home with Xiulan in fine clothes. They couldn't help but feel a little more lonely. They couldn't give Xiulan this kind of life.

Lin Heng was arrogant and high-spirited. Xiaoxia couldn't understand what her father was doing, so she imitated him and walked forward with her head held high.

Xiulan rolled her eyes at Lin Heng and said, "I'm just saying hello, what's the big deal about you."

"I don't hold you in my arms, it's all out of respect." Lin Heng said with a smile, he just wanted to show his identity.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the edge of Liuhu Lake." Xiulan was actually very happy and reached out to pluck a dry leaf from Lin Heng's head.

"Dad, and eldest brother, they all went to the lake?" Lin Heng nodded and seemed to ask.

"Yes, I went to put down the fishing nets and cages, and my sisters-in-law went to the fields." Xiulan nodded and said.

"Then let's go back and take the bows and arrows. If we encounter a pheasant or something, we can still shoot a dozen."

Lin Heng thought for a while and said.

"Forget it, let's go shopping now. It's still early. It's not too late to come back and pick up something if you find something." Xiulan shook her head and pulled him forward.

"That's okay." Lin Heng nodded.

The two of them took their daughter and continued walking. It was just five o'clock and the sun had not yet set, but the temperature had dropped a lot.

Liuhu Lake is right next to their village. When they come to the lake, the lake of more than [-] acres looks really spectacular.

But this is actually a lake enclosed by artificial earth-rock dams. There are many rivers in Lushui County, and there is also a larger Lushui Lake, which covers an area of ​​more than [-] acres and is a truly large lake.

The two were walking by the lake and could see many people riding bamboo rafts and setting nets and cages in the lake.

There are mostly willow trees on the shore, some are weeping willows, some are not.

Liulin Village is named because there are many willow trees here, many of which are eight or nine meters high.

The big willow trees can provide shade, and the lake breeze is rippling, making it very cool to walk under them.

Lin Heng walked to the water to see if there were any fish or anything, but naturally he couldn't see anything. However, this vast water area made him a little addicted to fishing.

"My dad and the others are back." At this time, Xiulan pointed to a bamboo raft paddling quickly in the distance and said.

Father Chen and others obviously saw them too, and came over quickly on their bamboo rafts.

"Dad, have you finished lowering the fishing net?" Lin Heng asked with a smile.

"No, Lin Heng, do you have a bow and arrows?" Father Chen asked in a hurry.

Lin Heng shook his head and asked curiously: "No, what happened? Did you find a pheasant or something?"

"Lin Heng, then go back and get your bow and arrows, we found something big!" Elder brother-in-law Chen Zhidong said quickly.

"Yes, it's not as simple as a pheasant! Whether you can catch it or not depends on your ability." Third uncle Chen Zhiliang said with a smile.

　Ah, I haven’t fished for three months, I’m addicted to fishing!

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)