Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 413 The factory sent bricks to do business, and they were all real relatives
In the evening, everyone chatted at Old Xu's house until nearly eight o'clock, and then went home to sleep under the arrangement of Kaihe.

Since they had to get up early to work the next day, Liu Lizhen asked Yu Kaihe, Da Laba, Li Ye, Li Feng and others to come over for breakfast in the morning.

Originally they didn't want to come, because they felt a little embarrassed to have to eat two meals at Old Xu's house after just a day's work. After all, these days when working for someone else's family, the most you get is one meal at noon, and in the evening, you can have a few smaller dishes and just heat up the leftovers from lunch and have a simple meal.

But the Xu family didn't fool around like that. Instead, they put in some very real food. Both lunch and dinner were filled with freshly cooked dishes, which kept these old ladies busy.

After sending everyone to the courtyard, Liu Lizhen said with a smile: "If you don't come, what will happen to the leftover food from lunch and dinner? Come and help clean up tomorrow morning."

Having said this, Yu Kaihe nodded first and said, "Sister, just cook less dishes in the future."

"That won't work..." Liu Lizhen objected instinctively.

Xu Laonian stood next to the lower house and said, "You just eat whatever they cook. We don't have that many delicious dishes at home. We only cook them from the mountains. Besides, they have their jobs, and you do your work. You each have your own livelihood..."

Wang Erli replied, "That's not bad, Brother Yu, you guys eat whatever they cook. Come over tomorrow morning to eat, so that your wife doesn't have to get up early to cook."

Afterwards, Yu Kaihe, Lao Wei, Da Laba and others all responded and walked out of the courtyard.

After everyone left, Old Xu's house became quiet. Wang Shujuan covered herself with a quilt in the west room, chatting with her younger brother Wang Yuanjun.

"Why didn't mom urge you to go on a blind date?"

Wang Yuanjun said with a bitter face: "Why didn't he urge me? I've met so many girls. One girl liked me and we originally agreed to get engaged. But later on, I don't know why my dad didn't agree anymore."

"Ah?" Wang Shujuan was stunned and asked, "Why?"

"How would I know? Anyway, our father and the matchmaker had a very unpleasant quarrel."

At this time, Xu Ning stepped into the room and heard what Wang Yuanjun said, "It's okay. Finding a partner depends on fate. My brother Jun hasn't found his destiny yet."

Wang Yuanjun said: "Well, I'm not really worried anyway, but I feel a little uncomfortable seeing my parents rushing around."

Xu Ning remembered that his wife in his previous life was a very nice girl. When Wang Yuanjun came to visit his little nephew, his wife came with him and bought two or three sets of clothes for his little nephew. He heard that they were from the city, but Xu Ning was not sure where exactly, because he had very little communication with Wang Yuanjun in his previous life.

"Brother Jun, it's wrong for you to think like this. You are old now, and my uncle and aunt have nothing to do at home, so they have to find a wife for you. This is the livelihood of the old couple. Don't be upset. After you get married, they will urge you to have children..."

Wang Yuanjun turned his head and looked at him, smiling and said, "You are quite knowledgeable."

"Hey, what's so complicated about this? Whose parents are not like this?"

Wang Shujuan said: "Just stay at home and bear with it. If it really doesn't work..."

"I'm just hiding here!" Wang Yuanjun replied, "Hey, when will my brother-in-law be back?"

"I don't know. He drives for his boss in the city and can only stay overnight when he comes back."

Wang Yuanjun frowned and said, "If this is the case, when can I hold my nephew in my arms?"

Wang Shujuan turned around and patted him, "Why are you so nosy?"

Xu Ning tried to smooth things over, "Sister-in-law, don't worry about this. My brother is going through the formalities and will probably be able to take you to the city in the second half of the year."

"I'm not going to the city. I don't know anyone there and I'll be suffocated to death." Wang Shujuan was a little reluctant.

"My brother is not on secondment to the city, he is now officially working there, he comes back once every ten days or half a month... Sister-in-law, this is not something a brother-in-law should say, even if my parents don't urge you, you really need to think about it."

After that, Xu Ning pulled Wang Yuanjun and said, "Brother Jun, let's go for a walk and take a look at the stone."

"Let's go!" Wang Yuanjun stood up and went out with him.

The two men arrived at Guan Lei's house. Xu Feng, Sun Lianfang and others in the yard were still jumping rubber rope. Seeing Xu Ning coming, Xu Feng was afraid of being scolded, so he put away the rubber rope with bared teeth and flattered him with a shameless look on his face.

Wang Hu and Sun Liansheng sat on the edge of the kang and chatted, while Guan Lei squatted in front of the stove and heated the kang...

"Second brother, Brother Jun, I'll go get some water." Guan Hua said with a smile.

Xu Ning shook his head: "No, is there anything else missing?"

Guan Lei said: "Brother, we have everything. Second Aunt came over and brought me two thermoses just now."

"Ah!" Xu Ning nodded, then looked at Sun Liansheng and said with a smile: "Brother Sheng, I'm so sorry, you came here and I asked you to help with the work..."

"Hey, why are you saying that again?" Sun Liansheng waved his hand.

Xu Ning didn't want to say this, but there were too many people in the room, so he had to find a topic to start with.

"Haha, I'm thinking of following you to Sandaohe in a couple of days. If there's any work to do at your house, I'll have to help out. Brother Sheng, don't be polite to me then!"

"Ah?" Sun Lianfang was stunned when she heard that.

Guan Lei suddenly looked up at Xu Ning and swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, his stomach filled with only a feeling of being touched.

Sun Liansheng reacted and said, "Ah! Are Huzi and Qiangge going?"

"Go! I was thinking of going to Sandaohe to get a whole bear."

"Oh my god! Brother, it would be great if you all came over! Then I'll call my uncle tomorrow and ask them to prepare some food in advance."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Okay, but we have to go a few days later. I estimate we can leave on the 3rd or 4th."

"Okay! It just so happens that I haven't had enough fun with Feng'er, and I'm just getting familiar with Hua. My sister-in-law is too shy."

Guan Hua rubbed her hands and smiled silently. Guan Lei said, "Do you think everyone is like you?"

"Why do you always say that to me..." Sun Lianfang pouted, looking a little unhappy.

"Then you should go to bed early and go over to eat early tomorrow. I have to send Jin Yu back, otherwise my sister-in-law will be worried."

"Hey, okay!"

Guan Lei said, "Brother Sheng, you guys go back to the room and wash your feet or something, I'll go out and see you off."

Xu Ning did not refuse. They walked to the gate of the courtyard. When Wang Yuanjun and Wang Hu led Xu Feng and others a little further away, Guan Lei asked, "Brother, can you take care of the house? If not, you can stay at home and take care of it. I can do it myself."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "If your uncle sends it personally, he and my second uncle will be worried if I don't go with him. It's okay, they have asked for leave at the beginning of the month, and we can get busy with them."

Guan Lei nodded: "Okay."

Xu Ning patted him on the shoulders twice, then strode forward to catch up with Xu Feng and the others who were walking in small steps in front of him.

After sending Jin Yumantang to the doorstep, Xu Ning and the others went back home, soaked their feet and went to bed.

The next day, around five o'clock.

Liu Lizhen, Wang Shujuan, Han Fengjiao and Wu Qiuxia started to light the fire and cook. They didn't prepare too many new dishes. They only steamed two pots of egg cakes. The rest of the dishes were all leftovers from yesterday.

Before six o'clock, Yu Kaihe, Lao Wei, Da Laba and others came in in twos and threes. After waiting for about ten minutes, the meal started.

"Jiang'er, the ball hasn't risen yet?" Liu Lizhen asked.

Lao Jiang was stunned and said, "I am up and studying at home."

"Oh my god, why is this child so studious? Then let Biao go and call her, let her come over to have a bite, and then go to school with Feng'er and the others."

Lao Jiang opened his mouth, but did not refuse. He nodded and said, "Okay, sister-in-law! I forgot to tell her last night, otherwise she would have come with me."

"Hey, why are you here so early? It will be more peaceful for us to eat together after you all leave." Liu Lizhen and Lao Jiang finished talking and patted Da Laba on the back. Before she could finish her words, Da Laba smiled and said, "Aunt, Guifang will bring Huang Lin over later."

"Just come over. I'm just worried that you won't be able to save face."

"Haha, yeah..."

Xu Laonian shouted at them at the dinner table, asking them to eat more, otherwise they would get hungry by noon.

After Xu Ning finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and went to the outer room to digest his food. Seeing this, his mother grabbed him and said, "When are you going to the mountains to get some livestock? If you leave in a few days, there will be nothing left at home."

"Let's wait until we deliver the bricks. We may not be able to get the animals if we go to the mountains. It's spring now, and the animals are all hiding in the corners."

"Then let's get some wild vegetables! If that doesn't work, let's get some steamed buns!"

Xu Ning nodded: "It's OK to make whole buns! Since there are more people, it will be faster to make them. It's just a little troublesome to steam them."

"That's no trouble. We have three pots at home, and your second aunt's family also has three."

At around 6:30, when everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they came to the courtyard and got directly into the tractor bed and the rear compartment of the Dongfeng tractor. Then Xu Ning and Sun Liansheng drove to the Beitou residential plot to continue digging the foundation and cellar.

The temperature gradually became hotter. At this time, the temperature in Qing'an at noon could reach about 12 degrees, and the highest temperature at noon was 16 degrees. So after working for a while, everyone was sweating profusely.

In the morning, Sun Lianfang, Guan Hua and Meng Ziyan came with six thermoses of tea, which were enough for the group to moisten their throats because they sweated a lot and needed to replenish more water.

At around nine o'clock, two old Liberation trucks loaded with red bricks drove into the east end of Qing'antun. As the driver did not know the way, he saw someone on the street and wanted to ask, but before he could say a word, the person told them to go west and then north.

Boss Li, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said with a smile, "The Xu family is quite famous here, right?"

"His family is the richest in the whole village. Do you think they are famous? Especially Xu Er. After he finished his studies, he often brought livestock home from the mountains. He would bring them home in carts!"

Boss Li from the brick factory chatted with the villager for a while, then waved to the driver to drive west. The car turned to the north and from a distance he saw a group of people digging the foundation.

Xu Ning also saw the two old Liberation trucks coming and immediately walked towards them.

The old Jiefang stopped the car, and Boss Li opened the door and jumped out, smiling and saying, "Brother Xu, your place is really easy to find!"

"Brother Li! Oh my god, why did you come here in person? Come on, invite them to go into the shed and have some tea."

Boss Li waved to his people and said, "I just wanted to take a look at you. This piece of land is all yours."

"My house and my second uncle's house, how about that, Boss Li? Can you help me figure out how many bricks we need?"

Boss Li glanced at it and said, "Such a large plot of land must be used to build a house and a warehouse, right?"

"OK."

"Then I need at least fifteen trucks. The foundation of your main house is too wide. It must be more than one meter wide, right? Do you need double-layer windows?"

"Brother Li is obviously an expert. He really wants to install double-glazed windows. I'm thinking of making the wall wider so it can keep out the heat in winter."

Boss Li nodded: "It does keep heat, but the cost will go up. We need double the glass alone..."

"Okay! Glass doesn't cost much, and I'll have to trouble Brother Li to deliver it."

"Of course, we can't let them do anything wrong! Okay, I'll have them unload the goods quickly. After unloading, they have to go back to haul them. I'll try to deliver them to you three times today."

"Okay! Sorry for the trouble, Brother Li."

"What are you saying? It's my duty."

After Boss Li finished speaking, he turned around and asked five people including the driver to unload bricks. Xu Ning found a vacant space for them that was not in the way, then walked to Boss Li and stuffed two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes into his hand. Wang Hu also came up to the five people who were unloading bricks and handed each of them a pack of economic cigarettes. The five people accepted it with a smile, and then worked even harder to unload bricks.

"Stay for lunch and have some home-cooked food."

Boss Li tore open the front door, lit one and said, "I want to stay, but time doesn't allow it. Brother Xu, the brick factory is not mine alone, I have to go back and keep an eye on the account books."

Xu Ning blinked and didn't continue the conversation, instead saying, "I'll treat you to a meal at a big hotel if I have the chance!"

Boss Li smiled and said, "Okay!"

The five men unloaded the bricks very quickly. In less than an hour, they had unloaded all the bricks from the two trucks. Two piles of bricks were piled up in the empty space.

When he was about to leave, Boss Li waved and said, "Brother Xu, I'll treat you to a meal at the Grand Hotel when I have time!"

"Haha, it doesn't matter who spends the money!"

"Okay, let's go! Contact me by phone."

"Hey, call."

Seeing the two old Liberations leaving, Li Fuqiang came over and asked, "Why did the owner of the brick factory come here in person?"

"He wanted to use my connections to get something done, but I didn't respond."

"Looking for Hu Zhibin to do something?"

"kindness."

Li Fuqiang said, "That's really not the right thing to say. Hey, take a look at the shack I built. What's missing now is the wooden planks and a mattress on top, and it will be ready!"

Xu Ning turned around and looked at the shack he had just built, and said with a smile: "You should pick some good wood. This one is full of barbs... We're going to Sandaohe in a few days. Who will live in it after you finish building it?"

Li Fuqiang said with a smile: "There must be someone living there, don't worry."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a car was heard in the distance. Xu Ning looked up and saw a Dongfeng 140 loaded with red bricks slowly approaching.

Li Fuqiang frowned and said, "What the hell? Why is there another car coming so soon?"

Xu Ning pointed at the front of the car and said with a smile: "Look at the license plate!"

"Oh my god, the third brother is here!"

Li Fuqiang asked in surprise, "Did you write to my third brother?"

"Why would I write to him? I was afraid of troubling him, so I didn't even call Wang Xing."

At this time, the Dongfeng 140 stopped in front of the stream. Chai Bing opened the door and jumped out, waving his hand and saying, "Haha! The foundation has been dug so deep? I thought I was late."

"Third brother!" Xu Ning didn't walk across the bridge, but jumped over the stream and ran over.

"How did you know the letter..."

Chai Bing said with a smile: "I thought that I had to build the house by the end of May, so I said hello to my old man and he brought all the remaining bricks to my house."

"Hey, Third Brother... Hurry up and drink some water. I didn't send you a letter because I thought Wangxing had to farm at this time."

"That's what I was thinking! Isn't it being too polite for you to do this? You didn't tell me about this, and you're trying to keep it a secret?"

Xu Ning smiled. Li Fuqiang stepped forward and handed Chai Bing a cigarette. He asked, "Is your family busy right now, Third Brother?"

"It's OK. There are many people in the village, and everyone is busy with their own business. Hey, when are you going to get married?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "It has not been decided yet. It will be decided after the house is built. Come, Third Brother, let me introduce them to you. They are all real relatives of our family..."

(End of this chapter)