Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 570: The Older You Get, the More Confused You Get, the More You Hope and the More Anxious You Get

The moon is bright, and crickets are the company. At dawn, roosters crow, dogs bark, and the sky suddenly becomes bright.

Smoke was coming out of the chimneys of each house, and everyone was busy making fire and cooking.

In the outer room, Liu Lizhen put on her sleeves and lit the stove. Meng Ziyan and Guan Hua hurriedly rubbed their faces, and before they even had time to comb their hair, they were called out by Han Fengjiao, who took the large aluminum basin and the curtain from her hands. Then Han Fengjiao climbed over the wall and entered. The four of them put down the table, spread out the board, and kneaded the dough. They were going to steam buns this morning and make egg and persimmon soup...

Xu Ning rubbed his face, then scooped a few scoops of fine bran from the jar, added some wheat bran and vegetable leaves that had been bitten by insects, and mixed them into the pot to cook dog food. Guan Lei squatted in front of the stove and added firewood, and Xu Laonian was not idle either. He went to Lao Wang's house and prepared pig food with Wang Erli. They really had no idea what to do. There were more and more livestock in the family, but fewer and fewer people, so they were so busy every morning.

People who often live in rural areas will find that the old ladies in some families have a sullen face all day long, as if someone owes her money. In fact, when the old ladies open their eyes every day, they get worried when they think about the endless work to do. It is only because Liu Lizhen has a good attitude and has the help of Han Fengjiao and others, otherwise she would not be able to bear it.

After putting the dog food in a bowl, Xu Ning carried the bowl to the front of the doghouse. When the blue wolf, the spotted wolf and other dogs saw him, they jumped out. Thanks to the dog leashes, they did not jump on Xu Ning, otherwise the bowl of dog food would have been knocked over.

Xu Ning pretended to kick a few times to disperse the dogs. He took a long-handled spoon and filled the dog bowl. Then he leaned against the wall with satisfaction and stared at the group of dogs like hungry wolves. The personalities of these dogs were already determined. Except for Hua Xiong who was relatively calm, the rest of the dogs were pretty shitty. There is a saying that is quite true: what kind of person raises what kind of dog, and what kind of owner's personality is, the dog's temper will be like.

Guan Lei finished washing the pot in the house and added some water into it to keep the fire in the stove warm. The windows in the house were also open, but Wang Shujuan was not at home, so Guan Lei folded the bedding. He entered the main room and did not see Xu Laonian, so he asked about it. Hearing that the old man had gone to feed the pigs, he also wanted to get involved, so he went to Old Wang's house.

Xu Ning placed the dog food bowl against the wall, walked into the house and said, "Didn't you bring back the red sausage yesterday? Come eat it quickly."

"They are piled in the cellar. Go down and pick out a few." Liu Lizhen looked up and said while kneading the dough.

He didn't ask why Li Fuqiang and Yang Shuhua hadn't come yet. There was no need to ask. Considering their age, they loved staying up late, and it was normal for them to not sleep in the middle of the night!

Xu Ning lifted the wooden board and slowly went down to the cellar. With the help of the light, he saw that there were many things piled up in the cellar. There were 10 boxes of ginseng wine brought by Chai Bing alone, and 4 boxes of Fengcheng Laojiao that he brought back from the provincial capital yesterday. This wine was reserved for drinking during the New Year, and of course it could also be used as a gift. There were also two large pieces of pork, a roe deer leg, and four jumping cats. These were brought back by Liu Daming. In addition, there were two bags of red sausages, four jars of pickled vegetables, two jars of animal oil, and so on...

He took out four red sausages and handed them to Meng Ziyan, and asked her to take two small bowls and put some pickles in them. When he opened the third jar, he exclaimed, "Oh my God! What are those pickled eggs from the other day? Can we eat them now?"

"It was pickled eight hundred days ago, so it's just right to eat it now. Take out eight of them and let Yan cut them."

"Got it."

After feeding the pigs, Xu Laonian and Wang Erli quickly changed their clothes and washed their faces and hands. In fact, feeding pigs is not dirty, but you have to know that raising pigs is quite dirty. The pigpen is full of pig manure, urine and feces, and a pile will accumulate if it is not cleaned for a few days. They had just shoveled the pig manure and piled it directly in the open space in the back garden, waiting to use it as fertilizer next year.

As soon as they entered the house, Liu Lizhen and others put the steamed bun dough into the pot. Less than two minutes later, Li Fuqiang and Yang Shuhua came late. Li Fuqiang said with a smile: "I was so happy last night that I almost didn't fall asleep."

Yang Shuhua nodded with a red face. Xu Laonian kicked Li Fuqiang and said, "You are old but have nothing to do!"

After that, the old man went into the east room. Xu Ning drank a sip of water and said, "Brother, if you go to Taiping today, you can invite Brother Huang and Sister-in-law to come over for dinner in the evening."

"Okay, why didn't uncle come over?"

Xu Laonian said, "Go and get your uncle."

Everyone was chatting about family matters in the house, and it was around 7 o'clock before they set the table for breakfast.

A group of people gathered around the table, eating steamed buns, drinking soup from bowls, picking up pickles and salted eggs, and chewing red sausage. Although the food was simple, they were a bit tired of eating meat and fish all day long in the provincial capital. They would have a better appetite if they went home and had some coarse grains and light meals.

After a quick meal, Xu Ning called Guan Lei to go out. The two of them took a bag of mung bean cakes, a bag of date cakes and two red sausages that were placed on the kang in the west room, and went out on their donkeys to the village headquarters.

In the village, Du Shoucai had apparently just finished his meal and was sitting on the edge of the kang listening to the radio. On the kang table was a teacup with dry tea leaves in it, but no water.

Hearing the noise outside, he stood up and looked around. Seeing that it was Xu Ning, he smiled and asked, "Who came back yesterday?"

"Well, are you done eating?"

"I just finished eating."

Xu Ning put the things on the edge of the kang and said, "I brought the mung bean cake for my eldest nephew. It's quite dry. Let them drink some water while eating."

"Okay, how about Feng'er going to the city to study?"

"She said she was fine, but I didn't see her before I came back. I was so anxious that I rushed home until it was dark. Shitou, go call Lianfang. I'll chat with the old man."

Guan Lei nodded and walked to the phone, picked up the receiver and dialed the number. After only one transfer, the phone at Sun Jishan's house rang.

"I am Guan Lei."

The other party exclaimed in surprise: "Hey! Brother-in-law! My Xiaoxu! You have been very..."

"Get out of the way! Give it to me!" Sun Lianfang rudely snatched the phone and said anxiously, "Little Stone? Why are you calling me just now?"

Guan Lei was stunned. After listening to the other party's question, he smiled and said, "We haven't seen each other for just a few days."

"How many days did you say? It's been more than 20 days!"

Guan Lei laughed and said, "It's been so many days. I remember it was 22 days and 19 points."

This time it was Sun Lianfang's turn to be stunned. She screamed, "Oh my god, do you remember it so clearly? Hey, it seems that you are thinking about me, then why don't you come to find me?"

"I just called you when I had some free time. Has your sister-in-law given birth?"

"It's born! It was born a long time ago."

"When was it born?"

"August 2, the Gregorian calendar seems to be..."

While Sun Lianfang was thinking, Sun Jishan said, "On August 8th of the Gregorian calendar, Leizi, tell Erning that we should not rush to hold the full month celebration, but wait until the hundredth day celebration."

"Okay, sir..."

Xu Ning stood by and asked, "Master, what about the girl?"

"Hey, where's Er Ning? Boy! 6 jin 6 liang!"

"6 jin 6 liang? Oh my god, that's a good number! This child will definitely be very rich in the future, everything will go smoothly!"

Sun Jishan laughed out loud: "Hahaha, I'm borrowing your good words."

Sun Lianfang pouted beside him, and Sun Jishan said with a smile: "Okay, let Lianfang and Leizi chat, I have to go to work."

"Okay! I'll go there someday when I have time."

"What are you doing here? Your sister-in-law is in confinement after childbirth. Let's get together again when you get married."

Ever since Sun Jishan and Yang Yusheng became closer and closer, and the matter between Guan Lei and Sun Lianfang was settled, Sun Jishan no longer beats around the bush when chatting, and basically says whatever is on his mind.

"It's done!"

Afterwards, Guan Lei and Sun Lianfang chatted for another five or six minutes before hanging up the phone.

Xu Ning took the phone and called Chai Shao. After waiting for a moment, Chai Shao's voice came from the receiver.

"Brother, I'm Xu Ning."

"Oh my god, I was just talking about you with your third brother, why can't you help talking about you so much? The third brother, Erning." Chai Bing smiled and said, "I knew it was him as soon as I thought about it. How are you doing recently? Erning!"

"Very good. I just came home from the provincial capital. I was thinking, isn't it time to protect the farmers?"

Upon hearing this, Chai Shao hurriedly said, "Don't worry about protecting the farmers! Just focus on your marriage. We are brothers, so we can't argue with each other."

Chai Bing replied: "Well, I have managed the two ginseng plots on the hillside very well. It's nothing serious. You don't need to come over."

Xu Ning said with a smile, "I really don't have time to go, but I've already agreed, so how can I not do it? I'll go to the provincial capital and invite a big shot back! Big brother, third brother, guess who it is?"

Chai Shao asked suspiciously, "Could it be my Uncle Xu?"

"Hahaha... I still think my eldest brother is smarter, that's my Uncle Xu! I thought I couldn't go, but I couldn't just give up, so I told my Uncle Xu, and he said he had to come back to watch me get married anyway, and he hadn't had a drink with my Uncle Chai for a long time, so it was a good opportunity to call my Uncle Chang, so that the three of them could get together!"

Chai Shao slapped the table and said, "Great! What Erning did touched the hearts of the three of us brothers! Oh, I..."

Chai Bing laughed and said, "That's not a big deal! Otherwise, the three of us would be worried to death."

Xu Ning was stunned when he heard this: "What's going on?"

Chai Shao said, "You are about to get married, but your uncle knows that he can meet up with Uncle Xu and Uncle Chang, but he keeps talking about it all the time, hoping to meet them sooner. He dreamed of drinking with them a few days ago, and the day before yesterday, he had two big blisters at the corners of his mouth. I can tell at a glance that he has a fever."

Chai Bing said: "Yeah, the more I look forward to it, the more anxious I become."

Xu Ning understood after hearing what he said. This is a common phenomenon among elderly people. Sometimes they would think about one thing and not sleep for whole nights. It is not enough to repeat it twice, they have to repeat it all the time. In fact, they do not do it on purpose. It is just that they become more confused as they get older and cannot let go of some things.

Xu Ning laughed loudly, "Hahaha, tell my uncle, there's no need to rush this time! Let my third brother come to pick them up tomorrow, and let my uncle Chang go with them, then the three brothers can get together, right? I'll arrange for two more people to go over, and they will definitely not be delayed from drinking!"

"Okay! Look at what's going on. Can my Uncle Xu come over tomorrow?"

Xu Ning said: "He will be there around 4 o'clock this afternoon. He needs to go home and rest for the night."

Chai Bing said anxiously, "What should I do tomorrow? Why don't I go there today? I can stay at your place for one night and come back tomorrow morning."

"Okay, whatever you want, but I might have to go on a long trip tonight."

"What else are you going to do?" Chai Shao asked.

"I still have to go to Wanye. A friend asked me to do something. I estimate that I will be back in three or four days. Then I will have to get busy with moving and getting married."

Chai Shao said, "Okay, I'll let your third brother pack up and then we'll go over."

"Okay, let's wait for my third brother to come over and talk. I have to go to Yan's grandmother's house now."

"Okay, let's put it aside then."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Ning turned around and heard Du Shoucai ask, "You and the eldest girl are going to her grandmother's house?"

"Well, my uncle Meng and his family are all over there. I think it's a bit unreasonable that I haven't gone over to meet them before getting married."

Du Shoucai smiled and said, "I thought you had already known the place. A while ago, the county sent a document saying that those who contracted mountain forests on their own would be given some discounts, but the contract period cannot be too short. The minimum contract period is 15 years, and the maximum contract period is 30 years. If you want to contract the area behind the mountain, I'll ask for you."

"Excuse me! Uncle, didn't you say before that the land behind the mountain belonged to our village and forest farm? How come it belongs to the county now?"

"Who can explain this clearly? If that's the case, our village, forest farm, and back mountain all belong to the state."

"Hahaha, there's nothing wrong with that."

Du Shoucai said: "The forest farm probably thinks there is no value in development. Our village does not have the ability to develop. After all, the back mountain is full of rocks. We can't open up wasteland for farming. What else can we do? I don't think it will be expensive."

Xu Ning said to himself, now he can't do anything, but in the future, it's hard to say, open two ski slopes, a whole ski resort, and make money sitting at home! What's more, now he can also raise bees, so he will definitely not lose money.

"Well, sir, please ask for me."

Du Shoucai nodded: "I can help you ask for the general situation. If it comes to negotiating the price, you have to find Hu Zhibin."

"okay!"

Immediately, Xu Ning and Guan Lei left the village and rode their donkeys back home.

After turning off the engine, Xu Ning landed on the ground and asked, "What did Lianfang say? When will she come over?"

Guan Lei said: "I told her I had to go on a long trip and asked her to come on the 7th."

After entering the house, Liu Lizhen pointed at the things on the stove and said, "Are these okay?"

On the stove there were two bottles of Moutai, two packs of Yingchun cigarettes, a bag of six red sausages, a bag of mung bean cakes, two canned foods, and a bag of large fruit gift boxes.

Xu Ning glanced at them and said, "It's enough. Mom, do we have any red envelopes?"

"Yes! It's in the cabinet in the west room. I'll get it."

Xu Ning pulled Meng Ziyan into the west room, where a washing machine, a radio, and an electric rice cooker were placed. He asked, "How many children do your brothers have?"

Meng Ziyan heard this and said, "No need to give money to the child."

"Hey, just listen to me. How can I not give you something when we meet for the first time as my uncle? I won't give you too much either. Just two dollars in a red envelope. We can give you this amount during the Chinese New Year. It won't be a burden for us."

Liu Lizhen rummaged through the boxes and tried to persuade him, "Yan, just listen to him. He was late to begin with. If you don't show some more, you'll be scolded."

"No, I will get angry with anyone who dares to say that..."

"This is not something to be rushed. Tell us how many children have been diagnosed with the disease."

Meng Ziyan lowered her head and calculated, "Except for my two sisters who are married and have no family, there are four brothers left, a total of five children."

"Then prepare two more, just in case your sister brings the child back." Xu Ning thought more thoughtfully.

Liu Lizhen put the red envelopes on the counter and said, "Do you have any change? There are eight red envelopes in total."

"Yes, bring the floor table to my second uncle's house in the evening. My brother and sister-in-law will also come over. I will call my uncle Chang and sister Juan later."

"I know. I thought you had forgotten your uncle Chang."

"Oh my god, how could I forget? I'm so anxious! How many bags of mung bean cakes are there?"

"There are several bags here. Give them to Xiaobao. Then give him two more sausages."

"That's fine, that's more or less what I mean."

(End of this chapter)