Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 651: Building a plastic shed is a profitable business
Xu Ning clenched his hands, unwilling to touch the car keys. Chen Hedong saw that he looked uneasy and said with a smile, "Can we go inside and talk? We came from far away, why can't you even let us drink water?"

"Then come in, brother, and move all your things inside."

On the side, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu and others turned around and moved the things from the back compartment. In addition to rice, flour, oil and other things, there were also red sausages, tripe, beef, mutton, and various vegetables.

After everyone slowly entered the house, Lao Qian, Chen Hedong, and Liu Xuemin sat on the sofa. After Meng Ziyan brought the tea tray, Xu Ning poured tea for the three of them and asked, "How much did you spend on it?"

Chen Hedong told the truth: "The total amount was 6300 yuan, of which Brother Chai, Lao Qian, Brother Liu, Brother Bin, and Lao Jin each paid 600 yuan, and I paid 3300 yuan."

Liu Xuemin added: "This Dongfeng truck was produced in 75 and served in the army for eight years. It was retired last year and has been kept in the logistics department. However, it has not traveled many kilometers, less than 8 kilometers in eight years. The condition of the truck is quite good, except for the tires and engine belts that have been replaced."

Lao Qian said, "Yeah, Hedong called Brother Liu a few days ago and asked us to go over and help take a look."

"Erning, you have to accept this car. Listen to me first... First, I know you have other ways to make money, and I want to get involved with you. If you don't accept it, I don't have the face to get involved!

The second is the matter of my eldest brother Chen Heshuang. If you hadn't been there, we would have definitely been left on the mountain. No matter how my father and brother treated me, we are blood relatives after all. The reason they didn't die on the mountain was all because of you. I know it clearly in my heart.

Third, I have the property left by my grandfather, as well as the cash from our family’s business…”

After hearing what Chen Hedong said, Xu Ning smiled and said, "My sister-in-law Yawen taught you this, right?"

Chen Hedong was stunned for a moment, then grinned and said, "I can't hide anything from you. It was indeed your sister-in-law who taught me to say this, but these words are all from my heart, and I am not lying at all."

Liu Xuemin struck while the iron was hot: "Erning, we have the same idea. Didn't you tell me before that if you want to make some more money before winter comes, then we have to pay tuition!"

Lao Qian grabbed the car key and forced it into Xu Ning's hand, saying, "Take it! There's no need to be polite between us brothers. This car is not expensive, so you can drive it first."

In fact, Xu Ning didn't want to pretend. He looked at the car keys in his hand, frowned slightly, and slapped his thigh and said, "Okay! Then I'll take it."

Hearing this, Chen Hedong laughed out loud: "That's right, I thought I would have to say a few more words!"

Old Qian said with a smile, "Before we came here, the three of us spent a lot of time studying it in the car, trying to persuade you to accept it. Now all the rehearsals have been wasted."

Liu Xuemin said: "I knew Erning understood what was going on. He should accept it, otherwise we would feel uncomfortable."

The old ladies who were chopping meat and vegetables in the north kitchen all put down their work upon hearing this. Liu Lizhen stood up beside the dining table and said, "Xu Ning, how can you be so shameless?"

When Chen Hedong heard Liu Lizhen calling Xu Ning's name, he immediately stood up and said, "Oh my god, auntie, it has nothing to do with Er Ning. If he doesn't accept it, I really won't come here in the future!"

Xu Ning turned around and calmly drank a sip of water: "I can think of a way to make them earn some money, and that'll be it."

"How can you earn 6000 yuan? You may have to wait!"

Xu Ning waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and cook. My brother Dong and the others are hungry. Wait until I have thought it through."

"You act like a big shot today..."

After Liu Lizhen finished speaking, she turned around and went back to the north kitchen, but she was also a little happy in her heart. This was human nature. If your buddy spent more than 6000 yuan to buy you a car when he was starving, then your parents would be grinning from ear to ear, and it would be face-saving to tell others about it.

Han Fengjiao came over and said, "Sister-in-law, how much of the family property did Hedong get? He was so generous."

"I heard from Erning that it was about 100,000 yuan. I didn't ask the details. Liu Xuemin and Qian Shude also made a lot of money from selling donkeys this year..."

Wu Qiuxia said: "Erning and his gang are all very honest people."

Sun Lianfang squatted on the ground and scraped the fish scales. She said, "Auntie, now we have a car. In a couple of days, my sister-in-law will go to the city for a medical checkup. Can we go for a walk with her?"

Liu Lizhen shook her head: "There are so many things to do at home, and you can't leave without someone. Do you want to go to the city to visit your grandparents? Are you homesick?"

Sun Lianfang nodded silently and murmured softly, "A little bit."

She must be missing home, because since she got married, she has never been back except for visiting her parents' home when she returned home. It has been two months.

Guan Hua's parents' home is Guan Lei, so wherever he is, that is her parents' home. Meng Ziyan's parents' home is in the village, so she can go back whenever she wants.

"When there's time, let Lei Zi drive you back to stay for two days."

Meng Ziyan was cutting sausages and said, "Mom, should we pick up Lei Zi tonight? Brother Dong and Lei Zi have a good relationship."

"Don't worry about it, Erning will worry about it."

In the reception room, Xu Ning sat on the sofa and said, "Hu Zi will drive this car to Lengchang to pick up Shitou and his uncle, and then bring some sausages and wine to my uncle Ma."

"Okay, second brother, I'll go now?"

"Don't worry, just pick it up before dinner."

At this time, Chen Hedong pinched his cigarette and said, "Erning, do you remember Zhao Shanhe?"

"Zhao Shanhe?"

Xu Ning tilted his head and thought about the name: "I seem to have some impression of it."

"You went to the provincial capital and arrested a group of hooligans, and Zhao Shanhe was the leader."

"Ah! I remember now, I bullied Old Tang's niece."

"Well, I ran into him on the street a few days ago. I saw that he seemed to have lost two fingers. After asking around, I found out that he no longer works in demolition and relocation. He now leads a group of people to ride tricycles. Brother Liu, Lao Qian and I discussed this and are thinking of setting up a small workshop in the provincial capital. Do you think it's feasible?"

"Of course you can, but you have to stock up in advance and make a hundred frames for riding donkeys. Then you can assemble them and sell them! The key is how much you want to sell them for."

"Let's sell it for 500 yuan first, and then lower the price when there are competitors."

Liu Xuemin said: "I am thinking of selling it for 600 yuan. The rent and maintenance fees in the provincial capital are much more expensive than those in the streets and cities. Aren't these costs all included in the price?"

"That's all right! But it's almost winter now, and you have to put up a dismantled shed in front of the donkey, using iron pipes as the frame and wrapping it with plastic film to block the wind, because there are many tricycle drivers in the provincial capital."

"Oh my god, that's not good! It costs another 50 yuan to build a shed." Lao Qian clapped his hands.

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Speaking of plastic sheds, I have an idea. Brother Liu, does our agricultural machinery station have iron pipes that can be used to build sheds?"

"Yes! There are also a lot of plastic films. Didn't the county want to develop greenhouse farming two years ago? In the end, it didn't work out, so the plastic films were thrown in the warehouse."

"Since we have plastic film and iron pipes, we can build a greenhouse under the eaves of our house, which will keep the house warmer throughout the winter."

Old Qian looked up and asked, "Putting up a plastic shed under the eaves of your house? This is something that most families can't afford."

"There must be someone who can fix it..."

Xu Ning nodded: "Well, this job is quite simple, two people can do it! First measure the size, then put the iron pipe on the rack, cover it with plastic film, and then seal the four outer rings and you're done."

Liu Xuemin tilted his head and said, "Are you going to fix it? If you are, I will arrange for someone to come over tomorrow and we will start working on it first."

"Let's fix it! Brother Liu, don't you need to call Lao Jin back?"

"No, he's very busy in the city. I'll find two more people."

Lao Qian asked, "If this work is feasible, how would you price it?" "It will be priced according to the area, including the labor cost and the price of the plastic film and iron pipes."

Liu Xuemin said: "I think it's feasible. Although most families can't afford it, we can just lower the price a bit."

He stood up and walked under the eaves to take a look, and said, "These five rooms will require 12 iron pipes, plus the labor and plastic film, I estimate it will cost 30 yuan."

"That's about right. This job is hard-earned money. If you can make 30 yuan out of 10 yuan, it's good. And it's a one-time deal. They can do it themselves in the future."

Lao Qian nodded: "Then let's try it first, how much does it cost?"

Xu Ning leaned back and said, "You guys do your own research, I won't get involved."

Chen Hedong asked, "Why don't you get involved?"

Li Fuqiang, smoking nearby, said: "My brother thinks he doesn't earn enough."

"Hahaha, he doesn't have to work, so earning 1 cent is still earning money!"

Liu Xuemin nodded: "That's not a big deal, Erning, if it really works, how about we split it in half? You don't have to pay, we'll pay."

"Let's talk about it after we finish building the plastic shed tomorrow."

After saying that, Wang Hu got up and went to Lengchang to pick up Guan Lei and Liu Daming, and brought some red sausage, cigarettes, alcohol and tea to Ma Liu, as well as the cotton-padded jacket and trousers made by Meng Ziyan for Ma Liu, and the cotton shoes picked up at the forest farm.

Meng Ziyan took the time to come over and asked, "Brother Dong, how are Aini and Beichuan getting along?"

Chen Hedong said, "Very good. They went to see my father-in-law at the beginning of the month. Zhang Aini is doing well at work. My father-in-law and mother-in-law are very satisfied."

"So you're getting married soon, right?"

"It's next year. The house allocated by my brother-in-law's company hasn't come yet. We'll get married when the house comes."

Xu Ning asked, "The railway family housing complex is quite far from the Daoli Branch, right?"

"Not far! Just across the road. Besides, Zhang Aini also has a house in the police station's staff quarters."

Liu Xuemin said with a smile: "It's comfortable to work in the province. The company also gives us housing. In our neighborhood, there is nothing to play with. We only get some rice, flour and oil during the New Year and other festivals."

"Be content, we have nothing to do at home. We don't have anything to play with."

Old Qian said while eating melon seeds: "You guys don't have to work at home, but you still get paid, how comfortable it is."

"What's the point of being relaxed? I'm getting sick from being idle!"

"Oh, you're making me so angry."

"Hahaha……"

At this moment, the whole house is filled with fragrance.

Fish and chicken were stewing in the pot. A ladle was placed on the stove on the wall of the second west room. Yang Shuhua was using a spatula to stir the cumin beef in the ladle. Han Fengjiao was mixing cold dishes on the chopping board. Meng Ziyan, Guan Hua and others were picking up bowls and chopsticks from the dining table...

After Wang Hu, Guan Lei and Liu Daming entered the house, they greeted Liu Xuemin and the other two warmly. The uncle and Liu Xuemin were of similar age, and the two of them could chat together.

The lunch menu is quite rich, with braised arowana, old hen stewed with mushrooms, red sausage and tripe... a total of eight dishes.

Xu Ning held up the wine glass and said, "Brother Liu, Lao Qian, and Brother Dong, I have to drink this glass of wine with you three. I will accept the car outside the door. Let's get along slowly, brothers. If things don't go well, you can find the reasons yourself."

"Hahaha, that's fine! If things don't go well, we can find the reasons ourselves."

The three of them grinned, then tilted their heads back and gulped down the wine in their glasses.

After that, the drinking and chatting became much more casual. There weren't so many rules in Old Xu's family. People could do whatever they wanted. It wasn't like other families where people would complain endlessly about trivial matters.

After drinking for a little after 3 o'clock, Liu Xuemin and Lao Qian were ready to leave, but since they had been drinking, Xu Ning persuaded them to sober up before driving away and come back the next day.

Chen Hedong said bluntly that he wanted to stay at Old Xu's house for a while. There was nothing to say about it. He could stay there as long as he wanted.

In the evening, before it got dark, Lao Qian and Liu Xuemin drove their military green old Dongfeng back to the street.

When Xu Laonian and Wang Erli came back, they saw Chen Hedong at home and asked with a smile, "When did Hedong come?"

"I came here at noon..."

Xu Ning looked at his father and smiled, "Aren't you here to give me the car?"

"Send a car? What car?"

"How much did Brother Dong pay for this Dongfeng car? 6300 yuan?"

Chen Hedong said a little embarrassedly: "I only paid 3300 yuan, and the remaining 3000 yuan was paid by Brother Liu, Brother Qian, Brother Bin, Brother Jin, and Brother Chai."

"Oh my god, why buy him a car?"

Liu Lizhen curled her lips and continued, "Look at how handsome he is!"

Sun Lianfang interrupted: "My brother is indeed handsome, Auntie, there is nothing wrong with what you said."

Xu Ning laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha..."

After Xu Laonian heard the reason, he said, "You guys are doing this for no reason, but he has accepted it, so I can't push it away. But why is there the matter of Chai Bing involved?"

"Ah, Brother Chai bought more than ten donkeys from Brother Liu before. Brother Liu was going to give Brother Chai 600 yuan as a dividend, but Brother Chai refused to take it, so he included the money in the purchase price."

"This Chai Lao San is also stubborn..."

In Xu Laonian's opinion, what's the point of not asking for money? Besides, 600 yuan is not a small amount of money, it is the salary of an ordinary worker for one and a half years!
Xu Laonian leaned back on the sofa and said leisurely, "I'll drive to the forest farm for a tour tomorrow."

After hearing this, Liu Lizhen said, "Stop being so cocky!"

"Hey, what's the point of showing off? I'm just driving around. I need to take a look at my new car, otherwise it will be boring. I don't know anything, I just honk."

"Can you tell me another one?"

Liu Lizhen glared at him and Xu Laonian immediately shrank his neck.

Xu Ning said, "You two should stop arguing. My sister-in-law is pregnant. What if she scares the baby?"

Wang Shujuan smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Let your nephew feel the atmosphere of our family in advance."

"..."

(End of this chapter)