Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 719 What's so fun about this? Where there's development, there's where you can settle down.

Under the plastic shed, Xu Laonian and Pan Yan chatted about everyday things, while Pan Yan's two younger brothers stood by waiting. Ever since they entered the Xu family's house, they felt that the atmosphere was different from that in their own village. No wonder so many people were willing to come to the Xu family's house. It was because Xu Laonian and Liu Lizhen were so easy to get along with. They were not strangers to anyone. Once you entered the door, they were truly open and honest with you. They never ignored or glared at anyone because of their family's poverty.

Although the three Pan brothers were a little afraid of Xu Ning, it was because Xu Ning was a man of his word, someone who even Yang Jun and Guan Lei respected. They would definitely have a different feeling when they saw Xu Ning. Moreover, when they first met, Xu Ning didn't even give face to Da Zhi and Feng Ye. In the end, it was Yang Jun who spoke up and took the four brothers and sisters in.

Even if Xu Laonian calls him "little brat," isn't that a term of endearment? A father is always saying one thing and meaning another…

After Pan Yan finished getting his haircut, Pan Xiao brought over a basin of water and washed his hair twice with shampoo in the plastic shed. His hair still smelled nice after being dried, which made Pan Yan feel excited. Shampoo wasn't expensive for the Xu family, but Pan Yan was reluctant to use it. This was the first time he had ever used shampoo.

Upon entering the house, Xu Ning smiled and said, "You look much more upright after the haircut. I heard you've made quite a bit of money these past two months?"

Pan Yan paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "I earned it all by working with Brother Zhi. Foreman Liu and Foreman Yang have both treated me very well."

Liu Daming said, "The more you earn, the better. If you save some money, you can get married. Are you coming home for the New Year?"

“There’s not much family in my family, and it would be too much trouble to go back. I might as well stay here and work at the farm.”

Yang Jun laughed and said, "This kid is pretty hardworking."

Xu Ning nodded, but did not mention that he would go down the mountain and have dinner with Pan Xiao at his house during the New Year. To be honest, Pan Yan was a good person with a good temperament. The reason why Xu Ning did not want to have anything to do with him was that he did not want to bear the consequences.

They sat around in the reception room, but Wu Haitao sat on a stool near the dining room, staring blankly at Pan Xiao, who was washing the hair of his two younger brothers.

At this moment, Wu Haitao was quite nervous. He didn't know if his parents would be satisfied with Pan Xiao after they arrived, because Pan Xiao was truly beautiful, had the temperament of a well-bred lady, and a strong and resolute personality.

Sun Lianfang punched him and said, "What are you thinking about? Your parents might be here."

"Oh my god! Really?"

Wu Haitao snapped out of his daze and looked at the clock on the wall; it was already 11:30.

Inside the house, Xu Laonian, Xu Ning, Yang Jun, Li Fuqiang, and others were all walking towards the door. Outside the courtyard, the sounds of car engines and barking dogs could be heard.

Xu Laonian hurriedly walked to the gate of the compound, and turned his head to see an old Jiefang truck driving by. Its tires crossed the bridge, turned a corner, and parked next to the old Dongfeng truck.

"Oh my god, big brother and sister-in-law, we've been waiting for you to come!"

Wu Zhouquan pushed open the car door and jumped out, laughing, "Hahaha, I've wanted to come for a long time, but I had to deliver coal and just couldn't find the time. Erli..."

"Brother, why didn't Hailong come over?" Wang Erli asked.

Han Fang got out of the passenger seat, turned around and took the child from Guan Mei's hands, saying, "He's in the car, probably asleep."

Guan Lei laughed and said, "This road is so bumpy, my brother-in-law must have been really sleepy to fall asleep."

Wu Zhouquan said, "He went to deliver goods last night and didn't get home until late at night. We got up at 4:30 this morning. He only slept for a total of two hours."

Sun Lianfang said, "My brother-in-law has really had a tough time. Auntie, let me hold Xiaobao. Is he asleep?"

"What are you sleeping for? You're so fussy as soon as you open your eyes. This child is so hard to soothe..."

At this moment, Xu Ning turned to stare at Wu Haitao, frowned, pulled him over, and said, "Can't you speak properly? Hurry up and go up and introduce him to your parents. Can't you see Pan Xiao standing there like an idiot?"

Wu Haitao turned his head and saw Pan Xiaoli standing to the side, with Pan Yan and his two brothers next to him. They all had smiles on their faces, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to be smiling awkwardly. After learning the situation, he gritted his teeth and squeezed to the front.

"Mom and Dad! Let me introduce you."

Han Fang and Wu Zhouquan rolled their eyes when they saw their son emerge from the crowd. They could guess what the kid was thinking even with their eyes closed.

However, due to the large number of people, the elderly couple did not give Wu Haitao a hard time. They simply followed his gaze and saw a beautiful young woman standing there. Although her clothes were slightly worn, they could not hide her charming and endearing aura.

"This is Pan Xiao, and this is her brother, Pan Yan, and her younger brother..."

Pan Yan extended his intact left hand and said with a smile, "Hello, Uncle, my name is Pan Yan."

"Hey, good... your haircut looks pretty neat."

Pan Yan scratched his head and grinned, "My Uncle Xu cut it, and it really does look great."

Pan Xiao greeted Han Fang, and Han Fang immediately understood why Wu Haitao had taken a liking to her. Seeing that the atmosphere was about to freeze in embarrassment, Xu Laonian quickly said, "Hurry up and come inside. It's quite cold outside. Don't let the child get cold."

Wang Hu and Guan Lei went to the carriage to wake Wu Hailong up. He got up groggily and said, "We're here? Ugh, this guy's driving almost broke my bones."

"Go inside first, and then sleep after you've eaten."

He had just jumped out of the car when he saw Wu Haitao turn around. The two brothers looked at each other without saying a word. When Pan Yan turned around, Wu Haitao finally spoke up: "This is my brother Wu Hailong, and this is my brother-in-law Pan Yan."

Wu Hailong took two steps forward, and Pan Yan came over to shake his hand and greet him. Wu Haitao said, "Why didn't you sleep all night?"

"Isn't this all because of you? The reason is that I can just send it over today, but Mom and Dad have already decided to come over today. What should I do? I have no choice but to send it over tonight."

Once inside, everyone found a place to sit, while the older women started cooking and serving dishes in the north kitchen.

Han Fang and Guan Mei held Pan Xiao's hands and sat in the east room, showing concern for him and subtly inquiring about his well-being. After Pan Xiao finished telling the truth, Han Fang gave Wu Haitao a satisfied look, letting him understand on his own.

Wu Haitao felt much more relieved. He was worried that Han Fang wouldn't agree or that she would look down on Pan Xiao's family background. Little did he know that such family background had both advantages and disadvantages.

Yesterday, Wu Zhouquan and Wu Zhouliang talked on the phone. Wu Zhouliang laughed and said, "You two are just destined for this. Although you are destined to worry, once that girl marries into the family, she will be your own daughter. There won't be so many problems after that."

Wu Zhouquan felt this deeply. If both of his daughters-in-law were orphans, then their family was truly destined for such a fate, which could be considered a kind of destiny.

"Is 'Little Girl' your nickname? Oh, that's a nice name!"

"..."

The room was quite lively. Wu Hailong, Haitao, Wang Hu, and others carried the items from the old Liberation truck into the corridor west of the north kitchen. Liu Lizhen said, "What is all this? Why did they give us so much meat again..."

"Auntie, this is donkey meat. Erning and the others like to eat donkey meat dumplings. My dad was supposed to pay for them, but my older brother bought them all."

"Haiquan bought it? Oh dear, Haiquan is thinking of his brother all this way, why didn't Haiquan come over?"

“Their mine is too busy, and the management is unwilling to give him leave, otherwise he would have come over.”

Besides donkey meat, there was also a case of liquor, two cartons of cigarettes, canned hawthorn, and a basket of duck eggs, all of which were bought by Wu Hailong.

Xu Ning leaned closer and said with a smile, "Brother Long, after you leave, I'll get you some fun stuff." Wu Hailong didn't stand on ceremony and asked, "What kind of fun stuff?"

"You'll see when the time comes. You and my brother Quan, we two old men will definitely love it, that's all."

"Oh my god, what kind of treasure is it? Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me already."

Xu Ning leaned closer with a cheeky grin and whispered, "Tiger Blood Wine!"

"What the hell?! Holy crap! Where did you get this...?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "I took a taxi, so tell me if it's rare or not?"

"It's definitely something special! This is really fun!"

Wu Hailong slapped his thigh with great enthusiasm and then cheerfully began to talk about hunting tigers.

"Tiger blood wine?" Wu Zhouquan, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, immediately straightened up in surprise upon hearing this.

Old Xu nodded and laughed with a beaming smile: "Yeah, my little rascal killed a tiger and got some tiger blood, which he mixed with liquor as soon as he got home! I was originally thinking of sending it to you when I had time, but this saves me the trouble. I'll just take some before you leave!"

"This is great! Erning is really capable, he can even beat up a tiger, is he alright?"

"No, what could possibly hurt him? He was still bragging to me when he got home."

"Hahaha……"

After hearing what her father-in-law and husband/brother-in-law said, Meng Ziyan and Wang Shujuan exchanged a slight smile. They were indeed father and son; even their facial expressions were exactly the same.

At noon, two tables were set up in the living room of the Xu family home. Xu Laonian, Wu Zhouquan, Liu Lizhen, Han Fang, Wang Erli, Pan Yan, Pan Xiao, Wu Haitao and others sat at the large round table in the dining room, while Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang, Yang Jun and others sat at two small tables.

There were ten dishes on the table, including fried small fish, stewed salmon, and sauerkraut hot pot, making for a fairly abundant menu.

Pan Yan and Pan Xiao, sitting at the large round table, were a little nervous, but Xu Laonian was good at livening up the atmosphere, and he warmed up the room with just a few words.

After exchanging toasts, Wu Zhouquan and Pan Yan started talking about the bride price. Since Pan Xiao had no parents, she could only talk to her older brother Pan Yan, since the eldest brother is like a father.

"Now that Haitao and Yatou have made up their minds, your aunt and I have no objections. Now, let's talk about the future of these two kids, shall we?"

Pan Yan put down his chopsticks and nodded, saying, "Okay, Uncle, let me go first... Hai Tao and I get along well. He's a hard worker and has a good personality. We're very comfortable together. There aren't any special customs in my hometown, so we can do whatever we want."

Han Fang said, "Then let's do it according to the customs of my hometown?"

Seeing Pan Yan nod, Wu Zhouquan and Han Fang felt relieved. Wu Zhouquan smiled and said, "That's settled then. His mother and I will give the girl 200 yuan as a bride price, and we'll also buy her two sets of clothes. We've also prepared the bedding for the wedding ceremony. You don't need to contribute anything..."

Pan Yan quickly waved his hand: "No need for such a large dowry, 200 yuan is far too much."

Xu Laonian explained, "Hey, Da Yan, the bride price isn't for you. It's for your little sister to keep as a family fortune."

“I know, Uncle Xu, but you can’t give that much. In my hometown, we only give 10 or 20 yuan when a girl gets married. It’s never more than 50 yuan.”

Wu Zhouquan laughed and said, "Isn't that your hometown? Didn't we just say we'd give it according to my hometown's customs?"

"Ah, that's too much," Pan Yan said, stunned.

"It's not much. This money is for the girl as a dowry. We'll give it to her after she gets married and has children! I only have these two sons. When your brother Long and your sister-in-law got married a few years ago, we really didn't have that much money, so we gave your sister-in-law 50 yuan. We made up for it all later. Once she marries into our family, she's family..."

Pan Xiao waved her hand and said, "I really don't want any money."

"Yes, as long as Haitao treats my little sister well, that's better than anything else."

Wu Haitao couldn't help but interject, "Don't refuse! If you don't want the bride price, what will we spend money on in the future?"

"Hahaha..." Everyone inside the room burst into laughter.

Liu Lizhen laughed and said, "Haitao is absolutely right. Girl, you have to take this money. To paraphrase my son, what was he saying again?"

Old Xu chimed in, "If you don't take it, and he doesn't take it, how will your brother and sister-in-law take it in the future?"

"Yes!"

Wu Zhouquan laughed and said, "Er Ning is right, that makes perfect sense! Now that I can still move around, I should earn more money so that the two brothers can support us in the future."

Pan Yan smiled silently and said, "We'll do whatever Uncle says. When they get married, the three of us brothers will give them another 50 yuan..."

"No need!" Wu Haitao hurriedly waved his hand: "Brother Yan, you can keep the money."

Wu Zhouquan nodded: "You three can stay. You're not getting any younger, you should hurry up and find a partner. After you get married, you'll have two younger brothers, so the pressure will be quite high."

Pan Yan was touched and almost burst into tears. He forced a smile and said, "It's okay. The three of us are still young, and we're making a good living in this business."

Han Fang laughed and said, "Yan'er, it's good that you have the thought. Your uncle and aunt aren't the type to complain, so you can keep it to yourself. Now, let's chat about where to hold the ceremony. This wedding banquet will have to be held back in your village, right?"

Pan Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Auntie, my family is quite poor in the village. It would be a waste to hold a feast when we go back. Nobody in the village would even look down on us."

These words were quite truthful, but it was precisely because they were truthful that they were jarring. Wu Zhouquan frowned and said, "Then the wedding banquet will not be held?"

"I'm not going to do it anymore. I'm thinking of never going back to the village. I'll settle down wherever there's development."

Xu Laonian chimed in, "It's fine if we don't hold it. Otherwise, we'll have to go through all the trouble when we get back. His home is quite far from here."

Wang Erli nodded: "Going back would be a hassle, not to mention the cost of the banquet. Since we don't have a good relationship with the villagers, let's not go back."

“That works!” Wu Zhouquan nodded. “It will save a lot of trouble.”

Pan Xiao only said a couple of sentences, and Wu Haitao didn't say much either, because they were discussing marriage. Only Pan Yan was communicating with Wu Zhouquan and Han Fang, and Xu Laonian only occasionally chimed in to avoid an awkward atmosphere.

At the two tables nearby, Xu Ning, Wu Hailong, and Yang Jun were clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. They didn't even glance at the large round table, but instead whispered and talked dirty, occasionally letting out a lewd laugh.

At another table were Wang Shujuan, Meng Ziyan, and other female relatives, as well as Yang Jun's wife, Sun Cuiping, and their children...

(End of this chapter)