Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 748 A fleeting moment, 20 in his pocket! Building relationships

Before coming to Wangxing, Xu Ning really didn't expect that the Chai family would treat him like this. He was touched and also very fortunate. He borrowed 11 yuan as soon as he arrived. This showed that the Chai family really recognized him and were willing to give him free of charge. This kind of thing also gave Xu Ning face. If it were told, everyone would praise him for his strong face.

Last night, Chai Shao talked to him about the fees for hunting livestock, saying that he would pay 200 yuan for running errands, 100 yuan for hunting 1000 jin of wild boar, and 50 yuan for two deer. However, before Chai Shao could finish speaking, Xu Ning waved his hand and refused, saying that this was just making him feel bad.

He came to Wangxing to hunt livestock solely because he wanted to visit Chai Liangyu. Besides, the relationship between the two families was already public knowledge. If he were to accept money, the people of Wangxing Village would say that the Chai family was misappropriating public funds and that the Chai family was losing face, and so on...

So Xu Ning didn't want the money. Seeing his insistence, Chai Shao didn't try to persuade him anymore. This morning, he showed his attitude by handing over 11 yuan to Xu Ning and saying that there was no rush for him to pay it back.

When Xu Ning and the others arrived in Sandaohe, it was just past 2 p.m. Sun Jiwei and Sun Jiye were waiting at home. After they entered, their second aunt and third aunt began to serve the dishes.

They were already familiar with each other, so there wasn't much small talk. They only mentioned that the half-deer was given to them by Chai Liangyu, and Xu Ning hadn't come empty-handed either. He had previously brought two cases of Fengcheng Laojiao liquor from home. Neither the Chai nor the Sun families were short of money, so bringing gifts was just a junior's attitude. No matter how much it was worth, no one could find fault with it.

Sun Jiwei pointed to the cloth bag Xu Ning brought into the house and said with a smile, "Did your uncle give you money?"

Xu Ning blinked and feigned ignorance: "Huh? How did you know?"

Sun Jiwei's words were a bit harsh, and his tone was somewhat displeased: "Oh, how would I know? It's such a big bag, with all the sharp edges sticking out. You can tell just by looking at it. Besides, Lianfang and we have already told her..."

Sun Jiye added with a smile, "Er Ning, don't take it to heart, your second uncle and I already knew."

Second Aunt carried the dish into the west room and said, "Why doesn't this child call home? We're not strangers. If you just said you needed money, your second uncle would definitely help you arrange it. Why do you always have to keep it to yourself?"

Regardless of why the Sun family spoke so bluntly about this matter, their attitude has made it clear that they are definitely willing to lend a hand to Xu Ning in opening his auto repair shop.

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Second Aunt, I was thinking of waiting until after the New Year to study it, but I never expected that my Uncle Chai would give me the money directly. I was both touched and uneasy."

"What's there to be worried about? Your uncle and third uncle are backing you up in the city, how could you not succeed?"

Sun Lianfang grinned and said, "Brother, you don't need to worry about the money. My dad talked to my uncle on the phone and told him to have him go to the credit union in the city for a meal and have a chat beforehand..."

Sun Jiwei didn't scold her, he just nodded: "Well, even your grandpa can handle this."

"Alright then, I won't stand on ceremony. I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I'm definitely going to go all out on this."

"Second Uncle supports you!"

Then, everyone gathered at the large dining table in the west wing, raising their glasses and chatting freely.

During this time, Xu Ning shrewdly revealed that he didn't want the auto repair shop to have too many partners, because the more partners there were, the more chaotic the management would be. If it was just about distributing shares, Xu Ning could accept a share of less than two percent, but anything more would not be acceptable.

Sun Jiwei and Sun Jiye were both in business. The Sun family's business encompassed many sectors, including driving for transportation, fishing and hauling sand, operating a timber yard, and running a timber processing plant. With their intelligence, the two brothers quickly guessed Xu Ning's intentions.

"Er Ning, your third uncle and I both have high hopes for you in this matter, so you don't need to hesitate. Your third uncle and I will each give you 5 yuan. You just need to give Lian Jun and Lian Xu two percent. If you lose money, you lose money. Just share the profits with them. What do you think?"

Xu Ning laughed and said, "Second Uncle, I don't have any problem with that, but I have to give Brother Lian Sheng something too. How about this, I'll give him another percentage, so he won't have to pay for it."

Sun Jiye looked at his second brother and smiled, saying, "Look at Er Ning's head, second brother. We've only just started talking and he already knows what we mean. Sigh... he really doesn't act like an elder."

Xu Ning waved his hand with a smile: "Third Uncle, I disagree with what you said. The fact that you dare to give me money means what? It means you trust me and have high hopes for me. In this day and age, let alone 10 yuan, even if you can come up with 1 yuan, it's an impossible task for an ordinary family..."

Guan Lei understood what Xu Ning meant and replied, "Let alone 1 yuan, even 100 yuan is quite difficult for an ordinary family."

"Not so good!"

Xu Ning nodded in deep agreement: "So, the fact that my second uncle and third uncle dared to give me money shows how much they care!"

"Hahaha……"

Sun Jiwei and Sun Jiye raised their glasses and laughed. Erniang and Sanniang pursed their lips. As women, they didn't know much about business, but they could sense that Sun Jiwei and Sun Jiye were prioritizing their own interests.

However, you have to look at this matter differently. You should know that they have already said that this money is an investment to buy shares. 5% of the shares cost 10 yuan, and 1 share is equal to 2 yuan. Xu Ning has not even started doing anything yet. Can 1% of the shares be worth 2 yuan? Absolutely not!
Therefore, Sun Jiwei and his brother's investment in this money also carries great risk. There is also a sense of kinship involved in this investment, but their approach is different from that of Lao Chai's family.

It's not entirely accurate to say that the Sun family is too opportunistic in their dealings.

Because the Chai family borrowed 11 yuan from Xu Ning, if they lose money, Xu Ning will have to repay it. The Sun family said it was an investment, and if the business lost money, then they wouldn't have to repay it. This thing has both advantages and disadvantages...

Xu Ning drank half a glass of wine and said, "Has my uncle finished talking with the people from the credit union?"

"We're just getting to know each other better first; we haven't even discussed the specifics yet."

"Ah, then I'll wait until I get back. I'll definitely make time to visit before the New Year."

Sun Jiye laughed and said, "Alright, you know more about this than I do. You can figure it out yourself."

That evening, after finishing their drinks, they cleared the table and gathered inside to drink tea. When Sun Lianyu, a cousin of the Sun family, heard that Xu Ning had come, he led his wife and his second brother, Sun Lianhong, into the house.

Sun Lianyu was very friendly to Xu Ning, but he had never heard that Xu Ning wanted to run a car repair shop. It was entirely because of the friendship they had developed before. Although Sun Lianhong was not very articulate, he had told Sun Lianyu that it was easy to get along with Xu Ning, and that he always got to the point, making people want to chat with him more.

The two brothers and their wives stayed there until nine o'clock, then invited Xu Ning to go ice fishing with them the next day. Since Xu Ning had nothing else to do, he readily agreed.

This ice fishing piqued the interest of Wang Hu and Guan Lei, because Qing'an is mostly ditches, ponds, or small rivers, with no large rivers hundreds of meters wide. Ice fishing on a large river is a completely different experience from ice fishing on a reservoir or ditch.

So the next morning, after Xu Ning and the others finished eating, they met up with Sun Lianyu at the entrance of his shop and drove to the riverbank.

Meng Ziyan and Sun Lianfang didn't go. They were both newly pregnant, and it was too dangerous for them to walk on the ice. If they were not careful and fell, it would be a big problem.

Upon reaching the riverbank, the group walked through a grove of trees, carrying their tools as they stepped onto the ice. Xu Ning sat on the ice sled, his hands covered with gloves, holding ice picks. He used the ice picks to propel the sled forward, and soon it picked up speed.

"Holy crap, this is so much fun! The last time I rode an ice sled was four or five years ago..."

Xu Ning grinned and said, "I haven't played this game in years."

Sun Lianyu shouted, "Be careful! There are ice eyes all ahead, slow down!!"

The ice on the river is thick in some places and thin in others; in some places it's not frozen at all, and you can still see the water flowing.

Sun Lianhong stammered, "There's something before... before... before..."

"There's an ice hole ahead, brake! Let's go through it."

"okay."

Xu Ning stopped the ice sled, stood on the ice, looked at Sun Lianhong and said, "Second Brother, you're still fishing all the time?"

“Hehe… um!” Sun Lianhong wanted to chat with him for a bit, but he stammered and couldn’t get the words out, so he could only nod and hum in response. Sun Lianyu explained, “He hasn’t been here for about two weeks. He’s been up on the mountain making a ruckus. My second sister-in-law saw that he was sullen and heard that you guys were here, so she let him come down the mountain and asked me to bring him to visit you.”

"Oh my god, wouldn't that make my second brother howl like a wolf?"

Sun Lianhong laughed loudly: "Hahaha... Yeah, I dream about fishing."

By this time, they had reached the ice eye. Sun Lianyu took out an ice chisel from the cloth bag on the back of the ice cart and started chiseling a hole in the ice eye again.

Sun Lianhong took out his fishing rod and bait, and squatted down to hang the fishing line.

Wang Hu and Guan Lei stood by watching. After Sun Lianyu finished chiseling two ice holes, he said, "Er Ning, are you always running around in the mountains at home?"

"I'm not running around all the time. I've had a lot going on at home lately, so I'll just make a trip every few days."

"You've gotten busier since you got married, haven't you?"

"Hmm, what are you doing at home?"

"What else can I do? My second brother and I have so many things to do at the farm. Sometimes I work at the convenience store, and sometimes I go to the farm to help out."

"You didn't go gambling?"

Sun Lianyu laughed and said, "Oh my god, if you keep gambling, your sister-in-law will run away!"

"Hahaha..." everyone laughed.

He composed himself and said frankly, "Er Ning, there's something I've been thinking about asking you."

"You said."

"Um... I heard you have a friend who owns a timber processing plant in Qing'an City?"

"Yes, that's my father-in-law's apprentice. He makes furniture in the city."

Sun Lianyu rubbed his hands, a little embarrassed, and said, "Could you ask him if he wants some yellow pineapple?"

Xu Ning was taken aback and asked, "Doesn't Sandaohe have a timber processing plant? Why are you selling to Qing'an?"

"Hey, last time I almost got into a fight with the son of the timber processing plant owner. Anyway, it was pretty unpleasant. Selling to him is definitely out of the question, and he can't offer a good price either. So I was thinking of reselling it. I originally asked my dad for a favor, but he told me to deal with my own problems and wouldn't let me ask my second or third uncles for help. That really got me really angry..."

Xu Ning rolled his eyes and asked, "How much is there in total?"

"There must be more than 10 cars in total."

"You have more than 10 vehicles in this one workshop?"

"Yes, our forest farm is quite large. The main crop on the mountain is Amur cork trees. We didn't even touch the saplings, but we cut down the mature trees."

Xu Ning nodded: "Then wait for my call. The price of yellow pineapples has dropped now. Also, it's quite a long way to transport them from Sandaohe to Qing'an City. It takes two days and two nights for a round trip."

"I know, as long as the price is fair, I'll deliver it right to your door! You don't need to worry about that. Although I'm not very reliable, I'm still quite honest in doing business."

Xu Ning laughed and asked, "How long have you been saving these yellow pineapples?"

"It's been about half a year."

"Okay, I'll go back and ask, and I'll let you know later."

"It's done!"

Upon hearing his agreement, Sun Lianyu immediately relaxed, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders.

Sun Lianhong grinned and blinked twice, "Thank you..."

"Don't be so polite, Second Brother. We're both in the timber business, so helping each other out is always a good thing. Besides, my Brother Bao's timber factory might need some Amur cork trees too, so it's no big deal!"

"Okay, Erning, just say what's wrong. We're brothers, let's help each other out."

After finishing their main tasks, ice fishing became secondary. However, they were quite comfortable sitting by the ice hole, though their feet got a bit cold after sitting for a long time. They only caught three mandarin fish after four hours of fishing. In the end, Sun Lianyu got a little embarrassed and ran a hundred meters away to cast a net. He caught more than 30 big fish in one go, including bighead carp, common carp, grass carp, and mandarin fish.

"Once it's all done, I'll tell you when I get home that I caught them all by fishing!"

"Haha... Brother Yu, these fish don't have any holes in their mouths, and they're injured. You can tell at a glance that they were caught in a net."

Sun Lianyu laughed and said, "Anyway, I don't care about all that. I'll just say it was caught while fishing."

“I caught it!” Sun Lianhong nodded vigorously. This fisherman was also very concerned about his reputation, after all, he was known as the number one fisherman in Sandaohe.

They returned home with their catch around 2 p.m., but Sun Lianyu didn't let Xu Ning and the other two go back to his old house. Instead, they ate at his house.

His two wives prepared six dishes and served Wuliangye liquor. They chatted until after 4:30 before Sun Lianyu finally took Xu Ning and the other two home.

"You guys seem to be having a good time, huh? Had some drinks?"

Sun Lianyu nodded and smiled, "Yeah, I let Erning and the others drink less at my place. Second Uncle, I'll head back now."

"Go back, hurry back to Lengchang. Don't just wander around the village all the time. The contract is being renewed next year, so don't give anyone cause for trouble."

"I know, Second Uncle, I'm off now."

After Sun Lianyu turned and left, Sun Jiwei looked at Xu Ning and said, "You took away his and Erhonglengchang's yellow pineapples?"

"Hey, Uncle, what's going on with these yellow pineapples?"

"Huang Boluo is fine. The main problem is that he had a falling out with the son of the timber processing plant owner. I have a good relationship with this owner, and I can't take sides, so I didn't interfere."

"Is this my brother Yu's fault?"

Sun Jiwei didn't shy away from the question and nodded: "It's definitely his fault. If he were in the right, he would have made a scene long ago, but it's not a big deal. Since he shamelessly asked you for help, then you should do your best to help him. I think he's done a pretty good job in the past six months."

"Okay, I'll ask when I get back."

(End of this chapter)