Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 760 Old Nian Does Things Well, Old Advisor
In Jin Gang Village, the lights in Old Zheng's house were dim, and firewood was burning in the stove pit in the outer room, making crackling sounds.

In the east room, the men, young and old, sat around the kang table, their voices resounding with determination as they envisioned the future.

When Zheng Dazhi and Feng Ye heard about the money they earned working at the farm, their parents were overjoyed. Their happiness was palpable and radiated from their faces.

They had a thousand words of gratitude for Xu Ning, which were ultimately poured into the wine. So that evening, both Zheng's father and Feng's father drank quite a bit, and the two mothers almost cried tears of joy. They never expected that their good-for-nothing sons could have such a day!

Some people might not understand why I'm so excited about earning just over 200 yuan. Absolutely!
You know, Da Zhi and Feng Ye used to be unreliable people, but now they support their families with one person's salary and have become the pillars of their families. How could their parents not be happy?

Judging from the dishes Zheng's mother prepared, it was clear that both families had gone all out. Zheng's mother bought a large rooster, stewed mushrooms, and vermicelli, while Feng's mother bought three catties of pork and a pork knuckle. Zheng's father also brought out two bottles of his treasured Yuchun wine and personally cooked two dishes.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, it was already past seven o'clock in the evening.

The food had gone cold, so Da Zhi's wife took the plates to the outer room and reheated them. Zheng's father, Feng's father, and Yang Jun chatted casually, while Xu Ning was giving Zheng Da Zhi and Feng Ye some instructions.

"After the New Year, the 28th and 3rd timber yards will be divided into six brigades, and each brigade will have four sub-brigades. You two will each be in charge of one brigade, mainly responsible for unloading and packing the timber. Transporting timber from the mountain is quite laborious. You two know how to drive a tractor, right?"

"meeting!"

"Then we'll use a tractor to pull it, or if that doesn't work, we'll go down the mountain and hire donkeys, horses, or mules..."

"clear."

At this moment, Da Zhi's wife brought the dishes back up and served Xu Ning and Yang Jun two bowls of rice.

"Er Ning, Jun'er, eat quickly! Don't let it get cold. Ye Zi, go to the outer room and get some tea..."

Xu Ning laughed and said, "I'm actually a little hungry after drinking."

He and Yang Jun soaked the chicken soup in their rice, picked out a few pieces of mushrooms and chicken, and shoveled them into their mouths. Although this way of eating was impolite, it revealed an undeniable appetite, which pleased Zheng's mother, Feng's mother, and others. It showed that Xu Ning and Yang Jun did not consider themselves outsiders.

Imagine that the Xu and Yang families are both wealthy people, and they are treated with such respect by visiting the Zheng and Feng families, who are in dire straits. Of course, the two families were worried that Xu Ning and Yang Jun would not eat or sleep well, since they were counting on Xu Ning to make money. But now they don't have to worry about that, and they feel quite relieved.

Yang Jun ate two bowls of rice and put down his chopsticks. He took out a small notebook from his inner pocket, tore off a page, and handed it to Zheng Dazhi, saying, "Dazhi, there are a few people listed here who won't be working tomorrow or next year. As for why they won't be working, I'm sure you two know. These are the lowest-paid people in your batch, and they spend all their time lying on the kang (heated brick bed). As soon as work stops, they start gambled. Even if they didn't gamble much, it still affected the work progress and atmosphere too much."

Zheng Dazhi took it, glanced at the name, and nodded: "Okay, I'll talk to them after the New Year."

Xu Ning waved his hand: "Don't wait until after the New Year to tell them. Tell them tomorrow after we leave. They'll just blame me at most, not you two. But if you wait until after the New Year, they'll blame you."

Yang Jun smiled and said, "Yeah, that's because you two are the ones who lead Lao Shanzi and Jingang in doing the work."

"I understand. It's better to have a short pain than a long one. I'll go talk to them tomorrow."

Yang Jun nodded: "Spread the word so that others are aware of the situation. We can send a few more people to work at the farm after the New Year."

Upon hearing this, Zheng's father and Feng's father immediately understood what Yang Jun was planning. This was a profitable scheme. They were now in charge of the farm, holding some kind of official position. If someone wanted to work in the farm, wouldn't they have to visit the Zheng and Feng families? And they certainly couldn't come empty-handed.

This kind of thing can't be called normal; it just shows that people's hearts are unpredictable. Once they have a little power, they become dishonest and start calculating the pros and cons for themselves.

At first, Feng Ye was a little taken aback and was about to speak when Zheng Dazhi stopped him. Xu Ning put down his chopsticks and said, "You two didn't go too far. Just keep an eye on things."

"Okay, Erning, if we do it this way, it won't affect our family's reputation in the village, will it?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "If you can make money with them, even if they curse you behind your back, they'll still have to bow and scrape when they see you face to face, understand? Don't care too much about your reputation."

"That's absolutely true. It's not too late to protect your reputation when you're not short of money."

Father Zheng laughed and said, "Listen to what Er Ning and your brother Jun are saying. These are the most valuable experiences in life! Ye Zi, your father and I are not very capable, but now we have met some benefactors. You should take this to heart."

Xu Ning smiled and waved his hand: "Uncle Zheng, what kind of important person am I? Please don't say that."

They chatted in the east room until nine o'clock, then Mr. Feng started preparing to go home. Zheng Dazhi drove their old Dongfeng car back to Laoshanzi Village.

There were also gifts that Xu Ning had specially prepared in the car. One was for Old Zheng's family, which they took inside when they arrived at the door. The other gift had been kept in the car, and they took it home.

In the evening, Xu Ning and Yang Jun slept alone in the west room, while the five members of the Zheng family squeezed into the east room. Their manners were impeccable, truly treating Xu Ning and Yang Jun as honored guests.

The next morning, Zheng's mother steamed egg custard, cooked a second batch of rice and millet porridge, prepared three kinds of pickled vegetables, and also made some dumplings with cabbage and oil filling.

After they finished breakfast, the Feng family of five also arrived. Xu Ning was about to leave, but seeing this, he sat down and chatted for half an hour.

At 8:40, Xu Ning and Yang Jun drove away from Jingang Village.

Yang Jun, a cigarette dangling from his lips and both hands gripping the steering wheel, said, "Er Ning, how was Lei Zi's call yesterday?"

"We encountered a robber. He and my older brother fired shots and shot one of them. He should have been taken to the hospital by now, and he's fine."

Yang Jun was stunned: "Are they all alright?"

"It's alright, Stone is ruthless, he subdued the robbers directly."

Xu Ning didn't mention this to Lao Zheng's family because it wasn't a respectable thing to do, and he was afraid it would have a bad influence.

"That's good. Shall we go to the city for lunch?"

"Sure, I was just thinking of going to the city to buy some things."

"What are you buying?"

"It's the wine we drank during the Chinese New Year."

Yang Jun laughed and said, "Then you have to give me a chance. I'm thinking of going to your house for Chinese New Year this year. I can't go empty-handed. I'll cover all the cigarettes and alcohol."

"Go wherever there's excitement, but don't buy too much."

"Haha, just spend it on three hundred yuan!"

After they finished shopping in the city, it was already 3:30 in the afternoon when they drove to Qing'an Village.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Feng and the others rushed out to greet him. Xu Ning jumped out of the car, looked into the courtyard, and laughed, "Grandpa, why did you come down the mountain by yourself?"

Ma Liu grinned and said, "Your dad called a car and picked up Lao Yang and me from the mountain. I thought it wouldn't be right to leave Lao Zhao alone on the mountain, so I let Lao Zhao come to your old house and stay with me in the side room. Is that okay?"

"Why not! I was originally thinking of having the three of you go down the mountain together so that you could look out for each other. My dad did a pretty good job of handling this."

"It's quite an honor. The men of Lengchang were worried that the three of us wouldn't have anywhere to go for the New Year, but who would have thought that Boss Xu's father would come to pick us up in person..."

"Oh my god, sir, please stop talking like that, it's giving me a creepy feeling."

"Hahahaha..." Yang Jun, carrying two cases of liquor, directed Wang Biao and Liu Tianen to move the other things, then turned around and asked, "Didn't my uncle come over?"

Ma Liu, with his hands behind his back, said, "He and Lao Zhao went to Mangliu Village at noon. Lao Zhao said there's something good in his cellar, but we don't know what it is. He insisted on going to get it. He should be back soon."

The group walked under the plastic shed. Xu Feng pulled open the shed door, grinned, and said, "Second Brother, Uncle promised to make me an ice sled. Can you take me to the reservoir to ice skate tomorrow?"

Xu Ning placed the two cases of wine in the corner of the reception room, turned around and looked down at her, saying, "You can't go ice skating at the reservoir. You can just play on the back mountain for a while."

"Hey, my uncle finally agreed to make me an ice sled, so please take me there."

"How can I have time today? I still have to deliver gifts tomorrow, and the pig will be slaughtered in two days. Can't I wait until after the New Year?"

"The ice will melt after the New Year, what's the point of going out to play... You just don't want to take me, you think I'm a burden, I know you too well..."

Xu Ning frowned and asked, "What are you muttering about?"

Xu Feng blinked and said, "I didn't mutter anything."

Wang Biao laughed and said, "Second Brother, Feng'er has been so bored with these two places. If you have time, why don't you take her there?"

"We're slaughtering a pig tomorrow, and we have to deliver gifts the day after tomorrow. Do you think I'm just playing around all day? If you want to play, go to the small reservoir, but don't go onto the ice holes. Before you go down onto the ice, scout the way first. If you see an ice hole, put a branch down so you don't get blinded."

"Alright, absolutely! Don't worry, Second Brother."

Upon hearing this, Xu Feng leaped half a meter high and jumped straight at Xu Ning. Wang Biao and Liu Tianen were also very happy, as they had been itching to go out for a stroll with Jiang Qiu'er and Huang Xiaomei.

"Hey, that's not right, bro. Didn't Little Stone say he was going to stay at Wanye for two days? Will Shazhu and the others still be able to make it tomorrow?"

Xu Ning said, "Just listen to his nonsense, he's just teasing you. He called yesterday, I reckon he'll be home in about an hour."

Sun Lianfang laughed and said, "Brother, you have to keep an eye on him. He's been lying to me all the time."

"This is so interesting... Mom, all these things were bought by my brother Jun."

Liu Lizhen came out of the north kitchen and saw eight cases of wine and ten cartons of cigarettes stacked in the corner of the living room. She squinted and smiled, saying, "Jun'er has really made a fortune this year. He really dares to spend money."

Yang Jun knew Liu Lizhen was teasing him, and laughed, "Oh, Auntie, you have to give me a chance to show off, right? I'll be here all year round."

"Come on, don't spend money like that next time. You have two kids to support now, so don't spend every penny you have."

"I know, Auntie. We're family, so I don't mind how much we spend on food and drinks."

Sun Lianfang laughed and said, "Auntie, now I know why Sister Cuiping is living with Brother Jun. With Brother Jun's eloquence, who can disagree?"

"Haha... I'm just scratching the surface. To truly learn eloquence, you have to learn from Er Ning."

Xu Ning waved his hand and quickly said, "Don't follow my example, or you'll blame me for everything."

Everyone laughed.

They chatted and joked inside the house. Around five o'clock, Guan Lei, Li Fuqiang, and Wang Hu returned, followed by Xu Laonian, Wang Erli, and Liu Daming.

"Oh my god, tomorrow's finally a holiday! You guys just got home?"

Li Fuqiang nodded: "Yeah, how did you know, Uncle?"

"I touched the front of the car before I came in, and it was still warm. I hope nothing happened on this trip."

Guan Lei spoke the truth, and everyone was somewhat astonished. First, they didn't expect Guan Lei to act so decisively, and even more so, they didn't expect that they would actually send the bandit leader to the hospital.

“My brother asked me to take him to the hospital. I heard that the bandit leader’s master was an old ginseng master, so I was thinking of buying ginseng from them in the future. That would be considered a connection in Wanye.”

Xu Laonian nodded: "Spending some money is fine, but the main question is whether the other party is reliable?"

"Uncle, I think it should work. Although they are highway robbers, they have never hurt anyone and are still considered law-abiding."

Guan Lei said, "I chatted with that ginseng leader for a while, and I felt that he knew exactly who we were..."

Wang Hu rubbed his chin and said, "Before we left, that guy named Xiao Liu asked my brother Lei for his contact information. We'll see if they make that call or not."

"Yeah, and Quan Ge contacted me today too. He said he's already talked to Xiao Liu. If they want to make money, I reckon they'll definitely call."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning pondered for a moment and asked, "How many of them are there? Are they all from the Ginseng Gang?"

"Judging from their appearance, they should be a newly formed ginseng gang this year, but they haven't done anything this year. However, I heard from Brother Quan that a ginseng gang called Lao Jin Douzi has managed to get two large ginseng seedlings."

Xu Ning smiled when he heard the familiar name: "Old Jin Douzi, that old man is indeed quite capable."

Guan Lei said, "He is indeed quite skilled. This year, his ginseng business has been very successful, and he is thinking of recruiting a few more people next year to venture deeper into the mountains."

Xu Ning thought to himself: Should I go deeper into the mountains? I'm sure I won't see that old scum anymore. Since I haven't found the old scum, then there won't be any more infighting, right?
"Old man, shall we go to Wanye again next year to buy ginseng? It's a quick way to make money, and it's addictive..."

After Xu Lao finished speaking in his usual cheeky manner, he was suddenly rebuked by Liu Lizhen, who said, "Stop making trouble! My son won't have time next year!"

"Absolutely right, Erning is going to open a car repair shop next year."

Xu Ning said, "No rush. Let Shi Tou and Ma Lian's group get in touch first. If their ginseng gang is lucky, they might be able to get a lot of ginseng. Then we can send it directly to Chen Hedong and make a profit."

"Become a middleman?" Old Xu wasn't very interested.

Liu Daming said unhappily, "Brother-in-law, why do you look down on middlemen? You can make money this way without putting in much effort..."

"Hey, what did I say? Why are you getting so worked up? I think you deserve a beating."

Wang Erli said, "Brother, Da Ming is right. Middlemen do make the most money, and there's not much risk involved."

Seeing that they were chatting enthusiastically, Xu Ning got up and invited Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei to go to the west room.

The two sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei lit cigarettes, while Xu Ning asked, "What's wrong with that old ginseng foreman? Is he really paralyzed on the kang?"

"It's not exactly paralysis. It's the same problem as Grandpa Yang's. His legs were frostbitten when he was young, and now that he's older, they've flared up again. The doctor said it should gradually get better by next spring."

"That's good. This old man is quite important to us. When Wei or Xiao Liu calls, just tell them about the ginseng acquisition..."

(End of this chapter)