Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 776 Continuing with Old Practices - Eve of Qingming Festival
April 3, 1985, the 4th day of the second month in the lunar calendar.

Several days have passed since Xu Ning arrived in the city wearing a heavy cotton-padded coat. He has taken off the coat and hung it in the closet. He only needs to wear a shirt and a thin sweater on his upper body each day, and a leather jacket in the morning and evening to keep warm.

At this moment, the temperature is much higher than it was before or after the year, with daytime highs reaching 10 degrees Celsius, but morning and evening temperatures are still below zero.

During this period, Xu Ning was extremely busy. He and Lao Qian spent their days attending drinking parties with leaders of various factories, and finally signed several contracts.

He bought thirteen old Dongfeng, Jiefang, and Huanghe trucks! The prices were unbelievably cheap. Xu Ning treated him to two meals and bought an old Jiefang truck that looked dilapidated and had been in a collision for 1000 yuan. However, the damage was only superficial and did not affect the engine, electrical system, or shock absorbers.

After driving it back to the repair shop, Lao Jin and Wang Biao spent three or four days repairing the car and bringing it back to life. Although many small parts were replaced, the total cost was less than 300 yuan, which was acceptable. After the car was repaired, it was immediately bought by Lao Qian's friend, who made nearly 5000 yuan!

When Lao Qian and Lao Jin heard this, they were both speechless with disbelief. Xu Ning, however, was used to it. Why did he go to all the trouble of hosting a dinner party? It was all to buy the car at the lowest price, repair it, and then resell it at a higher price. Only those involved could understand the profits involved.

The land for the auto repair shop is still undeveloped, but the old house has been renovated. Old Jin has found his brother-in-law and two honest men from the same village to look after more than ten cars there. Some of them have already been repaired, and the rest are waiting in line for repairs...

With a place to practice their repair skills, Wang Biao, Liu Tianen, and Huang Lin's skills improved every day. If they didn't understand something, they would get together with Lao Jin to study it.

Old Jin isn't an omniscient expert; he also needs to learn. So when he asked Xu Ning to go to the parts factory or car factory to discuss business, he hoped to get two sets of maintenance manuals, because automotive technology is constantly innovating, and his car repair skills cannot stop there.

When Xu Ning left home, he had basically emptied his savings account. In addition to the 10 yuan invested by the Sun family, the 11 yuan borrowed from the Chai family, and his own 8 yuan, his mother also gave him 2 yuan, bringing the total to 32 yuan.

The 32 yuan has now been squandered. Where did it go? First, the land. This vacant lot is nearly 3000 square meters, or 4.5 acres. Including the paperwork and meals, it cost more than 10 yuan. This price is very cheap, even a bargain, considering the city provided some support.

Secondly, we talked with the leaders of various units and bought more than 10 used cars. Some of these cars were cheap, some were reasonably priced, but there were definitely no cars that would lose money.

Xu Ning wasn't stupid, and neither were they. These cars cost less than 5 yuan.

He also signed long-term supply contracts with parts manufacturers, and each manufacturer gave him a deposit of 2000 yuan...

The remaining money was set aside to buy building materials such as red bricks, steel bars, and cement in the spring.

Xu Ning couldn't possibly spend all his money. Even though he had some left over, he went to the credit union where Yang Yusheng had introduced him to get a loan.

The loan hasn't been disbursed yet. The first installment of 5 yuan will be disbursed after the auto repair shop starts construction, and there will be four more installments.

He and Lao Qian visited many people and opened up many connections. Moreover, Lao Qian now understood Xu Ning's tactics, which was to buy up as many cars as possible that were scrapped from various units, even those that were beyond repair and could not be driven. He would offer a price to buy them, dismantle them, and sell the parts, which was better than selling them as scrap metal.

Moreover, during this period, another event occurred: the head of the forestry department retired due to illness, and Yang Yusheng naturally took over, also taking up a position in the government.

So Yang Yusheng has been quite busy lately, basically living at his workplace. Xu Long is studying very hard at night school and doesn't get back until after 10 p.m.

Leaving Wang Shujuan and Meng Ziyan at home was quite boring, but with Xu Feng and Jin Yumantang keeping them company, the two sisters-in-law were less anxious.

Two days before Qingming Festival, Xu Ning and Xu Long packed their things to go home. College students have a three-day holiday, so naturally they have to go back.

but……

The two brothers, seeing their bellies growing larger and their sisters-in-law becoming increasingly immobile, were at a loss.

They were discussing in the living room whether or not they should bring the two women back, since Wang Shujuan's due date was only two months away, and everyone said that the first and last three months of pregnancy were very important, so they had to be careful.

Wang Shujuan sat to the side, feeling somewhat uneasy. She said expressionlessly, "It's not like we can't move! What's there to be afraid of in a car? Look at you two, all worked up and looking pale. Is it really that serious?"

Meng Ziyan chimed in, "That's right. It wasn't a big deal to begin with. Besides, I haven't been home for so long, and I really miss my parents."

Wang Shujuan's parents lived in the city, in a house allocated by Wang Yuanjun's work unit. They would often come over to bring Wang Shujuan things, but Meng Ziyan hadn't seen her parents for a long time.

Xu Long looked troubled, scratched his head, and gestured with his chin towards Xu Ning, indicating that he should make a decision.

"Then let's go back! We should be fine if we drive slowly."

Meng Ziyan chuckled: "Alright, I'll go pack my things."

Xu Feng jumped up and down twice, saying, "It's so good to be home! I love being home!"

"Haha, stop jumping! Everyone upstairs is asleep so late at night."

Upon hearing that they were going home, everyone was overjoyed. Although they didn't exactly have a sleepless night, they were still extremely excited.

The next day, Xu Ning asked Xu Feng and Jin Yumantang for leave for the last two classes, and then took Lao Qian's car, along with Lao Jin, Wang Biao and others, back home. After dropping off Lao Qian and Lao Jin's children in town, Xu Ning drove his family back to the village.

These days, nothing much has changed at Old Xu's house, except that there are a few fewer people, making it seem a bit deserted.

However, Lao Jiang, Li Feng, Lao Wei, and others would come over to chat all the time.

Guan Lei and Sun Lianfang returned to Sandaohe and stayed for five or six days. Then Sun Lianfang was picked up by Sun Lianjun and taken to the city. She stayed at Sun Jishan's house for a while, but she had already returned to the village. Mainly, she was worried about Guan Lei and missed him if she didn't see him for two or three days...

There are no major issues with the work at the lumber yard right now. Every month or so, Yang Jun drives to deliver lumber to Zhang Jinbao's Jinlong Furniture. Moreover, he not only delivers lumber from lumber yards 28, 25, and 17, but also finds several familiar foremen to buy lumber from them and then makes a profit from the difference.

Two days after the second day of the second lunar month, Da Laba, Li Feng, Lao Jiang, Xu Laonian, Wang Erli, and Liu Daming went into the mountains to kill a bear. They killed a bear weighing over 300 jin and obtained a bear gallbladder. The six of them divided the bear gallbladder equally, kept some of the bear meat for themselves, and sold the rest.

The loudspeaker offered Liu Lizhen the money from selling meat, but Liu Lizhen waved him off, telling the three of them to divide it among themselves.

After all, the three of them were also capable of profiting from bear bile, and they even came to my house to drag Xu Laonian and the other two along, getting a share of the bear bile for nothing. They were already being greedy.

Around 7 p.m., Xu Ning finally drove his slow-moving car to his doorstep. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but because there were two pregnant women in the passenger seat, he really didn't dare to step on the gas.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Xu Feng jumped out without a second thought and rushed towards the courtyard gate, shouting as she ran, "Mom! Mom! Mom!!"

Liu Lizhen pushed open the plastic shed door, her expression one of helplessness: "Stop shouting, or you'll scare me to death."

"Oh my god, I miss you so much!"

When Xu Feng saw her mother, she showered her with concern and care, but Liu Lizhen didn't get annoyed with her. She just grabbed her shoulder and patted her.

Perhaps because her children had all left home, Liu Lizhen's agitated heart became even more composed. Even when Xu Laonian provoked her, she didn't bother to respond.

A few days later, Xu Laonian couldn't hold back any longer and impulsively slapped her buttocks twice, which angered his beloved Zhen and resulted in a beating. Knowing that Liu Lizhen's temperament hadn't changed, Xu Laonian endured the torment while secretly delighted, and realized that Liu Lizhen was missing her child.

Xu Ning carried vegetables and meat through the door and said with a smile, "Mom, did you miss me?"

Liu Lizhen turned hostile and said, "Why would I miss you? I'd rather miss a dog than you."

"Hahaha, I'm just a dog, woof woof woof..."

Liu Lizhen smiled and playfully patted him twice, saying, "Stop making a fool of yourself and come inside. Juan'er, Yan'a, oh my god, why are you dressed so lightly?"

Wang Shujuan said, "Mom, you're wearing too many clothes. You were covered with a blanket in the car and you're all sweaty."

"Then hurry inside, don't catch a cold," Han Fengjiao reminded them. Xu Laonian and Wang Erli patted Xu Ning and Xu Long on the shoulder and walked into the house. Wang Erli couldn't help but say, "Erning, I have some good news for you."

Xu Ning turned his head and glanced at him, then thought for a moment and said, "Tiger is going to be a father?"

Wang Erli clapped his hands anxiously: "Oh my god! Why won't this kid let me finish? You guessed it right away, how am I supposed to say this now..."

Old Xu pursed his lips and said, "This guy makes you so happy. Your second uncle goes around chatting with everyone he meets at the forest farm, and he's so smug, it's like he's pregnant with his own baby."

"How dare you talk to me like that? When Juan'er and Yan got together, how did you show off? You practically shouted it out over a megaphone."

"Guoxing did shout it out for me a couple of times, so what?"

"Haha, Dad, Second Uncle, you two shut up. My older brother isn't here?"

"He hasn't come back yet. There's been a lot of bear meat coming down these past few days, and he's been collecting meat from various villages all day long."

Xu Ning turned his head and glanced over: "Really? Black Bear has come out of the warehouse? The weather's getting warmer, it's about time..."

Upon entering the room, gasps of surprise rang out from the group of women. Wang Shujuan and Meng Ziyan excitedly held Guan Hua's hands, while Sun Lianfang chattered on the side, explaining why they hadn't called to tell them. It was mainly because the diagnosis had only been made two days ago, and they were planning to wait for Xu Ning to go to the city again so that he and Wang Hu could take Guan Hua to the hospital for another check-up.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Lizhen, Yang Shuhua, and others went to the north kitchen to prepare the meal, while the rest of the people chatted in the reception room.

Before long, Yang Jun, Guan Lei, Da Laba, Li Feng, Lao Jiang, and Liu Daming entered the room together.

"Why did it take you so long to get back?" Xu Ning asked.

Yang Jun grinned and said, "I was almost home when I ran into Uncle Jiang and the others on the way. I heard them say they were going to Yongping to buy a whole black bear, so I drove over there with them."

The loudspeaker announced, "We bought a brown bear weighing over 600 jin (300 kg), skin and all. It was too heavy to pull on a donkey, so we asked Jun'er to help us bring it back."

"Have quite a few black bears been released from storage recently?"

"Spring is just around the corner, so we can probably buy one every now and then, and the price has come down too."

Xu Ning nodded: "That's good. Did you ask them if they'd sell their bear bile? If they do, we'll offer 50 yuan more than the supply and marketing cooperative."

"I haven't asked about this yet. I'll ask about it the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, take as many as you want, don't worry about the money."

Bear gallbladders collected from the countryside can earn at least 200 yuan per gallbladder when sold in the provincial capital! Five gallbladders would be 1000 yuan. Don't think that Xu Ning is indifferent to 200 yuan now; in reality, he is heavily in debt and thinks about how to make money every day.

In his previous life, he started out as a middleman, and in this life, he can't avoid following the same path. Besides, this old path is reliable; he can make money with almost no effort.

Liu Lizhen and the others brought the food to the table, and everyone sat around the table to eat.

“Jun, didn’t you say that Cuiping couldn’t eat breakfast? When Erning goes to the city again, why don’t you take Cuiping with you to get checked out?”

Yang Jun looked up, stunned, and said, "Auntie, do you mean Cuiping is pregnant?"

Liu Lizhen waved her hand and said, "I didn't say that. Cuiping used to have trouble eating and sleeping. It's a bit abnormal that she can't eat now. It's always good to get her checked out."

"Yes, Auntie is right... How about I take her to the local clinic for a checkup first?"

Han Fengjiao said, "Hurry up and take her to see her. Lihong came over today and said that Cuiping threw up after drinking some porridge at noon."

"Oh my god, she threw up? I'll go back now..."

"Finish your meal before you go back, what's the rush? Look at how flustered you are."

Yang Jun glanced at Xu Laonian and nodded, then emptied his bowl of food before getting up and leaving.

Xu Ning frowned and asked, "What kind of game is this?"

Liu Lizhen laughed and said, "Your sister-in-law Cuiping is pregnant too, but we can't tell your brother Jun first. This joyous occasion should be discussed between the young couple themselves."

"Ah, look at my mom, she really acts like an elder, she's so thoughtful."

"Get lost, stop trying to flatter me, you're annoying!"

"Haha, I was praising you, why are you scolding me?"

“You deserve to be scolded. You’ve been gone for so long and haven’t even called home once. I’ve been the one calling you all, and you haven’t even answered…”

Xu Ning grinned and said, "My god, why are you being so picky? I haven't been idle lately either. Sometimes I don't get home until eight or nine o'clock at night. If you don't believe me, ask my wife and sister-in-law."

"I knew you were busy, otherwise I would have kicked you as soon as you walked in the door."

Seeing his mother's resentful look, Xu Ning went over and hugged her, but Liu Lizhen pushed him away: "Now you know how to come closer, get lost!"

"Hey, stop nitpicking, it's no big deal. I was just trying to finish my business and come back as soon as possible."

Xu Laonian curled his lip and said, "This little brat didn't get a good beating! Zhen, you should have slapped him twice."

"I'll slap you twice! What's it to you? My daughter-in-law's inside, go outside if you want to smoke. If you choke my grandson again, I'll strangle you!"

"okay!"

Old Xu, crouching low, dashed out the door like a defeated enemy soldier.

Wang Erli sipped his tea and asked, "How's Erning doing in the city?"

"The preliminary preparations are almost complete. We've been spending a lot and earning little lately, but that's normal. Once the houses and factories are built in the spring, everything will be fine."

Wang Hu was stacking gold ingots next to the coffee table when he said, "Second Brother, the ginseng gang leader from Malian called a while ago. It seems he wants to come over here to discuss buying ginseng."

Xu Ning pondered for a moment and said, "They seem quite anxious. They've probably run out of money and want to come and ask for some more... Tomorrow evening, Shi Tou should send them a message and tell them to come over on the 6th or 7th."

Guan Lei asked doubtfully, "Brother, are we still paying them money? Isn't that just supporting these people?"

"Can we just support them for nothing? Why don't we invest in the ginseng gang? They have no money, not even rice or noodles to eat. What will they eat when they go into the mountains? Chew tree leaves?"

Guan Lei nodded: "Okay, I'll reply to them tomorrow evening."

(End of this chapter)