Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 778 You're Xu Pao? A Bargain Deal
Hearing that the Chang brothers had moved away from Qing'an, Xu Ning felt no emotion. He knew very well that no matter where the Chang brothers moved, they would be disliked. In his previous life, the two brothers had never made any waves and spent their whole lives holed up in the mountains without achieving anything. Perhaps things would be a little different in this life, but the saying "a leopard can't change its spots" made Xu Ning deeply agree!
It is said that on the day the two brothers left, firecrackers went off for half an hour in the front street. When they learned that it was Tang Er from the Tang family who set off the firecrackers, the villagers all laughed and talked about the Chang brothers' recent deeds after tea and dinner. They talked about how they plotted to seize Chang Danian's property, and about how they stayed at Li Feng's house eating and drinking for free.

Blood relatives, such as Chang Danian and Chang Lihong, did not go to see them when they heard that the two had moved away.

Even when Chang Xifeng went to Li Feng's house, he was turned away at the door. Chang Lihong didn't even bother to look at them. Chang Xifeng called out twice outside the door, but when he didn't get a response, he cursed.

According to Li Feng, Chang Lihong cried and sobbed for half the night that night, and even drank four ounces of liquor by herself, which caused her child to go without milk for two days and had to drink rice water with malted milk powder.

The Xu family didn't discuss the Chang brothers' departure at all, because they didn't care about them at all. Whether they left or left, what did it have to do with anyone else?
That evening, when Lao Jiang, along with Zhou Hui, Li Feng, and their children, came over for a visit with Chang Lihong, Yang Jun, Sun Cuiping, and Li Tong, the loudspeaker broadcasted Xu Ning's suggestion.

Upon hearing this, Old Jiang slapped his thigh in regret and exclaimed, "Oh my god, I didn't even think of that!"

Zhou Hui was listening to pregnant women like Sun Lianfang, Sun Cuiping, and Meng Ziyan exchanging their pregnancy experiences in the east room when she heard a shout from the reception room and peeked out.

The men laughed heartily, praising Xu Ning for his quick wit. Li Feng said with a smile, "Then let's get this over with sooner rather than later. Shall we go to the garrison headquarters to find Uncle Du tomorrow?"

The loudspeaker nodded: "You and Brother Jiang go. Although my heart is in Qing'an, my body is in Taiping, so it's inconvenient for me!"

"Oh my god, you're really showing off with those words! You've been reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms for two days now. After you move, are you going to have to overcome all sorts of obstacles?"

The loudspeaker pounded his chest and stamped his feet, saying, "Uncle was right! Once I've finished changing houses, I'll be doing something big! Recently, Li Feng and I have not only been collecting meat in Qing'an, but also in Nanxing Village and Lingdong. Otherwise, how could we collect so much meat every few days?"

Li Feng grinned and said, "The 'every few days' you mentioned will take seven or eight days."

The loudspeaker clapped his hands and nodded emphatically: "Doesn't three plus five equal eight? That's seven or eight days. What's wrong with what I'm saying?"

“No problem! Guoxing used to be a very honest person, but now he’s become cunning.”

"Haha, Second Uncle, everyone has to learn to grow up, even my son has become more capable. He even had a couple of drinks with me when he came home the day before yesterday."

Old Xu took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and said, "Oh dear, Biao and the other two are all fifteen this year, right?"

Wang Biao rushed in from the west room, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment, and said, "Grandpa, we're all sixteen this year."

"You're already this old? Then you can drink quite a bit."

Xu Ning and Xu Long exchanged a smile. They had both started drinking alcohol at the age of sixteen, but it was a colored liquor mixed with cooled boiled water.

(Fruit wine, made by soaking wild fruits from the mountains, has a reddish-black color, hence the name "color wine".)

The group chatted and laughed inside until after 9:30, when they each led their wives and children away.

The next day, Lao Jiang and Li Feng put down their work and went to the village office to find Du Shoucai, explaining their plans to buy and exchange houses.

Du Shoucai immediately guessed that it was Xu Ning's idea, because there were very few people in the whole village who knew how to be flexible.

"Buying a house is easy, but changing houses is more difficult. You'd better talk to Lao Han first. If he agrees, we can sign the contract and put our fingerprints on it by noon."

Old Jiang nodded and went with Li Feng to find Old Han in Tun Dong. Old Han was over 50 years old and had two sons and three daughters. Some people might say that with so many children, how come he was still too poor to build a house? You should know that all 12 villages in Qing'an were family villages, which were staff dormitories.

The Han family came later; they used to live in Mangliutun, south of Taiping. This braided house was bought a few years after the land was distributed, so they didn't own any land at all, only a acre and a half of reclaimed land near Mangliutun.

The family has two sons who have just come of age, and all three daughters are married. Two of the daughters married in their original area, which is more than 600 miles away from Qing'an. The youngest daughter married in Yongping. Although it is closer, the money in her husband's family is managed by the old lady, so even when the youngest daughter comes back for holidays, she can't give them much money.

Besides, Lao Han was also afraid that accepting money from his youngest daughter would make his in-laws look down on him. If they looked down on his family because of a pittance, then he would be in big trouble.

Old Han wasn't unable to make a living. Every time his youngest daughter visited her parents, he would give her something. Although it was a very humane gesture, his family was only on good terms with a few households in the village, and they were all impoverished and struggling...

Old Jiang and Li Feng didn't go empty-handed. After all, they didn't usually have any dealings with each other, and it wouldn't be right for them to show up without bringing something.

When Old Han saw two well-off men from the village carrying two pieces of meat into the house, his eyes lit up slightly, and he quickly went to greet them.

Old Jiang was efficient and didn't mince words. He placed two pieces of meat in a basin on the stove, then handed Old Han a cigarette and said directly, "Brother Han, although we haven't done any favors for each other all these years, I've always given you a good discount when I sell meat. I'm here today to ask for your help with something."

Old Han nodded: "Go ahead! If I can help, I definitely will!"

Old Jiang chuckled: "I see your house is quite old, probably several decades old. A brother from the west side of our village moved away, so the house became empty. It has three rooms, and it looks much brighter and more spacious than your current house! The windows and roof are in good condition, and the front and back yards are also more roomy than yours..."

Old Han took a puff of his cigarette: "Yes, I heard about it. It's just that the Chang brothers' house has become vacant. To be honest, I'd like to buy it too, but my family isn't wealthy enough."

Old Jiang said, "I'll buy that house."

"You bought it? Then... what are you planning to do with it?"

Old Han thought he had come here specifically to show off, and then he heard Old Jiang say, "I want to switch rooms with you. I want this braided house, and you can go live in that stone house."

"Really?"

Old Han was quite excited when he heard this. He stood up with his eyes shining, thinking to himself that this good thing could fall on his head.
Upon further reflection, it became clear that Old Jiang and Li Feng had arrived at the same time, and both of them worked selling livestock meat in Qing'an. What could they possibly need in their dilapidated house? It couldn't be for selling meat, could it...?

Old Han was quite clever. Since he had thought of it, he wondered if there was any profit to be made, but after thinking about it three times, he still felt there was no profit to be made.

Why? Simply because no matter how he thought about it, his family was the one who benefited. Just like Old Jiang said, the Chang brothers' house was brighter and more spacious than his own house, and that house had only been built for less than ten years, with its windows and roof still intact.

Even if he wanted to challenge them, he couldn't just focus on the immediate situation. He had to understand that Old Jiang and Li Feng were businessmen with excellent reputations in the village. If he tried to challenge them, he wouldn't just offend the two of them, but a whole group of people in the village, and the Han family's reputation would be ruined.

Who knows, some naive old women might spread rumors, like: "That old Han from the east end is a scoundrel. Old Jiang traded his good house for the Chang brothers' dilapidated one, and he still wants some money. Good heavens, I don't know if he's ungrateful or what? Anyone who gets such a good deal would be overjoyed, but he put it on the shelf."

Old Jiang nodded: "Brother Han, if you agree, let's discuss when to move to a different house?"

Old Han banished the random thoughts from his mind and said, "You can change it anytime! My family is getting the better deal here, there's no reason for us to refuse. Should I give you some money? Honey! Come on, come on..."

Old Jiang quickly waved his hand: "No need, we all live in the same village, why would you give me money?" Old Han's wife, who had been listening to their conversation in the east room from the west room, stepped into the room with excitement in her eyes: "Money! Money! How much should we give our brother? We still have more than twenty yuan left..."

"Oh my god, come on, really, it's not necessary! Brother Han, I came here to talk to you about this, why would I need your money? Forget it, okay?"

Old Han turned his head and said, "Really not? Then I'll feel a little uneasy."

“What’s wrong with that? Your two sons are getting married soon, wouldn’t it be more comfortable to move to a bigger house?”

"That's absolutely right, brother, you're absolutely right!"

Old Han and his wife are also from Northeast China. They came from a minority area in western Liaoning, so their accents are a bit heavy, and they have to raise their pitch at the end of every sentence.

"Shall we go to the village office now? Find a few people to witness the signing of the contract and put our fingerprints on it. After that, we can have a drink at my house at noon. It'll be convenient for us."

Old Han smiled and nodded: "Okay!"

After saying that, the three of them left one after the other. Old Han's wife stood at the gate with her neck hunched, her face full of smiles.

After arriving at the village headquarters, Du Shoucai called over Liu Xuemin, who ran a small shop, Lao Tang, who did free work, and Yu Kaihe, a kind-hearted man in the village. Xu Ning, a villager with ten thousand yuan, also came to witness the signing of the contract and the pressing of their fingerprints. Lao Jiang and Lao Han thanked the group, and the three of them went to Lao Jiang's house to drink and discuss when to move.

Xu Ning chatted with Du Shoucai at the garrison headquarters for a while, and at noon, he, Du Shoucai, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu, Lao Tang, Yu Kaihe, and Chang Danian also called over to drink at the garrison headquarters.

Around 2 a.m., Xu Ning was sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the village office when Guan Lei, who had rushed back, woke him up.

"Brother, the ginseng gang from Malian has arrived. My Uncle Meng and Yinhe are chatting with them at my house."

"They said they wouldn't arrive until three or four o'clock, they're in such a hurry... Sir, I'm off now."

"Go ahead and get busy." Du Shoucai waved his hand, then turned and smiled at Lao Tang.

Xu Ning and the others walked leisurely down the street towards Guan Lei's house without any rush.

According to Guan Lei, the people who came from Ma Liancan's gang were Wei Lai, who was using a cane, and his right-hand men Xiao Liu and Lü Mazi.

They left Malian around 5 o'clock. Zhang Yu drove them to the dock, found someone he knew to help them board the ship, and then took a Mosga to Qing'an.

When they arrived in Qing'an, they were completely lost. Fortunately, they ran into a driver who was driving a wooden cart in Xima. When the driver heard that they were looking for Xu Ning, he took them to 28 Lengchang. Then Guan Lei took them down the mountain, but instead of taking them directly to Old Xu's house, he took them to his own house.

Upon entering, Wei Lai, Xiao Liu, and Lü Mazi stood up. Xu Ning glanced at the three of them and called out "Dad" to Meng the Cripple.

Meng the Cripple stood up and said, "You guys keep chatting, I'm going back to work."

"Uncle Meng, let me see you off."

"What's the point of sending anything? It's just two steps away."

After Meng the Cripple and Meng Yinhe left, Xu Ning sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), glanced at Wei Lai, and pointed to his injured leg: "My brother beat him up?"

"Ah, right...you're Xu Pao?"

"It's me. How many people are in your ginseng gang now?"

Wei Lai stared at the person in front of him who was several years younger than him, and his mind was actually a little unable to keep up with the other person's train of thought.

He answered instinctively, "Sixteen or seventeen people."

"It's a problem to have so many people eating and drinking together. The three of you came in such a hurry... you probably don't have much money left."

"……kindness."

Wei Lai took a deep breath. He figured he couldn't fool Xu Ning anymore. After a long silence, he blurted out, "I came here to ask you guys how to harvest the clubs. Spring is just around the corner, and we need to go into the mountains to harvest them..."

Xu Ning smiled and waved his hand: "You have no money in your pockets, how are you going to go into the mountains to collect ginseng? Besides, your ginseng gang was only formed last year, the people are a mixed bunch, and you don't have much experience. The only experienced leader is not very mobile. You have nothing, so you came here specifically to ask me how to collect ginseng. Do you think I would believe you?"

Wei Lai looked up, pursed his lips, and said, "Yes, I came here thinking of borrowing some money from you, and I'll pay you back after I've raised the club this year. You guys are very efficient, and I really want to cooperate with you..."

"Forget about cooperation. You spent half a year in the mountains last year and did you even find a good match? Now you come to me for money. What are you going to use to lend me money? Just your mouth, and you can't even talk properly."

Guan Lei smiled, while Xiao Liu and Lü Mazi's expressions were uncertain. Wei Lai fell silent again upon hearing this, and said in a hoarse voice, "Xu Pao, I really have no other choice. Spring is just around the corner, but I don't have much money in my pocket to buy food. I can't let the brothers go into the mountains to eat tree leaves and gnaw on tree bark, so I thought of you. You guys have money..."

"My money didn't come from thin air."

Xu Ning glanced at Wei Lai's head in front of him and suddenly laughed, "I don't want to play tricks on you either. Some things need to be said openly."

Wei Lai nodded: "Go on."

“My brother called me earlier saying he had been robbed and asked me what to do. I was thinking of having you guys put in jail, but then I heard that you robbed someone to pay for medical treatment for an old ginseng master, so I had my brother go over and you gave him some money and took him to the hospital for treatment.”

Xu Ning paused for a moment and then said, "What I'm after is your ginseng gang. Have you figured out the intricacies of this?"

Wei Lai nodded: "I can guess a bit about this."

“I have a buddy who buys ginseng in the provincial capital, so this year I’m thinking of having my brother go to the countryside to buy ginseng too. The price is fairer than what small pharmaceutical factories and pharmacies in the city offer. Your ginseng gang is just starting out, you have no experience, it’s hard to sell, and you don’t have any capital. So let me draw you a line: if you agree, we can cooperate; if you don’t, we can finish our meal and leave. How about that?”

"Okay, I can make the decision. You tell me..."

“I’ll give you 200 yuan for purchasing ginseng sticks after spring. But your ginseng gang has sixteen or seventeen people, which is a bit too many. You need to get rid of the useless people and keep only six. Then, before spring, let my brother lead four people to go into the mountains with you to purchase ginseng sticks.”

(End of this chapter)