Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Chapter 1124 Fueling the Earth Fire Dragon

Huang Zhong, in particular, used to be skinny and bony. Even though he was 15 years old, he looked no different from an eleven or twelve-year-old child.

After eating plenty of food and meat for more than 10 days, Huang Zhong is now like a completely different person. Not only is his complexion much rosier, but his clothes no longer look so baggy.

Seeing the sincerity in their words, Wang An thought for a moment and smiled:
"Then you can come again next spring. We'll have so much work to do then, hehehe."

As he spoke, Wang An handed the money in his hand to Huang Baoguo and Ergangzi respectively, and said again:

"Alright, that's all the money you have. Don't argue with me. Just take it."

Seeing that the two were still embarrassed to accept the money, Wang An simply stuffed the money into their pockets.

"Oh, right, you two take 10 catties of each of wheat and rice before you leave, so you can taste what the newly harvested rice and flour taste like, hahaha."

To be fair, Wang An's rice and wheat harvests this year were quite good, making it a truly bumper year.

As for rice, thanks to the improved seeds developed by Mr. Yuan, the average yield per mu is over 700 jin. This is because Wang Anjia did not use chemical fertilizers this year. If they had used chemical fertilizers, the yield per mu should have exceeded 1000 jin without any problem.

As for wheat, the average yield per mu (unit of land area) reached more than 350 jin (unit of weight).

If it weren't for the fact that wild boars had ravaged several acres of Wang An's wheat fields back in the spring, the yield of that one acre of wheat field might have reached 400 jin, or even more.

Of course, the main reason for the large harvest is that there were no pests or floods this year; otherwise, it would have been impossible to produce so much grain.

Upon hearing Wang An's words, Huang Baoguo and Ergangzi immediately wanted to refuse, but before they could speak, Wang An continued:
"Let's not wait any longer, I'll go and get it for you now."

As he spoke, Wang An walked into the storeroom.

Only then did Huang Baoguo speak:
"No need, Young Master An. This grain is too precious; we'll just..."

Before Huang Baoguo could finish speaking, Wang An interrupted him:

"Alright, alright, don't be so polite with me. I won't give you any extra. Just have a taste. Besides, you've been busy for so long, you should at least eat some of the grain you harvested yourself."

To be fair, these two are really good at their jobs; as the locals say, they're "perfect."

Therefore, Wang Ancai gave them bonuses and provided them with grain, which can be considered as recognition of their work.

Without saying a word, Wang An took out two flour sacks, turned around, and said to Huang Baoguo and the other man:
"Come on, you two, make me a bag."

Seeing this, Huang Baoguo said with a embarrassed expression:

"Young Master An, you're giving us both money and food, it's making us feel... well, you know."

Ergangzi also tried to stop him, saying:

"Well, how about we just forget about the food?"

Wang An glared at him, and said somewhat impatiently:
"Hurry up, stop dawdling with me."

The two looked at each other and then opened their mouths from the bag.

Wang An picked up a scoop and inserted it into the grain bin containing rice. He estimated that it weighed about five or six pounds, so he put two scoops into each of their bags.

Just as Wang An was about to find two more bags, he heard Huang Baoguo say:
"No need to look for another bag, Young Master An. Just put it in this bag and tie the drawstring."

As he spoke, Huang Baoguo pulled a bag rope from the wall and tied it around the middle of the flour sack, and Ergangzi did the same.

To be honest, this method is actually quite good, because it allows you to put two kinds of grains in one bag. After the two men tied the bag, Wang An put two handfuls of wheat grains into each of their bags before letting them tie the bag shut.

Amidst their profuse thanks, Wang An escorted them to the courtyard gate, while Huang Zhong was left behind by Wang An.

Keeping Huang Zhong was something Wang An had considered beforehand, and it was also the result of Huang Baoguo's request to Wang An.

Huang Baoguo's idea was to keep Huang Zhong at Wang An's house to work, without paying him a salary, just providing him with meals, essentially making him a long-term laborer.

After all, the saying "a half-grown boy can eat his father to death" is not without reason. At Huang Zhong's current age, he is in the prime of his growth, so he can eat a lot. Huang Baoguo is actually struggling to support him.

It wouldn't be a problem to feed him, but Huang Baoguo was worried that Huang Zhong would not grow up properly due to prolonged malnutrition, and his body would remain at this size forever.

This would not only delay the continuation of the Huang family line, but also pose a major problem for Huang Zhong's future survival.

According to Huang Baoguo, the reason why Huang Zhong is so small and much smaller than his peers is because Huang Zhong was born prematurely due to congenital deficiencies.

So Wang An hesitated for a moment, then kept Huang Zhong behind.

Although keeping Huang Zhong around now wouldn't be of much use, he could at least run errands for Wang Anjia or do some odd jobs.

Wang An mainly felt that Huang Zhong was a really good kid, because whether it was when he went to rescue his sister or during this period of work, Huang Zhong's performance was quite good.

So, this can be seen as Wang An helping Huang Baoguo and giving Huang Zhong a hand. Besides, who knows, we might need Huang Zhong in the future. It's all uncertain.

Two days later, just as Wang An and Huang Zhong finished practicing martial arts, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Since the day before yesterday, Huang Zhong has been practicing martial arts with Wang An. Wang An mainly felt that with Huang Zhong's small physique, if he got enough nutrition and practiced martial arts, he might grow even faster.

Otherwise, would you believe that a 15-year-old is only less than 1.4 meters tall?

So, under Wang An's orders, Huang Zhong got up early every day to practice martial arts with Wang An.

Looking at the snowflakes, Wang An couldn't help but feel happy, because after the snowfall, he could go into the mountains to hunt.

To be honest, after being reborn, Wang An's favorite thing to do is to ride a horse and lead a dog, galloping through the mountains and forests.

Watching prey get caught by the dogs or die by their own guns is a truly intoxicating experience.

However, the snow looks a bit light; it's still a bit early to go hunting in the mountains.

During breakfast, Wang Dazhu suddenly said to Wang An:

"Xiao An, if you're free later, come with me to add some ingredients to the Earth Fire Dragon, okay?"

After October, the temperature in Heilongjiang Province has dropped significantly, with nighttime temperatures already below 0 degrees Celsius, and a full-scale temperature drop is imminent.

If the fire dragon isn't lit in time, it will be quite cold to stay indoors at night.

Wang An nodded upon hearing this and said:

"Then add it. I'm fine, nothing's wrong."

Wang Dazhu said:
"Okay, let's get started after we finish eating."

(End of this chapter)