Era: My backyard is the garbage dump of the universe

Chapter 297: It's much harder to make noodles than my brother's
The threshing ground was packed with people and was bustling with activity.

"Brother, brother... here!" Liu Qingsong was still looking for a seat, but Wang Ba stood on the bench and waved at him.

"Oh! Here they come." Liu Qingsong hurried over holding his youngest sister's hand.

After Zhou Yiyi brought Xiao Nuomi and Xiao Taoqi to their seats, he said something to Liu Qingsong and went on to do his own things.

Liu Qingsong didn't pay any attention to it, but sat down and picked up the noodles with his bowl and chopsticks.

Because he was a little hungry, he took a big bowl.

The same goes for Xiao Nuomi, Xiao Taoqi and Yaomei standing next to them.

However, after tasting the flavor.

They all frowned.

Liu Qingsong was also stunned and didn't know what to say for a moment.

The reason for this was that the noodles were too salty and difficult for him to swallow.

But the strange thing is that the other villagers at the same table ate with gusto, and some even ate it with pickled mustard tuber mixed with noodles.

As we all know, pickled mustard tuber is usually very salty.

This is coupled with the salty noodles.

Liu Qingsong frowned as he looked at it.

But he didn't say much. After all, this was a public place. If he said the noodles were too salty, it would embarrass Zhou Yi and the chef.

However, the little naughty girl didn't care about that. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and said to Liu Qingsong in dissatisfaction: "Brother, why are the noodles at this banquet so unpalatable?"

"Well, I can't even eat it." Little Nuomi agreed.

"It's much harder to make than the noodles my brother makes." The youngest sister couldn't help but say something.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have come." Wang Ba followed.

“Shh… keep your voices down.” Liu Qingsong saw that the other villagers at the same table were looking at him, and he even made a shushing gesture: “Don’t say it if it’s not tasty. I’ll go to the kitchen and get you something else to eat.”

"Okay, okay!" Little Nuomi was so happy.

The youngest sister, the naughty boy and the fat boy were also smiling happily.

"Then don't walk around!" Liu Qingsong said as he stood up and walked towards the open-air kitchen.

Before I even got close, I could hear the chef, Master Wang, scolding the three apprentices beside him from a distance: "What do you do for a living? Why are your noodles so salty?"

"Aren't they eating with gusto?" a short and thin apprentice couldn't help but reply.

"How dare you talk back?" Master Wang was so angry that he raised his hand to hit the short and thin apprentice.

Seeing this, Liu Qingsong stepped forward and held him back: "Master Wang, don't be angry. Now that things have come to this, it's useless to hit him!"

"Hmph!" Master Wang shook off Liu Qingsong's hand, turned around and left angrily.

The short and thin apprentice suddenly burst into tears out of grievance, and the other two apprentices looked unhappy.

"No, why are you crying when you did something wrong?" Liu Qingsong asked his short and thin apprentice.

"It's not our fault that the noodles are too salty. It's because the master put salt twice, so that's why it turned out like this." The short and thin apprentice cried.

"Well, we reminded him before, but for some reason, he turned around and added salt again, and even scolded us." Another burly apprentice followed up with a sentence.

"Really?" Liu Qingsong frowned.

If I remember correctly.

Master Wang should be about 63 or 64 years old this year. His cooking skills are well-known in Songmu Commune, but he also has a bad temper. It is not uncommon for him to beat and scold his apprentices at any time.

But these are not the point now.

The point is that Master Wang seems to suffer from amnesia.

When he was 65 years old, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Under such circumstances, his two apprentices said that it was Master Wang who put the salt there, and this should be correct.

The reason why he knew it so clearly was that before he was reborn, he had learned cooking from Master Wang's eldest son. Since they were close, he naturally knew some things about Master Wang.

Seeing that this was not going to work, Liu Qingsong came to his senses and said to the short and thin apprentice: "Don't cry for now, eat quickly, I will go to your master to have a good talk."

"Good! Good!" The short and thin apprentice nodded repeatedly.

Liu Qingsong turned around and walked towards where Master Wang was.

At this time, Master Wang was apologizing to Zhou Yiyi, Zhou Chuanxiong and other members of the Zhou family, saying that it was his responsibility to add too much salt.

This is not because he knows that he was the one who put the salt there, but because he is protecting his disciples and taking responsibility for them.

Liu Qingsong, who was approaching, couldn't help laughing when he saw this scene: "Master Wang, your wallet fell on the stove, go and get it quickly."

"Oh!" Master Wang quickly turned around and left.

After a moment, he came back.

There was surprise in his eyes: "That's not right! Captain Liu, I didn't bring my wallet with me today, how could it be left on the stove?"

"Are you sure you didn't bring your wallet?" Liu Qingsong asked.

"This..." Master Wang couldn't answer and became confused.

This is one of the symptoms of amnesia. Liu Qingsong looked at it and shook his head: "Master Wang, have you been forgetting things recently? You always feel that you have done some things but not done them, and then you repeat them again?"

"How do you know?" Master Wang was surprised.

Zhou Yiyi, Zhou Chuanxiong and other members of the Zhou family also looked at Liu Qingsong.

"Because I've seen your condition before. It's called amnesia." Liu Qingsong replied softly, "The noodles were very salty just now. In fact, you added two extra salts."

"What?" Zhou Chuanxiong shouted out.

Zhou Yiyi and other members of the Zhou family also looked incredulous.

Master Wang did not get angry when he heard this, but stood there in silence.

Obviously, he knew that Liu Qingsong had no need to lie to him in front of so many people.

"If you believe me, go to Accountant Wang's house and see Mr. Jiang!" Liu Qingsong suggested, "As long as amnesia is treated, it can be cured."

"But...but what about Zhou Mazi's funeral banquet?" Master Wang asked, spreading his hands.

Now that he has left, it might be difficult to find a chef to take over immediately.

"If you trust me, I can help you later." Liu Qingsong replied.

"You can cook too?" Master Wang was a little surprised.

"At least I can stand by and remind you not to add too much salt!" Liu Qingsong reminded with a smile.

"That's true." Master Wang laughed, but it was a bitter smile.

"Let's go!" Liu Qingsong gave Zhou Yiyi and Zhou Chuanxiong a few instructions, then took the lead and walked towards the open-air kitchen.

A moment later, he came out with a big bowl of sweet potato dumplings in his first bowl.

When Xiao Nuomi, Xiao Taoqi, Yaomei, Wang Ba and Pangdun saw this, they hurriedly stepped forward with their short legs.

Then they hid in Zhou Yi's backyard and gathered together to eat sweet potato dumplings.

Liu Qingsong also ate a sweet potato dumpling, and then after telling Xiao Nuomi, Yaomei, and Xiao Taoqi not to run around, he went to the kitchen to help Master Wang.

Xiao Nuomi and Yaomei were very obedient at first, but when they thought about the fact that they hadn't watched Naruto at home yet, they secretly sneaked back home with Wang Ba and Xiao Taoqi.

After Liu Qingsong found that the little guys were not in the threshing ground, he was a little worried. Just as he was about to look for them, Wang Yaoqing came over with Liu Huasheng, Liu Huagen and other villagers who helped him: "Qingsong, how much money should we give to Zhou Mazi this time?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Liu Qingsong couldn't help laughing.

The situations of each villager are different, and their relationships with Zhou Mazi's family are also different. In other words, the amount of money cannot be unified or the same.

"Accountant Wang said that Zhou Yiyi is the only one left in Zhou Mazi's family. If we only give one or two dollars as our share of the money, it would seem inappropriate," Liu Huagen reminded.

"Then just take five dollars." Liu Qingsong suggested after a moment of hesitation.

If I give him five dollars, it can at least help Zhou Yiyi temporarily.

By the time she pays back her share of the money, it is no longer worth anything and there is no pressure at all.

"Okay!" Accountant Wang agreed readily, and then took the villagers who helped him to pay the share money.

Liu Qingsong said something to Master Wang and followed behind.

There were many people registering for the money, and when they saw Wang Yaoqing actually gave five yuan, they began to discuss it privately. After all, in the past, the most people who gave money for funeral banquets in the team were one yuan, and those who gave two yuan were all relatives and friends.

But Wang Yaoqing didn't care about that. After taking the cigarette, he made way for Liu Huagen who was standing behind him.

Liu Huagen took out five yuan and handed it to Zhou Changli who was registering the share money.

Zhou Changli is 61 or 62 years old this year. He is an excellent calligrapher and is Zhou Mazi's cousin.

Seeing that Liu Huagen also gave five yuan as a share of the money, he was somewhat surprised: "Liu Huagen, did you discuss this with Accountant Wang?"

"Well, we can't let the people from other teams look down on us." After Liu Huagen said this, he picked up his cigarette and turned away.

His words seemed to be nonsensical, but Zhou Changli understood them. He was surprised and quickly helped to register.

But other villagers had opinions:

"What does Liu Huagen mean? He took the lead and gave five yuan as a share of the money. How much should we give?"

"Yeah! If we give less, people will definitely gossip about us."

"But if we give too much, won't we lose a lot?"

"That's right. When my grandparents died, Zhou Mazi only gave them one dollar as a share of the money."

……

Zhou Changli frowned when he heard the discussions. Just as he was about to ask everyone to be quiet, Liu Qingsong spoke up: "My uncle's intention of giving five yuan as a share is very simple. He just wants everyone to know that Zhou Mazi is dead, but Zhou Yiyi is not an orphan. She still has the support of the villagers of the Huaishu production team."

If he doesn't do this, Zhou Yiyi will definitely be bullied.

Because Zhou Mazi had a big conflict with the Wang family because of the death of his son Zhou Shunji, and it has not been resolved until now.

Now that Zhou Mazi is dead, one can imagine how the Wang family will treat Zhou Yiyi.

"Is that so?" All the villagers suddenly realized and shut up. After all, they didn't want Zhou Yiyi to be bullied, especially by the Wang family.

Seeing that everyone was convinced by his words, Liu Qingsong took out a stack of money and said to Zhou Changli: "Liu Hualei 10 yuan, Wang Kuiwu 5 yuan, me 10 yuan, Wang Haoming 5 yuan, Tao Yu 5 yuan."

Liu Hualei represents the parents’ share of money, which cannot be less.

After all, Zhou Mazi had personal relationships with my father during his lifetime.

As for Wang Kuiwu’s five dollars, they definitely represent his brother-in-law.

In fact, it is not necessary to give it, after all, Zhou Mazi and Wang Kuiwu have no personal relationship.

But Xiao Nuomi came to the banquet, so in order to shut others up, he naturally had to give her a share of the gift money.

His own ten dollars represented the captain of the team.

Not to mention Wang Haoming and Tao Yu, after all, Wang Ba and Xiao Taoqi also came to the banquet.

Zhou Changli naturally didn't know the inside story. To be on the safe side, he quickly went to Liu Qingsong to ask for clarification, and finally registered.

When other villagers saw that Liu Qingsong had contributed so much money, it was almost equal to their monthly income.

After discussing it privately, they all raised their share of the money to five yuan.

Others who didn’t have enough money ran back to get it.

Zhou Changli was very pleased to see this scene, and also a little emotional: "Captain Liu, the Huaishu production team is so united today, it reminds me of the days when I fled to Tiger Mountain as a bandit and fought guerrilla warfare when I was young."

"At that time, everyone was so united and would not let any villagers from Huaishu Production Team be bullied."

"Have you ever been a bandit?" Liu Qingsong was very surprised.

"Of course I have been one. In order to avoid starvation, I even robbed the bandit leader of my treasures. Many people from your Liu family also participated in that incident. However, the bandit leader hid the treasure in Tiger Mountain, and no one has found it yet!" Zhou Changli smiled and replied, "You should have heard of this incident, because your grandfather also went to Tiger Mountain."

"I have indeed heard of it." Liu Qingsong nodded.

Most people of my grandfather’s generation were not well fed or clothed, and they had to fight for a living all the time. It was normal for them to become bandits.

But they did not rob the local people of their belongings, but instead robbed them of their daily necessities and the belongings of the traitors.

By the way, if he remembered correctly, his father once told him that Wang Xiaohe’s father was the bandit leader mentioned by Zhou Changli.

He died after robbing Xiao Zi's treasure with his fellow villagers. His death was mysterious and the whereabouts of the treasure has been unknown since then.

Some people said that the treasure was taken by Wang Xiaohe's father alone, while others said that it was hidden in a cave in Tiger Mountain.

But where the treasure went, no one knows until now.

I only know that this is a legend about Tiger Mountain. After all, Tiger Mountain was also called Bandit Mountain before liberation.

"Wait! Bandit Mountain... Tiger Mountain... Treasure... Cave..." When Liu Qingsong thought of this, several images suddenly emerged in his mind.

One of them is the cave that the guardian vine had teleported to before.

Because there were a lot of wild Ganoderma lucidum on the cliff wall of the cave, he did not go deeper and also deliberately placed a lot of rotten wood.

Now think about it, this cave is on the steep cliff of Huajiao Cliff, and it is very hidden. Could it be that it is the cave where Wang Xiaohe's father hid the treasure?
If that's the case, then this cave is incredible.

However, Liu Qingsong had no plans to go to the Pepper Cliff of Tiger Mountain to find out what was going on. After saying something to Zhou Changli, he went back to the open-air kitchen to continue helping Master Wang.

In the busyness.

Soon it was time for the meal.

Seeing that several other disciples of Master Caiwang were able to complete the task on their own, Liu Qingsong said something and went to sit at the table.

On the way there.

For some unknown reason, Liu Qingsong suddenly subconsciously glanced at the old house where Zhou Mazi lived.

This old house is quite old. It was built during the Republic of China period. The outer wall has long been mottled and peeling due to rain erosion.

But under the beam under the eaves, there is a very obvious tiger pattern.

This pattern is very familiar to the villagers of the Huaishu production team.

Because most of the old houses where their parents lived have such patterns.

Liu Qingsong had naturally seen it before, but he had a different feeling when looking at this pattern today.

As for what was different, he couldn't remember.

Just when he was about to stop thinking about it and sit down next to Xiao Nuomi to eat the banquet, suddenly, the copper box he found under Zhou Yiyi's bed in his bedroom appeared in his mind.

There is also an identical tiger pattern on this copper box, but it is much smaller and more delicate.

But this is not the point for Liu Qingsong. The point is the box with tiger pattern. She had seen it in her grandmother's room when she was a child, but it was made of iron.

According to my grandmother herself, these boxes were given by the bandit boss, Wang Xiaohe's father, as rewards to his brothers. They were filled with either gold, silver, treasures, or various valuable materials.

Now there is such a copper box filled with gold and silver jewelry under Zhou Yiyi's bed, and it was left to Zhou Yiyi by Zhou Mazi.

What does this prove? It proves that Zhou Mazi must have found the treasure hidden by the bandits in Tiger Mountain, at least this box of gold and silver jewelry.

Thinking of this, Liu Qingsong suddenly felt enlightened. All the things that he couldn't understand before now became clear to him.

He now finally understood why Zhou Yiyi's aunt Zhou Qiuju and uncle Wang Daoqian were in a hurry to sell the old house left by Zhou Mazi.

The reason for this is probably related to the treasure left behind by the bandits.

Or maybe someone else knew the secret of the copper box under Zhou Yiyi's bed and wanted to buy the old house in order to take the copper box for themselves.

In a word, everything behind this is related to treasure.

This treasure is a legend to ordinary people, but it is different for some people who know the history of Huaishu Production Team.

In other words, Zhou Yiyi, who owns a copper box full of gold and silver jewelry, is in danger now, and there is definitely someone watching her.

But now the threshing ground was full of people coming for the banquet, so Liu Qingsong couldn't go looking for Zhou Yiyi.

After a long sigh, he had no choice but to sit next to Xiao Nuomi, picked up the chopsticks and started eating the first bowl of food.

The first bowl tasted quite good because he was under the supervision of Master Wang.

After taking a bite, Wang Ba happily picked up a large piece of yellow meat roll for Liu Qingsong: "Brother, this is delicious, you should eat a piece quickly."

"This is delicious too." Xiao Nuomi picked up a piece of egg cake for Liu Qingsong.

Seeing this, Xiao Taoqi also picked up two sweet potato dumplings for Liu Qingsong: "Brother, this is better than yellow roll meat."

"Good! Good! Good! They're all delicious." Liu Qingsong saw that the bowl in front of him was full in an instant while he was talking. The other villagers at the table looked at him enviously. He quickly agreed and started eating with a smile.

……

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(End of this chapter)