Xing'an Mountains 1984: Starting from climbing mountains to support the family

Chapter 86 Buying a Donkey
The next day.

After breakfast, Dani took the five little girls to play in the yard.

"Dad, why haven't the chickens laid eggs yet?" Si Ni suddenly ran over and asked.

"Uh... go and have your fun!"

Chen Weidong sent Si Ni away, and then said to Liu Xueting who was washing pots and dishes in the kitchen: "Xueting, there is a market in the village today. Livestock can be bought or exchanged. I will go and take a look. Otherwise, it will be too troublesome and uneconomical to go to Uncle Guofu to borrow a donkey every time."

Hearing this, Liu Xueting raised her head and said, "We do need to buy some, but do we have enough money? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have bought so many things yesterday!"

Livestock is a labor force these days. A large animal can replace several human workers. Basically, anyone with money wants to buy one.

Liu Xueting was no exception. Although she usually felt sorry for Chen Weidong spending money, she very much agreed with buying livestock. This way her husband could have an easier time, and a livestock could also bring security to the family. If they really needed money, they could sell it, but Liu Xueting also knew that livestock were not cheap.

"The money I have should be enough to buy a donkey!"

Chen Weidong smiled and said, although he spent a lot of money yesterday, he sold more than two hundred and sixty yuan for deer antlers and more than ten yuan for wolf cubs, plus the more than one hundred and forty yuan left over from before, Chen Weidong still had three hundred and fifty-seven and forty-eight yuan in his hands.

Livestock are not cheap these days, but Chen Weidong knows that a donkey costs only about three or four hundred yuan. Of course, sick donkeys, old donkeys, and young donkeys are cheaper, but adult and strong donkeys are about the same price range.

"Well, then you should come back early." Liu Xueting nodded and instructed.

"Ok."

"Dad, where are you going?"

Sanni was quite sharp-eyed. As soon as Chen Weidong got the money and was about to go out, she ran over with her short legs. When the little girls saw their father going out, they stopped playing and ran over to surround him.

Ever since they went to the county town with Chen Weidong yesterday, the little ones all wanted to go out with him. Even the little Liu Ni has unknowingly clung to his lap.

"Dad~"

"Dad~"

Chen Weidong was immediately amused.

He looked at Liu Xueting helplessly. The latter smiled and then said sternly: "Dad is out for work. Dani is taking her sister out to play. Don't make trouble!"

The little girls rarely saw their mother show her power, so they immediately obeyed her.

Only Liu Ni was still hugging Chen Weidong's thigh, looking back at her sisters, still not knowing what was going on!
"Sister~"

Liu Ni called out "sister", then stopped hugging Chen Weidong's thighs and ran towards Dani staggeringly.

Chen Weidong smiled and hurried towards the countryside.

Chen Weidong knew that there was a livestock trading place in the village, behind the street, but he had never been there.

After more than two hours, we finally arrived at the village market. Every time there is a market in the village, it is always very lively.

So Chen Weidong asked for directions again and finally found the livestock trading market.

A large part of this livestock trade in the countryside is basically used for exchange.

After all, these livestock cost hundreds of dollars at a time, and not many people in the countryside can afford to spend so much spare money.

In Heisong County, the main working animals are cattle, horses, mules and donkeys.

Different livestock have different prices. Large livestock are more expensive. A head of a cow or horse can easily cost six or seven hundred, or even seven or eight hundred!

Although mules are about the same size as donkeys, they are also large animals. They are a cross between donkeys and horses and are hardworking and can endure hardships.

Although they are cheaper than cattle and horses, one still costs around four or five hundred yuan.

It’s not that Chen Weidong likes donkeys, it’s just that donkeys are the cheapest. In fact, what Chen Weidong wants to buy most is a horse, because horses can not only pull carts, but also be ridden up the mountain to hunt, especially a good hunting horse!

But now I have enough money in my pocket to buy a donkey, so I’ll buy one first and use it later. I’ll look for a good horse later when I have enough money.

There were many livestock in the livestock market. A mule just walked around and barked at Chen Weidong.

When he asked about the price, it was just as he expected, too high. There was no room for bargaining, so Chen Weidong didn't waste any more words.

After searching around, I finally stopped in front of a donkey that looked to be in its prime.

"Brother, how do you sell your donkey?"

The eldest brother is a middle-aged man.

He was wearing a hat and a wrinkled cotton jacket with holes in it. The seams of his trousers were covered in mud. His face was dark and red, the image of a working man.

The eldest brother suspected that he had heard wrongly. He paused and said, "I don't want to sell my donkey. I want to exchange it for a cow. Do you have one?"

Chen Weidong: “…”

"Brother, is it a little difficult for you to exchange a donkey for a cow?"

This year.

Oxen can pull goods and plow the land, and are good helpers for farmers.

What can a donkey do?
At most, you can pull the mill, drag some goods, and exchange them for a cow. Isn't this like a toad wanting to eat swan flesh?
The eldest brother grinned, his dark face and white teeth, "I'm going to change it for a calf!"

Only then did Chen Weidong nod.

If you want to exchange an adult donkey for a calf, some people are willing to exchange it for a cow that has just given birth.

Chen Weidong said, "I don't have a calf. I want to buy your donkey. Can you name a price, brother?"

The people around him immediately started cheering after hearing this.

"Ouch! Old man Qi, why are you so stupid? They want to buy a donkey, but you want a calf. Isn't the money better than a calf?!"

"That's right! It's the same thing if you sell your donkey and then buy a calf. Maybe you'll still have a few dollars left!"

"Hurry up and make a price!"

……

It seems that they are all from the same village.

Old Man Qi was suddenly in trouble.

He has never sold it before!

present.

He rubbed his hands and said to Chen Weidong: "I'll go ask and see how much it is, and then I'll tell you."

As he said this, old man Qi went to ask others how much a donkey would cost.

Chen Weidong was not in a hurry.

He looked at the donkey in front of him.

This donkey is different from the little yellow donkey in Wang Guofu’s family. This one is a little black donkey.

"Ah - uh -"

"Ahhhh-uh-"

When he barks at the top of his lungs, he shows two rows of teeth.

Seeing his master gone, he barked even more happily.

Chen Weidong was very satisfied.

This donkey, at first glance, is in its prime, with bulging muscles on its four legs, and has been doing a lot of farm work.

After a while, Old Man Qi came back, his dark red face full of excitement.

"I asked, if you want it, give me three hundred and thirty dollars, they said, that's the price of a donkey at this time."

Old Man Qi obviously didn't expect that a donkey could be exchanged for so much money. A calf is less than 300 yuan, so he can still save a lot! "

This price obviously meets Chen Weidong's psychological expectations.

At that moment, Chen Weidong smiled and said, "No, I only have 300 yuan. Can you see if you can get it cheaper? If not, I'll go look somewhere else."

Although Old Man Qi looked very honest, Chen Weidong could not just accept any price that others said. The cheaper the better. And just now when he passed by, someone was selling a calf for just over 290 yuan. Since he wanted to exchange it for a donkey...

"No! No! It's too cheap!" Old Man Qi refused with obvious hesitation.

"I saw their calf when I passed by just now, so I wanted to sell it for more than 290 yuan. So let's both compromise and sell it for 310 yuan. If it goes higher, I will buy the calf. Cows are very valuable when they grow up!"

Chen Weidong said slowly.

"No, I'll sell it!"

Old Man Qi was persuaded by the call. Not only could he buy the cows, but he could also make more money. He could make a lot of money on this trip. He was not a fool, so he stopped Chen Weidong who wanted to leave.

"That!"

Chen Weidong looked around and saw that no one was coming over, so he took out all the money he had on him, looked at the Big Unity notes in his hand, counted them, and handed the money for buying the donkey to Old Man Qi.

"Brother, please wait a moment."

When had Old Man Qi ever seen so much money? He stretched out his shaking hands and slowly took the money from Chen Weidong. He counted it three or four times anxiously until he was sure that there was not a penny missing.
Old Man Qi did not hesitate and untied the donkey rope tied to the wooden stake, and then happily put the donkey rope in Chen Weidong's hand.

At the same time, I also gave a straw mat and a small sack of fodder that the donkey had not finished eating. The grass was a mixture of corn grass, soybean straw, reeds, etc.

I have to say that donkeys eat pretty well. You have to know that many families in Hesong County don’t even have a donkey these days, and donkeys are the main labor force in the family.
If the donkey gets sick, the food production will be reduced. Often, even if people don't have enough to eat, they still have to squeeze food out of their teeth for the donkey to eat, otherwise it won't have the energy to work.

"Please give me that donkey saddle as well!" Chen Weidong said with a smile.

"Row!"

Old Man Qi was also very happy.

After the payment and goods were settled, Old Man Qi patted his donkey's butt.

It is a way for simple rural people to say goodbye.

Then Old Man Qi walked inside happily, probably to buy a calf.

However, right after Old Man Qi left, the little black donkey was still quite stubborn.

At first, it refused to follow Chen Weidong, and was much more stubborn than the one from Uncle Guofu's family, worthy of being called a stubborn donkey.

However, when Chen Weidong grabbed a handful of hay, the donkey immediately became obedient and allowed Chen Weidong to pull it.

This……

Is there another foodie in the house? No, this one is a donkey eater.

Seeing that the donkey was obedient, Chen Weidong started to pull the little donkey, but then he was not so polite. After all, this was the donkey he had just bought, and he didn't want to pull the donkey back.

So he found a good opportunity, put the given straw mat directly on the donkey, took the sack of hay and the donkey saddle, and rode on it. The donkey was not bought for free, so it would be a waste not to ride it.

At first the donkey tried to resist, but Chen Weidong picked up a stick from the roadside and hit it twice on the buttocks.

After feeding it some grass, the animal could no longer bear it and became much more obedient and stopped resisting.

Chen Weidong rode on the donkey and drove it with a stick.

Passing by the state-owned restaurant, Chen Weidong, who was riding a donkey, was somewhat conspicuous. Wu Gensheng in the room saw him at a glance and immediately became angry:
"Damn it, this guy hasn't been here for a few days. We agreed that we would sell all the game we hunt to him, but we haven't seen a single hair in the past few days."

"Chen Weidong, wait."

Wu Gensheng hurried out of the restaurant.

Hearing the sound, Chen Weidong turned his head and saw Wu Gensheng limping after him.

"What's wrong, Angkor? I didn't bring any wild goods to sell to you today."

"You kid, you still have the nerve to bring wild goods! It's been so many days since you came here."

"Angkor, calm down."

Chen Weidong handed over a Yingchun cigarette from his arms.

"Yingchun brand cigarettes, have you made a fortune? Not only did you get your donkey, but you also smoke such expensive cigarettes!"

Wu Gensheng felt much better because Chen Weidong was so polite and handed him such a good cigarette.

"I killed a wild boar. It's not that I don't want to sell it to you. I killed a wild boar weighing 300 to 400 kilograms. Can your store take so much wild boar meat?"

"Uh...can't."

Wu Gensheng shook his head decisively.

"Right! If you could have it, I would have come to you a long time ago." Chen Weidong's words were quite honest.

"Oh, it turns out I misunderstood you!"

Wu Gensheng took a puff of the cigarette and found it very comfortable to smoke.

"Brother Wu, don't worry, we still have a long way to go!"

"..."

There was nothing else to say. In fact, there was nothing wrong between the two of them. Wu Gensheng just felt like he was fooled and was unhappy. After he talked it out, he felt much better!
Then, Chen Weidong drove the little black donkey back home.

Having a donkey is much more comfortable than walking by yourself, except that it is a bit painful.

"Drive~drive~"

Chen Weidong rode a donkey on the road all the way. Riding a donkey or a horse is very normal these days, so it did not attract anyone's attention.

But when he arrived at Jiuqutun, things were different. Everyone knew each other. Chen Weidong came back riding a donkey. It was impossible for him to keep a low profile as usual.

Fortunately, there were few people around, and a few people who happened to see him riding a donkey back to the village couldn't help but look at him with envy.
But this is human nature, and Chen Weidong, who approached him, just smiled and said a few perfunctory words.

When they arrived home, a group of little ones looked at the little black donkey.

"Dad, how come the donkey of Bald Grandpa turned black?"

Sanni asked curiously.

"Silly girl, this was bought by your father!" Liu Xueting smiled.

"This is our donkey!"

Dani said happily.

"Uh-huh."

When the little ones heard that there was a donkey at home, they jumped up and down with joy.
Now, just imagine riding a donkey like you did before!

However, Chen Weidong had no time to play with them. Although the donkey had been bought, there was no donkey shed at home. You know, it was very cold at night in Northeast China and the donkey would get sick from the cold.

Chen Weidong planned to build a donkey shed for the donkey in the yard. In this era, it would be best to use adobe bricks to build a donkey shed, but it would take too long.
By the time the cover is put on, the daylily is cold!
He planned to build a simple wooden shed to protect the donkey from wind and rain, and put some grass in it to keep the donkey warm. That would be enough.

Of course, the donkey shed had better be sturdy, otherwise, given the donkey's temper, it probably wouldn't last long, so Chen Weidong planned to use thicker wood to drive the piles deeper.
Thinking of this, Chen Weidong’s first priority was to cut some wood for piling the donkey shed.

Don't worry if you want to buy a horse. The protagonist will slowly earn money and try to buy an Oroqen hunting horse.
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(End of this chapter)