Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 220 Dazhuzi and his wife

If you travel normally, it will take three or four days to get from Maoer Mountain to Tadian.

Qu Shaoyang and his team went to collect the goods. They stopped and walked along the way, which wasted time and took them more than ten days.

Tadian is not a big place, with less than two hundred households.

In winter, which is not the peak season for migration, some of the inns along the river simply close down.

Qu Shaoyang led his men to search for a long time and finally found an inn and arranged for everyone to stay.

Qu Shaoyang remembered that Dazhuzi now lived in Tadian, so he said goodbye to his two uncles and went out to buy some things.

Following the address given by Dazhuzi, I asked around and found my way there.

Dazhuzi's family lives in the east end of the village. They have two adobe houses that are quite tidy.

The courtyard was surrounded by wooden fences, which was quite neat. There were two wooden gates and a large pile of firewood to the west of the gates.

Qu Shaoyang arrived at the door and was about to knock when he heard someone chopping firewood in the yard.

"Excuse me, is this Dazhuzi's house?" Qu Shaoyang asked loudly while standing outside the door.

The people working in the yard stopped when they heard the noise, walked quickly to the gate, and as soon as they opened the gate, they saw Qu Shaoyang standing outside.

"Shaoyang? Oh, why are you here?" When Dazhuzi saw Qu Shaoyang, he was stunned at first, but then he became happy.

"Oh, I came to Tadian to do some work, and I just happened to come to see you, my brother and sister-in-law, and my nephew."

Qu Shaoyang glanced at Dazhuzi. He seemed to have gained a lot of weight since he saw him in the summer. His complexion was also better. It was obvious that he was living a comfortable life.

"I came here in a hurry and didn't prepare anything, so I just bought some things."

Qu Shaoyang stuffed everything in his hand into Dazhuzi's hand.

"Hey, look, what else did you bring to my place? Well, come in quickly, come in and sit down."

Dazhuzi felt a little embarrassed holding those things, so he quickly invited Qu Shaoyang to come into the house and sit down.

"Cui'er, Cui'er, hurry up and boil some water and make some tea, there are guests coming to our house.

My old brother from my old days of rafting came over specially to see us." Dazhuzi opened the door and spoke loudly into the house.

Hearing the noise, a young wife in her early twenties came out from the inner room.

She has bangs, big eyes, and is wearing a green floral cotton jacket and black pants.

"Cui'er, this is my brother, Qu Shaoyang. He's the one I told you about before, the one who bought several hundred acres of land in Maoer Mountain.

My brother came to Tadian for business and came to our house to see you and the children. Look, these are all the things my brother bought for you.

Come on, boil some water and make some tea, then kill our big rooster. We need to keep my eldest brother at home for dinner today."

"Sister-in-law." Qu Shaoyang nodded at the other party. "Well, don't listen to him. I'm not eating here. I'll leave after sitting for a while."

"Oh, it's Zhuzi's elder brother. I often hear him talk about you. Come in and sit down.

Zhuzi, you stay and chat with me, I'll go boil some water."

Xiao Cui laughed when she heard that, and hurriedly invited Qu Shaoyang to come in and sit down. She put on an apron and carried firewood to boil water.

The east room also has kangs facing north and south. A rocking chair made of birch bark is hung slightly above the south kang.

Lying in the rocking chair was a little baby, about three months old, Dazhuzi's son.

Next to the rocking chair, a little girl of three or four years old was rocking the chair back and forth.

"Lingdang, this is your uncle Qu, come and say hello." Dazhuzi called the little girl over.

The little girl let go of the rocking chair, came to Qu Shaoyang, looked up at him, and laughed, "Uncle Qu."

The girl is very pretty, with a small round face, a pair of big black eyes, and two dimples on her cheeks when she smiles.

"Hey, your name is Lingling, right? I came here in a hurry and didn't bring you any gifts. Well, here are some candies, have some." Qu Shaoyang took out some candies from his pocket and handed them to little Lingling.

Qu Shaoyang is the same age as Dazhuzi, but his birthday is two months older than his, so there is nothing wrong with Lingling calling him "uncle".

Lingling stared at the candy but did not reach out for it. Instead, she turned her head to look at the big pillar.

Seeing this, Dazhuzi smiled. "It's okay, just take the candy that I gave you. Don't forget to thank me."

When Xiao Lingling heard this, she was very happy. She quickly reached out to take the candy and did not forget to thank Qu Shaoyang.

Then she took the candy and put it in her pocket and went back to see her brother.

Dazhuzi invited Qu Shaoyang to get on the kang, and the two of them sat at the head of the kang and chatted.

Now, both of them have started their own families and are leading a stable life. When they think back to the days when they worked hard in the mountains and water fields, they can't help but sigh.

"Hey? I forgot to ask, what are you doing in Tadian this time?
If you need any help from me, just tell me. I may not be very capable, but I can run errands for you."

Dazhuzi remembered this and asked hurriedly.

"Don't mention it, I really need your help.

This time I brought people here to collect mountain products, hides, pig bristles, soybeans and so on.

You two are locals, and you have a lot of acquaintances. Please help me make some contacts. I will buy any family that has these things, and the price is negotiable."

If Dazhuzi didn't ask, Qu Shaoyang wouldn't bring it up on his own initiative. But since he asked, Qu Shaoyang just took the opportunity to bring it up.

No matter where you do business, it will be much easier if you have a local to help you.

"Okay, what else is there?

We are close to the mountains, where there is everything and many hunters, but it is too remote and it is difficult to sell things.

Well, I'll call a few people over for you later. They're all good hunters in the village, and each family has saved up a lot of stuff."

When Dazhuzi heard this, he agreed without any hesitation.

"Well, then don't wait any longer. How about you take me over there to have a look. Isn't there anything going on around here?"

Qu Shaoyang heard that there seemed to be no movement in the outer room, and he was really afraid that Dazhuzi's wife would go to catch and kill the chicken.

So Qu Shaoyang suggested that Dazhuzi accompany him to the village to take a walk and meet the hunters.

It was winter and there was nothing much to do at home. When Dazhuzi heard this, he immediately nodded.

"Okay, then I'll take you for a stroll around the village and introduce you to a few people."

Dazhuzi didn't think too much about it. He just thought that it was a rare opportunity to help his brother, so he must try his best.

So Dazhuzi put on a cotton hat, a big cotton jacket, and led Qu Shaoyang out.

As soon as I went out, I saw Xiao Cui coming into the house carrying a big rooster. It seemed that she was really going to kill a chicken.

"Sister-in-law, don't listen to Dazhu, I won't eat here.

I brought more than ten people with me on this trip, and they are all staying in the hotel. They are waiting for me to come back.

Well, release the chicken quickly and save it for the children to eat later." Qu Shaoyang said hurriedly.

"Well, Zhuzi accompanied me to the village and he wanted to introduce me to some good hunters.

Zhuzi won't be back for dinner that night, he'll be with me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Cui turned her head and looked at Dazhuzi, who nodded to his wife.

"Shaoyang is here to collect mountain products, hides, and pig bristles. If you have time later, go tell your good sisters about it.

Let them help spread the word, and if anyone has these things to sell, don’t miss the opportunity.”

(End of this chapter)