Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

After dinner, it got completely dark.

The nights in Kaoshantun are always exceptionally quiet.

A bright crescent moon hung on the distant mountain ridge, casting a soft white frost over the still-melting snow and red brick floor in the courtyard.

The early spring night breeze had shed its bone-chilling cold, carrying the earthy smell of thawing soil and the fresh scent of sprouting grass and trees, drifting into the room through the cracks in the window.

The occasional barking of an old dog in the village, accompanied by the chirping of insects in early spring, only made the small courtyard seem even more peaceful.

After cleaning up the dishes, Lin Xiu boiled water for Niu Niu to wash up.

The little girl was tired from playing all day. She fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, her little hands still clutching the corner of the blanket, and she occasionally smacked her lips.

Zhao Shanhe, wearing only a thin shirt, leaned against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), quietly watching his daughter's sleeping profile in the dim light.

He instinctively reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Just as he was about to strike a match, he stopped.

Zhao Shanhe glanced at Niu Niu, who was sleeping soundly beside him, smiled silently, and put the matches away.

He held the cigarette in his hand, gently smelled the bitter aroma of tobacco, but ultimately did not light it and casually placed it on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

Lin Xiu, who was sewing clothes at the other end of the kang table, looked up and saw this scene. A gentle smile appeared in her eyes.

"Why aren't you smoking? If you're craving a cigarette, go smoke in the yard and then come back in."

She lowered her voice, afraid of waking the child.

Zhao Shanhe shook his head, his voice equally soft:

"I'm not smoking anymore. The room isn't well-ventilated, and the smoke won't go away. It'll just make my daughter choke."

Lin Xiu put down her needle and thread, and casually picked up a pair of scissors to adjust the wick of the kerosene lamp, making the room a little brighter.

She looked at the man's face, which appeared somewhat somber in the lamplight, and asked softly:

"Mountains and Rivers".

"Um?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Lin Xiu didn't smile, but a hint of worry flashed in her eyes. "Ever since Boss Jin left this afternoon, I've felt like you're hiding something on your mind."

Zhao Shanhe subconsciously avoided her gaze, reached out and fiddled with the unlit cigarette in his hand, his tone somewhat nonchalant:

"What could be wrong? I just chatted with Lao Jin a bit too much this afternoon, and my mind is a little muddled. The factory matter is all behind us now, and things are peaceful at home. I was just spacing out, so don't overthink it."

Lin Xiu did not respond immediately after hearing this.

She looked at him quietly for a while, then suddenly moved closer to him, her voice extremely low, yet revealing a stubbornness:

"Shanhe, we are husband and wife."

Zhao Shanhe paused slightly as he fiddled with the cigarette.

"Back then, we were poor. You went hunting in the mountains alone, risking your life so that we could have enough to eat. I accepted that you kept things from me." Lin Xiu looked into his eyes, her tone very serious. "But now that we're doing better, if you encounter any difficulties or have any unresolved issues, you can't always bear it all alone. You are the pillar of the family, that's true, but even pillars need to lean on someone when they're tired. What's wrong?"

Looking into his wife's clear yet stubborn eyes, he sighed deeply, casually tossed the cigarette back onto the table, and gazed out the window at the cold spring moon.

After a moment of silence, he spoke in a low voice: "This afternoon, Boss Jin asked me a question. He asked me what I planned to do next since I wasn't going back to the Red Star Factory."

Lin Xiu paused for a moment: "Then what did you say?"

Zhao Shanhe twitched the corner of his mouth: "I couldn't answer that."

"You couldn't answer?" Lin Xiu was clearly surprised.

Zhao Shanhe nodded, rubbed his face, and said with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, "Isn't it strange? Before, when we were poor, there was no rice in the pot, and Niu Niu couldn't even afford meat when she craved it. Back then, I didn't have to think about anything; I could just go hunting in the mountains. Later, when I had some money, I started thinking about how to make our lives better. Then things got more and more complicated. Erga and the others followed me, there was Lao Sun's side, Ivanov's side, and then I went to the Red Star Factory... It seems like every day when I open my eyes, there's a whole bunch of things waiting for me."

"Whatever was lacking, I would find a way to get it; whoever was in my way, I would find a way to move them aside; wherever there was a hole, I would go and plug it up. Back then, it was really tiring, but I didn't need to think about where to go next at all."

Lin Xiu sat quietly to the side without interrupting.

Zhao Shanhe paused for a moment, his voice gradually lowering: "But now it's all gone in an instant. I don't need to worry about the Red Star Factory anymore, and things are getting better at home. I don't have to worry about you and our daughter every day anymore."

"Old Jin told me this afternoon that if you really just want to make money, there are plenty of ways. You can continue collecting hides and mountain products, set up a trucking fleet for transportation, or even go to more distant places; he can help you find the way."

Lin Xiu listened attentively: "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's pretty good."

Zhao Shanhe nodded, but then shook his head, "It just feels like something's missing."

Lin Xiu was taken aback: "What's missing?"

Zhao Shanhe did not answer immediately.

He glanced at Niu Niu sleeping on the kang (heated brick bed), then looked down at his own hands. After a long while, he slowly said:

"We used to be poor. I would go into the mountains to hunt, and if I caught a wild boar and sold it for a few dozen yuan, I felt like there was hope for the future. Later, I started collecting hides and dealing in mountain products. I could make a few hundred or a few thousand yuan at a time, which I considered a big business. But after this trip to Hongxing Factory..."

Zhao Shanhe paused for a moment, his eyes becoming deep: "The things you've seen are different now."

Lin Xiu remained silent.

Zhao Shanhe continued, "Such a big factory, so many workers, such expensive machines. Once a production line is running, dozens or even hundreds of people are making a living. Plus, Lao Jin and his team's foreign trade business, shipping out truckloads of goods, money and goods moving in bulk."

He paused here and then chuckled: "If I were to take Erga and the others into the mountains every day, and we could make some money today and collect some mushrooms tomorrow, of course we could. But I always feel that the scale is a bit too small."

Lin Xiu's eyes flickered slightly.

This was the first time she had ever heard Zhao Shanhe say something like that.

Zhao Shanhe seemed to have finally cleared up some of the vague thoughts in his heart, and his tone gradually became more energetic:

"I promised Erga and the others that since they were willing to follow me, Zhao Shanhe, they couldn't just work themselves to the bone. I had to make sure they could actually make a living. It wasn't about earning a few hundred yuan this year and then going back to farming a few acres when the market was bad next year; it wasn't about having food to eat while I was around and then having to start all over again the day I quit."

Zhao Shanhe reached out and gently tapped the kang table; the sound was not loud, but each tap was steady.

"What I'm looking for has to be a business that can actually be built. A business that allows Ergaizi, Daniu, and the others to have their own savings. They can build brick houses if they want, and get married if they want. As the number of people grows and the business expands, they can keep adding to it. If we're going to do something, it has to be something that can keep going. It can't be something where you buy hides today because they're valuable, and then you hear that transporting goods is profitable tomorrow and you go and get a truck. That's making money, not building a road."

Lin Xiu looked at him quietly. After a while, she suddenly smiled softly.

"I understand."

Zhao Shanhe turned his head: "What do you understand?"

"You're not clueless about what to do at all."

Lin Xiu's eyes held a smile. "Your standards have risen now."

Zhao Shanhe paused for a moment, then chuckled: "Doesn't this sound like something nice?"

"That's how it is."

Lin Xiu suppressed a laugh, glanced at Niu Niu who was fast asleep on the kang, and lowered her voice even more, "You don't even bother to ask around. Whether it's a position in a large state-owned factory like Hongxing Factory, or a trucking fleet in the city, if it were anyone outside, wouldn't they be scrambling to get it, even if it meant fighting tooth and nail? But you're the one who doesn't even want what's offered to you."

She paused, her eyes filled with genuine pride as she looked at Zhao Shanhe: "In the end, it's all because your abilities are growing, and naturally your ego is rising too."

Zhao Shanhe was speechless after his wife's words. But upon reflection, he realized that it seemed to make sense.

It's not that the business is bad, nor that the money is too little.

But after his experience at the Red Star Machinery Factory, he suddenly realized something—that he was capable of doing far more than what he had done before.

Even with such a huge mess, he was able to lead a group of brothers to shoulder the burden single-handedly.

Now that he can choose his own path, why does he have to resort to small-scale tactics?

Thinking of this, Zhao Shanhe's slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

He reached for the cigarette on the table, but didn't light it; he just twirled it between his fingers.

Now that you mention it, I think I understand a bit.

"Understand what?"

Zhao Shanhe glanced at his wife, then at his daughter sleeping soundly on the kang (heated brick bed), and a smile slowly crept onto his lips: "Old Jin was right. It's not that I have no options now, it's that I have too many. Since I can choose..."

A long-lost sharpness gradually resurfaced in Zhao Shanhe's eyes: "Then let's choose a good one. Either we don't cause any trouble, or if we really want to get serious, we can't afford to regress in our ways."

Zhao Shanhe didn't say anything more, but leaned back against the kang cabinet and looked out the window at the mountains and fields illuminated by the moonlight.

Collecting mountain goods.

transportation.

South.

foreign.

I went over in my mind all the things Lao Jin had said that afternoon, one by one.

He still hasn't decided what to do next.

Unlike in the afternoon, the inexplicable turmoil in his heart was gone.

The right path, clean and pure, lies ahead, and there is more than one.

All he has to do now is pick out the biggest and most worthwhile path, and then lead his brothers who have fought alongside him all the way to where they are today—to keep forging ahead.

………………

.....................

Let me chat with you all for a bit; we're all old friends who've been following us for a while now.

I admit that there have been some low-quality posts these past few days.

It wasn't a deliberate delay, nor did I suddenly lose the will to write; I genuinely had writer's block, and this block lasted for almost a week, nearly driving me to my breaking point.

Lately, I sit in front of the computer every day thinking about the plot, but after thinking for a long time, I completely overturn it. I feel like I'm losing more hair than usual.

Actually, I've gradually figured out a bit about the problem over the past two days.

By now, the character Zhao Shanhe has gone too far.

Many things that used to fill dozens of chapters are no longer enough for him now.

For example, buying mountain goods, selling hides, engaging in transportation, or setting up a fleet of vehicles—these are all ways to make money. Moreover, if Zhao Shanhe really wanted to do it, with the money, connections, and skills he currently had, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to do so.

But that's precisely the problem.

If it's too easy, it won't be able to support the story that follows.

After the Red Star Machinery Factory segment ended, most of the major enemies had been dealt with, and Zhao Shanhe's original strong drive to "flip the table if anyone blocks his way, and fight back if anyone touches his brothers" suddenly diminished significantly.

But this character cannot stop.

He has already said that he wants to lead his brothers, Da Niu and Er Ga Zi, who have fought alongside him all the way, to a better life, and that goal remains.

So what I've been really stuck on these past few days isn't "what else can Zhao Shanhe do to make money?"

But:

Given Zhao Shanhe's current abilities and position, what kind of path should he take next to be worthy of him and truly support the entire subsequent chapter?

Ordinary small businesses are too small.

Simply creating another enemy feels like repeating what I've already done.

Starting a large project can easily appear as a forced attempt to advance the plot.

So for the past few days, I've been going back and forth between these directions, hitting walls. I've written things that I'm not satisfied with, deleted them and rewrote them. In the end, the main text that everyone sees is naturally a bit vague and convoluted.

This pot is indeed mine.

Through the conversation between Jin Wanfu and Zhao Shanhe, I have formally included this issue in the book.

Zhao Shanhe is not without options now; on the contrary, he has too many options.

We can transport goods from the mountains, transport them, and even travel to other places.

But what he needs now is not "finding a business that can make money", but finding a new path that is truly worthwhile for him and his brothers to forge ahead together.

This is what I'm currently working on.

So if you feel the pace is slow or the plot is a bit weak these past few days, you're right.

It was definitely me who got stuck.

I apologize to everyone.

However, I certainly won't leave the book unfinished, and I don't want to just find some random way to get by in order to meet the update deadline.

Having written for so long, and having accompanied everyone this far, I still want him to take this next step more steadily.

At least when I open the next chapter, I'll have to find that feeling again first—

"Yes, that's it, I want to write it."

a feeling of.

So if you have any ideas in your mind, feel free to tell me.

It doesn't have to be a complete outline. Even if you just think "it might be interesting for Zhao Shanhe to do this next", or if there are any maps, businesses, people, or events that you particularly want to see, you can suggest them.

I've actually read a lot of suggestions from everyone these past few days. Although I didn't end up using some of them directly, they did give me new ideas.

After all, we've written over four hundred chapters, and you're all quite familiar with Zhao Shanhe.

Sometimes I get stuck on a problem on my own and can't figure it out, but a casual remark from you guys can suddenly clear up that rut in my head.

So feel free to share your thoughts, I'll read them all.

Please help me, everyone! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~