Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Chapter 98 Acquaintances

The 29th day of the seventh lunar month, Wednesday, is the last day of the seventh lunar month in 1986, which corresponds to September 3rd in the Gregorian calendar.

The sky was cloudless today, clearly another sunny day.

Zhou Rui got up at seven o'clock, almost an hour earlier than yesterday.

The reason was that he was really embarrassed to keep everyone waiting for him; he didn't want everyone to be up while he was still fast asleep.

The bed next to him was empty, and Zhou Ming had gotten up even earlier than his older brother.

This kid, isn't he sleepy? Where does he get all this energy? In this day and age, which young person doesn't want to stay in bed?

Zhou Rui muttered a couple of words and walked out of the room. Since their room was right next to the living room, he immediately saw eight pairs of eyes staring at him.

Zhou Rui: "————"

Wait, am I the last one to get up again? It's only seven o'clock!

Zhou Rui cried out silently in his heart. He saw the clock on the wall; it was a little past seven, which wasn't actually that late.

But to his surprise, everyone in the family still got up earlier than him.

Good morning! What a beautiful day with a bright moon and clear skies, and sunshine!

Zhou Rui chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover it up, but his words were so nonsensical that they didn't even make sense.

Zeng Jiamei chuckled softly, and everyone burst into laughter.

At this moment, Zhou Ming added fuel to the fire: "Brother, where is there any talk of a bright moon and sparse stars outside? And what's with the flowery language? Sister Guo'er, quickly refute him."

Zhou Rui glared at his younger brother and went outside to wash his face.

Zeng Jiamei and Yang Laidi started a fire to cook noodles.

Today's noodle topping was made by Zeng Jiamei by stir-frying leftover vegetables and some leftover oil from the vegetable bowls together, with some chopped green onions added. Just looking at it makes one's mouth water.

There are nine people in our family now, so the food consumption for each meal is quite high.

Previously, the Zhou family almost never ate breakfast, usually eating one meal in the morning and one in the evening. However, in the past few days, Zhou Rui suggested that they should eat breakfast for the sake of their family's health.

Everyone should eat three meals a day on time to stay healthy.

The breakfast consisted of a large bowl of noodles, and some vegetables dug up from the garden outside were also added in.

In addition, each person was also given a boiled egg, which Zhou Rui prepared herself after washing her face; the others couldn't bear to be so extravagant.

However, Zhou Rui said, "Today is an important day. Our family is well-fed and we won't show any weakness in front of outsiders."

The young and middle-aged men each ate a large bowl of noodles, while the elderly and women ate small bowls. After eating and drinking their fill, the sky outside was bright and the sun shone on the small mountain village.

Even the dust particles in the air have taken shape.

The family set off, and Zhou Rui had arranged to meet at the tea garden at nine o'clock in the morning.

In addition, Zhou Yong'an also asked someone to deliver a message to Zhou Jian of the supply and marketing cooperative, inviting him to come and take a look.

Actually, there's no need to say anything, because the news spread rapidly yesterday afternoon.

Just yesterday afternoon, not only in the village, but also in the town, people were talking about the same thing over tea and after meals.

The Zhou family wants to lease the tea plantation! The Zhou family wants to buy the tea plantation!

Zhou Jian had already received the news, because the supply and marketing cooperative was always crowded.

Even so, Zhou Yong'an still conveyed the message, as it was more polite.

After the family of nine left home, they walked into the alley across the street and entered the village.

They chatted and laughed all the way, and everyone was very relaxed. Meanwhile, the villagers who heard the commotion followed them to join in the fun.

As the group gradually expanded, such a large-scale contracting and trading was a rare sight in an era with limited entertainment options, and every household wanted to join in the fun.

When Zhou Rui arrived at the Zhang family's house, which he had passed by yesterday, a middle-aged woman was already looking out from in front of her house.

Upon seeing the group led by Zhou Rui's family in the distance, the middle-aged woman ran towards her home to call her husband and children to come and see.

When the group of people arrived at her house, a couple came out with their three children, all of whom were daughters.

The woman hesitated, not because she was afraid to approach and strike up a conversation, but because her man was also there today.

The man glanced at his wife, and seeing the honest and simple woman nodding hurriedly, he finally made up his mind and quickly stepped forward.

"Brother Zhou, how have you been lately? I heard your family is going to buy a tea plantation. I'm so envious."

The man walked up to Zhou Shiwei, but he seemed a little flustered, because usually, you need to offer the other person a cigarette to start a conversation.

Zhou Shiwei didn't pay any attention. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. They were Hongtashan cigarettes, which were considered high-end cigarettes in this small southwestern mountain village in 1986.

This is a new pack, which Zhou Shiwei specially took out to smoke on this special day. Of course, he also gave a pack to his father, Zhou Yong'an.

Zhou Shiwei pulled a cigarette from the beautifully packaged box and handed it to the man next to him, his voice mature and steady.

"Zhang Da, what brings you here today? I've never seen you before."

Zhang Da's real name was Zhang Shihao, but he was not rich at all. He was one of the poorest families in the village and was the eldest son in his family, so Zhou Shiwei called him Zhang Da.

Zhou Shiwei's question was metaphorical; he wasn't actually mocking Zhang Da's perverse sense of humor, but simply wanted to gauge Zhang Da's attitude.

Zhang Shih-hao doesn't need to be particularly clever; he just needs to answer according to his heart.

Zhang Shih-hao, walking alongside Zhou Shih-wei, accepted the cigarettes with both hands, pondering the meaning of the words in his mind.

However, being honest and straightforward, he thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any fancy words, only feeling extremely apologetic.

"Brother Zhou, I know that our two families haven't been in contact for years, I'm sorry, but I've never said anything bad about your family."

"It's really because my family has few able-bodied workers and we can barely take care of ourselves. It's not that we've been estranged before, it's just that I'm too ashamed to face you."

"I remember all the kindness you've shown my family in the past. Seeing you in trouble a few years ago really hurt me, but unfortunately, I'm powerless to help you..."

'

Zhang Shih-hao spoke with some shame, and although he wanted to continue, Zhou Shih-wei interrupted him.

"Zhang Da, let bygones be bygones. Since you're still willing to call me brother, just let me know if anything comes up in the future."

Zhou Shiwei heard the answer he wanted: poverty is not terrible, but having no conscience is the most terrible thing. Zhang Shihao did not take advantage of his family's misfortune in the past few years.

It's enough that the other party still remembers the good they did for us; in the village, it's still necessary to have acquaintances.

Zhang Shih-hao thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, Brother Zhou! Just say the word, and I'll be your loyal follower!"

Zhou Shiwei smiled but did not reply.

Zhou Rui walked next to Zhou Shiwei, and he naturally saw the person who had come. Coincidentally, they had just met yesterday.

He was the one who led a group of people to Zhang Chengyun to demand their wages. Although he wasn't good with words, when people are pushed to the limit, they're capable of anything.

Zhang Shih-hao also saw Zhou Rui, but because there were many people yesterday, and because Zhou Rui only stood in the corner waiting for them to leave before going up to find Zhang Cheng-yun, he didn't recognize him.

However, the rumors from yesterday have already spread that the eldest grandson of the Zhou family has negotiated a big business deal, and everyone knows that Zhang Shih-hao is among those involved.