Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 482 Returning to My Hometown

The hen finally confirmed that the men posed no threat to her chicks, but she still led them a little further away to another patch of grass, occasionally peeking out to check on them.

Xiao Hong looked at the group of fluffy chicks with a bit of envy and said, "Why doesn't this boss raise ducks and geese? It would be so convenient right by the water."

Xiao Wei said, "If the ducks lay their eggs, they'll be laying them everywhere. Who's going to have time to collect them? Plus, they're so loud and quick-tempered; this is a hotel, after all. Besides, ducks are hard to cook, and not many people eat them. Geese are even worse; those things are better guards than dogs. Who would dare stay here then?"

Xia Maosheng said, "That's right. With four or five geese in the yard, even thieves don't dare to come in. Dogs really can't beat them. When I was a kid, I got pinched by geese a lot. One bite and I'd get a purple bean-sized bruise. It hurt like hell."

Chen Hui said, "The duck really doesn't taste good; it has too much of a fishy smell."

Xia Maosheng said, "People in Guanli (the area south of Shanhaiguan) eat duck a lot, and many famous dishes are made with duck. We in Northeast China don't eat it much." Guanli refers to the area south of Shanhaiguan. For Northeast China, everything outside Shanhaiguan is considered southern.

Several chicks ran to the group of people, while the mother hen made urgent calls from the grass.

Xiao Hong looked down at the chicks and said, "They're so cute. The mother hen scolds the chick, 'You silly thing, I'll teach you to cluck cluck cluck, but you insist on chirping chirp chirp.'" She squatted down to reach out and touch them, but Xiao Wei reached out and pulled Xiao Hong back, saying, "No, these chicks have only been out of the nest for a few days. The mother hen will fight you to the death."

Xiao Hong turned her head and saw that the hen's neck feathers were all standing on end and its wings were spread open, staring at her.

Chen Xiao touched her belly and said, "Being a mother is really not easy. It's so scary. I would fight anyone who touches my baby."

Xiao Hong looked at Chen Xiao and said, "Liar, yesterday you said I'd fight in the morning and you'd fight in the afternoon, but today you're going to fight tooth and nail."

Chen Hui said slowly from the side, "I'll fight you two to the death when the time comes."

Xia Maosheng said with a smile, "My family listens to Geng Hui. If she says to cut, I'll cut; if she says to coax, I'll coax."

Chen Xiao glanced at Geng Hui's belly and sighed, saying, "It would be so nice if Geng Hui had a girl. Look how good Xiao Wei and Xiao Hong are."

Xia Maosheng said, "It's okay. It's all just speculation before you're born. If you're a girl, we won't mind that you're too old."

All six of them laughed. Chen Xiao's baby is almost due, so the gender should be obvious by now. However, it's not quite certain yet for Geng Hui's baby.

Xiao Wei said, "What should we do? Stay here all day or leave? The wind is calm today, do you still want to take a boat ride?"

Chen Hui smacked his lips and said, "There's not much to see, but it'll probably be better in the fall. The fish, though, is really delicious. Anyway, let's go. Aren't you going back to your hometown? You should head there sooner rather than later."

Everyone agreed, so let's go. The group went upstairs to pack their things, and Xiaowei paid the bill from the boss. Although Li Zhongguo said they didn't need to worry about it, it was only a matter of a thousand or eight yuan, not worth it. Besides, everyone's struggling financially. Even though Li Zhongguo said that, who knows if he'll actually come to settle the bill?

Xiao Wei asked Boss Zhang to get him a few fish, cut some meat, and pick out a few vegetables, then paid for everything.

Carrying his things out and putting them in the trunk, Chen Hui ran to the front hood and looked at it, saying, "Damn, it's still a bit rough. I'll have to get it repaired when I get back."

Boss Zhang also came over to look and asked, "What happened? What hit you?"

Chen Hui said, "Yesterday I ran into a few idiots at the water cave and punched one of them."

Boss Zhang said, "Hmm, it's a bit messy over there. It's alright, open the hood and I'll fix it for you. I'm going to get something."

Chen Hui was skeptical, but Xiao Wei closed the trunk and opened the hood. He figured that since Boss Zhang dared to say it, he must be confident.

A moment later, Boss Zhang brought out a small rolling pin and asked Chen Hui and Xiao Wei to hold the machine lid up. He looked it over a few times, poked it a few times with the rolling pin, and worked it inside for a few minutes like rolling dough. Then he stopped and said, "Come on, put it down and take a look. It should be about done."

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui lowered the hood, and it was indeed almost done. If they hadn't known beforehand and had to lie down to look, they wouldn't have been able to tell at all. Boss Zhang said, "If you run it for another two days, it'll be completely fine. The heat and expansion will help."

Chen Hui said, "Great, that's impressive."

Boss Zhang laughed and said, "I used to be a car mechanic, otherwise I wouldn't have the money to run this hotel. But I mostly repaired big cars, so I didn't deal with small cars much. Come back often, and next time I'll get you some good food."

The group agreed and got into the car, heading back to the county town along the same route.

To get to Xiaowei's hometown, you need to cross the river near Tianlong Cave in the county town and head east, towards the spring.

This place is all mountains. Looking in all directions, there are lush grassy slopes and cliffs, and at a glance, you can only see a few dozen meters. The road is also winding and there is not a long straight section. People sitting in the car are swaying back and forth and there is no peace for a while.

Chen Xiao said, "My goodness, isn't it too cramped to live here?"

Xiao Hong said, "Yeah, we only see a few hundred meters of land our whole lives. To go out, we have to cross mountains. Even getting water in winter is a struggle."

The three women were sitting in Xiao Wei's car, with Xia Maosheng accompanying Chen Hui in the back.

Geng Hui's hometown is also in a mountainous area. Although it's not as densely populated as here, she's used to it and doesn't find it particularly bothersome.

Chen Xiao asked Xiao Wei, "Now that you have money, haven't you thought about coming back to show off and developing your hometown?"

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "I definitely have the idea, but it's not very realistic."

Chen Xiao asked, "Why?"

Xiao Wei said, "There are too many mountains here, and it's too remote. Everyone here makes a living off the land all year round. What do we do? We're doing these things: food factories, restaurants, pig farming, cake shops. What do you think we can make a comeback from? We'll talk about it later. There's no good solution for now. I plan to have my dad come back in the fall to collect some mountain produce and take it to Fengtian. I'll offer a slightly higher price, which will be a way to help everyone."

Xiao Hong said, "It'll definitely work. My mom keeps nagging me about it. Besides, the mountain vegetables from Fengtian are so expensive, there's bound to be a profit."

Xiao Wei said, "I'm not sure whether to collect wet or dry products at the time; storage is a problem."

Geng Hui said, "Clean and tidy them up, and sell fresh ones first. There are so many vegetable markets and grocery stores in Fengtian, you can try that. If that doesn't work, then dry them and sell dried goods. Anyway, it's the first year, how much can you lose? If dried goods work, I suggest you set up a factory in your county, buy from all over the county, encourage farmers to grow their own, process them here, and then transport them to Fengtian."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Dried goods are convenient, but they don't taste as good. Wild vegetables taste better fresh. What do you think, if we process them, cook them, add some salt, and let them keep?"

Xiaohong asked, "Aren't there vacuum packaging options? If it's vacuum-sealed, will it keep the food fresh?"

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "I don't know, I've never tried it."

Chen Xiao asked, "What kind of transportation do you people take when you go down the mountain?"

(End of this chapter)