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

The cold wind was like a knife, scraping against the canvas roof of the jeep with a "slap, slap" sound.

As soon as Zhao Shanhe opened the car door, before he could even put one foot on the pedal, the alcohol he had been forced to suppress at the Soviet checkpoint suddenly surged up like a belated flood, rushing to the top of his head.

That was the crazy backlash from mixing 96-proof industrial alcohol with 65-proof Erguotou liquor.

"Buzz—"

A loud bang went off in my head.

Zhao Shanhe's vision went black, his feet felt like they were stepping on cotton, his body swayed violently, and he fell backward uncontrollably.

"Be careful!"

Jin Wanfu, who had been following behind, reacted quickly, threw away his cigar, took a step forward, and used his not-so-broad shoulders to firmly press against Zhao Shanhe's back.

"Brother Zhao! Hang in there!"

Jin Wanfu supported Zhao Shanhe, looking at his face, which was now as pale as paper, his tone full of genuine heartache and respect:

"This time... you've really suffered!"

"You risked your life for this batch of steel!"

Zhao Shanhe took a deep breath, using the sharp chill to forcefully suppress the churning in his stomach.

He shook his head, pushed away Jin Wanfu's hand, and tried to stand up straight, but his legs were still a little weak.

"fine……"

Zhao Shanhe waved his hand, his voice hoarse, his breath carrying a strong smell of alcohol:

"Once the steel arrives... this little bit of wine is nothing."

"This isn't wine! That's a knife! It's fucking liquid explosive!"

Looking at Zhao Shanhe's stubbornness, Jin Wanfu gave him a thumbs up, his tone exaggerated to the extreme:

"Brother, I'm truly impressed! I'm completely in awe!"

"That Vasily, he's a notorious 'Siberian alcohol guzzler' on the border. So many people have been hospitalized with stomach hemorrhages because of him! Today you've made him drink himself into a stupor! He made him vomit!"

"If word gets out, your name, Zhao Shanhe, will be a passport throughout the entire Heihe Port! That's incredibly powerful! Absolutely fucking powerful!"

Jin Wanfu praised him while waving to someone not far away:

"Gazi! Where have you been?! Come here right now!"

Erga had been watching this area for a while, and upon seeing it, he darted over like a monkey.

"elder brother!"

Seeing Zhao Shanhe's swaying figure, Ergazi's eyes instantly reddened.

He quickly leaned forward, letting Zhao Shanhe's heavy arm rest on his neck, using half of his body to support Zhao Shanhe's weight.

"Brother, are you alright? Should I carry you on my back?"

"Carry my ass, I can walk."

Zhao Shanhe cursed, but his weight still pressed down entirely on Ergaizi.

Seeing this, Jin Wanfu quickly stepped forward, patted the black leather bag in his hand, and made a deep and pleasant sound.

"Brother, your health is important, but you must also relax."

Jin Wanfu leaned closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with a sense of relief, as if he had accomplished a major task:

"The paperwork for those five train cars of steel has been completed. Director Li personally gave the order just now to have them loaded onto the trains overnight and sent directly to the Provincial Construction Bureau."

At this point, Jin Wanfu's eyes gleamed:

"This batch of steel is a critically needed commodity for the country. Bringing it back will be a huge contribution to the nation, filling a gap in the national budget! From now on, you'll have more leverage in the province!"

"As for this..."

Jin Wanfu patted the leather bag in his hand:

"In this bag is the settlement for our mountain produce this time, plus the 30% premium you squeezed out of Vasily. I've converted it all into cash for you."

He unzipped a corner of the zipper, revealing a thick stack of brand-new "Great Unity" notes, as well as a roll of even more valuable foreign exchange certificates.

"A total of 33,000 yuan, plus 5,000 foreign exchange certificates."

"Pay now! No beating around the bush!"

Jin Wanfu patted Zhao Shanhe's chest:

"You've risked your life, so I can't let you down. The money is all there; the truck I promised you has arrived, and I'll have someone drive it to the village for you tomorrow."

Looking at the bulging leather bag, Zhao Shanhe's drunkenness subsided slightly.

He grinned and patted Jin Wanfu hard on the shoulder:

"Boss Jin is particular."

"Get in the car, let's go home."

……

It's late at night in Kaoshantun.

The whole village was asleep, except for Zhao Shanhe's courtyard, where the dim light bulb was still swaying in the wind, stubbornly burning.

Inside the room, Lin Xiu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), having long since stopped sewing shoe soles.

Three full days have passed since Zhao Shanhe went out to deal with the roadblock.

Although Zhao Shanhe called the village office the day before yesterday and only said, "Things are settled, but there are still some loose ends to clean up," his heart was like a bucket suspended in mid-air, feeling uneasy.

Lin Xiu looked at her daughter Ya Ya, who was sleeping at the other end of the kang (a heated brick bed) and was already snoring softly. She sighed and tucked her slightly disheveled hair behind her ear.

She stood up, walked to the window, breathed on it, wiped the frost off the glass with her sleeve, and looked outside.

It was pitch black outside, with only the sound of wind whipping snowflakes against the window.

"Woof! Woof woof!!"

Suddenly, the black dog in the yard sprang up and barked wildly at the gate.

Lin Xiu's heart skipped a beat.

She almost instinctively pushed open the door, not even bothering to put on her cotton-padded coat, and rushed into the yard in just her thin clothes.

"Mountains and rivers?!"

At the main gate, two blinding beams of car headlights made it impossible to open one's eyes.

A muddy jeep came to a stop.

The car door opened.

Ergai jumped down first, and then struggled to lift someone off the passenger seat.

The man was wearing a thick sheepskin coat and a dog-skin hat. He swayed unsteadily, and every step he took seemed like he was walking on cotton. He was almost entirely leaning on Ergaizi.

By the car headlights, Lin Xiu could see the face clearly.

That familiar, tired face, yet forcing a smile the moment he saw her.

"Mountains and Rivers!!"

Lin Xiu gasped in surprise, tears welling up instantly.

She didn't care about the cold at all; she ran over in three steps and grabbed Zhao Shanhe's other arm.

A strong smell of alcohol hit me, as if it had just been pulled out of a vat of liquor.

"How...how did you get so drunk?"

Lin Xiu's voice trembled as she touched Zhao Shanhe's burning forehead, tears streaming down her face.

"Isn't this a delivery trip? Why does it look like you're risking your life?"

"Sister-in-law...don't cry, don't cry."

Erga chuckled sheepishly as he helped Lin Cui carry Zhao Shanhe into the house and place him on the warm kang (heated brick bed).

"I'm fine. I was just drinking with that Russian guy and I was having a good time, so I had a couple more drinks than usual."

"A drinking contest? That's risking your life!"

Lin Xiu helped Zhao Shanhe take off his shoes while complaining.

"Sister-in-law, um..."

Erga scratched his head and pulled out the heavy black leather bag that Jin Wanfu had just given him.

"Brother... accomplished something big this time."

Erga Zi placed the leather bag on the kang table, unzipped a corner to reveal a thick stack of "Da Tuanjie" (a type of Chinese banknote), and even more valuable foreign exchange certificates.

Under the dim light, the banknotes exuded a breathtaking allure.

Lin Xiu was stunned.

She had never seen so much money in her life.

Fear even overwhelmed the surprise.

"This...how much is this?" Lin Xiu's hands trembled slightly, hesitant to touch the bag, his eyes filled with panic. "Gazi, you...you haven't done anything illegal, have you?"

"How could that be!"

Erga swallowed hard, keeping his voice very low, afraid of waking the neighbors next door:

"This is legitimate business money. I risked my life to earn it."

"Here's 33,000 dollars...and 5,000 foreign exchange certificates."

"Sister-in-law, I'm entrusting my brother to you."

Erga glanced at Zhao Shanhe, who had already drifted off to sleep, then at the shocked Lin Xiu, and gave a simple, honest smile:

"I'm going back now, I'll come again tomorrow... I'll come back tomorrow."

After saying that, he closed the door behind him and then disappeared into the snowstorm.

The room fell silent again.

The flames in the stove flickered and crackled.

Lin Xiu looked at the man on the kang (a heated brick bed) who reeked of alcohol and had a furrowed brow, and then at the huge sum of money on the table that was enough to buy half a village.

She didn't count the money.

She even pushed the purse away a little, as if afraid it would burn her hand.

She filled a basin with hot water, wrung out a towel, and gently wiped Zhao Shanhe's face, which was red from the cold wind, as well as his rough, large hands.

"Fool……"

Lin Xiu held that hand, tears falling in drops onto the back of it.

"We don't need that much money... we just want you to be safe and sound..."

In my sleep.

Zhao Shanhe seemed to feel the temperature of that tear.

His brows slowly relaxed, and his large hand instinctively grasped Lin Xiu's hand in return, muttering something indistinctly:

"Xiuer...from now on...we won't freeze anymore..."