sinovels Chapter 1458: Uncooperative Zhao Youcai
Chapter 1458: Uncooperative Zhao Youcai
Chapter 1458: Uncooperative Zhao Youcai
There were people waiting outside, so Zhao Jun and Wang Qiang couldn't stay too long. After about five minutes, they got up and left.
Before leaving, Wang Qiang took out two big unity notes from his pocket and stuffed them into Xiao Zhoutao's cotton-padded jacket.
He must have saved this money on purpose, it's all brand new.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" Hu Sanmei stepped forward to stop him, but Wang Qiang dodged her and said, "It's New Year's Day, give it to my eldest grandson as a New Year's gift."
Then, Wang Qiang handed Xiao Zhoudao to Hu Sanmei and said, "I won't stay at home in the second year of junior high school, so give it to my eldest grandson first."
Married girls here usually go back to their parents' home on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and Wang Qiang had to accompany Zhao Ling back to her parents' home that day, so he would not be able to see Zhao Chun and his family of three go back.
Zhao Jun didn't need to give it in advance. He and Wang Qiang walked out, and Zhao Chun and Hu Sanmei, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, saw them out of the house. At this time, Li Ruhai hadn't come back yet.
After saying goodbye to Zhao Chun and Hu Sanmei, Zhao Jun and his men got into the car. Li Baoyu went ahead with the pig, the dog and Zhao Jun, while Jie Chen drove the jeep to the vicinity of Yang Shuqiu's house to wait for Li Ruhai.
The kid did a good job, so no one rushed him and they just waited outside patiently.
Li Ruhai didn't let them wait long. After about three minutes, an old lady saw Li Ruhai out.
Xie Chen, who was driving the jeep, honked the horn twice. Li Ruhai waved at him, then stopped and said a few words to Old Lady Yang before running to the jeep.
Taking Li Ruhai with him, Xie Chen ran all the way to catch up with the Zhao army.
When the Liberation Army truck stopped in front of Zhao's house, it was already past four o'clock.
Li Baoyu pushed open the car door and got out. Then he heard Zhao Jun in the trunk shouting, "Baoyu, go inside and call my mom!"
"I understand, brother!" Li Baoyu responded and ran into the house.
At this time, Zhao Youcai, who had worked hard all day, was sitting on the kang in the east room and smoking with Xing San.
As the New Year approaches, the old mountain dogs who have built shacks in the deep mountains and forests and their old dens, those who have homes, all come down the mountain to prepare for the New Year.
They returned home with a full load of spoils. When they got home, they heard that there were people in Yong'antun who were buying hides and skins, and the price was the same as that in the supply and marketing cooperative in the city, so they all ran to Yong'antun.
Some people from the south side of Zhang Guangcai Ridge, who were close to the ridge, even dug and passed through the mountains to settle in Yong'an.
Those who built shacks like them all set up traps and built small fences. They all went for the yellow leaves and big skins, and none of them went for the gray skins and bear bile.
So in the past two days, the Zhao Family Chamber of Commerce collected yellow leaves and large barks.
Today, Zhao Youcai started to receive customers after breakfast. He just sent away the last group of people who came to sell yellow leaves five minutes ago.
He was busy all day. Apart from going to the toilet, he took a break for more than 20 minutes at noon and quickly ate the bowl of noodles that Wang Meilan served him.
At the end of the day, Zhao Youcai was so tired that he didn't want to say a word, and Xing San was a taciturn person to begin with.
So, neither of them spoke, just smoked and drank tea.
"Oh my!" Zhao Youcai sighed heavily, which was considered a voice. He was a little depressed at this moment. He was so busy yesterday, and he was still so busy today. Tomorrow might be the same.
There was one set up on the ground, standing by the side, and another set up on the ground outside the room.
Wang Meilan and the other women sat around the table, laying out the leather they had received today. The unruly ones were rolled into small tubes.
Put the cooked ones aside, the unripe ones in another pile, and put the ones that feel a little damp together.
Hearing Zhao Youcai sigh, Wang Meilan glanced at Zhao Youcai secretly.
Wang Meilan also knew that Zhao Youcai had worked hard, but Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang and others were not at home. Xing San could not do it without Li Ruhai's cooperation, so Zhao Youcai was the only one who could take charge of the situation.
In the west room, Zhao Hong, Zhao Na, Li Xiaoqiao and Wang Tian also kept sighing.
They had already had winter vacation, but Li Tongyun arranged for them to review the previous semester and preview the next semester.
Wang Meilan, Jin Xiaomei and Zhao Ling, the three parents, all agreed with Li Tongyun's approach.
There were Xiao Lingdang, Wang Xue and Lin Xiaobao in the same room, but the three of them were not as bitter and vengeful as those four.
Xiao Lingdang loves to study. Now that she has a free tutor at home, Xiao Lingdang, who is only in the third grade, plans to finish the fourth grade courses during this winter vacation.
Wang Xue and Lin Xiaobao were still young, so Li Tongyun didn't control them too strictly. She taught them a few pinyin and two simple Chinese characters every day, and spent the rest of the time drawing and origami. The two children were quite happy.
The peace in the east room, west room and outer room was broken by the barking of dogs. Zhao Youcai was startled and stretched his neck to look out the window.
At this time, it was getting dark outside and there were no lanterns lit.
Zhao Youcai could only see vaguely, but then the door to the outer room was pulled open and Li Baoyu's voice rang out, saying, "Auntie, come out and take a look."
The job of carrying the pigs was done by him, Zhao Jun and Jie Chen. Wang Meilan didn't need to do the work, but she had to go out and take charge of the overall situation.
Wang Meilan, Jin Xiaomei, the old lady, and Xie Sun were in the house, while Zhao Ling, Yang Yufeng, and Xu Chunyan were in the outer room.
At Li Baoyu's call, the group of people put down their work, stood up and walked out.
When Li Baoyu turned around to leave, he bumped into someone.
Li Baoyu was so big that he didn't move at all and was knocked over by the person who came.
"Brother Li, what are you doing?" It turned out to be Jie Chen. The kid had just arrived, parked the jeep outside the tent, got out and ran towards the house.
"Why are you giving it back to me?" Li Baoyu went over and pulled Jie Chen up, saying, "You bumped into me!"
When Xie Chen got up, he saw Wang Meilan and the others walking out. Xie Chen hurriedly called out to Xie Sun, "Mom, go back to the house and get the wax!"
When the women came out, Zhao Jun had already lowered the trunk barrier, and the hunting dogs, who had been away from home for many days, jumped out of the car and ran into the yard.
They surrounded Wang Meilan and Jin Xiaomei, acting coquettishly and happily.
"Tie up the dog first!" Wang Meilan called out, and the women started to tie up the dog.
They are all acquaintances, the dog will not bite them, and they are all very cooperative.
Jin Xiaomei whistled and called Xiaohua, Dahua, Erhua and Heinu to go back next door.
When Jin Xiaomei walked out of the Zhao family yard, she looked into the back of the car and immediately cried out, "Oh my god!" She shouted, "Sister-in-law, come quickly!"
"Go back to your nest!" Wang Meilan slapped the naughty Heihu. After slapping Heihu away, Wang Meilan quickly walked out of the yard.
At this time, Zhao Youcai and Xing San also came out of the house.
Hearing Zhao Youcai's footsteps, Erhei dodged the leather hoop that Li Ruhai put around its neck and ran to Zhao Youcai.
"Erhei!" Zhao Youcai hugged Erhei's dog head, and Erhei rubbed his head into Zhao Youcai's arms.
"What is this?" Wang Meilan walked out of the yard and squinted her eyes when she saw the black things in the trunk.
The pigs raised in Yongxing Brigade were all black pigs. It was dark now, and the pigs' hooves and mouths were tied up, so they couldn't make any sound. It was a huge black mass, and Wang Meilan couldn't really tell what was there unless she got closer.
Before Wang Meilan could step forward, a large lantern was propped up by Jie Chen using a pole.
In the past two days, Xie Chen was not at home, and the Zhao family's lanterns were not lit. It was not that they were reluctant to part with the two candles, but that no one wanted to do it because it was too much trouble.
With the light from the lantern, Wang Meilan saw what was in the car. Her eyes lit up and she said in surprise, "Pig!"
Wang Meilan took two steps forward, suddenly raised her head and looked at Zhao Jun, saying, "Son, isn't this a wild boar?"
"No, Mom." Zhao Jun smiled and said, "I caught it in their team when I returned to Yongxing."
"Oh, son!" Wang Meilan bent down slightly, clapped her hands on her thighs, and said with a smile: "Why did you catch so many?"
The tone of voice, coupled with the smile on Wang Meilan's face, clearly showed surprise and happiness, rather than blaming Zhao Jun for catching too many people.
"Mom, let's eat it during the New Year." Zhao Jun said, "Don't you think the wild boar is too thin?"
"Oh my!" At this time, Xing San, the old lady, and Xie Sun walked out of the yard and saw the pigs in the trunk. Xing San was surprised and said, "Boy, how did you catch so many pigs?"
"After the Little New Year, my family will treat you, Baoyu, and my uncle will treat you..." Zhao Jun counted on his fingers and said to Xing San, "Uncle, don't go back to the mountain these days. Just stay here and eat the pig-killing dishes."
"That won't work!" Xing San waved his hand and said, "Do I still have to occupy that big hide?"
"Let's talk about it after we're done. What does it matter whether we occupy them or not?" Zhao Jun comforted Xing San, then asked Wang Meilan, "Mom, what should we do with these pigs? Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, we have to kill them on the 11th, and the day after tomorrow, so we can't just kill them now."
It is okay to fast a pig that is to be slaughtered one day in advance to empty the dirt in its intestines.
The Zhao army planned to hold a banquet on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, but there were still three days left. During this period, the pigs could not be tied up all the time. They had to be let out and fed.
"Put it in our backyard." Wang Meilan waved her hand toward the back of the house and said, "Block the west side of the house."
There is a one-meter-wide path between the Zhao family's house and the west courtyard wall, which leads to the backyard.
Wang Meilan meant to block this road, so that the pigs would be kept in the backyard.
The Zhao family's backyard is half a cattle pen and half a vegetable garden.
After hearing what Wang Meilan said, the old lady asked, "What about the donkey in the backyard?"
"Donkey..." Wang Meilan hesitated for a moment and said, "Send the donkey to the aid worker's shed first. After we kill the pig, we can bring it back."
In the past, Zhang Yuanmin's family had no place to keep the donkey. But now his family has a separate courtyard with a shed. There is nothing in the shed except a millstone, so it is just right for the donkey to stay there for a few days.
While Wang Meilan was speaking, everyone came out, leaving only Zhao Youcai holding Erhei in the yard.
"Erhei, go back." Zhao Youcai pushed Erhei aside and walked out, muttering as he walked, "Let me see what's going on!"
When Zhao Youcai left the yard, Li Baoyu and Jie Chen had already dragged a pig down.
Men, women, young and old all moved to the sides, giving Zhao Youcai just the right time to see the pig.
"What is this?" How could Zhao Youcai not know pigs? He just didn't think that Zhao Jun and the others would buy pigs.
"Come here, his father!" At this time, Wang Meilan waved to Zhao Youcai and said, "You and your son carry one."
In front of so many people, although Zhao Youcai had something to say, he had to suppress it.
In this way, Wang Meilan led the way, Li Baoyu and Jie Chen carried the 300-jin pig behind, and further behind them came Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai, father and son, who carried a pig weighing more than 280 jin.
The two pigs were left in the roe deer pen, not letting go for the time being. The four men carrying the pigs took sticks and headed to the front yard, while Wang Meilan went to untie the donkey's rope.
The little donkey was a little panicked at the moment. What should he do in such a dark place?
When Wang Meilan pulled the rope, the donkey's ears, which had been erected, drooped to the sides, and it opened its mouth and cried, "Uh...ah."
As soon as the little donkey opened its mouth, Wang Meilan slapped it.
The donkey's braying stopped abruptly, and Wang Meilan shouted, "Stop braying, and move on."
The little donkey was reluctant but was forced to follow Wang Meilan to the front yard.
Wang Meilan led the donkey out of the yard and tied it to the east tent. At this time, four Zhao soldiers carried two pigs to the backyard.
There were three pigs on the cart. Xing San asked Li Ruhai beside him, "Boy, can you lift one of them?"
"Uncle, I can't lift it." Li Ruhai waved his hands repeatedly. Xing San curled his lips and said, "It's over!"
As soon as Xing San finished speaking, Xie Sun said, "Old Brother Xing San, I will carry it with you!"
"Just stop it." The old lady grabbed Xie Sun and said, "How old are you? Just shut up."
After talking about Xie Sun, the old lady said to Xing San, "Don't lift it, or you'll hurt your waist or your legs."
The old lady was old, so Xing San gave her face and said nothing.
The six pigs were carried to the backyard of the Zhao family and locked in the donkey shed and the roe deer pen. Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu led the donkey to the Zhang family, while Wang Qiang lit a fire in the earthen stove outside.
Wang Meilan carried the fodder to the warehouse to scoop up cornmeal, wheat bran, and bean cakes. Jin Xiaomei went down to the cellar to get a cabbage and brought it into the house to cut into wide strips.
This is ready to insert pig food.
Zhao Jun took the bags of hides and the flour bags of money into the east room. He looked at the yellow leaves and large hides that had not been collected by the side, as well as the leather rolls piled on the table against the wall. Zhao Jun smiled at Zhao Youcai and said, "Dad, you collected a lot these two days, didn't you?"
Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Jun with his eyelids and then turned his head away.
Zhao Jun didn't care that he got a cold shoulder. He put the bag of money on the table and took out the leopard skin quilt he bought from the Little Redwood Forest Farm.
"Ouch!" When this thing appeared, Xing San asked in surprise: "Boy, what is this?"
Hearing the voice, Zhao Youcai quickly turned around.
"Uncle, take a look." Zhao Jun held the leopard skin quilt in both hands and brought it in front of Xing San.
"Leopard skin!" Xing San reached out and turned the quilt over. He looked at it and raised his head and asked, "Why is it double-sided?"
"This is a small quilt they made with leopard skin." Zhao Jun explained with a smile, while Zhao Youcai on the side watched coldly.
"Oh my God!" At this time, the old lady, Xie Sun and others also came over.
I have been dealing with hides and skins every day recently. Although I used to be a layman, now I can feel that there is something wrong with the leopard skin as soon as I touch it.
After listening to Zhao Jun's story about the origin of the quilt, Jin Xiaomei asked, "About fifty years old? It must be an antique, right?"
"Aunt, that's not the case." Zhao Jun said with a smile, "It's just that it's a bit rough, I'm afraid I can't sell it at a good price."
As he said this, Zhao Jun glanced to the side.
Zhao Youcai was seen sitting there, cigarette in his hand, without even raising his eyelids.
"Don't be afraid!" Zhao Jun finished speaking, and then he heard Jin Xiaomei say: "It's just that the leather and the hair tubes have lost their oiliness over the years. Your father can fix it."
After hearing Jin Xiaomei's words, everyone looked at Zhao Youcai.
At this moment, Zhao Youcai raised his head and said, "I can't do it!"
The update will be a little late, it will be after six o'clock, brothers are sleepy and go to bed first.
I wish my brothers good health and happiness in the new year
(End of this chapter)