sinovels Chapter 1576 Golden Grapes and Golden Watermelons
Chapter 1576 Golden Grapes and Golden Watermelons
Chapter 1576 Golden Grapes and Golden Watermelons
Zhao Youcai was very angry. He felt that Wang Meilan was a dishonest woman. He was just joking with her, but she started to dig out his eyes.
Zhao Youcai lay down angrily again, with his back to the four women, and felt that he had to do something. Otherwise, every time they quarreled, Wang Meilan would use the incident of beating Lao Niu to attack him. How could this be tolerated?
At this time, Wang Meilan glared at the back of Zhao Youcai's head. Zhao Youcai was unhappy, and she was also unhappy. The little landlord's wife with the surname Wang, combed her hair and slapped him... If it wasn't in front of the children, Wang Meilan would have slapped him in the face.
Zhao Jun, who was standing by, smiled and hugged the two sisters who had just come out of Zhao Youcai's bed. The story just now made Zhao Jun look at his father with new eyes. He didn't expect that Ergudong could make up stories and make up stories about people.
Zhao Hong and Zhao Na didn't quite understand why their parents were talking and laughing one second, but suddenly changed their expressions the next second. The two children couldn't figure it out but couldn't help but sigh that the adult world was too complicated.
About fifteen minutes later, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na fell asleep. Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan were still awake, talking quietly.
"Mom." Zhao Jun asked Wang Meilan, "What are we going to do with that box today?"
Wang Meilan smiled when she heard that. In the darkness, Zhao Jun couldn't see the smile on his mother's face, but he could feel that his mother sat up.
Wang Meilan gets up early every day and always keeps a flashlight next to her pillow.
In the first half of the night, the room was not cold at all. Wang Meilan turned on the flashlight, lifted the quilt, and got up wearing only a single layer of clothes and pants.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun also quickly stood up.
With the help of the flashlight, the mother and daughter quietly got down from the ground and ran to the wooden table against the east wall.
The box that Zhao Jun and his team dug out of the ground today was now placed under the wooden table.
The mother and daughter moved closer. Wang Meilan pulled over a small stool next to her and placed the flashlight on it so that the beam of the flashlight was almost level with the top of the box.
Then Wang Meilan reached out and helped Zhao Jun move the box out.
The box is square and of the same color, so no one can tell which is the top and which is the bottom.
"Mom, how do we open this?" Zhao Jun asked Wang Meilan in a low voice. Zhao Jun had heard from Wang Meilan that she had been the head of the household since she was thirteen or fourteen years old. Maybe she knew how to open this strange box.
Sure enough, Wang Meilan carefully touched the four large surfaces of the rectangular box with both hands.
Suddenly, Wang Meilan paused and whispered, "Son, take the electric baton and get the shoe awl from the drawer for me."
The "shoe baton" Wang Meilan mentioned is a flashlight, and "shoe repair" means making or repairing shoes.
Following Wang Meilan's instructions, Zhao Jun turned around and reached for the flashlight when his elbow suddenly hit someone's leg.
There is someone standing behind him!
"Oh my god!" Zhao Jun was shocked. It was late at night, and even though he had a flashlight on, it was bright wherever he shone it. At this time, the flashlight was shining in front of him, and behind Zhao Jun was a dark area.
"What are you shouting for?" Zhao Youcai's low voice reached Zhao Jun's ears, and then the old man picked up the flashlight, opened the drawer of the wooden table, reached in and rummaged around inside, then took out an awl and handed it to Wang Meilan.
It should be said that when the awl was handed over, the tip was held in Zhao Youcai's hand.
Wang Meilan took the awl, looked up at Zhao Youcai, and said, "Light it up for me."
Zhao Youcai didn't say anything, he moved forward with the flashlight, and at the same time knocked his right knee to the right, pushing Zhao Jun aside.
As Zhao Youcai squatted between Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan, the family of three squatted in front of the box.
Surrounded by reliable people, Wang Meilan did not hide the truth from the father and son and tapped the right edge of the upward side of the box twice with the awl.
With the help of flashlight, Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai saw that there was a semicircular pit at the tip of the cone.
The pit was half deep and half shallow. As the box had been buried in the ground for a long time, the surface of the box was infiltrated by mud and there were signs of decay. If Wang Meilan hadn't pointed it out twice, Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai really wouldn't have been able to tell that it was a trace left by human beings.
Wang Meilan held the awl in one hand and groped around the edges of the box with the other.
Then, as Wang Meilan scratched with the awl, mud was pushed out wherever the tip of the awl passed.
Wang Meilan drew three sides of the rectangular surface, two long and one short. As the tip of the cone passed through, a thin gap appeared.
This gap was not made by a cone, but had always been there and was blocked by mud.
"Hold it for me." Wang Meilan whispered, and Zhao Youcai hurriedly held the box with both hands.
"Tsk!" Wang Meilan glared at Zhao Youcai and said, "Hold the edge. How can I open it if you hold it here?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Youcai quickly moved his hands, and he and Zhao Jun pinched both sides of the box.
At this time, Wang Meilan put down the awl and pressed her thumbs on the two semicircular pits facing upwards.
Then, Wang Meilan used the other eight fingers of both hands to press against the side of the box facing her feet. Then, she used her two thumbs to exert force, but after ten seconds, the box did not move at all.
"Get up." Zhao Youcai gently pushed Wang Meilan and signaled her to stop.
Wang Meilan withdrew her hand and saw Zhao Youcai's big hands pressing the upward side of the box. He pressed with the base of his palm and then pushed hard towards Wang Meilan.
It still had no effect, so Zhao Youcai raised his hands slightly, and then as he lowered them again, his palms exerted an outward pushing force on the box.
After lifting, lowering and pushing repeatedly, the upper side of the box suddenly became loose. Zhao Youcai took advantage of the situation and found that the lid of the box was not fastened with a button, but was opened and closed by pushing and pulling with mortise and tenon joints.
Even the most delicate carpentry work, which is said to be perfectly fitted, still has visible seams. It's just that after being buried underground for so many years, the soil has seeped in and completely sealed the seams.
If Wang Meilan hadn't recognized the box, someone else would have had to destroy it by force.
The lid of the box was opened, revealing a thick, dirty red cloth. Anxiously, Wang Meilan grabbed the red cloth, but it tightened and could no longer cover the edge.
In an instant, Zhao Jun saw a flash of golden light.
As Wang Meilan pulled the red cloth aside with force, a golden light shone under the flashlight.
At this time, three pairs of eyes, one small and one large, were all wide open.
Inside the box, there was a dazzling golden glow. But at this moment, none of the three people could look away.
Gold! A chest of gold!
How many people in the world can not care?
At this time, Wang Meilan was trembling all over. She reached into the box with trembling hands and picked up a bunch of golden grapes.
The golden grapes were just as Wang Meilan had said, exquisitely crafted. The grapes in the bunch were of different sizes, round and flat. These grapes were connected together and supported by grape leaves, just like a bunch of grapes.
"Son!" Wang Meilan held the golden grapes in both hands and passed them to Zhao Jun through Zhao Youcai.
Zhao Jun reached out to take it and felt a heaviness in his hand, which showed that the golden grape was definitely not hollow.
"Mom." Zhao Jun held the golden grapes and asked Wang Meilan, "Are there any tiger blood pills here?"
Hearing what Zhao Jun said, Wang Meilan subconsciously reached out to Zhao Jun, but halfway through, she reacted and withdrew her hand to hold a bunch of golden grapes in the box.
To be precise, it was pressing down on a golden grape on a bunch.
The golden grapes are said to be finely crafted, just like the real thing, with leaves and stems on each bunch of grapes. The stems are big and small, and the small stems are connected to the big stems and grapes.
Wang Meilan pinched a grape and twisted it clockwise, but it didn't move. Then she twisted it counterclockwise and with a "snap", the grape split into two halves.
Zhao Jun widened his eyes and saw that the opened grapes looked like two small bowls with spiral edges, which should be able to be put together.
At this time, Wang Meilan pinched out a "bead" from the box. This "bead" looked a bit like a wax ball, and was completely snow-white.
But thinking about what Zhao Youcai said, Zhao Jun and Wang Meilan knew that this was the crystallization of snow honey.
Wang Meilan handed the thing to Zhao Jun, but was stopped by Zhao Youcai.
Zhao Youcai took the "bead" in his hand, weighed it, put it to his nose and smelled it, and then handed it to Zhao Jun.
"Is that right, Dad?" Zhao Jun asked Zhao Youcai. Zhao Youcai nodded and said, "It should be."
"Can it be opened?" Zhao Jun asked again, but Zhao Youcai shook his head and said, "Forget it. We don't know what's inside. If this thing falls to the ground, it will be gone."
"Then why are you putting it away?" Zhao Jun looked at Wang Meilan, and Wang Meilan reached out and took the "bead".
She placed the "bead" in half a golden grape, buckled the other half upwards, put the two halves together, inserted them into the small golden pole, and the golden grapes instantly grew on the string.
"Huh?" Seeing this, Zhao Youcai asked in surprise, "Why would you do this?"
Hearing what Zhao Youcai said, Zhao Jun also looked at Wang Meilan. Yes, when Wang Meilan first mentioned the golden grape, she only said that she had played with it, but she didn't say that the grapes could be opened.
Wang Changhai had told her that the grape seeds could be opened. But judging from Wang Meilan's behavior just now, she had definitely opened golden grape seeds before.
When asked by Zhao Youcai, Wang Meilan blinked her eyes twice and said, "I think I played it a while ago, but I didn't get the hang of it. I can't remember it."
"You're still nagging me." Zhao Youcai curled his lips and whispered, "You're just accusing me of not reporting the truth."
When Zhao Youcai said this, he was given a cold stare by the mother and daughter on his left and right.
"Dad, Mom." Zhao Jun asked Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan, "Can you just leave the tiger blood pills in there and not move them?"
"You have to wait for your uncle to come before you can move." This was said by Zhao Youcai. Er Gudong is still good in this respect. Otherwise, he would not have given all the silver jewelry to Wang Qiang.
"Yeah." Zhao Youcai finished speaking, and Wang Meilan continued, "Wait until your uncle comes, and then we can discuss what to do."
"Okay." Zhao Jun didn't say anything and put the golden grapes in his hand back into the box.
Wang Meilan covered the box with red cloth as it was before and pushed the lid shut. Then she heard Zhao Youcai say, "Lan, take out all the things inside."
"Hmm?" Wang Meilan was startled, and then she saw Zhao Youcai raised his hand and pointed at the kang cabinet, saying, "Put it in your box."
"That's fine." Wang Meilan listened to Zhao Youcai and took out all the things in the box with Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai, and placed them one by one on the edge of the kang.
Just as Wang Meilan said, there were ten bunches of golden grapes in total, and there were also two golden watermelons as big as a child's head.
These things were first wrapped in a single piece of clothing, then put into a triangular pocket, and finally placed in Wang Meilan's dowry box.
As she closed the box, Wang Meilan sighed heavily.
"What are you doing?" Zhao Youcai teased, "Looking for this old gold. If you keep sighing, others will not be able to survive."
Wang Meilan rolled her eyes at Zhao Youcai and said, "When I'm done, I have to go to my father's and mother's graves."
"You go." Zhao Youcai said, "Burn a few more pieces of paper for Dad..."
Zhao Youcai's words sounded quite decent, but he immediately went off the rails and continued, "See if I can get some Qingyan."
"Fuck you..." Wang Meilan almost cursed, but when she thought about how the old woman was very nice to her, Wang Meilan stopped cursing halfway and then raised her hand and hit Zhao Youcai with a stick.
The three of them lay down on the kang, and Zhao Jun whispered to Wang Meilan, "Mom, this gold must weigh forty or fifty kilograms!"
"About the same." Wang Meilan said, "A bunch of grapes weighs 3.8 jin. You can do the math."
"Oh my god!" Zhao Jun was no longer sleepy and asked, "How much does this cost?"
Previously, Zhao Jun took Wang Meilan down the mountain to buy gold brocade and other things, and the price per gram was more than 50 yuan. Even if we calculate it at 50 yuan, a bunch of golden grapes can still be sold for 95,000 yuan.
So, that box costs about one million!
Thinking that the gold would be more valuable in a few years, Zhao Jun swallowed his saliva and thought that he couldn't sell this thing.
Suddenly, Zhao Jun remembered something and said to Wang Meilan, "Mom, we still have all those big black coins, right?"
The third edition of RMB is now in circulation in the market, but in this forest area, the second edition of RMB can still be found. Last year, the Zhang family bought the two little black bears and paid Zhao Jun with the Big Black Ten.
Zhao Jun vaguely remembered that after thirty or forty years, a big black ten could be exchanged for a lot of money.
So Zhao Jun told Wang Meilan to keep the one hundred or so Da Tuanjie tickets at home and not to touch them no matter what.
"Don't worry, son." Wang Meilan said, "If you don't let me touch it, I won't touch it. Even before the famine in our family, I didn't touch the money."
Zhao Youcai curled his lips when he heard the conversation between the mother and daughter. Wang Meilan really supported her son and she would listen to whatever her son said.
……
The next day, March 1988, 3, was the twenty-first year of the first lunar month, and Zhao Jun was still twelve days away from his wedding.
Today's breakfast was not too complicated. There were some sticky rice dumplings left in the big vat outside, so Wang Meilan made kelp stewed with frozen tofu and wild boar meat, and put a lid on the sticky rice dumplings.
Don’t underestimate the small size of sticky rice dumplings, they are always filling.
Zhao Weipeng and Zhao Jinhui also ate a lot of this stuff. While eating, Zhao Weipeng suddenly remembered something and said to Wang Meilan, "Sister-in-law, my eldest and second uncles will come over the next day. I'll ask them to bring you some more kelp, sea fish, and shrimp."
"Come on, brother." Wang Meilan quickly declined, "You only ate those things a few days ago. Now they are ripe. It's useless to take too much and not be able to store them."
"It's okay, sister-in-law." Zhao Weipeng said, "When you study the menu today, add some prawns and some kelp."
"Ah? Then... OK then." Wang Meilan hesitated for a moment, then thanked Zhao Weipeng and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I'll pay you whatever you want when you're done."
"No need, sister-in-law." Zhao Weipeng shook his fat face and said, "Aren't you embarrassing your brother? My eldest nephew is getting married, and as an uncle, I should prepare two dishes for him, isn't that right?"
After Zhao Weipeng finished speaking, he heard the sound of the door opening in the outer room. Soon, Li Baoyu strode into the west room. After greeting the elders, Li Baoyu asked Zhao Youcai, "Uncle, are you not going up the mountain today?"
"Ah!" Zhao Youcai responded, and then asked, "What's the matter?"
"Not so good." Li Baoyu said with a smile, "Then you haven't hit that cannon egg these days, let's go and chase it away."
Zhao Youcai: "..."
(End of this chapter)