sinovels Chapter 1777 Zhang Jimin: I really want to improve!
Chapter 1777 Zhang Jimin: I really want to improve!
Chapter 1777 Zhang Jimin: I really want to improve!
When Han Shengli's family moved away from Yong'an in a dishonorable manner, they sold their old house.
Now that they've moved back, they're renting a government-owned house. The house has small courtyards in the front and back, but Han Shengli and his wife no longer have any land for their livelihood.
Without farmland for their own food, Han Shengli and Li Meijuan didn't have any busy farming season. Although Li Meijuan had been helping Han Wenxue and Pang Zhendong with farm work lately, she didn't have to go out too early.
Zhang Jimin and his wife were not so "lucky"; they left home with their farm tools just as dawn was breaking.
Before she even left the yard, Zhang Jimin's wife, Sun Yunxia, reached into her pocket and realized she had forgotten her work gloves. She turned and went back inside. Zhang Jimin, however, didn't wait for her; he carried his tools and went ahead.
Sun Yunxia turned around, took out her gloves, and caught up with Zhang Jimin not far away.
When she saw Zhang Jimin, he was standing on tiptoe, craning his neck, like a big gecko clinging to the fence of Han Shengli's house.
Unfortunately, Zhang Jimin, being Zhang Yuanmin's uncle, wasn't very tall either. Even though the willow canopy surrounding Han Shengli's courtyard wasn't very high, it was still difficult for him to see into the yard without some effort.
If Zhang Jimin had just been passing by, it wouldn't have been a problem. But when he lay down on someone's tent, the dogs in the Han family's yard got angry. Two black dogs and three calico dogs jumped out of their kennels, straightened their chains, and barked at Zhang Jimin.
When the dog barked in the yard, Han Shengli and Li Meijuan, a married couple inside the house, immediately fell silent. But when the dog barked outside, Hei Hu would join in the fun.
"Woof! Woof! Woof..."
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch..."
Both are "oohs," but the "ooh" of a scream is different from the "ooh" of this moment.
Zhang Jimin immediately sensed something was wrong!
Yesterday, Zhao Jun was in a hurry to go up the mountain to look for his dog, so he asked Zhao Youcai to call Song Fu'an, the captain of the forest ranger team.
It must be said that Zhao Youcai was quite meticulous in his work. He explained Black Tiger's characteristics to Song Fu'an very clearly, including Black Tiger's bark, which was different from other dogs.
"What are you doing?" Sun Yunxia, who had rushed over, grabbed Zhang Jimin and said, "Making someone's dog howl so early in the morning, don't you find it annoying?"
Zhang Jimin shoved his hand back at Sun Yunxia and said, "Shut up, I'm just letting his dog bark!"
"Won't Han Shengli yell at you when he comes out?" Sun Yunxia grabbed Zhang Jimin's arm and wouldn't let go, saying, "Hurry up and get to work with me. Work for two hours and then go back for dinner. Aren't you going to be on duty today?"
"What shift are you going to work?" Zhang Jimin pushed Sun Yunxia's hand away and said, "Go do your own work. I'm not going to work today either; I have something to do."
"What?" Sun Yunxia was taken aback, staring at Zhang Jimin with wide eyes, and said, "You're not going to work? If you're not going to work, where are you going to be?"
"Pretty girl, what a spendthrift!" Zhang Jimin knew that if he didn't explain clearly, Sun Yunxia would keep nagging.
So Zhang Jimin pulled Sun Yunxia away. After walking about seventeen or eighteen meters, Zhang Jimin pulled Sun Yunxia behind a big willow tree and whispered to her, "Our team leader Zhao lost that dog. It must have been picked up by Han Shengli."
"Huh?" Sun Yunxia was taken aback upon hearing this, and then said, "What does that have to do with us? They picked it up, and they're taking the dog and collecting the reward."
As she spoke, Sun Yunxia looked on with envy. That's a thousand yuan! In those days, that's a huge sum of money.
"What reward are you getting, you tiger woman?" Zhang Jimin whispered, "Who is Team Leader Zhao? Just like Lao Si, he's become so powerful now just because he got close to Team Leader Zhao."
The fourth brother Zhang Jimin mentioned was none other than Zhang Yuanmin. Among his uncles and brothers, Zhang Jimin was the third oldest, and Zhang Yuanmin was the fourth.
“That has nothing to do with us,” Sun Yunxia said. “We didn’t pick up that dog; the Han family did. It’s none of your business to curry favor with Team Leader Zhao.”
Despite Sun Yunxia's sarcastic remarks, Zhang Jimin was not angry. Instead, he patiently said to Sun Yunxia, "We didn't find it. Why don't we just ask Old Han's family to buy it for us?"
"What?" Sun Yunxia's expression was strange. She frowned and asked, "We're going to buy it? That dog can be sold for a thousand yuan. Are we going to spend more money to buy it?"
"Wife, let's go home and get the money." Zhang Jimin said, "Give me 1,200 yuan, and I'll go buy that dog."
"Are you crazy?" Sun Yunxia glared at Zhang Jimin and said irritably, "You spent 1,200 yuan to buy it, and now you want to exchange it for 1,000? Are you out of your mind?"
"What the hell?" Zhang Jimin shoved Sun Yunxia's arm and said, "We can't exchange this dog for money once it's in our hands."
After saying that, Zhang Jimin added, "We'd be foolish to exchange money."
"Then what are you going to do with it?" Sun Yunxia asked, completely bewildered. "Spend 1200 to buy a dog? Are you going to raise it?"
"What am I supposed to feed?" Zhang Jimin explained to Sun Yunxia, "I'll buy this dog with my own money, and then I'll take it to Team Leader Zhao. I won't take a single penny..."
"Are you an idiot?" Sun Yunxia interrupted Zhang Jimin angrily, saying, "You have to have a limit to how much you flatter me! 1200, it would take us three or four years of hard work to save that much!"
Zhang Jimin earns a monthly salary of over fifty yuan and his family also owns about twenty mu of land.
However, in those days, grain yields were not high, and the mountainous areas in the forest region had low grain production. In addition, families with many children had little oil in their stomachs, leading to large appetites. As a result, the grain left over from Zhang Jimin's twenty mu of land could not be sold for much money, after feeding his family.
As for wages, it's impossible to save them all. Even if you're very frugal, you still need to cover daily expenses.
“Hey, you don’t know anything!” Zhang Jimin said, “1,200 yuan would take our family three or four years to save up, but to our team leader Zhao, 1,200 yuan is nothing.”
At this point, Zhang Jimin changed the subject and said, "Zhao Youcai spends two hundred yuan a month on cigarettes, which is more than two thousand yuan a year just on cigarettes."
Hearing Zhang Jimin's words, Sun Yunxia was silent for two seconds before asking, "So what exactly do you mean?"
“What do I mean?” Zhang Jimin said, “I mean, if we flatter our team leader Zhao, he’ll give us a little something between his fingers, which is worth more than our 1,200.”
"Can you really do this?" Sun Yunxia still had doubts, but then she heard Zhang Jimin say, "Those two old men, if it weren't for Team Leader Zhao, they would both starve to death."
Look at how well they're living now! Aren't I doing better than Lao Si? If I just suck up to Team Leader Zhao, he'll take me hunting in the mountains, and the money'll be rolling in!
Hearing Zhang Jimin's words, Sun Yunxia suddenly felt that he was quite reliable, and added to Zhang Jimin: "By the way, there's also our son's job. Do you think you can ask Team Leader Zhao to help arrange it for him?"
"Is there even a question?" Zhang Jimin laughed. "Even with Lao Si's hands that make everyone drool, Team Leader Zhao arranged for him to be a security guard. What about our son?"
In reality, Zhang Yuanmin wasn't as bad as he made him out to be; it was just that the old man looked down on Zhang Yuanmin.
Parents' hearts are always full of love and concern. Upon hearing that her son could find a job, Sun Yunxia smiled and playfully punched Zhang Jimin's arm.
Just then, a voice reached their ears: "Oh dear, these two, instead of staying in bed, are out here snuggling up behind the tree so early in the morning."
Zhang Jimin and Sun Yunxia looked up at the sound and saw Liu, the widow from their village, smiling at them.
"Get lost!" Sun Yunxia laughed and cursed, then turned to Zhang Jimin and said, "Let's go home."
The couple were heading home to get money, but when Widow Liu saw them, she laughed loudly, "Ah, are these two thirsty on their way home and want to quench their thirst?"
The "thirst" that Widow Liu just mentioned is not thirst in the traditional sense, but rather a physiological need.
This old woman dared to say anything, making Zhang Jimin, a grown man, lose face, and making Sun Yunxia both ashamed and angry, so she picked up the digging stick and chased away the widow Liu.
Widow Liu took off running, laughing as she went, her voice full of mockery: "Zhang San'er, you'd better go home with your husband, or you'll suffer when he's thirsty enough."
"Go to hell, Widow Liu!" Sun Yunxia cursed, "You bastard, you have no shame..."
"Keeping a man" means earning money through one's body. These days, and even in twenty or thirty years, few single women in rural areas will be able to keep their homes, because there will always be lecherous men lurking around them.
Widow Liu had no choice. Her husband was gone, and she still had children to raise. In the past few years, Wang Dalong, a kind-hearted man from Yong'an, had helped her a lot, but this year, for some reason, he hadn't come even once.
When Sun Yunxia revealed her secrets, Widow Liu immediately became anxious. At first, she didn't think she had any malicious intent in her teasing remarks about Zhang Jimin and Sun Yunxia; she thought it was just a joke.
Some people are like that; they think they're so funny and adorable all day long, and they always use jokes as a pretext to attack others.
Seeing that Sun Yunxia and Widow Liu were arguing, Zhang Jimin, who had important business to attend to, pulled Sun Yunxia and headed home.
Sun Yunxia walked away cursing, while Widow Liu leaned on her hoe with one hand and pointed at Sun Yunxia with the other, cursing incessantly.
Whenever there's excitement, the surrounding residents come out to watch.
At this moment, Li Meijuan ran into the house and said to Han Shengli, "It's nothing, I went out to see, it's just Zhang Laosan's wife and Liu the widow arguing."
Hearing Li Meijuan say this, Han Shengli felt a little relieved, and then warned Li Meijuan, "If you still can't do it, then deal with that dog!"
"It bites the chicken..." Li Meijuan had just started to speak when Han Shengli said, "It can't bite the chicken either!"
……
They all lived in the same village, and Zhang Jimin's house wasn't far from Han Shengli's.
Zhang Jimin went home to get the money and came back, and it didn't even take him ten minutes.
When he arrived at the gate of Han Shengli's house, Li Meijuan was carrying a small basin of soybeans out of the house, preparing to exchange them for tofu at the tofu shop.
Upon seeing Zhang Jimin, Li Meijuan was taken aback and said, "Oh, the three brothers, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"
"Ah, Sister-in-law Han." Zhang Jimin smiled and said, "Well... I need to talk to your brother Han about something."
"Then come inside." Li Meijuan didn't think much of it and simply said, "Your brother Han is inside."
After saying that, Li Meijuan turned around and shooed her dog away.
With her watching over him, the hunting dogs didn't bark at Zhang Jimin. Zhang Jimin walked all the way to the front of the Han family's house, pulled open the door, and went inside.
When he entered the house, Han Shengli was chopping a chicken with a kitchen knife.
"Hey, Brother Han," Zhang Jimin said with a smile, "Eating such a good breakfast so early in the morning?"
"Ah, hehe..." Han Shengli chuckled, thinking to himself, "Why is he here?"
Most people don't visit each other so early in the morning, especially since the two families don't have a close relationship.
Although he thought this in his heart, Han Shengli did not show it on his face, and only smiled and said, "Three brothers, let's eat here in a while."
This was just a polite remark; Han Shengli continued chopping chicken as he said it.
But then Zhang Jimin said, "Brother Han, I'm here. I have something to tell you."
"Ouch." Upon hearing this, Han Shengli could only put down the kitchen knife and subconsciously wipe his hand on his pants, saying, "Three brothers, let's go inside."
“Let’s not go inside, Brother Han, let’s talk here,” Zhang Jimin said. “I’ll leave after I finish talking; I still have work to do back home.”
"Okay, then you can say it." Han Shengli said, taking out a cigarette case from his pocket. At this moment, he thought Zhang Jimin had come to borrow money, and since his wife wasn't home, he dismissed Zhang Jimin by saying that his wife managed the money.
To Han Shengli's surprise, Zhang Jimin's first words were: "Brother Han, did you pick up that dog from Team Leader Zhao's house?"
Upon hearing Zhang Jimin's words, Han Shengli was greatly surprised. He couldn't control himself and immediately retorted, "How do you know? Who told you that?"
At this point, Han Shengli assumed that Han Wenxue and Pang Zhendong had told him.
Zhang Jimin smiled and said, "Brother Han, who else could have said that? Hehe..."
He gave a vague reply, then looked towards the west door and asked, "Is that dog in this room?"
"What are you doing?" Han Shengli stopped Zhang Jimin and said, "What does this have to do with you?"
"Brother Han," Zhang Jimin said with a smile, "Are you planning to send this dog back to our team leader's house?"
"Send it," Han Shengli said firmly. "It's only a few o'clock. I can't just deliver it to him now. You have to wait until I finish eating."
"Brother Han, why don't you just stop going through all that trouble?" Zhang Jimin said. "I'll just deliver it to him for you, so you don't have to go through all that trouble."
After saying this, Zhang Jimin noticed that Han Shengli's expression was off, and hurriedly added, "Oh no... that thousand yuan, I'll get it back for you."
Hearing this, Han Shengli looked Zhang Jimin up and down and laughed, "Why would I need you? Didn't I know Zhao Youcai before you did?"
"Brother Han, if you put it that way, I'll tell you the truth," Zhang Jimin said with a fawning smile. "Haven't I been with our forest ranger team all along? Zhao Jun is our team leader, and I wanted to curry favor with him..."
"Hehe..." Han Shengli chuckled, interrupting Zhang Jimin, "What? You're going to use this dog I picked up to curry favor with me?"
"This..." Hearing Han Shengli say this, Zhang Jimin gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Han, if that's what you're saying, I guarantee I'll make you satisfied."
As he spoke, Zhang Jimin gestured with his hands and said, "Didn't our team leader say that whoever finds the dog will get a thousand yuan? Brother Han, how about this? I'll give you a thousand one hundred, and I'll give you an extra hundred yuan. Then you give me the dog."
Hearing Zhang Jimin say this, Han Shengli knew he was being pestered by this old man, and couldn't help but feel annoyed. He immediately waved his hand and said, "I'm not going to argue with you about this. I don't need your hundred yuan."
After saying this, Han Shengli pointed outside and said, "My sister-in-law is sworn sisters with Zhao Jun's mother-in-law. We even went to the Ma family's house to entertain them. With that relationship, I'm telling you this."
With that, Han Shengli waved his hand at Zhang Jimin and said, "Let's go, three brothers, let's go back."
"Brother Han!" Zhang Jimin, sensing something was wrong, quickly said, "How about I give you an extra two hundred? Is that alright?"
"Even if you add eight hundred, it won't work!" Han Shengli said, pushing Zhang Jimin out with his hand.
"Brother Han, Brother Han, let's talk about it again." Zhang Jimin made a final effort, but Han Shengli pushed him out the door and slammed it shut.
Zhang Jimin, having been kicked out of the house, left the Han family with a sullen and dejected expression.
Ten minutes later, Li Meijuan returned carrying a large bowl of tofu. As soon as she entered the house, she heard Han Shengli say, "Hurry up and cook for me. After we eat, I'm taking the dog up the mountain!"
Black Tiger will be going home in the next chapter, but there will be an extra chapter later. Brothers, go to sleep first and read it tomorrow morning.
Finally, I wish all my brothers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
(End of this chapter)