sinovels Chapter 1807 Dividing Money and Motherly Love
Chapter 1807 Dividing Money and Motherly Love
Chapter 1807 Dividing Money and Motherly Love
It was already past 3:30 PM, almost 4 PM.
Zhao Jun and his group were on their way home, arriving close to midnight.
But at this moment, it wasn't just Zhao Jun who wanted to go home; Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and others felt the same way.
After all, they had only been out for two days, but they had made a lot of money. Everyone was excited and looking forward to getting home as soon as possible to share this joy with their families.
Sun Haizhu genuinely wanted to entertain Zhao Jun and his companions, but seeing that he couldn't keep them, he could only call on the supply and marketing cooperative employees to unload the candy, melon seeds, peanuts, and various canned goods that Zhao Jun had bought, one box and one bag at a time, onto the truck.
At this moment, Zhao Jun suddenly remembered that before coming to Lingnan, he had promised Zhao Youcai that if the trip to carry the stone dragon out went smoothly, he would buy Zhao Youcai some Zhonghua cigarettes when they returned.
Although the stone dragon was damaged, it was still managed to be carried out successfully. Zhao Jun then asked Sun Haizhu about Zhonghua cigarettes.
Sun Haizhu knew that Zhao Jun didn't smoke, and that he was only buying cigarettes for his father. But at this moment, Sun Haizhu looked at Zhao Jun with surprise in his eyes and laughed, "Brother, the level of cigarettes my uncle smokes is getting higher and higher."
It should be noted that in 1988, the prices of thirteen famous cigarette brands were deregulated and they were put on the market. On the first day of its release, the price of Zhonghua cigarettes rose from forty yuan to sixty-five yuan, and they were sold out shortly after being released.
To ensure market supply, the price was set at 72.3 yuan per piece the next day.
You can buy Shilin cigarettes by the carton, and a carton only costs a little over forty yuan. A carton of Zhonghua cigarettes is almost as good as two cartons of Shilin cigarettes.
Hearing Sun Haizhu's words, Zhao Jun chuckled. A cook earning only 100 yuan a month smoking Zhonghua cigarettes—that was too shocking. But he only had one father, so he might as well indulge him a little.
The supply and marketing cooperative in Shulan only had twelve cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes. Zhao Jun not only bought them all, but also bought eight cartons of Shilin and five cartons of Hongtashan cigarettes.
They bought cigarettes and everything else they needed. After saying goodbye to Sun Haizhu, Zhao Jun and the others got into the car.
Just before starting the car, Xie Chen deliberately rolled down the window and called out to Sun Haizhu, who was standing by the roadside, "Let's go, brother-in-law!"
"Hey, drive carefully," Sun Haizhu responded, then, as if suddenly remembering something, he quickly raised his hand and waved, signaling Jie Chen not to leave.
"What's wrong now?" Jie Chen pushed open the car window, and Sun Haizhu hurriedly stepped forward, urgently saying to Jie Chen and Zhao Jun in the driver's seat of the Jiefang truck, "Xiao Chen, you two have to be careful on the road. They say things haven't been safe on these two roads lately. There's a guy called Third Uncle, and that guy is awful!"
"Third Uncle?" Zhao Jun and Xie Chen chuckled upon hearing this. Xie Chen asked Sun Haizhu with a smile, "Second Brother-in-law, you've heard about this?"
“That’s for sure.” Sun Haizhu said with a serious expression, “I heard that near our house, they stabbed more than ten people to death in one night.”
Zhao Jun and Xie Chen burst into laughter upon hearing this, while Sun Haizhu asked in confusion, "What are you two laughing about? Really!"
"Do you think I don't know whether it's true or not?" Jie Chen said with a smile, while Zhao Jun interrupted, saying to Sun Haizhu, "Yes, don't worry, Brother-in-law Sun, we'll be fine."
After bidding farewell to Sun Haizhu once again, Zhao Jun and his group of seven left the small town of Shulan in two cars, heading straight for the border between the two provinces.
……
As Zhao Jun and his group drove home, in a shack in Qingshilazi, Yong'an Forest Area, under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, Pang the Blind, Pang Gaoming and his son, along with the thirteen members of the Pang family gang, ate pickled vegetables and chewed on large pancakes.
After finishing the pancakes and pickled vegetables, Pang the Blind Man picked up his toothless bowl, drank all the water in it, put the bowl on the table, wiped his mouth, and said to Pang Gaoming, "Come on, Gaoming, let's go take a piss together, then we can go to sleep."
"Yes!" Pang Gaoming responded, got up and followed Pang the Blind Man outside.
Normally, you don't need to be so particular in the mountains; just find what's convenient and nearby. But the father and son deliberately walked more than twenty, almost thirty meters away from the shack, and cautiously looked around.
Seeing that no one was around, Pang Gaoming asked Pang the Blind, "Father, the secret technique my grandfather passed down doesn't work."
"Go to hell." Pang the Blind glared at Pang Gaoming with his one eye and cursed, "Stop spouting nonsense. How could it not work if your grandfather passed it down to me?"
"Then what do you think, Father?" Pang Gaoming said, "We've been here for two days, wandering around this area for two days, but we haven't seen the Stone Dragon or the Wooden Dragon."
Upon hearing Pang Gaoming's words, Pang the Blind's expression shifted between light and dark.
At this moment, Pang Gaoming said again, "Father, you said yesterday when we saw that... Songmingzi had someone dig up that piece, could it be that someone carried out Long'er?"
That's right. In the past two days, Blind Pang led his Pang family from Qingshilazi to Qingshidingzi, from the Yong'an Forest Area to the territory of Yongxing Brigade, following the footsteps of the Zhao family in their search for ginseng. They followed the river flowing from the sunny slope to the shady side, searching for traces of the wooden dragon and stone dragon.
They searched for two whole days, but the Pang family gang found nothing.
Seeing that Pang the Blind Man remained silent, Pang Gaoming said, "Father, for example. Look at that pine torch that's been dug up in all sorts of messy places. If a dragon really emerges from there, wouldn't that whole area become a ginseng pit?"
“Whether it’s Anzi or not, I don’t know,” Pang the Blind Man said calmly. “But I do know that if there’s a dragon there, there must be a stone dragon on the other side of the river.”
Pang Gaoming was taken aback upon hearing this, and then Pang the Blind Man continued, "The river water on the sunny side flows towards the shady side, and stone dragons and wooden dragons swim on both banks. When your grandfather passed on this secret, he told me that if the river water on the sunny side flows towards the shady side, there may be a dragon, or there may not be."
But if there's a wooden dragon, then there must be a stone dragon on the other side of the river. If there's a stone dragon on this side, then there must be a wooden dragon on the other side.
……
At 11:30 p.m., two cars drove into Yong'an Village.
Under the cover of night, the journey was bumpy, but the people on the bus felt only the joy of returning home.
When the car drove into the Zhao family compound amidst the barking of dogs, the lights in the outer room and the west room were still on.
Before returning, Zhao Jun made a phone call home from the supply and marketing cooperative to tell Wang Meilan that they were coming back soon.
But they came back too late. People like Li Dayong and Lin Xiangshun have to go to work tomorrow, and children like Zhao Hong and Zhao Na have to go to school tomorrow.
Therefore, most of the diners had already gone home by this time. Now, only Liu Mei and Jin Xiaomei from next door, as well as Zhao Weipeng and Liang Xuemei, remained in the Zhao family's house.
Li Baoyu has been away from home these past few days. Although the Zhao family in the east courtyard has people and dogs, Liu Mei still doesn't dare to live in such a big house by herself.
So, during the two days Li Baoyu was away, Jin Xiaomei came to keep Liu Mei company. And Jin Xiaomei didn't leave today either, because as a mother, she not only had to wait for her eldest son, but also for her youngest son.
Zhao Jun and his six men got out of the truck and went inside. The goods they bought at the supply and marketing cooperative today weren't fresh. It was too late to deal with them, so they decided to leave them in the back of the truck for now and unpack them tomorrow.
When they entered the house, besides the Type 56 semi-automatic pistol and the Type 54 pistol, there was only Li Baoyu carrying a box of money and Zhang Yuanmin holding a steamed bun wrapped with a little white dragon.
Seeing her son enter the house, Wang Meilan didn't ask any questions, and lifted the pot lid to put noodles in.
The large pot has been burning since dinner was being prepared, and the fire in the stove has never gone out. The water in the pot has been boiling the whole time, just waiting for Zhao Jun and the others to return.
Following the custom of serving dumplings before getting off the horse and noodles after getting off, Wang Meilan prepared hand-pulled noodles, meat sauce, and chopped cilantro and garlic cloves for the seven members of the Zhao family.
Zhao Jun and the others quickly washed their hands and faces, while Jin Xiaomei, Ma Ling, and Liu Mei began serving dishes to the table.
Besides noodles, there are also cold dishes such as stir-fried shredded potatoes, fried peanuts, stir-fried cabbage with wood ear mushrooms, and braised pork knuckle with minced garlic.
Zhao Youcai and Zhao Weipeng sat down with the seven people and poured sorghum wine for Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin and the others.
After such a long and arduous journey, Zhao Jun was truly starving, and he ate heartily, his cheeks bulging. Wang Qiang and the others ate a little something, and then started drinking and chatting.
Although it was almost midnight, Wang Meilan and the others also wanted to know what Zhao Jun and the others had experienced during the past few days.
When Zhao Youcai heard that the tiger in Qiaotou Village could be fought, his small eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately shouted, "Why didn't you say so earlier? If you said it could be fought, would I have gone with you?"
"Just stay put," Wang Meilan couldn't help but shove Zhao Youcai aside, saying, "Didn't you hear what people are saying? Those big paws are so creepy, they might just snatch it away again."
"Oh my god!" Zhao Youcai said with a disdainful look, "That time we went to Lingnan, I killed two of my friends. It's just that I didn't go this time. If I had gone, would my son and the others have had to go through all that trouble?"
After saying this, Zhao Youcai seemed to remember something, and he called out to Zhao Jun, who was eating noodles in silence, "Son, son!"
Zhao Jun knew that Zhao Youcai calling him meant no good, but he had no choice but to reply, "Hey, Dad, what's up?"
"Ah, Dad's asking you, are you going to Lingnan again in a couple of days?" Zhao Youcai replied, "To attend that Ginseng King Conference."
"Ah," Zhao Jun mumbled, "Let's see, we'll see later."
"Then we'll see when the time comes?" Zhao Youcai said, "Next time you go, Dad will go with you."
"Alright, where are you going?" Wang Meilan gave Zhao Youcai face in front of outsiders, only lightly patting him twice and saying, "Don't go. If you leave, who will cook for us?"
Everyone in the room, including Liang Xuemei who came later, knew what Wang Meilan meant and hurriedly joined Jin Xiaomei in persuading Zhao Youcai.
At this moment, Ma Ling also said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, you can't leave. Zhao Jun isn't home. If you go with him, it won't be right for us to live in such a big courtyard."
His daughter-in-law spoke up, and Zhao Youcai, feeling utterly helpless, could only silently smoke without saying a word.
After Zhao Jun and his companions had eaten and drunk their fill, the women cleared away the leftover food, cups, plates, and bowls, quickly tidying up the mess.
It was almost 1 a.m., but after they finished packing up, Wang Qiang and the others didn't rush to leave.
Because now comes the main event of the day—profit sharing.
Zhao Jun lifted the large leather suitcase containing the money onto the table, unlocked it, and opened the lid. One hundred stacks of ten-yuan notes appeared before everyone.
"Come on, Uncle, Big Brother," Zhao Jun said to Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and the others, "Take the money out."
After saying that, Zhao Jun looked up and called to Wang Meilan, "Mom, get me a few clean sheets of greaseproof paper."
Soon, six stacks of "big unity" (a unit of currency) were arranged in front of Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Zhao Jinhui.
As Zhao Jun had said when he carried the amber dragon, the 100,000 yuan was to be divided into ten shares. Seven shares were to be divided equally among the six people who had come up the mountain, including Zhao Jun. The extra three shares were for the leader, Zhao Jun.
In this way, Zhao Jun received 41,666, while Wang Qiang and the other four each received 11,666.
Eleven thousand dollars is equivalent to eleven stacks of ten-thousand-yuan notes, wrapped in greaseproof paper, neatly square.
Zhang Yuanmin was efficient in everything he did. He first tucked his own wallet under his arm and prepared to leave.
At this moment, Zhao Jun joked with him, "Brother, take the money home and keep it safe. Don't let my sister-in-law use it as a bargaining chip."
Northeasterners cannot live without soybean paste; almost every household makes it every year.
The days for making fermented soybean paste are generally set on the 8th, 18th, and 28th of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. The number eight is auspicious for "prosperity," but this prosperity doesn't refer to wealth; rather, it refers to the fermentation process of making the soybean paste. This is because fermented soybean paste only becomes edible and delicious after fermentation.
The main ingredient for making fermented soybean paste is soybean blocks. Soybean blocks are made by simmering soybeans until they are cooked and soft, forming them into blocks, wrapping them in paper, and placing them in a cool, shady place to ferment naturally at a low temperature.
To be honest, the yellow oil paper package in Zhang Yuanmin's arms really did look like it contained a block of sauce.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Jun's words made everyone laugh, and then Wang Qiang and the others left with the money.
Li Baoyu and Liu Mei had the easiest way; the young couple simply climbed over the wall to get home. Otherwise, if they went through the main gate, they would have to go out of the Zhao family's courtyard, then into the Li family's courtyard and finally into their house, which would take at least two or three minutes.
The others left the Zhao family compound and headed east. At the fork in the road, Jin Xiaomei, Li Ruhai, and Zhao Weipeng and his family of three headed south, while Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, and Xie Chen continued east.
After walking a few steps, Wang Qiang asked Xie Chen, "Xiao Chen, are you tired?"
From the moment Wang Qiang entered the Zhao family's house, he noticed that Xie Chen seemed sullen. He couldn't understand why, but there were too many people at the Zhao family's house to ask. Now that they were alone, Wang Qiang finally asked.
"I'm not tired, Uncle." Xie Chen forced a smile and said to Wang Qiang, "What are you tired of? I'm not tired."
"Then why do you look so unhappy?" Wang Qiang asked, then remembered that Jie Chen and Zhao Jun had ridden in a Liberation truck on the way back, so he pressed on, "What's wrong? What did your brother Jun say to you?"
"No, no," Xie Chen denied repeatedly, then whispered, "I was hugging my mother."
"What the hell?" Wang Qiang looked at Jie Chen with a puzzled expression and said, "You didn't even see my Sister Sun when you came back?"
Wang Qiang's point was that the mother and daughter hadn't even met, so how could they have a falling out?
Seeing that Zhang Yuanmin was also looking at him with an inquiring gaze, Jie Chen said to him, "Brother Zhang, if I say something I shouldn't, don't be angry."
"What's wrong, brother?" Zhang Yuanmin said with a smile. "What happened? Tell me, Xiao Chen."
Hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Xie Chen finally spoke up: "Uncle, Brother Zhang, look, the seven of us came back together. Your mothers are all gone, but our mothers are still alive."
"Oh no, my brother Jun's mom is home. Brother Li's mom and Ru Hai's mom are there too, and Jin Hui's mom is there as well."
After saying this, Xie Chen paused for a moment, then raised his voice and said, "Only my mother isn't here."
Upon hearing this, Wang Qiang and Zhang Yuanmin exchanged helpless glances.
Brothers, we've been holding a lottery for over a year now. If any of you have won the medicinal wine, please let me know if you've finished it and found it helpful.
Someone said yesterday that I was using medicinal wine to cheat for monthly votes, which is not a nice thing to say.
(End of this chapter)