sinovels Chapter 1858 A Lucky Brother-in-Law
Chapter 1858 A Lucky Brother-in-Law
Chapter 1858 A Lucky Brother-in-Law
Ma Yang has been having a tough time lately. He had been bragging about how he had made a fortune, but then Li Ruhai, who was acting on behalf of Zhao Jun and Ma Ling, announced that Ma Yang's share of the profits had changed from tens of thousands to thousands.
Both of them have a mouth, but Li Ruhai's mouth is famous throughout the entire forest area. Even if Li Ruhai pinches half of his mouth, he can still talk about Ma Yang eight times.
After Li Ruhai's outburst, Ma Yang was branded as someone who talked nonsense and exaggerated, and was ridiculed by his neighbors.
What bothered Ma Yang the most was that he had gone to Yongfutun and said a bunch of nonsense in front of Hu Lina and Liu Nannan.
After that, Hu Lina, who had previously ignored him, actually started paying attention to him.
Hu Lina's method of showing concern was also quite unique; she used her authority as the group leader to check homework and discipline Ma Yang.
Previously, when Hu Lina checked the homework of her classmates, she would skip Ma Yang. Now, she checks Ma Yang's homework first.
Forced into a corner, Ma Yang started carrying books and notebooks in his schoolbag, and his behavior of doing homework at home almost made Ma Dafu and Wang Cuihua's jaws drop.
It's not that Ma Yang didn't try hard enough, it's that he really didn't know how.
These days, there are no workbooks; students' homework consists of the exercises at the end of each lesson in the textbook. These questions don't have multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank options; they are all problem-solving questions, leaving no room for guessing.
After enduring several days of hardship, Ma Yang felt like he had aged several years.
Yesterday, upon hearing that her brother-in-law was back, Ma Yang's spirits lifted. Before, she would cry and beg to go to school, but now she wants to drop out and run in the mountains with her brother-in-law.
If others heard this, they would say that the child is immature and that the child's parents are irresponsible.
But Ma Yang knew that his brother-in-law was really making money running in the mountains.
In the past, Ma Yang didn't want to leave the classroom when he was in school, but recently he has had a different idea.
That is, while his classmate Hu is still in school, he and Zhao Jun are running around in the mountains these past two days to earn enough money to scare the Hu family.
So yesterday, Ma Yang went to the Zhao family's house eight times. But Zhao Jun returned late yesterday, and Ma Yang returned empty-handed each time.
When Ma Yang was preparing to visit the Zhao family for the ninth time, he was captured by Wang Cuihua, who had received a tip from Ma Ling.
Wang Cuihua kept Ma Yang confined at home. After Ma Dafu returned, she slapped Ma Yang twice and strictly forbade him from going up the mountain with Zhao Jun. He had to stay at school until graduation.
Ma Dafu and Wang Cuihua did this because they were afraid the family would fall apart.
The elderly couple knew that Ma Yang would make money by following Zhao Jun, but Ma Yang was still too young to be independent. Letting him earn too much money now would only do him harm, not good.
What they didn't expect was that Ma Yang, who was dawdling on his way to school with his schoolbag, ran into the Zhao family's convoy heading up the mountain.
And so, Ma Yang, along with Hei Hu, Er Hei, and Qing Laohu, stayed in the back of the truck and bumped along the way to Qing Shi La Zi.
Two and a half hours later, the two vehicles arrived at the foot of Qingshi Lazi. The Jiefang truck stopped, and the jeep went uphill along the old sled road.
The Jiefang truck can't climb the ploughing track. Yesterday, after we arrived here, seven people squeezed into a jeep to get up there.
Today there was one more person and three more dogs, so Zhao Jun and his five men went ahead in a jeep, while Li Baoyu, Jie Chen, and Li Ruhai got out of the car, took the dogs, and walked up the mountain.
And so, Li Baoyu went first, followed by Xie Chen and Li Ruhai, who rushed to the back of the carriage.
At this moment, Li Baoyu, who was walking in front, paused, frowned, and then widened his eyes.
Dogs are very intelligent and understand human nature, not to mention dogs that can go hunting in the mountains with people.
After going up the mountain with people many times, the Zhao family's dogs knew when they got into the car after leaving the compound, and they also knew they had arrived at their destination when the car stopped.
Three dogs were clinging to the barrier, waiting to get off the bus—that's fine. But there was a person among the black and blue tigers—that was frightening.
Startled, Li Baoyu heard the man call out to him, "Brother Baoyu!"
"Holy crap!" Li Baoyu first recognized the voice and then realized, "Isn't this Ma Yang?"
Ma Yang was polite; amidst the barking of the dogs, he waved to Jie Chen and called out, "Brother Chen!"
Jie Chen was also stunned. He subconsciously looked at Li Ruhai, only to see Li Ruhai staring wide-eyed and muttering, "Why did he come again?"
"Why did you come here?" A similar question came from Li Baoyu's mouth, and Ma Yang replied with a smile: "Brother Baoyu, I thought I'd come and help you guys out."
"We...we need your help with chores?" Li Baoyu glared at Ma Yang and pressed, "What day is it today? Don't you have school? When I, Uncle Ma, come back, won't I give you a good scolding?"
Li Baoyu's last question made Ma Yang somewhat embarrassed. He blushed and changed the subject, saying, "Brother Baoyu, are you here to hunt today? Are you going to roam the mountains?"
“We won’t take you anywhere!” Li Baoyu said, stepping forward to lower the car barrier.
The barrier was lowered, and Ma Yang and the three dogs got out of the car.
"Xiao Chen," Li Baoyu said to Xie Chen, turning around at this moment, "you and Ru Hai take the dogs and chase our brother away. I'll take this kid back."
As he spoke, Li Baoyu reached out and grabbed Ma Yang's arm.
"Hey!" Ma Yang shouted and struggled, but how could he compete with Li Baoyu? Li Baoyu lifted him up like a little chick, if not like a chicken.
Having finally managed to get here, how could Ma Yang be sent back like this? He gripped the open passenger door tightly with his free hand, refusing to get in the car no matter what.
Seeing this, Li Ruhai stepped forward and poked Ma Yang under his armpit with one finger. After poking his armpit, Li Ruhai poked between Ma Yang's ribs.
"Ouch!" Ma Yang was so weak from being poked that he was shoved into the passenger seat by Li Baoyu.
Just as Ma Yang was about to push the door open, Li Baoyu called out to Xie Chen, "Xiao Chen, come and hold the door open!"
"Pushing the door won't help!" Ma Yang shouted from inside the car. "Get me out of here, or I'll jump out halfway!"
"What kind of child is this!" Ma Yang's words angered Li Baoyu and Xie Chen. Seeing this, Li Ruhai instigated from the side, "Brother, Brother Chen, you two beat him up! Beat him up!"
Li Baoyu turned around and glared at Li Ruhai, then turned and glared at Ma Yang.
Fighting is out of the question. We have to consider the Buddha's feelings, even if we don't respect the monk. This kid may be infuriating, but he's Ma Ling's younger brother, and Ma Ling has a lot of influence over him.
"Brother Baoyu." Ma Yang got out of the car and smiled at Li Baoyu, "Now that I'm here, you can take me there."
Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu looked at Xie Chen, who squinted and nodded, saying, "Take him to see our army brother, and then we'll see what our army brother has to say."
Upon hearing Xie Chen's words, Ma Yang jumped for joy.
Li Baoyu shook his head helplessly and whistled to call over Black Tiger and the three dogs. Jie Chen tied the dogs up with ropes, and Ma Yang reached out and took Green Tiger's hand before Li Ruhai could.
The green tiger glanced at Ma Yang, but the old dog didn't react excessively afterward.
And so, the four of them, leading the three dogs, headed towards the old village. Along the way, Ma Yang was more excited than the hunting dogs, who hadn't been up the mountain in a long time. He looked around, his eyes darting everywhere, and his little mouth chattered incessantly.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jun had already led his men to the old altar where the mountain sacrifice had been held yesterday.
Zhao Youcai was left alone to kowtow, while Zhao Jun, Xing San, Wang Qiang, and Zhang Yuanmin wandered around the hillside with their guns on their backs.
During mountain treks, people define wild ginseng as a sacred herb or a magical plant. The word "sacred" imbues it with a touch of the supernatural.
The old masters all say that wild ginseng grows in precious places, gathering the essence of heaven and earth, and the surrounding grass and leaves are shimmering with iridescent light.
This is not an exaggeration; otherwise, the secret of "the flowing light of grass and trees is like moonlight" would not have been passed down to this day.
Zhao Jun had observed it yesterday; the grass leaves around here were quite dark in color, some even resembling the color of large-leaf spinach.
But should we talk about flowing light?
This old village is located on the north slope of the mountain, which is shady. With mountain peaks blocking the sunlight, even at around nine o'clock, no sun shines through.
With the surrounding towering trees, the flowing light couldn't be seen at all.
"Should we use a stun gun to shake it?" Just as Zhao Jun was hesitating, Zhao Youcai, who had just finished kowtowing, came over.
"If you're not using sticks, what are you looking for?" Zhao Youcai asked. Zhang Yuanmin, who was closest to him, replied, "Uncle, my brother said we should look for it here according to the secret method of the Pang family."
When Zhao Jun was exchanging secret techniques with the Pang family that day, Wang Qiang and the others rushed over.
After more than a year of getting to know each other, these people, though not family, have become closer than family.
Zhao Jun trusted his uncle and his brothers, so on the way back to Yong'an Village, he shared the secret with them.
On the way here today, Zhao Jun also mentioned in the car that we should look for the "Flowing Light of Grass and Trees" here.
Hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Zhao Youcai frowned and said, "The secret involves something about moonlight, does that mean we have to come at night?"
"I don't think so." Zhang Yuanmin shook his head, also waving his feather fan. With the weather getting warmer, it didn't seem out of place for him to be using a tattered fan to act like Zhuge Liang.
“Why not?” Zhao Youcai pointed to the side and said, “The moonlight falls on the top of the grass at night.”
“No, Uncle.” Zhang Yuanmin shook his head again, then analyzed, “I’m not arguing with you, but if it were as you say, it would be the same as not saying anything at all.”
"How can that be the same as saying nothing at all?" Zhao Youcai retorted, but Zhang Yuanmin said, "Moonlight falls wherever it falls, isn't it moonlight? Does it need to resemble moonlight? Isn't it just moonlight?"
"Ah..." Zhao Youcai felt that Zhang Yuanmin's words made sense.
At this moment, Xing San interjected, "Yuanmin, if we're going to go by your logic, it means that when the sunlight shines on the grass and trees, it looks like moonlight, right?"
Zhang Yuanmin nodded upon hearing this, then Xing Sanyi pursed his lips and asked Zhang Yuanmin, "You've lived in the mountains all these years, don't you know? Except for early winter mornings when the sun shines on the north slope, can it shine on it at other times?"
Hearing Xing San say that, Zhang Yuanmin smacked his lips and fell silent.
Seeing that Zhang Yuanmin remained silent, Xing San added, "I've lived in the mountains for years, so I know. If it's a gentle slope, the sun shines on the north side between eight and nine in the morning. But if it's a steep slope, the sun only reaches it after eight o'clock, around eight and ten o'clock."
The "slow hill" that Xing San mentioned was a gentle slope. As he said this, he raised his hand and said, "But it won't take long to get here, only ten or twenty minutes."
Immediately afterwards, Xing San pulled with both hands together and said, "Where is the hill that is neither too steep nor too gentle? In winter mornings, from eight o'clock to eight forty, but no later than eight fifty, the sun comes in."
After saying his last sentence, Xing San looked at Zhao Youcai and asked, "Am I right, second brother?"
Zhao Youcai blinked silently. He hadn't researched this, but he felt that Lao Shan Gouzi was right.
Seeing that Zhao Youcai remained silent, Xing San asked Zhao Jun again, "Am I right, kid?"
“Uncle, what you said is definitely right.” Zhao Jun hadn’t studied this either; he only knew that the sun didn’t shine on the north slope at this time.
"Hey, Uncle San?" Zhao Jinhui questioned Xing San, "You haven't had a watch in the mountains for a while, how did you know..."
Zhao Jinhui wanted to ask Xing San, "How did you keep track of the time without a watch? Why are you saying 8:40 or 8:50?"
Before Zhao Jinhui could finish speaking, Zhao Jun retorted, and Zhao Jinhui immediately shut up. Xing San glanced at him and then turned his head to the side.
After Zhao Jun and Ma Ling got married, Xing San moved out of the Zhao family home. Then Zhao Jun got him a watch so he could keep track of the time and go to the Zhao family home for breakfast every morning at the appointed time.
Xing San really liked the watch Zhao Jun gave him. Later, he talked to Zhao Jun about how he used to carry heavy loads for Wang Da Caizhu's family. At the end of that year, Wang Da rewarded his subordinates with grain and money.
After receiving his wages, Xing San went to Wang Dabazhang and exchanged the money for an old pocket watch. When he got home, Xing San gave the pocket watch to his son. His son loved the pocket watch and never took it off.
Later, after Xing San's wife and children passed away, the pocket watch returned to him. The pocket watch accompanied Xing San for a long time in the mountains, but one day when Xing San was out hunting, he lost the pocket watch.
Losing something in the mountains is impossible to find, even after Xing San searched for half a month without success.
"Ahem!" Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Zhang Yuanmin coughed lightly, waved his feather fan, and changed the subject, saying, "Uncle, how about we have a smoke before we talk?"
"Then have a smoke." Since it didn't cost him any money, Zhao Youcai was generous and took out Zhonghua cigarettes to share with Xing San and the others.
Before he could finish his cigarette, Li Baoyu and the other three came up.
Upon seeing Zhao Jun from afar, Black Tiger and Green Tiger roared and pulled on the rope to run towards Zhao Jun, while Erhei ran towards Zhao Youcai.
Hearing the dog bark, everyone turned to look. But after just one glance, Zhao Jun instantly got up from the tree branch.
"Damn it!" Zhao Jun cursed under his breath, strode over to Ma Yang, and shouted, "What are you doing here?"
"Brother!" Before Ma Yang could speak, Li Baoyu complained, "He came from the back of the car."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun glared at Ma Yang, only to hear Li Ruhai slip in, "My brother said he would take him back, but he refused. He threatened my brother, saying he would jump off the train halfway."
"Damn it..." Hearing Li Ruhai's words, Zhao Jun's anger flared up immediately. He reached out and grabbed Ma Yang by the back of the neck, then kicked Ma Yang in the buttocks.
"Brother-in-law, I'm here to help you!" Ma Yang, who was kicked, wasn't angry. Compared to his father's triangular belt kick, this kick was nothing.
Moreover, as far as Ma Yang was concerned, he was willing to be beaten with a triangular belt as long as Zhao Jun could take him up the mountain.
"You're not going to school? What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhao Jun shouted. Ma Yang smiled obsequiously and said, "Brother-in-law, I'm not going to school anymore. I'll follow you from now on!"
"I'll beat your grandma's grandson!" Zhao Jun was so angry that he was about to strike again, but Zhao Youcai stopped him.
"Alright, alright." Zhao Youcai grabbed Zhao Jun's arm and said, "Who told you to hit him?"
After saying this, Zhao Youcai turned to Ma Yang and said, "Kid, you wait. I'll send you home tonight, and I'm going to tell my in-laws to beat you up!"
"Uncle!" Ma Yang demonstrated the utterly fearless attitude of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, saying, "As long as you can lead me up the mountain, you can just not kill me!"
Zhao Youcai: "..."
Zhao Jun: "..."
Xing San and the others: "..."
Even though Ma Yang is quite infuriating, what can we do now that he's already here?
"Alright!" Zhao Jun looked at Ma Yang, sighed helplessly, and said, "Tie the dog to one side, let's practice with sticks."
"What are we doing, brother-in-law?" Ma Yang asked excitedly. Zhao Jun replied irritably, "You stick! You do what I tell you to do!"
"Okay, I know," Ma Yang replied, then pointed to the side and said, "Brother-in-law, wait for me a moment, I'm going to pee."
As he spoke, Ma Yang put his hand on his waistband and said, "The dog dragged me along the other day, and I didn't even have time to pee."
After saying that, Ma Yang ran towards the tree to the south.
Zhao Jun's lips twitched, recalling a line from a comedy sketch: "My brother-in-law is good for nothing, but he eats everything."
To Zhao Jun's surprise, the slap in the face came so quickly.
As he was organizing Zhao Youcai and Xing Sanpai sticks, he heard Ma Yang call out to him, "Brother-in-law, look what this is!"