"Xiao Chu? Come out!" Qu Hua called out in the yard.

"Coming." Chu Hongchen responded, ignoring Xia Zhiwei and walked past him.

"The meat is smoked, come with me to the kitchen."

A while ago, when everyone was busy harvesting rice, a few wild boars ran down from the hill and ate up all the corn on the brigade's only dry land.

The team leader organized the young and strong men in the team to set traps and hunt wild boars.

A total of four were caught, one big and three small. The team leader presided over the division and each person was given a pound of meat.

Chu Hongchen didn't eat anything himself, and he used the cigarettes, eggs, and wine tickets that others stuffed into his mouth to exchange for more than ten kilograms of food from the people in the team.

Wild boar meat is lean and tough, with little oil and a fishy smell. People are willing to exchange it for eggs and other luxury goods.

"It smells so good! Sister Qu's cooking is amazing!"

"I learned this from my mom." Qu Hua raised his head proudly. "You changed all the seasonings, and I even went to the mountains to cut some cypress leaves and smoked them. It would be strange if it didn't smell good."

The big wild boar they killed was an old sow. The meat was so tough that it was hard to chew and had a strong taste, so they had to use some strong ingredients. Qu Hua marinated it overnight with white wine, chili peppers, and various spices.

Because the weather is hot and she can't marinate for a long time, she steams it first and then smokes it, and repeats this two or three times. The process is very complicated!

Now there is only fragrance and no strange smell, and I want to eat it just by smelling it.

Qu Hua helped him wrap the meat with oil paper and tied it with a thin rope to prevent it from falling apart.

"Are you sending this home?"

He is so family-oriented at such a young age, and he has skills. He is a good man and he is also good-looking. No wonder many women in the team have asked about him.

If he wasn't so young, they would probably have taken him back to be their son-in-law.

"Yeah." Chu Hongchen didn't tell the truth.

He wanted to send it to Ning Xi, but in fact the two of them had no real family relationship. He didn't want to be gossiped about, and he didn't want others to discredit Ning Xi.

Furthermore, except Ning Xi, no one here knows that his parents are no longer in Mingjiang City, but have taken the initiative to build the Great Northern Wilderness.

To put it bluntly, it was a refuge, and he didn't even know his parents' exact address.

Before leaving, they told him that it would be best not to contact him, and if the situation got bad, they should just publish an advertisement in the newspaper to sever ties.

Qu Hua said happily: "So you want to go to the post office? I just want to write a letter to Ning Xi, can you take it with me?"

She had written the letter several days ago, but had never had time to post it.

"Okay!" Chu Hongchen agreed immediately and gave Qu Hua the five yuan handling fee that had been agreed upon in advance.

During a chat one time, Qu Hua mentioned that her mother was an expert at smoking meat. During Chinese New Year, relatives would ask her to help smoke the meat so that they could eat it slowly.

So when dividing the wild boar meat, Chu Hongchen put some thought into it.

Sister Xiaoning is so good to him. If it weren't for her push, he wouldn't have the opportunity to go to the Agricultural Technology Station. No matter what, he should repay her.

Besides, Sister Xiaoning is so thin, she needs to eat more meat to nourish herself.

Qu Hua took the money knowingly and put it in her pocket. In the countryside, she only earned a few cents all year round, and it took a lot of effort to smoke the meat, so this was what she deserved.

......

"Uncle Hu, what a coincidence, you're here for a visit?" Ning was returning home from get off work when he unexpectedly ran into Hu Guangrong near his uncle's house.

"Haha, come here to do something."

Hu Guangrong was so hot that his hair stuck to his head, making his hair look even thinner.

"Is your friend from last time okay?" He thought of the stupid thing he did last time. Not only did it delay his work, but it also brought him no benefit and was a wasted trip.

I feel a little regretful when I think about it.

"It's okay. I wonder if she wrote a thank-you letter to Uncle Hu?" Ning Xi hasn't seen Zhong Suxin since then.

"No." Hu Guangrong's small eyes were full of complaints. He said it so nicely at the time, but nothing happened afterwards.

"Haha, maybe I was too busy and forgot about it." Ning Xi smiled awkwardly and changed the subject: "What are Uncle Hu and the others doing here?"

It looks like he hasn't done it yet.

"Even if I tell you, can you still help me?" Hu Guangrong has lost a lot of hair because of this incident. His hair is all over the pillow and the floor at home.

His wife also suggested that he go to the hospital for a physical check-up.

"Tell me first. How can I know if you don't tell me?" Ning Xi was a little curious about what could have caused such a big leader like him to be in such a state.

Hu Guangrong raised his chin and asked, "Does Mr. Dou Yuquan at the end of the street know about this?"

“I know!”

"He's...what? Do you know him?"

Ning Xi nodded calmly: "I know, what's the matter?"

Mr. Dou is quite old and lives in a house at the end of the street that is even older than him.

The reason I know this person is because Uncle Ning once learned a craft from him. Whenever there is something good to eat at home, Uncle Ning will personally deliver a portion to us.

However, Mr. Dou doesn't like to go out. Ning Xi has only heard of him and has never seen his real face.

Hu Guangrong's boasting was suppressed by Ning Xi's words. Since he knew it, he didn't need to introduce too much.

"Hey, Xiao Ning, you see, I've lost a lot of weight because of this. If I continue like this, it's not going to be a good thing. Just help me out for the sake of our past friendship~"

"Uncle Hu, tell me what's going on first!" Ning Xi looked at his face that was smiling like a chrysanthemum and felt it was a bit irritating.

"Hey, Xiao Ning, who are you talking to?"

Before Hu Guangrong could explain, the elusive neighborhood committee lady wearing a red armband suddenly appeared.

Ning Xi was not panicked at all. Instead, she looked at Wu Xiu in surprise: "Aunt Xiu, you haven't finished get off work yet? You are so hard-working. No wonder our street security is so good. It turns out that you are the ones who are carrying the heavy burden~"

"Hmph~ Who is this? Why haven't I seen him before?" Wu Xiu turned her scrutinizing gaze to Hu Guangrong, not wanting to hit someone with a smiling face.

"I'm this girl's uncle. I know her father. I came here today to do some business and we happened to meet, so we talked for a few words." Hu Guangrong honestly took out his work ID from his pocket.

Fortunately, he was well prepared.

"Red Star Food Factory?" Wu Xiu took it and examined it carefully. "Alright, you're in public. You're old enough, you should be careful and avoid getting so close to a little girl."

"It's easy to deal with someone as reasonable as me, but if it were someone else, they might even arrest you and interrogate you."

Hu Guangrong: ...

Is he really old? But he is clearly less than 40 years old——

Unfortunately, the most difficult thing for a person is self-awareness. Hu Guangrong hasn't looked in the mirror in the past few days, so naturally he didn't know that he had become quite tanned.

With the heavy dark circles under his eyes and hair soaked by sweat and stuck to his scalp in wisps, he looks like he is almost fifty years old!