Chapter 22: The vinegar jar seems calm, but I didn't expect him to be so close to people. ...

When Qi Fang said this, Liu Weiguo remembered that he had called him "Brother". Being so proactive could easily cause misunderstandings. He quickly waved his hand and said, "I don't mean anything else. I don't want to go see Yan Xue."

Seeing Qi Fang looking at him without saying anything, he even raised three fingers and said, "I promise!"

Qi Fang didn't know whether he believed it or not, so he looked away and continued to do his own thing.

Liu Weiguo was a bit confused. "Seriously, I met someone a while ago, when I went fishing for you during your wedding."

That was really early, just four days after he knew that he and Yan Xue were going to get married.

Qi Fang finally finished, put away his tools and glanced at him as he walked out.

Liu Weiguo hurried to catch up, explaining without waiting for questions, "It was a female educated youth who came to our forest farm last year. She happened to be fetching water from the river that day, and I saw her carrying a large bucket, so I helped her. She thanked me and complimented me on my unique fishing technique."

Qi Fang didn't know whether Liu Weiguo's fishing posture was special or not, but he felt that the girl was special and Qi Fang could tell.

As expected, Liu Weiguo's ability to hold back until now was absolutely limitless. Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. "At the time, I was wondering why I had never seen this female educated youth before. Then I realized that every female educated youth who came to the forest farm would come to see what you look like, but she didn't come, so I have no impression of her."

Qi Fang's appearance has almost become the symbol of Jinchuan Forest Farm. All the new female educated youth who have arrived at the forest farm have heard that there is a particularly good-looking male employee in the forest farm.

No matter how suppressed the relationship between men and women is in this era, everyone still has a love for beauty. Liu Weiguo has a good relationship with Qi Fang, and you can often see various girls coming to see Qi Fang, either openly or secretly.

Even though the other party didn't come to see her, she was very special in his heart, different from other female educated youth.

Liu Weiguo rubbed his hands, "Look, your wife has encountered such a big problem. It would be fine if you didn't know about it, but now you know everything. It's not the same thing if you don't go and take a look..."

This can't even be considered a hint, it's just like the words "Take me there quickly" are written on his face.

Qi Fang looked at the ingratiating face and asked, "Are you not going to do your own work anymore?"

This was obviously an attempt to chase him away. Liu Weiguo's smile froze. "I have something to tell you..."

"If you delay any longer, you won't be able to go anywhere."

This time Qi Fang didn't look at him again, but he reacted quickly, "Okay, I'll come to see you after I'm done with my work this afternoon." He ran away.

With more than an hour left before work ended in the afternoon, he finished his own work and came over to help Qi Fang, but Master Hu had already let him go. "Yesterday, Xiao Qi said he had something to do today and had to leave early."

Liu Weiguo immediately looked at Qi Fang and asked, "Aren't you going? Why do you have to leave so early?"

Qi Fang didn't say anything. The two of them left the work area and ran into Yu Yongzhi, who was wandering around with a gun on his back.

This time, Yu Yongzhi did not point his gun at anyone, but deliberately turned a corner and passed in front of the two people, showing off his new hunting/wooden rifle from all angles.

Liu Weiguo's grandfather is an old hunter, and he has more than one rod at home. He doesn't understand the other party's show-off at all, "Why is he twisting and turning like this?"

"Maybe it's lice." Qi Fang lowered his eyes and spoke in a light tone.

Liu Weiguo laughed when he heard it, "You are the one with the sharp tongue. You look quiet, but when you open your mouth you can kill people with sharp tongue."

Qi Fang wasn't targeting anyone, but he always looked like he wasn't interested in anything, and his words were extremely sarcastic.

When the two found the family team, Yan Xue was loading the thicker tree stumps that had been cleared out onto the truck with others. She was so small that people doubted whether she could actually move it.

Sure enough, a male educated youth nearby asked her, "Can you handle it with your small body? If not, we can help you move it."

Another person followed suit, even pretending to roll up his sleeves, "Call me brother, and I'll help you move everything right away."

Yan Xue had just reached adulthood years ago, and was indeed the youngest in this family team, but he didn't have to call everyone "brother." The other party's words were obviously meant to be a teasing tone.

Yan Xue carried the things without even looking at him, "If I call you, will you answer?"

The other person was stunned by the question and obviously didn't react. But someone else next to him understood, laughed, hit the man, and whispered something in his ear that made his face turn a little green.

Liu Weiguo didn't understand either, so he asked Qi Fang in a low voice, "What do you mean?"

"A line from the Silver Horn King in Journey to the West." Qi Fang said only this, then walked forward and helped Yan Xue put her things on the carriage. "How much is left?"

He extended his hand, and Yan Xue let go, shaking her sore arm. "Almost there."

Qi Fang didn't ask any more questions. He took over Yan Xue's work and continued to help her, letting Yan Xue rest on the side.

"They must be a newlywed couple." A family member of an employee sighed, "I've been working in the mountains for several years, and I've never seen my husband come over to help me."

As soon as these words were spoken, several married people around started laughing, and some even joined in the fun.

Liu Weiguo still didn't understand what Yan Xue had said before. He turned his eyes and asked a female educated youth next to him, "What's the meaning of that line in Journey to the West?"

There were few books in those days and few people read them. He knew about "Journey to the West" because he had heard a passage from someone and seen the four masters and apprentices in their opera costumes while dancing the yangge.

The educated youth was surprised that he would suddenly speak to her. "It's just that the Silver Horn King has a purple-gold-red gourd. He calls out to someone, and as long as they respond, they will be sucked in and turned into pus in a moment."

Sure enough, she laughed along just now, and she understood what this sentence meant.

Liu Weiguo smacked his lips and said, "So cruel?" He felt that this was really the style of Qi Fang's young wife.

"What's going on with your male educated youth?" he asked again, as if afraid that others would hear him, and he walked closer to help the other person lift his things.

The young woman blushed, and she quickly let go of his hand, afraid that someone would see them carrying each other. "He, he just said a few words, he didn't mean anything else."

"Really?" Liu Weiguo looked unconvinced and lowered his voice even more. "You know my friend's wife is pretty, and even before they got married, there were a lot of men eyeing her. He was really worried, so he brought me here as soon as he got home from work. And then he saw this. Do you think he'd be furious?"

Before he could finish his words, he felt a chill on his body, as if someone had glanced at him.

Liu Weiguo pretended not to notice. "He came here to help his wife with work, just to assert his sovereignty. I'm his buddy, so I have to help him find out."

There's no point in looking at it. He has to sell it at the critical moment. It's his fault for saying that Yan Xue is his sister and that Yan Xue has no partner.

Liu Weiguo spoke with a righteous look on his face, which really frightened the girl. She repeatedly told Liu Weiguo that the male educated youth was really boring, as she knew Yan Xue was already married.

Seeing her explain seriously, Liu Weiguo felt happy in his heart and nodded seriously. "Then I'll tell my buddy, but I'm not sure if he can believe it. How about you keep an eye on it for him? After all, next time we come over, we can ask you and you'll feel at ease."

He muttered for so long that even Yan Xue noticed and asked Qi Fang in a low voice, "What's going on?"

Qi Fang didn't even blink, "Selling friends for a wife."

The Liu family's brother and sister are really born from the same mother. One sells out his buddies, and the other sells out his brother...

Seeing that the work was almost done, Yan Xue carried the last one into the car and said, "I was wondering why you suddenly came over. It turns out you were covering for him."

Qi Fang paused at this, and Yan Xue noticed it and looked back at him, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Qi Fang patted his gloves lazily, his expression as cold as usual, "Is it gone?"

"That's all. I've almost finished it. This is the only thing left to do."

Liu Weiguo promoted his buddy too hard, and the next day, Qi Fang was worried that his wife's reputation as a jealous person would spread.

All the family members of the forest farm always smiled when they saw Yan Xue. Later, even Huang Fengying heard about it, "Xiao Qi looked calm, but I didn't expect him to be so strict."

Yan Xue could only laugh. Could she directly say that it was your son who wanted to pursue the female educated youth and used Qi Fang as a cover?

It would have been fine once or twice, but Liu Weiguo went to talk to the female educated youth every time, and we were not blind, so how could we not see it? When Liu Weiguo urged Qi Fang to run to the family team for the third time, the female educated youth ignored him and even avoided him and stayed with other female educated youth.

Liu Weiguo had no choice but to squat there with Yan Xue's axe to help Yan Xue chop branches. He would sigh softly after chopping a few times.

Qi Fang looked at him coldly and sighed, but Yan Xue smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Do you want to give up?"

Liu Weiguo chopped the axe hard, "Why give up? She doesn't have a fiancé."

This was because Qi Fang still remembered what he said about Yan Xue not having a partner, and Qi Fang's expression was slightly solemn.

Yan Xue didn't know about that incident, so she just thought he was saying that the girl was single, "Then be more practical and don't be so pretentious."

"Be more practical? How to be more practical?" Liu Weiguo finally perked up a little.

"Are you really planning to use Qi Fang to get close to her?" Yan Xue glanced at him. "If you want to pursue her, you should be sincere. What's the point of just talking about it? What's the point of just talking about it? Is it just to keep her fed and warm?"

"You want me to bring her food?" Liu Weiguo's eyes lit up.

It’s difficult for others to get something delicious, but it’s not like that for his family. If they want to eat meat, they just have to go up the mountain a few more times and they’ll get it.

"It's not just about food. If you want to pursue someone and date them, you have to understand what they need. If they're short of food, you give them food. If it's raining outside, you give them an umbrella. Of course, I can't guarantee that they will be attracted to you if you do this, but it's better than not doing it at all."

Liu Weiguo ignored Yan Xue's last sentence and only paid attention to the first part. He wanted to take notes and asked, "Anything else?"

"What else can't you think of yourself?" Yan Xue said to him, "You're the one pursuing her, not me. Why don't you think more about how to be nice to her?"

Liu Weiguo nodded as he listened, "You really do understand. If I had known, I would have asked you earlier."

He patted his chest solemnly and said, "If this goes through, you will be my great benefactor. In the future, I will let my child recognize you as his godmother."

Qi Fang glanced at him calmly and said, "You haven't even started yet."

"You have a few tricks, but I haven't seen you give birth to a child."

Liu Weiguo was so proud of himself that he actually retorted. After that, he snatched the work from Qi Fang's hands and chopped off all the branches with a few bangs.

After chopping, she threw the axe to the ground and said, "Yan Xue, take a rest. I'll move these to you." She picked them up and ran away. She was more active than Qi Fang, her real husband.

Qi Fang's hand just fell in mid-air, and he paused before slowly letting it go.

Yan Xue thought about what Liu Weiguo had said to him and felt like laughing, but she also felt that she shouldn't laugh.

Then Qi Fang looked over and said, "You're quite understanding."

The meaning of this statement was unclear. Yan Xue didn't know if he saw that she was about to laugh, so she restrained herself a little and said, "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you must have seen pigs run, right?"

She reached for the axe stuck in the ground, but couldn't lift it. "Why is it still stuck in the ground?"

As we approach the end of March, the weather gradually warms up. Although the snow has begun to melt during the day, the soil underneath is still hard.

"Give it to me." Qi Fang took it, and after some effort, he also brought down a piece of soil that had been cracked when he had just cleared the forest.

Yan Xue took it and checked it quickly, "Don't break the blade." His eyes fell on the pit that was dug out, and he paused again.

She squatted down to take a closer look, then used an axe to dig a little to the side, and finally confirmed that the exposed corner was indeed a tuberous rhizome wrapped in black silk.

Qi Fang also saw it, "It looks like Gastrodia elata."

"Yeah." Yan Xue buried the soil back calmly, stood up and looked around, then cut a mark on a nearby tree stump.

Gastrodia elata is also known as "wind-fixing grass" because it does not sway in the wind when it sprouts. Because of this characteristic, it is particularly suitable for treating diseases such as headaches and sequelae of gout.

In Yan Xue's previous life, wild Gastrodia elata was already scarce, fetching four or five hundred yuan per jin on the market, and still prohibited from being dug. While it's not as expensive now, the purchasing stations still charge a high price. First-class, sprout-like Gastrodia elata, can cost eleven yuan, which is equivalent to a week's salary per jin.

Even this kind of sprouting is difficult to detect, after all, it is all hidden in the soil. Once the Gastrodia elata starts to sprout in June, the quality will decline.

The heart of the Gastrodia elata seedlings is empty and can only be sold for two or three yuan per pound. When the Gastrodia elata blooms, the rhizomes below will completely rot due to the depletion of nutrients.

The soil is still hard now, and Yan Xue can't dig even if she wants to. She can only make a mark and come back when the weather gets warmer. She just doesn't know how much she can dig out from underneath.

However, Gastrodia elata prefers a cool, moist, loose and breathable soil environment, especially oak and birch forests. This area happens to be an oak forest, and maybe you can find others as well.

Even with the unexpected surprise of Gastrodia elata, Yan Xue was still too tired to move after finishing a day's work.

She didn't get a seat on the commuter bus back home, so she stood all the way home. She didn't even want to cook, so she just made herself a bowl of oil tea noodles after heating the kang.

Her team is just the family team. The logging team that actually lives in the mountains starts work earlier and finishes work later than them every day.

Yan Xue felt that her strength was not in physical labor. If she continued like this, her younger brother would indeed be able to take over, but it would be tiring enough, and the extra life in her memory seemed to have been lived in vain.

Even if it's impossible to do business in this era, there must be other ways, right?

Yan Xue thought of the Gastrodia elata she had dug in the afternoon.

Although wild Gastrodia elata has become less abundant, artificial cultivation has become widespread. Since she sells wild products in her shop, she has come into contact with many people in the industry and even visited their production bases to select supply channels. This has given her some knowledge of how to grow Gastrodia elata and what types of fungi to cultivate.

But Gastrodia elata is picky about the environment it grows in, and now it is not allowed to contract forests. Even if she finds a place to plant it, it will be dug up by others.

Moreover, the growth cycle of Gastrodia elata is also quite long. Basically, after a plant blooms and gives birth to pups, it takes two or three years for the pups to grow to a size large enough to sprout.

Yan Xue quickly dismissed the idea, thinking that she had to think of other solutions, preferably ones that were highly practical and would take effect quickly.

After lying on the gradually warming kang for a long time, she got up, washed and prepared to go to bed.

She had to go up the mountain the next day, let alone have a nightlife. Every minute she slept longer could help her recover her strength.

Unexpectedly, while she was in a hurry to recover her strength, others were not. As soon as she lay down, the dog behind the house started barking again.

This time she had experience, so she listened carefully for a while and guessed that it might be another couple quarreling.

Could it still be Liang Qimao and his wife?

They have also worked a day, don’t they feel tired?

Liang Qimao was certainly tired, but he was driving a tractor and it wasn't purely physical work, and Yu Cuiyun didn't even go to work.

Because of his job, Liang Qimao often went down the mountain to repair his tractor, so the couple could see each other every now and then. However, this time the meeting was obviously not very pleasant. Yu Cuiyun first talked about family matters and the children, and then her old habit came back and she talked about her younger brother Yu Yongzhi.

"What do you think my dad was thinking? Yongzhi said he wanted to join the security department, and he actually got him two guns. Those are so dangerous. What if they go off accidentally?"

She looked worried. After talking about her father, she said about her husband, "You too, he walks around the mountains with a gun every day, and you don't do anything about it. Is there any brother-in-law like you?"

When Yu Cuiyun first said that, Liang Qimao pretended not to hear. But he didn't expect that she would still bring it up. He got impatient and said, "I don't care? How can I care? I'm just his brother-in-law, not his father! Can you worry less about him? You've caused so much trouble for him!"

Yu Cuiyun got angry when she heard this. "I caused trouble? What trouble did I cause? If you look down on my brother, just say it directly. Stop making excuses!"

They have been married for ten years, but whenever Yu Yongzhi is mentioned, she becomes like this, like a hen protecting her cubs if there is anything wrong.

Liang Qimao also got angry. "What did I say about him that makes me look down on him? As his brother-in-law, haven't I done enough? Every time he comes to our house for a drink, I am the one who accompanies him. If he complains that your cooking is not tasty, I still have to cook for him."

"So you instigated him to cause trouble at a wedding, and had him drunk so hard that he stayed in bed for two days."

"This matter isn't over yet, is it?" Yu Cuiyun became annoyed when Liang Qimao was mentioned. "Well, you said you didn't cause any trouble, but you asked Cheng Yuzhen to take away Qi Fang's wife's place in the family team. Do you know that the rumor on the mountain is that your family bullies people and takes advantage of your father being the director to do whatever he wants?"

Yu Cuiyun really didn't know about this rumor. After all, it was just a guess, and everyone knew that she had a bad temper. Who would tell her about it in front of her?

"When did I ask Cheng Yuzhen to take her place?" She completely denied it. "Whether she goes to the family team or not is none of my business!"

"Why would Cheng Yuzhen bother to embarrass a stranger? They don't have any grudge against each other."

"Who should I ask if you ask me? Anyway, I didn't do it. If you don't believe me, go ask Cheng Yuzhen." Yu Cuiyun's eyes were about to blaze with anger. "Besides, what is your relationship with that Yan? You actually ask me about her!"

Liang Qimao didn't reply to the second half of the sentence, but just sneered, "Who is Cheng Yuzhen to you? She's the director's beloved girl. Does she dare to say that you told her to do it?"

The couple quarreled for most of the night, and when Yu Cuiyun appeared in public the next day, her eyes were still swollen.

Seeing her appear in the family team, some people couldn't help but be curious, but they all restrained themselves and didn't show their curiosity too obviously.

Only after the two of them walked into the nearby woods to talk did someone start to murmur.

"Did you see those eyes? Why are they crying like that?"

"The couple had a fight, probably because of Xiao Yan's incident. Otherwise, why would she go looking for Cheng Yuzhen the first time she came here?"

Yu Cuiyun's face was not very good at all. The two of them talked for a long time from a distance before the mood eased a little.

Everyone guessed that Cheng Yuzhen probably comforted Yu Cuiyun and would probably have to apologize, after all, she didn't get the job done.

Someone else asked Yan Xue, "Did Yu Cuiyun just glare at you?"

"Ah? There's this?" Yan Xue pretended to be dumb and changed the subject, asking Lang Yue'e beside her, "Are we almost done with the forest clearing?"

Clearing the forest is much faster than felling trees. They were already very close to Qi Fang's work team. All they could hear was the crackling sound of the chainsaw cutting into the wood, and there were finally tall trees around them.

Lang Yue'e knew the forest farm very well. "It's almost time. If the weather keeps getting warmer, the logging team will leave the mountain before the snow melts."

Once logging stops, the forest clearing work will be nearing its end, and all that remains is afforestation and forest protection.

Captain Lin was out sick today, and his wife was still chatting with someone. Everyone else was unmotivated, so they soon found a fallen log to sit on by the woods and started a fire to keep warm. Someone even brought potatoes and threw them directly into the fire to roast. Eating them warm from the roasting was better than just munching on bread.

Yan Xueren was a pleasant-looking woman, quick at work, and sweet-spoken, so someone called her over, "Come and rest for a while."

This kind of work is paid by the day, and blindly doing it is not only stupid, but also very unsociable. Yan Xue did not refuse, and was about to step forward when her pupils suddenly shrank.

Not far from them, a large black figure lay quietly on a large tree. It had a round head, small eyes, large ears, a pointed snout, and a crescent-shaped white mark on its chest...

Yan Xue only took a glance, and the coldness rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, and her hair was about to explode.

Seeing her suddenly stop, everyone was puzzled and subconsciously looked in the direction of her gaze, then they all shuddered.

"black……"

Someone tried to shout, but was silenced by Lang Yue'e next to them. Yan Xue also shouted at the same time, "Don't make a sound! Don't move!"

Fortunately, she had been frightened by Yu Yongzhi before, so the self-rescue information was very clear in her mind. She spoke quickly but not chaotically, revealing an astonishing calmness. "I learned hunting from the old man of the Liu family. Everyone, listen to me and don't be afraid. Face it and slowly retreat. We have more people, so it won't attack easily."

It’s pure nonsense that I learned hunting from the old man of the Liu family, but at a time like this, I can only use the old man’s reputation.

If you encounter a black bear in the wild, never lie down and play dead, and don't even think about climbing a tree, because black bears eat carrion and can only climb trees faster than you can.

Turning around and running is a big taboo, as it will only give the black bear a chance to attack you. You can only try not to provoke it and slowly back away from it.

Yan Xue was too calm, and Lang Yue'e cooperated immediately. Although the others had a blank mind, they subconsciously followed suit when someone took the lead.

This made Yan Xue breathe a sigh of relief, and her voice became steadier. "Yes, that's right. We just need to retreat three to five hundred meters and then find a tree to hide under. It definitely won't be able to see or hear us. Of course, it might also look down on us and turn around and walk away. In this case, we don't even have to retreat three to five hundred meters..."

This was said lightly, and everyone's nerves finally relaxed. Someone even whispered, "Three to five hundred meters is enough?"

"Hide at least three to five hundred meters away, then it will be really blind and will definitely not see you hiding behind the tree." Yan Xue gave the other party an affirmative answer.

As they were talking, everyone had already retreated more than ten meters, but the black bear still lay on the tree without moving.

This gave everyone more confidence in Yan Xue's words. Even though their legs were shaking and their faces were pale, they still gritted their teeth and did not scream, and retreated steadily.

Seeing that they had retreated fifty or sixty meters, Yan Xue was about to turn around to see where the woods were when two people suddenly appeared from behind a tree not far away.

Her heart skipped a beat at that moment. How could she have forgotten these two people?

By the time she tried to warn him, it was too late. Yu Cuiyun was walking out as she spoke, but after just one glance, she froze and let out an eardrum-piercing scream...

"Ahhhhh, there's a black blind man!"