Chapter 25: He is not a casual person

Only Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law couldn't laugh. She was so angry at Yan Xue's innuendo and sarcasm that her face trembled.

After Yan Xue made such a fuss, she couldn't kneel anymore, otherwise it would really be considered moral kidnapping, so she could only push Yan Xue away.

Yan Xue didn't have to hold the other person. Although she had gained some strength from working recently, it was still difficult for her to hold such a strong person.

She let go and apologized quickly, "Don't be angry, Auntie. I was just worried that my family would suffer, so I got a little anxious."

My own family?

Mother-in-law Lang Yue'e didn't believe her apology. She was still angry and confused by what she heard.

She had met all the relatives of the Lang family when her son and daughter-in-law got married, but she didn't remember any girl being so pretty.

Yan Xue immediately responded, "Yeah, I introduced a brother to Sister Yue'e. We're like family, so how could I not be afraid that she'd suffer a loss?"

It turned out to be such a family. Not to mention Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law, even Lang Yue'e was a little surprised.

Yan Xue continued, "My brother is so good-looking, over 1.8 meters tall, capable, and down-to-earth. I finally found such a good partner. If I could win him over just anyone, where would my dignity be?"

She sold this so-called "brother" in the same way that Liu Chuncai sold her brother, and even used the words her great aunt used to introduce Qi Fang.

As for the last part, it was pure insult. Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law obviously heard it and sneered, "Just make it up. With such good conditions, how could you fall for a second-married woman like her?"

"What's wrong with second marriage? Divorce is permitted by the Marriage Law, which proves that the country also considers it normal and correct behavior."

Yan Xue looked at him with a look of "this is your lack of progress in thinking". "Our family doesn't care about these things. My brother is not so blind as to beat her after marrying such a good wife..."

She paused here, as if she had thought of something, and smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, Auntie, I didn't mean to say anything about your son."

It would have been fine if she hadn't apologized, but once she did, it was clear she was telling Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law, "Yes, I was scolding your son."

Lang Yue'e's mother-in-law's face turned blue, but Yan Xue pretended not to see it and thanked her with a smile: "The only trouble is the child. Your family was willing to give it up and helped us solve it."

Is it infuriating?

Isn’t it infuriating?

She almost pointed at Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law's nose and cursed: "Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, your son is worse than an animal."

Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law had seen quarrels and fights, and had seen shrews cursing in the streets, but she had never seen anything like this, who could make people so angry without even uttering a single dirty word.

If she wanted to hit someone, the other party would have already run away. There were people from the forest farm on the mountain, so she couldn't get the upper hand.

Finally, she pointed at Yan Xue and called her "you" for a long time, and was so angry that she couldn't speak.

Just then, other members of the family team also noticed that the atmosphere was not right. Although they were half a step behind Yan Xue, many of them still gathered around and talked at once to smooth things over.

Of course, although they were trying to smooth things over, most people still spoke for Lang Yue'e. She really had no chance to get a word in, and finally she was so angry that she threw the cloth bag to the ground and left.

After taking two steps, he felt something was wrong and turned back to pick up the thing.

This really makes me angry. Making clothes requires cloth coupons, money, and labor fees. How can I just throw them away and let that ungrateful person get away with it?

Lang Yue'e looked at her back as she walked away in frustration, and the depression that had been lingering in her heart since she saw her suddenly dissipated.

"Are you relieved?" Yan Xue came over and asked with a smile, "People like this should be scolded as harshly as possible, otherwise she will think you have a good temper and can be bullied."

Lang Yue'e was indeed good-tempered, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen to listen to Kang Peisheng's apology and mother-in-law's advice when he first attacked her, allowing him to become even more aggressive...

She was silent for a moment, then said to Yan Xue sincerely, "Thank you."

"That's really true. I just thanked you this morning, and you returned it to me at noon."

Yan Xue shook her head, and finally made Lang Yue'e smile.

When the others saw this, they all started to lighten the mood. “I never thought you were so talkative, Xiao Yan?”

"I think Xiao Yan is right. Why bother kneeling when told to? Isn't it okay to force people to agree?"

Someone also asked Yan Xue: "I think you are making a very clear point. What's the matter? Are you really interested in our Yue'e? Do you have any brothers who want to introduce her to her?"

"Yes, yes," Yan Xue smiled, "but he's nine years younger than me. If Sister Yue'e doesn't mind him being too young, that's fine too."

This time Lang Yue'e really laughed, and the others were also amused by her and soon forgot about the little episode.

However, Lang Yue'e really took what Yan Xue asked in the morning to heart. Two days later, she came to tell her that she had already contacted the farm and would send her at least a truckload of tree stumps.

At that time, Qi Fang had just returned from patrolling the mountain and was brushing his shoes at the door. When he saw someone leaving, he said, "I've found someone to buy wood for building a house."

Yan Xue was stunned for a moment before she realized that he thought she wanted the tree stump to build a house. "It's okay, I have other uses for it."

Any other uses?

Qi Fang looked up at her, but didn't ask any questions. He just placed the brushed shoes on the windowsill to control the water.

There was nothing to talk about yet, so Yan Xue didn't like to say more. Instead, she asked, "Are you going on patrol tomorrow?"

"No, I've already finished my patrol today. There's only that one black bear nearby."

Yan Xue also knew that although the patrol team had not encountered any black bears again, they did not go up the mountain empty-handed. They caught two groups of wild boars and a nest of badgers.

These two animals aren't as dangerous as black bears, but they both like to damage crops. Wild boars like to dig with their mouths, and badgers like to dig holes and chew potatoes and sweet potatoes directly from the ground. The patrol team cleared the nearby forests to ensure the safety of subsequent logging and clearing operations, and to eliminate potential risks for the agricultural team.

Therefore, everyone not only received a subsidy of two dollars a day, but also half a wild boar meat and a bottle of badger oil.

Wild boar meat was fine, but not as tasty as bear meat. It had coarse fibers and a strong flavor, requiring more seasoning and cooking to subdue the flavor. She cut the fat off and squeezed the oil. Badger oil, on the other hand, was a great resource; it worked wonders on burns, scalds, and frostbite.

She asked Qi Fang: "Then I don't need to bring you food tomorrow?"

Qi Fang paused in pouring the water after hearing this. He lowered his eyes and didn't look at her. "No need."

"Let's use it," Yan Xue said. "I have to bring food anyway, whether I bring one person or two people."

This time the man looked at her, his tone still indifferent, "Whatever you want."

But Yan Xue had already figured out that he was not easygoing. He was very difficult to please and would become withdrawn and ignore people at any time. If it weren't for the fact that he was nice and kept her company at night to prevent her from having nightmares, she would not have bothered to serve him.

She glanced at the man and said, "Just tell me if you have anything to say next time. If you don't, I really won't prepare anything for you."

This time the man was silent for a moment, but still did not answer her. Instead, he asked, "Do you want me to come back tomorrow?"

Except for Qi Fang, Liu Weiguo and some members of the security department who were on duty on the mountain, most of the people in the patrol team were going home.

Therefore, during these days of patrolling the mountains, Qi Fang followed Old Man Liu down every day and stayed at home, or more precisely, stayed with Yan Xue.

I don’t know if it was the hug that day that worked, but feeling his body warmth, Yan Xue was inexplicably comforted. Sometimes when she couldn’t sleep well in the middle of the night, she would subconsciously lean towards him.

Hearing him ask this at this moment, she immediately understood what he meant and said with a smile: "No need, I'm fine now."

Qi Fang looked at her quietly without saying anything.

Yan Xue was afraid that he wouldn't believe her, "That's great, I didn't have a nightmare last night."

She is used to being independent and has a strong ability to adjust herself. Even if she can't adjust herself, it's impossible for her to ask someone to leave work and come back to be with her.

"I understand." Qi Fang said nothing more and turned back to the inner room.

The next day after get off work, he appeared at the commuter bus stop on the way down the mountain. Lang Yue'e saw him first and nudged Yan Xue, "Look, is that your Xiao Qi?"

As the weather gets warmer, the man no longer wears a hat when he is not in the work area. His tall figure and handsome face stand out in the crowd.

Yan Xue walked over, and before she could say anything, Qi Fang had already glanced at her calmly, "I'm done early today, I'm going back to get something."

Since he didn't say anything, Yan Xue pretended not to know and just returned the favor by putting a little more effort into his lunch box the next day.

After going home for two days to get things, the man finally found that he had left nothing at home.

Yan Xue still brought the food as usual. He came to get it personally at noon every day. Since there was still a lot of bear meat and wild boar meat left at home, the meal was very rich every day.

This made the other members of the work team extremely envious. Some even went to the family team to ask their wives if they could bring their own meals. Their wives then scolded them, "Why bring your own meals? I'm busy enough every day. I still have to wash and clean the kitchen for the kids at night. I'm afraid the food in the cafeteria isn't tasty and I'll go hungry."

"You don't know, you've become the epitome of a virtuous wife in our work team. Every day at noon someone says 'You're so lucky!' Fortunately, the logging is over."

The logging season came to an end after a thaw, and everyone finally had a holiday. Liu Weiguo also had time to come here for a visit.

The man who had just finished his work was very lazy and talkative. After talking for a while, he remembered the alarm clock he brought with him and said, "Qi Fang, can you help me fix it?"

Qi Fang just glanced at it and asked, "Who did you repair it for?"

After all, he had just helped the Liu family repair a small grandfather clock last month, and it would definitely be able to be used for a few years. Where did the Liu family get the alarm clock?

As expected, Liu Weiguo chuckled and said, "I fixed it for Zhou Wenhui."

Zhou Wenhui was the female educated youth who praised his unique fishing technique. She encountered a bear in the mountains and twisted her ankle.

Yan Xue smiled when she heard this. "You're quite good. You've already made some progress so quickly?"

"It's just average, third in the country." Liu Weiguo said, "I'm just starting to show some signs of improvement, but I'm still far behind you guys."

But looking at his worthless smile, it was obvious that he was very proud.

Yan Xue asked, "How did you do that?"

"Didn't you tell me to find a way to treat her well? It just so happened that she sprained her ankle, so I went to visit her every day and brought her food. All this time... hehe..."

Liu Weiguo's just "Hehe" said everything.

Well, he could go home at night during those days when he was patrolling the mountains, but he probably used that time to pursue his wife.

"If you can fix a clock, an alarm clock shouldn't be a problem, right?" Liu Weiguo asked Qi Fang with a smile, "I promised Zhou Wenhui that I could definitely fix it for her."

"Then why don't you fix it yourself?" Qi Fang looked at him indifferently.

Liu Weiguo rubbed his hands. "I don't know how to do it, do I? Besides, your wife said that you have to know what the other person wants. Now he just wants to fix the alarm clock. Please do me a favor."

Very good, I've been waiting for her here for a long time.

Yan Xue was speechless.

In the end, Qi Fang repaired the alarm clock. It was not difficult to repair. It was probably dropped accidentally and some parts inside were misplaced.

Liu Weiguo thanked Qi Fang profusely and left. Two days later, he came back to ask if Qi Fang could repair his watch.

Not to mention Qi Fang, Yan Xue was a little bit amused and helpless, "I think Qi Fang is about to become a watchmaker, who is this?"

"Zhou Wenhui is from the educated youth team." Liu Weiguo felt a little embarrassed. "Didn't Qi Fang fix her alarm clock? The female educated youth in her dormitory knew about it and made fun of her, and others heard it. I happened to go to see her, and they insisted that I could repair her watch."

He smiled awkwardly, "I just told them I could help take a look. Qi Fang, if you can fix it, then I'll fix it. If not, I'll just tell them I can't fix it."

"Then come over the day after tomorrow," Qi Fang said, "it's dark today."

A watch is different from a table clock or an alarm clock. It has small parts and is a delicate work. The light is too dim, so I dare not take it apart casually.

Liu Weiguo also understood, "Do you have anything to do tomorrow?"

"Yan Xue and I are going to sell bear gall tomorrow."

Bear bile isn't difficult to store; it can be refrigerated or kept dry. But it's so valuable that they're worried about leaving it at home. Since they have a holiday, they decided to sell it.

When Liu Weiguo heard this, he quickly reminded him, "Then you can go sell it in the county. There are medicinal material companies in the county, and they charge more than in town."

Qi Fang and Yan Xue had originally planned to do so, and they nodded in agreement when they heard this.

Yan Xue remembered something and asked Liu Weiguo, "Do you know if there is a pharmaceutical factory in the county?"

"Do you want to buy medicine?" Qi Fang looked over immediately.

Yan Xue shook her head. "No, I want to ask something else."

She didn't explain much, so Qi Fang didn't ask any more questions.

Liu Weiguo was curious, but Yan Xue just said that we would know when the time comes. He thought about it and said, "It seems so. I'm not sure. You can ask someone when the time comes."

The forest farm was too remote. It took over an hour to get to town, and you had to change buses to get to the county. No one went there unless they had something important to do, so naturally, they didn't know much about it.

Yan Xue didn't ask any more questions. The next morning, she took a train with Qi Fang to Chengshui Town, and then took a long-distance bus to the county.

The passenger buses of that era still had only one door. As soon as the bus stopped, the people waiting for the bus would rush up.

The conductor stood by the door and shouted: "Make way! Make way! First off, then get on! Don't all block the door!" He collected a ticket and let one person get off.

By the time Yan Xue and Qi Fang bought their tickets and squeezed in, there was almost no room to stand in the aisle, let alone seats.

Because there were so many people and the smells were mixed, the old man next to them was carrying a sack that was bulging with something, and it would bump into them from time to time. The sack was also covered in mud.

Yan Xue clearly noticed that Qi Fang gradually frowned. Thinking of how this man seemed to be particularly fond of cleanliness, she probably couldn't stand it anymore.

She was just about to see if she could squeeze in a little further when the man lifted her back and pushed her forward, then turned sideways, completely isolating her between the seat and the aisle, and also separating her from the old man's sack.

Yan Xue was stunned. The old man over there must have noticed it as well and quickly apologized to them.

Qi Fang said nothing. He held the seat back with one hand and stood in that position until the two got off the bus in the county.

Yan Xue hurried to look at his pants, and sure enough, there was a lot of mud on them, but her trouser legs were not stained much.

Noticing her gaze, the man leaned over and patted her, then asked calmly, "Go directly to the medicinal materials company's purchasing point?"

"Yeah." Yan Xue also patted herself and found someone on the side of the road to ask for directions.

This purchasing point in the county is much larger than the one in the town. It is more accurate to say that it is shared by the medicinal materials company and the local products company rather than belonging to the medicinal materials company.

When Yan Xue was asking someone, a passerby pointed in the distance and said, "That's the tallest one over there." It turned out to be a small building with four stories high.

The building is made of black bricks with carvings on them, and it's clear that it's quite old. The first three floors after entering the door are all for buying common mountain products and medicinal herbs. It's only on the fourth floor that they start to buy various animal furs and valuable medicinal herbs such as ginseng and deer antlers.

Yan Xue took a quick look and saw that there were quite a few people selling things. She estimated that in addition to those from the surrounding areas of the county, there were also people like them coming from other towns.

Yan Xue looked at Qi Fang and found that Qi Fang was also looking at her. The two looked at each other, but neither of them rushed forward to ask the price, but chose to wait and see for the time being.

The prices in the county were indeed higher, on average about 10% higher than in town. It didn't matter for ordinary items, but expensive items were clearly more cost-effective to buy here.

After observing for a while, the two found a counter, and Qi Fang asked directly, "Is your manager here?"

When the other party heard this, he immediately realized that this was a big order and estimated that he could not make the decision. "Wait a moment, I will go find it."

Not long after, the manager came over and was a little surprised to see two people so young and good-looking. After all, those who usually sell good things are old people who have been running in the mountains for many years.

However, he didn't show it in his attitude. He didn't show any surprise when he saw the bear gallbladder Qi Fang took out. He carefully checked the quality first, then weighed it on a small scale. "It's the best quality golden gallbladder, and it's still fresh, but it's not very big. If you sell it, I'll give you 750 for it."

It was enough to make Qi Fang's salary in a year and a half. No wonder Liu Weiguo said that just with this courage, Yan Xue's shock was not in vain.

Qi Fang lowered his eyes and just as he was about to ponder, he felt someone pulling his hand.

Yan Xue took a wrong step forward and said to the manager with a smile, "Don't try to lower the price just because we're young. This golden gallbladder may not be very large, but it's made from the blood of an enraged black bear, so it's of the best quality. If you don't believe me, find a needle and drop a drop into the wine. I guarantee it will sink to the bottom and won't disperse."

This person is obviously an expert. Most people would not know whether it will sink to the bottom or not. They would have sold it long ago when they heard that they were offered such a large sum of money.

The manager looked at her and pretended to be hesitant. "Then 800 is the price. It's absolutely fair. If you don't believe me, you can go out and ask."

Yan Xue still smiled, "Uncle, you are not being honest. I have asked around in several places, and they all said yours is the most fair, so I came here. If you can sell it for 800, we will sell it in town. The town will give more than that. If 900 doesn't work, we will look elsewhere."

"810, no more." The manager gritted his teeth.

The price was increasing by ten yuan at a time, which was probably close to the other party's psychological bottom line. Yan Xue knew this in her heart, but still said: "850, it's not easy for us to come all the way here. Now that spring has arrived, you may not be able to get such a good courage again, don't you think?"

The two bargained for a long time and finally negotiated the price to 820.

The manager wrote the bill in front of them and asked them to go to the other side to get the money. "You are really good at talking, girl. I have never seen anyone who is better at bargaining than you."

The deal has been done, so naturally it's good for everyone. Yan Xue smiled and said, "That's because you're giving in to me. You're so knowledgeable. You meet more people every day than we meet in a year."

"Oh, I've never met anyone so good at talking." The manager smiled and handed them the written order. "Look, 820."

The two of them went to the other side to get the money, counted it twice, and then Qi Fang put it into the shirt pocket inside his sweater.

The two of them went downstairs and walked out of the purchasing point. The man glanced at Yan Xue and asked, "Did you go to town to ask for the price?"

"How could I have the time?" Yan Xue narrowed her eyes, a sly smile on her face. "I just thought he might be trying to lower the price because we're young, so I tried to talk him into it."

Taking advantage of the old customers and cheating the new customers are two very common phenomena in doing business.

The former is because the acquaintance trusts you and may not suspect that you are cheating him, while the latter is simply bullying because you don’t know your business.

Yan Xue had spent a lot of time in the market in her past life, so she was familiar with all this. Of course, she didn't believe the other party would give her a reasonable price from the beginning. Qi Fang, however, had never been exposed to this beforehand and hesitated at the time. He only asked Mr. Liu beforehand to find out the price of bear gall.

However, Mr. Liu only estimated a maximum of 800 for them. The extra 20 was purely due to Yan Xue's bargaining.

Qi Fang never knew Yan Xue was so good at bargaining.

Since they met again after eight years, she was smart, tough, hardworking, calmer and more rational than girls of the same age, and she remained calm in times of crisis. Everything was contrary to what he remembered.

Her height and appearance haven't changed much, she's still petite and has a sweet smile.

The more I get along with her, the more blurred the already unclear image in my memory becomes, while the pretty face in front of me becomes more and more vivid.

Qi Fang looked at the pair of smiling eyes. Before he could say anything, Yan Xue pulled him and said, "I remember seeing the department store when I first came here. Let's go and have a look."

As she spoke, her pace quickened, and she looked a bit like a young girl, with some remnants of her childhood.

Qi Fang said nothing and followed her to a nearby department store, then followed her from the downstairs to the upstairs on the second floor and then back downstairs.

When they went upstairs for the second time, he finally asked her, "Is there nothing you want to buy?"

Yan Xue's face was full of confusion, but she lowered her voice and said quickly, "No, I'm afraid that if we sell for too much money, we'll be targeted."

She was not afraid of thieves. After all, the money was in the inner pocket of Qi Fang's sweater, separated by two or three layers, so thieves could not touch it even if they wanted to.

She was afraid that someone would try to rob her. Nearly two years' salary for a person was enough to make people take risks. In this day and age, not only was there no surveillance, but also wood guns/guns and knives were not strictly controlled.

This was an answer that Qi Fang had never thought of, and it made Qi Fang look at Yan Xue calmly.

Yan Xue also knew that she was acting like a paranoid person, so she smiled and said, "Just think of it as me being overly suspicious."

"No." Qi Fang said unexpectedly.

Seeing Yan Xue looking at him, he couldn't hear the rise and fall of his voice, "Just now when I left the purchasing point, a few people followed me."