Chapter 58: Eating meat

"We have money." Zhou Huaian pulled the old man to sit down and whispered, "We dug two pieces of Polygonum multiflorum that day and sold them for 80 yuan. We sold the herbs for a little over 20 yuan. We used some of them to buy household items, and saved the rest for Chunyan."

After hearing this, the old man's yellow-brown wrinkles on his face were squeezed together, "Okay, okay, I know Chunyan has the ability to make money, you should try your best, follow her to collect herbs and sell them for money, and have a baby soon."

"I see." Zhou Huaian got a headache when he heard about giving birth, and quickly changed the subject, "My husband and the others haven't come back yet?"

The old man looked at the sky and said worriedly, "I'm afraid it won't be until dark before we get back."

You can save money by cutting wood yourself to repair your house, but going up the mountain to cut wood also has risks. Inexperienced people may be injured by fallen trees.

Last year, a family in the village cut down a tree to build their house. Not long after they went up the mountain, they were hit by a fallen tree.

Zhou Huaian also thought of this, "I'll go see if Yiding is there?"

Mr. Zhou nodded, "Okay."

Zhou Huaian took the flashlight, but before he could call Yang Chunyan, he heard Zhou Jiaming and others shouting, "Grandma, the old man and grandpa are back."

Zhou Huaishan laughed happily as he entered the yard, "Hahaha, it's so convenient to cut wood with a chain saw. Today we cut down as many trees as we had cut in the past few days. They were all thicker than an arm's length. We carried them all to Uncle Daqing and put them away."

Zhou's mother came out upon hearing the noise and looked at them in surprise: "Really? Then the wood will be enough in a few days!"

Father Zhou smiled and nodded: "Yes! Starting tomorrow, we will saw wood in the morning and carry the wood down the mountain in the afternoon."

Yang Chunyan and others were also very happy after hearing this.

Zhou Huairong: "Today was the first time I used a chainsaw. I didn't know how to use it at first, but later I went to Uncle Daqing to teach me how to saw a few trees before I learned how to do it. I became more comfortable with it in the afternoon, and I should be able to saw more trees tomorrow."

Grandpa Zhou looked at the chainsaw in the basket with curiosity, "No wonder I heard the 'thump thump thump thump thump' sound on the mountain. It could be this thing."

Zhou Huairong nodded, "Yes, Grandpa, the noise from the chainsaw was so loud that my arms were sore from the vibration."

Grandpa Zhou: "Chunyan and the others brought back some Stretching Grass. After dinner, ask your mom to boil some water. You can soak in it for a while."

"Yeah!" Zhou Huairong glanced at Zhou Huaian, "Uncle Daqing said that Yiding asked him to lend us the chainsaw, saying that using a chainsaw saves effort. I didn't expect that Huaian's buddy is still loyal."

Zhou Huaian curled his lips: "..." It's so rare that he would actually praise his buddies for their loyalty. In the past, everyone said that he only had bad friends.

Mother Zhou sighed, "Yiding was a very well behaved child when he was little. Ever since his mother passed away, his old man has been both his father and mother, and he hasn't been able to take care of him."

Father Zhou waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and serve the food. We are starving."

Zhou's mother nodded and said, "I understand. Go wash your faces, drink a bowl of honey water, and then you can eat." After she said that, she walked towards the kitchen.

"Guilan," Zhou's father called her, "What did you say when you went to the brigade today?"

Everyone in the yard looked at her.

Mother Zhou turned around and said, "If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten! I went to the corn field and checked. Those corns were stolen from our family. I carried the corns and my coat and went to the team leader. He called that son of a bitch Xu Hongbing to the team. The bastard bit the bastard to death and refused to admit it..."

She was so angry that she cursed all three generations of Xu Hongbing and spat, "Damn it, he even said that the couple went to bed before dark. After talking for a long time, Secretary Xu and Captain Zhou couldn't do anything about him. I was too lazy to argue with him, so I carried the corn back."

Father Zhou frowned and said, "Forget it. Next time you catch him, don't be polite to him. Beat him up first."

"That bastard, he ran faster than a rabbit. We caught him, but who knew..." Zhou Huairong felt depressed just thinking about it. He should not have been polite to him if he had known earlier.

Yang Chunyan said, "Mom, don't be angry. Let's carry the young corn to Ning'an tomorrow to try it out. I heard that people in the city like to eat fresh corn. The price of young corn may be better than selling old corn."

Li Qiuyue: "That's right. Let's go to Ning'an tomorrow and carry some corn to try it out and we'll know."

Father Zhou looked at Mother Zhou and said, "Guilan, let Chunyan and the others take it to try. If it sells well, bring some over next time."

Mother Zhou looked at the pile of herbs and said, "There are so many herbs. It's getting hot, and you still have to walk such a long way. It will be troublesome if you get heatstroke."

Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry. We will set off at 4:30 tomorrow, and the sun will just rise when we get there."

"That's fine. If you leave early, you can eat earlier and go to bed earlier!" After saying that, Zhou's mother turned around and went to the kitchen to help serve the food.

Yang Chunyan took a handful of wormwood, rubbed it a few times, lit it and placed it not far from the table. She said to Zhou Jiakang, "Xiaokang, this is for fumigating mosquitoes. Don't play with it!"

Zhou Jiakang nodded, "I understand, Auntie." He thought about it and asked again, "Auntie, will you buy us some candy when you go to Ning'an tomorrow?"

"Just stay at home and don't run around, and Auntie will buy you some candy."

Zhou Jiakang pointed at the herbs and said, "We've been good. We've helped grandma pick the herbs today."

Yang Chunyan rubbed his furry head and said, "Be good! Auntie will buy you some candy tomorrow."

Zhou Jiakang happily pulled Zhou Xiaolin, "Oh, we'll have candy to eat tomorrow..."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quickly prepared the meal. Mother Zhou cooked all the meat, made pancakes with sweet potato flour and corn flour, and added the twice-cooked pork with green peppers, filling two large pots with the dish.

The soup used to cook the meat was used to cook cowpeas and green beans. Two vegetarian dishes were also stir-fried: sweet potato tips and sauerkraut with vine stalks, which were sour and spicy and very refreshing.

Father Zhou gave the old man a few pieces of half fat and half lean, "Old man, this kind is easy to bite."

Mr. Zhou said cheerfully, "I know. You are tired after a day's work. Come and eat quickly."

Zhou Huaishan picked up two pieces of meat and ate them. He thought the fatty but not greasy pig intestines from yesterday were still the best. "Youngest brother, sell the herbs tomorrow and buy another set of pig intestines!"

Zhou Huaian thought of the honey he had bought today and nodded readily, "Yes, I'll sell the herbs tomorrow and use my money to buy it."

Hearing that there would be meat to eat tomorrow, the happiest people were the children. Zhou Jialiang said happily, "Dad, you should take Auntie up the mountain to dig herbs every day!"

Zhou Huaian asked knowingly: "Why?"

"There's meat to eat." Several kids said in unison.

Mother Zhou warned, "Jia Ming, don't tell anyone about your father digging herbs when you go out. If someone knows about it and takes the herbs away, we won't have any meat to eat."

"Got it." The older ones all nodded in agreement, and Zhou Xiaolin also nodded, "Grandma, I got it."

Mother Zhou picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the soup, and put it in her hand: "Xiaoyao, eat it, ha ha, our Xiaoyao is the best."

Zhou Xiaolin grabbed the meat and handed it to Grandpa Zhou who was sitting next to him, "Grandpa, eat it!"

"The ancestor has it, eat it obediently."

Yaoyao is a nickname that elders give to their beloved children!

(End of this chapter)