Chapter 67: Extraordinary Wine

In addition to Old Man Xu and his grandson, Aliang's family also had meat buns for dinner.

A section of the roof of their house has been repaired, and now the whole family is crowded in this room, sleeping and eating there.

"We gave two to the captain, and there are thirty-eight left. She bought forty for you!" Aliang's mother said in shock.

Aliang's father nodded, "Yes. I went there to help, but ended up not being able to help much, and I took advantage of her."

"She gave it to you, so just keep it. We will help her more in the future." said Aliang's grandmother.

"I'm afraid there won't be a chance. She's so capable." Aliang's mother sighed.

Grandma Aliang pondered, "She doesn't have any vegetables in her yard. Look for some vegetable seeds. If you don't have any, go to the village and borrow some. Send them to her in a couple of days. If you can help her plant some, you can repay her for her kindness."

Aliang's mother's eyes lit up, "Okay, let's do it."

"Mom, can I eat the meat buns now?" Aliang swallowed hard.

"Mom, I want meat buns too." Aliang's sister stared at the meat buns with her big eyes, looking longing.

"Eat it." Aliang's grandmother smiled. "Eat three per person today, and save the rest for breakfast tomorrow."

As Aliang's grandmother finished speaking, Aliang was the first to take a bite of the meat bun.

“Hmm—”

“It’s delicious—”

Aliang was about to cry. It turned out that this is what white flour and pork taste like!

"Go slowly, don't get burned." Aliang's grandmother warned.

That night, Aliang and his family could smell the aroma of meat buns even in their dreams.

The next day, as soon as the sun came out from the other side of the mountain, Lin Qi came out of the mountain with a backpack on her back. When she reached the foot of the mountain, she picked two palm-sized saplings and used five minutes to grow them into bucket-sized saplings. Then, she pulled them up by the roots and walked step by step towards the cowshed.

The address where Xu Hexiao built his house was less than two hundred meters away from her home, between her house and the cowshed.

The foundation of the house had been measured by the team leader and marked out. Lin Qi dragged two sturdy fir trees over and placed them next to the foundation.

"Why so early?" Xu Hexiao trotted over, panting slightly and asked. He was originally cooking breakfast, looking towards the foot of the mountain while cooking. When she appeared, he quickly put out the fire and rushed towards her.

Lin Qi clapped her hands. "It's not early. I came here straight after getting up. I didn't have breakfast."

"It's okay, I'll cook your portion. Egg and scallion pancake, is that okay?" Xu Hexiao asked.

"Okay, I just want to eat egg scallion pancakes. I brought cucumbers and green onions, which are perfect with scallion pancakes." In addition, she also brought two fat roosters and several kinds of green vegetables.

When Xu Hexiao reached out to take her backpack, he saw the pheasant with shiny feathers in the basket. Seeing their size, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Are they too fat for pheasants?"

They are so fat. If the enemy comes, can they run away?

"They are not pheasants now. They are my chickens now. They have an owner." Lin Qi corrected Xu Hexiao. She was also a little helpless. They obviously eat crops and fruits and vegetables, so who knows how they can grow so fast. Not only are they round, but they are also very beautiful. It's not just pheasants, but also wild rabbits.

In a few days, she will have to deal with some of the pheasants and rabbits, otherwise she is afraid that they will mutate if they continue to grow.

Seeing her serious look, Xu Hexiao chuckled, "Okay, you raise it."

The two roosters were not killed, but their feet and wings were tied with straw ropes. Old Man Xu was also very surprised to see the two roosters. However, he was a little embarrassed, "I have to go herd cattle today, I am afraid I don't have time to cook lunch for us."

"It's okay, I'll cook lunch. I bought an iron pot yesterday, which can come in handy." The ticket for buying the iron pot was given by the commune. It was a big iron pot with a diameter of more than one meter. It could not only be used to cook, but also to boil water for bathing.

"Then I'll trouble you, Qiqi. I won't be back at noon, so you don't have to wait for me for dinner." said Old Man Xu.

Hearing this, Xu Hexiao silently used oil paper to pack two scallion pancakes and two boiled eggs for Old Man Xu, "Keep them for lunch."

"Okay." Old Man Xu agreed and reminded him, "Watch out for time at noon and come back early to help Lin Qi. Don't let her work alone."

Xu Hexiao agreed.

After breakfast, Xu Hexiao went to make mud bricks, while Lin Qi went to the brigade to borrow saws and knives. She didn't know how to do carpentry, but when her house was built a few days ago, she watched the whole process from the side and wrote down all the steps and details. It should be no problem to copy it.

While she was busy here, Aliang's mother came over. Maybe because she looked a little fierce with the knife, Aliang's mother hesitated for a long time, stopped three meters away, and did not dare to get close.

"Do you have something to talk to me about?" Lin Qi stopped what she was doing and looked up at her.

The girl's delicate face shone brightly in the sun, and Aliang's mother was stunned for a moment.

"Do you have something to talk to me about?" Lin Qi asked again.

"Oh, oh, I'm here to give you some seeds." Aliang's mother said, with a flash of regret in her eyes. Did she lose her composure just now?

"What seeds?" Lin Qi walked towards her.

"They are vegetable seeds. Thinking that you wanted to grow vegetables, I brought over some of the seeds I had at home." Not only those at home, she also borrowed some from other people's homes.

Someone actually offered to give her something. Lin Qi was a little surprised. Seeing the woman's nervous look, she took the seeds from her hand without refusing. These seeds were wrapped in paper and classified into more than ten kinds.

Seeing that she didn't refuse, Aliang's mother secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "There are not only vegetable seeds in it, but also some melon seeds and watermelon seeds. However, the watermelon seeds have been stored for several years, and I don't know if they can still be planted."

Lin Qi raised her eyebrows. There were also watermelon and melon seeds. Great, she didn't have these two kinds. It seemed that she would need two more species in her planting area.

"Can you grow vegetables? How about I help you?" Aliang's mother said with eager eyes.

"Yes. I can do it myself. Thank you for the seeds." Lin Qi said, putting the seeds into the backpack beside her and continued to saw her wood.

Seeing this, Aliang's mother had to leave with regret.

She never thought that one day she would take the initiative to offer to help others with work, and she would feel bad if she was rejected.

Lin Qi cooked lunch. She killed two roosters, one was braised in brown sauce, and the other was stewed in a clay pot. The braised rooster had a lot of chili in it, and the color was attractive and the aroma was overbearing, making people drool. The clay pot rooster was stewed in a clay pot, with several kinds of mushrooms added, and it was stewed slowly over low heat and saved for dinner.

A braised rooster and a few plates of vegetables. The combination of red and green looks very tempting.

Lin Qi and Xu Hexiao ate without raising their heads until they were half full, then they slowed down at the same time.

"When will we go to Shunliang Brigade tomorrow?" Xu Hexiao asked.

"Send it out as soon as you get up." Lin Qi said.

"I'll prepare food for you." Xu Hexiao really wanted to go, but his identity was not suitable and he was afraid that he would bring trouble to her.

"Okay, today's scallion pancake is pretty good, very fragrant."

"Okay, I'll make some extra tomorrow for you to take on the road."

After dinner, Xu Hexiao did not return to the cowshed. Instead, he went to Brother Tan to buy a military water bottle.

"Do you dare to use this thing?" Brother Tan asked curiously. There were not many people who had military kettles in the town, let alone in a place like the countryside.

"I don't need it, give it to Lin Qi." Xu Hexiao said.

"Ah, that little fairy..." Brother Tan's eyes became meaningful, "There is no one else as pretty as her in the entire Jiahe Commune, or even in the entire Yao County. Are you attracted to her?"

Xu Hexiao hummed, "She is mine."

"Oh, she likes you so much? I'm not exaggerating. Even the daughters of high-ranking officials are not as beautiful as her. She is more translucent and fair than the most beautiful porcelain. It's fine if she stays in this small place. If people outside know about it, they will snatch her away even if they have to." Brother Tan patted Xu Hexiao's shoulder and sympathized with him, "You can't protect her."

"She doesn't need my protection. She hunted all the wolf skins by herself." Xu Hexiao's tone was full of pride. He was not as strong as her, and he couldn't even make as much money as her. But he would work hard to bring the best to her.

Brother Tan was so shocked that he couldn't speak. After a while, he murmured, "I really can't tell."

Xu Hexiao smiled, "Don't judge a person by his appearance."

Brother Tan thought of something, "A few days ago, a batch of wolf meat arrived in the commune. Was it her doing?"

Xu Hexiao nodded, "Yes. She is going to hunt with another team tomorrow, so I came to you for the kettle."

"Okay, consider this kettle a gift to you. By the end of the year, ask her to get me one or two wild boars. If there are no wild boars, pheasants or rabbits will be fine. I will use them as gifts." Brother Tan said.

Xu Hexiao thought of the animals in the planting area and did not refuse. He asked, "Didn't you say there was a batch of milk powder? Where is the milk powder?"

"Wait two more days." Brother Tan said, "Come back in two days. Don't be empty-handed. Bring either wine or wild boars or rabbits. Got it?"

Xu Hexiao did not comment, "I want all that batch of milk powder."

"No problem, the condition is to exchange for 40 kilograms of wine." Brother Tan narrowed his eyes, "Brother, your wine is very useful to me. If you give me 40 kilograms of wine, I will give you all the eight cans of milk powder."

Xu Hexiao was silent. Neither Lin Qi nor he drank much wine, so there were probably still about 100 or 200 kilograms left.

Brother Tan saw Xu Hexiao's hesitation and knew there was hope, so he immediately raised the stakes, "Brother, please, with that wine, I can get more next year, and I'll let you choose first then."

"I have to go back and discuss it with Lin Qi. After all, the wine belongs to Lin Qi." Xu Hexiao said.

"Okay, you guys discuss it. Now that the milk powder has arrived, I'll keep it for you first." Brother Tan knew that when Xu Hexiao said discuss it, it showed that there was already a 70% chance of success.

On the other side, Yu Mingbo and his son Yu Borui were also talking about wine.

"Guess what I found on the dining table at the mayor's house today." Yu Borui had a meaningful expression.

"Wolf meat?" Yu Mingbo asked.

Yu Borui shook his head. "It's not just wolf meat. I'm talking about wine. The wine on the mayor's table is exactly the same as the wine that little girl sold us. Although I only got a small cup, I will never forget the taste and texture. The mayor treasured the wine very much. He only gave us a small cup and then kept it. He said that the wine can help you sleep. After drinking a small cup before going to bed, he never had insomnia again. It's just okay, he deserves a small jar."

"Didn't you tell me that we also have that bar at home?" Yu Mingbo asked nervously.

“No.” Yu Borui shook his head, “It’s hard to explain.”

"That's right." Yu Mingbo's expression became complicated. "I didn't expect that girl's wine would sell so well. But the wine is magical. Not to mention the mayor who has plenty of money, even I would want to buy a few dozen kilograms to drink at home slowly."

Yu Mingbo was none other than the uncle from the post office.

"Next time she comes, ask her if she still has it." Yu Borui said.

"Do I need you to teach me? I will ask naturally. But she hasn't come to the post office for almost a month. Will she not come in the future?" The uncle was a little sad.

"No. Maybe she's busy lately. She should still mail something home, so you just wait." Yu Borui said firmly.

That morning, Lin Qi dragged two more trees out of the mountain.

"The two from yesterday, plus the two from today, should be enough." Lin Qi murmured.

Putting the tree down, she walked towards the cowshed carrying the backpack.

Xu Hexiao had already prepared breakfast. The scallion pancakes and boiled eggs he was going to take were wrapped in oil paper and put into a canvas backpack that he bought from Brother Tan yesterday.

"The backpack is too big and heavy, so you carry this canvas bag. And this military water bottle, which is filled with hot water. This water bottle cannot keep heat, but it is well sealed and is more convenient than a bamboo tube." Xu Hexiao continued to put things into her bag, "Bring some salt too, so you can grill meat in the mountains when you're hungry."

Lin Qi ate the cake and watched him busying around. It was the first time someone prepared these things for her. It was a great feeling to be cared for.

After Lin Qi had breakfast, she walked towards the brigade office with her backpack on her back, watched by Xu Hexiao.

"Have more confidence in yourself. Even if there are other male team members, Lin Qi will not look down on them." Old man Xu said. It was obvious at first glance that the girl was not the kind of person who would open her heart to others easily.

"I know." Xu Hexiao said. When he thought of those people accompanying her and their eyes on her, he felt very upset.

"well--"

Old man Xu sighed.

He was sorry for his grandson. If he had let his grandson go overseas with his clansmen, he wouldn't have to suffer with an old man like him for so many years. He wouldn't have to hide from his loved one now, and couldn't stand in the sun with the person he loved.

It’s all because of this identity!