"Well, Zhaokun, I'll head back now."
Lu Zhaoguo stood up and turned to leave.
The third son's daughter-in-law's words were truly awful; she practically pointed her finger at him and told him to leave.
"Second brother, second brother, don't listen to Hongmei's nonsense. I still want to ask you some questions."
Lu Zhaokun glared at his daughter-in-law, then hurriedly pulled Lu Zhaoguo back down and made his second brother sit down.
This is the brigade leader, and also his own cousin; he can't afford to offend him.
After hesitating for a while, he finally started to unwrap the kraft paper from the package.
Lu Zhaoguo picked up the bowl and drank the water, but his eyes never left it.
He was also very curious, wondering what Fangwazi from the third brother's family would send back.
More than half a year ago, the third brother's family was so poor that they could hardly afford to eat, but they still borrowed some travel expenses from him to send Fangwazi to join the army.
It hasn't been long, and Fangwa has already made something of herself; it's truly impressive.
In front of the two men, Lu Zhaokun carefully unwrapped the kraft paper and found a piece of cloth wrapped inside the package.
"Father, let me do it."
Zhang Hongmei's eyes lit up, and she immediately started helping to dismantle it.
After a while, she clutched the cloth in her hand and moved aside.
"Fangfang, did you send these mushrooms?"
Lu Zhaokun looked inside and sensed something was wrong; there was something else there.
He reached inside and pulled out a bottle of white liquor, which contained a slightly yellow liquid.
"Zhaokun, is this oil?"
Lu Zhaoguo put down his bowl, looking somewhat envious.
This bottle is full of oil, it must weigh at least a pound. Fangwa is really capable, she can even get her hands on oil.
He had heard that the monthly ration for a person in the city was three ounces, so this bottle was not easy to accumulate.
"Bear oil? Second brother, what kind of oil is bear oil?"
Lu Zhaokun scratched his head, still a little confused.
There was a piece of white paper pasted on the liquor bottle, with the words "bear oil" written on it.
"Bear oil? I've only ever heard of lard and mutton fat, but... wait, could it be oil rendered from wild bears?"
Lu Zhaokun was startled by his second brother's words.
But considering that my daughter is going to join the army, maybe my son-in-law will actually be able to hunt bears.
He hurriedly opened the bottle cap, leaned closer to smell it, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it smells so good! It smells even better than lard!"
Afraid that the aroma would dissipate, he quickly covered it again.
He put a bottle of bear oil aside and reached into the dried mushrooms, rummaging around for a bit.
One bottle, two bottles, three bottles, four bottles...
Lu Zhaoguo, who was watching the commotion from the side, couldn't help but crane his neck to peer into the dried mushrooms.
Four bottles mean four pounds of oil, enough to last a year. Now the third brother's family is truly wealthy.
"Huh? What's this again?"
As Lu Zhaokun touched the dried mushrooms, he pulled out a jar.
Upon opening the lid and smelling it, a pungent odor made him sneeze.
He carefully placed it aside and then began unpacking the other small packages.
"Dried meat? Bear jerky? My God, they actually killed a bear."
Lu Zhaokun unpacked a large bag of dried bear meat and then three dried rabbits.
In the last large package, he even opened a huge bag of sunflower seeds.
Zhang Hongmei watched, her mouth practically watering.
My sister-in-law is truly wealthy, no wonder she married a military officer.
Without any hesitation, she grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds for her second uncle, and then grabbed a handful for herself, and started cracking them open.
"Xiuxiu? Xiuxiu?"
"Dad, what's wrong?"
Lu Xiuxiu was helping her mother cook in the yard when she heard the shout and immediately ran into the house.
"Here, this is a red hair tie, a red scarf, and a bag of fruit candies that your sister gave you. Keep them and eat them slowly."
"Dad, Fangfang didn't say it was for Xiuxiu, did she?"
Zhang Hongmei stood to the side, her eyes filled with envy.
She saw it clearly; the red scarf was very stylish, and you could tell at a glance that it was bought at a department store.
"Fangfang's letters are all here."
Lu Zhaokun waved the letter in his hand.
"Well, you haven't seen it yet."
"How could I not know what my own daughter is thinking? You're just being nosy."
Lu Zhaokun glared at his daughter-in-law, then stuffed the things into his youngest daughter's hands.
"Alright, go ahead and tell your mother not to skimp on the oil. Your sister sent several bottles of oil. Today, your second uncle and I are going to have a good drink together."
Lu Xiuxiu nodded, grabbed her things, and ran out excitedly.
"Xiuxiu, go to the private plot again and tell your second brother to come back quickly. Oh, and also call your eldest brother and his family over."
"knew."
Beside her, Zhang Hongmei pursed her lips.
Seeing that her father had put the letter away, she was still somewhat unwilling, thinking there must be something else inside.
"Dad, why aren't you reading Fangfang's letter?"
"What are you worrying about all day? Do you need to tell me whether I read the letter or not? Just focus on taking care of your health. This household is none of your business."
Lu Zhaokun retorted.
His second daughter-in-law is alright in other aspects, but she's too greedy and always tries to take things from her own family.
"Dad, I was just asking casually, why are you getting so angry?"
Zhang Hongmei muttered to herself.
Seeing that her eldest daughter was about to arrive, she reached out and grabbed another handful of melon seeds, then went out with the cloth in her hand.
Lu Zhaokun watched without saying a word, but couldn't help but sigh.
"Third brother, things are getting better right now, why are you sighing?"
“Sigh, second brother, every family has its own troubles.”
Lu Zhaokun shook his head. He picked up a bottle of bear oil, a bottle of chili sauce, and a dried rabbit, and placed them in front of his second brother.
Holding the kraft paper, he wrapped some more dried bear meat in it.
"Third brother, what are you doing? Let me tell you, this is something Fangwa sent to your family, I don't want it."
"Second brother, take this back and let the child try it. It's quite rare. Fangfang was able to go to the army with you back then."
Lu Zhaokun forcibly placed the kraft paper in front of his second brother.
Seeing that Lu Zhaoguo wanted to say something more, he quickly said, "Second Brother, I have another favor to ask of you."
"Could you grant my second son a plot of land for building a house? I plan to save up bricks and tiles for a few years and then build another house."
Lu Zhaoguo listened with slight surprise, "Third brother, are you going to separate the second brother's family?"
"Well, it's better to separate out. It's not good for such a large family to live in the same courtyard for too long."
Lu Zhaokun nodded.
He and his wife wanted to live a few more years; they didn't want to live with their second son's family.
He understood the principle of "familiarity breeds contempt."
"Alright, I'll think about the land for the second son's house."
Lu Zhaoguo looked at the things on the table, and this time he didn't refuse.
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