Chapter 23 Chapter 23 "They're not going to talk about it, are they?!...
"I talked a lot with Yingxia yesterday. She kept talking about you, and every word she said was praising you." Aunt Wu actually liked chatting with Yingxia very much. When she was young, she didn't have many companions, and the only people she could talk to were Yingxia and another girl.
Later, both of them married out of Changnan Brigade, and one had basically no contact with the other. Yingxia did come every once in a while, but the hardships in her life were reflected on her face. Even though she only reported good news and not worries, it was clear that her life in the city was not easy.
This time was different.
It was as if she had returned to her youth. No matter what she said, her face was always filled with smiles and her voice was full of energy. Even when she occasionally complained, you could feel the lightness in her heart.
And all these changes seem to be related to her second daughter.
Jiang Shuangshuang smiled awkwardly, "Just believe one-third of what my mother says about my compliments."
In fact, Xu's mother doesn't like to praise her in front of her, but outside, she praises her to the utmost. This is the same as Jiang Xiaozhou's, and they are indeed a mother-son bond.
Mother Wu laughed out loud, looking very happy.
Xu Mo, who was standing nearby, heard their conversation and hesitated for a moment before speaking: "How about Xu Tan and I go take a look around?"
A request worth a wild boar is too big a matter.
He wondered whether he and Xu Tan should get away from each other for a while.
"It doesn't matter. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have brought you here." Aunt Wu really didn't care. When the Xu Tan brothers came to ask her yesterday, she agreed without hesitation.
Who can be believed and who cannot be believed.
She has a ruler in her heart.
This is why some people who follow her into the mountains can hunt, but others always return empty-handed. If they have a good impression, she will not let them go back empty-handed even if she lets slip a little.
If she meets someone she dislikes, she will never let the other person gain any advantage over her.
If she meets someone she likes, she can also be very generous.
Why did he promise to send a wild boar to Jiang Shuangshuang?
Besides the fact that this girl really caught her eye, she was also the daughter of Xu Yingxia and the niece of Xu Shuisheng. With all these identities added together, she was happy to give away a wild boar.
"A few days ago, two hunters from the neighboring brigade were caught in the black market. I heard that they have been sent to a farm for reform and will not be able to return for seven or eight years." Aunt Wu asked: "So I want to ask you, is there a more reliable way to exchange these prey for money and tickets besides the black market?"
In the early years, she had no interest in exchanging money or tickets.
As long as she was in the mountains, she could get a steady supply of prey, and then use some of the prey to exchange food and other daily necessities with the villagers in the brigade. With food and prey, she could build a small yard to grow vegetables and be completely self-sufficient.
But in the last year or two she has felt a sense of urgency.
If she were still young, she would never let Xinxin and her unborn child go hungry. Even if their lives were not as good as those of people in the city, they would definitely have enough to eat and warm clothes.
But everyone gets old one day.
These mountains that were once so familiar to her now made her feel helpless and powerless.
As for letting Xinxin inherit her legacy...
Even though she was the child she raised since childhood, she had to admit that Xinxin did not have this talent.
Moreover, since she became a mother, she finally understood why her father didn't want her to pursue a hunting career when she was a child. It was the feudal idea that the family heritage should be passed down to males but not females. When Xinxin was seven or eight years old and told her that he wanted to learn hunting, she finally understood her father's feelings at the time.
Everyone praised her for her hunting prowess, but even with her prowess, she was bound to suffer some injuries after encountering ferocious beasts.
There were countless scars of all sizes on her body, and she had never told anyone about the pain she had suffered. Only she knew the hardships she had gone through.
Xinxin is not suitable for hunting.
If she wasn't there to protect her, something would happen to Xinxin in the mountains sooner or later.
This was not her imagination. Her ancestors had often heard of tragic accidents involving hunters from outside the group. Even she had experienced very dangerous moments. Xinxin was her daughter and also her apprentice. She knew very well that she worked very hard, but she lacked innate strength and endurance, and was not suitable to be a hunter at all.
So two years ago, when she clearly felt her physical strength declining, she made a plan.
She knew that the relevant policy did not allow individuals to raise livestock, so she secretly kept the wild animals in the mountains in different locations. She was very familiar with this mountain, as familiar as her own back garden. The places where the animals were kept were difficult for outsiders to find. Not to mention people who had never been there, even if the Xu Tan brothers came out of the mountain and came again, they might not be able to find this cave.
It doesn't matter even if you find it.
As long as she is not caught in the act, who can judge that it was her behavior?
The back hill is her home turf, and no matter how old she is, she will not be caught here.
The only problem is...
She had no way to exchange these wild animals for money and tickets.
Whether it is taken to the black market or frequently exchanged with villagers in the brigade, there are risks.
Mother Wu is unwilling to do anything adventurous because she has a family. Xinxin will give birth to a child soon, and she will be a grandmother, so she wants to spend more time with them.
But at the same time, because she cares about them, she has set up several enclosures in the past two years, hoping to create better conditions for them.
The only problem is that she can fight and carry the animals, but she has no way to sell them.
So, the question came to Jiang Shuangshuang.
In Yingxia's description, the second daughter became more sensible and independent-minded, and she thought more long-term than others and was able to use her connections to find a job for herself.
She was definitely not clever. Even she, who had lived halfway up the mountain for many years, knew how hard it was to find a job in the city. Her daughter was able to get a job on her own without any support from her family. This was definitely not something that ordinary people could do.
So she thought that maybe she could ask Jiang Shuangshuang for some help.
Xu Tan looked around and saw that they were silent, so he said, "Actually, it's not impossible to sell secretly from a distance. Pretend to be a neighbor visiting relatives and go to several family compounds in the city. It won't take long before they are sold out."
He had seen it before when he was studying there.
When his parents sent him to school, they told him directly that he would only study for one or two years, and he didn't need to get a diploma, just recognize a few more words.
If you don't have the heart to study, you're not cut out for it; your attention will always be on other things.
For example, Zhao Lizhu who was sitting in the front row, and he had seen various people carrying carrying poles, who said they were here to visit relatives or look for someone, and pretended to lift a corner of the pole, and then were pulled aside by the people in the family compound to do business.
"This is risky." Xu Mo shook his head and said a few more words with difficulty. "It's okay if we don't get caught. If we are caught, we will be sent to a farm for reform."
I'm smart and quick-witted, but sometimes I'm afraid I might get into trouble if I'm too quick-witted.
"Yes, I don't want to take risks." Aunt Wu didn't want to take any risks at all. "After all, it's not just a little bit. Once we sell out this time, there won't be a next time. If we take too long, there will be too many risks. If we sell too many prey, it will attract a lot of attention."
It's not just the public security department, there are other forces as well.
If she had a choice, she would like to be more secure.
She might only take the risk if she really had no other choice but to face the difficult situation again.
"I do have an idea." Jiang Shuangshuang suddenly spoke up, and the other three people's attention immediately fell on her. However, she did not continue to act, but asked, "Auntie Wu, my method is safe, but it is not without other disadvantages. Are you willing to give a large part of the profit to others?"
"Why not?" Aunt Wu chuckled. "Although I have rarely been out on the team, I know the value of a wild boar. I don't expect to be rich, and I don't need to stand out at this time."
An adult wild boar can fetch at least two or three hundred dollars on the black market.
She didn't even want to calculate how much the fifteen wild boars were worth, not to mention that this was just one of the enclosures. If she could make a profit without taking any risks, why wouldn't she be willing to do it?
"That's easy." Jiang Shuangshuang really thought it was easy. She explained, "All the factories in the city have their own buyers. They can go to various production teams as factories and purchase various materials from them. You can sell these prey to various factories in the name of the production team."
Since we can’t trade individually, then we can trade in the name of the production team. She then said, “You can discuss with the team leader how to make the concessions, but don’t trade this money directly. We will give it to you in the form of work points. When you settle the work points every year, you can exchange them for money and various bills.”
It will be a little troublesome to operate.
But this is definitely not a bad thing for the brigade. Aunt Wu’s concessions are not given to one or two people, but to everyone in the brigade. The money earned from the wild boar will eventually be distributed to everyone in the brigade according to work points.
This is also a good thing for Aunt Wu.
Although the products were sold in the name of the production team, she did not receive any money directly. Instead, the payment was made to her in the form of work points. When the autumn harvest team distributed the money, the origin of the money she received was clear and no one could correct it.
"But I suggest you don't tell anyone else about the enclosure." Jiang Shuangshuang said, "Let everyone in the team think that you caught the prey, and drag it directly to the team leader's house and let him contact the buyer in the factory, and then assign the work points to you in front of everyone..."
She had some new ideas. "If someone trusts you and drags them to act together, and puts too many work points on you, it's inevitable that some people will be jealous over time. Then you can divide the points among the people you caught together, and then ask them to return the points to you privately after dividing the money. Of course, you can also give them some of the "acting" fees."
Simply put, if a wild boar can be given one thousand work points.
Adding all 1,000 work points to Grandma Wu's name may not be a problem in the short term, and some people may even think it is too little. But as time goes on, the work points earned by others who worked hard are not as many as Grandma Wu, and it is inevitable that some people will become jealous and cause trouble.
She knew that the vast majority of the villagers were simple and grateful, but with so many members in the Changnan Brigade, there would always be a few petty-minded people, so it would be better to eliminate them from the root.
So it’s better to get four people to form a partnership.
After the stall was divided, each person only got more than 200 work points, which was not so noticeable. After the team divided the money, the other four people returned the money to Aunt Wu privately, and Aunt Wu would not lose a penny.
Of course, the help cannot be in vain. Aunt Wu also has to compensate some of the expenses for the help. I believe that many people are willing to do so, such as her two cousins.
"That's a good idea!" Aunt Wu's eyes lit up when she heard it, and she put a hand on Jiang Shuangshuang's shoulder, "Do you like eating mutton? Aunt Wu will give you another sheep."
"..." Jiang Shuangshuang laughed a few times.
There she was again, that domineering attitude of a boss. She shook her head and said, "Don't worry, talk to the captain. If this thing is done, it won't be too late to talk about it later."
"That's fine." Mother Wu was not in a hurry. She didn't believe that there would be no gift that could not be given away.
She asked, "How was your day? Do you want to go home?"
Jiang Shuangshuang didn't answer immediately.
She really intended to show off her skills when she went up the mountain today, and it would be best if she could bring back more prey.
However, although she didn't do much, she still gained a lot.
Her own basket was filled with a lot of food, and Aunt Wu also gave her a wild boar. She might even be able to bring a wild sheep back when she returned. She would definitely get more than she could on her own.
But she was still very curious, so she couldn't help asking, "Auntie Wu, if we avoid all your enclosures, is it possible to encounter some large prey?"
Aunt Wu thought about it and said, "Maybe."
“……” Jiang Shuangshuang understood.
Possibly means that if they are lucky, they might come across some missed prey, but most of them are probably already captured by Aunt Wu.
Aunt Wu seemed to have read her mind, smiled and said, "Do you know how many years I have lived on this mountain?"
Without waiting for their reply, she gave an answer directly: "Forty-three years since I can remember, I know every steep slope and every valley here clearly."
So as long as she wants, it is not difficult to implement.
She has many ways to keep all the prey on this mountain in captivity!
Of course, there are some omissions.
There must be some exposed, but with so many prey, she just let some of it leak out. She was too lazy to track it down.
Mother Wu then added, "But this mountain is not mine. If you can really find other enclosures here, you can take the prey there. I won't say a word."
It would be quite a feat if you could really find it.
She enjoyed dealing with such capable people.
But she still felt somewhat confident when she said this, because the places she hid might not be found by ordinary people.
Jiang Shuangshuang just thought she was so handsome!
He had no intention of continuing hunting, so he simply picked one from the herd. It was not the fattest nor the smallest piglet, but one that suited his taste particularly well. It was full of tendon meat, and it must be very chewy to eat.
The return journey took another two or three hours.
It was around two or three in the afternoon when they reached the foot of the mountain. Mother Wu was not a procrastinating person. After going down the mountain hut, she went straight to the captain's house without returning.
The remaining cousins secretly carried the wild boar into their own yard when no one was paying attention.
"Did you catch the wild boar?"
"It's so big... Are you not hurt?"
"Meat, meat, meat, so much meat!"
As soon as the wild boar was carried into the yard, there were several cries of surprise. Before going down, the three of them discussed not to take away Aunt Wu's enclosure for the time being, and let her decide whether to tell anyone later.
In response to their further questions, he only said that Jiang Shuangshuang helped Wu's mother, and that was why he gave her a big wild boar.
Xu Yingxia was stunned when she heard this. "What did you help with?"
What's a big wild boar worth?
Jiang Shuangshuang raised her eyebrows and said, "I won't tell you about what happened between Aunt Wu and me."
"..." Xu Yingxia rolled her eyes at her, then walked up to the wild boar with a smile on her face, "This must be about 100 to 200 kilograms, right?"
Xu Shuisheng affirmed: "It must be at least 200 pounds. Look at these four hooves. They are really strong!"
"Uncle, who in our team knows how to kill a pig? Can we ask someone to help kill a pig?" Jiang Shuangshuang didn't plan to take a live pig back with him. "The reward will be in pig blood."
Killing a pig would result in at least a large basin of blood.
Although it is not as good as pork, it tastes pretty good if you add some salt and starch, let it cool, and then boil it in hot water after it solidifies.
"Let's find that kid Wu Peng." Xu Shuisheng immediately thought of someone. "He's a little slow with his knife, but he's tight-lipped. He won't tell everything."
After seeing his niece agreed, he went out of the yard to call for help.
The others were also busy at this time. In addition to wild boars, they also caught a lot of other wild animals. Lu Lianhua went to the kitchen to boil some hot water, and then quickly collected the pheasants, sparrows and other wild animals.
Xu Yingxia also followed and helped. At this time, she smiled so hard that her eyes narrowed into slits, and her mouth never closed. "This is too much fat."
"When we get back to the city, you can build a platform in the stove room to smoke it. It can be smoked for two to three years." Lu Lianhua asked, "If it's hard to get firewood there, you can get some from me and burn it there."
Xu Yingxia was moved by what she heard, "It's just a little too troublesome."
It would be even more inconvenient to carry some firewood with you as the journey is so long.
But I feel reluctant to burn coal to smoke it.
"Let the Xu and Tan brothers go with you." Lu Lianhua suggested to her, "Just give them a few cents for the bus fare. It's a good opportunity for them to take advantage of you as their aunt and go to the city to have a look."
"That's fine!" Xu Yingxia thought this was a good idea. "I'll go to the captain's house later to write a letter of introduction and let them stay with me for two more days. They were only five or six years old the last time they came here, right? We have to let them get acquainted with my aunt."
She really welcomes it.
In fact, she knew that her younger brother and his family had not gone to the city in recent years because they were afraid of causing trouble for her.
At that time, the family had not yet split up, and I was afraid that if I went there, people would gossip about me.
But now it’s different. I am the master of my own home and I have more power to entertain them.
They all thought about exchanging some meat coupons with their fellow workers and taking them out to a restaurant for a meal.
Even if you can't afford big meat and fish, you can still have a few bowls of white flour dumplings.
"Okay, that's settled then." Lu Lianhua also hoped that her two sons would follow. Her eldest sister-in-law and her family were traveling with so much meat, and she would feel more at ease having two brothers follow them.
When the water in the pot boiled, Xu Shuisheng walked into the yard with a young man, holding a machete in his hand.
"What a coincidence! Wu Peng sharpened the knife just yesterday and it can be used today." Xu Shuisheng introduced to his elder sister, "Wu Laosi's grandson learned the skill of slaughtering pigs from his uncle a few years ago. In a few years, all the pigs in our brigade will be handed over to him."
"Wu Laosi's grandson has grown this big already?" Xu Yingxia gestured with her hand. "Last time I saw you, you seemed to be only this tall. In the blink of an eye, you have grown into a grown man."
"Auntie Xu still remembers me."
"I remember, I remember. How could I not remember?" Xu Yingxia smiled. Only she knew whether she really remembered it.
After saying a few more words, Wu Peng picked up the machete and started to work.
Jiang Shuangshuang was initially interested in the pig slaughter and wanted to stand by and watch. However, after they had only taken a few knives, Xu's mother grabbed a pig in each hand and walked into the house. "You two really want to join in the fun. What's so interesting about slaughtering pigs? Stay in the house."
For the sake of keeping her ears clean, Jiang Shuangshuang chose not to disobey her. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started thinking about Aunt Wu.
If nothing unexpected happens, this incident later might be related to her. It's not that I want to get a share of the profits, but maybe I can use it to open up some channels.
I still need to think about it carefully. There is a key point that I didn't mention just now because I don't want to show it too much.
All she had to do now was wait.
Waiting for the response from Aunt Wu and the captain.
"Sister, is wild boar delicious?" Jiang Xiaozhou squatted at the window and looked out through the gap. Unfortunately, this angle of view could not see into the yard. Apart from the occasional voices, he could not see anything.
He licked his lips, full of curiosity about wild boar meat, "Is it tastier than pork?"
"We'll know whether it tastes good or not tonight." Jiang Shuangshuang didn't have much expectations.
She prefers domestic pork to wild boar.
If it is not processed, the meat will be very tough and have a muttony smell, and it will never be as fragrant as adding pork.
However, if the wild boar meat is given to Master Cao, she believes it will be especially delicious. "When you go home, take a few pounds of meat to Master Cao and ask him to teach you how to cook it."
Jiang Xiaozhou didn't hear this sentence clearly at all. His whole attention was on the evening. "We're eating wild boar tonight?!"
That’s great, I can have a good meal in the evening.
He is so, so, so happy!
Wu Peng's knife skills were slow but he was very meticulous. After killing the pig, he helped cut it a few times, cutting it into pieces of about 20 kilograms each for easy storage.
After everything was done, he happily left holding a large basin of pig blood and several pig intestines hanging on his body.
He spent money to buy the pig intestines. Not many people like to eat this thing, and it is cheaper than pork. After buying it, he cleans it and pours pig blood into it, and it can be made into pig blood intestines to eat.
Excluding the pig's head, offal and four pig's trotters, the pork was divided into eight pieces in total, filling the entire table.
Jiang Shuangshuang took the entrails and two pieces of pork aside and said, "Uncle, keep these for yourself..."
"No, no!" Xu Shuisheng waved his hands before she could finish her words. Not only was there a whole pig's offal, but there were also two large pieces of pork meat. These two large pieces of pork meat must have weighed more than 30 kilograms. He didn't dare to accept them. "Keep these for yourself. Don't worry about not being able to take them back. Let your two cousins carry them back for you when the time comes."
"Just take it if I tell you to. Your nagging is annoying." Xu Yingxia said to him unhappily. She finally understood why Shuangshuang always bullied her younger brother at home. Sometimes she really thought her younger brother was annoying!
"This, this..." Xu Shuisheng didn't know what to say.
However, Lu Lianhua at the side said, "Thank you, elder sister. You can take the pheasant that the Xu Tan brothers caught back as a gift to aunt."
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say." Xu Yingxia smiled. Her sister-in-law was very capable. She reminded him, "If Xu Tan's marriage is settled, please let me know. I will definitely take some time off and come over. Don't just do it without telling me."
"Of course. I'll ask someone to bring you a message if things are fine." Ever since Lu Lianhua married into the Xu family, the person she got along best with was her eldest sister-in-law. In the past, she had to be considerate of her eldest sister-in-law's in-laws, so that if she interacted with them too much, people would think they were poor relatives who were begging for money.
Don't worry about it now.
The elder sister-in-law is now the head of the household, has a job and can earn money, so she doesn't have to worry about whether her husband's family will approve of her. Even if they do, these poor relatives can't control her.
Today is a really good day.
Lu Lianhua also had a smiling face the whole time. She had just met her future in-laws yesterday and was worrying about what gifts to prepare. Now that there was so much wild boar meat and other wild goods, she felt particularly relieved.
Not only do we have to prepare gifts, but we also have the dishes for the banquet, and there will be plenty left over for Chinese New Year. How can we not be happy?
But as she laughed, she felt something was wrong.
At this moment, I found some dry grass to tie up the pork, planning to hang it in the kitchen to air it out, and then put it in the basket after my sister-in-law left.
There is so much meat that the whole family has to be busy.
When she raised her head, she saw the Xu and Tan brothers whispering to each other, and she didn't know what they were talking about.
Most of the time, it was Xu Tan who was talking. Xu Mo was busy with his head down. He didn't see clearly whether he responded or not, but from the expression on his face, it was obvious that he was seriously considering Xu Tan's words.
After all, they are my own offspring.
Lu Lianhua knew something was wrong. She withdrew her smile and snorted coldly to remind them, "I'm in a good mood now. I warn you not to do anything to me."
It was a rare occasion for such a happy thing to happen, and she didn't want to get angry at this time.
Xu Tan forced a smile and secretly poked his elder brother with his arm.
I decided to say it now because I knew Mom was in a good mood.
Otherwise, if you say it when you are in a bad mood, it will only make you angrier.
He really thought that this was a good opportunity. The whole family was happy and with his eldest aunt's family around, his eldest brother wouldn't suffer too much at this time.
"I..." Xu Mo raised his head suddenly, "I want to tell you..."
"Bullshit!" Lu Lianhua raised her voice and interrupted him. "Just keep it to yourself until you've made up your mind. Don't say anything!"
After saying that, she glared at Xu Tan next to her and said, "And you, stop giving your big brother bad advice all day long. If you make me unhappy, I'll beat you up too!"
Jiang Shuangshuang raised her eyebrows, this sounded a little strange.
Why do I feel like my aunt-in-law doesn’t seem to be unaware of this?
Xu Yingxia was confused. She looked around in confusion, "What happened?"
Lu Lianhua snorted heavily, "Who knows what bad ideas they are up to? You don't know how bad Xu Tan is. Two months ago, he used some method to trick half a fish out of Tiezhu. Your mother came to your house to cause trouble, and then I found out that he had secretly taken the half fish to coax his mother-in-law."
She spread her hands and said, "I didn't even taste a single fish scale, and I got scolded for nothing."
"Mom... didn't we agree not to mention this matter again?" Xu Tan was extremely embarrassed and wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
However, because of this joke, the previous topic was brought to an end. Everyone was chatting and laughing, and Xu Mo did not mention the previous incident again.
After all these things were packed up, Lu Lianhua sent the two brothers out to collect firewood. Xu Yingxia then mentioned what happened just now, "What is Xu Mo hiding in his heart? I felt that he wanted to say something to me yesterday. I was wondering if he wanted to borrow money from me to get married."
When I was busy just now, I probably realized that my sister-in-law was deliberately changing the subject, so I waited until my two nephews were not around before I asked her.
"If he really needs money to get married, I'll shamelessly ask you to lend it to him." Lu Lianhua sighed and shook his head, "Don't underestimate him because he's the eldest. He doesn't think as far ahead as his younger brother about some things."
Living under the same roof, how could she, as a mother, not notice that Xu Mo was often absent-minded.
After a long time, she had already figured out what was going on in Xu Mo's heart. "When Xu Mo was a child, he had a very good playmate. Do you remember?"
Xu Yingxia nodded, "Remember, Huang Dazhu, he and Xu Mo played very well together when they were little. Xu Tan got jealous and even blocked them from entering the house."
After saying this, he sighed, "It's just bad luck. He died at such a young age."
It must have been about four or five years ago. That year, when she returned to the brigade, she saw Xu Mo looking haggard and asked about him. Only then did she know that Huang Dazhu had contracted a strange disease and died within a few months.
"You also know the situation of the Huang family. The people in the family have become biased. Before Dazhu passed away, he entrusted his wife and daughter to Xu Mo's care in front of everyone in the family."
It's not that I mean to entrust my child to someone else. My parents are at home, and I have other brothers and sisters. If I really want to entrust my child to someone else, I can't entrust it to someone else.
He was just thinking that if his wife and daughter were wronged at home, there would be someone to support them. After all, Xu Mo was asked by Dazhu, and no one would say it was inappropriate if he mixed in.
Lu Lianhua went on to say, "Xu Mo has been very kind to this playmate over the years. He helps with farm work whenever he can, and gives some money to the mother and daughter when he sees that they don't have enough to eat. If the Huang family dares to make too much trouble and her parents can't come over, our family can also support her and her daughter. But I didn't expect..."
Xu Yingxia's eyes widened suddenly, "They are not talking about it, are they?!"
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