This word change was very clever, and the man with the long hoe immediately understood what Lin Guoqing meant.
After looking Lin Guoqing up and down, he seemed to be a country man. Although the village was poor these days, he could still grow some vegetables and pumpkins in his yard to feed his family.
There are so many people here, and people in our own village can help each other. We don’t have to go to other villages to exchange...
The man with the long hoe also smiled politely at Lin Guoqing.
"So, my friend, do you have any relatives here? Have they prepared something for you?"
Lin Guoqing: "No! I'm just looking for relatives!"
The man with the long hoe seemed happy to hear this. "What's your last name?"
"Forest."
The man with the long hoe slapped his thigh and said, "My mother-in-law's last name is also Lin!"
"Oh, my cousin!" Lin Guoqing grinned even wider, "Who knows which branch of my aunt she is!"
"Of course! Come, nephew, I have some extra vegetables at home. Not much, but they're fresh. Do you want to go and see if there's anything you like?"
"Thank you so much, uncle!"
"We are all family, why are you being so polite?"
The man said as he jumped off the ridge again, and took Lin Guoqing across the entire field. After climbing up, he passed through a small forest and arrived at the foot of the mountain on their side. After turning around for a while,
It wasn't much, but Lin Guoqing looked at what he pointed out. It stretched horizontally along the foot of the mountain, covering at least two mu. There was one corner in particular, shaded by several large trees, and behind it was a rather large plastic shed!
Although the plastic on the shed looked a bit messy in color under the light of the generator lamp, and it was obviously a combination of various scraps, it was not something that ordinary people like them could easily get together!
Lin Guoqing swallowed his saliva. The scale of his uncle's vegetable garden was definitely not enough for him to eat alone...
Qi Caigen pointed the flashlight towards Lin Guoqing little by little.
"What does my nephew want for National Day? It's cold now, and there are only white radish, potatoes and green onions outside, but there are many things in the greenhouse, including spinach, leeks, celery and bean sprouts!" He basically has everything that can be grown in this season!
When I walked into the shed, I found it was very warm. The green vegetables inside were neatly arranged and were growing very well.
Lin Guoqing blinked. Even though he knew there was no one around, he couldn't help but lower his voice several degrees. "Uncle, you have so many things here. Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
Qi Caigen chuckled, "This place is remote, and few people come here. There were several snake bites in the past ten years. The snakes here are very poisonous. Two people in our village were bitten to death. Even fewer people come here now."
Lin Guoqing: ...Isn't it said that the bolder the person, the more fertile the land? If it were him, he'd rather starve than take this risk... Hey, there aren't any snakes around now, are they? He can't possibly encounter two snakes in one day, can he? ...Isn't there a snake in his basket? It wouldn't be like a cockroach, smelling its dead companion and coming here...
"...This place is quite far from my home. Even if I'm discovered, the worst that can happen is I'll just have to give up this piece of land. I'll never admit it, even if I'm beaten to death."
Qi Caigen squatted on the ground, touched his celery leaves, smacked his lips, took out two loose cigarettes from his pocket, and raised his hand to hand one to Lin Guoqing. Lin Guoqing looked at the cigarette he handed over and came back to his senses from the snake world in his head. He waved his hand hurriedly.
"I don't smoke."
Qi Caigen sighed, "This is a good thing! If you weren't my nephew, I wouldn't be willing to give it to you!"
But Lin Guoqing really couldn't smoke. When he first got married, he had once tried it with the villagers and nearly choked to death. When he got home, Chen Chunhua scolded him, saying it stinked. That night, he had to sleep on the floor and wouldn't even give her a kiss. He never smoked again.
After confirming that Lin Guoqing really didn't smoke, Qi Caigen gave up and put the cigarette back into his pocket, then took out a matchbox and lit the cigarette with a click.
"Nephew Guoqing, take a look. What do you want? Anyway, I only have this much here. If you have the guts to take it all, that's fine. It's just dark out, so you have to be quick. I have to go to work tomorrow morning."
Lin Guoqing also wanted to hurry, but he had to ask the price first. After all, he only had 7.82 yuan and a big basket on him, and he couldn't take more.
Licking his lips, Lin Guoqing squatted down with Qi Caigen. "Well, uncle, I don't have anything else to give you as a filial gift. Are you accepting the Mao Zedong notes?"
Qi Caigen held the cigarette between his two fingers, grinning so hard that his back teeth were almost cracked. "Take it, of course!"
"Then you can give me a price, please make it cheaper." It was really tiring to speak in a secretive manner. Lin Guoqing didn't pretend anymore. He just came to collect vegetables. What's the point of doing business without a price?
"I'll give you a discount on the bighead carp, white radish, and potatoes sold outside, three and a half cents a pound. The ones grown in greenhouses are more expensive, so... give me five and a half cents."
Lin Guoqing: "… As for leeks and bean sprouts, as long as they have some roots, they can be grown at home. You want to sell them to me for 5.5 cents? How is this different from robbery?"
Qi Fagen sighed again, "Can the ones I grow at home be as good as the ones I grow in my greenhouse? They're definitely crooked, small, short, and bitter."
Lin Guoqing: ...
"Uncle, let me tell you something. I'm going to send this dish to other relatives. If they like it, my wife and I will take turns carrying a basket every night. Can you give me a discount? We're in this for the long term."
Qi Fagen took a puff of cigarette and looked at Lin Guoqing deeply. He said that if they had food at home, there would be no need to sneak into the village in the middle of the night.
"Reduce the distance by five miles on both sides. No less."
"If bean sprouts and chives were cheaper, people might have them at home too!"
"Tsk, then reduce these two by another five miles."
"Let's reduce it by five more miles!"
"Four cents a pound? Why don't you just go and rob it?"
…
Finally, Lin Guoqing was carrying a huge basket full of vegetables. At the bottom were carrots and potatoes, and from bottom to top were large heads of green celery, spinach, leeks, and bean sprouts. With the bumps on his back, he felt that it must have weighed at least 20 kilograms, if not 30 kilograms.
Even so, Qi Caigen felt a little regretful, "Why did you only bring such a big one? How much can it hold? I thought the small one was also empty, but it turned out to be full of bamboo shoots."
Lin Guoqing chuckled, "When I first came here, I passed by a mountain. I thought there were bamboo shoots recently, so I went up for a walk. Uncle, how much do you think I should give you?"
Qi Caigen's greenhouse not only has a beam scale, but also a notebook. He weighed each vegetable and wrote down the number in the notebook before putting it into the basket.
"Let me see... the potatoes, radishes, and green onions weigh a total of 23.7 jin (approximately 15.5 kg), the celery and spinach weigh 5.2 jin (approximately 15.5 catties), and the leeks and bean sprouts weigh 2.5 jin (approximately 15.5 kg). Give it to me..."
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