Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Debt Collection, Zhiliao Monkey
Zhuo Jia got up early in the morning and finished her last egg. Then she grabbed a handful of change and went out again. She had to go find Aunt Ding to buy some eggs, otherwise she would have nothing to eat tomorrow.
Coincidentally, when Zhuo Jia arrived, Aunt Ding was squatting and pulling weeds in the vegetable garden, including purslane.
Zhuo Jia didn't care about the eggs. She quickly asked, "Auntie Ding, are you going to eat these purslane?"
If it is for eating, then just pretend she didn't ask, but seeing it thrown together with the weeds, it doesn't look like it is for home consumption, but rather like it is for feeding chickens!
Sure enough, Auntie Ding's answer confirmed her thoughts: "We won't eat it. We still have more vegetables at home. Jiajia, this purslane doesn't taste good. How about I pick some beans and cucumbers for you?"
She guessed that Zhuo Zhiqing might have run out of vegetables at home, but at this time, everyone had plenty of vegetables in their vegetable gardens. If you wanted to eat, you could just pick a handful from anyone's garden, not necessarily wild vegetables.
Zhuo Jia quickly said, "No, Aunt Ding, I have some vegetables at home. I haven't finished eating the ones I picked from my mother-in-law's garden yet. I just wanted to eat some purslane. I've dug up all the purslane next to my mother-in-law's garden."
After saying the last sentence, she smiled at Aunt Ding. As for whether she would feel embarrassed about liking to eat wild vegetables?
Not at all. This is all money, how can I feel embarrassed?
After hearing what Zhuo Jia said, Aunt Ding's expression became extremely complicated. She looked down at the purslane that she had thrown together with the weeds. She couldn't understand how anyone could like to eat purslane?
"I don't want to eat it. If you want to eat it, you can take it all away." Aunt Ding finally said, shaking her head.
Forget it, she is just an old woman from the countryside. Maybe city people just like to eat wild vegetables!
Zhuo Jia's eyes lit up frighteningly. She looked at Aunt Ding's huge vegetable garden, especially the purslane in the garden, which she had automatically converted into money. She said excitedly, "Auntie, can you help me find a backpack? I didn't bring any with me."
Hahahaha, money, money, it’s all money!
Aunt Ding got up and went to look for her backpack. When she came over with it, she saw her basket and asked her casually, "What are you going to do with the basket?"
She felt that it was not a serious matter, otherwise she would not forget it just because she saw the wild vegetables.
Zhuo Jia glanced at the basket and said nonchalantly: "Oh, that's what I use to buy eggs, but there's no rush."
"Why aren't you in a hurry? If you want a few eggs, I'll save some for you. They're from the past few days." Aunt Ding said immediately.
The eggs that were older were eaten by our family, and the ones from the last few days were saved for Zhuo Zhiqing.
It is no exaggeration to say that eggs have now become their family's main source of income. Zhuo Zhiqing buys at least thirty eggs every month, five cents each, which means at least one dollar and fifty cents a month!
Zhuo Jia was still diligently picking wild vegetables from the weeds. When she heard this, she said without even looking up, "Ten or twenty will do. I'll come back after you finish eating them."
Aunt Ding nodded, took Zhuo Jia's basket and walked into the house, saying, "Sit down and rest for a while. I'll come back and help you."
Oh, Zhuo Zhiqing is not a person who can work, come back and let her do it!
Zhuo Jia: "..."
Her Aunt Ding was looking at her as if she was a fool just now, but now she wants to help her with the work. It turns out that money is a good thing, and she just happens to have this good thing!
Thinking of this, Zhuo Jia was no longer in a hurry to pick purslane. She stood in the shade, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan. The weather was really too hot, so hot that she wanted to spend money again.
Soon Aunt Ding came over happily with a basket: "Look, they are all big, and they are all from the past few days."
There are many people in her family, and they raise eight chickens, all of which are egg-laying hens. If they don’t lay eggs, Zhuo Zhiqing will eat them!
Zhuo Jia leaned over to take a look. Indeed, although Aunt Ding loved money, she was an honest person. The eggs she always gave her were big and fresh. She counted them and found there were twenty of them. She immediately took out a dollar from her pocket and handed it over.
She never procrastinates on matters like this!
Besides, where can you buy twenty big, fresh free-range eggs for one dollar?
By the way, the clever 'grocer' asked her some time ago if she had any free-range eggs, but she only knew how many eggs she could eat by herself, and eggs couldn't be kept in hot weather. If she collected eggs in large quantities, wouldn't that tell others that she was up to something?
Huangzhuang Brigade is so small that, to be honest, what some families ate in the morning might have spread throughout the brigade before lunch.
Here, people have no secrets!
She could take risks when she was short of money, but as a wealthy woman who had plenty of money, she didn't even dare to go to the black market, let alone take such a risk. So even if the 'grocer' charged her one dollar and fifty cents for the eggs, she still loudly refused the 'grocer'.
Wait for the opportunity, and we’ll talk about it when there is a chance!
When Aunt Ding saw the dollar, she immediately accepted it with a smile. She believed that when dealing with Zhuo Zhiqing, there was no need for such pretentiousness. Just being direct would be enough. That way, Zhuo Zhiqing would come back to her next time. For example, she could earn a dime each time she helped Zhuo Zhiqing buy and slaughter chickens...
Seeing Aunt Ding skillfully helping her pick out the purslane, Zhuo Jia thought for a moment, took out two dimes from her pocket, squatted beside Aunt Ding and said, "Aunt Ding, I want all the purslane in your garden. Can you help me sort it out?"
As the only person who loves to eat purslane, this is the market price she set!
"Okay, okay, why not, Zhuo Zhiqing, go home first while the weather is not too hot, and I will send it to you after I finish packing it. Don't worry, it will not delay your lunch." Aunt Ding quickly put the money into her pocket and said with a smile.
Why not? She just likes dealing with Zhuo Zhiqing. He is such a bright guy and he never takes advantage of her!
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She knew that two cents was just right, one cent was a bit too little, and Aunt Ding might have to let her wait here. For two cents, Aunt Ding would deliver the goods to her door!
She stood up unceremoniously and said, "Auntie Ding, I'll be leaving first."
After saying this, she took another look at Aunt Ding's vegetable garden. Well, Aunt Ding has a large family and her vegetable garden is bigger than her mother-in-law's. She's rich!
This time, Zhuo Jia was carrying eggs and waving a palm-leaf fan. Even though the weather was hot, she felt comfortable because today was another day with income.
On the way home, Zhuo Jia saw Qiao Wei, his younger brothers and sisters, and the other kids in the group still having fun. Even in such a hot day, these kids didn't feel the heat at all. Their clothes were all wet, but they were still laughing.
When they saw Zhuo Jia, the children started shouting at the same time. Some called her Second Aunt, some called her Second Sister-in-law. That would have been fine, but some even called her Chuanzi's wife and Second Grandma!
She gave each of the children a piece of candy and finally walked away with heavy steps.
This is why she still hasn't figured out the Qiao family's generation structure until today!
When Zhuo Jia returned home and took a look next door, she found that her sister-in-law's door was still locked. Oh, she forgot to ask Xiao Wei.
When she got home, Zhuo Jia took a look at the twenty eggs in the basket and put them all directly into the kitchen.
After taking a look around and making sure that nothing was wrong at home, she moved a chair and sat under the tree at the door with a palm-leaf fan to enjoy the cool air.
There was only a small jujube tree in her yard, which was moved down from the mountain two days before her wedding. It was still small and not strong enough to shelter her from the wind and rain, so she had to come outside to cool off.
Thinking of the peach pits she had left over from eating peaches last time, Zhuo Jia put her palm-leaf fan on the chair, ran home, and searched for the peach pits by the window frame. Then she dug a hole on the other side of the yard, buried the peach pits, and planted three in a row, watering them...
Okay, that’s all she can do. She will wait until the afternoon when she waters the mint and water it again. As for whether it will sprout, that’s up to fate!
After finishing everything, she continued to enjoy the cool air. She stayed there until almost eleven o'clock and then went back to cook. Well, Xiao Wei also came back at this time. Zhuo Jia also knew where her sister-in-law had gone. She went to work!
Zhuo Jia felt like she was going crazy going to work in such hot weather!
Zhuo Jia, who was going crazy, went home to cook. Just as she opened the stove, Aunt Ding came and gave her a big basket full of purslane.
Aunt Ding said happily: "At first the basket was not full, so I went to the next door to dig up a pile."
It's just two cents, and she can't let Zhuo Zhiqing waste his money in vain.
Zhuo Jia also smiled: "Auntie Ding, you came at the right time. I was thinking about eating cold purslane at noon. It's too hot."
She bought it for two cents and can sell it for at least 200. The profit is huge. If she is not determined, she will be held accountable.
After Aunt Ding left, Zhuo Jia locked the door from the inside, grabbed a few handfuls of purslane into the basket, put the rest into the warehouse, and then contacted the "grocer".
After a series of operations, the unscrupulous businessman Zhuo Jia earned 300 yuan, and the balance went straight to 2,500!
Looking at the balance, Zhuo Jia couldn't help but smile foolishly, hehe, so much money, so much money, she was probably one step closer to becoming the richest person!
Because the cold-mixed purslane was too bland, Zhuo Jia took out five eggs and fried them into a bowl. If you have money, don’t save it. Eat and drink when you should.
After three days of leisure, Zhuo Jia received accurate news from her mother-in-law. Wang Ping was discharged from the hospital today, and comrades from the county women's federation accompanied Wang Ping to □□ to confirm that Wang Ping was leaving.
After receiving the news, Zhuo Jia went straight to the brigade headquarters to wait. It would be fine if she was a grateful person, but she didn't think Wang Ping was one of them.
Zhang Yunhuan, who came to accompany her, asked again: "Can your fan come?"
She just wanted to get a fan, why is it so difficult?
Zhuo Jia kept fanning herself with the palm-leaf fan in her hand: "I don't know either."
The weather was so hot that she didn't want to go to the county to ask, or rather, she was not interested in anything except taking shelter under the tree.
Zhang Yunhuan hung his head and muttered, "It's so hot, so hot, so hot."
Zhuo Jia: "..."
Stop shouting. It was already a hot day, and she felt that Zhang Yunhuan's shouting made it even hotter.
Zhang Yunhuan continued to mutter, "You don't know how annoyed I am at night. The cicada monkey keeps chirping, and it gives me a headache. Really? With so many people trying to catch cicada monkeys, how come some still slip through the net?"
By the end, she was about to get angry, and it was hard to blame her. The educated youth site was not far away from a mountain, and there were countless cicada monkeys on the mountain, which was really driving her crazy.
Zhuo Jia said halfheartedly, "Cicada monkey, cicada monkey, if it doesn't chirp it's not a cicada monkey. If you find it annoying, go catch one too. One less cicada monkey to catch."
As for catching them all, how could they possibly catch them all with such a huge mountain!
But when talking about cicada monkeys, Zhuo Jia couldn't help but say: "Cicada monkeys are delicious when fried."
And it’s nutritious!
Zhang Yunhuan smacked his lips and said, "I know it tastes good, but there's no oil, and water can't be used either."
Zhuo Jia's mouth twitched. "Frying with water, is that called frying? No, that's called boiling!"
But others didn't have oil, but she did. Thinking of this, Zhuo Jia's eyes lit up, and she asked Zhang Yunhuan: "Let's go catch cicadas tonight and fry them at my house."
Wait, when she comes back, she will grind the 'grocery vendor', and if he doesn't sell her oil, she will keep sending messages in the group.
Alas, it's a pity that apart from the 'grocery vendor', there is only one 'locust flower vendor' left in the group. Moreover, since there are no locust flowers, this locust flower vendor seems to have been offline and won't speak no matter how we ask.
When Zhang Yunhuan heard this, he wanted to drag Zhuo Jia to the mountain to find the cicada monkey right away, but unfortunately he had other important things to do.
The two chatted for a long time when they heard an unfamiliar voice. They looked up at the same time and stood up straight at the same time. The person they were waiting for had arrived!
Zhuo Jia shouted directly: "Wang Ping."
Wang Ping was walking on the road with her head down. In front of her were the comrades from the Women's Federation and Liu Hongying. Suddenly, she heard Zhuo Jia's voice. She looked up and saw Zhuo Jia and Zhang Yunhuan waiting for her at the entrance of the brigade office. Her eyes flashed, and she guessed what Zhuo Jia was here for.
The comrade from the Women's Federation also saw the two people standing at the brigade headquarters. She could tell at a glance that they were educated youth, so she said to Wang Ping, "Wang Zhiqing, we're looking for you."
Thinking about how Wang Zhiqing was able to go to the hospital and how he was taken care of by the educated youth from Huangzhuang Brigade in the hospital, she had to say that the educated youth from Huangzhuang Brigade were very kind.
Wang Ping nodded. She walked slowly towards Zhuo Jia, stopped in front of her, raised her head and said, "Zhuo Zhiqing, I thought I wouldn't see you again before I left. I haven't thanked you in person yet."
After she finished speaking, she bowed to Zhuo Jia. Well, she was sincerely thanking Zhuo Jia.
Zhang Yunhuan hid aside awkwardly. She looked at Zhuo Jia. She originally wanted to help Zhuo Jia, but Wang Ping's move made her too embarrassed to speak.
Zhuo Jia wasn't embarrassed at all. She felt that what she had done was worthy of this thank you, so when Wang Ping looked up at her, she said directly, "Wang Ping, I paid ten yuan for you when you were in the hospital. You said you would pay me back at the time, so I came here specifically to ask, do you want to pay it back now, or just write an IOU?"
Zhang Yunhuan no longer cared about the embarrassment. She turned her head and looked at Zhuo Jia, "Sister, are you so aggressive? You want it directly without even any preparation?"
It was obvious that not only Zhang Yunhuan was shocked, but even Wang Ping was shocked. She felt as if all the words were choked back. She pursed her lips and said, "Zhuo Zhiqing, I remember it, but I don't have any money now. The Qiao family didn't give me anything."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and grabbed her clothes. From a distance, it looked as if Zhuo Jia and the others were bullying Wang Ping.
Zhuo Jia was amused by Wang Ping's behavior. She chuckled and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll ask."
Who are you asking?
Under the puzzled looks of Zhang Yunhuan and Wang Ping, Zhuo Jia walked straight up to the comrade from the Women's Federation and asked with a smile, "Hello, comrade. My name is Zhuo Jia. I have something to ask you."
The comrade from the Women's Federation was just wondering if this person was bullying Wang Zhiqing, but in the blink of an eye, the person was standing in front of her. She glanced at Wang Ping and nodded: "Ask."
Seeing Wang Ping's somewhat flustered expression, she always felt that some things seemed different from what she thought!
"Wang Ping suffered such severe injuries and stayed in the hospital for such a long time. Besides returning to the city, didn't she ask for any other compensation?" Zhuo Jia continued with a smile, "Of course, I didn't mean any harm. I just paid ten yuan for her hospitalization fee. I wanted her to pay me back or write an IOU, but she said the Qiao family didn't give her anything."
With Wang Ping's personality, she has already made a fuss and returned to the city, so she must have gotten the money back!
Comrades from the Women's Federation: "..."
She really didn't expect that this educated youth who stood in front of her so calmly would actually ask for money. Most people would not do such a thing.
Thinking of something, she looked at Wang Ping and said, "Wang Zhiqing, I remember the Women's Federation helped you get the money for your hospitalization."
Moreover, the ten yuan that she had paid to the hospital was also returned, and she handed it back personally. However, she didn't expect that it was another educated youth who taught Wang Ping how to do it!
After saying this, everyone present looked at Wang Ping again. To be honest, everyone felt that Wang Ping was somewhat heartless. Zhuo Jia helped her escape from the Qiao family and paid her hospital bills. As a result, the hospital returned the money, and she actually wanted to embezzle it?
Zhuo Jia smiled and held out her hand to Wang Ping. "Wang Zhiqing, please give me the ten yuan you returned."
It originally belonged to her!
Under everyone's gaze, Wang Ping took out ten yuan with great difficulty. As she handed it to Zhuo Jia, she continued, "Zhuo Zhiqing, it's not that I don't want to return it to you. It's just that I think you have money and don't need these ten yuan. Unlike me, these ten yuan are almost all the money I have."
As she spoke, tears began to fall, which showed that she really felt wronged.
Just what she said was infuriating. What did she mean by saying Zhuo Jia is rich and doesn't need these ten dollars...
Zhuo Jia grabbed Zhang Yunhuan, who was about to speak angrily. She raised her hand to take the money and carefully put it in her pocket. Then she smiled and said, "Wang Zhiqing, no matter how much money it is, it was earned by my partner with great effort and risked his life. I can use this money for emergencies and to save people, but I can't give it to ungrateful people."
Wang Ping, the ungrateful wolf: "..."
Women's Federation comrades: "..."
This educated youth is really brave, but...
She couldn't help but ask, "You're married, what does your partner do?"
She was curious about what kind of gay man could catch the eye of this educated youth!
"A soldier." Zhuo Jia smiled and said to her mother-in-law, "Mom, I'll be leaving first."
Liu Hongying nodded with a straight face: "Yes."
Now she finally understood why her son always blushed because of his incompetence. It was because her daughter-in-law was so capable!
The comrade from the Women's Federation fell silent again after hearing this. She looked at Liu Hongying again. Oh, yes, how could she forget that Liu Hongying's son was a soldier? Tsk, these mother-in-law and daughter-in-law really know how to play together.
Zhang Yunhuan suppressed a smile and said to Wang Ping, "Wang Ping, I wish you a safe journey."
After saying that, she went after Zhuo Jia, and her laughter could be heard from afar.
The comrades from the Women's Federation looked at Wang Ping and shook their heads. When Wang Ping made a decisive decision to ask to return to the city, they, the Women's Federation, helped to fight for her. They thought Wang Ping was a smart person, but today they saw that she was a short-sighted person, so short-sighted that she could only see the present!
If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn't owe that ten dollars, and they would have taken the initiative to pay it back after the money was returned...
Otherwise, things wouldn't have gotten to this point. From now on, who would dare to take the initiative to help Wang Ping?
However, Liu Hongying's daughter-in-law, the educated youth named Zhuo Jia, is a powerful person. Well, as powerful as Liu Hongying!
Zhang Yunhuan laughed and said, "You didn't notice, Wang Ping's face was really ugly just now!"
Thinking of Wang Ping's expression, she wanted to laugh again. Some time ago, she was so focused on Wang Ping's plight that she almost forgot about Wang Ping's previous unpopular behavior. Now, when she saw it today, she found that she was still unpopular.
"Why do you care so much about her? We won't have any intersection in the future anyway." Zhuo Jia said calmly.
Fortunately, she met Wang Ping, otherwise she would have lost ten dollars in vain!
Zhang Yunhuan nodded: "You're right, but I just think that with someone like Wang Ping, it's no wonder that the people at the educated youth recruitment center don't like her."
The educated youth at the educated youth camp are so nice. No matter how they got along with each other before, they will really help when there is a problem. They will provide money or manpower. It's a pity that Wang Ping doesn't deserve them.
Zhuo Jia also laughed: "Well, the educated youths nowadays are all good people."
Especially Feng Xiaoyu and the others, they are all people worth making friends with.
Zhang Yunhuan jumped up and down: "Yeah, my parents said the same thing."
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She really wanted to ask, how much courage did Zhang Yunhuan's parents muster to let Zhang Yunhuan go to the countryside? He was simply a child who had not grown up!
After returning home and drinking a glass of sugar water, Zhang Yunhuan couldn't stay any longer. She stood up and said, "Don't forget, we're going to catch cicada monkeys tonight. I'll be waiting for you at the educated youth camp. Oh, and don't forget to bring a flashlight."
She wanted to go back to the educated youth camp and lie down, and wait until Zhuo Jia's fan arrived, and then she would come back to accompany Zhuo Jia.
Zhuo Jia waved her hand: "I know, don't worry."
Not only does she need to bring a flashlight, she also needs to wear long sleeves and long pants, otherwise the mosquitoes on the mountain will eat her!
After Zhang Yunhuan left, Zhuo Jia opened the purchasing group and started chatting with the "grocery vendor". He planned to catch cicada monkeys at night and fry them tomorrow. How could he do that without oil?
Then the grocer ignored her for a long time, but when he saw the cicada monkey, he jumped out and said the first thing: "Are you selling cicada monkeys?"
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She sat up straight instantly, then raised her hand and hit her forehead. Oh my God, she now doubted whether she could become the richest person. She couldn't even see the business opportunities in front of her. Alas, this time she only thought about eating.
Thinking about it this way, she really felt that she had missed a lot of money. After all, the cicada monkey had been out for a while.
But you can't just make money, you have to fight for a good life for yourself.
Grocery Store: [Do you sell oil?]
If you don't sell her oil, she won't sell...
Well, it’s for sale too, but can we talk about it first?
After talking for a long time, the 'grocer' finally agreed to sell Zhuo Jia a ten-pound barrel of oil. Well, the purchasing group charged her a sky-high price of 300 yuan!
Now the balance becomes 2200 again!
Thinking of the 'grocer' collecting cicada monkeys, Zhuo Jia quickly got up and walked out, not caring about the hot weather. She had to find out what the appropriate price would be for each cicada monkey.
And I also have to control how many cicada monkeys I collect so as not to attract attention. But this is easy, after all, I have a cousin in the city!
Zhuo Jia, who didn't know the market situation, went to Aunt Ding again to inquire.
"You're talking about cicada monkeys. If they find few, they feed them to chickens. If they find a lot, they send them to the commune to exchange for money. They rarely fry them at home and eat them because it wastes too much oil." Aunt Ding shook her head and said.
Everyone knows that cicada monkeys are delicious, but what to do if there is no oil?
When Zhuo Jia heard that she could send the cicada monkeys to the commune to pay back the money, she rolled her eyes and asked, "Auntie Ding, how much does it cost to send one to the commune?"
She just needs to be a little more expensive than the commune!
Aunt Ding was amused. She waved her hands and said, "The commune doesn't bother to count. They just weigh by the kilogram. The good ones are one yuan per kilogram. If some are dead or too small, they're less than one yuan per kilogram."
But even so, everyone is very enthusiastic about finding cicada monkeys. Since the whole family joins in, you can find several kilograms in one night!
"How many cicada monkeys are there in one pound?" Zhuo Jia asked with her head tilted. She didn't know either.
Aunt Ding said without hesitation: "110 or 120, if they are all big ones, 100 will weigh a pound."
Everyone in the brigade knows which family has not gone to the commune to sell cicada monkeys.
Now Zhuo Jia had a clear idea in mind. She bought cicada monkeys at one cent each, which was the market price. If she bought more, it would be suspected of disrupting the market.
Seeing her asking so many questions, Aunt Ding looked at her and asked, "Jia Jia, do you like fried cicada monkeys too?"
Zhuo Jia nodded without thinking: "Yeah, I like it."
She likes anything that can make money!
Hearing this, Aunt Ding gritted her teeth and said, "Well, tonight I'll have your eldest brother take Heidan to the mountain to look for it, and then I'll bring it to you when we find it."
Although she couldn't take the money to the commune to sell, she still knew which was more important, making money temporarily or making money all the time.
"Auntie Ding, I'm going to go look for cicada monkeys tonight too." Zhuo Jia thought for a moment and said, "But I'm not sure if I can find any. If you ask your eldest brother to bring me some, I'll charge you one cent each."
Well, she absolutely cannot take advantage of others, after all, everyone’s family is not rich!
Aunt Ding's eyes widened instantly, and she quickly waved her hands: "That won't do. How can you ask for money for everything?"
What has become of her, Old Ding? If this gets out, will she be able to face people?
Zhuo Jia was silent. It wasn't that she had to pay for everything, but she had sold everything for money. She couldn't bear not paying others.
She pondered for a long time, then said to Aunt Ding, "Aunt Ding, I'm going to the county to visit my cousin tomorrow. I have many relatives there, and they need a lot of cicada monkeys. Can you help me ask if there's anyone else who wants to exchange cicada monkeys? They're all at this price."
With so many people around, Aunt Ding felt comfortable asking for money. After all, everyone had money to pay, but Aunt Ding had none, and Aunt Ding couldn't accept that.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Aunt Ding stopped refusing and asked, "Zhuo Zhiqing, please tell me how many cicada monkeys you want first, so I don't ask for too many later."
Although soaking in water can temporarily preserve cicada monkeys, it will be troublesome if there are too many!
Zhuo Jia was a little confused. She thought for a moment and said, "Try to make as many as possible. I'll fry them at home and send them over directly."
Aunt Ding: “…”
Fry it and send it out. I think only Zhuo Zhiqing could say this, after all, it’s all made with oil!
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry." Aunt Ding nodded.
She really knew that Zhuo Zhiqing had big hands and whenever he ate something delicious, he would share some with the rest of the family...
She thought Zhuo Zhiqing would probably need thousands of cicada monkeys!
Zhuo Jia had no idea what Aunt Ding was thinking. She just asked for more cicada monkeys and they could be sent directly to her home. If she was still in the mountains and hadn't returned, she would ask Aunt Ding to keep them for her temporarily and wait for her to come back to pay.
After saying that, he left quickly. No, no, for something like capturing a cicada monkey, he had to go past the adults and find a child. Children wouldn't ask so many questions!
As expected, her favorite thing is children!
Zhuo Jia, who likes interacting with children, went to find Qiao Wei as soon as she got home. She stood at the door and called out, "Xiao Wei."
Her sister-in-law now works every day, and Xiaowei takes care of all the housework with her younger brothers and sisters. She is really sensible.
Qiao Wei asked his sister to look after his brother, and he ran out: "Second Aunt, are you looking for me?"
Zhuo Jia nodded and asked Qiao Wei, "Are you looking for cicada monkeys at night?"
Her elder brother and sister-in-law probably didn't go, otherwise she would have known about it a long time ago.
Qiao Wei nodded, and said with some annoyance, "I went there, but I didn't have a flashlight, so I couldn't find much. I just looked for a while in the moonlight and came back."
But even so, he could always find a dozen or so every time, but his mother was reluctant to fry them in oil, so they were eventually thrown away to feed the chickens.
"Then give me all the cicada monkeys you found tonight. I'll exchange them for candy or biscuits. Oh, and money is fine too, one cent each." Zhuo Jia looked at Qiao Wei and said, then thought for a moment and added, "By the way, I won't tell your parents."
Qiao Wei's eyes lit up when he heard the last sentence. The last sentence was the most important. Otherwise, if his parents knew that he wanted Second Aunt's things again, he would be beaten!
Seeing that Qiao Wei didn't refuse, Zhuo Jia continued, "Not only you, but also your friends can come to me. Please tell them for me."
"Aunt, won't you tell the other adults?" Qiao Wei thought for a moment and asked.
They are all grown-up kids now and they all want some private money!
Zhuo Jia was instantly amused when she heard this. She nodded and said, "Okay, if you're worried, we can trade directly on the mountain. No one will know. But you have to tell me what they want to exchange in advance so I can prepare it in advance."
I couldn’t ask for more!
Qiao Wei was even happier, almost jumping up and down. He said excitedly, "Second Aunt, we'll trade on the mountain. Most of them want money!"
He and his friends are about to have their first pot of gold, how can they not be excited!
Zhuo Jia added, "But you have to trade with me before 9:30. If it's too late, I won't accept it."
What if these children stayed in the mountains to find the cicada monkey and make a deal with her? What if something went wrong?
Qiao Wei exclaimed, frowning and saying, "But there are still many people on the mountain at half past nine."
They used to come back around this time, but how can bringing back money to feed the chickens and exchanging it for money be the same thing?
Zhuo Jia didn't care, she just said: "Anyway, if you come back late, then I don't want it."
As the only person willing to trade money with children, she believed that these smart children knew how to choose.
Qiao Wei was reluctant: "Okay, I'll tell them."
It seems I can only keep my eyes open at night.
…
After dinner in the evening, Zhuo Jia first filled the two thermoses at home, then put water on the stove, and then changed into long clothes and long pants, carried a small bamboo bucket with a lid, and went out with a flashlight.
I also exchanged this small bamboo bucket with someone, it can hold a lot!
Zhang Yunhuan was waiting for Zhuo Jia at the entrance of the educated youth camp with only a can. When she saw Zhuo Jia's bucket, she was shocked and speechless: "Why do you need such a big bucket? I'm lucky you can fill the can in my hand."
Anyway, she had never seen anyone carrying such a big bucket up the mountain to look for cicada monkeys!
Zhuo Jia lifted it and shook it: "It's not heavy, it's quite light."
Her bucket is used to display her money power, how could it be the same as others.
Zhang Yunhuan was choked by her and waved his hands speechlessly: "Let's go up the mountain quickly!"
Let’s go find the cicada monkey. After Zhuo Jia has found it once, she will know what to bring next time.
After reaching the top of the mountain, Zhuo Jia saw a light here and a light there. It seemed that many flashlights had been brought up the mountain!
Zhang Yunhuan looked at it and said, "We have flashlights. Let's go to a place with fewer people."
But today's moon is bright and round, so there are not too few people in the place...
The two stopped running around, separated a little, and shone their flashlights at the tree.
"Find one."
"Found another one."
“…”
Listening to Zhang Yunhuan's cheers from time to time not far away, Zhuo Jia looked at her empty bucket and fell silent. Could it be that she and the cicada monkeys were incompatible, otherwise how could she not see a single one?
It’s such a shame that she has such a bright flashlight in her hand!
Zhuo Jia continued to search angrily, but every time she heard someone cheering, she would glare. Later, she stopped glaring because she had found so many people.
Later, she finally found one, but she couldn't reach it because she climbed too high!
Oh, and she saw people climbing trees or holding sticks to find cicada monkeys, and she could only...
Stay away from it, for fear of hurting yourself!
In the end, Zhuo Jia was really angry because she only found two in total, the kind that would be despised by the chickens if she went to feed them. She stopped looking, it was nine o'clock, and she had to ask the children to show off their money skills.
She walked over to Zhang Yunhuan and said, "I won't look for you anymore. I'll just wander around and wait for you at the foot of the mountain."
After saying that, she took a look into Zhang Yunhuan's can, then turned her head to the side. There were so many things, it was uncomfortable.
Zhang Yunhuan was in high spirits, so he said without thinking, "Yeah."
Go quickly, don't delay her from finding the cicada monkey.
Zhuo Jia pursed her lips and left. She didn't look for him anymore, but just wandered around with a flashlight. Soon she saw Qiao Wei, or rather the children in their group. There were more than a dozen children climbing up and down, more agile than monkeys.
She looked at Qiao Wei, who was holding a soda bottle with half a bottle of Cicada Monkey in it!
She thought with some envy, there must be dozens of them, right?
Qiao Wei also saw her, his eyes lit up, and he took out three soda bottles from somewhere, filled with cicada monkeys, and shouted to Zhuo Jia: "Second Aunt, here."
Zhuo Jia: "..."
Even more envious!
Qiao Wei called out to a child older than him: "Brother Zhuzi, come quickly, my second aunt is here."
The child who called Zhuzi over came over, while the other children continued to look for the treasures, but they were looking more enthusiastically, wanting to find more in the last possible time.
Zhuo Jia looked at the child named Zhuzi. The child had graduated from elementary school and seemed to be going to the commune to attend middle school, so she handed the bucket to him and said, "You can count it yourselves."
After saying that, she stood by and watched. After watching for a while, she couldn't help but look at the children who kept sending cicada monkeys over here. These children are really amazing.
It was not until half past nine that Zhuo Jia said she wanted to go back, and the children stopped looking for cicada monkeys. By then, there were already more than 500 cicada monkeys in her bucket!
She had to admit that these kids were really strong in fighting!
Looking at the children's eyes, which were brighter than her flashlight, she smiled and asked, "There are 521 in total. Do you want to change them all into money?"
If converted into money, it would be 5.21 yuan, which is not a small income for these children.
The one called Zhuzi thought for a moment and asked, "Second Aunt, do you want more tomorrow?"
Zhuo Jia smiled and said, "Yes, as long as you can find it, I want it. But whether you can keep the money is not my responsibility. We have to pay for it."
Zhuzi waved his hand and said in a very adult manner, "Second Aunt, the children I found are all tight-lipped. I guarantee that no one will cause you any trouble."
If anyone leaks the information and causes the adults in the family to cause trouble for Zhuo Zhiqing, then he will have a very difficult time, and he will never play with these kids again!
Zhuo Jia: "..."
She is not as domineering as the kid brother, so she loses!
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