Chapter 24 Firewood Do you have a special hobby?
Yan Xue never thought that Qi Fang would hug her. After more than a month of marriage, this was the first time he took the initiative to have physical contact with her.
Although after what had happened, after she had the nightmare, it was obviously just a comforting hug, without any other meaning.
But she hasn't had a hug like this for a long time. Ever since her mother passed away, she has been the one to hug her father.
No matter when she stretched out her short arms as a child, or when she carried her father in bed and turned him over when he was seriously ill, no other embrace could give her the warmth she deserved.
So when the other person suddenly hugged her, her whole body stiffened and she felt a little at a loss.
Qi Fang felt it, but did not let go.
He got loose on the mountain, but she said she was fine, but she was awakened by a nightmare at night.
He even grasped her waist and held her tighter in his arms, forcefully and without any chance of rejection.
Yan Xue instantly felt as if her whole body was surrounded. Only a thin layer of shirt separated her from the man's firm body, and she could even feel his gentle breathing on the top of her head.
This made her unable to help but move, and immediately someone pinched her waist lightly, "Sleep."
Yan Xue subconsciously became quiet, and then after a while, she moved gently and uncomfortably.
She slept in a small tank top, leaving her shoulders, arms, and even a little of her waist exposed. Qi Fang embraced her, as if he were embracing a cloud or a ball of snow, feeling a bit overwhelmed as to where to begin. With this movement, her creamy waist slid between his palms, creating a slight burning sensation.
This time he pinched it with both hands, his tone also carrying some impatience, "Don't move."
Yan Xue was instantly burned by the heat of the palm and froze, "It's not that I want to move around, I just feel uncomfortable when you do this."
"I haven't said I'm not feeling well yet." Qi Fang said in a bad tone.
Yan Xue was at least resting her head on the pillow, but in order for him to come over and hug her, his head was almost hanging in the air.
But after Yan Xue said that, he still adjusted his posture and let her rest her head on his arm instead. "Is this okay now?"
The tone of voice wasn't really that good, but compared to his usual cold and indifferent look, it actually had a bit more life in it.
This finally made Yan Xue feel that he was not like ice. How could the scorching body temperature surrounding her at this moment be like ice?
Perhaps because she had just been frightened during the day, or perhaps because darkness makes people more vulnerable, Yan Xue finally stopped moving and just put her face close to the man's shoulder.
There was a moment of silence in the darkness, and only two very soft breathing sounds could be heard, as if any louder breathing would disrupt the current balance.
After a long while, Yan Xue finally said softly, "Thank you."
"Sleep." Qi Fang still said those two short words, but he raised his hand and rubbed her head very lightly.
Yan Xue felt a little itchy and subconsciously dodged, "Are you treating me like a child?"
"That's about the same." The man responded lazily.
Yan Xue didn't like what he said. He actually hinted at her short stature. "Kid, why are you marrying me? Do you have any special hobbies?"
"I have a special hobby, and I like to cause trouble for myself."
My life has become like this, and I still let her stay, regardless of whether she has nightmares at night...
Qi Fang thought with some self-mockery, and the next second he felt the person in his arms suddenly leave his arms.
Are you really angry about what he said?
He choked, and Yan Xue had already turned around to face him, "You are not a bother. You have a cold face and ignore people all day long."
Yan Xue didn't really want to talk about this. After all, the two of them weren't familiar with each other and were just living together, so they could just make do with what they had. She had hands and feet, and she didn't need anyone to treat her well. She could live a pretty good life on her own.
But she had just experienced such a thing during the day, and her emotions were really fluctuating. At this moment, she was so close to him that she couldn't help but say it out loud.
Not only that, she also kicked the man under the quilt.
But the words were spoken, the person was kicked, and the wandering rationality quickly returned.
She always said that Qi Fang was a deep-minded person, and she was no different. Although she seemed to be smiling, she had actually armed herself to be invulnerable.
But Qi Fang was not annoyed at all, instead his tone was much better, "Can we go to sleep now?"
"Um."
Miraculously, the palpitations and panic Yan Xue had felt when she first woke up were gone.
Qi Fang listened, hesitated for a moment, but still did not let go of his hand.
Yan Xue also hesitated whether to tell him that she was fine, and then while she was hesitating, dawn came.
The nightmare did not come to her again, and the people around her got up early as usual. She lay there alone for a while before getting up to make breakfast.
In the kitchen, Qi Fang had already started the fire in the big earthen pot and was adding firewood. When he heard her come out, he raised his eyelids and said, "You're awake." He returned to his usual cold demeanor.
Yan Xue also frowned and rolled up her sleeves, "What would you like to eat?" Her tone was as relaxed as usual.
Qi Fang's eyes fell on her face which had regained its rosy color. "It's all right."
Yan Xue turned around and went to look for noodles under the cupboard. "Then I'll make some flatbread and bring you lunch."
Patrolling in the mountains is different from logging. You have to go deep into the forest and you can't go back to the camp to eat at noon. You have to bring your own food.
Since the family members of the team all brought their own food, she baked a dozen pancakes in one go, each no bigger than a face plate and not much thicker than a piece of paper. Paired with some pickled radish strips, freshly fried potato shreds from the morning, and yesterday's bear meat, it was definitely a hearty meal.
After the two of them finished their meal, they each took a lunch box and went to the parking lot to wait for the bus.
There are obviously fewer people going up the mountain today than yesterday. Several educated youth did not come. These people are not very active in their work. How could they continue to go up the mountain after being frightened like this?
But there were several family workers missing, even like Yan Xue. However, Guo Changping's wife appeared at the commuter bus stop. She had just returned yesterday and started working today.
Many people in the family team greeted her and asked her about Guo Changan's situation. She nodded in response to each one, but didn't say much.
Among the few who didn't greet her was Li Shuwu's wife, who even rolled her eyes at her as soon as they met. After all, Li Shuwu's two teeth were still leaking.
Guo Changping's wife ignored her. After going up the mountain, she didn't look for anyone to chat with. She lowered her head and started working, her movements more skillful than anyone else.
The others were not so motivated. After all, something like that happened yesterday. Some even had to pay attention to the nearby forest after working for a while.
The field leaders also knew about this, so after arranging people to patrol the mountains, they came to the family team specifically to appease the emotions of the family workers.
Of course, only Secretary Lang and the person in charge of production scheduling at the camp came. Director Yu's daughter was injured and his son was very scared, so they took a leave and did not come today.
Those who are well-informed have heard that Yu Cuiyun's injury is not too serious, but her shoulder and head bones are fractured and she will have to wear a splint for a while.
"Everything was fine at first. We all listened to Xiao Yan and retreated far away. But she insisted on shouting and almost got everyone killed."
Some people were still very angry when this was mentioned, but some people tried to comfort her because Yu Cuiyun was the only one injured.
"She asked for it herself." The other party was still angry, but he didn't say anything in front of the leaders present.
After everyone else had finished their condolences, Secretary Lang looked at Yan Xue, "Xiao Yan, right? I remember you. I just officiated your wedding with Xiao Qi before the New Year."
Yan Xue nodded, "Secretary Lang has a really good memory."
"Anyone would remember such a beautiful couple." Secretary Lang smiled and asked, "I heard that we just spotted a black bear yesterday. Was it you who organized everyone to retreat slowly?"
Compared with Qi Fang's shots, Yan Xue's incident was nothing. I didn't expect someone would specifically tell Secretary Lang about it.
Her heart moved and she subconsciously looked at Lang Yue'e.
Secretary Lang noticed it and glanced over there, his smile becoming even warmer. "You remain calm in the face of danger and still think of others. You are a good comrade. Do a good job in the future." He praised and encouraged him a few times before taking his men away.
After everyone dispersed, Yan Xue whispered to Lang Yue'e, "You didn't tell me that, did you? Is Secretary Lang really your father?"
"You just found out?" Lang Yue'e was really surprised. She thought Yan Xue had known it for a long time.
Yan Xue smiled and shook her head, "I didn't ask specifically."
It's rare to find someone who's quiet and doesn't like to pry into other people's affairs. Lang Yue'e smiled more and said, "He's my father, but I came here with my mother who remarried."
He spoke very frankly. Although this was not a secret, any old man in the forest farm could find out.
Yan Xue was stunned when she heard this, then raised her eyes and looked at her seriously.
Lang Yue'e thought she was going to say something, but she lowered her voice and said, "What a coincidence, me too."
This time it was Lang Yue'e who was stunned. She couldn't help but look at Yan Xue and found that there was sincerity in Yan Xue's eyes when she looked at her.
This made her feel respected. After all, Yan Xue came from outside, unlike her. As long as Yan Xue didn't say it, who would know?
But Yan Xue still told her, perhaps to tell her that they had similar life experiences, or perhaps just to say that it was nothing.
The smile in Lang Yue'e's eyes deepened, and her tone unconsciously became more intimate. She asked Yan Xue, "You and Qi Fang haven't received the truckload of firewood from last year, right?"
Indeed, they didn't receive it. After all, they had just been married for two days before the Chinese New Year. However, Lang Yue'e was not the kind of person who would say such things without reason. Yan Xue looked at her and nodded.
"Then when you collect firewood this year, you can talk to the farm and ask them to give you an extra cartload." Lang Yue'e hinted, "Although your family is small and you can't burn through a cartload in a year, you just got married and probably need to build a house. You can ask them to give you a few more stumps."
"How much firewood is in that truckload at our forest farm?"
When Yan Xue heard her say that it would take more than a year to burn all the fuel, she felt that the car in the forest farm might be different from what she had imagined.
As expected, Lang Yue'e said, "Pulled by three horses, it should probably weigh several thousand kilograms."
"So many?" Yan Xue thought it was a small cart pulled by a horse.
"Why do you think some families have wives who are not employed by the Forestry Bureau, and why do they register their wives as the head of the household? It's all for this cart of firewood. We're close to the mountains, so we can just get some up there. We don't have that kind of resources in town or in the county."
Having women as heads of households is a unique feature of the Forestry Bureau, and this situation is not seen in other places.
Yan Xue finally understood why Qi Fang had mentioned the benefits of this truckload of firewood. "I just heard you mention tree stumps. Are we going to give all of this to the employees as firewood after we clear it out?"
"Not all of them," Lang Yue'e said, "some were taken to the corrugated board below to pad the corrugated board."
The forest farm has a large amount of logging every winter. Not all the logged timber is taken away by trains. A large part of it is collected and stacked in the log yard beside the railway.
These stacks are usually dozens of meters high, and each one has about 3,000 cubic meters. They will not be dismantled until summer and autumn, when the original strips are removed and loaded onto trucks and transported to the town's timber yard.
Because it has been exposed to the open air for a long time, the original strips on the lower layer will definitely be soaked by water, affecting the quality of the wood. It is normal to find other things to pad it. What Yan Xue found abnormal was that the padding was actually the tree stumps.
In her opinion, although these tree stumps were not that thick or long, they were all good materials and could be cut into squares to make furniture.
But in the forest farm, apart from being used as piling materials, the only thing it can do is to provide firewood to the employees. Are the forest farms so wealthy nowadays?
There were also long strips of chopped branches piled up on the mountain. If they had been left there for decades, they would surely have been pulled down and chipped. But the family members' team said they would just leave them there to rot. The workers thought it was too far to bring them home for firewood, and would rather get some from the nearby forest.
Yan Xue felt it was a pity when she thought about it, but she didn't have the courage or the ability to take the things to town to sell them.
Even to go to town, she had to take a small train that cost 40 cents a trip. How could she transport so many things from the mountain to the foot of the mountain and then to the town without attracting attention?
It's probably too early to wear it. Back in the 1980s, there was definitely plenty of business to be done here at the forest farm. Timber merchants and timber processing plants were very profitable, at least until logging was stopped in 2000.
Feeling it was a pity, Yan Xue was busy and her eyes unconsciously fell on the treetops she had just cleared.
"Sister Yue'e, I told the forest farm that I want more tree stumps. Will they approve it?" She couldn't help but ask Lang Yue'e again.
"Yes, we can approve it. If you want the wood that doesn't pass the inspection, the forest farm can also approve it."
Lang Yue'e thought she kept asking because she was worried that she and Qi Fang were new and had no connections, and the forest farm wouldn't give them face, so she added, "If you really can't get your approval, just tell me and I'll ask for you."
After receiving a very affirmative answer, Yan Xue smiled, and in an instant, it was as if the clouds had cleared and the rain had stopped, and her whole face was illuminated by brightness.
"Thank you, Sister Yue'e. You helped me a lot."
She thought she knew what she could do.
If she can’t grow Gastrodia elata, can’t she still grow Wood Ear Mushroom?
Unlike Gastrodia elata, which is picky about its growing environment and bacterial flora, wood ear mushrooms can be grown in your own yard by setting up a rack. Cultivation is not difficult; all you need to do is water it regularly and expose it to the sun. It's very easy.
More importantly, once the wood ear mushrooms are planted, they can be harvested continuously for three years. After three years, the wood logs used to cultivate the wood ear mushrooms will have exhausted their nutrients and need to be replaced.
As for the biggest cost of growing wood ear mushrooms - logs of wood, she doesn't need to buy them at all, she can just ask the forest farm for them.
This was the only way to make money that was truly practical, quick to show results, and wouldn't take up too much of her time. Yan Xue breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling the burden on her shoulders lighten.
Without these as support, relying solely on the family team and mountain running, she always felt that bringing her brother over within half a year was a blank check.
Now that she finally had a direction, Yan Xue curved her eyebrows and thanked Lang Yue'e again, "You really helped me a lot."
This made Lang Yue'e feel embarrassed. "Isn't it just a word for you? It may not be useful."
Yan Xue just smiled and said, "I didn't see you go get the meat yesterday. I brought some extra food today. Let's eat together at noon."
After all, if Lang Yue'e hadn't reacted quickly to cover the man's mouth and been the first to cooperate yesterday, she wouldn't have been able to stabilize the situation so quickly in the beginning.
Lang Yue'e didn't take the bear meat because she felt that Qi Fang had killed the bear and saved everyone. She had done nothing and there was no reason for her to share the things.
But she could understand Yan Xue and Qi Fang's choice. After all, money is a powerful asset, and some people are always jealous of others. They really couldn't finish eating 300 or 400 kilograms, and they couldn't sell it. After all, they had encountered it together on the mountain.
Yan Xue's invitation was sincere, so she couldn't refuse. When they stopped to make a fire and eat at noon, she sat with Yan Xue.
Seeing Yan Xue's lunch box stuffed to the brim, she even smiled and said, "Did you really bring so much?"
"Qi Fang has more than I have." Yan Xue also laughed. She pretended to have more on purpose to prevent Liu Weiguo and others from always saying that Qi Fang was stingy.
Unexpectedly, not long after she sat down, someone came to look for Lang Yue'e, "Hello, comrade, I want to ask, is Lang Yue'e working here?"
Lang Yue'e was a very gentle person, but when she heard that voice, her face instantly lost expression.
Yan Xue looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was a middle-aged woman in her forties, quite tall and strong, with a cloth bag on her hand.
While speaking, Li Shuwu's wife had already pointed the way to the other party, "Isn't it over there?" There was a look of anticipation in her eyes.
Lang Yue'e frowned, stood up, and said to the woman, "Let's go talk over there so as not to disturb others while they're eating."
"Okay, whatever you say," the woman agreed, but before they even walked away, she couldn't wait to speak louder, "Mom came to see you today for no other reason than your birthday is coming up soon. Peisheng has been thinking about it so much that he asked me to make you a dress."
Because the person was facing away, Yan Xue could not see his expression, but Lang Yue'e said nothing and silently quickened her pace.
This forced her to ask the people around her: "Who is that person? Do you know him?"
"It's Xiaolang's ex-wife." The family worker nearby said to her in a low voice.
Yan Xue immediately grasped the key point, "Before?"
"It means she is divorced." Without waiting for the other party to answer, Li Shuwu's wife took over the conversation without lowering her voice at all.
This made everyone around her look at her, especially Yan Xue, but she didn't care at all, "We're already divorced, are you still afraid of what people say?"
Let alone now, even in some places decades from now, women who divorced would still be gossiped about behind their backs, let alone in 1969, before the reform and opening up. Lang Yue'e's audacity to divorce was considered absolutely unorthodox.
But behind the scenes is behind the scenes. Saying this in front of everyone was a bit too much. Someone immediately helped Lang Yue'e explain: "It's not Xiaolang's fault. Her previous man was a drunk. Whenever he drank, he would come home and beat his wife with a belt. She was two months pregnant, and the child was beaten to death. How can they live without a divorce?"
Although Lang Yue'e is not Secretary Lang's biological daughter, she grew up in the Lang family and has half-siblings. When something like this happened, how could the Lang family sit idly by?
At that time, Secretary Lang brought several sons to the house and beat up the ex-son-in-law. The girl packed up her bags and took him home.
The Manchus have always valued aunts, and the girl would not suffer such humiliation at home. The Lang family was very determined to divorce, and they must divorce, no matter who came to beg for mercy.
The two of them completed the formalities last fall, and Lang Yue'e then returned to her mother's home in the forest farm and started working in the family team.
Because her incident caused such a big stir, it also affected Yu Yongzhi's marriage to some extent. After all, it was a good drink, and no one knew whether he would beat his wife when he drank too much.
Director Yu's family was quite dissatisfied with this, especially Director Yu's wife and Yu Cuiyun, who often spoke ill of Lang Yue'e behind her back.
"If you ask me, I'd just make a scene and the other party will know and change, but you're really getting a divorce? It's so embarrassing to tell anyone about it." Li Shuwu's wife chimed in, "This old woman has come to pick you up several times, but she doesn't know how to back down. Does she really think it's that easy to find a place for a second marriage?"
"If they really knew it had been changed, why was it his mother who came to pick him up instead of him?"
Yan Xue didn't believe that a man could change his domestic violence habit. She didn't even believe him if he came to admit his mistake and apologize, let alone not come and ask her mother to help her.
Li Shuwu's wife was choked by her and smiled with a fake smile, "That's because you just got married, you don't understand. A wife is made by being beaten and kneaded. What woman doesn't get beaten?"
This was totally out of line. Yan Xue didn't want to talk to the other party anymore. It didn't make sense.
Li Shuwu's wife thought what she said was quite right. "Her husband was just a little too heavy-handed and didn't know when to hit her. If he really wanted to avoid being beaten, he'd have to find someone lame or paralyzed, lying on the kang unable to move."
While he was talking, he even glanced at Guo Changping's wife, who put down her lunch box immediately.
"What are you doing? I didn't say you..."
Li Shuwu's wife was trying to be sarcastic on purpose, but before she could finish her words, she was slapped hard in the face.
When Yan Xue heard the sound, she felt pain for her.
Li Shuwu's wife's eyes turned red with anger. She opened her mouth to speak, but Guo Changping's wife raised her hand again and said, "If you keep talking dirty, I'll slap you."
The world was finally quiet. Li Shuwu's wife was stared at by the other party and couldn't even fart for a long time.
Only then did Guo Changping's wife put down her hand and went back to continue eating.
This is a real person who is ruthless and doesn't talk much. People like Li Shuwu's wife can only bully Aunt Guo, who is old and not good at quarreling.
After a few words, Lang Yue'e had already started walking back, and her face looked obviously not good.
Her ex-mother-in-law kept chasing after her, "Why are you so stubborn? A husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days. You two have been together for so long, and you don't have any feelings for each other at all?"
Lang Yue'e ignored him, and the other party simply grabbed her arm and said, "Peisheng really knows he's wrong. He hasn't touched alcohol in the past six months. I can testify for him. At least give him a chance, and give me some face. Let's go back for dinner and see how he behaves in the future, okay?"
Judging from his future behavior, he will let her go back and continue living together, without even having to get a marriage certificate...
Lang Yue'e shook off the other person's hand and said, "I said, divorce is divorce, I'm not going back, and his job wasn't done by my dad."
"Your father didn't do anything, but he was demoted one level in salary for no reason?" the other person blurted out.
Lang Yue'e knew it and felt even more annoyed. "My dad doesn't have the time to worry about whether he's late or makes mistakes."
"Isn't he also in a bad mood because of the divorce?"
Seeing her unhappy expression, the other party softened his voice again, "Of course this is all his fault. Who told him to forget his last name after drinking a little? Yue'e, don't be angry, I'll scold him when we get home. Mom is so old, and she came all the way to beg you, so at least give her some face and go back to take a look."
Lang Yue'e still ignored her. She got so anxious that her knees bent downwards. "Do you really want me to kneel down and beg you?"
This is simply putting Lang Yue'e on the fire. If Lang Yue'e really made her kneel in front of so many people, even if she was right, she would be wrong.
But Lang Yue'e could never agree to go back with a man like that, and she was so angry that her body was shaking.
Just as she was about to pull the other person away, someone else was already one step ahead of her and grabbed the person and said, "This is a new society. We don't tolerate moral kidnapping."
Lang Yue'e's ex-mother-in-law tried hard for a long time but couldn't kneel down.
The man smiled and held her tightly. "If you just kneel down and beg, everything will be solved. I'll worship you. Like the famine a few years ago, if you went, the drought would be gone, the Russians would not ask our country to repay the debt, and the United States and the West would no longer impose a blockade on us."
Lang Yue'e was originally very angry, but she actually made her want to laugh.
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