Yan Xiaoqiang nodded and took the twenty yuan that Grandma Yan handed him. "Even if you're poor, you should bring more money on the road. Put some in each inner pocket and one yuan in each outer pocket."
Cuihua thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I'll go to town with him tomorrow. I'll bring the sack back with me, otherwise it will be too rushed. What if the shops are closed? Also, Nan Nan doesn't have many snacks and candies left. I'll just buy them all tomorrow."
Grandma Yan nodded, feeling a pang of sadness. She had given birth to three sons and so many grandsons, yet she had to rely on a little granddaughter who wasn't even two years old to fill her stomach. Was God being kind to her or unkind? For the first time, Grandma Yan suffered from insomnia.
While it was still barely light, Cuihua had already prepared breakfast and flatbread. The two of them took the flatbread and water and went out to town. Yan Xiaoqiang wanted to wait for the first bus to the county and take the last bus back to town in the afternoon.
Watching her husband get into the car, she repeatedly told him to take good care of himself and to come back quickly. Yan Xiaoqiang impatiently dismissed her, but his heart was filled with warmth. The best thing he had ever done in his life was marrying Cuihua and having Yan Xiaonan.
Cuihua saw Yan Xiaoqiang impatiently urging her, but the corners of her mouth turned up, and she felt incredibly sweet inside. This man was just like that, saying one thing and meaning another. The best thing she ever did in her life was marrying Yan Xiaoqiang and having Yan Xiaonan.
In the afternoon, Yan Xiaoqiang arrived in the county town and found the market with ease. After asking a few people, he found Zhao Weimin. When Zhao Weimin saw Yan Xiaoqiang, his serious face immediately lit up with a smile. "The God of Wealth has arrived!"
Yan Xiaoqiang grabbed him and headed towards the station. He didn't have much time, as the bus back to town was leaving in half an hour. He could only talk as they walked. Zhao Weimin naturally cooperated, grabbing paper and pen and following along.
"A thousand catties of rice, the same quality as last time, to be exchanged for oil, salt, sugar, milk powder, malted milk powder, pork, cornmeal, wheat flour, cloth, bicycles, and any extra for cash. Also, when are you coming? I'll be waiting for you in town. The location has changed this time, and I'll take you there," Yan Xiaoqiang said succinctly.
"Okay, we have everything you need. Rice prices have gone up, and so have other things. Let's stick to the old prices, since it's all the same anyway. We have a bicycle that costs 120 pounds. Last time we bought 100 pounds of grain from you, so I'll add something else to make it 200 pounds. Is that alright?"
Yan Xiaoqiang nodded: "Since you both have the goods, how about you wait at the same place in town as last time at 5 pm tomorrow? It'll be more convenient after dark."
Zhao Weimin nodded, agreeing that it was a deal. He watched Yan Xiaoqiang get into the car and then hurried to the market. He needed to prepare things with his older brother so they could leave tomorrow.
Cuihua bought ten burlap sacks and some daily necessities and went home. She was happy but also worried, thinking that she would have money, meat and a bicycle in the next two days. Her little girl seemed to be fine after the last sale. She hoped that this time would also be safe and sound.
I hurried home and arrived in just over half an hour. I handed the sack to Grandma Yan and rushed to cook dinner. Yan Xiaoqiang would definitely be hungry when he came home tonight, so I made some noodles and poached two eggs. There was still a small bowl of braised pork left at home, which would definitely taste good with the noodles.
Grandma Yan was playing a rice-packing game with Yan Xiaonan in the room. One sack contained 100 jin (50 kg) of rice, then another sack contained 100 jin (50 kg) of rice. Ten sacks were neatly arranged in Grandma Yan's room, totaling 1,000 jin (500 kg) of rice. In the blink of an eye, the rice sacks disappeared. Grandma Yan rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have been seeing things.
Tell Xuemei to quickly boil water for Nannan's bath. The little girl is afraid of getting dirty; she got her clothes dirty while working and needs to be changed. Xuemei greatly admires Yan Xiaonan's fastidiousness. A young girl should be kept clean; look at the Wang family's maids, they're all so dirty they're unpresentable.
After taking a bath, Yan Xiaonan felt refreshed. As she drifted off to sleep on her grandmother's kang (a heated brick bed), her consciousness began to wander to the mountains. The weather was getting colder, and the animals in the mountains were probably starting to hoard food. The Siberian tiger had sensed Yan Xiaonan and roared loudly to greet her.
The roar of the tiger echoed throughout Mushroom Village, startling the villagers. What was going on this year? Wolves and tigers, wheat frozen to death, and rice dying of drought—what a bad year! The New Year was just two months away, so they set off lots of firecrackers to drive away the Nian beast and welcome a better year.
Her consciousness began to wander again. She seemed to hear the sound of running water. Just as she was about to run after the sound, she was woken up by the noise outside the door. It turned out that Yan Xiaoqiang had returned. Cuihua quickly went to make noodles. Yan Xiaoqiang looked at the white noodles, the bright orange poached egg, and the few pieces of pork under the noodles, and his stomach immediately started to rumble.
She picked up her rice bowl and started munching away. The noodles were so delicious! Suddenly, she thought of Nannan and asked, "Are my mom and Nannan in the room? Have they eaten yet?"
Cuihua nodded quickly: "Mother and Nannan ate a bowl of noodles and two poached eggs. Xuemei, the boys and I ate steamed buns and porridge made from a mixture of flour and water."
Yan Xiaoqiang nodded. As long as his daughter and mother ate well, that was fine. Of course, steamed buns made from two kinds of flour were also good. People in the village were eating sweet potatoes now.
After finishing a bowl of noodles and washing his face and hands, Yan Xiaoqiang felt much better. He ran into Grandma Yan's room and whispered, "Mom, it's done. I'll go to town to wait for them at five o'clock tomorrow night. You guys wait for them at the back mountain before five-thirty."
Grandma Yan nodded: "Don't worry, I'll have Cuihua bring the right tools, so we'll have something to do in case anything happens."
Nothing happened that night. The next day, Yan Xiaoqiang took Cuihua and a few others to the foot of the mountain to chop firewood. He and Cuihua went to the back of the mountain to confirm the location. The two of them walked around and confirmed the location. They brought back a large pile of firewood, killing two birds with one stone. Dongnan had been secretly observing and had a plan in mind.
Dinner was prepared an hour earlier than usual tonight. There was no way around it; we usually finish eating at five o'clock, but today we started eating at four. Southeast understood the situation even better. After seeing Yan Xiaoqiang leave, he waited in his room to secretly observe.
Not long after, seeing Grandma carrying a basket on her back and Mom holding Yan Xiaonan, heading towards the back mountain, I quickly grabbed the prepared wood-chopping knife, hid it in my clothes, and secretly followed them. When they reached the place where it was daytime, I also found a place to hide.
Soon, it got dark, and there seemed to be the sound of a car in the distance. Yan Xiaonan had already noticed Dongnan. Taking advantage of Dongnan's distraction by the car sound, he quickly threw out ten bags of rice and placed them in a blind spot where Dongnan couldn't see them, waiting for the Zhao brothers to arrive.
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