On weekends, around five in the morning, the county town seems to be just waking up, lights gradually coming on. On the main streets and small squares, there are occasional people getting up early to exercise.
On the main road, two military vehicles drove out from the street corner, and behind a car, there was a large truck with a grass-green tarpaulin.
Early risers instinctively looked towards the vehicles, only to see two cars passing by, raising a cloud of dust on the road. In the blink of an eye, the cars were no longer visible.
Everyone looked at each other with confusion, but no one asked the question in their heart - two cars drove out so early in the morning on a weekend, what was going on?
At this moment, Zhao Dashan, accompanied by his wife, was driving the truck behind him, following closely behind Zhang Guoqing's car. Along the way, the two cars quickly looked towards the neighboring province.
Zhao Yuanyuan was sitting in the car driven by Zhang Guoqing at this time. She was talking about gossip with her best friend Zhou Jiao and making her own "little plans".
Starting from the county town, Zhao Yuanyuan kept talking about some of the things she heard - gossip about teachers and classmates at school, and rumors about neighbors.
After sharing what she saw and heard, she also expressed her own thoughts.
Zhao Yuanyuan changed the subject, complaining about the pain of going to school every day, leaving early and returning late, and showed Zhou Jiao the chilblains on her hands.
Zhou Jiao looked at her playfully but didn't say anything.
"Jiaojiao, do you think I'm pitiful?"
"Not as good as the best, but better than the worst," Zhou Jiao said with a smile. How many people wanted to go to high school, but ended up returning home heartbroken, forced to pick up a hoe. Similarly, some people joined the work force early and enjoyed the benefits.
In comparison, what Zhao Yuanyuan called pity - it really depends on one's own opinion.
Zhao Yuanyuan grabbed Zhou Jiao's arm and began to shake it with a flattering smile on her face.
Zhou Jiao quickly turned her head - this girl started to give her problems again.
"Jiaojiao, please don't be like this. How nice would it be if I could study with you? Look, I can help you cook, clean the house, and take care of the children. As long as you tell my parents that I'll take some time off to study with you, then your sister—and I—will have a happy life."
Zhang Guoqing listened and interjected, "Are you sure your parents agree?"
Zhao Yuanyuan immediately slumped over Zhou Jiao and said in a scoundrelly tone, "That's why I'm here to discuss this with you—we're brothers and sisters, so we should share the good and the bad. I don't care anymore, I'll leave it to you."
"We might find an aunt to help next year, and Jiaojiao will go to school regularly then. Don't ask for leave yet. This can't be rushed. You should see how the situation develops first. Why didn't Hongbing come with us today?"
Zhang Guoqing knew full well that his and Zhao Yuanyuan's circumstances were different. Why would he offer Zhao Yuanyuan such foolish advice? That would be detrimental to her. With her personality, she might as well give up on her studies altogether.
Zhang Guoqing had listened to her nagging all morning, so he quickly changed the subject. This annoying woman was really good at pestering people. If he didn't change the subject, she would definitely keep nagging until she got off the bus.
"Haha... he slept like a dead pig - my dad kicked him and he didn't react - my second brother asked me to call him last night." Zhao Yuanyuan laughed when she talked about her second brother, and then began to talk about Zhao Hongbing's glorious sleeping skills.
Zhang Guoqing finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly increased the speed of the car.
Yesterday, he had rushed Zhang's father and mother to the county town. He had originally planned to take them out for a stroll today, even dragging Zhang Meili home to look after the children. Unfortunately, they refused to go out—Mother Zhang was worried about her grandson, and Father Zhang was afraid of the cold.
The couple worried that the elderly couple would make do with whatever they had at noon while they were away. To address this, Zhou Jiao woke up early in the morning to prepare breakfast, cooking a few meat dishes and keeping them warm in the pot. Before leaving, she even took Zhang's mother to the warehouse to check on the food, fearing they wouldn't want to eat it.
After such a busy schedule, Zhou Jiao was severely sleep-deprived. Listening to Zhao Yuanyuan's mumbling was like a lullaby making her sleepy. What made her most helpless was that Zhao Yuanyuan not only talked, but also liked to shake her.
When they arrived at the intersection leading to the provincial capital of the neighboring province, Zhang Guoqing followed his father-in-law's instructions and finally waited for a carriage on the deserted road.
He asked the groom for directions to the village, and after confirming that the route was correct as he had predicted, he thanked him.
Once again, the two cars started on the road, heading towards the target village.
The car kept going straight for a while. Zhang Guoqing estimated that they were almost at their destination, so he honked the horn a few times, slowly slowed down, and stopped by the side of the road.
After getting off the car, he ran to discuss with Zhao Dashan and the other man. Finally, the two of them looked at the village not far from the dirt road and decided to stay where they were and wait for someone to lead the way.
After waiting for a while, they saw pedestrians passing by one after another. Zhang Guoqing picked out two villagers, and after some communication and conversation, they finally met a villager from the village they were going to.
Faced with the other party's enthusiastic gestures to show the route, Zhang Guoqing invited him to get in the car and lead the way. The other party was so surprised that he quickly got in the car.
With each other's guidance, everyone soon arrived at the village.
Zhao Dashan and Zhang Guoqing left their women behind and followed the villagers to find Captain Liu.
When Captain Liu learned that they were the families of Liu Sanyuan and Zhou Xiaozheng, he hurriedly gave a few instructions to the villagers, took them to the dirt road, and invited Cheng Hongli and the others to go home with him.
When they arrived at Captain Liu's house and sat down, the captain curiously asked what they wanted. He jokingly asked if they wanted to buy food again, just like last time.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dashan nodded and praised the other party for his good eyesight.
Captain Liu looked at them in surprise. He had never expected that they had consumed so much of the fine grain.
He thought for a moment and said, "Our village has distributed grain by the end of the year. I'll ask for your help and find out who is reluctant to eat fine grains, and I'll collect some for you first. Brother Zhou mentioned to you that the fishing village has a private agreement with us, right? You'll have to ask around in the neighboring villages. I can't go with you. If I go there, they'll definitely say they don't have it."
Zhao Dashan smiled and nodded. He thanked the other party first, then asked Captain Liu if anyone in the village made their own wine or vermicelli.
Captain Liu immediately understood their intention and, upon learning they wanted to buy out the farmland, was delighted that the villagers could earn income without leaving their homes. Therefore, he readily agreed to arrange the matter immediately.
After discussing it, the two sides decided to meet again in an hour or two. Zhao Dashan and his men were going to check out other villages first, while Captain Liu would take care of things here.
The group said goodbye to Captain Liu and returned to the car. They decided to act separately.
Zhao Dashan told Zhang Guoqing to note that the truck couldn't fit everything in. He told them to return to the village in two hours and then load the truck.
Everyone laughed. But if you add drinks and vermicelli noodles, you really need a truck.
Zhang Guoqing deliberately chose the direction with fewer villages. He and Zhou Jiao said goodbye to Zhao Dashan and his family and drove quickly in that direction.
Zhou Jiao said with a smile, "You're so cunning! I'm so excited to think that I can finally use my skills!"
"We have to separate, otherwise Zhao Yuanyuan will have to follow you. Let's drive further away. This direction is opposite to the fishing village. There are fewer villages, but that doesn't necessarily mean there are fewer things."
Zhang Guoqing and his companions went all the way and went into any village they saw. They went through several villages in a row, and the most they bought were coarse grains and vermicelli.
To the couple's regret, they arrived too late. They'd heard from many people that fine grains like rice and flour, aside from the public rations, had long since been exchanged for cash by the production team. Those in the village who had received their share had also long since switched to coarse grains.
The most frightening thing was that many of the villages were so remote. The dirt roads were so bumpy and uneven that only carts could pass through. Even cars couldn't drive into these villages, and the couple, concerned about the transportation difficulties, were reluctant to give up. After parking their car, they walked directly to the village to purchase the goods.
Fortunately, Zhang Guoqing was strong enough to easily pull the cart to the car. This also saved him a lot of time, otherwise he would have wasted two hours in the mud pit.
Two hours were almost up, and the agreed time was almost here. Zhou Jiao looked at her watch regretfully and said, "I should have known we should have made the appointment before noon."
Zhang Guoqing started to drive back. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I see you're exhausted. We might as well go back and take a look. I think Uncle Dashan and his crew are having a hard time driving their truck this time. Apart from the village we've already booked, let Uncle Dashan take it back. From now on, let's search together and don't separate."
Zhou Jiao slumped in her seat, nodding feebly. She was too lazy to speak, even more so than she was willing to help. Aside from the first two villages, which had already been booked and waiting to be loaded, she would take whatever she could from the remaining villages.
She was not tired, but she was too nervous and excited just now, and her heart was still pounding. Her body was not tired, but her heart was really tired.
When I returned to Captain Liu's village, exactly two hours had passed.
Captain Liu was already waiting for them at the drying yard, and several villagers were nearby moving wine jars, sacks, bamboo baskets, and bamboo crates.
Zhang Guoqing saw piles of sacks, rows of wine vats, and stacks of bamboo baskets. He finally realized what a talent Liu Sanyuan was. He had driven all the way here, and Captain Liu's village was undoubtedly the wealthiest.
He wanted to buy a large amount of coarse grains, but after thinking about it, he decided not to. What if some villagers, blinded by money, sold their surplus grain? That would be a sin for him!
Captain Liu looked back and asked him, "Are you the only ones back? Where are the others?"
"We'll split up and spend two hours on this round together. It's almost time, they'll be back in half an hour at most. Captain, please weigh them for me first, and then load the truck when they get back."
Captain Liu nodded and ordered people to start weighing.
A while later, Zhao Dashan drove back. Seeing Zhang Guoqing, he smiled wryly and shook his head. "It's all vermicelli and wine. There's very little fine grain. Many villages are so crowded you can't even drive into them. It's tough."
Captain Liu laughed heartily. Rice and flour weren't much to begin with—after paying the public grain tax and helping the fishing villages, how much could there possibly be? Even the coarse grains were being scrambled for by the fishing villages, so how could outsiders like them get their turn?
After loading the car, Zhang Guoqing paid the bill and everyone said goodbye to Captain Liu. After loading the car in the designated village, the group drove towards the fishing village.
This time, when they saw a village along the way, the two families became more experienced and actually found a lot of good things.
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