Slaughtering a pig took longer than Zhang Guoqing had imagined or anticipated. Bleeding and cleaning the pig's offal took up most of the time.
By evening, the setting sun was like a blazing fire, illuminating half the sky. After bleeding the last pig, Zhang Guoqing had Zhou Jiao put it away. Seeing that it was getting late, he decided to work overtime tonight.
Not long after coming down from the wooden house, not far from the gym halfway up the mountain, the family heard the noisy cheers of Xizi and a group of other children from afar.
Two days ago, after turning up the wheat stubble with a plow, they raked it to the edge of the field and carried it to the threshed yard to dry. This marked the end of the wheat harvest. After the wheat harvest, the summer sowing work became much easier. Aside from the hard laborers, the elderly and children in the team no longer had to work in the fields.
Judging from the direction they were heading, it seemed the village children, both young and old, had some free time and were heading up the mountain to gather local produce. From their exclamations and laughter, one could guess there would be some unexpected finds.
Zhang Guoqing turned a corner with his son in his arms. Not long after, he called out to the children over there, "It's getting late. Everyone, pack up first. It will be unsafe on the mountain if you're late."
When Xizi heard his uncle say this, he quickly urged his friends to hurry up. He didn't need to say much, as everyone knew the dangers of the mountain, so they packed their sacks and bamboo baskets and started to descend together.
Several older nephews from the family looked at their fifth uncle coming down the mountain with nothing, and asked in disappointment whether all the wild animals had gone deep into the mountains, otherwise how could he not catch even a chicken feather.
Zhang Guoqing had originally planned to hunt a wild boar, but he was worried that these young men might be too bold, so he gave up. Now that they were still urging him to take them hunting in the mountains tomorrow, he shook his head again and again.
After returning from the mountain, Zhang Guoqing, as usual, delivered the freshly gathered herbs to the team's clinic. Originally, this clinic served only Zhangjia Village, but after the merger of the communes, it also served several surrounding brigades. In addition to the former team leader's son, who was in charge, the township also sent two medical staff.
Now it was good. Even during the busy farming season, the three of them still had to go to the fields to work, but at least they were paid by the government, and the job was still popular.
It is said that in order to achieve balance, several other production teams are planning to have the young girls who have graduated from junior high school and returned to the village in their teams study nursing and intend to work there.
Where there are people, there are underworlds. This time, Zhang Guoqing often heard rumors that the daughter or granddaughter of a captain or captain wanted to work in the health center.
He was too lazy to pay attention to these things. Each of them had their own magical powers. If you have the ability, just do it. Just don't kill people with this medicine.
Putting down the herbs, Zhang Guoqing said goodbye to them and left. The three men in the clinic were not troubled by how to dry the herbs and what to do with them.
Arriving at the doorstep, his mother and wife were already busy. Two large water jars and ten sealed pickle jars, purchased at the local produce store a while ago, were drying in the yard.
“Isn’t it too early to pickle vegetables now?”
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at him. "Don't butt in on women's business, old man. I have to teach Jiaojiao while I have time. Then I won't have to worry about having no food to eat during the winter."
Zhang Guoqing nodded cheerfully. His mother had been frugal all her life, and now that the backyard had a harvest, she was going to work hard.
"You went up the mountain again so early in the morning? Don't take my grandson up the mountain all day. There's nothing interesting to see on the mountain."
Zhang Guoqing quickly changed the subject, "Mom, did my eldest brother go to the provincial capital? Did he walk to the county town?"
Mother Zhang rolled her eyes at him and said, "Wild boy!"
Zhou Jiao smiled. What an abrupt change of topic! He deserved the scolding!
"Our Ping'an doesn't need to learn hunting. He's very smart. If he studies hard, why should we worry about him not having a job? The mountains are too dangerous. If we can avoid going there, we should."
Zhang Guoqing nodded and smiled apologetically. If he continued talking, his mother would put him under house arrest. Should he obey?
Mother Zhang glanced at him, smiled and shook her head, then lowered her head to continue wiping the inside of the tub. "Forget it, it's useless for me to say anything. You're a stubborn child. Just be careful with me, my grandson."
"Of course! I feel bad for my son's hair loss. Mom, how about I take you guys out for a walk tomorrow?"
Mother Zhang shook her head. "Not so good! I originally wanted to take Jiaojiao and the others to the provincial capital, but your eldest brother and his wife went there this morning. This heartless son didn't even ask if I was going."
Zhang Guoqing looked at Zhou Jiao in surprise. His wife hadn't told him this news just now.
Zhou Jiao shook her head slightly. She had been at home tidying up the backyard that morning and hadn't gone to the old house. Who knew when they would leave? No one had informed her.
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing laughed and said, "Oh, my mother is jealous. Let's not go to that crappy provincial capital. Is there anywhere you want to go? Your old son will take you there."
She raised her head, put her hands on her hips, and scolded with a smile, "You little bastard! What nonsense are you talking about? While the weather is good, you should stay home and dry some more vegetables. I'll bring them back to the capital for you later."
"Mom, please dry some more eggplant and beans. I like them," Zhang Guoqing said with a smile. His mother worked so hard to dry the vegetables, perhaps because she was concerned about him being short of food and clothing. This is the depth of a mother's love!
He didn't mention that he'd already secretly asked people to buy dried beans, dried vegetables, and fresh cucumbers and tomatoes. Especially cucumbers and tomatoes, after the Lunar New Year, it was estimated that planting would be prohibited in his hometown next year.
These capitalist seeds are often essential for daily vitamin supplementation. He couldn't imagine how life would be without fruits and vegetables in the future.
"Okay. Tell mom what you want to eat."
Mother Zhang was busy for a while, then looked at the sky. She didn't know whether Maimiao and the other three maids had prepared dinner. She gave Zhou Jiao a few instructions and hurried to the old courtyard.
Zhou Jiao saw the man leave and shrugged helplessly at Zhang Guoqing. Drying vegetables in the sun was not her cup of tea. Being a daughter-in-law was not easy.
"Why did Big Brother think of taking Big Sister-in-law to the provincial capital?"
Zhou Jiao shook her head. "Who knows what it means? This is good. At least Mom is happy. She just told me that she doesn't have to worry about them anymore."
Zhang Guoqing walked over and pulled her into the living room. He just needed to coax the old man into doing these chores. Was he really going to make his wife squat up and down for a few cents a pound of dried vegetables?
"Where's your son?"
Zhou Jiao frowned and looked at him sadly.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Guoqing was puzzled.
"As soon as he got back, he said he was very sleepy and fell asleep as soon as he got on the kang. His sleep and rest habits were completely messed up."
Zhang Guoqing patted her and said, "It's okay. He'll recover when he gets back. It's vacation time now, so just let him be happy."
Zhou Jiao gave him a sidelong glance in amusement. Whenever he mentioned his son, everything he said was reasonable.
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