The New Year has always been the most important event for Chinese people. According to superstitious belief, as long as the New Year goes smoothly, the next year will not be too bad.
During these days, every household is preparing for the New Year. The aroma of rice and flour is wafting from the cooking smoke of almost every household. They make glutinous rice cakes and steam dough. Even the most frugal families will open their grain bags and be generous during these days.
Thanks to the Chinese New Year, the busy women had no time to get together and gossip, which made Jiang Aiguo and Jiang Ai's party feel relieved. They were really fed up with those looks of sympathy and pity.
"My grandma made steamed blood sausage today. It tasted delicious."
Tiezhu was sitting on the steps of the Jiang family compound, peeling melon seeds. His belly was already bulging, but he still didn't want to stop eating.
"You're as fat as a pig and you're still eating pig blood sausage. Be careful that you won't be able to lift your feet after the New Year, or your master will punish you." Guangpiao poked his fat and soft belly jealously. He couldn't understand why he couldn't compare to Xiaobao, and he couldn't even compare to this little fat guy.
"Even if I'm fat, I'm still a flexible little fat guy."
Tiezhu was not angry when his belly was poked. He just laughed with a silly look on his face. These words were said by Xiaobao at the beginning. He is so smart, he can't be wrong.
"My dad will be back in a few days. I haven't seen him for three years. I don't know what delicious food he brought back for me. I will secretly take it out and share it with you."
Tiezhu's father Gao Jianjun is stationed in Xinjiang all year round and may not be able to take leave to come back for the Chinese New Year every year. He has now been promoted to platoon leader and can actually take his wife and children with him. However, life in Xinjiang is too hard and Gao Jianjun is reluctant to let his wife and children suffer. In addition, he is the only son in the Gao family and there is the lonely old lady Gao in his hometown. Tiezhu's mother has to stay to take care of her mother-in-law, so the plan of joining the army was dropped.
Jiang Yilu's eyes lit up when he heard Tiezhu's words: "Uncle Jianjun will be back this year." He wondered whether Uncle Jianjun had brought back the things he had asked him to bring.
"Xiaobao, do you want to eat marzipan? I asked my dad to bring more when he comes back this year. I will give you the biggest piece then." Tiezhu said proudly, patting his chest.
The Maren Candy he mentioned is the Xinjiang Qiedao that people in later generations are frightened of. It is a traditional pastry of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang. It is made from walnut kernels, corn syrup, raisins, grape juice, sesame seeds, roses, badan apricots, dates and other ingredients. It is rich in ingredients and is the sweetest taste that children like most. Every time Gao Jianjun came back from Xinjiang, he would bring a whole piece for his son, which was as big as a chopping board for slaughtering pigs in the countryside.
During that period, almost all the children who visited Gao's house to pay New Year's greetings could get a small piece. Therefore, every year when Gao Jianjun came back, Tiezhu was the most popular child in the village. Every child was afraid of offending him and not getting a share of the fragrant and sweet marzipan.
Thinking back to the taste of the marzipan I had three years ago, the melon seeds in my mouth seem dry and tasteless.
"I want raisins."
Sanni licked her lips. She liked to eat all sweet things, and raisins, which were full of grains and sweet with a hint of stomach acid, were her favorite.
"I want to eat mutton."
Guangpiao is a meat lover. Every time Gao Jianjun comes back, he will bring back an Altay sheep from Xinjiang. Altay sheep are large in size and rich in fat. The lamb skewers made from them are full of meat fragrance, and the sizzling sound of the fat flowing into the charcoal is particularly pleasant to hear.
Everyone looked at each other and said something, wishing Gao Jianjun would appear in front of them at this moment.
Jiang Yiliu looked at the completely neglected melon seeds, shook his head, carefully placed the melon seeds on the plate into the biscuit jar beside him, and tightly closed the lid to prevent the melon seeds from getting wet. As for the melon seed shells on the ground, they could not be swept away before the first day of the new year.
There is an old custom in Qingshan Village not to clean the house during the New Year. Superstitious thinking holds that sweeping the floor on New Year's Day will sweep away all the wealth. During this period, the more melon seeds and fruit peels there are in the house, the better, as this means more wealth can be accumulated in the coming year.
Jiang Yilu has no opinion on this custom. Although it may not be hygienic, its meaning reflects everyone's yearning for a better future.
******
Gao Jianjun returned to the village on the afternoon of the next day. Coincidentally, Mo Dashuan was driving a large truck to take villagers to the county town to buy New Year's goods that day. He met Gao Jianjun who was walking out of the station carrying large and small bags, and they happened to be delivering the goods back together.
Gao Jianjun's return to the village caused a sensation in the village. You know, among his peers, he was the most promising one. All the idle wives and little kids ran to Gao's house, unable to wait to join in the fun.
"Eat candy, eat candy."
Seeing her son whom she hadn't seen for many years, Old Mrs. Gao was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She generously filled a plate with candies and distributed them to the children crowded in the yard. She was even more generous when it came to Jiang Yilu and Guangpiao. Other children only got one or two as a token of their appreciation, but these two got a handful of candies, which were so full that they couldn't even hold them in one hand.
"Jianjun, how long can you stay this time?"
The villagers envied Gao Jianjun for his high military allowance and reputation, but at the same time they felt a little sympathetic towards him because he had been away from home for so many years, without a wife and children to support him. At such an old age, he only had one son, Gao Quanshun, who was Tiezhu.
"I can't stay for long. The army gave me a twenty-day leave. Excluding the time spent on the way back and forth, I can only stay for about ten days."
"Then you have to work harder and try to give Tiezhu a little brother within ten days." The man's conversation was full of dirty jokes. Gao Jianjun smiled embarrassedly and glanced at his wife beside him. He was indeed anxious in his heart.
Gao Jianjun has an ordinary appearance, but his solid physique gives people a sense of stability and reliability. He is now in his thirties, but looks younger than Tiezhu's mother, who has been working in the fields for many years.
"There are so many children here, why don't you be serious?"
Tiezhu's mother rolled her eyes at those stinky men, then looked at her own man with shyness. She turned her head and sorted out the things Gao Jianjun brought.
"My words may sound a little blunt, but they make a lot of sense. Look at everyone in this village, everyone has a bunch of brothers and sisters, but Tiezhu is all alone. I think you two should hurry up."
Which old lady doesn't like to have many children and grandchildren? In the past, her son was not at home and she had no choice. Now her son has to stay at home for ten days or half a month, so she has to have a baby, even if it's a girl, to make a good name for herself with Tiezhu.
"I have brothers!" Tiezhu shouted, refuting his grandmother's words that he was lonely.
"Okay, okay, you guys are so close that you can wear the same pants. It's okay for grandma to ask your dad and mom to give you a younger sister." The old lady smiled and comforted her grandson.
Except for the children present, all the adults burst into laughter again, and their eyes were full of ridicule when they looked at Gao Jianjun and Tiezhu's mother.
"What is so heavy?"
Except for a few children who played well with Tiezhu, the other adults left in twos and threes. Ren Jianjun was busy having a baby, so they didn't disturb her and went to bed early to cultivate their relationship.
Tiezhu's mother blushed, but her hands did not stop moving, instead they moved faster.
Most of what Gao Jianjun brought were specialties from Xinjiang, such as various dried fruits and marzipan candies. He did not bring any spare clothes, as he already had spare clothes at home, so bringing spare clothes would just take up more space.
When Tiezhu's mother was sorting out one of the large cloth bags, she was shocked by its weight. The package, which was about the size of a tin barrel, weighed at least thirty or forty kilograms, and no one knew what was inside.
"Oh, that, these are the things I brought for Xiaobao. Before I left last time, Xiaobao specifically asked me to bring it back from Xinjiang." Gao Jianjun glanced at the big cloth bag that his wife pointed to and said casually.
"What did Xiaobao ask you to bring back?" Tiezhu's mother was a little curious. What did the well-behaved child ask her husband to bring back, and it was so heavy.
"Shitou, why did Xiaobao ask you to bring stones from Xinjiang?" Tiezhu's mother opened the bag and saw a bag full of stones. She felt dizzy. Could her husband be stupid? Xiaobao wanted stones, so he really brought back a bag of stones. It must be so tiring to carry such heavy things.
"Not tired. My comrades drove me to the station. Except for changing cars on the way, I have never carried these things before. It doesn't take much time. Besides, these are not ordinary stones."
Gao Jianjun picked up a stone at random, and through the irregular cuts he could see a layer of white jade underneath the stone's outer shell.
"This is jade from the Yulong River in Xinjiang. It's not worth much, but it looks beautiful, white and green. Xiaobao saw this in some book and asked me to bring some back for him. I didn't know it was worth much, so I picked up some while leading the troops in field training. This stuff can be found in the Gobi Desert and by the Yulong River, and before I knew it, I had picked up such a big bag."
Gao Jianjun didn't take it seriously. He had heard from his wife in the letter about Xiaobao's help and care for their son. He was just helping to carry some stones, it wasn't a big deal.
Jiang Yilu came in with Tiezhu at this time. He was about to ask Uncle Jianjun about the Hetian jade he asked him to find, when he saw the jade material in his hand. The milky white jade wrapped in the stone skin was slightly green. Judging from the texture, it was at least the second-grade Hetian white jade. You know, the most valuable Hetian jade is white jade and emerald jade. Before he was reborn, the second-grade Hetian white jade had been hyped up to 10,000 yuan per gram. Such a large piece of white jade must be at least 200 to 300 grams.
As calm as he was, he couldn't help but breathe heavily. Among the treasures he had collected now, apart from the misprinted oil ticket with "The Whole Country is Red" on the letter sent from the capital, the piece of Hetian jade was probably the most valuable.
"Xiaobao, you're here. It's just right. Take back these stones I brought you. They're a bit heavy. Let Tiezhu help you carry them." Gao Jianjun saw that he had wide eyes and an excited look on his face. He smiled and pointed to the full cloth bag beside him and spoke.
One bag!
Jiang Yilu kept repeating this measure word in his mind. He looked at the bucket-sized cloth bag and wondered how many stones could fit in it. Ten? Twenty? How much would that be worth?
Jiang Yilu suddenly began to believe what his Xinjiang classmate said. Hetian jade was indeed easier to find in the early years. But its value increased in later generations, and as more people picked it up, it gradually became harder to find.
Jiang Yilu suddenly had an absurd idea. He might as well follow Uncle Jianjun to Xinjiang and put all the Hetian jade into the space. When the value of the Hetian jade goes up, he can lie on the jade bed in the space and live happily for the rest of his life.
What are you thinking about? Jiang Yilu patted his head and thought that this idea was really stupid. People should be content. Having such a bag of jade is already very remarkable.
"Uncle Jianjun, how much do these stones cost?"
"No money." Gao Jianjun rubbed Jiang Yilu's head and said, "They are just some ordinary stones. If you like them, I will bring you some next time you come back."
Jiang Yilu's eyes lit up instantly and he nodded in agreement.
In fact, Gao Jianjun regretted it the moment he said this. Picking up stones was simple, but carrying stones was not as easy as he said. Carrying a pile of local products and a fat ram was already too much for Gao Jianjun, not to mention these dozens of kilograms of stones.
But seeing the child's bright eyes, Gao Jianjun instantly softened his heart and thought, "Never mind, it's just a once in a few years, so just take care of the child."
"Uncle Jianjun, this stone will become very valuable in the future. I don't want the stone next time, so I'll keep it for Tiezhu." Jiang Yilu said solemnly, but the adults present regarded it as a child's joke. Only Tiezhu believed it unconditionally.
"I want stones too. I want a bag this big." Tiezhu gestured, and the bag was twice as big as the one in Jiang Yilu's hand. "I want to give half to Guangpiao. Dad, remember to bring some next time you come."
Gao Jianjun smiled bitterly as he looked at his son's serious expression. How much could the stones found everywhere in the Yulong River be worth? This made him regret his hasty promise just now.
Decades later, when Gao Jianjun sees that bag of jade, he will be glad that he kept his promise. The tears that shed in his heart when he carried the stones will now be the smile on his face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
