Chapter 260: If You Become Rich, Don’t Forget Me [6400 words]
Fried bee pupae, fried squid, fried peanuts, fried chicken with garlic, fried pork with yellow sauce, steamed eggs, stir-fried winter melon, sauerkraut and pickled garlic sprouts, seasonal vegetables and a sandworm vermicelli soup. Although there are not many dishes, the portions are large and the taste is excellent.
Needless to say, others have tasted Deng Shirong's cooking many times.
Take Liu Aihong for example. It was the first time she tasted her uncle’s cooking and she was immediately amazed.
Although she had known for a long time that her uncle was an excellent cook, she never expected it to be this good. Even the great chef Zhang Guofu seemed inferior to her uncle.
Especially the fried bee pupae and fried squid, they were absolutely amazing.
Liu Aihong ate more than usual during this meal, and even drank half a bowl of rice wine with her cousin Azhen. She really enjoyed herself.
After eating and drinking, Liu Aihong suddenly felt like crying.
Before she got married, she could eat meat less than twice a month at her parents' home. Occasionally, she had meat just to satisfy her craving, and it was impossible for her to eat to her heart's content.
It is no exaggeration to say that she has never gotten tired of eating pork at her mother's house since she was a child.
It was not until she married Bu Dashi and started working in her uncle's restaurant that she had meat to eat every day. Now, when she returned to her uncle's house and had such a delicious dinner, compared to now, the life before was really not a life for a human being.
It’s great to marry the right person!
…
After finishing their meal, the family continued to sit around the fire and chat with their relatives.
Zhang Xiuping opened her hands, warmed herself by the fire and said with a smile, "Dad, I think your wooden shed is very beautiful. It will be much cooler to sit under it in the summer than in the house."
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "We also asked Amei's family to come over and build the wooden shed. Three generations of their family are carpenters, and their skills are well-known in this area."
Deng Yunzhen asked, "Dad, you just put the TV outside?" Although they didn't come back, they still knew the news that their father bought a TV.
Deng Shirong said: "There are too many people coming to watch TV at home every day. If we put the TV inside, the house will be so crowded. It will be much better if we put it outside. No matter how many people come, it won't matter."
Deng Yuntai asked, "Dad, how many channels can we receive at home?"
Deng Shirong said: "The four TV stations, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and CCTV, will start broadcasting TV at 6:30. If you want to watch TV, go take a shower. The water is hot now. Once the hot water is filled, you can continue to add water to boil."
There was no running water, no water heaters, and no gas in the countryside at that time. People had to wash with cold water in the summer, and the hot water in the winter was all boiled with firewood.
Generally, the stoves in rural areas have several burning ports connected to the pot at the back. For example, when cooking or frying vegetables, the fire will burn the pot at the back. The Hakka people call this pot "mui1 pot". The water in the pot is basically used for showering.
If there are many people at home and there is not enough hot water, boil water in another pot.
Deng Shirong has a large family. If everyone takes a shower, it would take a lot of firewood every day. So when winter comes, the younger ones only take a shower every other day, and those who take a shower every day are adults.
This is Deng Shirong's family. Not to mention other families in the village, the children only wash their faces and feet and take a bath every two or three days, and the adults basically take a bath every other day.
Because firewood was relatively scarce in that era, especially after the mountains were distributed to households, you could only go to your own mountain to collect firewood. If you didn't cut down trees, the weeds on the mountain alone would not be able to withstand the burning.
After all, it takes time for weeds to grow. If you go there every day to cut them, how many will you have? Only in Naye Village have they been cultivating orchards this year, and everyone has cut down all the trees on their own hills, so there will be no shortage of firewood in the short term.
But as the saying goes, if you don't plan for the future, you will have immediate worries. Once the fruit trees are planted on the mountains, the family will have no source of firewood. If they want to collect firewood, they can only go to public mountains or steal firewood from other people's mountains.
In short, firewood is an important resource that every household cannot do without. In the absence of a stable source, it is natural to save as much as possible.
After hearing what Deng Shirong said, everyone went to take a shower in batches.
Soon, the villagers came over with benches to reserve seats to watch TV. When they saw Deng Yuntai and others, they naturally greeted them and exchanged a few words.
After six o'clock, more and more villagers came to watch TV.
Seeing so many people rushing over to watch TV, Deng Yunzhen and others understood why their father put the TV outside. If the TV was placed inside the house, with so many people squeezing in, to put it in an exaggerated way, the house would really be about to collapse.
At half past six, Deng Shirong turned on the TV on time.
Although he bought a TV, Deng Shirong has been turning it on for the villagers to watch for a long time. He rarely watches it himself. He really has no interest in TV programs of this era. Only this year's Spring Festival Gala is worth looking forward to.
So, after turning on the TV, he let his children and villagers watch it while he returned to the fire and continued to warm himself.
Not long after, Zhang Xiuping also came out of the shower. She had washed her hair today and sat next to the fire, combing her hair while warming herself by the fire.
Deng Shirong said, "Sister Ping, there's a seat reserved for you in the front. You can go over and watch TV."
Zhang Xiuping said, "Let's watch TV later. My hair is wet, let me dry it first. By the way, I'll tell you about the restaurant's business performance this year."
In July, Deng Shirong made more than 200,000 yuan in just a few days by using the system space. He didn't really care much about the profit from the restaurant, but this restaurant was a practice for his son and daughter-in-law, so naturally he wanted to know how they were running the restaurant.
"Well, then just tell me!"
Zhang Xiuping was in charge of the restaurant's accounts, and she could easily recite the statistics: "Dad, our restaurant opened on May 18th, and as of yesterday, it has been in business for a little over seven months. The total turnover was 25,687 yuan, and the net profit was 12,493 yuan. The average monthly profit was about 1,780 yuan."
Hearing this, Deng Shirong nodded and smiled, "That's not bad. The restaurant is mainly run by the three of you. On average, each of you can earn about 600 yuan, which is not worse than the tile factory that Yungui and I contracted.
Moreover, the tile factory has basically not had much development, and it would be good enough if it can maintain the current income. But the current income of the restaurant is just a start. Now that the country is reforming and opening up, farmers are becoming more and more wealthy, and everyone's living standards are getting higher and higher, there will definitely be more and more people eating at the restaurant.
Therefore, as long as we manage it well, the business of this restaurant will get better and better.”
Zhang Xiuping has been managing the hotel for more than half a year. Excluding additional large customers like the bicycle parts factory, the turnover based solely on individual customers is actually higher every month.
Therefore, she agreed with her father-in-law's statement and said, "Dad, you are right. Our restaurant's business is indeed getting better and better. The most important thing is that we have no competitors now. State-owned restaurants not only have a bad environment, but also have services that are far inferior to ours. I believe that next year's business will be better than this year."
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Just go ahead and do it. Accumulate some management experience. Let Yuntai make more useful social connections. When the time is right in a few years, I will let you do a more promising business."
The restaurant was just a training ground for his son and daughter-in-law. The goal he set for them has never changed, which is to run a chain of supermarkets.
Zhang Xiuping naturally had no idea what her father-in-law was thinking, nor did she know what kind of business he wanted her and her husband to do, but she knew in her heart that her father-in-law had high expectations for them, and that the more promising business he was talking about would definitely make more money than running a restaurant.
Moreover, she guessed that this business should be related to the second and third floors of the Sui Feng Hotel. After all, her father-in-law invested so much money to build this three-story building, definitely not for its appearance, but for its purpose. Combined with what her father-in-law said, the answer was obvious.
Of course, even if Zhang Xiuping guessed that the second and third floors of the Suifeng Hotel were related to the new business, she could not guess what business her father-in-law planned to run.
Anyway, my father-in-law's vision is much better than theirs, so we'll just have to follow his instructions when the time comes.
After talking about the profitability and prospects of the restaurant, Zhang Xiuping said, "Dad, Brother Tai, Azhen and I have discussed the opening date of the restaurant next year. It is set on the 16th day of the first lunar month. There is also a year-end bonus. Everyone else will get a month's salary, but Grandpa Zhang will get 100 yuan. Do you think this is okay?"
Deng Shirong praised: "You have done a great job."
After receiving praise from her father-in-law, Zhang Xiuping smiled and said, "Dad, I have deposited all the profits from the restaurant into the bank for you. I will give you the passbook tomorrow."
Deng Shirong waved his hand and said, "Why give it to me? Just keep it for yourself. You should save all the money earned from the restaurant and use it for other businesses later."
Zhang Xiuping was touched. Her father-in-law was really nice to her. She shook her head and said, "Dad, I can't take this money. This is the money you borrowed from the credit union. You have to pay it back. You invested the money in the restaurant. Now you don't take the profit. How can you pay it back?"
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have my own way. Just keep it. If you really need money, I can ask you for it."
Zhang Xiuping thought for a moment and said, "Okay then, I will save the money and won't touch a single cent. Dad, when you need it, just tell me and I'll give it to you."
Deng Shirong used a fire stick to gently poke the red-hot charcoal off the wood and said, "You should spend it when you need to. It's useless to just save money. The most important thing is to earn it. If you don't spend the money after earning it, then what's the point of earning so much money?"
Zhang Xiuping agreed with a smile, but she had decided in her heart that small money could be spent but big money could not be spent.
Although her father-in-law didn't seem to care much about the huge loan owed to the bank, as if there was always a way to solve it, she still took it to heart. Before her father-in-law settled the bank loan, she still had to save what she could.
After chatting with her father-in-law for a while and drying her hair, Zhang Xiuping said, "Dad, you stay here for a while while I go watch some TV."
Deng Shirong hummed and said, "Go ahead, there's room ahead."
…
The next day.
After breakfast, Bu Dashi greeted him, "Uncle, we'll go back first!"
Deng Shirong hummed and said to his eldest daughter, "Ah Zhen, take a few kilograms of squid back to your cousin and his wife."
Deng Yunzhen responded and went back to the kitchen to get the squid.
Bu Dashi quickly refused, "Uncle, no thanks, keep this squid for your drinking."
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "I have plenty here. I've taught you how to fry it. You can take some back home to eat during the Chinese New Year. You can also take some to honor your parents-in-law when you and your wife return home on the second day of the Chinese New Year."
Bu Dashi knew that his uncle was very generous with the food and that the family had stored a lot of delicious food, so he did not refuse too much. After his eldest cousin brought the squid over, he said a few polite words and asked his wife to accept it.
After saying hello to all their relatives, the couple happily went home with the squid and their luggage.
Seeing that her sister-in-law and several brothers-in-law were vying to take Xiaodong'er out to play, Zhang Xiuping said hello to her father-in-law and walked towards her younger sister Ou Guohua's house.
I had a lot of things to do yesterday when I came back. Although I met the two sisters, Ou Guofang and Ou Guohua, we only had a brief chat and did not have time to talk in detail about each other's recent situation. Now that I have time, I naturally have to have a good chat with the sisters.
Ten minutes later.
Zhang Xiuping and Ou Guohua came to Ou Guofang's house.
"Sister Ping is here, come in and warm yourself by the fire. Sister Dong, quickly boil some water to make some tea. Sister Fang, you two can chat while I go kill a chicken and make lunch."
The person who was speaking was Sister Yunfeng. When she accompanied her daughter-in-law Ou Guofang to the county town to give birth, the family of three was warmly received by Zhang Xiuping's family. They lived in a special room and ate at a big restaurant every day. She always remembered this kindness! What's more, this year's low temperature and frost weather not only appeared early, but also lasted for a period of time that set a record in decades. If Uncle Jiu hadn't warned them in advance and prepared them, their family would definitely be among the oxen that froze to death.
Taking all these reasons into consideration, it is not difficult to understand why Mrs. Yunfeng is so enthusiastic towards Zhang Xiuping.
Zhang Xiuping waved her hands and said, "Sister Yunfeng, don't be so polite. We are just here to visit. We are not relatives from anywhere. There is no need to kill a chicken and cook a meal to entertain us. The three of us sisters just want to chat. You don't have to worry about us."
"I have fattened up my chickens, just waiting for you to come back and kill them. You must stay for dinner today."
"Mrs. Yunfeng, you're welcome."
"I'm not being polite. If you refuse, you'll be really being polite."
"this……"
Seeing that Sister Yunfeng had gone to catch the chicken without saying anything, Zhang Xiuping couldn't refuse and could only glare at her sister and said, "Why don't you give her any advice?"
Ou Guofang said jokingly: "Why are you trying to persuade me? I can just eat two more pieces of chicken thanks to you."
Ou Guohua also laughed and said, "Today we are all blessed by Sister Ping."
Zhang Xiuping: “…”
After joking, Ou Guofang took the two sisters back to the room and said, "Sister Ping, my mother-in-law is so enthusiastic not only to thank you for your hospitality in the county, but also to thank your father-in-law for his great kindness!"
Zhang Xiuping was surprised and asked, "My father-in-law's great kindness?"
Ou Guofang did not answer directly, but said: "Sister Ping, you have been in the county before, so I am afraid you don't know how serious the low temperature and frost weather are this year. Many brigades have not only frozen to death sweet potatoes and tobacco leaves, but also many oxen have been frozen to death."
Zhang Xiuping really didn't know about this. After all, people in the county town didn't farm, and the conditions in the surrounding rural areas were much better than those in the rural communes below, so naturally there was no case of crops being frozen to death. As for the sweet potatoes and tobacco leaves being frozen to death, it was just a small matter and no one specifically brought it up.
So, when she heard what her little sister said, she couldn't help but be surprised and asked, "No way? Even the oxen were frozen to death?"
Seeing that the two sisters really didn't know, Ou Guofang and Ou Guohua started talking one after another about the impact of this year's frosty weather on the brigades and communes. Zhang Xiuping was stunned by what she heard. She didn't expect that this year's cold weather had caused such great losses to the countryside.
After explaining the serious consequences of this year's low temperature and frost weather, Ou Guofang smiled and asked, "Sister Ping, our Bangjie Brigade is the only brigade in the county where no oxen have been frozen to death. Do you know why?"
Zhang Xiuping was not stupid. She reacted immediately and said, "Is this related to my father-in-law?"
Ou Guofang nodded and said, "You guessed it right. It has something to do with your father-in-law."
Ou Guohua continued, "As early as the eighth month of the lunar calendar, Jiugong predicted that this winter would be very cold based on an old saying passed down by our ancestors. The old saying goes like this: If it rains in the first month of August, cows will freeze to death in winter.
Then, Jiugong told the captain and called all the villagers to discuss the matter in person, reminding everyone to keep the oxen warm. "
Ou Guofang interrupted, "At that time, it was the people from your Naye Village who were summoned, but Jiu Gong also sent someone to notify my father-in-law to come over and told him to make anti-freeze preparations for the oxen in advance, so our oxen have been fine until now."
After hearing this, Zhang Xiuping finally understood. No wonder Mrs. Yunfeng was so enthusiastic towards her. It turned out there was this kind of relationship.
But she knew that the more than ten oxen of Mrs. Yunfeng's family were their most important assets. If anything went wrong, the loss would be too great.
After understanding the reason, Zhang Xiuping couldn't help but admire her father-in-law. He could even predict such extreme weather that had not been seen in decades. Her father-in-law was really amazing.
After talking about their father-in-law, the three sisters then talked about their own recent situations.
In general, the three sisters lived a good life.
There is no need to talk about Zhang Xiuping. Looking at the hundreds of thousands of women in the county, few can live a life comparable to hers.
Ou Guohua's life was pretty okay. Although her mother-in-law and sister-in-law might not like her, her husband was the pillar of the family and was willing to support her in front of their family. No matter how dissatisfied her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were, they only dared to mutter a few words in private and didn't dare say a single strange word to her face.
As for Ou Guofang, her life was getting better and better, especially after she gave birth to a son, her status in the family was different.
I don’t know how long they chatted until Mrs. Yunfeng called them to eat. Then the three sisters smiled at each other and walked out of the room.
…
As the New Year draws closer, every household starts to get busy preparing for the New Year, cleaning, and making all kinds of food. Those who can afford it start to slaughter the New Year pig, and those who are not so well off have to buy a few pounds of pork.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Deng Shirong took his sons, daughters and daughters-in-law to make ash water dumplings, which is a must-have for the Chinese New Year, needless to say.
Deng Yunheng, who was far away in the capital, braved the severe cold and climbed the Badaling Great Wall with more than a dozen fellow Guangxi natives including Song Yu.
The cold wind whistled quietly, snowflakes danced in the air, covering the bricks and stones of the Great Wall. More than a dozen people stood on the Great Wall, looking at the snowy scenery for thousands of miles, as if they were in a fairy-tale wonderland, and shock appeared on everyone's face.
All I saw before my eyes was a vast expanse of white, almost covering the entire world in snow. Snowflakes were flying on the tops of the mountains, and thick fog enveloped the entire Great Wall. In the distance, layer upon layer of mountains emerged, vast and magnificent, like a poem or a painting.
Song Yu exclaimed: "What a beautiful snow scene!"
Deng Yunheng could not help but recite the leader's poem: "The scenery of the north, a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow. Looking inside and outside the Great Wall, there is only wilderness; the great rivers are no longer surging. The mountains dance like silver snakes, the plains gallop like wax elephants, trying to compete with the sky.
"Leader, I have memorized this poem a long time ago and I know its meaning, but it was not until this moment that I realized the artistic conception contained in the poem. This snow scene is absolutely amazing!"
Liu Xiaoman was also shocked and said: "Although we have been waiting for more than ten days for this snow, I am willing to wait for another ten days to see such a beautiful snow scene."
Zhao Changzheng couldn't help but praise: "This snow scene is really amazing. We all have to thank Song Yu. It was her suggestion that allowed us to see such a beautiful snow scene."
Song Yu smiled and said, "For the past ten days or so, you male classmates have taken care of our food and accommodation. We three female classmates should be the ones to thank you."
Lin Jianjun continued, "Sister Song, if you want to thank someone, thank the president and Brother Heng. They paid the most and we all benefited from it!"
Previously, in order to take care of Ding Qiulan, a classmate from a poor family, Deng Yunheng announced in front of everyone that the male classmates would be responsible for the food and accommodation of the three female classmates.
But with his emotional intelligence, he certainly couldn't really let the male classmates share the cost. When discussing this matter privately with other male classmates, Deng Yunheng and the president Zhao Changzheng unanimously expressed that they would pay the lion's share, and the other male classmates just had to contribute according to their own conditions.
Lin Jianjun accepted the favor, and now when he heard Song Yu mention this, he openly exposed the two great contributors, the chairman and Brother Heng.
Song Yu was the one who knew Deng Yunheng's family background best among the people present. She had guessed it before, and now after hearing what Lin Jianjun said, she understood it even more clearly. She immediately smiled and thanked the president and Deng Yunheng.
Liu Xiaoman and Ding Qiulan naturally followed suit to express their gratitude.
"We are all from the same hometown, so don't be polite."
Deng Yunheng waved his hand and said jokingly, "Everyone present here has a promising future at Peking University. Only now can the president and I help you. When you get jobs and become big leaders, the president and I will want to treat you to a meal, but I'm afraid you won't be able to get a seat!"
Zhao Changzheng laughed and said, "Brother Heng is right. You will all be big leaders in the future. We are trying to curry favor with you in advance!"
"Haha, Brother Heng, President, you are so modest. Although everyone present here has a bright future, I am most optimistic about you two. We don't know whether we can become big leaders, but you will definitely become big leaders. If we want to curry favor with you, it should be us who curry favor with you."
"That's right. I was able to get into Peking University, so I think I'm pretty good. But compared to the president and Brother Heng, I still feel like I'm a little behind. When you guys become rich in the future, you have to help us!"
"If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me!"
“…”
On the snow-covered Great Wall, more than a dozen young people were flirting with each other in high spirits.
No one knows what position the young people present here will be in twenty years.
(End of this chapter)
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