Chapter 649 651: Heavy Love
There were sauerkraut fish, braised musk meat, fried small fish, old duck stewed with mushrooms, peppery chicken, and stir-fried tripe with sauerkraut. There were so many dishes on the table that I didn’t know which one to pick.
The wine jars on the table are filled with sorghum wine and glutinous rice wine.
Brother Yang poured a glass of sorghum wine for Zhou Huaian and Wang Zhen, "We've been walking all day, have a drink to relax."
Zhou Huaian looked at his wine glass and said, "Brother, are you drinking glutinous rice wine with Chunyan and the others?"
Brother Yang: "I'm going to drive a tractor later, so a glass of glutinous rice wine will be enough."
"Just drink one glass!" Father Yang said, looking at Zhou Huaian, "You can't drink when driving a tractor in the future, otherwise you will be groggy and it will be easy to get into trouble."
Yang's mother took over and said, "Some days ago, someone in town was drunk and driving a tractor, and he drove it into a ravine. Fortunately, he only broke a leg. Remember, if you drink in the future, it's best not to ride a bicycle."
Zhou Huaian smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Chunyan has never allowed me to drive on the road after drinking since I started driving a tractor."
After the fall, the days become shorter and the nights become longer. Everyone ate and chatted, and after the meal, it was getting dark.
Mother Yang and sister-in-law Yang were busy loading the prepared local specialties into the tractor, including watermelons, persimmons, sweet potato vermicelli, sweet potato starch, homemade fermented tofu, black beans, water-fermented black beans, and fermented glutinous rice, which they loaded cans into the bed and the back of the tractor.
"Mom, I have vermicelli, cornstarch, fermented tofu, and fermented black beans at home. You just need to pack them for Wang Zhen."
"What's yours is yours, and what I give you is what I give you." Mother Yang glared at her in reproach and brought out two more urea bags.
"Chunyan likes to eat chicken mushroom flowers and chanterelles. Since I didn't go up the mountain this year, I asked them to pick some and dry them. I also prepared some for your family."
Seeing that they couldn't stop him, Yang Chunyan and the others gave up, "Put it all in, we don't have to make it anymore, just come home and get it after we finish eating."
Mother Yang was happy after hearing this. "That's good enough. Tell me what you like to eat and I'll make it for you."
Wang Zhen looked at the backpacks and bamboo baskets in the truck bed and thought that after they took these things back, they would be able to eat for a year.
After loading the items onto the tractor, Yang's mother took out another cloth bag and gave it to the two sisters. "Inside are cloth shoes and insoles, made for Huai'an, Wang Zhen, and Xiao Jiu'er. Mom will paste the cloth shells and make a few more pairs of cotton shoes for you."
Yang Chunyan took the cloth bag and wanted to say that she didn't need to make shoes anymore since she could buy them in the city. But when she saw her looking at Xiao Jiuer lovingly, she swallowed the words back.
Holding her hand, he nodded with a smile, "Okay, don't tire yourself out. The clothes I made last year can still be worn. Xiaojiu'er's feet grow fast, so make fewer clothes and shoes for him."
Mother Yang gently stroked her hand and said, "I understand. Drive slowly on the road and come back home for a walk when you have time."
"Hey!" Several people responded. Yang Chunyan took the flashlight handed to her by her father, climbed onto the tractor, and waved to her father who was standing at the gate of the yard and her sister-in-law Yang who was holding the child.
Like Yang Chunyan's family, Brother Yang's family sent out the last batch of goods during the Mid-Autumn Festival. After that, they could only collect some mushrooms sporadically, dry them, and send them to Ning'an.
After the tractor arrived at Fangtian intersection, Zhou Huaian jumped down to catch the bicycle that Wang Zhen brought over, and then hung the bamboo basket on the back seat of the car. When he left, the back seat was full, and when he came back, the large bamboo basket was also full.
It is filled with the heavy love from Yang's father and mother.
After tying the flashlight to the handlebars of the bicycle and saying goodbye to Brother Yang and the others, Zhou Huaian pedaled his bicycle slowly back with the mother and son.
When we arrived at the door, Lai Fu and Wang Cai came out to greet us. The old man came out with a pipe in his mouth, "Why are you here so late?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Brother was going to Ning'an to deliver goods, so we had dinner there and came back."
"Oh, I was wondering why you haven't come home yet when it's already dark." The old man looked at the bamboo basket, "You guys are the same, you sent some things over, and you brought back so much."
"My mother-in-law insisted on giving it to me, and we couldn't stop her." Zhou Huaian smiled and handed him the musk deer meat. "We went up the mountain today and got a musk deer, a male one. We'll put the meat in the wine cellar and cook it tomorrow."
"What good luck!"
The old man carried the meat, helped him stabilize the bicycle, took the bamboo basket off the back seat, took out the watermelons and persimmons and placed them in the main room, and moved the other food to the kitchen one by one.
"This is Wang Zhen's first time going up the mountain. This is a benefit given to him by the mountain god."
"Your third sister and her friends came today, too. They brought two packages of mooncakes, two old ducks, and a big goose."
"Hey, what day is it today?" Zhou Huaian looked at him with a smile, "Even the stingy guy has been plucked out of his feathers."
"I don't want to bother with you!" The old man walked towards the kitchen holding a jar of fermented bean curd.
He knew exactly why his stingy daughters would spend so much on holiday gifts this time. It was because they saw that the second wife's family was becoming more prosperous, so they wanted to get some benefits from it.
No wonder people often say that those who know how to behave themselves burn a cold stove, while those who don't know how to behave themselves burn a hot stove. They don't think about the fact that if you rush to throw firewood at this moment, others will no longer appreciate it and will not want it.
Yang Chunyan put away the things she brought back, and the two of them cut a small watermelon. They sat at the tea table with the old man, eating and chatting.
Zhou Huaian thought that the house in the city would be completed soon, "Grandpa, in a month or so, the house in the county will be completed. How about we live in the city during the New Year this year?"
The old man said cheerfully: "During the New Year we have to worship the gods and ancestors, during normal times we can just stay for a few days."
"Then wait until it's repaired and then stay for a few days."
Zhou Huaian collected the watermelon peels and threw them into the sewage bucket. After the two of them washed up and came back, the old man handed Xiao Jiuer to them and went back to the house to rest.
Yang Chunyan mixed hot water to give Xiao Jiuer a bath, and Zhou Huaian lay on the bed with his head in his arms.
"Yan'er, if Ding Dingmao and I go to the forest farm tomorrow and bring the wine to Brother Dong, we'll put it in our wine cellar."
Yang Chunyan looked at him in surprise, "He agreed to sell you five cylinders?"
"He plans to expand the winery, and he also said..."
In her previous life, besides Wang Zhen, the person Yang Chunyan admired the most was Yang Weidong. These two were really smart and had good vision, unlike her, who had more experience than them because she had lived a second life.
"His wine tastes good and it used to sell well. If it weren't for those years, he would have opened a factory and become a big boss long ago."
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian turned his head and looked at her, "Has anyone sent herbal seeds to sell during this period?"
"No, I heard from Aunt Qian that many people in the village are planning to get two mu of land and learn to grow herbs from us."
Zhou Huaian laughed and said, "Everyone thinks that we rented that forest because we made money by growing herbs!"
"Of course not!" Yang Chunyan stuffed her son's diaper in place and put him on the bed. "Look after Jiuer while I go get some water."
"Hmm!" Zhou Huaian put the account book away and sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing that Xiao Jiuer was about to start his foot-eating career again, he took the foot out of his mouth and held him while he stood on his stomach.
"Little rascal, crybaby, do your stinky feet smell so good?"
"Oh oh!" Xiao Jiuer waved her hands and stepped back and forth on his belly with her little feet.
Zhou Huaian looked at him with a smile in his eyes, "You idiot, you are so stupid. You are over half a year old and you can't even speak clearly."
When Yang Chunyan came back, she saw Xiao Jiuer babbling and jumping on his belly with his little feet. "Go to sleep. Tomorrow morning your husband will go up the mountain to look for money."
"That's right!" Zhou Huaian handed the child to her, "I'll give you some more money. You should study hard with me and try to go to college."
Yang Chunyan glanced at him with a smile, "You didn't do it yourself, so you want your son to do it for you!"
"Just like Brother Weidong said, we should work hard while we have a good opportunity." Zhou Huaian looked sideways at the mother and son, "We wanted to study but didn't have the chance. If we had the chance to study hard, maybe I would be working in an office now."
Yang Chunyan rolled her eyes and patted Xiao Jiuer, "Little one, the bragging king is your old man."
Zhou Huaian smiled and hugged the mother and son, "Here comes the King of Bragging!"
…
The next morning, just after Yang Chunyan and her family had finished their meal, Zhou Yiding came over with a backpack and the dog. "Let's go. We don't have to wait until the sun comes out. It's so hot."
"Okay!" Zhou Huaian picked up the things he had prepared long ago and took the dry food that Yang Chunyan handed to him, "I'll go down the mountain the day after tomorrow."
Yang Chunyan nodded and warned: "Remember, don't go to the old forest!"
"Don't worry!" Zhou Huaian touched the son in the old man's arms, "Grandpa, let's go!"
"Drive slowly on the way." The old man carried the children and sent them to the gate of the yard. Wangcai and Lai Fu also ran out with them. He sent the two people and the dog to the grove before being driven back home by Zhou Huaian.
Zhou Yiding said to him, "I came back yesterday and heard from Hong Bing that several groups of people went to the forest we rented. Someone in the village said that we found valuable treasures there a few days ago."
Zhou Huaian: "Let them be. When we come back, we will go to the forest and take a good look. We will cut down those useless bushes and start harvesting honeysuckle tree seedlings to plant next year."
Zhou Yiding said with a smile: "You are the boss, I will do whatever you say!"
As soon as the two of them reached the old house, they ran into Zhou's mother who came out with a basket of vegetables. "You guys came back last night? Are you going to the forest farm?"
Zhou Huaian: "I will be back the day after tomorrow."
After hearing this, Zhou's mother took out two melons from the basket and said, "Take two melons to eat on the way."
Zhou Huaian waved his hand, "No, my brother-in-law gave it to me yesterday. It's in my backpack."
"It's not for you!" Zhou's mother put the melon in Zhou Yiding's backpack, "Yiding, look after the youngest one, don't let him go to the old forest."
Zhou Yiding made a bitter face and pretended to be weird, "Second Mother, he is older than me, I am afraid he will beat me!"
"I told you not to act weird!" Zhou Huaian slapped him and said to Zhou's mother, "Mom, what's going on between you and Chunyan? I have never been to the old forest, and you two have to tell me every time I go into the mountains."
Zhou's mother glared at him and said, "You were born by me, so I don't know what kind of personality you have! I have to keep ringing the alarm bell for you and tighten the spring, otherwise you will forget everything once you get carried away."
"Really? You always look up the almanac!" Zhou Huaian waved his hands at her in dissatisfaction, "Let's go."
Zhou's mother shouted from behind, "Drive slowly. If the sun is strong, go to the woods to cool down for a while. Don't get a heat stroke."
"Got it!" Zhou Huaian turned his head and responded.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com