The tractor stopped outside the department store. Zhou Huaian took his son and held him in his arms. "Yan'er, let's go see if there are any nice-looking leather shoes?"
"I don't want it. I haven't worn the ones you bought last time. Mom made two more pairs of chicken shoes for me. Can you see if there is a style you like?"
"I don't need to. I wear yellow rubber shoes when I go out, and I wear slippers at home!"
"Then there's nothing to buy!" Zhou Huaian looked at his son, whose eyes were not enough, and asked, "Did you see anything you like?"
Xiao Jiuer stared at the cloth counter next to her, where two women were pulling open a red peony quilt cover. "Flowers, flowers!"
"There are some at home. Let's go back and see them!" Zhou Huaian hugged him, not understanding why a boy likes flowers and plants?
Yang Chunyan looked at the bright red quilt cover and felt that the fabrics of that era were really good. They would not pill or shred even after being washed to pieces. She didn't understand why, as technology developed in later generations, the quality of the products manufactured became worse and worse?
After buying the shoes, the couple went straight to the vegetable market, bought some spices, weighed a few pounds of persimmon cakes when they saw one, went to the meat stall to buy a piece of pork belly, weighed some cakes and pastries, then returned to the outside of the department store, started the tractor and drove back.
After leaving the city and getting on the asphalt road, a woman suddenly ran out from the village in front. Zhou Huaian was startled and hurriedly braked the tractor, "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
The woman was also startled. She looked up and saw him. She rushed to the front of the tractor in an instant and said, "Youngest brother, I'm Yanhong. Please help me. Take me to the mountain road in front and I'll get off."
Having said that, he climbed onto the tractor by stepping on the tires without caring whether the two agreed or not.
"Yanhong?" Zhou Huaian and Yang Chunyan were both stunned for a moment, looking at the skinny woman, "Are you He Yanhong, Dakuan's second sister?"
"Yes!" He Yanhong nodded, looking at Yang Chunyan in the truck bed, her eyes full of panic and pleading, "Youngest brother, please help me."
Yang Chunyan saw a few men on the village road behind her blocking a group of people, shouting and cursing, and suddenly thought of a possibility, and hurriedly reached out to pull her, "Huai'an, hurry up and walk."
He Yanhong got on the tractor, hugged her belly and turned to look behind her. Yang Chunyan hurriedly said, "Hurry up and lie down."
"Oh oh!" He Yanhong hurriedly lay on the sack in the truck bed. Zhou Huaian released the brakes and the tractor drove forward quickly.
Seeing that they were getting farther and farther away from the noisy village road, Yang Chunyan breathed a sigh of relief and did not ask why He Yanhong ran away. She just leaned on the bamboo chair to coax Xiao Jiuer to sleep.
He Yanhong was afraid that the people who took her to the hospital for an abortion would catch up with her, and she was also afraid of causing trouble for Yang Chunyan and her husband, so she lay quietly on the sack, leaning against the carriage board without moving.
Xiao Jiuer looked at her curiously for a while, then turned to look at Yang Chunyan, "Mom, go to sleep!"
"Be good! Let's go to sleep too!" Yang Chunyan gently patted his vest and coaxed him to sleep.
He Yanhong turned her head and saw Xiao Jiuer. Looking at the child wearing a bright red woolen hood, which made him look like a delicate jade sculpture, she smiled a smile that was uglier than crying.
I thought it would be great if this baby was a son, so I wouldn’t have to hide from place to place anymore.
Yang Chunyan looked at her, "Are you cold, sister? I have a scarf here!"
"It's not cold!" He Yanhong looked up at Yang Chunyan and said gratefully, "Youngest family, thank you very much!"
"You're welcome." Yang Chunyan smiled, "We'll give a ride to anyone who hitches a ride. Big sister, which fork do you plan to get off at?"
"The mountain road to Wangjiaping." He Yanhong said gratefully, "Youngest's family, thank you so much, you two are both good people."
“It’s just a piece of cake!”
Yang Chunyan smiled at her, turned around and told Zhou Huaian at the driving seat where she would get off the car. He said it would take about half an hour, so she told He Yanhong to lie down and rest for a while.
Zhou Huaian stepped on the accelerator and drove to Wangjiaping at top speed. He pulled over and stopped. Yang Chunyan patted He Yanhong, who seemed to be asleep, and said, "Sister, we're here."
"Oh!" He Yanhong sat up, flipped out the truck bed, stepped on the tire and got off the tractor. "Youngest family, please go back and tell Dakuan that I'm going to my aunt's house."
"Sure!" Yang Chunyan agreed readily, then turned around and took out a bag of cakes from her backpack and gave it to her, "Take it with you on the way."
He Yanhong's eyes suddenly turned red, "Thank you! Thank you!" After that, she bowed to her and turned to walk towards the rugged mountain path.
Zhou Huaian thought that it would take at least three or four hours to get to Wangjiaping, and with a big belly like He Yanhong, he didn't know when she would get there. Xiang Xiang took out a wooden stick for self-defense from under the seat cushion and handed it to her, "Second Sister He, this is for you to use for self-defense on the road."
"Thank you, youngest!" He Yanhong took the gift and thanked him softly, then walked up the mountain with a wooden stick.
"What a sin!" Zhou Huaian shook his head and started the tractor. "Why would she rather go to Wangjiaping than hide in Funiu?"
"Hui Fu Niu's target is too obvious. He will definitely be caught if he finds him." Yang Chunyan leaned back in her chair. "She married to Chengguan, right? How many children does she have?"
"Her husband's family is from Hengshan, and it seems they have two daughters. Her aunt's family is in Chengguan." Zhou Huaian thought about it and said, "Yan'er, it's scary to look at her. How about just Xiao Jiu'er?"
Yang Chunyan said softly: "Look, Sister-in-law San and Xiaofang are fine too!"
"Oh! What the hell is going on?" Zhou Huaian sighed heavily and stepped on the accelerator as if to vent his anger. The tractor rumbled out a puff of black smoke and moved forward quickly.
More than half an hour later, the tractor arrived outside the yard. Zhou Huaian picked up the backpack and said, "I'm going to talk to Dakuan about his sister."
"That's right!" Yang Chunyan carried Xiao Jiuer and followed him into the yard. Mother Zhou, who was sitting on the steps doing needlework, put down her shoe soles when she saw them coming back. "You're back so soon? I haven't even cooked yet!"
"We cut some pork belly and brought it back to have twice-cooked pork for lunch." Zhou Huaian put down his backpack and went to the corner house to push his bicycle.
Mother Zhou walked over and took Xiao Jiuer. "His uncle called you over. What's the matter?"
Yang Chunyan took out the sack from the truck bed and said, "It is said that there are two more bosses buying truffles this year."
"Alas! Business is like this. Didn't Yumei say last time she came back that there are two more clothing stores in town, and there are more stalls than before." Zhou's mother looked at Zhou Huaian and said, "The youngest has just come back, where is he going now?"
Yang Chunyan said, "He is going to visit Dakuan's home, and his sister asked us to bring him a message."
"Oh!" Mother Zhou picked up Xiao Jiuer and walked back. Seeing that he had woken up, she looked at him with a smile, "My dear grandson, what delicious food did you send Ning An to eat?"
Little Jiuer snuggled in her arms and said obediently, "Mom, buy some cakes for grandma!"
"Oh, my dear grandson!" Mother Zhou kissed him happily, "Grandma has made some flour, and I'll make some big steamed buns for you to eat at noon!"
"Hmm! Big bun." Little Jiuer pinched the waistband of his pants, "Jiuer wants to pee!"
"Oh! Grandma will carry you later!" Zhou's mother hurriedly carried him to the wall of the courtyard, pulled down his pants, and urinated on the dahlia.
Over there, Zhou Huaian arrived outside He Dakuan's house, looked at the crooked fence outside, shouted inside, and He Dakuan ran out.
Seeing Zhou Huaian, he happily went out to greet him, "Youngest, why are you here? Come in and sit for a while."
Zhou Huaian shook his head, "No, I won't sit down. My mother is waiting for me to go back for dinner. I met your second sister when I came out of Ning'an today..."
"Thank you, youngest!" He Dakuan sighed, "My second sister and second brother-in-law are both old-fashioned and have always wanted a son, but hiding from place to place is not a solution!"
"Everyone in the country is like this. Look, my third brother also had an extra child." Zhou Huaian turned his bicycle around. "I'm going back first. I think your sister is quite thin. You should go and see her as soon as possible!"
"Okay, I'll go after dinner." He Dakuan watched him walk away, sighed, and walked into the house.
Zhou Huaian turned around and went to Zhou Yiding's house, standing at the gate and shouting, "Dingding cat, come out and drink!"
Zhou Yiding came out holding his son. "Why are you out again? I saw you driving a tractor in the yard and you left in a flash. I called you but you didn't respond."
"I was thinking about going to He Dakuan's house later, so I didn't pay attention to you."
"What do you want him for?"
Zhou Huaian waved at him, leaned forward and whispered in his ear: "His sister..."
"I understand. No one wants to be called a loser." Zhou Yiding said, and then asked, "What will you say to Ning'an Wang Zhen?"
"I just came to discuss this with you."
"That's great!" Zhou Yiding said hello to Wan Xuejiao and sat in the back seat. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Wang Zhen said..." Zhou Huaian recounted what happened, "Not only are there too many people receiving goods, but they also need to replace people over there. Our lives will be difficult from now on!"
Zhou Yiding patted him on the back and said, "Don't worry about it. It's better than before anyway! Wang Zhen said making pickles is good, so let's do it! He's a college student, and his old man is an official in the provincial capital. No matter what, he's smarter than us!"
Zhou Huaian said with a smile: "That's right, your kid still thinks it's simple!"
Zhou Yiding shrugged. "There are smart people to help us think about it, why should we bother thinking about it? Besides, it's not like we just met him today!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Huaian smiled and parked his bicycle in front of Zhou Huairong's house, "Brother, brother!"
"The boss is watering the plants in the back hills!" Zhao Huifang ran out, "What's going on?"
"Yes, call back the eldest brother and the others, and ask them to go to my house. I have something to tell you."
"Okay!" Zhao Huifang turned around and went to the backyard, went up the mountain and yelled at Zhou's father and son in the medicine field, then turned around and went back to close the gate, and went to Zhou Huaian's house.
Soon the main room was full of people. After listening to Zhou Huaian's words, Zhao Huifang and her sisters-in-law all sighed.
Zhou Huaishan frowned and said, "Why are these people so good at picking up things? Wouldn't it be better to let us do this for a few more years?"
Zhou Huairong nodded, "Yes, we did a big job last year, and we were thinking of doing it again this year!"
Father Zhou: "The money in the world is earned by everyone in the world. There is no such thing as a monopoly."
The old man said: "We are already better than many people, at least two or three years ahead of them. If we work harder this year, we will still earn less next year." (End of this chapter)
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