Busy days always pass quickly. In a blink of an eye, two months of the rainy season have passed. The mushrooms in the mountains are getting fewer and fewer, only about one or two hundred kilograms a day. There is no need for a barbecue room, and they can be dried directly in the oven.
Several purchasing points were also withdrawn. The mountain road in Baicaoping was repaired under the leadership of several brigade secretaries, and some sections were even widened and reinforced.
I heard that this time, except for Li Laoer's family, no one was late or left early. The main reason was that few families in the village had animals that could carry heavy objects.
Every day, everyone walked like a mule, carrying mushrooms on their backs for three or four hours to the asphalt road to sell them. Sometimes they even had to go to town. They were tired of walking and exhausted.
After the mushroom season, the Zhou family members were not idle. They were busy harvesting corn and sorghum every day, and they also helped Lao Xiazi harvest the crops in his private plot.
Although Lao Xiazi moved back home, he still helped out at the Zhou family during the day. After Secretary Xu and Zhou Datian came back, he called two clan elders and also asked the two Xu brothers to go to the brigade headquarters.
Lao Xiazi made clear arrangements for his funeral arrangements, saying that he had used all the money he earned from hunting when he was young to subsidize his brothers' families. Now that he was old, he had little money and possessions, and only had the wages he earned from working for the Zhou family.
The Zhou family paid him two yuan a day, and provided food and lodging. He was still able to work, and he saved his wages. In the future, he would not need the Xu brothers to take care of him when he was sick or in pain, nor would they take care of his funeral affairs. When he died, his yard would be returned to the brigade for disposal...
Everyone knows the story of Lao Xiazi and his brothers' family. During the famine years, his family was still able to eat meat, but it was all thanks to him. He was injured and old, and no one could be relied on to help his brothers support his eldest nephew. In the end, he became a five-guarantee household.
Not only did the Xu brothers find that they had no benefits to gain, but they were also scolded by the clan elders and team cadres. They signed the certificate dejectedly and put their fingerprints on it.
After Lao Xiazi planted his private plot, he would go to Zhou Huaian's house to help whenever he had time. The old man and Zhou's father were not talkative people, and they also liked the quiet Lao Xiazi. The three old men were either in the mountains or wandering around the medicinal fields and the flower forest on the back mountain.
…
Yang Chunyan stood at the gate of the yard, looking at the rice fields below. She felt as if in the blink of an eye, the seedlings in the rice fields had grown tall and headed, and the rice flowers in the fields were emitting bursts of rice fragrance.
In the blink of an eye, the rice stalks were bent by the heavy rice ears, and the harvest season was approaching.
Zhou Huaian came down the mountain carrying a basket and saw her standing at the door. He shouted at the top of his voice: "Yan'er is gone."
Yang Chunyan turned her head and saw him carrying a pot of fire orchid and putting it into the tractor's bucket. "Just take two pots of flowers for my little sister. You don't need to put them in our yard. We can occasionally stay there for a day. Even if they die, no one will know."
Zhou Huaian pointed at the basket and said, "I just put two pots of fire orchids in it. Grandpa and the old man also planted a few nests of small butterfly orchids in the bamboo basket. They are all grown and can be sent down to be placed in the flower pots."
"They will take care of these things. We can grow orchids and sell them in the future." Yang Chunyan felt that the flowers, plants and crops were in the hands of the old man and they would be able to grow them and grow them well no matter how difficult they were.
Zhou Huaian smiled and nodded, "I heard from Wang Zhen the other day that there are people selling orchids on the street, and some of them are selling for a good price. When can I ask grandpa to divide the orchids planted in the back mountain and the big pit into a few more nests? We can sell them for money in the future."
Yang Chunyan thought that the orchids in the mountains would gradually become protected plants. "After they grow well, we can plant them in the yard. Let's forget about selling them!"
"You have the final say. Hurry up and go to the wine cellar to get that big mulberry yellow. We'll take it to Wang Zhen to see. Otherwise, when the sun comes out, it'll make people faint from the sun."
"Um!"
After Yang Chunyan left, the old man came from the backyard with a bundle of brooms in his arms, "Youngest, take these big brooms and the brooms to Ning An, and give two to Doctor Xiao Wang and Qiuyue's youngest sister."
The big broom is made of iron broom grass and bamboo poles, while the brush is made of sorghum.
The old man heard that they had finished renovating the yard next to Wang Zhen's house and wanted to go clean it. He was worried that they would spend money on it, so he got them a big bundle.
Zhou Huaian asked him to put it in the truck bed, "Grandpa, don't make these anymore. These are sold on the street. You can watch TV or listen to the radio when you have nothing to do. Making these is so tiring!"
The old man smiled and said, "I made these when I was watching TV or listening to the radio. If you buy them, they cost money, and they are not as good as what I made myself. After the grain is harvested, I will make a few straw stools for you to take to Ning'an."
"A straw stool is fine, Jiuer likes it too." Zhou Huaian put the orchid grass in the basket away, "Grandpa, why don't you two go together today?"
The old man smiled and shook his head, "Your mother will go with you to take a look first, and we will go later. The bamboo baskets and bamboo flats in the oven are all damaged to varying degrees.
Your old man and eldest brother have gone to the Baihua Forest to plant the mugwort roots they dug up yesterday. When the third brother comes back from cutting bamboo, we will repair those bamboo baskets and bamboo flats that need repairing and add some more so that we won’t have to worry about having nothing to use when we need it.”
Zhou Huaian looked at him with a smile, "I'll buy two big pig's trotters today and roast them for you."
The old man smiled and said, "Then buy some pig intestines and cook them with fish. I've missed them after not eating them for a long time."
"Okay!" Zhou Huaian returned to the room and saw his mother coming over with an apron, a feather duster, a few loofahs, and a few rags. "Do you want to take these with you too?"
"Why don't you bring your own clothes and wipe them with your hands?" Zhou's mother smiled as she put the things in her backpack. "Just clean it today. We have to choose a day before we move in. We still have to be particular about it."
"Got it. You take it and put it away. I'll go to the backyard and get the dog for Wang Zhen."
Zhou Huaian walked to the backyard and saw Xiao Jiuer squatting in front of the doghouse, feeding the dog with rice balls. This was the little black dog he brought back from Bailing Mountain two days ago.
Old Yin asked someone to bring them here from Chuancheng, saying that they were puppies born from his in-laws' coyote dogs. There were five puppies in the litter, and they were said to be very good at guarding the house. These two with completely black backs were stronger than the other three, so he brought them here.
Zhou Huaian picked him up and said, "Little rascal, your grandma saw you feeding rice balls to the dog, you deserve to be beaten."
Xiao Jiuer struggled to get off, "No need to hold me, dog, eat your food."
Zhou Huaian squatted down while holding him in his arms, pointing at the dog in the kennel, "Son, we want to send the dog from your uncle's house to them. Which one do you think is the best place to send it to?"
Xiao Jiuer pointed at the dog with a tuft of yellow hair around its eyes and said, "I want Da Huang!"
"Okay, we'll take Da Huang and send Xiao Hei to my uncle's house."
Zhou Huaian hugged Xiao Hei and stood up with his son, and saw Yang Chunyan, who was holding mulberry fungus in one hand and a jar of pickled cowpea in the other, and the family went to the front yard.
When Zhou's mother saw the big Coriolus fungus Yang Chunyan was carrying, she asked, "Why did you bring it with you? Didn't you say you would put it aside before selling it?"
"Take it to Wang Zhen to see." Zhou Huaian took the crank to start the tractor.
"Zhan Lingzi!"
Zhou's mother rolled her eyes at him in reproach, got on the tractor, took little Jiuer that Yang Chunyan had brought up, sat on the bamboo chair, and the tractor slowly drove out of the yard.
More than an hour later, the tractor arrived in Ning'an, drove straight into the alley in front of the house and stopped at the door. Next door was Brother Yang's yard. His yard gate was the same as Yang Chunyan's, also painted dark red with earth paint.
Mother Zhou thought that most of the houses in these two rows belonged to her children, and she was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. "This color is beautiful and resistant to dirt."
Yang Chunyan also likes this color, "Dark red is generous and festive."
Zhou's mother handed Xiao Jiuer, who had fallen asleep on the tractor, to Zhou Huaian, who then carried him down. Together with Yang Chunyan, they moved the things in the truck bed into the yard.
There was a circle of flower beds around the courtyard wall, which looked similar to He Funiu's yard. The little black dog sniffed with his nose raised and lay down cautiously at the gate of the courtyard.
When you walk to the front of the steps, you will see the polished floor made of cement and white granular marble. It is so shiny that you can even see your reflection.
"Wow~ This floor can even reflect people's shadows." Zhou's mother asked happily and distressedly, "This kind of floor must cost a lot of money, right?"
"It's just some polishing of stones and cement, so I'll charge you a little more." Zhou Huaian saw that the door to the main room was ajar, and smiled as he walked over and pushed open the double wooden doors.
There were only high and low cabinets, leather sofas, and long tables inside. The two of them thought that they would not live here often, so they did not buy a TV, and the main room seemed empty.
Yang Chunyan put Xiao Jiuer on the sofa and said to Zhou's mother with a smile: "Mom, this is a leather sofa. It's very soft to sit on, just like sitting on cotton."
Mother Zhou stepped forward and pressed it, then carefully sat on it, smiling with eyes narrowed, "It really is, real cotton wool? How come it's softer than new cotton?"
"Mom, it's not cotton wool!" Zhou Huaian took over and said, "Wang Zhen said it's a kind of high-resilience sponge wool."
Mother Zhou looked up and saw that she couldn't even see the roof. She sighed and said, "Money is really a good thing. Wherever you spend it, you will see beautiful things."
Zhou Huaian smiled and nodded, "That's right, otherwise why would we work so hard to earn money? You like it! How about I buy two more and put them in your room?"
"A cowhide chair costs at least several dozen yuan." Zhou's mother felt distressed when she thought about it. "Why spend that much money? The cushions made by Chunyan are quite soft."
Yang Chunyan smiled and took her arm, "Mom, let's go check out the room."
"Okay, let's go and take a look!"
Zhou's mother followed the two out of the main room. Zhou Huaian pushed open the bedroom door. The bunk bed, bedside tables, three-door wardrobe, and dressing table inside were all painted in the most popular maroon color, which looked festive and generous.
The curtains were made of gold velvet with a layer of white gauze on the outside. After Zhou Huaian lowered the two layers of curtains, he found that not even a little light could get in. He thought that using these curtains would be quite convenient for sleeping in.
Yang Chunyan said to Zhou's mother, "Your room is reserved as well. Let's come to the city and stay for a few days sometime."
Zhou's mother smiled and said, "It's okay to stay for two days, but forget about staying for a long time. You can't feed chickens and pigs, and you have to spend money to buy onions and garlic."
"There's a vegetable patch behind the house. You can plant as many onions, ginger and garlic as you want." Zhou Huaian took her to the kitchen and opened the back door. "Look, this patch of land behind the house is about one acre big, right?"
"It's less than one cent, but I can grow a lot of things." (End of this chapter)
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