Chapter 461 463: The trouser pocket is bulging
Zhou Huaian put the account book away and returned to the backyard. Zhou Yiding and the old man had already unloaded the coal, and Yang Chunyan was sweeping the floor.
He repeated what Secretary Xu said to the three of them, "Next year, we must let Big Brother choose the team leader. Only those who have managed things before will know the ins and outs of this."
Zhou Yiding smiled and said, "Brother, go and vote. I will vote for him first."
Yang Chunyan remembered that no one collected tax on local specialties in her previous life, but there are many taxes these days, and since Secretary Xu mentioned it, it might be true.
"I remember the last time we went back, my mother said that those who rented ponds to raise fish in the village also had to pay fishery taxes."
The old man said: "In previous years, the village had to pay slaughter tax for slaughtering pigs. It seemed that a pig had to pay a lot of money."
Only now did he feel that the 10% share that the youngest brother gave to Secretary Xu was not given in vain.
Otherwise, how would they know that they have to pay local specialty tax? They have never even heard of it in their old age.
Zhou Huaian remembered that his family had never slaughtered pigs for the Spring Festival. "Mom said that we should keep two big fat pigs for the Spring Festival this year."
Zhou Yiding smiled and said, "I have already told Er Niang to leave a thinner head for my family."
Zhou Huaian looked at the old man and said, "Grandpa, buy one Ding Ding cat, and if there is one left, just kill them all."
The old man rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm surprised your mother would be willing to do that!"
Yang Chunyan thought about the delicious bacon and sausage made from smoked pork these days, "Grandpa, actually when three pigs are killed, five families get one share, so each family doesn't get much."
Zhang Xiuxiang took over the conversation, "This year, we will buy sausages, bacon, and pork stew. Next year, we will buy less pork and it will be the same."
Jiang Yu smiled and said, "Yes, your family has nothing to worry about now. The house has been repaired, and the family still has ways to make money. It doesn't matter if you kill two more."
Yang Chunyan said, "Aunt Jiang, you don't know that the truffle business is for the boss of the provincial capital's pharmaceutical factory. We only earn a little money from the wages, and we have to pay 10 to 20 yuan a month for the rent of two drying rooms. To be honest, it's not as profitable as those who are less fortunate to dig truffles."
Jiang Yu said enviously: "I can catch up with the salary of the substitute teachers in school."
Zhao Huifang came over with a colander, "Youngest, the drying room is full of truffles we washed last night. Take these truffles that have been drained of moisture and go to your third brother's house and upstairs to dry them."
She and a few others came early in the morning and started washing the truffles, and finally cleaned all the leftovers from last night and those collected this morning.
"Great!" Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding picked up the shoulder pole and carried the truffles towards Zhou Huaishan's house.
Yang Chunyan took a bamboo rake and went over to help. After the roof and front yard were full of fruits, she went home and picked up two baskets to dry on her own roof.
She used a bamboo rake to rake apart the piled truffles. "Huaian, the wall of the oven should be finished before noon, right?"
"Yes!" Zhou Huaian piled the baskets together, took the bamboo rake from her hand, and spread the truffles as much as possible. "The sun is strong today, so we can send them to the drying room in the afternoon so they can dry faster."
Yang Chunyan squatted down and picked out the mixed truffles. "I think the quantity today should be larger than yesterday. If the baking room can be completed in the afternoon... Ouch~" She quickly stood up.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Huaian threw down the bamboo rake and walked towards her, "Are you too tired and have a stomachache?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "No, the little guy kicked me."
The little guy is very lazy. In the past, he would just move around a bit and then fall asleep, but today he seems particularly excited.
Zhou Huaian was relieved, "Lazy thing, why are you so diligent today?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "He may not like me squatting."
Zhou Huaian looked at her and said worriedly, "Yan'er, why don't you ask two more people to help? You see, you finally gained some weight but it's gone again."
"No need!" Yang Chunyan touched her face and felt that it was the same as before. "My sister-in-law and the others have taken good care of me. They didn't let me do any cleaning. The baby is very well behaved. I haven't had morning sickness even once since I became pregnant."
"He's a considerate person!" Zhou Huaian looked around and quickly touched his belly. "Be good and don't bother your mother. I'll buy you some candy and take you fishing and hunting."
Yang Chunyan looked at him in surprise, "Huai'an, he moved again."
"Wow!" Zhou Huaian was also surprised, "Wow! He is indeed my son. He can understand what his old man says in just a few months."
Yang Chunyan patted him embarrassedly and said, "Keep your voice down! My sister-in-law and the others can hear you."
"Okay, I'll go and dry the truffles." Zhou Huaian grinned and picked up the bamboo rake and started working.
Master Liu had finished building the baking room before noon. He took the blueprint and immediately started to build the oven. Two carpenters led Zhou Huairong and the other two started to erect beams and lay tiles.
Although the Zhou family paid double the wages, it was still not as profitable as digging and selling truffles. Several craftsmen wanted to finish their work quickly and go up the mountain to dig truffles.
In the afternoon, there were indeed more villagers who brought truffles than yesterday, even villagers from the Construction Brigade brought some.
Zhao Meina, who was standing in the queue, looked at Yang Chunyan who was busy, then looked at the bamboo basket at her feet, thinking that she also liked to eat wild fruits when she was pregnant with her younger brother, and her aunt should like it too.
After putting on the clothes given by their aunt, Ogawa and Xiu Na no longer complained about the cold, and they no longer jumped out of the cold when going up the mountain to dig truffles.
After waiting for a long time, Uncle Lin who was standing in the front finally moved, "Mina, it will be our turn soon."
Zhao Meina nodded, picked up the basket and said, "Xiuna, carry the bamboo basket and follow me."
"Hey!" Zhao Xiuna glanced at her brother who was playing with other children in the flower bed, and followed them with a bamboo basket.
When Zhao Huifang saw the two sisters, she smiled and took the basket, poured it on the straw mat, and started sorting the things quickly.
After Li Qiuyue weighed the weight, Yang Chunyan wrote down the weight and looked up to see Zhao Meina smiling. "You're lucky today!"
"Yes!" Zhao Meina took the basket from Xiu Na's hand and put it in front of her, "Aunt, this is for you. My mother said that kiwis are good for pregnant women."
When she mentioned her mother, she paused and said that if possible, she would rather they not give birth to three siblings.
"Thank you!" Yang Chunyan handed her the money with a smile, "Wait a moment, I'll copy the bamboo basket."
Seeing that she liked it, Sister Zhao Meina was also very happy. She looked at her with sparkling eyes and nodded, "Yes!"
Yang Chunyan went into the house and poured the kiwis into the basket. She picked up a few packets of peach cakes and put them in the basket. She went out and handed them to her. "It's getting dark. Go back early."
When Zhao Meina saw the peach cake in the basket, she quickly took it out and put it on the table. "Aunt, we have food. We can't take your things anymore." After saying that, she pulled Xiu Na and ran away.
"Hey~" Seeing that the two sisters had already gone out, Yang Chunyan hurriedly sat down to pay the next villager.
The kiwi fruit next to the table exuded an enticing fruity aroma. If there weren't so many people, she would have gone into the house to feast on it.
It is hard to find wild kiwis in the mountains these days, and I wonder where these two sisters found them?
While we were busy here, the baking room on the other side of the aisle was finally completed and the carpenter was busy installing the wooden doors.
The three Zhou Huairong brothers quickly took the broom and dustpan to clean the house, and moved the bamboo racks in and arranged them.
Zhou Huaijun was so tired that he sat down on the ground, "Finally it's done."
Zhou Huaishan said listlessly: "I don't want to think about anything, I just want to have a good sleep."
"Go to bed early tonight!" The old man came over with a load of coal. "Hurry up and carry the truffles in the basket over and pour them into the bamboo basket. I'll go light the fire."
Zhou Huairong nodded, "Grandpa, there are more people today, right?"
The old man said cheerfully, "More! There should be fewer people in the yard now, and your mother has finally found time to cook."
After working for a long time, the four generations of grandfather and grandson finally put the truffles into the grill. As the fire in the stove grew bigger and bigger, the temperature in the newly built baking room also became higher and higher.
…
Time flies when we are busy. There are more than a dozen people in our family and we are so busy that we don’t even have time to celebrate the Winter Solstice.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day before New Year's Day.
Zhou Huaian came back from Ning'an and brought back news from Wang Zhen. The purchase price for the special-grade truffles was set at 20 yuan per catty, and the final grade was set at 2 yuan per catty. The income of several families increased a little.
The truffle business has been going on for eighteen days since it began until the end of December in the Gregorian calendar. Almost all the truffle forests in the nearby villages have been searched by everyone.
Everyone started to go to distant forests together to look for truffles. They walked a long way every day to dig truffles, but the amount of goods delivered was getting less and less.
The purchase volume has gradually decreased from a peak of 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms a day to more than 3,000 kilograms yesterday afternoon.
After Zhou Huaian called Secretary Xu and Zhou Datian to come and settle the accounts in person, he divided the money among them.
Yang Chunyan's family earned more than 30,000 yuan, Secretary Xu's family earned nearly 10,000 yuan in just half a month, and Zhou Datian got nearly 5,000 yuan.
Although it was only 5,000 yuan, which was very difficult for them to earn, Zhou Datian was very grateful to Zhou Huaian and his wife, and sent two hens over the next day.
Secretary Xu sent over some brown sugar, malted milk, and a few ingredients.
After Zhou Yumei got the money, she cried secretly. Thinking of He Jianjun who had not shown up for more than half a month, her heart was completely chilled.
Zhou Huaian remembered that he had originally planned to buy a black goat to offer to the mountain god during the Winter Solstice and have hotpot at the same time, but he was too busy during the days of the Winter Solstice to fulfill his plan.
After being busy for most of the month and it is New Year's Day, he plans to take a good rest tomorrow and continue working hard after the holiday.
Zhou Huaian thought about this and went to the backyard to find Yang Chunyan, "I want Grandpa to buy a black goat, and I will buy a pig's head tomorrow morning. After offering sacrifices to the mountain god on New Year's Day, we will cook hot pot."
Yang Chunyan looked at Zhou Huaian, who had lost a lot of weight in the past half month, and nodded with a smile, "Let grandpa take the lead and pick the fatter ones. Everyone has been tired for more than half a month, so we should also take a good rest for a day."
Zhou Huaian nodded happily, "Then I'll go find grandpa!"
"What do you want grandpa for?" Zhou Yiding came in with a backpack on his back before he finished speaking. "The old man asked me to bring you some wild boar bacon from the mountain."
"I had forgotten about these wild boar meats." Zhou Huaian took the pork with a smile, "It just so happens that you are here, I thought..."
"I should have taken a break and made something delicious to eat." Zhou Yiding said as he lifted up his clothes. "Look at me. I'm so skinny that my collarbones are showing."
"Pa!" Zhou Huaian patted his belly, "It's okay if you're a little thinner, as long as your trouser pockets are bulging."
"That's true!" Zhou Yiding put his arm around him and they walked away arm in arm.
(End of this chapter)
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