"That's right, I'm not afraid of him!" Zhou Huaian said, "As for the truffles at the forest farm, should we let Old Xu and the others go up the mountain to dig them together this year?"
Zhou Yiding nodded and said, "It would be better to have more people. They went too late last year. Let them go up the mountain when the market opens this year. I'll tell Erchun and Lao Xu later."
Zhou Huaian advised: "Then you can go to Guanyin and tell Mina and her brother."
"Okay! Then I'll go back first!" Zhou Yiding said as he got on his bicycle.
"Yiding!" Zhou's mother came out with pickled Jerusalem artichokes in her hand. "Take some back for Xuejiao. She likes them."
Zhou Yiding took it with a smile, "My second mother is always good to me!"
"Stop flattering me!" Zhou's mother glared at him in reproach. "I've already bought the wine and rice for you. Now that I'm not busy, I'll make some rice for you. This way, when Xuejiao gives birth, you won't have to wait for your mother-in-law to send some rice to entertain relatives."
Zhou Yiding said gratefully: "Thank you, Second Mother, I didn't even think of this!"
"Why are you still telling me this!" Zhou's mother happily went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
After lunch, Yang Chunyan got a bag of milk powder and a can of rice noodles and rode her bike to Fangtian Brigade.
As soon as she arrived at Yang Xiaoxue's house, she saw the yard full of Jerusalem artichokes drying in the sun. She knocked on the door. Yang Xiaoxue came out and welcomed her in with a smile.
Yang Chunyan handed her the milk powder and rice noodles. "The rice noodles are made by my mother-in-law. Xiao Jiuer also likes to eat them. I thought that Xiao Yang was also eating complementary foods, so I brought some for you."
Yang Xiaoxue happily took the basket and said angrily, "It would be enough to just bring rice noodles, why did you bring such expensive milk powder?"
"It's not expensive. Huai'an asked Wang Zhen to help bring it back. One bag is more than three yuan cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative. You can give Xiao Yang'er some to try. If it suits his appetite, bring back a few more bags next time."
"Then I won't be polite!"
Yang Xiaoxue pulled a bamboo chair for her to sit down. "I asked your brother-in-law to ask when I came back. I heard that they hadn't yet agreed with the neighbors, so a local from Ning'an came and took them to Fang Sihai's house at the corner of the intersection and asked him to help collect them. That family was a bit annoying, so I didn't go to ask."
Yang Chunyan: "No need to ask, Wang Zhen asked my third brother to bring back news that their oven is in Ning'an."
At this time Fang Zhiqiang also came out, "Chunyan, the man who came is Fang Sihai's cousin from the next room. I heard that they have another brother who also opened a medicine shop in the county town."
After hearing this, Yang Chunyan suddenly remembered that Doctor Fang from the big pharmacy also had the last name Fang. "Oh! I know his last name Fang. His pharmacy is on Qiaodong Street. He used to work with Xiong Laoya to collect red mushrooms."
"Fang Sihai has a nickname in our village, Fang Sihai. Few people can outmaneuver them when dealing with them." Fang Zhiqiang said gloatingly, "If you ask his family for help, just wait and see!"
Yang Xiaoxue also nodded, "Yes, no one in that family is easy to deal with!"
"Then we'll just have to wait and see." Yang Chunyan said to Fang Zhiqiang, "The market will open in about ten days, so you should get ready early!"
Fang Zhiqiang smiled and nodded, "When the market opens, everyone goes to their own old nest first, and then goes to other places after digging."
Yang Chunyan looked at the child in Yang Xiaoxue's arms and said, "It's much colder on the mountain than down there. What should we do, little Yang'er?"
Yang Xiaoxue looked at the child with some distress, "I will send the child to my parents' home in a few days and ask my mother to help take care of the child for half a month until the busy market is over."
The best time to dig truffles is during the market opening period. The money earned in this half month can catch up with that earned in the next month.
"Alas!" Fang Zhiqiang sighed, "My mother has no hope. I can only trouble my mother-in-law."
"My mom has already said that we will just send the kids over when the time comes. It doesn't matter if we take one or two!" Yang Xiaoxue rolled her eyes at him. "I never thought of counting on your mom. They didn't help us take care of Xiao Yang for even a single day, but we still came here!"
"You talk to Chunyan, I'm going to go dig the ground." Fang Zhiqiang saw that she looked unhappy when she mentioned her parents, so he quickly took the hoe and ran away.
Yang Chunyan looked at Fang Zhiqiang who was fleeing in panic and advised: "Sister, Brother-in-law Fang is really much better now than before, so you should stop arguing with him and mentioning his parents' affairs."
Yang Xiaoxue said: "I rarely bring up old scores when he doesn't mention them. It's just that every time I take little Yang'er up the mountain to dig herbs, I see his mother and his sister's baby, and I make a few sarcastic remarks to him when I feel uncomfortable."
After hearing this, Yang Chunyan thought about it and it made sense. The child was only a few months old and had to follow his parents up the mountain every day. She would also feel heartbroken if it were her.
Yang Xiaoxue's eyes reddened as she recalled the days when her children followed them in the mountains. "I really get angrier the more I think about it. Even if other elderly people quarrel with their sons and daughters-in-law, they can reconcile after the sons and daughters-in-law send them two festival gifts.
We sent all the gifts for the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. If it were other parents, even if they didn't like their son and daughter-in-law, they would still feel sorry for their grandchildren. But they never even looked at my little Yang'er.
His mother thought that they could work for a lifetime, or that when they could no longer work, his sister would be their support. When the time came, he would let them go to the county town to find his sister to take care of them in their old age. "
Yang Chunyan patted her and comforted her, "Don't be angry, you and Brother-in-law Fang should live your life well, that's the right thing to do."
"Zhiqiang said so too!" Thinking of the situation at home, Yang Xiaoxue said happily to Yang Chunyan, "This year, your brother-in-law and I have saved more than 10,000 yuan by collecting red mushrooms and digging herbs to sell."
Yang Chunyan was happy for her after hearing this, "She is so capable!"
"Yan'er, thank you!" Yang Xiaoxue looked at her sincerely and said, "If it weren't for you and Huai'an's help, your brother-in-law and I would still be living in the old house, fighting them like black-eyed chickens!"
Yang Chunyan looked at her with concern, "We didn't help you much. These are all earned by you and Brother-in-law Fang's hard work."
"We are sisters, I won't be polite to you. Your brother-in-law and I remember your kindness." Yang Xiaoxue said as she stood up and went into the house to get a bag and handed it to her. "When I had nothing to do, I knitted a sweater for you and Xiao Jiuer and made a pair of chicken shoes. You can take them back when you come."
Yang Chunyan took out the nosy shoes. Her own one had a white base and a black corduroy upper, while Xiao Jiuer's one had a jujube red corduroy upper. "Sister, your needlework is still the best. Even I dislike the shoes I make."
Seeing that she liked it, Yang Xiaoxue grinned, "When I made it for you, your brother-in-law said that Huai'an bought you fashionable leather shoes in the city. I think cloth shoes are more comfortable for walking on mountain roads, so I made it for you."
Yang Chunyan nodded repeatedly, "Of course cloth shoes are more comfortable to wear. They don't rub your feet at all no matter how far you walk, and they fit your feet well."
Yang Xiaoxue took it and said, "The only bad thing is that you can't wear it on rainy days!"
"That's true!" Yang Chunyan put her shoes and sweaters into the basket. "I haven't finished cutting the Jerusalem artichokes I dug today, so I'll go back first!"
"I won't keep you if you're busy." Yang Xiaoxue stood up and walked out with her. "I'll go dig Jerusalem artichokes if you leave. I'll try to water the rapeseed before going into the mountains to dig truffles, so that I can go up the mountain with peace of mind later."
"Then I'm leaving!"
After Yang Chunyan returned, she told Zhou Huaian about the situation. The couple felt that the people from the other side were being led by the Fang family and didn't seem to be any good, so they focused on their family affairs.
The next morning, Zhou Huaian went to Ning'an and handed the honey to Wang Zhen. Then the two went to South Street. A tractor was parked at the gate of the yard next to the Li family, and several people were unloading coal.
After the two of them looked at it, they walked back. Wang Zhen said, "I heard from Brother Li that they built three baking rooms and two baking ovens, and hired idle women from nearby to help clean the truffles. They were paid one dollar and fifty cents a day."
Zhou Huaian said with a smile, "This year my brother took his wife to the purchasing point, and I asked my mother to hire ten more people from the village to work. Together with the few from last year, there are a total of seventeen people. The wages are still two yuan and a half a day. In the city, it's only one yuan and fifty cents a day. They are even stingier than me!"
"Brother Zhou, you are not stingy at all. Think about it, the bricklayers working on our construction site only make three dollars a day, not including cigarettes and tea."
"Chunyan said that they did as much work as the bricklayers, especially when they were busy, they often worked until 11 or 12 o'clock at night. It was better when they were harvesting red mushrooms.
When harvesting truffles, the well water is icy cold, and if they work for a while, their bones will get cold. If they are paid more, they will work more carefully. "
"I heard from Brother Zhou San that when you harvest truffles, you also have to cook ginger soup for the villagers. If the female workers work overtime late, you also have to cook for them!" Wang Zhen patted Zhou Huaian on the shoulder, "Speaking of which, it's more comfortable for me to be the hands-off boss."
"I never thought of this, it was Chunyan and my mom who did this."
"Auntie and elder sister are both virtuous women."
Zhou Huaian grinned, revealing his white teeth, "I think so too!"
Wang Zhen couldn't help but smile as he watched, "A few days ago, I brought a tractor full of wine here for Brother Dong. I think your business is pretty good. I think you can also open a shop to sell the fungus and mushrooms you harvest."
"Yeah! Why didn't I think of that?" Zhou Huaian thought for a moment, "I'll go to the construction site and talk to the carpenter to make a few shelves to display those mountain products. They will be just right for selling in the next two months at the end of the year.
Also, I want to wait until the house next to the hotel is repaired, and then build a few baking rooms in the backyard, so that the truffles brought back from Bailing Mountain and the flower market can be unloaded here, cleaned and baked directly. "
"I don't think it's necessary. The business administration fees and taxes in the county are higher than in the countryside. We hire so many people to help with the work in the village. In the city, we are no longer small vendors collecting mountain products, but are more like factories."
"Thanks for your reminder. I just thought I could save some gas money, but I didn't expect there would be these differences."
"I am planning to expand my shop this time, so I paid attention to this information." (End of this chapter)
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