Liu Jun arrived at Fangtian Brigade and found Secretary Zou to inquire about the situation of Zhao Meina and her brother, and discovered that there was no difference between what Zhou Huaian said.
Secretary Zou took him to the vicinity of the Zhao family and asked Su Tianfen, who knew the Zhao siblings best. When Su Tianfen learned that Zhao Xinghua wanted to ask the siblings for help, she started cursing.
Secretary Zou quickly stopped her and asked her to talk to Liu Jun about the siblings.
Su Tianfen then told Liu Jun the whole story of how Zhao Meina and her siblings had come to this point, and what Zhao Meina had told her in person, that the three siblings did not recognize Zhao Xinghua.
He also asked him not to ask his siblings to help Zhao Xinghua, saying that although the kids did not recognize him, he was still their old man after all, and they would feel bad about it.
The villagers who were watching also chimed in and told us some of the things they knew.
If Liu Jun hadn't been hindered by his status, he would have wanted to curse loudly after hearing this. It was the first time he had seen such vicious and shameless people. The couple ignored even their own flesh and blood in order to return to the city. Now that the child has grown up and become capable, they want to recognize him back. These people are so damn disgusting.
After Liu Jun had investigated and found out the truth, he decided not to go to Funiu to look for Zhao Meina and her brother. He went straight back to the police station and showed the information he had obtained to his colleagues in the station.
Everyone unanimously agreed that Zhao Xinghua should call his family and ask them to remit money as compensation for settlement, otherwise he would be detained. Seeing this, Old Zhao had no choice but to call his family and ask them to remit the money.
…
Over there, after Yang Chunyan had finished her meal, she thought that Zhao Meina and her brother would go to the forest farm together the next morning, so she asked her to ride a motorcycle back to Fangtian to get some clothes to change, and then set off from Funiu together the next morning.
When Su Tianfen saw them come back, she did not tell Zhao Meina that the police station was looking for them to help Zhao Xinghua deal with the compensation for the fight. She just let the siblings go to the forest farm to have a good time for a few days.
She felt that the scumbag named Zhao should have gone back when they came back from the forest farm, so it would be better not to let her siblings know about this terrible thing.
Yang Chunyan packed her clothes and returned to Funiu. The siblings stayed on the second floor. Zhou Xiaoqian and her sisters also came here. The girls huddled together and whispered for half the night. They were yawning when they were woken up by the adults the next day.
Mother Zhou looked at the children with a smile and said, "Hurry up and go to the backyard to wash your face and brush your teeth. After you are clean, go to Auntie's place for breakfast."
Zhou Xiaoqian yawned, "Grandma, what do you want to eat in the morning?"
Mother Zhou looked at her lovingly, "Salt beans, cold-mixed zheergen, meat buns, and sweet potato porridge."
Zhou Xiaoqian: "Oh! The toothbrush is at home. Let's go over there together after Sister Mina finishes washing it."
Xiao Jiuer and his brothers rubbed their eyes and went downstairs, "Mom, where can we have breakfast?"
"Auntie's house!"
Yang Chunyan packed the water, snacks, and rice balls that she and Zhou's mother had prepared in the morning into her backpack and said to Zhou Jiakang, "This is your task."
Zhou Jiakang looked at the backpack full of things and the vegetable basket, his eyes widened, "So many?"
"Brother Kang!" Zhou Jiaming patted him on the shoulder, "We have more people!"
Zhou Jiakang lifted his back and sighed with his shoulders drooping: "Oh my god! He eats so much. How can we eat so much in one day?"
"You eat the most!" Zhou Xiaoqian pinched his arm, "Where do you think all this fat comes from?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Just think of it as a weight loss exercise!"
In fact, he is not fat compared with the chubby kids in later generations, but there are many people with standard body shape now, so he looks fat.
Zhou Jiakang looked at his chubby body and said, "I am fine like this. People say I am plump and I look like a blessed child!"
"Yes, he looks quite plump!" Yang Chunyan smiled and pulled up Xiao Jiuer, who was rubbing his eyes and not yet awake, and went to the backyard to wash up.
After washing up, everyone went to Zhao Huifang's house to have breakfast. They also packed some buns and steamed buns, took them home and packed bedding and other things. Then Zhou Yiding's family of four arrived.
When Zhou Jiaming and the others saw the gun he was carrying, they all ran over excitedly, "Uncle Yiding, let me see it."
"Look!" Zhou Yiding thought there was no bullet in the gun, so he took it out and gave it to Zhou Jiaming.
A few children gathered together, pretending to aim their guns and chattering loudly.
Yang Chunyan and Wan Xuejiao went to pack their luggage. It was cold in the mountains in the morning and at night, so they had to bring thin coats for the children, as well as medicine for diarrhea, fever and colds.
After everything was packed up, Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding carried their backpacks, Zhao Meina and the older kids Zhou Jiaming also brought some things, and Zhou Jiakang resigned himself to his fate by carrying his backpack. Under the instructions of Zhou's mother and grandfather, the group headed towards the foot of the mountain.
The villagers we met on the way who were picking mushrooms all said that the second branch of the Zhou family had a very large and prosperous family.
A group of children shouted excitedly after going up the mountain. Xiaochuan pointed at the butterflies on the wild flowers and said, "Quick, quick, quick, look at the beautiful butterflies on the purple flowers..."
"I have this in my herb garden, it's called Viola yedoensis..."
"I know. I have it at home, too."
"Look at the plantain. My mom said it likes to grow on the road to be crushed by wheels... There are so many of them... Much more than at the foot of the mountain..."
Zhou Xiaowen shouted to Yang Chunyan behind him: "Aunt, we should bring the medicinal hoe. Look, no one is digging the herbs in the mountains..."
Xiao Wan hurriedly held her back and said, "No need to bring it. We can dig it up in the forest farm..."
"Be careful, watch the road, don't get caught by the vines and fall, it will be troublesome if you roll down the mountain..."
Seeing the kids jumping around excitedly, Yang Chunyan hurriedly reminded them loudly to avoid them falling and getting scratched.
She found that the mature timber in the mountains had been almost completely cut down. Although some saplings had been planted, they could not even block out the sunlight.
After walking for more than an hour, we arrived in the woods.
The children are no longer as lively as when they first came to the mountain. They all look like flowers wilted in the sun.
Zhou Jiakang walked slower and slower as he walked to the side. "Dad, I can't walk anymore. Let Brother Ming carry me. How about we eat something?"
Zhou Huaian pointed ahead and said, "See that big rock about a hundred meters ahead? Walk faster. We'll rest there."
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Xiaokang, if you take bigger steps, you will reach the destination in about a hundred steps."
"Brother Kang, we will accompany you." Xiao Jiuer and Xiao Wan pulled him, and the three of them strode forward.
Soon they arrived under the big rock. Yang Chunyan took out the oilcloth and spread it on the ground, while Wan Xuejiao and Zhao Meina helped take out the food from the backpack.
After resting for a while and eating something to replenish their energy, the children were full of energy again.
After waking up, Xiaomier and Xiaozhou were busy catching butterflies and Dingding Cat, having a lot of fun.
Zhao Meina pointed at a big-foot mushroom and said, "Xiao Qian, look there is a big-foot mushroom. Come on, look there is one. Pick it up quickly..."
Xiao Jiuer also discovered it, "Oh my god! There are more here. I'll ask my old man to get the net bag."
All the treasures at the foot of the mountain had been picked up, and when we got halfway up the mountain we discovered that everyone was getting excited.
Zhou Huaian took out a handful from his bag and said, "Here, don't go too far!"
"Oh! There are so many! When we get to the forest farm, we can stir-fry some mushrooms." Xiao Jiuer gave one to everyone and started searching in the woods in groups of three or four.
Since Zhao Meina and her siblings went to study in the city, they haven't had the chance to run around like this for a long time. Although they went to the mountains a few days ago and picked mushrooms everywhere, the mushroom nests they used to have are long gone.
"Oh my god! Look at these yellow bald heads. They are so fat!"
"Oh! I wish I had come an hour earlier. Look, this big cocklebur has already opened its umbrella..."
"Come here quickly, there are chanterelles, tricholoma, etc..." Cheers rang out in the woods.
Yang Chunyan and three other people sat on the oilcloth and watched the children carrying net bags, hunching over and searching in the woods as if they were treasure hunters.
Zhou Huaian leaned against a big rock and said, "After going up the mountain this time, I wonder when I will have the chance to come again?"
Zhou Yiding nodded, "Yes! If my husband agrees to go down the mountain this time, he may not come here again in the future."
Wan Xuejiao: "Last time the old man came back and said that almost all the valuable wood on the mountain had been cut down. Now the only thing left is the pine forest that is almost mature."
Yang Chunyan also felt that the cutting was too ruthless. The once lush forest was now reduced to useless shrubs and paulownia trees... not a single camphor tree, toon tree, or agarwood tree was left.
According to Zhang Xiuxiang, the Magnolia officinalis trees on the back mountain were cut down in the middle of the night, and even the bark on the branches was peeled off.
Zhou Yiding sighed, "The last time I went to Pulin Town, I saw that some of the forest farms there were in terrible condition. Not even a tree half an arm's length thick could be found. The good thing is that the forest farms have already started planting saplings. They said that if things continue like this, they might close the mountains for reforestation."
"It's better to close the mountain and cultivate forests, so that we won't be unable to pick up even a single mushroom in the future." Zhou Huaian stood up and said, "Let's go, wait a minute until the children are far away."
"That's right!" Zhou Yiding also stood up, and the two of them shouted at the children scattered in the woods, "Let's go! It's time to call it a day!"
"Mom, mushrooms!" Xiaomier happily handed a bunch of mushrooms to Yang Chunyan, "Big sister found them for me."
Yang Chunyan took it with a smile, "This is a mushroom, fried and eaten."
Zhao Meina and Zhou Xiaoqian followed her with the boat and said to them happily, "Look, we also picked up some big cockleburs and cockleburs."
Yang Chunyan and Wan Xuejiao came forward to take a look and said, "We are lucky. With these chicken mushroom flowers, we can make a pot of soup!"
Xiao Jiuer, Xiao Wan, and Zhou Jiakang ran over and said, "Look at our chanterelles, yellow tricholoma, and milk mushrooms..."
Zhou Xiaochuan, Zhou Xiaowen and Zhou Xiaoru also held net bags, "We have big-foot mushrooms and green bar mushrooms..."
Zhou Jiaming and his friends also came back with mushrooms, "Dad, there are sheep horn mushrooms over there, there must be chicken mushroom eggs underneath!"
Zhou Huaian shrugged, "There's nothing we can do about it. Some of them grow in termite nests three or four meters deep. Bring a hoe to dig them out when we go down the mountain."
"Remember this, guys!" Zhou Yiding said with a smile, "I heard that the price of chicken mushroom eggs has been quite good in the past two years. It's time to go down the mountain and dig some!"
"Yeah!" Zhou Jiaming nodded repeatedly. (End of this chapter)
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