After they had breakfast and sent the Douhuazhuang dishes over, Zhou Huaian said to Huang Yongcai, "Brother Huang, my sister-in-law doesn't want that yard because she thinks the environment there is not good. My wife Chunyan said that if the price is right, we will buy it."
Huang Yongcai smiled and said, "I spoke to his family on the phone yesterday. He said that even if we have agreed on the price, we have to wait for him to come back to transfer the ownership. So why not wait until he comes back after the eighth or ninth day of the first lunar month and then we can talk in person."
Zhou Huaian thought it would be better to talk face to face, "Okay, then we'll go first!"
"That's right!"
Zhou Huaian drove the tractor towards North Street.
Zhou Yiding looked ahead with his eyes wide open, "Oh my god! There are many more people setting up stalls today than yesterday!"
Yang Chunyan found that after not having been here for a while, this street became like a market day in the town. The vendors set up stalls at the intersection, and the street, which was deserted in the past, became very lively.
There were vendors holding balloons of various shapes, apple balloons, peaches, cucumbers... and even nine-section long gourd balloons.
There are also people selling candied haws, cotton candy, sugar men, freshly fried peanuts, melon seeds, and dried sweet potatoes, as well as freshly made rice candy and sweet potato cakes... There are also people pushing large steamers to sell yerba, all kinds of salty and sweet aromas mixed with noisy shouts...
Zhao Xiaochuan felt that he couldn't take it all in. "There are so many things to eat."
"Fortunately, we arrived early and were able to drive in." Zhou Huaian drove the tractor slowly towards Desheng Hall.
When the tractor drove past Wang Zhen's department store, Yang Chunyan discovered that the store's business was so booming early in the morning that even Yang Dongmei was conscripted!
Zhao Xiuna pointed at the alarm clock on the shelf and said, "Big sister, look at the alarm clock inside. It's so beautiful. It's much more beautiful than the one we had before."
Zhao Meina thought about the alarm clock her father left behind, which she had sold to exchange for food. Her younger brother and sister-in-law also needed an alarm clock for school. "Aunt, do I need a ticket for the alarm clock here?"
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "No need for tickets. Wait until we deliver the truffles in before buying them."
Zhou Huaian finally parked the tractor at the entrance of Wangjia Alley. Yang Chunyan went to the clinic to open the door. Zhou Yiding jumped off the tractor and asked the vendors to make way.
Zhao Meina and her brother were guarding the tractor, and they were carrying truffles to the backyard. After Wang Zhen finished his work, he asked Yang Chunyan to help look after the clinic and come to help.
The three of them ran back and forth more than ten times before they finished moving all the truffles.
Zhou Yiding quickly drove the tractor out of North Street and stopped on a street where no one was setting up stalls.
…
In the backyard of the Wang family, Wang Zhen came out of the house carrying a shoulder bag. He took out several red velvet bags from the bag and untied the rope buckles one by one. "I bought them at 35 yuan per gram. A golden bracelet with a dragon and a phoenix pattern, a necklace, a pair of rings, two pairs of earrings, and five rings. The total cost was 3,950 yuan. Take a look at these. Do you like them?"
Zhou Huaian originally planned to go to the flower market to buy these things, but he has been so busy that he has no time to go, so he asked Wang Zhen to help him ask Dr. Wang to buy them in the provincial capital and bring them over.
He picked up the golden bracelet and necklace and nodded with satisfaction, "I like it, I like it. Thank you very much! You can deduct the money from the payment for the goods, and I will make up for it when I go back."
"Okay!" Wang Zhen gave him the remaining money, "Why didn't Brother Zhou buy anything for himself?"
"Why would a man wear this?" Zhou Huaian packed the things. "When I married Chunyan, her family didn't ask for any dowry. Now that I'm making money, I'll buy her more."
Wang Zhen smiled and said, "I really envy the relationship between Brother Zhou and Sister Yang!"
Zhou Huaian winked at him, "The girl from the Yang family is kind-hearted and family-oriented, so it's definitely a good idea to take her home!"
Wang Zhen smiled and changed the subject, "After you deliver the truffles the day after tomorrow, I will take the train to the provincial capital in the afternoon and will be back after the fifth day of the New Year. When do you plan to start work?"
"The sixth or eighth day is fine. If someone delivers goods, the barbecue oven can also be used for drying."
"There is one more thing. They are going to make some medicine over there. They need winter honey produced by wild bees. If you are free after the New Year, please go up the mountain and help look for it."
Generally, the flower sources for collecting winter honey include Schefflera arborvitae, wild osmanthus, sweet potato flower, loquat flower, wild mountain flower, etc. The time for bees to collect winter honey lasts from the end of November to the beginning of January of the following year, but the time for finding wild bee winter honey is only about one and a half months.
Due to the low temperature in winter, there are few bees on duty, and there are also few plants that bloom in winter, making winter honey even more difficult to find.
Because the air is dry in winter, the concentration of honey in this season is higher than that in other seasons, so the quality is better. The temperature here is higher than other places in Sichuan, so winter honey is relatively easier to find.
"Sure! We have set up a nest on the mountain. We will go up there to have a look after we have nothing to do after the New Year."
"That's great! If we leave a nest behind, we'll have an endless supply of wild honey."
"Some nests will still be discovered and taken away in advance." Zhou Huaian said and asked, "How many are needed over there?"
"As long as it's available, we'll take whatever amount we can get. The price is two yuan per pound more expensive than summer honey."
"Okay! I have to go to Baicaoping tomorrow and ask them to go find honey as well." Zhou Huaian thought of Zhang Laoer's child. "Doctor Xiao Wang, do you still remember the child at Baicaoping?"
"A child from the Hundred Lawn?"
"The one with the bad heart!"
Wang Zhen thought for a while, "Are you talking about the boy with congenital heart disease?"
"Yes!" Zhou Huaian nodded and said, "Can you go to the provincial capital to help find out if the child's disease can be cured?"
Wang Zhen said, "His child should be able to be treated in the provincial capital. I will go and ask someone about it this time."
"Thank you very much!" Zhou Huaian fastened his waist bag, leaned forward and whispered, "Come to my house for a few days after the New Year, I'll show you something."
Wang Zhen smiled and asked, "What other treasures have you picked up and hidden?"
Zhou Huaian gestured, "This is a big piece of black stuff with a strange shape. It emits a fragrance and smells very pleasant."
Wang Zhen thought it looked a bit like agarwood, but he couldn't be sure without seeing it with his own eyes. "I'll come back to see you and your medicinal fields."
"Okay!"
The two men left the main room, and Zhou Yiding also came back with a few strings of red candied haws in his hand.
Zhou Huaian laughed and said, "You are three years old? You still buy this?"
Zhou Yiding smiled and handed a bunch of candied haws to each of them. "Try it. It tastes sour and sweet and is not bad."
Zhou Huaian took a bite of it, but spit it out before he finished eating the fruit inside. "It's okay on the outside, but the hawthorn inside is so sour that it makes your teeth sore."
Wang Zhen saw that he was so jealous that he grinned and shook his head, "I'd better forget it!"
"Children are not afraid of sourness. Give it to a few children."
The three of them went to the clinic, and Zhou Yiding gave the candied haws to Zhao Meina and her brother, and the three children didn't seem to mind the sourness.
Yang Chunyan smiled and said, "Now that you are here, I will take Mina and the others to have a look next door."
Zhou Huaian waved his hand, "Go! We'll wait for you here!"
Wang Zhen hurriedly said, "Tell Xiaomei what you like and I'll give you a discount."
Yang Chunyan: "Thank you, a few kids want to buy an alarm clock!"
Wang Zhen: "A batch of them arrived a few days ago, and they look pretty good."
Yang Chunyan smiled and nodded, "Let's go and take a look!"
As soon as she walked out of the clinic, Zhao Meina grabbed her and said, "Aunt Yang, I have a request. We will pay for it ourselves later."
Yang Chunyan thought that "giving a clock as a present" and "seeing off the dead" have homophones, and many people believe that giving a clock as a present is unlucky, so giving a clock as a present has become a widely popular taboo among the Chinese people.
She patted Zhao Meina on the shoulder and said, "Okay, you pay for it yourself!"
Zhao Xiaochuan happily pulled Zhao Meina and said, "Sister, can I pick one I like?"
"Okay, you can choose later!"
Yang Chunyan brought her three children into the shop and saw Yang Dongmei was busy getting a tape recorder for a customer. Zhao Xiaochuan had already pulled his sister to stand in front of the counter where the alarm clock was placed.
He pulled Zhao Xiuna and said, "Look, there are so many alarm clocks, they are so beautiful!"
Zhao Xiuna felt that she couldn't take it all in. "Of course there are a lot of them because they sell this!"
Zhao Xiaochuan stood on tiptoe and said, "Look, there are owls, little rabbits, little yellow ducks, a small teapot, and a big trumpet..."
Yang Chunyan looked at the children and asked, "Mina, which one do you like?"
Zhao Xiaochuan pointed to a silver metal case with an alarm clock with a fat rabbit wearing a red striped T-shirt and flying a kite inside, "Sister, I like the rabbit one."
Yang Chunyan thought he would like the cartoon-like plastic shell. After seeing it, he thought it was pretty good and asked the salesperson to take it out for her to have a look.
At this time, Yang Dongmei also saw the four people, "Sister, when did you arrive?"
Yang Chunyan looked at her with a smile, "It's been a while, and I didn't call you because I saw you were busy!
"I've been too busy these days, so I came to help." Yang Dongmei came over with a smile and took the alarm clock out of the counter and put it on the counter. "Is this my brother-in-law's nephew or niece?"
"No, they are Mina, Xiu Na, and Xiao Chuan from the next brigade." Yang Chunyan said to the three siblings, "This is my aunt's sister Dong Mei."
"Auntie Dongmei!" the siblings called out politely.
"So good!" Yang Dongmei wound up the alarm clock, and it rang. "I heard that this kind of alarm clock has all copper gears inside, so it can be used for a long time. Do you like it?"
Zhao Xiaochuan nodded happily, "If you like it, buy this one."
Zhao Meina looked at the label and saw that it said fourteen dollars and fifty cents. She quickly opened her clothes to get the money, took the money out of her small bag and handed it to Yang Dongmei, "Auntie, here's the money."
"Wang Zhen said that you can get 30% off when you buy things here." Yang Dongmei took ten yuan, put the alarm clock into a box and handed it to Zhao Meina, "Sister, I'm going to be busy. Come back early on the second day of the Chinese New Year."
Seeing that they were too busy over there, Yang Chunyan nodded repeatedly, "Got it, go ahead!"
The four of them came out of the shop. Zhou Huaian and Zhou Yiding were already waiting outside. "Doctor Xiao Wang is busy. Let's go take care of Mina and the others first, and then buy New Year's goods."
Yang Chunyan nodded. The streets were crowded with people, carrying baskets and backpacks, shouting, bicycle bells, scolding children, and loudly reminding people to be careful of pickpockets. The streets, which used to be deserted at this time, were busier than the town on market days. (End of this chapter)
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