In the afternoon, everyone went to Zhou Huairong's house. An octagonal table and a low square table were set up in the yard. All the relatives and friends who had helped that night came. A group of men drank and boasted until after eleven o'clock, when they staggered away.
Zhou Huaian came home drunk. Yang Chunyan, who was already asleep, heard the door open, turned on the light, and saw him staggering in and almost bumping into the cabinet. She quickly got up and supported him.
"Why are you so drunk? I'll add some honey water for you."
"They all... held me to drink, and my brothers... helped me block a lot of it." Zhou Huaian looked at her with a smile, put his head on her shoulder, and said with a big tongue, "Yan'er, thank... thank you! I'm very happy!"
"Silly boy, we are husband and wife, why are you thanking me!" Yang Chunyan supported his weight, retreated to the bedside, and helped him sit down. "Lie down, I'll make you some honey water, drink it and wash your face to wake up."
"Yan'er, I'm very sober!" Zhou Huaian took her hand and placed it on his chest, "Thank you for not looking down on me for being useless. Thank you for helping me give birth to children and being filial to my parents..."
"Silly boy!" Yang Chunyan saw that he fell asleep before she could finish her words. She took off his shoes, lifted his stinky feet and put them on the bed, pulled the quilt over him, went to the main room to mix some honey water and let it hang there, then went to fetch some water back to wash him.
Looking at Zhou Huaian who was becoming more mature and steady, she smiled and kissed him, then went to get him some honey water to drink.
The next morning, Zhou Huaian rubbed his swollen and painful temples, "I will never drink with them again. They kept trying to get me drunk."
Yang Chunyan opened her eyes and turned to look at him, "Does your headache hurt so badly? How about I go call my third brother and ask him to go to Ning'an?"
"No, I'll go tell Wang Zhen about the situation here." Zhou Huaian picked up his coat and put it on. "Uncle Datian said that he and Uncle Xu discussed it and the house and the foundation cost a total of 3,500 yuan. What do you think?"
"Three thousand five is neither expensive nor cheap. Are they planning to use this money to buy shares?"
"He told me to talk to Wang Zhen first, and if it's OK, they'll call a meeting. This money will be considered as the village's investment, and the dividends will be used to pay some taxes and to help the orphans and widows."
Zhou Huai paused for a moment, "I think this is a good idea. It saves me from dealing with hundreds of households. Let me and Wang Zhen decide how much money to invest in total. I don't know if it will be troublesome or not."
"Everything is difficult at the beginning. You should discuss this with Wang Zhen and my elder brother."
Zhou Huaian nodded, "It's a bit cold, you should sleep for a while, I'll ride my bike to Fangtian intersection to wait for Ding Dingmao."
Zhou Yiding drove the tractor to his house and parked it last night. This morning he went to Wan's house to pick up his father-in-law to go to Ning'an for inspection.
"It's seven o'clock. I'm getting up too." Yang Chunyan pulled the quilt for Xiao Jiuer and prepared to get up.
Half an hour later, Zhou Huaian rode his bicycle to Fangtian intersection. Zhou Yiding, his father-in-law and mother-in-law were already waiting there.
Father Wan smiled with wrinkles all over his face. "I told him that I would be fine after taking two packets of headache powder, but Yiding was worried and insisted on taking me to get checked out. Don't you think this is a waste of money?"
Zhou Huaian smiled and said, "Uncle Wan, go check it out. My grandfather has cataracts. Fortunately, he went to see a doctor early. After acupuncture and medication, he is much better now."
Mother Wan glared at Father Wan in an angry tone, "You old man, you say one thing and mean another. Yiding came home yesterday and said he would take him to the hospital. He even drank two glasses of wine happily. Now you are saying something like this again."
Father Wan didn't say anything back, but just smiled happily.
Zhou Huaian put the bicycle in the bed and sat on the driver's seat.
When they arrived in Ning'an, they first delivered the chicken and duck eggs to Huang Yongcai. Then when they reached the intersection of North Street, Zhou Huaian drove a tractor to Deshengtang, while Zhou Yiding took his father-in-law to the hospital.
When they arrived at Deshengtang, they saw the old man treating a patient while Wang Zhen was drying herbs in the yard. He smiled and went forward to help, "What's going on?"
Wang Zhen spread the golden thread grass in the bamboo basket into the dustpan, and walked into the house with him and sat down. "We thought too simply at the time. After careful inquiry in the past two days, we found out that there are quite a few government-owned canning factories now.
Most of them make fruits, meat, fish, green beans, mushrooms, etc. There are very few that make hot sauce and mushroom beef sauce, and some even use imported equipment.
Testing equipment and machinery are hard to buy. Advanced imported equipment is expensive and some people don’t even know how to operate it.
The canning factory in our county still uses the oldest hand-type sealing machine. You put the canned food in the designated position of the machine and step on it, and the can is sealed. However, this equipment can no longer keep up with the demand. "
He went into the room and took out a notebook and gave it to him, "Take a look, what are the requirements for the equipment and workshops of the new cannery?
Also, if we want to build a small canning factory, the houses in your brigade are not up to standard. If we build it there, those houses will have to be demolished and rebuilt."
Zhou Huaian glared, "They said they would sell it to us for 3,500 yuan. If you say so, then all the money is wasted."
Wang Zhen smiled and said, "I only found out after asking around that running a canning factory is different from our family workshop for baking truffles. The hygiene requirements are quite strict and must meet national requirements. The exported products must also meet foreign standards."
"Our truffles and mushrooms are cleaned very thoroughly and delivered to the oven on the same day they are cleaned."
"I know that truffles and mushrooms are dried goods, and they need to be processed again after people buy them. Canned goods are ready to eat after opening the bottle, and bacteria cannot be seen with the naked eye. If the customers eat the products I sell and get dysentery or infectious diseases, I may even go to jail."
"So troublesome!" Zhou Huaian looked at the four or five pages of records in the notebook, such as full can workshop, empty can workshop, sterilization, inspection... The names of the equipment alone took up two pages, and his head hurt just looking at the long list of professional terms.
When I saw the requirements for the factory building, I felt it was much simpler. "If the factory building follows your requirements, I can find a craftsman to build it in a few months. The rest is up to you. It would be better if it were like building a hydroelectric power station. I would just invest money and share the dividends."
"I knew you would say that." Wang Zhen took the notebook he handed over and said, "Go back and explain the situation to Secretary Xu. Don't decide on buying the brigade house yet.
Next Monday, Dongmei and I will return to the provincial capital to have a good talk with Boss Zheng and take a look at the advanced canning equipment. We will decide on the location of the factory when I return."
Zhou Huaian looked at him in surprise, "Boss Zheng is not leaving?"
"I'm leaving! I'm not only in charge of truffles and mushrooms here, I also help collect herbs. At the end of the year, I have to go back to check the accounts with him and confirm the collection of truffles, mushrooms, and herbs for next year."
"It's better to decide first. If Boss Zheng isn't available, we still have Boss Feng and Boss Xu. If that doesn't work, we can make some other plans."
"That's right! If they can't do it, we can cooperate with other bosses."
"You have nothing to do now, why don't you come with me to the provincial capital?"
"Forget it. I have to help at home when we start transplanting rapeseed seedlings tomorrow. Why don't you buy some books on canning food in the provincial capital so I can learn from them."
"Okay! You guys wait for my good news at home."
"That's right! We'll have started harvesting truffles when you get back."
"I'll be back in a week."
The two men went out to dry all the herbs in the yard, and discussed the factory site. Then Zhou Yiding and the old couple of the Wan family came and said that they had taken a film and would not be available until tomorrow.
Father Wan smiled and said, "I said it's okay, right? The doctor didn't even prescribe me any medicine, he just told me to smoke less leaf tobacco."
Wan's mother said cheerfully, "Just check it out, and Xuejiao and Yiding will feel relieved!"
"Yeah!" Zhou Yiding said to the old couple, "The hotel in front is owned by us. Let the youngest take you there. I'll go to the toilet and wait for Doctor Wang to finish his work. I'll check your pulse and prescribe two doses of Chinese medicine for you."
Wan's mother turned her head and looked over, and said happily: "Xue Jiao said you guys opened a hotel, so this is it?"
"Yes, auntie, come with me." Zhou Huaian saw Zhou Yiding's expression and knew that he was not telling the truth, so he hurriedly took the old couple to the hotel.
Zhou Yiding saw the three people leave, then he said to Wang Zhen: "The doctor over there listened to my father-in-law, and when they went to take the X-ray, they told me that he suspected that my father-in-law had a tumor in his brain."
He never dreamed that there was such a disease. When the doctor told him, he was stunned! He didn't dare to reveal the truth in front of the old couple, so he has been holding it in until now.
Wang Zhen frowned and asked, "How long have you had this headache? What are the symptoms?"
"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with pain and feel a little nauseous. Last month I took a packet of headache powder, this month I have to take two packets. The pain stops when I wake up in the morning, but it goes away after working for a while."
Zhou Yiding looked at him nervously, "I feel that my eyesight has deteriorated significantly during this period. I could see clearly last month, but I can't see clearly this month. I also have tinnitus."
Wang Zhen comforted him, "It's still unclear whether it is the case or not, so don't worry too much. Even if there is a tumor, there are benign and malignant ones. Wait until you get the film tomorrow and bring it to me for a look."
"Okay!" Zhou Yiding felt a little heavy-hearted, "What if it is true?"
"Alas!" Wang Zhen sighed, "Benign cases are fine, but malignant cases are generally incurable. We can only think of ways to make him feel more comfortable."
"Then I'll get the film tomorrow and come back to see you."
"Okay!" Wang Zhen patted his shoulder, "Relax!"
Zhou Yiding nodded, took a deep breath, went to the hotel to call the three people, went to the vegetable market to buy some meat and vegetables, and walked back together.
When they arrived at Funiu, Wan Xuejiao saw that her parents were there and happily welcomed them in. "Have you seen the doctor? What did the doctor say?"
Father Wan said cheerfully, "They didn't even take the medicine, they just took a film. Yiding will go get it tomorrow, and we will help you plant rapeseed here."
"I'm looking forward to it!" Wan Xuejiao happily took the meat dish handed over by Zhou Yiding and pulled her parents to watch TV.
Zhou Yiding followed Zhou Huaian out and told him the situation. He rubbed his face in annoyance and said, "Do you think I should tell Xuejiao about this?" (End of this chapter)
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