Chapter 508 Heavy Rain, Leisure
The next morning, Gao Mingcheng sent Xuanyuemei and Xiaoxuxu to the county. Luo Li, a senior clerk, fell ill, and the store manager Gao Shufang was unable to handle the whole thing, so the proprietress had to step forward.
As for the boss Gao Mingcheng, he had to go back to the village and stay for two more days, until Dahuang had almost recovered and the medicinal materials in the mountains had been almost collected, and then he would go back to the county.
Generally speaking, it is easier to take care of animals giving birth than humans, especially wild animals, which do not need help from others unless they encounter a difficult birth.
Dahuang is a domesticated female dog. She instinctively likes humans and needs help and care from humans. Otherwise, if things go wrong, the puppies will have a hard time surviving and Dahuang will also be physically harmed.
When Gao Mingcheng is not at home, Heihu and Dahuang are taken care of and fed by Chen Dasong's family. Before, they were taken care of by Zhang Chengyuan's family, but Xu Yu was too slow to cook and every meal was postponed. Even the dog disliked it. Only Zhang Chengyuan did not dare to complain.
Later, he hired the Chen family and simply let them take care of him, and Gao Mingcheng gave him extra money for food.
However, the food standards for eating with the Chen family and eating on his own are definitely different. Therefore, every time Gao Mingcheng returns to the village, he goes into the mountains to catch rabbits as a snack for the three dogs.
It is no exception now. After Dahuang gave birth, Gao Mingcheng first went to the reservoir to catch fish and made some crucian carp soup for her. Later, he went into the mountains to get some wild rabbits and bullfrogs. The bullfrogs were cooked in water and then given to Dahuang to eat. It was very helpful for Dahuang after she gave birth.
After several days of good food and drink, Dahuang's complexion had improved visibly, and she had a lot of milk, so it was more than enough to raise not only two puppies, but even two more.
These days, Gao Mingcheng also went into the mountains to collect herbs every day, but it was inevitably a bit inconvenient without Xiu Xiumei at home to cook for him and turn over and dry the herbs. So he went to Chen's house for meals and asked Chen Duofu to help dry the herbs.
These days, Chen Dasong and Chen Duofu have to work for him, but Aunt Liu and Chen Duoxi will go into the mountains to collect herbs. Since he started collecting herbs, every autumn, every household in Gaojia Village can earn more than ten yuan by selling medicinal herbs.
For the villagers, this amount of money is not small, especially for those families with large populations and hardworking people. They would collect the corresponding medicinal materials all year round, dry them and store them. Now they can sell them all at once and get more money.
On the afternoon of October 6th, it suddenly started to rain. The rain was pouring down like buckets, and the temperature dropped suddenly. Gao Mingcheng, wearing a half-worn coat, sat under the eaves watching the rain.
Black Tiger and the elf couldn't run around either, so they squatted under the eaves and watched the rain quietly with Gao Mingcheng.
Once it rained, it was inconvenient to collect and dry the herbs, and Gao Mingcheng was trapped at home with nowhere to go. However, Da Huang recovered well, and the two little black balls grew well, but they had not opened their eyes yet.
There is not much work to do on a rainy day, and Gao Mingcheng is the only one at home, which makes him feel bored. So he holds up an umbrella and decides to go to Xinai's house to see how many medicinal herbs Gao Zhuang has received.
When it rains, the air is relatively humid, so you need to pay attention to the preservation of medicinal materials.
When he walked into the rain with an umbrella, Black Tiger also jumped up and prepared to follow.
Seeing the two dogs eager to try, Gao Mingcheng waved at them and said, "Stay at home!"
The two dogs understood the command and did not step into the rain. They stood under the eaves and watched Gao Mingcheng leave.
The heavy rain came down, making a loud noise when it hit the ground, but even such heavy rain could not deform the umbrella in Gao Mingcheng's hand.
This umbrella made of black cloth blocks out the wind and rain, leaving the holder dry and cool.
This oily black cloth umbrella actually has a great origin. It was produced by Jiangxi Umbrella Factory, and the predecessor of Jiangxi Umbrella Factory was Gongda Cloth Umbrella Factory. Gongda Cloth Umbrella Factory is very famous. In the 1970s, it focused on the development of steel-framed cloth umbrellas.
Umbrellas sold very well throughout the 1970s and were very famous. The products were mainly supplied to Jiangxi Province and Shanghai. At that time, the provincial party committee and government also used Gongda cloth umbrellas as gifts for distinguished guests, which shows how famous and good their quality were.
Later in the early 1980s, it was renamed Jiangxi Umbrella Factory. In the 1990s, when state-owned enterprises were restructured and under the market economy, Jiangxi Umbrella Factory failed to update and develop products in a timely manner. The factory began to be depressed and stopped production in 2000.
The umbrella in Gao Mingcheng's hand was bought two years ago, but because it is so durable, it still looks like new.
For an umbrella like this, if you don’t care about its appearance, then it won’t be a problem to use it for ten years or so.
However, although the umbrella can block the wind and rain from above, it cannot block the sneak attack from the ground.
Gao Mingcheng was walking on the muddy road, with one foot in yellow mud and the other in water, soaking his lower body.
At this moment, even the expressways and national roads have not been fully repaired, let alone roads connecting every village.
It took Gao Mingcheng eight minutes to walk on the muddy road to reach the old village.
Because of the rain, every household stayed at home and the old village seemed a lot quieter. Only when walking in the corridors between the houses could one hear various noises coming from inside.
When passing by Gao Fa Ming's house, Gao Mingcheng stopped for a moment, and then successfully heard Gao Fa Ming being scolded by his father.
Well, it is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature. That's how it is.
That time he sent Gao Faming back home. The next day when he returned to the village from the county, Gao Faming's parents came to their house with gifts to express their gratitude.
Gao Mingcheng left the things behind and only said that one should be patient with children, trust their children, and seek confirmation before making any decisions if there is anything.
Gao Faming's parents agreed at the time, but...
Gao Mingcheng smiled, didn't care about other people's right and wrong, and continued walking forward.
When he walked into his grandmother's yard, he saw the whole family sitting in the main room. Because of the rain, the light in the room was poor and a little dim.
But when he saw Gao Mingcheng coming, Gao Zhuang immediately pulled the rope, and the light bulb hanging on the wall lit up immediately.
"Brother Mingcheng, why are you here?" Gao Zhuang said enthusiastically, calling Gao Mingcheng to come in and sit down.
Gao Mingcheng didn't rush in. He put away his umbrella under the eaves, then stretched out his feet to wash his feet with the rain water gathered in the eaves. After shaking off the water, he went into the house.
"We can't do anything on this rainy day, so come over here for a walk. Gao Zhuang, how many medicinal herbs have you received? It's raining and the air is humid, so be careful not to get the herbs wet." Gao Mingcheng said.
Gao Zhuang said quickly: "The herbs are all placed on the bed and shelves in the empty room, and they are all wrapped tightly in bags, so they will never get damp. This summer, I bought some new tiles and picked up all the broken tiles on the roof."
Gao Mingcheng nodded with satisfaction after hearing this.
He asked Gao Zhuang how much money he had left for the goods and learned that he still had more than a thousand yuan.
After finishing the serious business, everyone started chatting.
Xiao Yuanyuan was sitting on a bamboo mat playing with toys while He Xiuman was knitting a sweater beside her. Judging from the size of the sweater, it should be for Xiao Yuanyuan.
Xi Nainai talked about some people and things in the village, while Gao Zhuang talked about some interesting stories among people of the same age.
The heavy rain outside was pouring down, while the casual chat inside the house was very leisurely.
After chatting for about an hour, He Xiuman put down the knitting needles in her hand, got up and went to the kitchen to cook. Xi Nainai and others also asked Gao Mingcheng to stay for dinner.
Gao Mingcheng naturally didn't need to be polite and agreed generously.
But while waiting for dinner to cook, he had to go to his parents' house in front to sit and see how his grandmother was recovering.
Grandma Gao is old and a little malnourished, so her recovery from the fracture is average. But as long as she walks slowly, it won't be a problem.
However, there was a strong smell of urine in Grandma Gao's room. Worried that she would walk slowly and inconveniently, Luo Xiaohua placed a urine bucket in the room and emptied it once in the morning and evening every day.
Gao Mingcheng lamented the inconvenience of going to the toilet in the countryside, and also lamented the ruthlessness of time. After a new life is born, it ages little by little under the ravages of time.
In this limited life, some people live a wonderful life, some live a mediocre life, some people enjoy happiness, and some people experience all the sufferings in the world.
Grandma Gao was also looking at the rain outside with a worried look on her face.
Not long after, Gao Yuanjian came back wearing a bamboo hat, a raincoat, and his trouser legs rolled up.
"Yuanjian, how's the situation in the fields?" Grandma Gao asked hurriedly when she saw Gao Yuanjian coming back.
Gao Yuanjian's face was gloomy and he seemed unhappy.
When he looked up and saw Gao Mingcheng was there, he seemed even more unhappy.
"The rain is too heavy. A small piece of rice in the field has fallen over. If it rains for a few days in a row, I'm afraid the yield will be reduced." Gao Yuanjian said in a muffled voice.
When Gao Mingcheng heard this, he remembered that it was almost time to harvest the late rice.
When harvesting rice and wheat, farmers most desire sunny weather. Once it rains at this time, it will be the end of them!
It’s just that, if it rains, my mother will get married. Since it has already rained, no matter how anxious or scared you are, it’s useless!
Luo Xiaohua looked at the pouring rain, cursed for a while, and finally said: "Let's wait and watch the weather forecast program tonight to see if it will be sunny over here."
Starting from July 7, 1980, the first television weather forecast program was launched. After the "News Broadcast" at 7 o'clock every evening, the "Weather Forecast" program would start.
Nowadays, people cannot check the local weather anytime and anywhere through smartphones. The only way to know the future weather is to sit in front of the TV and watch the "Weather Forecast" program.
After hearing this, Gao Yuanjian nodded in agreement, but because of the anxiety in his heart, he took out a cigarette, lit it and started smoking.
Seeing that they were all anxious about the rice in the fields, Gao Mingcheng decided it would not be a good idea to stay here for long, so he said goodbye and went back to his grandmother's house.
When he returned, he saw his grandmother playing with little Yuanyuan, and she didn't look worried at all, so he said, "My father went to the fields just now and said that it rained too hard and a small area of the rice fell down."
Hearing this, Xi Niangniang looked at the wind and rain outside, and sighed in understanding, saying, "How can the crops not fall down in such heavy rain? But there is nothing we can do. We can only take it one step at a time. The rice in our fields is not fully mature yet. We will have to wait another seven or eight days before we can harvest it. I hope the weather will be good by then."
In the same situation, the grandmother was more open-minded.
Gao Mingcheng recalled the weather conditions this year, but he couldn't remember what the weather was like this year. He only remembered that this winter would be colder, and then... he didn't seem to have heard of any increase in rice prices. Since the price of rice had not increased, then there must have been no reduction in production.
Thinking of this, he relaxed a lot and said with a smile: "I think the rain won't last long. Maybe it will stop tomorrow."
Grandma Xi said expectantly, "That would be good."
Without the unnecessary anxiety, the atmosphere of life became much more relaxed and cheerful. Gao Mingcheng also joined in the process of amusing Xiao Yuanyuan, and the two of them, big and small, had a lot of fun.
It was not until He Xiuman cooked a table full of food that everyone sat down to eat.
I ate earlier than usual today because I wanted to take care of Gao Mingcheng. I was afraid that he would go home too late and it would be dark and difficult for him to walk.
Therefore, after Gao Mingcheng finished his meal, he did not stay for long. He held up his oily black cloth umbrella and walked into the wind and rain again.
As he went away, the wind and rain engulfed him, and Gao Zhuang, who was standing under the eaves, could soon no longer see Gao Mingcheng's back.
Gao Mingcheng returned home, took a quick shower, then took out the two pieces of gold foil and began to meditate and practice.
The departure of many beautiful people brought some inconvenience to his life, but it also made it easier for him to practice.
In the middle of the night, he felt something in his heart and woke up from his meditation.
After practicing, his physical and mental states reached their peak. He felt that his blood and energy were abundant, and his five senses were sharper.
He pushed the door open and saw that the rain had stopped.
However, the sky was still covered with dark clouds, blocking the starlight from shining down.
At 4:30 in the morning, the sky and the earth were completely dark.
Because it had just rained, the air was very humid and the wind blowing from the hills brought a chill.
Gao Mingcheng did not go to the mountains to practice boxing because after a rain, the mountain road was muddy and not a good place to practice boxing.
So he practiced boxing in his own yard.
At this time, the advantages of cement pavement are revealed. Even if there is water accumulation in the low-lying areas, people will not slip.
While his body was full of energy and blood, Gao Mingcheng began to practice boxing.
The noise he made woke up the three dogs in the house. After waking up, Dahuang went back to sleep. However, Heihu and Jingling were half-lying in the doghouse, staring at the figure practicing boxing with their dog eyes.
They watch carefully, but I don’t know if they can really understand it.
When the sky in the east turned white, the thick darkness gradually dissipated, and the world became bright again.
In the chilly cold wind, Gao Mingcheng, who was only wearing a vest, was sweating and heat was rising from his body.
He quickly walked to the kitchen and started to wash the rice and cook porridge. While the porridge was boiling over a high fire, he had already eaten some biscuits to fill his stomach.
Two boiled eggs and a bowl of porridge were his breakfast.
The three dogs were treated the same, a bowl of porridge and an egg.
There are a lot of eggs at home recently, so Gao Mingcheng generously gave them to the three dogs as extra meals.
It’s just that you raise a dog for many days and only use it for a moment!
After they had eaten their fill, Gao Mingcheng found the spear he had sharpened not long ago and said, "Children, follow me into the mountains to hunt!"
Hunting is not convenient after the rain because the mountain roads are difficult to travel on, but Gao Mingcheng doesn't care. He is very stable and does not fall easily.
The black tiger and the elf rushed out immediately and ran towards the mountain with great momentum.
(End of this chapter)
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