Chapter 229 Selling trees to prepare for photo shoot
When Gao Mingcheng drove the pickup truck back to the village, it immediately caused a sensation. Many people working in the fields saw it and came over to watch the fun.
Everyone gathered around the pickup truck, looking at it very seriously. Even though it was an old pickup truck that had been discarded, it still looked very handsome in the eyes of the less experienced villagers.
The places with peeling paint and rust, the dents and the dirty seats, these imperfections were automatically beautified by the villagers.
"Gao Mingcheng, you can drive now? Where did this car come from? Did you buy it?" a villager asked in surprise.
Gao Mingcheng jumped out of the car and decided to chat with everyone, otherwise he would be stuck at the entrance of the village and unable to go back.
He smiled and said, "How can I afford a car? I borrowed it from someone. My third brother Gao Mingwan is working for a transportation company now, and I borrowed this car from the transportation company."
"Oh, about this. I heard your dad mention it. It's good. Ming Wan is quite successful now!"
"Gao Mingcheng, how much do you have to pay to borrow this car? You are fine, why do you want to borrow the car? Isn't it time to go out and sell drugs? Huang Zhizi has just matured a little!"
"You've collected so many herbs this year, I'm afraid you'll have to use a cart to transport them away, right?"
The villagers were talking at once, and Gao Mingcheng didn't know which question to answer first.
He could only say, "You must be borrowing the car for something, otherwise who would borrow it? I have to sell some wood later, and I have to pick up my parents and go to the county tomorrow. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. Make way, make way!"
Gao Mingcheng waved to people to make way, and the others reluctantly made way and watched him drive all the way to Niuweiling.
The roads in the old village are all small paths, and the houses are next to each other with only a corridor in the middle, so cars cannot drive in. But Gao Mingcheng's family lives in Niuweiling, where the area is very wide and can definitely drive through.
What Gao Mingcheng said was true, he did intend to take the opportunity to sell a batch of timber.
Since we contracted Xiaofushan, we have been hiring people to cut down trees. The open space at the foot of the mountain is now full of trees.
The trees that could be sold were piled together, the miscellaneous trees that could only be used as firewood were piled together, and as for the countless weeds and other things, after being dried, they were taken home by the lumberjacks.
He drove all the way to Xiaofushan. The appearance of the pickup truck attracted the attention of the lumberjacks, and someone asked loudly.
Gao Mingcheng answered a few simple questions, then he got out of the car, opened the trunk, and started loading the trees. The pickup truck's trunk was not long enough, so trees that were too long had to be cut into two parts, leaving a space of about one meter exposed outside.
Gao Mingcheng took an axe and began to trim off the extra branches.
While he was busy sorting the wood, many beauties heard the news and came over.
Of course she knew that Gao Mingcheng could drive, and Gao Mingcheng had taken her for a drive before.
"Go for a spin" is a phrase often used in Hong Kong movies, and many Hong Kong movies think that the meaning is quite fitting, because when driving, the wind keeps blowing into the car, doesn't it feel like taking a spin?
The last time Gao Mingcheng took her for a ride in a jeep, she looked around at this old pickup truck and felt that it was not as nice as the last car.
Seeing her coming, Gao Mingcheng briefly told her about his plans for today and tomorrow, and then asked Xuanyuemei to take all the melon seeds, peanuts, candies, medicinal herbs and bicycles in the car back home.
"Okay, okay." Xuanyuemei responded and put the things in the iron basket of the bicycle. If there was no space, she tied them to the seat. Then she pushed the bicycle and took the things back home.
Gao Mingcheng is very strong. Even though he is trimming the branches and moving the wood to the truck by himself, he does not look tired and he works very fast.
After filling up the entire carriage, Gao Mingcheng secured it with thick hemp ropes to prevent the wood from shaking out while driving.
After finishing all these, he started the car and sold the wood to the yamen.
Yaqian is a town in the next county, but it is closer to them. It is much closer to Yaqian than to the county, mainly because there is a timber processing plant there that purchases large quantities of timber.
When Gao Mingcheng returned to the village, it was around two o'clock in the afternoon. When he came back from selling wood in Yaqian, it was almost four o'clock. It was still early, so he loaded another cart of wood and sent it to Yaqian.
After two trips, I had sold most of the wood that could be sold. I would look for opportunities to sell the remaining trees later.
When he returned home, Xuanmei had already prepared a rich meal. After dinner, Gao Mingcheng did not rest, but went to his parents' house to tell them that they would go to the county to attend the beam-raising ceremony tomorrow.
When he went there, the family was having dinner. The dishes were very common. People in the country basically ate seasonal vegetables, and they ate them almost every meal!
It’s not that they don’t want to change their food, but they can’t. There are only a few kinds of vegetables in the fields. If they don’t eat them, they have to spend money to buy them, and spending money is a big deal.
Fried eggplant with peppers is a classic dish of this season, and we have been eating it for two months in a row, but these two dishes will soon be out of season.
"Mom and Dad." Gao Mingcheng greeted them and then told them that he would pick them up to go to the county tomorrow.
Now that Gao Yuanjian has lost his extra income from steaming wine, his biggest task every day is to work in the fields. If he tells them in advance, he can arrange time to come out.
The family had long known that Gao Mingcheng had built a house in the city with the help of Gao Guobing, but no one had seen it with their own eyes.
Now Gao Mingcheng came to ask them to go to the county to participate in the beam-raising ceremony, and even borrowed a car specially. Gao Yuanjian felt proud.
He had heard about Gao Mingcheng borrowing a car a long time ago, but later he learned that Gao Mingcheng was busy transporting trees to sell, so he was not in a hurry to find Gao Mingcheng.
"Okay, we set off at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning? It's enough time to water the vegetable garden in the morning. Boss, are you going to the construction site tomorrow?" Gao Yuanjian said, then looked at Gao Mingpeng.
Although Gao Mingpeng has a job working on a construction site, he doesn't have work to do every day. Sometimes a certain material is out of stock, and he has to wait until he buys the material before he can continue working.
Gao Mingpeng said, "You don't have to work tomorrow. Dad and I will go to water the fields tomorrow morning."
Hearing this, Gao Yuanjian nodded with satisfaction, and then asked about Gao Mingli's work.
Gao Mingcheng told Gao Mingli about the two jobs that Gao Guobing could arrange for him, and asked Gao Mingli to think carefully and make a choice.
Gao Mingcheng said, "There's no rush. Mingli, take your time to think about it. I'm going to Zhangshu to attend the medicine fair in a while. I'll be short of help then. Mingli, come with me! We won't take the train this time. We'll drive a truck directly over there."
Gao Mingli's eyes lit up instantly when he heard this, and he quickly said, "Okay, I'll go with my second brother!"
You know, he has long wanted to go out and see the world.
But he didn't dare to go alone, and Gao Yuanjian refused to give him money to go out, for fear that he might encounter something on the way.
Gao Yuanjian knew that things were not peaceful outside, especially on the roads.
Gao Mingli's arms and legs are so small, and no one would let him go out without someone to lead him.
Now Gao Mingcheng proposed that Gao Mingli go with him to sell medicine. Not only did Gao Mingli agree, but Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua were also very satisfied.
Gao Yuanjian even said: "Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. You called your brothers to help, that's right! You were just messing around last year!"
Last year, Gao Mingcheng called Gao Zhuang and Huang Dazhi. Gao Zhuang was fine, as he had been Gao Mingcheng's follower since he was a child, but who was Huang Dazhi? An irrelevant person!
Gao Yuanjian and Luo Xiaohua were very dissatisfied about this.
Gao Mingcheng smiled and said nothing.
Having said almost everything that needed to be said, Gao Mingcheng said goodbye and left, but he did not go home directly. Instead, he went to his grandmother's house.
He did not suggest that Xi Nainai's family also attend the beam-raising ceremony because there would be too many people and the pickup truck might not be able to accommodate them. Xi Nainai was old and He Xiuman was pregnant, so it would be inconvenient for them to squeeze in.
He came here to talk about tomorrow's photo shoot.
"Xi Nainai, Gao Zhuang, Xiu Man, I will bring a camera tomorrow morning and take some pictures of you. You must dress nicely tomorrow!" Gao Mingcheng said with a smile.
He rented a camera and bought film, naturally wanting to take pictures of more people.
Originally I had time to take the photos in the afternoon, but he was out selling trees. Besides, if I took the photos in the morning, I might be more energetic and not feel tired after working for most of the day.
"Really? Brother Mingcheng, you're so nice!" Gao Zhuang was the first person to be happy. He looked at He Xiuman and said, "I said before that I would take you to the county to take pictures, but you refused to go! Now it's good, Brother Mingcheng can take pictures for us!"
"Grandma, you haven't taken a photo yet!"
Gao Zhuang's cheerful voice made Xi Nainai and He Xiuman look forward to it as well.
Taking photos in the countryside is a novelty these days.
Gao Mingcheng was very happy to see them happy. He would be satisfied as long as Gao Zhuang and Xi Nainai could live a safe and happy life.
Gao Mingcheng said: "Gao Zhuang, you must put on your best clothes! We will take a few photos in this room, and then go to the village to take a few photos."
He wanted to record the people and scenes of 1987 with his camera.
In another year or two, all the houses in the village will be demolished and rebuilt, and the village will look completely different.
And now this somewhat dilapidated little mountain village will completely disappear from memory.
Memory is like a painting. It is brightly colored at first, but as time goes by, the strokes will blur and the colors will fade.
By recording it with a camera, the memory will last longer and be more substantial.
He planned to go to the county at 8 o'clock tomorrow, so he made an appointment with Gao Zhuang and others to take pictures at 7 o'clock in the morning. The villagers went to bed early and got up early. In summer, they usually got up at 6 o'clock, while the elderly who slept less might get up at more than 5 o'clock.
"Okay, Brother Mingcheng, we'll be waiting for you!" Gao Zhuang was so excited that he looked like a fool, waving goodbye to Gao Mingcheng's departing back.
After Gao Mingcheng left, he took He Xiuman's hand and said hurriedly: "Xiuman, go find my best clothes!"
Ever since he got married, He Xiuman has been responsible for taking care of Gao Zhuang's clothes.
He Xiuman smiled and led Gao Zhuang to find clothes.
The little lady also returned to her room with a smile and began to rummage through the drawers. Well, she also had to pick out the best dress to wear!
Gao Mingcheng left in a leisurely manner, but left behind three people who were full of anticipation. For the three of them, it was the first time to take photos.
(End of this chapter)
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