Chapter 497: Spending the New Year Alone Away (Page 1/2)
Xie Yan was very envious when he saw Huo Qinghuan coming back from the town, carrying a large bag of things in his hand and a large woven bag on his shoulder as he entered the house.
He hurried over and helped Huo Qinghuan take off the woven bag on his shoulders. He smiled and said, "Qinghuan, your parents are so kind to you. They sent you so many things for the New Year!"
Huo Qinghuan smiled and shook his head, saying, "These were sent by my eldest brother and his wife. My parents also sent me dozens of dollars."
Xie Yan sighed and said, "My parents knew I wasn't going home for the New Year, so they only sent me twenty yuan and no New Year's gifts."
Huo Qinghuan comforted him, "It's okay, Brother Xie Yan, we are celebrating the New Year together now, so we can just eat together."
After hearing this, Xie Yan felt a little touched. He felt that he had been living with Huo Qinghuan and had taken advantage of him a lot. If one day he could make a name for himself, he would definitely repay him well.
"Qinghuan, I won't sell the mushrooms I pick anymore. I'll send them all to your brother and sister-in-law!"
"No, you can send it to your parents."
Huo Qinghuan knew that Xie Yan felt guilty, so he always rushed to cook and fetch water, and sometimes even took the initiative to help him wash clothes.
They lived under the same roof, so it was okay for Xie Yan to take advantage of them. When out and about, it was always better to have one more friend than one more enemy.
What's more, Xie Yan is a kind-hearted person who knows how to repay kindness. He is a friend worth making.
Huo Qinghuan opened a bag and took out a bag of peanut candy. "Brother Yan, have some peanut candy."
"Eat it, we'll have dinner soon."
When Huo Qinghuan saw Xie Yan refuse, he grabbed a handful of peanut candies and stuffed them into Xie Yan's hands.
"Eat it! My brother sent me a lot of dried fish, as well as cured chicken, duck and meat. We can have a good New Year this year."
"Qinghuan, your brother sent you so many supplies, you can sell some to the villagers for money."
Huo Qinghuan waved his hand and said, "Brother Yan, we are doing hard labor now, so we need to eat more.
If my eldest brother knew that I sold all the supplies he sent me, he would definitely scold me for being money-minded. I can't afford to take advantage of my brother's kindness."
Half a year has passed since he came to Xishuangbanna. He has lost a lot of weight, having lost 20 kilograms. It is a luxury for him to have a hearty meal of meat.
In order to have a bite of meat, he and Xie Yan would go into the mountains to set traps and catch prey such as rabbits and pheasants whenever they had free time.
At the beginning, they were always scared and ran away when they saw poisonous snakes, but now when they encounter poisonous snakes, they will pick up stones and throw them at them without hesitation, or even skin them and eat them.
After coming here, they not only ate snake meat, but even rat meat became one of their foods.
Not only are there venomous snakes, but mosquitoes are a real headache, and rats are a disaster. Locals often say, "Five mosquitoes make a plate of food, three rats make a sack."
The woven bag of meat that his elder brother sent him this time will keep them well fed for a while.
Huo Qinghuan put the New Year's goods back into the big box one by one, then packed the cured chicken, cured duck, dried fish and other ingredients in a big basket and hung it up.
Xie Yan chewed some peanut candy while staring at the basket full of dried goods, his eyes gleaming with a strange light. Thanks to Huo Qinghuan, they would have meat to eat during the Spring Festival this year.
"Qinghuan, your eldest brother sent you three cured chickens, two cured ducks, and six pieces of cured meat. He must have been saving up meat coupons for ages to prepare so much meat for you. Could it be that they didn't eat it themselves and sent it all to you?"
(This chapter is not yet finished, please click on the next page to continue reading) Chapter 497: Spending the New Year Alone Away (Page 2/2)
"No, if my brother runs out of tickets, he'll pay someone to exchange them for them. He says that people live to eat, so we can't treat ourselves badly."
"Yeah, your brother makes over a hundred bucks a month. If my parents had that much of a salary, they would be willing to spend money on it."
"Brother Yan, shall we have preserved meat bamboo rice tonight?"
"Okay, I'll cut some bacon and make it."
Huo Qinghuan took out the smallest piece of bacon and handed it to Xie Yan. After Xie Yan left, he stuffed the money and bills in his pocket into the mahogany box and locked it.
Then he took out all the remaining things in the woven bag, which included two jars of fermented tofu, a large bag of dried vegetables, and several packs of two pairs of old Beijing cloth shoes.
My eldest brother said that the fried rice with shiitake mushrooms was very delicious and my eldest sister-in-law liked it very much, so he asked him to buy more next year, dry them and send them back to them.
In addition to pig mushrooms, my sister-in-law also likes to eat matsutake and red mushrooms, so he also wants to help buy some. When the mushroom picking season comes next year, my brother will send him money.
In fact, even if the eldest brother didn't say it, he would go to pick mushrooms for the eldest sister-in-law.
After all, his sister-in-law likes to eat these mushrooms so much, so he is willing to spend money to buy more and send them back to them.
Moreover, most of those old educated youth were not well-off, so he could just spend money to buy it from them.
This was his first year celebrating the New Year alone, and he was somewhat uncomfortable with it.
But fortunately, his elder brother sent him so many things, and his parents also sent him money, all of which made him feel very warm.
Their mother gave birth to a younger sister, and their second sister-in-law also gave birth to a daughter. With two more people added to the family, they must have had a very lively New Year this year.
On New Year's Eve, Huo Junshan's entire family sat together and celebrated a lively New Year.
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, they sat by the fire and chatted. Huo Junshan suddenly asked Huo Qingci, "What did you send to Qinghuan last time?"
"The chickens, ducks, fish and meat have all been sent. Don't worry, Dad. I will make sure that my brother will have meat to eat during the New Year."
"We were all together as a family, but he was the only one outside. I don't know what he had for dinner today."
Huo Qingyan held his son on his lap, peeling candy for him while joking with Huo Junshan: "Dad, did you miss me during those two years I was abroad?"
"What are you complaining about? You're definitely eating meat every meal when you're abroad. I have nothing to worry about. Your brother went to Xishuangbanna, and there's nothing to ask for there."
Huo Qingyan smiled awkwardly, "Overseas, we do have meat for every meal. Not only that, but we also have endless sea fish. The food is much better than back home."
Huo Junshan glared at Huo Qingyan, "Of all the soldiers, the Air Force has the best food. There's always sugar on your table, so you can eat as much as you want. There's also canned meat, canned fruit, bread, and so on. Which month haven't you been given some? Tell me, what do you have to complain about?"
Huo Li glanced at Huo Qingyan and said, "Qingyan, you are so ungrateful for your good fortune. When we were on the battlefield, we would grab handfuls of snow and stuff them into our mouths when we were hungry."
Huo Qingyan's face flushed red as he was told this, and he quickly stood up to apologize, "Grandpa, I'm sorry, I was just joking, please don't mind."
Huo Li snorted coldly and ignored him. Song Jingjing felt a little uncomfortable when she saw her husband being scolded. It was bad enough that her grandfather was partial to her eldest uncle, but now he was scolding her husband for his younger brother-in-law.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com