Chapter 423 Fireworks and Snow
When they got home, the snow had already covered the sky and the earth in white. In the center of the village, a group of people were shouting enthusiastically, some talking, some working, it was very lively.
Xiulan looked at them and said, "They are making sweet potato vermicelli. It's a pity that the weather is bad today."
Father Lin guessed, "They probably started working on it this morning. The snow didn't start falling until this afternoon, so they've already done more than half of the work."
"Let's go over and take a look, and then buy some." Lin Heng thought for a while and said, sweet potato vermicelli is very, very delicious. His family didn't make it this year, so we can just buy some.
When you come here, you can see many people busy with their hands, mostly middle-aged men, with sallow skin, dirt in their nails, and starch on their arms, constantly stirring and pressing with force.
The environment for making vermicelli is not very dirty, but it is not clean either. Sometimes you can see sweat dripping in, but no one cares about it.
It doesn’t matter if some dirt and dust get in, it will be the same after being cooked. The most important thing is that these are all vermicelli made from authentic sweet potato starch, without any fake adulteration. Every link is created by the hard work of the farmers.
The person who is hosting and helping here is the village party secretary Tian Dongfu. He is a very kind person and he will help out whenever there is any major activity in the village.
Seeing Lin Heng and the other two coming over, he smiled and greeted them: "Old Lin, Lin Heng, you guys went to dig yams, how was the harvest?"
"It's okay. The two of us together can probably harvest more than 30 kilograms. It's quite easy to dig yams this year." Father Lin responded with a smile.
Tian Dongfu smiled and nodded, saying, "That's not bad. I heard from Old Man Zhao in the village that he dug ten kilograms in one day. You dug more than him."
Lin Heng also said, "Uncle Tian, if you make vermicelli, I'd like to buy some. My family didn't make vermicelli this year."
"As long as you, Lin Heng, don't mind the vermicelli made by our dirty hands, you can buy from whomever you want."
"Yes, as long as you don't mind us getting our hands dirty, everyone has fought a lot."
The villagers who were working talked about it all at once, and most of them had a very good impression of Lin Heng. Not to mention that he bought seeds for everyone so that everyone could have a good harvest, he was also very kind and gentle in his daily life and never put on airs.
Although they are already millionaires and have been in the newspapers several times, they still offer cigarettes to everyone they meet and greet them with a smile. They are not like some people in the village who look down on others as soon as they get a little money.
"What's the big deal? It's not dirty at all. It's very clean." Lin Heng said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll let you know when it's dried in two days." Someone responded with a smile.
After chatting for a few words, Lin Heng and the other two left. The snow was getting heavier.
When they returned to the room, Xiaoxia was the first to rush over and hugged them affectionately.
Lin Heng picked her up and walked into the house. He smelled a strong aroma of meat and looked at his mother and said, "Are the venison ribs cooked?"
Mother Lin smiled and said, "It's already cooked. The lotus roots and taro are already in. We're just waiting for your yams."
"We dug a lot of yams today, enough to eat during the New Year." Xiulan poured out the yams, got some water to clean them, cut them into pieces and put them in.
There is no need to peel wild yam, otherwise it will become so mushy after being boiled in wine that it cannot be picked up.
Then I took the buns out of the freezer and put them on the fireplace to heat them up. Finally, I cut some braised golden chicken, small intestines, tripe and other braised dishes and the lunch was ready.
Everything was prepared and served on the table. We ate the food and drank wine while watching the snow falling outside. It was such an immense joy. There is no greater enjoyment than this.
I drank the wine and ate the meat slowly, and soon I felt warm all over.
“It’s delicious. It’s really delicious.”
Xiaoxia was lying on the table gnawing on the venison ribs, enjoying the delicious food.
"Mom..."
"Well... Mom..."
The two little ones in the crib seemed to smell the fragrance of the food and crawled over using their hands and feet.
"Grandma, hold me."
Seeing that her grandsons wanted to eat, Lin's mother took one and Xiulan took another. They couldn't eat a whole piece of meat yet, but they could eat the soft and delicious yam.
The two little guys became well-behaved when they were held in her arms. They opened their mouths wide and ate the yam. When they saw Xiaoxia chewing the meat, they started to hum again. They wanted to eat what others were eating.
"That won't work." Xiulan didn't feed them. Their stomachs could only eat a little fish and chicken. Deer meat was not easy to digest and was not suitable for them.
"Dad, feed me." Lin Heng also fed his two sons a bite of food. These two little guys were very lovable.
As we drank and chatted, we soon turned to the topic of the Chinese New Year.
"The New Year is only a month away. When are we going to slaughter the pig?" Lin Heng asked after taking a sip of wine.
"Probably around the 10th day of the twelfth lunar month. It's not confirmed yet. Let's find a good day to kill it." Father Lin said with a smile.
Lin Heng nodded. After dinner, the snow outside was already five centimeters thick and was still falling with no sign of stopping.
The snow came so suddenly that it caught people off guard.
My parents took some yams, stewed venison and buns back to Hongfeng Mountain.
Lin Heng followed and brought some hay and silage. The cows needed to be fed well recently.
After carrying grass back to feed the cows, Lin Heng quickly returned to the house, warmed himself up, made a pot of tea and looked at the white snow outside.
Xiaoxia ran back and forth with a smile on her face, either writing or drawing on the snow with a wooden stick, or making little snowmen. When she felt cold, she ran back, and when she warmed herself up, she ran out again.
It was not until he fell on his butt in the snow and was scolded by his mother when he came back that he stopped playing like before.
The snow fell overnight, and the next morning the snow was more than 40 centimeters thick, which was definitely a heavy snowfall. The mountains were covered in white snow, and everything was in silence, just like a silent movie.
“Woof woof!”
Xiongba, Dazhuang and other three dogs started barking one after another. The doors of their doghouses were blocked by snow, and a huge dog head emerged from the snow.
"Let's sweep the snow first." Xiulan said, looking at the heavy snow.
"Go and wake up Xiaoxia to build a snowman together, and I'll sweep the snow." Lin Heng said with a smile.
Xiulan shook her head and smiled: "Just spoil her."
She went back and called Xiaoxia to get up. She put a thick cotton jacket on her and put a small red hat on her. She looked like a snow elf.
"Wow, Dad, are we going to build a super-sized snowman?"
Xiaoxia said excitedly as she looked at the snow Lin Heng was shoveling.
"Of course, let's make a super big one." Lin Heng nodded, and kept shoveling snow with a shovel. Finally, he built a two-meter-tall snowman against the wall, which made Xiaoxia very happy.
When making snowmen, it is inevitable to have a snowball fight. Even if there are only three of them, they still have a lot of fun. Snowy days always bring a different kind of joyful atmosphere.
They were playing snowball fights, and the dogs were inevitably hit by snowballs as well, running around in the yard. Only Jinbao was curled up on the bench, looking lazy, as if he thought the bipeds and dogs were so childish.
After finishing his exercise and having breakfast, Lin Heng found a wooden board and poured water on it to freeze it. He then made it into a sled and asked Xiongba and Dazhuang to pull it and walk around in circles in the yard.
"Daddy, please let me play for a while, please!"
Xiaoxia watched the big sled chasing him and acted like a spoiled child, but she really wanted to be on the sled.
"for you."
After playing with her for a while, Lin Heng carried her to the sled and restricted her to playing only in the yard.
"Wife, do you want to play?"
Lin Heng walked into the room and said to Xiulan.
Xiulan joked, "I'm not a child."
"Since you said so, I must let you play for a while." Lin Heng looked at her and said.
When Xiaoxia got tired of playing, he fed the dogs, then took Xiulan to play, watching her being pulled around in the yard by the two big dogs.
"Is it fun?" Lin Heng asked again.
“It’s not fun at all.”
Xiulan continued to be stubborn and didn't want to admit defeat.
However, although she said this, she did not get off the sled, but continued to play, obviously enjoying this wonderful feeling.
"You know what, this is quite entertaining."
When she got off the sled, her attitude suddenly changed.
"That's for sure." Lin Heng stroked her hair with a smile. No matter how old a person is, they all have a childish side, but there is nothing wrong with it, it can bring a lot of happiness.
The snow remained like this for five full days. The Gregorian new year passed quietly in this heavy snow. 1985 ended quietly like this, and 1986 arrived in the auspicious snow.
For Lin Heng, the past 85 years have been a year full of memories. This year, Xiulan gave birth to twin sons for her, Hongfeng Mountain was built better, many Chinese medicinal herbs were planted, and the scale of cattle and sheep was also expanded.
All of this is like a seed that will continue to sprout with the passage of time and his efforts, and will eventually grow into his original capital, helping him develop a huge tree of wealth.
During the snowy period, Lin Heng did not go into the mountains, and the compound bow he bought had not returned yet. The main reason was that he felt he had enough to eat and wanted to stay at home with his wife and children.
During the day, I do some chores, take care of my daughter, and prepare New Year's goods with Xiulan. At night, I simply have in-depth conversations with Xiulan, and eat some snacks with each other.
His eldest brother did go out hunting a few times, once with Old Man Tian and once with his third uncle. They didn't catch any big ones, but they managed to get a few grouse and hares.
The snow melted on January 4th of the Gregorian calendar. The sun was very strong that day, but it was unusually cold because of the melting snow, especially with the cold wind. People couldn't stand the cold after staying outside for more than ten minutes in their cotton-padded jackets.
Almost everyone stayed at home and warmed themselves by the fire, with no intention of going out at all.
Lin Heng sent milk back to his parents and stayed at home. Xiulan had made new shoes for him, but he was reluctant to wear them out in the snow. The cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles were most afraid of moisture. They could be worn for a year or two without breaking if they were dry.
In addition to shoes, Xiulan also made spring clothes for her three children. Her family had already bought most of the New Year's goods. Recently, they made konjac tofu, grew bean sprouts, and made some sweet wine for the New Year. There was nothing else.
Their customs here are more northerly. They are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, and they eat less rice cakes, but some people will still eat some.
Although there was nothing to prepare, Lin Heng would still take Xiulan and Xiaoxia out for a walk on the Thanksgiving Day, and sometimes he would drive with his parents to the next town.
It doesn’t matter whether we buy anything or not, the main thing is to stroll around together and enjoy a good life.
On January 13th, Li Jianguo delivered a large batch of goods to be sold during the New Year. Lin Heng brought Xiulan to the town to help unload the goods.
"Boss Lin, I brought the compound bow you asked for. Take a look at it." Li Jianguo handed a bow bag to Lin Heng and said with a smile.
"Okay, thank you." Lin Heng took it with a smile, opened it and took a look. It was almost the same as the one he had before, except for the different paint job.
His previous compound bow was painted black, but the one he has now is painted military green, which makes it more concealable. And according to his requirements, this one is more streamlined and more suitable for use in the woods than the previous compound bow.
Lin Heng took it to the backyard and tried it out. After confirming that there was no problem, he was very satisfied. He couldn't wait to find a gift to see the blood.
"Let me play for a bit." Grandpa Gao came over and said with a smile.
"No problem." Lin Heng gave the bow to Grandpa Gao to play with, and then went out to help unload the goods.
His business was very good at the end of the year. The previous bundled discounts were still in effect, and the prices were fair, so many people were willing to come to him to buy things.
On the way home, Xiulan drove a sidecar and Lin Heng sat behind her, hugging her slender waist tightly with his arms in her pockets.
Leaning my head on her shoulder, looking at the scenery on both sides of the road and smelling the fragrance of her hair, I have to say that this is also a wonderful enjoyment.
"Our business this year seems to be better than last year. How much money do you think the purchasing station and the convenience store can make?" Xiulan asked while driving.
"Maybe more than four thousand. It's hard to exceed five thousand." Lin Heng said, looking at her profile. The wind blew her black hair onto his face.
"That's fine. This way we will have close to 50,000 in cash. It's an incredible number." Xiulan exclaimed.
"It is indeed an incredible number." Lin Heng said with a smile, "But there will definitely be more in the future. One hundred thousand or one million is not a dream."
"Husband, you are so awesome." Xiulan said softly. It was really a happy thing that the person she loved was so capable.
"Hahaha! Of course!!"
Lin Heng laughed happily twice. This was the best compliment to him, second only to Xiulan's wholehearted comfort to him.
The two chatted for a while, and then Xiulan stopped the car. She was too cold to bear it, so she let Lin Heng continue driving. She hugged Lin Heng's waist, and Lin Heng put her little hands under his cotton-padded jacket to warm them.
Leaning her face on Lin Heng's back, talking to him and slowly walking back, Xiulan felt that she was the happiest person. Every aspect of her man was incomparable in her heart, and she felt all-round happiness.
Soon they returned to Hongfeng Village. The one who took care of the children at home today was Caiyun. She is now in the third year of junior high school and will graduate in June next year. She will go to high school in the city.
"Second brother and sister-in-law, you are back." Caiyun said with a smile when she saw the two of them returning home.
"The child is not crying, right?" Xiulan came over and asked with a smile.
Caiyun shook her head: "No, Luming and Duheng are both very well behaved. Xiaoxia went to her eldest brother's house next door to play with Lin Wei and the others. My eldest sister-in-law is watching them."
"That's good." Xiulan walked over and looked at her two sons, then went to heat some milk to feed them.
Lin Heng brought some of the odds and ends he had bought into the house, sat down and drank a sip of hot tea, then said, "Where are my parents? I bought everything they wanted."
This time, he not only bought a synthetic bow for himself, but also bought items for his two sons to celebrate their first birthday, as they were less than a month away from turning one.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
