Chapter 161 Everyone Has Their Own Fun
"What's your last name?" an old lady asked Wang Zhong.
After a certain age, it is difficult to tell how old someone is. Judging from their appearance, Wang Zhong, a pampered old man, is not much better than his peers.
Wang Zhong told his name, and the elderly people around him found that he was easy to talk to, so more and more people came closer to talk to him.
"When did you get this?" Someone asked him when he got the disease.
As Wang Zhong spoke, his mouth began to water. The older sister beside him took out a handkerchief that smelled of jasmine and wiped the corner of his mouth. She looked at him calmly and said, "You're welcome. It's not easy for us all. I'll help you if I can."
Wang Zhong: “…”
He could only pull the corners of his mouth and carefully control the angle: "Thank you."
Although the woman is old, she still has the demeanor of her youth. Her silver-white hair is combed neatly, and she wears a clean and tidy floral shirt. Her figure is not too out of shape, and she looks like a sophisticated old lady.
"Where do you live? How many children do you have? Do they all work outside?"
Wang Zhong continued to answer these people's questions. He lied a little and said that he had just returned to his hometown from his child's stay in another place. His house in his hometown was gone and he was now living with a friend.
He had two sons and one daughter. Both sons are gone, leaving only the daughter, whose health is not much better than his.
As soon as he said these words, Wang Zhong clearly felt that the eyes of the people around him looked at him differently, with sympathy, pity, and some people trying to comfort him clumsily.
"It's okay, it's all in the past. It's not easy for everyone. At our age, we must think positively and live one day at a time. You are also a pitiful person."
Yes, Wang Zhong never thought that there would be a day when he would be pitied by others. Surprisingly, he did not feel any discomfort.
He felt quite happy among these elderly people.
It was his turn to ask questions. He asked why his peers were all here. Did they still need to work?
The old lady who wiped his mouth with a jasmine-scented handkerchief waved her hand and said, "We are not here to work, we are here to eat for free."
She briefly talked about the situation in the village. There are many left-behind elderly people in the village. Although they can still cook at home, their physical strength and energy are not as good as before, and they can only make do with whatever they can get.
Sometimes I can cook a meal and eat it for three days. It’s okay when the weather is cool, but when it gets hot, if I continue to eat like this, my body will be damaged.
Xia Wu is a good child. Since she came back to grow vegetables on the mountain, she has also been selling vegetables through live broadcasts online. When she needs people to work for her, she accepts everyone, young or old.
At the beginning, only elderly people with good physical strength came to work for her. Even if it was just light work like sweeping the floor or picking vegetables, she would pay them wages and provide them with food.
Later, more and more elderly people wanted to work for her, not for money, but just for a meal.
Xia Wu accepted them all and even built a yard for the elderly in the village who didn't want to cook to come and eat.
We also hired a cook to take care of these elderly people.
Three meals a day, steamed buns, soy milk, milk and side dishes in the morning, eaten in turn.
There are two dishes and one soup at noon, and there must be meat.
The same thing happens at night.
Since her return, the lives of the elderly in the village have improved.
Most of the elderly people were concerned about their reputation and knew that they had taken advantage of Xia Wu, so they felt embarrassed. They could only give back the best they could, so they contracted the light work at Taoyuan Villa.
They are the ones who do the work of picking, packing and weighing the vegetables sold online, which requires no physical movement.
When the prickly ash and raspberries were ripe, they also took the seeds one by one to make juice.
It's just a way to kill time anyway.
These jobs might have been useless, but Xia Wu created a lot of non-existent jobs in order to make them useful.
Even the village secretary would pick them up and drop them off every day, rain or shine.
It’s been hot this summer, but I haven’t heard of any elderly person in the village being hospitalized due to eating unclean food.
Coming to the Shuijing courtyard to work and eat, these elderly people have the opportunity to communicate with people of the same age. Some of them listen to operas together and chat about family matters. After a long time, they always feel that their health has improved and their mood has become more cheerful. They think that living another 10 or 20 years will not be a problem.
Wang Zhong was deeply moved after hearing this. Although he had heard about Yanggou Village from Old Ji, seeing is believing. When he saw with his own eyes the living conditions of these elderly people of the same age, he found that they were not miserable at all, and even felt envious.
Humans are social animals and we always need to communicate with others.
After chatting for a while, Wang Zhong was handed a potato and a peeler. "Can you peel the potatoes? We're having roast chicken with potatoes for lunch, so we need to prepare the ingredients."
Wang Zhong was silent. He looked at his useless right hand. Before he could refuse, Old Lady Jinzi beside him scolded him, "His hand is useless. Aren't you teasing him?"
As if to prove himself, Wang Zhong tried hard to pick up the potato and said stubbornly, "It's still usable."
He had already found out that the eldest sister with the jasmine handkerchief was called Jinzi, and she had a younger sister named Yinzi and a younger brother named Tongdanzi.
She has been married to Yanggou Village for more than 50 years and has been a widow for more than 30 years. She has several children, but only her eldest son lives in the village. She lives with her eldest son and his family. Her eldest son and his wife both work for Xia Wu and have formal positions.
She didn't need Yang Guofeng to pick her up, because every day her eldest son would bring her to the mountain like a kid in kindergarten. In the evening, after her son and daughter-in-law got off work, they would have dinner on the mountain and then take her home.
Sister Jinzi is in good health, and her son and daughter-in-law are extremely filial. They keep the house clean for her, and she can clean up by herself. The day before yesterday, she even went to the jasmine field with her daughter-in-law and spent half a day picking jasmine flowers.
Wang Zhong was somewhat envious of Jinzi's life.
He tried to stubbornly peel the potatoes, but his hands were weak and the peeler rolled to the ground. Jinzi quickly picked up the peeler, took the potatoes from Wang Zhong's hand, and started peeling them himself.
Jin Zi said to Wang Zhong, "Don't worry. I'm telling you something. Go to the village and ask where Yang Hongen lives. He's Xia Wu's grandfather. He's a barefoot doctor in our village. He's a very knowledgeable doctor and a good person."
"A while ago, a young man with uremia came to our village. He's staying at Yang Laosi's house. I ran into him yesterday. He looks much better than when he first arrived. Maybe Doctor Yang cured him!"
The villagers were talking about how Yang Hongen's medical skills were indeed good. There was no family in the village that had not been treated by him, including adults, children and the elderly. Yang Hongen alone had treated at least three generations of people in the village.
He is not only an excellent doctor, but also a kind person. Most importantly, the villagers trust him.
Sometimes when the elderly in the village feel unwell, it is better to let Yang Hongen take their pulse, prescribe some medicine, and give them a few injections instead of asking them to go to a big hospital for treatment.
You know what, I don’t know if it’s because the elderly in the village are in good health, or if Yang Hongen is really good at medical knowledge, but over the years, there is really no disease that he can’t cure.
It is said that the older a Chinese medicine doctor gets, the more popular he becomes. People from nearby villages like to seek medical treatment from him.
So even though Yang Hongen is so old, he is never idle all day long. He rides a bicycle with a box on his back and goes to see patients all day long.
Sometimes people from other villages come to us on their own initiative.
It all depends on whether Yang Hongen is convenient.
Wang Zhong asked, "Can a stroke be cured?"
An old man spoke eloquently about this. He said that one morning a few years ago, he got up to brush his teeth and suddenly found his hands shrunk like chicken claws. He couldn't even hold a toothbrush, nor could he hold chopsticks when eating. "At that time, I thought, 'Oh no, I'm going to starve to death.' But who knew that I would go to see Doctor Yang, and he pricked me with a needle a few times, and my hands were able to stretch out immediately. He did it again for a few days, and now my hands are fine and I have the energy to work!"
The old man even twisted his wrist towards Wang Zhong to let him see if he was really strong or weak.
Old Master Wang was tempted. Some extraordinary people just like to live in seclusion. If he really met a hermit miracle doctor who cured his stroke, maybe he could really have a second life.
Only after losing your health will you realize that all other external things can only be possessed on the basis of life and health.
Wang Zhong decided to give it a try.
Old Master Ji went to find something to eat. Wang Yuexia brought him some buffalo milk buns, put them on a plate and heated them in the microwave. Old Master Ji looked around and suddenly saw Ma Xueqing wearing an apron. He cried out a few times.
Ma Xueqing turned around, "Oh, Old Ji!"
"Old Ma! Why are you here too?"
Old Master Ji is a man who loves sensual pleasures. Although he is old, he is in good health and is both lustful and foodie.
But as I get older, no matter how lustful I am, it’s no use.
He turned his grief and anger into a love of food.
It was after eating the food cooked by Ma Xueqing on the mountain last time that Mr. Ji felt that this was an excellent place to recuperate. After returning, he persuaded his old comrades and tricked Mr. Wang Zhong into coming here.
Old Ji had followed Ma Xueqing to his restaurant before, and the food there was delicious, but not as good as the one he cooked in the mountains. Ma Xueqing told him the truth and said that the vegetables grown in Yanggou Village were better.
Sometimes a good chef cannot do without good food. If you want to eat good food, you have to go to Yanggou Village.
Mr. Ji has been here for a while, and the dishes he eats are all sent to Bailou by Ji Yunzhou from Yanggou Village. Sure enough, the dishes cooked by the chef in Bailou are much more delicious.
He was still wondering who would cook this morning when he saw Ma Xueqing. He felt like he had found a treasure.
Ma Xueqing was very happy and said that he had just gone to Haotang Village to pick pork. The meat he bought was all good meat. He also bought a large piece of pork liver and planned to cook it for the old people in the yard at noon.
Pork belly and pork liver are both suitable for the teeth of the elderly.
"If I had known you were coming, I would have given you another whole kidney!"
Mr. Ji said, "It's okay. I'll live here from now on and I don't plan to leave. Whenever you come, just cook me a meal when you have time."
Ma Xueqing was a little surprised. He knew the identity of the old man in front of him. It was not a simple matter. He said he would stay in this small mountain village, so he really stayed?
Old Ji sighed, "At this age, how much time can one still have left to live? The world belongs to the young after all. It's time to let go. I'll die sooner or later. Do I really have to stare at them forever?"
Old Master Ji has finally come to terms with things. The family's long-lasting glory is all empty talk after his death. It would be better for him to eat more and enjoy himself while he is still alive.
Ma Xueqing seemed to be touched.
To be honest, he is not young anymore, and he has earned the money he deserves. It seems that he has no regrets in this life.
But he still stayed at the Ma's Restaurant, like a tree growing there and unable to move, always worried that the apprentices he taught would ruin the reputation of the Ma's Restaurant.
If you think about it carefully, what Old Ji said makes sense. He will die sooner or later. Can he still help his apprentice after he dies?
He is a human, not a tree.
Ma Xueqing felt mixed emotions and asked Lao Ji, "Where do you live? Maybe I've come to my senses and want to keep you company."
Old Master Ji was overjoyed and said happily, "Oh, Old Ma, this is great news. If you come, you don't need to bring anything. Just bring the kitchen utensils I gave you. I'll take care of everything else, including a place to stay!"
Ma Xueqing laughed and said, "I didn't come here to cook. That's called retirement!"
Ma Xueqing still had to cook and had no time to chat with Mr. Ji. He told him to come to the back room for dinner. As a chef, he could save some good food, so he fried some chicken offal to go with the wine.
Mr. Ji readily agreed.
He took the heated buns and steamed buns to share with Wang Zhong. He was so happy. Wang Zhong was chatting happily with the old lady next to him. He walked over to see, wow! She was a beautiful lady!
Ma Xueqing and Chef Zhang worked together, with Wang Yuexia and two other women helping out. The six of them cooked for more than a hundred people, which was more manpower than usual. However, meat dishes alone were not enough, so Ma Xueqing picked out some lettuce and okra from the freshly picked vegetables and planned to stir-fry a few vegetable dishes.
The stove was bustling with activity. The mountain breeze from the open stove was quite cool, and the aroma of the hot food was blown down the mountain.
Every day at mealtime, villagers from Haotang Village, which is close to Yanggou Village, can smell the aroma of food wafting down from Yantou Mountain. But today, the rich aroma of food is even more overbearing than usual.
"The food in their village is so good! It smells so good!"
The old secretary was exploring Xishuigouzi and Zhaoyanghe together. Zhaoyanghe saw water rafting in other places on the Internet and said that their village could do it too. He took the old secretary to see a relatively deserted waterway near Yanggou Village. There were mountains on one side and villages on the other side, which could indeed be used as a natural rafting place.
But they are also laymen, so if they really want to do it, they have to ask professionals to take a look.
At this moment, smelling the delicious food coming from Yanggou Village, Hao Datong started to talk, "Let's stop looking. Let's go to Yanggou Village and see what delicious food they cook every day."
Zhao Yanghe was shy and a little embarrassed: "Uncle, this is not good, right?"
"What's wrong with that? We are brother villages. If we want to organize rafting, we must involve Yanggou Village. No, we must also involve the villages above us. This is also good. A few days ago, their village secretary asked me for advice!"
As an old and experienced man, Hao Datong certainly had nothing to be embarrassed about. He took Zhao Yanghe to Yanggou Village, and walked up the mountain following the smell, where he met Yang Guofeng who also wanted to go up the mountain.
Yang Guofeng asked in surprise, "Secretary Hao, Secretary Zhao, are you looking for me?"
Zhao Yanghe's face turned red.
At the critical moment, Hao Datong stepped in and said, "Yes, I have something to ask you. A few days ago, Secretary Zhao told me that we could work together with the villages near Chaotian River to organize some kind of water rafting event. I thought of you and wanted to discuss it with you to see if it would be feasible."
Yang Guofeng was very happy. "This is a good thing. Let's go up the mountain and eat and talk. If it really succeeds, won't it increase the income of the village?"
Maybe it can attract more tourists.
At Yang Guofeng's invitation, two secretaries from the neighboring village also went.
The small courtyard is full of excitement. On one side, there are teachers and enthusiastic students and parents who come to visit the students' homes; on one side, there is a large group building for the elderly; and on another side, the secretary is working together to get rich.
There were also police officers with retired police dogs, and Dr. Nong interacting with the majestic puppy.
Thunder and majesty, the names are a perfect match.
Weifeng is a mixed breed, a cross between a German Shepherd and a rural coyote. You can see the German Shepherd bloodline, while her bloodline comes from the wolfdog part, which makes her look more majestic and handsome than the authentic German Shepherd.
When Weifeng was first picked up from the construction site, the hair on her neck had been rubbed off by the collar, making her look bald. She had also been chained since she was a child and was somewhat malnourished.
After being taken home by Xia Wu and fed well for a period of time, he felt like he was reborn.
Her fur was translucent and her eyes were sharp. The last battle with the monkeys had given her more confidence. Xia Wu felt that she was very reliable, so he let her take up the post officially, patrolling the mountains and staying in the cowshed at night.
The retired German Shepherd was also well-maintained and was slightly larger than Weifeng. Not long after they met, they showed friendliness towards each other.
Jiang Xun knew that this was animal instinct, but he had to ask Sun Dehong's opinion before pairing with a police dog, even if it was just a retired one.
Sun Dehong had no objection, he was a man of few words.
He answered whatever Jiang Xun asked and said nothing else, as if he had no curiosity at all.
Jiang Xun touched his nose, looked at the two dogs that were about to do something inappropriate for children, and asked, "How about we go somewhere else? There are too many people here."
Sun Dehong nodded, and the two grown men each took their dogs and temporarily left the courtyard by the well.
Jindou and Heidou watched their companions leave and wanted to follow them, but were called back by Ji Yunzhou.
He squatted down and rubbed the two little dogs' heads. No, they couldn't be called the two little dogs anymore. Jindou and Heidou had grown a lot and had become very capable big dogs.
I guess it won’t be long before the two of them start considering starting a family.
Xia Wu has already made up her mind. She plans to find marriage partners for the two little ones on the forum.
Xia Wu was surrounded by children who loved the Monkey King. She sat there, hugging the Monkey King and restraining the children's hands from going beyond the boundaries: "You can touch him a little, but not too much. The Monkey King doesn't like it."
"Doesn't the Great Sage like humans?"
"The Great Sage doesn't like humans who have no sense of boundaries."
"What does it mean to have no sense of boundaries?"
"Fatty, don't touch the Monkey King's chest," Xia Wu grabbed the fat girl's hand. The fat girl sniffled and cried in a baby voice, "It's a girl!"
Xia Wu black line.
"No, I have breasts too, but I'm a boy!"
Soon a child refuted Pangguo.
Fatty didn't understand what was going on and said dumbly, "But mom said that only girls have breasts."
"Look, I have it too, I'm a boy!"
The sharing little boy decisively lifted up his sweatshirt, revealing his barren chest.
Xia Wu couldn't bear to watch it any longer. She put the little boy's clothes down and said, "You can't do this! Children's bodies shouldn't be exposed like this!"
The Great Sage seemed to understand. He covered his eyes with his paws and looked around through the gaps between his fingers.
The children's attention was quickly diverted, "Haha, it will cover its eyes!"
Xia Wu was tortured to pieces by this group of young children.
Fortunately, it was about to open. Chef Zhang brought the cooked and plated dishes to the long table and shouted, "Children! It's open!"
He used his cooking skills in the school cafeteria to make spring rolls for the children.
Wonton wrappers are filled with chopped fillings such as carrots and black fungus. Boil water and steam for three minutes. The resulting spring pancakes are small and delicious, suitable for all ages.
The spring rolls had been put out for a while earlier so it wasn't so hot. The children lined up to wash their hands and then lined up again to get the spring rolls, finally freeing Xia Wu from the endless torture.
If there are many people, they can eat from separate plates. They can take as much as they want to eat. If it is not enough, they can get more. Those who have received food can find a place to sit and eat their own food.
The dishes prepared today are particularly rich, far exceeding the usual two dishes and one soup. Ma Xueqing and Chef Zhang cannot appear in the courtyard with the well at the same time.
Otherwise, these two chefs with equal cooking skills will subconsciously start competing with each other.
Xia Wu tasted the braised pork and her mouth immediately started watering. She was very happy about it.
When it was time to eat, Old Man Ji pushed Wang Zhong to get the food, then secretly took him to the back room. Ma Xueqing and Chef Zhang were already waiting. Ma Xueqing asked Xia Wu for some green plum wine, set up the table and chairs, and quickly invited everyone to the table: "Come on, come on, let's sit down and have a drink."
Chef Zhang fried a plate of peanuts and sprinkled some sugar on them before taking them out of the pan. They tasted fragrant and crispy.
It is best to drink it with wine.
Stir-fried chicken offal with chili peppers, braised pork liver, braised pork, braised chicken with potatoes, and two plates of mixed vegetarian dishes.
It was enough for the four of them to have a good meal.
Old Ji first picked up a piece of braised pork for Wang Zhong and waved it in front of him. "Old Wang, is this the braised pork you want to eat?"
This old thing made Wang Zhong drool so much, he was really drooling. He took out the jasmine handkerchief tremblingly and wiped it with his shaking hands.
Old Ji saw it and said jokingly, "Oh, you are a flower from a cypress tree!"
"Stop teasing him and try it to see if it suits your taste!"
Ma Xueqing looked at Wang Zhong expectantly.
"Let me try it," Wang Zhong's speech was a little unclear. He took a bite of the braised pork. The fat was greasy but not greasy and melted in his mouth. This piece of meat was well chosen. It had more fat and less lean meat. The lean meat part was not dry either. When paired with the oil film, it tasted unique.
Wang Zhongzhi nodded, "That's the taste! Authentic!"
Ma Xueqing was happier to receive the recognition than after eating two bowls of meat.
He quickly picked up another piece of chicken heart for Mr. Wang and said, "Eat, eat, eat quickly."
With Sun Dehong away, Old Ji became bolder and poured Wang Zhong a glass of green plum wine. "Drink slowly, just small sips. I can't give you more!"
After eating the meat and drinking a sip of clear green plum wine, Mr. Wang felt that his life was complete.
It’s a pity that his health is too poor and he needs someone to feed him when he eats and drinks.
How great it would be if he could recover his health. He happily ate the braised pork with steamed buns and rice!
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