There was a lot of rain this summer, and mushrooms grew everywhere in the back hills, bamboo forests, pine forests, and fields of Tianshui Village. Xie Zhao and Cheng Yaoyao returned home from the bamboo forest with a full load every day.
Morels, dried mushrooms and swan eggs are hard to come by and are cooked into soup on the same day. They are so delicious that people can't stop eating them. Mushrooms that are hard to store are strung together and dried. In winter, they are very hard to come by and are used to stew chicken or meat.
More mushrooms are made into mushroom sauce. Chop fresh mushrooms, add fat pork, lean meat, secret sauce and diced dried tofu to make sauce. Put a spoonful of oily sauce on rice or vegetarian noodles, it is so delicious that you want to swallow it.
The mushrooms picked every day could make a big pot of mushroom sauce, which Cheng Yaoyao filled bottle after bottle. When he had collected 200 bottles, he asked Xie Zhao to take them into the city and sell them to the monkeys. The precious oil chicken mushrooms were kept, and Xie Zhao used them as gifts.
After getting the 100 bottles of mushroom sauce, Monkey gave the money to Xie Zhao in full and also handed over the bottles and peanut oil from the canning factory to Xie Zhao.
Monkey diligently helped Xie Zhao move things, while begging: "Third brother, your mushroom sauce is so popular! I have the oil, bottles, materials and sales channels, just let my sister-in-law make more!"
Xie Zhao glanced at him. The monkey looked a lot older than Cheng Yaoyao, but he kept calling her sister-in-law in a sweet voice.
He said, "No."
"Why?" the monkey asked anxiously, "Although the profit from mushroom sauce is a little smaller, it still makes money!"
Xie Zhao lifted the 20-jin oil drum with one hand and put it on the car, saying, "It will tire her out."
Monkey stared blankly. Two hundred bottles of mushrooms were sold for a thousand yuan, and he could still make two or three hundred yuan by selling them. If someone else could make this taste, it wouldn't be a big deal to make two hundred bottles a day! How could this be tiring?
The monkey wanted to say "What a rich person", but Cheng Yaoyao's appearance appeared in front of him. He coughed and realized that she was really a delicate beauty.
After Xie Zhao separated from Monkey, he went to the post office and called Shanghai, whispering a few words. A noisy voice came from the other end: "Brother, I just negotiated two big deals, and I might make a lot of money! If you stop now, you..."
"I'm done with this. I'm going to concentrate on studying in the second half of the year." Xie Zhao stared at the words on the wall with a faint smile on his lips, "Making money is more important than getting married."
The man on the other end kept talking, but Xie Zhao was a stickler for what he said, so he could only mutter a few words.
Xie Zhao added: "You have made a lot of money following me. Things have been tense recently, so go back to your hometown to rest. I will let you know when I start working again."
Xie Zhao went to the next county and met someone at the back door of a bank. Not long after, he left with two suitcases.
The Xie family yard was very lively. The weather was getting hotter, and the Xie family yard was spacious, clean, and cool. The women from the neighborhood loved to come and chat with Grandma Xie.
Every time I come to Xie's house, I am treated to snacks and tea made by Cheng Yaoyao himself, whether it is a pot of fried rice tea, mint tea, or a plate of grapefruit peel candy, basil plums or other novel snacks.
The neighbors were not greedy for the snacks, they just liked the atmosphere of Xie's house. The well, the pergola, the flowers, the trees, the fat cats and the dogs, the scenery that can be seen everywhere in the countryside, because of Cheng Yaoyao, immediately became a painting, making people intoxicated.
The women would come and sit down when they had nothing to do, and help Grandma Xie wash mushrooms every day, chatting and laughing while the work was done. Otherwise, it would take a long time to wash such a large basket of mushrooms.
The people of Tianshui Village love to eat mushrooms and are also good at finding them. During this season, every household often brings home large baskets of mushrooms. If they can’t finish eating them, they dry them in the sun, and no one thinks it’s unusual.
But Grandma Xie felt bad, so she asked Cheng Yaoyao to make some mushroom sauce next time and send a bowl to each of the neighbors.
Cheng Yaoyao said, "This mushroom sauce is not worth much, but I gave it too generously. Some people often come to ask for it. What should I do?"
Cheng Yaoyao's words were not groundless. There were many people in the village and it was easy for them to cause trouble. While the Xie family's popularity improved, they also encountered many more troubles.
The quality of women in the village is mixed. Some are polite, while others are greedy. For example, Xie's family has so many fruits and vegetables in their yard that they can't eat them all, so they often pick them and give them to their neighbors. Some neighbors will reciprocate and give some of their own fruits and vegetables. Some people won't, and after eating them, they will send their children to ask for more next time. They often lend an egg or half a liter of millet, which is like a leech. It's a headache.
Cheng Yaoyao got angry when he thought of this: "That Jinhua lady is the most annoying, don't let her come to my house anymore!"
Grandma Xie laughed: "You are resentful of her for being a matchmaker for Zhao Ge'er, right?"
Cheng Yaoyao stamped his feet and said, "No way! She always peeks into my room every time she comes and always wants to see if there is any meat in our kitchen. Look, she ate half a plate of pine nuts by herself!"
Cheng Yaoyao complained as she rushed to clean up the cups and snack plates that the women had drunk from. If she didn't hurry up and do this job, Grandma Xie would be busy.
Seeing her saying one thing but thinking another, Grandma Xie was very pleased in her heart, and she slowly explained the truth to her: "There are many gossipy people in the village, and this is how life is. There are some things you can't take seriously, and you'd rather eat some small losses yourself than offend those petty-minded women."
Hearing this, Cheng Yaoyao became even more determined: "Once Xie Zhao and I are admitted to university, we will move to the city."
Grandma Xie asked cheerfully, "Where do you and Zhao live?"
"Let's buy a house." Cheng Yaoyao said, "Let's buy a big house and take you and Xiao Fei in."
Xun Xun was chased by Qiang Qiang and ran all over the yard, bumping into Cheng Yaoyao's ankle. Cheng Yaoyao picked up Xun Xun and said, "Xun Xun should go too, but Qiang Qiang is not allowed to go. Qiang Qiang always hits people."
Jianjian chased after him, raised his front paws and tried to scratch hard: "Hmm! Hmm!"
Grandma Xie shook her head and said, "This kid is so stubborn. He doesn't act like a father at all."
Nianniang seldom goes out now. He lies in the soft cat nest every day, eating the nutritious cat rice carefully prepared by Cheng Yaoyao. His originally pointed chin has become round, and his white fur is as shiny as satin.
Those green eyes narrowed slightly, which was quite rich in cats. As soon as she approached it, she was stunned by her.
Every time this happened, Jianjian would hide in the dark and watch with a sad face. When Kuntun ran away with its tongue sticking out, Jianjian would suddenly jump out and chase it.
Just then, Cheng Yaoyao put Xun Xun down, and then he chased after him with his hind paws. The two furry creatures chased each other until they reached the door, which was suddenly opened, and Xun Xun was hit and flew out.
Jianjian grabbed hold of Xie Zhao's calf and began to tear it apart, crying loudly.
Xie Zhao only heard the puppy's screams, and after closing the door he saw the baby on the ground. He quickly put the bag down, picked it up and rubbed it.
Cheng Yaoyao ran out of the kitchen upon hearing the noise: "What's wrong?"
"I bumped into Yun Yun when I pushed the door." Xie Zhao felt a little guilty.
The fat little dog kicked its legs and cried loudly. Xie Zhao used his fingers to push aside its fur and rubbed it, but he didn't find any bumps. However, the dog was crying so miserably that people suspected that it had been severely abused.
Cheng Yaoyao also went over to take a look. The little fat dog was crying miserably. She suddenly said, "It's time to eat meat."
"Hmm?" The fear subsided for a second, and anticipation flashed in Hei Dou's eyes.
"You're pretending." Cheng Yaoyao picked up Xun Xun and put him on the ground. Xun Xun slowly fell to the ground and started howling loudly again.
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Go to the kitchen, grandma is stewing meat."
After a second of hesitation, she stopped crying. Her black eyes looked at Cheng Yaoyao, then at the kitchen. Finally, the smell of meat from the kitchen prevailed, so she got up and ran to the kitchen.
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and glanced at Xie Zhao: "Stupid, it wants to trick you into giving it meat again."
Xunxun and Jianjian followed Niangniang in eating the maternal diet and became overweight. Grandma Xie and Cheng Yaoyao were controlling their diets, but when the two fur balls failed to please them by acting cute, they turned their attention to Xie Zhao.
The little animals were born with intuition, and they would hold on to Xie Zhao's calves and rob him all day long, and would not let him in unless he gave them some meat to eat. Xie Zhao was defeated again and again, and he fed the two dumplings until they became fatter and more beautiful.
Xie Zhao's blood immediately boiled over when he received that charming glance. He looked away and said, "I brought some things back. Take a look."
Cheng Yaoyao then saw the large bags of things Xie Zhao had brought back: a large barrel of peanut oil, a box of brand new glass cans, and two large bags.
Nowadays, the monthly supply of oil for each person in the city is only two taels, and it is often out of stock. But this barrel of peanut oil weighs at least twenty kilograms, enough to make several hundred bottles of mushroom sauce.
The glass cans are from a canning factory, and the one-pound capacity is just right for mushroom sauce.
"What are these two bags? Are they books?" Cheng Yaoyao pressed them and they were square and looked like books.
Xie Zhao first moved the oil and glass cans into the west room. When he turned back, he was too late to stop Cheng Yaoyao from opening the zipper of the bag, and his face suddenly changed.
Grandma Xie also poked her head out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "Brother Zhao is back. What did he bring back?"
"This..." Cheng Yaoyao covered his mouth, a look of surprise appeared in his peach blossom eyes.
Seeing this, Grandma Xie's face also changed and asked, "What's wrong? What are these bags, Zhao'er?"
Xie Zhao looked at Cheng Yaoyao, and saw her take a deep breath and said, "It's books, a lot of books."
Hearing this, Grandma Xie smiled happily: "So many books! Good, study hard. How can you put the books on the floor? They will be damaged by the stubborn ones. Take them to the house quickly! You two should wash your hands and have dinner!"
Xie Zhao agreed and walked over to zip up the zipper. He held Cheng Yaoyao's cool and soft little hand and whispered, "Sister."
"I'll settle with you later!" Cheng Yaoyao pulled his hand back angrily and turned to go to the kitchen.
After dinner, they had some snacks. After waiting for Grandma Xie to go back to her room to sleep, Cheng Yaoyao dragged Xie Zhao to her room and locked the door.
The two bags were placed on the floor of Cheng Yaoyao's room. Cheng Yaoyao unzipped the bags and saw the neatly bundled banknotes inside. He felt dizzy again.
"Why did you take so much money home? Are you trying to scare me to death?"
Xie Zhao sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Cheng Yaoyao to his side, hugging him: "Don't be angry, I didn't mean to scare you."
Cheng Yaoyao had seen money before, and the sum was only the price of one of her bags. But what did Xie Zhao do with so much cash?
I was lucky enough to have opened it myself just now. If Grandma Xie saw it, I'm afraid I would have to go through a lot of trouble with her.
Xie Zhaoxian took out a small note and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao: "The money from selling mushroom sauce has been saved."
Cheng Yaoyao opened the small note and saw it, and his eyes were dizzy again: "Two hundred bottles of sauce only cost one thousand yuan!"
She had previously made 7,000 or 8,000 yuan from her business, and Xie Zhao gave her some extra money to make up for the 10,000 yuan she had. Now she actually had a balance of 30,000 yuan.
"I deposited some money in your account." Xie Zhao said.
Cheng Yaoyao snorted angrily: "Why do you save so much?"
"I'll listen to you and stop doing this." Xie Zhao buried his face in Cheng Yaoyao's soft and fragrant skirt: "I kept this money to avoid being targeted, so I took it all out."
Cheng Yaoyao said, "I thought you wanted to spread the money on the bed and sleep with it as a pillow."
Xie Zhao chuckled and said, "If you like, I'll help you lay it out."
"Go to hell!" Cheng Yaoyao stared at the money in worry, "Where is this money hidden? There are always people visiting our house now, and there are too many people and too many eyes."
Xie Zhao said: "There is a place to store it."
Cheng Yaoyao became interested: "Where is it?"
The night breeze blew over the skirt with a gentle and fragrant breeze. Two pairs of vigilant eyes lit up in the cat's den, and it lay down again. The little puppy whined and tried to follow, but was pushed back by the stubborn one.
Cheng Yaoyao was holding a kerosene lamp, with one hand held by Xie Zhao. The two of them tiptoed out of the west room and walked towards Xie Zhao's room.
Xie Zhao's current room was converted from a storage room, divided into two rooms, an inner room and an outer room. The dim light of the kerosene lamp dispelled the darkness and illuminated the furs, medicinal herbs and other items hanging in the cabinets and on the walls.
Cheng Yaoyao suddenly saw a wolf skin on the wall and couldn't help but hide in Xie Zhaohuai.
Xie Zhao reached out and pressed a few times on the cabinet. Seeing Cheng Yaoyao staring at the wolf skin, he said, "This is the wolf that almost bit me to death when I was fourteen."
Cheng Yaoyao was no longer afraid and even gritted his teeth as he jumped forward, trying to tear off the wolf skin.
The cabinet was slowly pushed open and slid to the side silently, and I saw that there was still a wall behind the cabinet.
Cheng Yaoyao reached out and knocked, but found nothing unusual: "I thought there was a secret room behind the cabinet."
Xie Zhao laughed: "Secret room?"
"That's how it's played out in the movies." Cheng Yaoyao said disappointedly, "What's so special about this wall?"
Xie Zhao knocked for a while at the angle formed by the two walls, at the same level as his line of sight, and slowly pulled out a few bricks.
Is there really a secret room at the back?
Cheng Yaoyao couldn't wait to get over, but unfortunately it wasn't high enough. Xie Zhao hugged her and lifted her up, saying, "You haven't had any ventilation for a long time, don't bite your nose."
Cheng Yaoyao nodded obediently, holding his breath before bringing the kerosene lamp closer to the cave entrance. The light flickered and illuminated the situation inside.
The wall was hollow. There was no secret room inside, but there was a passage that could accommodate two people. The inside was filled with things wrapped in brown paper.
Xie Zhao had amazing arm strength. He held Cheng Yaoyao steady with one hand and handed the two bags of money to her with the other hand, telling her to just throw them in.
Cheng Yaoyao threw the bag directly in, breaking the bag of stuff, and a lot of things spilled out, shining with dazzling golden light.
Cheng Yaoyao took a closer look and saw that what was flashing in the light were actually golden beads.
"Xie Zhao, it turns out that your family really has hidden gold." Cheng Yaoyao asked curiously, "Why didn't those people find it when they searched your house?"
Rumors about the Xie family's gold never ceased to circulate in Tianshui Village. It was said that the people who confiscated the house dug up many tiles from the floor, knocked on the walls of every room, and even searched the beams with poles, but found nothing.
Xie Zhao put Cheng Yaoyao down, tapped the wall with his fingers, and said, "This house was specially built by craftsmen from Kyoto. The methods used by those dignitaries to hide their money are not so easy to find."
Cheng Yaoyao also imitated the knocking and suddenly cried, then raised his finger to show Xie Zhao with tears in his eyes.
Xie Zhao kissed the slender white fingers and explained in a gentle voice: "The gaps are filled with bricks and moisture-proof lime, so you can't hear any clues when you knock on the outer wall. What's more, the opening is high up, so those people can't expect it."
Xie Zhao stuffed the bricks back in, and saw that there was no gap or abnormality at all. Cheng Yaoyao stood on tiptoe and pushed hard, but the cracks did not move.
Xie Zhao taught him several times before Cheng Yaoyao finally learned how to open the clip.
Cheng Yaoyao raised his chin and said arrogantly: "Now I know where your treasures are hidden. If you dare to make me angry in the future, I will move them all away!"
In the dim light of the kerosene lamp, Cheng Yaoyao was as bright and beautiful as a rose, vivid and fragrant.
Xie Zhao smiled and held her tightly in his strong arms: "This is my baby."
…
From that day on, Xie Zhao really never traveled far from home again. He also gave all the tractor driving work to Lin Jiajun, and only went to the city once a week to negotiate matters related to greenhouse vegetables.
There was a lot of review materials at home, and Xie Zhao and Cheng Yaoyao studied for two hours every day. In the rest of the time, they would play with their cats at home, go up the mountain to pick mushrooms, go down the river to catch fish, go to the next village to gather, and cook delicious food in various ways. They really lived a carefree and happy life.
One day, Cheng Yaoyao was sleeping soundly when he heard Jianjian planing the door, screaming and yelling as he did so.
Xie Zhao didn't feed the cat this morning? Cheng Yaoyao turned over with a groan and rubbed his eyes, but found that it was only dawning outside the window and it was still early.
Cheng Yaoyao rolled up the quilt and continued to sleep. Jianjian cried louder and louder, and Kongkong also joined in the howling, his little baby voice was particularly miserable.
Cheng Yaoyao had no choice but to get up sleepily and open the door. The morning light outside was dim and a little chilly. Jianjian and Kongkong were both barking at the door, and when they saw her, they meowed and barked. Cheng Yaoyao looked at them blankly, and Jianjian turned around and suddenly ran to the cat's nest, ran a few steps and turned back to look at her.
Cheng Yaoyao followed it for a few steps, but then he saw Grandma Xie and Xie Fei also came out, both looking sleepy. "What are you doing so early in the morning, Jianjian?"
The three followed Qiangqiang to the cat's nest, and Xie Zhao was already squatting there: "It's born."
Before he could finish his words, he was pushed away by the three women. Cheng Yaoyao squeezed to the front and saw the little white cat lying on its side on the soft mat, with messy white fur, a tired look, and sparkling green eyes.
It meowed softly to Chengyuanyao, then lowered its head to look into its arms. Several pink bald kittens were lying in its arms, drinking milk and making whimpering sounds.
Cheng Yaoyao couldn't help but whimper: "I have a cat again!"
Xie Fei said excitedly: "How cute!"
Grandma Xie slapped her thigh and said, "It's born! It's born! I thought the belly was big this time. There are one, two, three, four, five... Oh my goodness, there are five!"
Jianjian and Kongkong also squeezed over, and seeing that Cheng Yaoyao and the others were all very happy, they tilted their heads in confusion. When Baobao was struggling to give birth to kittens, the bloody smell during birth scared the two fur balls.
Cheng Yaoyao rubbed them one by one, then picked up Jianjian and happily announced: "Congratulations on becoming a father! Look, what are you afraid of? These are your children."
Jianjian was obviously not interested in those pink, hairless, mouse-like cubs. He struggled hard to escape from Cheng Yaoyao's hands, hiding far away and licking his fur.
Xie Fei suddenly asked: "Why is there a little black cat..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere suddenly froze.
Although the kittens in the mother's arms were bald, the sparse hair on their heads and buttocks still showed their colors. One of the kittens was clearly black.
Cheng Yaoyao looked at the kitten, then at the stubborn one, then at the kitten again, then at the angry one, then at the stubborn one again.
Suddenly I felt that Jianjian's face turned green.
"That's not true!" Grandma Xie broke the embarrassment and used her trump card to deceive herself and others: "Cats can come in all colors in one litter. Look at these ones, aren't they also white and orange? They look exactly like Jianjian when he was a baby!"
"Yes, definitely."
"Yes, that's right..."
Everyone unanimously let the matter pass to protect Jianjian's dignity.
"Anyway, the birth of a baby is a happy event. I'll go get a chicken and celebrate!"
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