It was a cold day. Zhang Qiaona was sitting on the kang chatting with her neighbor's elderly grandmother when suddenly someone opened the door curtain and walked in:
"Mom, I'm back."
Zhang Qiaona finally reacted when she heard the sound. She looked up suddenly and saw her little son in front of her.
"Hey? Weicun? You're back?"
Zhang Qiaona was surprised and delighted. She quickly put on her shoes and got off the kang. Then she grabbed her son's arm with her rough little hands and looked him up and down.
"You've become thinner and darker. You came back alone? Where's Lingling?"
When the neighbor grandmother saw the mother and son talking, she quietly left.
Zhang Weicun briefly explained his situation and then the purpose of his return:
"Mom, I brought back a load of cabbage and want to sell it in the village. Have the villagers bought their winter vegetables? Is the sauerkraut ready?"
When Zhang Qiaona heard what Zhang Weicun said, she was stunned for a moment, and then she said with great sorrow:
"Weicun, look at you. You don't need cabbage at home. You brought it all this way back, can you really sell it? Others have already bought it in the fall, so why would they wait until now? Why didn't you call in advance?"
After hearing what his mother said, Zhang Weicun's heart skipped a beat. Could he not sell his cabbages? Never mind. He had already brought them back, so he could sell as much as he could.
At noon, Wang Fuzi finished cooking and found out that her brother-in-law had returned. She felt disgusted with this brother-in-law whom she had not seen for many years.
Not only did he not pay the annual pension, but he also suddenly came back empty-handed and didn't even say hello to her. He just picked up the bowl and ate. It was obvious that he had no manners.
Wang Fuzi didn't say anything on the surface, but he didn't like him in his heart.
Starting in the afternoon, Zhang Weicun went to the village entrance to sell cabbage. The driver of the truck was still there. The two of them thought that they could finish processing the cabbage in three to five days, so they didn't think too much about it.
Time flies, and a short week has passed, but no one is interested in Zhang Weicun's cabbage.
A whole truckload of cabbages was piled there quietly, as if forgotten by time, and the truck driver in charge of the transportation had an even harder time.
Due to the cold weather, he had to eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep in the truck every day. In the small and cramped space, the cold wind penetrated every corner, making people shiver.
After being in such a harsh environment for a long time, the driver was almost frozen to death, and his body and mind had reached their limits.
Finally, the driver couldn't stand it anymore and left the place at all costs.
There was really no other way, so Zhang Weicun had no choice but to rent a warehouse in the village, and then immediately moved all the cabbages into the warehouse and stored them away.
At the same time, he also paid the driver all the expenses for this period of time. After the driver took the money, he turned around and left without hesitation or looking back without saying goodbye.
Zhang Weicun returned home dejected and asked his second brother for help. Zhang Weibao was helpless. First, everyone in the village had already bought cabbage. Second, his cabbage was too expensive, costing 30 cents per pound.
The weather is getting colder and there is no heating in the warehouse, so the cabbages will easily freeze. Therefore, this batch of cabbages must be disposed of as soon as possible.
Zhang Weibao gave him two ideas. First, he had to lower the price. Local cabbage only costs a little over one or two cents per pound. No one would buy it at three cents.
Secondly, you can’t just sit in the village and wait for customers to come. You have to go door to door, or even walk through the streets and alleys to sell to the neighboring villages.
This time, Zhang Weicun listened to his second brother's advice. He first went to Zhang Weishuang's house and found his second brother-in-law Zhang Yonggui, and then went to Lizhuang and found his third brother-in-law Li Baoneng.
From that day on, Zhang Yonggui pulled a donkey cart every day and went door to door in the village with Li Baoneng to sell vegetables.
Zhang Yonggui would say that he was the one who greeted people, and Li Baoneng, who was a little socially anxious, was responsible for weighing. The two of them worked together very well, starting at eight in the morning and not going home until dark.
Everyone in the village is an acquaintance, and when they see Zhang Yonggui selling vegetables, they will buy some.
After touring their own village, the two went to the nearby Wangcun and Shijialing. There were not many people in these two villages, so they finished touring the village in just a few days.
Next, they went to the area near Lizhuang Township. Li Baoneng was familiar with the area there, so he sold a lot of goods there.
For a full forty days and nights, the two men got up before dawn every day, drove the donkey cart, and struggled forward in the biting cold wind.
It was not until night fell that they dragged their tired bodies and slowly returned home in the afterglow of the setting sun.
During these forty days, they did not dare to stop for a moment and tried their best, and finally sold out all the cabbages.
In order to help sell cabbage, Li Baoneng also lived in his mother-in-law's house for forty days and could not even go home.
After selling the cabbages, Li Baoneng and Zhang Yonggui both developed frostbite on their faces and feet, and even wore out several pairs of gloves.
Wang Fuzi admired the two's hard work, so he prepared a table full of delicious food to entertain them, which was also a kind of celebration.
After eating and drinking, the two of them went back to their respective homes. Zhang Weicun didn't even bother to give them any reward for their hard work, and didn't even say goodbye.
He had a handful of change in his hand, mostly a few cents or a few dollars. After everyone left, he began to count them one by one.
I counted it three times in a row, and it was always one thousand three hundred and twenty-three yuan and thirty cents.
Zhang Weicun thought again of the 800 yuan freight he paid to the driver. Not only did he not make any money on this trip back home, he also lost a lot of money.
Zhang Weicun was so angry that he threw all the money in his hand away, then sat on the stool and sulked.
After a while, he squatted down again and picked up the money one by one.
Early the next morning, Zhang Weicun said goodbye to his mother and left in the cold wind.
Wang Fuzi got up and made breakfast, only to find out that her brother-in-law had left. She couldn't help but glare at her husband:
"Look at your brother. I treated him to delicious food and drinks for almost two months, and he didn't even give me a dime. When he left, he didn't even say goodbye."
Zhang Weibao also felt uncomfortable, but he couldn't say anything. After all, he knew from a young age that his younger brother was unreliable, so he had to endure his wife's complaints alone without saying a word.
Zhang Weishuang felt distressed when she saw the suffering her husband had to endure, but Zhang Weicun was her younger brother, so she was helpless. Fortunately, this kind of thing only happened once in a while, otherwise she would have to scold him.
Zhang Weifen was not so particular. She just started cursing at home:
"Let's just pretend we don't have this brother from now on, and we won't get involved in his affairs anymore."
Li Baoneng's health was not good to begin with. He was frozen for more than a month and fell ill when he returned home.
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