My village can't be like this

Chapter 654 Before Qingming Festival

Spring is not a sunny season.

Especially when April begins, it is often cloudy and rainy.

Even when it doesn't rain, the sky is always gloomy.

Because the clouds are too thick, it is difficult to see the stars in the sky at night in this season.

Even if the sun is shining brightly during the day, only a few stars can be seen occasionally at night. Some of the larger stars, such as the Big Dipper, only flicker and are far less bright than summer nights.

Tonight, the sky is covered with stratus clouds and is pitch black.

"Okay, it looks like it's going to rain, so let's go back and take a shower and rest."

After dinner, the few people who were originally sitting in the yard with Zhang Jianguo drinking tea and chatting looked at the sky and said.

It was already gloomy during the day, so it was no surprise that it started raining in the evening.

Moreover, in two days it will be the annual Qingming Festival. As we all know, it rarely rains before and after the Qingming Festival.

"Xiao An, his father, hurry up and move the garlic sprouts back home, otherwise they will get wet in the rain and rot tomorrow."

After seeing everyone off, Wang Fang quickly called Zhang An and his son to come to the yard to move the garlic sprouts.

Although the rain tonight won't be heavy, it will be just a drizzle at most.

Although spring rain is as precious as oil, it can't dampen the fresh and tender garlic shoots that have just been picked.

Because once they get wet and are left overnight, they will start to rot, even green peppers, cabbages and tomatoes.

"This is coming."

As soon as he heard his mother calling, Zhang An ran out.

Because the garlic shoots nowadays look the same every other day, getting older day by day.

So Wang Fang found two more people today, so the amount of garlic shoots she collected was a lot more than yesterday.

After moving all the boxes, Zhang An roughly counted them and found that there were thirty boxes in total.

Based on the weight of 50 kilograms per basket, there are a total of 1,500 kilograms of fresh garlic shoots here.

"Xiao An, you should call Xiao Ding to ask about the situation and see if they still want it. If not, we won't smoke it tomorrow to avoid it drying up."

I don’t know what happened today, but the people from Ding Yi’s side didn’t come over to take away the garlic shoots that were pulled back.

Looking at so many garlic shoots piled up at home, Wang Fang was really worried.

The purpose of eating this thing is freshness. There is no problem if you keep it for a short period of time, but after a long time, the moisture will dissipate and it will become wrinkled and dry.

"Mom, don't worry. He didn't tell me, so he must still want it. He didn't come to take it away today. Maybe something happened and he was delayed. I'll give him a call later to urge him."

According to Zhang An's understanding of Ding Yi, if he no longer needed him, he would at least call to let him know.

Moreover, the first crop of garlic shoots from their family is now at its best time to sell, because the garlic shoots from other places are not yet ready to be harvested, so this business can be said to be unique to them and there is no possibility that they cannot sell their garlic shoots.

After comforting his mother, Zhang An returned to his room, unplugged his phone which was charging, and called Ding Yi.

After dialing for a long time, Ding Yi finally answered the call.

"Old Ding, do you still want these garlic sprouts? If not, we won't smoke them tomorrow."

Zhang An didn't say anything else and just asked directly.

"Of course I want it. How could I not want it? These past few days, the garlic sprouts from your store are almost sold out at my place. Every time I bring them over, they are sold out in half a day."

When Ding Yi on the other end of the phone heard Zhang An ask this, he quickly responded.

"Okay, no one from your place came to pick the garlic sprouts today. My mom thought you didn't want them anymore, so she asked me to make a phone call and ask."

After getting Ding Yi's reply, Zhang An felt relieved. The situation was pretty much as he expected.

"They didn't go over to pick it up because we have a batch of goods to be transferred to other places, and all the trucks have been loaded. I was going to call you later to tell you, tell Aunt Wang not to worry, I will find a truck to pick it up tomorrow morning."

After hearing this, Ding Yi finally understood why Zhang An called him, so he quickly explained.

"I see. Since there is no car over there, don't bother looking for one. I can send it over tomorrow morning and save some time."

Since there was nothing to do tomorrow, Zhang An decided to help deliver it.

Anyway, thirty baskets of garlic shoots are not too many, and a pickup truck can carry them away.

"It would be best if you could deliver it. I thought you were not done with your work, so I didn't contact you."

How could Ding Yi not be happy when he heard Zhang An offer to help deliver it.

He didn't come here before, mainly because he was worried that Zhang An didn't have time, because he knew about Lin Hui coming here a few days ago.

"It's done. It only took two days. Are you busy?"

There was a very noisy noise coming from the phone, and Zhang An roughly guessed that Ding Yi had not returned home yet.

"It's been a busy day today because there are a lot of goods that need to be transported. By the way, tell Auntie to hire more people to pick garlic shoots tomorrow, because the day after tomorrow is Qingming Festival, and business will definitely be better than these two days."

It seemed that Ding Yi talked to other people for a few words before speaking to Zhang An.

"Okay, I got it. Let my mom find some more people tomorrow, and I won't keep you any longer."

After saying that, Zhang An hung up the phone.

After going downstairs to wash his feet, Zhang An found his mother and said, "Mom, Ding Yi still needs to collect the goods. He didn't come to pick them up today because his driver was delayed in transferring goods to other places. I will deliver them to him tomorrow."

"By the way, he said that the day after tomorrow is Qingming Festival, and the sales will be more than these few days, so you should find a few more people tomorrow and try to draw as many as possible."

"Then I'll go find him now, before he rests."

After hearing what Zhang An said, Wang Fang finally felt relieved. Apart from anything else, this pile of garlic shoots was worth more than a thousand yuan.

The next morning, Zhang An got up early at daybreak to load the truck.

The supermarket opens very early, so if he rushes there now, he will just make it in time.

When we arrived in the city and reached the supermarket entrance to stock up, it was exactly seven o'clock.

Ding Yi had already asked people to wait here. As soon as Zhang An parked the car, they started unloading the goods and moving them inside.

"Come on, let's go eat something first. You came so early, you must have eaten nothing."

While others were unloading the goods, Ding Yi yawned and pulled Zhang An outside.

"Look at you, you're so sleepy in the middle of winter. Did you steal last night?"

Zhang An was not polite either. Although he was not hungry at the moment, the aroma of various meals wafting from the street made his stomach growl.

"Last night, Li Li and I didn't go home until after 1:00 last night. We came back early this morning. How could I sleep well?"

As he spoke, Ding Yi couldn't help but yawn twice.

Seeing this, Zhang An quickly moved away from him. Even though he slept very well last night, yawning is contagious.

Then, the two crossed the road and came to the mutton noodle restaurant in the alley.

This is the old restaurant they used to frequent. The food is very delicious and it is said to have been open for more than ten years.

And even though it’s not that long, it’s still a far cry from those 30-year-old restaurants in later generations. But in this era, a restaurant that’s been around for more than a decade is already a very long time.

In this place, if you want to find a delicious restaurant, you have to look in these alleys. Basically, all the old restaurants with real kung fu are hidden in here.

As a local, I generally don't go to places like those outside that are decorated luxuriously and grandly.

Because those places have no other advantages except being expensive.

"Boss, let's stick to the old rules. Give both of us a full set."

As soon as they entered the store, Ding Yi took the lead in talking to the boss, and then the two of them went into the store and found a table to sit down.

The store is almost full of people now because it is the peak time for breakfast before work.

This restaurant is an old one with delicious food, so more people come here.

Half a while later, the boss brought them what they ordered.

Others come here to eat mutton noodles just for breakfast, which is cheap and filling.

But these two people seemed a little special in the whole store because they ordered a lot of things.

In addition to mutton noodles, there were also a bunch of other things such as lamb feet, lamb offal, and lamb tongue. Compared with the others, the two of them looked like they were here to eat hotpot.

Moreover, Ding Yi also added some lamb kidneys, it seems that he wanted to make up for what he lost last night.

After eating, the two rubbed their stomachs and walked out contentedly.

Ding Yi was still busy adjusting the goods, so Zhang An prepared to go home directly. He didn't want to go with him and be used as free labor.

When he returned to the village, Zhang An saw four or five more people picking garlic shoots in the fields.

Their family planted a total of six acres of garlic this year, but they sold a lot of garlic seedlings last winter, and now they estimate that there are only a little more than four acres left.

In the first two days, because there were not many people picking garlic shoots, we only picked a little more than one acre.

But there are so many more people today. At this rate, we will be able to pick all the garlic shoots in two days.

In the yard, Wang Fang was packing the garlic shoots that everyone had collected. Little Siqi was not playing, but helping.

"Hey, why are you so sensible today? You even know how to help with the work."

Zhang An couldn't help but joke when he saw his son carrying handfuls of garlic shoots into the plastic basket with both hands.

It's not like this on weekdays. Not to mention helping, it's already good enough as long as you don't make trouble.

"I'll help, grandma, with the work."

Little Siqi held a handful of garlic sprouts and said in a baby voice.

He was quite out of breath and seemed a little tired.

But Wang Fang didn't let him do it, and he was stubborn and refused to agree.

"Okay, okay, you help grandma with the work and grandma will make you something delicious."

Zhang An was not as distressed as Wang Fang. He just let him go since he wouldn't get too tired anyway.

Besides, boys should exercise from a young age, otherwise they will become new-age losers who are lazy and ignorant when they grow up.

Later, with Zhang An joining in, the packing speed became much faster, and basically everything was packed in a short while after it was delivered.

In the afternoon, Zhang An told his mother that he wanted to invite Lin Hui to dinner.

Wang Fang didn't know Lin Hui, but she knew that he was the one who helped Zhang An earn 5,000 yuan in the past two days, so she became enthusiastic and promised to cook some of her signature dishes to entertain him.

Wang Fang feels that it is not excessive for her to be enthusiastic towards people who give her money like this, and it would be best if there were more people like this.

In the evening, Lin Hui came very early and it seemed that he did not work overtime like before.

"A mere gift is not respectful."

Lin Hui handed what he had in his hand to Zhang An, which was a can of tea and a bottle of wine.

At first glance, they turned out to be Dahongpao and Jiannanchun, both high-end products.

"You're here, why do you need to bring anything?"

Zhang An never expected that one day he would be sent wine and tea, considering that he was the one who sent them to others in the past.

"Hey, if you come here to eat and drink for free, it won't work if you come empty-handed."

After spending two days together, Lin Hui no longer felt as unfamiliar as before.

When eating, Zhang An did not use the wine brought by Lin Hui, but used the blood rice wine he brewed himself.

After all, it was a good gift, so he couldn't do too badly.

Apart from anything else, his homemade blood rice wine is no worse than that bottle of Jiannanchun.

"Come on, Director Lin, try our homemade rice wine, but drink slowly, or you'll get drunk easily."

It was the first time they drank together, and Zhang Anma was not sure about the other person's habits, so he gave him a brief reminder.

Otherwise he was worried that the other party would drink too much with him and then pass out on the table. That would be a disaster.

"This wine smells so mellow, I didn't expect that Brother Zhang An has such skills."

Lin Hui was immediately attracted by the smell of wine. He didn't expect that Zhang An's homemade rice wine would be so alluring.

"Hahaha, I don't have much to do normally, so I just think about these things."

Zhang An laughed a little and raised his glass first.

"Hiss, this is definitely a rare good wine."

After just a sip, Lin Hui was completely conquered by the wine.

At this moment, he was very glad that he brought the bottle of the best Jiannanchun today.

Otherwise, you might end up showing off your skills before an expert.

Afterwards, Lin Hui also saw what good wine and good food were. He was so satisfied with the meal that he felt like all the previous years had been wasted.

After having a good meal and a good drink, the two men digested their food in the yard, and Lin Hui also talked about his experiences of traveling around the country over the years.

For a moment, both the host and the guests were having a great time.

Because there was still filming work the next day, Lin Hui didn't stay too long.

However, before leaving, Zhang An returned the gift and gave him a bottle of his own blood rice wine.

The next day was Qingming Festival. While Zhang An was accompanying Lin Hui, Zhang Jianguo had already gone to Zhang Erye's house to discuss the matter of hanging paper for the ancestors the next day.

"Dad, how's the discussion going? Is anyone going to go grocery shopping with me tomorrow?"

The entire Zhang An family has dozens of people in total. Although it is not a lot, when hanging paper during the Qingming Festival every year, it is like holding a small banquet.

"You don't need to go buy vegetables this year. Your second grandfather said that everyone grows vegetables, and we raise chickens and ducks. We even raise fish here. We just need to buy some pork. You don't need to go outside. You can buy it from Lin Youde."

Zhang Jianguo shook his head and conveyed to him the results of everyone's discussion on fishing in Russia.

(End of this chapter)