Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 499 Night Visit 498
Tang Zhitong did the same thing and didn't meet anyone along the way. This was exactly what Tang Zhitong wanted, so he could deliver the things to his uncle's house quietly.

"I wanted to ask you last time, did you pull all these here by yourself?" Tang Wenbang and Tang Gang helped Tang Zhitong pull the things into the house. Tang Wenbang closed the door and asked.

"How could that be possible? My friend sent me to the gate and I dragged it in by myself. Fortunately, this side is downhill, otherwise I really couldn't have pulled it in." Tang Zhitong made up an excuse. The sled was full and looked very heavy, but it was actually not easy to pull.

"No wonder. Next time, let them come in and have a rest. They must be tired after coming such a long way." Tang Wenbang advised tactfully.

"Don't worry, uncle, I will express it separately." Tang Zhitong knew what his uncle meant and was afraid that he would not be able to maintain such a good relationship.

"Well. Shall I let you light the west room? There's no fire over there." Tang Wenbang smelled a faint fishy smell through the sack, looked at the snow that was getting smaller and smaller, and asked.

"Hey, uncle, these are for you and my aunt. My share is in the city." Tang Zhitong did not hide it and just said it directly. Not only that, he also opened the sack of bones and rewarded each of the two dogs who were waiting eagerly with a bone.

These two times, the dog performed meritorious deeds. The people had nothing to eat, and neither did the dog. They were all skinny and looked very pitiful.

"Kid, how big a favor do you have to ask for? The food we have here can last for a year." When Tang Wenbang heard this, his face showed both joy and surprise. It was because there were too many things, several large sacks.

"I have some, and you and your sister-in-law need some too. While the smell is small in winter and things can be kept, we all have to gain some weight. When the weather gets warmer, we won't have such good conditions anymore." Tang Zhitong said bluntly.

"Oh! You are so thoughtful. I, as your uncle, am useless!" Tang Wenbang said with three parts of relief and seven parts of guilt.

"Uncle, you are really slapping me in the face by saying that. Didn't you say no when I asked you to get the wood twice before? We are family and we shouldn't have different opinions, right?" Tang Zhitong comforted him.

"Haha, kid. We will accept the things, but you have to charge you according to the price." Tang Wenbang laughed when he heard this.

"Okay, these are small fish, 0.25 yuan per pound, pig heads and offal are 0.5 yuan per pound. There are about 600 pounds of fish in total, and four pairs of pig heads, half for each family. There is not much lard, it is my filial piety, I can't charge you." Tang Zhitong avoided the main point, the average market price of lard is 0.82 yuan, even if you are familiar with the slaughterhouse at the beginning, the price is nearly 0.75 yuan per pound.

"Oh! You kid..." Tang Wenbang shook his head but did not refuse. He felt warmed in the heart and thought his nephew was caring.

"Dad, put the things away first and let's go inside and talk. It's very cold outside." Tang Gang stood aside, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands. He came out in a hurry without wearing socks or gloves.

Although it was very cold, Tang Gang was very happy. In this kind of year, who wouldn't want to have more meat at home? Moreover, his wife was pregnant, so as a man, he instinctively wanted to spend more time at home.

"Go back to the house and put on your clothes first, and then freeze the fish." Tang Wenbang looked at his son and made arrangements.

"Which one is the pig's head? Bring it into the house and let me take a look. I never thought that I could cook pig's head again in this year." In previous years, Tang Wenbang would buy a pig's head from a nearby market during the Chinese New Year, but this year, it was obviously impossible to buy it.

"Okay!" Tang Zhitong picked up a sack, carried it with both hands and went into the house. In this kind of weather, the pig heads and offal had already frozen hard. In order to make it easier to clean up, Tang Zhitong had already cleaned them when packing them.

Tang Wenbang looked at the pork head and offal that had been poured out, and regardless of the coldness, he touched them with his hands and exclaimed, "This meat is really good! It's the same as last time."

Tang Zhitong smiled and said nothing. How could it be bad? They were carefully selected at the beginning, and they said that any batch would be fine.

Tang Wenbang stood up, rummaged through the boxes in the house and found an iron box. He opened it in front of Tang Zhitong, and it was full of seasonings for cooking pig head meat: "Fortunately, I still have some seasonings I bought before, otherwise the meat would be wasted."

"I'll help you find some next time." As for seasonings, Tang Zhitong had no shortage of them. Besides, the Chinese medicine stores in the old city always had a more complete range of goods than those in this border town.

"I'm content with this one experience. Old woman, get up and heat up some food for Eucalyptus." Tang Wenbang was delighted to see the prey, and the smile on his face was particularly soothing under the swaying kerosene lamp.

"Uncle, I'm not hungry. There's no need to trouble Auntie." Tang Zhitong quickly spoke out to stop him.

"Why are you sleeping? You won't sleep tonight. Let me cook some pork head! You can eat some meat after taking a nap. You can eat meat tomorrow morning." Due to limited market supply, the family didn't have anything particularly good to treat his nephew. Tang Wenbang felt a little guilty.

"Hey, I'm not sleepy either. I'll accompany you for a while, Master." Tang Zhitong had slept for a long time during the day and was now very energetic.

"Okay." Tang Wenbang didn't stop him. He tightened his clothes, went out to get the bamboo basket, and prepared to make a fire.

Tang Zhitong helped carry a lot of bamboo shoots into the house. Tang Gang did not participate. He was hanging "The Wind is Angry" on the wall and burying fish next to it.

"Qisifeng" is also called horse lantern. It originated in the United States. Cowboys put it on the side of the saddle for lighting at night.

It was introduced to China in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China and gradually became popular.

Some people in Beijing are also using it, and this thing appeared in the movie "Three Years in Advance".

While Tang Wenbang was cleaning the pig's head, Tang Zhitong came out to find Tang Gang, wanting to see how he handled the fish.

Tang Gang first put the fish on the ground, then spread a layer of snow on it, and then scooped a bucket of water from the tank and slowly poured it on the fish.

After pouring a bucket of water, put another layer of fish on top, and repeat this process.

"Brother, why are you watering the plants?" Tang Zhitong didn't understand. Since there were no mice, he could just bury them in the snow.

"Hey, it's cold here. If you pour water on the plants, they will be frozen like stones. Not only can it prevent fish from being stolen, but it will also reduce the fishy smell." Tang Gang explained to Tang Zhitong while watering the plants.

"Tsk tsk, that makes sense. I've learned something new. There aren't many thieves here, right?" Tang Zhitong was full of admiration. The wisdom of the working people is indeed endless. They can even come up with such a trick.

"We're all employees here and we have to keep our dignity, but the same can't be said for the children. If there are those who do things secretly, we'll just send them back and give them a beating if we catch them. Alas!" Tang Gang said with a sigh.

When Tang Zhitong heard this, he realized that he had really seen this before. "He is still a child" is basically applicable everywhere.

"Come, I'll get some water." Tang Zhitong took the initiative to pick up the iron bucket and went back to the house to scoop water from the water tank.

The water tank in the house has limited water storage, and there is still more than half a tank left. It may not be enough for tonight. Carrying the bucket out, Tang Zhitong asked: "Brother, where do we get drinking water?"

"There is a well in front, and we can also go to the river in the west. If it doesn't freeze, most people will go to the river to fetch water. After all, we don't have to crank the handle." Tang Gang spread a layer of snow and poured water on it. The weather was cold, and if he didn't act quickly, the water would freeze in the iron bucket.

"Is the water in the river drinkable?" Tang Zhitong asked tentatively.

"Yes, it flows down from the mountains, it's clean." Tang Gang said as a matter of course. "Then can we drink the water from the Yalu River?" Tang Zhitong asked.

"It should be possible, right? When rafting in the summer, many masters just lie down and drink when they are thirsty. We are not far from the Yalu River, so it shouldn't make much difference." Tang Gang thought for a moment and replied.

"Green mountains and clear waters are indeed gold and silver mountains. Now the water in the moat of Sijiu City has become smelly and undrinkable. Few people drink well water." After hearing this, Tang Zhitong felt much more at ease. It seemed that he could use the ice he collected to make smoothies at home.

As the two of them were chatting, the water tank was almost empty.

There is a limit to how much water a tank can hold, and it is still a long way from completion. Tang Zhitong is not willing to cheat on such a small matter, so he goes to fetch water from Tang Gang with a torch.

Tang Gang didn't want Tang Zhitong to work, so Tang Zhitong was responsible for lighting torches and Tang Gang fetched water.

After going back and forth a few times, a person popped up from a house near the well: "Who is it? So late in the evening?"

"Director Ding, I'm Tang Gang. There's no water at home, so I came out to fetch two buckets of water." Tang Gang recognized who it was and responded happily.

"Oh, Gangzi, the road is very slippery, so be careful when carrying water." After saying this, the other person nodded, shrank back and closed the door.

Anyone who has walked on the road at night knows that you can see clearly whoever the light source is close to.

Tang Zhitong didn't see the person opposite him clearly, but he always felt that the other person's eyes stayed on him longer.

However, the other party withdrew quickly and Tang Zhitong didn't think much about it.

After carrying a few buckets of water, the two brothers continued to freeze the fish. Tang Wenbang found that the pig's head and offal were handled very cleanly, and they were cooked directly without even thawing.

As for the lard, he saw it when he was rummaging through the sack and put it in the west room. He had not intended to pay for the lard, but there was indeed too much lard.

Friends who have experienced slaughtering the New Year pig may know that this is a big event. It is a bit exaggerated to say that people stay up all night, but there will still be a lively celebration for most of the day.

Although the Tang family has no New Year pig to slaughter, tonight is still worth looking forward to.

After freezing the fish, brothers Tang Gang and Tang Zhitong carried Tang Ting's portion into the west room and went in to help Tang Wenbang cook the pork head.

After Tang Wenbang put in all the ingredients, he directed Tang Gang to pass firewood into the stove, while he again talked to Tang Zhitong about the techniques and heat of cooking pork head.

Although he had mentioned this once when he first came, Tang Zhitong still listened carefully this time, just as if he was chatting with his uncle.

Just when the pig's head was about to be taken out of the pot, there was a sound of dog barking outside, followed by a knock on the door.

"Hey, who is it here so late at night?" Tang Wenbang looked at the pork head in the pot, sighed, and opened the door.

Tang Zhitong and Tang Gang looked at each other. Tang Zhitong was sure that no one would come here just because of the smell, after all, he had been cheating and smelling the scent.

Tang Gang glanced outside the door and whispered, "It could be Director Ding. He's very smart."

While they were talking, the two hunting dogs outside died down. Less than a minute later, Director Ding came in cheerfully, as if explaining something to Tang Gang and Tang Zhitong. He said, "I felt sick tonight, and when I went to relieve myself, I saw light outside. When I saw you two fetching water, I knew something good was going to happen at home."

When Tang Gang and Tang Zhitong saw Director Ding coming in, they both stood up. Before they could reply, Tang Wenbang walked in.

"You said you would come, so come on. Why do you need wine?" As the door was closed, Tang Wenbang entered the room behind Director Ding, holding a bottle of wine in his hand and another under his armpit.

"If you don't give me something, I won't be able to ask for it." Director Ding was not shy at all. After replying to Tang Wenbang's words, he stared at Tang Zhitong and asked, "This must be Comrade Xiao Tang, right?"

"Hello, Director Ding, I'm Tang Zhitong." Tang Zhitong brushed the dust off his hands and extended his hand to Director Ding.

"Hahaha, when I saw you just now, I guessed it was you. This outfit is really suitable for you and looks very energetic. You are worthy of being a young man from the old city." Director Ding was not at all shy. He shook hands with Tang Zhitong with a smile on his face, as if it was his home court.

"Okay, let's go into the inner room and talk." Tang Wenbang took the initiative to interrupt Director Ding's polite words and told his wife: "Cut the intestines into a plate, and then cut the heart and liver into a plate, these are cooked."

Tang Zhitong really didn't want to go into the inner room, but he knew that Director Ding was here for him today, and he couldn't leave his uncle here alone, so he had to bite the bullet and follow him in.

"Oh, Old Tang, you covered it tightly enough. I couldn't smell anything at all from outside." Director Ding was not polite at all. He took off his shoes and got on the kang. When he entered the room and smelled the meat, he swallowed his saliva several times.

"Those who are blessed don't have to rush. Even if you don't smell it, you can still eat it, right?" Tang Wenbang didn't hesitate. He put the kang table in place, grabbed a few teacups from the side, and handed the Fengcheng Laojiao brought by Director Ding to the two brothers, indicating that they should open the wine and pour it.

"Uncle, let me do it." Tang Zhi reached out to take it.

"You sit down and let your brother come." Tang Wenbang shook his head and handed the bottle of wine to Tang Gang.

"Oh, Xiao Tang, I heard last year that Brother Tang found his relatives in Sijiu City. I heard that you even coordinated a sleeper berth for him. The young man is not only handsome, but also filial. I am really happy for Brother Tang from the bottom of my heart! Come on, this is the first time we two meet, so let's have a drink and we'll be considered acquaintances!" After Director Ding finished speaking, he didn't even clink glasses with Tang Zhitong, but drank it all in one gulp.

Tang Zhitong was so annoyed watching this that he was speechless. What kind of style is this?
"Old Ding, what are you doing? You can't drink much, so take it easy." Tang Wenbang advised.

"Hey~ Brother Tang, I'm so happy to see Xiao Tang! Our forest farm has never produced such an accomplished person. Oh, Xiao Tang, you are not an employee of our forest farm, but your uncle and aunt are here, so you are half a member of our forest farm, right?" Director Ding asked after burping.

"Okay! I've carried our forest farm's guns, so I'm considered a member of our forest farm. Director Ding, have some food to calm you down." Tang Zhitong didn't drink. He took the plate and chopsticks handed over by the old lady, distributed them, and made way.

"Hey~ I love to hear that, Xiao Tang. Not only are you good at talking, but your shooting skills are also top-notch. The news has spread throughout our forest farm that you and Gangzi shot a wild boar a few days ago." Director Ding didn't eat his food and continued to praise Tang Zhitong.

"Well, that was done by my eldest brother, so I just joined in the count." Tang Zhitong thought, the matter of riding in the sleeper berth might have been spread by Su Nianbin, and the matter of hunting the wild boar was probably spread by those who went into the mountains later?

"Oh my~ I found another good point of yours, modesty!" Manager Ding continued to praise Tang Zhitong in various ways. His face was red from the wine, and he continued to try to get close to him with a smile: "At the beginning of the year, Brother Tang told me that you needed wood. Do you have enough wood? If you still need it, just ask!"

(End of this chapter)