Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 369 I want to make progress
In the east room, Xu Ning sat at the end of the kang with one leg resting on the edge, chatting with Hu Zhiyong who was leaning against the quilt. Da Laba, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu and Guan Lei sat on stools next to the dressing table, holding a handful of melon seeds in their hands, and on the dressing table were several tea cups.

Lao Hu, Lao Deng, Lao Han and others sat on the kang, talking about today's society, the international situation, and the war in the south...

This is how you celebrate a festival, everyone gets together, has a lively time, and talks about everything under the sun. After all, the turmoil of previous years has long passed.

In the blink of an eye, it was almost time for dinner.

Lao Hu arranged for Lan Guodong and Da Laba to go to Lao Deng and Li Ye's house to get tables, benches, bowls, chopsticks and plates.

When doing business in the countryside, if there are not enough bowls, chopsticks, tables and chairs, they are basically borrowed from people with whom they have a good relationship. Lao Hu and Lao Deng have a very good relationship. Although they are not sworn brothers, their relationship is enough to rival that of Xu Laonian and Du Shoucai.

Otherwise, how could Lao Hu's nephew and Lao Deng's nephew be together? They both have no parents, and they share the same fate, so they are attracted to each other.

Normally we should have gone to get the tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks this morning, but everyone went into the mountains today and the old lady has been busy since they left, so she didn't have time to spare.

"Brother Huang, let's go with you and chat here." Li Fuqiang stood up and said.

The loud speaker glanced at Xu Ning and saw him waving his hand, "Brother, let my eldest brother and the others go with you. With more people, we can get it back in one trip."

The loud speaker smiled and responded, "Okay, let's go together."

It can be seen from the fact that Lao Hu instructed Da Laba to get the dishes and chopsticks that he has a certain status in the hearts of Lao Hu's family. If it were normal, Lao Hu would only treat Da Laba as a guest and would not easily order him to do work. Since he ordered him to do the work, it means that he did not treat him as an outsider.

After the group of people got up and left, the only ones left in the east room were Hu Zhiyong who could not move, Xu Ning and Li Ye who were sitting at the end of the kang, and Lao Deng, Lao Hu and Lao Han who were smoking at the head of the kang.

In the outer room, six old ladies including Zhao Yuefang, Liu Shu'e and Zhang Guifang were swinging large spoons and adding firewood to the stove.

While there were few people in the room, Lao Deng took a puff of cigarette and asked, "Erning, I heard that you have killed a lot of deer recently. Do you have any remaining deer penises?"

Xu Ning took a sip of tea and said, "There are two left. I made a deer spear bow out of the ash tree. Sir, do you want to use it? I'll send it to you tomorrow."

Old Deng smiled and waved his hand, "What do I need? I'm so old. I'm doing it for other people. You can ask for as much as you want. If you're really embarrassed to ask for it, then give me the price you get from the pharmacy. I can make some money from selling it."

Xu Ning nodded: "Okay, I'll send it to you tomorrow."

"Erning is really quick to get things done. He can get things done in just a few words." Old Hu said with a smile.

Xu Ning spoke the truth, without hiding his intentions: "Uncle, isn't it because we are all family? Deer penis is not a precious thing. I can sell it when it should be sold, and give it away when it should be given away. I can also gain good popularity. Uncle Deng, won't you do me a favor?"

Everyone in the room was stunned, and then burst into laughter.

Old Han's jaw froze with a grin. He said, "Hahaha, that's very clear! When we men chat, we have to be straightforward. I hate it when people hide things. It's so fucking tiring to chat."

"Not at all! It's better to be straightforward."

At this time, the sound of a motorcycle was heard outside the courtyard gate, and soon a motorcycle drove into the courtyard. Hu Zhibin was wrapped up tightly. He kicked off the pedals, got off the motorcycle, and walked into the house, taking off his gloves and scarf...

Hu Zhibin walked quickly into the house, greeted his sister-in-law and brother's wife who were cooking in the outer room, and said thank you for their hard work.

Then, he opened the door curtain and entered the east room, where he saw Lao Han and others. He greeted his elders and then looked at Xu Ning and said with a smile, "Who did Er Ning go to the mountain with?"

This was just a prelude. Xu Ning finished speaking with a smile. Hu Zhibin had already taken off his leggings and looked at Zhiyong and said, "Don't you want to have a drink at noon? Let's celebrate your survival."

Zhiyong raised his head and said, "Brother, if I drink a little, the wine will seep out of my face. Don't waste it."

"Hahaha... Aren't you quite good at chatting?" Hu Zhibin laughed.

Hu Zhiyong said with a smile: "I had a good chat with Erning just now. I am not so depressed anymore. Brother, have you finished your work on the street?"

"Well, the boss gave me half a day off, so I can go there at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Dad, we have to have a good drink this afternoon."

Old Hu said with a smile, "Drink! We have to go to your Uncle Xu's house to drink in the evening. Go outside to greet your Uncle Du. Why hasn't he come yet?"

"Ah, okay."

Xu Ning stood up and said, "I'm going to go out for some fresh air."

Hu Zhibin turned to look at Xu Ning and asked him to walk in front while he followed behind. After the two of them walked out the door, Lao Deng in the room asked, "Binzi, do you want to see Er Ning for something?"

Lao Hu said: "Maybe."

In the courtyard, Xu Ning went around the alley, found a toilet and urinated. After he finished, he walked out of the alley and saw Hu Zhibin waiting for him under the wall of the lower house.

"Brother Bin."

Hu Zhibin smoked a cigarette and said with a smile: "Erning, I need your help with something."

"Just say it."

"It's like this. Our leader is going to celebrate his mother's birthday soon, so he's thinking of preparing some hearty dishes. He wants some bear meat or venison, and it would be best if he could prepare some bear paws..."

Xu Ning frowned as he lowered his head, but when he looked up, his brows relaxed and he asked with a smile, "How many tables are you going to set up?"

"There are only five tables in total, all of which are our relatives and leaders of the hospital. There are no outsiders."

"It's hard to encounter a black bear nowadays. I chased the brown bear that injured Brother Yong a few days ago, but I didn't catch a glimpse of it!"

Hu Zhibin nodded: "Yes, I have told my boss about this. I also went to the hotel to find the boss before I came back and asked him to keep an eye on it."

After that, Hu Zhibin lowered his head and said, "The leader will do things in June, so there is still plenty of time. If you can do it, the money will be fine. Even if someone in your village is caught by a black bear, you can just let me know."

Xu Ning nodded: "Brother Bin, I can't guarantee this, but I can say that I will try my best. As long as I can catch a black bear, I will definitely keep it for you."

"Okay! It's okay to buy it in advance. There's a big freezer in the canteen of the hospital. You can put it in there for two or three years without worrying about it going bad."

At this time, there was a noise outside the yard. We knew it was Da Laba, Li Fuqiang and others. They were carrying baskets filled with bowls, chopsticks, stools and tables.

Du Shoucai and Du Manzhi were also among them. They walked into the courtyard and Xu Ning waved and said, "Uncle, big brother."

Du Shoucai saw him and smiled: "You came quite early."

"Yeah, I ran into Uncle Hu halfway down the mountain, and he just followed me here."

After Du Shoucai, Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others entered the house, the east room was no longer spacious enough. It was packed with people and Xu Ning had difficulty turning around while standing on the edge of the kang.

Old Hu hurriedly stood at the edge of the kang and arranged for Da Laba and Hu Zhibin to put the floor table and the kang table in the west room, leaving only one kang table and two floor tables in the east room.

Hu Zhibin drove his children, Zhiyong's children, and Li Ye's children to the west room. The children left behind were basically the same age as Wang Biao and Huang Lin. They were all guests and could not be driven to the west room, otherwise it would not be right.

Old Hu asked Du Shoucai why he didn't bring Zhao Yue'e and the child with him. Du Shoucai said that someone had to be left at the village headquarters. In fact, this was an excuse, because these days, when entertaining guests during festivals, basically no one brought their families with them to eat and drink to their heart's content.

If you think about it, if each family sends four or five people, then five families have to gather three tables. What kind of family can entertain like this? This is completely different from holding a wedding or funeral.

For example, Li Mazi came here alone, his wife and children were at home... At noon, there were five tables in the two rooms in the east of Old Hu's house, and nearly forty people in total were having dinner.

The house was full of joy and laughter.

Hu Zhibin sat at the same table with Li Ye, Da Laba, Xu Ning and others. Hu Zhiyong couldn't drink and had difficulty eating, so he sat at the same table with Wang Biao, Liu Tianen and others.

The staple food was rice, and the side dishes included scrambled eggs with onions, fried meat with garlic sprouts...a total of six dishes, but the portions for all five tables were large.

Since Xu Ning didn't drink, Hu Zhibin poured him a glass of malted milk. Actually, Xu Ning didn't like to drink this stuff because it was a bit too sweet. He rarely drank soy milk powder at home. The milk powder and soy milk powder that Xu Long brought back were all drunk by Xu Feng, Jin Yumantang, Wang Biao, and Liu Tianen. There might be one bag left now.

The meal was not finished until after 1 p.m., but Lao Hu, Lao Deng and Lao Han had not finished their drinks. On the contrary, at Xu Ning's table, the wine was drunk very quickly. Wang Hu approached Xu Ning with a red face and said that he was a little confused.

Xu Ning asked him to follow Da Laba out for some fresh air, because most people in the house were smoking. During the meal, a thin layer of mist floated in the air inside the house.

Wang Biao, Huang Lin and others put down their chopsticks, said hello to Lao Hu and others and went out to play. Then the sound of firecrackers was heard outside. The children had nothing to play with except skipping rubber ropes, fanning themselves, playing Kalaha and setting off firecrackers.

That day Xu Ning took Wang Biao and others to play with air rifles. Actually, they didn't have much fun. After all, there were only a dozen lead bullets left, and each of them shot a few. Before they got familiar with the trajectory, the lead bullets were all gone.

"Erning, when did you build the house?"

In the courtyard, under the eaves of the lower house, Hu Zhibin sat on a wooden stool, with his legs crossed and a cigarette in his mouth, and asked Xu Ning who was drinking tea next to him.

"After the spring, it won't be until mid-May."

"When I went to the big hotel to chat with the boss, I heard the boss say, are you related to Master Yang from the big hotel?"

Xu Ning pointed at Li Fuqiang who was chatting with the loud speaker and said, "That's my eldest brother's brother-in-law. He came to celebrate during the Chinese New Year."

"Ah, I was wondering why the restaurant owner praised you so much, so this is what happened. The owner told me that you wanted to find a brick factory, and last time Master Yang asked the owner to find a few brick factory owners for dinner..."

"Yeah, big brother Liguo is really helpful. My family must buy bricks and tiles to build a house. Otherwise, we won't build it. If we do build it, we have to build it well."

"Of course. Whenever you go to buy bricks, just tell me and I'll go with you. As long as it's one of the brick factories in Qing'an, the bosses will give some face and give you a discount on the original price."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Brother Bin, thank you so much. To be honest, all I can think about now is how to save money, because I have to spend a lot of money this year."

"You know, getting married? This is a big deal. I'll buy you two cars when the time comes. Can your brother's jeep be driven back?"

"Yes, Wanye will have a friend coming by then, and he can help me build one."

"Oh, what a great relationship! Everything has to be matched, just for luck."

"Not good."

After Lao Han, Lao Deng and others had almost drunk enough, they drank some tea in the house to sober up. As it was almost three o'clock, Lao Deng, Du Shoucai and others started to prepare to go home.

When everyone arrived at the courtyard, Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others also stood up and followed them to the gate of the courtyard.

"Uncle, shall we go together?"

Xu Ning said this to Lao Hu, who smiled and said, "You guys go back first, I'll go there by myself later."

"No, let my sister-in-law drop off all the things and come back to clean them up and take the kids with her."

"They have to stay home to take care of your brother Yong. Li Ye's arm is also injured and he can't move... That's it. I'll go there on a motorcycle with your brother Bin later."

Xu Ning heard this and said, "Alright, let's go back first."

"Go back."

Then Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others followed Du Shoucai home.

Old Hu watched them leave, turned to look at Hu Zhibin, and asked, "What did Erning say?"

"He said if we can hit it, we'll keep it. This game really depends on luck."

Old Hu tilted his head and asked, "Giving me bear paws or something will definitely help you move up?"

"I can't guarantee it, but I have connections in the city."

Old Hu nodded: "Well, I originally wanted to have a meal with Er Ning, but I didn't plan to tell him about these trivial things. Doing this will make us look eager for quick success..."

"Dad, after I told Erning, he understood what I meant. He's quite smart, and I can't hide it from him. Besides, I want to make progress."

Lao Hu rubbed his face and lit a cigarette: "When your uncle was alive, I didn't have to worry about anything. Your eldest brother passed away early, so those comrade-in-arms relationships are no longer useful."

"It's okay. I feel good now. I'm thinking of sending Zhiyong to the provincial government for a checkup once he can walk again."

"Okay, I saw that he had a good chat with Er Ning today. I'm just afraid that he might have a mental illness as Director Zhou said. This disease is not easy to cure. Our village's madman Nie was just stimulated. He lived for three years after he became crazy and finally jumped into the river and died."

……

Qing'an, old Xu's family.

It's about four o'clock.

Xu Laonian and Wang Erli sat on the edge of the kang and on stools, chatting with Du Shoucai, Lao Jiang and others who were also sitting on the kang. They didn't drink too much at noon because their alcohol tolerance varied. Thinking of having a meal in the evening, they held back and drank just enough.

The loud speaker sitting next to the cabinet asked Xu Ning, "Brother, why did you go into the mountains?"

"Then, take a day off tomorrow and drink well in the evening."

"Okay, I've always wanted to have a drink with you and Qiangzi, but you both quit drinking. Alas, I missed the right time."

"When I break my alcohol ban, I will definitely drink with you."

"That's fine."

At this time, Lao Jiang said, "Erning, are you going to Shizuishan later?"

"Ah, Uncle Jiang, what are you looking at in Shizuishan?"

"There are deer tracks over there. Your uncle and I also spotted several pig tracks. Don't you go to Ximaduozi often? Why don't you go somewhere else?"

"Okay, then we'll go to Shizuishan next."

Da Laba felt a little sad when he heard about Shizuishan, because Shizuishan was the place where his dog died in battle.

(End of this chapter)