Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 398: Big Red Envelope for Specimens and Autumn Farmers Protection
The buildings along the road in the city look very new, with a layer of yellow and red paint on the outside. The main road is a flat asphalt road with a zebra crossing at the intersection. Black wooden electric poles stand neatly on both sides, and three electric wires connect the city...

In the middle of the main road there is a trolleybus in two parts, which shuttles between the east and west urban areas. The blue and white trolleybus stops and a group of people rush out of the car and head straight for the First Department Store opposite the roundabout. At the door of the store, there are groups of people with cigarettes in their mouths, hugging their shoulders and at ease. They are wearing bell-bottom pants, sweaters with floral shirts over them, and a pair of white sneakers on their feet, which looks extremely fancy!

Xu Ning used to be one of them. Now that he has pulled back from the brink, he feels a little ashamed when he looks at this group of people again, and thinks: Was I so stupid before?

He drove a Dongfeng 140 behind the Jeep 212. The jeep stopped in front of the First Department Store. Xu Ning stopped by the roadside. After jumping out of the car, he saw Sun Lianfang patting Guan Lei's back and then holding his arm, which made Guan Lei hurriedly wave his arms to shake her off. Sun Lianfang pouted and muttered: What are you afraid of?

Sun Jishan finally couldn't stand the torture of his eldest niece. Before Yang Yusheng, Xu Ning, Guan Lei and others left the Sun's house, Sun Jishan promised to let Sun Liansheng go out for a walk with Sun Lianfang, but they had to go home before dark!
Before everyone left, Yang Yanqiu stuffed a red envelope wrapped in red paper into Guan Lei's pocket. At first, Guan Lei waved his hands to show that he could not accept it, as he did not understand the meaning of the red envelope. Later, Yang Yusheng smiled and said, "Take it quickly. This is your first visit, so this is a little gift from your uncle and aunt."

Guan Lei accepted the red envelope only after hearing this, but he didn't know how much money was in it. He just felt it was quite thick...

"Uncle San, are you going shopping?"

Yang Yusheng said with a smile: "I'll buy something for you, each of you pick one."

"Come on, Uncle San, why don't we save this for dinner in the evening."

Yang Yusheng waved his hand: "It's evening, and we're already here, why don't we go in and take a look? Let's go, Dalong is about the same size as Qiangzi, let's pick out a coat for him later."

Xu Ning grinned: "Hey, this is not a waste of money for my uncle."

"Your Third Uncle has a lot of money, so much he has nowhere to spend it, so leave now."

"Eh!"

Everyone walked towards the store entrance. No one cared about or charged for the cars parked outside. Nowadays, people who could afford to drive a car had some money. Even the hooligans standing at the door and wandering around did not dare to provoke them. They were not stupid.

The store sells everything, from small items like women's hair bands to large items like various electrical appliances. However, the electrical appliances here are very expensive. The retail price of an imported 14-inch color TV is 1280 yuan, while a domestically produced 14-inch color TV costs 1070 yuan.

The retail prices in the provincial capital are 1050 yuan and 998 yuan respectively.

Besides, the retail price of the Bailan washing machine is 425 yuan, while the selling price in the provincial capital is 380 yuan. There is a huge price difference. Moreover, ordinary people cannot afford it. One appliance costs as much as a forest worker's annual salary. Who can afford it?

But the clothes in the store are varied, with all kinds of styles, and there are also women's stockings. The higher-end ones are thin, non-elastic silk imported from France, while the lower-end ones are thicker nylon stockings...

Yang Yusheng led them into the affordable clothing area and waved his hand to let them choose by themselves, "Lian Sheng Lian Fang, you two choose too!"

Sun Liansheng opened his mouth to decline, but Yang Yusheng smiled and said, "Don't be afraid of your dad scolding you. When the time comes, just say I bought it for you."

"Haha...thank you, uncle." Sun Lianfang jumped twice.

Sun Liansheng certainly knew the reason, so he did not refuse.

This is a matter of reciprocity. Since Sun Jishan and his wife gave Guan Lei a red envelope, Yang Yusheng, as the only elder here, must also spend some money to show his appreciation. He did not bring any gifts on his first visit, let alone give red envelopes to Sun Liansheng and Sun Lianfang. What should he do? Isn't it also a favor to buy them some clothes?

While Sun Lianfang was picking clothes, Guan Lei pulled Xu Ning to the corner and opened the red envelope given by Yang Yanqiu. Inside were five brand new big unity notes.

Guan Lei looked down at the fifty yuan, then raised his head and said, "Brother, why are you giving this old man so much? I thought if it was three or five yuan, I would accept it, but I dare not accept so much."

Xu Ning asked with a smile: "Then what do you want to do?"

"It must be returned to Lianfang. This is not a small amount."

"Don't give it to her directly, or she won't want it. She'll find an excuse first, like putting it in your pocket for fear of losing it."

"OK!"

The First Department Store has three floors. The first floor sells small parts, the second floor sells clothes, shoes and hats, and the third floor sells home appliances.

Xu Ning came close to Yang Yusheng and whispered to him that there was fifty yuan in the red envelope that Yang Yanqiu gave to Guan Lei. Yang Yusheng nodded and said, "If you want to ask Leizi to return it, you can't take this money."

"I know. I told him so, and he said it back."

Yang Yusheng picked up the clothes rack, pointed at a brown coat and said, "How does your brother look wearing this coat?"

"Great, let me find a number to try?"

"Row."

Then Xu Ning waved Xu Long over and asked him to help Li Fuqiang try on the clothes. After he put them on, the size was perfect. When he asked the price, it was 8 yuan, which was not expensive at all and was within the consumption capacity of ordinary people.

Xu Long, Xu Ning, Wang Hu, Guan Lei and Sun Liansheng also picked out a coat, and Sun Lianfang picked out a set of clothes and pants without any hesitation, spending a total of 56 yuan.

Everyone walked around the store carrying paper bags. Yang Yusheng looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time for dinner, so he started to go to a restaurant.

Just now, Guan Lei had a small incident when he was trying on clothes. The reason was that he almost left the red envelope in the new clothes he was trying on. Guan Lei hurried back to look for it. After successfully finding it, he handed the red envelope to Sun Lianfang and said, "You keep it first. I'm afraid I'll lose it."

Sun Lianfang put it in her hip pocket without thinking too much. She was a little happy in her heart, but she pursed her lips to hold back her smile, because this was Guan Lei's trust in her, otherwise why didn't he give it to Xu Ning? She said in her heart: When will we still be a couple? It's not enough for me to be the brother.

After walking out of the store, everyone got on the car one after another and followed the jeep to a place called the Second Yanbin Hotel. This hotel is an old hotel in the city. It was formerly called Tianfu Restaurant. Later it was subcontracted to a boss in the provincial capital, who renovated the store.

The dishes are not expensive and you don't need a ticket, which is an advantage over other restaurants. It also shows that the boss has some strength.

After getting out of the car, Yang Yusheng invited everyone into the house. He gave his name and the receptionist led them to a private room.

The walls of the private room are covered with red striped wallpaper, which creates a quite atmospheric atmosphere when the lights are turned on. The table is a large round table with a pot of artificial flowers in the middle, which looks quite classy.

"Uncle San, do you know the boss of this shop?"

Yang Yusheng said with a smile: "His father is my colleague in the provincial capital. This is my second time back. Usually, Dalong and I eat at the small restaurant downstairs."

Not long after, the waiter brought the dishes to the table. There were six dishes in total, all on large plates.

There are sweet and sour spare ribs, sweet and sour pork, stir-fried pork, three fresh vegetables, cucumber with pig ears, and three-shredded beans.

They were busy drinking at noon and didn't eat much, so they didn't drink in the evening and just filled their stomachs with food.

After dinner, they smoked a cigarette in the house and then left. When Yang Yusheng wanted to pay the bill, the hotel manager said that the boss had already paid, so Yang Yusheng did not insist. After walking out of the hotel door and standing in front of the two cars, he turned around to look at Sun Lianfang and Sun Liansheng, and heard Xu Ning say:

"Uncle San, Shitou and I will take them back. I'll come to your place after we're done."

"Okay, you go drive the jeep."

Xu Ning nodded and took the key from Xu Long, saying, "I took two bottles of wine from the car for Uncle San. Remember to bring them upstairs."

"I don't usually drink, why did you buy wine?"

"If someone comes to the house, we can drink then."

Then, Xu Ning asked Guan Lei, Sun Lianfang and Sun Liansheng to get in the car, while Yang Yusheng, Xu Long and Wang Hu took the Dongfeng 140 back to the staff quarters.

The jeep was driving on the road. Xu Ning held the steering wheel with both hands and said, "Lianfang, lend me the Dongfeng jeep first..."

Before she finished speaking, Sun Lianfang nodded and said, "Okay! Brother, you drive first, I'll come to see you tomorrow." Guan Lei was stunned: "Why don't you stay at your uncle's house for a few more days?"

Sun Lianfang curled her lips and smiled without saying anything. Sun Liansheng said, "She can't stay at home. My dad works and I have other things to do. There are only my mom and my wife at home. If she wants to leave, who can stop her?"

"Brother, look at what you said, as if I were crazy! Can you help me say a few words when we get back?"

Sun Liansheng looked out the window and said, "I can't tell you. You're not afraid of my dad, but I am!"

"What a coward..." Sun Lianfang muttered.

Xu Ning drove to the door of Sun Jishan's house, and then Sun Lianfang and Sun Liansheng got out of the car. Sun Jishan, Yang Yanqiu and Jin Xiaoxia also came out to greet them. It stands to reason that it doesn't matter whether Sun Jishan comes out or not, because his status is there, but the jeep was parked at the door. Isn't this for Yang Yusheng's face?

"Have you finished dinner?" Yang Yanqiu asked with a smile.

"We're done eating! The restaurant Uncle Yang invited us to is the Yanbin Restaurant!"

"Ah, Er Ning Lei Zi, you two should come into the house and sit for a while..."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Uncle Sun, we won't go into the house. It's getting dark soon, and we still have to go to my third uncle's place."

"Aren't you staying here tonight?"

"Yes, I'll live with my third uncle."

Sun Jishan nodded: "Okay, then you two can go back first and come back when you have time."

"Eh!"

After Xu Ning and Guan Lei drove away, Sun Lianfang suddenly took out a red envelope from her pocket, ran to the door, and shouted loudly: "Hey! Wait a minute!"

But the jeep had already driven thirty or forty meters, and didn’t hear Sun Lianfang’s voice at all. Even if it had heard it, it wouldn’t have stopped the car…

After Sun Jishan saw the red envelope in her hand, he asked, "Did he give it to you?"

Sun Lianfang put it in her hip pocket and said, "He said he was afraid of losing it, so he asked me to help carry it. Uncle... do you want to?"

"Go! When will I get the things I gave out back? I'm just asking."

After saying that, Sun Jishan and Yang Yanqiu looked at each other and nodded to each other, as if to say: This child is quite sensible and not too greedy for money.

As Sun Liansheng walked into the house, Sun Jishan asked, "Why did your uncle take you to the Yanbin Hotel?"

"He said he and the restaurant owner's father used to be colleagues in the provincial capital."

Sun Jishan smiled when he heard this: "Ah, Brother Yang is quite good at this..."

Yang Yanqiu said: "After all, he was transferred from the provincial capital, so he is more skilled in this than you."

"That's right..." Sun Jishan smiled indifferently. It was only at this moment that he felt a little happy in his heart.

"Uncle, I want to go to Qing'an tomorrow." Sun Lianfang said while sitting on the sofa.

Sun Jishan shook his head: "No, your mother just called and told you to go back to Sandaohe tomorrow."

"I won't! I'm going to Qing'an!"

Sun Jishan sighed, and then Yang Yanqiu said, "Don't you know your mother's temper? When she gets really angry, she'll even scold you. If you make her angry, things will become even more difficult for you and Guan Lei in the future."

Sun Lianfang frowned and picked up the phone: "I'll talk to her myself..."

Sun Jishan sat next to her and held up the phone, saying, "Your mother is angry now. The more she talks, the worse it gets. You should calm down for now and talk to her tomorrow morning."

"Uncle, you are still the best! Haha..." Sun Lianfang put her arm around his arm and flattered him.

……

The Forestry Bureau’s staff housing building was built with the Forestry Bureau’s own money. There are six units in the building, some with three households on each floor and some with two households on each floor.

Yang Yusheng lives in Unit 2, a two-unit apartment on the second floor with north-south ventilation.

When the house was allocated, Yang Yusheng originally wanted a small two-bedroom apartment, but the boss said, "What if your two sons bring their wives and children over? Where will they live then?" So he directly approved a three-bedroom apartment for him.

The heating has long been turned off and the house is a bit damp and cold. Everyone sits on the sofa in the living room, drinking tea and chatting.

"Your brother's paperwork is being processed. It will probably be completed by the beginning of next month. Go back and tell your dad that Dalong will stay in the city to work from now on."

"Hey, okay!"

Yang Yusheng asked, "Are you short of money to open a business?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "No, I don't need any. I think it will be enough after we sell all the bear gallbladders and skins at home. I am thinking of forming a partnership with the two bear markets. My eldest brother has some money now, and he has nothing to do anyway. He can earn some money by investing it in the bear market."

Yang Yusheng smiled and said, "How is your elder brother these days?"

"He's pretty good. He delivers wood all day long. If I need work, I just call him."

"You helped him a lot..."

"Uncle San, we are helping each other, it's not a question of who is helping whom."

Yang Yusheng said: "Don't I know what he was like before? Alas, if it weren't for your help, would he have become like this now? Who knows, he would still be drinking at home all day long. What kind of life would my niece have to live...

If Qiangzi can change for the better, it will help me get rid of a knot in my heart. Otherwise, I will not be able to face my old squad leader, let alone my brother, until the day I die."

Xu Long said, "Uncle San, everything is fine now, why are you still talking about those things?"

Yang Yusheng exhaled smoke, extinguished his cigarette, and said, "If you can catch a big bear or a big pig in the future, please send it to the city. The city is now organizing the establishment of a zoo and plant museum, and they need a lot of specimens..."

"Okay, then I'll just pull it over when I hit it."

Yang Yusheng smiled and said, "Don't you ask whether you can make money?"

Xu Ning grinned: "My third uncle has spoken, and I'm not a snob!"

"Hahaha... I can't let you work in vain. I'm the one who took the lead in organizing this zoo and plant museum. I'm the deputy team leader. I've stipulated that a pig weighing over 600 kilograms will be rewarded 50 yuan, and a pig weighing 700 kilograms will be rewarded 100 yuan..."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Uncle San, don't worry, I will make whatever the museum needs! We don't have any other problems in Lindi, but we have a lot of animals."

Yang Yusheng continued, "In the second half of the year, the city will organize a group to protect farmers. Each village will send out a militiaman, who can lead a team of hunters. Do you want to participate? Don't worry, it won't hinder you from building a house and getting married."

(End of this chapter)