Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 450: The daughter-in-law of the old Wang family disciplines her father with just one word
You only regret having enough money when you need it; you only realize how difficult it is when you are in an emergency.

Xu Ning felt overwhelmed by all the things that required money. He didn't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt were before he became the head of the family. Now that he has become the head of the family, he knows how money can make a hero fall.

However, Xu Ning did not panic because of this. This little thing would not make him confused. There seemed to be a lot of things going on at the moment. Wouldn't it be clearer if he sorted them out one by one?

He calculated that by the time the house was finished it would be around mid-July, which would be a good time to go up the mountain and collect ginseng. He would go to the mountains to collect ginseng for half a month, and then in August when he got out of the mountains he would pack up the bear gallbladders and various skins from the lower house and send them to the provincial capital to sell.

Xu Pao's eldest son Xu He works at the pharmaceutical factory. The price of medicines he buys is much higher than that of the supply and marketing cooperatives on the street. For example, a ginseng root can be sold for 1000 yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative, but it can be sold for 1300 yuan at the provincial pharmaceutical factory! With so many bear gallbladders and skins, they can sell for an extra yuan.

As soon as the money is in hand, we should quickly give the money from Baoleng Farm to the forest farm. We can't let Zhang Deyu be a guarantee for him before he retires. That would be teasing the old man.

At four o'clock, Xu Ning sent Sun Jiye and Chai Bing home, and asked Guan Lei and Wang Hu to chat with them for a while. He turned around and returned to Li Fuqiang's house. This group of people had worked for his family and Lao Wang's family for a week. The first stage had just been completed, so he had to go and greet them and say a few polite words.

"Uncle Yu, you've worked hard these days. Stay home and have a good rest for two days tomorrow."

"Brother Feng, I haven't had any meat recently. Later, you and my uncle and brother will drive a tractor to Nanbeitun for a tour. Driving a tractor saves energy!"

"Uncle Zhang..."

The polite words made the people who were sipping their wine very happy. They pulled Xu Laonian and said that Erning was efficient, good at chatting and had ability.

Xu Laonian grinned and couldn't help laughing, but said: "Hey, he just does some weird things when he has nothing to do, stop praising him."

Liu Lizhen was also very happy listening to this. Which parent wouldn't want to hear others praising their child?

After saying hello, Xu Ning went back home with his mother, Yang Shuhua and Li Fuqiang, leaving Xu Laonian and Wang Erli to greet them.

As soon as he entered the door, Xu Feng rushed over and said with a smile: "Second brother! Our niece Hongyan is quite shy."

Liu Lizhen grabbed her by the collar and kicked her, "How can you be so loud, and you're my niece!"

"Then according to seniority, she has to call me aunt..." Xu Feng pouted, a little confused.

Xu Ning held Xu Feng's arm and said, "Don't call her niece in front of people. She is seven years older than you. Who can stand being called that?"

"Then I'll keep quiet, okay? Look at our mother, she's always picking on me when she has nothing to do. I'm like her toy..."

Liu Lizhen smiled and said, "Why did I give birth to the three of you? Your dad and I just did it for fun."

"Ouch!" Xu Feng felt dizzy, and his heart, made of glass, was broken by his mother's words.

Inside the house, Wang Biao, Liu Tianen, Huang Lin and others were chatting with Chai Baotong, Sun Lianjun and others. Yang Shuhua and Wang Shujuan were busy heating up food for the children. Although Li Fuqiang's family was having dinner, how could the food be as good as what Old Xu's family had at noon?
Besides, these kids are all greedy, so Liu Lizhen must save the best for them.

"Why didn't Jiang Qiuer come over? Biao."

Wang Biao said, "She went home to sew her schoolbag. Should I go and call her?"

"Hurry up, what are you thinking about?"

After Xu Ning finished making the arrangements, he turned around and saw Li Fuqiang lighting cigarettes for Chai Bing and Sun Jiye. He said, "We don't need to get up too early tomorrow. My eldest brother is going to the south to get firewood. We can just follow the car."

Chai Bing exhaled smoke and nodded: "Okay, let's go to Ximaduozi tomorrow?"

"Let's go to Laoniugou behind Shuangfengling. There's a small river there. You might run into roe deer."

Sun Jiye said with a smile: "You are the master over here, we will follow you, whatever you say is what counts."

After deciding the route for tomorrow's jogging, Xu Ning went to feed the dog. In the yard, Xu Feng and Sun Lianfang were chattering about Chai Hongyan and Sun Lianjun. The kids would glance at the west room from time to time because Sun Lianjun and Chai Hongyan were chatting in the west room. Xu Ning found it a little funny. They were not old enough to go on a blind date, so they were a little curious about this kind of thing...

Wang Biao and Jiang Qiuer entered the courtyard. Jiang Qiuer was a little embarrassed before, but after hanging out with Wang Biao for a long time, he can now relax when meeting people.

Chai Bing asked curiously whose daughter she was. Wang Biao said with a sense of crisis: "Third brother! She is the daughter of the Jiang family now, but she should be the daughter-in-law of our Wang family in the future!"

"Hey, I..."

This made Chai Bing, Sun Jiye and others burst into laughter. Jiang Qiu'er blushed slightly, raised her hand and patted him, but did not say anything to refute.

Chai Baotong said with a smile: "Uncle Biao, you acted very quickly. You found everything in advance."

Wang Biao acted like an elder and said, "Of course! These days, everything is difficult, so you have to plan ahead when looking for a partner, right, second brother!"

Xu Ning waved his hand: "Don't ask me, you've had these thoughts since you were eight or nine years old, but I didn't teach you that."

Xu Feng said, "That's not the case! My brother Biao has evil intentions. He doesn't study all day long, but only thinks about finding a partner."

"Hahaha……"

At around six o'clock, after Xu Laonian sent everyone away, he came back with Lao Jiang, Wang Erli, Dalaba and others. They drank tea and chatted in the house. Seeing that it was almost time to go to bed, Lao Jiang, Dalaba and others took their children and went home.

Sun Jiye and Sun Lianjun followed Guan Lei to his home. Since they were in Qing'an, they had to stay overnight with the old Sun's brother-in-law. They could also take a look at what needed to be repaired and what was missing from the house so that they could report to Sun Jiwei when they returned.

Chai Hongyan, Sun Lianfang, Guan Hua and Wang Shujuan lived in the east wing. The kang in the lower room could accommodate six people. Qian Deng'er and Xu Feng would definitely have to squeeze in with pillows for the night. Chai Bing and Chai Baotong lived in the west room with Xu Ning...

The next day, the sky suddenly brightened with the sound of cocks crowing and dogs barking.

The sound of burning wood could be heard from the stove. In the pot were steaming large dumplings stuffed with pork and onions. Liu Lizhen, Yang Shuhua and others had made them at Lao Wang's house this morning.

Guan Lei and Wang Hu went to Lao Qin's house and brought back two bottles of soy milk and tofu pudding. Yang Shuhua was making the sauce for the tofu pudding in the east wing. The sauce was very simple, with only three ingredients: eggs, fungus, and starch. The sauce was sticky and looked appetizing.

Xu Ning came out of the toilet and went into the house to mutter to his mother, "When we rebuild the toilet, we have to use bricks. Wooden boards are drafty everywhere!"

Liu Lizhen ignored him and waved her hand: "Do whatever you want!"

"Hey, look at you... Then you can give my brother 150 yuan later. The mine will deliver the kang stones in the afternoon. The total for three trucks is 150 yuan."

"Yes, I know."

Han Fengjiao stood up and asked, "Erning, are three carts of kang stones enough for ten rooms?"

"Enough! Uncle Yu has calculated everything, plus the half truck brought over from my third uncle's house, three and a half trucks are just enough!"

The two families built the house together, and as long as there was money to spend, Liu Lizhen and Han Fengjiao would each pay half. This way the bills were easier to calculate and less likely to get messed up. Moreover, they recorded every expense in the account, and then calculated the total amount spent after the house was built.

"By the way, Master Li who came to measure the size of the gate yesterday should give us two sets of copper door knockers, hinges and so on. Please give my brother an extra 100 yuan, otherwise it will not be enough."

"So is it an iron door or an elm door?"

"Let's use old elm wood. It's thick and looks classy, ​​and the cost is not high!" The two of them had no objection. However, Xu Laonian, who was standing under the eaves, came in and asked, "What's the matter? Why not use a big iron door?"

"Well, two iron doors will cost at least five hundred dollars, Dad, if you have money you can pay for it."

"I'm not going to pay for anything. I don't have the money... Well, let's buy something made of old wood. This thing should be cheap!"

It is so easy to deal with Xu Laonian. Just mention one word to him - money, and it will definitely work!

After breakfast, Xu Ning, Sun Jiye and Chai Bing sat on the edge of the kang to tie their leggings, while Wang Hu, Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei started the tractor with the crank in the yard. It happened that Wang Biao and Liu Tianen were on holiday, so the five of them were just going to pull two trucks of firewood...

"Second brother, I'll give you 56 and a half, and I'll just use the old stick."

"What's the matter, Third Brother?"

Chai Bing said, "I am not as good at spearmanship as you are. If I really meet an animal, I will be disappointed if I fail to hit it. Besides, I prefer to use a knife."

"Haha, ok, Chai Sanda!"

Sun Jiye asked with a smile: "Why did you give your third brother such a nickname?"

Then, the three of them walked out, and Xu Ning explained the cause and effect. After listening, Sun Jiye said, "The third brother also knows some knife skills!"

"Of course I do. Compared to Qiangzi's steady, accurate and ruthless shooting skills, my sword skills can be summed up in one word - fast!"

Xu Ning led Qinglang and Hualang and said with a smile: "It is indeed fast. The knife comes down quickly without shedding blood."

Li Fuqiang said: "What else is there to say? We are just playing with a sharp knife."

They carried the dogs into the bed of the tractor, and Li Fuqiang drove the tractor slowly towards Shuangfengling.

The tractor's cargo bed is much bumpier than the Dongfeng's rear compartment. The cargo bed and the front of the tractor are not integrated, but are only connected by a cylindrical iron rod, so it is quite unstable.

This road almost made me vomit, and my buttocks and waist couldn't bear it either. Fortunately, it was not far from Shuangfeng Ridge, and I arrived there in half an hour at a leisurely speed of more than 30 miles per hour.

After getting off the car, they jumped twice on the spot to relax their slightly numb legs, and then carried the dog gang to the ground. After getting off the car, the dog gang's legs were all trembling, and they staggered into the woods, some urinating, some smelling...

"Brother, please drive Third Brother's car to pick us up here in the evening, and don't drive the tractor."

Li Fuqiang laughed: "Haha, OK! Then what time should we come?"

"About four or five o'clock. If we go down the mountain early, we'll wait for you at Xiaofeng Mountain."

"Okay, be careful."

Then, Li Fuqiang, Wang Hu, Guan Lei, Wang Biao, and Liu Tianen left on a tractor. Xu Ning called the dog gang and climbed up Xiaofeng Mountain with Chai Bing and Sun Jiye...

The grass on the hillside grows lushly. Rainwater flows down the mountain, forming many puddles. The road up the mountain is a shady slope. The flowers and plants are not tall or dense, but the trees are lush and leafy. The tallest tree is at least forty or fifty meters tall.

After walking three or four miles along the ridge of the mountain, the dog gang, led by the blue wolf, ran straight to the small stone river at the foot of the mountain. They lowered their heads to replenish some water by the river. Xu Ning drove them forward, not daring to let them drink too much.

Sun Jiye jumped over the Little Stone River, looked at the surroundings, and said, "There must be brown bears here, Erning, how about we go upstream along the river? What is the upstream?"

“Going upstream, you will find Liushugou, Heishitang, and Tiaoshitang.”

"Ah, then let's continue walking south. The place I least want to walk on is the Stone Pond, which is full of big rocks."

Chai Bing said, "I heard from Er Ning that a man was killed by a brown bear in Heishitang last year. Has the brown bear been found?"

Xu Ning was a little sad when he mentioned this. He said, "What did you find? Before the spring, there were two people watching it on the mountain, but they were also injured by it. One of them almost died in the mountain. Oh, I remembered something."

"What's the matter?"

"When the snow hadn't melted yet, a few of us dug a granary in the mountains, and there were two little black blind cats inside."

"Oh my god? Where's that little black blind guy?"

Xu Ning bared his teeth and said, "Let my brother Huang sell it, and then sell it to the family that caught the old leopard."

"Oh my god, how much did the two black bears sell for?"

"The total sales amounted to 720 yuan. I got 200 yuan, and they each got 104 yuan."

Sun Jiye laughed and said, "We really sold quite a lot! The price is a bit unscrupulous. Two years ago, a man in Sandaohe picked up a small black blind just after winter and sold it for only 150 yuan. The price has increased by at most 220 yuan in the past two years..."

Xu Ning clapped his hands and said, "Not bad! I asked for a minimum of 720, and lied to sell it for . After bargaining, I could get off. But my brother Huang was so good at talking, and he asked for directly. The other party thought was a good price, so he bargained for and got it."

"Hahaha, fuck! This business, Brother Huang really has some talent for business, huh?"

Xu Ning said: "He is good at talking, so this is just right for him."

Sun Jiye nodded: "Doing business depends on talking. If you can't talk, you can't close the deal."

The three of them chatted as they walked, while keeping an eye on the black wolf walking in front of them. The dog gang was very quiet after entering the mountain, without any noise or disturbance, and it was obvious that they had entered working mode.

It was already half past ten when we crossed the Heixiazi Valley. All three of us had strong legs and did not feel tired after walking such a long distance.

After entering Laoniugou, Xu Ning pointed to the red pine forest in the west and motioned them to go into the forest and take a look. If there were any new tracks, they could follow the tracks. If there were no tracks, they would go towards the big reservoir. There were two intersecting rivers here. Although the water was not deep, it was very turbulent.

At noon, the three men and the dog gang had wandered nearly forty miles in the mountains, but they did not even see any animal feces. They only saw a tree whose bark had been peeled by a black bear, with the bark scattered under the tree. Xu Ning glanced at the vague traces on the ground and judged that the black bear had been gone for three or four days.

Just as Xu Ning was trying to find a place to heat up the rice, Blue Wolf suddenly jumped out from the left, stood on a stone, raised his head and moved his nose, and Flower Wolf also moved, then Blue Wolf and Flower Wolf started to fight at the same time!
The sound of dogs barking was incessant, and the dog gang rushed out in an instant. Chai Bing, who had already put down the cloth bag, was stunned, and hurriedly picked up the cloth bag and chased after it with Xu Ning and Sun Jiye.

"Oh my god! Finally there's a job to do!" Chai Bing was very excited. He didn't even take the old stick, he just hung it on his shoulder and followed the two men empty-handed.

Xu Ning turned around and took a look, then shouted, "Third brother, let's go up the slope!"

Then, Chai Bing followed him and climbed up the hillside diagonally. The hillside looked like flat land, but there were many Eleutherococcus senticosus and old monkey leg vegetables.

The dog gang in front had stopped barking, and the three of them could not see any of them at all. The ground was covered with green grass, and there was no way to track them. Xu Ning could only point in the direction based on his experience.

Where does this experience come from? The wind! You know, the dog-fighting is basically against the wind. As long as he can feel the direction of the wind, he can find the direction of the dog gang!

(End of this chapter)