Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 471: I really made my mom proud! My dad is the pig

When Xu Laonian lowered his head to read the newspaper, the room suddenly became quiet. This was a tacit understanding. After all, everyone in the room had daughters or sons. If their children won awards or bonuses, wouldn't they be shouting loudly? So they were waiting for Xu Laonian to give feedback.

Liu Lizhen, Yang Shuhua and Han Feng stared at Xu Laonian with smiles on their faces. Their expectations were also quite high. The city's daily newspaper could be ignored, but the provincial daily newspaper could not be ignored, because the provincial daily newspaper's title was written by a teacher and it had a high degree of recognition among the public.

Xu Laonian looked ruddy as he glanced at the newspaper. Liu Lizhen, who was standing next to the cabinet, urged anxiously, "Why don't you read it?"

"Hey! I've got to find it, right here... Well, my son and his brothers were featured in our provincial daily newspaper, let me read it to you all!"

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Just read it. I'm getting anxious just watching."

Wang Erli clapped his hands vigorously and said excitedly: "Let's do it quickly!"

Everyone cooperated very well. Then, deafening applause sounded in the east room. People in the west room put down their chopsticks and went to the east room or lifted the door curtain and stood in the outer room to listen.

Xu Laonian began to read in a sonorous voice: "This is the provincial daily newspaper, the title is "New youth in our province bravely do right (horizontal bar) go deep into the mountains to chase the murderer!" June 1984..."

The main text is that Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others went to Dalingtun to do some business and met the wanted Li Quan. After an exchange of fire, they found two corpses hidden in the cellar. They were the work of Li Quan's accomplice Lao Ba. The two villains fled deep into the mountains and were captured by Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang who often went hunting and tracking. They died of excessive blood loss on the way.

Comrades Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others have demonstrated a spirit of courage and righteousness, and their sense of justice is worthy of learning from by young people...

At the same time, there is a message of thanks from a certain department below, which specifically praises Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang’s spirit of being altruistic.

The headline of the city morning newspaper was much more casual: "The two heroes who went deep into the mountains to track down the murderer turned out to be young men from our city!" The text was roughly the same as that of the provincial daily newspaper.

When Xu Laonian stopped talking, everyone in the inner and outer rooms raised their hands and quacked loudly. Among them, Xu Feng, Wang Biao, Da Laba and others quacked the most enthusiastically, showing their big teeth and laughing at Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others.

Liu Lizhen and others were also very happy. It was really an honor to read out the heroic deeds of Xu Ning, Li Fuqiang and others in front of so many people!
"Whatever happens, Erning has a strong sense of justice!"

"Not really, I've always thought Erning was one since he was a kid!"

"..."

Everyone was talking at once, praising several people generously. Xu Ning and Li Fuqiang listened quietly, but Sun Lianfang's ears turned red due to the praise.

Xu Laonian laughed and said, "Hahaha, stop bragging, or my old son and the others will brag about it. But this is indeed quite impressive, and this guy makes me feel very comfortable. Come on, let's raise our glasses and have a drink together!"

"Drink! My nephew is in the newspaper, how can I not drink?"

Everyone raised their glasses and drank the wine. After they sat down, Liu Lizhen came over and took the newspaper from Xu Laonian, muttering, "These two newspapers and the certificate need to be framed."

Du Shoucai said with a smile: "Mount it! Hang it on the wall when the new house is finished. It's an honor!"

Xu Laonian grinned and said, "It's not that great. My son has only won this one award in his life, but it's enough."

Liu Lizhen rolled her eyes and said unhappily, "Get lost now. My son won the title of Health Model in the third grade of elementary school. I've always remembered it."

"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter.

The meal was quite lively. Everyone walked up to Xu Laonian with wine glasses in hand and toasted him repeatedly. Xu Laonian accepted all the toasts and said that a glass of wine should be divided into five sips. He drank it all in two sips. Liu Lizhen watched from the side with gritted teeth. No matter how happy she was, she couldn't drink to death.

The main thing was that everyone praised and complimented Xu Laonian for raising two good sons. The eldest son had a bright future, and the younger son was brave and righteous. They almost praised him so much that his tail was lifted up to the sky. If he returned to work at the forest farm, he would definitely brag for two days. Who made his old son do well?
Why didn't Xu Laonian drink as happily as he did today, no matter how many animals Xu Ning killed or how much money he earned? The reason is that they are two different things. Killing animals to make money is the responsibility of an adult man, while being brave enough to be published in the provincial daily newspaper and the city morning newspaper is a special honor!
Just like being a soldier in the army and winning a second-class merit, the whole family is happy...

After 6 o'clock, everyone left one after another. Xu Ning and Liu Lizhen sent them to the gate of the courtyard and asked the drinkers to drive slowly. When they turned around, they saw Wang Hu and Wang Biao supporting Wang Erli to the courtyard.

Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei carried Liu Daming, while Sun Lianfang quickly ran two steps and pushed the donkey out, saying, "Put it in the car, I'll drive the donkey back to my uncle."

"Can you be steady?"

"Don't worry, brother. No one is more reliable than me."

Xu Ning turned around and said, "If you didn't say that, I would feel more at ease."

"Hahaha..." Guan Lei laughed wildly, causing Sun Lianfang to roll her eyes.

Inside the room, Xu Laonian was already lying on the end of the kang and snoring. Xu Feng pulled out a pillow from the kang piano cabinet and placed it under his head.

Liu Lizhen lifted the door curtain and walked into the room with a smile on her face. She rubbed Xu Ning's face vigorously, patted his butt with joy and said, "You really make me proud!"

If Xu Ning wasn't so tall, Liu Lizhen would have wanted to kiss him hard on the forehead and face.

Xu Ning smiled and said, "This is nothing. There will be more in the future..."

Before he could finish, Liu Lizhen raised her hand and hit him, saying, "Forget it now. Stay away from this kind of thing next time. If something happens to you, how will I live?"

"I know. I'm just saying."

Xu Feng stood on the edge of the kang and said with a smile: "Second brother, you really make me proud! When I go to school tomorrow, I must talk to my classmates and make them all envious of me for having such a good second brother!"

"Hey, keep a low profile. You have to keep a low profile, okay? I didn't intend to make a fuss about it. My dad talks too fast."

Liu Lizhen tilted her head and asked, "What are you afraid of? This is a good thing, why are you afraid to talk about it?"

"I'm not afraid to talk about it. I'm just afraid that Li Quan and Lao Ba have accomplices. What should we do if they find our family?"

Liu Lizhen asked anxiously: "Ah? What should we do then..."

"It's okay. I have nothing to fear at home. I live peacefully. I don't cause trouble, but I'm not afraid of trouble either!"

At this moment, a flash of light appeared at the gate of the courtyard, becoming brighter and brighter, followed by the sound of a car engine.

Han Fengjiao, who was washing dishes in the outer room, said, "Sister-in-law, is Dalong back?"

"Oh, I can't prepare for it."

Liu Lizhen hurried out the door when she heard this. Just as Xu Ning was about to turn around, Deng'er Xu Feng shouted, "Second brother! Hurry and hold me!"

"Put on your shoes by yourself! Can I hold you?"

"Hey, hurry up, I'm not sinking at all, second brother, please."

Xu Ning didn't refuse cruelly. His sister was the best at torturing people and flattering them. He walked to the edge of the kang and hugged Xu Feng's legs and waist. After feeling the weight, he took a breath and said, "You are really a dead pig."

"I'm not a pig, my dad is a pig."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "That's right..."

As he was holding Xu Fenggang and walked to the outer room, he saw Xu Long walking into the yard, holding two bags in his left hand and a few wooden picture frames under his right arm.

Liu Lizhen walked forward and asked, "Why are you back at this time? Have you eaten?"

"I ate it at a restaurant with my uncle. Isn't this the newspaper with Er Ning's heroic act? I have a friend in the city, so I asked him to help frame it. There are also photos of us..."

Liu Lizhen was about to take the bag, but Xu Long turned sideways and said, "It's not heavy. Take two steps and go into the house."

After he entered the room, he greeted Wu Qiuxia, Yang Shuhua, and others. When he saw Xu Laonian slumped on the kang, he said, "My dad must be exhausted from working, right?"

Xu Feng said: "Why are you so confused? I drank a lot last night!"

"Your dad is very happy tonight, so drink it."

Xu Long put down the two bags and the mirror frame and said, "Well, this bag contains mutton, which is leftover from our company's canteen. You can make dumplings with it tomorrow."

"Okay, you're leaving tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, we'll leave around seven."

"Then I'll make you some mutton dumplings. Oh, have you framed the newspapers?"

"Well, this is the provincial daily newspaper, and this is the city morning newspaper. My uncle cut them out..." Xu Ning said, "Have we developed those photos?"

"Can I not wash it? Brother Du is a nail. He spent the money, but I gave him the money and he didn't take it."

"Brothers should be reciprocal. Didn't Third Uncle praise me a few words?"

Xu Long said: "Everyone has praised us at the meeting. What else do you want to hear?"

Xu Feng raised his hand and said, "As long as it's praising my second brother, I'm happy to listen to anything!"

"Go away, why don't you like to hear my compliments?"

Xu Feng pursed his lips: "Who wouldn't like to hear that? It's because no one praises you..."

“Hahahaha…” Xu Ning burst into laughter.

Liu Lizhen didn't bother to pay attention to the three of them. She placed the framed newspapers against the wall of the cabinet, and then took a stack of photos from Xu Long.

Xu Long pointed to several identical photos and said, "Give any extra photos to my second uncle, Brother Qiang and the others as a souvenir."

"I know. I'll let them choose."

Liu Lizhen took the photo and went to the outer room, where she ran into Wang Hu and Wang Biao who were climbing over the wall.

"Auntie, is my elder brother back?"

"Yes, it's in the house."

Wang Hu noticed the photo in Liu Lizhen's hand and said in surprise, "The photos are out. Oh, mom...take a look."

"Put the work aside first, let's go to the west room to pick some..."

At this time, a donkey-rider drove into the courtyard, and Sun Lianfang, Li Fuqiang and Liu Tianen got off the donkey and went into the house.

"Hey, big brother is back." Sun Lianfang greeted him warmly.

"Well, what are you riding, a motorcycle?"

"No, my brother brought back two donkeys, which are similar to motorcycles..."

Hearing this, Xu Long said, "You are quite capable. Did you get this from the street?"

"It was repaired by Liu Xuemin from the Farm Machinery Station. He also opened a repair shop in the city."

"Okay, make some tea to quench your thirst."

"Brother, I'll fix it!" Sun Lianfang quickly picked up the teapot and went to the outer room.

After Guan Hua came out of the west room, she took over the teapot from Sun Lianfang and said, "Sister-in-law, my brother looks great in photos."

Sun Lianfang said with a smile: "Of course, where are the photos?"

"Auntie and the others are watching in the west room."

Then, Sun Lianfang went to the west room, while Guan Hua carried the teapot to the east room, put some tea leaves in it, filled it with hot water, and said, "Brother, have some tea."

"Hey, my sister-in-law seems to be getting a lot healthier these past few days."

Wang Hu smiled and said, "Yeah, it's so comfortable here, but it's a bit too much work, and I'm tired of the flowers."

Guan Hua shook her head: "I'm not tired, I'm quite happy here."

Guan Lei said, "As long as you are happy, I will settle down here after I get married. My sister has a child in Wanye, and my brother-in-law also has a job in Wanye, so you don't have to worry about her."

"Yes, I know."

"I'm going back to Wanye later. Will you come with me?"

Guan Hua nodded, and Guan Lei said, "Brother, I will take her back later and let her stay for two days before coming back, and then go directly to Sandaohe. Lian Fang has urged me several times."

"Okay, ask Uncle Wu when he's free so I can set a time with Uncle Two."

"OK."

After the old ladies picked out the photos, they continued to clean up the outer room. Liu Lizhen stuffed the photos into the frames and placed them happily on the counter.

Listening to Xu Laonian's snoring, they didn't feel so annoyed anymore. After Li Fuqiang and others left, the two brothers Long and Ning sat on the edge of the kang and drank some tea. Then Xu Long was pulled by Wang Shujuan to the east wing to sleep.

When Xu Long got up in the morning, he had very obvious dark circles under his eyes and looked rather listless. Xu Ning teased him, "Did you catch mice last night?"

"Get lost!" Xu Long said angrily.

"Go to the city and ask if they have moisture-proof and thermal insulation boards for the walls."

Xu Long was puzzled: "Insulation board? Where can I find such a thing?"

"If you don't know, ask Brother Du or Brother He."

"Row."

Xu Long hurriedly ate a plate of mutton dumplings and drove away. Later, Yu Kaihe, Lao Zhang and others came to visit. After the meal, Xu Ning and others went to the Beitou construction site.

The next day, Guan Lei and Guan Hua drove away in Lao Zhang's car. Not long after they left, Meng Yinhe ran to the north end.

"Second brother, my father's apprentice is here."

Xu Ning put down the brick, waved his hand and asked him to get on the donkey, and asked, "Is your father's second apprentice?"

"Yes, he has the best relationship with my dad. He just finished his work in the street and came here with a donkey cart full of tools, including a saw and an electric planer."

Xu Ning nodded and asked, "What's his name and how old is he?"

"His name is Zhang Jinbao, and he seems to be over 30 this year."

Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan had met Zhang Jinbao before when they got married. There was a square table and armchair in the room that were given by him.

But at that time Xu Ning didn't take him seriously at all. Later he found out that Zhang Jinbao had opened a furniture factory in the city and made a fortune.

The donkey stopped at the door of Old Meng's house. As soon as Xu Ning and Meng Yinhe got off the donkey, they saw Meng Ziyan, Liu Fenfang, Meng Quezi, Zhang Jinbao, and two of Zhang Jinbao's apprentices coming out to greet them.

Xu Ning greeted Meng Quezi and Liu Fenfang first, then quickly extended his hand and ran forward: "Hey, Brother Bao! We haven't seen each other for a while."

Zhang Jinbao smiled and said, "I thought you had forgotten me. It's been a while since we last met. The last time we saw each other was during the Chinese New Year two years ago."

"How could I forget you? I fished the cigarettes out of the reservoir at that time. Wasn't that the dinner you made for me? Mashed potatoes with black eggplant!"

Zhang Jinbao laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha! Oh my god, you still remember this? That was my worst attempt at stewing eggplant!"

Seeing that the two were very close, Liu Fenfang said, "This is how you cook eggplant and potatoes! Jinbao, go inside first and talk to Erning, they are not outsiders."

Zhang Jinbao nodded, turned around and introduced them: "These are our two apprentices. They have been my apprentices for two years. They will be able to graduate in another six months."

Meng Quezi continued, "Look how good your brother Bao is to you. He brought you two of his best apprentices."

Xu Ning walked into the room and said with a smile: "That's a must, Brother Bao is particular!"

(End of this chapter)