Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 502: Arrange a way out for the child Sell the donkey and buy a donkey

The laughter in the yard stopped abruptly. Xu Feng pouted and came close to Xu Ning and acted coquettishly. Wang Biao, Tian En and others called him Brother Qian one after another. Xu Ning introduced them one by one. After they finished calling everyone, Xu Ning waved his hand and let them go into the house.

"Don't just stand there and waste your time. Hurry up and throw your schoolbag into the house. Let your sister Fang take you to your second uncle's house to jump rubber rope."

Xu Feng pouted and said, "I was thinking about helping mom with some work."

"You? You're just good at talking, get out of here!"

Xu Feng stood up and said with a smile: "Third brother, Brother Qian... I'll go into the house first."

Chai Bing and others smiled and nodded: "Go quickly."

After all the children entered the house, Xu Ning turned around and looked at Lao Jin, saying, "Brother Jin, what do you think of my younger brothers?"

Lao Jin was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Very good! He has an outgoing personality..."

"They are just not very good at studying, and you happened to see them. What do you think of letting them learn how to repair cars from you?"

Liu Xuemin turned around and said bluntly: "Erning wants you to accept a few disciples."

"Ah! Sure! What's there to say? As long as they are willing to learn from me, I will accept them! Can they go to the city with me?"

Xu Ning said, "Why can't we go to the city? My brother lives in the city and can take care of anything. But they are only in the second year of junior high school now. I am thinking of going to study with you after I graduate from the third year of junior high school."

Hu Zhibin frowned and said, "Erning, the sooner you learn a skill, the better. If you wait another year, you might change your mind halfway through."

Old Qian nodded. "Brother Bin is right. One can learn a lot in a year. The sooner they learn, the sooner they can become apprentices. According to what you said, their academic performance should not be very good now. They can't pass the entrance exam to high school or technical secondary school, right?"

"They definitely won't pass. They are ranked last in the class, but their grades are relatively stable, so they are probably first or second."

"Hahaha..." Everyone looked at each other and laughed.

Lao Jin said: "If they start learning from me this year, I can teach them welding, and then slowly teach them how to repair cars and so on."

Hu Zhibin threw the fish into the aluminum basin and said, "It's good to learn early. If it's for the diploma, you can go to the school and tell the principal..."

Xu Ning frowned and thought, he felt that what they said was right, but when he thought of the age of Wang Biao and Liu Tianen, he was a little reluctant to be cruel. 15 years old is the adolescence, if they lack some childhood happiness, wouldn't it be a regret in middle age?
Lao Qian took the cigarette from Chai Bing and said, "They are young and learn things very quickly now. Besides, society is changing so fast now. Who knows what the situation will be like in a year?"

Xu Ning looked up and said, "Then let's wait until this semester is over. There are only a few days left. I will send them over during the summer vacation."

Liu Xuemin said: "You don't have to send it to the city, just send it directly to the street, and then I will arrange a car or Lao Jin to come back to pick it up."

"I think it's OK. I have to come back two or three times a month anyway."

Xu Ning looked at Lao Jin and said, "Brother Jin, thank you for your help."

"Oh my god, why are you being so polite! I just told Xuemin a few days ago that I was thinking of taking in a few more apprentices, and you're just delivering it to me."

Chai Bing laughed and said, "Hahaha, that's quite a coincidence!"

Hu Zhibin asked in confusion, "Erning, your father, second uncle, and eldest uncle shouldn't think too much about it just because you have arranged a place for your brothers to go?"

"They already knew about it. Otherwise, how could I have spoken to Brother Jin?"

"That's OK!"

Wang Biao and Liu Tianen already knew that Xu Ning had arranged a place for them, but they did not expect that this day would come so early. If they knew that the remaining few days would be the last days of their student life, they would definitely cry their hearts out and wet their pants.

But they had no choice about this. They had to continue following the path arranged by Xu Ning. As long as they could complete their studies, they would at least be able to support their family and have enough food and drink.

While Xu Ning and others were cleaning the fish, Xu Feng ran out of the house, showing off the snacks in his hand, the soda in his arms, and winking at Chai Bing. When he was in high spirits, he flattered Chai Bing and others and made them laugh.

The smile on Liu Lizhen's face gradually froze. Ever since the group of kids entered the house, there had been no peace in the room. She glanced around and saw that no one noticed her and Xu Feng. She seized the opportunity to grab Xu Feng's arm and kicked her hard in the butt. Xu Feng immediately put away her smile and could no longer laugh.

"Go jump rubber rope at your uncle's house! Don't stay here and bother me!"

Xu Feng pursed her lips and said, "Then just speak nicely. My teacher punished the student and gave him two warnings."

"How many times have I warned you since you were a child? Did you remember it?"

"Bringing up old grudges..." Seeing Liu Lizhen's palm raised, Xu Feng hurried to the west room and shouted, "Brother Biao! Sister Qiu'er, shall we go to my second uncle's house to jump rubber rope in the courtyard? Tell my second sister-in-law and the others, they are really good at jumping rubber rope!"

"Let's go!"

Wang Biao was just worrying about what to play, so he agreed immediately. A group of children walked out of the house one after another, and the house suddenly became a lot quieter.

Wu Qiuxia covered her chest and said, "These kids are chattering and making me feel really upset."

"Not at all. My heart starts beating fast when they yell!"

"We need to set up six tables today, right? Let's put two more tables in the east wing, Shuhua, do we have enough food for six plates?"

Yang Shuhua said, "That's enough! Are we out of wine?"

"Yes, Lianfang went to harvest thirty kilograms of red sorghum at noon, which is enough for them to drink."

Wu Qiuxia asked: "What about tomorrow?"

"Didn't Zhibin and the other four bring six boxes of Daqu? Let's drink the Daqu first. If it's not enough, we can go get more."

Xu Feng ran to the firewood stove at the gate and begged Sun Lianfang to play rubber rope with them. Sun Lianfang was a little embarrassed. She was guarding the stove and couldn't leave her post without permission. So she politely refused. But Xu Feng kept pestering her. Finally, Meng Ziyan said, "You and Yanzi can play with them for a while. Hua and I will watch the fire here."

At this time, Sun Lianjun and Chai Baotong came over and said, "You all go and play for a while, we two will just watch the fire."

"Do you two know how to watch a fire? Don't burn the pot dry." Sun Lianfang rolled her eyes.

"Of course not. If you don't stay at home, I will help mom light the fire. You guys can leave now."

Xu Ning sat under the eaves and called out, "Tell Biao and the others to bring two tables to the east wing later!"

"Hey, alright, bro!"

Sun Lianfang responded, then laughed and took Xu Feng's hand and went to the next door with Meng Ziyan, Chai Hongyan and Guan Hua.

However, as soon as everyone entered the door and stretched out the rubber bands, they heard Wang Biao exclaim: "Oh my god! Pig pig pig..."

"Really? Oh my god, there's a pig here."

Xu Feng hurried to the foot of the low wall, stood on tiptoe and peeked at the door of the east wing, and complained: "Second brother, there is a pig in the backyard of my second uncle's house! It has shit all over the ground and it stinks!"

Sun Lianfang quickly pulled her back and whispered, "The pig is ours. It was given to us by Brother Bin, Brother Qian, Brother Jin, and Brother Liu. Don't make a fuss."

"Oh... these four guys are really generous. I'll have to flatter them a bit later."

Sun Lianfang had seen the world, she said with a smile: "Don't flatter me all the time, just chat about family matters when you have nothing to do." Xu Feng frowned and looked worried. What kind of family matters could a little girl like her chat with them? It was nothing more than asking what her sister-in-law was doing at home, how old her eldest nephew was, and how his studies were going.

A group of gentlemen who were cleaning fish under the eaves were attracted by Xu Feng's shouting. After seeing that there was no follow-up, Liu Xuemin asked, "Feng'er should be able to study well, right?"

Xu Ning threw the fish into the basin and said, "It's really good. Her teacher said that she and Jin Yu Man Tang can both be admitted to high school."

Old Qian said in surprise, holding a cigarette in his mouth: "Hey! That's good to study hard!"

Liu Xuemin asked: "What grade are the three of them in this year?"

"Sixth grade, first grade next semester."

Xu Ning cut open the fish's belly and took out the intestines, saying, "They will only be in the first year of junior high school in the second half of the year, and there are still three years before the high school entrance exam. I think these three years are a critical period, and they must not fall behind in their studies. When they have summer vacation, I will go to their class teacher to discuss whether I can give them extra lessons or something."

Hu Zhibin raised his head, threw away his cigarette butt and said, "This is not a long-term solution. I think it would be better to send them to the city to study."

Liu Xuemin smiled and continued, "Your brother Bin will be going to the education department soon."

Xu Ning was stunned when he heard this: "Ah? Aren't you in the secretarial office? Why are you in the education department?"

Hu Zhibin smiled and said, "I applied for it. I had just been working for three or four days when my boss talked to me alone. He wanted me to go to the grassroots level of the education sector to gain some training. I didn't have such an opportunity before, and the education sector is short of people now."

"So when are we going?"

Hu Zhibin shook his head: "Because I don't know when, I didn't dare to brag when I said I was your little brother. If I really have a stable job in the education sector, I can get them into a technical secondary school, but I can't be too absolute now!"

In the past, when Hu Zhibin and Xu Ning chatted, they would only talk half and keep the other half to themselves, and they would definitely not speak out their true feelings. But now, they talked about things that had not happened yet and gave assurances.

"I see. Fine then. If it's convenient for you, I'll arrange it. If it's not convenient, forget it."

Hu Zhibin said with a smile: "It would definitely be inconvenient for others, but it is convenient for you to open your mouth anytime!"

"Hahaha, Brother Bin praises me again."

Chai Bing smiled and said, "I'll give you two more glasses of wine tonight, Brother Bin."

"Of course! Brother Bin, if you have any problem, go and discuss it with my third uncle. Jin Yu Man Tang is my third uncle's niece's great-granddaughter..."

Hu Zhibin nodded: "I know. I'll try to do it myself first. If I can't do it, I'll ask your uncle for help."

Old Qian said with a smile: "If it can be done, when they go to the city to study, my wife can tutor them."

"Yes, Mr. Qian's wife is a teacher. She is currently teaching in junior high school. She will be teaching in high school in the second half of the year, right?"

"OK!"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Okay, thank you guys very much. I'll have a couple more drinks later."

"Hahaha, you have to drink more. We didn't drink well last time."

Chai Bing asked, "What did you drink the other day?"

"..."

Last year, Xu Ning wanted Xu Feng and Jin Yumantang to study in the forest farm school first, and he was also thinking of flattering the new English teacher, because at that time he didn't know Yang Yusheng, Hu Zhibin and others, and Xu Long didn't go to work in the city, so he didn't have that kind of connections!

But things are different now. Besides, Hu Zhibin was the first to speak, so Xu Ning must take over. It would be better if Xu Feng could really be sent to study in the city. After all, the teaching environment in rural areas and cities is different.

After Xu Ning and others packed the two sacks of fish, they asked Wang Biao and Liu Tianen to send them to the outer room of Old Wang's house. These fish would have to be coated with flour and fried tonight, and then stored in the cellar, or dried and made into small salted fish. However, the people in Old Xu's family don't like to eat salted fish, and the fish must be eaten while it is fresh.

At around 5:, two cars stopped outside the Wang family's fence. Then Xu Laonian, Yu Kaihe and others got out of the car one after another. They were stunned to see the Dongfeng car parked at the door. As soon as they stepped over the threshold, they saw Chai Bing, Sun Lianjun and Chai Baotong smiling at them. Everyone had mud on their hands, so they didn't shake hands, but just nodded and said hello.

While they were washing their hands under the eaves, Daba came up to Xu Ning and whispered, "Brother, Uncle Yu has something he wants you to do, but I'm taking it over."

Xu Ning tilted his head and asked, "What is it? I'll do it if I can."

"He was thinking of selling the donkey at home and buying a donkey for riding backwards. He thought the donkey was pretty good. It didn't need a harness, just the accelerator to move. In winter, he could tie a few circles of wire to the rear wheels and put skateboards on the front two wheels to use it as a sled..."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "But it's hard to control the snow in winter."

"He has ridden it several times, and the more he rides, the more he likes it. Otherwise, he might as well sell the donkey and ride it instead."

"Okay, I'll talk to Lao Qian later."

Loudspeaker asked: "Isn't it Lao Jin who sells riding a donkey upside down?"

"He is in charge of production, Lao Qian is in charge of operations, and my brother Bin and brother Liu are shareholders who are only responsible for collecting money and dividends."

"Ah, I thought if Lao Jin was in charge of this matter, I would talk to him. The last time I took Huang Lin to the street, I talked to Lao Jin."

Xu Ning said with a smile: "Can you chat with him?"

"Yes! We are in the same age class..."

Xu Ning put his arm around his shoulders and walked to the corner, whispering, "I have something to tell you. I just talked to Lao Jin about this. He wants Biao and Tianen to go to the city to learn craftsmanship from him this summer. Will your Huang Lin go with them?"

Da Loudspeaker's eyes lit up, and after a moment of stunned concentration, he pulled Xu Ning's arm excitedly and asked, "Really?"

"How can it be false? I have already talked to him. If your Huang Lin goes with you, you don't have to say anything. I will send him over when the time comes."

"Okay! Does your sister-in-law know about this?"

Xu Ning shook his head: "I didn't tell her, why don't you go and ask her now?"

"Why are you asking? Your nephew is not cut out for that! How can his mother not be happy if you arrange a place for him to learn a skill? If she's not happy, I'll beat her to death!"

Xu Ning pouted and said, "Why do I hate your pretentiousness so much? Now is not the time for my sister-in-law to scratch your face."

"Oh... when will the three of them learn the craft?"

"Just keep it to yourself and don't say anything. I'll send it to them the next day after summer vacation!"

"Okay, I'm tight-lipped, don't worry."

Xu Ning smiled and said, "But you have to tell my sister-in-law. Besides, they are in the second year of junior high school now, and they still have a year to graduate. By then, I will discuss it with the principal and try to get them all three junior high school diplomas."

"Okay! Oh my god, brother, you've lifted the stone from my heart. If you hadn't arranged it this way, I wouldn't know what to let Huang Lin do in the future! Before, your sister-in-law said that she wanted him to learn a craft from Zhang Jinbao, but I didn't know Zhang Jinbao well, so I never had the chance to ask. Now, I don't have to ask, you've done it all! Brother, I feel so warm in my heart..."

Xu Ning pushed his hand away and said, "We are all family, so let's put ourselves in each other's shoes. I will definitely help if I can, so don't do this, okay? It seems too unorthodox!"

Loudspeaker put down his palm and said with a smile: "Okay! Then I won't be polite with you anymore."

(End of this chapter)