Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 507: Good at moral kidnapping and has been making his way since he was young

At noon, under the scorching sun, the already bustling old Xu's home became even hotter.

The temperature of 28° made people sweat profusely. Yang Liguo, who was cooking in the outer room of Lao Wang's house, was already sweating profusely. Zhao Lan hung a towel behind his neck so that he could wipe the sweat off his face.

Now he has cooked two dishes, one is fried pork intestines and the other is fried pork slices. Meng Ziyan, Sun Lianfang and others carried the wooden trays to the low wall, and Wang Hu and Guan Lei brought them to the table.

Since the three rooms of Old Xu's family could only accommodate six tables, the remaining four tables were set up at Old Wang's house. The foresters and the villagers sat there, while the remaining Sun, Chai, and Wu families, as well as Wang Minfu, Guo Xingmin, and Zhang Deyu sat in the main room of Old Xu's house...

After Xu Ning took Niu Baotian over, he sent him to the west room of Lao Wang's house, where he sat at the same table with Niu Li and Niu Le. Xu Ning saw Yu Kaihe was also at this table, so he called him to the east room of his own house.

But Yu Kaihe was unwilling and insisted on staying in the west room of Lao Wang's house, and asked Xu Ning to accompany the relatives. They were all from the village and it was convenient for them to get together for a drink anytime, but Sun, Chai and Wu came from far away, so the host had to accompany them well.

Li Fuqiang wanted to stay with Yu Kaihe, but was told that he didn't drink either, so why should he stay? They just stared at each other, smiled at each other, and changed the subject.

One thing that is particularly difficult to deal with when there are a lot of people is that you don't know which table to sit at. If you sit at this table, people next to you will wonder what's wrong with you or that the relationship is not right. If you sit at that table, people will think that we came from far away, but you don't accompany us, but instead accompany people you see every day.

What to do? The only solution is for this table to drink for a while, then quickly pick up the cup and go to the next table to toast, making sure to toast every table. This way no one can find fault.

Meng Ziyan, Meng Yinhe, Wang Hu, Sun Lianfang and others quickly served the dishes, shouting loudly: "Oil it!"

At this moment, everyone has taken their seats. There are exactly ten tables, so all the seats are occupied.

The two tables in the east room were occupied by Sun, Chai, Wu, Wang Minfu, Guo Xingmin, Zhang Deyu, and Xu Laonian. The two tables in the west room were occupied by Lao Qian, Xiao Du, Yan He, Sun Liansheng, Jun, Xu, Baotong, and others, accompanied by Xu Long and Xu Ning. In the east wing were Liu Lizhen, Han Fang, Er Niang, San Shen, Sun Lianfang, Chai Hongyan, and other old ladies...

Two bottles of Daqu and Beibingyang soda were placed on each table. The cold dishes were already served, including smoked chicken, cucumber mixed with pig ears, cabbage heart mixed with boneless meat, and sugar-coated peanuts. The hot dishes included braised pork slices, braised pork intestines, stewed rooster with mushrooms, stewed pork ribs with beans, braised carp with sauce, and bear steak...

There are still four dishes missing, so we can actually start the meal now, but the chef is Yang Liguo, and the chef is not up to standard. How can Xu Laonian let the meal start?
After a while, sweet and sour pork and snow bean paste were served on the table. Xu Ning went to Lao Wang's house to call Yang Liguo. Yang Shuhua said beside him: "Brother, you and my brother should go over to eat. There are only two dishes left. I can prepare them myself."

Yang Liguo handed her a long-handled spoon and said, "Don't put too much salt, understand?"

Yang Shuhua understands the difference between stir-frying small dishes at home and cooking large portions in a big pot. You can taste the saltiness of stir-fried dishes by adding a little salt, but you can't taste anything in a big pot dish even if you add half a spoonful of salt, because the salt sticks to the edge of the pot or blends into the oil and soup. Therefore, many old chefs like to use some starch when cooking large pot dishes, that is, thicken the food with water starch and hang the oil and soup on the ingredients.

Yang Liguo followed Xu Ning to the east room. As soon as he entered the door, he said, "Third Uncle, Old Uncle, you guys drink. Er Ning and I will go to the west room."

"Stop! I haven't had a drink in a long time. Come and accompany my third brother!"

Xu Laonian stood up and tried to take his arm. Yang Liguo said with a smile, "My Third Uncle is a great drinker. I can't drink as much as him. Let's go to the west room. We young people have common topics to talk about."

"Hahaha, Liguo you are such a bullshit. How old are you? Why are you still young? So, sit next to your brother Chai. You two are the same age."

Xu Ning whispered, "I'll be over in a minute, you guys just stay here and drink first."

"Okay!" Yang Liguo had never met Chai Shao and others before. The only people he knew at the table were Yang Yusheng, Xu Laonian, Sun Jishan and Chai Bing, so he didn't want to drink in the east room. But since Yang Yusheng had spoken, he had to sit down.

"Come here, Liguo, this is your Uncle Chai, and this is his eldest brother, Chai Shao..."

Yang Yusheng introduced them, and after he said hello, he sat next to Chai Shao. Xu Ning said with a smile, "Uncles and brothers, you guys drink first. I'm going to the west room."

"Go ahead, come over later."

"OK!"

The custom in Qing'an is that there is no need to set off firecrackers again before the meal starts at noon on the day of raising the beam, because firecrackers have been set off before the beam is raised. So after the people at the table in each room fill the glasses with wine, they glance at the wall clock and when it is the exact time, they quickly stand up and say a few words, mainly to thank so many relatives and friends who came to show their support, and then thank those who helped build the house and those who helped out, and then they start to eat.

When the last two dishes were served, Yang Shuhua went to the east wing to find Liu Lizhen, but Wang Hu, Guan Lei, Meng Yinhe and Wang Shujuan did not sit down. They stood at the door of the house. If someone wanted to eat, they would take the bowl and serve the rice.

But just a few minutes after the meal started, both the men and women were holding their wine glasses and had no time to eat.

So everyone dragged them to the dining table in a few words and quickly filled their stomachs. They had eaten two bowls of noodles in the morning and had no food in their stomachs. It would be a lie to say they were not hungry, so they did not argue and sat down at the table...

The banquet started at noon and lasted until about three o'clock. Everyone was already drunk, but Xu Laonian and the others were still pouring wine. The six boxes of Daqu sent by Lao Qian and the others had been finished long ago. Now they were drinking Red Sorghum Sanbai. The alcohol content was the same, but the taste was much worse. After mixing the two, they all felt a little dizzy after drinking, but no one put down their glasses and left the table...

Xu Laonian, Xu Long, Xu Ning, Wang Erli and Wang Hu held wine glasses and toasted at each table. They drank three cups in one round, which was five taels of wine. Wang Hu could still walk normally after drinking, but as soon as he entered the house, he fell on the edge of the kang and passed out.

Xu Ning didn't drink too much. He was a little cunning. He deliberately spilled some of the wine in the glass while drinking, and let the wine flow down his chin when he tilted his head back. Although he wasted some wine, he drank more than two taels less!

At 4:20, the old ladies who had been drinking in the east wing had put down their chopsticks for a long time, but they did not clear the table. They just sat on the kang and chatted. Sun Lianfang took the lead and led Guan Hua, Meng Ziyan, and Chai Hongyan to wait at the door of each room. After drinking for a while, someone must be hungry, so they helped to serve the rice...

People didn't drink very fast today. Although they drank six boxes of Daqu liquor and eight catties of Red Sorghum liquor, you have to know that there were too many people drinking. Each person got at most 7-9 liang of liquor, less than 1 catty. At most, those who couldn't drink much fell asleep first, such as Wang Hu, Li Feng, Hu Zhiyong and others, while the rest were still bragging and chatting.

Xu Laonian opened his sleepy eyes. When he heard Yang Yusheng mention Ma Liu from Dongshan, he squinted and asked, "Yes! Why didn't you call your uncle Ma over?"

Xu Ning put down his chopsticks and said, "Last time I called him but he refused to come. He insisted on waiting until I got married before coming down the mountain. I'll find time to go up the mountain in the next two days..."

"This old man has quite a character!" said Old Deng, who was sitting on the kang. "He was stabbed by Li San before. A few years ago, he also stabbed Old Lan from our village. When Old Lan's eldest son went to find him, he drove him off the mountain with a gun."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive. What did he do before?" Sun Jishan asked.

"He used to be from another production team, not ours. I heard his family met with misfortune, and now he's the only one left..."

After everyone finished listening to Ma Liu's past, Yang Yusheng turned around and said, "Erning, aren't you short of a night watchman in your field? Let him do it."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, but I don't know if the old man would be happy about it."

Sun Jiwei said: "You are not good at morality... What's the matter? What is morality?"

"Kidnapped."

"Yes, aren't you good at moral kidnapping? Just kidnap him!"

Chai Liangyu laughed and said, "Hahaha, that's not a big deal. Erning, let me tell you, older people are afraid of moral kidnapping. You tie him up tightly, and you're afraid that he won't listen to you?"

"Okay, I'll try it later. If he doesn't agree, I'll sever my ties with him!"

"Hahahaha... piss! It has to be you."

"..."

At this time, there was a commotion at the gate. Xu Feng rushed into the courtyard with her schoolbag on her shoulder, shouting, "Mom! Mom!" Liu Lizhen was sitting on the edge of the kang in the east wing. When she heard the noise, her heart skipped a beat. She looked out the window and said, "What are you shouting for? Are you calling for a ghost?"

"Oh, Mom! I miss you so much! Is the roof beam finished yet?"

Xu Feng walked slowly into the house, followed by Wang Biao, Jin Yumantang and others who also rushed in.

"Come here quickly, this is your Second Mother, Third Aunt, Third Sister-in-law..."

Xu Feng's eyes lit up, and he rushed over and called for help, almost kicking the stool on the ground. Liu Lizhen said helplessly: "Can you be more steady?"

However, Xu Feng didn't care. She held the three people's hands with her two small hands and chatted with all three of them. She was very flexible. Although her words were full of innocence, they were very sincere. She captured the three old women with just a few words.

Then Wang Biao, Liu Tianen and others called for help. Liu Lizhen said, "Put your schoolbags and other things here first, and go to your second uncle's house to get some food from the east pot. The pot is specially reserved for you."

"Don't be in a hurry. I still have to go into the house and show my face!" Xu Feng said with a pout.

Liu Lizhen waved her hand and urged, "Hurry up and stop wasting time. All of you go over there..."

Then Xu Feng led everyone into the main room. Er Niang said with a smile, "When I saw Feng Er for the first time just now, I thought I saw Little Lian Fang."

Liu Lizhen laughed: "Hahaha, sister-in-law, to be honest with you, when I first saw Lianfang, I thought of what Feng'er would look like when she grew up."

"Oh my god, these two children have such similar personalities." said Aunt San.

The third sister-in-law said, "Not really, but Lianfang is stable now, and Feng'er will be fine when she grows up!"

When Xu Feng entered the east room, Xu Laonian, who had been drunk, suddenly perked up.

He wanted to reach out and call Xu Feng over, but Xu Feng was a wandering man and didn't need him to introduce him at all. He started calling people one by one as soon as he entered the door. Yang Yusheng glanced at the dazed Xu Laonian, and introduced everyone to the children with clear thoughts. After Xu Feng and others called people, he introduced himself with a smile.

The east room is filled with uncles, aunts and older brothers. They are very happy to see Xu Feng being so adventurous, because older people admire this kind of adventurous spirit!
When someone asked him how he was doing in school, Xu Laonian came to his senses and said with a proud face, "I'm in the top five in the class!"

Xu Feng immediately corrected him: "Dad, I'm in the top three!"

"Oh, top three? That means you're a serious student."

"What a good girl! Dalin is so lucky to have such a daughter."

"..."

Everyone praised Xu Feng so much that his face turned red. After being in the room for less than two minutes, Xu Feng left a deep impression on people who had never met him before. Then Xu Feng took the lead to go to the west room and the east and west rooms of Old Wang's house, and then he took the dishes in the pot and went to the east wing to eat.

It was already past half past five when they finished eating. At this time, the tables in the east and west rooms of Old Wang's house had been cleared. Li Fuqiang and Guan Lei called Wang Biao, Liu Tianen, and Huang Lin, and drove or rode donkeys to send the drunk villagers back home.

Yu Kaihe and his wife walked home by themselves. He didn't drink much, mainly because he knew that he was old and couldn't drink too much, so he only drank six taels of wine and spent the rest of the time chatting.

After sending Lao Yan, Lao Zhao, Lao Bai, the accountant, Du Shoucai and others home, Xu Ning leaned against the window and peeked into the east room. He found that Lao Hu and Lao Deng were chatting with Chai Liangyu, so he did not go in. Hu Zhibin said with a smile: "Zhiyong is the worst. When we get to the theater, you should keep an eye on him and don't let him drink. If he can't drink, it will delay things."

Xu Ning nodded: "It's really not good. I can't drink more than a catty. How much can he drink?"

"Oh, he fainted after drinking two glasses of wine! Let him get some sleep first..."

At this time, Lao Qian, Lao Jin, and Liu Xuemin came over and said, "Erning, we're going back first."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Stay here tonight and leave tomorrow morning."

Lao Jin waved his hand: "It's really not possible. I have to go back to the city quickly, otherwise I won't be able to work tomorrow morning. Now the repair shop has six donkeys that haven't been repaired yet..."

"I also have to go home, and then go back to the city with Lao Jin overnight." Lao Qian said.

Liu Xuemin said with a smile: "If they both leave, there's no point in me staying. We can leave together."

Xu Ning thought for a moment and said, "Can you drive? Don't drive into a ditch halfway."

"Oh, no! We didn't drink much."

"Then when I come back after getting married, I must stay for two more days, and then we will have a vacant house."

"Okay!"

Liu Lizhen saw several people leaving from the east wing, and hurried out of the room and asked, "Xuemin, where are you guys going?"

After Liu Xuemin made it clear that he wanted to go back to the city, Liu Lizhen nodded and said, "Then you can get some food. There's nothing for you to get at home."

"No, auntie, we don't fire in the city, come back when you have time."

"Okay, I won't be polite with you. Drive slowly on the road. Don't be in a hurry before it gets dark..."

Old Qian looked back and smiled, "Well, Auntie, just don't be polite with us. Er Ning and I have known each other for many years, and our relationship has already been established."

"Hahaha, I know!" Liu Lizhen nodded with a smile and watched several people get into the car and drive away.

Xu Ning turned around and said, "Brother Bin, are you going back to the city tomorrow too?"

"Yes, I have to research a job in the education sector. What do you want?"

"What can I do? I'm just thinking..."

Xu Long said, "Then why don't you come with me and my two buddies tomorrow? There are four of you."

"Ah, you said Du'er and He'er, fine! Who's the remaining one?"

"My brother-in-law Wang Yuanjun."

"Okay! I think he needs to go home."

(End of this chapter)