Return to 1983 Hunting Xing'an Mountains

Chapter 514: Jumping into the Yellow River won't wash my mouth clean, why am I so rude
After the words fell, the room became quiet. Smoke floated in the dim light. Everyone squinted their eyes, looked at each other, and nodded silently.

Just as Wang Erli said bluntly, everyone knew very well that Xu Ning called them into the mountains to carry the hammers in order to divide the money, so they had no doubts about how to divide the shares, and they were very supportive of Wang Erli's words about dividing the shares.

If they had not had such a close relationship with Xu Ning, would they have been able to go into the mountains to carry the mallet? Why did Xu Ning bring Li Fuqiang, Guan Lei, and Wang Hu with him, but not Lao Jiang and Da Laba? It was obvious who was closer and who was farther away.

At this moment, Liu Lizhen, Han Fengjiao and others finished cleaning up the outer room, went into the room and sat down on the edge of the kang, without interrupting the old man's conversation...

Guan Lei put out his cigarette and said, "When I was at home, I heard that the rule of dividing the shares of the ginseng gang is that the old leader will get one share when he leads people into the mountains. If anyone finds a stick, the old leader will carry the ginseng, and then the seedling ginseng will be divided into four shares. The old leader will get two shares, the person who found the ginseng first will get one share, and the others will share the remaining share equally."

Xu Ning shook his head and said, "We are all relatives. There is no need to be too detailed. It will seem alienated."

Xu Laonian and Liu Daming were silent. Although they were elders, it was not appropriate for them to speak in this situation because they had to go and carry ginseng to share the profits. The most suitable person to speak was Wang Erli. If he did not go into the mountains to carry ginseng, he could not participate in the share distribution. Even if Wang Hu could get a share, he would have to speak on Xu Ning's side.

Besides, everyone in the room was not a profit-seeking person, so no one wanted Xu Ning to suffer a loss, and the reason why Xu Ning brought them along was to let them make more money...

Don’t say that Xu Ning is so kind and righteous, or that Li Fuqiang, Guan Lei and others are so loyal. Getting along with brothers is a mutual thing.

Wang Erli flicked the ash off his cigarette and said, "Actually, the meaning is similar. Let's decide how to divide the shares now. I think it's better to let Erning take three shares when he enters the mountain, and then the person who found the club will take one share, and the others will share the remaining share equally."

Xu Laonian counted on his hands and said, "There are six of us in total. For example, if Hu Zi found the ginseng, this seedling can be sold for 1000 yuan, so it should be divided into five parts. My son will get 600 yuan, Hu Zi will get 200 yuan, and the three of us will each get 50 yuan, right?"

"That's right!" Wang Erli nodded and said, "How about this division?"

Li Fuqiang said: "What else is there to say? My brother has prepared pots, lunch boxes, raincoats and so on. At most, we can send one person to run into the mountains and divide the shares in any way we want..."

Guan Lei said with a smile: "If my brother had secretly gone into the mountains to carry hammers and made money by himself, I wouldn't be jealous. Now he wants to lead me to make money, no matter how much he can make, I am very happy."

Xu Laonian curled his lips and said, "Forget it. That's how much money you can make. What if I fail to catch any ginseng? Let's split it in half. My oldest son will take three shares, and the remaining share will be split among the five of us. We have no experience in this area, and we don't know how to raise ginseng. If we can raise 10 ginseng, it will be easier for the five of us to settle the accounts!"

Wang Erli nodded when he heard this: "For the sake of easy settlement, this division is fine."

Seeing that the old man was quite hesitant in discussing things, Liu Lizhen made the decision and said, "That's settled!"

Everyone nodded in response. Liu Daming turned around and asked, "Hey, Erning, how many hammers can we find in the mountains over in Wanye? Can we each earn 50 yuan?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "50? You have to earn at least 100 yuan!"

Xu Laonian glared and said angrily: "Didn't you tell me that you could earn 500? You are playing tricks on me again!"

Xu Ning laughed: "Hahaha, what do you believe in what I say? So are you going or not?"

Xu Laonian looked at him angrily and said through gritted teeth, "Go!"

Liu Lizhen, who was sitting on the edge of the kang, was full of doubts, because Xu Ning had told her a few days ago that he could earn 500 yuan, but how come it has become yuan now? Something is wrong.

But if you think about it more carefully, her old son is always talking nonsense, saying that he can earn 50,000 yuan, and it is possible that he is just teasing her, in order to make her not worry...

Therefore, Liu Lizhen did not ask any further questions. No matter whether they could carry the hammer into the mountains, how much money they could earn, or whether they returned empty-handed, she would not be sarcastic, because it was quite painful for the men to make this trip. The mountains were hot and humid, and there were mosquitoes and insects biting them. If it was not for the money, who would be willing to suffer this?
Liu Daming said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, you think 100 yuan is not enough? 100 yuan is equivalent to two months' salary for you."

Xu Laonian frowned and thought for a while. He had worked hard for three nights to earn two months' salary. He said, "That's not a small amount. I was thinking that your sister has been spending a lot of money these days. She spends a hundred or two hundred yuan at a time to buy tiles and dig wells. It's almost driving me crazy."

Liu Lizhen frowned and said, "What do you mean? Do you think I spent too much money?"

Xu Laonian hurriedly tried to make amends: "How could that be possible? Didn't you spend all the money on building the house? I mean, you always spend money outside. I thought our family is quite rich."

"Isn't that what you mean? You just dislike me for spending too much money! All right, Xu Laonian, you're great! Oh my god, I'm not like you, buying good cigarettes all day long. Aren't the Yingchun and Shilin cigarettes at home enough for you to smoke? Look, Brother Chai is coming over, and he bought two packs of Mudan cigarettes..."

"No, Zhen, you must have misunderstood me. Those two packets of Peony are for Uncle Zhang..."

Liu Lizhen pointed at him and said, "You wait until no one is home!"

When Xu Laonian heard her threat, he stood up and slapped his thigh in panic: "Oh my God, you really wronged me! I can't clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River!"

“Hahahaha…” Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Then, Wang Erli stood up, put down the teacup, and said, "Brother, enjoy your meal. Let's go back to sleep."

Xu Laonian's eyes froze, and he said quickly, "Hey, brother, I'll live with you."

Liu Lizhen raised her hand and grabbed his shoulder, saying, "If you dare to leave this door, then you will never be able to come in again!"

Immediately, Xu Lao was paralyzed, and Liu Daming said with a smile: "Brother-in-law, just enjoy it slowly."

After Li Fuqiang and the others left the house, Xu Ning turned around and said with a sly smile, "Dad, do you remember that night eight years ago? You told me that if I could survive it, I couldn't. I had to grit my teeth and get through it and everything would be fine."

"piss off!"

Xu Laonian was so angry when he saw his gloating look on his face, but Liu Lizhen was holding his arm, making it impossible for him to move.

When only the old couple were left in the house, Xu Laonian turned his head, stared at Liu Lizhen, and said, "Zhen, don't let this little brat sow discord between you."

Liu Lizhen narrowed her eyes and smiled, "My son didn't say anything. Come on, tell me why you asked me to pay out one hundred or two hundred..."

"Ouch! Stop pinching me, stop doing that, it hurts..." Xu Laonian twisted his body with a grin. It might have been more vivid and three-dimensional if accompanied by a copper satsam, a bass drum, or a suona.

The timid Xu Feng rushed into the west room and listened to Xu Laonian's howling and screaming. She was so amused that she slapped the edge of the kang. Xu Ning and Guan Lei also laughed silently, with wrinkles all over their faces...

The night is dark, the wind is quiet, and after the insects chirp, the birds begin to sing.

Outside the window, sparrows were foraging in groups, standing on electric wires or on the eaves, chirping and disturbing Liu Lizhen's good mood. Xu Laonian was in an even worse mood. He had a pair of panda eyes and obviously didn't sleep much last night. He sat on the edge of the kang, listlessly picking at his pipe box.

He seemed to be determined to save money just to put some pocket money in his pocket. After thinking all night, he still believed that a gentleman should carry some money in his pocket. However, he now had only 3 yuan in his pocket, because Liu Lizhen had confiscated the more than 5 yuan he had hidden in his shoe shells and on the ceiling last night. It could be said that he had lost all his money in one fell swoop!
I regret it so much. You said everything was fine, why did he act so stupidly and spend money without saying anything! He saved that 70 yuan from the beginning of the year to August, which took him half a year! Now I have no appetite for breakfast.

Now he can only rely on the little calf to earn some pocket money.

After dinner, Xu Ning went into the house and took a look around. Seeing Xu Laonian lying next to the cabinet, rummaging through cigarettes and alcohol, he did not take the initiative to talk to him.

Just as he was about to leave, Xu Laonian came over quietly, grabbed his arm and said, "Old man, can you really earn 100 yuan by carrying hammers in the mountains?"

Xu Ning frowned and said, "Dad, why are you so slow?"

"Hey, just tell me if you can earn it!" "You can't."

Xu Laonian was anxious, staring at him, grabbing his hand, and asked, "Didn't you say I could earn 100? Why can't I earn it again?"

"You said something stupid in front of my mom last night. Now that my mom knows about it, even if you make money, you still have to hand it over."

Xu Laonian slapped himself in anger and said regretfully, "Oh my god, why am I so rude!... Then give me 10 yuan now."

"What do you want the money for? Didn't my mom leave you some pocket money?"

Xu Laonian said gloomily, "I was thinking of treating your Uncle Guo and Uncle Zhang to a meal today. It's ok to get cigarettes and alcohol from home, but buying food and other things requires money."

At this time, Wang Erli walked into the room quickly and said, "Brother, I have already ordered food from the canteen, you just need to get a few bottles of wine."

Seeing that his brother had ruined his plan, Xu Laonian said with a dark face, "You are really good at doing things! Take the cigarettes and alcohol and leave quickly!"

After that, he ran out of the house without looking back. Wang Erli asked, "What happened to your dad?"

"You ruined his good fortune."

Wang Erli laughed and said, "The money he hid last night was confiscated?"

"OK."

"Hahaha……"

Wang Erli laughed twice, then chased after his elder brother with the bag of cigarettes and alcohol in his hand.

Time passed quickly, and five days passed in a blink of an eye.

Nowadays, no one is working on the two new houses because the foundation of the lower house has not yet dried, but the ground in the front yard has been paved and the wall between the front vegetable garden and the front yard has also been built.

Xu Ning didn't want to build the wall too high, so he only built it about 30 centimeters high. The purpose was to prevent the black soil from being washed by rain onto the red bricks laid in the front yard.

The remaining work is to build the house, put up the shed, and apply putty on the walls inside the house. This putty is not latex paint, but a layer of slightly yellowish mud that can prevent moisture and mildew.

Originally, Xu Laonian wanted to paste newspapers, but he had already spent so much money on building a new house, and what was the difference? Liu Lizhen patted the edge of the kang and allocated 200 yuan to Xu Long, asking him to buy putty powder in the city. However, after buying the putty powder, he couldn't apply it to the wall immediately because Wang Zhongcai and others were grinding the floor, raising a lot of dust...

When Xu Ning had nothing to do at home, he would go collect firewood, or chat with Wang Zhongcai, or look for Meng Quezi and Zhang Jinbao.

At present, they have already made furniture such as combination cabinets, upright cabinets, bookcases, desks, and large beds. The only thing left is a large round table with a turntable, and Zhang Jinbao is now making the elm door.

The elm door is quite heavy. First, the boards are connected with mortise and tenon joints, then leveled with a plane, and then painted with tung oil five or six times...

That afternoon, Xu Ning and Meng Ziyan wiped their mouths when they came out of the corner. After sending her to the door of her house, Meng Quezi, who was working, looked up and asked, "Er Ning, when are you going out?"

Xu Ning said calmly: "We have to finish the festival anyway, what's the matter, Uncle Meng."

Meng Quezi said, "Your brother Bao said that after the gate is installed the day after tomorrow, he will go back home and bring his wife and children to stay with him for two days."

"Oh, then I'll take him there."

Meng Quezi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll tell him later."

"No, I'll tell him now. Anyway, we have to go over to eat later, so let's go together."

After saying that, Xu Ning walked towards Guan Lei's house. Zhang Jinbao was nailing copper nails on the elm door, and his two apprentices and Meng Yinhe were pushing a planer on the side.

"Brother Bao, when will you be back on the street the day after tomorrow? I have nothing to do, so I'll drive you there."

"Sure! It's convenient to drive. We can install the gate in the morning and go there in the afternoon. We can come back in the evening just in time for dinner."

"Okay!"

Today is August 8th, the beginning of autumn.

In the evening, we had dumplings stuffed with pork and leeks. Hot dishes included fish-scale eggplant, fried eggplant boxes and braised pork. In Qing'an, there is a saying that one should gain weight in autumn. The more meat one eats on this day, the stronger the body will be in autumn and winter, making up for the loss of vitality in summer.

In fact, now is the hottest time. The temperature at noon has reached about 30°, and the temperature at night is relatively cool at about 19°. But sometimes it is so hot that people feel anxious and have to open the window to sleep.

August 1984, 8, the 10th day of the seventh lunar month.

Suitable for: getting married, traveling, breaking ground, installing doors, raising beams...

Taboo: opening a business, building a stove, building a bridge...

In the morning, after everyone finished their meal at Lao Xu's house, they got in the car and hurried to Guan Lei's house. After moving the four doors and door frames into the car, Lao Zhang drove Yu Kaihe and others to the new house.

The sizes of the two pairs of elm doors were the same, so everyone divided into two groups, one group installed doors for Old Xu's family, and the other group installed doors for Old Wang's family.

As the auspicious time was about to arrive, Yu Kaihe shouted twice at the top of his lungs, and then Xu Ning, Wang Hu and others lit firecrackers. A thick smoke rose up and a deafening sound resounded through the sky.

Then everyone installed the door frame, stood up a door tied with a rope, and installed it in place with the hinges...

This process seems simple, but it is actually very troublesome, because the old elm wood is very heavy, and if you are not careful it will be planted crookedly and the direction will be difficult to control.

Before 10 o'clock, the two doors were installed. Liu Lizhen was in a very good mood looking at the magnificent doors.

Xu Feng chattered and clapped his hands in applause, but Liu Lizhen didn't feel annoyed at all. She just thought that what Xu Feng said was very pleasant to the ear!

At noon, everyone had a big drink. Xu Ning only drank half a glass, then he and Zhang Jinbao drove Lao Zhang's car to the street.

Zhang Jinbao's home is not in the street, but in a village near the street. After entering the village, he pointed to the house in front of him with colorful lights and said, "This family is a husband-and-wife business. Many people in our village have been there... My house is next to it, but it's so annoying."

Xu Ning said with a straight face: "Then I suggest you change houses, otherwise it will affect the children."

"Yeah, I had planned to move house before, but I've been busy..."

(End of this chapter)