Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

Yu Qiutang always felt that vinegar was really fragrant at this time.

It smells good and tastes even better.

The vinegar bought in supermarkets in later generations can never match this taste.

I don’t know if it’s due to the soil or the blending, but the finished vinegar after packaging always has a faint bitter taste.

The whole vinegar tastes sour and bitter.

The vinegar at this time is not bitter, but has a strong sour aroma.

His family used to be poor, and sometimes when he was really hungry and had nothing else to eat, he would secretly drink some vinegar.

If the vinegar doesn't smell good, what's the point of having any interest in it?

At that time, vinegar, whether sold in supply and marketing cooperatives, shops, or on tricycles on the streets, was mostly packaged in large barrels.

It's a bit like the liquor sold in bulk.

When there is a market, they would stop in the middle of the street in a crowded place, and people from all over would come with bottles or jugs of vinegar to drink.

That wooden vinegar spoon is exactly one pound, which is very convenient.

The number of hits will be determined by the weight.

But people who sell vinegar usually pour a spoonful of vinegar and then gently scoop a little more from the bottom of the spoon and pour it in.

This will make the person who buys the vinegar feel good.

I feel like I got some advantage.

People who sell vinegar make it themselves anyway, so they don’t lose much.

Both can accept each other.

People of this era always have a lot of humanity when buying and selling things. As long as it is their own property or their own growth, they will sell it very cheaply and casually.

Maybe they thought the selling point was the point, since they didn't invest much money in it anyway.

In later generations, the more something you grow yourself, the more expensive it sells for.

It is euphemistically called the authentic native product.

Yu Qiutang was standing beside the car, watching intently, when suddenly someone put his hand on his shoulder from the front.

When he looked sideways, he saw a pair of white woman's hands.

I subconsciously dodged to the side.

The next moment, he saw Wu Meifen standing beside him with a smile on her face.

"Sister Meifen, I thought it was someone else and you scared me!" Yu Qiutang said with a smile.

Wu Meifen joked, "I found out that you must have a lover, right?"

Yu Qiutang thought of Mi Yali's face and smiled.

Not denying is affirming.

Wu Meifen suddenly remembered that Mi Yali and Yu Qiutang had come to their store last time, but she had forgotten about it just now.

"Is that the girl from last time?"

"Ah."

"You have good taste," Wu Meifen affirmed, pointing at the vinegar truck, "Why are you standing here? Are you buying vinegar? No need to buy it. Go back and get a bucket from my store."

Every time Wu Meifen said this, she seemed very casual.

It seems to be saying something very ordinary.

Yu Qiutang smiled and shook his head, "No, I just want to see how much vinegar we can eat. One bucket will take more than half a year."

"What's so good about this? It's just selling vinegar. Come on, let's go to my place and chat. It seems like I haven't seen you for a while."

Yu Qiutang looked at the time and saw that it was not yet eight o'clock, so he agreed and walked towards the Meifen Hotel with Wu Meifen.

Wu Meifen was carrying a very fashionable bag, which was absolutely unique in this era and on this kind of street.

It can be seen that she is already at the forefront of the trend.

Her outfit is very fresh, with a light green shirt on the upper body and sky blue jeans on the lower body, which looks straightforward and trendy, a bit like the Hong Kong and Taiwan stars in the 1990s.

Maybe it was because of her clothes, she looked very young, not like she was over 30, and looked no more than 25.

"You haven't been to the mountains lately?"

"No, my family is building a house. It's at the final stage and there are a lot of things to do. We only put up the main beam yesterday."

"I see. You didn't even tell me. I should give you a gift... But you didn't invite me either. You still don't consider me a friend."

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Yu Qiutang explained hurriedly. Apart from the close neighbors, those who came were all relatives.

"Haha, I'm just kidding. I don't care about this. It's good to have a new yard. I can marry a bride later and live a more enjoyable life."

Yu Qiutang nodded.

That's exactly what he thought.

"Then you come here today for shopping. You have nothing else to do but hang out. If not, I can't delay your business."

"Oh, I want to buy a bicycle. It's not very convenient to travel. It's too troublesome to walk all the time."

"You don't have a bicycle yet... I didn't notice it until now. Oh, now I remember, you don't seem to have a car."

"That's it."

"Then buy it. Having a car will make things much more convenient. Otherwise you will waste a lot of time walking.

People only have so much time in a day. If you waste it walking, you can't do other things. Over time, you will end up doing much less than those who ride a bike."

Whenever Wu Meifen talks about something, she always quickly brings up the topic of efficiency.

Yu Qiutang lamented that people are indeed very different from each other.

The same thing, but completely different perspectives.

The most he could think of was the convenience of bicycles, while Wu Meifen was thinking about making use of time.

These successful people do pay more attention to the use of time than ordinary people.

After they walked for a distance, Wu Meifen suddenly stopped and turned to ask Yu Qiutang, "Can you ride a motorcycle?

“Ah… yes!”

Yu Qiutang answered subconsciously.

"Well, I have an old motorcycle. I'll give it to you."

"what?"

Yu Qiutang was stunned.

Motorcycles were not on his mind.

When he was the richest some time ago, he had about 5000 yuan in his hand, which was enough to buy a domestic car.

It cost more than three thousand yuan just to build the yard, and there were miscellaneous expenses, so now there is less than one thousand yuan left.

Buying a bicycle for three or four hundred yuan is barely acceptable.

I dare not touch the porcelain motorcycle.

"Whether it's a matter of money or not, it doesn't matter. My bike has been idle for a long time. It's just that the model is a bit old and it makes a little noise when I ride it. It just so happens that I got a new model, so it's useless.

I've always said I'd find an opportunity to sell it off cheaply, but now that you're in need of a means of transportation, I'll give it to you."

"How can I do this?" Yu Qiutang shook his head helplessly. "To be honest, with my current ability, I can't afford to buy a motorcycle. Even if it's old, I can't afford it."

"It's very polite of you to say that!"

Wu Meifen hit Yu Qiutang's arm and said, "I just have an unused bike, and I don't need the money to sell it. You are still in the initial stage. I know you are short of money, so you can just take it and ride it. Why are you saying these things?"

"This really doesn't work!"

"What's wrong with that? They're just material possessions," Wu Meifen scratched her short hair. "Qiu Tang, listen to me. In this world, all material possessions have no real value..."

Yu Qiutang: “?”

He felt that it was hard to believe such words coming from a businessman.

It's also a bit weird.

But the person who spoke was Wu Meifen.

After they had been together for so long, he realized that this was not necessarily the case.

This woman is no ordinary businessman.

"Ever since your brother-in-law passed away a few years ago, I suddenly understood. You said that making money and buying things, no matter how much, can't bring people back, right?
Do you think I am being a bit contradictory? If that is the case, why should I continue my business and make more money?

Is that what you think?!
Actually, I tell you, this is just something I like to do.

In other words, things that can give me a sense of value and make me feel that my existence has meaning.

It’s the same principle as how you farmers farm.

Do you like farming, or is it because farming is the only way, otherwise you won’t be able to fill your stomach?

neither.

Because you have a simple emotion in your heart and you are born from the land, you must respect the land and through hard work, you will have a good harvest in the fall.

me too.

I do business and make money. The real satisfaction comes from the fact that I was born into such an environment. My family and my deceased husband are all business people.

Then I can only find satisfaction by doing business.

Do you understand? "

Yu Qiutang thought about his father and the people in his family and what they were living for.

It’s really because of the simple feelings.

Or maybe there is actually no purpose at all, just because I am alive.

There is no point in discussing the meaning of life.

Maybe there is no meaning in living, it's just that we happen to be in this state, just like death.

No one necessarily demands that death have meaning, so why do we have to discuss the meaning of life?

Without any thoughts, just existing simply, does that mean it loses its meaning?

These things are complicated.

Yu Qiutang was too lazy to think about it.

"...So, don't be so polite all the time. It seems so boring. You will become rich one day. Maybe you will be many times stronger than me.

I am a businessman.

Just think of me as an investment. I am optimistic about your future. I want to maintain a good relationship with you now. If I need your help in the future, just don't turn me away."

Yu Qiutang wanted to say, Sister, you worry too much.

If nothing goes wrong, in the near future, if you step on this street, the whole Qingquan Town will shake.

Don't sell yourself short.

Seeing that Yu Qiutang was still hesitating, Wu Meifen continued, "I'm not saying anything bad about you, Qiutang, but you need to open your mind... you need to look at things in the long term.

If you stay at your feet and think about the distance of two or three meters in front of you, how much can you see? "

Wu Meifen pointed at the bustling crowd in front of her and said, "Look, when we stand on the street, all we see are heads. Fortunately, you are tall and can see farther.

If you're like me, at first glance you see either a face or the back of a head.

why?

It’s because I’m standing in a low position and the distance I can see is short.

What if I stand on the top of the Qingquan Tower over there and look at these people again?

They can't even see into my eyes, I can see farther and see more people.

You, now your eyes are blocked by a leaf.

Living is still not free and easy enough.

Listen to me, you need to completely adjust your mindset, be freer and more open.

As a young man, you should be like...like...yes, you should be like the wind, free and unrestrained, blowing wherever you want to go."

Yu Qiutang once again realized a sentence.

These people who are very good at business often have more advanced ideas and can see much further than ordinary people of their time.

What Wu Meifen said seems a bit idealistic. In this era, if you say it to anyone other than yourself, no one will accept it.

But she just said it.

He couldn't help but admire her.

In addition to admiration, he could only be forced to take a look at Wu Meifen's motorcycle.

If he continued to refuse, Wu Meifen would think he was boring, which would be putting the cart before the horse.

Wu Meifen did not take him to Meifen Hotel, but to West Street.

After walking into an alley for about a hundred meters, the alley becomes much wider and it is a completely different world inside.

It was not as narrow as Yu Qiutang had imagined, but more like a small village with about a dozen courtyards. At the entrance of the courtyard was an open space paved with cement, with a basketball hoop on it.

A child is playing with a spinning top.

Wu Meifen smiled and greeted a few people who passed by, then took Yu Qiutang straight to a courtyard.

The gate of the courtyard was painted black and decorated with golden semi-circular nails. There were two lions or unicorns squatting at the door. The threshold was one foot and three inches high and the same color as the gate.

Above the gatehouse, there are auspicious beasts on the eaves, and below them are five large characters written in a dragon-like and phoenix-like manner: "A harmonious family brings prosperity."

A very grand courtyard.

It is comparable to the newly built one by Yu Qiutang.

Just as Wu Meifen was about to knock on the door, it was opened from the inside. A little boy of about eight or nine poked his head out, saw that it was Wu Meifen, and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law, why are you back at this time?"

"Why don't you stay still and go out to mess around again?"

The young man stuck out his tongue and said, "No way, I've been in there for too long and I'm tired of it."

"Go back, it's cold outside, wait until the sun comes out another day."

"Oh."

The boy stuck out his tongue, looked at Yu Qiutang curiously, left the door a crack, and retracted his head.

"My husband's brother has a congenital heart disease."

Wu Meifen seemed to be speaking casually.

But the helplessness in his eyes could not be concealed.

Before Yu Qiutang could say anything, she added, "I have the same disease as my husband."

Yu Qiutang simply couldn't say anything.

Following Wu Meifen in, I found that the yard was very ordinary. The walls and the floor were paved with red bricks. There was a cherry tree in the middle of the yard. It must be quite old, and the trunk was crisscrossed like a dragon.

It is winter now and the leaves on the trees have long fallen.

But because of the unique shape of the cherry tree, even if it is bare, it still has a certain artistic feel.

"Come."

Wu Meifen took Yu Qiutang directly to the side, and Yu Qiutang did not look around.

Behind the east wing, there is a small path less than two meters wide. After walking in, you will find that there is a backyard behind it.

The doors of several houses were locked, except for the one on the east side which had no door.

A black motorcycle was parked in the middle of the room.

Yu Qiutang felt that the two motorcycles were not simple at just one glance, although he was not familiar with motorcycles and could not name the specific models.

But when looking at a motorcycle, you can often get a rough idea just by looking at the appearance.

There's not even a man in this guy.

Obviously imported.

The motorcycle is long and tall, probably of large displacement, and definitely not a castrated version of the little guy.

A big red helmet was placed on the car.

Wu Meifen brought him in, picked up the helmet, and gently wiped the dust off it with her hands. Without caring about getting her clothes dirty, she used her sleeve to brush away the fallen leaves on the body of the car and patted the front of the car, looking particularly nostalgic.

"Okay, I'll tell you the truth, this car belongs to my husband."

Wu Meifen turned around, with an indescribable loneliness in her eyes, "He left suddenly, and the bike has been put aside. I don't want to ride it, but I can't bear to give it away, thinking that no one is worthy of riding it.

But the car has been sitting there and breaking down, and I think he must be sad, so I am giving it to you today."

Before Yu Qiutang could speak, she smiled bitterly again, "I originally wanted to find an excuse, but now I've changed my mind and decided to tell you the truth. I think this car and you need a sincere start." (End of this chapter)