His rough voice echoed in the ears of the members, who put down their shovels and hoes and stepped forward to meet him.
One person is holding the handlebar of the car, and another is pulling the frame of the car. Everyone's face is full of excitement.
"Brother Donglai, how is the city?"
"Don't you have to work under the sun at noon?"
"I heard people say that there is a kind of iron box in the city, and it can run very fast."
"Tell us quickly."
Li Donglai just smiled faintly and said nothing.
…
Aunt Wang took Li Xiaomei out of the car and looked at her lovingly.
"I haven't seen you for a few days. My little sister has grown a lot taller and fairer."
Wang's wife smiled and said: "Of course, my little sister is from the city now."
Li Xiaomei stared and looked for her friends in the field.
Not seeing them, Li Xiaomei was a little disappointed, "Auntie, where are Goudan and the others?"
Aunt Wang pointed to the small river ditch in the distance, "They are catching crabs there."
There is a small river in the village. The clear water is full of gravel, and there are many crabs in the gaps between the gravel.
Crabs are silly and won't run away when they see people. Children can catch them with just their hands.
Adults are not interested in this kind of food without much oil and water.
Children, however, like to gather in small groups, jump into the creek with bare feet, and catch crabs in bamboo baskets while laughing.
Go to the nearby woods and collect some firewood.
On the big stone, make a fire and grill the crabs.
Although the crabs are grilled into black charcoal every time, the children enjoy eating them.
It's so satisfying.
...
Li Xiaomei also wanted to eat crabs, so she ran to Li Donglai and said, "Brother, I'm going to go find Goudan to play."
Li Donglai smiled and said: "Go ahead and tell Goudan to come home later and I will bring him some herbs."
Li Xiaomei jumped up and down, her two little pigtails jumping and jumping, and ran along the field ridge towards the stream.
…
Village chief Qin Sanmin looked at the big baggage on the carriage and frowned, "Donglai, you spent your own money to buy medicinal herbs from the villagers again?"
Li Donglai smiled and said: "It's just a little herbal medicine, not worth much."
Village chief Qin Sanmin didn't believe his words at all.
However, thinking that Li Donglai was now considered a city dweller and had a way to make money, he didn't say any more.
Qin Sanmin happened to have something he wanted to discuss with someone.
He looked at the group of commune members gathered around the bicycles and shouted loudly: "Everyone, go to work quickly. The ditch cannot be dug at noon, and none of you are allowed to eat."
After shouting, he took Li Donglai's arm and said, "Let's go, I have something to do with you."
The two came to the village chief's house. The house in the village chief's house was the best in the village.
The adobe house has a tile roof instead of straw.
The house is covered with yellow soil, and the few pieces of furniture are dilapidated and dilapidated.
The main room and the kitchen are connected together. There is a large pot stand in the corner. Behind the pot stand are oranges and branches.
The yellow walls were smoked black.
In this way, the sun is shining brightly outside, but the house is indeed dark.
Qin Sanmin poured a bowl of water for Li Donglai and did not rush to talk.
He summoned the two team leaders and the livestock herder Qin Daniu.
Li Donglai was holding the cracked ceramic bowl and was puzzled.
Qinjiagou is a small village with 52 households and 363 people.
Village chief Qin Sanmin, first team leader Qin Shou, second team leader Qin Fang, and livestock herder Qin Daniu, these people are considered the top leaders of the village.
What do you want to do by gathering all these people together?
It was just Qin Sanmin squatting on the ground, smoking a pipe, looking at the golden sunlight shining on the garbage outside the door.
Li Donglai couldn't ask either.
Strangely enough, people of Qin Sanmin's age in the village don't seem to be used to sitting on chairs or stools. They always like to squat on the ground.
When they were resting in the fields, they squatted; during meetings, they squatted; even when eating, they squatted at the door with bowls in hand.
...
Soon, the three people who received the letter arrived.
The three of them were surprised to see Li Donglai there.
Qin Shou, the captain of the first team, had a hot temper and muttered to Qin Sanmin: "Uncle, brother Donglai is already from the city. Whose turn is it for him to make the decision regarding our Qinjiagou?"
Qin Sanmin's face became cold and he knocked his pipe and pot on the soles of his shoes, making a loud banging sound.
"Da Shou, I think you have eaten too much this year. Have you forgotten who found a way to get food from the city?"
When Qin Shou heard this, he immediately lowered his head and became silent.
Qinjiagou is the village where life is best among the eight villages within ten miles.
Liuzhuang, Zhangdian and Huhuling nearby all thought it was because the people in Qinjiagou were capable.
But no matter how hard he works, the wheat in the Qinjiagou wheat field will not produce two ears of wheat.
Without Li Donglai's herbs, those big fat pigs could only be sold to food stations in the city, and the price would be at least one-third cheaper.
And those field mice...
When the second captain Qin Fang saw that the village chief was angry, he quickly explained with a smile: "The birthday is not what I meant, but this matter is of great importance. If the letter is revealed, someone might be caught."
The livestock herder Qin Daniu was not happy to hear this. He stared at his eyes as big as copper bells: "Lu Xin? There are only five of us in this room. We are all natives of Qinjiagou. We grew up together.
We grow together. No one can trust the other."
After saying that, he looked at Qin Sanmin and said, "Let me tell you, you shouldn't let Dong Lai get involved in this matter. I'm not afraid that Dong Lai will leak the information.
We are all from the city now, and it would be inappropriate to help us with advice in case anyone finds out."
Li Donglai frowned after hearing the words of several people.
It seems that several 'leaders' in Qinjiagou want to play a side game again.
Yes, let's run away.
Li Donglai stood up, looked at Qin Sanmin, and said with a smile: "Uncle Sanmin, I have to go back to the city tomorrow morning and go to the mountains to collect herbs. Time is tight, so I won't stay much longer."
"In the evening, let the uncles and aunts come to my house to get the herbal medicine. You can also inform me that if anyone feels sick, they can come to my house."
Li Donglai stood up suddenly, which surprised Qin Sanmin. The pipe pot in his hand trembled.
Over the years, Li Donglai has never refused to deal with the villagers' affairs, big or small.
But what Qin Daniu said is also true.
Li Donglai has already helped Qinjiagou so much, so it is really inappropriate for him to take risks again.
Even if you come up with an idea, you should not let others know that it was Li Donglai's idea.
Qin Sanmin nodded to Qin Daniu: "Brother Danniu, don't you happen to be cutting grass to feed the cows? You happen to be helping Donglai collect herbs."
Qin Daniu scratched his head: "If you don't tell me, I really can't remember it. There isn't much grass in the cowshed."
....
Li Donglai did not immediately go to the mountain to collect herbs.
He first returned home and tidied up the house.
No one has lived in it for half a month, and the yard is covered with weeds and is green.
The weeds are full of vitality, and some even emerge from the gaps in the bluestone strips in front of the house.
It happened that Qin Daniu was about to mow the grass, so Li Donglai asked him to mow all the grass in the yard first.
Then there's the interior.
It hasn't rained heavily recently, so there is no water accumulation in the house.
But those tattered quilts were a little damp, so Li Donglai put the quilts on the courtyard wall.
There were two more gaps in the courtyard wall of Tuzulei, but time was tight, so Qin Daniu could only ask Qin Daniu to dig some yellow clay on the barren slope and apply it on them when he had time.
After cleaning the ground again, he picked up the medicine basket and called Qin Daniu to go to the hill to collect herbs together.
There is a mountain behind Qinjiagou. It is not big. Villagers from all over the country call it "small mountain".
After walking for two miles, we came to the foot of the hill. Looking up, the mountain was full of green.
There are still wild wolves on the mountain these days, and Qin Daniu carries an old shotgun.
It has a dark wooden handle, the barrel is already rusty, but the trigger is polished.
The shotgun uses earthen explosives. After stuffing the explosives into the barrel, you need to use a stick to poke it into the gun.
Poking explosives is a tricky job. If your strength is too small and the gunpowder is not solid, the gun will not go off when you pull the trigger.
If you exert too much force, the explosive may explode and accidentally injure those around you.
There are many people in the village who are missing two fingers.
Seeing Qin Daniu take out the explosives from his cloth pocket, Li Donglai took the initiative and loaded the gunpowder for him.
With just two clicks, the explosive is loaded.
This action made Qin Daniu stunned. He scratched his scalp and said, "It's up to you to come from the east. If it were mine, you would have to work for at least half a day."
Li Donglai was holding the old shotgun and became interested for a while.
He looked up and saw a turtle dove flying out of the field.
