After they had eaten and drank enough, Zhao Jun rode a big motorcycle and drove home with Wang Qiang and Xie Chen.
When they were almost home, the mountain wind blew clear snow, which stuck to the brim of Zhao Jun's hat.
It's snowing!
Zhao Jun slammed the gas pedal, increased the speed of the car and ran home.
After a while, the sky and the earth became white.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
"Woof woof woof..."
The Zhao family's dog gang stood outside the den in the wind and snow, looking up to the sky and barking, and puffs of white air spewed out of the dogs' mouths.
Amidst the barking of dogs, the motorcycle drove all the way into the yard and stopped next to two earthen stoves.
Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, and Jie Chen got out of the car one after another. Zhao Jun waved his hands at Black Tiger, Huang Long, and Qing Long and shouted: "Go back to the nest!"
It was a good thing that he didn't shout. When Zhao Jun shouted, the hunting dogs became even more excited, and they jumped up and down in front of the den one by one.
On a snowy day, Zhao Jun could not get close to them, so he could only follow Wang Qiang and Jie Chen into the house.
As the door closed, the hunting dogs instantly became quiet. Each of them stopped wagging their tails and looked at the closed door with some disappointment.
"mom."
"sister!"
"Auntie."
When the three of them entered the door, Wang Meilan came out with a kang broom and swept the snow off the three of them.
"Hurry and take off the cotton monkey, get on the kang to keep warm." Wang Meilan urged the three of them. They came back on motorcycles, and the cotton jackets and cotton monkey were freezing cold outside.
Zhao Jun took off his hat and patted the snow on his trousers with it. After entering the house, Zhao Jun took off his cotton trousers and hung them up, then put on his cloth shirt and trousers and lay them on the hot stove.
At this time, Jin Xiaomei came in with a thermos bottle and said to the three of them: "Stop drinking for a while, otherwise your teeth will explode."
Wang Meilan then entered the room and looked carefully at the faces of Wang Qiang and Jie Chen. Their faces were flushed red by the wind, and it was impossible to tell that they had been drinking.
"Qiangzi, did you drink at noon?" Wang Meilan asked, and Wang Qiang responded with a smile: "Yeah, sister, I drank half a catty less with Chen Liangyou."
"But I drank a lot." Wang Meilan asked again: "When Brother Li and the others come back tonight, do you still have to drink?"
"Haha." Wang Qiang said with a smile: "If you don't want to drink, I won't drink. I have so many people coming to my house these days that they give me enough to drink."
Wang Meilan smiled when she heard this, sat sideways next to Zhao Jun, raised her hand and gestured to the east room, and said: "They all said that they have been eating meat for the past few days, and they all made a noise about eating pimple soup at night."
"Okay!" Wang Qiang said: "I can't eat meat anymore. I've been too busy these days."
"Stop talking about us." Jie Chen secretly glanced into the east room, smiled and whispered: "I'm sorry for my mother."
"Hahaha……"
After her laughter subsided, Wang Meilan stood up and said: "Then I'll prepare it in a moment. Feng'er brought her the bean sprouts at noon. Let's fry some bean sprouts, mix them with rock sugar radish, and make some small pickles. You can drink if you like.
"
After Wang Meilan finished speaking, she walked towards the outhouse. When she reached the door, she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly turned back to the edge of the kang and said to Zhao Jun: "Son, your dad called today."
"Ah?" Zhao Jun sat up from the kang in a flash. His first reaction when he heard the news was the same as Wang Meilan's in the morning. He was wondering if Zhao Youcai had gotten into trouble again?
"Your dad told you that..." Wang Meilan blinked, blinked her eyes, recalled it, and then said: "I asked you to take out the bluestone from our side to the Yongxing bluestone top. There are three hangings there.
sheep."
"Three hanging sheep?" Zhao Jun's eyes lit up and he asked: "Mom, what else did my dad say?"
"I didn't say anything else." Wang Meilan said, "Your father just told you to go quickly."
"Okay, Mom, I understand." Zhao Jun understood as soon as he heard it. The information provided by Zhao Youcai was obviously not well-founded.
After hearing Zhao Jun's agreement, Wang Meilan turned around and left. She didn't care about hunting at all. She only dealt with the prey.
"Little brother." Zhao Jun asked Xie Chen, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah, my mother!" Jie Chen pointed to the door with some embarrassment and said, "She insists on going back to find all the people in the village to come to my house and watch us on TV."
"Then you go back." Zhao Jun smiled, turned to Wang Qiang and said, "Uncle, it's up to us to knock down these three hanging sheep."
"What are you doing, nephew?" Wang Qiang said: "That thing can't be shot with a gun, and you can't stop it by grabbing its feet."
Not to mention Zhao Jun's simple trap, even the old-fashioned stupid trap couldn't keep the hanging sheep.
"Uncle, I've thought about it." Zhao Jun said: "Let's put a double-stranded condom on it, catch the outside of its feet and put a foot clip on it. It will step on the foot and lift the leg up, and then the clip will be fastened on it.
."
"Ah!" Wang Qiang understood immediately upon hearing this. Although the trap was alive, the foot trap of the second trap must be connected to a tree or a stick.
"Brother Jun." Jie Chen also understood, but he asked with some confusion: "Then why do you need to use foot clamps? Can't you just use foot clamps?"
The foot trap they call is the most common kind of animal trap with an open mouth.
"No!" Zhao Jun shook his head and explained to Xie Chen: "The hanging sheep has a strong temper, and the foot clamps are used to treat bleeding. If it gets anxious, it will easily break its own legs with the stick."
"Isn't that right?" Zhao Jun said this, and Jie Chen didn't understand it even more. He asked: "Brother Jun, can you fix that foot clamp without causing it to bleed?"
"Tomorrow when I go to the blacksmith's furnace, I'll ask the old Hong boss to make two for me right away." Zhao Jun said with a smile: "Don't tighten the two clamps so tightly. After they are buckled together, leave a gap in the middle. Don't tighten them tightly.
As long as the legs can block the claws."
When Zhao Jun said this, Jie Chen understood. But Wang Qiang felt something was wrong and said to Zhao Jun: "Nephew, cans don't seem to work. They are too brittle."
"Yeah." Zhao Jun nodded first, then raised his chin out of the window and said, "Yesterday I gave it to my sister, and I got back four milk powder cans. After that, we still have a few cans of malted milk in the warehouse. I know
Angels do that.”
"That's good!" Wang Qiang felt that it was reliable and said with a smile: "I wonder what hanging mutton tastes like?"
"They said it was disgusting." Zhao Jun said, "Let's try to kill him and eat his meat."
…
Winter days are inherently short, and no matter how cloudy and snowy it is, it will be dark outside before four o'clock.
Under the snow-capped mountains, every house in the small village has dim lights and smoke coming from the chimneys.
In the forest area, there is no cost to burn firewood. Just by looking at the smoke coming from the chimney, you can know the condition of the house.
For example, at Zhao Jun's house, what they burned were the scraps from Lin Ban's trumpet and wood-making.
At this point, the Zhao family had to pick out the wood, pull it back, and go home to burn pine, ash and other hard wood. Therefore, the Zhao family's chimney was emitting white smoke.
The hooligans in Xishantun, when they burn firewood, they go up the mountain to pick up the rotten wood, and the wind blows away the branches.
When these things are taken home and burned on fire, the chimney emits smoke of various colors.
Pulling the door open, Wu Dalin quickly jumped into the outhouse of his house, turned around and closed the door tightly, fearing that the heat in the room would escape.
"His father." Lin Wenqin, Wu Dalin's daughter-in-law, asked Wu Dalin in Shandong dialect: "How have you been doing this afternoon?"
Wu Dalin's face was red from the wind, but he gestured excitedly and said: "Uncle Zhang led us to mend the big net. We will stop for a day after the snow tomorrow, and we will start working around the forest the day after tomorrow!"
After saying this, Wu Dalin squatted down in front of the stove pit, pushed his hands forward to warm up the fire, then tilted his head towards Lin Wenqin, and whispered: "I put four traps in the poplar forest in the afternoon."
"Is it possible, his father?" Lin Wenqin said with some worry: "As the old man said, if you can't catch the fox and make a fool of yourself, you won't be able to sell it for money. If you don't talk about it, the fox will harm our chickens again."
"Daughter-in-law, just be at ease." Wu Dalin said: "Do you know who he is? If you put it aside, he is a rich man in our customs! You know what he gave us when we went today?
What cigarette?"
After saying this, Wu Dalin didn't wait for Lin Wenqin to ask, and answered his own question, saying: "Grapes! A pack of 25 cents of grape cigarettes was given to us as soon as it was given to us."
Lin Wenqin clicked her eyes twice, then frowned and asked: "Dad, what's the main thing? A fox skin costs ten yuan, that's too scary."
Hearing Lin Wenqin's words, Wu Dalin was startled, then shook his head and said: "I feel that Young Master Zhao and Grandma Zhao can keep their word!"
"That's great if it counts." Lin Wenqin said, "We don't need much, you can get two fox skins for twenty yuan."
"Fuck!" Wu Dalin slapped his knee, stood up and pointed in the direction of the desolate land, saying, "If it really works, I'll fight them!"
…
The next day, Zhao Jun got up early and, with the help of Li Dayong, Li Dazhi and Li Baoyu, cleared the snow in the front yard, backyard, and corridor outside the yard.
Then the four soldiers divided into two groups, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu went to the old lady's house, and Li Dayong and Li Dazhi went to Zhang Yuanmin's house. Zhang Yuanmin lay down on the kang to recuperate, but Yang Yufeng and Xiao Lingdang couldn't clear the snow in the two courtyards.
When Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu arrived in Jiang to liberate the two families, the liberated ministers and Sun's mother-in-law had already cleared half of the snow.
"Xie Niang." Zhao Jun went over and said to Xie Sun, "Come into the house quickly. Our three brothers will do the remaining work."
"Then I don't care, I'm going to feed the dog." Xie Sun made gestures to her courtyard, and then said to Zhao Jun: "Xiaojun, I'm not at home these two days, you take good care of the injured ones."
Dog haha."
"Ah?" Zhao Jun was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Okay, Jie Niang. After dinner, I will drive the car over. My dad left the yellow hair boy for you to take, and I will get you some more after that.
Bear’s paw.”
"No, no!" Ms. Xie Sun waved her hands repeatedly and said, "That bear paw was reserved by my sister for your wedding banquet."
"I won't be able to stay until then." Zhao Jun said with a smile: "I was civilized before I got married. My mother said I would get four for you."
"Alas!" Mrs. Xie Sun sighed and said, "I still need my sister!"
After saying that, Mrs. Xie Sun shook her head and walked towards the house.
Jie Chen glanced at his mother's back, curled his lips and whispered to Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu: "I can't bear to go back. I shed tears last night."
"Ah?" Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were stunned when they heard this. Li Baoyu said, "Didn't you say you'd stay home for two days and then come back?"
"Who knows?" Jie Chen said: "Last night she and Jiang Nai were chatting for some reason, and they started crying."
Everyone has feelings. Mr. Xie Sun and the old lady have been getting along these days, and they have a very deep relationship.
After clearing the river and clearing the snow from the two families, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu walked home carrying spades and pickaxes. On the way, Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu: "Baoyu, come to the unit today and take a look. If you are not busy tomorrow, you can come with me and my boss."
Uncle, go up the mountain."
The Zhao family gang is now facing a manpower shortage problem. Zhang Yuanmin is still recovering from his injuries, and Jie Chen has to go home again. Fortunately, Wang Qiang gave up secretly and joined the bright side, otherwise Zhao Jun would have become a mere commander.
"Brother." Li Baoyu sighed and said, "I want to work with you as a guard in the camp."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was startled when he heard this and said, "This is really good. How about you go back and discuss it with my uncle and my aunt? If they agree, won't our sixth uncle still have a spot in his hand?"
After you come here, your establishment is still there. After we finish it, my brother will go up the mountain to make a roundup or something. I will give you two money. Isn’t it much more than what you earn at work? "
Hearing what Zhao Jun said, Li Baoyu was very happy and said: "Brother, I really don't care whether it's money or not. I see you and Xiao Chen, I can't go up the mountain, I'm worried."
"Haha..." Zhao Jun laughed. He knew that working as a forest guard had a better future than a forest farm driver. In a few years, when the forest area stops production, there will be almost as few forest farm workers as there will be laid-off workers.
"Brother." At this time, Li Baoyu said again: "Yesterday after we went to work, my aunt gathered together with my mother and others to discuss investing money to collect mountain goods. My mother invested all her money. It's over for me.
My mother lets me take care of the money myself."
After Li Baoyu gets married, he will separate from Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei. Since he started working, he has kept five yuan of his monthly salary and handed over the rest to Jin Xiaomei.
These wages should be used to honor their parents, and the money he had received from hunting in the past, Li Dayong and Jin Xiaomei separately gave it to Li Baoyu to take away after he got married.
"You also invest in me!" Zhao Jun said to Li Baoyu: "If you trust me, I guarantee you won't lose anything."
"I believe it!" Li Baoyu said categorically: "My mother and the others believe it. A group of people have discussed it well. They said they would build a shed in the backyard of our new house.
When we get married and have a banquet, we will set up a table in the shed when guests come and go. After we finish doing things, the shed will be converted into a warehouse."
"Oh my God!" Zhao Jun said with a smile: "How many sheds do we need to build to build a row of sheds in our compound?"
"That can't be seventeen or eighteen rooms." Li Baoyu said: "I heard that they should all be built with wooden veneer, with doors opening from the north to the south, and skylights."
"This is really going to be a big deal." Zhao Jun not only did not object, but also supported Wang Meilan's decision.
When the two brothers arrived home, Wang Meilan was coming out of the warehouse carrying a dough bag. The dough bag contained frozen dumplings, and she was going to have a simple bite for breakfast today.
"Are you two brothers back?" Wang Meilan called to Li Baoyu and said, "Why don't Baoyu eat here?"
"It's terrible, aunt, my mother should have prepared the food." Li Baoyu said that he would not eat at Zhao's house, but walked into the Zhao's yard. When he walked to Wang Meilan, he said to Wang Meilan: "Aunt, I have invested all my money."
During our business, I asked my mother to get a bunch of them for you."
"Okay." Wang Meilan said with a smile: "Wait until Sunday, and the minister will come back. You guys haven't gone to work yet, so let's sit together and have a meeting. We will know who owns how many shares."
"Yes, aunt." Li Baoyu nodded heavily and said, "Let's put this aside, we are the chamber of commerce, and aunt, you are the president of our chamber of commerce!"
Zhao Jun glanced at Li Baoyu and thought to himself that this boy is quite good at coaxing people. How can he tolerate his mother's vanity and give him such a compliment?
Sure enough, when Wang Meilan heard this, her eyes lit up instantly.