Zhou Shitou thought for a while: "Chestnuts, dried mushrooms, fungus, pepper... we have all these. At the end of winter every year we go out to the mountains to sell dry goods at the Zhenjiang Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and we exchange money to buy salt and other things."
After hearing this, Lin Lan felt that there were still too few varieties of aniseed, so she could only collect some dried mushrooms and sell the fungus: "Cousin, how many mountain products does each family sell?"
Zhou Shitou shook his head: "Those who are diligent at home will collect more dry goods, while those who are lazy will collect less. I don't know the details. I'll go find out for you tomorrow morning."
Lin Lan smiled and said: "Thank you, cousin."
Wu Shufang made the bed, fetched hot water, and asked Lin and Lan to wash up. She went to the kitchen to help her eldest daughter-in-law Xu Hongjue cook.
Xu Hongjue looked at her and whispered: "Mom, I heard from my cousin that they are here to collect mountain goods."
Wu Shufang nodded: "Yes! Your cousin gave us plasters, medicine for coughs and fevers, a big bag of salt, a bag of white flour..."
Xu Hongjue's eyes widened in surprise: "There are so many! Qiaohui went to her cousin's house. Let Xiaoyu go when she is older." How much does it cost for so many things?
"Okay! Your second aunt has been thinking about us, and even the children are thinking about us. Without your second aunt's family to help us these years, the family has been even more miserable."
Wu Shufang thought about it and told her again, "My cousin is here to collect the dry goods. You should help her choose. Don't let the team fall into those shameless traps."
Xu Hongjue nodded repeatedly: "I understand!"
Wu Shufang took down the old bacon that Lin Guoliang brought, and the two little ones ran to the stove: "Grandma, I want to chew the bones."
Wu Shufang nodded and looked at the two of them: "Grandma has cooked it, cut it into pieces and put it on the plate. You and your eldest brother will eat together in the kitchen. Do you hear me?"
The two children nodded obediently: "I heard, we won't go to the main room to eat."
Xu Hongjue glanced at their bulging mouths and said, "You two, keep the candies your cousin gave you. Don't finish them all in one day."
"Oh!" The two children walked towards the room sadly.
Wu Shufang looked at the two of them and sighed in her heart. She thought about the life of her three younger sisters. Then she thought about herself. She felt that there was a huge difference between the mountains and the outside.
The children cannot be allowed to stay here in Shankaka any longer. It is best to follow their cousin to settle down in the city.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both accustomed to doing the same work, so they had the meal ready in a short while and brought it to the main room and put it on the table.
Wu Shufang looked at them sheepishly: "Xiaolan, Xiangyang, it's your first time here. Auntie's house doesn't have anything to entertain you..."
"Auntie!" Lin Lan interrupted her with a smile, "You've seen me, delicacies and game are all good things!"
Li Xiangyang also smiled and said: "That's right, where can you find such fat wild rabbits to eat outside? Look, there are also pheasants stewed with mushrooms."
Seeing the smiles on their faces, Wu Shufang also smiled happily and said: "We have laid a few traps in the forest and will see if we can trap pheasants and hares tomorrow morning."
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang ate spicy hare meat, soft and slippery ginger taro vermicelli, stewed pheasant with dried mushrooms, and drank fruit wine brewed by the mountain people.
Wu Shufang told them that the fruit wine is made from jujubes from the mountains. There are several jujubes planted on the slope of her house. They ripen after frost every year. They pick them and soak them in home-brewed sorghum wine. Drinking them is good for people with rheumatism.
.
After dinner, everyone set up a farm gate formation around the brazier in the main room.
The farthest place Zhou Shitou has ever visited is Zhenjiang Commune. He smiled and asked Li Xiangyang what the East City was like.
"The city is bigger than the commune, and the roads are wider..." Li Xiangyang told him briefly and invited him to visit Dongshi.
Zhou Shitou happily agreed, saying that he would go to Dongshi next year to have a wedding banquet with Lin Lan.
Lin Lan asked Wu Shufang: "Auntie, are those rice plants also grown in Shishanling?"
Wu Shufang shook her head: "Why is Shishanling called Shishanling? It's because there are many rocks and little soil, and there is not even flat land. Everyone's houses are built around the mountain."
"There are a few fields in the mountains where rice and wheat can be grown. The rest are sorghum, corn, and sweet potato. Those who are diligent will pick up more mountain products, while those who are lazy will not even have money to buy salt."
Lin Lan thought for a moment and said to Wu Shufang: "Auntie, talk to the team members next year and ask them to plant more pumpkins and beans."
"If you are willing to do it, you can collect these things and take the trouble to send them to Shilian and give them to my parents. You can earn a few cents per pound. If the quantity is large, don't calculate it carefully."
Wu Shufang smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, Guoliang also told us last time that we should talk to the team members and let everyone grow a variety of white beans and beans. We can collect them and send them out to sell to you, but the family is really poor.
, no money to start."
Zhou Dashan also said on the side: "After Guoliang left, we went to the several companies we mentioned and told them. They didn't believe it and were afraid that they wouldn't get the money after the things were delivered."
After listening to Lin Guoliang's words, they thought it was a way to make money, but in addition to two pigs and a mule, they didn't even have five yuan to spare, so how could they collect mountain goods?
After hearing this, Lin Lan felt the same way. Money is a man's courage. It seems that his aunt's family is very poor. Everyone collects some mountain products to exchange money to support the family. It is inevitable to worry.
"Let's do this! If you want to receive the goods, I can lend you some money to finance the purchase. I will write you a list of the purchase price later. You can earn some money after you receive the goods and deliver them."
Wu Shufang stood up gratefully, looked at Lin Lan and didn't know what to say: "Xiaolan..." The most valuable old pumpkin in the mountains actually costs eight cents a pound, so I should run a few times before the snow closes the mountain.
You can also make some money.
Zhou Dashan rubbed his hands and said with a red face: "How embarrassing is this? How embarrassing is this!"
Zhou Shitou also kept thanking Lin Lan and others.
Li Xiangyang looked at Lin Lan with a smile. This was his daughter-in-law. She was kind, righteous, and not bad-hearted.
At this time, Xu Hongjue came over from the kitchen and said to Wu Shufang: "Mom, the second aunt and Qiaoyan are at the door, saying they want to meet Xiaolan."
"I'll go take a look." Wu Shufang stood up and walked out, opening the back door. A chubby woman and a handsome girl were standing there.
She glanced at the two of them lightly: "Is there something wrong with his second aunt coming over so late?"
The last time Guoliang came to pick up Qiaohui, Zhou Laoer's family shamelessly stopped Guoliang and asked him to take her Qiaoyan to Dongshi. At first, I was worried that her mother and daughter would come to pester Xiaolan again tomorrow.
I knew it was coming tonight.
It's really funny, her Xiaolan is not a human trafficker.
Aunt Zhou looked at Wu Shufen with a flattering smile on her face: "I heard that cousin Qiaohui is here, and she will bring Qiaoyan to show her cousin. I will also take Qiaoyan to Dongshi for my Qiaoyan to earn some money to spend.
I want to ask her about what I told you last time."