There were no members who came to sell goods in the afternoon. Everyone gathered in front of the brazier and sorted the dried mushrooms into categories: bigfoot mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, morels...
The three children of the Zhou family also came to help. Lin Lan saw that several children could tell which ones were bigfoot mushrooms and which ones were porcini mushrooms at once. She smiled and said, "I'm not as good as a few children."
Xu Hongjue said: "Cousin, when the children in the mountains can walk, they are taken up the mountain to pick up fungi by the older children. They know where the fungi are and go there early every year to pick them up."
Lin Lan said to Wu Shufang: "Aunt, with so many things, we have to borrow a dozen big sacks and hire a few mules to drag them out. We have two mules, please help us."
Wu Shufang smiled and said: "What's the trouble? Only the sack brigade has it. I'll ask your uncle to go there right away."
Her family collected more than a thousand kilograms of old pumpkins this time. When the boss delivers them, he will earn dozens of dollars. He can repay Xiaolan's money by making one more trip before the mountain is closed. With capital,
Next year I can pay back the money I owe to the brigade...
After a while, several households with mules called by Zhou Dashan arrived. The few people negotiated wages with Lin Lan and made an appointment to leave for Shilian early tomorrow morning.
Before dark, Zhou Xiangui came to Zhou Dashan's house and asked Lin Lan about dividing the fields into households.
Lin Lan told him all the policies mentioned by the working group that day, as long as they were memorized.
Zhou Dashan looked at Zhou Xiangui: "Uncle, when will Shishanling be divided into households?" After being divided into households, they can find mountain land to open up wasteland and plant what they want.
"Alas!" Zhou Xiangui sighed after hearing this: "When the members of the Lexing brigade pay public rations next year, and if the situation is good, the surrounding brigade will start to divide the fields into households, and it will probably be our turn for another two years."
Wu Shufang said: "I have survived so many years, just two years."
"That's right! At least we have hope, right?" Zhou Xiangui said to Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang, "People in the mountains are miserable! It's hard for young people to find wives. There are girls at home who would rather marry a disabled person outside than
I would like to marry in the mountains. You are smart and can help us find a way out in the future!"
His family is considered a well-off family in Shishanling, and his grandchildren are not easy to find wives for.
Lin Lan knew that in another twenty or thirty years, the deep mountains would also be the most backward places. Looking at his actual age of less than sixty, but looking like Zhou Xiangui in his seventies or eighties, he nodded cheerfully: "Grandpa Zhou, don't worry, we will pay attention to it."
."
Zhou Xiangui smiled and said, "Sorry to trouble you, I'll leave first since you guys are busy."
"Uncle, I'll see you off." Zhou Dashan sent him up the slope.
After dinner, Lin Lan and the others put some of the selected mountain products into sacks. There were more than ten sacks in total.
Early the next morning, Wu Shufang and Xu Hongjue got up and boiled eggs and fried pancakes for several people to eat on the way.
After dinner, Li Xiangyang and Lin Guoliang carried the sacks out of the hall and placed them on the eaves. The three men drove the mules. Everyone tied the sacks with ropes and hung them on the racks, ready to set off.
Wu Shufang then took out the dried hare and pheasant that she bought some time ago, put them in a bamboo basket, and asked Lin Lan to take them back for Lao Li to taste.
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang had no choice but to accept it.
Elder Wu Shufang took her grandson by the hand, sent Lin Lan and Zhou Shitou to the slope, and said to Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang: "Be careful on the road, and come to my aunt's house to play when you have time."
Li Xiangyang nodded cheerfully: "Okay, next year you and your uncle will come to Dongshi for a wedding banquet."
"Okay, we will definitely go." Wu Shufang and her husband agreed with a smile.
Lin Lan bid farewell to Wu Shufang and the others, and everyone walked towards the foot of the mountain together.
As soon as they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they saw Aunt Zhou and Zhou Qiaoyan, who was carrying a small backpack, standing at the foot of the mountain and looking at them with a smile.
As soon as Zhou Qiaoyan saw Li Xiangyang, her eyes fell on him.
Li Xiangyang gave her a cold look, took Lin Lan's hand and walked forward.
"Cousin Shitou, cousin Shitou," Aunt Zhou caught up with Lin Lan and said with a flattering smile, "Can you please take my Qiaoyan to Dongshi? You don't have to worry about her when you get to Dongshi. I have a distant relative in Dongshi.
When she arrives in the city, she will go find my relatives."
Lin Lan looked at her: "Where your daughter goes is her business and has nothing to do with me."
She felt that she might be too ignorant. Anyway, in her two lifetimes, this was the first time she had seen someone who could talk to herself like this.
Zhou Shitou caught up with her and looked at her with a frown: "Third Aunt, why have I never heard Third Uncle mention that your mother's family has relatives in Dongshi?" Third Uncle knew that Third Aunt was messing around like this, and he would probably crawl out of his grave with anger.
come out.
"I have relatives in Dongshi, so you can comfort yourself!" the three men looked at the mother and daughter with contempt and mocked.
Aunt Zhou ignored their cynicism and looked at Zhou Shitou: "Yes, please reassure your cousin. Qiaoyan won't have to worry about her when she gets there!"
Lin Guoliang shouted from the front: "Brother Shitou, ignore her, let's hurry up, otherwise we won't be able to get there even after dark."
Aunt Zhou grabbed Zhou Shitou and said, "If you don't take my Qiaoyan with you, I won't let you go."
Seeing this, Zhou Qiaoyan ran to Lin Lan, knelt down with a plop, and looked at Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang pitifully: "Cousin, please, please take me with you! I will remember your kindness all my life!"
I will repay you by being a cow or a horse in my next life."
Lin Lan laughed angrily and looked at her coldly: "You..."
"Xiaolan, let me talk to her!" Li Xiangyang interrupted Lin Lan, took a step forward, looked at Zhou Qiaoyan who was looking at him shyly with murderous eyes, and said softly: "As long as you dare to follow us, next year
Today is your memorial day."
Zhou Qiaoyan was so frightened that her face turned pale and she collapsed on the ground.
Aunt Zhou ran over after seeing her: "Qiaoyan, what did they do to you?"
"Mom, let's go." Zhou Qiaoyan stood up holding Aunt Zhou's hand, turned around and left.
Lin Guoliang watched the mother and daughter leave, and waved to Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang: "Let's go."
Li Xiangyang returned to Lin Lan, tied a scarf for her, held her with one hand and the mule with the other, and climbed up the mountain.
Everyone went around the winding mountain road, climbed to the top of the mountain, tied the mules to a tree, and fed the mules with the fodder they had brought.
Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang sat down on the big rock when they arrived to rest and eat the dry food they had brought.
Lin Guoliang looked at Li Xiangyang curiously: "Xiangyang, what did you say to that woman?"
Li Xiangyang smiled: "I didn't say anything, so I scared her."
Zhou Shitou looked at Lin Lan sheepishly: "After my third uncle left, my third aunt became more and more outrageous."
Lin Lan smiled and shook his head: "It's okay, every family has two such relatives."
After the people had filled their stomachs and the mules were full, everyone began to go down the mountain.
It was almost dark when the group walked down the mountain and walked outside Lin's house. Lin Lan took the lead in walking in.