After coming out of Su Ying's house, Zhang An drove all the way towards Chen Ze's house.
Halfway through the road, I remembered that their old man was here.
On this New Year's Day, it's not a good idea to suddenly come to your door without bringing anything with you.
I originally wanted to go to the store to buy some gifts to take with me, but then I thought that Chen Ze's home didn't lack such ordinary things.
So Zhang An also gave up the idea of buying gifts and planned to bring some souvenirs from the space.
Although their old man likes to eat fish with fine scales, he no longer just likes fish with fine scales.
To be precise, I like the fish raised in Zhang An’s space, regardless of what kind of fish they are.
Especially the mandarin fish that was just raised some time ago. Chen Ze happened to have never brought it home, so Zhang An prepared some of it this time.
I found a shop on the roadside, bought a big bucket, fished some fish out of the space and put them there.
But when Zhang An came to Chen Ze's house, he found that Chen Ze was alone at home.
The rest of their family went out with the old man.
So Zhang An also relaxed a lot. After all, even if he is a friend, he cannot avoid being polite when greeting their family members.
"Why did you come to the city today?"
Seeing that Zhang An, who usually never left the door, came to the county town today, Chen Ze felt that the sun should be rising from the west today.
"I came to do something. Now that it's done, I'll come over and replace the car."
Zhang An didn't think about saying anything more, he just fooled him with a few words.
Then he took out the things he had just grabbed from the trunk and handed them to Chen Ze.
"Here, if you come to visit us during the Chinese New Year, please treat it as a gift for your old man."
Chen Ze didn't refuse and took it all in with a smile.
"Then I would like to thank you first. You have raised mandarin fish in your fish pond. This fish is really good."
Chen Ze looked at the mandarin fish in the bucket and was very happy.
This mandarin fish is much better than the other fish in Zhang An's family, mainly because there are not many spines, and the other ones are basically just one main spine in the center of the body.
It is easy to handle and convenient to eat, and many people like it.
"Hmm, I just came out of the pond. Bring some here for Boss Chen to try."
After sitting at Chen Ze's house for a while, Zhang An stood up and left.
Before leaving, Chen Ze put a bunch of cigarettes and alcohol in Zhang An's car.
It doesn't come with any health care products. Those packaged in the market can't compare with those from Zhang An's family.
On the way back, Zhang An couldn't help but smile.
When I went into the city this time, I felt like I was following the goods. There were several boxes of Maotai in the car.
...
The lively atmosphere in Changqing Village lasted from the first day to the seventh day of the new year.
After the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, not many people come to the small mountain village.
Every day a few people come here sporadically.
So the small mountain village has returned to its former tranquility, and everyone has begun to settle into their own rhythm of life.
Of course, that group of fishing friends does not count.
As long as it's not raining or snowing.
Some of them will come to the river to report.
Especially the big old king herring that Zhang An caught a few days ago has attracted many enthusiasts who specialize in fishing for big fish in the river.
Zhang An had never noticed before that there were so many fishing guys in the area near Hongyan Town.
Originally, Zhang An thought that there would only be a few dozen people at most.
But I didn’t expect that from the beginning of the new year to now, there would be not many people by the river at all.
On the contrary, there are many new faces every day that I have never seen before.
But think about it, so many fishing guys in later generations definitely didn’t appear out of thin air all at once.
It’s not surprising that there are so many people who love wild fishing now.
"Anzi, don't you need the big black horse today? We plan to plow the land in Erdaoyan."
After dinner in the morning, my second uncle and my third uncle came to pick up the horses.
"Dahei has been idle all the time. Why don't he wait until the fifteenth day before plowing again? It's only the first few days of the new year and the new year has not even finished yet."
Zhang An took his two uncles to fetch a rake and lead a horse.
"We have nothing to do these days, and we have nothing to do, so we went to plow those acres of land. Then it will be convenient to plant trees directly."
Although everyone says that it is rare to have free time during the Chinese New Year, you should have a good rest.
But after resting for a few more days, everyone couldn't sit still and started looking for things to do.
Because in their hearts, they need to eat when they are free.
If they go to work every day, at least they still have something to do, but if they have no time to eat at all, they will still feel flustered.
"How about I go and help too."
Zhang thought he was bored at home, so he might as well go to the fields to do some activities.
"There are only a few acres of land there. Uncle You and I can finish it in one go. What will we do if you go?"
Zhang An originally planned to help, but Uncle Zhang would never agree.
With just a few acres of land, the two brothers had almost finished changing plows.
Zhang An left, but they still had to watch from the side.
He looked at his second and third uncles, one leading the horse and the other carrying the plow.
It was as if they were afraid that Zhang An would have to go with them, which made Zhang An dumbfounded.
"Dad, Mom, I want to use the land at the foot of the slope to plant some watermelons and strawberries."
Seeing his two uncles looking for work, Zhang An didn't want to be too idle.
So he remembered that there were still more than thirty acres of open space in the nearby nest.
He had the idea of growing melons and strawberries last year, but he never mentioned it.
"That's right, the land on the left and right is also free."
Zhang Jianguo doesn't care what he grows, as long as it doesn't go unused.
After the land was reserved last year, the land has been vacant.
He planned to find time in the next few days to ask Zhang An what his plans were for leaving that land.
After all, it all costs money. For more than 30 acres of land, it costs hundreds of dollars a year.
Now that he has heard that his son has plans, he will definitely support it.
"Xiao An, you can plant melons, but if you plant those red bumps, I'm afraid you won't be able to sell them."
Wang Fang agrees with growing watermelons, but if she grows red bumps, she starts to worry that she won't be able to sell them.
Because in the past two years, there were people selling strawberries in the town, but when they went to the market, they found that basically no one was interested in the strawberries sold on the street.
So Zhang An said she wanted to grow strawberries, but she was worried that she wouldn't be able to sell them in the future.
"Mom, strawberries are high-end fruits. There must be very few people in our town who are willing to buy them. This thing has to be sold outside the county."
According to the current economic situation in Hongyan Town, people are not willing to buy strawberries.
Just like the cherries that Zhang An sold, most people were still willing to buy half a catty because they were greedy.
But it's different in the county. Those people earn more and are willing to spend more.
"And I don't plan to plant much, just a few acres of land. If no one buys it, I can only sell it in the county for a few days."
After listening to Zhang An's explanation, Wang Fang didn't have so many worries.
Anyway, there was nothing to do in the afternoon, so Zhang Jianguo found the hoe and the family went to shovel grass in the nest.
It's a cloudy day today. Although the sun is not shining in the sky, it doesn't look gloomy either.
The weather is neither cold nor hot, just perfect for working in the fields.
It happened that no one came to the door today, so the family went to the nest to weed with the door closed.
The nest is not far from Zhang An's home, just a few minutes walk.
Because when Zhang An was digging fish ponds, Li Hongbin had people build ditches.
So now you can walk directly from Goubang to the nest.
Arriving at the nest, Zhang An looked at the land in front of him, dumbfounded.
Several grandfathers and old ladies were busy weeding in the fields, even the weeds on the ridges were shoveled clean.
"It's the same for you old people. If you have time, just sit at home. Why do you think of shoveling the ground?"
"Oh, we are also idle. We just finished chopping those cabbages recently, so we just wanted to shovel the vegetable roots on the ground so as not to cause any trouble to you."
Several elderly people saw Zhang An's family shoveling the ground with hoes, and they all said hello to them.
This land has been leased to Zhang An by the village, and everyone in the village knows it.
And these old ladies came to shovel the land, not with the intention of occupying this place and continuing to plant.
The thing is like this, last year when this land was not contracted to Zhang An.
Several families nearby have opened a field here to grow some vegetables. Not only can they eat some at home, but they can also cut back the excess to feed the pigs.
Because this land belonged to the village and was left uncultivated, I didn't say anything.
But the old man went to say hello when they were planting.
They are allowed to grow vegetables here, but the land does not belong to their family.
Don't let them keep planting until they end up making trouble in the village. It won't be easy to say that this land is their own vegetable plot.
In the end, Zhang An took over the contract, and the old man even came to say hello.
He said that he wanted to cut down his own vegetables and free up the land, so as not to cause trouble to Zhang An, who had spent the money.
For this matter, these villagers who grew vegetables also came to Zhang An to tell them.
Because the vegetables grown in the ground have just grown, if Zhang An wants to plant something soon, he can just dig them up.
After all, before the Chinese New Year, everyone had paid money to go home to celebrate the New Year, so there was no need to act foolishly now.
But Zhang An thought at that time that he had no plans, and the folks in his hometown were so big that he wanted them to finish planting this season with peace of mind.
Especially when I saw the green peas and Chinese cabbage growing in the field, they were quite pleasing to the eye.
In the past few days, they had finished harvesting the cabbage in the field, and they wanted to dig up the vegetable roots.
I don't want to leave any trouble for Zhang An's family.
But in fact, it doesn't matter whether they dig or not. They don't grow vegetables, so Zhang An has to come and cut down the old thorn forest.
Finally, Zhang An gave some advice, and several old men and women all said that they should just go out to stretch their muscles.
They had to shovel all the land before calling it a day, so Zhang An let them do it.
I have to say that it is quite difficult to weed a place like this that has been deserted for many years.
Fire can't be set, and Zhang An is unwilling to buy herbicides.
The place where people often grow vegetables is fine, but this place that has been neglected all year round is like the depths of a jungle.
There are prickly pears and wild thorn vines like Salvador's Grain growing everywhere.
There are also thatches as tall as a person's height everywhere.
It really takes a lot of effort to clean this place up.
Zhang Jianguo held a sickle in front and chopped off these things first.
Behind them, Zhang An and his mother started digging the ground with hoes.
Especially for plants like prickly pear, it takes some effort to dig out the roots from the soil.
After a long time, the family managed to cultivate less than an acre of land.
It seems that the family will have to work on this land for a long time if they don't hire someone.
"Mom, why don't our family hire some people to help shovel the ground? We'll have to do this as a family until the end of the year of the monkey."
The family is also quite tired from working today, and this large land spans dozens of acres.
This time Zhang An asked for someone to shovel the ground, but Wang Fang did not refuse.
"But the fifteenth day has not passed in these two days. If I come to find someone to make a living, will anyone be willing?"
Many people in rural areas only go to work in the fields after the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
So Wang Fang felt that it was not a good idea to find someone during the Chinese New Year.
"Mom, this is not a problem at all. We paid for the work, and many people are vying to come. If it weren't for the fear of too many people coming, I would have run to my uncle and asked him to help shout with the loudspeaker."
Wang Fang thought the same thing, thinking that people in the village were idle, and since they had to pay for their own work, they were not that particular about it.
"Xiao An, his dad, have you seen the little tiger this year? I feel like I haven't seen him for a long time."
When I was having dinner in the evening, I looked at Xiaohu who had just come back from the door.
Wang Fang seemed to suddenly remember something.
"When I feed them these days, I can't find the tiger cubs."
"It's true that I haven't seen the tiger cub much in this period of time, but when it gets dark at night, it comes back again."
Zhang Jianguo thought for a while, and Xiaohu was indeed nowhere to be found during the daytime recently.
"It's nothing. The little tiger is used to running into the mountains. Just let it go."
Zhang An doesn't care at that time, as long as this guy can still remember the way home after running away.
Xiaohu has grown up in the mountains and forests since he was a child. It is normal for him to run out all the time.
"Despite saying this, I still feel something is wrong."
Wang Fang looked at the grass blades and mud all over Xiaohu's body and frowned.
"I woke up early for several days and saw the tiger cub sneaking out of the fence. He stayed there all day and didn't come back until evening. He didn't even eat at home."
Thinking that the dog she had raised by herself would not eat at home, Wang Fang was worried that it would be hungry.
"I remembered what you said. There was a period of time last year when it was like this, running out quietly and then coming back late at night."
When Zhang Jianguo heard what his mother said, he remembered what happened last year.
As Wang Fang and Zhang Jianguo talked, it seemed like the two of them were reporting Xiaohu.
Zhang An thought it was nothing at first, but now the more he listened, the more he felt that Xiaohu was a little sneaky.
Zhang An really didn't pay much attention to it usually, he just let it play by itself.
But why on earth was it hidden from his family?
At this moment, Zhang An saw the little tiger who had come back to lie down in his nest. This guy was now sleeping soundly in his nest.
The earth-shattering snoring made both Dahu and Erhu so noisy that they didn't want to lie down in the kennel.
It can be seen that this guy is very tired, he fell asleep like this only a few minutes after coming back.
"Mom, what time does it usually sneak out?"
Zhang An thought for a while and felt that he should pay more attention to Xiaohu.
"Usually around six o'clock, it goes out the door."
Wang Fang thought for a while and finally gave Zhang An some time.
"Yeah, I understand. I'll get up early tomorrow to see what medicines they are selling in this gourd recently."
After eating, Zhang An sat by himself in the yard and watched the little tiger.
Wang Fang went to find someone to shovel the ground.