Chapter 300 The Ways of Repaying Gratitude for Rural Women
After the two arrived at Beautiful Valley, they first went to the winery. The winery was built at the foot of the West Mountain. There is clear and sweet mountain spring water here, and the soju couldn't be better.
There is an aromatic aroma of alcohol floating in the air from a long distance away. It contains the aroma of sorghum, fermented corn, and the aroma of hot rice husks. The aroma of the steaming alcohol is very nice.
Zhou Xiaomei's father is in the wine cellar behind the winery.
There are four bungalows in a row, the first one on the left is a mixing room, and the other three are cellars. The cellar is three feet into the ground, a large black wine jar is buried in the earth, and the wine jar cover covered with red silk is exposed.
It looks like rows of big red round futons.
Seeing his daughter coming, Mr. Zhou stopped what he was doing and smiled with a smile on his face.
"Dad, your house has become a pharmacy." Zhou Xiaomei said, looking at the row of medicine shelves on the north wall of the house.
"They are all used for bartending." Mr. Zhou said.
"The smell is quite good, it smells like wine and medicine." Zhou Xiaomei said.
"Uncle, isn't your room cold?" Wang Shulan couldn't help but ask when she saw that there was no stove or kang in the room.
"If it's not cold, I'll come over while I prepare the medicine and mix the wine. Besides, the wine cellar shouldn't be too hot," the old man said.
"Dad, are you drinking too much now?" Zhou Xiaomei asked.
"It's not bad, it's enough for cooking. What's in the cellar is for our own use. What's left in the wine cans is sold out, and everyone rushes to buy it. It's thirty-one kilograms." The old man said.
"Is this expensive?" Zhou Xiaomei asked in surprise.
"Is this expensive? My head is burning."
"Oh——" Zhou Xiaomei nodded, "I thought it was all redeemed."
"Our wine is not exchanged, but the gifts are sold for 60 yuan, so people are rushing to buy them."
While talking, the old man opened the door of the wine cellar. Zhou Xiaomei and Wang Shulan visited the entire wine cellar, and then the old man led them back to the cabin where they lived.
There are three rooms inside and outside the hut. In the middle is the outhouse, where the pots and pans are set. The east room is where the old man lives. It is next to the fire bed in the north and has windows on the south wall. The room is complete with tables, chairs and benches, and a TV.
The kang is sizzling hot and the cabin is warm.
Zhou Xiaomei entered the room and put her slippers on the kang head, calling Wang Shulan to come up too. Wang Shulan hesitated a little.
"The kang head is warm." Mr. Zhou said.
Wang Shulan took off her shoes and got on the kang. Zhou Xiaomei gave her a cotton mat and said with a smile: "It will save your butt."
Wang Shulan sat the cotton mat under her buttocks. After a while, the heat of the kang came up, and it was warm and comfortable under her buttocks, making her want to lie down and take a nap.
Zhou Xiaomei half-leaned on her father's luggage roll and said, "Dad, no wonder you don't want to go back. This place is so nice, sleeping on the kang is comfortable."
"Is the light comfortable? This place is so bright and bright. There are mountains right outside. The scenery is good and the air is good. There are many people chatting. The people in the winery are all from home. I can understand everything I say without any effort." The old man said.
.
"Do you eat with them every day?" Zhou Xiaomei asked.
"Well, let's eat together. We have good food, and Yingzi's mother cooks it. In the past two days, many people have killed New Year pigs, stewed big bones with sauerkraut, pig intestines, and blood stew. We can eat different things. There is a pot in the outer room.
I'm still eating sticky bean buns. Yingzi's mother steamed them herself and brought over twenty to me," the old man said.
"Really? I'll eat two in a while." Zhou Xiaomei said happily.
"Does Wanjun know you are coming?" the old man asked.
"I know. I called him when I came here. He said he would go to town for a meeting and would be back at noon," Zhou Xiaomei said.
"Going back today?" the old man asked.
"If you don't go back, I will stay here for two days and stay with you."
"Well, let's stay for two days. It's a lively night. In the courtyard (farmhouse) there are people dancing yangko, walking on stilts, and singing duets."
"Are you still singing duet?" Wang Shulan asked in surprise.
"Sing. Just for the sake of singing, the two turned small and built a sunroom. There was a stage and everything in it. The floor was resurfaced and installed with floor heating. It wasn't cold at all, and I was still sweating. There were many people watching, from other villages.
Come by car." The old man said.
"Really, how lively it is?" Zhou Xiaomei was a little surprised.
"lively--"
"Uncle, how is my house now?" Wang Shulan asked the small courtyard she bought. She also has a family here.
"Your house is quite nice. Yingzi's mother has tidied it up neatly. During the winter, she goes to burn the kang every now and then and cleans up the house. It's just like living in it," the old man said.
"Thank you, Yingzi's mother." Wang Shulan said.
"I thank you." The old man lit up a cigarette, took a puff and said, "You help my children go to school, I will remember it. Now her family can also do it. Yingzi's father is doing the watch over there in the courtyard, and Yingzi's mother is doing it."
From cooking in the winery, the two of them earn more than 3,000 yuan a month, which is enough for them."
"How is the ski resort?" Zhou Xiaomei asked.
"Okay, there are so many people, so we can hang out all day long. After we play, we eat, and after we eat, we stay. The houses are all in mud houses with a fire kang, and the people in the city are fresh. They can stay for two or three days, and some even provide a monthly fee."
The old man said with a smile.
"Are there those houses?" Wang Shulan asked.
"Compounds don't have those kind of things. Isn't this a rural area? People who can afford it will decorate empty houses and make them look like houses in a compound, and they will also attract people. The people who live there will eat whatever they want, just spend money."
." said the old man.
"It's really good." Wang Shulan said.
"Aren't you going to steal the farmhouse business?" Zhou Xiaomei asked.
"What are you trying to rob for? There are so many people here that you can't live in them, so you have to give people a place to live, right? Besides, ski resorts make more money when there are more people. I saw that you can make money selling candied haws, and it's 180 a day."
The old man said.
It seems that the business opportunities in Beautiful Valley are endless.
At noon, when Wan Jun came back from the meeting, Yingzi's mother specially cooked two more dishes. Wang Shulan, Zhou Xiaomei, the old man and Wan Jun had a hearty and delicious farm meal on the old man's kang.
After dinner, Wang Shulan and Zhou Xiaomei came out of the old man's hut, and Wan Jun led them to the foot of the mountain. The house Wang Shulan bought was there, and she and Zhou Xiaomei stayed there at night.
Walking on the newly built gravel road, the wind from the mountain pass has become gentle after noon. Although it is cool, it blows on my face, but it is smooth and soothing.
From time to time, people wearing ski clothes and carrying skis passed by, all returning from skiing at the ski resort. There were adults, children, and young couples, talking and laughing as they walked forward.
In front, up close, there are two rows of well-proportioned small courtyard houses, distributed peacefully and harmoniously at the foot of the mountain. The snow on the top of the mountain and on the roof gives people not the cold, but the warmth of home.
Smoke rose from the chimneys of several houses, and the air was filled with the smoke of firewood.
Wang Shulan's small courtyard is the second house on the east side. Pushing the door open, you can see hot air coming out of the skylight of the outhouse in the middle of the three houses, and smoke coming from the chimney.
Yingzi's mother was burning the kang, and the lid of the pot was closed. Obviously something was hot in the pot.
Seeing Wang Shulan and Zhou Xiaomei enter the house, this simple rural woman stood up hurriedly, pinched her apron with her hands, her face was slightly red, and she said awkwardly: "If you two don't leave today, come over and burn the kang to warm the house."
I've cleaned up the house, and the floors and covers are all new - the pig intestines and sauerkraut are hot in the pot. I went home and stewed a chicken and put it in the pot for you two to eat at night."
Listening to her words and watching, Wang Shulan and Zhou Xiaomei's noses felt sore.
This is a simple way for a rural woman to express gratitude and repay her kindness to her benefactor. It is unpretentious and real. (To be continued)