Opening his eyes, Zhang Chi heard the sound of rustling in his ears. When he turned around, he found that the window was already blurry. The rustling was the sound of light rain hitting the glass of the RV.
The weather in the mountains is sometimes like a baby's face, changing at a moment's notice. It was clear that the stars were shining brightly last night, but this morning it started to rain lightly when I opened my eyes.
After getting dressed, Zhang Chi walked out of the RV and found Chiyanshan hiding in a small forest not far away. Also with Chiyanshan were a group of half-grown sheep.
Holding an umbrella, Zhang Chi came to the house and found that the workers had covered the roof with a rainproof cloth. A light rain like this would not have much impact. Once the roof was covered, there would be almost no rain in the house below.
Come in.
When I went to bed, these workers were still asleep, and when I got up, these people were already up and working. This shows that the evaluation of the hard work of the Chinese people is very pertinent.
After walking around the house, Zhang Chi found that most of the wooden squares on the wall had been filled with heat insulating agent. At this moment, some workers were sealing the panels on top, while others were wiring wiring in the empty areas.
After walking around for a while, Zhang Chi couldn't see how well they were doing their job, but looking at the neatly laid out wiring, you knew they were doing a good job. The wiring made them look comfortable and reflected their personality.
Work attitude.
There was no breakfast this morning, because Aunt Lu was already washing pots and dishes. It was obvious that the workers had already had breakfast.
Back to the RV, I simply made some cereal, filled my stomach and got ready to go out.
Before we reached the gate of the ranch, the light rain stopped and the sun showed its face.
Not long after leaving the house, Zhang Chi saw Lao Xu's pickup truck approaching. Zhang Chi moved the car to the outside.
Lao Xu also saw Zhang Chi. When the two cars were facing each other, he stopped the car and stuck out his head and asked, "Where are we going?"
"Invite someone to dinner tonight and go buy some things. By the way, do you have anything else to do tonight? If nothing happens, come over and be my guest," Zhang Chi said.
After hearing this, Lao Xu laughed and said: "That's no coincidence, I have something to do tonight."
"Then forget it," Zhang Chi said.
"Who did you invite?"
"A cowboy who helped me is a nice guy. He is leaving here soon, so I thought of treating him to a Chinese meal," Zhang Chi said.
Lao Xu said: "Oh, you want to recruit him?"
"Who can I recruit now? I can't afford to recruit anyone! I just want to have a simple meal and thank him for his help last time." Zhang Chi explained briefly.
Then he saw that Lao Xu's pickup truck was loaded with things and covered with a rainproof cloth, so he asked: "What are you pulling today?"
"Except for some kitchen appliances, the ones here in the United States are not good and cannot pump large amounts of oil. There are also pipelines. I will dig out the sewage tank tomorrow," Lao Xu replied.
"Oh, I understand. Then go ahead and get going. I'll leave first." Zhang Chi waved his hand and wanted to leave.
But Lao Xu said: "By the way, I brought you something small."
Zhang Chi asked strangely: "What?"
"There are a few fruit trees, but they don't exist here. They are all from China. There are two persimmon trees, an orange tree, and a jujube tree. Take a look."
As he spoke, Lao Xu bent down from the front passenger seat of the cab and took out a plastic bag with several seedlings inside.
Zhang Chi was a little confused, but he was interested in the gift, so he said, "Thanks, I'll see if I can catch some fish at noon."
Thinking that someone gave us a few seedlings, we might as well go and catch some fish at noon.
"Catch some fish for free?" Lao Xu asked.
Zhang Chi said: "How much money do you need? There is a river east of Folsom, which is full of fish. Foreigners don't eat these things. If we want to eat, we can just go and catch some. It doesn't cost any money."
The United States is overrun with Asian carp. The Asian carp they are talking about is not only the carp we call in our country, but also grass, grass carp, crucian carp, etc., all of which are collectively called Asian carp by Americans.
"Then I have to go and have a look. Wait for me. Forget it. If you're not in a hurry, you'd better go back with me. Then we can just drive one car. It's a waste of gas to drive two..." Lao Xu heard this
Here comes the spirit.
When Zhang Chi saw him, he also wanted to go, so he had no choice but to turn the car around.
Lao Xu threw his car into the pasture and asked the workers to unload the car. He got into Zhang Chi's car and followed Zhang Chi to buy groceries with a smile.
The nearest Chinese supermarket is not in Folsom, but in a small city nearby. It’s not that close and it takes an hour and a half to drive. However, this is not a big deal for people who are used to living in the West. The United States is known as
For a country that grows on a wheel, any distance that can be reached in one day is not too far in their eyes.
When he arrived at the Chinese supermarket, Zhang Chi started a large purchase, mostly various seasonings, as well as instant noodles, dried noodles and other things that are easy to preserve.
There are also all kinds of pickles and pickles. Let’s put it this way, the Chinese supermarkets here have all the things you can usually buy in domestic grocery stores.
After buying a large cart, Zhang Chi paid the bill and took Lao Xu to catch fish.
"Where are you going?"
Seeing Dahe disappear behind the car, Lao Xu looked at Zhang Chi with some confusion.
Zhang Chi said: "You are not allowed to get anything. How do we catch fish like this? Do we just use our hands?"
"What do you want to get?" Old Xu caught fish for the first time and didn't know what else he needed.
"First we have to have a small boat, and then we have to have a net. Just these two things are enough," Zhang Chi said.
After hearing this, Lao Xu asked: "Do you still need a boat?"
"if not?"
"Where can I rent this boat?"
"If you don't want to rent it, go to my uncle's house to borrow it, and you can just return it after you catch the fish." Zhang Chi explained to Lao Xu while driving.
When I arrived at the door of the uncle's restaurant, I saw the uncle carrying things out. As soon as I saw Zhang Chi, I knew that the uncle was going to deliver takeout.
"Uncle, hasn't Brother Xiao Wu come back yet?" Zhang Chi asked.
Zhang Youliang saw Zhang Chi coming, so he stopped and said, "Not yet. This kid doesn't know what he is doing. There is no certainty for such a big person."
After introducing Lao Xu to his uncle, Zhang Chi told him his purpose of coming.
"If you want the boat, go to your house and drag it yourself. The fishing stuff is in the tool room. Ask your aunt for the key. If I don't tell you, I will rush to deliver the food."
Zhang Youliang and Lao Xu were polite and then said to Zhang Chi.
Zhang Chi waited for his uncle to leave. He went into the house and spoke to his mother-in-law for a few words before he came out and drove to the small farm where his uncle and his mother-in-law lived.
Arriving at the gate of the farm, Lao Xu said: "Your uncle is living a good life. It's normal when you think about it. We've all heard about your uncle's restaurant over there. The business shouldn't be too good. It's normal to live in a place like this."
The small farm in front of him made Lao Xu feel bright. Although the place was not big, it was well managed. Green vines climbed on the white fence around the farm. The one-meter-high fence could not block people's sight. Just look up.
See what's going on on the farm.
There is a small straight cement road in the farm, with green trees on both sides of the road. At the end of the green trees and the road, a corner of a two-story American-style wooden building is exposed.
The rest of the land is a vegetable field, a regular square of land, with small ridges about two meters wide in the middle.
At this time, many plants in the fields were blooming, making the entire small farm look like a sea of colorful flowers, which was hard to see for a while.
There are bright flowers and green plants everywhere.
The place closest to the door is a shelf of carob beans. Now the purple carob flowers are in full bloom. You can imagine the joy when the shelves are full of beans.
"It's all hard-earned. My uncle has done a lot of work before, and he made his first money driving a truck. At that time, driving a truck made more money than now..." Zhang Chi said, opening the door and driving the car.
Went into the farm.
While Lao Xu listened with open ears to Zhang Chi's talk about his uncle's entrepreneurial history, he looked at the small farm with envy. Although the area was not large, the couple took care of it very carefully and kept it neat and clean, just like...
Old Xu's dream is like a farm.
As the car went in, the trees and field mats on both sides of the road slowly receded behind them, and the first thing that jumped out of sight was the lawn.
In front of the house is almost two acres of lawn. The green lawn is like a carpet spread in front of the house. The grass is obviously carefully trimmed and only reaches the top of the feet. Even if he doesn't step on it, Lao Xu can imagine it.
The soft feeling when your feet step on it.
Not to mention the house, it is a standard American country style, with two floors, gray tiles and blue walls, and a large porch shelf at the door. The west shelf extends about twenty square meters more than elsewhere, and there is a patio table on it.
There are four chairs beside the table.
There was a teapot and some supplies on the table. It looked like it was used frequently and was kept clean.
There are several hanging plants hanging under the corridor, white flower pots and green hanging plants, giving people a quiet and natural feeling.
As a construction worker, Lao Xu knew at a glance what type of house it was, and even knew how many toilets and rooms there were.
"Is your uncle's place worth a lot of money?" Lao Xu asked with envy.
Zhang Chi said: "It was ordinary when I bought it, and the price is not expensive now, but it is no longer easy to buy such well-kept land. For my uncle, this house is more than just the land. It took several years to build it."
The hard work required to take care of this place cannot be measured by money."
As he spoke, Zhang Chi drove around the house and came to the back of the house.
There is still a lawn behind the house, which is larger than the lawn in the front yard. There are some slides and other things on it, and there is also a millet basketball court. The place is not big, about thirty or forty square meters, with a simple basket rack.
To the west of the lawn is a separate small bungalow. The area is not small, about more than 200 square meters. You can tell at a glance that it is a tool room. Most American families have this kind of thing. The only difference is the size.
Zhang Chi parked the car at the door, took out the key and opened the rolling shutter door. With the sound of the door slamming, the scene inside the warehouse was revealed.
There is a small boat parked on the left hand side near the door. The boat is really only about three or four meters long, and it doesn’t even have an awning. The price of such a small boat is not high here in the United States. As long as it is close to the water, almost everyone with conditions can buy it.
Many families will prepare a boat. When they have time, they will take the family to go fishing together, or just go camping and play in the water.
There is a tool rack on the wall, with hundreds of tools scattered everywhere, including all kinds of pliers and saws.
Lao Xu also found a table saw in the corner.
"Your uncle has fully integrated into American life."
Lao Xu looked at the tool library and couldn't help but sigh.
"Okay, don't worry about my uncle. Our task now is to hook up the boat and then go catch fish. We will think about other things later."
Zhang Chi walked to the boat trailer and said to the confused old Xu.
It would be much easier if there were two people. Lao Xu drove, and Zhang Chi held the hanger. Waiting for Lao Xu to back the car into position, he fastened the hook to the hook at the rear of his car, and then connected the connector like this
As soon as I connected it, I asked Lao Xu to try it to see if the trailer's taillight came on.