sbdcsierra Chapter 2017 Brother Zhao Jun, We're Rich Now!
Chapter 2017 Brother Zhao Jun, We're Rich Now!
Chapter 2017 Zhao Jun: Brother, we're rich now!
Seeing Chu Anmin looking at the group of people from Xishantun, Li Dazhi, fearing he would be exposed, quickly stepped forward to greet Chu Anmin.
"Jianjun's here too?" Then, Chu Anmin saw Zhou Jianjun: "Your dad didn't come?"
“No, Director Chu, my father didn’t come.” After Zhou Jianjun finished speaking, Chu Anmin said to the middle-aged man next to him who was nearly fifty years old, “Director Sun, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Li Dazhi, the forestry manager of Yong’an Forest Farm. This is Comrade Zhou Jianjun, the logistics team leader, and this is…”
When it came to introducing Zhao Youcai, Chu Anmin hesitated.
Chu Anmin instinctively wanted to say, "This is Zhao Jun's father." But then he thought, "I haven't introduced Zhao Jun yet, how can I mention his father first?"
However, it's not right to introduce Zhao Jun first and then Zhao Youcai.
However, Chu Anmin reacted quickly, pausing briefly before continuing, "This is Youcai, my good brother."
Chu Anmin had worked in the Forestry Bureau for many years, but he hadn't made many friends with anyone. The secretaries and directors of the various forest farms rarely received a smile from him, so his address of "good brother" was quite significant.
Finally, when it came to introducing Zhao Jun, Chu Anmin smiled broadly and said, "This is the Zhao Jun I told you about yesterday."
"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Sun Shaoqing looked at Zhao Jun with a bit more curiosity and reached out to Zhao Jun, saying, "Young man, you're the one who's on TV and in the newspapers. Wow, you look so energetic."
That's true. Zhao Jun has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he's dressed decently, but he's gotten a bit tanned from running around every day.
At this moment, Zhao Jun bowed slightly, grasped Sun Shaoqing's hand, and greeted him with a smile, calling him "Leader."
Seeing that the two had let go of each other's hands, Chu Anmin introduced Sun Shaoqing to Zhao Jun and the others according to the proper etiquette of respecting the superiors first: "This is my former leader, Director Sun of our Shanhe Forestry Bureau. He has now been transferred to Songhuajiang Forestry Bureau to take charge of the work."
Zhao Jun was taken aback upon hearing this. The Songhua River Forestry Bureau was the superior of the Shanhe Forestry Bureau, so this Director Sun must be someone of considerable influence.
At this moment, the kitchen started bringing out hot dishes. Several waiters carried large platters upstairs, while Zhao Youcai and his group stood by the stairs.
"Brother Chu, Director Sun, let's go upstairs." Zhao Youcai glanced over there, then quickly said to Chu Anmin and the others, "What a coincidence that we've run into each other, let's sit down and have something to eat together."
"Since you're wealthy, then we won't stand on ceremony." Chu Anmin really didn't stand on ceremony, mainly because he knew there was no need to. Just now, Chu Xiaoxue was standing upstairs shouting, "My grandma and I are here," so why should he be polite?
"Brother Chu, Director Sun, please come upstairs!" Zhao Youcai gestured, then called out to the kitchen, "Chef Lin!"
"Hey!" Hearing Zhao Youcai's call, Lin Dongxu hurriedly came out from the kitchen and asked, "What's wrong, Chef Zhao? What do you need?"
“Um…” Zhao Youcai lowered his voice slightly, but Chu Anmin and Sun Shaoqing could hear him clearly: “I see that Songren’s braised bear paw hasn’t been served yet. You should quickly divide it into six portions. The leaders have come, so we must treat them well.”
"Alright, Chef Zhao, I'll hurry over and distribute the food before they run out of food." Lin Dongxu said this and rushed to the kitchen.
As the group walked up the stairs, Chu Anmin said in surprise, "Ruyi hasn't changed chefs, has she? Why are they researching new dishes? They even have braised bear paw with pine nuts? They used to just braise it in soy sauce."
"Haha, Brother Chu." Zhao Youcai laughed upon hearing this and said, "I taught them!"
"Huh?" Chu Anmin looked at Zhao Youcai in surprise and said, "Youcai, why are you teaching people how to cook when you go to a restaurant?"
Sun Shaoqing also looked at Zhao Youcai with surprise. Going to a restaurant in Northeast China and then going to the kitchen to teach people how to cook—isn't that just causing trouble?
"Haha..." Zhao Youcai laughed again and said, "Brother Chu, the bear paws and pine nuts are all things I brought from home!"
"Oh my goodness!" Chu Anmin exclaimed in shock, "You even brought vegetables?"
"What can we do if we don't bring anything?" Zhao Youcai said helplessly, "They don't have anything here."
After saying this, Zhao Youcai added, "I got the bracken and cucumber from home."
As soon as Zhao Youcai finished speaking, the group had already reached the second floor.
The first thing Chu Anmin saw when he entered the private room was his mother, who was happily gnawing on a rabbit leg.
Chu Anmin's expression darkened slightly. This scene reminded him of the time when Old Madam Chu ate four rounds of food at Zhao Jun's wedding banquet.
"Old Chu!" Upon seeing Chu Anmin, Zhao Weipeng stood up with a smile to greet him.
"Oh!" Chu Anmin was also very happy to see his old comrade-in-arms. After introducing Sun Shaoqing to Zhao Weipeng, Chu Anmin, Sun Shaoqing and Zhao Youcai sat at one table, while Liu Hongmei and Sun Shaoqing's wife were invited by Wang Meilan to the women's table.
There were now eight dishes on the table. In addition to the four cold dishes from before, braised deer tendon, stir-fried pork, and stir-fried cucumber were served.
Just as Zhao Youcai poured the wine, another dish of braised wild pheasant with mushrooms and braised bear paw with pine nuts was served.
"This bear paw is so well made!" came the exclamation of Grandma Chu from the next table.
Braised bear paw with pine nuts is a dish where the pine nuts are the finishing touch; their subtle pine aroma perfectly balances the rich, oily texture of the bear paw.
There were still guests in the east room, so Zhao Jun didn't stay there long. Anyway, he had Zhao Youcai and the others with him, so there was nothing to do.
The waiter continued serving dishes, first a medley of mountain delicacies, then two soups: Imperial Flying Dragon Hot Pot and Rock Sugar Tremella and Snow Frog Soup.
Sun Shaoqing had seen the world, but even he was a little stunned when he saw this table of food: Is the standard of living in the forest area this high these days?
Looking again at the two empty Wuliangye bottles, and the Zhonghua cigarettes next to everyone's plates and bowls, Sun Shaoqing fell silent.
So it turns out I didn't go to the countryside, but came out to broaden my horizons?
This is no exaggeration; many of the dishes on the table were ones Sun Shaoqing had never seen before. Moreover, these dishes weren't just random stews or stir-fries.
It might be a random stew or stir-fry, but the dishes on the table are all delicious and visually appealing.
Especially those two soups, which Sun Shaoqing had only heard of before, were famous dishes in the mountain delicacies banquet.
The red bean paste jelly and the three-delicacy pastry box that followed were exquisitely presented, one a dessert and the other a main dish. The key point is that Sun Shaoqing had never heard of or seen them before.
Sun Shaoqing wasn't one to put on airs. Faced with good wine and food, and the simple and warm hospitality of his fellow diners, Sun Shaoqing and Chu Anmin started drinking with Zhao Youcai and the others.
Half an hour later, the guests in the next room had all eaten and drunk their fill.
Li Baoyu and the others hadn't finished drinking in the next room yet, but Zhao Jun was still calling them downstairs to drive the guests back to the guesthouse.
Upon arriving at the guesthouse, Zhao Jun and his companions dragged the bags containing toiletries inside. Guests going upstairs then collected their own towels, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
After returning from the guesthouse, several cars were parked again in front of the hotel.
As soon as Zhao Jun got out of the car, he was surrounded by Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Zhao Jinhui.
"Erbao, come inside." Xie Chenchong waved to Liu Erbao, who was helping to drive.
After Liu Erbao left, Xie Chen asked Zhao Jun with anticipation, "Brother Jun, how much money did we make in total this time?"
Today, the Zhao family held a ginseng king conference. How much money they made is still only known to Zhao Jun.
Li Baoyu and the others were itching with curiosity. They just hadn't had the chance before, but now that they did, they had to find some time to ask.
Zhao Jun smiled upon hearing this, then held up one finger and said, "About that number, right?"
“This is…” Li Baoyu and the other two stared wide-eyed at Zhao Jun. Li Baoyu spoke tentatively, “One…one million? No…that can’t be.”
When Li Baoyu heard the number one million, he felt it was too little. But if he gestured "one" and then added another million, it would be ten million.
Ten million—let alone these days, even thirty or forty years from now, that's no small sum.
At this moment, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Zhao Jinhui were all secretly excited, yet none of them dared to guess.
"Hahaha..." Seeing the three of them like this, Zhao Jun laughed and patted Xie Chen and Zhao Jinhui on the shoulders. Then he stepped forward and gently put his arm around Li Baoyu, saying, "Brother, we're rich now."
At this moment, Zhao Jun recalled his past life. When he returned to his hometown in destitution, Li Baoyu, who was fifty-two years old, was still carrying bricks on a construction site.
Just before the Chinese New Year, Li Baoyu returned to the Yong'an Forest Area. But his first stop after getting off the bus was not home, but the Zhou family's house in Yongsheng Village.
Because Zhao Jun was at Zhou's house at the time.
The two brothers were overwhelmed with mixed feelings when they met.
However, Li Baoyu dared not linger, and hurriedly handed Zhao Jun sixty-eight coins before leaving.
What could you buy with 68 yuan in 2018? But Li Baoyu had food and lodging provided on the construction site, and he had to save all his wages to go home and pay his debts.
The only place he could save money was on his usual cigarettes, as well as the travel expenses and meals on his way back.
Li Baoyu returned home normally, traveling from Hebei to Harbin by hard-seat train, a journey that took nineteen hours.
This time, Li Baoyu chose the slowest green train, and sat for a full twenty-two hours, from 11 a.m. the day before until 9 a.m. the next morning.
The extra three-hour bus ride saved him 28.5 yuan, and during the journey, Li Baoyu only ate six steamed buns and two packets of pickled vegetables.
That's because back then, short videos hadn't reached the point where anything could be filmed and posted, otherwise Li Baoyu would have become a trending topic!
Thinking back to those days, Zhao Juncai said to Li Baoyu, "Brother, we're rich now."
Jie Chen and Zhao Jinhui were both completely baffled by Zhao Jun's words. Even if they didn't hold this ginseng king's meeting, these people weren't short of money.
Although Li Baoyu couldn't understand what Zhao Jun was saying, he sensed the intertwined bitterness and joy in Zhao Jun's words.
"Hey? Baoyu?" Xie Chen heard Li Baoyu sniffing and went forward to see what was going on, but was pushed over by Li Baoyu.
"Alright, you guys go up now." Zhao Jun said to the three of them, "You haven't finished eating yet, have you? Don't rush, eat and drink as you please. From now on, our lives will get better and better, and we'll have everything we want."
"Brother Jun, what about you?" Jie Chen asked. Zhao Jun pointed and said, "I saw that the villagers in Xishan Village have finished eating. I'll drive the Jiefang truck back to them."
As Zhao Jun walked towards the door, he said, "They've all had a long day, let them go back to the guesthouse and rest."
After saying this, Zhao Jun instructed the three of them, "Don't tell Xiao Yang how much it costs yet."
Hearing Zhao Jun's words, Li Baoyu and the other two smiled knowingly.
Zhao Jun entered the room and walked around. Seeing that the people of Xishantun had indeed finished eating, he personally drove his large Jiefang truck to take them to another guesthouse.
After distributing the four-piece bedding set and telling them to go upstairs and get some rest, Zhao Jun drove his Jiefang truck back to the restaurant. Just as he parked, he ran into Liang Dahai and the supermarket staff who were coming out.
These people didn't live in the same place, so Zhao Jun couldn't escort them.
Zhao Jun went upstairs, where there were still three tables occupied.
Zhao Youcai and Chu Anmin were still drinking at their table; they hadn't finished. Wang Meilan and a group of women were chatting at another table.
Zhao Jun glanced at the door but didn't go in. Instead, he went into the private room on the west side.
The remaining people in this private room were all young people from their own family: Ma Sheng, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, Zhao Jinhui, Li Ruhai, and Ma Yang.
When Zhao Jun came in, Zhao Jinhui was speaking fluently and eloquently in vernacular Chinese.
"I used to ask my dad to buy me a 213, and he scolded me." Zhao Jinhui said, mimicking Zhao Weipeng's tone, "I haven't even driven a 213 yet, what kind of 213 are you driving?"
Hearing this, Li Baoyu and Xie Chen smiled. Li Baoyu raised his cup and clinked it with Ma Sheng's, then turned to Xie Chen and Zhao Jinhui.
Zhao Jinhui picked up his wine glass, gestured to the three men, and said, "That's good, this time I don't need him, I'll buy it myself!"
"Brother Hui." As Zhao Jinhui's voice fell, Ma Yang put down the half-eaten three-delicacy pastry box, picked up the rice mixed with braised deer tendon soup next to him, and asked, "What's 213?"
“Let me tell you something, Xiao Yang.” As soon as he picked up the car, Zhao Jinhui got excited. He stopped drinking and put down his glass, saying to Ma Yang, “My dad drives a Jeep called 212. There’s another Jeep called 213.”
That car is so beautiful and powerful! It's a joint venture between our country and America. The engine, chassis, and everything else were all imported from overseas and then assembled in Beijing.
That car was like a sedan chair inside, and it even had air conditioning. It was more awesome than a Santana.
"How much does it cost?" Ma Sheng asked, purely out of curiosity.
“Oh dear, that car isn’t cheap.” Zhao Jinhui took a sip of his drink and said, “If we buy it, we’ll have to pay a premium.”
"How much is the premium?" Li Baoyu asked. Zhao Jinhui replied, "Two hundred thousand."
"How much?" Ma Sheng's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with disbelief.
Two hundred thousand? Ma Sheng has been working for five years, and his monthly salary is only a little over sixty yuan. If he were to work for two hundred thousand, wouldn't he work himself to death?
"Two hundred thousand is cheap, Brother Sheng," Zhao Jinhui laughed. "A regular one costs two hundred thousand, while a luxury one would cost over three hundred thousand!"
"Oh my god!" Ma Sheng exclaimed in disbelief, "What kind of car is this? Over 300,000 yuan?"
"What about the Santana?" Jie Chen asked Zhao Jinhui. Zhao Jinhui replied, "The Santana isn't cheap either. I've actually done some research on these things. Sedan cars are controlled commodities, and we don't have any allocated quotas, so we have to spend money to buy a permit from the control office. Add in taxes and stuff, and it'll cost around 200,000."
"Brother Hui, what about my older brother's car?" Li Ruhai asked, referring to car number 212.
“Well… that’s easy,” Zhao Jinhui said. “Now, you can get 40,000 yuan off the price of a new car.”
"Ah..." Hearing Zhao Jinhui's words, Li Ruhai laughed and said, "I can just buy a 212."
"Tch." Ma Yang, who had just put down his rice bowl, glanced at Li Ruhai with disdain. As the person who had opened the eyes of the Sanmiao Ginseng King, Ma Yang had been given a share of the profits.
Although he didn't know how much he had earned from this trip, Ma Yang already felt like a rich man.
"Big brother," Ma Yang said to Ma Sheng, "what kind of car do you like? I'll buy it for you!"
Ma Sheng: "..."
The lively chatter in the room could be faintly heard from the next room. Chu Anmin, who was already quite drunk, asked Zhao Weipeng, "What is your Jinhui saying? Two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand?"
Zhao Weipeng: "..."