sbdcsierra Chapter 1868 Li Ruhai: A Rival in Love
Chapter 1868 Li Ruhai: A Rival in Love
Chapter 1868 Li Ruhai: A Rival in Love
While Pang Zhendong, Wang Yaodong, Han Shengli, and their group were plotting how to deal with Zhao Jun and the Zhao family gang, the Zhao family gang was still struggling in the mountains.
Inside the shack, Xing San stirred the egg drop soup in the pot with a spoon. Outside the shack, Zhao Jun and eight others gathered around a shallow pit.
The difference is that Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, Zhao Jinhui, Li Ruhai, and Ma Yang stood aside, while Zhao Jun and Zhang Yuanmin were struggling with a large rock.
This stone was discovered during the process of carrying ginseng; it was located beneath a ginseng seedling.
However, the rhizome and body of this ginseng seedling are perpendicular to the top of this rock, and a few ginseng whiskers fall on the rock, but they do not take root on the rock, so they do not form a stone dragon.
Although the rock was located below the ginseng, its presence hindered the Zhao family from carrying the ginseng.
Zhao Jun used a deer antler spoon to pry the ginseng roots, but the spoon struck the stone directly. This sudden stop made it difficult for Zhao Jun to control the spoon, potentially damaging the ginseng roots.
So Zhao Jun held the ginseng rootlet in his hand, supporting the ginseng seedling, and then had Zhang Yuanmin use a small hoe to hook and pry up the big rock.
As the stone was pried up, the surrounding soil flowed into the open space, revealing countless roots. Among these roots, only a very few were wild ginseng roots; most were grass roots, and there was also a tree root about the thickness of a chopstick.
Seeing the bluestone being pried up, Li Baoyu quickly leaned over and reached out to help.
In the not-so-spacious space, Li Baoyu dared not move forward, for fear of breaking the ginseng roots.
"Ruhai, give me the scissors." Zhao Jun held the wild ginseng with one hand and reached behind him with the other. Li Ruhai thoughtfully held the tip of the scissors and handed the handle to Zhao Jun's fingers.
Zhao Jun took the shears and carefully avoided the other roots before cutting off the tree root with its red bark.
After cutting it, Zhao Jun placed the shears on his shoe and then gently pulled on the severed root on his side.
The humus soil was extremely loose, and when Zhao Jun pulled, a section of tree root broke through the soil.
Zhao Jun picked up the scissors again, cut off the section of tree root, and threw it aside.
Meanwhile, the stone, about forty centimeters long and weighing more than forty kilograms, had been carried out by Li Baoyu and Zhang Yuanmin.
Jie Chen took over from Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu, carrying the stone to the side.
Once the stone was removed, the space beneath the wild ginseng was empty. As the soil loosened, Zhao Jun held the wild ginseng still, and it separated from the soil.
Zhao Jun gave a slight tremor, pinched the rhizome and gently lifted it upwards, and the wild ginseng seedling was completely separated from the soil.
Zhao Jun raised his hand, and the ginseng seedling hung in front of him. At this moment, Wang Qiang, Li Baoyu, and others leaned over to admire the wild ginseng in Zhao Jun's hand.
After recent learning, the Zhao family members, while not making much progress, have at least developed a certain eye for estimating the age of ginseng and judging its quality.
When the ginseng was being carried, the Zhao family members had roughly estimated its age; they knew it was a wild ginseng that was nearly a hundred years old.
At this time, the ginseng was unearthed, and the Zhao family helped people to examine its quality.
This ginseng seedling has a long, slender, and naturally curved top, resembling the neck of a goose.
The goose-neck reed is divided into three sections. The reed bowls of the horse-tooth reed and the piled-flower reed are closely arranged with clear ring patterns. The round reed section attached to the ginseng body is slender and long, which is incomparable to ordinary wild ginseng of shallow age.
Two jujube-shaped stems grow below, with grooves running along them, indicating the ginseng's age.
The ginseng is short and stout, resembling the large-weight wild ginseng that Zhao Jun previously photographed at the Ginseng King Conference. Moreover, it has a natural sloping shoulder, fine skin with brocade-like patterns, golden color, no rust or damage, and dense and continuous spiral patterns, truly revealing the entire ginseng through a single line.
The roots are slender, flexible, sparse yet orderly, and have distinct pearl-like bumps on them.
"Moss!" Zhao Jun called out softly. Ma Yang was startled, then turned around and brought over the moss with both hands.
Zhao Jun held the ginseng rootlet in one hand and the ginseng whiskers in the other, placing the ginseng seedling on the moss. He then looked at Wang Qiang and the others and laughed, "This is a good thing!"
Wang Qiang and the others nodded in unison, and Jie Chen asked with a smile, "Brother Jun, how much can this club sell for?"
"This must be a top-grade leaf," Zhao Jun said. "With this quality, it's a sure thing for three thousand yuan!"
"Only three thousand?" Ma Yang couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. This kid had stepped on more than 100,000 yuan on his first trip up the mountain, and such an experience made him look down on three or five thousand.
"What are you saying?" Wang Qiang slapped Ma Yang on the shoulder as soon as he uttered those words. You can't just talk nonsense on the mountain. Even clubs are considered sacred herbs; how can you look down on them?
Zhao Jun glared at Ma Yang, but he was holding moss and wild ginseng in his hands and didn't have time to lecture the kid.
Zhao Jun quickly walked to the side, where there was some pine bark that had been prepared in advance. After Zhao Jun finished making the ginseng buns, Xing San, holding a soup ladle, stood in the doorway of the shack and shouted, "Kids, are you done? Time to get your food!"
"Get the food, Uncle San." Zhao Jun responded, then turned to Xie Chen and said, "Xiao Chen, get a basket and cover those two seedlings."
The Zhao family helped out all afternoon, carrying out two of the four elephant trunk buds. There are still two buds left.
Wang Qiang covered the two elephant trunk buds with a basket and then weighed the basket down with stones.
After washing their hands, everyone entered the shack one after another. At this time, a row of small basins and helmets were placed next to the kang (a heated brick bed), and the basins and helmets were filled with egg drop soup.
The large pancakes that Li Baoyu and the others bought yesterday were peeled into individual pieces and stacked on a sheet of parchment paper by Xing San. Next to them were two enamel plates, one containing canned fish and the other containing sliced luncheon meat.
Xing San poured wine from the wine barrel into the tea jars. There were only two large jars, and everyone drank from them.
That's how it is on the mountain. In that makeshift shack, there are twenty or thirty people. They drink from two big bowls, and nobody complains about anyone else.
Zhao Jun doesn't drink alcohol, he just drinks soup.
Zhao Jun held the pancake in one hand and spread scallions dipped in sauce on it with the other. After spreading a strip of sauce on the pancake, he placed the scallions on top and then used chopsticks to spread luncheon meat on it.
After four pieces of luncheon meat covered the scallions, Zhao Jun rolled up the pancake and stuffed it into his mouth. Taking a bite, a spicy sensation shot straight to his head!
After the spiciness subsides, you'll find the sweet aroma of cornbread, followed by the fragrance of luncheon meat and savory sauce.
After chewing the pancake for a while, Zhao Jun picked up the soup and sipped it. The soup was so-so, but it warmed his stomach and body. After a sip, Zhao Jun felt a slight sweat on his back and forehead, and he felt incredibly comfortable.
Setting down the soup bowl, Zhao Jun saw Ma Yang grinning as he reached for the teacup Bao Yu was holding. Zhao Jun quickly stopped Ma Yang, "Xiao Yang, what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Everyone looked at Zhao Jun in surprise. Ma Yang, who was holding a teacup containing wine, said blankly, "Brother-in-law, let me have a sip of wine."
"Just shut up already!" Zhao Jun leaned forward, roughly snatched the teacup from Ma Yang's hand, and handed it to Xie Chen, saying to Ma Yang, "You can't drink it."
"I... why can't I drink?" Ma Yang looked at Zhao Jun in confusion and said, "Brother-in-law, don't you know I can drink? Didn't I drink at your house that day?"
"Didn't you cause any trouble after you finished drinking?" Zhao Jun glared at Ma Yang and said, "You're drunk. If you keep causing a scene on the mountain, who the hell can mess with you?"
"I...I was drunk the other day?" The sentence was only eight words long, even including stuttering, but Ma Yang's voice got softer and softer as he spoke.
However, among this group of people, besides Zhao Jun and him, even Li Ruhai had a couple of bites. How could Ma Yang possibly restrain himself?
"Brother-in-law, I won't drink much, just a couple of sips to relax." As Ma Yang spoke, he reached out to Xie Chen, but Xie Chen moved his teacup aside. Without Zhao Jun's permission, Xie Chen dared not offer Ma Yang any alcohol.
"What work have you been doing? Are you trying to relax?" Zhao Jun glared at Ma Yang and said irritably, "You haven't done anything all day, have you?"
Ma Yang seemed a little unhappy after Zhao Jun said that. He grabbed the pancake, didn't roll anything in it, and took a big bite.
Seeing this, Wang Qiang stepped in to mediate, advising Zhao Jun, "Jun, if Xiao Yang wants to drink, let him have only a few sips. If he doesn't drink too much, why is he causing trouble?"
As soon as Wang Qiang finished speaking, Xing San added, "Alright, if you're happy to drink, then drink less so you can go to sleep better."
After saying this to Zhao Jun, Xing San turned to Ma Yang and said, "Kid, don't cause trouble after drinking. If you do, don't say I'll beat you up."
Although Xing San's words were blunt, they were undoubtedly giving Ma Yang and Zhao Jun a way out. Upon hearing this, Ma Yang smiled and said, "No, Uncle San, I won't drink too much."
After saying that, Ma Yang took the teacup that Wang Qiang handed him.
Zhao Jun glanced at Ma Yang but said nothing more. Everyone ate and drank until it got dark outside.
Once the group started drinking, they began chatting, from everyday family matters to their harvest from rafting that day.
The first ginseng seedling brought out this afternoon was over seventy or nearly eighty years old. Adding the seedling brought out before dinner, the Zhao family earned about four thousand yuan this afternoon.
This is no small sum of money; everyone except Zhao Jun was very satisfied with this income.
Zhao Jun's dissatisfaction wasn't due to the low price. Rather, it was because, as the stone was being lifted to carry the ginseng, Zhao Jun suddenly remembered that in his previous life, the one that led to the annihilation of the Bai family was a rare and exceptional triple-stranded ginseng.
However, there are only two elephant trunk buds left. In other words, unless there are very special circumstances, these two elephant trunk buds are unrelated to the conjoined ginseng.
The older generation of wild ginseng hunters say that wild ginseng is a sacred herb bestowed upon the blessed by the mountain god. Every wild ginseng sprout they find is a great blessing.
But people are always greedy; even when good fortune is right in front of them, they always want more.
Zhao Jun is also a human being, and even if he is reborn, he cannot escape the good and evil in human nature.
Zhao Jun also felt that after entering the ginseng hunting business, his greed grew stronger and stronger, and he had his eyes on all the ginseng kings in the Changbai Mountain range.
However, Zhao Jun thought there was nothing wrong with it. The fisherman wanted to catch a big fish. He wasn't stealing or robbing and he wasn't breaking the law. What was wrong with wanting to lift the ginseng king?
"Brother-in-law!" Suddenly, Ma Yang's voice interrupted Zhao Jun's reverie.
Zhao Jun turned his head and saw that Xing San and the others had finished drinking. Li Baoyu and Xie Chen were picking up the bowls and chopsticks, Xing San was putting firewood into the stove, and Zhang Yuanmin, Zhao Jinhui, and Li Ruhai had gone out to relieve themselves. Ma Yang was approaching him.
"What are you doing?" Zhao Jun asked, his brows furrowing slightly. He sensed that Ma Yang was acting strangely.
It wasn't that he drank too much, but rather that the kid was slightly tipsy.
At this time, people are clear-headed and will not do anything inappropriate, and Ma Yang is no exception.
Zhao Jun knew that while his brother-in-law might not lose his composure at this moment, he was being very secretive.
Sure enough, after Ma Yang came over, he said to Zhao Jun, "Brother-in-law, this time when we're setting off this club, am I partly responsible?"
"Yes." Zhao Jun didn't want to listen to his rambling, so he reached out and nudged Ma Yang, saying, "Go out and take a piss, then we'll close the shed door and go to sleep."
“No rush, brother-in-law.” Ma Yang turned around and said to Zhao Jun, “As long as I get a share, that’s fine. What I mean is, after we sell Bangchui’s shares, don’t give my share to the two of them.”
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback and asked, "Who are the two of them?"
"It's...our dad and our mom," Ma Yang said. "Even if you give them the money, they won't spend it..."
"Are you stupid?" Zhao Jun interrupted Ma Yang, saying, "If your parents don't spend it, isn't it all saved for you? When you get married or something, won't you have to spend money on that?"
“Spend money… then let’s spend it.” Ma Yang said, “The problem is that they don’t want to spend it either. I suggested building five big brick houses first, but they refused. I suggested taking the money to Liu Tiezui, but they still refused. Then when I tried to talk to them again, they beat me up.”
"Hehe..." Ma Yang's words made Xing San, Li Baoyu and others in the same shack laugh.
"How old are you, kid?" Xing San said to Ma Yang with a smile. "At your age, a young lady should be looking for a husband."
Xing San's meaning was clear: these days, girls can get engaged at fifteen or sixteen, but boys have to be at least seventeen or eighteen.
But as soon as Xing San said this, Ma Yang said, "That's right, Uncle San, I like that girl. She's only my age, so won't she have to ask about her future husband?"
Ma Yang's words left Xing San, Li Baoyu, and the others completely bewildered.
"Alright, alright." Seeing this, Zhao Jun quickly pulled Ma Yang aside and stopped him, saying, "You're talking nonsense after just a little bit of alcohol. Hurry up and get ready to go to sleep."
"Brother!" Li Baoyu, as if he were being cheeky, came over and stopped Zhao Jun, saying, "Let Xiao Yang speak, what's the big deal?"
After saying that, Li Baoyu, as if watching a show, asked Ma Yang, "Little Yang, tell your brother Baoyu, what kind of girl do you like?"
"Hey!" Ma Yang laughed, "I like that girl..."
As he spoke, Ma Yang slapped his thigh, raised his thumb, and then said, "Smarter than my sister..."
Zhao Jun: "..."
At this moment, Ma Yang glanced at Li Baoyu and said, "She's prettier than your sister-in-law Liu Mei."
Li Baoyu: "..."
Ma Yang paused slightly, looked at Xing San and Xie Chen, and said, "They are gentler and more sensible than my sister Xiaoyun."
Xing San and Xie Chen: "..."
No sooner had Ma Yang finished speaking than Zhang Yuanmin's voice came from outside the shack: "What are you muttering about your sister Xiaoyun? Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up?"
As Zhang Yuanmin, Zhao Jinhui, and Li Ruhai entered the room, Ma Yang waved his hand and said, "I'm telling the truth."
"What nonsense is this? Just telling the truth?" Li Baoyu protested, yelling at Ma Yang, "What? She's prettier than your sister-in-law Liu Mei?"
As he spoke, Li Baoyu pointed at Ma Yang and asked, "Who is he? Who do you care about?"
“You might not even know who I care about,” Ma Yang said. Li Baoyu’s curiosity grew, and he asked, “Who is it? Tell me, I want to hear it. How do you know I don’t know them if you don’t tell me?”
"Brother Baoyu, don't get angry," Ma Yang reassured Li Baoyu, then asked, "Do you know my deskmate?"
"Your deskmate?" Li Baoyu frowned and said, "Your deskmate? How would I know you?"
"I..." Ma Yang seemed to be about to say something, but Zhao Jun slapped him hard on the back.
"Stop babbling!" Zhao Jun shouted at Ma Yang, "Hurry up and get ready for bed!"
As he spoke, Zhao Jun stole a glance at Li Ruhai and saw that Li Ruhai had a gloomy face and was glaring at Ma Yang.
I'll make up for the chapter I owed yesterday by tomorrow noon.