sbdcsierra Chapter 1652 Zhao Youcai Am I that kind of person?
Chapter 1652 Zhao Youcai Am I that kind of person?
Chapter 1652 Zhao Youcai Am I that kind of person?
The Shao family's trip to Yong'an to find the immortal herb wasn't a random, aimless wandering; they had a plan.
After leaving Yongsheng Village, Shao Jun drove his jeep straight to Changling Village. Upon arriving at Changling Village, Shao Jun got out of the car and asked passersby for directions.
People like Zhang Laibao are a minority. After finding out the route, Shao Jun parked the jeep outside a farmhouse in less than five minutes.
There was a dog chained up in the yard. When it saw the car coming, the dog kept barking and pulling on its chain.
At that moment, the door was pushed open from the inside, and a man in his fifties strode out and jogged towards the outside of the yard.
When he arrived outside the courtyard, all four members of the Shao family had already gotten out of the car. The man was older than Shao Zhiqiang, but he greeted Shao Tianpeng and Shao Zhiqiang with great respect, bowing and scraping.
“Sir.” Shao Zhiqiang pointed to the man and introduced him to Shao Yunjin, saying, “This is Wang Yongchang from our Ginseng Gang. His father is Wang Changyou.”
"Ah..." It was clear that Shao Yunjin did not know Wang Yongchang, but upon hearing the name Wang Changyou, Shao Yunjin seemed to recognize it and frowned, then asked, "Are your father and Manager Wang uncles or cousins?"
The "Manager Wang" that Shao Yunjin mentioned was none other than Wang Dabazhang, a wealthy merchant from Yong'an.
Last year in Qiaotou Village, when Zhao Jun mentioned his maternal grandfather, Shao Yunjin pretended that he wasn't familiar with Wang Dabazhang, but now he calls him "Big Boss".
As Wang Changhai said, the hundred or so bandits on the Eighteen Hills in the past were all under Wang Dabazhang's command.
“Then I have to call him Grandpa.” Facing Shao Yunjin, a legendary figure in the mountains, Wang Yongchang was even more respectful and said, “Among their uncles and brothers, my father is the fourth.”
After Wang Yongchang finished speaking, he invited the Shao family into the house. As soon as the door opened, an old woman's voice could be heard cursing from inside: "You pretty little brat! You bastard, get out of here to the back room!"
As the cursing subsided, a little girl of about five or six years old emerged from the east room with tears streaming down her face, and walked through the outer room toward the west room.
Immediately afterwards, Wang Changyou, Wang Yongfeng, and Wang Enhua, three generations of the Wang family, came out from the east room.
"Ouch!" Upon seeing Shao's bald hands, Wang Changyou hurried over, warmly taking Shao Yunjin's hand and saying, "Uncle Shao, it's been so many years since we last met."
"Hehe..." Shao Yunjin subtly glanced at Wang Changyou a few times. Looking at the old face, Shao Yunjin felt that it looked somewhat familiar, and immediately responded with a sound.
Unlike Shao Yunjin, who made his fortune in the mountains in his early years, Shao Tianpeng didn't get involved in gangster affairs when he was young and lived with his mother in a village at the foot of the mountain. Therefore, he knew some of the elderly people in Yong'an.
Even though they hadn't seen each other for decades, Shao Tianpeng and Wang Changyi recognized each other immediately upon meeting.
During the brief reminiscing between the two old men, Wang Yongchang introduced his second brother, Wang Yongfeng, and his eldest nephew, Wang Enhua, to Shao Zhiqiang and Shao Jun.
After exchanging pleasantries, the Wang family, spanning three generations and consisting of four members, invited the Shao family, spanning four generations and consisting of four members, into the east room.
When everyone entered the room, they saw a kang table placed diagonally on the kang, with old books propped up on its two legs, and two rows of chopsticks arranged on the table.
On the kang (a heated brick bed), there was a large winnowing basket filled with soybeans, and at that moment, Wang Yangshi was bending over and sticking her butt out, picking soybeans from the ground into a small basin.
Her great-grandson stood aside without helping, only putting his fingers in his mouth and biting them.
Shao Yunjin glanced inside and immediately understood what had happened. The little girl must have accidentally spilled the soybeans, drawing a scolding from the patriarchal elders.
But those words were incredibly offensive. "Yang Han" is a local dialect term meaning a woman has an inappropriate relationship with another man. You only hear that kind of talk when normal older women are fighting or arguing, not when they're cursing their great-granddaughter like that.
"Old Kuai!" Wang Changyou said to Wang Yangshi as he entered, "We have guests. Go and cook!"
Wang Yangshi responded, carrying a winnowing basket in one hand and pulling her great-grandson with the other as she went out.
When Zhao Jun came to buy a dog last time, he could tell that Wang Changyou's family were all dishonest and greedy.
Especially since this family is ruled by Wang Yangshi, there must be a reason why Wang Changyou dared to order Wang Yangshi around like that.
Sure enough, the four members of the Wang family showered the Shao family with praise at the dinner table, implying that they wanted the Shao family to recruit Wang Yongfeng as well.
These days, even a decent ginseng guild can make money. Don't underestimate the job of ginseng reaping; it only lasts for two months a year. But if you do well during those two months, even an ordinary ginseng reaper can bring home more than a thousand yuan.
In the eyes of the mountain people, herding is a quick and lucrative job, much better than farming and even better than hunting, which involves killing animals.
Normally, even if Wang Yongchang was a member of the Shao family gang, it wouldn't be easy for his younger brother to join the Shao family gang.
But as the current leader of the Shao family gang, Shao Zhiqiang not only agreed to Wang Changyou's request without hesitation, but also said that he would take Wang Enhua under his wing as well.
Wang Changyou, Wang Yongfeng, and Wang Enhua were overjoyed to hear this, and they kept urging Shao Zhiqiang and Shao Jun to drink, but ended up drinking too much themselves.
After eating and drinking their fill, the four members of the Shao family went to rest in the west room of the Wang family. Wang Yongchang followed them and heard Shao Tianpeng instruct him: "You have to get up very early tomorrow, then go to Yongsheng Village and keep an eye on Pang the Blind and his son. See where they go, and secretly follow them. When you find the place where Xing Laosan built his shack, come back and tell us."
The Shao family still doesn't know that Xing San has long since gone down the mountain and is living a normal life. They still think Xing San is living like a mountain dog in the mountains.
The Shao family valued their lives and were unwilling to fight to the death with Xing San, who had no ties to them. So they wanted the Pang family to help them clear the way.
Therefore, Shao Tianpeng devised a plan to send Wang Yongchang back to his hometown and tell Pang the Blind Man about Xing San taking away the Shao family's seedling of a great immortal child.
But after so many days, the Pang family hasn't made any moves. So, the Shao family went to the Pang family today to "urge" Pang Zhendong and his son.
Shao Tianpeng had dealt with Pang Zhendong before, and he knew that Pang Zhendong would not remain indifferent and would definitely take action tomorrow.
……
The Great Immortal Child, who was coveted by the two major ginseng gangs, was now lying quietly on the kang cabinet in the west room of the Zhao family's old house.
On the kang (heated brick bed) in the west room, Zhao Chun gently patted Xiao Zhoudao, while Zhou Jianjun was sitting on the edge of the kang washing his feet.
Zhao Chun was going to stay at her parents' house with her child for two days, so Zhou Jianjun came along too.
Logically, Zhou Jianjun should have gone to bed right after washing and drying his feet, but he suddenly put on his cotton shoes and was about to go outside.
"Where are you going?" Zhao Chun asked. Zhou Jianjun replied, "My stomach feels a bit upset, I'm going to the outhouse."
"Then you take the stun gun," Zhao Chun said, picking up the flashlight from beside the pillow and handing it to Zhou Jianjun.
After Zhou Jianjun left, Zhao Chun saw that her son was already asleep, so she got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and went to the west room to see if Zhao Youcai and Wang Meilan were asleep.
Seeing light shining through the crack in the west room door, Zhao Chun walked towards the east room.
At this time, Zhao Hong and Zhao Na were already asleep, Wang Meilan was sitting on the edge of the kang washing her feet, while Zhao Youcai was lying under the covers going through the gift accounts.
"Hey?" Suddenly, Zhao Youcai looked up and asked Wang Meilan, "Where's the money Lao Liu gave me?"
The sixth person Zhao Youcai mentioned was Zhang Lifu. Yesterday, Zhang Lifu and his family came to help out from the morning. After they finished cooking and the meal was served, Zhang Lifu and his family left quietly without taking any leftovers.
But Zhao Youcai clearly remembered that yesterday morning, Zhang Lifu looked at him and slipped him twenty yuan as a gift.
“It’s with me!” Wang Meilan rolled her eyes at Zhao Youcai and said, “Yesterday you drank too much, and when you reached into your pocket to find a match to light your cigarette, you just handed me all that money.”
Wang Meilan had no interest in Zhao Youcai's two coins and immediately said, "I won't give you any tonight. You can ask me for it tomorrow morning."
"Ah..." Hearing Wang Meilan's words, Zhao Youcai blinked his small eyes but didn't say anything.
He didn't speak, but Wang Meilan remembered something and hurriedly said to Zhao Youcai, "Let me tell you, you can't ask your daughter-in-law for the money back."
Wang Meilan was referring to the red envelopes Zhao Youcai gave Ma Ling when he was drunk yesterday.
"How could that be?" Zhao Youcai seemed to have been greatly humiliated. He threw off the covers and got up, shouting, "Who are you trying to humiliate? What do you take me for?"
Wang Meilan curled her lip upon hearing this. Since her son-in-law was still around late at night, she didn't bother arguing with Zhao Youcai. But what Wang Meilan was thinking was: "You're capable of doing that kind of thing?!"
As soon as Zhao Youcai finished speaking, Zhao Chun pushed the door open and came in, asking, "Dad, what are you making such a racket about? It's so late, my two sisters are already asleep."
"You motherfucker!" Zhao Youcai pointed at Wang Meilan and complained to Zhao Chun, "You're so shameless!"
"What's wrong, Mom?" Zhao Chun asked. Wang Meilan replied, "Well, yesterday some people from Yongxing came to a wedding banquet. They saw that the old man at the guesthouse was alone, and there was no one else there. So they didn't write down the gift accounts, and just left the money in red paper wrapped around your dad's money."
As a result, your dad, completely drunk, just handed all the money to Ma Ling. He remembered it today, and when I came back the other day, he asked me for the money back.”
Wang Meilan didn't mean anything by saying this; she was just telling her eldest daughter how outrageous Zhao Youcai was.
To Wang Meilan and Zhao Youcai's surprise, after Wang Meilan finished speaking, Zhao Chun said to Zhao Youcai, "Dad, that money is for my sister-in-law, so you can't ask for it back!"
"I..." Zhao Youcai did not expect this outcome, he did not expect that he would be seen as such by his wife and daughter.
Zhao Youcai threw himself heavily onto the kang (a heated brick bed), hooked his foot and pulled the quilt over his head, covering himself with it.
"Huh?" Zhao Chun was taken aback and looked at Wang Meilan, who was laughing so hard her eyes disappeared, with no idea what was going on.
……
"These are from my dad." Ma Ling separated the red envelopes on the kang table; some were from Zhao Jun, and some were from Zhao Youcai.
Yesterday, the young couple were busy getting married, but today they weren't in such a rush. After dinner, Ma Ling sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) to take stock of their possessions.
The dowry money from her family, the dowry money from her mother-in-law, the gift money Zhao Jun received, and the red envelopes from Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai.
Li Wencai gave Zhao Jun and Zhao Youcai each a gift of twenty yuan, which was quite a generous gift for an old man living alone.
Tao Dabao, Tao Xiaobao, and Yu Xuewen each gave twenty yuan, while Li Wubo and Ji Lin each gave ten yuan.
There was also the Liu family, who came for Zhao Youcai. Because they remembered Zhao Youcai's kindness, they also gave him a gift of twenty yuan.
Whether it was the gifts Zhao Jun received or Zhao Youcai received, Ma Ling meticulously recorded all the money in her account. She said that in the future, when people hold events for others, the money that should have been given as gifts should be returned in kind.
Looking at Ma Ling's serious face, Zhao Jun smiled and urged, "Honey, what time is it? Let's stop staying up late and go to sleep."
"Wait a minute." Ma Ling pushed away Zhao Jun's outstretched hand and said, "There's still some money I need to explain to you."
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback when he saw Ma Ling get up and take out a rolled-up plaid shirt from her dowry cabinet.
Ma Ling sat down next to Zhao Jun, unfolded the rolled-up cloth, revealing a stack of money.
The money came in various sizes, including large bills, white-edged bills, and small bills of one or two mao.
Zhao Jun could tell at a glance that this money was his father-in-law's private savings.
“I need to make this clear to you,” Ma Ling said to Zhao Jun with a serious expression. “This is 342.5 yuan, which my dad left with me. I have to give it to him whenever he needs it.”
Ma Ling believes that this money must be made clear, otherwise if her father asks for money one day and her in-laws see her giving him the money, they might think that she is giving money to support her own family.
Zhao Jun understood Ma Ling's meaning and immediately nodded, saying, "Okay, wife, I understand, I'll remember."
After Zhao Jun finished speaking, he saw Ma Ling roll up the money in her clothes and asked with a smile, "My father-in-law is quite good at saving money. How did he manage to save so much?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Ling looked up at Zhao Jun and said, "You can't learn this!"
"Haha..." Zhao Jun laughed, then heard Ma Ling say, "What are you laughing at? A married couple can't be secretive with each other!"
Almost all men have a secret stash of money, which they hide mostly to avoid financial difficulties when they need to spend it. Women, on the other hand, often discourage men from having secret stashes of money, mainly because they fear their men might have extramarital affairs.
Zhao Jun chuckled and didn't argue with Ma Ling about it. Instead, he leaned closer to Ma Ling and asked, "Wife, how did my father-in-law manage to save up so much money?"
"Oh!" Ma Ling was taken aback, stumped by Zhao Jun's question. In fact, Ma Dafu had hidden more money than this over the years, and Ma Ling had spent quite a bit of it in the past six months while dating Zhao Jun, otherwise it would have been more than five hundred.
Five hundred coins was nothing to Zhao Jun. If he wanted to make money by hunting, he could simply go up the mountain, hunt a roe deer, and sell the meat for twenty or thirty coins.
But Ma Dafu had no way to make extra money. Every month after he received his salary, he would take it home and hand it over to Wang Cuihua, who would then give him ten yuan for pocket money.
Ma Dafu eats at home for breakfast and dinner and at the canteen for lunch. There are no restaurants in the forest area, so Ma Dafu doesn't spend much on food.
Ma Dafu's monthly expenses mainly consist of cigarettes. He usually smokes leaf cigarettes at home, but at work, he smokes one cigarette from a colleague and then has to pass the next one to a colleague. So Ma Dafu always carries a pack of grape cigarettes in his pocket.
A pack of grape cigarettes every two or three days had consumed most of Ma Dafu's pocket money. Zhao Jun estimated that his father-in-law would be lucky to save two yuan a month.
So, how did you save up these 500+?
Zhao Jun knew that Ma Dafu must have reported the flood.
"Reporting a flood" is a local dialect term meaning to lie to superiors about a flood and what losses were suffered. To put it more bluntly, it means lying to swindle money.
The actions of Zhao Youcai, who profited from selling bear bile and lynx pelts, and Ma Dafu, who manipulated the gift money, can all be interpreted as reporting a flood.
Back then, Zhao Youcai could make several hundred yuan from just one bear gallbladder. But the gift money in the Yong'an forest area is only a few yuan. If Ma Dafu could save more than five hundred yuan in private money, wouldn't his family be constantly in trouble?
At this moment, Ma Ling was stumped by Zhao Jun's question. She couldn't understand where her father's money came from.
Zhao Jun saw Ma Ling staring with a pair of bewildered eyes, her long eyelashes making her eyes look chubby and quite cute.
Even under the lamplight, a beautiful woman is still more alluring than a beauty in the night.
When the mood was right, Zhao Jun threw the gift account and money onto the kang table, then carried the table to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Ma Ling asked, and Zhao Jun's reply was only two words: "Sleeping!"
I went to the hospital yesterday, and fell asleep when I got home. I'm missing another chapter, I'll make it up tomorrow morning around 6 a.m.
I won't go out from tomorrow onwards, and I promise I won't owe anything from tomorrow onwards.
(End of this chapter)