Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 61 Moving Party
Lin Ruolan was not feeling well in the morning, so a lot of time was wasted.

We had just finished our meal and before we could even clean up, someone to help came.

Wang Jiaxiang and his wife brought their two sons and a daughter, and brought gifts to the door.

On Lao Zhou's side, all the family members came out to help.

During the time that Shui Laowu and his companions were staying at Zhou's house, they bought a lot of daily necessities, including boxes, beddings and other things, so they had quite a lot of stuff.

Fortunately, there was a mule cart and the Zhou family also had an ox cart. After all the things were packed and loaded onto the carts, they were transported all at once to the new house.

The Liu family has three rooms. The east room has two kangs opposite each other and two stoves outside.

This is the case for many families in Northeast China. They have two kangs, one in the north and one in the south, and they burn firewood in winter, so the house is not cold.

There is only a southern kang in the west room, and Tianzhi is still young, so he is not allowed to sleep in the west room by himself for the time being.

A shelf was built against the north wall of the west room to store some sundries and use it as a warehouse.

Qu Shaoyang built two rooms. The east room also has a kang facing north and south, and the outer room is used as a kitchen.

He lives alone, so there is no need for a house that is too big. He can just build another house when there are more people in the family in the future.

Outside the door of the new house, a string of firecrackers was hung. Qu Shaoyang and Tian Zhi lit the firecrackers, and then everyone carried things downstairs.

Lin Ruolan had just been pregnant for a short time, so no one dared to let her do the moving and lifting work.

So Lin Ruolan led Old Wang's wife Zhang, as well as Zhou's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, to prepare meals in the kitchen.

A few days ago, Shui Laowu and his friends brought back a lot of wild boars. After discussion, everyone decided to keep a sow and a pig for the next year to share among the families, and sell the rest to share the profit.

This will save the meat from going bad if it cannot be eaten in a short time.

Everyone hunts the wild boar together. In addition to the nine people taking a share, the guns and dogs also take a share.

Qu Shaoyang and Shui Laowu both had guns, so they took four shares and divided several dozen kilograms of meat.

Shui Laowu and Qu Shaoyang were not at home, so how could Lin Ruolan bear to cook it? So she pickled most of it with salt, and put the rest in cold water to use immediately.

Combined with the bear meat and venison that Qu Shaoyang and his team brought back yesterday, this meal was naturally not difficult to prepare.

There are two tendons of meat on the bear's thigh. Take them out, slice them, and stir-fry them with peppers. Cut the fat and fry it in oil. Sprinkle some salt on the oil and it will taste very delicious.

Cook the pork belly in a pot, then slice it and dip it in mashed garlic. Braise the venison. Then stir-fry the meat with some cabbage, black fungus, etc. You can make eight dishes by putting them together.

The women were busy cooking in the kitchen, while the men were sitting in the house chatting.

"Brother Liu, your house is really well built.

Look, the base is made of stone, the top is made of blue bricks, and the roof is covered with tiles. This house has been well maintained and has not changed in the past few decades.

It's not like our old mud house, which needs to be repaired every year. If it's not repaired, it will leak when it rains."

Wang Jiaxiang sat on the kang, looking at the new house with great envy and sighed.

"Brother, look at what you said, didn't you build your house a long time ago and don't have these materials?

You three are so capable, isn't it easy to build a new house?" Shui Laowu replied with a smile.

Wang Jiaxiang also laughed when he heard it, "Oh, building a house costs a lot of money, it's not as easy as you say.
Wait for two years. The eldest and second sons are already old enough and it’s time for them to get married.

If they get married, this house won’t be big enough for them, and they’ll have to build a few more rooms.”

Wang Jiaxiang is two years younger than Shui Laowu. His two sons are twenty-two and twenty respectively, and neither of them has a wife yet.

There are few women in Northeast China, so it is not easy to find a wife.

"Hey, Brother Liu, how old is your little apprentice this year? Has he found a date? I think he's a good guy. If he hasn't found a date, can I help arrange one?"

As Wang Jiaxiang spoke, his eyes turned towards the north kang.

The older ones were chatting on the south kang, while the younger ones were sitting on the north kang and chatting.

"Are you talking about Shaoyang? Oh, he is only seventeen this year, there is no need to rush." ​​Shui Laowu didn't care too much and said casually.

"Seventeen? Oh, that's a good time." Wang Jiaxiang was happy when he heard it.

"Then why aren't you in a hurry? It would be great if you could find a wife sooner rather than later? You can get married and start a career early, raise your children while you're still young, and have grandchildren in your arms sooner.

Oh, I envy those who get married early so that they can rely on them when their children grow up.

Look at our family, the two boys haven't talked about wives yet, and the old girl is only sixteen, alas." Wang Jiaxiang sighed deliberately.

At first, Shui Laowu didn't care much, but when Wang Jiaxiang suddenly mentioned his daughter, Shui Laowu felt something was wrong.

He was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at Wang Jiaxiang twice.

What does this old guy mean?
When I came back yesterday, I praised Qu Shaoyang in front of so many people. Today, I asked Qu Shaoyang if he had said he wanted to get married. What's going on? Did he like me?

Shui Laowu suddenly remembered that Wang Jiaxiang brought his daughter with him today. Could it be that he had taken a liking to Qu Shaoyang and wanted to find an opportunity for the young man to get in touch with him?
Shui Laowu carefully recalled the appearance of the Wang family's daughter in his mind. To be honest, he really didn't pay much attention to her.

I took a quick glance at him when we first met and he seemed quite dark and not very special in appearance.

No, absolutely not.

His apprentice is tall, good-looking, and has many skills. He is the perfect daughter-in-law for her.

This girl from Old Wang's family is not even remotely comparable, okay?

Thinking of this, Shui Laowu immediately had an idea, "Well, how can I say anything about this?

My little apprentice is also from our hometown in Shandong. It’s not because life in his hometown is difficult that he came here alone to the Northeast.

I haven't asked whether he has been engaged in his hometown. Besides, his parents are still alive, so it's not my turn to worry about these things."

The other party didn't say anything clearly, and Shui Laowu couldn't say directly that he looked down on the Wang family's daughter, so he could only laugh it off.

"Another thing is that this kid is honest and has signed a contract with the woodyard counter.

In winter, I have to go into the mountains to cut wood, and in summer, I have to go to the rafting camp. I am only at home for a few days throughout the year. It is really too early to talk about marriage now."

Old Wang's daughter is already sixteen, and will be eighteen in two years. Nowadays, who would keep a daughter at home until she is that old? Wouldn't that make people criticize you?
Sure enough, after Shui Laowu said this, the eagerness in Wang Jiaxiang's eyes faded a little.

Shui Laowu was right in his guess, Wang Jiaxiang was indeed optimistic about Qu Shaoyang.

When I went home last night, I praised Qu Shaoyang in front of my wife and daughter.

They were a couple. When Zhang heard this, she was also tempted.

The couple brought their daughter here today specifically to take the opportunity to meet Qu Shaoyang. If their daughter is really lucky, they will find someone to propose marriage.

Qu Shaoyang's character and appearance are among the best among young people.

Zhang and her daughter fell in love with her at first sight, so Wang Jiaxiang asked Shui Laowu about her.

But after Shui Laowu said this, Wang Jiaxiang hesitated again.

Logging in the mountains and rafting in the waters sound like profitable businesses, but they are too dangerous.

If anything goes wrong, wouldn't his daughter become a widow?

(End of this chapter)