Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 78 Hu Zi Enters the Village
The Chen family was very welcoming. They started chopping stuffing and kneading dough, planning to make dumplings to entertain Qu Shaoyang.

Qu Shaoyang didn't want to just sit there and wait for dinner, so he washed his hands and made dumplings with Li, Chen Xiuyun and the others while chatting.

Doctor Chen had to find out what happened after Qu Shaoyang, Shui Laowu and the others went to Maoer Mountain.

After learning that Lin Ruolan was pregnant, Mrs. Li clapped her hands with joy.

"This is what it means when kindness pays off. Your master and his wife adopted Tianzhi, accumulated virtue and did good deeds, and that’s why they have their own child.

Good, good, that’s great.”

"Yes, my master's wife said the same thing. She felt that it was a blessing brought by Tianzhi." Qu Shaoyang nodded with a smile.

A few people chatted and laughed, and soon finished wrapping the dumplings. Then Li and Chen Xiuyun went to light the fire and cook the dumplings, while Doctor Chen stayed in the room and chatted with Qu Shaoyang.

Doctor Chen had to ask what Qu Shaoyang's next plans were.

Qu Shaoyang said that he was thinking of releasing two more platoons, earning some money and returning to Maoershan to buy more land.

At that time, he would farm in spring, summer and autumn, and hunt in winter. Anyway, he had plenty of energy and was not afraid of having a bad life.

“Once I have saved up some money, I want to try to do some small business.

In winter, we collect pine nuts, walnuts, mushrooms, fungus, leather, or soybeans from Maoer Mountain and Tadian.

While the river is frozen, we can use horse-drawn sleighs to transport the goods down, and we can make a lot of money per trip."

Qu Shaoyang had thought about it a long time ago. Land is the foundation. If he wants to gain a foothold here, he must have his own land.

But it is definitely not enough to just rely on farming. If farming doesn’t make money, you have to find a way to do some business.

I can’t say anything else, but there are many kinds of mountain products in Changbai Mountain area, and they are all in great demand.

By then, he would lead a few people, open a warehouse or something, and deliver goods to Andong and Yingkou, making a lot of money.

"Yes, yes, your idea is very good. Otherwise, let me tell you, you have something important to do. Okay, young man, work hard and you will be fine in the future."

When Doctor Chen heard this, his eyes lit up and he looked up to Qu Shaoyang even more.

The two of them got along better and better as they talked, and before they knew it they had been chatting for a long time.

In the outer room, Li and Chen Xiuyun not only cooked dumplings, but also fried four dishes.

"Come on, come on, it's time to eat. We prepared in a hurry, so we didn't make that many dishes, just four dishes with dumplings.

Shaoyang, come and have a drink with your uncle.

The two boys in our family only come back a few times a year, and there is no one to drink with your uncle. It's just right that you are here, so you can drink some wine to relieve your fatigue."

Li poured wine for Qu Shaoyang and Doctor Chen and said with a smile.

The food was already served, so there was no point in being polite, so Qu Shaoyang thanked Li and the others, sat on the kang, and started drinking with Doctor Chen.

After eating and drinking, it was getting late, so Li started to arrange accommodation for Qu Shaoyang.

There are four houses in the Chen family's backyard. Doctor Chen and his wife live in the east house, Chen Xiuyun lives in the suite in the east house, and Chen Xiuyun's two brothers live in the west house.

But the two sons of the Chen family have not come back all year round, and the kang in the west room is not heated very often, so it will not be heated up for a while.

So Doctor Chen and his wife moved to the suite and lived with their daughter, and let Qu Shaoyang sleep on the kang in the east room.

Li even took out a set of clean bedding for Qu Shaoyang to cover himself with.

There were a lot of things on the mule cart, and it was impossible to move all of them into the house.

So Qu Shaoyang covered most of the things with bear skin and only brought the gun and bullets into the house.

It doesn’t matter if other things are lost, but this gun must not be lost.

There was no electricity back then, and there was no entertainment at night, so everyone went to bed early. Qu Shaoyang had been traveling for the past two days and had not rested well, so he lay down in bed and fell asleep soon after.

Doctor Chen lit a lamp and read for a while, then blew out the lamp and took a rest.

Unexpectedly, not long after I lay down, I heard a series of dogs barking outside, followed by two gunshots.

Qu Shaoyang jumped up from the kang, put on his cotton jacket, put on his shoes, grabbed the gun on the edge of the kang and walked out.

At this time, Doctor Chen also came out of the suite and called out to Qu Shaoyang.

“Shaoyang, don’t worry, it should be over the beard.

We don’t have any wealthy people here, nor many big families. Those bandits don’t look down on us. At most, we can get some food. Someone in the village will come forward to answer them.”

Doctor Chen was afraid that Qu Shaoyang would get into trouble due to his youthful impetuosity, so he spoke up quickly.

As soon as Doctor Chen finished speaking, he heard someone shouting outside.

It was hard to hear clearly in the room, so Qu Shaoyang pushed the door open with a gun in his hand and listened carefully.

It was very noisy outside at this moment, with dogs barking, people shouting, horses neighing, all kinds of noises mixed together.

"Look at the skin, the bright ones, the small ones, the ones that don't make noises, and the ones that don't pile up firewood. If you are careful and prepared, you won't get walnuts."

The bearded leader sat on his horse and shouted loudly.

This is Hu Zi's slang, meaning, keep an eye on the dogs, light the lamps, and ask the children to take the horses for a walk and feed them. We won't shoot or rob houses today. As long as you serve them carefully, we won't kill anyone.

Daqinggou is not a very big place, with only about thirty or forty households.

When the gunshots were heard, the village leader knew something was wrong and rushed over to deal with the situation.

"Empty stems are good, and straw stems contain water. If you walk on the tobacco, you must first chew the straw rolls and bet on the white. If you drift in the ocean, you will get rich immediately..."

This means that when you are hungry, prepare food; when you are thirsty, prepare water; sit on the kang first to smoke and rest; the dumplings will be made right away.

Those in charge of the village were generally wealthy families, so they welcomed the group of bearded men to their homes and then sent people to notify every household.

Ask each family to contribute people and things, quickly prepare food for Hu Zi, and when they are satisfied with the answers, send them away.

"Mother, you should also get ready. We will definitely come to our house to look for someone later.

How many chickens are there in the chicken coop? Catch them and send them over. How much flour is there in the jar? Take it with you."

Doctor Chen heard what was said outside and breathed a sigh of relief, so he went back to the room to greet Li.

Upon hearing this, Li just sighed and started to prepare according to Doctor Chen's instructions.

The Northeast is a land of many people and every household lives well, and they are not short of food. It would be good if we can send these devils away smoothly and don't lose any lives.

Sure enough, not long after, I heard someone banging on the door.

"Uncle Chen, my father asked me to call my aunt over to help.

Bring some of what you have at home. There are 20 or 30 people here. If there is not enough food, there won’t be enough to eat.” Someone outside was knocking on the door and shouting.

"Oh, Uncle Chen, you have to go there too. A few bearded men are injured, and they want to find a doctor."

"Hey, I heard you." Doctor Chen responded, "Wait, I'll go get the medicine box while your aunt catches the chicken."

After saying that, Doctor Chen turned around and looked at Qu Shaoyang and Chen Xiuyun, "Shaoyang, uncle has a favor to ask of you. Please help me take care of Xiuyun.

Don’t let outsiders into our yard, and don’t let anyone see Xiuyun.”

Both of them were called away, so who could guarantee that there wouldn’t be that unruly bearded guy barging into the house?
Chen Xiuyun is sixteen years old this year, at the prime of her youth and beauty. If Hu Zi sees her and has bad intentions towards her, wouldn’t that be the end of her?

(End of this chapter)