Go back to the past to plant trees

"Mom, I'm back."

Zhao Jinquan rode his horse straight home. This time he didn't linger at the village entrance. He had already shown off last time he came back, so he wasn't in the mood for it this time.

"The fourth child is back."

Hearing the noise, Zhao's mother came out from the inner room and was overjoyed to see that it was Zhao Jinquan.

"They've been gone for so long, and they haven't even come back to visit."

Zhao Jinquan said, "I was there to work, not to go to school, where I could come back often."

"Mom, I have good news for you. I've become a temporary worker at the Forestry Bureau. I just went to complete the formalities a few days ago."

"real."

Upon hearing this, Zhao's mother's eyes immediately lit up.

Zhao Jinquan said, "Then it must be true. Would I lie to you?"

"Then I'll have to prepare two more dishes to celebrate properly."

As Zhao's mother was speaking, she turned to go back to the kitchen, but Zhao Jinquan grabbed her hand.

"Mom, don't rush, there's something I need your help with."

As Zhao Jinquan spoke, he told Feng Cheng about asking him to buy chickens. Although Zhao Jinquan could do it, it was completely different for him to buy them than for his mother to buy them. If he bought them, the price would definitely be higher. Although they were from the same team and no one would cheat him, they wouldn't give him the lowest price either. His mother, on the other hand, knew the market price and could buy them at the lowest price.

"Two chickens? There's no need to buy them. We have two at home. You can just catch them."

"That won't work either. All the hens at home are hens, and we need to keep them to lay eggs."

After thinking for a while, Zhao's mother said, "Here's what we'll do: go to your brother's place and catch one. He has an old hen that's not laying eggs much anymore, and your sister-in-law is planning to kill it. Go and catch it, and you can just give her two yuan."

"Then you can take a hen from your home and raise it. You can eat it if you want, or keep it to lay eggs if you don't want to eat it. Besides, you also want to raise a few chicks, right? This hen can take care of them for a while."

"How much does this one cost?"

Looking at her son, Zhao's mother said, "Fourth son, take these two chickens over there, you should eat them too!"

Zhao Jinquan said, "Eat up! Brother Feng, he..." At this point, Zhao Jinquan suddenly realized something.

Zhao's mother said softly, "You got this job thanks to them. Logically, you shouldn't have taken their money, but since you've already accepted it, we'll leave it at that. But we can't let them pay for everything, can we? That's not right."

“This time we’re only bringing one hen and a few chicks. Next time you go home, we’ll find another opportunity to bring some things over.”

Zhao Jinquan nodded, "Mom, I understand."

"You just understand."

"Go and take the money to your sister-in-law later, and tell her to catch the chicken later. Remember, she must catch it herself."

Zhao's mother gave her son a piece of advice.

Zhao Jinquan understood this time. There was a completely different difference between him picking it up himself and his daughter-in-law bringing it to him. This was also something he did to show the team.

The women in the team are particularly fond of gossiping. If they do something slightly inappropriate, rumors will spread, especially about the relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.

Zhao's mother went back inside to cook, while Zhao Jinquan went out to his older brother's house. His brother lived nearby, just a short walk away.

When Zhao Jinquan arrived, his sister-in-law Liu Xiuqin was feeding her child.

Brother Zhao Jinquan got married two years ago and had a child after the wedding. It happened to be a difficult time, but fortunately the Zhao family was well-off and had many siblings. With everyone helping each other, the family did not collapse.

Zhao Jinquan told his sister-in-law about buying chickens, handed her the money, and then told her and her older brother to come over for dinner before he went home.

When Zhao Jinquan returned home, he saw that his father had already come back and was smoking in the yard.

"dad."

Zhao Jinquan asked a question.

"Hmm," Zhao Peide responded, then asked, "How's it going on in Bashang? Are you adapting well?"

Zhao Jinquan: "I've adapted. Working on the dam is much easier than working in the team. Besides, the dam is only busy for a short period of time. After this busy period, there won't be as much work, and things will be easier."

Zhao Peide nodded. What he was afraid of was that his son wouldn't adapt to the work there. This guy had been in the team since he was a child, and he didn't understand many things outside. Zhao Peide was afraid that he would go out excitedly and then come back dejected.

"Was that college student good to you? Did he give you any trouble?" Zhao Peide continued to ask.

Zhao Jinquan said, "Brother Feng is a very nice person. He didn't make things difficult for me. Whenever I asked him something I didn't understand, he would patiently teach me."

Zhao Peide was relieved to hear this. What he was most afraid of was that his son would not get along with this college student. Although his son had helped him before and he needed his son to stop Zheng Laosan and his gang of hooligans, needs are not static. If his son wanted to work steadily as a temporary worker, he still needed to get along well with this college student.

This isn't just for the present, but also for the future. After all, my son is only a temporary worker right now. Whether he can become a permanent employee will most likely depend on this college graduate in the end.

However, Zhao Peide did not say this to his son. When it comes to building relationships, being too deliberate is not good. If the two get along, there is no need for him to say more. If they don't get along, then no amount of advice will help.

In the evening, Zhao Jinquan's older brother, Zhao Jinsheng, came over with his wife and children, and also brought over the old hen from his home.

"Fourth brother, you've been gone for several days without even coming back. Your parents are so worried about you."

As soon as Zhao Jinsheng entered the door, he began to berate his younger brother.

Zhao Jinquan quickly explained, "I was just busy. I came back as soon as I finished."

"How's it working on the dam? Is it tiring?"

"It's alright, a bit more comfortable than in the team. There's only a little work, and once it's done, we're done. Nobody bothers us. It's just so boring, just the two of us, and nobody talks to us."

Zhao Jinsheng: "What about that college student? Aren't you going to talk to him?"

Zhao Jinquan: "Brother Feng reads books whenever he has free time. Although he chats with me, we don't talk much. He's not a man of many words."

Zhao Jinsheng said, "It's okay, I'll come visit you when I have time. I can also see what you do there."

"Okay, you can come and take a look when there's no more work for the team."

After the two brothers chatted for a while, Zhao's mother brought out the dishes. Although things were difficult now, Zhao Peide was the team leader after all, and his two sons were both able-bodied laborers, so the family's food was still barely enough. Occasionally, they could even have a slightly better meal. Now that his younger son had gone out to work, he could earn money and wouldn't have to use up the family's food. It was foreseeable that the Zhao family's meals would get better and better.

Zhao Peide was also happy and took out his treasured Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), saying, "Come on, let's drink this bottle of liquor together today."

"Dad, you still have more? Didn't you say you'd finished it all during the New Year?" Zhao Jinsheng said, both surprised and delighted, when he saw the wine his father had taken out.

Zhao Peide laughed and said, "How can I possibly finish all this good stuff? What if we run into guests? If we finish this bottle today, it'll be gone. I'll have to find a chance to buy another one to keep on hand in a while."

Zhao Jinquan said, "Dad, I'll buy it for you when I get my salary."

"Alright, fourth brother is filial. I'll wait for your wine."

A bottle of Erguotou is only about a pound, which is about three ounces per person when divided among the three people. However, in addition to this bottle of liquor, the Zhao family also has some loose liquor, which is enough for the three of them to drink.

Because he was going to Bashang early the next morning, Zhao Jinquan didn't drink much and stopped after a while.

The men in the Zhao family are all good drinkers; they are quiet when drunk, unlike others who shout and make a fuss.