Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

As for whether squatting in a fence is suitable for retirement, whether Wang Guixiang, who is in it, believes it or not, Zhao Da'e is convinced.

That place, with its food and lodging provided, was perfect for an old lady like Wang Guixiang who was lazy and never did any work. Other places wouldn't do; other places don't support idlers…

"Sigh, it's almost the New Year. People inside are suffering too..." Guo sighed.

That place, Balizi, isn't a good place. But it's quite suitable for Wang Guixiang. Guo and Wang Guixiang are sisters-in-law, and they've been through thick and thin for decades. In recent years, they've gotten older and haven't had much contact. Wang Guixiang has also become a grandmother, but Guo is still working and still trying her best to do a lot of farm work.

People of her generation typically had many children. Guo had five daughters and one son. However, her son was born after she was over forty, making him a late-in-life child. Having a child late in life brings a significant problem: more hardship. As people age, especially in rural areas, manual labor inevitably becomes less strenuous. This condition becomes more pronounced with age.

Many rural people, especially some women, find it increasingly difficult to perform physical labor as they age. Moreover, having likely given birth to many children throughout their lives has left them with significant health depletions that are difficult to replenish, leading to a continuous decline in their health. As they age, they develop various illnesses. Even Wang Guixiang suffers from multiple ailments, a fact that Zhao Da'e doesn't deny.

Zhao Da'e once said that Wang Guixiang was genuinely ill, while Zhang Cuilan was faking it. However, it's one thing for Wang Guixiang to be physically ill, but it's quite another for her to do nothing. It's better for her to do some work within her capabilities, otherwise she'll become completely useless.

Guo's health was not very good; she was very thin and frail. She struggled with daily work and often had to rely on painkillers or aminopyrine to get through the pain. This was not unusual in the countryside.

Often, it's not that rural people are particularly resistant to hard work, but rather that they manage with painkillers. Who doesn't get tired from working?

They were exhausted but had no choice; if they didn't work, they wouldn't survive. So they could only rely on cheap painkillers to get through the pain and keep working. This was Guo's situation.

Although Zhao Tingming was the village chief, the village was dirt poor in those days, and the village chief didn't receive a salary. The only advantage of being a village chief was probably not having to pay grain taxes; otherwise, there wasn't much.

Villagers turn to him for everything, big or small, and he also has to do chores occasionally. With meetings and such, he's always busy. So, while Zhao Tingming seems to be doing quite well, he's actually under immense pressure.

Fortunately, although Dongtaizi Village is poor, it is not a remote mountain village and has some land, so people can make a living.

Guo was a particularly honest person. She was older and more rational than Wang Guixiang: "Your grandmother, when she was young, just didn't do any work. She was born into a landlord's family, and although there are no landlords now, she really became a landlord's wife. I just don't understand why no one in your family paid to bail Wang Guixiang out. She didn't commit any serious crime; usually, five hundred yuan would be enough to bail her out. Why didn't anyone go and bail her out?"

Zhao Da'e shrugged: "I don't know about that. My dad doesn't have any coins now. My third uncle's wife ran away, and he never said a word about it at home. Even if he had a little stash of money, it's all in Zhang Cuilan's hands. My third uncle doesn't have any coins either. As for my eldest uncle, it's hard to say. He's not a particularly bad person, but he's not exactly a good one either. Besides, what he says doesn't really count. My eldest aunt is a real shrew, that woman... you all know what I mean."

And everyone knows what the original reason was. It was that the three sons suspected my grandfather's money, or rather, the money my parents had saved through hard work, had been given to my aunt by my grandparents. So it was difficult for the three brothers to pay. My second aunt didn't get along with the family and was quite stubborn, so she couldn't be dealt with. My eldest aunt didn't have a high status in the family, but she definitely had money. As for why she didn't pay to ransom Wang Guixiang, nobody knows.

But no matter what, my aunt Zhao Chunqin is really rich. The couple earns over two thousand a month, and all the family money goes to her. If she doesn't pay to ransom him, why should anyone else care? Besides, if my grandfather isn't worried, no one else is. It's not me who's being shamed, so I'm not in a hurry either.”

Guo sighed: "But it's inevitable that people in the village will gossip about you."

"Grandma, do you think I care?" Zhao Da'e chuckled. "They can do whatever they want. As for me, firstly, I'm young, and secondly, I don't need to get married. What am I afraid of?"

Zhao Tingming patted Zhao Da'e's head: "You're so smart."

Zhao Da'e doesn't care at all about what outsiders say about her being unfilial. Filial piety depends on the recipient.

The things Wang Guixiang and the others did alone don't warrant any other filial piety. This is only because Zhao Da'e has been very tolerant. After all, Zhao Tiesheng is relatively filial, so Zhao Da'e can only avoid seeing it and not deliberately cause trouble.

The whole place was extremely small, just wandering around. Wang Guixiang's decision to go in was entirely her own fault.

"Alright, there's nowhere to sit. Go get the goose something nice to eat." Zhao Tingming instructed, "Give the goose those two strings of candied hawthorns."

"Wow! Candied hawthorns?" Zhao Da'e's eyes lit up immediately. "Where did they come from?"

"I bought them, one yuan a string of them," Zhao Tingming said with a smile. "Someone came to our village to sell them a couple of days ago, and I bought some and saved them for you."

Candied hawthorns can last for a few days, and they won't spoil in this freezing weather.

Guo went to another room and fetched candied hawthorns.

Each hawthorn was a large one, wrapped in a plastic bag.

Guo handed the candied hawthorn to Zhao Da'e: "Your great-grandfather guessed you'd be here soon, so he bought this especially for you."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "I don't really believe it. I reckon Grandpa bought it for my second aunt's child, that Li Wei, right? But that girl didn't come, so it was my turn."

Guo smiled and said, "Don't talk nonsense, I really bought it for you. Your second aunt's child isn't as eloquent as you. She won't be coming until the end of December, so you can eat yours."

Zhao Da'e then took a bite of the candied hawthorn: sweet, crisp, and sour.

good to eat.

"Give me some hawthorns later, I'll make some myself," Zhao Da'e said. "These things are quite expensive. I can make them myself, it's very simple. Just add some white sugar, and I can make them. Grandma, didn't your hawthorn tree have a bumper harvest this year? Give me ten pounds of big hawthorns, the really big ones."

"Oh, right, do you have any white sugar? Give me two pounds of white sugar. Wait, I don't have any wooden sticks, what should I do? They're using bamboo skewers, where can I get some Line 8?" "Grandpa, do you still have Line 8? Give me some..."

Zhao Tingming's face almost turned black: "Big Goose, would you like a frying pan?"

"Do you have one? I don't have a frying pan. I can't make it with a big pot."

Zhao Tingming looked worried: "Yes. Big Goose, how about this, you just cook it at my house, since I'm the one providing everything..."

Zhao Da'e shook his head: "That won't do. I have nothing to do, so I have to do some work, right? I'll make ten catties of candied hawthorns, so I have to make some money. Don't worry, Grandpa, I'll bring you as much as you want to eat."

Zhao Tingming was a bit bewildered: It seemed that Zhao Da'e hadn't contributed a single penny to making the candied hawthorns, except for her labor. The problem was, she not only wanted to eat them herself, but also sell them… And Zhao Tingming felt he couldn't refuse. After all, Zhao Da'e was still a child! As her grandfather, he couldn't very well say he hadn't contributed, since lying was pointless. Zhao Tingming did indeed have a hawthorn tree at home…

"When your second aunt's kids come, just bring them a few strings. By the way, Big Goose, what were you talking about? I've been telling you for ages, I've almost forgotten."

Seeing that Zhao Tingming had agreed, Zhao Da'e was now preoccupied with looking forward to making candied hawthorns. In the north, it would be a shame not to have a candied hawthorn in winter, especially during this cold season.

There's actually a lot of food to eat in the North. Many of it is especially delicious, including many fruits. Hawthorn berries are particularly tasty, with their tart flavor.

In winter, stringing some hawthorns together and making candied hawthorn skewers is absolutely delightful. Of course, you can also string some apples, pears, or other fruits together. They're all quite tasty.

However, Zhao Da'e didn't forget the purpose of his trip: "It's in Jurenzhangzi Village, my aunt's village, that there's a chicken plague. I don't know if it was brought by wild chickens from outside, or where it came from. Anyway, I think it's quite strange. My uncle's nephew, Zhou Tianxiang's, more than a hundred chickens all died. I figured since our two villages are next to each other, if they have a problem there, our village has to be careful. How many households are there in our village? There must be at least a thousand households, and at least 90% of them raise chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs. This stuff spreads to chickens, ducks, geese, and even pigeons, it seems."

Especially since several households raise hundreds of chickens. This is a big deal. I remember a few days ago, Little Liu from the small shop in town, and Old Liu's family, both raised chickens. If the village gets a chicken plague, wouldn't everything be ruined? Wouldn't we be unable to get a single egg?

And then there are the geese and ducks. Whole flocks of them will be ruined. But thankfully it's winter now, so the spread shouldn't be so easy. The cold weather kills the virus faster. If we can get through this period, I reckon we'll be fine. This is probably the most important thing for our village right now. Personally, I think we can't ignore this, and we must find a solution quickly. Every household has chickens, and it's heartbreaking if they die during the Lunar New Year. After all, some families raise chickens specifically for their eggs; if they all die before the New Year, there won't be any eggs left.”

Zhao Tingming's brows furrowed even more as he listened: This matter was indeed very serious. Zhao Da'e wasn't one to joke around; what she said was true. If Zhao Da'e said there was a chicken plague outbreak over Jurenzhang's place, then there really was a chicken plague outbreak over Jurenzhang's place.

Dongtaizi Village is a large village. Zhao Da'e's village is located in a relatively remote area. Further back, there are villages like Xiawa, Dongwa and Nanwa to the south, and Shangtai to the north, all belonging to Dongtaizi Village.

Dongtaizi Village originally got its name from the fact that, except for the east, the west, south, and north sides of the village are all low-lying areas, while the east side is a platform, hence the name. The village is actually quite large.

There are many people, and the village is large. If anything happens here, it will be a big deal.

Unlike Jurenzhangzi, Jurenzhangzi Village is very small and belongs to another system. Jurenzhangzi, Wenjiagou, Lijiagou, Sunjiagou, Jingou... just by hearing the names, you can tell where this group of people live.

Therefore, the people in the village of Juren Zhangzi do not live in large groups; they are scattered and there are very few people.

Furthermore, since they all live deep in the mountains, there's very little land in the Jurenzhangzi area, and not many families raise chickens. Chickens and ducks are relatively few. Most of them wouldn't be too bothered by the death of a few chickens, since many villagers in Jurenzhangzi go up the mountains to catch wild pheasants and rabbits. Because they raise so few animals, they don't feel much distress even if something goes wrong.

On the contrary, it's much more difficult in super-large villages like Dongtaizi Village. Some families rely on raising chickens, ducks, and geese for a living. Therefore, Zhao Tingming immediately raised the importance of this matter: we must not let the chicken plague from the neighboring village spread over.

"Then what do you suggest we do, goose?"

Zhao Da'e wasn't really an expert in this either, since she wasn't a veterinarian: "I'll ask the vet what to do. I'm just passing on the word. I don't dare to speak carelessly about this stuff. I have some ideas myself, but Grandpa, you should ultimately listen to the vet's advice. Let someone from the township come and give us some guidance, so if something goes wrong, we can blame the township..."

Zhao Tingming almost blurted out a curse, thinking to himself, "Zhao Da'e, with your tendency to shirk responsibility and drag others down with you, you're practically guaranteed to be the village chief of Dongtaizi Village from now on." However, Zhao Tingming also felt that Zhao Da'e's thinking was correct and reasonable. After all, this matter required guidance from a professional veterinarian.

The statement "If someone takes responsibility, it's the veterinarian's job" actually has many prerequisites.

Report it first, and the township will send someone from the veterinary station to provide guidance. Firstly, veterinarians are more professional, and secondly, the villagers won't gossip too much. What if they don't believe it?

Moreover, this matter is very likely to involve a large-scale operation, and it won't be resolved in just a day or two. It's already December, and the Lunar New Year is approaching. Everyone has to celebrate the New Year, so it's best to finalize the arrangements before the New Year so that every household can celebrate without any losses. That would be the best approach.

"Tell me your thoughts first, and I'll call the township later and ask them to send someone over."

"Grandpa, this is just my personal idea. Don't sell me out later and say that I was the one who came up with the idea. If something happens to someone else's chickens, you can blame me. I won't stand for that."

"What are you thinking about? Tell me quickly." Zhao Tingming naturally wouldn't let Zhao Da'e take the blame.

"It's just a few directions. There aren't any chickens, ducks, or geese getting sick in our village right now, and that disease isn't particularly contagious, especially since it's winter. But I don't know the specifics, so our first priority is physical isolation," Zhao Da'e analyzed. "We're preventing the chickens, ducks, and geese from Jurenzhangzi Village from coming to our village."