Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Zhao Da'e then bid farewell to the Guo family and returned to the Zhao family's old house.

As usual, I fed the little one the pancake I hadn't finished eating. Then I went inside and used hot water to scald a packet of instant noodles for the big one.

Later, Zhao Da'e felt that Xiao Bao wasn't full, but there wasn't much food at home, so she used hot water to scald some cornmeal and gave it to Xiao Bao.

After taking a few bites, Xiao Bao quietly lay down. Zhao Da'e squatted there, petting the dog, and Xiao Bao would lazily rub against Zhao Da'e.

Zhao Da'e really likes Xiao Bao; the dog is especially well-behaved. As for my past life…sigh…I don't really want to think about it.

In short, Zhao Da'e felt that the dog was particularly intelligent and better than a human.

After playing with the dog for a while, Zhao Da'e got up and went to the west room of the old house. He knocked on the window but found that Zhao Tiegang was not in the room.

Zhao Yongbo leaned on the windowsill and said, "Big sister, it seems my dad has gone out to do some work."

Zhao Da'e was stunned for a moment: "You went to Tie Zhuzi's house?"

Zhao Yongbo nodded.

Zhao Da'e was also helpless. Although Zhao Tiegang and Zhao Tiezhu's family might not be on good terms, and their carpenter was making a coffin today, so he probably couldn't help much, Zhao Tiegang was probably like everyone else, going to Zhao Tiezhu's house to freeload.

Regardless of whether they work or not, Zhao Tiezhu's family still has to take care of their meals.

And you can also drink some alcohol.

It's quite comfortable, relatively speaking.

After all, Zhao Tiegang doesn't have any money right now. All he has at home is the little bit of alcohol that Zhao Da'e bought for him. He can drink a little less and go out for a few meals, which is still pretty good.

In the village, when there's no work to be done in winter, the idle and lazy villagers sometimes deliberately pretend to help others. But in winter, the days are short; it doesn't get light until eight or nine in the morning and gets dark again around four at night—only eight or nine hours of sunshine a day. Add to that the time for three meals a day, and it's less about helping out and more about freeloading. They don't do much work, but they eat and drink just as much.

Zhao Tiegang actually studied bricklaying, but he wasn't very skilled at it yet.

Even if Zhao Tiegang is now skilled at bricklaying, he's not a carpenter. Going to Zhao Tiezhu's house is just for entertainment; he can't actually do anything there.

But now is a difficult time for Zhao Tiezhu's family. Since they haven't held the burial, everyone has to go and see...

Seeing that Zhao Tiegang wasn't home, Zhao Da'e told Zhao Yongbo to stay home and not go out, lest he get lost while playing outside and they would have to look for him.

Zhao Yongbo asked, "Sister, I heard someone selling candied hawthorns, did you hear it?"

Zhao Da'e frowned; he had indeed heard that there were people selling candied hawthorns.

"Come on, come out. Big sister will take you to buy some delicious food."

Upon hearing Zhao Da'e's words, Zhao Yongbo eagerly scurried out.

He was wearing a small plaid cotton-padded jacket over a red sweater, and slippers with the laces undone.

Zhao Da'e rolled his eyes at Zhao Yongbo: "Tie your shoelaces."

Zhao Yongbo bent down and tied his shoelaces.

Zhao Da'e took out some toilet paper and handed it to Zhao Yongbo: "Little brother, I haven't seen you for two or three days. How did you get yourself into this state? Your ears are frozen?"

Zhao Yongbo chuckled: "I went ice skating with them these past two days... and fell into the river."

Zhao Da'e wasn't too worried, after all, the river below Dongtaizi Village was just watery, not nearly enough to drown a person.

During the high water season, the water level is at best half a meter deep. In winter, the water level is only ten centimeters, barely enough to create conditions for freezing.

The banks of the river were lined with large willow trees, all about ten feet thick. A group of children went there to play every day.

"Clean your nose properly, or I won't buy you candied hawthorns," Zhao Da'e scolded.

Zhao Yongbo obediently wiped himself with toilet paper, and after he was clean, he followed Zhao Da'e outside.

Just as he reached the middle of the yard, Wang Guixiang called out from behind, "Grandson, your father isn't home, where are you going?"

"I'm going to play with my older sister."

What if I lose it?

"If it gets lost, it's your responsibility..."

Wang Guixiang: "Uh..."

Then Zhao Dage and Zhao Yongbo went out onto the street.

Down the street from the old house, there's a vendor selling candied hawthorns, using a large sorghum stalk bundle... I think it's called a candied hawthorn stand. Zhao Da'e doesn't really know what it's called, even though he's eaten candied hawthorns his whole life.

Basically, they use sorghum stalks, clean them thoroughly, sandwich a wooden stick in the middle, and secure the outside with wire. They then stick candied hawthorns on top and start selling them.

The man selling candied hawthorns pushed a bicycle with a candied hawthorn stand in front and two sacks of flour in the back. The sacks were filled with long, very long glutinous rice sticks.

"Candied hawthorn, candied hawthorn..." the candied hawthorn seller was still calling out.

There were other people buying it nearby.

I don't know what's wrong with this year, this is the first time the candied hawthorn seller has come here.

Zhao Yongbo wanted to go down, but Zhao Da'e stopped him, saying, "Just wait at the door. All the kids down there are other people's children. If you get to eat your candied hawthorn while the other kids don't, they'll cry and make a fuss. If you go skating again tomorrow, they'll easily beat you up, you know?"

"I understand," Zhao Yongbo replied obediently.

Sometimes, fights between children are for no apparent reason...

Perhaps a fight could break out over a single candied hawthorn.

A little while later, the candied hawthorn vendor came up.

Zhao Da'e glanced at him and saw that he was a stranger. He was about thirty years old, slightly overweight, wearing a military overcoat and a thick hat, but his face was still red from the cold.

"How much are the candied hawthorns?" Zhao Da'e asked.

"These pitless ones are 50 cents a skewer. The ones with pits down below are 30 cents a skewer," the candied hawthorn vendor said, pointing to the candied hawthorns on the shelf.

"Can you give me a discount if I want more?"

"How much?"

"I'd like twenty skewers without the pits, how much?"

The candied hawthorn seller thought for a moment and said, "How about I sell it to you for four cents a skewer?"

Zhao Da'e shook his head: "Not good. I've already ordered twenty skewers, and you're still asking for four cents? Twenty-five cents, I'll give you five dollars, okay?"

The candied hawthorn vendor had never seen anyone bargain like this before: "The ones on the bottom are 25 cents each, but the ones on the top are 50 cents each. You're cutting the price in half! You're losing money! How can you make any money like this? No way!"

"Fine, forget it. I don't want it anymore." Zhao Da'e grabbed Zhao Yongbo and started to leave.

Zhao Yongbo remained standing still. Zhao Da'e pinched him, and only then did Zhao Yongbo turn around and leave, but he was unhappy: "You're not going to buy anything? What was the point of me coming out here? At least buy me a skewer!"

“Three, two, one…” Zhao Da’e said in a low voice.

Sure enough, just as Zhao Da'e finished speaking, the candied hawthorn seller called out to her, looking reluctant, "Don't go, you little girl. Fine, I'll give you twenty skewers for five yuan."

Zhao Da'e chuckled and handed the money to the candied hawthorn seller.

He then said to Zhao Yongbo, "Little brother, you choose for yourself, pick the one with more sugar, it'll taste better."

Zhao Yongbo immediately became interested, pointing with his little finger: "This, this... and that..."

Zhao Yongbo thought he wasn't going to buy it, but then the candied hawthorn seller agreed. But the seller had just said he'd sell it at a loss. Was he really going to sell it even at a loss?

A short while later, the candied hawthorn vendor took down twenty skewers of candied hawthorn, wrapped them in a plastic bag, and handed them to Zhao Yongbo.

Zhao Yongbo picked out the one with the most sugar and gave it to Zhao Da'e first. Then he took a skewer for himself, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Ah..."

The candied hawthorns are frozen, I can't bite them...

Zhao Da'e chuckled.

"Oh right, I remember the old man who used to sell candied hawthorns was an old man, were you two related?"

The middle-aged man selling candied hawthorns said, "That's my dad. He's sick. Sigh..."

Zhao Da'e said a little embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I was just asking casually."

"it's okay no problem."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, I'm going home."

Zhao Da'e had Zhao Yongbo carry a large bag of candied hawthorns into the old house.

"Big sister is so good, I'll listen to whatever you say from now on..." Zhao Yongbo said flatteringly.

Zhao Da'e patted Zhao Yongbo on the head: "You little brat, you really know how to flatter."

Once they reached the back, Zhao Da'e looked at his blue ox. The trough was completely empty…

Zhao Da'e then said, "Little brother, go and get some grass for the blue ox."

Zhao Tingxu usually helps manage the blue ox. Feeding the ox isn't too tiring; he just throws it a bundle of corn stalks a day and waters it twice a day. Sometimes, if it's too cold, he only feeds it once.

Following Zhao Da'e's instructions, Zhao Yongbo rushed into the house and placed the candied hawthorns on the tea tray, which was the copper tray used to hold the teapot.

Then he ran out, carried a bundle of corn stalks from the fence on the east side, and put it in the cattle trough so the oxen could graze.

Zhao Da'e looked at the blue ox's condition: "Hmm, it'll probably give birth in a month or so. We should let the ox move around a bit sometime. That way, it'll have a smooth delivery."

However, although the blue ox always looks honest and reliable, like a simple and honest fellow, it actually has a bad temper. Once the rope is untied, it will start running wildly, and no one can catch up with it.

The rope used to tether the cattle should be made a little longer; that might solve the problem.

"Little brother, your older sister bought you candied hawthorns, shouldn't you do some chores too?"

Zhao Yongbo nodded: "I'll do whatever my older sister asks me to do."

Zhao Yongbo, after all, was indebted to Zhao Da'e, and he was bound to be grateful for what Zhao did to him. He relied on Zhao Da'e's sudden acts of kindness for his daily meals and drinks, so naturally he was incredibly obedient and compliant.

"Let's see if anyone has any straw, and steal a few bundles."

"Don't worry, big sister, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Millet straw, or millet stalks, naturally has a much higher nutritional content than corn stalks.

Cattle are generally not picky eaters; they'll only refuse to eat wild grass and sorghum stalks, but will eat everything else. The usual diet consists of corn stalks, and if possible, some millet stalks.

There was no cattle or sheep feed in this era. In winter, they would just give the oxen a handful of cornmeal, otherwise the weather would be too cold for them to handle.

Animal feed was only available to cattle and sheep in the last two or three years of later history. Zhao Da'e used to feed animals to other farms.

Cattle and sheep feed and pig feed are different.

Because cattle, in particular, are ruminants. Feeding them can severely impair their rumination behavior. For example, pig feed typically contains lysine and glutamic acid, which promote protein digestion in pigs, but cattle cannot ruminate after consuming it.

After a long period of research, based on pig feed, the copper element was removed from the cattle and sheep feed, and magnesium element was added.

Copper is fine for pigs, but it can upset the stomachs of cows. Also, pigs are prone to illness, so antibiotics are often added, while probiotics are added to cattle and sheep, and antibiotics cannot be added.

This was discovered after many years of research. Only after the development of cattle and sheep feed did domestic beef cattle farming reach its peak; afterwards, too many people raised cattle, resulting in huge losses.

When there is no feed available, feeding cattle more straw will improve their digestion, but they should not eat too much, as this will also affect rumination.

"Don't let anyone catch you. If they do, just say you took a bundle of firewood to start a fire," Zhao Da'e instructed.

Zhao Yongbo said he knew.

Zhao Da'e then went to the backyard to check and tidy up the messy branches and other things before coming out.

It was almost noon when I got to the outside of the yard, only to find Zhao Da'e coming from above.

Generally speaking, it's closer to Zhao Tingming's house from Zhao Da'e's backyard. However, there's a neighbor downstairs who only left a path half a meter wide; people can walk through it, but it's not very easy.

Zhao Tingming usually takes the road in front of the front yard home.

Zhao Da'e knew he had gone to Zhao Tiezhu's house, but he was in such a hurry; it was already noon, and he needed to go home.

Did they not provide meals after working all morning?

"Grandpa, are you going home? Does Tiezhuzi's family not provide lunch?"

Zhao Tingming was preoccupied and didn't actually see Zhao Da'e right in front of him. He only snapped out of his reverie when he heard Zhao Da'e speak. He sighed and said, "Too many things happened today. A hunting team from the county came, and then they came to the township. The township said that our village is in charge and we should try to kill those few laidais on the mountain as soon as possible."

That makes sense, since the incident happened in Dongtaizi Village, so the hunting team would naturally come to Dongtaizi Village.

The village is in charge of receiving them, so it's not a big problem. After all, nobody knows how many days it will take to catch them, so someone will need to take care of their food, drink, and other needs.

To be honest, Zhao Tingming really didn't want to get involved... After all, they were from the county, so they needed to be fed and clothed well, and they needed several dishes at every meal. The problem was that Dongtaizi Village was dirt poor, with no funds whatsoever and a lot of IOUs for famine.

In this situation, if they wanted meals provided, they'd have to pay for them themselves. The problem was, Zhao Tingming couldn't refuse. After all, the accident happened in Dongtaizi Village, right?

And we'd have to send a few people up the mountain to act as guides and such, which would cost money and meals. It'd definitely cost a lot of money, and as for when we'd find and kill Laidai, that's too uncertain.

Laidai isn't stupid; he wouldn't just stand there and let himself be attacked.

Who knows, Laidai might have disappeared after attacking Zhao Tiezhu's house last time.

Zhao Tingming was extremely worried.