Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 37 Saving the First Huge Sum of Money

"Let's eat, let's eat."

The family was already surrounded by the irresistible aroma of meat, and after the matter was finished, they couldn't help but pick up their chopsticks and head straight for the ribs.

Tonight, Xu Chunsheng brought out the largest piece of cured pork ribs, weighing about five or six pounds, determined to make sure everyone had their fill.

Although we used to eat meat every few days, it was always a carefully planned meal, just a little bit of oil and meat was enough.

The skinny ones ate the youngest sister, while the adults ate the fatty ones, as they needed more oil to work. Xu Chunsheng and his father were fine, but the eldest sister and his mother couldn't eat all the fatty meat.

Xu Chunsheng saw all of this, and besides, he had been craving stewed pork ribs for a long time. He picked up a piece of pork rib, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

The ribs are smoked and air-dried, resulting in tender and flavorful meat that falls off the bone with a gentle bite. The meat is infused with the salty aroma of cured meat, filling the mouth with a rich and mellow flavor that becomes more fragrant with each chew.

Try another piece of old sunflower; the surface is savory with the broth, while the inside is sweet and soft, perfect for relieving the saltiness of the pork ribs.

Finally, there's a mouthful of rice noodles. The noodles are thin and smooth. Pick up a strand, twirl it around the chopsticks with both hands, put it in the bowl, add some dipping sauce, and it's spicy and fragrant, appetizing and perfect with rice.

The stewed vermicelli with "Big Vermicelli" is indeed delicious, and it lives up to the name that my sister gave it.

"Second brother, second brother, I want to eat rice noodles too, but I can't break them."

Xu Chunsheng didn't immediately help Yaomei; instead, he teased her.

"You need to stand up to pick up the rice noodles. Yes, stretch your arms out, stretch them high..."

The youngest sister believed Xu Chunsheng's words and stood on the stool, trying her best to pick out the vermicelli. The whole family was amused by the youngest sister's actions and also echoed Xu Chunsheng, encouraging the youngest sister to do her best.

The eldest sister couldn't bear to watch any longer and reached out with her chopsticks to help her youngest sister pick up the remaining rice noodles.

"Haha, your brother's just teasing you. Here, let me help you pick it up."

……

With two thousand yuan suddenly in hand, plus the four thousand yuan debt owed to Li Da, the Xu family went from having to carefully budget every penny to being able to eat meat whenever they wanted.

This amount of money might be equivalent to an average person's monthly salary in later generations, and wouldn't be considered a huge sum, but at that time, it was a fortune.

Keep in mind that this is a remote mountainous area where a laborer earns three yuan a day. If you were to work as a laborer, you would have to work non-stop for two years to earn two thousand yuan.

Moreover, once all the Ophiopogon japonicus is sold, the gross profit will be over ten thousand yuan, and his family will become a ten-thousand-yuan household overnight.

The Xu Chunsheng family couldn't contain their excitement just thinking about it.

Having witnessed the prosperity of the future, Xu Chunsheng was excited because the regrets of his previous life would eventually be changed.

The eldest sister is no longer a victim of the times, nor will she be one of those who drank "weed remover" until it was discontinued.

Parents can escape a life of hardship, avoid the tragedy of outliving their children, and enjoy their later years in peace.

The third brother no longer had to give up his studies because of poverty, and the youngest sister was able to stay by his side and grow up happily.

Xu Chunsheng found a few nylon bags, put them in his basket, and called into the house:

"Sister, bring an extra hoe. We'll dig up the Ophiopogon japonicus and pick it at home; we won't have to work in the field."

"Mom, you stay home and don't go to the fields."

"Yes, you can bring back some Ophiopogon japonicus later, and I'll cut it at home."

Xu Chunsheng still had those concerns, and besides, there was two thousand yuan at home, so leaving someone at home would always put his mind at ease.

Xu Chunsheng, carrying a basket on his back and holding a hoe, went to the field first.

Before his father and sister arrived, Xu Chunsheng walked along the furrows and combed through the roots of the Ophiopogon japonicus to prevent the roots from clumping together and making it easier to dig it up later.

A cool mountain breeze blew, and "San Kuai Bao" was next to the woodland. In addition to the rustling sound of Xu Chunsheng stepping on the liriope, there was also the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the branches.

The continuous rain for several days made the lilyturf bushes damp and wet. Fortunately, Xu Chunsheng was wearing "bucket shoes (rain boots)," which prevented him from having to work in wet shoes and having his feet soaked and turned white.

Xu Chunsheng froze. The sensation on his fingertips was different from the dampness of Ophiopogon japonicus leaves, nor from stones and withered branches and leaves, but from a cold, slippery, sticky feeling with skin and flesh attached.

Xu Chunsheng's heart skipped a beat, his fingertips went numb, his whole body stiffened abruptly, a chill ran down his neck, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Xu Chunsheng abruptly withdrew his hand and retreated straight back. Looking down, he saw a "black snake" curled up in the damp lily clump.

For some reason, the sound of Xu Chunsheng tidying up the ophiopogon japonicus didn't scare it away. Only when Xu Chunsheng's hand touched it did it raise its head, glance at Xu Chunsheng, and lazily swim away.

"On the third day of the third lunar month, snakes emerge from the mountains."

Xu Chunsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In early spring, the black-banded snakes are slow-moving and sluggish, and they don't like to bite people, but if you suddenly touch them, even a strong young man can be scared half to death.

Seeing Xu's father and eldest sister coming up from the foot of the mountain, Xu Chunsheng quickly called out:

"A black snake has darted down; be careful."

Mr. Xu looked around but didn't see the snake. "Okay."

He reached down from the edge of the field, broke off a mulberry branch, and flung it into the roadside bushes with a "whoosh." He then shielded his daughter behind him and walked all the way to the field.

The eldest sister put down her basket and said to Xu Chunsheng:

"Erwa, you should clean up the ditch. I'm afraid of running into snakes."

"Yes, go ahead and dig."

So the three of them divided the work and started working. Xu Chunsheng was clearing the ditch in front, while Xu's father and eldest sister were digging for Ophiopogon japonicus.

Seeing that things were mostly settled, Xu Chunsheng went to take over from his eldest sister to dig up Ophiopogon japonicus, and asked her to cut some roots to take home so that Xu's mother could pick them at home.

With two people digging and one person shaking off the soil and cutting the roots, even with all their strength, they could only dig out three-tenths of an acre in a day.

After dinner, the family would gather together to cut the roots of Ophiopogon japonicus. Now that they had money, Mr. and Mrs. Xu would no longer hesitate to use kerosene lamps for work.

As Xu's mother cut the Ophiopogon japonicus in her hands, she began to speak:

"How about I ask Erwa to go and deposit the money tomorrow, and I'll go with you to work? I feel really anxious guarding this money at home by myself."

Mr. Xu and his eldest sister nodded in agreement, saying that it was the right thing to do, as they felt uneasy leaving so much money at home.

Seeing the anxious expressions on the family's faces, Xu Chunsheng nodded in agreement:

"Yes, I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

The next morning, Xu Chunsheng took the money to the rural credit cooperative in town, but it was not open when he arrived.

He waited at the door for a while, and when eight o'clock came, the iron gate creaked open, and Xu Chunsheng went in.

Xu Chunsheng was the first to walk to the counter and say he wanted to deposit money.

The salesperson casually asked, "How much do you want to deposit?"

Xu Chunsheng replied, "Two thousand."

The salesperson couldn't help but look up.

Just then, Qian Junwei's mother, who had also come to withdraw money, came over. When she heard Xu Chunsheng say "deposit two thousand," she couldn't help but look over. Then she saw Xu Chunsheng handing a stack of large banknotes to the salesperson.

The salesperson and Qian Mu at the counter both brightened up considerably.

"Xu family's second son, where did you get so much money saved up? You've really struck it rich, haven't you?"