After getting off work at noon, Gu Xiaoxia came to Sister Yang on her bicycle and hummed a cheerful song.
When she entered the alley and saw no tractor, she was a little confused. Could it be that her husband Li Long came here on a bicycle to eat? Still not here today?
Get off the car at the door and push the bicycle into the yard. Seeing Sister Yang working in the kitchen, there were no 28 bars in the yard. Gu Xiaoxia's heart sank. Could Li Long have gone into the mountains again?
Otherwise, why didn’t you come to dinner?
"Auntie, you are here." Sister Yang poked her head out of the kitchen to take a look when she heard the commotion, and then said to Gu Xiaoxia with a smile:
"This dish will be out soon, and the rice will be ready. By the way, his uncle went to the market in the morning and told me that he was going to Shicheng to buy things and would be back in the afternoon. He told us not to wait for him to eat."
< br>"I'm going to Shicheng." Gu Xiaoxia felt relieved, it would be fine if she went to Shicheng. She went to Shicheng less, but listened more. My husband, Li Qingxia and Tao Daqiang, go to Shicheng from time to time to sell fish. Sometimes when they don't return to the village on weekends, they will send some fish over.
Li Long left after eating at Chen Xingbang's place. Chen Xingbang will sell mutton in the afternoon. Li Long can roughly calculate that he can earn more than ten yuan in this day. Although it is hard-earned money, it is better than staying in your hometown with no hope.
And if you continue to accumulate a little, you will become rich.
The tractor drove out of Shicheng towards Ma County. From time to time, we could see people in twos and threes along the way, some on foot and some driving in vehicles. Now there is a shuttle bus from Shicheng to Ma County, but not everyone is willing to take it. Some people would rather walk to save some money.
Little things add up, which is the same mentality as in later generations when some carpoolers would rather not go on the expressway than pay the toll.
Someone waved, and Li Long kept waving and drove all the way to Ma County. After entering the compound, he unloaded the TV.
The most important thing now is to assemble the antenna.
Although the county seat is relatively close to Shicheng, it still requires an antenna to receive TV signals, but it is better than in the village.
There are all kinds of materials at home, including poles. Li Long is familiar with the road. , first take a pole and use wires to fold it into various required shapes, fix it on the wood and connect it with wires, and finally tie it to the pole and set it up.
There was no TV signal at this time, so Li Long put up the pole without adjusting it. After placing it there, he placed the TV in the bedroom so that the two of them could watch it after dinner.
There is only one plugboard in the bedroom, which is at the bedside, a bit far away from the cabinet where the TV is placed. Seeing that there was still time, Li Long rode his bicycle out to Wujiaohua Mall and bought some plug boards and wires.
In the past year or so, Li Long's hands-on ability has improved significantly. He connected the plug-in board and nailed it to the wall by himself. The wiring was also very hidden and basically invisible.
The TV cable was plugged in just fine, but unfortunately the screen is still full of snowflakes.
I feel nostalgic for the past life when I just turned on the TV and there were all kinds of channels and program types. It's a pity that most people no longer watch TV at that time, and play on their mobile phones or computers every day.
After sighing with emotion, Li Long stopped and waited until Gu Xiaoxia came back and the TV started, so he could tune in easily. Now that it's almost time, let's go cook.
The morels I brought back earlier can be used to make a soup, which I am good at.
Chicken soup is usually better for making Enterobacteriaceae. Although there is a lot of meat at home, there is no chicken.
This was not a problem for Li Long. He looked at the time he still had. I got on my bicycle and quickly went to the market.
The market has not completely dispersed yet. Li Long searched around and found someone selling chickens. Chicken soup is usually made with old hens, but unfortunately this chicken stall owner only has big roosters now.
The chickens at this time were pure local chickens, and Li Long didn't choose any. He spent three yuan and five cents to buy a big rooster weighing more than three kilograms.
According to the practice 20 to 30 years ago in the previous life, if there were not many people in the family, and those with small appetites would eat one chicken and three meals. Chicken legs and wings are directly made into a large plate of chicken, which is a meal. The chicken rack is stewed with chicken soup, and you can drink it directly from the bottom. This is a complete meal. Chicken breast stir-fried with chili peppers or made into kung pao chicken is another dish.
But that was a time when material was very abundant in later generations. With people's current lack of and love for meat, such a chicken would usually be wiped out in just one meal.
The stall owner also had two hens, so Li Long thought about it and bought them directly. Now it's time for the hen to lay eggs. Set them up well and feed them every day. It's good to lay two eggs.
As for worrying about chicken droppings in the yard, it’s easy to deal with it. Just delineate the area like a roe deer.
Li Long took the chickens back and put the two hens in the yard to familiarize themselves with the environment. He went to kill the rooster, boiled water, plucking the feathers and scalded the chickens and skinned them in one go.
While waiting for the rooster to be put into the pot, Gu Xiaoxia also came back.
Smelling the smell of blood in the yard, Gu Xiaoxia was a little confused. When he saw Li Long coming out of the kitchen with a spoon, he asked:
"What are you doing?"
"Stew chicken soup." Li Long said with a smile: "Quickly Come here, don’t worry about it while the chicken soup is simmering. I bought the TV and it should have a signal now. It’s time for Channel 2 Central Station to broadcast the news. You watch from inside while I shake the antenna outside.”
Only then did Gu Xiaoxia discover the pole planted in the corner of the main hall.
The height of the pole is two or three meters higher than the main room. It is not too high and not very conspicuous. It is just right.
Gu Xiaoxia is still a little excited. Although there is actually a TV set at home, to be honest, except for the two days of the wedding, I basically didn’t watch it much. Later, when she was working, she didn't even think about moving the TV over. After all, it is a new house, but occasionally I feel that it is a waste to put the TV there.
Now that Li Long has gone to Shicheng to buy a new color TV, he can watch TV at home if he has nothing to do later.
A woman’s life is not only about her husband, children, kitchen and cleaning. She also needs to have her own space and her own topics. There are more women in Gu Xiaoxia's office, and there are actually quite a lot of topics. If Gu Xiaoxia doesn't participate at all, she won't be a gregarious person.
She parked the car slightly excitedly and entered the bedroom with her bag.
"Turn on the TV, press channel 2, you watch, I'll adjust it here..." Li Long stood outside the window and shouted.
"There is a signal, but there are some snowflakes... No, no, no, turn back, it's all gone..." Gu Xiaoxia shouted in the room, "Okay, that's it, slowly come back a little more, come a little more... Okay "It's done!"
Li Long listened to Gu Xiaoxia's words and stopped moving. After fixing the antenna pole, he went into the house to see the effect.
The news broadcast on the TV was very clear, and there were almost no snowflakes.
"Okay, okay, that's it. You watch first, and I'll go check out the chicken soup." Li Long glanced at the relatively plainly dressed host on TV, and felt a little emotional.
You should read the news more often in the future. National events and major trends still need to be understood from here. Although I know some specific changes, I still need to learn the specific policy trends.
After all, this life is completely different from the last one. Even if you want to live a plain rural life, you probably need to plan carefully. We must follow the trend of the times. If you really encounter an incredible opportunity, shouldn't you follow it?
Gu Xiaoxia was not watching TV in the room. After she watched the TV clearly, she turned it off, did a simple wash, changed her clothes, and then went to the kitchen to watch Li Long stew chicken soup.
One advantage of morels is that they do not breed insects. If they are left without any treatment, they will slowly dry out. Li Long planned to return to the team with Gu Xiaoxia during the weekends in the past two days, just in time to bring back the morels, and both sides would get a point.
"I went to Sister Yang's place at noon, but I didn't see the tractor. I thought you went into the mountains again." Gu Xiaoxia said, leaning on the door frame, "I was thinking at the time, do you have a deeper affection for the mountains than for your family?"
"I told Sister Yang when I went to Shicheng." Li Long felt aggrieved, "I told you to stay at home during this period. It has been almost two months since we got married. , I know that my time at home is short, why don’t I come back now?”
“Hey, I just want you to be anxious. Sister Yang said, I know you are going to Shicheng, don’t worry. "Gu Xiaoxia seemed to want Li Long to be anxious. She smiled and said, "I feel at ease knowing that you will stay at home."
Li Long understood what Gu Xiaoxia meant. Although both people can understand each other, it is normal for a woman to be a little temperamental, and occasionally it can add interest to life.
Before, he was too rational and regarded making money as too important, which was not very good.
He thought that for the next period of time, he would mainly stay at home. Occasionally go to the team or Shicheng, and try to return on the same day. My wife and children are hot on the bed. Although I don’t have any children yet, it’s time to enjoy happiness. Why are I running out every day? In fact, I have always made money in the county.
Soon, the chicken soup was stewed, and the staple food was pancakes. Li Long poured out the chicken soup, a bowl for each of them, and cut a plate of pickles. It would definitely not be okay to eat pickles at this time if it were to be left to future generations, but in this era, it is considered a normal situation.
After all, in May, the fresh vegetables in the vegetable field are mainly leeks, celery, which can live for several years, and Chinese cabbage planted in spring.
The peppers and eggplants haven’t come yet, so it’s normal to eat some pickles.
“This mushroom tastes a little weird, but it is very rich in nutritional value. Stewing soup is the best. Stir-frying is a bit wasteful.” Li Long explained, blowing away the oil on the side of the soup and taking a sip. . It feels good.
Gu Xiaoxia didn't speak, but the smile on the corner of her mouth already showed her emotion, that is, as long as she is with Li Long, whatever food she eats will be delicious.
After dinner, Gu Xiaoxia put away the dishes and the two of them went into the room to watch TV.
The news has finished, the weather forecast has ended, and next is a good TV series.
Li Long doesn’t really care about what is in this TV series, but at this time, TV has not yet become popular, and not even one of the ten households in northern Xinjiang has a TV. When he is watching color TV at home, no matter what Anyway, this is something worth bragging about.
Gu Xiaoxia was quickly attracted to the TV show, and even occasionally chatted with Li Long - women seemed to be better at empathy than men.
After finishing watching the TV series, Li Long urged her twice, and Gu Xiaoxia reluctantly turned off the TV and prepared to go to bed.
Li Long feels a little regretful. Will having a TV compromise his quality of happy life?
Fortunately, this was just a joke, and the evening was still very happy.
Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, Li Long drove a tractor and took Gu Xiaoxia back to the team.
They returned late, school was over, and Li Long's tractor was almost driven back by the setting sun.
When we arrived at the team, the sun had set, but it was not dark yet. The tractor drove to Gu Boyuan's yard first. Gu Boyuan was cooking soup on the stove in the yard. Gu Boyuan had a premonition when he heard the sound of the tractor, and was a little surprised when he saw Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia.
Li Long drove the tractor into the yard, Gu Xiaoxia got off the tractor, and Li Long went to the back and took the TV off.
"What is this? TV? I don't want it!" Gu Boyuan stared at it as soon as he saw it, "What's this for? Why do I want this alone? Why don't you keep the money yourself? Return it. Drop it!”
“You can’t return it if you buy it.” Li Long said with a playful smile, “How can I return it? It’s not broken.”
"Then move to your eldest brother's place!" Gu Boyuan can support himself, and he has been trying his best to avoid people gossiping about taking advantage of his daughter. After all, he is middle-aged, can still work, and can support himself.
“We are going to move the TV in our yard to my dad’s house.” Li Long said, “We also bought a TV in the yard in our county. Now we can watch it on all three sides. You can Just keep watching. It’s late today. I’ll come over early tomorrow to get the antenna for you.”
"Do you need to do it? You don't think that I am a college student for nothing, do you? Although I am not studying physics, but doing this thing, hey." Gu Boyuan listened to Li Long's arrangements, He didn't say anything more, but he really didn't brag about the antenna, he could do it himself.
"Dad, are you busy in the fields?" Only then did Gu Xiaoxia have time to ask her father about things at home.
After chatting for a few words in the yard, Gu Boyuan began to chase people away:
"Go back quickly, I didn't cook for you today. What's the point of running to me this time? Okay, okay, I'm fine, let's go."
Li Long couldn't laugh or cry. He actually understood what Gu Boyuan meant. In this day and age, generally speaking, the woman was still married to the man, rather than the man and woman forming a new family.
So in Gu Boyuan's opinion, if his daughter marries into the Li family, then the Li family will be the main one, otherwise he, the father, will be laughed at.
And Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia have a yard in the team. Now that they have returned from the county, they are not allowed to return to their homes first?
Of course, there is another thing that he is embarrassed to say. A middle-aged man lives here. Lunch at lunch is quite formal, and he makes sweet soup in the evening. You can make do with this meal yourself, but when your daughter and son-in-law come to visit, how do you eat this meal? It's embarrassing.
Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia put down some meat and morels, and then drove the tractor back to Xinzhuangzi.
The neighbor next door just came to visit at this time. Seeing Gu Boyuan packing his things, he asked:
"This uncle came to the door, and you didn't cook anything delicious?"
“What are you cooking for delicious food? They eat better than me It’s much better. Look at these mushrooms and the dried ones cost more than ten yuan a kilogram. And this meat, this is roasted bear meat. What I eat is not as good as theirs. Let them go back.”
The words were all complaints, but the tone was extremely proud.
"That's... a TV box? What did you bring in this big box?" the neighbor asked after seeing the big box.
"Come back after setting up a TV for me." Gu Boyuan hadn't looked at it carefully yet.
"TV? Oh, Li Long is really famous! Your Xiaoxia is really married well. We have only been married for two months, and I will give you a TV... Oh, this is still a color TV - —Eighteen inches! So big!”
Only then did Gu Boyuan see the size and specifications of the TV, and it was already too late to complain.
“Hey, just earn some money and show off, and I won’t scold him tomorrow!” Gu Boyuan really didn’t want Li Long to show off like this, which would make the villagers uncomfortable.
"This is not showing off. Didn't you see? Follow him and work as a lifter, and everyone buys a bicycle. It's really profitable." The neighbor was actually quite envious. In fact, deep down in his heart, he was thinking about letting Gu Boyuan give it to him. Pull strings and build relationships with Li Long.
If you really want to catch up, wouldn’t it be easy to make money?
Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia drove the tractor to the edge of the elder brother's yard and stopped.
Li Qingxia and the others have been waiting for a long time. When the tractor rang in the team, they already knew that Li Long was back.
After all, there are only two tractors in the team now, one is an old Dongfanghong 75, and Wang Caimi drives the plow. One is Li Long's small four-wheeler.
The two people got out of the car. Li Long was carrying dried bear meat, venison and morels, while Gu Xiaoxia was carrying some snacks bought with her own salary.
"Come back as soon as you come back, what else should you bring?" Li Qingxia and Gu Boyuan complained the same.
“I haven’t been back for a few days, why don’t I bring something with me?” Li Long said with a smile, “Come on, Qiang Qiang, sesame cake, you can get a piece for everyone!”
Li Qiang He had a good relationship with Li Long, glanced at his father, and then took the sesame cake from Gu Xiaoxia's hand and shared it with everyone.
The family was talking and laughing together, and it quickly became lively.
There was a lot to cook for dinner, so Liang Yuemei improvised two dishes, and the family ate at two tables.
"Dad, tomorrow I will move the TV from my yard to your house, and you can watch it." Li Long brought up the topic at the dinner table, "We don't come back often, so the TV "Don't put it in bad condition."
"How can it be bad?" Du Chunfang was not happy, "Your second sister-in-law and I ventilate and clean it every day, how can it be bad?" < br>
“I’m asking you to watch more TV.” Li Long smiled, “Xiaoxia also said, you can watch it without leaving it, but it’s inconvenient anyway, so I’d better move it into your house so you can watch it. It’s convenient and convenient for the children to watch.”
Actually, Li Long knew that the TV was in his yard. Although I had the key and the children wanted to watch it, I would not turn it on.
Afraid of looking bad.
Well, if you buy a TV, you will watch it. Isn’t it a waste if you don’t watch it?
"Since Xiaolong said it, the matter is settled." Li Jianguo knew that Li Long had made a lot of money this month. Since he had this plan, he would support it.
Actually, he himself was also thinking about buying a TV, but now it seems that he shouldn’t buy it yet.
I made a lot of money, but I still have to do big things to save it.
After all, a horse-drawn carriage is inferior to a tractor. (End of this chapter)