The wealthy angler: "..."
I was careless!
I never imagined there were items in this world that you couldn't buy even with real money!
Jiang Yu probably felt bad that his fans hadn't managed to snag the secret-recipe smoked fish, so before the New Year, he had Shan Yan and his apprentices make another trip to the mountains to collect several hundred kilograms of local honey from the beehives of various families. This time, he didn't share any with Jiang Xiaoman; he kept it all for himself and told his fans to grab it quickly!
But sometimes, fate just plays tricks on people.
Many of Jiangyu's fans are people who enjoy fishing everywhere.
Nowadays, fishing is prohibited in urban rivers and ditches, so anglers can only drive to remote, wild areas to find ponds to satisfy their fishing desires.
However, there are indeed no urban management officers to issue fines in such places, and the cell phone signal is really bad.
After Jiang Yu's few fans, along with Jiang Xiaoman and Jiang Yu's "dual fans" who had come after hearing the news, had all snapped up the local honey, they finally saw the empty shared bike...
I'm so tired!!!
Faced with this situation, Jiang Yu was helpless.
According to their local custom, after the Laba Festival, they stop making all kinds of pickled and cured meats. The older generation says that pickled and cured meats made after the Laba Festival don't taste as good as those made in winter. So, after making the last batch of smoked fish, their traditional workshop temporarily stopped operating.
The women who came to visit also need to hurry home for the Chinese New Year.
Before they left, Jiang Yu settled their wages and gave each of them two bighead carp as a gift.
"Thank you for your hard work, sisters-in-law. I'll ask you to come and help me again next spring when I have some work to do," Jiang Yu said politely.
"Then it's settled. If you have any other work next year, Xiaoyu, you can't ask anyone else!" Xu and Hu, who came to help, were both a little reluctant to give up their jobs.
Cleaning and gutting fish looks tiring, but the work is simple and there are no worries. Unlike at home, where every day when I open my eyes, I have to feed the pigs, cook, take care of the children, work in the fields, and wash the whole family's clothes. By the time I get to night, I'm so tired that I can't even straighten my back!
But at Jiangyu, all they have to do is sit there, cut open the fish's belly, remove the internal organs, wash it clean, and then put it in a bamboo tray to drain.
They didn't have to do anything else. Even their lunch every day was prepared by Jiang Xiaoman and delivered to them in a large lunchbox.
The work isn't tiring, and I can earn 100 yuan a day!
If it weren't for the fact that the Chinese New Year is almost here, they would love to keep doing this forever!
However, even if they wanted to do it, Jiang Xiaoman couldn't.
He had to go home to help his father prepare things for the Chinese New Year.
People in the mountains live a very hard life all year round, except for the Spring Festival, which is the most lively time. This year, their family has a few more relatives and friends to visit. His father is not very good at handling these trivial matters, so Jiang Xiaoman has to do it all by herself.
First, there are the three essential items for visiting relatives: glutinous rice cakes, pork, and wine.
They've already made the glutinous rice cakes at home, so they can just pack them up when they visit relatives.
The pork was from two pigs raised by his father. This year, pork prices have been falling all the way down, which angered his father, Jiang Youliang, so he didn't sell any of the pigs and slaughtered them all himself to make cured pork.
The most expensive part of a pig, the rib meat, was cut into strips weighing seven or eight jin each by Jiang Youliang. The strips, skin and bones, were marinated and hung under the eaves. This was the most impressive "gift" for the New Year in Langshan.
Jiang Xiaoman plans to go shopping for cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and the like with Jiang Yu and the others at the market on the 28th of the lunar year. He had promised his fans that he would film a video of them going to the market in Langshan for the New Year, so he could do both shopping and chores in one go!
After arranging the New Year's goods, the most important thing left is deciding what dishes to serve when entertaining guests during the New Year.
This is the first year their family has built a new house, so there will definitely be many relatives and friends coming over for dinner, including Uncle Baichuan...
After the winter vacation started, he took two teachers to visit each household. Now the two local teachers have gone home for the Spring Festival. This year, he plans to bring Uncle Baichuan to his home to celebrate the Spring Festival with them.
Jiang Youliang greatly appreciated his son's suggestion. Looking at his son, who was now taller than him, Jiang Youliang paused, then cautiously asked him—
"Xiaoman, look at your Uncle Baichuan, he's not married and doesn't have any children. What will he do when he gets old?"
He felt very uneasy after asking that question.
Although Jiang Xiaoman is not his biological son, he took her in and raised her to adulthood, so it is only right that Jiang Xiaoman should take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days.
But Jiang Xiaoman doesn't owe Jiang Baichuan anything.
Moreover, to be precise, Baichuan is not his biological uncle, but Jiang Youliang's cousin.
From both a moral and legal perspective, Jiang Xiaoman has no obligation to support Jiang Baichuan.
Jiang Youliang didn't want to burden his son.
However, his own wisdom was limited, and he couldn't think of a way to solve his brother's retirement problem, so he could only pin his hopes on his son who had gone to university.
"What do you mean, what will happen when he gets old? When Uncle Baichuan gets old, he'll naturally live with us."
Jiang Xiaoman glanced at her father and then remembered that she had been so busy that she forgot to tell him about the bank card.
Touching her nose, Jiang Xiaoman cautiously moved a few steps towards the door, making sure she was at a relatively safe distance and could definitely escape her father's pursuit. Only then did she give her father a fawning smile.
"Um, Dad, I've been so busy lately that I forgot to tell you. Didn't I buy the land belonging to that old man who's on welfare at the village entrance? I'm going to build a two-and-a-half-story house, aren't I?"
"Well, since we didn't have enough money, Uncle Baichuan gave me his savings for his funeral to build a house."
Jiang Youliang: "..."
Before her father could react, Jiang Xiaoman secretly grabbed the phone that was charging on the windowsill, leaped into the yard, and ran out in a flash.
"Dad, I made plans with Brother Xiaoyu to go to the market down the mountain tomorrow, so I won't be coming home to sleep tonight!"
From afar came Jiang Youliang's furious cursing—
"You little brat! If you're so tough, don't come back on New Year's Eve!"
"You dare spend your uncle's funeral money? You're asking for trouble!"
...
On the way down the mountain, Jiang Xiaoman hummed a song, feeling quite pleased with herself.
Anyway, he's already used all of Jiang Baichuan's savings for his funeral to build a house.
If he dares to neglect his uncle's old age, everyone in the surrounding villages will spit on him and drown him.
His father was too embarrassed to bring this up with him. Jiang Baichuan was even less likely to bring it up with him.
However, his father is the kind of person who can't keep things to himself. Once he found out about this, how could he not ask Uncle Shirakawa?
This was the reason he gave his father, a reason why his family had to support Uncle Baichuan in his old age.
really!
In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, Jiang Youliang didn't even need to show up in person. He just followed Jiang Baichuan around, watching him pack his luggage, lock the door, and go with him to the mountains for the New Year.
Furthermore, Jiang Youliang declared with conviction: Since Xiaoman has already spent all of Jiang Baichuan's money for his funeral, then he must take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days!
Moreover, starting this year, Jiang Baichuan must spend the Lunar New Year with them!
Jiang Baichuan has really shot himself in the foot!
Who said he gave the money to Jiang Xiaoman so that he could take care of him in his old age and see him off when he dies?
He planned to take care of his body donation when he went to the county town for a meeting after the New Year. He had heard that as long as he signed the body donation consent form, the state would help him with his final affairs.
He doesn't want to be buried in the ancestral grave!
In the future, those bastards will come to his grave in the spring to dig up shepherd's purse to make dumplings, and in the summer they will come to pick selfheal to make herbal tea.
During holidays, a group of "filial sons and grandsons" would come to his grave with firecrackers to set it off, and ask him to bless him with promotions, wealth, and marriage. Wouldn't he be annoyed to death?
Jiang Baichuan has finally figured it out. In his life, he was willing to dedicate his entire life to education. But once he's gone, all he wants is to find a place to lie down peacefully...
However, Jiang Youliang was just too persistent. Jiang Baichuan suspected that if he didn't agree to spend the New Year at his house, Jiang Youliang would definitely move down to spend the New Year with him.
"Never mind!" Jiang Baichuan exhaled a breath of stale air and casually tossed the key to his old family house into Jiang Xiaoman's arms.
"Uncle, what's this?" Jiang Xiaoman looked at the keychain in her hand with a puzzled expression.
"Hmph! You're going to take care of me in my old age and see me off when I die, so shouldn't I give you the old house that's been passed down through generations?" Jiang Baichuan snorted. "Aren't you going to start some kind of beekeeping cooperative? Nobody lives in my house usually, so you can take it if you want."
"By the way, there are a few acres of land around the old house, but I can't take care of them now. You can do whatever you want with them!"
Good heavens! Has his uncle really handed over all his family's wealth to him?
It would be unacceptable not to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days!
Jiang Xiaoman happily rolled up her bedding and clothes and took them to her father's room, asking Jiang Baichuan to stay in his room.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Baichuan called him back.
"What are you busy with? I'll just make do with your dad for the next few days! It's good that we're sleeping in the same room, so we can talk. Don't you have to do a live stream tonight? Don't keep your dad awake." Jiang Baichuan scolded him irritably.
"That's fine. Uncle, you can make do for a few days this year. Once I've made some money tomorrow, I'll renovate all the rooms upstairs. When you have a holiday, you can come home and stay in whichever room you want!"
Hearing Jiang Xiaoman keep talking about "going home," Jiang Baichuan felt a warmth in his heart, but he still tried his best to keep a straight face and suppress the slight upturn of his lips.
Yes, he absolutely mustn't let Jiang Xiaoman see that he's very happy right now.
This kid is the type who'll take a liking to anything!
He's laughing now, but he'll probably have to "go home for two days" even on weekends...
Chapter 134
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already the 28th day of the Lunar New Year.
In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the town was bustling with activity. People from all around were like ants carrying loads of food, making trip after trip carrying baskets to bring home the things they would need for the holiday.
Especially on the 28th of the lunar year, the family has already bought cured meat, cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and other necessities. Fish, shrimp, fresh vegetables, and other essential items for the New Year's Eve dinner and entertaining guests must also be bought on this day.
By the 29th, those who went to the countryside to set up stalls will also be going home for the New Year. At that time, you won't be able to find anyone to buy fresh vegetables to take home for the New Year!
However, vegetable prices are highest on the 29th, so many people rush to buy fresh vegetables for the Lunar New Year on the 28th in order to save money.
Early in the morning, Jiang Xiaoman, along with Jiang Yu and Shan Yan, went to the market to buy things, carrying two fully charged mobile phones.
Before setting off, Jiang Yu locked the front door of her house, muttering to herself, "That old woman should be released by now, lest she come and snatch the child while they're not home."
Jiang Xiaoman was speechless.
Honey~ Could you please open your eyes and look at the person standing next to you?
The infamous reputation of Shanyan was well-known throughout the Langshan area.
Honestly, anyone who dares to lead a few apprentices into the old forest is a ruthless person who doesn't care about their life!
If that old lady from Camellia dares to provoke Shanyan, then the sun has risen in the west!