60s: I have a store

Chapter 22 Changing Wood

Dachun's house is located in a relatively remote location in Zhoujiazhuang, at the foot of the mountain. There is a straight piece of wood lying under the eaves, allowing it to dry naturally.

Lai Fu and his two siblings decided not to leave because this family had a dog.

Zhou Yimin was also surprised to hear the dog barking. In this day and age, when people have nothing to eat, wouldn't raising a dog add to the burden?

It was a thin-looking dog, but its eyes looked a little fierce.

A man poked his head out of the house. He had a messy hair, was unkempt, and had eye boogers in the corners of his eyes. It was Zhou Dachun, who was also of a lower generation than Zhou Yimin, so he had to call him Sixteenth Uncle.

"Uncle Sixteen? What's the matter?"

Zhou Dachun waved his hand and drove away the black dog guarding the door.

Another voice came from inside, cursing Zhou Dachun.

"Did you invite your sixteenth uncle in? You have no manners at all."

Zhou Dachun, who had a chicken-coop hair, had no choice but to say to Zhou Yimin, "Uncle Sixteen, come in and sit down."

Zhou Yimin took Lai Fu and his three siblings into the house and was a little surprised to see the situation inside. Half of the house was filled with wood. If you didn't know, you would think that the people in their family were lumberjacks.

Inside the house, besides Zhou Dachun with his messy hair, there was also his father Zhou Zhicheng, who was equally unkempt and had a scruffy beard; and Zhou Dachun's younger brother, who looked very neat but seemed a bit out of place in this house.

There are only three people in this family, father and son. Zhou Dachun's mother passed away a few years ago.

"Yimin, sit down. Is there anything I can help you with?" Zhou Zhicheng asked.

"Brother Zhicheng, my family wants to add to the house and we're short of beams. I heard you have wood here, so I came to buy some. Is that okay?" Zhou Yimin took out cigarettes and shared them with others.

Zhou Dachun took the cigarette that was given to his younger brother and said, "You don't smoke either, give it to me."

"Ok?"

His father said "hmm".

Zhou Dachun had no choice but to give the cigarette to his father, feeling a little depressed.

Zhou Zhicheng was satisfied.

"Ok!"

Then, he said to Zhou Yimin: "I have wood, and I can give it to you. But my family doesn't want money."

"What do you want?"

"Is there any food?" Zhou Zhicheng looked at Zhou Yimin with expectant eyes.

He wanted food, not just to fill his family's stomach.

Although his wife passed away, he would often go to take care of his father-in-law's family. His father-in-law had no son, and he had promised his wife that he would provide for them in their old age.

In addition, he also wanted to find a wife for his son Dachun. He had chosen a girl, but the girl's family also asked for food.

But at this time, there was a shortage of food, where could he get food?

"What kind of food do you want? Rice, flour, corn, potatoes, or sweet potatoes?" Zhou Yimin asked.

It is difficult for others to get food, but for him, it is easy to get, right?
Zhou Zhicheng was relieved when he heard Zhou Yimin say that. That's right, he was a buyer for the steel plant, so he had easy access to food and brought so many sweet potatoes and potatoes to the village.

"Potatoes and corn! How many pieces of wood do you want? I'll help you pick them out! They'll definitely be stable as beams for the house."

"Twelve are needed for the roof beams, but also for doors and windows, so prepare three more thicker ones! If they are not enough, I will come to you later." Zhou Yimin said.

Zhou Zhiming had already told him how much wood would be needed.

"No problem! Dachun and I will carry it to you later. Food..."

Zhou Yimin was also straightforward: "How about one piece of wood for 10 kilograms of corn kernels, or 30 kilograms of potatoes?"

He looked around and saw that the corn kernels in the store were 5 cents per pound. "Okay! Then I want 100 pounds of corn and 150 pounds of potatoes," Zhou Zhicheng decided.

When the time comes, I will take 50 kilograms of corn to propose marriage to my son. The in-laws will clearly ask for 50 kilograms of grain, or cornmeal. Then I will grind 20 kilograms of cornmeal and 30 kilograms of potatoes for my father-in-law.

The remaining 30 kilograms of corn and 120 kilograms of potatoes were kept for our family to eat.

"I'll bring you the food tomorrow."

After negotiating the deal, Zhou Yimin did not stay, but went to find the old branch secretary to ask him for mud bricks!

After sending Zhou Yimin and the others out, Zhou Dachun rubbed his hands excitedly: "Dad! I will go find Xiaofang tomorrow."

"Why are you in such a hurry? She's your wife so she can't run away. Exchange the corn and potatoes first. I'll go pick up the wood. You carry it to me later."

Zhou Dachun's younger brother reminded him: "Brother, you should get your hair cut!"

These words were actually also telling his father.

Even in this situation, you still want to propose marriage?

"Well! Help me cut it tonight." Zhou Dachun reacted.

His brother said, "Dad! If it were you, we should just bring grandma and grandpa over to live with us. The food we send over there won't be enough to feed my aunt's family."

Grandpa had three daughters, his mother was the eldest, his second aunt married far away, so they didn't have much contact. His youngest aunt married someone from their village, and she often went back to her parents' home to beg for money.

Anyway, he has already liked it.

Zhou Zhicheng frowned, tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers, and said uncertainly: "Let me discuss it with your grandfather and others!"

He also knew the character of his sister-in-law's family. When his wife was still alive, he often quarreled with his sister-in-law and even fought with her.

"What else is there to discuss? You know my grandma and grandpa's personalities. They definitely don't want to come and drag down our family."

Zhou Zhicheng spread his hands and said, "Okay, then go and persuade your grandma and grandpa."

He lay down and simply threw the task to his youngest son who always had his own ideas.

……

Zhou Yimin took out three pieces of dragon beard candies and shared them among Lai Fu and his two siblings.

"Eat quickly, don't let anyone see."

It was the first time for the three little guys to see this kind of candy. They thought it was delicious. The little chicken pecked at Xiaomi and nodded, then quickly stuffed the dragon beard candy into its mouth, looking around like a thief.

The appearance of dragon's beard candy is white, dense and thin like a dragon's beard.

It is refined from wheat flour, maltose and other raw materials. It has the characteristics of milky white color, fine threads, clear layers, rich nutrition, soft taste and sweet aftertaste.

It is said that when Emperor Zhengde was traveling among the people, he discovered that there was this flavor among the people. It was extremely fragrant and had a special taste, so he developed a liking for it. He then ordered it to be brought back to the palace and named it "Dragon Beard Candy", also known as "Dragon Beard Roll". It was a royal snack and later introduced to the people. It has always been a favorite food among the subjects.

However, there are also rumors that the Dragon's Beard Candy became famous during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. It is said that Emperor Yongzheng prepared a banquet for all civil and military officials. When the imperial chef was making the candy on the spot, Emperor Yongzheng saw that the chef's skillful technique was like a dancing dragon and a phoenix. The sugar threads in his hands were white and slender, like the beard of a dragon. He was very pleased and rewarded all his concubines and ministers, and specially named this candy "Dragon's Beard Candy".

"Brother, this candy is delicious." Lai Cai sucked it as he got used to it, and then sucked back the snot that was about to reach his mouth.

Zhou Yimin scolded: "You must blow your nose from now on."

This brat is so unhygienic.

"Oh! Brother, I understand."

Lai Cai pinched his nose, blew it hard, then flicked it to the ground, and then wiped the snot off his hands with the dust on the ground.

Zhou Yimin quickly took Lai Fang and left.

I really didn’t see it!
(End of this chapter)