"Old man Zhang is so capable and has good craftsmanship. There are so many people looking for him to make furniture and he earns so much money. Look at his home. It's shabby. Is there anything worse than his house in the village? What about the money? Not all. Did you post it to the two girls?"
"Ouch, this old man is really fascinated." A group of people sighed.
Cheng Xiang ate a sour melon and looked back at Old Man Zhang's three adobe houses with collapsed roofs and tattered fences. Although he didn't know if what these village women said was true, he had mixed feelings in his heart.
"I also heard that the family they remarried to originally had a daughter, but that woman married her off to the countryside."
"No way, that woman became a stepmother, how vicious is she? She ruined her first wife's daughter like that?"
"Ouch, you're a sinner, where did you get married?"
"It seems to be the pig farmer in Zhoujiazhuang, his name is Zhou Tianlei."
Suddenly eating his own melon, Cheng Xiang immediately concentrated his ears.
"That man is very ferocious. People call him the Black-faced Tiger. I heard he killed someone in the past few years."
"He was not beaten to death, but was beaten lame. He was from Wangjia Village next door. He went to steal pigs from his farm and was caught by him. One of his legs was broken and he is still on crutches." An informed person described vividly.
"Oh, that's too cruel. How about marrying a young girl from the city and you don't know what will happen to her?"
"Huo Huo, I heard that when you come back from serving in the army, it won't work. Otherwise, why did the wife in front of you run away?"
"Ouch!" The woman became excited as soon as she heard this. She started chirping and gossiping, and those dirty words made Cheng Xiang want to wash his ears.
I saw a donkey cart loaded with tall timber in the distance, approaching slowly.
Cheng Xiang stood up and said to the old ladies, "Listening to your chatter is really insightful."
"We are just talking nonsense. How can you city people be knowledgeable?" the old lady said with a laugh.
"I'm not from the city." Cheng Xiang said bluntly.
"Then which village are you from? I've never heard of any village having a daughter-in-law with such a mark." The old lady asked doubtfully.
"From Zhoujiazhuang." Cheng Xiang raised his eyebrows and said.
"Zhou, Zhoujiazhuang? Then do you know Zhou Tianlei?" Everyone looked at Cheng Xiang.
"I know, he is my partner." Cheng Xiang smiled, turned around and took Qing'er to the door of Old Man Zhang's house.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. It could be said that there was fruit on the tree and you and me under the tree.
Old man Zhang saw Cheng Xiang from a distance, jumped off the donkey cart and walked over quickly.
"Hello, Uncle Zhang, I'm here again." Cheng Xiang greeted old man Zhang.
Old man Zhang smiled naively, opened the door, and signaled Cheng Xiang to enter the house.
Cheng Xiang picked up the snacks, held Qing'er's hand, and entered the door.
As soon as Qing'er entered the door, he stared around with big eyes, saw the wooden gadgets on the stone slab, and immediately ran over.
He held it in his hand and played with it, with a curious look on his face, just like Cheng Xiang.
Cheng Xiang looked at her, smiled, and gave the snack in his hand to Old Man Zhang.
Old man Zhang refused repeatedly.
"I want to thank you. Thank you for helping me make the bathtub and giving me so many things. I don't know if the money we gave you is enough. If it's not enough, you have to tell me directly and don't do a loss-making business." Cheng Xiang said sincerely.
Old man Zhang shook his hand and made a series of gestures.
"My father said that if you don't lose money, it is the wood that was saved when the wood was cheap. It is enough." Zhang Qingxiang, who was driving the car in, tied up the donkey cart and came to translate for Cheng Xiang.
"That's good," Cheng Xiang said with some relief.
Old man Zhang pointed at the wound on Cheng Xiang's head with a concerned look on his face.
Cheng Xiang touched his head and said with a smile: "It's okay, I accidentally fell."
Zhang Qingxiang glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to unload the wood from the car.
Old man Zhang still looked at Cheng Xiang with concern, suddenly thought of something, and quickly walked into the room.
When he came out, he held a small porcelain bottle in his hand and handed it to Cheng Xiang. He pointed at Cheng Xiang's head and made an audible sound.
Cheng Xiang looked confused.
Zhang Qingxiang came over and said, "This is my father's secret ointment. It can remove scars. It's very effective."
Cheng Xiang looked at Old Man Zhang in surprise: "Does Uncle Zhang still have this skill?"
Zhang Qingxiang laughed naively and said: "My father saved a Taoist priest who was wandering in the mountains before. In order to thank my father, he gave me the formula of this ointment. It is really effective in removing scars. Ning Ning was burned on his leg before. Just use this medicine to remove the scar."
Cheng Xiang thought about it, and indeed, when he saw Cheng Ningning wearing a skirt, he didn't remember that she had scars on her legs.
Cheng Xiang happily accepted the ointment. After all, she still cared about leaving scars.
Seeing that Cheng wanted to accept the ointment, Old Man Zhang smiled happily, pointed at Qing'er, and made a questioning gesture.
"She is my daughter." Cheng Xiang said with a smile.
Old man Zhang nodded thoughtfully, walked over, took out a red-brown wooden carving pony, and put it in Qing'er's hand.
The pony was carved so lifelike and polished so smooth and shiny that Qing'er was so happy when she held it in her hand, she kept saying: "Thank you, grandpa, thank you, grandpa."
Old man Zhang stretched out his hand and rubbed Qing'er's head, his eyes sparkling, and a kind smile appeared on his wrinkled face.
Cheng Xiang thought to himself, maybe more than ten years ago, he looked at the young Cheng Ningning like this.
Looking at Zhang Qingxiang who was unloading the truck, Cheng wanted to ask: "Aren't you at work?"
Zhang Qingxiang paused his movements and said: "The brick factory is not profitable and cannot pay wages, so I will quit."
"Oh." Cheng Xiangxiang remembered Zhou Tianlei's instructions, took out 20 yuan from his bag, handed it to him and said, "That day you helped the pig farm slaughter pigs, this is the salary Zhou Tianlei gave you."
Zhang Qingxiang was stunned and said: "Isn't this nonsense? It's just a help. How can I ask for money?"
"You have worked hard and this is what you deserve." Cheng wanted to put the money into his hand.
Zhang Qingxiang scratched his head, looked at the money in his hand, and then at Old Man Zhang.
Old man Zhang came over and said with gestures: "He helped me easily, you are too polite."
Cheng wanted to say: "It's easy for him, but it's a big help to the pig farm. He deserves it."
Old man Zhang nodded and signaled to Zhang Qingxiang that there was no need to refuse.
Zhang Qingxiang packed the money and continued to unload the wood.
Cheng Xiang looked at Zhang Qingxiang, who was strong and strong. A piece of wood as thick as a bowl was like a toy in his hand.
He was really a good worker, and thinking of his skills that even Zhou Tianlei praised, he asked him: "Are you interested in working in Zhou Tianlei's pig farm? If so, I can ask him for you."
Zhoujiazhuang Pig Farm has high wages and good profits. Many people are so crowded that they can’t get in, but Zhang Qingxiang doesn’t even dare to think about it.
He was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "Yes, can it be done?"
Cheng Xiang smiled and said, "I don't know either, so if you want to go, I will go back and ask. If he agrees, I will notify you to go to work.
However, he appreciates your pig-making skills and will probably agree. "
When Old Man Zhang heard this, he raised his hands and wanted to say thank you.
Zhang Qingxiang's dark face was filled with joy, he rubbed his hands and said, "Then, thank you."
Cheng Xiang smiled and shook his head and said, "You're welcome, I'll leave first. Just wait for my letter."
