Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 241

After finishing a bowl of sorghum liquor, Sima Dapao and Zhao Tingming became noticeably more talkative.

This sorghum liquor is 48 proof, not exactly cheap, but Zhao Da'e knows that his third uncle usually scoffs at bottled liquor like this. Zhao Tiegang only drinks 58 proof; he won't touch it, 65 proof is the minimum, and 70 proof is just right for him. The stronger the liquor, the better he likes it. In Zhao Laosan's words: "That sorghum liquor is mostly watered down... It's supposed to be 48 proof, but it's actually less than 30 proof."

However, for Sima Dapao and Zhao Tingming, downing a large bowl in one gulp was still a bit too much.

The two of them talked about everything under the sun, from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period to the creation of the world by Pangu, from An Lushan's rebellion against the Tang Dynasty to the fall of the Chenghua Emperor and the Qing army's entry into the Central Plains.

Finally, the conversation turned to Sima Dapao's foreign cannon.

“Brother, let me tell you, this cannon of mine isn’t your average cannon.” Sima Dapao had stopped calling Zhao Tingming “Old Zhao” and started calling him “Brother.” “This cannon is quite old. My great-grandfather used it to shoot down a black bear a few years ago. But…”

Zhao Tingming: "But what?"

Sima Dapao sighed, "That time we were fighting Hei Xiazi, I fired two shots, but didn't kill him. In the end, my great-grandfather died..."

Everyone stared in disbelief: "..."

Zhao Tingming, somewhat sobered up from his drunkenness, thought: "No, the glorious moment Sima Dapao spoke of today, indeed, couldn't escape its fate. If you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. And if you hunt year-round, you're bound to get killed by a bear."

Zhao Da'e pouted, took some peanuts from the counter and ate them. She really wanted to eat them with wine, but she didn't know how to drink.

In his previous life, Zhao Da'e had heard many hunting stories, and in his later life, there were also many novels about hunting in the mountains and the sea.

People especially enjoy watching it.

The appeal is simply the novelty.

But in reality, hunting is an extremely difficult profession.

First of all, although animals can't speak, they aren't stupid. They are generally nocturnal, especially large animals, which mainly hunt at night.

Can you go hunting at night? Obviously not.

At night, our visibility and familiarity with the terrain are certainly inferior to those native animals. Their homes are right there, and it's very difficult to get into their territory.

Secondly, they look remarkably like tigers and bears, and are extremely resilient to blows.

If a cannon shot at a human, that person would be dead long ago. But if a cannon shot at a bear, the bear might not be completely unharmed, but it certainly wouldn't die. Moreover, the cannon's power isn't particularly great; these shotgun-like devices are mostly single-shot. They're somewhat similar to a shotgun.

The Sima cannon was a twin-barreled weapon, firing two shots at a time, which was relatively advanced for its time. However, it required reloading after each shot.

Moreover, hunting usually takes place in winter.

In winter, when it snows heavily and the mountains are blocked by snow, animals have little to eat, forcing them to come out and forage during the day. It is when they are unable to move around easily that they are in the best time to hunt.

Hunting is difficult in the summer.

Because a human can't outrun a bear...

Moreover, if you don't have any weapons or guns and you go head-to-head with a bear, it can tear your intestines out two miles long...

However, hunting in winter also has its drawbacks. When it's cold, people wear thick clothes, which can make their fingers uncomfortable and cause them to shiver. So it's not surprising that Sima Dapao's great-grandfather died while hunting.

Anyway, Zhao Da'e had never heard of a hunter living to old age. They almost always died young...

Sima Dapao reminisced for a while, then recounted some stories about his great-grandfather, mostly about how brave he was back then.

But whenever Zhao Da'e thinks about how Sima Dapao's great-grandfather was eventually eaten by a bear, he finds it somewhat... funny.

Of course, how can you laugh at such a sad story?

Hahahaha...

Regardless, the drinking was still quite enjoyable.

Sima Dapao, holding his wine bowl, said, "Sister-in-law, come and eat too. There are no outsiders here."

Sima Dapao was referring to Guo Shi, but Guo Shi directly refused: "You guys eat. I already ate."

Guo didn't want to listen to their nonsense. After a while, Guo asked Zhao Da'e, "Da'e, are you hungry?"

Zhao Da'e thought for a moment and realized he wasn't particularly hungry.

After all, I had just eaten, and it had only been two or three hours: "I'm not hungry."

Guo said, "If you're hungry, I'll make you some dumplings and cook them. Waiting for them won't be long."

Zhao Da'e said again that he wasn't hungry, and Guo finally gave up.

Zhao Da'e then heated up a bottle of baijiu for the group. The four of them drank three jin of baijiu, which should be enough to settle things down. The plan to catch the wolf that afternoon was basically ruined.

Zhao Tingming then got to the serious topic: "Dapao, our village is really unlucky. Those 'laidai' (villains) are mentally unstable. You know, they didn't go to other villages to steal sheep, but they came to our village. As a result, one of my nephews went out to check on things, but his legs weren't strong enough, and a wolf ripped open his throat. He's been dead for three or four days. With a death, I, the village chief, am even more unlucky."

I wrote a whole bunch of self-criticisms. For the first two days, I was getting eight phone calls a day. Everyone in the township and county was cursing me. Tell me, what did I do to deserve this? It's not like I killed anyone; the wolf bit me, what could I do? But the responsibility is mine. Let me tell you, nothing is easy.”

Sima Sanpao hadn't drunk any alcohol, and his voice was still a bit high-pitched. As he ate his pig's head meat, he said, "That's your village; the feng shui is bad. I know how to read feng shui. When I first came here, I took a look at your village. It's a place where the land converges from all four directions, surrounded by mountains. Once you get to your village, it becomes flat land. It's a good place to accumulate wealth."

But wolves can also see. They figure out that there must be good food in your village, so they come. Isn't that a matter of relativity? Relatively speaking, your village may be blessed with abundant resources and talented people, but to a wolf, your village's good fortune becomes its meal.

Zhao Tingming nodded, agreeing that there was some truth to it.

Zhao Da'e scoffed inwardly: "Another damn know-it-all. Shouldn't the wolf think our village is flatter than others, making it easier to escape?"

However, when it comes to the village's location, Zhao Da'e thinks it's not bad. It's one of the flattest places in the mountainous area, so at least you don't have to live deep in a ravine.

In those days, even going out into the remote mountain valleys was difficult. Jurenzhangzi was a truly remote area; locals might be able to manage, but those wolves were from out of town, and even they got lost there…

Zhao Tingming took a sip of his drink and asked the question that had been on his mind: "Sanpao, you said that our village has been losing money no matter what we do these past few years. Is that also related to the feng shui?"

As Zhao Tingming grew older, he came to believe that life was largely a matter of fate.

Listening to the radio every day, I hear that people in the south have long since become rich, but the businesses in my village are going bankrupt one after another. Only the brick factory is left, barely surviving.

The problem is that the brick factory doesn't make money either.

It's not that they didn't make money; they did, but they also incurred considerable debt. For example, Zhao Da'e owed five thousand...

Moreover, the brick factory wasn't actually run by the Zhao family. It was run by the people from the third group of Dongtaizi Village. Although it was village property, it was essentially the Liu family's domain.

The factory also belongs to their group.

Zhao Tingming usually can't get involved.

Upon hearing this, Sima Sanpao nodded: "That's why they say, 'First, you rely on feng shui; second, on fate; third, on your parents; fourth, on your wife.' You just have to accept your fate..."

have to.

Zhao Da'e was too lazy to listen and went out for some fresh air.

That's how it is when people eat in the countryside; they always end up talking about feng shui and fate.

Zhao Tiegang would often, when drunk, say he had bad luck...

Is he unlucky and drinks too much at every meal?

Even the emperors of the Qing Dynasty didn't live as comfortably as him. He drank three times a day, a pound of liquor each time, and yet his life was still not good.

Those with bad luck, can they afford to drink three meals a day?

By the way, check if Zhao Laosan has gone home after drinking. He shouldn't be drinking all day and not doing anything productive.

So Zhao Da'e said to Guo Shi, "Grandma, I'm going back now. I'll come back another day."

"Aren't you going to check the gun?" Zhao Tingming asked.

Zhao Da'e: Um... I actually wanted to take a look, but these people are just too talkative. Zhao Da'e decided to give up...

When Sima Dapao heard that someone wanted to see the gun, he said, "Hey kid, come here. I'll have Lao San show you his Hanyang rifle. That gun is really good. Compared to it, my foreign cannon is just tacky."

Sima Sanpao obediently took out the gun and handed it to Zhao Da'e, saying, "It's okay, it's not loaded."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "Then we won't have to worry about an accidental escalation."

This was the first time Zhao Da'e had ever handled a gun—a wooden handle, an iron pipe. A real gun…

It actually feels pretty good.

Zhao Da'e just can't take pictures. He either has to hold this Hanyang rifle high and low to take a picture, otherwise he might not have another chance.

After looking at it, Zhao Da'e returned the Hanyang rifle to Sima Sanpao.

"thank you."

"This girl is really adorable."

After exchanging a few more words, Zhao Da'e left.

Following the road home, when they arrived at the old house, Zhao Da'e saw Zhao Tiesheng chopping wood with a pickaxe.

The wood is the thick branches left over from the first two days after the trees were planted.

Because those two trees were quite large, the branches of this tree were as thick as those of the smaller trees.

The original plan was to keep the branches and forks, so after the big trees were released, the thicker ones were loaded onto a truck to be split into planks and delivered to Zhao Tiezhu's house, while the rest were kept.

"Why are you in such a hurry to chop wood? It's still wet. Let's chop it when it's dry," Zhao Da'e said.

“If we don’t chop, there’ll be nothing to burn…” Zhao Tiesheng said.

Zhao Da'e responded with an "oh".

Okay, I guess I didn't think that through. There's really nothing left to cook with at home.

There weren't many people tending the fire to begin with, and these few "gods" in the family don't do any work. I reckon we'll be sleeping on cold kang beds in a few days.

Sometimes Zhao Da'e had to admire Zhao Tingxu and his friends; they were truly persistent. With so much wood, branches, and forks, why didn't they use some?

"Have you eaten?" Zhao Da'e asked.

"No."

"Didn't you go to Tiezhuzi's house? Didn't you get any food?" Zhao Da'e asked, puzzled.

Logically speaking, regardless of whether Tiezhuzi's son Zhao Yongtao is happy or not, lunch should be provided regardless of who goes. In the early years, if an elder in the Zhao family passed away, they would sometimes keep vigil for seven days. Later, keeping vigil for seven days became too expensive, so everyone went to help, and everyone had to be provided with meals.

Later, it gradually evolved into keeping vigil for three days.

However, as long as someone surnamed Zhao goes, they have to be provided with meals.

However, this meal isn't free; when you go, they'll give you a piece of white cloth.

It is mourning cloth.

Zhao Da'e hadn't traveled far and wide in his previous life, so he wasn't very familiar with the customs of other places.

In Dongtaizi Village, the custom is that when someone dies, every household buys paper money and sends it to the deceased's family, as a way to leave something for the deceased to spend "on the road".

The family will give a piece of mourning cloth.

This is just a piece of mourning cloth, a large white cloth.

In this era, the concept of a bolt of cloth has long since disappeared. However, the saying "a bolt of cloth" still exists for white cloth.

It was just a piece of cloth, off-white, not pure white. The host's family kowtowed and gave it to them.

Regardless of seniority, everyone has to kowtow.

If someone goes, it's a sign of respect to the host.

There's an old saying that goes, "You can't get this many people to attend a normal event; it's only when someone is gone that so many people show up."

The standard for meals provided is actually not very high; it's just four bowls a day.

The staple food was mainly steamed buns. The four bowls contained: white squares (fatty meat cut into cubes), three-pointed white slices (lean meat cut into triangles and fatty meat cut into slices), dried tofu, and shredded kelp.

This is standard.

This was the standard for almost every household, but not every household was particularly wealthy in that era, so those two bowls of pork probably didn't contain many pieces... but it was a must, you couldn't do without it.

Zhao Da'e thought Zhao Tiesheng had eaten it.

Zhao Tiesheng didn't look up, continued chopping wood, and said, "I'm not eating. Tiezhuzi has been dead for several days, and we can't carry him out. If so many people go to eat, we'll eat his family out of house and home."

Zhao Da'e frowned: ? ? ?

The problem is, this has nothing to do with anyone else... Tiezhuzi didn't die while everyone was catching wolves; he was bitten by a wolf, but it had almost nothing to do with anyone else.

It was all because Tie Zhuzi, out of concern for the sheep, recklessly chased the wolf, thinking he could fight it off, and ended up getting killed by the wolf...

He's going to kill the wolf, then he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the heavens... But once he's dead, there's nothing more to say.

As for Zhao Tiesheng...

Zhao Da'e sighed, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

Zhao Tiesheng is that kind of person. You could say what he did was right, and there's some truth to it, but not much. It's true that Tiezhuzi died, a bunch of people went to eat, and it took three days to prepare the broken wood and the coffin. Making the coffin will probably take at least two or three days, and then another three days of hard work. That's about ten days in total.

The three-day vigil mentioned at the beginning is unchangeable. If there is a coffin and the vigil is for three days, the local custom is basically that the first day is for the vigil to be held, allowing the deceased's relatives and friends to see him one last time. On the second day, members of the family go to the mountain to choose a spot and dig a pit at the feet of the deceased's father.

Buried on the third day.

However, the local custom is to avoid seeing the sun, so we went at midnight and were forced to stay for three days. That's how it was.

Zhao Tiezhu should be the same.

But he didn't have a coffin, so he just had to wait; who knew how many days it would take?