mijobooks Chapter 47 Keep one hand
Chapter 47 Keep one hand
"Sister Lingzi, do you have anything to eat or drink? Come on in if you have anything, otherwise we can talk about it!"
Chen Tuo spoke lightly because he had never experienced the pressures of life.
His past experiences as a beast of burden were simply work.
If this were a pioneer like Sun Changkui, they would think he was just enjoying a life of leisure.
If you really don't understand, then work in extreme cold of minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius, or even minus 30 or 40 degrees Celsius for two years, and you'll know what real hardship is.
With a single, easy sentence, the burden of life on the shoulders of Sun Changkui and Hu Yuling was lifted.
Chen Tuo then came up with another idea.
"Sister Lingzi, I heard from Brother-in-law Sun that we're going to hunt wolves. Could you ask him to put in a good word for me? I've hunted bears before, after all..."
Chen Tuo's words amused Hu Yuling on the shore.
In addition, because the child had eaten a meal at his house, the charming doctor in the forest area also genuinely accepted him as his younger brother.
"Old Sun, Little Chen can even fight bears now, count him in!"
If Wei Juncheng or Chu Mingshan had said this, Sun Changkui would have had to argue his case.
When Hu Yuling spoke, Sun Changkui simply hummed in response.
His life didn't actually have to be so hard. A huge military warehouse could provide him with enough to eat and drink, even if some odds and ends were lost.
Apart from the armed forces warehouse, where on the mountain did he not have comrades-in-arms?
Making extra money by dealing in wood is as simple as asking for a mouth.
But he didn't do that, and Hu Yuling was very supportive of him.
Taking into account the twelve-year age difference between them, as long as it didn't violate any principles, he would listen to whatever Hu Yuling said.
Chen Tuo, who was sorting through the fish catch, saw that Sun Changkui was very obedient, so he seized the opportunity.
"Sis, do you know how to fry oil? I don't really like fatty meat..."
Hu Yuling, who was on the shore, was confused by Chen Tuo's call of "sister".
Sun Changkui, who was cleaning the bear meat, dared not take such a big advantage of Chen Tuo, and interrupted him directly:
"My family doesn't have a big cooking pot, but didn't the educated youth settlement have two large cooking pots with twelve seals each?"
"Really? I don't know. Sis, could you go look for it and help me heat the oil later?"
Chen Tuo's call of "Sister" was enough to make Hu Yuling dizzy, simply because she really did have a younger brother at home.
In previous years, we corresponded less, but in the last two years we have started to correspond, and the letters are mostly about the hardships the siblings are going through.
"Hmm...okay, Lao Sun, hurry up, Xiao Wu's complaining of being cold!"
The handsome doctor turned and left, and Wu Laowai started flirting with Sun Changkui again.
"Hey, you two, why haven't you had any children in the last two years?"
"What's the point of having any more? These six bastards have almost cooked my bowl dry..."
Speaking of the hardships of life, out of consideration for his wife Hu Yuling, Sun Changkui gave Chen Tuo a piece of advice.
"Xiao Chen, now that you've sold the bear bile and have enough money, hurry up and leave. This isn't a place for you..."
Although the benefits for forestry workers are good, they must first be formal employees of the forestry farm, right?
Without employee benefits, and with winters lasting for half the year, the Xing'an Mountains are nothing but a shell of snow on the roads, making them a truly unpleasant place.
Seven months of winter, three or four months of mud, two or three months of mosquitoes and flies, and only one month of good weather.
Although the authorities intend to contract out the forest land, what else in the mountains can really be made money besides timber and medicinal herbs?
Therefore, in Sun Changkui's view, if Chen Tuo cannot resolve his identity issue, he should leave Songling as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if I'm forced to settle here, life will be tough after I start a family.
"Brother-in-law Sun, I plan to stay here permanently."
"What are you thinking? If you're going to stay here permanently, you need to plan ahead. Prepare your food, supplies, clothes, and lodging as soon as possible. Take whatever you can from the educated youth settlement."
Sun Changkui shouldn't have said this, but he did it for his wife Hu Yuling's sake.
Once the Forestry Bureau takes back the educated youth settlements, who will take in a young man like Chen Tuo?
Even if they wanted to take them in, where would they live?
This is a forest area; no one would go to a guesthouse with a large house. The house is too big and not warm enough; people would freeze to death.
A family of three can share one kang (heated brick bed), while a larger family can share two kangs. Does anyone have extra space?
"Your brother-in-law Sun is teaching you to keep something in reserve! Inside the educated youth settlement, those things belong to the public; outside the settlement, it's hard to say whose they are."
Sun Changkui had already made his point clear enough. Seeing Chen Tuo's puzzled expression, Wu Laowai simply lent a hand to Sun the Cripple.
"How so? The wooden planks are where the educated youth settlement is located. If you're ruthless enough, you can modify the wooden planks at the educated youth settlement."
"What era are we living in? They wouldn't let you sleep in the snow, would they?"
Sun Changkui's strategy of holding back and Wu Laowai's in-depth analysis did not quite meet Chen Tuo's needs; what he wanted was the entire educated youth settlement.
This also includes the several dozen acres of land that Wu Laowai mentioned earlier.
"Brother-in-law Sun, how much would it cost if I bought the entire educated youth settlement?"
Chen Tuo's question immediately stumped Sun Changkui.
All the houses in Songling were built by the Forestry Bureau and the Forest Farm, who provided the manpower and materials.
I've never heard of anyone spending their own money to build or buy a house.
If there aren't enough houses, just build more. It's just a matter of manpower for building the houses, and the Forestry Bureau will pay the wages.
"Well... I really can't say for sure. The forest farm down there has mentioned contracting out the land, but it's hard to say for sure!"
Sun Changkui was thinking about the kind of life that Chen Tuo and his generation of workers longed for: free housing and cars that no one could afford.
We were poor, everyone was poor, but we still lived a fulfilling life.
Unlike when he was a beast of burden, everything revolved around his work.
I spend most of my life doing jobs that don't pay much, it feels like such a waste!
"Let me ask Xiao Kai for you; he's quite familiar with these situations."
Since his advice to Chen Tuo was ineffective, Sun Changkui had no choice but to find another solution.
"Brother-in-law Sun, there's no rush. Uncle Wu just said this gun isn't very reliable. What do you think..."
Chen Tuo took advantage of Sun Changkui's kindness, but this time Sun Changkui didn't give him any face.
According to Wu Laowai, the situation just now was extremely dangerous.
If they're not careful, these two will die in the river bend.
If things go wrong, it could implicate their entire family.
If Chen Tuo hadn't killed the brown bear, he and Hu Yuling would have likely died if they had brought the child to Hetao.
If that brown bear gets to eat people so much, who knows how many more people it will harm!
"It's not that you can't handle a gun, but you have to be capable of doing so. Master Wu is wrong; the Russian Tula single-barreled gun is solidly built and of good quality!"
The thought of Chen Tuo failing to defeat the brown bear sent a chill down Sun Changkui's spine.
If something were to happen, it would affect his entire family...
Therefore, Sun Changkui does not agree with Wu Laowai's claim of a 30-meter range.
However, the Tula short tube in Chen Tuo's hands could only guarantee an accuracy of forty or fifty meters at most.
To reach this level of accuracy, one needs more than just talent; one must practice diligently.
"Fifty meters... With this gun, you can't hit the chest target within fifty meters. Who would dare let you hold a gun?"
After hesitating for a moment, Sun Changkui decided to hold back and presented Chen Tuo with a difficult task: hitting the target at fifty meters.
Upon hearing that Sun the Cripple was fifty meters away, Wu Laowai curled his lip in disdain.
That's just something to fool people who've never handled a gun.
Let alone the mountain gun in Chen Tuo's hand, even if you change to a one-meter-long barrel and use a single bullet to hunt bears, hitting the target within fifty meters is not easy!
"Okay! Brother-in-law Sun, it's settled then. If I can hit the target within fifty meters..."
"No problem, as long as it's not light or heavy machine guns, I'll take care of it..."