A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 47 Wen Family Relatives

In the afternoon, Zhang Niu went to the village chief's house carrying a small bag of yellow liquor and two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor). He was going to discuss the matter of leasing the mountain.

I pushed open the courtyard gate. There I saw the village chief, eyes half-closed, lying in a wicker chair, fast asleep. Seeing the sleeping village chief before me, I thought, "I'll come back tonight." Just as I was about to turn back, the village chief's voice came from behind, "Zhang Wa, why are you going back?"

Looking back, the village chief, who had been dozing with his eyes half-closed, was now standing up. "I came in to see you taking a nap, so I didn't want to disturb you..."

"What are you saying? Come in and sit down. Why did you bring anything with you?" He beckoned Zhang Niu into the house.

"It's one of our own. We know you don't crave anything else, but you love this." He gestured with the yellow catfish in his hand.

"Well, so it's a yellow cat. Oh, that's quite a big one. Well then, I'm sorry, I can't accept it." He gave a sly laugh.

After the village chief returned with the yellow catfish, Zhang Niu had already drunk several cups of boiled water by himself.

"Zhangwa, you brought some things today. You must have been looking for your uncle to discuss things with, right?" Just say it directly. "Let your uncle see what's troubling you this time," the village chief said, puffing out smoke.

Zhang Niu had originally intended to first discuss the issues and then bring up this matter. However, he realized he was still too young and couldn't hide his thoughts, so he said, "I want to buy up all the mountains behind me. I'd like to hear your opinion on this."

Cough—cough—The village chief, still smoking, choked on his cigarette upon hearing this. "Baoshan? You mean that Daliang Mountain?"

"Yes. Besides our Daliang Mountain, what other mountains are there?" he hurriedly replied.

The village chief sighed. "Too late. Too late." He got up and went into the inner room. When he came out, he was holding a white document. He handed it to Zhang Niu. "Take a look, this is the notice that came down from above a few days ago."

Upon hearing the village chief say "It's too late," Zhang Niu's heart sank. The matter was probably hopeless. And it seemed he was right. He picked it up and saw the large red characters on it: "Decision No. 0005 Regarding Mountain Forests." He opened it and found it was all official documentation, a long, rambling statement. Basically, the village's mountains would no longer be contracted out, nor would logging continue. They would be under the management of the village committee, including the trees on each family's private mountain plots.

Zhang Niu glanced at the document and could only manage a helpless wry smile. He placed the document on the table. "Sigh. It's late..." he said, pouring himself another glass of water.

"But don't be discouraged. It's just a mountain. Although it's said that you can't take over a big mountain, it doesn't mean you can't take over a barren mountain, right?"

"A barren mountain. That seems feasible. Since we can't take on a large mountain, taking on a small one is not bad either." He nodded and said, "Then I wonder which barren mountain you mean?"

"Far away, yet so close at hand," the village chief uttered a profound statement.

These words stunned Zhang Niu. He never expected the village chief to say something like that. Zhang Niu racked his brains but still couldn't place that barren mountain.

"You wouldn't believe it, would you? Hehe. That mountain is the overgrown hill opposite your bamboo house," he said with a laugh, revealing the answer.

"Oh, so that's the one. Why not just say it's the one next to Er Gou's orange grove? Why use such archaic language? It's confusing." He said with dissatisfaction.

"The mountain is very close to you, just a few minutes away. Anyway, it's been abandoned there for a long time. How about we take it? It'll increase the village's income, haha."

In Zhang Niu's memory, that mountain was called Maotou Mountain. When he was little, there were many wild fruits there, and he often went there. However, the mountain remained untouched, day after day, year after year, with no one tending to it. Weeds and other vegetation grew abundantly. But the mountain's advantage was its large size. Most importantly, it included a neglected pond at its base, making irrigation easier.

The main reason Zhang Niu was interested in Maotou Mountain was because it was close to where he lived. If it were far away, he wouldn't be interested at all. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The pond on the side of the mountain should be included too, right?"

"That pond. It's not of much use to you, so I'll give it to you too," he said generously.

Um, I've got a bit more money on me lately. Could you postpone paying me?

"Oh, is that so? Then it won't be easy to explain to the team. How about you hand over part of it first, and I can get the rest guaranteed by the village committee?"

"Okay, I'll go to that hilltop later and take a look, to observe it in person."

The village chief laughed and said, "Only you scholars would say something like that."

"Since it's settled, I'll head back now."

Well, I won't see you off then. Thanks again for the yellow scooter tonight.

I went out and walked through the alleyways. I wasn't too upset about not getting a room on the big hill. A small hill is fine too. I'll go check it out tomorrow.

As I passed the village entrance, I saw my little sister there. It seemed like a group of kids were arguing. That's normal. Kids are always friends after a fight; they don't hold grudges overnight.

As the older brother, Zhang Niu naturally went over to check on things. As soon as he arrived, his sharp-eyed younger sister rushed into his arms.

"Brother, Er Gou, come on, you lost the marbles, are you being lazy?" He held out a transparent marble in his hand.

After some questioning, it was learned that Er Gou had lost a lot of money betting that day. He ended up with only one milky-white bead left, which he claimed was worth about ten ordinary beads. He hoped to win it all back. However, he lost it all again shortly after. When others asked him to give it to them as payment, Er Gou refused.

Oh, I see. These kids are quite interesting. They're just glass beads, aren't they? Heh.

He took his little sister home. She's just a little kid; a little fuss is nothing. Isn't that how every child goes through this? Zhang Niu used to resort to violence quite often back then. Thinking about it now seems incredibly childish.

When Zhang Niu returned home, he saw Aunt Wen accompanying a young woman whose back was turned, talking to Zhang Ma about something.

As I was about to approach, I realized that a little girl was tugging at my clothes. "Airplane. Airplane," a sweet, childish voice called out in my ear.

"Airplane. Why does that sound so familiar? I looked down and... Ah! Isn't that the little girl I saw in the alley last time? What was her name again... Right, it's Baby."

This time, the baby was dressed in a princess outfit. She had two long little braids. She was absolutely adorable.

To Zhang Niu, it was adorable. But to Niu Niu, it was unforgivable. What was most infuriating was that she was tugging at her brother's clothes.

That's how little girls are; what they hate most is having their favorite things taken away.

Looking at the baby in front of him, how did he end up at his house? Then looking at the woman next to Aunt Wen, could this be a relative from the city...? That's too much of a coincidence...

She crouched down and asked, "Baby, do you still remember your big brother?"

The baby loosened the hem of her clothes and giggled, "I remember... an airplane. Big brother is an airplane."

Zhang Niu was sweating bullets, surprised that he still remembered those words after all this time. "Why did you come here alone? Where's your mother?"

The baby thought for a moment. "There." She pointed to the young man's back.

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