NABC Chapter 5 A Chance Encounter
Chapter 5 A Chance Encounter
Zhang Niu was overjoyed to have a little one in the outside world; he was finally no longer all alone and had a companion.
With the arrival of the little one, it was natural to make a little nest for him. So, a discarded cardboard box was used to make a little nest, and some old clothes were placed inside. No one expected that the little one would sneak onto the bed in the middle of the night and fall fast asleep next to the pillow.
When Zhang Niu woke up in the morning, he reached out and touched a fluffy thing, only to find that it was the little one. He didn't know when it had sneaked onto the bed, but it was sleeping soundly and was not afraid of strangers at all, which made him both laugh and cry. This little guy was really too smart.
After the meal, Zhang Niu began to make proper plans. Due to limited capital, he planned to clear 50 acres of wasteland first and plant fruit trees such as chestnuts, peaches, and yellow pears. He also planned to buy some fish fry and release them into the pond. With this idea in mind, he invited villagers in the afternoon to clear all the weeds from the 50 acres of wasteland. This task was expected to take several days.
He then went to the county town to sell all the corn stored in his space. Now, the corn in his space was piled up like a small mountain.
Upon arriving in the county town, Zhang Niu randomly found a travel agency to stay at. Actually, he went in to fill sacks with corn, since it was hard work, and coming out would allow him to rest—a win-win situation.
At 6:30 in the morning, Zhang Niu was already sitting in the same old spot, just like before, with a sign up and waiting for customers to come in.
Aunt Zhang had just bought some meat and was about to buy some vegetables when she spotted the young man who sold corn last time in the same spot. Ever since she bought a few ears of corn and made corn and bone soup that night, the taste had been so delicious it made her mouth water. Her wife had told her several times to buy more corn next time she saw it and put it in the refrigerator, as its preservation function meant that even a lot wouldn't be a problem. After that, Aunt Zhang would look towards that exit every day when she went grocery shopping, and this time she finally saw the young man selling corn again.
Since it was still quite early, Aunt Zhang bought more than ten kilograms of corn in one go. On the way, she ran into an old neighbor who mentioned that the young man who sold corn was back again. He told her to hurry up and buy some, or else someone else would buy them all.
Last time Zhang Niu sold corn, many people said they didn't buy enough. Only after cooking it at home did they realize how delicious it was.
In the blink of an eye, everyone knew that the young man selling giant corn had arrived. This time, he had even more corn than last time, most noticeably in the several unopened bags of corn on his stall.
Quite a few people rushed over upon hearing the news, quickly throwing Zhang Niu into a flurry of activity.
"Damn, why are there so many people this time? I'm so busy." He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued collecting money.
"Zhang Niu, I didn't expect it to really be you, you brat. I thought I was seeing things from a distance." A clear voice rang in my ears.
Zhang Niu turned around and saw Zhang Ting, who was wearing a pure white dress and had long, black hair draped over her shoulders, highlighting her delicate features, standing next to the sack.
Zhang Niu was a little surprised and quickly said, "It's you! Long time no see. What brings you to the market today?" He then pointed to the many vegetable vendors in front of him and said, "You see? I'm very busy right now. Miss, are you free to come and collect the money? I can't manage all by myself."
"Sure, but you'll have to treat me to a meal afterwards, or don't even think about me helping you," he said with a smile.
"Okay, come and help me out quickly."
After Zhang Ting joined, Zhang Niu finally relaxed and pulled out two more sacks of corn from behind, emptying them out.
Later, the owner of a small restaurant ordered two sacks of corn. Before leaving, he handed Zhang Niu a business card, hoping that next time they had this kind of giant corn, he could sell it to him first.
"Finally, all the corn is sold out." Zhang Niu slowly exhaled and stretched, he had been extremely busy just now.
"Thank you so much for today. I don't know how long I would have been busy without your help," Zhang Niu said gratefully.
"Hehe, this is my first time selling corn. I didn't expect it to be so tiring. I'm a good girl at home. How are you going to compensate me for my losses?" She had a smug look on her face.
Zhang Ting's classmate in junior high school sat in front of Zhang Niu. Back then, she had a long ponytail. When she was bored, Zhang Niu especially liked to pull her ponytail, which resulted in a series of retaliations. It makes me think that there's a saying that's quite true: girls are vengeful creatures.
Finally, the two decided to go to "Hometown Chicken" to eat authentic roasted chicken. When they walked into the store, they found that the business was exceptionally good that day, with many young men and women.
"You go find a seat first, I'll go get some food." He turned and headed towards the counter.
After waiting for several minutes, Zhang Ting finally saw Zhang Niu return with a plate of food: two large cups of iced cola, a small tub of chicken wings, a bag of fries, and half a roast chicken.
"I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I just ordered a set meal. I don't know if it'll be good or not. I rarely come to this place." He took the food out of the plate one by one.
"Well, it's alright. I rarely come here. The food is delicious, but if you eat too much, you'll easily gain weight," Zhang Ting said, drinking cola and eating fries.
"You're not going to gain weight, are you? You have a pretty good figure." He glanced at Zhang Ting sitting opposite him.
Zhang Ting rolled her eyes at him.
"By the way, you've switched to selling corn now? I heard from a friend not long ago that you were still working in the city, what happened now..." he asked casually.
"That's all in the past. I just contracted some wasteland in the village and am preparing to become a farmer," Zhang Niu said with a smile.
"Farmer? No way! You're so fair and clean-cut, you don't look like a farmer at all, you look more like a worker." Zhang Ting found it particularly funny to look at the fair-skinned Zhang Niu.
Zhang Niu was gnawing on a chicken wing when he heard her say that he didn't really fit in as a farmer. He laughed and said, "It's okay. The next time you see me, I'll probably really be a farmer. I have the potential to be one."
"Okay, I'll definitely take a good look at you next time. Don't disappoint me when you become a farmer." I never expected my old classmate to also be heading in the direction of farming.
The ringtone of "Really Love You" came from Zhang Ting's bag. She took out her phone, glanced at it, and then hung up.
"I'm sorry, something came up at home, I have to go back now. Thank you for treating me to dinner," he said apologetically.
"It's okay, you can go back now. I'll contact you again when I have time."
Zhang Ting picked up her bag, turned around, and left.
Seeing that most of the food was still uneaten, and upholding the national spirit of thrift, we decided to finish it all before going back, because we couldn't afford to waste food.
I walked out of the "Hometown Chicken" restaurant, patting my round belly, and casually let out a burp.
They hailed a rickshaw and headed straight for the aquaculture market.
Entering the aquaculture market, which wasn't very large and didn't have many people, Zhang Niu easily found vendors selling fish fry. Because it was the height of summer, there weren't many people buying fish fry. After inquiring about the details, he bought 2500 yuan worth of fish fry, including selected bighead carp, flatfish, grass carp, crucian carp, and common carp, all packed together in a transparent tank.
Carrying his suitcase, he returned to the small inn from yesterday. Upon entering, he went straight into the space. As soon as he entered, Little Dot appeared out of nowhere and sat on Zhang Niu's shoulder.
Zhang Niu plans to raise these small fish fry in the pond first, and then catch them after a while and release them into an abandoned pond outside. This way, they should be easier to raise.
As soon as the fish fry were poured into the water, the little one jumped down quickly, ran to the water's edge, and scooped up a finger-length fish fry with a swish of its paws. It quickly put it into its mouth, and as if one wasn't enough, it waved its paws to catch a second one.
Zhang Niu hurriedly ran over, picked up the little one, and gently patted its head: "You little rascal, you even eat such a small fish fry, you really have no taste. Just think, when it grows up, one fish will be enough for you to eat your fill. Calling you a little fool is really true."
"Squeak!" The little one seemed to realize that his actions just now were a bit inappropriate.
The fish fry that had just been dumped huddled together and refused to disperse. Helpless, Zhang Niu had no choice but to use his hands to push the small fish fry into the water. After working for a long time, he finally managed to drive all the fish fry at the edge of the pond into the water.
After leaving, Zhang Niu took a taxi to the fruit seedling company. After some bargaining, he bought 500 fruit seedlings, including cherry, pear, peach, chestnut, and plum trees, all in whole numbers. The company was responsible for delivering them directly to Zhang Niu's home. After paying a deposit of 2,000 yuan and leaving his address, Zhang Niu could finally relax.
Many fruit growers in the village buy their fruit from here because it has a good reputation. There's no need to worry about them embezzling the money. Only then did Zhang Niu feel at ease enough to leave. The road from the county town to Zhangjia Village is quite difficult, even though it's not in the mountains.