boyutpedia Chapter 61 I'm Going to Have a Brother-in-Law
Chapter 61 I'm Going to Have a Brother-in-Law
Xu Chunsheng thought for a moment and then laughed: "I'm afraid we'll have to trouble Teacher Tang again this time."
"I remember him saying that his father was retired from the winery, and asking him for guidance would make the winemaking process much more reliable."
Mr. Xu took a sip of tea, feeling somewhat guilty:
"Teacher Tang delivered books and helped transport pigs before, and he also took good care of Yaomei at school. Is it inappropriate for us to bother him again?"
Xu Chunsheng glanced at his eldest sister and saw her raise her hand to tuck the hair behind her ear unnaturally, and purse her lips.
Xu Chunsheng saw things clearly and explained them to his family:
"We don't need to start with a winery. We can start with a small workshop to learn some experience. Even if we don't make any wine, the lees can still be used to feed pigs."
Turning his head, Xu Chunsheng teased his sister again:
"Besides, Teacher Tang is kind and should be willing to help us with this."
"You mean it, right, sis?"
The older sister looked up and glared at Xu Chunsheng:
"I'm not him, how would I know?"
Xu Chunsheng chuckled, leaned over, put his arm around his sister's shoulder, and whispered in her ear:
"Last week, you made rice with cured pork and specially served out a bowl. It's so hard to guess who ate it, sister..."
The older sister slapped Xu Chunsheng's arm that was around her, but before she could speak, a voice beat her to it:
"I know! My sister took it to Teacher Tang!"
The eldest sister took a deep breath, her face instantly turning red, and rolled her eyes at Xu Chunsheng in embarrassment and annoyance:
"You talk too much."
After saying that, she turned to look at her younger sister who had interrupted, and said in a displeased tone:
"Don't be such a chatterbox like your brother. Have you finished your homework yet?"
Xu Chunsheng dodged his older sister's outstretched hand, teasing her with a drawn-out laugh, "Oh, are you shy? Of course you are, it's a whole bowl full~"
Mr. and Mrs. Xu looked at their children with confusion.
The couple hadn't even gotten around the bend when they saw their eldest daughter chasing after Xu Chunsheng and pinching him, while their youngest sister was making a fuss on the side. That's why they asked:
"It's just a bowl of rice. Teacher Tang has helped us so much, it's only right."
……
The next day at noon, Xu Chunsheng followed his older sister, carrying some fruit and a bowl of soup that had been stewed for lunch, intending to deliver it to Tang Changping.
When the siblings arrived at the school, they walked to the door of Tang Changping's dormitory, and the older sister gently knocked on the door.
Tang Changping opened the door and was overjoyed to see Xu Chunsheng and his sister. He quickly invited them inside.
At the same time, Teacher Tang had a gentle smile on her face: "Why did you come all this way, and with so much stuff?"
Xu Chunsheng placed the things on the table, then smoothly picked up the conversation, not beating around the bush, and said directly:
"Teacher Tang, we're here today mainly because there's something we'd like to ask you for help with."
"Okay, what's wrong? Do you need my help?"
Before Xu Chunsheng could explain what it was about, Tang Changping agreed.
"I'm planning to set up a small distillery. You mentioned that your uncle retired from the distillery, so I'd like to ask you to help me make the connection."
"Could you please give me some guidance later?"
When Xu Chunsheng said this, his eyes were full of sincerity as he looked at Tang Changping.
The older woman beside her nodded slightly and chimed in softly:
"We want to make use of the grain, first to brew wine, and then use the lees to feed the pigs. We sincerely want to learn how to brew wine."
Tang Changping was taken aback at first, then smiled gently and pushed up his glasses.
"Oh, so that's what it is. I'll tell my dad about it when I go home for the holidays this week."
"He was also looking for something to do."
Xu Chunsheng quickly expressed his gratitude:
"Thank you for your help, Teacher Tang. I'll go find Yaomei now, you two can talk for a bit."
After saying this, Xu Chunsheng walked out of Tang Changping's dormitory, but did not close the door behind him.
After Xu Chunsheng left, the eldest sister said to Tang Changping:
"Let's eat first, otherwise the food will get cold and won't taste good."
Tang Changping agreed somewhat hesitantly:
"Okay, sure. Chunsheng knows?"
The older sister glanced at him and said, "Hmm!"
Then, the older sister handed him chopsticks, saying, "Eat up! What are you standing there for!"
The older sister's voice gradually grew louder as she noticed Tang Changping was in a daze.
Upon hearing his older sister's call, Tang Changping unconsciously tightened his grip on his chopsticks. He comforted Xu Chunhua, jokingly saying:
"Okay, I'll eat it, don't be angry!"
"However, what I want to say is that Chunsheng is a thoughtful person. If he knew, he could help you make the right choice, right?"
"Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about? Just eat your food!"
"I don't need anyone to oversee things!"
That said, the social atmosphere in 1992 was much more open-minded than in the 1970s and 80s. Men and women who were attracted to each other could decide for themselves to see how things went.
However, to maintain a low profile and protect the reputation of his hometown, Xu Chunsheng deliberately left his dormitory door open when he went out, just to avoid gossip.
Even so, the eldest sister didn't spend too long alone with Tang Changping, and soon came out to find Xu Chunsheng.
When the eldest sister found Xu Chunsheng, she overheard him smiling and saying to his youngest sister:
"Hey sis, you're going to have a brother-in-law soon."
"Snapped!"
The older sister slapped Xu Chunsheng on the head, and his head involuntarily lowered.
"Ouch, sis, I'm just telling the truth. Why did you hit me again? I think Teacher Tang is pretty good, don't you like him too?"
The older sister looked around and thankfully no one nearby heard Xu Chunsheng's words.
"Keep your voice down!"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll punch you!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Let's go home and set up the shed."
After saying a few words to the younger sister, the two left the school.
The house is not big enough to make room for brewing wine, but it is not practical to make wine in a tile-roofed house. It is more appropriate to build a simple bamboo shed.
If you have your own bamboo grove, cut some sturdy nan bamboo to use as a base; split the spotted bamboo in half, then weave thin bamboo strips into bamboo rafts to make a wall, and tightly enclose the surrounding area, and a simple shed can be made.
After returning home, Xu Chunsheng called his father, and the two of them grabbed machetes, sickles, and straw ropes and headed to the bamboo forest.
Along the way, the two talked about setting up the tent:
"We might need to cut a couple more bamboo stalks; we'll need beams for the foundation..."
On the other side, Xu's mother and eldest sister leveled the ground in the open space next to the kitchen. They first broke up the protruding clods of earth, then cleaned up the gravel and weeds, and then made a gentle slope along the side to facilitate drainage.
This place is close to the kitchen, making it convenient to fetch water and start a fire, and it's far from the pigsty and latrine, so it's clean and odor-free, making it a fairly suitable location.
Xu Chunsheng couldn't help but smile as he imagined his family working together to accomplish something.
This scene of a family working diligently towards a better life may seem ordinary, but only someone who experienced life and death in his past life knows how rare and fulfilling it is.
No matter what, he felt that all the hard work was worthwhile.