Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 9: Is Xu Chunsheng in a relationship or not?

Xu Chunsheng, leading his donkey, hadn't even left the village entrance yet.

Over there, Xu Yaomei had already gathered five or six little friends, who were engrossed in discussing something. Every now and then, they would exclaim in surprise, "Really?" or "I want to come!"

Xu Chunsheng walked along the village road, greeting everyone he met with a warm voice and a cheerful expression.

"Grandpa, do you have any Ophiopogon japonicus at home? The price is about the same as when you sell it in town, one yuan and fifty cents a pound."

"Uncle, auntie, digging corn pits? Do you have any Ophiopogon japonicus? It's from our own garden, dug up from the mountain. Fair price, no credit."

Xu Chunsheng walked and asked questions along the way, his voice carrying far through the fields, and also raising many questions:

"Would you like some aged dried Ophiopogon japonicus?"

"Would you accept a small amount, like two or three ounces?"

"Do you buy herbs? Do you want kudzu root or cogon grass?"

"Two more points, these were all dug up in the last two days, and the mud has been cleaned up completely."

……

And so, Xu Chunsheng walked alone with his donkey for most of the day.

Before long, Xu Chunsheng got tired from walking, so he sat down under a tree, took out a corn cake from his pocket, and chewed it a couple of times.

But looking at the two bulging bags on the ground, Xu Chunsheng felt somewhat discouraged.

This is still too slow, and the bulging pockets aren't entirely filled with Ophiopogon japonicus.

After walking around all morning, I only managed to collect four or five catties of Ophiopogon japonicus. One ounce from one neighbor and two ounces from another. Ophiopogon japonicus is cheap, so few people store large quantities. Most people just hoard a few ounces or half a catty for later use. If someone in the family has a cough or sore throat, they can grab a couple to soak in water and drink.

The rest are things like dandelion, mugwort, chicken manure vine, kudzu root, and curculigo, which every household has some of. They're not heavy, but they take up space.

Xu Chunsheng looked up at the sun, which was blazing hot, making his skin burn. He still needed to get some water for his donkey. Thinking of this, Xu Chunsheng felt a burst of hot air on his hand, and then a wet, big lip came up and kissed him.

"Hey, Donkey Bro, you've starved me to death, who's going to pay you?"

It turned out that the donkey, which was quietly grazing nearby, smelled the corn cake in Xu Chunsheng's hand, came over and sniffed it twice. Seeing that Xu Chunsheng did not react, it stuck out its tongue, closed its mouth, and stuffed the corn cake into its own mouth.

Since he couldn't eat any more, Xu Chunsheng simply fed the donkey the small piece he had left in his palm. Then, after wiping his hands, he took another piece out of his pocket and ate it. Seeing this, the donkey came closer again.

"Go away, go away." Xu Chunsheng quickly pushed the donkey's head away. He was joking; if the donkey ate this piece again, he would really be flattened.

Xu Chunsheng stopped being in a daze. He ate the corn cake in his hand in a few bites, drank the last bit of tea in the pot, and then led the donkey to the next house, intending to fill the pot with water and also ask the donkey for a bowl of water.

"Is anyone home? We're collecting herbs! We're collecting Ophiopogon japonicus!" Xu Chunsheng started shouting before even stepping into someone's courtyard.

"There's someone here."

People often come to the village to collect scrap, and peddlers also come to sell their goods. They are used to people like Xu Chunsheng who come to collect medicinal herbs. The villagers are happy that someone comes to collect their things, which saves them the trouble of selling them themselves.

Because selling items weighing only a few ounces would take too long of the "project," they would often spend a long time on the street. When they were lucky, they could pack up and leave quickly, but when they were unlucky, they might not be able to sell anything even after half a day.

"What does the boss want to collect?"

Xu Chunsheng didn't see anyone; his voice came from inside the house first.

About ten seconds later, Xu Chunsheng saw a middle-aged man in his forties carrying a bowl walk out of the main room.

Seeing that Xu Chunsheng was very young, the man changed his tone, "Young man, have you eaten yet? I heard you say you were going to harvest Ophiopogon japonicus?"

"I ate it, I ate it."

Xu Chunsheng knew the man was just being polite. "Uncle, I'm here to buy Ophiopogon japonicus. One yuan and fifty cents. Do you have any?"

The man asked about the price again, which was about the same as what he would sell in town. "I have about ten pounds of dried ones. Wait a moment, I'll go get them for you to see."

Xu Chunsheng was surprised and worried when he heard this. Although his father had given him a stack of money before he left, with some change and some coins, totaling fifty yuan, mostly one or two yuan, and some small change, he couldn't spend so much here.

He planned to collect as he went, but his most important goal was to let people in the nearby villages know that he was collecting Ophiopogon japonicus, so that they would remember him, Xu Chunsheng, when they wanted to sell Ophiopogon japonicus in the future.

"Look at all this old stock, it's dried out perfectly."

The uncle reached out, grabbed a handful, and handed it to Xu Chunsheng to look at.

Xu Chunsheng shook the bag and pulled out a handful of the goods at the bottom. They were indeed dry and had not been infested by insects.

"Uncle, I didn't bring enough money today, but I'd like to take all of your Ophiopogon japonicus."

Xu Chunsheng clearly explained his current situation to the man in front of him, "How about this? You take me to the village chief's house to sign a written agreement. I'm from the Xu Family Village in the next team."

After saying that, she handed him her ID card to show him.

The man took the ID card and checked it; it was indeed from Xujia Village. "From Xujia Village? Do you know someone named Xu Hongbing?"

"Xu Hongbing? That's my uncle's name, but I don't know if it's the person you're talking about."

The man looked Xu Chunsheng over carefully. "That should be it. I thought you looked familiar. Your uncle and I used to work together in the production brigade."

"We're all acquaintances, so I won't haggle with you. You pay me half the price today, and we'll go to the village chief to draw up a written agreement. You can bring the rest in a couple of days."

Xu Chunsheng didn't expect the problem to be solved so easily. He figured it was because the two teams were separated by a mountain, and he and his uncle didn't see each other often. But the friendship they had formed from working together was still there. Thinking of this, Xu Chunsheng became even more determined to persuade his uncle's family to plant Ophiopogon japonicus together.

"I didn't expect you to know my uncle. I'm so sorry, thank you, uncle. What's your surname? I'll tell my uncle when I get back."

Xu Chunsheng scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"His surname is Zhang, Zhang Shude." Zhang Shude pointed to the persimmon tree in the corner of the yard and said, "Tie the donkey down there, I'll find a bucket to scoop some water for it, then I'll go eat a couple of bites before I leave."

"Uncle Zhang, I won't eat. I just had two corn cakes. You go eat, I'll feed the donkey myself."

Xu Chunsheng took the bucket from Zhang Shude and told him to go eat first.

Xu Chunsheng sat on a bamboo chair, watching the donkey drink water beside him.

Everything is getting back on track and will only get better.

A short while later, Zhang Shude gave Xu Chunsheng a handful of peanuts. "Why don't we leave the donkey here? It can rest for a while when we come back."

"No, no, after your team leaves I have to go to other teams. Uncle Zhang, please come visit our area when you have time," Xu Chunsheng declined.

The two chatted as they walked toward the village chief's house. Along the way, Xu Chunsheng learned that the reason Zhang Shude's family had more than ten kilograms of stock was because they planted some every year and could harvest a few kilograms a year. However, it was difficult to sell, so they had accumulated more than ten kilograms over two or three years.

"I'm not planning to plant any more this year; it's too much trouble and the produce won't sell."

Zhang Shude, puffing on his pipe, said, "It's better to plant peanuts or sweet potatoes; at least those will fill our stomachs."

"Uncle, if you trust me, I'll plant it for another two years. The price of this stuff will go up. I've been buying these for the past two years." Xu Chunsheng wasn't worried about others planting more and lowering his price, since there were still a few people who dared to set aside a lot of space to plant large areas of Ophiopogon japonicus.

"Haha, yes, yes," Zhang Shude agreed, but Xu Chunsheng didn't know whether he was willing to continue planting.

The village chief's house.

"I'll trouble you, village chief. If you have time, please tell the villagers that Xu Hongjun's family in the first team is harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus. As long as it's good, I'll buy it no matter how much."

It turned out that after signing the agreement, Xu Chunsheng asked the village chief to help publicize his harvest of Ophiopogon japonicus.

After leaving the village chief's house, Xu Chunsheng quickened his pace, preparing to continue harvesting Ophiopogon japonicus.

But as soon as he reached the fork in the road, someone called out to him.

"Hey! Xu Erwa, why are you only getting here now!"

Xu Chunsheng turned his head and saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl standing with her hands on her hips. Her clothes and appearance were nothing like those of a peasant girl. Instead, she was dressed like those "trendsetters" in the county town, wearing a tight-fitting shirt and a patterned silk scarf around her neck. She had a somewhat spoiled look on her face. When she saw him turn around, she rolled her eyes.

Looking at her, Xu Chunsheng was somewhat dazed. It took him a long time to recall who she was—You Xiaoxia, his "girlfriend."

"You said you'd come help me plow the land a few days ago, but you haven't shown up yet. At least you have some conscience; you even brought a donkey to help plow the land."

You Xiaoxia looked Xu Chunsheng up and down, and said with some disdain, "What's in your pocket? Did you bring the bell-bottoms I asked you to buy for me?" As she spoke, she reached out to rummage through the bag in Xu Chunsheng's hand.

"No, I'm not here to plow the land for you." Xu Chunsheng stopped You Xiaoxia's hand from rummaging through the bag.

"What did you say? I already told Mom and Dad you were coming to work. They've been waiting for you to come these past few days. If you don't work, who will?"

"Have you forgotten your own limitations?"

"Why should I marry you if you don't get to work for my family?"

You Xiaoxia's voice suddenly became high-pitched.

"Do your own work." Xu Chunsheng frowned, his tone becoming more serious. "Get out of the way, I'm very busy."

"Hey! Xu Chunsheng, what kind of attitude is this! Not only can you not come up with the 666 dowry, but you also don't come to work."

You Xiaoxia pointed at Xu Chunsheng and screamed.

"I'm asking you right now, are you going to do any work or not? Also, did you buy me bell-bottoms? If not, you can forget about dating me!"

After saying that, You Xiaoxia turned and left.

Hearing these words, Xu Chunsheng would have panicked and immediately started admitting his mistake in the past.