Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 166 Dealing with the Brat

Civil engineering, naturally, involves the process of building a house, including pile driving, foundation laying, and constructing the framework, all the way to the roof.

Carpentry is responsible for the most delicate work, such as drawing blueprints, setting dimensions, and ensuring levelness. It's a truly skilled trade.

Xiao Liu stared wide-eyed, as if he hadn't slept well; he had dark circles under his eyes and kept yawning. He really didn't know if he could do carpentry, so he asked in a questioning tone, "Big Goose, do you think carpentry requires education? I only graduated from elementary school, how could I possibly do that? I've heard that carpentry can be quite lucrative."

"It should be fine, as long as you can count. Anyway, it's a skill that you can master with practice. Just keep learning, and there's nothing you can't do." Zhao Da'e said, "Then, Sixth Brother, I've already shown you the way. When you sell me rock candy later, you'll have to give me a discount, right?"

Zhao Xiaoliu: "..."

Zhao Da'e, don't get your hopes up. Trying to bargain with me, Xiao Liuzi? You're just dreaming.

"I can give you an extra one..."

"Pfft..." Zhao Da'e laughed out of anger: "Sixth Brother, you're really damn stingy. No wonder you've become rich. Just because of your stinginess, you've achieved great things."

Zhao Da'e deliberately emphasized the phrase "capable of achieving great things".

Zhao Xiaoliu naturally understood the sarcasm in Zhao Da'e's words, but he didn't care. He remained unmoved, unaffected by any external winds.

(This line is from Bai Juyi's poem "Farewell to the Hundred Garden Grasses" from the Tang Dynasty.)

When Zhao Da'e entered the room, there were several bags on the shelf and a scale on the counter next to it.

"By the way, Sixth Brother, what's the price of your rock sugar again?" Zhao Da'e asked.

She really didn't know the price of rock sugar. She wanted to ask and see if she could negotiate the price. Of course, Zhao Da'e knew that negotiating with Xiao Liu was pointless, but it was still better to know the price so that Xiao Liu wouldn't raise the price later.

"Five cents a bag." Xiao Liu took out a small plastic bag of rock candy, about a dozen pieces.

"How much?" Zhao Da'e was a little stunned: "Fifty cents a bag? Sixth Brother, you're not ripping me off, are you?"

“No, it’s only 50 cents a bag when sold individually,” Zhao Xiaoliu replied. “If you buy it by weight, it’s 6.5 yuan a pound.”

Zhao Da'e cursed inwardly: "Shady businessman."

Something that might only cost two or three yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative was being sold by Xiao Liuzi for six yuan and fifty cents.

Given the price, it's quite unusual for anyone to buy from his family.

Although Zhao Da'e isn't penniless and has some money, he shouldn't spend it like this.

"Then I'll take two packs." Zhao Da'e took out a dollar and handed it to Xiao Liuzi.

I was thinking that I should go to the street to buy rock sugar another day; this little shop is ridiculously expensive.

However, I still want to eat some candied hawthorns, so I'll buy a smaller amount.

Zhao Da'e took two small bags of rock sugar and strolled back home.

After walking for a while, I saw my third uncle's younger brother, Zhao Yongbo, wearing a pair of cotton-padded trousers, digging a hole in the road with his bottom sticking out. There were a few other children nearby, all of whom Zhao Da'e recognized. They were Baozi, Ladan, and Tulazi, who were his nephews.

Children in rural areas often have very rustic names. Especially young children, whose names are incredibly unsophisticated. It's said that a "rough" name makes a child easier to raise. There are even names like "Dog" or "Donkey."

A few little ones, all around four or five years old, are playing with apricot kernels.

"Where are you going, big sister?" Zhao Yongbo asked, wiping his snotty nose. Snot bubbles kept popping out as he spoke, making him look like a mischievous kid.

"I'm thinking of going home to see how Grandpa is doing these past few days. Did he explode?" Zhao Da'e also squatted down, watching the little ones play.

“Ugh, it’s like they’re coming back to life every day. They keep dragging my dad out to hurl insults at him,” Zhao Yongbo said. “If they saw my second uncle come out, they almost pulled out an axe.”

"Hey hey hey."

"Big sister, do you want to play?" Zhao Yongbo pointed to the pile of pits.

Playing with apricot pits was originally a game for children. It was only later, when people became wealthier, that it evolved into playing marbles.

However, in Dongtaizi Village, marbles are not yet a common game; children play with apricot pits instead. They make a few holes in the pit and then flick the apricot pit from one end. The further the pit goes in, the bigger the reward.

It's like digging three holes, representing one point, two points, and three points respectively. If the ball bounces into the hole, you get the corresponding point. If it doesn't, you get zero points.

The farther the ball travels, the higher the score; the more points you get, the greater the reward. The reverse is also true.

Zhao Da'e had never played this before; it was something only little kids played with. Although she watched the fun, she didn't like to play.

“I’m too old for this. You little brats can play with this.” Zhao Da’e stood up and patted the kids.

“I’m not a little kid,” Baozi shouted. “Don’t fucking pat me.”

Zhao Da'e: "..."

"What? So what if I take a picture of you? You have no manners. You have to call me Auntie, you little brat."

Baozi was only seven or eight years old, wearing a little cotton-padded jacket. He pouted, stood up, broke free from Zhao Da'e's hand that was patting him, and said, "I'm not a little kid. You're the little kid."

"Besides, I'm older than you. Who made you the aunt? You're more like my niece."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "Oh my! Baozi, you're getting too cocky."

This little rascal is the great-grandson of another great-grandfather of Zhao Da'e's family. Although he is young, he is indeed a mischievous child.

He was clearly the leader of these kids. He was always involved in fights and mischief. He was the type to climb onto roofs, swam in the river to catch shrimp, block chimneys, and smash windows.

But the village couldn't do anything about him. After all, Baozi was seven or eight years old, the perfect age for being mischievous and naughty, and nobody had a good solution. Even if they went to his parents, the most they could do was give him a beating.

The problem is, isn't Baozi afraid of getting beaten up?

This is a big problem.

"Ouch. Want to fight?" Baozi thrust her little belly forward.

Although Zhao Da'e is nominally older than Baozi in terms of seniority, he is younger than him and is also thin and weak.

Seeing that Zhao Da'e was smaller than him, Baozi got excited and started pushing Zhao Da'e.

Zhao Da'e was stunned for a moment: "???"

Having lived a second life, this was the first time Zhao Da'e had encountered something like this.

this……

It was incredibly embarrassing for her. She was someone who had lived two lives, and now she had to fight with a boy?

The problem is that the child is only seven or eight years old. It's a bit embarrassing for him to get into a fight with a little kid.

However, it was obvious that Baozi was fearless. He relied on his stronger physique and wanted to bully Zhao Dage to establish his authority.

"Baby, look behind you, isn't that your dad?"

"Hmm?" Baozi turned her head to look.

The next second, he was charmed by Zhao Da'e. Zhao Da'e grabbed Baozi's hand and pressed him down: "Tsk tsk tsk. All's fair in war, you know? Today, your old aunt will teach you how to be a person. What it means to respect your teachers and elders."

Although Zhao Da'e is thin, Baozi is currently being pressed down and cannot exert any strength.

Zhao Da'e flicked Baozi's forehead with his finger.

Baozi struggled, but he could only curse and couldn't fight back.

Zhao Da'e didn't resort to any underhanded tactics; he simply gave Baozi a light thrashing.

The other children just stood by and watched the fun. What bad intentions could children have?

They wouldn't be so intelligent or cunning as to try and break up a fight.

In general, this kind of situation is a one-on-one fight.

After a while, Baozi gave in: "Auntie. Okay, okay, you're my real auntie, alright? I give up."

Zhao Da'e looked at the handful of dirt in Baozi's hand and laughed: "Tsk tsk tsk. Little Baozi, you're not being honest."

Baozi was helpless as her little trick had been seen through, so she had no choice but to put down the soil and sincerely beg for mercy: "Auntie, please let me go. I can't breathe."

"Will you dare to do it again in the future?"

"I don't dare anymore."

Zhao Da'e then released Baozi, who immediately got up and ran home.

Zhao Yongbo asked, "Big sister, could he have gone to see his mother?"

Zhao Da'e thought it might be true, and then said, "I'm leaving too, you can play by yourself."

Zhao Da'e didn't want Baozi's family to tell them she had bullied the naughty child; she couldn't bear the shame.

Before long, Zhao Da'e arrived at his backyard and got a few strips of paper to stand on.

(This is a type of shrub that can grow very tall, but sometimes not very tall. I've looked up a lot of information, but unfortunately, I couldn't find its specific scientific name. I can only say that it's a local species here, growing in clumps under pine trees, a perennial low-growing shrub. The wood is very hard.)

The branches of this firewood are particularly hard, so Zhao Da'e thought of using them as sticks for candied hawthorns.

That day she said she wanted to use No. 8 wire, which is thick iron wire, but she felt it was a bit unhygienic, so she thought using wooden sticks would be more reasonable.

Zhao Da'e broke off several wooden sticks and took them.

Then they went back.

When they arrived at his aunt's house, Zhou Yuren was weaving a flower basket. Seeing Zhao Da'e return with a large handful of wooden sticks, he asked, "Da'e, what are you doing with this?"

"Skewering candied hawthorns."

Zhou Yuren was taken aback: "Make it yourself?"

Zhao Da'e nodded: "I don't do any work. I usually make others do the work. This work is for you. Hehehe..."

Zhou Yuren chuckled and said, "Wait until I finish weaving this flower basket."

"How much does one of these cost? Six yuan?"

"It'll cost at least eight yuan now, the price has gone up."

Zhao Da'e squatted down to look at the flower basket; it was indeed quite beautiful. It must be said, Zhou Yuren's hands were truly skillful.

“Uncle, why don’t you weave some small baskets, winnowing baskets, or dustpans and sell them in town? Those things make a lot of money. It’s a business with no capital. If you go out and work as a bricklayer, you’ll only earn ten or so yuan a day, maybe fifteen or sixteen at most. Selling those things will make you rich easily,” Zhao Da’e suggested.

"I don't know how to sell it either," Zhou Yuren said with difficulty.

Zhao Da'e: "..."

“That’s right. When he goes to sell things, he just stands there like a dead man. Would you even buy a goose?” Aunt Cheng Jinxi said from the side.

As Cheng Jinxi spoke, she muttered, "Tianfu is about to be married off, and all this guy does at home is weave flower baskets. What are you doing? Invite some people, have a meal, see how many tables of food to prepare, and then see if anything is missing. All you do is weave flower baskets..."

Zhou Yuren remained silent after being rebuked.

"Then I'll go make candied hawthorns. I'll ask Big Goose to help me out. All I know is how to work; I don't know how to do anything else."

Cheng Jinxi wanted to say something, but Zhao Da'e stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, Auntie, don't complain about this or that. I know what you mean."

"Don't worry, if my cousin's dowry isn't enough in the future, I'll cover it," Zhao Da'e said with a smile.

“It’s not the bride price. It’s the renovation.” Cheng Jinxi sighed. “The house is only renovated on the outside, not the inside. It’s just been plastered. It’s fine for me to live in it, but when I get married, won’t I need furniture? Won’t I need a cement floor? Right now it’s still made of bricks.”

"We'll talk about that in a few days, it's nothing, it's nothing." Zhao Da'e persuaded Aunt Cheng Jinxi to leave.

"Let's go, Uncle, let's go get some candied hawthorns." Zhao Da'e called out to Zhou Yuren.

Zhou Yuren went to wash his hands.

Then we started preparing the candied hawthorns.

Actually, this job looks simple, but it's even simpler to do.

The technical content is almost zero.

First, heat the rock sugar in a pot until it melts. Then, skewer the hawthorns onto wooden sticks.

Find a piece of glass, put the hawthorn on top, then use a spoon to scoop up some rock sugar syrup and pour it on top.

The only thing to be careful about is that the glass needs to be wiped clean...

Zhou Yuren stuck more than ten sticks in one go, then put the glass outside the house, in a place where cats and dogs couldn't touch it.

"It'll be fine tomorrow morning. Actually, we can eat it in the middle of the night; we just need to freeze it a few times."

Zhao Da'e nodded, "I'll be able to eat candied hawthorns soon."

After finishing this task, Zhou Yuren continued weaving flower baskets.

Zhao Da'e sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), watching Zhou Chunwen wash the remaining hawthorns.

"Sister, you're really something. What I meant was, wash only what you eat, and wash the rest next time."

"No, your aunt said she doesn't have a good appetite and wants to eat some hawthorns to whet her appetite."

Wouldn't it be better to eat candied hawthorn berries?

"How would I know?" Zhou Chunwen said, pursing her lips. "Your aunt said she can't afford candied hawthorns."

Zhao Da'e was stunned: "..."

By the way, isn't this candied hawthorn skewer made with rock sugar you buy yourself? What's so expensive about it?

However, Zhao Da'e thought about it and let it go, but his aunt had been on edge these past two days.

It's better not to ask if there's nothing wrong with it.

She can just eat her hawthorns; hawthorns are good for the appetite.

"By the way, I told you about the chicken plague outbreak in your village. Be careful, if any chicks have problems, don't eat them. Don't eat chicken on my older brother's wedding day, it wouldn't be good if they got sick," Zhao Da'e said.

"I don't care. It's not my wedding, why should I care so much?" Zhou Chunwen rolled her eyes and said, "Besides, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat. So, eating chicken is none of my business. Anyway, I won't get sick, so don't worry."

"Hey sis, you've got some kind of gunpowder on you too, haven't you?"

“Yeah, I guess so,” Zhou Chunwen said. “I can only take care of myself. I can’t control others. If you won’t let me eat, then I went out and saw that Xiangzi from your village. He bought several chickens and ducks from our village and hauled them back in a cart.”

"When?"

"I ran into you when you were making candied hawthorns."

Zhao Da'e slapped his thigh: "Oh no. I have to go find him. What's wrong with this kid? He's always causing me trouble."

Zhao Da'e took off running.

Zhou Chunwen stopped her: "Put on your cotton-padded coat, what's the rush? Put it on, there's no hurry."

"How can I not be anxious? Xiangzi has really messed up for me."