In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 84 Inheritance
Yu Dawei looked a little embarrassed. You're not going home to sleep in the middle of the night, and you're eavesdropping on the landlord. You're no good either!
Of course, he only dared to mutter these thoughts to himself; if he were to actually say them out loud, he was afraid that the lame old man would beat him to death with his cane.

"Don't listen to that crippled bastard's nonsense. A man who can bend and stretch in troubled times is a true man." Yu Quan moved away from the crippled bastard's back, looked up at the starry sky, his gaze distant and deep, as if he was reminiscing or sighing.

This sentence has been his life motto for most of his life.

His right hand instinctively reached for the tin gourd at his waist, unscrewed the cork, and took a big gulp of wine, clicking his tongue in delight.

Yu Quan noticed that Yu Dawei was staring intently at his wine gourd, and suddenly chuckled, handing it over: "Want a sip?"

Yu Dawei smiled shyly: "Is the alcohol strong?"

"Try it and you'll know." Yu Quan placed the tin gourd in the other person's hand. "A man who doesn't drink has lived in vain."

"Alcohol is a good thing; a little is pleasant, but too much is harmful. Having a small sip now and then is fine," Yu Quan said with a smile, staring at the younger man.

"Hiss~" Yu Dawei took a small sip of baijiu, and it felt like a line of fire sliding from his tongue down his throat and into his stomach. A fine layer of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

Spicy! Extremely spicy! It must be over 60 degrees Celsius.

"Good wine." Yu Dawei resisted the urge to drink water and handed the tin gourd to the old man.

"Of course it's good wine. It's a pot of strong liquor specially brewed for me by the eldest son of the crippled man." Yu Quan closed his eyes and sniffed at the bottle opening, a familiar aroma of liquor wafting into his nostrils.

The Yu family has been making distilled liquor for generations, but unfortunately they are not well-off now and can no longer afford good recipes.

His pot was the only exception, but unfortunately, someone was destined not to be able to taste it.

"Uncle, I heard from my father that you used to do opium when you were young? Did you really quit on your own?" Yu Dawei took a sip of wine, his face turned red instantly, and in a moment, his head began to feel a little dizzy.

"I tried it, and I quit, but it wasn't easy." Yu Quan took a sip of wine, tilted his head back, and tried hard to recall. "One day I found that my hair was falling out very badly, and my body was emaciated."

"Coincidentally, Uncle Liu came by that day, and I found that he was obviously more handsome than me. Considering that no one in Yujiabao could rival his handsome face, I couldn't stand it anymore."

“I had my servants nail a thick wooden pillar to the very center of Yujiabao, and then I had them tie me to it with thick hemp rope. I told everyone in the Yu family beforehand that no one was allowed to untie me! No matter how much I begged later, if anyone dared to untie me, I would stab them!”

“There was someone specifically responsible for feeding me water and food. He watched me around the clock. If I didn’t say I was thirsty or hungry, he couldn’t feed me or give me water. That’s how I got through the most difficult nine days.”

Yu Quan took a sip of wine with some emotion, then smacked his lips: "Those nine days were the most painful nine days of my life. I ate there, drank there, peed there, and defecated there... After getting through those nine days, I felt that there was nothing difficult in this world. I even became indifferent to life and death."

"Grandpa, you're too hard on yourself!" Yu Dawei exclaimed in horror. "Why did you tie yourself to the very center of Yujiabao? Can everyone in the Yu family see that?"

What Yu Dawei really wanted to say was that everyone who passed by Yujiabao could see your embarrassing state; you were practically throwing your face to the ground.

Yu Quan was well aware of the little guy's thoughts. He simply smiled faintly and said, "I just want all the Yu family members who pass by to see what kind of person gets after using opium, and what the consequences are!"

“From the moment I quit opium, I told all the members of the Yu family that if I found out anyone was smoking opium, I would tie them to a pillar and serve them. After that day, whenever any of the landlords in the neighborhood bought that stuff, the Yu family would not buy it or touch it, and that has continued to this day.”

Yu Dawei couldn't help but give the old man a thumbs up, "Awesome!"
In fact, Yu Dawei felt that there must be some secrets that Uncle Da hadn't told. For example, it's impossible that Uncle Da quit on his own initiative because he wanted to compete with someone who was more handsome.

Who would be so bored?

"Dad, hey? Why hasn't Yu Dawei left yet?" Just then, Yu Dazhi came over from the front yard carrying several boxes of instant noodles, intending to take them to the warehouse.

"Drinking? A good story deserves drinks." Yu Dawei licked his lips and held out his hand to the old man. "Grandpa, give me another sip."

I don't know why, but it has a strong initial kick followed by a gentle finish, and it feels more flavorful than my old man's Jiannanchun.

“Little drunkard, just one small sip and I’m down to half a bottle.” Under his youngest son’s utterly shocked gaze, Yu Quan handed the tin gourd to Yu Dawei, then turned to his own son and said, “What are you standing there for? Get back to work.”

"Oh, oh!" Yu Dazhi didn't dare to talk back to his own father and hurriedly ran to the warehouse.

"Hiss!" Yu Dawei couldn't stand the taste of the wine gourd as it was, it was too painful! He hurriedly returned the gourd to Grandpa Yu Quan.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I have to go to town tomorrow." Yu Dawei waved his hand and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Yu Quan glanced at Yu Dawei, then took the copper coin tied with a red string from the middle of the tin wine gourd and handed it to Yu Dawei along with the red string. "Here you go."

"What does this mean?" Yu Dawei took the copper coins with a blank look on his face, not understanding why the old man would suddenly think of giving him copper coins.

Although there were many stars in the night, the light was too dim, and Yu Dawei still couldn't see what was written on the copper coin.

“This copper coin was passed down from the first patriarch of the Yu family. Back when the Yu family fortress still existed, it was a token of the patriarch's status. Now it’s nothing, so I’m giving it to you as a keepsake.” After saying this, Yu Quan drank the wine in his gourd in one gulp.

"Grandpa, this is too valuable." Yu Dawei was a little hesitant to accept the patina-covered copper coin. After all, it belonged to Grandpa and was linked to the heads of the family for generations, so it should be worth a lot of money.

"It's not expensive, but I've figured something out." Grandpa Yu Quan calmed down after a while from the strong effects of the alcohol.

"what's up?"

“Although Yujiabao is gone, there is still Yujiatun. If one day Yujiatun is gone too.” Yu Quan stretched out his old hand and gently patted Yu Dawei’s shoulder, “then there will still be the Yu family. That’s enough.”

"I'm tired, make yourself at home." Yu Quan turned around and went into the house, leaning on his cane.

Yu Dawei was left alone, holding the patina-covered copper coin, standing there blankly for a long time before finally putting the coin away and turning to leave.

Hidden in the storeroom, Yu Dazhi leaned against the wall, his mind filled with the scene of the old man handing him the copper coins. He couldn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Most people in the village probably didn't know what that copper coin represented, but how could he not know, having grown up with his father?

That was once a symbol of the family head, an item that could only be passed down from one family head to the next!

Although the symbol of the family headship is no longer present, it is still a form of recognition from the old man for Dawei.

"What exactly did Yu Dawei go to town for? My dad has always looked down on all the younger generation of the Yu family in the village." Yu Dazhi scratched his head, completely baffled. Yu Dawei returned home, eagerly lit a candle, and then carefully pondered what was written on it.

The copper coin is round with a square base, and the obverse side has four large characters: "Qi Xiang Zhong Bao". The reverse side is in Manchu script, which is incomprehensible.

"Where did you get these copper coins?" Han Jingfan asked, glancing at the copper coins in Yu Dawei's hand while holding the baby.

"It was given to me by Uncle Yu Quan. I don't know what kind of good thing it is." Yu Dawei looked up and handed over the copper coin tied with a red string. "Do you know anything about it? Why don't you take a look?"

Han Jingfan handed Xiao Muyu to Yu Dawei, took the copper coins, and then lay down on the quilt, carefully studying the words by the light of the candle.

Yu Dawei almost laughed when he saw Han Jingfan's serious expression, as if he had seen this thing before.

"This copper coin is a rare, discontinued coin from the Qing Dynasty. The Qixiang Zhongbao coin is meant to suppress evil spirits. Many of these coins have survived to this day and were used to carry on one's person to ward off evil." Han Jingfan handed the coin back to Yu Dawei.

When the little Muyu in my arms saw the copper coins, her eyes lit up, and she reached out her two little hands to grab them.

Yu Dawei played with the copper coin in his palm for a while, then looked at Han Jingfan in surprise: "How do you know all this? Did you read it in a book again?"

“No, it wasn’t. My dad wrote it down on a page of a book about the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties, in the brief introduction to Emperor Muzong of Qing,” Han Jingfan said.

Yu Dawei found it strange that his grandfather knew so much about this copper coin. Did his grandfather also know about the token? Did he go and investigate it before?

In short, this thing was given to him by his great-uncle, so it has nothing to do with the ancestors of the Yu family; it belongs to his great-uncle.

Yu Dawei stuffed the little rabbit into his eldest son's arms, replacing the copper coin he was holding onto, and then casually tied the copper coin to the clothesline above his head.

In rural areas, there is a clothesline on the edge of the kang (heated brick bed). Towels and clothes that haven't dried outside are usually hung there. Some people also put up a simple curtain, which is opened to both sides during the day and closed at night for privacy. However, I haven't seen anyone do this in Yujiatun.

Most of them are used to cover face towels, and rags for wiping cabinets on a daily basis.

"I think Dad is in a good mood today. He even came over to tease Xiao Muyu." Han Jingfan said, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) with the child in her arms.

Yu Dawei chuckled as he took off his clothes and blew out the candles: "The old man's dream of most of his life has finally come true. How could he not be happy? I reckon he'll be asking our mother for wine every day for the next couple of days."

"I wonder how Dafeng is doing in Hohhot. Has Dashengzi taken care of her? Dafeng is a bit like me, not very talkative and easily bullied."

"It's alright, honey. Aunt and Uncle are very reliable people. It just depends on whether Dafeng can hold on over there. Nothing is easy." Yu Dawei would encounter all sorts of unpleasant things if he had to start over and repair cars again, let alone work under someone else.

Especially since Da Feng has a mental illness, Yu Dawei knows that although his family members don't say it, they all care about her.

He estimated that Da Feng would be back soon, but that was in his past life; who knows what would happen in this one?

Right now, I need to find a rotary excavator as soon as possible; this is very urgent.

Tomorrow is Ackerman's weekly routine maintenance check day. He needs to go to the site first and then check on his old Hitachi to make sure there are no problems.

If you can run into Xiaobai, that would be best. Ask him to talk to the higher-ups about settling part of the repair costs in advance.

If there are no major problems, Yu Dawei will first go to Brother Duan's place in the afternoon to ask if there is any news. If not, he will continue to go to the agricultural machinery repair shops in various villages to inquire about where there is news about rotary excavators.

He could no longer rely on the excavator he had missed; what if it had gone to another city? He would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

As for getting electricity to the village, the old village chief should be able to handle it; he can just take the other party to the town.

Yu Dawei didn't tell Han Jingfan and the old man about the village getting electricity, mainly because he was afraid that if he told them, the matter would not be accomplished, and he would become the unreliable person he was in his past life.

If you're going to change yourself, change completely, so that you don't give people the slightest impression that you're unreliable.

At night, insects chirp and birds sing outside, and occasionally a cool breeze blows through the window to your feet, which is exceptionally comfortable.

As Yu Dawei pondered these thoughts, he unknowingly fell asleep.

The next day, he drove his family's four-wheeled vehicle away early in the morning, and now the four-wheeled vehicle has become his exclusive means of transportation.

The old man had originally considered selling it, but seeing how frequently his eldest son used it, he temporarily put the idea aside.

Upon arriving at the construction site, Yu Dawei happened to spot Xiao Bai's black Volkswagen. It seemed the guy hadn't gone home last night; he was wearing a white vest and had messy hair, and was opening the trunk, seemingly looking for something.

“Xiao Bai, this won’t do. You’re not combing your hair or washing your face first thing in the morning. It’s bad for the image of us construction workers.” Yu Dawei parked his four-wheeled vehicle in the dormitory area and then approached Bai Zhongsheng.

"I didn't bring a towel or shampoo, how am I supposed to brush my teeth and wash my face?" Xiaobai took a basin out of the trunk. The basin contained soap, shampoo, a towel, and a bottle of Dabao SOD cream. "Oh, right, I brought some fried chicken legs for you in the trunk. The boss specifically instructed that this kid loves chicken legs, and it would be a waste to leave them in the cafeteria, so this is a reward for you."

"Sigh, my boss treats me so well. It's been so long since I've been to the oil city, I really miss the fried chicken legs from the boss's canteen." Yu Dawei reached into the trunk and found a bag of small chicken legs. He hadn't had breakfast yet, and he didn't mind them being cold, so he took one out and devoured it. (Author's note: "造了" is a Northeastern dialect word meaning "ate".)
"Hey, wait for me a bit. I'll go with you after I wash up." Xiaobai rolled her eyes and turned to go to the dormitory in the supervisor's area.

While the other party was washing up, Yu Dawei ran to section nine and gave all the remaining chicken legs to Fu Zi and Huang Man.

The two have now teamed up. Huang Man is not quick to learn how to operate an excavator, but he is obedient. He does whatever Fu Zi tells him to do. Practice makes perfect, and he has become quite proficient at it recently.

This surprised and delighted Yu Dawei. If Huang Man's technique were a little more stable and he didn't tremble so much when moving the bucket, then he felt that Huang Man could definitely practice on a wheeled excavator.

However, I still need to keep an eye on him for a couple of days, otherwise I really can't trust this silly barbarian.

"Brother Dawei, isn't this the chicken leg from the oil city canteen? How did you get it?" Huang Man jumped off the car, took two chicken legs, took a bite of one himself, and handed the other to Brother Axe.

"Isn't this because your cousin missed you? He knows you love chicken legs, so he specially gave them to you." Yu Dawei smiled, then looked at Yao Jinfu, "How's Manzi's training going lately?"

"Alright, my hands aren't shaking when I'm working on the boom and bucket anymore, but the rotation is a bit too strong, and I can't quite control it. A few times I almost overturned the loader." Yao Jinfu chuckled as he ate a chicken leg. Although it wasn't tender anymore, it was damn delicious!
Pepper flavor?
Yu Dawei patted Huang Man on the shoulder: "Manzi, calm down. When doing mechanical work, no matter what you do, you need to be calm. If your mind is in a mess or you are anxious, you won't be able to do the work."

(End of this chapter)