1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 171 Letter
"Li Xiu, with this car, you'll be making money nonstop from now on."

"I'm not going to grow vegetables anymore, I can make money running a freight truck!"

"This car is great!"

"Jiazhi is so capable! Xiu, you're going to enjoy a good life!"

The blue truck looked calm and unassuming, and hearing the various compliments around her, Li Xiu felt very happy and became more and more pleased with the truck.

Soon, the car stopped in the dam area, and the person standing in front of the car looked rather short.

Jia Zhi, covered in sweat, stepped out of the car with a smile on his face.

Li Xiu looked at the sweat, turned around and went into the house, while the others walked to the front of the car, looking it up and down, their eyes seemingly shining with admiration.

"Make way, everyone step back, let's kill the chicken first! Kill the chicken, Jiazhi, come and kill the chicken!"

Chen Jiaying's loud voice shattered the crowd, and a large rooster, seemingly knowing its days were numbered, was struggling desperately.

"Jiazhi, come quick, it's your turn now."

"it is good!"

Taking the cleaver and rooster from his second sister, Chen Jiazhi went to the front of the car, plucked a tuft of feathers from the rooster's neck, and with one slash, chicken blood dripped around the front of the car. His second sister, Chen Jiaying, hung a red cloth on the car window, and Chen Jiazhi plucked more chicken feathers and stuck them next to the license plate.

After the whole process was completed, the rooster would still twitch occasionally.

I just want peace and safety.

"Alright." Chen Jiaying took the rooster, then glanced at the truck. "This truck is really nice!"

After a pause, she called out again, "Those who want to drink at noon are at Jiazhi's house. The food is already on the table, you can go and eat first!"

After saying that, he stepped aside, no longer hindering everyone's enthusiasm for looking at the car. Li Xiu also took the opportunity to hand a handkerchief to Chen Jiazhi, and then went to the kitchen with Chen Jiafang.

"Uncle, I want to go up and take a look."

"It's hot inside."

"It's okay, I'm not afraid."

Chen Jiazhi opened the car door and let Yi Long climb in, while the others curiously sat down as well.

The cab is actually quite basic, with no air conditioning, a single row of three seats, very poor comfort, insufficient power, and somewhat unreliable brakes.
But that doesn't affect its status in the eyes of the public. It's a good car, that's what makes it a good car, no matter what you say!
Before long, everyone was sweating, but their enthusiasm hadn't diminished.

Ao Dehai, Qi Yongfeng, Ao Deliang, Huang Shan, Pan Dacheng, and Zhang Weidong, several vegetable workers, climbed onto the cargo compartment.

They estimated the distance and discussed how much food they could fit in the container and how to pack it to maximize the capacity, but no one could convince the other.

Ao Dehai asked, "Boss Chen, can this truck hold 200 pieces of vegetables?"

Chen Jiazhi sat under the eaves, smoking and fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, and said, "Aren't you hot?"

"200 pieces probably won't fit, 150 pieces should be enough."

"That's because you don't know how to pretend."

"We'll know in a while. There are so many vegetables in the field, they can fill it up more than halfway, if not completely."

"It's hard to say. I have a feeling this car won't be enough to hold everything sooner or later."

"That's an exaggeration! How many dishes would that require?"

The group chatted for a while longer before coming down to sit under the eaves, continuing their conversation while staring at the car. Chen Jiazhi called them several times to come and drink and chat, but they couldn't bring themselves to leave.

Yi Dinggan was also looking at the truck. Whether it carried 200 or 150 pieces of vegetables, it was a number that was hard for him to reach.

He's still riding a bicycle.

However, he would be able to switch to a tricycle soon, and there was a good supply of vegetables these past two days. He looked at Li Mingkun and Guo Mancang next to him, and the three of them automatically formed a small circle, while the other group consisted of Jiazhi's vegetable workers.

"Old Li, Old Guo, have you ever thought about getting a new tricycle?"

"I only have a little over three acres of land, which is enough for my bicycle."

"Me too."

"A person needs to have some goals. If things continue like this, he and Jiazhi won't be able to hang out together anymore."

The three of them looked at Chen Jiazhi, who was surrounded and flattered by the vegetable vendors, and felt that once people have money, there seems to be an invisible barrier between them. They thought how happy they used to be when they rode bicycles together.

"Let's go, let's go have a drink first. The aroma is already wafting out. Let's chat while we drink."

Chen Jiazhi parted the crowd and walked towards his home. Inside, there was an eight-immortal table, an asset left by his former company. On the table were Sichuan dishes with lots of oil and meat, and two fans were blowing loudly at him.

Xiaodoudou was taken home by Yilong, while Chen Jiazhi invited everyone to take their seats.

"Open the bottles, open the bottles, one bottle each, Lao Li, if you don't want to drink alcohol, you can have a soft drink, we won't force you."

"Here it comes, here it comes, the food is here." Li Xiu brought over a bowl of fish and said with a smile, "Old man, please take this for me."

Li Mingkun helped bring the fish to the table and joked, "Li Xiu, you haven't stopped smiling all day, congratulations, congratulations."

"Thank you, please eat more. The dishes are all ready, everyone please eat and drink slowly."

Li Xiu went to the kitchen again.

Pan Dacheng asked, "Boss, why do you and your wife call him Brother Li 'Old Li' and him 'Old Man'?"

"Haha, we each have our own perspective. In the Li family, he is Li Xiu's elder, but in the Chen family, he and I are of the same generation."

Chen Jiazhi smiled, picked up his wine glass again, and said, "I won't say much more, brothers. I was able to buy a car today thanks to your help. Let's work together to make it bigger and stronger and create even greater glory. Come on, let's have a drink together."

A glass of wine.

Chen Jiazhi added, "I just had a few drinks, so I won't keep toasting you. I'm still trying to quit drinking, and I'll have to be more careful when I drive in the future."

"Boss, it's rare for you to be in such a good mood, have a couple more bottles!"

"Exactly, it's like quitting drinking after this meal."

"Then I'll drink a couple more bottles at noon, but I won't drink any in the evening."

The group ate, drank, and chatted, having a great time, until almost 2 a.m. before finally stopping.

Many people were quite drunk. No one urged them on.

It's hot, so everyone wants to finish their food and leave as little leftovers as possible. And indeed, not much was left, which benefited the two dogs.

Yi Long was called away by Yi Dinggan to buy cigarettes, so he brought Xiao Doudou back. Chen Jiazhi watched as the radio was still on.

"Call me Daddy, Daddy~"

The little guy just blinked and listened to him, so cute and cuddly, and his skin had gotten even fairer.

Chen Jiazhi found it amusing and kept teasing him. In his previous life, he found taking care of children troublesome, so he basically didn't take care of the child much during the first year. Yi Long looked after the child during the day, and Li Xiu and his second sister mainly took care of the child at night.

When she grew a little older the following year, her second sister took her back to her hometown.

This life is no longer troublesome, but I'm so busy that I barely have time to play with the kids.

I don't know how to make them laugh, and since they'd been drinking and reeking of alcohol, all they could do was make weird faces and exaggerated gestures.
But after trying it all, I found that it wasn't as effective as hide-and-seek. Sometimes peeking out and sometimes hiding can actually pique a child's curiosity.

"The municipal water company reminds citizens to cherish water resources and conserve water!"

The radio announcer's clear and articulate voice startled Chen Jiazhi, reigniting some memories.

But he was soon drawn to Yi Long, who had returned with cigarettes. "Uncle, Uncle, there's a letter for you. It's from Grandpa. It was left at the convenience store and arrived two days ago."

"A letter has arrived."

Chen Jiazhi took the letter. The three characters "Chen Shaochang" in the lower left corner of the envelope made him feel a little dazed. The image of the hunched-over old man wearing an old-fashioned hat seemed to blur his vision all of a sudden.

He opened the letter, and the unfamiliar yet familiar cursive script came into view.

Jia Zhi, Li Xiu:

I hope you are well!

When I picked up my pen to write this letter, your mother and I were quite pleased and gratified.

These days, everyone in the village greets you with a smile. Even if you can't hear clearly, you know they're praising you for being successful. You can't help but get distracted when playing cards, and you've been losing more than you've won lately. You plan to go back this afternoon.

I have received the remittance slip that was sent with the letter. After discussing it with your mother, we decided to harvest the rice, sell our old sow and piglets, and then come to Huacheng.

The child's name has been chosen: Chen Zhengyun.

Before you come, please take good care of the child and make sure you don't roll over on him while he sleeps...

The letter was very long.

Chen Jiazhi seemed to be able to sense the emotions in the words. The two elders had always cared a lot about what others thought of them, and the letters they received in their previous life were never so lighthearted.

After reading it word by word, Chen Jiazhi felt a surge of indescribable emotions.

"Jiazhi, have a smoke~"

"Ah."

"What did you write?"

Chen Jiazhi then gave the letter to Yi Dinggan and briefly explained its contents. Yi Dinggan was also his father's favorite son-in-law, and the letter also mentioned him and Chen Jiafang.

"That's great, you and Li Xiu have made him look good."

Yi Long also came over to look at the letter and shook his head: "Grandpa's handwriting is too messy, I can't even read it."

Yi Dinggan looked helpless. "These characters are so flowing and elegant, you mustn't say that in front of him."

"He won't hear you even if you say it to his face."

"..."

After a while, Li Xiu and Chen Jiafang arrived and had Chen Jiazhi read the letter again.

After hearing this, the two were deeply moved. Chen Jiafang's eyes reddened, and she went back into the house. Li Xiu also went back into the house, still muttering "Chen Zhengyun".

"Brother Yi, go to sleep early."

Chen Jiazhi took his clothes and went to take a shower. When he came back, he was surprised to see two dogs, one black and one white, sleeping in the shadows of the truck and the corner of the wall.

He looked at the car again; it had many problems, but it would be a comrade-in-arms through thick and thin.

I glanced at the vegetable field again. The sky was still gloomy, and the rain hadn't started yet, making the air feel stuffy.

"Jiazhi, it's time to go to sleep."

"Hmm~"

Chen Jiazhi entered the house; the table had been cleared. "Is there enough food for dinner?"

Li Xiu said, "Don't worry about it. We've already kept the fish. I'll go buy some vegetables this afternoon. That should be enough. Go to sleep now."

"Hmm~" Chen Jiazhi also lay down, "There's only 23,000 left in the savings account."

"That's quite a lot."

"I feel like I was a bit arrogant before."

"How could that be?"

"I'm still thinking of going to the Jiangnan Market this year."

"If it doesn't work this year, we'll do it next year. We already have trucks, so where can't we go?"

"Hmm~"

"The car looks really nice."

"Hmm~"

The Dongxiang vegetable market has quieted down again, and the farmers are enjoying a moment of leisure in the afternoon.

A rain finally fell, bringing some relief from the recent heatwave.

After the evening gathering, the farmers began their new work.

(End of this chapter)