Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The next morning, before dawn, with only a faint bluish-gray light appearing on the eastern horizon, the Zhao family courtyard was already bustling with activity.

Lin Xiu boiled a large pot of water early in the morning, and took out two clean towels from the cabinet. She even took the new leather shoes that Da Zhuang had brought over last night and wiped them again under the window.

After being oiled, the shoes were shiny black. When placed at the door, they didn't look like something a farmer in the village would normally wear to walk in the mud.

Dazhuang arrived even earlier.

Zhao Shanhe had just finished half a bowl of corn porridge when the boy pushed open the door and entered the yard.

His hair had just been shaved yesterday, and his beard was clean-shaven, but his dark red face was noticeably more tense than usual.

After entering the room, he glanced at Zhao Shanhe, then at the pile of things on the table, and after a long pause, he managed to utter a sentence:

"Brother, is it really necessary to go through all this?"

The kang table was already full.

Two bottles of fine wine, two packs of good cigarettes with filters, two bags of premium tea, malted milk powder, and several kinds of high-end pastries that only the county supply and marketing cooperative would be willing to display in a glass cabinet.

These were just the gifts Lin Xiu had selected to take to the county town as gifts for the woman's elders.

On another stool next to it, there were neatly folded dark gray woolen trousers and a crisp white shirt.

What truly made Da Zhuang's eyes pop out was the pile of Soviet goods displayed right in the center of the table.

That was a treasure Ivanov had dug out of the trunk of his car.

A dark gray pure wool long coat, thick and well-fitting, with fine nap on the collar, just lying there exudes a fashionable style that you can't find in the department stores of the county town at all.

Next to the coat was a navy blue turtleneck pure wool sweater, soft and substantial to the touch; on the very edge were even two cans of Soviet-made beef with red tin seals, and a box of assorted chocolates with gold Russian letters printed on them.

"What do you mean, 'a lot'?"

Lin Xiu didn't even look up, deftly tying the last bag of steamed rice cakes tightly with a thin hemp rope, making a neat and tidy knot:

"It's the first time we've visited, not like we're going every day to bring lavish gifts. If the gifts are well-prepared and substantial, the parents will feel reassured and know that we genuinely value their daughter. It's not like we lack the means; if we can make a good impression, we should do it beautifully. Why should we let them find fault with us based on a narrow perspective?"

Da Zhuang looked down at the table full of food, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything more.

Just then, a muffled thud came from the west room.

Immediately afterwards, the curtain was lifted by a large, broad hand.

Natasha came out from inside.

She had obviously only just woken up.

Last night, her messy, light brown hair had been combed again, and she had simply tied it into a loose bun at the back of her head, with a few stray hairs still hanging around her face.

He had changed into a dark red thick sweater and a pair of wide black trousers. Without the thick woolen coat he wore yesterday, his broad shoulders and thick back made him look even more solid.

The hangover flush on her face hadn't completely faded yet.

Da Zhuang was bending over and looking at the things on the table when he suddenly saw a tall, blue-eyed foreign woman emerge from behind the curtain in the west room. He froze on the spot, as if he had been frozen in place, not even knowing where to put his hands and feet.

"morning."

Natasha squeezed out a sound in broken, strange Chinese, her voice hoarse and low, still tinged with the effects of a hangover.

She didn't even glance at Dazhuang, casually pulled out the long bench, and plopped down on it, the wooden bench immediately creaking in protest.

He reached out and grabbed the half-full enamel mug of cooled boiled water that Lin Xiu had placed on the table, tilted his head back, and gulped it down.

A few drops of water slid down her fair chin and into the turtleneck of her sweater. She casually wiped them with her sleeve, exhaled a long breath, turned to look towards the kitchen, and asked directly in her broken Chinese:

"Lin Xiu, is there anything to eat? My stomach is really empty."

Lin Xiu was wiping the edge of the stove with a rag when she was suddenly called by her first name by this tall, burly foreign woman, which startled her.

Seeing the other person's carefree and unpretentious demeanor, Lin Xiu smiled and quickly lifted the heavy wooden lid of the large iron pot.

"Yes! We had it ready!"

With a whoosh, scalding white steam billowed out. Lin Xiu deftly used a coarse cloth to cushion her hands and took out a large, rough porcelain bowl from the pot. Inside lay four round, golden-brown, and fragrant poached eggs, and underneath was a large bowl full of hot soup noodles, topped with a handful of finely chopped scallions and glistening, oily minced meat sauce.

"Eat it while it's hot, a hangover with no food in your stomach is the worst."

Lin Xiu handed the bowl and chopsticks to Natasha, and then casually grabbed two steaming white steamed buns from the hot pot steamer and placed them on the plate.

Natasha didn't stand on ceremony at all. She reached out, broke open the steamed bun, took a big bite, and then picked up her chopsticks, slurped up a large clump of noodles, and ate until her cheeks were bulging and her mouth was shiny with oil.

Lin Xiu stood beside her, watching her eat with relish, and feeling a little curious, she couldn't help but ask with a smile:

"Natasha, who taught you Chinese? How come you speak it so fluently?"

Natasha chewed on a large white steamed bun, swallowed hard, and casually wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"My father taught me."

Her expression remained unchanged, her tone carrying a hint of nonchalance:

"In the first few years after the founding of your country, he was an industrial expert sent by the Soviet Union to support the construction in Northeast China. He stayed in Shenyang and Harbin for six years. At that time, I was not even as tall as a table. I followed him around the compound every day, and my ears were filled with Chinese. Later, after the retreat, he retired and went to the Far Eastern Railway to manage supplies. He then spent half his life dealing with your foreign trade system. His home was always filled with Chinese tea and calendars."

She picked up another noodle with her chopsticks and slurped it into her mouth. After swallowing the hot soup, she let out a long, comfortable sigh and continued:

"Later, I married Ivan. He was always trading goods between the two sides of the border river, and I followed him to the port. I was in contact with either the foremen on your side or the middlemen from the supply and marketing cooperatives. By listening and talking more, and with the knowledge I had in my mind since childhood, I gradually picked it all up."

Lin Xiu's eyes lit up as she listened, and the awkwardness and restraint she felt towards the foreign woman were gradually washed away by her words.

"No wonder!"

Lin Xiu smiled and handed her a small dish of homemade pickled shredded fried dough sticks. "Looks like you're still a true local! Add some pickled vegetables, and it'll be just right with congee and noodles."

Natasha didn't stand on ceremony at all. She picked up a large clump of pickled vegetable shreds with her chopsticks and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound, a satisfied expression on her face.

Seeing that she was eating heartily, Lin Xiu's smile grew wider and wider. She had originally worried that this foreign woman would not be used to living in Kaoshan Village, but now she felt that she was no different from the straightforward wives in the village.

She was about to go back to the kitchen to check on the porridge in the pot when she glanced to the side and noticed that Dazhuang was still standing there.

The boy hadn't said much since Natasha came out. He kept glancing at the tall foreign woman and then at the Soviet wool coat on the kang table, looking like a student waiting for the teacher to call his name.

Lin Xiu couldn't help but laugh:

"I was so busy talking that I almost forgot about the person in charge today."

Natasha, with half a mouthful of steamed bun still in her mouth, looked up when she heard this.

Lin Xiu gestured towards Da Zhuang with her lip:

"Natasha, this is Dazhuang."

"He's going to the county to meet the girl's parents today."

Natasha stopped eating with her chopsticks.

She first looked at Lin Xiu, then slowly turned her gaze to Da Zhuang.

"Is it him?"

"It's me."

Dazhuang quickly responded.

Natasha didn't speak immediately.

She swallowed what was in her mouth, picked up the large bowl and drank some hot soup, then stood up from the stool and carefully looked Dazhuang over from head to toe.

Da Zhuang was already feeling uneasy under her gaze, and to make matters worse, Natasha remained silent.

She sauntered over to Dazhuang in two steps, wearing those thick-soled deerskin boots.

Natasha was already tall, but she wasn't much shorter than Dazhuang, who was as tall as an iron tower.

She circled around Dazhuang for half a turn, reached out and pinched his hard arm, then suddenly raised her large, fan-like hand and slapped him hard on his firm buttocks with a crisp "smack"!

The slap was crisp and loud, sounding like a small firecracker going off in the quiet main room.

Da Zhuang shuddered violently, his eyes widened, and he instinctively covered his backside with both hands. His face instantly turned a deep, dark red, almost bleeding from the base of his neck and earlobes.

"Ouch! You... why are you hitting me!"

Lin Xiu, who was watching from the side, was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing and bent over, almost dropping the rag in her hand.

Even Zhao Shanhe, who was sitting on the edge of the kang smoking, couldn't help but twitch his lips twice. He squinted, exhaled a puff of smoke, and raised an eyebrow as if watching a show.

Natasha, however, seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss. Instead, she grinned, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth, and burst into laughter.

"Not bad! Thick-skinned, big-boned, and with a sturdy rear! In Siberia, a young man like this could carry two dead deer for ten kilometers across the snow. He's a good lad!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached into the large side pocket of her sweater.

A crisp metallic clanging sound rang out.

Natasha pulled out a heavy lump of iron, and with a flick of her rough hand, tossed it directly at Dazhuang:

"then!"

Da Zhuang hurriedly reached out his hands to catch it, and upon closer inspection, his eyes widened in astonishment.

Lying in his palm was a large mechanical watch with a silvery-white dial, as big as a coin, with black background and white lettering, and a thick brown leather strap.

A bright red five-pointed star is clearly printed at the top of the dial, below which is a circle of strong Russian characters. The second hand moves very steadily, and you can hear the crisp and powerful clicking sound of gears meshing when you put it to your ear.

"This is... a watch?"

Da Zhuang's palms were sweating, and he stammered, hesitant to accept it, "How much does this thing cost...?"

"A Soviet commander's watch, purely mechanical, shockproof and waterproof."

Natasha waved her hand dismissively and laughed heartily:

"Ivan got this in the army; it keeps perfect time. Don't you Chinese men always look for watches, bicycles, and sewing machines when you go on blind dates? Take this and wear it! Those flimsy tin watches worn by young city folks don't compare to this in terms of style and sophistication!"

Zhao Shanhe exhaled a puff of blue smoke, glanced at the commander's token, his eyes flickered, and a slight smirk appeared on his lips:

"Dazhuang, Sister Natasha is showing you respect, so accept this. Hurry up and change your clothes, don't dawdle here and waste time."