Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 120 Heartwarming Daily Life

Upon hearing Xu Chunsheng's words, Cheng Runshu paused in his actions, looking up somewhat helplessly: "Brother Chunsheng, why?"

She said hurriedly and aggrievedly, "We agreed before that I would come here to learn some experience without pay. I came to the distillery to help you and lend a hand with some work. I would be happy to do that."

The cousin standing to the side kept glancing between the two of them, with an expression of anticipation for a good show.

Xu Chunsheng sighed softly: "Runshu, I know you came to help out of kindness, and I remember your kindness in my heart. But you come to help out every time you rush between events, and I can't always let you work for free."

Cheng Runshu clutched the hem of his clothes, muttering softly, "Was there something I didn't do well enough? I'll pay more attention and do better next time. Don't talk about paying me; that would be too distant, okay?"

Xu Chunsheng looked at her reddened eyes and paused: "I'm not trying to distance myself from you, but I feel that this is unfair to you. If I don't pay you, people will inevitably gossip over time, which will not be good for your reputation as a young lady."

Listening to Xu Chunsheng's words, Cheng Runshu said softly, "That's other people's opinion. I only care about yours."

Xu Chunsheng patiently explained to her, "You deserve the wages. If you accept them without worry, I'll continue to ask you to help me, right? Other people's opinions don't matter, but I do care about what others think of you, after all, you're my sister."

Xu Chunsheng handed over the money he had prepared and gently placed it on the counter in front of Cheng Runshu.

Cheng Runshu could tell that Xu Chunsheng was determined to give her money. She pouted and said reluctantly, "This is too much money. I don't want so much."

Xu Chunsheng pushed the money back to her: "You were busy helping us with the pig farm construction, and you also helped with the distillery later. You did a lot of work, so this money is rightfully yours."

Unable to argue with Xu Chunsheng, Cheng Runshu quietly agreed and took the money.

"Ahem. Is everything settled? If it is, let's talk about the recent situation at the distillery."

Once his cousin had finished speaking, he was completely unaware that he had broken the awkward atmosphere.

"We applied to expand our business scope, and a couple of days ago someone came to check to see if we were selling ahead of schedule."

"But we didn't do any of those things, so it didn't have any impact. Chunsheng, how's your winemaking going? You're really amazing, you managed to make this."

My cousin genuinely admires Xu Chunsheng. Heaven knows, every time he goes home, his parents constantly remind him to learn from Xu Chunsheng.

After saying that, my cousin asked, "If we're going to sell fruit wine later, shouldn't we first establish our brand?"

Xu Chunsheng shook his head: "Promotion is fine, but selling wine isn't in a hurry. First, our licenses haven't been issued yet, and second, my wine still needs two or three more days to complete fermentation. After that, there are still filtering, aging, and sterilization processes to go through. All the processes will take another month or two."

After fermentation, the fruit wine needs to undergo coarse and fine filtration. The filtered wine is then left to stand and dry for fifteen days. After the lees settle, it is separated again to make the wine clear and stable. After that, the wine is stored at low temperature for one or two months to allow the fruit and wine aromas to fully blend. After all this, there is an essential sterilization step. Without this step, the wine will spoil in a few days and will not meet the standards for sale.

After Xu Chunsheng finished speaking, he added, "I can only take the samples to apply for the certificate after the finished wine is brewed, which will take up some more time."

Xu Chunping nodded, indicating that he understood: "Then in the future, when someone comes to buy wine, I'll just mention it to them, saying that we're going to launch a new fruit wine, so that everyone can look forward to it."

"Then I'll help with the filtering. I can't just take my brother's money for nothing, right?" Cheng Runshu chimed in from the side.

Xu Chunsheng nodded: "If you'd like, you can come to my house. We can do all these chores ourselves."

Cheng Runshu twisted his fingers and said softly, "I also want to take this opportunity to learn more from my brother, so please don't refuse me anymore."

Xu Chunsheng found Cheng Runshu's clingy tone a bit too much, so he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then you can come first. After the filtering is finished, you can be the first person to taste the wine."

After receiving confirmation, Cheng Runshu smiled again and nodded earnestly at Xu Chunsheng: "I will definitely come. Don't blame me for being slow, brother."

"It's good enough that someone is helping with the work; he certainly won't complain."

Xu Chunping chimed in from the side, smiling as he said to Cheng Runshu, "Runshu, you have no idea how much I look forward to your arrival every time I'm rushing between events. Your presence always makes me feel so much more relaxed."

Cheng Runshu turned to Xu Chunping and smiled, "Brother Chunping is very capable too. I only helped Brother Chunsheng with some small things. It's great that I could help you and Brother Chunsheng."

"Hey, Runshu, how much more do you need to finish? Should I take you back?" Xu Chunsheng asked.

"Okay, then Brother Chunsheng, wait for me a moment, I'm almost done."

After Cheng Runshu finished speaking, he picked up the bag of candy in front of him and put it aside. He then picked up the account book and abacus and continued doing the work he had been doing.

After seeing Cheng Runshu begin working, Xu Chunping pulled Xu Chunsheng outside the distillery and asked him discreetly, "Chunsheng, I feel like Runshu is acting strange. Does she have feelings for you?"

Xu Chunsheng nudged Xu Chunping with his elbow. Xu Chunping covered the spot where he was nudged and hissed in pain.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I treat her like a younger sister, just like you. I'll let it go this time, but if you say that again next time, don't blame me for urging you to go on blind dates."

Xu Chunping chuckled awkwardly, then, like two buddies, he put his arm around Xu Chunsheng's shoulders, gave him a good squeeze, and declared boldly, "No, no, I was wrong. Don't you know my situation? I won't get married until I've made a name for myself!"

Xu Chunsheng broke free from his cousin's hand and walked into the house: "I know, I know, I'll talk to Auntie next time. You said you wouldn't get married."

He leaned against Xu Chunsheng's buttocks: "How can you be like this? Who played with you when you were little? Who took the beatings for you when you were little? You little ungrateful wretch—"

When Xu Chunsheng entered the room, he saw Cheng Runshu putting away the account books and abacus, then taking a rag and wiping the counter briefly before slinging his canvas bag over his shoulder: "Brother Chunsheng, I'm done. You can go back now."

"Okay, let's go then."

After saying that, Xu Chunsheng ignored his cousin who followed him into the house and led Cheng Runshu out of the winery to get the car.

"Brother Chunping, I'll head back now. I'll come help you again next time."

Cheng Runshu smiled slightly at Xu Chunping and followed Xu Chunsheng outside.

"Hmph, little sister is so much better behaved; little brother always needs to be disciplined."

Xu Chunping slumped into a chair, watching the two men drive away in their tricycle, feigning sadness: "Sigh, they're all gone, leaving me all alone to play—"

"Hehe, let's play by ourselves." Xu Chunping pulled a wooden top out of the cabinet and casually spun it at the shop entrance. Soon, it attracted many children from the surrounding area to play with him.

Xu Chunsheng and Cheng Runshu were completely unaware of this scene. The two of them were sitting on the tricycle, and the jolting made their speech halting.

The dirt road was full of potholes, and the tricycle suddenly lurched, causing Cheng Runshu to be suspended in mid-air for a moment before she hurriedly gripped the seat tightly.

She said loudly, "The road to our village is in terrible condition—I wonder when—these roads—will be repaired."

Xu Chunsheng held the handlebars firmly, his voice clearly reaching Cheng Runshu's ears: "It will definitely be fixed. One day, every household will have access to a cement road."

Xu Chunsheng remembers that in his previous life, his village was connected by a cement road in 2012, but it didn't reach every household. Only the main road was paved. If they wanted the road to reach their own homes, they would have to pay for it themselves.

Thinking about these things, Xu Chunsheng felt the time pressure mounting again; he didn't want to wait one or two years for the cement road to be completed.

Looking at Xu Chunsheng's profile, Cheng Runshu believed him wholeheartedly: "I believe you. If you say you can get a connection home, then that day will definitely come."

After taking Cheng Runshu home, Xu Chunsheng declined her parents' invitation to stay for dinner, saying that he had other things to do and would be going home.

This is not an excuse; something really did happen.

Mr. Xu had someone calculate the auspicious day; the pigs were to be separated into different pens at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

We need to hurry back and tidy up the enclosures, lay out bedding, and make preparations in advance.

After selling the pig, the family thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the pigsty. Today, when they returned, they sprinkled quicklime on the damp ground to absorb moisture and kill bacteria.

After one night, the ground will be basically dry. Tomorrow morning, we will sweep the lime in the pen clean, rinse it briefly, let it dry, and then lay down dry straw. Then we can officially welcome the pigs.

In the 1990s, rural farmers paid great attention to raising pigs and valued the prosperity of livestock. Whether it was catching piglets or dividing them into pens, they would consult the almanac (the old Chinese calendar) to choose an auspicious time. The older generation believed that only by choosing a good time to divide the pens could the pigs fight less, get sick less, and grow faster. This was a custom that had been passed down from generation to generation in the countryside.

In summer, it's best to avoid the hottest time of day, such as midday, while in winter, the opposite is true; you should choose times when the temperature is rising.

When Xu Chunsheng arrived, his father had already started spreading quicklime in the pigpen, while his eldest sister was sweeping the pigpen with a bamboo broom.

"You're back."

When Mr. Xu saw his son come in, he casually greeted him.

"You're back. I'll go get some and spread it out with you." Xu Chunsheng turned around to get the quicklime.

In summer, the ground dries quickly. We use diluted liquor mixed with water for home disinfection, so quicklime isn't used much.

However, after winter set in, quicklime came in very handy: the pen became damp and cold, so quicklime became an essential ingredient.

Xu Chunsheng tied up a half-full bag of quicklime, then grabbed a stick and gently broke up the clumps of quicklime.

After doing all that, he carried half a bag of quicklime into the pig farm.

He rolled over and stepped into a pigsty, grabbed some lime, and was about to start scattering it.

Seeing his sweeping, wide strokes, Xu's father quickly said, "Erwa, you don't need to spread it so thickly."

"You only need to lightly sprinkle a layer on the damp, seeping floor. Don't sprinkle it on the walls; it'll be better to brush them with alcohol later."

Although the pig farm was started under Xu Chunsheng's leadership, Xu's father was more experienced in things like spreading lime.

"Oh, okay, then I'll sprinkle less."

Xu Chunsheng simply agreed.

Father Xu climbed over the gate of the pen and walked to the outside of the pen where Xu Chunsheng was, continuing to teach: "There are two more important points. First, never spill food near the pig trough. If it's not cleaned up properly, the pigs will easily eat it along with the feed, which can burn their intestines."

"In addition, this lime must be swept clean and then mopped again, otherwise the pigs are prone to problems."

If pigs trample on lime, their hooves will rot, and inhaling lime dust can easily cause coughing and wheezing.

"Just make sure to spit out the poop, where the pigs lie down to sleep, and in any depressions in the ground."

Xu Chunsheng listened to his father's words and followed his instructions step by step.

The father and son quickly covered all twenty-odd pigsties with lime. After finishing, Xu Chunsheng handed the remaining lime to his father: "Dad, take this and put it away. I'll go with my sister to clean up the excrement in the pigsties."

After saying that, Xu Chunsheng picked up the shovel leaning against the wall and jumped into the pigpen in two swift movements, scaring the piglets inside into running all over the pen.

The older sister gave him a reproachful look: "Tsk, why make such a big fuss? When they run around, they'll leave pig poop everywhere."

Xu Chunsheng awkwardly touched his nose. "You don't understand, they were intimidated by my handsome pose."

As Xu Chunsheng spoke, he shoveled up the dirty stuff in the enclosure and dumped it out of the hole.

The older sister rolled her eyes at him speechlessly, "Yes, yes, very handsome, like the 'shuai' in 'cricket'."

Time flies. The next morning, after breakfast, Xu's father took Xu Chunsheng and Xu Chunhua to the pig farm to clean the pigsty.

Xu's mother stayed home to clean the tools needed for filtering the fruit wine in a couple of days.

Xu Yaomei volunteered to stay home and help: "You guys go to the pigsty and get busy, I'll stay home and help Mom wash the jars."

She mimicked the gesture her father often made, turned her back to the group, waved, and urged, "Hurry up and finish quickly so we can divide the pigs this afternoon."

After saying that, she put her hands behind her back and swayed into the house.

"Pfft—"

'

"Hahaha""

The eldest sister and Xu Chunsheng exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in each other's eyes, and couldn't help but laugh.

Even Mr. Xu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but want to laugh, but he managed to hold it in. After all, he was the "teacher" of these actions, and if he laughed again, wouldn't he laugh too?

Xu Yaomei pouted and turned around, staring at her older brother and sister with an expression that looked like she wanted to cry but was holding it in: "If you laugh again, I won't play with you anymore!"

But Xu Yaomei was met with even louder laughter from her older siblings.

"Ugh—I hate you guys, I'm not playing with you today!"

Xu Yaomei stomped her foot, turned around and ran back into the house to complain to her mother.

The siblings were left there laughing so hard they were slapping their faces. Their father couldn't help but laugh too, saying, "Let's go, or your little sister will really get angry if you keep laughing."