Zhou Zishan also said: "Village chief, please go back and eat quickly. We only need one bite. There is still a little bit of tail left, and everything will be done in the afternoon."
Zhou Ziyuan said: "Yes, village chief, you see we are doing well. The sky is high, the land is broad, and the food is comfortable. Besides, we actually didn't do much this morning..." At this point, Zhou Zi said Mr. Yuan's face turned a little red. Such a large piece of land was all taken care of with help. He doesn't even know if he should charge today's wages, and if so, how much he should charge... He doesn't have the nerve to go to dinner with him now.
The youngest Zhou Ziheng didn't speak, his big eyes were rolling. He was at this age when he was interested in eating. Who wanted to eat noodles when he could eat well? But Zhou Ziheng didn’t say anything in the end...
Fang Zheng, Wang Yougui, and Tan Juguo all saw all this clearly. Fang Zheng wanted to say something, but Tan Juguo stopped him. Then Tan Juguo said something to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then laughed.
Seeing Wang Yougui and Tan Juguo leaving, a flash of disappointment flashed in the two little guys' big eyes. Zhou Ziheng was already used to it. Although he was a little looking forward to it, it would be okay if he didn't. Anyway, it's not the first time. If someone says something polite, you can't take it seriously. If I really went there and they didn’t mean it, wouldn’t it be embarrassing? We met several times on the road, and now he has learned to behave as if there is no such thing...
"Master, why don't you go back to eat?" Zhou Ziheng came to Fang Zheng and asked curiously.
Fang Zheng smiled and said: "Amitabha, I want to have a meal with the donor, okay?"
Zhou Ziheng was stunned, pointing to the noodles in his pot with clear soup and water, and said: "This... you eat this?"
Fang Zheng smiled and said: "As soon as the poor monk became a monk, he told me the truth. A year ago, the poor monk didn't even know where his next meal would be. He also ate wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger."
Hearing that Fang Zheng also came from a poor family, Zhou Ziheng immediately got closer to Fang Zheng and said with a smile: "Okay, let's eat together. Let me tell you, we carried these noodles all the way from Shaanxi. Bring noodles, especially if you are full or hungry, you will still have enough strength after eating."
Zhou Ziheng was chatting with Fang Zheng. The two of them were talking about something. Zhou Ziheng found that this monk was really different from the monks he had met before. He didn't have any airs or the smell of someone outside Fang. Like a neighbor next door. The more we chatted, the more relaxed we became...
"Master, you are so young and have already become a monk. Do you not plan to get married in the future?" Zhou Ziheng asked.
Fang Zheng smiled and said: "A poor monk can return to secular life in the future, but it depends on fate. The time will come when the time comes. When it comes to the donor, your eldest brother and second brother are married. When are you going to get married?"
"I..." Zhou Ziheng was stunned for a moment, then he lay on the field ridge, looking at a few white clouds in the blue sky and said: "I'm still young, so I'm not in a hurry..."
Fang Zheng knew that Zhou Ziheng was a little against his will. How could a young man not want to get married? What he said was not that he was not in a hurry, but that he couldn't.
Sure enough, Zhou Ziheng began to pour out his bitterness: "Master, you don't know. Although we are poor, it is difficult to find a wife. We have a set of gifts, a house, etc... Hey, I don't dare to think about it now. I can make money later. Let’s talk after we get the money.”
Fang Zheng expressed his understanding. Getting married in the Northeast, not to mention the Northwest, is not an easy task. The market conditions are similar across the country. It may be easy to find a girlfriend. People don’t dislike you for being poor and don’t dislike everything about you. But when it comes time to get married, it is no longer a matter of two young people, but a matter of two families. Whether it is for comparison, to save face, or for the sake of the children, in short, this gift money cannot be circumvented. Once you want it, you can’t have it less than others, right? So one family competes with the other, and in the end, a heavy burden falls on the parents and children, crushing countless couples...
This is one of the reasons why Fang Zheng is not in a hurry to return to the secular world. If he is asked to return to the secular world now, he can't even afford a woman to marry.
The two continued to chat. Zhou Ziheng was different from his two brothers. Although life was quite difficult, he was still quite optimistic. He always felt that his future would be better. He was eager for an opportunity and then soared into the sky. Returning home in rich clothes. And Zhou Ziheng also has more ideas, working hard to make money, buying a combine harvester, and then joining a fleet, traveling from south to north and north to south. After making money, he can start a combine harvester business, etc...
In Zhou Ziheng's world, it is not limited to wielding a sickle to cut wheat. But in Zhou Ziheng's words, when he told others these words, no one believed him at all, and they all said he was crazy. Fang was the first person to recognize him, and he was quite happy...
Fang Zheng smiled slightly and said: "People without dreams are never qualified to laugh at people with dreams; people with dreams are never qualified to laugh at people who work hard to realize their dreams. The former don't even dare to dream, so what progress can they make? If the latter only dreams without practicing, how is it possible?"
When Zhou Ziheng heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "The abbot is still knowledgeable and what he said is nice."
Fang Zheng smiled, perhaps because he heard that Fang Zheng would also stay for dinner. Zhou Zishan and Zhou Ziheng went out and came back soon with some wild vegetables. Zhou Zishan said: "Abbot Fang Zheng, I'm sorry, we don't have anything to entertain you." Yes. You don’t eat meat or drink alcohol..."
Fang Zheng smiled and said: "The poor monk usually eats white rice and gnaws on bamboo shoots. This is the first time I have eaten these trouser belt noodles. It is an authentic northwest craft. This is an authentic good thing that you can't even eat under a lantern. How can I use anything else?" ?”
Fang Zheng said this, but Zhou Zishan didn't think so. The contact time was not long, but he could feel that Fang Zheng's status in Yizhi Village was even higher than that of the village chief Wang Yougui. Would Fang Zheng be poor? However, Fang Zheng's words made him feel comfortable and less embarrassed.
Just about to put the wild vegetables into the pot...
Suddenly I saw a group of villagers coming from a distance, carrying large and small packages, and some people were carrying trays with a lot of food on them.
"Is this?" Zhou Zishan and others were stunned.
Wang Yougui came over first: "The sky is high and the air is refreshing, and the land is rich and the people are nice. In this situation, of course we have to have a drink! Since you don't go to the village to eat, let's have a picnic here! Haha... This is our village. There aren’t many specialties here, so don’t blame me for the poor hospitality.”
Zhou Zishan watched the villagers place a round table on the ground, cover it with cloth, and put hot chicken, duck, fish, bamboo shoots, fragrant white rice, and big steamed buns on it! Zhou Zishan's eyes immediately turned red...
Zhou Zishan traveled extensively and had been to the Northeast before. He knew that although pasta was also eaten in the Northeast, it was mainly used as a non-staple food. Moreover, in rural areas, steamed buns are generally steamed only after winter. There are basically no steamed buns during this season. So the steamed buns in front of me... Thinking of this, Zhou Zishan took Wang Yougui's hand. The big man, with red eyes, opened his mouth several times, but he didn't know what to say. Finally, he hugged Wang Yougui and whispered: "Thank you, thank you. …”
Seeing this scene, the busy villagers also stopped. For some reason, everyone felt sad when they saw Zhou Zishan's behavior. What kind of experience would make a tall, seven-foot-old man cry in front of this most normal meal? What exactly did they experience
Fangzheng clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha, that's good, that's good..."
"Thank you..." Shen Aijia and others were also moved by the actions of the villagers. They had never been treated like this by so many people, and this tenderness warmed their hearts.
After setting out the food and drinks, everyone sat down one after another. The sky was high and the sea was vast, eating, chatting, drinking and gossiping. This was a rural banquet.
Not far away, Mengmeng secretly pulled the boy and the girl away, ran not far away, and took out a big bowl from under her bulging clothes pocket, which was full of delicious chicken legs, chicken hearts, chicken wings, etc. I ordered a big bowl, and then with a very sisterly temperament, I pushed it in front of the two children and said, "Eat! They are all delicious!"
The little girl Zhou Huaying and the little boy Zhou Huacheng are children after all. No matter how early rural children become independent, it is their nature to love to eat. Seeing so many delicious foods, they clapped their hands happily. After thanking Mengmeng, the three children hid on the small slope and started eating. But they had no idea that Mengmeng’s little thing was sneaking down on the table to steal chicken wings and drumsticks. Who wouldn’t see it? It's just that everyone knows that this child will not mess around, and no one stops him... But in the eyes of a few little guys, this is the fruit of their victory, and it tastes even more delicious.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone was drinking. The Zhou brothers were even more flushed. They drank more and talked more. They poured out all the hardships and hardships along the way. Wang Yougui and others listened to their experiences. , I also have mixed feelings in my heart. Who can imagine the hardships of sleeping in the wilderness, digging wild vegetables, and traveling with your family? Especially, I had to get so many looks...
Speaking of excitement, Zhou Zishan stood up and pulled the wooden board, Zhou Ziyuan took out a clap and beat the beat, Zhou Ziheng knocked on the rice bowl, and the three of them sang with their wild voices.
"Flying in the sky - yellow sand!"
"The earth is filled with yellow sand!"
"The yellow sand is falling - this is my home!"
…
No matter how nice or beautiful the outside is, the birds still know how to return to their nests. Who can miss home
On this day, the three Zhou Zishan brothers were all drunk...
Fang Zheng and his disciples secretly harvested the remaining rice.
Then Fang Zheng told Zhou Zishan that he had a sick old mother at home, and that he went out to make money to treat her mother's illness, not to buy a combine harvester. After everyone heard this, they were all sighing...
Tan Juguo smoked dry tobacco and said: "This is a real man!"
Everyone nodded.
Fang Zheng said: "The poor monk has an idea, but it will only work if you all agree."
"Abbot Fang Zheng, just say whatever you have to say. If you need people or money, I support you!" Tan Juguo seemed to know what Fang Zheng meant and smiled.
Fang Zheng said: "What I mean is to give the combine harvester we won to Donor Zhou and the others as a reward."
(End of chapter)