Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 230

"Hmph. Mom, look at the goose, it's become so picky about food. It even said the dumplings weren't good. We'll make some cornbread another day," Zhou Chunwen said with a smile.

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "My aunt doesn't know how to make it. We'll have to send Wang Guixiang in again another day, and then we can go in and see her and shoo her for a few steamed buns."

When Zhao Da'e said that, everyone else laughed.

Sure enough, Zhao Tingming arrived right after breakfast.

"Old Zhou is home."

Zhou Yuren greeted Zhao Tingming with a smile and welcomed him in.

Upon seeing Zhao Dage, Zhao Tingming said, "Dage, something happened in our village last night. Tiezhu is gone, and his family is making a scene. They insist that the village hold a funeral for him. It turns out that Laidai bit him and he died. The village also bears some responsibility, so I had no choice but to agree. But the village doesn't have much money. I was thinking of borrowing a few trees from your backyard to break some wood planks and make a coffin for him."

Zhao Da'e didn't rush to speak, but instead took the teapot and brewed some tea for Zhao Tingming.

Then he said, "Grandpa, you should ask my grandpa about this."

Zhao Tingming slapped his thigh: "Those trees aren't worth much. Your backyard was sold to you. Those trees are yours too. Why am I asking your grandfather?"

Zhao Da'e said, "Giving is fine. But you have to pay. This isn't some trivial matter; how can you not give money at a funeral?"

What Zhao Da'e said is indeed the actual situation.

In rural areas, there is this custom for weddings and funerals.

"Red event" refers to marriage, and "white event" refers to funeral.

For a happy occasion, like a son getting married, even going through a period of hardship is acceptable. These days, it's rare to get married without going through a period of hardship. But to pay for a son's wedding, going through hardship is necessary. You can't just watch your son remain a bachelor. Besides, according to custom, it's not a big deal.

If every household does it this way, then it doesn't matter.

But there really is no famine caused by funerals.

As the saying goes, you can't take anything with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die. When a person dies, their debts are cleared. Most people can't take a debt with them when they get old. Even if they are destitute, they will try their best to pay off the debt.

We come into this world with a pure heart, and we should leave with a pure heart. This is only natural.

"Here's the thing about Tiezhuzi's family. Da'e, your famine is considered a debt owed to you by the village, is that alright? It has nothing to do with his family." Zhao Tingming explained, "The village can't refuse to pay this money, otherwise they'll try to extort money from the hospital or the clinic. What can I do? I don't have any good solutions."

Besides, the wolves in the mountains are indeed a problem for the village. Just consider yourself unlucky. I've already reported it, and they said they'd send people to hunt the wolves in the next few days, but before they even arrived, this happened. Other people do have trees, but not as big as the ones in your backyard. They need them urgently, and since you agreed, I'll immediately take the wood to that factory over on the east mountain to be planked. We'll start this afternoon, and with a few more carpenters, it should be almost finished by tomorrow morning.”

Zhao Da'e had no choice but to agree: "Then you'll have to write more. Those trees are about a hundred or two hundred years old, and they're very thick. I'm planning to use them for roof beams when I build a house in a few days. Each tree can produce four or five purlins. Grandpa, how about this, you just cut down two trees. You can break some planks off one and use it yourself. The other one probably won't even be enough to make a coffin, so you can use it however you like."

Zhao Tingming nodded: "Okay. It's settled then."

"Eight hundred for one tree."

"How much?" Zhao Tingming was shocked: "Big Goose, I only sold you your backyard for eight hundred yuan. You broke even on just one tree? I have to pay another eight hundred for two trees?"

“This is different. Mine is cash. Yours is public money. Besides, Grandpa, you’re using IOUs, so the price will go up,” Zhao Da’e said. “What else can we do? The village has no money, so we have to keep it on credit. When will they ever pay? I reckon they won’t be able to pay. Even writing down eight thousand won’t help…”

This is indeed the case.

There were so many IOUs issued in Dongtaizi Village that Zhao Tingming sometimes lost count of how many he had issued.

Since I don't have the money to pay it back anyway, I'll just owe it for now and deal with it later.

So Zhao Tingming agreed, and he'd just write a note for Zhao Dage later, stamp it with the village's official seal. As for when the village would have the money to repay? They'd see. In any case, they wouldn't have the money for at least eight or ten years…

Zhao Tingming then left.

After staying there for a while, Zhao Da'e also got bored, so he thought about going home to check on the trees they had planted. He then asked Zhou Chunwen, "Big sister, why don't we go down and take a look? My tree is huge..."

Zhou Chunwen changed her socks and tidied herself up: "What's so interesting about setting up a tree? I've never seen anyone set up a tree before, have I? But your uncle is a busybody. He said that tree is big and can produce a lot of firewood. He wants to get a few bundles of branches."

"Go ahead and do it. Two trees will be enough to burn for half a year." Zhao Da'e didn't seem to care.

Otherwise, those branches and twigs, if no one wants them, will be picked up by someone else.

There's plenty anyway, let whoever wants it take it.

Zhou Chunwen pushed a cart and followed them down.

The cart had two wheels and was particularly heavy; it seemed to be the kind of two-wheeled cart used on construction sites, not the single-wheeled cart commonly used at home.

In those days, villages generally used single-wheeled carts. A No. 4 pipe and a wheel were all it took to make a handcart. The cost was only thirty or forty yuan. Not every household had one, but most did.

However, the cart Zhou Chunwen was pushing was clearly too bulky. Its advantage was its sturdiness and durability, but its disadvantage was its weight and the effort it required.

Zhao Da'e: Pfft, it's probably another one that my cousin swiped.

Of course, it's also possible that someone selling it is a junk collector. After all, this thing doesn't look like it belongs to an individual; it might be something used by a factory, and they might sell it for ten or eight yuan.

After all, there are plenty of factories that go out of business these days.

The shredder that Zhao Da'e bought was incredibly cheap. At that time, it wasn't too difficult to buy things at bargain prices.

Of course, you still need cash first. If you don't have money to buy cabbage, you still won't be able to afford anything, no matter how cheap it is.

"Big sister, why don't you let my uncle drive the donkey cart? That way, he can carry more firewood."

Zhou Chunwen frowned: "What do you know! That's so shameless... I just need a little bit to catch the cart. Your grandparents will probably say: 'Oh no, oh no, outsiders are stealing our firewood! What if things get out of hand?'"

Zhao Da'e thought about it and realized that Zhou Chunwen's words made some sense, although not much. She clearly paid for the backyard; otherwise, Zhao Tingming wouldn't have come to ask her. He could have just asked Wang Guixiang and the others.

She bought the yard, and the trees are hers too.

That is indeed the case in theory.

However, Old Zhao's family had even less firewood, mainly because the family members were all too lazy to cook.

With so many trees and so much firewood, it would be so easy to cut down a few or gather some branches. But nobody does it.

However, Zhao Da'e also understood that those guys at the old house were like that; if no one was doing anything, they would just tough it out. But once the trees were planted and someone went to gather firewood, they would start causing trouble again, claiming the trees as theirs.

They're just a bunch of annoying junk.

When Zhao Da'e arrived at the backyard of the old house, he saw a group of villagers watching the commotion.

The Zhao family members were choosing which tree to place their food on among several trees.

Most of the people who put the tree down were from the Zhao family. Zhao Da'e watched from afar, and finally Zhao Tiesheng, with a rope tied around his waist, climbed up the tree.

The original plan was to simply cut the tree down with a large saw, but Wang Guixiang said she was afraid that if the tree fell and leaned, it would collapse the three mud-brick houses in the old village...

This caused a delay, as someone needed to climb to the top of the tree, tie the tree sections together with ropes, and then saw it off section by section.

This would make things extremely complicated, and I reckon it would take at least three or four hours before both trees could be fully opened.

Zhao Da'e didn't really care, but the people who got killed weren't people she was particularly close to, so she just let them wait.

In fact, Zhao Da'e even felt that the longer it took to release the trees, the better, preferably until two or three o'clock in the afternoon, so that they wouldn't be able to go to the lumberyard to cut the wood.

Zhao Tiezhu is gone, but why would he shift the blame to others when nothing was wrong?

Their manners urgently need improvement!!!

A wolf entered the village. Zhao Tiezhu went out on his own, and that's how he got attacked and killed by the wolf. That's the cause and effect. If the wolf hadn't bitten his neck, he would have been fine. But look what happened—he's now trying to extort money from people everywhere! What a scoundrel!

People of varying qualities exist everywhere; some love to take advantage, while others are lazy and unwilling to work. Managing interpersonal relationships in rural areas is even more challenging.

Some people have never lived in the countryside, but they start talking nonsense just because they watch a little TV.

In a living environment like Zhao Da'e's, most people are relatives. Even if they aren't relatives, they've been neighbors for decades, from the same village. Talking about backstabbing and scheming is a bit far-fetched.

There must have been two neighboring families who argued, or even fought, over some trivial matter. But after a year or two, their relationship would improve. It didn't mean they would never speak to each other again.

Because in most cases, it's out of necessity.

We'll run into each other again someday. We fought yesterday, so we'll meet again today. What are we going to do, kill each other?

Murder is definitely a crime.

Therefore, this requires more forbearance. Both sides should be patient, put on a fake smile, and gradually ease the tension and tension.

Moreover, in such remote places, the secular customs are even more outrageous.

The saying goes, "Respect for the dead is paramount."

Zhao Tiezhu is dead, but his son and wife have extorted money from the village, and that's how it happened. Although everyone is from the same clan, there isn't much sadness about the situation.

They were all watching the trees being placed while chatting quite happily.

As for whether Zhao Tiezhu would freeze, nobody cared.

In this era, villages like Dongtaizi Village, where Zhao Da'e lived, cremation was not yet practiced. Burial was the only option.

Burial is relatively simple: dig a pit, put the person in a coffin, and then carry them from home to the mountain.

Many people are carrying the coffin. Regardless of their relationship with the deceased, all the young people in the village will go together to carry the body out.

Zhao Da'e often says things like, "I'll carry someone to the back of the mountain," which refers to this process.

The coffin was made by a carpenter.

In general, families with elderly members will prepare a coffin in advance, which is not a taboo.

After all, everyone eventually leaves this world. The customs and culture here have many traditions surrounding the act of leaving this world. We'll discuss that later.

Zhao Da'e pointed at Zhao Tiesheng at the top of the tree and said, "Big sister, look at my dad. He has to meddle in everything. Does he have to climb this tree? It has nothing to do with him. I sold the tree. Let whoever wants to climb it, what if they fall? But look at my dad, he's so stubborn, he insists on climbing it."

Zhou Chunwen put the stroller aside, plopped down on it, and yawned: "Whatever. If you fall off, you won't have a father anymore, right?! It'll save your family from fighting later."

"What if you don't die from the fall, but end up with hemiplegia?"

"Hiss...then let's not fall."

Zhao Tiesheng had no idea that his daughter was so "filial"...

Zhao Tiesheng, carrying a rope, quickly climbed to the top of the tree. There was little wind on the ground, but at the top of the tree, the wind was howling.

Zhao Tiesheng was starting to lose his grip on the tree.

This tree is over a hundred years old, almost ten feet in diameter, and seventy or eighty meters tall. It could easily support ten coffins, let alone one.

However, Zhao Tiesheng didn't think the tree was particularly valuable.

Along the riverbank below Dongtaizi, there are trees like these everywhere.

Some trees are this thick.

In this era, ecological protection is relatively good. The local climate is favorable, and the trees grow quickly.

The most significant issue was the backwardness of the tools and the relatively primitive nature of productivity.

To cut down a tree this thick, it would take a dozen or so young men working together for half a day to finish.

Besides, what would be the use of such a thick tree? That's another question.

Most households use it for building houses; anything too coarse is unusable. What's the point of using it for firewood or splitting firewood?

Do something else?

This tree is enough to make furniture for an entire village; they simply don't need it.

Of course, in later generations, a tree this thick would have long since become an antique.

Without buying and selling, there is no harm. If no one needs this tree, then no one will buy it, and no one will sell it.

The taller the tree, the stronger the wind.

Zhao Tingming shouted from below, "Shengzi, hold on tight, don't fall. Don't dawdle up there, tie the rope around your waist."

"Don't worry, sir. I've been good at climbing trees since I was a kid," Zhao Tiesheng shouted from above.

Zhao Da'e spread his hands from a distance: "Big sister, listen to this. Isn't it infuriating?"

Zhou Chunwen nodded: "Your dad's words are really infuriating. How have you survived this long without being driven to your death by anger?"

"Sigh, I just have to bear it," Zhao Da'e sighed. Zhao Tiesheng's irritating words had been a long-standing problem; he always gave irrelevant answers. Sometimes he was particularly talkative, constantly complaining and feeling wronged.

“If he falls, just throw him in my grandma’s room. It must be that old lady’s fault for making him climb the tree. It’s definitely not that no one else can’t climb it; it must be that when my dad was a child, whenever Wang Guixiang was in danger, he would make him climb it. Firstly, because my dad liked to show off, and secondly, because there really was no one else who could do it. Those two old guys are ridiculously biased.”

“It’s alright, my grandma isn’t biased at all,” Zhou Chunwen said. “My grandma passed away before I was even born. Looks like I’ll have to find someone who’s an orphan when I look for a husband…”