Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 228

Zhao Da'e had never rolled this kind of thing before, but she had lived in the countryside for a long time and had seen many people roll and smoke cigarettes.

Firstly, these were difficult times, and cigarettes were relatively cheap. Buying cigarettes in packs was much more expensive and not worthwhile.

Secondly, many older people feel that the kind they buy is not strong enough. This is similar to drinking the strongest liquor or smoking the strongest tobacco, which has become the standard for many ordinary people.

But seeing something doesn't mean you can do it... Although Zhao Da'e had seen how to roll it, when he tried to roll it himself, he found that it wasn't that simple.

No matter how you try to roll it, it will ultimately fail.

Zhou Yuren looked at it, squinted his eyes and chuckled, "Give me the goose."

Zhou Yuren took it, folded the large white paper used for rolling cigarettes, and then put in the tobacco.

However, Zhou Yuren was extremely careful and even when adding the tobacco. And the amount seemed to be just right, neither too much nor too little.

"This is a craft..."

"You're making a big deal out of rolling a cigarette!" Cheng Jinxi said irritably as she came in. "Go feed the cows later."

Zhou Yuren gave an awkward reply and continued rolling his cigarette.

"Big Goose, do you see? The key is to roll it up tightly at the very beginning, on both sides. Not only can there be no gaps, but you also have to take everything into account, otherwise you won't be able to roll it up."

As Zhou Yuren spoke, the cigarette was finished. It looked quite nice…

Zhao Da'e chuckled: "Truly, everyone has their own expertise. I originally thought it was just about rolling it up, but it's actually not easy."

Fortunately, I don't smoke, so it doesn't matter to me; I'm just having some fun.

After Zhou Yuren rolled up the cigarette, he took a few puffs and then went to feed the cows. Zhao Da'e then went to the west room.

Zhou Chunwen was still fiddling with it over there.

Since she had no scallions or garlic, she used the leftover lettuce seeds to plant lettuce.

"Hey goose, where do you think we should get some fertilizer? Otherwise, they won't grow properly!" Zhou Chunwen scratched his head, thinking that getting some fertilizer would be a good idea.

Zhao Da'e didn't know where to get it, mainly because with so little stuff, even making fertilizer wouldn't cover the labor costs.

The two sisters pondered for a long time, but still couldn't come up with a solution.

"Forget it, let it grow naturally. Goose, how long do you think it will take for the lettuce to grow here?"

"I don't care, I'm not eating it."

"You're kidding me. You'll definitely eat a lot of pork then." Zhou Chunwen mocked, "Last time you said you didn't eat pork, but you ate a whole bowl of pork in the stewed sauerkraut and vermicelli. There was even some fat in it."

Zhao Da'e rolled his eyes: "Tch. I'm going to eat, I'm not talking to you anymore."

She turned around and asked, "Auntie, is the food ready yet?"

Cheng Jinxi glanced at Zhao Dage: "No, wait a minute."

Zhao Da'e took a small stool and sat in the yard to bask in the sun. Although it was quite cold to bask in the sun, Zhao Da'e had nothing else to do, so he just ate and waited for Cheng Jinxi to finish cooking before going inside to eat.

After dinner, with a few hours of darkness still remaining, Zhao Da'e secretly asked Zhou Chunwen, "Big sister, where do you think we should go to get a fish to eat?"

"Where are the fish?!" Zhou Chunwen asked, looking puzzled. "There aren't many fish in our river. If you want to catch fish, you have to go to the big river. Besides, it's the dead of winter; even if there were fish, they'd freeze to death."

“Go catch it at the reservoir…” Zhao Da’e said.

The nearest reservoir is Pigeon Cave Reservoir on the other side of the mountain. There are fish there, and big ones at that. The problem is that the terrain there is extremely difficult; without some skill, even climbing that mountain is impossible.

“No.” Zhou Chunwen shook his head: “I don’t have the ability. If you’re craving goose, you can dream about it. You can dream about anything, like Yellow River carp or something.”

Zhao Da'e scoffed and ignored Zhou Chunwen.

It's incredibly vulgar.

However, for someone like Zhao Da'e who lives in a remote mountain village, even if there are fish in the river, it's not her turn to catch them. There are so many people; if there's anything good, they'll fight tooth and nail for it. How could it be her turn?

However, Zhao Da'e hasn't eaten fish in a long time and really misses it.

……

at night.

Dongtaizi Village began to become unstable.

The dog's barking went on and on, keeping me awake.

Zhao Tiesheng was not a good sleeper; he woke up when he heard the dogs barking outside.

He hasn't been sleeping well lately, and sometimes he wakes up at night. Moreover, when he has something on his mind, he sleeps even worse; the slightest noise makes it hard for him to fall back asleep.

He knew this problem himself, so he simply put on his clothes, turned on the light, rolled a cigarette, sat in the barn, and took a few puffs.

The flickering light of the tobacco pipe shone dimly in the quiet night. Unable to sleep, Zhao Tiesheng opened the door and scolded the dog, "Stop barking."

Xiao Bao is usually very obedient, but this time he didn't seem to listen and kept calling out to his son Da Bao.

The two dogs at Zhao Da'e's house never bite.

"Biting maniacs" means that they basically sleep and pretend to be dead unless a stranger approaches.

But if tonight is like this, then it must be very special.

Moreover, all the dogs in the village started barking, and Zhao Tiesheng frowned deeply. The temperature was low at night, and the northwest wind was howling. Zhao Tiesheng hunched his shoulders and could feel the north wind blowing into his clothes.

He was a little uneasy, so he went to check ahead. Fortunately, the two dogs were just continuing to bite each other, but the shredder was still there, which reassured him slightly.

He then ran to the outside window of Zhao Tiegang's house and knocked, but there was no response.

Zhao Tiesheng sighed: The third brother must have drunk too much again.

Then Zhao Tiesheng went to the east room and knocked on the door, saying, "Dad, something's not right outside."

After a while, the light in the east room of the old house came on. Zhao Tingxu came out wearing a long gown. He opened the door and asked, "What's wrong with the dog barking a few times? Isn't that normal? You're making a fuss over nothing. Go back to sleep."

"No," Zhao Tiesheng said. "Dad, these past few days people have been saying there are ravenous animals on the mountain. It's the dead of winter and food is scarce. What if those ravenous animals come down?"

Zhao Tingxu thought for a moment: "Turn on the lights. Go to Lao San's room and take the flashlight. Go out and take a look."

The Zhao family's old house has no door...

There was also a blue ox tethered in front of the house. Zhao Tingxu was naturally afraid that wolves would come and harm the ox.

Although oxen are known for their thick hides, great strength, and ability to crush a wolf with a single stomp, this particular ox was nearing its due date and was carrying a heavily pregnant calf, making it difficult for it to move around. If a calf were to arrive and startle it, the calf might be lost, which would be disastrous.

Zhao Tingxu had already taken it upon himself to give the ox away. Although he hadn't obtained the consent of Zhao Tiesheng and his wife, he already felt that the blue ox was his.

Zhao Tingxu went over and patted the window of the west room, shouting, "Gangzi, get up!"

The loud noise woke Zhao Yongbo up first. He turned on the light and then shook Zhao Tiegang.

Zhao Tiegang was quite drunk and swayed several times before finally waking up. Once awake, he asked impatiently, "What's wrong? In the middle of the night?"

"Get up and get the flashlight," Zhao Tingxu cursed. "Sleeping so soundly, what if a thief comes and steals my grandson, and you don't even know?"

“Someone would steal from a perfectly healthy person. Dad, stop making trouble for no reason every day,” Zhao Tiegang complained.

Zhao Tingxu cursed, "Gangzi, have I been too kind to you?!"

Hearing Zhao Tingxu get angry (｀Δ′)!, Zhao Tiegang didn't dare to say anything more, put on his clothes, and took out his flashlight.

Once outside, shivering from the cold, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"What else?" Zhao Tingxu wanted to slap Zhao Tiegang across the face. "There's been a ravine on the mountain these past few days, and the village dogs have been barking non-stop. How can you sleep? What if a wolf comes to your house?"

Zhao Tiegang looked completely bewildered: "Come on, do you think I'm afraid of those things? I'll smash them to death with my shovel!"

Zhao Tingxu: ? ? ?

It's confirmed, he drank too much again.

Zhao Tiesheng said, "Give me the flashlight. Dad, go back to sleep. Third brother, stay awake and don't take off your clothes to sleep. I'll call you if anything happens."

And so, Zhao Tiesheng kept watch, while Zhao Tingxu and Zhao Tiegang went back to sleep.

Zhao Tiesheng took out his flashlight and looked at the blue ox. The blue ox had been up for a while and kept calling out, looking somewhat uneasy.

Animals are generally more alert than humans when there is danger.

Zhao Tiesheng concluded that the group of Laidai on the mountain should have come down tonight.

At this time, there wasn't much food left on the mountain. The rabbits had long been caught, there weren't many pheasants left, and as for other things, the wolves didn't seem to eat them either.

Wolves are carnivorous animals; if they can't find meat, they'll probably take risks.

No one in the village has guns or anything like that now, but they raise a lot of cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and dogs, especially sheep. Maybe it's those wolves who spot someone's sheep during the day and come to eat them at night.

"It's really cold today." Zhao Tiesheng rubbed his hands together and put them inside the sleeves of his cotton-padded coat to warm them up.

"Ow~"

Suddenly, the sound of wolves howling rang out.

It looks like the village is located in the southeast direction, which is the closest to the mountain.

Immediately afterwards, all the dogs in the village were plunged into a particularly chaotic barking.

Zhao Tiesheng patted the door of the east room: "Dad, it's no use. Laidai has really gone down the mountain."

Zhao Tingxu hadn't actually fallen asleep; he immediately got up, opened the door, and went out. He then woke Zhao Tiegang up as well.

Zhao Tingxu was holding a shovel, while Zhao Tiegang found a rolling pin...

Zhao Tingxu's eyes looked a little off; he wanted to scold Zhao Tiegang but felt it would be pointless...

Zhao Tiesheng held a flashlight in one hand and an axe in the other.

The three men stood guard beside the blue ox, ready to chase away any traitors who came to their house.

“These guys haven’t been in the camp for over ten years,” Zhao Tingxu said. “Those things are really scary. When I was a kid, they were always in huge groups. Not anymore, there aren’t that many of them now, just a few. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. Gangzi, why don’t you give me your broken rolling pin in exchange for a kitchen knife? It looks so awkward to me that you’re carrying a rolling pin.”

Helpless, Zhao Tiegang went back inside and grabbed a kitchen knife, then told Zhao Yongbo, "Son, don't go out. We can't afford to mess with this Laidai."

In the distance, under the hazy moonlight, several gray-black figures nimbly darted through the fields, their eyes gleaming with a greenish light, as if searching for some prey.

When piercing screams echoed through the village, chaos erupted among the people.

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

The sound seemed even more eerie in the darkness of the night.

Zhao Tingxu's expression also became uneasy. He frowned and said, "Laidai might have hurt someone. I don't know how many have entered the village. It's dark, so no one should go out. Gangzi, go back inside and watch over Yongbo. The adults are fine, but the children are not."

Zhao Tiegang didn't say much and went straight back to his room.

Lock the door!

Meanwhile, the shouts, cries, and howls coming from the village grew even more intense. They were the cries of the villagers who had been attacked by wolves.

"Judging from the sound, it sounds like someone's sheep has been dragged away by wolves," Zhao Tiesheng said, frowning.

Zhao Tingxu squinted but didn't say anything.

At this point, going out is not an option. Although wolves generally don't attack people with weapons, if one gets provoked and manages to bite someone, things could get really serious.

Wolves are creatures that, when they bite, usually tear off a chunk of flesh; it's no joke. But they were basically just starving and wanted something to eat.

They come to the village to steal a few sheep or something.

Once there are enough people, they should run away.

Sure enough, after about ten minutes, the noise began to subside.

Zhao Tingxu instructed Zhao Tiesheng: "Shengzi, go and take a look ahead. Judging from the noise, that place should be the home of your fourth uncle's third son."

Zhao Tiesheng nodded, knowing that Zhao Tingxu was referring to the location of Zhao Tiejian's house. He felt that there was nothing wrong at home, so he was relieved.

"Dad, then you stay here a little longer and go out to check. If Laidai leaves, everyone can go to sleep."

Zhao Tiesheng then took a flashlight and went out the door. After a few turns, he arrived at Zhao Tiejian's house.

There were about ten people outside, all carrying weapons.

"Is there a future?" Zhao Tiesheng asked directly.

Zhao Tiejian, also holding a shovel, nodded: "They went to Zhao Yongtao's house and stole two sheep. Afterwards, when they came out, they injured his father. He had to be taken to the clinic. It doesn't seem good."

Zhao Tiejian sighed as he spoke, "They've got their necks bitten; the person's probably in serious trouble."

Zhao Tiesheng felt a chill run down his spine: "Then..."

If a wolf bites a person's neck and gnaws off a piece of flesh, it will basically cause massive bleeding, and with this level of medical expertise, it's very difficult to save them.

Even in later generations, if something like this happened in a rural area, by the time the ambulance arrived, the person would probably be dead.

"That beast is a menace!!!"

"There's no other way, the old man is getting on in years and his legs aren't as strong, he insists on coming out..."

Amidst the sighs of the crowd, dawn broke.

The Zhao family's old residence is in Taiping Chang'an.

But if someone dies in the village, that's a big deal.

Zhao Yongtao's father was named Zhao Tiezhu, also surnamed Zhao, but he had long since severed ties with Zhao Dage's family.

They had ventured to Northeast China a long time ago, but failed to make a name for themselves and returned to Dongtaizi Village. At that time, there were hardly any houses left; it was just on the outermost edge of the village.

There was no courtyard wall around the house, and they kept a dozen or so sheep on the east side. After Zhao Tiezhu came out, he saw wolves. He had a weapon, but he was no match for the wolves and one bit him. Later, the wolves ran away when they saw that there were many people around. But Zhao Tiezhu was not so good.