Chapter 244: Cousin, I'm Not Bragging, but the Girls in Our Village Are All Pretty!
Afternoon.
Deng Shirong prepared a simple dish of pork belly stewed with sauerkraut, a delicious meal that pairs well with rice, porridge, or even as a side dish for drinking wine.
Speaking of this dish, we must mention the sauerkraut.
Sauerkraut is found all over the country, but the methods of making it and the vegetables used vary, resulting in very different flavors.
Personally, Deng Shirong had eaten many types of sauerkraut, but the most delicious one was still the locally made version.
In Double Prosperity territory, people nowadays use Chinese cabbage to make sauerkraut, but in later generations, mustard greens became the preferred choice.
However, whether it's Chinese cabbage or mustard greens, the preparation method remains the same.
First, when selecting vegetables, you must choose older ones to ensure the sauerkraut is sufficiently sour.
After selecting the vegetables, wash them thoroughly, then sun-dry them until they wilt. Next, chop them, sprinkle them with coarse salt, and pack them into containers like jars.
After pickling for a period, remove the sauerkraut and press out the excess water using stones. Then, store it in jars, and it becomes the finished product.
Sauerkraut made this way is particularly sour. When used to stew pork belly, it creates a dish that is both tangy and fragrant, truly whetting the appetite.
At this moment, Deng Shirong's niece, her husband, and his youngest son, Deng Yunheng, all praised the meal highly.
As for Deng Yunzhu, Deng Yunsong, and Deng Yunhua, they were all attending Double Prosperity Junior High School.
Among the three siblings, Deng Yunsong was in his third year of junior high. Although Deng Yunzhu was two years older than her brother, she had dropped out after elementary school. Later, at her father's urging, she returned to school but had fallen behind academically. She was now in her second year of junior high.
Deng Yunhua was in her first year of junior high.
During the meal, Deng Shirong asked, "Dafang, did you know that Zhongshi is planning to take out a loan to buy a truck for transportation?"
Bu Dafang looked surprised and said, "Zhongshi wants to take out a loan to buy a truck and start a transportation business? How can he be so bold?"
Jiang Dehu was also shocked. He knew his brother-in-law wasn't an easygoing person. He had been mischievous since childhood and had been involved in many fights in the village. But he was still surprised that Zhongshi had the courage to take out a loan to buy a truck for transportation.
Deng Shirong sighed and said, "I pointed him in this direction. In fact, I suggested several paths, but he ultimately chose this one. I don't know whether the outcome will be good or bad."
Hearing this, Bu Dafang and Jiang Dehu suddenly understood. If this was the path their uncle had suggested, it made sense.
Bu Dafang asked, "Uncle, when you said you didn't know whether the outcome would be good or bad, what did you mean?"
Deng Shirong explained the dangers of transporting goods and concluded, "You can definitely make a lot of money in the transportation business, but you must be prepared for the worst. If you're unlucky and encounter bandits, losing money would be the least of your worries. I'm afraid something worse could happen. Then I wouldn't know how to explain it to your parents."
He was genuinely worried. After all, this era was truly unpredictable.
He vividly remembered a case from his previous life in their Help And Correct Brigade. At that time, a middle-aged man riding a motorcycle picked up a young passenger. When they reached a sparsely populated area in the brigade, the passenger pulled out a dagger and robbed him.
If the motorcyclist had cooperated and not resisted, he might have only lost some money.
But it was the early 1990s, and motorcycles were still very valuable. The owner of the motorcycle was unwilling to be robbed and resisted.
As a result, he lost his life.
This life-and-death matter caused a huge sensation in the Help And Correct Brigade at the time. Many people rushed to see the crime scene, and Deng Shirong was among them. Seeing the motorcyclist lying in a pool of blood, the tragic scene was unforgettable.
Deng Shirong feared his nephew might encounter such a desperate criminal. If it were someone only after money, it would be manageable. But if it were someone who disregarded human life, the consequences could be fatal.
Bu Dafang was somewhat worried after hearing this, but having never left Double Prosperity Territory, her understanding of the outside world was limited, so she wasn't overly concerned. Instead, she comforted her uncle with a few words.
Having said what needed to be said, worrying was futile. Deng Shirong stopped discussing it and continued, "As for Xiaoshi, he will stay home with your parents to contract the village's mountain for sugarcane farming. Dashi is doing well in the county now. I want to ask you two, do you want to do something for yourselves?"
Bu Dafang and Jiang Dehu exchanged glances and asked worriedly, "Uncle, don't you want us to help you manage the orchard anymore?"
Deng Shirong shook his head and smiled, "Of course not. It's just that helping me manage the orchard only earns you a few dozen yuan a month. If you do something on your own, you might earn more. So, I wanted to ask what you think."
Bu Dafang sighed in relief and said with a smile, "I thought you didn't want us to help with the orchard anymore, uncle. I think this is good. The two of us earning 60 yuan a month is already a very high salary. Few people in the village can compare."
Jiang Dehu also nodded and said, "Yes, uncle. The two of us don't have any special skills, nor do we have the business acumen or the courage to venture out like Zhongshi. It's better for us to honestly help you manage the orchard."
Everyone has their own aspirations, and Deng Shirong didn't force them.
If they wanted to do something on their own, Deng Shirong, as their uncle, would definitely help them find a way. But since they were content and willing to help him manage the orchard, there was no need to push them.
After all, they were his niece and nephew-in-law. As long as they continued to work diligently, he would certainly treat them well.
"Alright, since you think this is good, just keep working for me, and I'll give you a big red envelope at the end of the year."
"Thank you, uncle!"
"Thank you, uncle!"
…
Over the next few days, Deng Shirong rode his bicycle around the countryside. Every time he arrived at a village, he would chat with the local gossips and ask about unmarried girls in the village, looking for those with good personalities and looks.
Since he had promised to help his nephew find a suitable partner this year, Deng Shirong took the task seriously.
After all, his eldest nephew was already 23 years old. For people in later generations, many at this age were still young college students, but for people of this generation, as long as they weren't studying, most were already married.
People like his eldest nephew were considered bachelors at an older age.
After searching several villages, he still hadn't found a girl praised by all the villagers.
However, Deng Shirong wasn't in a hurry. After experiencing life in his previous world, he had deeply understood one truth: if two people with different values were forced together, it wouldn't just affect them but the entire family.
Therefore, finding the right person was crucial.
One day, Deng Shirong rode his bicycle to Peace Slope Village in Green Reception Brigade.
Green Reception Brigade was an administrative village under Double Prosperity Town in later generations. However, since Double Prosperity hadn't yet become independent from Pine Mountain, Green Reception Brigade was still under Pine Mountain Commune. Its location was roughly between Pine Mountain Street and Double Prosperity Street.
In the natural villages of Bobai, people in the same village usually shared the same surname. Even when expanded to the entire brigade, one surname typically dominated.
For example, the Help And Correct Brigade was mainly composed of people with the surname Deng.
The Qing Brigade was mainly composed of people with the surname Liu.
"Woof woof woof!"
As Deng Shirong arrived at the entrance of Peace Slope Village on his bike, two dogs appeared out of nowhere and began barking at him. They looked ferocious, as if ready to pounce and bite at any moment.
If people from later generations saw this scene, they would likely be so scared their legs would go weak.
But Deng Shirong had lived in the countryside for eighty or ninety years and had dealt with many such local dogs. He wasn't afraid of these two beasts.
Dogs are bullies who only pick on the weak and fear the strong. The more you fear them, the more arrogant they become. As long as you scold them firmly and pick up stones or sticks to pretend to drive them away, they would likely choose to run rather than confront you.
Of course, this method only works if the dog isn't rabid and you aren't invading its home.
However, this approach is only applicable when no one else is around. Since Deng Shirong saw someone ahead, he didn't use this method. After all, beating a dog depends on its owner. If the owner didn't drive the dog away, he could always do so later.
The result didn't disappoint him. The two dogs had just rushed over and barked at him for less than three seconds when someone scolded them from the other side. The two ferocious dogs immediately closed their mouths, wagged their tails, and left.
The person who drove the dogs away was a woman in her fifties. She approached and asked, "Cousin, who are you looking for?"
Deng Shirong held onto his bicycle and smiled, "I'm not looking for anyone. I just have a boss here with good conditions. I wanted to ask around your village to see if there are any suitable girls and introduce them."
The aunt immediately perked up and said, "Cousin, so you're a matchmaker. You've come to the right place. I'm not exaggerating, but the girls in our village are all very pretty! Come over here and sit for a while. Light a couple of cigarettes, and I'll tell you all about them."
In the past few days, Deng Shirong had visited several villages. It was rare to encounter such an enthusiastic aunt. He was also quite interested in chatting with her, so he nodded in agreement. He then pushed his bicycle and walked with the aunt to a nearby mud-brick house with whitewashed walls.
By the time he parked his bike, the old lady had already handed him a pipe.
Deng Shirong wasn't polite. He took the pipe, sat on a stool nearby, and skillfully took out tobacco and matches to start smoking.
(End of this chapter)