Chapter 9 Running away is against the law
"Zhang Yunqi bought a tractor."

This incident, which seems extremely ordinary in later generations, became major news in Yunxi Village on July 1992, 7.

In 92, bicycles were the most common means of transportation in rural areas. Motorcycles that cost two to three thousand yuan were rare. Of course, there were tractors in the surrounding area. For example, Zhang Yunfeng's classmate Zhu Da bought a second-hand tractor for more than four thousand yuan. But the brand new tractor like the Zhang family's, which cost eight to nine thousand yuan, was the only one in the village! It was really impressive.

On this day, many people came to the Zhang family to watch the fun. Such a big satellite suddenly appeared in the village. Everyone's previous sympathy turned into envy. The emotions were complicated. You know, the last time so many people gathered in the dilapidated yard of the Zhang family was when Zhang Liushun was caught by the police for stealing. It was so gloomy, as if a ghost knocked on the door. Unexpectedly, half a year later, the Zhang family made their lives so prosperous.

The Zhang Yunqi brothers are even more remarkable. They are the current eye-catching figures in Yunxi Village. One is a top scholar and will be a public servant in the future, with a promising future. The other is a millionaire and can buy a tractor worth eight or nine thousand yuan at will! A few years ago, Zhang Yunfeng could represent the village and give a report in the county hall with a big red flower.

Aunt Zhang had been busy and excited all afternoon. Neighbors and sisters-in-law came to her house to join in the fun and to seek good luck. She had to take care of them. She took out all kinds of candies and snacks that they couldn't eat on weekdays, just to make herself happy. She even asked someone in the town to get two pieces of red cloth from the tailor and tied them to the two rearview mirrors of the tractor. This is called "shanghong", which means safe journey and good luck.

That night, the Zhang family had a sumptuous dinner.

Zhang Yunqi cooked by himself, but he had become too picky in the past month and could not stomach the rare fish and meat from other families. It happened that Liang the pig farmer in the village hunted two wild rabbits, and he bought them all.

After chopping it up, which filled a large basin, he soaked the rabbit meat in clean water for half an hour to remove the blood and impurities. He then stir-fried the rabbit meat with local tea oil until golden brown, added white radish cubes, ginger, garlic, chili pepper, star anise, white wine and other condiments, and simmered it in a pressure cooker for half an hour. Finally, he added chopped green onions to reduce the sauce and served.

Zhang's mother prepared the other side dishes, and Zhang Yunqi took his sisters Chunlan and Xiaoxiao to set the table, and then went out to call Ji Ling and Zhang Xiaomei's family. The two families were close and harmonious. Zhang Xiaomei's father Zhang Haijun helped his family a lot. He originally wanted to call Ji Ling's father Ji Zhong, but Ji Zhong was busy with official duties and went back to the city early in the morning.

At 7:30 in the evening, the two families started eating under the grape trellis in the yard.

The wild rabbit meat cooked by Zhang Yunqi was very popular. The meat was fresh and crispy, and it had a strong aroma of tea oil. It was a farm delicacy that could not be made in any high-end restaurant. Even Ji Ling, who usually had a small appetite, ate it with gusto. She even said to Zhang's mother, "Auntie, your dishes are really delicious."

Aunt Zhang's face was full of smiles: "This dish is not made by me, but by Yunqi. If it tastes good, eat more."

Ji Ling turned her head to look at Zhang Yunqi: "I didn't realize you could cook a big meal."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "I understand. After all, I have so many strengths. If there are some that are not outstanding, it is easy for people to overlook them."

"shameless."

Ji Ling rolled his eyes and continued eating.

The dinner lasted until after nine o'clock. After the children had finished eating, Zhang Xiaomei said that the projection team from the county cultural bureau would come to the village to show an open-air movie that night. Zhang Yunqi, Ji Ling, his sister Chunlan, and Zhang Xiaomei ran over to join in the fun.

Zhang Ma was cleaning the kitchen, Xiao Xiao had already fallen asleep, and Zhang Yunfeng and Zhang Haijun were the only ones left in the yard. Zhang Yunfeng usually didn't drink, but tonight he drank quite a bit, chatting with Zhang Haijun for most of the night. He was so happy that even he couldn't believe it. The life he had dreamed of a few years ago was now becoming a reality. The days of a group of people living together in poverty were finally over, and his family had a new direction from then on.

Zhang Haijun was also very moved and said, "I still remember two months ago, you borrowed ten yuan from me to pay for pesticides. It has only been a short time, but your family has become prosperous and you have become a well-known millionaire in our village! Yunfeng, you are still far-sighted. You are the most capable young generation in Yunxi Village!"

Zhang Yunfeng was drunk and his face was red: "I am just a farmer, I don't have any good eyesight, it's all thanks to Yunqi!"

"Haha, Yunqi is a good kid. The day before yesterday, I saw him chatting with my brother-in-law who is the deputy director. What he said was very sophisticated. He sounded like a 16-year-old kid."

These words touched Zhang Yunfeng's heart. Yes, his younger brother is knowledgeable, has good vision, is capable, and has a steady temperament. He will have a great future! Sometimes he thought about it and really wondered if his family's ancestral graves were filled with smoke.

"By the way, Yunqi has become the top scholar in the county this time. Didn't he apply to a famous technical secondary school in the provincial capital? When will the wedding be held? As his uncle, I am still waiting to get some of the glory from being the top scholar."

"Uncle, we will definitely do it once the notice comes down!"

"Let's do it on a grand scale, with great fanfare, so that everyone in the village can see our top scholar! Come, uncle and nephew, let's walk around a few more times."

"Okay, uncle, I'll fill it up for you."

******
In August, the plum rain stopped.

Since the Zhang family bought a new car, they naturally have to work harder.

Zhang Yunfeng was full of energy, and all his thoughts and energy were put into selling flue-cured tobacco. Later, he and his brother even sent two trucks to the city every day. Once, he and his brother met Zhao Siping again in Tongmu Village. The two of them came to the village one after another to collect flue-cured tobacco. If it was before, Zhang Yunqi would still get along well with Zhao Siping with an attitude of peace, but after the last fight, the two sides had torn their faces apart. He found the village chief of Tongmu Village and said that he wanted all the remaining flue-cured tobacco in the village!

The purchasing price of the Zhang brothers was well-known in the surrounding area, and was exactly the same as the grading standard of Fengyang County Tobacco Station. However, Zhao Siping often did dirty things such as under-grading and under-weighing, and his bad reputation was known to people in the surrounding area. Tobacco farmers who still had flue-cured tobacco left at home basically sold it to the Zhang brothers, a total of more than 3,000 kilograms, which took the two brothers several days to transport.

As a result of Zhang Yunqi's trick, Zhao Siping had nothing to harvest in Tongmu Village that day. When leaving, Zhao Siping and Zhang Yunqi had a face-to-face encounter. Zhao Siping spat at Zhang Yunqi and said harshly, "Boy, don't be too arrogant. You will get into trouble someday!"

Zhang Yunqi thought, what is this?
Can't compete in business, so you come here to scold people? It's really cheap.

On August 8, Zhang Yunqi and his brother bought a bunch of fruits and nutritional supplements and went to Zhu Da's home. One was to visit Zhu Da's seriously ill mother, and the other was to return the tractor. It was because the eldest brother had a close relationship with Zhu Da, otherwise he would not have lent you the tractor for more than a month even if he didn't have time to drive it.

Zhang Yunfeng gave Zhu Da 1000 yuan as car expenses for the past month.

Zhu Da was embarrassed and only took 500: "This is enough."

"You have to take this money. Your mother is in poor health. The extra money is my filial piety to her." Zhang Yunfeng stuffed the money into Zhu Da's hand and left without saying goodbye. Zhang Yunqi had already started the tractor and was waiting outside. He felt that his elder brother had done a great job.

In the afternoon, the two brothers received a truckload of flue-cured tobacco, went home, had dinner, and went to bed early. Because they had to deliver two truckloads of flue-cured tobacco a day, they had to set out at 4 a.m. to deliver one truckload first. Zhang Yunqi stayed at the tobacco station, and Zhang Yunfeng ran back to deliver the other truckload, so that they could sell the flue-cured tobacco before 10 a.m.

I did make a lot of money doing this, with a minimum of 900 yuan a day, and sometimes it could reach 1,500 yuan. But I had to work day and night, and the hardship was unbearable.

The next day, when the two brothers were on their way to Jiangchuan City, Zhang Yunqi said, "Brother, let's stop this business after August 15th."

Zhang Yunfeng was a little surprised: "Why do you have such an idea? The tobacco station will not be closed until mid-September."

Zhang Yunqi said, "This business is not a long-term solution. In the future, there will be more and more tobacco dealers, and the competition will be fierce. There may be more people like Zhao Siping, and we won't be happy. Besides, I will go to school soon. How can you handle it by yourself? Now our family has a lot of savings, and we bought a tractor. You can go into transportation, which will be much easier, and our family can still live a happy life."

These words touched Zhang Yunfeng's heart.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, let's work hard for a few more days and then we can stop the business!"

Zhang Yunqi nodded.

In fact, he had wanted to stop this miserable business a long time ago. He had no choice before, but now his family had capital, and it was the early 1990s when the private economy was booming. What business had no future? On the other hand, after this month, he would also go to school.

Of course, he has no interest in attending technical secondary school.

It was past four in the morning and the sky was still dark.

Zhang Yunqi had nothing to do, so he took a nap in the tractor compartment. When he passed the mountain road of Zoujiaao, he suddenly heard a car horn in front of him. At first he didn't pay attention to it, but then he thought, this is not right! This is not like the rural areas of later generations. How can there be a car in the middle of the night?

Zhang Yunqi woke up immediately, but at this moment, the lights on the mountain road suddenly came on, and three or four cars were blocked in the middle of the road. He heard someone in front shouting to stop, and looked up. In the moonlight, he saw seven or eight men in uniform running towards him. He immediately thought that the other party was from the Tobacco Management Office.

This is bad!

Zhang Yun got up and his mind raced. Seeing that his elder brother's tractor had been forced to stop, he didn't have time to think. He bent over and rolled off the tractor, rolling down the mountain road into the field in the cover of night. The tricky thing was that he didn't know whether his pants were caught on a rock or a tree branch. His pants were torn against his skin, leaving a big gap. He felt so painful that he wanted to curse, and it seemed like he was bleeding.

At this moment, several flashlights shone from behind, obviously discovering him.

Zhang Yunfeng shouted from behind: "Ergou, run!"

At such a critical moment, the eldest brother showed the wisdom of a farmer. He tried his best to protect Zhang Yunqi, but the group of people seemed to be determined to catch Zhang Yunqi. They jumped down the mountain road and chased him: "Stop! We are from the Tobacco Management Office. We are conducting a routine interrogation and inspection. If you run again, you will be breaking the law!"

Fuck you, you immortal boss, you're still trying to scare people at this time.

Zhang Yunqi didn't even think twice, enduring the severe pain and running wildly across the vast fields!
******
(End of this chapter)