pjbooks Chapter 23: Construction of the Sheep Pen Begins
Chapter 23: Construction of the Sheep Pen Begins
When they got home, Shan Ping was already cooking. When she saw the flying dragons that Zhang Du had brought back, she specially prepared two of them to make soup.
"Hey, Wen, come have a drink with me." After tidying up, Zhang Du sat down at the table and brought out a jar of wine from the inner room.
"This is wine made from the antlers of a red deer I hunted last time. It's a pity we're out of deer blood wine, otherwise I would definitely let you try it."
Shan Yaowen looked at the jar of wine with a wry smile, "Forget the deer blood, I probably can't even handle this jar of wine."
He's a young man full of vigor and vitality, and he's given a lot of nourishing supplements right away. Who can stand that?
When Shan Ping brought the dishes over, she smiled and said, "Then hurry up and find a wife. Is there anyone you like?"
Upon hearing this, Shan Yaowen's mind flashed back to Lin Nian's smile.
Seeing her younger brother's expression, Shan Ping exclaimed, "Oh, there really is! Whose daughter is she? Do I know her?"
Upon seeing this, Zhang Du immediately made a decision: "Well, I can't guarantee anything from other brothers-in-law, but when you get married, I'll definitely give you a jar of deer blood wine."
After talking for a while, my eldest nephew came back.
Just like Shan Yaowen before, the little guy is always out playing, but he comes home on time for meals.
"Uncle!" Upon seeing Shan Yaowen, the little guy ran over and pounced on him.
"Xiao Bai, you've grown quite a bit taller."
"Ha~"
Despite his seemingly unreliable nature, Shan Yaowen is very popular with children, including his younger sister and his older sister's nephew.
During meals, Xiao Bai always sat next to Shan Yaowen, not with his parents.
My brother-in-law's family has already moved out of the house with his parents, but since his younger brother came, my brother-in-law still invited his parents over for a meal and drinks.
Originally, Shan Yaowen planned to go home that night, but after drinking some alcohol, his older sister was worried that he would be unsteady on his horse.
Winter has arrived, and the temperature has dropped below zero. Every winter, people here get drunk and freeze to death outside at night.
So the eldest sister simply let Shan Yaowen stay overnight and leave the next morning.
When Shan Yaowen woke up the next day, he found the world covered in a vast expanse of white.
Compared to the light snow a few days ago, today's snowfall was much heavier.
"Are you up?" Shan Ping placed a basin of hot water at the door. "Wash your face. I've already fed the horse. Have breakfast before you go."
"OK."
When visiting his sister's house, Shan Yaowen would not stand on ceremony.
However, when it was time to eat, Shan Yaowen noticed that Xiao Bai was playing with the big bird that he had brought back yesterday.
The giant bird escaped disaster because it ate the flying dragon yesterday.
But after bringing it back yesterday, I didn't feed it, I just gave it some water. Now the big bird can't stand up anymore and is completely paralyzed on the ground.
"You like this bird?" Zhang Du saw Shan Yaowen and his son looking at the bird as he passed by on his way to the restroom.
"Not bad. Is this thing easy to tame?"
"I don't know until I try it, but the older folks say it's hard to train hawks." Seeing that his brother-in-law was clearly interested, Zhang Du waved his hand dismissively, "If you like it, take it home and train it. I'm not interested in this stuff."
Zhang Du preferred to eat it directly. This big bird was so thin, and the meat looked dry and tough. If Shan Yaowen hadn't liked it, he would have just let it go.
When Shan Yaowen left, besides the large bird his brother-in-law had given him, he also had several flying dragons.
It wasn't for him; my brother-in-law specially left it for my dad yesterday, since he needs nutrition to recover from his fall.
Then there were the nooses that Zhang Du gave to Shan Yaowen.
In short, Shan Yaowen spent his time eating, drinking, and taking things, giving the impression that he was there to freeload off his sister.
But it's always been like this; no matter how much he wins, he never forgets his sister's family.
"I'm leaving now. Come visit me when you're less busy."
"Ride slowly."
Braving the heavy snow, Shan Yaowen sped home.
He was met with a barrage of complaints from his parents.
"You're such a grown man, and you didn't even bother to come back and send a message. I thought you'd fallen into a ditch on the way," Mrs. Shan muttered as she packed up the things Shan Yaowen had brought back.
Shan Yaowen massaged his mother's shoulders. "I know, I'll do it next time."
"How's your older sister's family?"
"Everything is fine, I have a good appetite."
After giving the things to his parents, Shan Yaowen was about to head out. "I'm going to the ranch. Uncle Lin said he'll bring materials to help me repair the sheep pen today, and we'll make extra vegetables for lunch."
"Okay, go ahead." Mother Shan waved her hand.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shan added, "You don't know anything, so listen to your Uncle Lin and the old master. Don't make decisions on your own."
If he weren't lying in bed, he would have gone to give some guidance, but now that's not possible, so he can only leave it to Old Lin.
However, his family had a good relationship with Lin Anbang's family, and the second son had just saved his son once, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Moreover, the second son and the Lin family girl are getting close now, and both families are watching how the two children interact. If they really get together, would Lin Anbang dare to do anything reckless?
When Shan Yaowen arrived at the ranch, no one had come yet.
Uncle Lin was probably still packing things at the forest farm. Seeing that no one was around, he picked up a shovel and cleared the snow from the area around the sheep pen.
When Lin Anbang arrived, besides himself, there were two experienced masters and Gou Dan.
"Uncle."
Upon seeing the person arrive, Shan Yaowen took out the cigarettes he had prepared beforehand and handed them over.
After greeting Uncle Lin and the master craftsman, Shan Yaowen looked at Gou Dan: "You're here to help?"
This guy looks like he's been dealt with pretty badly by Uncle Lin; he's even walking with a limp.
Live it!
Why not learn gambling?
"That's my master." Gou Dan pointed to the older of the two masters. "My dad made me learn carpentry from him."
carpenter?
Upon hearing this, Shan Yaowen was momentarily dazed. In his previous life, Gou Dan had also studied carpentry, but he would only learn it after he got married.
In his past life, Uncle Lin wanted his son to take over his job at the forest farm, so he let Gou Dan do whatever he wanted without any supervision. Later, when the forest farm was about to go out of business, Uncle Lin finally let Gou Dan learn carpentry.
This time it was much earlier than expected, probably because he was scared by the gambling incident. Letting him learn carpentry early gives him something serious to do, so he won't be so irresponsible all the time.
"Study hard, and when your brother gets married, you'll be the one to make the furniture." Shan Yaowen grinned and gave Gou Dan a pack of cigarettes.
Even if he's an apprentice helping out, he's still a source of labor, and having more people will help us build the sheep pen faster.
Dog Egg looked at Shan Yaowen with a sullen expression, "Speaking of which, you spent quite a bit of money this time. Do you even have enough savings?"
Despite losing a lot of money playing cards because he was tricked, he still knew in his heart that Shan Yaowen had definitely spent a lot of money this time. Even though he acquired the ranch cheaply because of government subsidies, it still cost money.
Previously, the money from hunting wild boars and roe deer might have just been enough to buy a ranch and sheep, but there will definitely be more money to be spent later, especially in winter.
"Don't worry, everything's arranged. Just focus on fixing the sheep pen for me." Shan Yaowen smiled.
He didn't have much money. The money he earned from hunting was mostly invested in contracting ranches and raising sheep. The hundred yuan he spent yesterday on straw at his brother-in-law's house was money he earned from digging licorice.
He only has a little over 50 yuan left, which he saved from selling astragalus later.
However, his family can still provide him with some financial assistance.
Since the eldest brother took over Dad's job, he's been thinking about borrowing money for his younger brother to start a ranch. After all, the eldest brother feels he's taking advantage of his younger brother. The eldest sister-in-law didn't say anything, since it wasn't a gift but a loan. Dad also provided some support, so starting the ranch shouldn't be a problem.
However, Shan Yaowen will have to figure out the rest himself, as his family cannot help him indefinitely.