Chapter 1973: Chapter 1740: On the Road
The roads of the countryside in July blossom with wildflowers.
The temperature is high, but the air conditioning in the car is excellent, so as the car drives along the newly paved roads, the passengers have the leisure to admire the scenery on both sides.
As the sun sets, the roadsides are bathed in a thick orange glow from the twilight. Compared to the hurried and rough condition when the roads were just completed last year, the roadsides now appear extraordinarily beautiful under the planning of the municipal governnt.
Many kinds of flower seeds were sown early in the spring—pink evening primroses, red, yellow, and purple gesang flowers, and marigolds stretching in large patches along the roadsides.
Although these are just ordinary flowers, their abundance creates a stunning scene.
"Not bad," the leader in the backseat remarked casually.
Nowadays, every countryside is focusing on developing picturesque scenery. Qingxi Town’s reputation for tea hasn’t taken off yet; otherwise, the municipal governnt would have planned to plant various flowering trees in the tea fields here.
But now it’s not that the governnt doesn’t plan, it’s just that there are too few people left in the villages. Even if there are subsidies for planting ornantal trees, they can’t form a large scale.
The car continued to drive, and everyone was sowhat fatigued.
Fortunately, it stays light longer in the sumr. Although dusk has set in now, it doesn’t feel very dark.
Instead, they can see a dark and thin man wearing a shabby and old vest by the roadside carrying a pole.
At each end of the pole is an exaggeratedly large pile of baskets, large and small, square and round, all strung together.
The man moved swiftly; knowing that the weight on his shoulder isn’t too heavy by asure, yet the large volu still makes one’s heart skip a beat.
The leader imdiately called to stop the car and then rolled down the window:
"Hey there, where are you taking those things? How about we give you a ride?"
Huh?
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was surprised.
Because the person carrying the pole and looking over was not an elderly man as expected, but a dark and thin young man.
The attire was so simple that it led to a misunderstanding.
Nowadays, there aren’t many young people willing to endure the hardships of rural life.
The leader didn’t retract his words but continued to look at the young man warmly.
However, the young man curiously glanced at him and straightforwardly said:
"Why do I feel like you guys look familiar?"
But couldn’t quite rember who exactly they were...
The young man pondered for a while and suddenly realized:
"Oh, are you the ones who bought baskets from
before?"
He then enthusiastically peeked inside the car, making Secretary Wang nervous, and the young man asked again:
"Are you going to Yunqiao Village again this ti? Did you bring baskets? If not, are you buying more?"
Everyone: ...
What do you an by looking familiar, isn’t this just pretending to be a simple villager to sell baskets?
...
In any case, the young man enthusiastically refused their offer, saying his ho was just ahead at the fork up the slope and he was carrying the baskets for his grandfather.
As for his grandfather?
The old man, with a new electric wheelchair, had already returned ho ahead of him.
As the car started again, in the trunk, there lay two large baskets still in the fresh, slightly green color of newly made bamboo quietly.
The baskets were empty, filled not with air, but with the passengers’ embarrassnt and sense of awkwardness.
...
anwhile, Wu Lei finally made it back ho, carrying the baskets with a huff and a puff.
After putting the baskets down, he complained, "Grandpa, next ti you ask
to carry baskets, let
know in advance. I’ll ride the tricycle ho."
The baskets are not heavy, but he wasn’t accustod to carrying a pole since childhood, and the hard pole digging into his shoulder bones was painful.
The old man on the brand-new electric wheelchair looked spirited, unimpressed with his useless eldest grandson:
"Do you need a tricycle for just these few baskets? Wasn’t this along the way for you? I’ll tell you next ti."
This was Song Tan’s grandfather.
He now made a stable inco every month by weaving baskets, living quite comfortably.
He wove big and small, fancy, square and round, deep and shallow ones, even including fruit trays and cat beds.
Now, he no longer envied Song Youde’s mat business but focused entirely on expanding and strengthening his craftsmanship, and his baskets were becoming sturdier.
Indeed, the electric wheelchair was bought with money he saved up recently.
The children wanted to buy it for him before, but he refused. Now, being able to earn it by his own hands, he could really show off!
Just now, counting his baskets once more:
"Why are two missing? Did you drop them?"
Wu Lei quickly pulled out his phone: "Ran into soone heading to Yunqiao Village at night, sold two more, and transferred the money to you."
What’s so strange about that?
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