Chapter 42: Taming the Wild Donkeys

However, the Xia family was completely unaffected. Although some villagers were envious, they didn’t dare to say anything nasty. After all, they relied on Xia Ning’an for the oyster mushrooms. The mushrooms had been planted, but they hadn’t sprouted yet, so the villagers were very anxious. However, they heard that the Xia family had taken some oyster mushrooms to the state-owned restaurant to promote them today. So, as soon as their car entered the village, the team leader came over.

Seeing so much glass, he helped unload the car and asked, “Changhai, did everything go smoothly?”

Xia Changhai said happily, “Very smoothly. Guess how much the state-owned restaurant offered?”

Li Aiguo guessed, “30 cents?”

Xia Changhai shook his head, pretending to be mysterious.

Li Aiguo said, “40 cents at most. How much does meat cost?”

“45 cents per jin. The contract is signed. The price won’t change until March.”

“Really?” Li Aiguo was so happy when he heard the price that he ran over to see the contract.

Seeing him so happy, Xia Changhai was also happy. He quickly took the contract out of his pocket and gave it to Li Aiguo.

The team leader looked at the two contracts, his hands trembling. This was the hope of the villagers!

From then on, he had a high regard for the Xia family’s abilities. The Xia family members were all capable and not cowards.

Holding the contract, the team leader felt it was necessary to hold a meeting to encourage everyone.

Considering that the weather was getting cold, he announced the good news on the village radio.

Since the village opened the oil mill, they had electricity. The commune not only installed a telephone in the village committee but also installed a radio, making it convenient for the village committee to broadcast announcements.

The villagers were all encouraged when they heard the broadcast. They came to the village committee to inquire in person and confirm it again. The team leader was in a good mood. This time, he didn’t make those old women look bad. He told everyone the good news in a kind and gentle manner.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Today was the day to collect the meat sauce from the county. It was also the day for the topping-off ceremony of the new house. Lu Zecheng volunteered to go to the county to deliver the ingredients and firewood, pick up the 150 bottles of meat sauce, and buy some firecrackers and candy for the topping-off ceremony.

Xia Ning’an thought it was fine for him to go. She didn’t have anything to do anyway. She could stay home and roast some hazelnuts and chestnuts. She would give everyone a portion when they had the topping-off ceremony.

While Xia Ning’an was roasting chestnuts at home, Lu Zecheng had already arrived at the small courtyard in the county. When he opened the door and went in, he saw Tong Dawei’s wife and two children cleaning up in the courtyard. He unloaded the firewood from the car and piled it in an empty room. It was about to snow, and they hadn’t built a firewood shed. Anyway, the house was empty, so they could find a room to store the firewood.

After putting away the firewood, he put the materials he brought into the kitchen, took the 150 bottles of meat sauce, settled the 15 yuan, and said goodbye to Tong Dawei’s wife and children. Then, he rode his bicycle to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. Then, he went to the armed forces department and called the army leader. The leader had already heard that he had recovered. Now, he was relieved to receive his call. He was waiting for his recovery checkup report. He was waiting for him to return to the army.

Today was the day for the topping-off ceremony. Xia Mu had secretly found someone to calculate the auspicious time.

Although Xia Ning’an believed in science, she had been able to travel to this world, which was not scientific in itself. So, when Xia Mu went, she followed without a word. She just wanted to be auspicious.

They rushed back to the village before 10:10 am. It was time for the topping-off ceremony. Accompanied by the carpenter’s words, “Topping off, topping off, Luban is here. The thick ones are for pillars, the straight ones are for beams. Use the wood to its fullest potential, put it all to good use…”

Everyone slowly cooperated and finally managed to put the beam in place. Xia Mu tied a red silk ribbon to one end of the beam.

On the new top beam, there were two scrolls written by the only old man in the village who knew calligraphy:

“Grateful for the strong support of the leaders”

“Thank you to the neighbors for their selfless help”

Lu Zecheng and Xia Ninghao took out firecrackers and set them off, walking around the house.

Then, they distributed candy, chestnuts, and hazelnuts to the villagers who came to watch the excitement. It was a lively scene.

After the beam was put in place, they could move into the new house in three days.

After the topping-off ceremony, Xia Ninghao took a few young men to tame the wild donkeys.

The wild donkeys had been captured for two days, but they hadn’t been tamed yet. They would howl at night. These past two days, the young and strong men in the village had been running over there whenever they had free time, hoping to tame the donkeys.

These donkeys would be good helpers for pulling things. They wouldn’t need people to push the carts when they handed in the grain next year. They would have enough donkey carts and ox carts. So, that area was the busiest place in the village. Besides these young men, those gossipy old women also gathered there to see who could tame the donkeys.

The team leader had said that whoever could tame a donkey would be given 20 work points.

Xia Ning’an had never seen such a scene, so she wanted to go and take a look. Lu Zecheng, naturally, followed her.

They saw that the seven wild donkeys were all tied to wooden stakes. Some were pacing around the stakes in a frenzy, some were lying on the ground kicking their legs. If someone got too close at this time, they could easily be kicked by the donkeys. Some were constantly neighing and jumping. Several young men tried to put saddles on the donkeys’ backs, but they were unsuccessful.

One donkey, probably tired from jumping, was lying on the ground. Its belly was rising and falling rapidly. It looked like it was exhausted. At this time, a young man in his twenties saw it. He took a rope and quietly approached it. When the donkey didn’t react, he threw the rope loop and caught one of its legs. The donkey realized the danger and immediately jumped up, pacing around the stake. The strong man held the rope tightly to prevent the donkey from running and jumping. The donkey’s leg was trapped, and it let out a furious neigh. The strong man pulled the rope to another wooden stake and tied it. This way, the donkey couldn’t run or jump anymore.

Then, he took the saddle and threw it on the donkey’s back. At first, the donkey struggled, but gradually, it lost its strength and began to accept the saddle. After the donkey calmed down, the strong man tried to throw two bags of sand on its back. When he saw that the donkey didn’t resist violently, he untied the rope on its leg and let it move around the stake.

The donkey walked around a few times and didn’t jump around in a frenzy. The strong man slowly approached it and then got on its back. This way, if the donkey suddenly attacked, he could jump off immediately to avoid injury. After doing this repeatedly many times, he was sure that the donkey had been tamed. He took off the sandbags and jumped onto the saddle. He pulled the reins and rode the donkey in circles around the stake.

At this point, the donkey was completely tamed.

Everyone gave the strong man a thumbs-up.

The strong man’s name was Zhang Dazhuang. As his name suggested, he was indeed strong. A rare blush appeared on his dark face. He didn’t know if it was from exhaustion or from being praised by everyone.