Chapter 873
The Old Man Wants to Be an Official
By the time Yue Feng got home on his motorcycle, it was already 4:30 in the afternoon.
Before anyone even entered the house, the dog tied up in the yard started barking.
Wang Xiaona led her son, Kaixin, who had already started learning to run, from the north house to the gate of the yard.
"Shopkeeper, you're back! So happy! Call him Dad!"
"Dad!" Kaixin called out to her father with bright, sparkling eyes as he saw him return.
The word "Dad" brought Yue Feng, the old father, to his wits' end.
The little one, who is one and a half years old, could only call out "Mama" when Yue Feng left more than half a month ago. Now that he's back, he can not only walk steadily, but he can also call out "Papa" so clearly.
"Oh! My good son!"
Yue Feng responded and ran over to his wife and son, picking Kaixin up in his arms.
"Look what this is! Your Uncle Jin bought you a toy!" Yue Feng said softly to his son.
"Gun! I want a big gun!!" Kaixin's eyes lit up as he saw Yuefeng take a toy gun out of his bag, and he stretched out his hands to grab it.
Yue Feng handed the gun to his son: "This is a matchstick gun. I'll teach you how to play with it later!"
Kaixin took the toy gun and kept pulling the trigger at the dog guarding the yard, but unfortunately, there was no match head, so it couldn't be fired properly.
At that moment, Xiao Tao and Xiao Wen also entered the yard carrying live poultry transport boxes.
"Brother, where should we put these eagles? Inside the house or in the storeroom?" Xiao Tao asked.
"Put it in the warehouse first! I'll take it up the mountain tomorrow!"
'Okay! If there's nothing else, Xiaowen and I will head back now!'
"Come over for dinner tonight. I brought a lot of things with me; please take some home with you!"
"OK!"
……
Xiaowen said goodbye to Xiaotao and went back, leaving only Yuefeng's family of three at home.
"Was the trip smooth?" Wang Xiaona looked at her husband with gentle eyes and asked softly.
"Hmm, quite a haul! I was originally planning to bring two falcon chicks, but I ended up getting an extra peregrine falcon chick from another place! Look at this smallest transport box, the chick can't even fly yet!"
"Let me see!" Wang Xiaona was also curious and immediately walked to the warehouse door, picked up the transport cage and examined it.
The peregrine falcon chick, which is just over half a month old, has already grown to about 70-80% of the size of an adult, but its feathers are not yet fully grown, and are densely covered with thick feather shafts.
"It's so small, several sizes smaller than the baby black eagle!" Wang Xiaona couldn't help but comment after examining it for a while.
“Peregrine falcons are naturally smaller, and this is a male falcon, so it’s normal for it to be smaller! Is everything alright at home while I was away?” Yue Feng asked.
Wang Xiaona replied, "Everything is fine, except that the village is a bit unruly! The Zhang family instigated a few women to cause trouble at the mountain produce purchasing point, but I managed to suppress it!"
"Hmm? What are you supporting?"
"Over there in Kaoshantun, they also set up a mountain produce collection point, just like our village! At first, they were competing for customers and offered slightly higher prices. Now that the prices have basically returned to normal, those old women from Gelu felt they were being taken advantage of, so they made a fuss!"
Li Yinhua and I didn't give them a friendly reception either. We told them to sell if they wanted, or not! We argued about it once, and now nothing's happening!
Yue Feng nodded after listening: "Okay, I understand!"
The basic village-level business of purchasing mountain products doesn't have a high barrier to entry. After Yue Feng organized the villagers to get the procedures sorted out, there were already imitators this spring.
However, Yue Feng didn't care about the so-called competition. As long as he controlled the core transportation route, if the other party bought the mountain goods or vegetables but couldn't sell them themselves, they would eventually have to go through Yue Feng's transportation team to make money.
It's like having an additional new receiving channel and another partner. Overall, it's actually a good thing for Yue Feng.
As for the women from the Zhang family who were causing trouble, Yue Feng didn't want to take it too seriously because of the relationship between Xiaowen and Xiaowu. Yue Feng had already secured his position as village secretary, and the Zhang family's original idea of trying to compete for the village official position was now out of the question.
Yue Feng carried his son and two large shoulder bags into the house, then took the items out of the bags.
"These are cosmetics I brought back from Beijing for you. I don't know much about them either. Jinlong bought them for me. Try them out yourself!" Yue Feng found a separate package and handed it to his wife.
In those days, cosmetics were still relatively rare and primitive, mostly consisting of face creams or snow creams. However, Jinlong didn't bring back these local products, but rather imported goods from overseas Chinese stores.
Shiseido's set was definitely considered high-end at the time.
When Wang Xiaona saw that her husband had brought her a gift, her eyes lit up with a smile.
"Oh, you even brought me something!"
"Hehe, my wife takes care of the household chores, so it's only right that I bring some things. See if you like them!"
"I love it!" Wang Xiaona hugged Yue Feng and immediately took a bite of him.
"You watch over our son, I'll go settle the eagle that just came back! By the way, is the big black eagle doing well in its cage?"
"Every morning I let you out to fly around and play at a set time. Apart from not seeing you making any loud noises, everything else is normal!"
By the way, Xiao Tao told Xiao Wen that the sables on the mountain recently mated and had pups!
"Hmm? The sable has given birth? Is it a breeding sable from the first generation?" Yue Feng was slightly taken aback upon hearing this news.
The sables in the mountain farm have been raised for several years. The first-generation artificially imprinted breeding sables have begun to mature and are being paired up to reproduce.
Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a baby.
“Yes! There are two litters, six chicks in total! One litter has two white ones!” Wang Xiaona said.
Upon hearing this, Yue Feng immediately perked up.
The offspring bred from the mutated white mink that were captured and bred have also successfully mated.
Compared to the breeding results of other mink species, the successful breeding of this mutated sable is of great significance.
The long-awaited mutated sable's white gene has been completely passed down, and from now on, it will be Yue Feng's cash cow.
"Okay, I got it! I'll go up the mountain first thing tomorrow morning to check it out! This is a big deal! Several years of investment, and now we're finally seeing a return!" Yue Feng said happily. "Yeah!"
……
Yue Feng greeted his wife and then went from the house to the yard.
First, we made sure to settle all four fledglings we brought back (two falcon chicks, one peregrine falcon chick, and a little one).
After dozens of hours of transport, the fledgling eagles were somewhat affected. Yue Feng gave them some water and then placed them on the eagle perch in the storage room for the time being. As for feeding them, it would be fine to wait until they had recovered a bit of strength; feeding them when they were weak would only harm their health.
After settling the fledglings in, Yue Feng swaggered over to the single eagle room where the big black eagle and the little white spear lived.
Open the door and blow the whistle!
The next second, the big black eagle and the little white spear let out a series of impatient cawing sounds, landed from the stand onto Yue Feng's arm, and nodded and cawing frequently. Their affectionate manner was extremely urgent.
"Alright, alright! I'm just going on a business trip, it's not like I'm not coming back!"
Yue Feng took turns stroking the feathers on the front and back of the two eagles. After a series of comforting and affectionate gestures, he finally calmed the two eagles down.
By mid-June, the two domesticated falcons had already begun molting, especially the smaller White Spear, whose tail and wingtips had lost large feathers, and the newly grown feather shafts had not yet fully grown in, making them feel a bit rough to the touch.
Yue Feng carried the two falcons with one hand to the middle of his yard. Then, with a flick of his arm, the two falcons took flight in perfect unison, circling overhead.
Falcons are very direct in their emotions. No matter how anxious they were while their master was away, now that Yue Feng is back, both the big black eagle and the little white spear have returned to their previous emotional state.
Knowing their master was watching him, the two eagles circled overhead, soaring higher and higher, playing and frolicking.
Yue Feng took a small stool and sat in the middle of the yard, looking up at the free eagles in the sky. The fatigue from the journey slowly began to subside, and he unconsciously drifted off into thought.
After spending more than half an hour with the black eagles in the yard, the two eagles, having flown enough, folded their wings and landed on the roof. Yue Feng whistled to call them down, admired them for a while, and then sent them back to their aviary.
After going inside, Yue Feng played with his son's toy matchstick gun for a while. Then, noticing that his father should be getting off work soon, he picked up a bag of local specialties, grabbed his son, and headed to his parents' old house.
Everything was fine at home. The youngest sister, Xiaoyu, was doing her homework when she saw her second brother return. She immediately put down her homework and came over.
"Second Brother! You're back!"
In just a few years, Xiaoyu has unknowingly entered the fifth grade. The 11-year-old girl used to be somewhat pale and thin, like a bean sprout, but in recent years, her family's living conditions have improved, and her complexion and condition have undergone a qualitative change.
She's grown taller than she did two years ago, and has now blossomed into a graceful young woman. What hasn't changed is that the youngest sister still shows great affection for her second brother.
Yue Feng pulled out a bag of pastries he had brought back from Beijing from his satchel: "Hey, these are pastries that Brother Jinlong bought especially for you! You and Mom and Dad should try them!"
Xiaoyu took the pastries, took out a piece and handed it to her mother who was cooking next to the stove, and then tasted a piece herself.
"So sweet! Delicious!"
"Eat more if you like it. If you want more, I'll have him send you some later!" Yue Feng affectionately patted his little sister's head, his tone full of tenderness.
Just then, Mom, who was cooking in the stove, looked up and said, "Xiaofeng, I heard from your dad the day before yesterday that it seems like there's going to be some kind of movement going on at the forest farm!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Yue Feng asked.
"Old Yang should retire by the end of the year! Zhou Jianchun will probably get a promotion!" Mom said.
The head of Hongxing Forest Farm is surnamed Yang. Because of his advanced age, he has been in a relatively stable semi-retired state for the past few years, and has gradually handed over the affairs of the forest farm to Zhou Jianchun.
Now that Lao Yang is retiring, Zhou Jianchun is most likely the strongest contender to become the new leader.
"The forest farm is changing leaders, how could my dad be affected?" Yue Feng smiled and glanced at his mother after hearing this.
There's an old saying that one's son's respect for his father begins after he turns thirty. Yue Feng isn't thirty yet, but in his own little corner of the world, his connections and reputation have already far surpassed those of an average thirty-year-old.
Thanks to his son's social status, the old man was highly respected in the forest farm. Even his superiors had to speak to him politely.
"If Lao Zhou gets promoted, Xiao Guo's position will most likely be changed! That would leave a vacancy in the forest protection team!"
Hearing his mother say that, Yue Feng's heart stirred slightly, and the corners of his mouth immediately curled up.
Well, after all this, it turns out the old man was after an official position.
"My dad's thinking, maybe he could try to become the captain of the forest ranger team?" Yue Feng asked.
Instead of answering directly, the mother looked at her son and asked, "Do you think he's capable? In another ten or eight years, he'll retire! If he's at a higher level, his pension will be higher when he retires!"
Yue Feng understood his mother's meaning and nodded slightly: "When my dad comes back later, I'll ask him what he thinks in person."
In public institutions like forest farms, seniority is a serious factor. Yue Feng certainly has strong connections, but that doesn't mean he's without other competitors.
In small state-owned enterprises, the grassroots network of relationships can be described as intricate and complex. Many people work their entire lives without ever crossing that small threshold. The things involved are very complicated, and it's not as easy as you might think that you can get a positive response immediately by simply making a greeting, finding someone, or giving a gift.
Of course, if the old man really wants to give it a try, Yue Feng will definitely shamelessly help him out. Compared to other competitors, Yue Lei still has a chance to go further.
They were talking inside when the dog barked a few times in the yard, signaling that Dad had come home from get off work.
"Dad!" Yue Feng called out to his father from the doorway of the north room, holding the child in his arms.
"You're back from Beijing? Kaixin's here too! Let me hold my grandson!" Yue Lei smiled as soon as he saw his grandson, took the child in his arms, and spun around in a circle.
"Grandpa!" Kaixin called out to the old man respectfully, which immediately made him beam with joy.
"My mom said that Lao Zhou is going to have some work done?" Yue Feng asked his father seemingly casually.
"Yes, Lao Yang has already handed over his work and is just waiting to retire at the end of the year! Did your mother mention this to you? Lao Zhou has been promoted to a full-fledged position and is also serving as the Party Secretary! Xiao Guo's position should be able to be moved up to fill Lao Zhou's vacancy, and he can become the deputy director in charge of safety and production!"
"If Xiao Guo gets promoted, our forest ranger team will have a vacancy!" Yue Lei's expression and tone became noticeably more serious when he mentioned serious matters.
"Are there many other strong competitors? Was there anyone originally chosen? Someone close to Director Zhou or Secretary Yang?" Yue Feng continued to ask.
"Probably not. Most of the forest rangers here are young men who have returned from military service! They're not that old! Besides Xiao Guo, in terms of seniority, there's also the deputy captain Li Cunming. The rest are all frontline members like me!"
"Li Cunming? What's going on with him?" (End of Chapter)