Hearing this, Zhang Shuya gave Wang Shuai a sidelong glance and said through gritted teeth
"Yup, I really want to beat you to death."
Wang Shuai stared straight at Zhang Shuya, saying in a cheeky tone
"No matter what you want to do, as long as you're thinking about it, that's enough. Hehehe, actually, I've been thinking about you too."
Zhang Shuya seemed to have grown accustomed to this; she said very irritably
"Oh for fuck's sake, can you just get the hell away from me?"
Wang Shuai wasn't angry upon hearing this and continued to smile cheekily: "Yup, whatever you say."
After saying this, Wang Shuai indeed stepped back about one centimeter.
Zhang Shuya looked at Wang Shuai speechlessly for a while, but all she was greeted with was Wang Shuai's cheeky, smiling face.
Then, Zhang Shuya made her move—or rather, more accurately, she moved her foot.
Zhang Shuya launched a flying kick toward Wang Shuai. Seeing this, Wang Shuai calmly stepped aside, and while doing so, he tried to grab Zhang Shuya's foot with his hand.
This scene felt very familiar to anyone watching.
And then, the two of them just started scrapping.
Wang An suddenly realized that between this "brother from another mother" and this "sister from another mother," there was definitely something going on.
Why did this situation feel like a bit of flirtatious bickering?
But then again, if these two were to get together, they actually looked quite a good match!
As for the fight, neither Wu Dong's group of three nor Sun Nian seemed to mind; they had long since grown used to it and began shouting and critiquing their moves.
"Oh man, that move again."
"Yup, totally useless."
"Idiot Wang Shuai doesn't dare to actually strike."
"Exactly, what a total loser."
Wang An could tell that if these six people were gathered together, there would definitely be absolutely nothing productive happening.
Consequently, Wang An stopped paying attention to the six of them and went to watch the four drivers unload the cargo.
At this time, the family members noticed the commotion outside and all ran out.
It was only because people came out of the house that Zhang Shuya and Wang Shuai stopped. Immediately after, Wu Dong and his two companions stepped forward to greet them.
Since they had eaten at Wang An's house before, Wu Dong's group knew Wang An's family.
Such a scene inevitably led to a round of pleasantries.
It had to be said that whether it was Wang Shuai or Wu Dong's group, they were all very respectful toward Wang Dazhu and his wife, as well as Mu Xueqing.
They didn't possess any of the arrogance or condescension typical of "second-generation" wealthy kids.
After the greetings, everyone turned their gaze toward the four men unloading the truck.
The four men placed four very thick wooden beams across the rear of the truck's cargo bed.
At the end of each wooden beam resting on the cargo bed, there was a notch.
At the rear of the truck, there was a thick piece of angle steel running horizontally, and the notches fit perfectly onto this angle steel.
At this moment, one of the drivers said to Wang An
"Fellow villager, we need to boil a pot of hot water, otherwise these crawler tractors won't start."
Wang An replied casually, "Sure thing, Master. Will one pot of water be enough?"
The driver looked at the two vehicles, thought for a moment, and said, "It should be enough. If not, we can warm up some more."
In this era, whether it was a four-wheel vehicle, a walk-behind tractor, or this kind of crawler tractor, if you wanted to start it in winter, you absolutely had to pour hot water into the radiator.
Not only did it have to be hot water, it had to be boiling water; otherwise, getting it to fire up was absolutely impossible.
Furthermore, after stopping work, one had to promptly drain all the water from the radiator, otherwise the radiator would inevitably freeze and crack, rendering the vehicle useless.
Hearing the conversation, Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing turned and went back inside, while Wang An and Wang Dazhu invited everyone into the house to rest.
Once everyone was settled, Wang Shuai finally found an opportunity to whisper to Wang An
"Xiao An, you're something else, finding a wife this beautiful."
Hearing this, Wang An smiled boastfully: "Of course. In the whole of Heilongjiang province, if my wife is second, who dares say they're first?"
Wang Shuai nodded thoughtfully and said, "I feel like your wife really can only be ranked second."
Wang An was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted and laughed
"What? I see you being a cheeky brat every day; are you chasing my sister?"
Wang Shuai didn't hide it and said very candidly
"Yup. Your sister never likes to pay attention to me; you've gotta put in a good word for me, alright?"
Wang An nodded with a smile: "Sure, I'll ask for you. I also feel like you two are quite a match."
Hearing Wang An say this, Wang Shuai's eyes instantly widened with excitement. With an expression of "great minds think alike," he said
"Right? I feel like the two of us are simply a match made in heaven."
Perhaps Wang Shuai got a bit carried away and spoke too loudly, as Sun Nian, who wasn't far away, overheard him.
Sun Nian gave Wang Shuai and Wang An a sidelong glance and whispered
"Stinking hooligan, shameless."
Wang An and Wang Shuai made faces at each other and finally dropped the subject.
After about 20 minutes, a large pot of water finally boiled. The two crawler tractor drivers each carried a bucket of boiling water and climbed onto the truck bed.
After filling the radiators with boiling water and adjusting the angle of the wooden beams, the two drivers put in a great deal of effort to get the tractors started.
Starting a crawler tractor was different from starting a walk-behind tractor or a four-wheel vehicle.
Walk-behind tractors and four-wheel vehicles used a crank handle to start, but crawler tractors used a rope.
It was just an ordinary hemp rope, about the thickness of a pinky finger.
On the side of the crawler tractor's engine, there was an iron wheel. During startup, the rope needed to be wound around it loop after loop.
Finally, one would yank the rope violently, making the iron wheel spin frantically to fire up the engine.
In terms of the starting principle, crawler tractors and walk-behind tractors were the same—it was all about spinning, spinning frantically.
As black smoke billowed from the crawler tractor's exhaust, the engine began to roar.
To be honest, the sound after this thing started was incredibly loud; the noise could easily travel two li, and that wasn't an exaggeration.
As the crawler tractors started, more and more people gathered at the entrance of Wang An's house.
In this era, a four-wheel vehicle was already considered a high-end product, and this kind of tractor was the pinnacle of high-end.
Thus, the people of the village all came to watch the excitement.
In those days, the appearance of any rare object would attract a crowd of onlookers.
Unsurprisingly, Wang An's house became the center of attention once again. The last time it had happened was when a bunch of four-wheel vehicles and walk-behind tractors from the brick factory had delivered bricks to his house.
Immediately after, the two drivers carefully drove the crawler tractors down from the truck bed.
It had to be said that people of this era were very mindful.
After driving the tractors down, the two drivers declined the invitation to rest inside. Under Wang Dazhu's guidance, they headed straight for the small hill to the west of Wang An's house.
(End of Chapter)