Siheyuan: Starting to work in the security department

Year 29

The festive atmosphere in the courtyard is getting stronger and stronger, and every household has begun to prepare food for the New Year.

Rich families can fry what they need to; families in financial difficulties also have to prepare food for tomorrow night.

Cooking is a very time-consuming task nowadays.

There is a children's song about the New Year in Sijiucheng that describes the schedule of the New Year from Laba to the first day in an interesting way:

Don't be greedy, children, Laba is the new year.

Laba porridge, drink it for a few days, it will be twenty-three.

23. Sugar melon is sticky;

Twenty-four, sweep the house;

Twenty-five, frozen tofu;

26. Stewed white meat;

Twenty-seven, go and kill a chicken;

Twenty-eight, hair;

Twenty-nine, steamed buns;

Stay up all night on the 30th;

On the first and second days of the Chinese New Year, people walked the streets.

In fact, after the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the adults in the family, especially the housewife, become busy shopping and prepare New Year's dishes.

It’s just that the country is in a difficult period now, and materials are not abundant, so there are not so many requirements.

Young people don’t know what worry feels like, and the Chinese New Year is the happiest time for children.

The sound of firecrackers can often be heard in the yard, followed by the cheerful laughter of children.

Although supplies were scarce in the 60s, people's mental outlook was surprisingly good.

Compared with the endless pressure of life in later generations, it makes people feel breathless.

Although life is a little harder nowadays, it is also full of hope!

In the afternoon, Lou Xiaoe was taken back to the courtyard by a car.

Private individuals are not allowed to own cars, but Lou Bancheng still holds the title of director of the steel mill and has the right to use a car.

With the help of the driver, bags of New Year's goods were moved into Xu's house, causing a sensation in the yard.

Niu Ping'an heard the noise and walked out of the house. Looking at the Xu family who was surrounded by a group of aunts, he shook his head slightly.

After a while, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Lou Xiaoe came to Niu Ping'an's house carrying two bottles of Moutai, a box of Beijing Eight Pieces, a pound of pork belly and a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.

"Ping An, look at the New Year's gifts your sister-in-law brought you!"

Lou Xiaoe proudly showed the gift in his hand to Niu Ping'an.

Niu Ping'an was also shocked by Lou Xiaoe's generosity.

As for the value of these things, that's actually it.

The key is that it is hard to buy even if you have money, and Lou Xiaoe is really generous.

A rich woman is a rich woman, and she will never be stingy when spending money.

"Sister-in-law Xiao'e, you're spending a lot of money!"

Niu Ping'an didn't bother to be polite with Lou Xiaoe. He took it and put it on the table.

Tobacco, alcohol, and meat are visible to the naked eye.

The Eight Beijing Pieces are wrapped in exquisite packaging, so you can’t see the specific contents inside.

"Hey, it's a joke!"

Lou Xiaoe waved his hands repeatedly, looking like he didn't care.

Seeing that Lou Xiaoe was so sincere, Niu Ping'an reminded her.

"Sister-in-law Xiao'e, you are a bit high-profile today."

"Hey, I couldn't stop it after holding it for a while, so I had no choice but to ask my dad's driver to take it for a while.

Sister-in-law, be more careful next time!"

Girls face outwards, this is indeed true, Lou Xiaoe felt a little embarrassed as she said this.

Lou Xiaoe is not a naive person, she just hasn't adapted to the environment of the slum.

Niu Ping'an rolled his eyes, defeated by Lou Xiao'e's honesty.

"Sister-in-law, as long as you know the answer!"

Since Lou Xiaoe knew what was going on, Niu Ping'an didn't say much.

"By the way, Brother Damao hasn't come back yet?"

Niu Ping'an was chatting casually with Lou Xiaoe.

"He said he would be back today and have dinner at his parents' house tomorrow night."

Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e had just been married for a short time and their relationship was going well. The situation of the Lou family was not too bad and Lou Xiao'e's situation in the Xu family was pretty good.

Therefore, I am looking forward to celebrating the New Year at Xu's house for the first time tomorrow.

But Lou Xiaoe would never have thought that when the situation became more and more tense and she couldn't get pregnant, her life in the Xu family would become difficult.

"Why don't you eat at my place tonight?"

Niu Ping'an felt a little embarrassed for inviting Lou Xiaoe to dinner and getting so many rare things in return.

"No need, Damao will be home soon, let him do it."

Lou Xiaoe quickly refused. Niu Ping'an was the only one in his family and they didn't have much supplies. It would be embarrassing to always eat his food.

"It's settled, let's just consider it as you guys spending New Year's Eve with me in advance tonight.

I'm on duty tomorrow night, so I won't be able to have the New Year's Eve dinner."

Niu Ping'an has no shortage of food. After all, this is his first year in this era, and he doesn't want to be too lonely.

Let's make a few more dishes and have a nice drink tonight, so that we can celebrate the festival.

"Okay then, I'll talk to Damao later."

Lou Xiaoe originally wanted to refuse, but when he saw Niu Ping'an's sincere face and thought how pitiful it would be for him to spend the New Year alone, he agreed.

"Okay, then Sister Xiao'e, you go home and pack up first, and come over with Brother Damao later."

Niu Ping'an sent Lou Xiaoe back directly.

In his previous life, Niu Ping'an was a southerner and didn't care whether to eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year.

Tonight, Niu Pingan made a pot of rice, which was rare;

The pound of pork belly that Lou Xiaoe brought was directly used to make braised pork;

Fish is a must for Chinese New Year, so I cooked a dish of fried hairtail with shredded radish;

Then he took out a chicken from the space and stewed it in a charcoal pot;

Cut the previously prepared braised beef into a plate;

Then make some scrambled eggs with green onions and some stir-fried cabbage.

It can be regarded as the ceiling nowadays.

When Xu Damao returned to the yard, exhausted, it was time for dinner.

Xu Damao rushed back to cook for Lou Xiaoe, but he didn't expect that Niu Ping'an's family had ready-made food. He was so happy that his beard stood up.

However, when Xu Damao learned from Lou Xiaoe that Niu Ping'an wanted to eat the New Year's Eve dinner in advance, he brought some New Year's goods from home before coming to the door.

In terms of dealing with people, Xu Damao is indeed impeccable.

Niu Ping'an did not refuse and regarded it as a New Year gift.

Drinking Maotai, eating delicious food while listening to the radio, and listening to Xu Damao bragging about what he saw and heard in the countryside...

When it was almost over, Liu Guangtian suddenly came and knocked on the door to announce the convening of a whole-school meeting.

"We're not going to have a group party this year, are we?"

Xu Damao muttered with his tongue sticking out.

"We have even lost the title of this year's civilized courtyard house. It shouldn't be possible!"

In previous years, all the courtyard houses were civilized courtyard houses. This was a collective honor, so naturally we had to hold a meeting to celebrate it.

Of course, this honor is more or less watered down.

Niu Ping'an and the other two looked at each other, all of them were a little curious.

"After finishing the wine in the glass, the dinner party tonight is almost over, let's go and take a look!"

Xu Damao raised his wine cup, clinked glasses with Niu Ping'an, hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice and ended the dinner.

When they arrived at the Central Courtyard together, the venue had already been set up, but only Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were sitting at the table, while Yi Zhonghai was huddled in the corner like a invisible man.

After waiting for a while, most people had arrived and Liu Haizhong spoke first.

"Nothing big happened today, except that the street office notified us that each courtyard should organize some people to participate in street cleaning work tomorrow morning.

The factory will have to work half a day tomorrow, and I suggested to Second Uncle that we select a few comrades who have less time to work in the factory to serve as representatives as a token of our appreciation.

As the eldest uncle in the courtyard, I naturally have to set an example. My family has two brothers, Guangtian and Guangfu. "

In the turbulent 60s, the New Year in Beijing had a "revolutionary flavor" and was celebrated as a "collective year."

The company issues invoices for watching movies, organizing carnivals, and group gatherings.

The street unified invoice certificates and purchase books and organized cleaning.

As a teacher, Yan Bugui has holidays early and has limited free time.

Of course, as the second uncle in the courtyard, Yan Bugui would naturally not do the work himself.

"I am the second uncle in the courtyard, please let my family be liberated!"

The eldest brother, Yan Jiecheng, has to go to work, and the third brother, Yan Jiekuang, is still young and cannot help.

The second aunt was busy with household matters, and the eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Li, had just married into the Yan family, so Yan Bugui was a little embarrassed to bring up the issue.

There was no other way but to suffer the consequences until the second brother Yan was liberated.

"Uncle, did the street office say how many people each yard should send?"

Seeing that three vacancies had already been taken, some neighbors raised questions.

Liu Haizhong originally wanted to perform well in front of the leaders of the street office and did not want to raise any specific number requirements.

It can be seen that the neighbors were not very positive and could only reply:

"At least five people from each courtyard!"

Some people are unwilling to go because there are few people in their family and there are many things to do during the New Year.

Of course, there were also those who valued collective honor, and two families successively sent one person each to make up the total of five people.

Seeing that there were enough people, no one signed up anymore.

Niu Ping'an didn't have a very high level of awareness and just watched coldly the whole time.

Xu Damao was even more unbearable, occasionally making a few sarcastic remarks in a low voice.

Liu Haizhong tried to mobilize people a little more, but with little effect, and no one stood up.

This year, we lost the title of civilized courtyard house and did not receive any reward from the street office, so people’s enthusiasm dropped by a lot.

Liu Haizhong is not as good at moral blackmail as Yi Zhonghai, so even fewer people responded.

The whole hospital meeting was about to end with a whimper, and Yan Bugui took the opportunity to seize the opportunity.

"Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I will write Spring Festival couplets for everyone in the front yard tomorrow afternoon.

It’s still the same old rule, the neighbors who need it can just pay a little bit of writing fee.”

Yan Bugui setting up a stall to write Spring Festival couplets is an annual traditional activity in the hospital.

The so-called writing fee is just a few peanuts, a handful of melon seeds or some candies.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I won't forget it!"

"This is our old tradition. I have prepared the red paper!"

......

Everyone laughed, which made Liu Haizhong look unhappy.

"Okay, let's end the meeting here today!"

After announcing the dissolution of the meeting, Liu Haizhong took the lead and went back to the backyard holding the enamel cup.

No one paid attention to Liu Haizhong's attitude and dispersed in twos and threes.

As for the tables and chairs, they were naturally left to the two resentful sons of Liu Haizhong to clean up.