A team beating drums and gongs particularly attracted the attention of passers-by. People riding in ox carts stuck their heads out to look, people walking stopped to take a closer look, and even the members working in the fields not far away took a few more glances.

Everyone's attention was focused on the red display board at the front of the advancing team. A passerby read out loud, "Warm congratulations to Comrade Zhou Jiao for winning the first-class merit..."

The group walked to the entrance of Zhangjia Village and turned left without hesitation.

This made the Zhou team members who rushed over from the roadside after hearing the news look miserable. Zhou Jiao is a child from their Zhoujia Village! But no one dared to say this out loud.

The old team leader was busy leading the team members, looking at the golden ears of wheat with joy. He didn't pay much attention to the faint sound of gongs and drums.

The busy farming season is approaching and the year's harvest is just around the corner. What could be more important than a bumper harvest that would fill the stomachs of Zhangjia Village?

"Third Grandfather, come quickly, you are coming to our village..."

Upon hearing this, the old captain frowned as he looked at the little boy from his nephew's family, panting and bending over with his knees supported. The boy was so weak that he couldn't even say a word.

"Third Grandpa, come quickly, it's a big happy event, and they are going to our village to beat the gongs and drums."

"Oh, I'll do it!" A little kid jumped up and down, shouting, "Aunt Xiaowu has done something great, and a group of people from the commune came here beating drums and gongs to announce the good news."

This time, without further questioning, the old captain took off running, shouting, "Keep working, don't run around."

But who will listen?

When Uncle Zhang heard that his niece-in-law had performed a meritorious service, even though he had doubts in his heart, he ran after the old captain and asked, "What's going on? Why didn't we make any noise beforehand?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?"

When the members who were nearby saw that the two team leaders had run away, they all put down their work and looked at the accountant Xiao Dashi standing nearby.

Some were still confused and asked the people around them: "Who is Aunt Xiaowu?"

"Oh, wait..."

"This damn kid doesn't explain clearly."

"Is she Xiaowu's wife? These kids all call her Aunt Xiaowu."

“…”

Xiao Dashi was amused and confused when he saw that even the villagers working on the dry land ahead had dropped their work and rushed over. He also wanted to go and see what was going on, was it okay?

"Is it Zhang Laoer's house?" The person was not talking about Zhang Guoqiang, but his father.

"It should be Xiaowu's wife, there's no doubt about it."

"Let's go, let's go. This is a big happy event for our village."

"Yeah, let's go see what's going on."

"Shitou, we'll go over and take a look and then come back to fix the work."

"Yes, work points cannot be deducted."

Xiao Dashi looked at the villagers running away, turning back to give instructions, and waved his hand helplessly. Well, they'd all run away, so he went to see what was going on.

Over there, Father Zhang was actually picking fruit in the backyard, planning to pick out some good-looking ones to send to Brother Zhao Chuangguang. The gifts he had asked me to bring to my eldest son last time were quite a lot.

This year, apart from the ones that didn't grow well, the ones that needed to be pickled or dried should be able to sell for a lot of money. Father Zhang secretly wondered if he should plant wild fruits in all the yards in the future?

His son was really smart. Sure enough, the well-grown fruits were more valuable than the vegetables! If they were stored in the cellar for a month or two, they could be sold for quite a bit of money.

At this time he didn't know that his eldest son had already decided to cut down the tree.

Zhang Dad, who was drowning in money, heard his second son screaming in the yard and looked up at the sky in surprise. The sun didn't rise from the west!

"Mom, great news. Our Jiaojiao has made a great contribution."

"Isn't that a meritorious service? Where are the twins?"

Zhang Laoer was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Mom, you don't understand. There's a big commotion outside. Jiaojiao has really done a great job. Where's my dad? Call him back quickly."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why don't I understand? Stop it, your father is working."

"I'm not kidding you! They're already coming here with drums and gongs." Zhang Laoer quickly ran to the backyard. "Dad, hurry up! They'll be here soon."

"You're so old, yet you're still so irritable. Tell me, what's going on?"

Zhang Laoer took a deep breath. "They say Jiaojiao killed an enemy spy and made a significant contribution to scientific and technological innovation. It's a first-class merit! Dad, it's a first-class merit."

Father Zhang didn't hear what happened next, he just heard the news that the enemy spy was killed, and was so scared that the bamboo pole in his hand fell to the ground without him noticing.

He asked suspiciously, "Your sister-in-law has never even killed a chicken before, is there any mistake? You said I can trust that silly boy Xiaowu, have you asked clearly?"

Zhang Laoer didn't really ask in detail. As soon as he got the news, he ran to the village without even notifying his eldest brother.

He said uncertainly, "Dad, that shouldn't be the case! They're talking about Zhou Jiao, how could they be mistaken? Didn't Jiaojiao go to the south for an internship last year?"

Mother Zhang slapped her thigh. "It's our Jiaojiao, for sure! One time, the Yi family kid was bragging about how they caught an enemy spy, but then he changed the subject when he saw me. I even asked Xiaowu about this, and he said he didn't go south for internship. Now that I think about it, he didn't go, but our Jiaojiao did."

Father Zhang didn't bother laughing at his wife being tricked by their eldest son. At this point, he had to take matters into his own hands. He looked down at his patched clothes and was about to get up to change them when an idea struck him.

He didn't even bother to dust himself off. He wiped his hands clean with a cloth and said, "Mother, don't change your clothes. Let's go pick them up like this."

Having been married for a lifetime, how could Zhang's mother not understand her husband's intentions? She said with a distressed look, "What a pity! I gave my pants with two holes patched in them to my sister-in-law."

Yes! To make it easier to clean the kitchen, Zhang's mother changed into some old clothes as soon as she arrived in the village. However, she kept her pants the same, without even a patch on them.

The sounds of gongs and drums gradually approached. When Father Zhang walked out of the door, he saw the old team leader and his eldest brother, accompanied by several county cadres, the commune secretary, and an unfamiliar middle-aged cadre, walking towards their home.

How did he know he was a cadre? You're kidding! Didn't you see he had a pen in his four pockets? Father Zhang knew he was definitely from the provincial capital.

——There are many county officials he doesn’t know!

"This is Zhang Guoqing's father, Zhang Dayou, and Comrade Zhou Jiao's father-in-law." Li Qinglin's father, Lin Aiguo, introduced the two parties. "Brother Zhang, this is Comrade Xue Jianshe from the provincial government."

After hearing what County Magistrate Li said, Zhang Yuntao's father, Zhang Zhifeng, and Zuo Lin exchanged glances and chuckled. This introduction really was County Magistrate Li's way of making fun of things!

Except for Xue Jianshe, everyone else knew each other. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they praised Zhou Jiaoli's first-class merit with all kinds of words, which made Zhang's mother smile so hard that she couldn't stop.

After seeing off these leading cadres, the Zhang family's reputation shone brightly for a while!

The festive atmosphere made the village seem particularly lively. The villagers gathered around the red display board and banners for first-class merit. As for the enamel cups and other small items, no one cared.

The old captain stood at the front and hesitated for a moment. He looked at Zhang Dad and said, "Second brother, how about this for the ancestral hall?"

Father Zhang was stunned when he heard this, then he remembered that the certificate and medal were still at home, so he smiled and nodded.

"Why don't you write a letter to Xiaowu and ask him to take a photo of the certificate and medal and send it to me? I'll put them up in the ancestral hall and set an example for future generations of our Zhang family."

Fortunately, it was a photo, otherwise Zhang Dad would rather leave the clan than agree. He looked at everyone and smiled: "There is no problem with these, but is it a bit exaggerated?"

"Ask everyone if we're exaggerating. This is a really great event. Didn't Lin County win a second-class merit award? Their village had a three-day banquet."

Seeing everyone shouting about the good fortune, Zhang's father could only accept it reluctantly. From the moment his eldest son's photo with the chairman was placed in the ancestral hall, it seemed as if the old captain had set his sights on his family.

If he had known there would be such a happy occasion today, he and his wife would have stayed in the courtyard of the county town. He also wanted to put up a banner at home, okay?