Chapter 631: Get Money
Many people came out of Zhou Yimin's house after writing couplets, and the sun had already climbed to the tops of the bamboos.
A large crowd of people had already gathered at the entrance of the village committee. They were all villagers who had just received couplets from the Zhou family's yard. They were still holding rolled-up red paper in their hands, and the scent of ink mixed with the cold air on their bodies was wafting everywhere.
The men, holding their pipes, stomped their feet against the wall, their cotton shoes making a squeaking sound as they rolled over the frozen mud.
The women carried bamboo baskets with a piece of coarse cloth at the bottom, and from time to time they stretched their necks to look into the yard. In the baskets were gifts of thanks for Mr. Zhou - half a bag of peanuts or a few eggs.
"Aunt, do you think you can really give the full amount of money?" Mrs. Liu from the west end came closer to Aunt Wang and asked in a low voice, the handkerchief in her hand was clenched tightly and wrinkled. She had just received a couplet that read "Peace every year" from the Zhou family, and the ink words on the red paper were still a little damp.
Aunt Wang glanced into the courtyard, the corner of the "Safe Entry and Exit" couplet in her hand lifted by the wind. "Look at what you said, when has the old Party Secretary ever been in trouble? Last year's distribution was 62 yuan, not a cent less."
She patted the bamboo basket, and the enamel basin inside jingled. "I brought the largest enamel basin in my house specially to hold the money. When I get the money later, I will hang it up at home with the couplets."
With a creaky sound, the wooden door of the village committee was opened a crack, and the old party secretary leaned half of his body out, holding a metal box in his hand, and the lock flashed coldly in the sunlight.
He had just passed by Zhou's yard, and there were some ink stains on his cuffs, probably from when he was reading the couplets.
The crowd rushed forward like a hornet's nest that had been poked, and the paper couplets in their hands rubbed against each other, making a rustling sound.
"Hey, stop pushing!" Carpenter Li was pushed by the people behind him and staggered. The couplet "Body like pine and cypress" in his hand almost fell apart, and his pipe was shaking violently. "My old bones can't stand such a collision! Don't squeeze the couplet I just got from Yimin's family!"
“Everyone wants to get the money as soon as possible. Who wouldn’t be anxious?” the young man at the back shouted. The “bountiful harvest” couplet in his hand was wrinkled, but he was still moving forward.
The women's bamboo baskets got caught on each other's lapels, and the noisy footsteps melted the snow on the ground, and the splashing snow foam wet the corners of the couplets.
"What's the chaos?" The old branch secretary's voice was like thunder, and he slammed the metal box in his hand against the door frame. "Everyone line up! One person from each family, come according to the house number. If there is one less, I will make up for it!"
He glared at the crowd, anger filling the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his army green armband fluttering high in the wind. Whoever's hand held the couplets, his eyes swept over, would subconsciously hold the paper tube tighter.
The few people who had rushed to the front suddenly stopped.
"The secretary is right. It will be faster if we line up." Zhou Daming took two steps back and said to the people around him, holding the "Happy Family" couplets neatly stacked in his hands.
"We farmers have to know the rules. We just received the beautiful couplet written by Grandpa Yimin, so we have to abide by our duties."
Aunt Wang tugged at the head of the household's cotton-padded jacket and straightened the crooked couplet in his hand: "Go ahead and straighten it. Don't you know the secretary's temper? Even an ox can't pull him when he gets stubborn. Besides, it's still 130 yuan whether you get it early or late. There's no point in wrinkling the couplet you just got."
Carpenter Li also moved to the back of the team and carefully put the couplet in his arms: "Why rush? The money is not going away. I'm still waiting to hang this couplet in the main hall, so I can't let it get torn."
Soon, the crooked team was like a long snake, winding from the entrance to the edge of the threshing ground. Everyone was holding a pair of red couplets in their hands, and from a distance, it looked like a swimming red dragon.
Just as the old branch secretary turned around and returned to the village committee, he saw a commotion at the end of the team.
While the person in front of him turned around, Zhou Dahui quietly moved half his body forward and nudged Grandma Zhang in front of him with his elbow, knocking the "Blessings and Longevity" couplet in her hand to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Grandma Zhang picked up the couplet, patted the snow foam off it with a distressed look, and said unhappily, "You are so young, why don't you learn well? I just asked Grandpa Yimin for the couplet, and you have stained it!"
"Zhou Dahui!" The old branch secretary's voice suddenly rose, cracking like a whip on the ground. "If you move your foot even an inch further, you won't get your salary this year!"
Zhou Dahui was so frightened that he shuddered and quickly stepped back. He even forgot to pick up the "good harvest" couplet in his hand that fell to the ground. The pompom on his cotton hat fell off. His face turned as red as a pig's liver and his head was buried almost touching his chest.
He immediately didn't dare to make any small moves. If his family knew about it, he would probably be kicked out of the house because he didn't take the money back.
You have to know that this one hundred yuan is the money that the family gets after working hard for a year.
The family is waiting to use the money to buy some things and improve their living conditions.
Someone in the queue scoffed, but the old Party Secretary glared back at him: "Behave yourself! Anyone who dares to cut in line again will not only have their wages deducted, but their dividends for next year will also be cut in half!"
"That's right, stop messing around." Someone in the middle of the line muttered quietly, the couplets in his hand rustling in the wind, "Just line up properly, get the money and go home early, put up the couplets, and have a peaceful New Year."
As soon as these words were spoken, even those who were coughing covered their mouths, and the whole team was so quiet that one could hear the sound of snowflakes falling on the couplet paper.
A few young people who wanted to move forward just now quickly retracted their feet, stood properly, carefully protected the couplets in their hands, and stared at the tips of their shoes.
The old branch secretary opened the iron box only after he saw that the team was safe.
The money inside was tied into stacks with red ropes, each stack containing 130 yuan. The brand new bills smelled of ink.
Zhou Zhiming picked up the pen and made a tick on the notebook. The ink stains from his sleeves left a small black dot on the paper: "Number one, Boss Zhou!"
"Oh, it's Big Brother Zhou's turn." Someone whispered, their eyes looking towards the front of the team, the couplets in their hands swaying gently in the wind, as if cheering for the person who received the money.
Time passed little by little, the sun slowly sank into the western valley, and the last ray of afterglow reluctantly left the eaves of the village committee.
By the time the last villager received his money, it was already completely dark. The lights in every household were lit up again like the night before, like pearls scattered in the darkness.
After receiving the money, the villagers walked home briskly with their bulging wallets, humming tuneless songs.
"Master, do you think this money is enough to find a wife for our son?" Aunt Wang calculated with her husband as they walked, holding the purse tightly in her hand for fear that it would fall out.
Carpenter Li next to him was also very happy: "I plan to buy a piece of new cloth for the old woman and make her a red cotton-padded jacket, so that she can look fashionable too!"
Everyone couldn't wait to get home and tell their families the good news so that they could be happy too.
The old branch secretary saw off the last villager, rubbed his sore shoulders, turned and walked into the village committee.
He picked up the form and checked it carefully under the dim light. When he saw that there was still a blank space after the three words "Zhou Yimin", he was stunned.
He remembered that he had not seen Zhou Yimin just now.
The old branch secretary also understood that with Zhou Yimin's ability, he really didn't care about "just" a hundred yuan, and he might have forgotten about it.
Without saying a word, he picked up the remaining stack of money on the table, put it in his arms, locked the door of the village committee and walked towards Zhou Yimin's house.
The night deepened and the cold wind howled, but his steps were firm. He thought to himself: Although Zhou Yimin doesn't think much of it, his contribution to Zhoujiazhuang is far more than what this hundred yuan can bring.
At this time, in Zhou Yimin's house, an enticing aroma was wafting from the kitchen.
Grandma Zhou Yimin was wearing a blue apron and busy in front of the stove. The chicken stewing in the pot was bubbling, oil was rolling on the surface of the soup, and the aroma drifted into the yard through the crack of the door.
Everyone was exhausted today. The old man took a lot of time and effort to write the couplets, and Zhou Yimin was busy helping him. Grandma specially made a few more dishes. In addition to stewed chicken, there were also scrambled eggs and cold-mixed black fungus, which are not usually eaten.
"Grandma, let me serve the dishes." Zhou Yimin walked into the kitchen and reached out to take the pot.
Grandma quickly stopped him and said, "It's hot, let me do it."
She carefully brought the stewed chicken to the table in the main room and placed several other dishes on it. The table was full and looked particularly sumptuous under the light of the kerosene lamp.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Zhou Yimin was a little curious. Who could it be at this time? He walked over and opened the door. He saw the old branch secretary standing at the door, holding a brown paper envelope in his hand.
"Yimin, this is your family's money." The old branch secretary handed over the envelope with a smile on his face.
"I saw you didn't come to claim it, so I brought it to you."
Zhou Yimin quickly took the envelope and invited the old Party Secretary into the house. "Old Party Secretary, I'm really sorry to bother you. The meal is just ready. Why don't you stay for dinner?"
The old branch secretary wanted to refuse, as the village rule was not to eat at villagers' homes casually. But when his eyes swept across the dining table in the main hall, the aroma of stewed chicken went straight into his nose, and the golden scrambled eggs and the black fungus were particularly tempting under the light.
The words of refusal came to my lips, but I couldn't say them. In the end, I said, "Okay, sorry to bother you then."
Zhou Yimin smiled happily when he heard it: "Don't disturb me, don't disturb me."
He turned and ran to the kitchen, "I'll get another bowl!"
Grandma also got up quickly and went to the kitchen: "I'll heat up another pot of wine. It's cold, drink some to warm yourself up."
The old man smiled and nodded: "I should have invited the secretary to have a drink a long time ago."
The old branch secretary sat on the kang, looking at the busy family, feeling warm in his heart.
The cold wind was still howling outside the window, but the room became particularly warm because of the table of food and a few family conversations.
Zhou Yimin brought a coarse porcelain bowl from the kitchen and just as he placed it on the table, his grandmother patted the back of his hand and said, "Use the new one."
The old Party Secretary quickly stopped him: "No, this one is fine!"
After saying that, he quickly took the bowl from Zhou Yimin.
Seeing this, Zhou Yimin did not force him, but just sat down.
The old Party Secretary had just sat down on the edge of the kang when he saw Zhou Yimin walking towards the kitchen, carrying a paper bag. "What's this?"
He squinted and was stunned when he saw Zhou Yimin tearing open the red paper, revealing two white porcelain bottles with a red five-pointed star on the body.
This is exactly the same as the Moutai locked in the supply and marketing cooperative's counter.
I heard that one bottle was equivalent to half a year’s work points, so ordinary people couldn’t even see it, and without a ticket, it was impossible to buy it.
"Please try this." Zhou Yimin unscrewed the bottle cap, and a mellow aroma of wine rushed out, mixed with the aroma of stewed chicken and penetrated into people's noses.
The old branch secretary's eyes suddenly lit up and he stared at the two bottles of wine. His Adam's apple moved subconsciously and the chopsticks in his hand almost fell to the ground.
The best wine he had ever tasted in his life was the bulk sorghum wine he bought for his son's wedding. He had never seen such a treasure before, and he was afraid that the bottle would disappear into thin air if he blinked.
"This... this is too precious." The old Party Secretary rubbed his hands, his voice trembling a little. "Yimin, you should keep this wine. It might be of great use in the future."
"Don't be polite, Secretary." Zhou Yimin poured wine into four bowls, and the amber wine swayed gently in the bowls.
The old man nodded and put a chicken leg into the old Party Secretary's bowl. "Drink! You're having a good time today. Let's have a couple more drinks with you."
Grandma pushed the stewed chicken to the middle of the table. The chicken skin was stewed until it was shiny and hot soup came out when the chopsticks were poked into it.
"Eat your food quickly, don't just stare at the wine."
She picked up a piece of chicken wing for the old secretary and said, "This chicken has been stewed for two hours. It's very tender."
The old branch secretary picked up the wine bowl, put it to his nose and sniffed it, then narrowed his eyes into slits, as if he wanted to inhale all the aroma of the wine into his lungs.
He gulped it down in one gulp, smacking his lips. After a long pause, he sighed, "This wine... this wine is like holding a ball of fire in my mouth, warming my throat all the way to my heart!"
Everyone at the table laughed, and the old man's beard trembled with laughter. He didn't even notice that the wine was flowing from the corner of his mouth to his chin.
Zhou Yimin added more wine to his grandfather's glass and took a sip himself. It was spicy with a sweet aftertaste.
Grandma scooped a spoonful of chicken soup into each person's bowl. The oil floated on the surface of the soup, shining brightly in the light.
"You men, talk about business. I'll go fry some peanuts."
Just as she was about to stand up, the old branch secretary stopped her: "Auntie, please sit down. You have enough to eat."
He pointed at the table full of food and said, "This meal is better than what I had during Chinese New Year."
After three rounds of drinking, the two bottles of Moutai were empty.
The old branch secretary's face turned red like Guan Gong in the temple, and he started to talk more. Sometimes he said that the vegetables sold for a good price this year, and sometimes he praised Yimin for his promising future. When he was excited, he patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder and said, "Zhoujiazhuang will rely on you in the future..."
Zhou Yimin quickly responded, "Old Party Secretary, that's not the case. I'm also a member of Zhoujiazhuang, and I definitely want Zhoujiazhuang to get better and better."
After hearing Zhou Yimin's words, the old branch secretary immediately became happy. With Zhou Yimin's words, Zhoujiazhuang will not have to worry about the next few years.
The old man also opened up and talked about his experience in Guandong when he was young, tapping his chopsticks on the edge of the bowl: "Back then, let alone Moutai, just being able to drink rice wine was a New Year's celebration..."
Zhou Yimin listened with a smile and refilled his grandfather's tea. He saw his grandmother secretly adding chicken to the old branch secretary's bowl. The smile in her eyes was as mellow as wine.
In this way, the three of them finished two bottles of Moutai during the meal.
However, most of the wine was drunk by the old man and the old branch secretary, and Zhou Yimin was just there to keep them company.
(End of this chapter)
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