Xu Jianguo knew that the villagers must have heard that Li Dashan was celebrating the New Year at his home and came to pay their respects. He had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and run to open the door. However, he didn't expect that this would suddenly open the floodgates of a reservoir, and people came to pay their respects in an endless stream.
At around eight o'clock, Widow Wang brought her three children to pay New Year's greetings to Li Dashan and Xu Jianguo, and especially thanked him for saving her life. After they talked for a while in the yard, Widow Wang took her children and left.
Funiu was awakened by the sound of people talking. She rubbed her eyes and called for help on the kang. Wen Sitian heard the noise and hurried into the house to dress the little girl.
The four of them took advantage of the break and quickly finished their breakfast. Li Dashan sat on the kang, smoking a pipe, and said with a smile, "Jianguo, you and Xiaowen take Funiu and go pay New Year's greetings to those old guys. I'll be waiting for you at home!"
Xu Jianguo knew that the old man was talking about several other elderly people in the village. He had eaten at these people's homes when he was a child, so he really should go and see them. So he said, "Okay, Grandpa Dashan, then you can rest at home. We will be back soon."
"Okay, go ahead!"
Xu Jianguo picked up the backpack in the main room and ran to the yard. While no one else was paying attention, he took out seven or eight ten-pound fish from the space, and then went out with Wen Sitian and Funiu.
The three of them walked in the village, and when they met other people on the road, everyone would greet each other with a Happy New Year. Some aunts and grandmas who originally wanted to introduce a girl to Xu Jianguo basically gave up the idea after seeing Wen Sitian, because the girls they had were not good enough to match.
When Xu Jianguo saw some children in the village, he would give them a few pieces of candy or a handful of peanuts and melon seeds. The two small pockets on Funiu's cotton-padded jacket were also filled with things by other villagers, which made the little girl laugh non-stop.
It took nearly two hours for Xu Jianguo to visit all the elderly people in the village and give each family a big fat fish. Everyone praised him for being sensible, and the little girl Funniu was also blushing. She had earned nearly one yuan through her hard work and once again walked out of her carefree pace. Xu Jianguo and Wen Sitian laughed out loud. Wen Sitian even hugged Funniu and kissed her hard, praising her for being cute.
At around eleven o'clock in the morning, the three of them returned home. Xu Jianguo told Li Dashan about the New Year's greetings. The old man nodded but said nothing.
"Grandpa Dashan, let's go. It's time to go to Uncle Mancang's house for dinner." Xu Jianguo said.
"Okay, let's go!" said Li Dashan.
Xu Jianguo went to the main room and put the things Zhang Meijuan brought yesterday into the backpack. Then he secretly took some vegetables and fish from the space, as well as drinks and two bottles of ordinary Erguotou liquor. The four of them locked the courtyard gate and then walked towards Li Mancang's house.
When they arrived at Li Mancang's house, Li Erniu and his wife had already arrived. Wang Yan was helping Zhang Meijuan and Wang Erni with their work in the main hall. When Wen Sitian saw this, she hurried over to help. The old men nodded in agreement when they saw this.
Xu Jianguo also followed and put the things in the backpack on the floor of the main hall, which caused Zhang Meijuan to scold him and finally slap him on the back of the head.
Xu Jianguo did not refute, but just touched the back of his head and laughed foolishly. In the end, he was chased into the house by several women.
On the kang in the room, Li Mancang and Li Erniu were drinking tea with Li Dashan, while Funiu and Xiao Shitou surrounded Li Xin, clamoring for him to make wooden toys for them. Li Xin had no choice but to pick up a few pieces of wood, sit on a stool with a carving knife and make them for the two little guys on the spot.
"Jianguo, come and sit on the kang!" Li Mancang greeted him when he saw Xu Jianguo enter the room. After he took off his shoes and sat on the kang, Li Mancang continued, "Jianguo, Xiaowen is a really good girl. You have to be nice to her!" Li Mancang said.
"Your uncle Mancang is right. If I find out that you bully others, I will show you how I will deal with you!" Li Dashan also spoke.
"Uncle, Grandpa Dashan, don't worry!" Xu Jianguo said with a smile.
Li Dashan nodded and said nothing more. Li Mancang continued, "Don't forget to go to the brigade headquarters tomorrow morning. I'll issue you a certificate!"
"Okay, uncle, I won't forget it!" said Xu Jianguo.
Several people were drinking tea and chatting. Soon, plates of fragrant stir-fried dishes were brought in from the main room by several women. The two little guys who were originally playing with wooden toys immediately put the toys in their pockets, ran to the table and sat down obediently, staring at the dishes on the table without blinking, and swallowing their saliva from time to time.
"It's time to eat!" Zhang Meijuan brought the last dish to the table and shouted.
"Brother Jianguo, do you still have the yellow water you gave me to drink yesterday?" Xiao Shitou asked.
"Yes, I know you like to drink it, so I brought it to you!" Xu Jianguo said with a smile.
When he arrived at the main room, Xu Jianguo took out two bottles of Orange Juice and two bottles of Erguotou from his backpack and returned to the house. He gave the drinks to Wen Sitian and put the white wine on the kang table.
"Jianguo, why do you bring your own wine when you come to your uncle's house for dinner?" Li Mancang said, looking at the white wine on the table.
"Uncle, this year is the happiest year I have had since my parents passed away. Besides, I can earn money now, so I should buy some good wine to honor you!" Xu Jianguo said with a smile.
"Hey, you are also a miserable child, but now you can finally enjoy happiness after all the suffering! If your parents were still alive, they would definitely be very happy. And based on your father's personality, your uncle Erniu and I would probably be drunk by him again." Li Mancang said, with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.
"Brother, I have never fallen down!" Li Erniu said unconvincedly.
"Yes, you didn't fall down. You just drank too much and ran into the pigpen, and almost got bitten by a pig!" Li Mancang rolled his eyes at Li Erniu and said.
"I... I went to see if the pigs had given birth!" Li Erniu began to defend himself, but looking at his expression, one could tell he looked guilty.
It was rare to see the two of them bickering, and Xu Jianguo and Li Xin couldn't help laughing as they watched.
"Stop it, you two. How glorious is this? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the kids?" Li Dashan said unhappily.
Li Mancang and Li Erniu looked at Xu Jianguo's expression of trying to hold back laughter, coughed awkwardly, and hurriedly picked up their chopsticks to invite everyone to eat.
Xu Jianguo opened the bottle of white wine and poured it for several people, and he still poured a little for himself.
"Huh!" Li Dashan exhaled a breath of alcohol and said, "Wow, this wine is quite strong. Although it doesn't have the mellow aroma of last night's Moutai, it has a unique flavor. It's also a rare good wine!"
"Yes, this wine is a bit like the Shaodaozi that my comrade-in-arms brought me from Northeast China. It tastes hot and spicy when you take a sip." Li Mancang also said.
As they ate and drank, time soon came to around two o'clock in the afternoon. The little ones had already eaten their fill and were running around in the yard. It was a sunny day, so there was no need to worry about them getting cold.
Just as they were chatting, Funiu and Shitou ran in. Shitou said, "Dad, there are two uncles in military uniforms outside the yard. They said they want to see you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
