The couple immediately waved their hands and said, "No, don't."
Shoveling manure in the village is just tiring, but if he gets involved with those people, his son will be ruined.
“If you don’t want him to get mixed up with those people, then you have to be firm and discipline him properly, otherwise you’ll regret it later. I don’t think he’s given up his gambling idea yet.”
"Impossible! He's already changed it."
The bald man's mother quickly tried to salvage her son's image.
"Impossible? He was just saying that he lost money because of bad luck, and you still think it's impossible?"
At this point, the village chief waved his hand and said, "It's up to you. Anyway, he's not my son. This is all I can do. Take it or leave it. But next time he owes money and someone comes knocking on our door, the village can't cover for him. The village's money belongs to the collective, not just to that bald guy."
Having said all he needed to say, the village chief left with his hands behind his back, increasingly anxious to finalize the village rules and regulations.
Several village officials spent an afternoon refining the details and showed the items to Gu An'an for inspection. Only after confirming that there were no problems did they use the loudspeaker to notify each household to send a representative to the meeting.
As a member of the village, Gu An'an was also warmly invited. Fortunately, the village's handicraft workshop is now large enough that the meeting doesn't have to be held in the freezing cold. Everyone is quite supportive of the meeting, since the matters discussed at each meeting are always related to everyone's interests.
"I called everyone here today because of Baldy's gambling. From what I've observed, since our village's conditions have improved, more people are playing cards. Although everyone is just playing small games in the village now, once this trend starts, who knows who will be the next Baldy? So, in order to curb this bad behavior, An'an gave us an idea."
Hearing that today's meeting was related to Gu An'an, everyone became even more focused, since Gu An'an was the leader who led them on the road to wealth.
"What advice did Gu, the educated youth, give us?"
“I’ve been annoyed by those card players for a long time. They even dragged my husband to play with them when I wasn’t home. I should find a way to teach them a lesson.”
Originally, everyone thought that playing cards occasionally was fine, but after the incident of accumulating gambling debts and being confronted by debtors, everyone felt a sense of crisis.
"Quiet down! Based on An'an's idea, we've drafted village rules and regulations for everyone. Now I'll read out the requirements..."
"For now, these are the only village rules and regulations we have. All households will have to sign them. Starting tomorrow, we will implement them accordingly. We will also implement a point system. You can earn points for good behavior and lose points for bad behavior. At the end of the year, you can use your points to exchange for things at the village committee. The top ten in points each year will also receive a reward."
"Of course, if any misbehavior occurs, in addition to deducting points, there will be other penalties. The specific penalties will depend on the circumstances. Does anyone have any objections?"
In those days, there were no village rules or regulations, let alone a points system. In many villages, the village cadres had the final say. However, there were so many new things happening in Xiaowang Village that everyone had developed a good habit of listening carefully first and asking questions only if they didn't understand.
After several village officials, and even Gu An'an, answered some questions, everyone finally understood the village rules and regulations and the points system.
“I think this kind of agreement and points system is feasible. There is indeed a situation in our village where people want to get carried away when they are doing well. If this situation is not resolved, it may cause some trouble.”
The speaker was the oldest man in Xiaowang Village, whom even the village chief had to call "Uncle." As soon as he spoke, the others began to echo him.
"Yes, we've finally achieved this good life, so we must cherish it and not let ourselves get carried away and forget who we are just because we've had a good life for a year or two."
"How did Gu Zhiqing get into this? If our kids had brains like that, what would I have to worry about!"
“What are you thinking, Da Gen’s wife! How can everyone be a Gu Zhiqing? But we don’t need to be discouraged. Let the children study more and learn more. They will definitely be better than us.”
......
The conference gradually turned into a praise group for Gu An'an, which was something Gu An'an hadn't expected. Fortunately, she's always been thick-skinned, so she was quite comfortable with it.
"Now I finally know why you're so eager to go home," Xiao Yuheng teased.
"Why?" Gu An'an had a feeling that Xiao Yuheng was up to no good.
"So many people in the village idolize you. If I were you, I would also be willing to come back."
Gu An'an looked up, her face full of arrogance, and said, "That's called vanity. I came back because I miss this land."
Knowing that Gu An'an was coming back, Zhou Yue cleaned her room.
"An'an, why don't you stay at the educated youth compound tonight? I'll prepare a meal, and we can chat more."
Knowing that Gu An'an had suffered a lot for the children this year, Xiao's mother immediately said that she would take care of the two children and let Gu An'an and Xiao Yuheng live in the educated youth compound, so that the young couple could also have some time alone.
"Don't worry, Dad will come over as soon as he gets off work. He's a grandfather who's never taken care of two kids before, so we can't let him have it too easy."
Upon hearing that there would be some time for just the two of them, Xiao Yuheng immediately perked up and even brought his father along.
Everyone could see through his little scheme. Xiao's mother glared at her son, but she had no intention of undermining him. She was the one who most wanted the young couple to have a good relationship. Only when the two of them got along well could their little family be more stable.
“Aheng is right. Let your dad take care of the two kids tonight. He loves the kids so much, he’ll definitely take good care of them.”
On their way back, they also bought milk powder at the Friendship Store, so they wouldn't have to worry if the two children got hungry at night.
Gu An'an glanced at the two children who were still sleeping and nodded, saying, "Then thank you for your hard work tonight, Mom and Dad."
Back in the familiar courtyard, Zhou Yue and Zhao Hu had indeed cleaned the room. "I've aired the blankets out for you several times, there's absolutely no smell. You can smell it for yourself if you don't believe me."
"I believe you, I believe you. What are we having for dinner?"
Zhou Yue opened the pots one by one. "Old Zhao and Brother Chen prepared wild rabbit, braised rabbit with pickled vegetables, and this is pork that was just distributed recently. I'll make pork stew with vermicelli. I know you like sauerkraut stew with pork bones, so I specially brought some. I'll also make a fish head with chopped chili, stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant, and cucumber soup. Is that okay?"
"Yes, absolutely."
The dishes were plentiful, and with Zhou Yue's outstanding culinary skills, the whole kitchen smelled delicious.
“Aheng’s friend sent over a few Peking ducks from Beijing. We brought one over, cut it up, and had everyone try it.”
"Alright! I don't have any Peking duck from Beijing yet. I want to try it and see why it's so famous!"
While waiting for dinner, besides the four of them, there was also Chen Jianguo and Li Yumei, who shamelessly came to visit.
"Um, I'm not here to eat and drink for free."
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