"Brother Liu, Jie Cheng is getting married on the fourth day of the lunar month next month. You must come then."
"Xie Chengyu, the son I watched grow up, is getting married? It's such a big wedding, where should we hold it? Donglaishun or a tavern?"
"This is the invitation. It's clearly written on it. Take a look." The third aunt felt a little embarrassed.
"Hey, there's an invitation too! The third uncle is indeed a cultured man, he really pays attention to... hiss... 6 yuan gift money!" Liu Cheng took the invitation, only glanced at it twice, and couldn't help but gasp.
A breath of cool air.
The gift money is 6 yuan. Each family can only send one person to serve as a representative. The wedding banquet will be held in the front yard....
The beads on Lao Yan's abacus jingle, making everyone else the culprit?
"Lao Liu, we have been neighbors for so many years. Your third son is still in Lao Yan's class. You don't want to..." The third aunt bite the bullet and recite what Yan Bugui taught her.
"...Ah, haha!" Liu Cheng scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, "If I'm free that day, I'll definitely go."
Third Aunt: "My Lao Yan has checked and found out that the fourth day of next month is Sunday, so you must be free."
Liu Cheng: "..."
After sending away the third aunt, Liu Cheng returned to the house angrily and showed the invitation to Aunt Liu.
Sister-in-law Liu put down her hot chopsticks, jumped on her feet, and gave Liu Cheng a slap in the face: "Old Yan's family is doing this, just to take advantage of our family? Why did you agree?"
"What are you talking about, you bitch?
I can be a stick!
A 6 yuan gift is too shady.
When residents of our compound get married, it usually costs 2 yuan.
But they all live in the same compound, and you can't see them when you look up.
The invitation has been sent, so it wouldn't be appropriate for us not to go."
Liu Cheng had no choice but to squat at the door and smoke his pipe.
The curls of smoke obscured his rough face with countless wrinkles carved by time.
He works as a porter and only earns 31 yuan per month. He has to support his blind mother and six children, and his life is very tight.
Seeing the man's appearance, Mrs. Liu knew that it was impossible for him to reject her directly.
He put on his cotton-padded jacket and walked out: "The Yan family's treat is definitely not just for our family. Let's go to the old camphor tree and listen to what the big guys say?"
"Yes, yes, yes, what others do, we can do it."
...
Arriving at the central courtyard, the two of them immediately felt that they had come to the right place.
Under the old camphor tree, people were already crowding around.
Everyone is worried about the Yan family's invitation, for the same reason as them.
If you go to a banquet, the gift money is too heavy.
Don't go, I can't help but feel ashamed, I think it would be too shameful.
Even Liu Haizhong, a seventh-level blacksmith with a monthly salary of 73, was so angry that the corners of his mouth trembled.
"Lao Yan is really not a thing anymore. When other people hold wedding banquets, the gifts are handed out casually, just to celebrate.
It's good for him, he will definitely ask each family to contribute 6 yuan. Why, just because he is a cultural person? Is he a stinky old man?"
Yan Bugui is the most despised among bangs.
——Of course, the main reason is that he did not become a leader because of his low education.
But Yan Bugui just liked to put the profile of intellectuals in front of him.
"I agree with the second uncle's opinion." Xu Damao, who had always had a good relationship with the Yan family, also felt that Yan Bugui was too much.
A gift of 6 yuan is enough to go to Lao Mo for banquet noodles.
For a moment, everyone under the old camphor tree was filled with indignation at the Yan family's behavior.
But, no one can do anything about it.
People are very concerned about face these days. Even if the blame is about to be revealed and the whole family only has one pair of pants, they still have to raise money to attend the weddings of relatives and friends, otherwise they will be scolded in the future.
Yan Bugui's move is called absolute.
Just when everyone was sighing, He Yuyu squatted down, picked up a dead tree leaf, and sighed: "It would be great if Brother Wei Dong also held a wedding banquet on the fourth day of next month. We would have an excuse not to eat the Yan family's wedding banquet."
Already."
These words awakened everyone.
"Snapped!"
Xu Damao was the first to react and slapped his thigh violently.
"Yeah, why did I forget about this? The two families are holding a wedding banquet at the same time, so we can only choose one to go to, and the Yan family has nothing to say. Silly Zhu, you have a good relationship with Li Weidong, go and ask."
Silly Zhu covered his thigh and grinned in pain: "Xu Damao, you thief did this on purpose, didn't you?"
"Hey, I was so excited, I made a mistake, I made a mistake..." Xu Damao took advantage and was so happy that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear.
"I think you're just asking for a beating!" Silly Zhu didn't tolerate him, so he rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush forward.
Liu Haizhong stopped between the two of them and said, "Stop arguing. This matter is related to the unity and stability of our compound. Silly Zhu, you'd better ask Li Weidong quickly."
“I’ll keep track of the accounts this time, and I’ll do the math with you next time!”
Silly Zhu said harsh words, turned around and ran towards Li's house in the backyard.
...
inside the house.
Li Weidong was drawing. After listening to Silly Zhu's words, he frowned: "Didn't I tell you that my family can't hold a wedding banquet because of poverty?"
Silly Zhu looked at the bicycles, radios, and sewing machines in the house, pursed his lips and said nothing.
Yu Li, who was cleaning the house next to her, also wiped her hands, walked over and nodded in agreement: "Brother Zhuzhu, neither Wei Dong nor I are the kind of people who are extravagant and wasteful. I have thought about it. When Wei Dong goes out to buy goods, I will also
If we go together, it will be considered a destination wedding."
“Destination wedding…”
Silly Zhu was speechless and could only turn around and run out to tell everyone what Li Weidong meant.
The last hope was gone, and everyone exploded all of a sudden.
After severely scolding Li Weidong for not thinking about others, everyone sighed and hung their heads.
Just like the leeks that my aunt planted in the flower pond, they haven’t been watered for two months.
"Snapped!"
I have to say that Xu Damao was still smart. He slapped his thigh again and said, "Don't Li Weidong have money for a wedding banquet? We can raise money for him."
Lou Xiao'e pinched his waist hard and said, "You stinking trouble! If you want to pat your legs, pat yourself."
"It hurts too much to shoot myself..." Xu Damao glared at her.
"Then it won't hurt me anymore? I think you need to take care of yourself!"
As the couple talked, they began to scratch.
Liu Haizhong hurriedly stopped the two of them, looked at the big guy, and said: "I think Xu Damao's idea is good. Anyway, it ends up in his own stomach, so it's not a waste."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"A table of good food only costs a few bucks. At most, each household pays more than 1 yuan."
"I was passing by the front yard just now, but I saw Lao Yan buying a lot of big radishes."
"With Lao Yan's stinginess, it will be difficult for us to find a piece of meat on the table."
"Ahem, you still want to eat meat, didn't you see Mrs. Jia Zhang jumping up and down? She must have brought a washbasin with her this time."
"I think it would be more appropriate to raise money to hold a wedding banquet for Li Weidong."
"Just treat it like the big guys pooling their money to have a big meal and let the kids satisfy their cravings!"
…
Compared to the 6 yuan gift money, it seems acceptable to raise money to hold a wedding banquet for Li Weidong.
Liu Haizhong felt happy when he saw that everyone agreed with his proposal.
He has long wanted to show his presence in the courtyard.
However, there was a master, an eighth-level fitter, pressing down on top, and a primary school teacher Yan Bugui on the bottom, so he couldn't get a word in.
It's time for him, the second uncle, to show his face this time.
"Then it's settled, I'll go and negotiate with Li Weidong in person."
...
Liu Haizhong came to Li's house with everyone's expectations and explained everyone's intentions.
"So, you pool your money to hold a wedding banquet for me without me having to pay for it?" Li Weidong was also stunned by his thinking.
Isn’t this crowdfunding in a previous life?
Liu Haizhong patted his chest and promised: "Not only do you not need to pay, but you don't have to lend a hand to help. Although I, Old Liu, are only the second uncle, I am still very prestigious in the courtyard. I guarantee that I will do everything for you. You
Just wait and eat ready-made food with Yu Li."
Hey, that's interesting. I got a wedding banquet for free.
Sure enough, as long as I lie flat on my back, you can't exploit me.
Li Weidong: "If I don't accept it, will I be sorry for everyone's expectations?"
"That's for sure. The whole hospital is looking forward to hosting a wedding banquet for you!" Liu Haizhong nodded heavily.
Li Weidong: "If I don't accept it, will it destroy the stability and unity of our compound?"
"That is absolute. This is the voice of the masses!" Liu Haizhong was about to cry.
Damn it, just be a human being.
Li Weidong let out a long sigh and lay back directly, that is, he leaned back tactically, with a look of compassion on his face: "Well, I originally wanted to respond to the call from above and carry forward the style of diligence and frugality. Since this is what everyone expects.
Pan, it’s hard for me to refuse. Who told me that I always pay attention to uniting the masses!"
"For the sake of the big guys, I decided to sacrifice myself and violate the principle once."
"..."
Liu Haizhong always felt that Li Weidong was taking advantage and acting well.
But this matter really cannot be solved without Li Weidong.
He could only sneer and say: "Weidong, the second uncle will remember your sacrifice in my heart."