"Hey, Brother Xu, you are finally back. I haven't seen you for almost a month, right? I think the eldest daughter of your family in our yard has a good marriage, and the uncle is also filial. It's been a long time since I went there.
Did it go well?"
Xu Fugui, who is slightly thin but full of energy, has a smile on his face that seems to have been painted on, giving people the impression of a fake smile.
Xu Fugui handed the leather bag and furoshiki to his mother and daughter, and greeted the acquaintances in the courtyard with his hands raised.
"It's not the new year until the first lunar month. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. I'm doing okay these days, and the people in the courtyard are pretty good, right? It's better to go back to our courtyard and see a few more brothers before I feel comfortable. Although my eldest son-in-law is quite
I am filial, but their family’s life is not easy, and my mother and I have no shame in staying there.”
"Brother Xu, you are such a fastidious father-in-law. You don't know yet? Something big has happened in our courtyard!"
"Really? Go sit down at my house and talk slowly. I brought two bottles of Fenjiu wine with me this time. The three of us are just making up for the New Year meal. Let's go."
"Isn't this bad?"
"Why are you so polite to me? Let's go, let's go."
"I have to say that Brother Xu is loyal!"
"hehe."
Father Xu Damao couldn't help but pick up the two of them, and while saying hello to the others, he walked back home.
Zhou Wenzhong sat cross-legged on a dry grass field on the farm, holding a cigarette in his right hand, resting his left elbow on his thigh, and raising his left palm.
The thumb of his left hand pressed down on the other fingers, and he muttered something in his mouth.
"In the first month of the first month, it falls in Da'an. On the 12th day of the lunar calendar, it falls in Liulian. At the hour of Si Shi, it falls in Suxi.
According to the hexagrams: lingering will speed up happiness, everything will be decided by oneself, the marriage will be successful, and the lost thing will be lost within three days."
"Hiss... The marriage is working out. Why does this involve marriage? It depends on yourself. It seems that my departure should be almost done, almost within these three days, but I still have to lose something.
It will probably cause a loss of money.”
After Zhou Wenzhong calculated his fortune, he stood up and stamped out his cigarette butts. He kicked stones under his feet, frowned and began to wander around the farm, still reciting the divination just now.
Today, Monday, is the day when various units hold regular meetings. It is also the day when all the administrative personnel of each unit come together.
At 10:40, Zhang Hongyi did not go to the grain station after the meeting at the grain bureau. Instead, he returned directly to Fangjia Hutong, Ding'anmen Street.
Push open the courtyard door of your home. Go through the corridor, turn past the screen wall with fish every year, and turn right again to reach the 30-square-meter courtyard.
This is a semi-internal courtyard with a south-to-north layout, covering a total area of 220 square meters.
The south room is the main room, and there are two wing rooms on both sides of the main room.
The east room is occupied by Zhang Hongyi's mother-in-law, and the west room is the bedroom of Zhang Hongyi and his wife.
The two rooms in the east wing of the courtyard are currently occupied by sisters Zhang Xiufang.
The west wing of the courtyard was originally a bedroom, but is now used as a kitchen and utility room.
Zhang Hongyi dodged the wooden bars and stone slabs on the ground, walked into the main room and poured a glass of water.
"The boss is back from the meeting?"
"Hmm. Where is our mother?"
"Going out to play cards."
A slightly older-looking woman, about 40 years old, walked out of the east bedroom with a ball of wool wrapped in her hand.
"When did the wood arrive?"
"It was delivered around 9:30. The water tank and bricks haven't been delivered yet."
"Okay, I'll just come back and take a look."
"Don't leave yet! The ground in the northwest corner is damp. I kicked the cement bag this morning and it was almost hardened underneath. I just found a thin wooden board. You put the cement on top of the wooden board before walking. I'll mention it
Do not move."
"Have you ordered Hesha?"
"You're not building a second floor, so what kind of river sand do you use? The public toilets in the alley are not so meticulous. The tiles were just delivered, and a bucketful of sand was unloaded and placed in the west room. You first
It’s business to find the master here.”
Zhang Hongyi said with a smile on his face: "Haha~ I've found it already."
"Who is it? Master Li from our alley? I asked his wife yesterday and she said that he is not free these days. He has a lot of work waiting for him!"
"I didn't find it, it was your third daughter who found the master for you. They don't accept small jobs like ours at all. In other words, Sanya is so proud that she can invite people to come back and build a toilet for you."
Zhang Xiufang's mother became more and more confused as she listened, staring at Zhang Hongyi.
"Which master?"
"Master Xiao Zhou from Nanluogu Lane, go and find out! Zhou Wenzhong is very capable. He has recently gone to Tianjin for further study."
"Xiao Zhou? It sounds like this person is not very old, right? What level of carpentry is he?"
"Haha~ You can ask your daughter yourself. I'm leaving."
Zhang Hongyi moved the cement to the wooden board in the west room, patted his clothes and walked out of the house.
At 12:35 noon, Ma Erbao stood on the big stone at the intersection of Niujie Street and shouted.
"Dear ladies and gentlemen, all our actions must be obeyed by me. We must not curse, block doors, hit, play rogue, or delay other people's work. We are here to reason.
This is Comrade Zhou Wenzhong's Spring Festival condolences to you seniors. Zhou Wenzhong also said that he hopes everyone can have good health in the New Year. These money are definitely not employment fees. They are New Year's red envelopes.
I'm still saying the same thing, I've covered your round-trip bus fare. This thing only takes an hour at most. As long as you are willing to go with Ma Erbao today, it's 2 cents per person! Under 60 years old
The young people will just wait and give the opportunity to other comrades."
"Let's go quickly, I have to come back to cook in a while."
"become!"
"What did you say? I can't hear you!"
"Then what are you talking about? Let's go!"
"Are there enough people? Your uncle is fine at home, so let him follow you too?"
"He wants to give you 20 cents! Go or not!"
"Are you attacking the local tycoons again? Wait until I get home and call someone!"…
Ma Erbao walked in front with 5 yuan in his hand, followed by 25 old men and women who could not walk easily. They took a bus and went straight to the Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office 10 kilometers away.
"squeak……"
A bus drove very slowly and stopped firmly under the bus stop sign. The bus driver opened the door first and ran out. He stood outside the bus and helped Ma Erbao help the elderly people get off the bus.
In front of the Jiaodaokou Subdistrict Office, these 25 elderly people held their own small benches in their hands. They were divided into two rows and sat neatly outside the gate, leaving only an aisle more than 2 meters wide.
Ma Erbao tidied up his clothes and walked into the subdistrict office. He looked around for Wang Jianping.
"Excuse me, is Director Wang Jianping here?"
A woman who was having lunch, holding a lunch box in her hand, replied without raising her head: "I'm out."
"Okay, then we'll sit at the door and wait for him to come back. There's no rush."
Ma Erbao admired Zhou Wenzhong in his heart. According to what was written in the notebook, Wang Jianping would hide the next day and would not be at home or at work. There was no point in looking for him at home. He could only put pressure on him through work.
"Wrap your clothes tightly so you don't get cold again. We'll call it a day and go home in half an hour."
People passing by looked at me strangely, and some even pointed. Time passed by bit by bit.
The woman who was eating in the house just now glanced out the window out of habit. She saw a field of white flowers and quickly ran out of the office to check the situation.
"What are you doing?"
"We are all waiting for Director Wang to come back. We have something to tell him in person."
"What do you have to do with Mr. Wang? Just tell me. Isn't it a bit unsightly for you to block the door like this?"
"As you said, where did we block the door? We all moved out of the way of a road more than 2 meters wide, and tricycles can pass. And we really have something to do with Director Wang. He has always been responsible for this matter, all the time.
He knows everything about what happened next, so I’d better tell him.”
The middle-aged woman raised her finger and pointed at the elderly person and said, "It's too cold outside. You'd better go inside and warm yourself up first."
"May I ask this leader, when will Director Wang come back?"
"How do I know this? You should wait in the room first."
"No trouble, let's wait here at the door for a while. If Director Wang has a mission and can't come back today, then we'll come back the day after tomorrow."
No matter what the middle-aged woman said next, Ma Erbao pretended not to hear. He raised his hand and greeted the stranger passing by.
Nearly 20 minutes passed, and Ma Erbao said: "Please give Mr. Wang a message. Just say that I will come back on time at 1 o'clock the day after tomorrow. You are busy."
After finishing speaking, Ma Erbao began to greet the group of ancestors and walked to the bus stop.