January 22, 1974, the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, is the traditional Spring Festival Eve.
A long time ago, when Zhou Jimin's family returned to Nanjianzi Hutong, Xiaoxian, Xiaoyi and Xiaobudian, the older children, all helped with housework.
Huang Zhaodi has taken care of her very well, so there is no need for Xiaoxian and the others to get into trouble.
So, after cleaning up for a while, I started busy posting Spring Festival couplets.
The four siblings Zhou Shuqing, Zhou Jikang and Zhou Jitong have also come back, and they all live in Nanjianzi Hutong.
The home is not a small courtyard with one entrance and one span, but it also contains another set. It was originally a neighbor's independent two-entry courtyard, which is 950 square meters.
Added together, the two combined houses total 1,600 square meters.
Although there are a lot of people coming back from Zhou Jimin and his family this time, they can definitely accommodate them.
What's more, Lao Si and his family don't live with Zhou Jimin and his friends.
Because Lao Shouji and his family returned to their own small courtyard, which is near Nanjianzi Hutong, about a few hundred meters away.
It is also a courtyard with one entrance and one span, about 500 square meters.
That was the house that Lao Si bought ten years ago, in 1964, when he published four novels, received 3,500 yuan in royalties, and then spent the money to buy it.
The five brothers and sisters of the Zhou family, except for the fifth eldest brother Zhou Shumin who is not yet married, the other four brothers and sisters are all married and have children.
Moreover, just for Zhou Jimin himself, the number of children is already in double digits.
Not counting Zhou Qingxian and Zhou Xiaobai, and not counting the little guy Zhou Mengtian who hangs out with him, there are ten children just by Ding Qiunan.
The eldest and second child are Zhou Qingyi and Zhou Bingyi, the third child is Zhou Bingliang, the fourth and fifth children are Xiaowan and Xiaojing, and the sixth child is the little chubby pig Zhou Bingwen.
The seventh and eighth children are twins born to Ding Qiunan in 1970. The elder brother is Zhou Bingsheng and the younger sister is Zhou Dongling.
As well as Lao Jiu, who was born in 1972, she is also a younger sister, named Zhou Shuyun, and her younger sister Zhou Yunshan, who was born last year.
Although there are many children, there are also many rooms, which can accommodate them.
After giving birth to ten children in fourteen years, Ding Qiunan is also the most capable woman in this era. She is truly a great mother.
Zhou Qingxian, who is already fifteen years old, has become even more beautiful.
He is half a head taller than Ding Qiunan, and now he is quite agile in his work.
She and Xiaoyi, who are about the same height, worked together to complete the Spring Festival couplet stickers at the gate.
In the yard, the little boy, who is now fourteen years old, is carrying two bowls of porridge, while Little Fatty Pig and his brothers are moving furniture and cleaning it in the yard.
Xiaobai and the other younger sisters were helping out. Xu Ning, who is nine years old this year, also brought her younger brothers and sisters to help out.
As for adults like Zhou Jimin, Ding Qiunan, Zhou Shuqing, and Zhou Jikang, they are busy with dinner.
When the whole family works together, no one is idle.
They have a large family, so the dinner they need to prepare is naturally more abundant.
Huang Zhaodi, Huang Xiaohua and the others were not here, so Zhou Jimin and the others could only do it themselves.
Busy and busy, it will soon be time to eat New Year’s Eve.
"Nan Nan, second and third, it's almost time. Let's go back to the old house first and pay homage to our parents."
After hearing Zhou Jimin's instructions, Ding Qiunan, Zhou Shuqing and others put down what they were doing and began to prepare.
The east wing of the courtyard in Nanluogu Lane is the home of Zhou Jimin and his five brothers and sisters. No one lives in these two rooms now. The interior has returned to its original appearance, with an extra table for their parents.
Every year during major festivals such as Tomb Sweeping Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, Zhou Jimin would bring his children back to worship. If the second child and the others had time, they would also come with them.
Of course, basically everyone has time, and it doesn’t matter if they don’t have time.
Zhou Shumin, who is not yet married, will not say it. She dare not disobey her eldest brother, and her impression of her parents is much more similar. Her eldest brother is more like her parents.
Zhou Shuqing is also very obedient. She even takes the initiative to come to Zhou Jimin every time and ask him to take everyone back to the capital.
Not everyone can apply for the qualification to leave Oasis New City, but Zhou Jimin has such qualification.
As for the two brothers, the third and fourth brothers, their opinions are not important.
When they heard that they were going back to their old house, Zhou Qingxian and the others were very happy. Little Fat Pig, Little Steamed Bun, Zhou Mengtian and the others all jumped up in place.
It’s not very far from Nanjianzi Hutong to Nanluoguxiang, so you can just walk there.
The family walked toward the old house carrying tributes, firecrackers, incense candles, etc.
At this point in 1974, every household had enough food and clothing, and there was no longer the situation of not having enough to eat more than ten years ago.
Therefore, when walking into Nanluogu Lane, old neighbors like Yan Bugui became more enthusiastic.
However, the neighbors still couldn't help but drool when they saw Zhou Jimin and his family carrying roast ducks, roast chickens and other sacrifices.
There is indeed no shortage of food and drink in Beijing today, but when you see delicious food, you still subconsciously want to see more.
What's more, Zhou Jimin's family, not to mention the large number of people, are all very tall, and they also carry a lot of delicacies that the neighbors have never seen before.
It is normal for neighbors to be greedy.
"Hey, Professor Zhou is back?"
The third aunt greeted her with a smile, as enthusiastically as she did more than ten years ago.
She was very emotional. Who could have imagined that a fifteen-year-old boy whose parents had just died had to take care of four younger brothers and sisters.
At that time, everyone in the courtyard thought that the future of the Zhou family would definitely be difficult.
Unexpectedly, not only was it not as difficult as everyone imagined, but life was prosperous.
Nowadays, it is even more blossoming, and children are as tall as adults.
That year, it was New Year's Day in 1960, the birthday of Xiaoyi and Xiaobaidian, who were now fourteen years old.
She looks much taller than the third aunt, and looks a little thin, like a bamboo pole.
But whose child is not similar to a bamboo pole?
If you really eat to become fat, it is still rare in this day and age.
The courtyard of the central courtyard is quite large, but when Zhou Jimin and his family walked in, the courtyard was instantly lively and felt much smaller.
The first uncle, Jia Zhang, Qin Huairu and others all stood at the door of each house, looking at Zhou Jimin and his family.
To these neighbors, Zhou Jimin simply smiled and nodded, which was considered a greeting.
It's just a superficial courtesy, nothing to do with it.
The main room of He Yuzhu's house has also been preserved.
At that time, Shazhu wanted to mortgage the credit to Qin Huairu, and Qin Huairu wanted to use the house as a wedding room for her son Banggen.
Later, He Yuyu approached Zhou Jimin to destroy it, and finally it was handed over to the street office to take over and sell it. As a result, it has remained vacant until now.
The two Silly Zhu brothers have not come back since they went to Oasis New City.
Moreover, the two brothers and sisters lived well there. Shazhu married Ran Qiuye as he wished, and gave birth to five children, living a happy life.
His sister He Yuyu is also married to a university lecturer and her life is also very happy.
The main reason is that the happiness index in Oasis New City is very high, and the quality of most people is also surprisingly high.
In addition, aerospace engineering, universities, scientific research institutions, factories, military units, etc. are all gathered together to live in this city. The safety factor is high. Everyone has something to do and dreams to pursue.
Naturally, there are not so many conspiracies and other things happening.
Glancing at the dusty lock on the door of Shazhu's house, Zhou Jimin walked into his home.
This place is still spotless. Huang Zhaodi cleans it every day, so naturally there will be no dust.
"Are those grandparents?"
The two little kids Zhou Bingsheng and Zhou Dongling, who were not very sensible yet, looked at the two black and white photos hanging on the wall and whispered to their brother, Little Fat Pig.
The two children were born in December 1970, and they have just turned three years old.
"Well, that's the grandparents."
Before the little fat pig could respond, the little one had already nodded solemnly and said.
Zhou Jimin looked back and said nothing.
There were more than thirty people crowded in the small room, almost all of them children.
Even, Ding Qiunan was holding in her arms Zhou Yunshan, who was not yet weaned, and the third daughter-in-law, Concubine Li, who was pregnant.
The family has grown a lot.
After paying homage to her parents, Zhou Shuqing couldn't hold back and cried.
Little Steamed Bun Xu Ning hurried over to comfort her mother, Zhou Shumin also shed tears, and Ding Qiunan also had red eyes.
Ding Qiunan knows how difficult this family was back then.
It was lively for a while, and Zhou Jimin ordered the third and fourth children to set off firecrackers, but the little ones took the job again.
Setting off firecrackers is such a fun thing, why bother your third and fourth uncles?
"Brother, wait for me."
As the little boy went out carrying firecrackers, Xiaobai, two bowls of porridge, Xiaojing, Xiaowan and the others also ran out noisily.
Looking at the noisy children in front of him, Zhou Jikang couldn't help but said:
"Children today are really happy. It's not like we used to. Let alone firecrackers, it's good to have enough to eat."
"Didn't I let you have enough to eat before?"
Zhou Jimin said quietly, and the third child suddenly lost his temper and quickly explained that he was talking about the neighbors, not his own home.
When his parents left more than ten years ago, Zhou Jikang was already nine years old and could remember things long ago.
Before my parents left, the family was really miserable, but after that, the living conditions at home got better and better.
Therefore, Zhou Jimin, the eldest brother, is indeed very qualified.
Siblings No. 4 and No. 5 next to them couldn't help but snickered when they saw the third brother was so deflated.
Ding Qiunan and Zhou Shuqing also laughed.
The family paid homage to their parents and left Nanluogu Lane in the envious eyes of the neighbors.
As usual, the New Year's Eve dinner is also very sumptuous. After dinner, we still have to stay up late.
However, it is all the men in the family who stay up late on New Year's Eve. Although Ding Qiunan and the others did not ask for it, they also consciously stayed beside them to stay up late on New Year's Eve.
After the Spring Festival, the door to my home has not been closed since the first day of the new year.
All old friends from the past came to visit, such as the Meng Xiaoxing family who lived in the front yard, as well as Xing Yicheng, An Zesheng, Gong Peihong, Zhang Wantong, etc.
Whether they are ordinary workers, doctors or soldiers in the army, they come and go, and there is no leisure time at home.
I don’t know since when, Zhou Jimin rarely visits other people’s homes during the holidays every year.
It's not that he didn't want to, it's that they all came to visit him earlier than he did.
There are not many people who he can visit in person.
"Hey, Brother Xiang, have you returned to the capital?"
In the evening of the first day of junior high school, just before dinner, Lu Qianxiang came to visit in person.
Zhou Jimin was very surprised when he saw the other party.
"Didn't you transfer to the south? I remember it must have been four years, right?"
As Lao Lin's assistant, Lu Qianxiang's position is not low, and he was transferred to the south a few years ago.
It’s not that assistants who are sent out are not taken seriously, but they are promoted.
Once you become a high official in the border areas in the future, you will definitely be able to return to the capital.
"Jimin, help me, brother, I can't bear it anymore."
When they first met, Lu Qianxiang showed no politeness and went straight to the point.
When Zhou Jimin heard this, he immediately understood. He nodded calmly, and then invited the other party to the study.
Since we want to talk about something, we can only go to the study room.
The study is relatively quiet, and it can ensure that secrets will not be leaked.
In the past two days, there have been many people coming and going at home, and there are many people talking, so it is inevitable that some secrets will be exposed.
After walking into the study room, Zhou Jimin had just poured two cups of tea when Lu Qianxiang said everything.
The latter went to a southern county in 1969 as a top leader. Compared to the capital, this position was not very high.
But after all, he was transferred from the capital, and his power, connections, etc. are all very different.
However, that county is also really poor and backward.
Not to mention that the entire county is covered with mountains, there is almost no industry. The only economic industries in the county are tea and agriculture.
However, compared with other counties, these industries not only have no advantages, but are disadvantages.
In short, it is almost impossible for Lu Qianxiang to do something and develop the economy.
I won’t talk about the rules and regulations at the policy level, but how to reasonably and legally develop the county economy and improve people’s living standards within these rules and regulations is a great test of Lu Qianxiang’s personal governance ability.
It took him more than four years to sort out the complex relationships in the county and smoothen the relationship with the city and the province.
This is to ensure that he will not be obstructed from all sides in his next actions.
Therefore, he will take advantage of the Spring Festival to return to the capital.
In other words, he came to the capital to move reinforcements.
And Zhou Jimin is one of the reinforcements he can move.
Because Lu Qianxiang knew very clearly that Zhou Jimin returned to the capital to celebrate the Spring Festival every Spring Festival, and rarely spent the Spring Festival in other places.
"Brother Xiang, don't be in a hurry. If this is the case, you really can't be in a hurry."
After Zhou Jimin heard this, he immediately comforted him softly.