Siheyuan: Pioneer in anti-corruption, fighting against evil!

"Xuehua, wash your feet and go to bed."

Xuehua yawned, "Brother, isn't Sister Xiaomei back yet?"

Wang Jun nodded: "Xiaomei has gone home to visit her parents, you sleep alone tonight."

Xuehua nodded obediently and sat on the stool to wash her feet.

When Yan Bufu returned home, he immediately told his wife, "Old woman, come and help me put the fish soup and the fish meat we just brought back together. Add some dishes tomorrow and we can eat for several days."

Third Grandma took the fish bowl and said, "Don't mention the fish meat. Our sons have eaten it all."

阎埠

The village was quiet and peaceful at night, as if everything was in a dream. But in this peaceful atmosphere, some people's hearts were difficult to calm down.

Zhang Dali's wife Li Mei sat on the edge of the kang, gently patting the sleeping child, tears falling from her eyes. The pressure of life has made her face look particularly pale. Zhang Dali has not been heard from for several months since he went out to work, and the daily necessities of life have gradually become a huge burden for the family.

The uncle next door, Liu Jianguo, seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, so he gently opened the window and called out softly to the outside: "Sister Mei, come out for a moment, I have something to tell you."

Li Mei carefully put on her clothes and quietly walked out the door, feeling uneasy. When she arrived at the place Liu Jianguo designated, she saw a figure waiting for a long time next to Liu Jianguo's grandmother's vegetable field.

"Uncle Liu, is there something urgent?" Li Mei asked nervously.

Liu Jianguo sighed and took out a small cloth bag from his pocket. "Sister Mei, this is the last two kilograms of cornmeal left at home. You can take it for emergency use."

Li Mei's eyes dimmed. This was obviously not enough to solve the problem. "Uncle Liu, I'm really in a difficult situation. My family is in a difficult situation recently. My children are crying and shouting for fish. My wages have been deducted by the team leader. I really don't know what to do."

Liu Jianguo felt mixed emotions. Although he felt sympathy for Li Mei's situation, he also had his own difficulties. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Don't worry, Sister Mei. I will lend you another ten yuan for living expenses tomorrow."

Hearing this, Li Mei felt a little relieved, but also a little disappointed. She knew that Liu Jianguo was not a rich man, and this was already very difficult. "Uncle Liu, thank you. You are such a good person."

Liu Jianguo waved his hand and said, "Sister Mei, you are a good woman, and life is too hard. But you must remember that you can't give up easily no matter what. We still have to consider the children."

Li Mei nodded, with a look of determination in her eyes. "Uncle Liu, I understand. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will persevere."

Liu Jianguo nodded, and some ideas came to his mind. "How about this, Sister Mei, you try to get along well with Zhou Zhigang next door. He has many friends in town, and maybe he can help you out of your urgent need."

Li Mei was a little puzzled. "Uncle Liu, I don't trust Zhou Zhigang. Last time, he deliberately targeted me because of my mother-in-law. No matter what I said, he ignored me."

Liu Jianguo shook his head. "Sister Mei, you have to know how to treat people differently. Zhou Zhigang is selfish, but you have to take advantage of that. He will help you out of personal gain."

Li Mei fell into deep thought, and after a moment she finally understood what Liu Jianguo meant. "Uncle Liu, I understand. He will think that I only approached him for profit, so I have to let him know that he and I are in the same boat."

Liu Jianguo nodded with satisfaction. "That's right, let's do it. As long as we can convince Zhou Zhigang to help you through this difficult time, things will get better in the future."

Li Mei looked at Liu Jianguo with gratitude, and a warm power surged in her heart. Although the road ahead was long, she knew that as long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would try her best to move forward.

The night breeze blew gently, bringing the coolness of early autumn, as if silently supporting this tenacious woman. The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight penetrated the clouds, new hope also rose. Wang Zhigang still got up early to exercise, and then began to prepare breakfast. The leftover fish soup from yesterday had already been taken away by the neighbor's old Yan, so he had to start from scratch.

Soon, a rich fragrance wafted through the house, and a new life slowly began.

Zhao Zhang got up and took a deep breath of the fragrance coming from the neighbor's house. She couldn't help but mutter to Liu Huiru beside her: "Why are you so useless? You haven't even got a steamed bun in such a long time. Are you waiting for people to lose all their wealth before you come to borrow money?"

Hearing this, Liu Huiru smiled slightly, and had already thought of a countermeasure in her mind. She decided to appease Zhao Zhang first.

"Mom, I have an idea, but I don't know if it is feasible. Can you give me some advice?"

Zhao Zhang glared at her and said sternly, "Tell me what you want to say."

"Mom, we had a huge argument with our new neighbor as soon as we moved in. It's normal for him to have some dissatisfaction with us. If we want Wang Jian to help us, we have to establish a good relationship with him first." Liu Huiru said patiently.

Zhao Zhangshi heard this but didn't find anything wrong. "Since you understand this, why don't you do it quickly? Look at him eating well every day, but our family is living in such a tight situation."

Liu Huiru pretended to be aggrieved. "Mom, of course I have to make good interpersonal relationships first, but you don't have to make trouble. If we make a big noise in the yard and Wang Jian kicks us out, we will be ashamed."

Zhao Zhang looked at her warily and said, "Don't do anything to let Chen Xu down."

"Mom, don't worry. At most, I will just treat Wang Jian as another fool. I will never let Chen Xu down."

But Zhao Zhang didn't believe Liu Huiru at all. After so many years of being the head of the family, she knew very well that no one would help her without any benefit. It was extremely lucky to have a fool like "Mr. Bean" in the slum, and there would be no second one.

"Go ahead, just try it." Zhao Zhang agreed reluctantly.

Liu Huiru knew that it would take more than one day to get Wang Jian. It took several years to turn "Mr. Bean" into a bootlicker. She was worried that Zhao Zhangshi could not wait and would affect Zhou Zhong's plan.

"Mom, Wang Jian is not as easy to coax as Mr. Bean. He has a stubborn temper. It will take me some time to get close to him. You must not cause trouble during this time."

Zhao Zhang thought about it and put forward her request, "Huai Ru, there is a rule in our courtyard that the door cannot be locked at night. Wang Jian always hangs a lock next to him, which destroys the harmony of our courtyard. If you want to get along well with him, let him stop locking the door."

Liu Huiru thought it made sense. How could one build a relationship if one couldn’t even enter the other person’s home?

"Mom, I'll definitely talk to him."

Zhao Zhang nodded with satisfaction. "Go to his house and have a look. He prepares a lot of delicious food every morning. Don't waste it. Lao Liu and Li Xiaomei didn't come back last night, so all the delicious food was wasted."