Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Mom, why do you think the factory is providing aid to Zhangjia Village? Zhangjia Village's harvest this year is okay. Although the corn harvest is not ideal, the sweet potatoes are okay. Jiajia Village doesn't even have sweet potatoes. So I think it's more appropriate to provide aid to Jiajia Village," said Jia Dongxu.

"Is there a Zhang Dabiao in Jiajia Village? Without Zhang Dabiao, who would know Jiajia Village? They don't even know Zhangjia Village. Jia Dongxu, can you use your brain? The whole country is in trouble now. How can the factory leaders know Zhangjia Village? Isn't it because Dabiao's hometown is there? It's nothing." Zhang Cuihua looked at her son with disdain again.

"I thought it was because of my seventh uncle." Jia Dongxu said nothing else and went back to the middle courtyard to sleep. Now their family has many houses, so each person has a room. Qin Huairu sleeps alone. Her belly is very big, so she lives in the house they bought in the backyard. Jia Dongxu lives in the original house of the Jia family. Zhang Cuihua and Qin Jingru go to Yi Zhonghai's original house. Qin Jingru and Xiaodang sleep together, while Banggeng lives in his own small house in the backyard.

"Zhang Cuihua still wears leather shoes? Are you kidding me? Does it look decent? Don't you see what you look like?" Yang Ruihua heard Zhang Cuihua scolding her son and her conversation with Zhang Lianhua in the front yard.

"Zhang Cuihua is now a serious state cadre and a section-level leader, just like the dean of our unit," said Yan Bugui.

"Such a high-ranking cadre? By the way, has the deputy director of your unit been selected?" Yang Ruihua asked.

"He was selected a long time ago. He's a young man, only 25 years old this year, and knows nothing. It's a joke that such a person can be the deputy director," Yan Bugui said with a hint of sourness in his voice.

"It seems that Zhang Cuihua wants to return home in glory," said Yang Ruihua.

"That's right. I've been poor for so many years. Now that I'm better off, of course I have to go back and show off. If I were rich, I would also go back to Shanxi to show off, but I don't have money," said Yan Bugui.

"People can't be compared, but we are better off now. Jie Di has divided the money again. Do you want to come over? She divided 1.3 yuan. Xiaozheng's money was given to his mother. I just heard it," said Yang Ruihua.

"More than one yuan? I didn't even get the money from last time. Why is Jie Di so disobedient? Forget it. She's grown up now. Let her stay. We may have to rely on her in the future. If we force her out, it will become estrangement. The two older children are not close to us. We should be nicer to the two younger ones." Yan Bugui stood up and then sat down again.

This year, the autumn harvest in Zhangjia Village of Xiangyang Commune was much better than that in other surrounding villages. The sweet potato harvest in the village was pretty good, but there was no smile on Zhang Zhiling's face. Since the autumn harvest, five of his old relatives who had not visited for many years had come to visit, and relatives from his children's grandmother and aunt's family also came. These people came for only one reason, and that was to hope to borrow some food to get through this winter.

But everyone knows what the situation is this year. Due to drought, the winter wheat in these villages has not been planted yet. Without planting, there will be no harvest. What will they rely on in the future? The relief grain has been promised for a long time, but it is just a lot of talk and little action. It has not been distributed yet. They still cannot pay back the grain they borrowed. They don’t even have enough to eat, so where can they get the grain to pay you back?

I can't borrow grain. I've already done my best to feed these relatives. If I lend it to them, will my family survive? Besides, who should I lend it to? No one will be in trouble, so I'll just not lend it to them.

Just curse a few times, it doesn't matter. Looking at the leaves on the mountain gradually turning yellow, Zhang Zhiling couldn't help but curse a few times. No one knew who he was cursing, and no one knew what he was cursing.

"Uncle Four, someone is looking for you. It's a cadre from the city, and there's a car." His distant nephew Zhang Dayou ran over and called him.

"Dayou, are you from the city? Are you looking for me?" Zhang Zhiling asked.

"The driver asked me if Zhang Zhiling was from this village. You are the only one in our village with this name. But I saw someone in the car, and she seemed to be Sister Cuihua from Uncle Zhifeng's family, but I didn't dare to recognize her," said Zhang Dayou.

"Cuihua, why are you not sure about recognizing her? Is there anyone easier to recognize than her? There is no one fatter than her in our entire village," Zhang Zhiling said as he and Zhang Dayou walked towards the village office.

Before "Fourth Uncle" Zhang Zhiling arrived at the village office, Zhang Cuihua came to greet him.

"It's really Cuihua. Cuihua, didn't you also go to the factory? Did Dabiao come back with you today? Wasn't he driving a motorcycle?" Zhang Zhiling asked several questions in a row.

"Fourth uncle, I came to the village on official business. I came with Director Xu from our factory. He is a deputy factory-level leader, as senior as our county magistrate. I have something to talk to you about, and it's a good thing," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Good news? What good news can happen in this day and age? Don't keep the leaders waiting for too long, let's go in," Zhang Zhiling said to his niece and walked into the village office.

"Director, this is my fourth uncle Zhang Zhiling, who is also the brigade secretary and team leader of our village." Zhang Cuihua introduced Zhang Zhiling to Xu Sinian.

"Hello Secretary Zhang, my name is Xu Sinian, and I'm also a friend of Dabao. I came to the village this time because I have something to discuss with you." Xu Sinian stepped forward and shook Zhang Zhiling's hand.

"Friend of Da Biao, there are no outsiders here. If you have anything to say, just tell me. However, the harvest in the village is not very good this year, and our ability is limited," Zhang Zhiling said. He glanced at Zhang Cuihua. Does this sound good? Are you here to borrow food?

Zhang Cuihua didn't say anything because the leader was present. If you didn't say anything, you would rush to speak. Are there any rules at all?

"Secretary Zhang, this year our factory plans to provide targeted support to a village in accordance with the requirements of our superiors and in view of the poor autumn harvest in various places this year. Comrade Zhang Dabao's hometown is here, and he is particularly family-oriented. He has made great contributions to the factory in succession, and he has rejected all the personal rewards from the factory leaders, hoping that the factory will help the folks in his hometown. After Deputy Director Zhang Dabao learned about the factory's targeted support plan, he also recommended your Zhangjia Village to the factory leaders many times. Therefore, the factory's targeted support village this year is planned to be located in Zhangjia Village," said Xu Sinian.

"Director Xu, what kind of work do you need our village to do?" Zhang Zhiling asked. He understood the meaning of the word "support". It meant giving himself something, so a smile appeared on his face.

"In the second half of this year, our unit's production tasks are particularly heavy. We intend to find some temporary staff from the village. We need about 50 people to help in the factory and do odd jobs. They will be paid 6 cents a day, with food and accommodation provided. They will work until before the Spring Festival, which is about days. Whether we will need people after the Spring Festival depends on the factory's production tasks," said Xu Sinian.