Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

"Who is punishing themselves? You two come to my place in the evening, we'll have a drink together, and I'll call Zhuzi, Guo Kang and Guangtian." Xu Damao came out and saw Jia Dongxu and Zhang Dabao talking, so he invited them to dinner in the evening.

"One drink in the evening? One drink is fine, but Zhuzi and I drank a little too much last night, so I can only have two drinks tonight," said Jia Dongxu.

"Didn't you just say you wanted to quit drinking?" Zhang Dabao was so angry that he laughed.

"Seventh uncle, why should we quit drinking during the New Year? Let's quit drinking after the New Year," said Jia Dongxu.

"A giant in words, a dwarf in actions," Bang Geng said after the joke came out.

"What did you say?" Jia Dongxu didn't understand, but the expression on his son's face made him feel that it was not a good thing.

"Bang Geng, you know a lot. You even know famous sayings and quotes?" Zhang Dabao praised Bang Geng.

"Seventh Uncle, what did Banggeng mean by that just now?" Seeing that his son ignored him, Jia Dongxu turned his head to Zhang Dabao.

"I told you to read more but you just wouldn't listen. This is a famous quote from Turgenev's Rudin, a Russian novel. It means that you are all talk and no action, and you just talk big every day. Can't you set a good example for your children?" Zhang Dabao said to his nephew.

"Is there such a thing? Foreigners can also speak our language?" Jia Dongxu fell into a blind spot of knowledge.

"There are so many things you don't know. Today is New Year's Eve, so I won't beat you. Go home and clean up your things," Zhang Dabao said to Jia Dongxu.

"Banggeng, aren't you in the first grade? Do you read foreign classics?" Zhang Dabao wondered.

"Of course not. I don't know many words, and I still can't understand the books in our country. I heard this from our teacher when he was educating the students. I have a classmate who is late every day. Every time the teacher criticizes him, he promises that he will never be late again, but he will still be late the next day. This is no different from my dad drinking. He says he has quit every day, but he pounces on the alcohol every time he sees it," said Bang Geng.

Zhang Dabao laughed, and Xu Damao on the side also laughed, "The word 'Banggengpu' is not used well, usually it means a dog pounces on something. Think about what the dog pounces on?" Xu Damao asked Banggeng.

"Do you still need to ask? Brother Damao, don't you know this? Of course dogs pounce on shit. There is a saying that a vicious dog pounces on shit." Yan Jiedi came to the backyard to feed the geese, and he took over Xu Damao's words.

"Is it pouncing on food or poop?" Xu Damao was a little unsure.

"Who cares what he's chasing? They're all good stuff anyway. Brother Damao, I'll go pick some tomatoes and cucumbers to add to our dinner," Zhang Dabao said to Xu Damao, and then went to the cross-yard with Banggeng, Yan Jiedi and Niu Xiaozheng.

"Da Biao, this dish is so precious. The dish you gave me last time made my father-in-law show off his face," said Xu Damao.

"Why show off? Just a little food. In a few years, these things will be everywhere," Zhang Dabao said with a smile.

Another year has passed, and after the New Year I will be twenty-two years old. I have been in this world for more than a year without realizing it, and I have gained a lot. My realm has reached the ninth level of foundation building. I have a large industry in Hong Kong and three children. It’s beautiful to think about it. It is so many times better than my life in my previous life.

Now is a difficult period. Although the New Year atmosphere is much stronger than in the village, it is not too strong. The overall reason is the shortage of supplies and everyone has no money.

After eating dumplings at He's house at noon, he went home and slept until dark. Xu Damao came to call him to the banquet, and Zhang Dabiao woke up and asked, "Is it dark?"

"It's not dark yet, Banggeng and the others are setting off firecrackers so loudly, don't you think it's noisy?" Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Brother Damao, I'll go over after washing my face," Zhang Dabao said to Xu Damao. Xu Damao smiled and went back home.

Zhang Dabao washed his face, took a bottle of foreign wine from the inner room and came to Xu Damao's house. The dishes had already been served on the table, and Zhang Dabao put the wine on the table.

"Seventh Uncle, what kind of wine is this?" Jia Dongxu saw that the bottle looked strange and the wine inside was brown, so he asked Zhang Dabao.

"What does alcohol have to do with you? Didn't you quit drinking?" Zhang Dabao said.

"I said I would quit drinking after the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is the time to eat and drink well. Can I quit drinking?" Jia Dongxu explained.

"If you quit drinking, I will quit eating," He Yuzhu said.

"It's okay if I don't drink, but you will starve to death if you don't eat. Do you believe that I will let you starve to death after the New Year?" Jia Dongxu said angrily.

"I don't believe you can quit drinking? Who would believe that? If you have the ability, just don't drink tonight," He Yuzhu said to Jia Dongxu.

"How can I not drink? This is good wine, I have never seen it before. If you want to stop me from drinking, you can just eat more and take more. How dare you think about it?" Jia Dongxu said to He Yuzhu while looking at the wine brought by Zhang Dabao.

"Brother Dongxu, can you see all this?" Liu Guangtian asked.

"Can he fool me?" Jia Dongxu laughed.

Xu Damao was well prepared today, and none of the people who came came empty-handed. Jia Dongxu also brought a pound of mutton and asked Xu Damao to stir-fry it with chili peppers, and He Yuzhu brought some wine.

During the Chinese New Year, young people sat together again, so the atmosphere was very relaxed and everyone was very happy.

This time Zhang Dabao didn't let Jia Dongxu drink too much. He got drunk every day and his mother always nagged him.

After finishing their meal at Xu’s house, He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu and Xu Damao came to Zhang Dabao’s house to drink tea. “This tea is good. Is it green tea?” Xu Damao asked.

"Rizhao green tea, drinking green tea for a long time is good for your health," said Zhang Dabao.

"I usually drink Gaomo tea. I brew a big cup at a time. One cup in the morning and one cup in the afternoon is enough. It has a strong flavor, and the key is that the tea is cheap," said Jia Dongxu.

"I also drink Gaomo," said Xu Damao.

"More people in Beijing drink scented tea, and some of it is quite expensive," said He Yuzhu.

Everyone talked about tea, international affairs, people's livelihood, etc. At around nine o'clock, Zhang Cuihua brought Banggeng, Xiaodang, Zhang Lianhua, He Yushui and Jingshu to Zhang Dabiao's house.

"Banggeng, I see you know a lot today. Did you write essays in elementary school? Write one here. If you write well, I will give you 50 cents as a New Year's gift." Xu Damao seemed to be in a good mood.

"Fifty cents? You have to give my two sisters fifty cents each," Bang Geng bargained.

"It seems that you have a good feeling about yourself. If you write well, I will charge you fifty cents per person, but I have to give you the title," said Xu Damao.

"Uncle Damao, I'm in the first grade and I don't have an essay, but I have a picture story. Now the teacher requires you to write three lines for a picture story, but I can only write four lines. You don't have a picture, so how can I write it?" Bangbang said.

"It's okay. A picture of the scene will be enough. Just write about your father Jia Dongxu?" Xu Damao said.

"My father Jia Dongxu?" Banggeng began to think.