Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

"Dad, let's go out and eat dumplings. Let Zhuzi make you a bowl of noodles so that we can have a good meal together tonight," said Ma Dongmei.

"Okay, all is fine," said He Daqing

"You are a cook yourself, why don't you make it yourself?" Sha Zhu said this, but his hands were not idle and he went to knead the dough.

"Dad, you won't leave this time, right?" Ma Dongmei asked

"After the Chinese New Year, I will go there to arrange things and then come back. I will not leave again and will spend more time with my eldest grandson," said He Daqing

"You'd better not come back. Go ahead with the White Widow. There's no place for you to stay at home." Sha Zhu was still not satisfied with his father and was angry.

"Silly Zhuzi, that's your Aunt Bai, you called her Widow Bai. Besides, the house was bought by me and Yu Shui married into the family. You two can live in the big house and I'll live in the small house. The house will be yours after I die," said He Daqing.

"Are you really coming back this time?" Sha Zhu confirmed again.

"I'm not leaving. I have my own son and grandson. Why should I help others raise their children? When I get old and can't work anymore, won't all my things be yours? You can also leave them to other people's children. I'm not stupid," said He Daqing.

"Okay, in that case, I still recognize you as my father, and I will take care of you when you are old," said Sha Zhu

"Tell me how you and Yu Shui have been doing these years, and then tell me about what's going on in the courtyard," He Daqing asked Sha Zhu.

"After you left... a few days ago Yu Shui said he would send you a telegram to ask you to come back, that's it" Sha Zhu blabbered.

"Dad, is the noodles enough? If not, let Zhu give you another bowl," Ma Dongmei asked

"That's enough, I'm full," said He Daqing

"I didn't expect that Lao Yi would be this kind of person. He was the one I trusted the most in the beginning. He was the one who told me about that incident. It seems that he wanted to send me away so that you can take care of him in his old age. The old lady and Lao Yi are really good at scheming."

"Shazhu is in a meeting," Liu Guangfu shouted from outside the door.

He Daqing was interrupted by a knock on the door before he could finish his words.

"Silly Zhu, let's go to the meeting first. I'll tell you what happened when we come back. I, your father, have to leave," said He Daqing.

Everyone gathered in the courtyard. He Daqing's appearance added a lot of topics to the quiet courtyard. Those who knew him introduced He Daqing to those who didn't know him, and talked about He Daqing's glorious deeds when he ran away with the widow.

He Daqing still had that expressionless face, and no expression could be seen, as if everyone was not talking about him, and he just sat quietly aside.

At first, He Daqing kept to himself and didn't interact much with other people in the compound. When old people like Yan Bugui, Liu Haizhong, and Yi Zhonghai greeted He Daqing, He Daqing would nod in response.

"Everyone be quiet, let's invite the second uncle to start the meeting," Yan Bugui said.

Liu Haizhong took out a few pages of paper from his pocket and took out a manuscript. Zhao Shanhe guessed that Liu Haizhong must have been feeling depressed over the past few months.

“Dear neighbors, hello everyone, on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, we gather together to celebrate several major events in our courtyard this year.

Shazhu, Xu Damao, and Zhao Shanhu are all married. Here I wish these newlyweds...

In addition, Zhao Shanhe, Sha Zhu, and Xu Damao in the courtyard all have children, all of them are boys. Among them, Sha Zhu’s son is called... Zhu Haizi...

I passed the assessment in May and became an eighth-level blacksmith. It was through my hard work and perseverance...

Under my leadership, the courtyard is once again the outstanding courtyard this year. I am grateful to the Party and the elders…

Finally, I wish you all good health and happiness in the new year!"

The manuscript in Liu Haizhong was an old lady's foot binding cloth. It was so long and boring, and it talked about all kinds of trivial matters. Everyone was drowsy after listening to it. It turned out that he had been holding it in for several months, and this time he finally let it out.

"My uncle has already said it, so I won't say anything more. I wish you all a happy new year and good luck in your work.

Also, if you haven’t written the couplets yet, come find me later,” Yan Bugui said

"Everyone, don't leave yet. The most important thing has not yet been said. This year is the same as last year. Tomorrow we will have a group New Year's greeting. Everyone should take some peanuts and sunflower seeds. That's it, let's adjourn." said the second uncle

Zhao Shanhe didn't expect that after speaking for most of the day, only the last sentence was useful. It would be better if he didn't come to the meeting. Instead of attending the meeting, he could have drunk a few cups of tea.

"Shazhu, come and celebrate the New Year with the Jia family and the old lady this year," Yi Zhonghai invited Shazhu again as if nothing had happened.

Before Sha Zhu could speak, He Daqing spoke up, "In previous years, Sha Zhu had no elders, so you guys acted as elders in front of Sha Zhu. This year, his father is back, so you sonless people should celebrate together. Sha Zhu has his own elders."

"You, you, you..." Yi Zhonghai didn't expect He Daqing to stab directly into the lung duct.

"What do you mean by 'you'? Yi Zhonghai, I thought you were the person I trusted the most and entrusted everything at home to you, but in the end you are the culprit. You are so fucking bad, you deserve to be exterminated," said He Daqing

"Old He, don't talk nonsense. Everyone has seen how I treated Zhuzi. Don't slander him." Yi Zhonghai was not afraid at all, as he had already wrapped up the final act.

"Yes, the uncle is closer to Shazhu than his own son. He has helped Shazhu a lot over the years. And the aunt also took care of He Yushui in the past." The people around who were unaware of the hidden truth spoke up for Yi Zhonghai.

"Yi Zhonghai, what a good plan. Let's wait and see." He Daqing turned around and left.

After returning home, He Daqing began to tell Sha Zhu what had happened before. The two chatted for a long time. In the end, if Ma Dongmei and He Daqing had not held Sha Zhu back, Sha Zhu would have beaten Yi Zhonghai to death.

Except for the father and son and Ma Dongmei, no one knows what Sha Zhu and the others talked about, mainly because the author didn't hear it either.

As soon as Zhao Shanhe returned home, he started to braise meat. Last year, he braised the pig's head, which made everyone's mouth full of delicious taste. This year, he didn't get the pig's head, but he got a lot of offal, so he planned to get some pork, chicken and eggs to braise together.

In fact, Zhao Shanhe just made a package of ingredients and there was nothing else for him to do. This year, his second uncle's family came along, but his second aunt was good at housework and soon the New Year's Eve dinner was ready.

There is everything, including chicken, duck, fish, meat, dumplings, and all the wine is good. It can be said that this is enough to attract more than 90% of families in this era.

I was going to update yesterday, but I got drunk again. There are quite a lot of relatives and friends getting married recently, and I have to go give gifts tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so I guess I won't be able to update. Sorry everyone.