Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. Soon, nearby residents brought over tables, chairs and benches from their homes.

Originally, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui only planned to invite some of their close relatives, and the rest of the families could send one person each. But they couldn't resist the fact that everyone wanted to attend, even if they had to pay some gifts to have this big meal.

So the two of them agreed to it, otherwise they would be accused of not being united with their neighbors. However, the meals for so many people could not be cooked by Sha Zhu and Nan Yi alone. In the front and back yards, people from the Yan and Liu families were also cooking with a group of aunts and grandmas.

"Hey, Lao Liu, have you seen Damao?" Yan Bugui asked.

"Earlier, Damao said he was going to buy some wine, and he took Jie Kuang and Guang Fu with him. He should be back by now."

"Then let's wait for them."

At this time, the spacious central courtyard was already filled with tables, and with a group of people watching the fun, the entire courtyard was packed with people.

"Make way, make way. You're blocking the way for the dishes. Do you still want to enjoy the feast?" Yu Li and her group came over with pots of cooked dishes, and some were holding spoons and plates ready to serve the dishes.

Everyone made way for Yu Li and her group to pass through with laughter. Yu Li also walked in with her group and began to serve food to each table.

Although Yan Bugui felt a little distressed when he saw this scene, he was still quite happy in his heart. Since he had established a good relationship with Damao, his family's life had been getting better and better. Now he had a grandson and his second son was back, so it was okay to celebrate lavishly.

"Okay, everyone please take your seats. We'll start the meal once the dishes are almost served." Yan Bugui said to everyone.

When everyone heard that the feast was about to begin, they quickly gave their money! We had asked for the feast, so we put two or three dollars into a big box in the middle of the courtyard. With the scale of this feast, the Yan family and the Liu family would definitely lose money, so we couldn't be too rude even if we gave more gifts.

Lou Xiao'e also came over from the backyard carrying the third child and stuffed twenty yuan into the box, while the two older children followed obediently.

However, unlike everyone else, there were some people who didn't care. Jia Zhang was seen limping out of the house with her hands clenched tightly.

Her legs were injured many times and never fully recovered, leaving her with a lifelong disability. She would walk with a limp, and her legs would hurt especially when it was cloudy or rainy. Jia Zhang couldn't stand the pain, so she started taking the painkillers she had finally given up in the mental hospital, and in even larger doses than before.

Jia Zhang came to the box with the gift, opened her hands quickly, and the dime inside fell into the box. Jia Zhang thought she was very quick, but Yan Jiedi saw it. Yan Jiedi turned around and told his father and Liu Haizhong what happened.

"Ms. Jia Zhang, I didn't invite your family to attend, but you had the audacity to come uninvited and only gave a ten-cent gift money. Who are you trying to embarrass?" Yan Bugui said, adjusting his glasses.

"Why not invite him? Didn't I say that everyone in the courtyard is invited to the banquet? How come my Jia family is not part of the courtyard?" Jia Zhang looked around and didn't see Xu Damao, so she felt more confident and spoke arrogantly.

Now Jia Zhang was very afraid of Xu Damao. If she made any mistakes, Xu Damao would really send her to prison. Thinking about the suffering she had endured in the mental hospital and feeling the pain in her legs every time she took a step, she made up her mind before she came out that she must avoid Xu Damao in the future and must not provoke him.

Yan Bugui was speechless and stood there for a while. This banquet was indeed for everyone in the compound. The Jia family had lived in the compound for so many years, and no one could say that her family was not a member of the compound. What made Yan Bugui even more angry was that everyone else knew that this banquet cost a lot, and they all consciously gave a lot more money, but they couldn't say that they couldn't eat if they gave less money.

Qin Huairu was leaning on the window with Xiaodang and Huaihua to observe the situation in the yard. It was she who instigated the mother-in-law to go out and make trouble. If the mother-in-law was driven back, their family would not suffer any loss, as her family's reputation would not be good anyway. But if the mother-in-law won the quarrel, then she could take the two children to the banquet in a while. In short, if there was any shame, it would be the mother-in-law's fault, and if there was any benefit, it would be the whole family's fault.

As for Bang Geng, he went out early in the morning to continue his great career of stealing, so he didn't care about the uncertain banquet in the courtyard. As long as their gang could catch a fat sheep, the proceeds would be enough for them to eat and drink for a week or even more.

"Ms. Jia Zhang! Stop making trouble here. You are not welcome here! Don't make everyone in the hospital exclude you!" Liu Haizhong said loudly with his big belly sticking out.

But after hearing this, Jia Zhang not only did not leave, but sat down on the ground, and the soul-calling ceremony was immediately arranged.

"Old Jia, Dongxu, you two, come up and take a look. They invited everyone in the courtyard to the feast, but they didn't invite our Jia family! They look down on our family, come up quickly and take them all away!"

A group of people in the middle courtyard were gathered around Jia Zhang and discussing something, when they heard Xu Damao's voice coming from the corridor.

"What's going on? Why is there so much noise? Isn't it time to start the feast?"

When Jia Zhang heard the voice, she felt something loosen up in her body and her crotch was wet. But she didn't have time to care about it now. She got up from the ground and didn't care whether her legs still hurt or not. She walked quickly towards home.

"Just now, Jia Zhang came out and made a fuss. She held out a dime and insisted on joining the banquet. She was throwing a tantrum and calling for Old Jia. As soon as you came back, she quickly slipped back." Yan Bugui explained.

Xu Damao glanced in the direction of the Jia family and said, "Well, today is a good day, so let's ignore that old woman for now. I've brought some people to bring the wine back, and Old Cai's cart is parked in front of our courtyard. Everyone, hurry up and help move it."

As soon as Xu Damao finished speaking, seven or eight men came out of the yard to carry some wine. It turned out that Xu Damao went to the tavern in front of the door and brought several jars of wine directly from Xu Huizhen.

Xu Damao walked up to Yan Bugui and whispered, "Second Uncle, since today is a welcoming banquet for Jiefang, did you forget to invite someone?"

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and said, "I haven't forgotten. I don't have many relatives left. There is only one cousin left. The old couple went to visit relatives in Northeast China a few days ago."

"Yes, he has returned from visiting his relatives. I brought Pian'er back with me on the way, and he is now outside helping to carry soda!"

Yan Bugui exclaimed, "Thank you so much Damao, otherwise this would be a big deal. I have to go and greet him right away."

Soon, all the men in the courtyard carried jars of wine back to the middle courtyard, and Yan Bugui also came in with his cousin and Cai Quanwu carrying soda. Since it was a happy event and Old Cai was an acquaintance, Yan Bugui simply pulled him back to have a few drinks together.

"Old Liu, everything is almost ready, why don't we just start eating?"

"Okay! Everyone, stop standing and find a seat. Let's start the feast!"