Siheyuan: Happy Life of Jia Zhang Family

Shazhu put the pig's head and offal into a big pot to cook. Zhang Dabao looked at the watch and it was almost nine o'clock, so he cut two pieces of meat, each weighing about seven or eight pounds. He handed them to the two men and said, "Shazhu and Dongxu go back. Dongxu, ask your wife to wait for me at the gate of the yard at 7:30 tomorrow. I need to deliver some meat to the street office. There is something on my bicycle and it is difficult to get through the gate."

"Okay, Uncle Qi, don't worry," Jia Dongxu said with a thick tongue, as he was a little drunk.

"Be careful, it's delicious if the quantity is not large. This is a problem. Shazhu, watch him order. Come back early tomorrow afternoon and cook a meal in the backyard. Don't forget." Zhang Dabao instructed He Yuzhu again.

"I'm fine, don't worry, Brother Dongxu, let's go." He Yuzhu pulled Jia Dongxu and the two of them carried the meat and walked out of the yard.

"Brother Dongxu, Dabiao is really particular. This piece of meat must weigh about 7 or 8 kilograms, and it's all good meat," He Yuzhu said to Jia Dongxu.

"Don't you see whose uncle he is? My seventh uncle has been open-minded since he was young, but he has a bad temper and likes to beat people," said Jia Dongxu.

The two of them walked and talked, and arrived at Courtyard 95 around :.

"Brother, you went to help someone, and the gift you gave is so heavy?" He Yushui had not rested yet, she was waiting for her brother to come back.

"I helped Da Biao in the backyard. He gave this to me. This is seven or eight kilograms of meat. He gave the fattest meat to me and Brother Dongxu. He is such a good person," He Yuzhu said to his sister.

"Didn't he beat you? You can consider him a good person? Why did he give you meat?" He Yushui didn't quite understand.

"What's wrong with beating me? We are reconciled now, isn't that okay? If you can give me two kilograms of meat a day, you can beat me every day. Your brother has cooking skills, and he will treat us to dinner tomorrow night. It will be all meat dishes, and he has two big pig heads, they are so fat." He Yuzhu said proudly, with drool flowing from the corners of his mouth.

"That's right. Will you share the meat with others?" He Yushui asked his brother.

"Let's cut more than a pound of fish for the old lady and the uncle's family in the backyard. They often take care of us. We can pickle the rest," He Yuzhu said after thinking for a while.

"Okay, let's send it to them tomorrow. It's getting late, so take a rest." He Yushui was very happy to see so much meat at home, and she skipped out of her brother's room.

"Dongxu, how much have you drunk? Look at you." Zhang Cuihua was a little angry when she saw Jia Dongxu staggering.

"Mom, we're drinking Xifeng, which is a good wine. Look at the meat, it was given to me by my seventh uncle. It weighs seven or eight kilograms and is all fat." Jia Dongxu held the meat and asked Zhang Cuihua to have a look.

"It's too much. Look, my little brother found us jobs, bought clothes for the children, and gave us so much. Dongxu has done us such a favor, how can we repay him?" Zhang Cuihua said proudly.

"They are all real relatives. If we don't live well, it will bring shame to them. They don't need to pay us back," Jia Dongxu said.

"Fuck you, you bastard. You didn't learn any skills from Lao Yi, but you have a lot of crooked logic. Do they owe you something?" Zhang Cuihua was angry about what her son said and slapped him twice.

"Mom, I was wrong. I'm tired and need to rest. By the way, Huairu, you should wait for my seventh uncle at the gate of the yard at 7:30 tomorrow. He has something to deliver to the street office." Jia Dongxu was used to being beaten by his mother, and even when she did, she didn't beat him too hard. He immediately admitted his mistake and finally remembered the important matter.

It was late at night and the whole Chunfeng Hutong was filled with the aroma of meat. Fortunately, it was the middle of the night, otherwise the neighbors might have come knocking on the door.

The offal was cooked, and Zhang Dabao put it directly into the space, then went to bed quickly and set the alarm clock to 6:30.

After getting up in the morning, Zhang Dabao put two whole boxes of pork on the back seat of his bicycle, covered them with an oilcloth, and then set off for Yard No. 95.

Qin Huairu was waiting at the gate early. Third Aunt Yang Ruihua was very puzzled, so she walked over and asked, "Huairu, are there any relatives coming?"

"Third aunt, wait for my seventh uncle to come back. He sent me to work at the street office today," Qin Huairu said lightly, but the amount of information contained was a bit too much.

"Are you going to work at the Street Office? Did Da Biao find it for you?" Yang Ruihua asked.

"Yes, my seventh uncle is here. I'll leave first." Qin Huairu saw Zhang Dabao coming towards her on his wobbly bicycle.

"Huai Ru, I can't carry you anymore. There are more than 200 pounds of meat on the bike. You walk down the steps and I'll ride slower," said Zhang Dabao.

Qin Huairu agreed without hesitation and followed Zhang Dabao's bicycle towards the street office.

"Seventh uncle, it's not worth giving so much meat to others just for a job." Qin Huairu was a little touched. He knew that when Zhang Dabao said he would find a job for his mother-in-law, he was actually looking for one for himself. His mother-in-law was lazy and ate more. She slept more than she was awake. As her younger brother, Zhang Dabao couldn't possibly not know that his mother-in-law would never go out to work. She was unwilling to do the manual work assigned to her by the street office before.

"It's worth it. I have no shortage of meat. This time I went up the mountain and caught 19 wild boars and handed them over to the steel mill. Huairu, if you get a job and become a regular employee, you can transfer your household registration and eat commercial grain. You can also transfer your household registration with your two children. This is the fundamental way to solve your difficulties," said Zhang Dabia.

"Seventh Uncle, I really don't know how to thank you." Qin Huairu's eyes were red.

"Do we need to say thank you given our relationship?" Zhang Dabao said, turning his head, bringing back the sweet memories of the two of them in the cottage in Zhangjia Village.

"I'll come to see you when I have time." Qin Huairu's face turned even redder and she said in a low voice.

Zhang Dabao smiled and didn't answer.

When they arrived at the street office, Zhang Dabao and Qin Huaiqiao were waiting at the door for Wang Xiuqin to come to work.

At 7:50, Wang Xiuqin arrived. She saw the flesh on Zhang Dabiao's bicycle and asked, "Dabiao, so much?"

"Aunt, there are about 200 kilograms of meat. If there is less, I'm afraid you won't have enough to share," Zhang Dabao said with a smile.

"That's enough now. I'll call your cousin and ask him to take some of the meat back and leave it at the street office. They'll come over to eat it soon. No amount of meat will be enough," Wang Xiuqin said with a smile as she led the two of them to his office.

"Huai Ru, right? Have you been to school?" Wang Xiuqin asked.

"Aunt, I went to primary school," Qin Huairu said in a low voice.

"It's okay as long as you can read. Go to the Nanluoguxiang Residents' Committee. Aunt Liu is a little old, so I'll write a note to her and ask Dabiao to take you there later. The salary is 18 yuan a month when you first start working, and you can be promoted to a regular employee in three months, which is 22.5 yuan a month. It's up to you to move up from there. I've heard about Dongxu's situation. He has never been able to get promoted. Don't learn from him," Wang Xiuqin gave a few instructions.

"Mom, where is my cousin?" A young man in his twenties came in from outside the door.

"Da Biao, this is your older cousin, Qiao Yongqian. You also have a younger cousin, but he's still in the army. His name is Qiao Yongyuan," Wang Xiuqin introduced.

"Cousin" Zhang Dabao went up and shook hands with his cousin. The cousin increased the strength in his hand. Zhang Dabao smiled. His cousin was really interesting and wanted to evaluate him.

"Good boy, you are stronger than me. You must have a couple of drinks at my house on Zhou Tian." Qiao Yongqian is a generous person.

"No problem, cousin, the meat is on the bicycle." Zhang Dabao untied the rope and moved the two pieces of meat onto the bike.

"Dabao, leave one fan behind. Someone will come to ask for money soon. Leaving the meat behind will be beneficial to Huairu's future work and will make it easier to carry out the work." Wang Xiuqin stopped Zhang Dabao when she saw this.

The meat was placed in the canteen of the street office, and Zhang Dabao took Qin Huairu directly to the Nanluogu Lane Residents Committee.