Siheyuan: Five mouths waiting for food at the beginning

Time flies, and soon it was the end of the year, which was the beginning of 74.

Liu Guangqi has lost weight visibly. Despite the three times a week meeting he promised his wife, he looks haggard. The little belly he used to have when he worked in the office is long gone. Coupled with the wind and sun, he looks more than ten years older.

Another person who has lost weight is Banggeng's wife Pangya. Half a year has passed, and Pangya has shrunk from a giant tank to a tiny tank. The slimmed-down Pangya isn't ugly, but she isn't pretty either. It's not a scientific way of losing weight, but she's simply starved herself. Her skin is a little loose, but she looks much better than before.

Pang Ya lost weight, which resulted in Jia Zhang and Bang Geng gaining weight. The welfare of the meat processing plant was still good, and the Jia family had a good life this year. Jia Zhang still wanted to have a great-grandson, but Pang Ya's belly was still no movement.

He Daqing was also busy teaching his apprentices. The training class had already been set up. He Daqing picked out a few good seedlings. The one with the easiest job was Sha Zhu. He taught Fatty how to cook big pot dishes and usually just stood by to give guidance. When he had nothing to do, they would drink tea together. He lived a very carefree life.

Liu Haizhong's recovery is also good. Apart from the stiffness, he is much better than before. The main reason is that Liu Haizhong had a good foundation before. Now he just takes a walk every day.

Apart from taking care of the old lady, Yi Zhonghai plays chess every day and has a good retirement life.

Zhao Shanhe’s youngest son can already crawl, and the happiest thing is that Erya gave birth to a son. Everything is developing in a good direction.

"Uncle San, be careful on the road. You can come back later after the Chinese New Year. There's nothing to do at the factory after the Chinese New Year. I've got you a sleeper berth so you can sleep on the way. But you and Aunt San still have to take turns sleeping. Don't both fall asleep. Take this package. It's a little gift from us young people. I won't take you to the station later."

Uncle San has been here for a year. During the holiday, he is going back to Shandong to celebrate the New Year. Zhao Shanhe came to bring some of the things that Uncle San had prepared, such as cigarettes, alcohol, meat and so on. Their family has many workers, and they have a lot of these things. In addition, he is the chief engineer and has a lot of tickets, so they don't lack these things at all.

"Shanhe, you don't have to see me off. I'll find a place to stay and go there soon. Don't worry, when we get to Shandong, I'll put your and Shanhai's child into the family tree first, just in time for the ancestor worship."

After returning from his uncle's place, Zhao Shanhe hurried to pay New Year's greetings to his leaders. This year, there were even fewer people to pay New Year's greetings to, so he finished the round quickly.

On New Year's Eve, Zhao Shanhe's family was the most lively in the whole courtyard, with a large population. Except for Erya who was celebrating the New Year at her husband's house and might not come until the second day of the New Year, the second uncle's family came early in the morning, but the second uncle still didn't come. Gao Peng and Daya also came with their children. They had no elders above them.

There was a large group of children alone. There were four children in Zhao Shanhe, three children in Zhao Shanhu, one child in Zhao Shanhai, and two children in Daya, making ten in total. They were enough to fill one table. Together with the adults, they occupied two tables, and there was constant laughter and joy.

Zhao Shanhe sighed that this era is still good. The New Year is really full of festive atmosphere. Although there is the Spring Festival Gala in later generations, no one watches it. Everyone is playing with their mobile phones. There is no atmosphere at all.

The old couple Yi Zhonghai spent the New Year at Sha Zhu's house. The two chefs prepared excellent meals, and the three old men drank together, it was so much fun. It was much better than the New Year celebrations at the Jia family in the past. Yi Zhonghai felt that he had made the right bet, and that the old lady had good vision and had chosen very good people to take care of him.

The third uncle's family is not bad either, with his two sons around. The food is still as frugal as usual, and the three old men drink wine, but at least the wine is not watery.

The Jia family is living a good life, except for the regret that they didn't get pregnant, they are still happy this year. Banggeng has completed the most important event in his life, and the Jia family can be said to have a head of the family, and they will no longer be called an orphan and a widow.

During the three days of the New Year, Zhao Shanhe drank for four days. On the first day, he drank with his apprentice, on the second day, he drank with his second brother-in-law, on the third day, he drank with Shazhu Xu Damao, and on the fourth day, he went to his father-in-law's house, so of course he couldn't avoid drinking.

I had originally planned to take a day off on the fifth day and start working on the sixth day, but my third uncle came back, and I started drinking again to welcome him back.

"Uncle San, didn't I tell you to stay a few more days? Why did you come back so early? Is everything okay at home?"

"It's all good, it's all good, thanks to you, Shanhe. Our family had a good year. We have to start work tomorrow, and I can't make things difficult for you. I just came back when I had a car."

On the sixth day of the New Year, the factory officially started work. Zhao Shanhe felt like he had been drinking for five days and still felt dizzy when he went to work. Li Huaide asked his secretary to come to him early in the morning.

"Shanhe, good news."

"What good news?"

"There's some news about our exams."

"Really? When will the document come down?"

"I don't know about that. My father-in-law said that the higher-ups are already discussing this matter. It will probably be soon. They are also aware that production has dropped and there is a shortage of workers."

Zhao Shanhe had no memory of the specific time when the workers took the exam. He only knew that the college entrance examination seemed to have been resumed in 77.

"We have just started discussing it. We don't know when the document will be released, but any news is good news."

"Shanhe, last year's skills competition and outstanding workers were pretty good. Our steel rolling mill completed production early last year, and it seems that they will increase our quota this year. That's why I came to you."

"What do you think?"

"Of course not. The quota has been getting smaller year by year in recent years. Increasing the quota means that our work has been recognized. Promotion is a matter of time. Shanhe, you have been stable for so long, isn't it time to make a move? Add another chapter to our resume."

"Old Li, I think we should hold our ground. The situation is still a little unclear. The old leader just stepped down, the big leader fell, and the person in charge of the Ministry of Industry is not one of us. No one supports us."

"Let's do it ourselves. I fully support you. Whatever you need, I will do my best."

"I still don't think it's possible. We two can still have a say in the factory, but as for the higher-ups, it seems calm, but in fact there are undercurrents. I think it will soon be over. This movement has come to an end and the winner will be decided soon. It has been stable for so many years, so we don't need a little more time.

Even if we succeed, and we get to the top, there will be no one there. Old Yang is a lesson for us. If there is no one to protect us, no matter who wins, we will be the ones who suffer. "

"Shanhe, are you a little too cautious? I think the time has come. The new leader thinks highly of our factory. This is an opportunity."

Zhao Shanhe knew that after the movement was over, the big leader would be in charge again, so the new leader would either be purged or promoted. However, he did not dare to take the risk, so he might as well wait patiently for the big leader to take office.

"Old Li, listen to me. Be steady. We don't know the new leader well."

"Shanhe, let me tell you something. It was actually my father-in-law who asked me to do it. He thought it was okay."

When Zhao Shanhe heard this, the situation became clear and he had to win this time.