Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

57

However, when seeing people casting blazing envious eyes towards Li Tiezhu, everyone felt extremely proud that these old comrades did not let Yang Jun lose face, and now someone could finally compete with the gift money from the groom's family.

After the comrades finished their greetings, it was the turn of colleagues from the steel plant to present their gifts.

Factory Director Yang walked at the front of the team, followed by a group of core leaders of the steel rolling mill.

"Yang Jianguo, two hundred yuan."

"Li Huaide, two hundred yuan."

"Cao Jianhong, two hundred yuan."

In the steel mill, except for a few senior executives who received 200 yuan, the rest of the department heads or workshop directors received gifts ranging from a few yuan to dozens of yuan, with a large difference.

Next comes the thoughtful gifts sent by ordinary friends and neighbors.

We are all ordinary poor people, so there is no need to compete too much in gifts between each other.

Everyone had fifty cents and one dollar, but this time the third uncle made an exception and gave twenty yuan, which was quite conspicuous.

After the people in the courtyard got used to Yang Jun's abilities, no one dared to underestimate his influence, so most people were quite generous in their donations, mostly in cash ranging from two to three yuan.

The second uncle and Xu Damao also each gave a red envelope of ten yuan.

Even Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi each gave a small sum of five yuan.

According to common sense, even if a couple does not live separately after getting married, they are still considered a family. Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi did not need to send expensive gifts, but they knew the value of Yang Jun very well and did not ignore this kindness. They unilaterally presented expensive gifts to show their respect.

Ran Qiuye also gave a gift of ten yuan. If she was not mistaken, her ex-husband Sha Zhu had just received five yuan from the Yang family not long ago. In just a few days, they gave back ten yuan.

In fact, she knew that with her and Yang Jun's current close relationship, there was no need to do so. She just wanted to use this method to express her gratitude to Yang Jun who had helped her so much and for which she could not repay.

Soon after, the banquet officially began.

The helpers shuttled around the courtyard like dancing butterflies, bringing in sumptuous dishes.

There are a total of twenty dishes, divided into twelve colors of both meat and vegetarian types, ten cold and hot dishes, plus four bowls of soup, which is a dazzling array.

The most eye-catching thing is the out-of-season vegetables on the table. Their green color is particularly eye-catching in the cold winter, adding a special charm.

Leader Guo Caodi held up a bottle of Maotai liquor from his collection and poured himself a small glass. He looked at Yang Jun beside him with deep eyes and said meaningfully:

“You are not ordinary. Yi Qiushui will not suffer if she follows you.”

"Hehe, Uncle Guo, please rest assured. For every pound Qiu Shui loses, I will cut ten pounds of meat from my own body to make up for it." Yang Jun understood the meaning behind these words. He knew that Guo Caodi was actually implying that the banquet was over-organized and that a lot of valuable things were obtained that were beyond his reach.

This was a warning to him, asking him to keep a low profile, but it also conveyed a guarantee: as long as he didn't treat Yi Qiu Shui badly, no matter how big the incident got, this group of respected old acquaintances would help him clean up the mess.

He understood early on that the advantages of power are not accidental. If Yang Jun did not want Yi Qiu Shui's wedding to be flawed, he would never have chosen to be so ostentatious.

However, he is not afraid of reporting, after all, power is granted by the class, while influence is built by individuals.

How can you blame a mere wedding?

At this point, some people may criticize his audacity. Aren’t you afraid of being reported? I would like to ask, if you don’t even dare to report the villagers’ violations, how dare you target a deputy (section) level official? If you are still unwilling to give in, you might as well read the sixth line from the bottom of the chapter a hundred times, and you will understand the logic behind it.

---

The wedding banquet was not over until three o'clock in the afternoon.

After the guests left, Yang Jun returned to the front yard.

Although there were still quite a few people in the courtyard, most of them were relatives and friends in the courtyard. Everyone was busy helping to clean the tables and clean the place.

Uncle Yan Fugui held the account book in both hands, and Xu Damao waved to Yang Jun with a bulging money bag.

This was clearly the time to settle accounts, but Yang Jun was not in a hurry to check the figures. Instead, he handed each person a cigarette and thanked them:

"Thank you three elders, brother Jie Cheng, and all of you for your hard work."

"It's okay, it's nothing." Yan Fugui hurriedly shook his head to deny it, his face full of joy, as if this accounting experience made him experience the pinnacle of his life, "This is the largest amount I have ever recorded in my life, and my hands are so tired that they are weak."

Xu Damao next to him was slightly displeased and retorted: "Hey, even if your fingers are sore from exhaustion, at most you have more than me. Look, I'm still shaking now."

Yan Jiecheng curled his lips slightly and said jokingly, "You are a typical example of someone who collects money too much and has twitching fingers."

Yang Jun was very grateful: "Thank you all for your hard work throughout the day. Let's have a drink later to celebrate."

Then, the four of them sat around the accounting table and carefully handed over the account books and cash.

The numbers in the account book surprised them all. The total amount of gifts received was more than 18,000 yuan.

Yang Jun casually browsed the account book and noticed that most of the gifts came from important people and comrades.

In fact, there is no need to verify every specific amount. Uncle Yan Fugui and Xu Damao have already checked it carefully, and the possibility of error is extremely low.

A crowd of onlookers gathered around, their eyes flashing with greed, staring at the stacks of banknotes in the wallet.

Someone kindly reminded Yang Jun to deposit the money into the bank as soon as possible to ensure the safety of his family.

After Yang Jun settled the bill with the third uncle and others, he called a chef. According to the rules, it would cost about 2 to 5 yuan to host a banquet.

Although Yang Jun’s banquet was not luxurious, it was of extraordinary quality.

"Junzi, based on three dollars and a half per table, thirty tables will cost a total of ninety dollars. That's the amount I'll give you." Sha Zhu rubbed his hands and looked at him embarrassedly.

Although Sha Zhu doesn't charge for his help, the chefs and other people who help him cannot make their efforts in vain.

Yang Jun understood that this was not reasonable, so he said, "I know that three dollars and fifty cents is a low price, can you help me make it round to four dollars per table?"

The total meal bill was 180 yuan, and Yang Jun took out the money from his purse and handed it over without hesitation.

Afterwards, he distributed a pack of cigarettes from the table and chair rental office to everyone, for which he paid another 12 cents per table, for a total of yuan.

I gave the other party a reward and a pack of Daqianmen.

While it was still light, Yang Jun pretended to say to his second uncle Liu Haizhong, who was directing the cleaning of the yard, "Second uncle, please take care of this place. I'm going to the bank to deposit this money."

"Okay, go and do your thing." Yang Jun specifically mentioned going to the bank in front of everyone, in order to let everyone know that he had already handled the funds to avoid any trouble.

Many people came to today's wedding, and after witnessing him accepting tens of thousands of yuan in gifts, it was inevitable that some of them had some bad thoughts.

If the money is left at home, uninvited guests might come and cause trouble at night.

He was confident that the courtyard was locked and no one could intrude, but the huge amount of cash did make him uneasy, so he decided to deposit it in the bank.

Yang Jun drove out of the alley carrying his bag.

The bank opened for business on the second day of the Chinese New Year, and his plan was to show his righteousness.

After depositing the money, Yang Jun left easily and returned to the courtyard.

When I came back, I saw that everyone had already started eating, and the busy chefs and accountants were enjoying the food together.

Originally, Sha Zhu cooked thirty tables of meals, leaving two tables for the people who helped to share, and the other table was sent to Yang Jun's home.

Yang Jun brought some things from the front door to the backyard, chatted with his second uncle and third uncle for a few words to express his gratitude, and then returned to his family in front of his old house, waiting for their anxious gazes.

Wang Yuying and her sisters, Yi Qiu Shui and her son, as well as Yang Dong and Yang Anguo, father and son, sat together.

As soon as Yang Jun arrived, Wang Yuying immediately announced the start of the banquet.

He made some polite remarks, then raised his glass to his second uncle and replied, "Second uncle, Anguo, you must have worked hard to come to the wedding from such a long distance."

"Why work so hard? You can't help but get a free meal." They said half-jokingly.

Yang was very anxious, thinking that this child was really ignorant and had brought so much trouble to his aunt's family.

Seeing this, Wang Yuying slammed the table and said seriously,

"Your second uncle, you can't bully others in our family. It's more appropriate to educate the child at home."

Yang Dong stood aside awkwardly, blushing and explaining: "Sister-in-law, I didn't mean that, but this ignorant child..."

Wang Yuying glanced at him, indicating that he should sit down, and asked Yang Jun:

"Junzi, is it too difficult to find a job for Jiaguo? If you can do it, I can make the final decision and let him not go back this time."

Regardless of Yang Dong's attitude, Wang Yuying decided to make the decision on her own to keep Yang Jiaguo today.

After all, as the eldest sister-in-law, she has the highest status, and even Yang Dong has to respect her decision.

"Mom, this is no problem. With your ability, I know you can handle this problem at home." Yang Jun turned around and responded to his mother, then said:

"Uncle, if the whole family had not supported Dad to come to the city to work, our family would not be in the conditions we have today.

To find a job for my country, it is also to make up for the long-standing debt my father owed to my grandparents."

“Please don’t worry, just look at what’s happening to everyone at the wedding today.

I have some connections, so I can arrange some job opportunities for them."

Faced with Yang Jun's sincere look, Yang Dong realized that finding a job would not be a problem, and his previous worries also dissipated.

He stood up and said excitedly: "Jun'er, then you... then you have worked so hard."

Yang Jun waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not hard work, we are all family, why should we be polite?"

When saying this, Yang Jun subconsciously spoke the dialect of his hometown Shanxi, which made Yi Qiu Shui and others nearby laugh.

Yang Dong felt helpless about this habit of his, because the people around him all had heavy voices, which would invisibly affect his own way of speaking.

Afterwards, everyone drank and talked happily, chatting about their hometowns.

After listening to his uncle's description, Yang realized that life in his hometown was very difficult.

Due to natural disasters and poor harvests, after a whole year of hard work, each person in the family could only get less than 30 kilograms of food rations.

This was not enough to fill their stomachs, and they had to secretly exchange part of it for daily necessities, so it was difficult to have a decent meal even once in half a year or even a year.

The daily food is limited to vegetable dumplings and vegetable soup, sometimes with a little rice, but sweet potatoes and potatoes are eaten very little, and eating too much will definitely cause bloating.

No wonder Yang Jiaguo would lament that the mutton soup with steamed buns that morning was the most delicious meal of his life.

The fourth day of the Chinese New Year is the day when the steel rolling mill resumes work. He hopes to let his uncle and his party stay for a few days. After the work is arranged, he will handle the household registration transfer for Yang Jiaguo, obtain two work permits, and then let his uncle take him back home.

The dinner lasted until 10 a.m., and when Wang Yuying saw that night was falling, she urged everyone to rest.

Uncle went back to his room and lived with Jiaguo, so Yang Yu had to sleep in a crowded room with her mother Wang Yuying and her younger brother Yang Huai. She was very unwilling to do so, and Wang Yuying saw it clearly, and glanced at her sharply.

After returning to their small room where they were alone, Yang Jun and Yi Qiu Shui smiled at each other, but were unusually silent, as if they were worried about something.

Perhaps it was because they felt that something delicate was about to happen, and both of them felt a little uncomfortable.

However, Yang Jun was calm and did not take it too seriously. After all, he had similar experiences in his previous life, so he seemed more relieved.

But Yi Qiu Shui's face was flushed, and he seemed to be trying to pretend to read the book, but he was actually very distracted.

Yang Jun was very tired after a busy day. He got up early in the morning and was woken up by the crowing of a rooster. Now he just wanted to catch up on some sleep.

He lay down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and took out a cigarette to light up.

Seeing this scene, Yi Qiu Shui frowned, stood up, walked forward and put out his cigarette.

"You are strictly prohibited from smoking after you get home. I'll get you some hot water to soak your feet to relieve your fatigue." Yang Jun responded weakly.

"Okay..." Yang Jun's answer sounded weak.

He didn't want to smoke at first, but he agreed because he drank a lot of wine and smoked a lot of cigarettes tonight and his throat felt uncomfortable.

He watched Yin Qiu Shui walk into the kitchen to prepare hot water. Yang Jun raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled, and then closed his eyes.

“Are you asleep so soon?”

Not long after, Yin Qiu Shui came back carrying a steaming wooden basin.

Seeing that Yang Jun was already fast asleep on the sofa, Yin Qiu Shui hesitated, not knowing what to do.

Finally, she put down the basin, sat down on the floor, helped take off his shoes, carefully put his feet into the basin, and began to wash his feet with her white hands.

At this time, Yang Jun couldn't help but smile slightly.