Siheyuan works as a nanny for Shazhu

The enthusiasm in the factory remained high in the afternoon, but He Yuzhu and Jiang Feng both wandered off and returned to the courtyard with the welfare benefits issued by the factory. Yan Fugui's year-end activities were still going on, and Li Xiaoyan took two handfuls of melon seeds and peanuts in the morning to exchange for the couplets.

Yan Fugui looked at the things the two men were carrying and didn't even bother to write the couplet. He stopped them and asked, "Zhu Zi, Xiao Feng, this is the welfare provided by the factory. You are good, but big factories have more welfare."

There is no shortage of supplies now. There are two people in the factory, a technician and a chef, each with two pounds of fat meat and a bag of two liang of flour. He Yuzhu and Jiang Feng looked at each other, and Jiang Feng stuffed the things in his hand to He Yuzhu, took out a cigarette from his pocket, gave one to Yan Fugui, struck a match and handed it to the third uncle to light the cigarette. He Yuzhu picked up the things and slipped away to the central courtyard.

Jiang Feng was practicing Tai Chi with Yan Fugui in the front yard. After paying the price of two more cigarettes, the third uncle finally went back to his own work.

Jiang Feng went into the house first and took a look. The house was clean. It should be cleaned by his sister-in-law and Yu Shui. He closed the door and went to the central courtyard. He Yuzhu was already busy at home. Those who worked in the steel rolling mill in the courtyard had benefits, but it was just a pound of meat and a bag of two he of flour. Other factories also had some meat, and they all came back carrying things.

The whole yard was filled with the aroma of meat. Those who had meat were refining oil. By the time the master and his wife came over, it was already half past five. He Yuzhu called Jiang Feng and asked them to stick up the couplets.

It's time to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. This year, there's a new baby in the family, so we invited our master and his wife to come over. He Yuzhu has spent a lot of money tonight, including sweet and sour fish, braised pork, twice-cooked pork, four-happiness meatballs, shredded pork with fish flavor, Kung Pao chicken, Wensi tofu, stir-fried cabbage with oil residue, stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a stew from an old hen. There are a total of ten dishes on the table.

Jiang Feng looked at the table and helped to serve the dishes. Li Xiaoyan had already asked the master and his wife to sit down. Jiang Feng closed the door and put two bottles of wine on the table. Li Xiaoyan glared at Jiang Feng and said, "Drink less. You two just drink one bottle with the master."

He Yuzhu chuckled a few times and said, "Yanzi, you can do anything normally, but not today. You must drink with Master."

The master's wife also spoke: "Okay, you don't have to drink it all, just drink it well. You have to go home and stay up late later at night." After saying that, she glanced at Guo Mingsheng.

Seeing that the master's wife had spoken, He Yuzhu said nothing more. He opened the wine and filled the glasses for the master and Jiang Feng. Li Xiaoyan picked up the bowl and poured a bowl of chicken soup for the master's wife, and put a chicken drumstick in it. He Yushui came by himself. The master's wife was holding He Xiao in her arms and teasing him. Li Xiaoyan reached out and took He Xiao and said, "Master's wife, I'll do it. You eat first. I'll give it to you when you're done."

He Yuzhu stood up, picked up the wine glass on the table and said, "It's Chinese New Year again. Let me say a few words. I wish Master and Master's wife good health and good luck. I also wish Xiaofeng a promotion and a smooth career. I also wish Yushui to make progress in her studies and become more beautiful. Come on, everyone, cheers."

The three of them raised their glasses. The master's wife, Xiaoyan and He Yushui had prepared some fermented glutinous rice. It was not suitable to drink beverages in winter, so they all raised the jars in front of them, touched them with their hands, and took a sip. He Yuzhu then asked everyone to start eating.

After eating a few bites of food, Guo Mingsheng picked up the wine glass and said, "Zhu Zi, Master wishes you and your wife a happy family. I also wish Xiao Xiao grows up quickly and is safe and healthy. I wish Xiao Yu Shui happy and successful in her studies. I wish Xiao Feng a smooth work and everything goes well in the new year."

After Guo Mingsheng finished speaking, he raised his glass and clinked it with the others. Except for Li Xiaoyan who was holding the child, the others all stood up and reached out to drink. After drinking a cup, the master's wife took out a few red envelopes, one for each person present. He Yuzhu and Li Xiaoyan declined to take them, and the master's wife said, "Take it. Xiaoyan is a great contributor to the He family this year. Daqing didn't come back, so the master and his wife gave it to him. This is for Xiaoxiao. Ask your mother to keep it for you."

Several people received red envelopes, and new year greetings flew out along with the wine glasses. Jiang Feng also toasted the two elders separately, said a few auspicious words, and then started to eat and chat.

This year, everything in the courtyard was the same as usual. The deaf old lady and the Yi and Jia families still celebrated the New Year together and had dinner at Yi Zhonghai's house. Jia Dongxu was sensible enough to bring the meat distributed by the factory over. The table of dishes in the evening was also well presented. Although not as varied as the He family's, the meat portions were sufficient, and there was also a fish.

Auntie Li Guilan was sitting next to the deaf old lady. No one knew what she was thinking. She hadn't told Yi Zhonghai about the last check-up. Maybe she just thought that she would just let it go in this life. Looking at Jia Zhang and Bang Geng, a trace of disgust appeared on her face, but it disappeared in a flash and no one noticed.

Although Yi Zhonghai was demoted this year, his current salary is enough for him and his aunt to live on, and most importantly, he has no burden. After a few secret words said last time, Jia Zhang went to find trouble with He Yuzhu's wife, wanting to see if He Yuzhu would be tolerant now that he has a child.

But He Yuzhu slapped him twice, and Yi Zhonghai gave up the idea of ​​plotting against He Yuzhu. If he continued to make trouble, if there was any problem with the children of the He family, who knew what He Yuzhu would do.

Yi Zhonghai's prestige in the courtyard is not as high as before. Jiang Feng has seen through his thoughts in several meetings. People in the courtyard no longer care about him when they speak or do things. Sometimes, when they want to help Jia Zhang, they end up in a mess. They have learned to go to the street office to complain.

Today is New Year's Day, so let's not talk about the unhappy things. No matter what everyone is thinking, they all have smiles on their faces and say blessings.

There was one less person in Old Liu's family this year, and the atmosphere at the table was depressing. Only Liu Haizhong was drinking, while Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu just lowered their heads to eat. Second Aunt didn't say anything either. They were both unhappy and were very cautious, fearing that they would be beaten during the New Year.

Teacher Yan's family has almost finished the New Year's Eve dinner and is distributing dumplings. Just a few dumplings per person will be enough for the sake of politeness. Although Yan Fugui is stingy, at least he made some extra on New Year's Eve so that the children can have enough to eat. There will be peanuts to share later, and that will be enough for the evening.

After three rounds of drinking at the He family, Li Xiaoyan went to the kitchen to cook dumplings. In the evening, when He Yuzhu was cooking, Xiaoyan Yushui and a few others made dumplings together with the master's wife. He Yuzhu prepared the stuffing, but he put two pounds of meat and cabbage in it. Oil oozes out when you take a bite. Two large plates were placed on the table, and everyone's mouths were full of oil.

After finishing a plate of dumplings, only Guo Mingsheng, He Yuzhu and Jiang Feng were left at the table. The master's wife took He Xiao, Li Xiaoyan and He Yushui and walked slowly on the side, helping them digest their food and teasing He Xiao.

The three of them were still drinking, and they had almost finished their drinks. Guo Mingsheng said, "That's enough. I'm happy today, so I drank a little more. Normally, your mistress would only give me two liang of wine at most at home. I just need to finish the wine in the glass."

The master's wife glanced at Guo Mingsheng, but Guo Mingsheng, who was drunk, didn't see it. According to Jiang Feng's energy, he planned to finish two bottles, but Master Guo had to go back home in the evening, so Jiang Feng must have gone to see him off. He Yuzhu also looked drunk.

Seeing that the two had almost finished eating and drinking, Jiang Feng also let go of his stomach and drank the remaining half plate of dumplings in a few gulps. He also had two more rounds of drinks with the two of them, so there was not much wine left in the glass.

Guo Mingsheng picked up the wine glass and said, "Zhu Zi, there's a new baby in the family. I'm happy for you. You and Xiaoyan seem to be getting along well. Okay, after drinking this glass, we're almost done. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome when the alcohol gets to us."

Under normal circumstances, He Yuzhu would have kept someone here, but today was New Year's Day, so he had to go back to the house to keep watch. He raised his glass, and the three of them drank the wine in their glasses together. They took two more bites of food, and as soon as they put down their chopsticks, Guo Mingsheng said, "It's been a long time since we've eaten like this, Zhuzi. I'll retire in two years, and I won't have much to do. Your mistress and I will come to see He Xiao more often."

"Oh, Master, if you didn't live close to your workplace, I would have advised you to quit a long time ago. The senior brother can now handle things on his own. Why are you still standing there every day? Go fishing when you have time, or come to my place to help Xiaoyan take care of He Xiao."

"Okay, okay, come here often after you retire. It's getting late, so your mistress and I will go back soon. We will have to sit for a while in the evening."

Knowing the situation, He Yuzhu and Li Xiaoyan did not stay. They just helped tidy up the clothes of the two elders and put on their hats. Then He Yuzhu took Jiang Feng and prepared to send them back.

Jiang Feng said, "Forget it. I'll go alone. You stay at home and sober up. It'll be quicker for me to go alone, or I'll have to help you when I get back."

The master's wife also spoke up: "Zhu Zi, your alcohol tolerance is not good. You should drink less in the future. Look at Xiao Feng, you are standing steadily. Just sit at home. It will be a joke if Xiao Feng carries you back at night."

He Yuzhu blushed and said, "Okay, okay, Xiaofeng, you go, I'll take you to the door, okay?"

He Yuzhu took Jiang Feng and sent Guo Mingsheng and the others to the gate of the courtyard, and said to the master: "Master, please drive slowly. Xiaofeng, please keep an eye on the master."

"Got it, go back, we're leaving."

They walked and talked along the way. Jiang Feng and Li Cuifang walked on both sides. Guo Mingsheng was relatively good. He walked on the road with one foot deep and one foot shallow, but he still walked back by himself. When they reached the door, Jiang Feng helped Guo Mingsheng in and said to Li Cuifang, "Master's wife, do you want to help Master Guo go in and lie down? You can't move him alone after I leave."

"No, he used to be like this all the time, but now he's old. He was happy today and drank a little more. It's okay, I'll just make him a cup of strong tea. You should go home early too. The road is hard to walk on, so walk slowly."

Jiang Feng nodded, said something to the two elders, and went out to walk back. To Jiang Feng, this was just a small amount of wine, so he walked steadily. It was New Year's Eve, and snow was floating in the sky, with the dim lights printed on it. Jiang Feng walked slowly for more than 20 minutes before reaching the courtyard. There was no one in the courtyard. Jiang Feng took out a cigarette, stood in the corridor, and smoked slowly. After finishing the cigarette, he stomped his feet and walked towards He Yuzhu's house.