Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

After leaving the courtyard, Xu Damao went to buy paper. As a neighbor in the compound, although he did not have a very good relationship with Yan Jiecheng, when someone died, the most basic thing to do was to send a piece of paper. Several familiar people went together to pay their respects and by the way, see how Yan Jiecheng's funeral was going and see if there was any help needed.

Liu Guozheng and Lou Xiao'e went straight back to the office; what happened in the courtyard had nothing to do with them.

"Auntie, auntie, do you still remember me?"

As soon as she reached the door of the office, Lou Xiao'e heard a clear and familiar voice. It was Xiu, the girl from Liang Ladi's family whom she had met some time ago.

There are many children playing in front of the office. One reason is that the open space in front of the office is really large, and there are cars parked at the door, so some children will run here to watch the cars; the second reason is that in the eyes of the children, the office is also a store, and it is lively with people coming and going, so children also like to play in the place where things are sold.

Lou Xiao'e squatted down and touched Xiu's red face and said gently: "Xiu girl, are you cold?"

"Auntie, it's not cold. Touch my hand and see if it's warm."

"Oh, it's true. Come here, auntie will give you some candy."

Lou Xiao'e likes to show this girl very much. She is dressed neatly and appropriately, has a fair and clean face, and will greet acquaintances politely when she sees them.

"Thank you auntie."

Xiu was not greedy and took two.

"Auntie, Xiu is my sister, and my name is Damao."

"Auntie, Xiu is also my sister, my name is Ermao."

"Auntie, there's me too. I'm Sanmao."

"Auntie, my name is Goudan."

"Auntie, my name is..."

The candies in Lou Xiao'e's pocket were soon gone. Looking at the innocent little faces of the children, Lou Xiao'e smiled knowingly. Lou Xiao'e, who often visited the welfare home, liked this kind of innocent smile very much.

Liu Guozheng also took a special look at Ermao, who unfortunately died in an accident on TV.

He brought a group of people home to look after the sheep. Those people tampered with the doors and windows and not only stole the cheese but also the sheep. Later, Ermao saw the sheep thief on the street and chased him into the wild. He couldn't see the road clearly at night and accidentally slipped down the hillside and fell to his death.

Now that their family has come to Beijing, I believe the tragedy on TV will not happen again, right?

"Liu Guozheng, you still have some candy in your pocket, give it to me."

Lou Xiao'e learned from Liu Guozheng to carry some candies in her pocket when she goes out. What she didn't know was that Liu Guozheng could theoretically take out anything from his pocket as long as he wanted.

"Xiao'e, it's not good for children to eat too much sugar."

Having said that, Liu Guozheng took out a dozen candies from his pocket and handed them to Lou Xiaoe.

"You're talking nonsense. Do you think they are like the children in our village who have no shortage of sweets to eat?"

Lou Xiao'e rolled her eyes at Liu Guozheng and gave two candies to each of the children who didn't get any.

"Thank you, auntie"

"Be good, you guys just play here from now on. Don't go anywhere else. It's not safe. Got it?"

"I know, Auntie."

"Be good children if you listen to what you say. Next time I come to the city, I'll bring you some candy."

Lou Xiao'e pinched Xiu's little face, stood up and prepared to go to the backyard. Although she liked to play with the children, she couldn't do that today because she still had work to do and the office's accounts for this month.

"Auntie, we're not going anywhere else"

“Auntie, we will work and we will clean this place up later.”

"Auntie, I can sweep the floor, too."

"Aunt..."

A group of children rushed to leave a good impression on Lou Xiao'e so that they could have candy in the future.

"Okay, you are all the best. Be good and have fun. Auntie still has things to do."

"Goodbye, Auntie."

When I returned to the backyard, I saw Huang Qiuxia cleaning. She knew that after today she would officially be on holiday and would not be open in the afternoon. Since she had nothing to do, she cleaned the office inside and out.

"Sister Huang, stop busying yourself and take a break."

"Guozheng, Xiao'e, you are here."

Putting down the work in her hands, Huang Qiuxia busied herself pouring tea for the two of them.

After Huang Qiuxia handed the bill to Lou Xiao'e, she continued to clean. No matter how much she tried to persuade her, she could only let her do as she pleased.

It was not until five o'clock in the afternoon that the entire office was cleaned inside and out. After a break, Liu Guozheng paid the overtime pay for the past few days and the year-end bonus. Huang Qiuxia was so excited after receiving the dozens of yuan that she was speechless.

The family is short of money during the Chinese New Year. Although we didn't earn much in previous years, it was not as tight as this year. The main reason was that Zheng Jiandong had not worked for nearly three months, and he needed money for hospitalization, health care, and raising children.

Both Huang Qiuxia and Zheng Jiandong have many relatives, and part of the money is spent on New Year's lucky money, visiting relatives and buying gifts, especially when going back to her parents' home. They have many brothers and sisters, and people who often visit relatives know that visiting relatives during the New Year is another form of comparison. Those open-minded old people are okay, but if you are the kind of person who judges others by the things they bring, you will not be able to have a happy New Year.

When he saw the Spring Festival gifts prepared by Liu Guozheng, he almost knelt down to Liu Guozheng.

These are all real things. Their family does not need to buy any other New Year's goods for the Spring Festival. With these things, not only can they eat themselves, but they can also be shown to relatives during the Spring Festival. They are absolutely presentable and can be eaten first. The prerequisite is that Huang Qiuxia is willing to spend ten kilograms of flour.

There were too many things for Huang Qiuxia to take all at once, so Liu Guozheng asked Xu Fang to help deliver them directly to her home.

"Brother Zheng, let's go."

When Xu Damao brought his family over, Huang Qiuxia and her family also arrived.

Liu Guozheng wanted to invite them to dinner, which could be considered as a year-end gathering. The food factory had a gathering before the holiday, and the office was of course no exception. Liu Guozheng specifically asked Xu Damao to book the restaurant in advance.

They greeted each other at the dinner table and said some New Year's greetings. At the same time, a red envelope was given to each of Huang Qiuxia's children, and Xu Ruyi, the little baby of Xu Damao, was not left out.

After the dinner, Liu Guozheng and Lou Xiaoe went back in a car. They were both drunk, and Xu Fang was driving.

Of course Jiang Ping stayed in the office and was responsible for its security.