Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3009 The Accountant Who Embezzled Funds and Fleed
Papapa

Firecrackers went off at the alley entrance, and puffs of gray smoke rose up with each explosion.

Yang Xiaotao walked in from outside, looking hurried and eager to go home.

Under the cover of night, a group of children hid at the entrance of the alley, becoming even more excited when they saw someone approaching.

Then a string of firecrackers were thrown at Yang Xiaotao's feet, followed by a burst of laughter that disappeared into the alley.

Yang Xiaotao didn't mind, but the guy leading the group looked a bit familiar.

Yang Xiaotao walked quickly to the entrance of the courtyard house and stepped inside.

At the entrance of the courtyard, Yan Fugui was chatting with several elderly people in the courtyard. This year, the third aunt went to the Northwest, and Yan Jiekuang was busy working on the construction site, leaving only him and Yan Jiedi at home.

Although there were fewer people in the family, the New Year was still very lively.

First, the neighborhood committee delivered the honorary plaque for the "Civilized and Progressive Courtyard" in the morning, and another plaque was added at the main gate, which means that the courtyard's status among the surrounding alleys has become even more important.

Although we were already far ahead before.

Yan Fugui, an elderly man living in a courtyard house, was honorably recognized as a progressive and received both an honorary award from the neighborhood committee and a material reward.

This made Comrade Yan Fugui extremely happy.

Secondly, the couplets he wrote for the courtyard were very rewarding.

In recent years, the living conditions of the residents in the compound have improved a lot, especially the employees of Department Nine, who have received many benefits and are therefore quite generous.

Now that it's dark, Yan Fugui and his daughter finish wrapping the dumplings, then go to the courtyard to chat with everyone.

Yang Xiaotao walked into the front yard, and Yan Fugui immediately saw him and went up to greet him.

"Xiao Tao, you're finally back! Everyone's been waiting for you to start the company-wide meeting!"

As Yan Fugui spoke, a group of people followed behind him, all of them elderly residents of the compound.

Yang Xiaotao stood at the door and laughed, "It's already past ten o'clock, and you're still not open!"

Yan Fugui shook his head, "A hospital-wide meeting requires the participation of the entire hospital. If you don't come back, we'll be short one person. How can we hold it?"

Yang Xiaotao waved his hand, "Please don't make a big deal out of this. There are so many people in the hospital, it won't matter if I'm missing one."

"That's not how it works!"

Yan Fugui disagreed and quickly said, "Putting aside the fact that this is a task assigned by the subdistrict office and everyone is required to participate, even in our compound, if you don't participate, what will others think?"

"This is not supporting the work of the neighborhood committee. If Director Wang finds out, how will the old men in my compound get any work done?"

Yan Fugui is not the same as before; he spoke with great conviction.

In the past, holding large meetings was a private matter within the institute. Not only were meetings held frequently, but the purposes of these meetings were also impure, such as donating money to this family or offering help to that family.

The people in the courtyard had long been fed up with it, not to mention there was a ringleader named Yang Xiaotao.

But it's different now.

Putting aside the fact that what I'm doing is serious business, this hospital-wide meeting is a very important matter.

Secondly, this meeting is the task of the subdistrict office. We are to study on this day and learn about the revolutionary spirit. Everyone has to participate.

Seeing Yan Fugui's seemingly innocent expression, Yang Xiaotao was speechless.

I really don't want to say anything.

Even during the Lunar New Year, we still have to attend educational classes.

Really
Nothing to say.

"Okay, I'll come out as soon as I'm done cleaning up."

Considering his own influence, Yang Xiaotao felt he should still attend the compound meeting.

When the time comes, we can just eat sunflower seeds.

Upon seeing Yang Xiaotao agree, Yan Fugui immediately smiled, feeling as if he had completed a sacred mission.

When Yang Xiaotao arrived at the Intermediate People's Court, he saw Duanwu leading a group of people running around the yard. Dudu, lagging behind, was so anxious that she flung off her gloves, hanging them around her neck and bouncing around. Upon seeing Yang Xiaotao, she cried out, "Brother, wait for me!"

Yang Xiaotao shook his head when he saw it. He knew without guessing that this kid had been corrupted by his brother.

Arrive at the doorstep.

Grandpa, Old Master Ye, and the other two sat together drinking tea and chatting, while Ran Qiuye, Cuiping, and Liu Yuhua were busy in the kitchen.

As Yang Xiaotao entered the house, Cuiping joked, "Oh my, the head chef is back! We kitchen helpers have been waiting for ages."

Yang Xiaotao came up and said with a smile, "There aren't many things that can get your sister-in-law to do."

"I'll talk to Lao Yu about it later!"

Cuiping rolled her eyes. "Back? It's uncertain whether he'll even be back by the end of the first month of the lunar year."

"I never see him all day, he might as well just die out there."

Hearing this, Ran Qiuye quickly stepped forward and tugged at Cuiping, saying, "Don't talk nonsense during the New Year."

Cuiping realized she had blurted out something, so she quickly turned around and went to make dumplings.

"Are you all done?"

Ran Qiuye asked, and Yang Xiaotao shook his head, "How can I finish? There are so many things to do, I'm constantly busy."

"Old Li and Old Xu are still busy in the office, I'm off."

Ran Qiuye was speechless. "There's no one at Secretary Li's house. I'll make dumplings and send them to him later."

"I'll also go check on Feng Nan later. Director Zhao isn't home, so it's a bit deserted here."

Yang Xiaotao shook his head, "No need, the cafeteria has prepared dumplings too."

"That's different, let's hurry up."

Ran Qiuye insisted, so Yang Xiaotao had no choice but to nod, "Okay, I'll deliver them after we finish eating the dumplings."

"That's true."

"Brother Tao!"

"My husband can deliver it; he has nothing to do at home anyway."

Liu Yuhua spoke up from the side, and Zhou Kui, who was busy tending the fire, stood up with a simple smile on his face, "Yes, yes, I'll go, I'll go."

Yang Xiaotao waved his hand, "No need, I'll go!"

After saying that, he went to the stove to prepare to cook, while inquiring about the Zhou family's situation.

After a few people busied themselves for a while, the food was ready, and a meeting was held in the courtyard.

Yang Xiaotao and the others walked out of the house and into the courtyard.

It's still the same table, but the people at the table are gone.

Yan Fugui did not place the table in the middle, but instead found a spot to put it down and stood in front of it to prepare for the meeting.

Before long, the courtyard was filled with people, some sitting and some standing.

Yang Xiaotao was with his great-grandfather and the others, looking at the courtyard full of men, women, and children, and suddenly wondered when there were so many people in the courtyard?

"Uncle Dashan, are there so many people in our yard now?"

When Yang Xiaotao asked, Wang Dashan casually laughed and said, "That's right, even the warehouse in the yard has been converted into rooms for people to live in."

"The total population of our compound exceeds three hundred."

"so much?"

Yang Xiaotao was very surprised.

I remember when he traveled back in time, in 1958 there were only about twenty households, a little over a hundred people.

But now, it has exceeded three hundred, which means the population has more than doubled.

"Not only has the number of people in our courtyard doubled, but the number of people in the alley has also increased."

Xiao Liu chuckled, "And now there are more people who want to come into our alley, but we just can't get them in."

Looking at the familiar faces in the courtyard, Yang Xiaotao vaguely understood what was going on.

More than ten years have passed, and the children in the family have grown up and gotten married, all in the courtyard.

In addition, there is no restraint in having children these days; four or five children a family is considered few.

There are at least seven or eight.

The Yang family now has five members.

This was only because Yang Xiaotao deliberately kept things under control; otherwise, the children would have formed a volleyball team by now. "Comrades in the courtyard, today is Lunar New Year's Eve, as required by the street office..."

Yan Fugui stood in front of the table and began to speak. His voice was infectious, quite different from his previous style where the first three sentences were always about scheming.

Yang Xiaotao took out some sunflower seeds and ate them with the people around him, occasionally cheering and clapping along with the people in the courtyard.

Yan Fugui spoke for about ten minutes, then clapped his hands and announced, "The conference has come to a successful conclusion. Dismissed."

Everyone laughed, but they didn't leave. Instead, they chatted and relaxed together.

The children went into high spirits again, and the sound of explosions echoed from the backyard all the way to the alley entrance.

At 11:30, everyone went home to prepare the meal and put it on the table, including the dumplings.

"Grandpa, I've spoken to Uncle Dazhuang, and you can live at home from now on."

Yang Xiaotao was discussing it with his great-grandfather when Old Ye chimed in, "Brother, Xiaotao is right. You're getting old, and Xiaotao and Qiuye are worried about you back in the countryside."

"Now Qiuye works in the city, and her children at home need someone to take care of them."

The old Taoist priest also said, "That's right, it's not that we never go back to the countryside. We can go back and stay for a few days each year."

While the old man was still hesitating, Yang Xiaotao glanced at Ran Qiuye, then gestured towards Dudu with his lips, and Ran Qiuye immediately understood.

"I'm just afraid of causing trouble for the child."

As the old man spoke, Old Ye advised again, "You're just causing trouble here. If you're in the countryside, Xiao Tao and the others will worry about you and have to come back for anything. How can your work not be affected?"

"Don't you think that makes sense?"

The old man opened his mouth, but still hesitated.

Perhaps this is what it means to be reluctant to leave one's homeland.

However, when I saw Duanwu running over with Dudu, my feelings immediately changed.

Now, Yang Xiaotao's children are all his darlings: Miaomiao is fourteen after the New Year, Duanwu is ten, Yueyue and Rongrong are eight, and the youngest, Dudu, is five.

Especially during the Dragon Boat Festival, because Ran Qiuye often works in the countryside, she grew up in the village during the Dragon Boat Festival. There are still photos of the Dragon Boat Festival and her great-grandfather playing with frogs at home.

Sure enough, under Duanwu and Dudu's strong offensive, Grandpa Yang finally relented and agreed to come back after the third day of the Lunar New Year and take care of Yang Xiaotao's children in this courtyard.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao and Ran Qiuye breathed a sigh of relief.

The old man is almost eighty years old this year. Although he looks healthy, his age is what it is, and who knows what might happen to him?

In this courtyard house, not only are there people in the courtyard helping out, but with Wangcai watching over things, Yang Xiaotao feels much more at ease.

After finishing their business, Yang Xiaotao called Miao Miao to carry the firecrackers and walk towards the front gate.

People from each family behind them came out, mostly men leading their children.

They came to each other's gates one by one, calling out to each other.

Soon, people from the neighboring alley and courtyard came out as well. They greeted each other and then placed strings of firecrackers at the entrance, which looked like a red carpet of firecrackers from a distance.

At this time, whoever has a son has to go up; if they don't have a son, their daughter has to go up and take his place.

The Yang family has many members. For the Dragon Boat Festival, Miaomiao gave some to Old Master Ye, Rongrong helped the old Taoist priest, and Dudu was called by Yan Fugui to help. The little guy was so happy that he was jumping for joy.

Since Yueyue was the only one left, Yang Xiaotao simply took out two bundles of firecrackers to make her happy.

Zhou Kui's son, Dundun, was quite young, but at this time, encouraged by Duanwu, he squatted on the ground with incense sticks, looking eager to try. Zhou Kui was anxiously rubbing his hands behind him, afraid that his son would stick the incense sticks into the firecrackers and set them off.

"Everyone, please pay attention."

Yan Fugui, holding his watch, shouted, "Countdown, 11!"

"ignition!"

As the crowd shouted, a group of children in front blew incense sticks, turned sideways, and immediately lit the firecrackers.

Bang bang bang bang
Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Year of the Ox!!!

"Happy New Year!!!"

New Year's greetings rose and fell, and firecrackers went off incessantly.

The Ninth People's Hospital.

Accountant Wang Lan stretched and then stood up from her seat.

The sound of firecrackers outside reminded her of her parents and younger sister at home.

No one can be left unattended in the hospital, not even during the Lunar New Year.

It just so happens that it was her turn to be on duty during the Chinese New Year this year.

However, she was not a doctor or nurse, but an accountant in charge of the hospital's finances.

The reason for arranging shifts is simply for the safety of the hospital.

However, while everyone else is at home reuniting with their families, she is here guarding a cold desk, and she still feels a little sad.

Thinking this, I got up and went for a walk in the corridor.

Perhaps it was because everyone in the courtyard had gone outside to watch the fireworks, there weren't many people in the corridor.

Moreover, this floor is all office space, so there aren't many people there.

Wang Lan stood by the window, watching the fireworks exploding in the night sky, and her mood inexplicably improved.

Wang Lan didn't pay attention to the footsteps that suddenly came from behind her.

There are quite a few people on duty at this hospital; people come and go, it's not unusual.

However, as the footsteps grew closer, Wang Lan became suspicious. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw a hand holding a handkerchief covering her face.

"you"

My gaze fell on the man wearing a mask; he looked familiar, yet I couldn't believe it.

The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Yang Xiaotao is taking his child to offer New Year's greetings to people in Beijing.

The advantages of having many children in the family become apparent. With six or seven people in the family, it's lively to shout when you visit each other.

As for the New Year's money, some people receive one or two cents, while others receive five cents or one dollar. It's basically just for fun.

In the Yang family, Yang Xiaotao was only responsible for leading the children to collect money, while Ran Qiuye was responsible for distributing red envelopes.

Family members get one yuan, even closer relatives get five mao, and those who come after you for New Year's greetings get two mao.

Even so, he earned more than fifty yuan in just one day, mainly because so many people came to wish Yang Xiaotao a Happy New Year. Everyone brought their children, and he couldn't show favoritism to one person over another.

Fortunately, Yang Xiaotao's current salary isn't bad, and Ran Qiuye's income is also over one hundred.

What's more, Grandpa, Old Ye, and the old Taoist priest each gave each child ten yuan, so they made a clean profit right away.

Just as Yang Xiaotao led the children out of Yang Youning's house, the little ones with their pockets full of candy, Chen Mingli from the security department rushed up to them.

Upon seeing this, Yang Xiaotao instinctively frowned.

Even though they didn't send Chen Mingli to pay New Year's greetings during the Lunar New Year, this doesn't look like a New Year's greeting at all.

"Minister Yang, something's happened."

Sure enough, the first thing Chen Mingli said when he arrived made it clear to Yang Xiaotao that he hadn't guessed wrong.

"What's wrong!"

Chen Mingli took a deep breath and said, "This morning, the comrades on duty in the security department received a call from the security department of the Ninth People's Hospital."

"When their accountant checked the safe at work today, they found that the 50,000 yuan that was supposed to be deposited into the account was missing."

"what?"

Yang Xiaotao took a deep breath, his expression solemn.

In those days, when an average worker's salary was no more than one hundred yuan, fifty thousand yuan was definitely a huge sum of money.

Moreover, such a thing has never happened since the establishment of the Nine Departments.

"What exactly happened? Has the matter been investigated and clarified?"

Chen Mingli nodded and said, "According to our comrades' investigation, Wang Lan, the accountant on duty last night, did not come to work today."

“Our people went to her home to check. Her family said that Wang Lan was on duty last night and did not return after dawn. Her family thought that Wang Lan was helping out at the hospital, so they did not pay attention.”

"But we couldn't find any trace of Wang Lan no matter how hard we searched."

At this point, Chen Mingli took a deep breath and said, "We suspect that Wang Lan has absconded with the money."