The booming era begins with the director of the Propaganda Department!

Chapter 396 Young couples become companions in old age!
"Boss, how are you living at your father-in-law's house?" As soon as Liu Haizhong finished speaking, the entire Liu family turned their heads to look at Liu Guangqi.

The second aunt was a little nervous and gripped the chopsticks a little harder.

It is said that it is difficult to be a son-in-law. Ever since the eldest son ran away with his daughter-in-law, she has always dreamed that her son works like a slave in his father-in-law's house.

He gets up earlier than a chicken, sleeps later than a dog, and does more work than an ox or a horse. He is just like a farmhand in Zhou Paopi's family in the old days.

Many times she woke up in the middle of the night in shock, wondering why it wasn't the second brother, that damned one, or the third brother, that bastard, who ran off with someone, but it was the eldest brother, Liu Guangqi, whom she and her husband loved so dearly.

When Liu Guangfu and Liu Guangtian heard their father's question, they looked at each other and then looked at their eldest brother with eyes full of anticipation.

The difficulty of this question is comparable to who to save first if the mother and daughter-in-law fall into the river at the same time. It is asked in front of both the daughter-in-law and the mother, so neither answer is appropriate.

It's not that the two of them are deliberately bullying the eldest brother and want to make fun of him.

It was because their parents had been partial to their eldest brother for too long, and their hearts were full of resentment towards him. They had no intention of helping each other as brothers should.

Liu Guangtian said directly: "Brother, please tell us, is life easier in Shijiazhuang or in our Sijiucheng?"

How to answer this? Liu Guangqi's eyes flickered, not knowing how to answer.

If he told the truth and admitted that life in Shijiazhuang was better than in Siheyuan, wouldn't his father be pissed off during the New Year? ? If the news got out, he would also be known as someone who abandoned his parents when he got big enough? ?

But if I lied and said that life in a courtyard house was easier, wouldn't that mean that I made the wrong decision to follow my wife to Shijiazhuang? It would be equally unpleasant to say it to others.

Maybe the mother will let him bring his wife home.

To be honest, Liu Guangqi was used to living in the big house of his father-in-law and not having to listen to his father beating his two younger brothers every day. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he never wanted to set foot in this courtyard again.

This time I came back because I really had to.

He was in a dilemma and didn't know what to say. At this moment, Liu Haizhong's face turned ashen.

With a bang, he slammed the wine glass in his hand heavily on the table.

The Liu family's small side room suddenly became silent, and it seemed that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.

The sound of firecrackers outside continued, and occasionally there were cheers from children, but this New Year's joy no longer had anything to do with the Liu family.

"Just be frank, boss. Since life in Shijiazhuang is so good, why did you come back?" Liu Haizhong asked coldly.

……

In the middle courtyard, the Yi family.

Although there were only three people in the Yi family, there were six luxurious dishes on the table, including a big dish like braised fish.

As the saying goes, no feast is complete without fish. Fish represents reunion in northern banquets.

Yi Zhonghai didn’t care about this before, but since Yi Weihong was born, he would always order braised fish whenever there was a banquet.

The family of three raised their glasses happily. Yi Zhonghai and the aunt were drinking Xifeng, while the three-year-old Yi Weihong had a bottle of Arctic Ocean in his hand.

Putting down his wine glass, Yi Zhonghai looked forward to the next year: "This year's grain harvest is good, and next year everyone's life will be better... After the Chinese New Year, I plan to buy a bicycle first, so that it will be convenient for me to go to work in the future."

The lady also nodded in agreement: "When Weihong goes to kindergarten next September, you can still ride your bicycle to pick her up."

"Kindergarten? What kindergarten?" Yi Zhonghai frowned immediately after hearing this. "The children in that place are all restrained. They have to eat and sleep at designated times, just like the machines in our factory. How miserable they are!"
I can't bear to let my precious daughter go to that place, so I'd better let her enjoy the happiness at home for a few more years."

An auntie doesn't really want her child to go to kindergarten, but now other people's children are going there, and if her child doesn't go, people will gossip about her.

She thought for a moment and said, "It's not that I want him to go, but Wei Hong was jealous when she saw those guys from Old Zhang's family going to school."

Yi Zhonghai turned around and stroked Yi Weihong's head: "Good girl, let's not go to kindergarten. That place is a place of suffering. You were born to enjoy happiness, you can't go there to suffer."

Yi Weihong took a sip of soda and burped. "But my brother said the kindergarten is right next to their elementary school. If I go to kindergarten, he can take me to and from school every day."

He likes his younger brother and wants to play with him.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned completely dark now, and he cursed Zhang Xiangmei in his heart, saying that this little bastard deserves death, and that he had ulterior motives.

But looking at my little girl's innocent face, I couldn't say anything.

Helpless, I could only hold her on my knees and coax her softly.

After finally coaxing the little girl, the auntie said, "Old Yi, I just saw Zhang Shenfei take the deaf old lady to their home to celebrate the New Year... What do you think of this matter? The old lady always celebrated the New Year at our home before, but this time it's suddenly different. Will the neighbors say anything?"

Yi Zhonghai picked up the most delicious piece of meat from the fish belly, examined it carefully, and put it in Yi Weihong's bowl: "Let them be. I don't care about this now."

this???!!!
The aunt was very surprised for a long time and then gave her husband a thumbs up: "My dear, you are really out of this world!!"

"Having a daughter is enough. I just want to raise our Wei Hong well, and then I will have no regrets in this life." Before he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaomei's face suddenly appeared in Yi Zhonghai's mind, and he gritted his teeth and added, "Pick a suitable son-in-law for him!!! I don't want someone with the last name Zhang!!!"

An aunt muttered softly, I think Zhang Xiangmei is a good child. She knows how to protect Wei Hong.

When that brat Banggeng bullied Weihong before, it was Zhang Xiangmei and his brothers who beat Banggeng up.

But she dared only whisper this, and didn't dare to say it in front of her husband. Yi Zhonghai pretended not to hear it.

In the front yard, old Yan’s house.

"Dad, please turn up the volume of the radio. This radio is old and the volume is so low that I can't hear anything at all!!" Yan Jiecheng said dissatisfiedly.

Then came Yan Bugui's even more dissatisfied voice: "That sounds good, but if the volume is loud, won't it cause more damage? No matter how old this radio is, I bought it with my own money. If you don't take good care of it, you can buy a new one for free? What if you three can still pay for it by then?"

The three brothers of the Yan family immediately curled their lips when they heard this. The radio wasn't even broken yet, yet they were already thinking about asking them to pay for it.

He is so calculating, no wonder Sha Zhu gave him the nickname Yan Laoxi!!!
The others were just thinking about it, but Yan Jiecheng said it out loud: "How about we say there are some wrong names, but there are no wrong nicknames?"

"Hey, how can you talk about your own father like that?" Yan Bugui was also angry.

Yan Jiekuang saw his father and brother arguing with each other, and he was afraid that they would continue to argue for who knows how long if he didn't stop them, so he quickly stopped them: "Dad, big brother, what are you two doing on New Year's Day? Can you please stop talking and share the peanuts quickly?"

Since the famine began, peanuts have been supplied in limited quantities only during holidays. This Spring Festival, their family only received two taels per person.

For the New Year’s Eve dinner, each person had ten dumplings stuffed with cabbage and fried dough sticks. After eating, they just filled their stomachs, and they were counting on the peanuts to feel the atmosphere of the New Year.

Aunt Yan nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, let's distribute the peanuts. Everyone is waiting." She hadn't eaten peanuts for a whole year. Even before she had eaten any, she already began to miss the aroma of peanuts.

Yan Bugui glanced at their eldest brother, ignored him, and brought a basket from the table next to him.

"Are all the peanuts here?" Yu Li suddenly interrupted.

"They're all here. There are seven people in our family, two taels each, a total of one pound and four taels." Yan Bugui said, blinking his little bitch eyes behind his tortoise-shell glasses.

"This doesn't look like one pound and four ounces. I estimate it's only one pound at most." Yu Li shook her head. She is a salesperson and is very sensitive about symmetry.

Yan Bugui was immediately unhappy: "Everyone in the whole courtyard knows that when I, Yan Bugui, do things, I always pay attention to fairness, fairness and fairness! Are you doubting me by saying this now?"

"Dad, what are you doing? My sister-in-law just said it casually. You'd better divide it quickly." Yan Jiefang yelled.

"That's right, Yu Li just said it casually, don't take it to heart." Yan Jiecheng also said.

Two of Yan Bugui's four children helped him, so Yan Bugui said nothing. He scooped half a spoonful of food from the bamboo basket for each of them, and distributed it to each of them, starting with the eldest, Yan Jiecheng.
"Jie Kuang, put your hand out, it's your turn." Yan Bugui said, and scooped another shovelful of the same size as before.

Yan Jiekuang took the peanuts, but while Yan Bugui was not able to react, he took away the remaining peanuts.

"Dad, this is not fair, I protest!!"

"Why are you like this, old man?"

"This is too much. Isn't this bullying the honest people?" Several other people protested.

"I saw that everyone had shared theirs, and there were still a few left to be wasted, so I thought I would buy them all," Yan Jiekuang said with certainty.

But how could he hide his little thoughts from others who shared the same bloodline with him? ? ?
The three siblings of the Yan family slammed the table in protest, and the youngest, Yan Jiedi, even demanded that their father must resolve the matter, otherwise the rest of them would have to make up for the missing peanuts.

Yan Bugui looked at the empty basket and felt worried. There was nothing in it. How could he get peanuts to feed the other children?

In the end, he could only suggest that Yan Jiekuang get two fewer dumplings tomorrow morning and make up for it from here.

"Third brother, did you hear that? Are you convinced?" he said.

Yan Jiekuang curled his lips. Anyway, the benefits have been reaped now, so let’s talk about tomorrow’s matters tomorrow.

Seeing that he showed no remorse, the other two brothers started to complain again.

Upon seeing this, Yan Bugui immediately slammed the table and shouted, "That's enough! Stop arguing. What are you doing here on New Year's Day? Are you waiting to be laughed at by others?"

After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the house. When he passed by his wife, he touched the hem of her clothes as if inadvertently.

Aunt Yan and Yan Bugui have always been in sync with each other, otherwise they would not have been able to give birth to four children in one go.

After sensing the other party's hint, Aunt Yan blinked her eyes and quickly peeled the handful of peanuts in her hand and stuffed them into her mouth.

"You guys... make your dad angry every day, even during the New Year. Well, you guys stay in the house. I'll go see where your dad is."

After making an excuse, he turned around and left the house.

After leaving the house, he did not go out of the courtyard gate, but turned and went into the kitchen which was converted from the toilet.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw my wife Yan Bugui taking out a small frame from the bottom layer of the cupboard.

Inside is a layer of clearly visible, distinct peanuts that just covers the bottom of the small frame.

Aunt Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and she walked over impatiently: "I told you, the amount of peanuts today must be wrong."

"Four ounces, I stole four ounces!" Yan Bugui was very proud. "Can we give all the peanuts to those debt collectors? I have finally understood that none of these four kids is easy to deal with. From now on, we two will have to take care of ourselves."

As Yan Bugui spoke, he grabbed a handful of peanuts and stuffed them into his wife's hands.

Aunt Yan couldn't wait to peel one and put it back into his mouth: "Authentic sand peanuts, very delicious, my dear, please try it."

"Yeah, it's delicious, you eat one too!" Yan Bugui also fed her one.

The couple snuggled in the kitchen, listening to the bustling noise from the Zhang family next door, and feeding each other peanuts.

In the room, several children were still making noise, but it had nothing to do with them anymore.

Opposite, Lao Zhang's house,
There are two large round tables placed side by side in the living room.

One was originally owned by Zhang Shenfei's family, and the other was temporarily moved from Sha Zhu's house.

Sitting at the adults' table were Grandma Zhang, the deaf old lady, Tian Zhigang, Zhang Shenfei, Zhang Shenliang, Tang Danniu, Tian Xiaozao, Sha Zhu, Zhang Shunsui, He Yushui, and Liu Lan.

The other children, except Zhang Weiguo, all sat at the children's table.

The dishes on both tables were the same, eight dishes and one soup prepared by Sha Zhu.

Although the Zhang family had lived a good life in the past year, they had not seen such a sumptuous meal for a long time.

The children's eyes were shining as they stared at the pork with sand, braised pork, and pork with preserved vegetables on the table and swallowed their saliva continuously.

Seeing that the kids had already picked up their chopsticks and were eager to try, Sha Zhu quickly stood up and said, "It's New Year's Eve, let's say hello and get the red envelopes first!!"

The two old ladies sat down, and Sha Zhu shouted as if he was instructing them on etiquette.

"On New Year's Eve, the house is warmed by wine, and firecrackers are set off to celebrate the New Year! Come quickly, little ones! Pay your New Year's greetings to the old lady and receive the New Year's money.

As soon as these words were spoken, the little ones in the Zhang family immediately stood up and lined up, their little eyes looking straight into Grandma Zhang's pockets.

The fourth son, Zhang Fenjin, didn't even say a word. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed to his grandmother twice: "Madam, I wish you a long life."

Grandma Zhang put down the pipe in her hand, took out a red envelope from her lapel and handed it over with a smile.

The fourth child took the red envelope, opened it and saw that there was only two cents inside. He pouted unhappily and said, "Madam, you are too stingy."

Tang Daniu slapped him in the face: "Don't force me to slap you on this happiest day for all the people in the country."

Zhang Fenjin held back the rest of his words, turned around and bowed to the deaf old lady again.

(End of this chapter)