Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 909 Calm and Calm
The matter of Xu Damao's family was handled quickly. Xu Damao did not ask for an exorbitant price in front of Director Wang. He just said that the value of all the things was five yuan in total, mainly because the bacon was expensive. Director Wang and Director Li thought it was reasonable, and the Jia family had no objection.

Jia Zhang will not be taken away this time, but she will have to accept education and punishment from the street office. The re-education will take place at the street office and is directly set at one week. The punishment is that in addition to paying compensation of five yuan to Xu Damao, she will also have to pay a fine of five yuan.

The neighbors in the yard were also talking about this matter. They all thought that Director Wang's punishment was too light. Could it educate Jia Zhang? In any case, there were still many voices of doubt.

The three uncles had no part in this matter from beginning to end, and Director Wang did not say anything about the other two uncles. However, Director Wang was still dissatisfied with the two uncles. When the registration at Yan Bugui's door appeared again, Director Wang was actually punishing the second and third uncles out of anger. She knew the second uncle's cultural level, so the one thousand-word self-criticism was intentional.

But after Xu Damao's incident, Yi Zhonghai began to re-examine Xu Damao. He felt that he had to change the person to establish his authority. Although Xu Damao was young, he was indeed smart and knew how to behave. In front of Director Wang, he was flawless and won his favor.

Jia Dongxu also looked at Xu Damao with admiration, especially when Xu Damao said that he only needed to compensate for the original value of the things that were taken away. He thought that Xu Damao called the police just to ask for an exorbitant amount of money, but he didn't expect that Xu Damao would just let it go.

For a moment, Jia Zhang also quieted down and disappeared. Yi Zhonghai hadn't thought of any future plans, and the yard suddenly became quiet.

There was nothing wrong with Courtyard No. 95. Sha Zhu went out early and came back late every day, cooking for people everywhere. But most of the time, he was taken by his master to practice his cooking skills. After all, his master was famous far and wide, and the people who invited him were all well-known figures. The ingredients prepared by such a person were rarely seen on the market, so this would increase Sha Zhu's cooking experience.

He Yushui had some free time, and there was no one to talk to in Yard 95, so he packed up and moved to the East Courtyard to accompany Wang Li. Wang Li was very happy. Wang Zhan also brought Erya and Xiaopang over. They played together during the day, and Aunt Sun would take them back at night. Sometimes Zhang Erya from the entrance of the alley would also come over.

Just like Xiaowu said, Wang Zhan's home has become a kindergarten. Xiaosi and Xiaowu still come twice a week. Da Laotie has gone to the sports school. I heard that he has joined the district basketball team. He trains all the time every day, and he really enjoys it.

Director Li and Wang Zhan's master Qi Dasheng have never returned since the meal on New Year's Day. Maybe they went to Yuer Hutong. Wang Zhan didn't know, but he had never seen them. Instead, Director Wang came specially and brought the financial department of the street office to distribute some subsidies to Wang Zhan and his sister, and also gave them the rent of Yuer Hutong.

Wang Zhan found that he seemed to have never been short of money and had a lot of bills. He Yushui once again took on the task of sorting out the bills.

As for the things that can be stored, Wang Zhan plans to buy them all at once and then put them in the basement, and put the rest aside for the time being. He also lets He Yushui choose the goods that can be stored, such as cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and cloth, and buy them directly. There are also some things that are not used now, such as aluminum lunch boxes, enamel pots, pans, and other things.

In the following week, Wang Zhan and He Yushui transformed themselves into small porters, pushing the tricycle between various supply and marketing cooperatives.

Food must be bought. Since the family has the conditions to store it, Wang Zhan did not hesitate and also bought a lot of oils and seasonings, which were also preparations for the New Year.

But after buying everything, Wang Zhan was still not satisfied when he looked at the cellar and basement. He Yushui looked at Wang Zhan and said, "You've bought enough. You can use the remaining bills slowly."

Wang Zhan said, "I feel like without meat, we are always missing the most important thing. Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative again in a couple of days when the Spring Festival is approaching."

"Have you asked Aunt Zhang?" He Yushui was referring to Aunt Zhang who worked in the butcher shop, Hei Pi's mother.

"I've asked around, and they've ordered two pig heads and two sets of pig offal, but no more pig trotters. I heard they were bought at a high price by a family that just had a baby." Wang Zhan said. "Okay, that's good, let's go up there, don't worry about these things, it's time to cook for those little brats." He Yushui pulled Wang Zhan out of the basement.

The days passed one by one. This year's Spring Festival was very early, and both the Little New Year and the Big New Year were in January. So after the Laba Festival, Wang Zhan pushed his tricycle and went from house to house to deliver holiday gifts to his mentors and friends.

The gifts given to the fifth, fourth and eldest children and the eldest brother were mostly cigarettes and alcohol, while the gifts given to the teachers and the principal were snacks and some rare items, such as malted milk.

This year, several families have already agreed that Aunt Sun's family and Sha Zhu's family will both spend the holiday in the East Courtyard with Wang Zhan's siblings, as well as Qi Dasheng and Director Li.

But this year's chef title was snatched away by Sha Zhu, who said that he wanted to give Qi Dasheng a break, but in fact he just wanted to show off his cooking skills and prove that he had made great progress recently, especially in front of Wang Zhan and his master.

January 23, the Little New Year in the North
Another moderate snowfall fell yesterday. I don't know why it snowed so frequently this year. After picking up a few children early in the morning, the yard became a mess. Some wanted to make snowmen, and some helped to build igloos. Only He Yushui and Wang Zhan were silently holding shovels and brooms, clearing the snow in the yard bit by bit, and then pushing the snow out of the yard with a tricycle and dumping it at the place designated by the street office.

It was not until noon that the group of children dispersed, and then Wang Zhan did the final cleanup. He Yushui made noodles at noon. There was too much work to do today and he was too busy, so he just had a simple bite at noon.

In the afternoon, Qi Dasheng sent someone to tell him that he and Director Li had something to do in the evening and would not be back. Sha Zhu did not come back in the afternoon either. According to Yu Shui, he went to follow the master to prepare the banquet.

Aunt Sun is very busy at the street office. The staff is still the same, but they have to clear snow, check dilapidated buildings, and visit the families of martyrs. She is really overwhelmed.

In the afternoon, Wang Zhan went directly to the kitchen to mix the dumpling filling. This year, Sha Zhu brought some northern sauerkraut, so they decided to make pork sauerkraut and pork cabbage. He Yushui was responsible for kneading and fermenting the dough, and the two of them started busying themselves in the kitchen.

Aunt Sun came back in the evening, and the three of them started making dumplings together. When Wang Zhan was halfway through, he went to prepare the dishes. It would not be enough to just have dumplings in the evening, as the three children in the family are all foodies.

When it was almost six o'clock, the dumplings were put into the pot and Wang Zhan started cooking, including a serving of cold pork head, a plate of fried peanuts, a dish of three kinds of stir-fried vegetables, a dish of sweet and sour pork, a dish of braised carp, a dish of stir-fried tripe, and the last dish was the Four Gods Pig Heart Soup.

As soon as the dishes were served, the whole room was filled with fragrance. The ingredients were not abundant today, so Wang Zhan put all his efforts into making this table of dishes, and all the necessary seasonings and dipping sauces were also served on the table.

Wang Zhan took out a bottle of Xifeng wine, placed it in front of Aunt Sun, and said, "You are exhausted today. Would you like to have a drink to relieve your fatigue?"

Aunt Sun laughed and said, "Then let's have a drink. It's the New Year. Let's be happy."

Wang Zhan and He Yushui drank red wine, and the other children drank soda. Everyone raised their glasses and shouted "Happy Little New Year!" together. For a moment, the main room was filled with laughter.

(End of this chapter)