Siheyuan: A Very Happy Era

Chapter 551 is simply unbelievable!

"So, what do you all think? How should we resolve this?"

Xu Yuliang glanced at everyone, then stared at Xu Yu'an and asked, word by word.

Seeing this, the others also turned their gaze to Xu Yu'an's face, their eyes filled with a hint of reproach.

As a brigade cadre, seeing his wife acting recklessly, he not only didn't stop her, but instead hid aside and watched the show. It was simply outrageous.

Seeing this, Xu Yu'an shrank his neck slightly, then lowered his head and remained silent, clearly not intending to be the one to stick his neck out.

According to his understanding, children's household registration usually follows the mother. If Ma Hongying can work in Beijing, then their children can also become city dwellers.

Therefore, even if he had to be a monk for a few years, it would be worth it.

Moreover, Ma Hongying's brother, Ma Hongjun, lives in Beijing, so he doesn't need to worry about Ma Hongying being bullied while she's with her child.
As for the idea of ​​both of them going together, he really wanted to, but there were only 4 spots available in total, unless he could exchange his position as the brigade accountant.

However, this is something that can't be talked about, so he could only keep it to himself.

After a while, Xu Yuliang saw that Xu Yu'an was hiding and not saying a word, and he immediately felt furious.

It would be one thing if it were anyone else, but Xu Yu'an is his cousin! Why doesn't anyone try to understand his difficulties?
However, not wanting to embarrass Xu Yu'an in front of everyone, he could only suppress his anger and say in a deep voice, "Let me state my position first: this spot, in principle, cannot be given to someone who is already married."

Otherwise, what if all the elderly folks in the village come to sign up? What should we do then?

At this point, he couldn't help but glare angrily at Xu Yu'an.

In fact, it wasn't that he was unwilling to give the job to Xu Yu'an and Ma Hongying.

After all, if Xu Yu'an and Ma Hongying went to Beijing, he would at least have a relative in the city, right?
However, everyone in the village wants this job, so the only option is to select the best and most impartial person to do so.

If we were to falsify anything, not to mention what the villagers would think, we wouldn't be able to fool Li Guoqiang alone.

Upon hearing this, Sun Maocai, Ma Changshun, and the others exchanged glances and then nodded in agreement.

Xu Yu'an opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

As a brigade cadre, he still possessed at least a basic sense of collective organization.

Therefore, he knew that personal opinions could only give way to collective decisions, so whatever he said was useless and he could only remain silent to express his opinion.

Seeing this, Xu Yuliang ignored Xu Yu'an's thoughts and simply nodded, announcing:

“Okay! Then we’ll announce this decision later and tell all the villagers who are over eighteen years old and not yet married to hurry up and sign up. Then tomorrow night, we’ll hold a village meeting at the threshing ground and let everyone vote to elect the person.”

Before Sun Maocai, Ma Changshun, and the others could even chime in, Xu Yu'an suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "What if they're already engaged or dating?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned, and then they all frowned.

Because they know that, in order to get more dividends, the villagers have been constantly looking for matchmakers to find partners for their sons and daughters since the beginning of this year.

After these past six months, there probably aren't many people still single.

If those who have already found partners come to register and then do something like abandoning them after starting a relationship, then we brigade cadres will be in big trouble.

Upon considering this possibility, their expressions all became somewhat serious.

Then, they all turned their attention to Li Guoqiang, hoping he could help them come up with a solution.

This time, Li Guoqiang did not choose to stand idly by. He directly said, "If you ask me, we should just use a lottery to fill these four positions. This would be fair and would also prevent any problems from involving you."

Upon hearing this idea, everyone present lit up, and even Xu Yu'an, who had lost all hope, suddenly showed a look of excitement.

Although the odds of winning by lottery are quite low, there's still a chance, right?

Soon, Xu Yuliang praised, "Good, good, good, Qiangzi, your idea is good. Let's do it this way. Anyway, everyone draws lots for the first fish caught in winter every year, so they definitely won't have any objections to this."

Upon hearing his words, Sun Maocai, Ma Changshun, and the others all spoke up:
"Yes! I suggest that we just grab a handful of mung beans and a few red beans. Anyone who can grab a red bean can get the job."

“That’s right. This way it’s fairer and won’t make the illiterate people in the village feel uneasy.”

"Furthermore, since we've decided to draw lots, let's keep it a secret for now, then notify everyone to hold a village meeting and get it done on the spot, so as to avoid any unforeseen complications."

Upon hearing this, everyone present unconsciously nodded in agreement.

Since it's a lottery, we can't give the villagers time to prepare, to prevent anyone from coming up with a way to cheat.

Soon, Xu Yuliang and the others, having found a solution, got up to say goodbye and returned to the village. They then informed the villagers that they would hold a meeting at the threshing ground after the rain stopped that evening.

Li Guoqiang and Xu Yuping did not stay at the first apiary for long. Soon after, they went to the second, third, and fourth apiaries and inspected them carefully.

After successfully resolving a few minor issues, they went home.

By evening, the rain that had been falling for most of the day finally stopped.

The villagers, who had already heard the news, immediately rushed to the threshing ground for a meeting.

Li Guoqiang, Xu Yuping, and others did not go to join in the fun; they simply stayed quietly at home, playing with the children.

When it was completely dark, Xu Yuliang hurriedly ran over and handed the detailed list to Li Guoqiang.

Upon seeing this, Li Guoqiang's face immediately showed a slightly strange expression.

Because among them are not only Xu Yu'an and Ma Hongying, but also Xu Yusheng and Li Xiuqin.

"Sigh, what a mess this is. I never expected it to turn out like this. If the lottery hadn't been drawn in front of everyone, I bet some people would have suspected that our brigade leaders were up to something."

Seeing the strange expression on Li Guoqiang's face, Xu Yuliang couldn't help but sigh and complain.

After all, if it happens to be a married couple, it could be considered a coincidence.

But to draw out two couples in a row is simply unbelievable.

"Alright, now that we've drawn this result, there's no going back. Otherwise, you brigade leaders will lose all your authority."

Seeing this, Li Guoqiang quickly waved his hand and offered a word of comfort.

"That's right! So we didn't even bother to see what the people below were saying, and just sent this list to you directly."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuliang immediately slapped his thigh, his face full of deep agreement. Regardless, now that the decision had been made, it couldn't be taken lightly; the outcome had to be implemented.

"What about Brother Yu'an's position?"

Seeing Xu Yuliang like this, Li Guoqiang felt a surge of amusement and then asked softly.

"this."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuliang hesitated for a moment, then asked earnestly, "Qiangzi, who do you think should be given this position?"

"I'm not sure who to give it to specifically, but I'd suggest you consider giving it to someone from the Sun or Ma family."

Li Guoqiang shook his head, then slowly began to speak.

After saying that, he saw that Xu Yuliang seemed a little confused, so he put the list back in front of Xu Yuliang.

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuliang suddenly realized something and then slowly frowned.

In fact, the reason why the Xu family was able to control Jinshanbao was mainly because the two key positions of brigade leader and brigade accountant were both in the hands of the Xu family.

Therefore, according to his wishes, he did not want to hand over the position of brigade accountant to the Sun family or the Ma family.

However, nowadays, the Xu family has taken up all four spots for working in the city. If he insists on leaving the position of brigade accountant to the Xu family, it will easily arouse the resentment of the Sun and Ma families.

Even before he could reveal the truth, he would face strong opposition from the Sun and Ma families.

Thinking about all this, his brows furrowed more and more, and then he unconsciously turned his gaze to Li Guoqiang, his eyes revealing a hint of pleading.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't have any good solutions to this problem either."

Upon seeing this, Li Guoqiang simply spread his hands, indicating that he was powerless to help.

After all, a balance is important no matter where you are.

Since the Xu family has already benefited, they can't keep all the advantages for themselves; they have to give something back to compensate others.

"Alright! I'll go back and think about it some more!"

Upon hearing Li Guoqiang's words, Xu Yuliang could only nod in disappointment and say something.

After saying that, he didn't stay long and soon got up to say goodbye and leave.

After sending Xu Yuliang away, Li Guoqiang didn't worry too much. He immediately used teleportation to go to the beekeeping site he had previously chosen and began planning the location of the beekeeping research institute.

In addition, to avoid arousing suspicion, he did not plan to build brick houses here, but instead planned to build a row of wooden houses directly.

Anyway, they won't stay here for long. They'll just come back occasionally. As long as they can pass the inspections from above, that's fine.

He quickly planned out the location of the cabin and the beekeeping area, then returned to Jinshanbao and spent the night with Xu Yuping, Ma Shufen, and others.

The next morning, he drove his deer-drawn cart to the county town to buy a train ticket and also visited the agricultural bureau to tell Xu Guangfu about what had happened in the village.

When Xu Guangfu heard that Xu Yu'an, Ma Hongying, Xu Yusheng, and Li Xiuqin had all received job offers in the city, he was immediately shocked and then furious.

After all, Xu Yusheng is his own son. He didn't even bother to come and tell him in advance about such a big thing as coming to the city to work.

Seeing this, Li Guoqiang quickly stepped in to explain, "Dad, don't blame Brother Yusheng. He was just in a rush! He didn't have time to come and discuss it with you."

Besides, nobody can predict the outcome of a lottery; some people might want to win but don't even have the luck!

"Sigh, this really is a big world!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangfu's expression changed slightly, and then he sighed with emotion.

"By the way, I just bought train tickets for tomorrow morning. I'll be taking them to Beijing first thing tomorrow morning. Is there anything you need to tell me?"

Seeing that Xu Guangfu had calmed down, Li Guoqiang quickly told him about the itinerary.

"In such a hurry?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangfu was slightly taken aback, and then asked with some surprise.

"There's no other way. There are only a few people holding on at Xiangmizhai right now, so we have to get them over there as soon as possible."

Li Guoqiang raised an eyebrow, then spoke with a hint of helplessness.

Upon hearing this explanation, Xu Guangfu didn't say anything more. He simply asked Li Guoqiang to remind Xu Yusheng and Li Xiuqin to be careful in everything they did in Beijing and not to cause any trouble for him.

Li Guoqiang readily agreed, and soon after, he took his leave, driving his deer-drawn cart back to Jinshanbao to inform Xu Yusheng and the others that they would be setting off the next morning, so they could prepare.

Although the time was a bit tight, compared to the joy of working in the city, this little trouble was nothing at all.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Yusheng and the others immediately began preparations.

Because Li Guoqiang told them that once they arrived at Xiangmizhai, there would be houses and furniture for them to use first, their main task was to pack up their personal belongings and exchange their family's grain for money.

By evening, they had almost finished packing, and then, without prior arrangement, they all invited their relatives to their homes for dinner as a farewell.

After all, once they leave, they won't be able to return until at least the Lunar New Year.

When the time comes, they will have to come back here to visit relatives as city dwellers, and just thinking about it makes them excited.

Before they knew it, it was the morning of the second day.

Old Sun drove his donkey cart early in the morning and waited at the gate of Li Guoqiang's house.

After Li Guoqiang finished eating the steaming dumplings under the careful care of Xu Yuping and others, Xu Yusheng, Li Xiuqin, Xu Yu'an, and Ma Hongying, along with their children, arrived at Li Guoqiang's house carrying large bags and small packages.

Fortunately, their children are all young, the oldest being only eight or nine years old.

Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to go to Beijing with them.

Li Guoqiang first asked Xu Yusheng and the others if they had brought all the necessary items. After confirming that there were no problems, he then led them onto the donkey cart and began their journey into the city.

(End of this chapter)