The strong fisherman in the courtyard

Compared with the front and middle yards, the gap between neighbors in the backyard seems to be more serious, but the atmosphere is still generally joyful.

It was not until night fell that Li Ming and his mother brought the last two dishes to the table. The busiest time of the year had finally arrived.

"Son, shall we go set off some fireworks?"

Father Li happily lit a cigarette for himself and held it in his hand. He was going to use it to replace incense sticks later. After all, incense sticks were relatively thin, and sometimes it was difficult to light firecrackers.

"Yes, I will go!" Li Ming was happy. There was no way to set off firecrackers in later generations. Although he traveled to the 50s and celebrated New Year's Eve many times, his hobby of setting off firecrackers had not been lost at all.

Having lived two lives, setting off firecrackers during the New Year has become an obsession for Li Ming. If you tell me which year is not allowed to set off firecrackers in the city, Li Ming will definitely go to the countryside in advance and have a go at it.

Soon, the sound of "crackling" was heard in the yard. There were so many households in three yards, and every household was setting off firecrackers. The sound lasted for more than half an hour before it stopped.

And this was only the first time. New Year’s Eve in the 50s was really lively!

. . . . . .

Front yard, Li's house.

After the family finished their New Year’s Eve dinner, they sat together and started chatting. There are not many entertainment activities nowadays, and there is no TV. Even if there is TV, there is no such thing as the Spring Festival Gala, so the New Year’s Eve is now celebrated very simply.

"Son, do you want to find a partner next year?"

Mother Li asked with a smile as she placed a plate of peanuts in front of Li Ming.

Comrade Li Ming's face turned dark. I knew this would happen sooner or later, but I never expected it would be on New Year's Eve!

Li's father and sister, who were watching the fun nearby, also perked up and looked at Li Ming, as if Li Ming was deciding something important for the Li family.

Li Ming covered his face speechlessly and sighed, "Mom, I'll only be 19 tomorrow! I won't get married until I'm 20 at the latest."

"I didn't say you can get married right away. Besides, girls only need to be over 18. Your mother just wants you to date first."

Mother Li rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Then wait for me to try it out. I'll talk to you if I find someone suitable."

Li Ming could only resort to the tactic of procrastination. Anyway, there was no urgency now, so procrastination was still very effective.

Look, at least now my family members no longer talk about it, right?

. . . . . .

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

Everyone in the courtyard, young or old, got up early. At this moment, Li Ming and Li Rui from the Li family had just finished paying New Year's greetings, and each of them held a red envelope in his hand.

"I'm going to set off the fireworks!"

Li Ming is very resistant to red envelopes. The most important thing is that Li Ming is not short of money at all! After completing the process, setting off a string of firecrackers will be more attractive to Li Ming!

"Hey, Mingzi is awake!"

When the third uncle Yan Fugui saw Li Ming, he also greeted him with a smile.

Oddly enough, there were only two people from the Yan family who greeted and chatted with the Li family, a third uncle and a third aunt. The children of the Yan family would avoid Li Ming every time they saw him.

"Happy New Year! Uncle Sanda!"

Li Ming had no intention of asking for a red envelope from Yan Fugui. He just greeted him casually and ignored Yan Fugui's subsequent reaction. He just carried a string of firecrackers and hung them on a tree branch.

Then he brought the cigarette he had just lit closer. Not long after, the first sound of firecrackers in the front yard occurred under Li Ming's hand.

"Crackling"

"Crackling"

"crack crackle"

For a moment, the sound of firecrackers throughout the courtyard seemed to be agreed upon, one after another, and also symbolized the arrival of the new year.

After the Li family finished breakfast, they all began to rest in the house. They had been busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner yesterday and had put in a lot of effort. The Li family didn't have many relatives in the city, so the New Year's Day was relatively quiet every year.

Apart from some colleagues of Mr. and Mrs. Li who came to visit during the New Year, there were not many other relatives.

Chapter 181 Group Party?

Brother and sister Li Ming and Li Rui looked at each other, stretched out their hands and said, "Happy New Year, Mom and Dad!"

"Okay, you too."

Father Li smiled and gave each of the brother and sister a red envelope that he had prepared long ago.

Mother Li was also very happy as she gave each of them a New Year red envelope.

The Li family did not look down on the bad habits of their girls. The amounts in the red envelopes of the brother and sister were exactly the same. Just this point alone was enough to make them far better than other families in the courtyard.

"Brother, Happy New Year, give me the red envelope!"

Li Rui, who received the red envelope, was not in a hurry to open it. Instead, she looked at her brother.

Li Ming also handed Li Rui a red envelope he had prepared, which contained only five yuan.

In previous years, Li Rui never asked Li Ming for a red envelope, but last year she had a job, so this Chinese New Year it was Li Ming's turn to give a red envelope to his sister.

Not only was the Li family having a lively day, but other families in the courtyard were also spending it in laughter and joy.

evening.

After dinner, Yi Zhonghai walked towards the front yard and went straight to the house of his third uncle Yan Fugui.

"Uncle? How come you have time to come here today?"

Third uncle Yan Fugui looked at the rare guest and joked. Usually, few people came to visit the Yan family, let alone Yi Zhonghai.

This year, the year ended comfortably. Yi Zhonghai also replied cheerfully, "I have something to discuss with you two managers, so I came to the front yard to invite you."

As Yi Zhonghai spoke, he handed Yan Fugui a cigarette, and then refilled one for himself.

"What's the matter?"

"Okay, let's go to the backyard to find Lao Liu first, and then you two can listen to what I have to say."

Yan Fugui had already taken several puffs of his cigarette. When he heard that Yi Zhonghai was talking about good things, he followed him to the backyard.

The two men passed by the corridor connecting to the central courtyard, and Li Ming who was in the house happened to see this scene.

"Hey, these two managers are getting mixed up, I don't know what they are thinking about."

Li Ming muttered a few words and was too lazy to care about what they were doing. As long as they didn't think of causing trouble at their Li family, he would be fine.

Backyard, Liu's house.

Liu Haizhong was very happy to see Yi Zhonghai and He Yanfugui coming together, because this was a gathering of the three managers in the courtyard. Not to mention anything else, just this little thing was enough to make Liu Haizhong happy for two days.

"Let's talk about it now. He's an old man."

Yan Fugui finished the cigarette in his mouth and took out another one from the cigarette box in his bangs on the table and refilled it for himself.

Liu Haizhong also looked at Yi Zhonghai with the same curiosity, and was quite concerned about the good things Yi Zhonghai said.

"I'm thinking about our entire group party next year. Would you two consider it?"

"Group party?"

"Collective New Year's greetings?"

Yi Zhonghai saw that the two men understood what he meant so quickly, and his evaluation of the two managers increased a little, but not much.

How did this bad idea come about? It all started when the Jia family brought their little bastard to the Yi family to pay New Year's greetings early this morning.

Bang Geng called him Grandpa all the time, and Jia Dongxu called him Master all the time, which made Yi Zhonghai snot bubbles~

Afterwards, He Yuzhu and He Yushui came to pay him New Year's greetings, allowing Yi Zhonghai to fully enjoy the feeling of having a son.

Although other parties involved may not think so, at least Yi Zhonghai feels a better atmosphere. As long as everyone can have a group gathering together next year, wouldn't Yi Zhonghai feel more comfortable?

Moreover, this reunion party can promote neighborly feelings and can be considered a good thing.

As for these two managers, to be honest, Yi Zhonghai never thought that they would refuse this.

Liu Haizhong likes to show off his power. If so many people call him "Uncle" during the Chinese New Year next year, he will be so happy that he can take off!

As for Yan Fugui, it was even simpler. Although he might have to pay out more New Year's money at that time, the children in their family could also use this as an excuse to come and pay New Year's greetings!

They are all children, and they have come to your house to wish you a happy new year. It’s impossible for each of them to not contribute a penny, right?

The gain is definitely greater than the effort!

After Yi Zhonghai finished talking about the New Year's party, he didn't say anything else. He just smoked and waited for their reactions.

As expected by Yi Zhonghai, the two gentlemen nodded in unison regardless of their purpose.

"By the way, he's an old man, this thing can't be forced, right?"

The third uncle Yan Fugui still has a conscience and asked a crucial question.

Yi Zhonghai was stunned. To be honest, he had never considered which family would not participate, especially when the three uncles all agreed. However, for the sake of his own image, Yi Zhonghai confirmed, "Don't worry, there is no reason for us to force this."

Yan Fugui finally breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he didn't want to ask this question, but he couldn't afford to offend the Li family in their front yard.

What if the Li family doesn't want to participate and ends up being forced to participate? Wouldn't the relationship between Yan Fugui and the Li family, which had just been somewhat eased, be wasted?

"So when are we going to announce this?"

Liu Haizhong is a little impatient now. Although he can't enjoy it this year, it's also nice to tell this matter first.

Yi Zhonghai pondered for a while and said, "It's getting late today. Let's hold a general meeting tomorrow after dinner!"

The family gathering in the original plot was confirmed after consultation among the three uncles in charge of the courtyard.

. . . . . .

The next day.

Front yard, Li's house.

Early this morning, Comrade Wu Fang was called away by someone who came temporarily from the Street Office, saying that the Street Office had some matters that needed to be notified.

It was not until the afternoon that Comrade Wu Fang returned from the Street Office with a heavy heart.

Li Ming, Li Rui, and his father were also surprised to see Li's mother coming back with a heavy heart. They didn't expect that she was fine in the morning, but looked different when she came back in the afternoon.

Seeing this, Father Li hurried forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mother Li shook her head and gestured for the door to be closed. Li Ming saw this and went straight over to close the door.

"Let's go to the living room and talk about it, not in the small living room."

After saying this, Mother Li took the lead and walked towards the living room.

The three of them saw that this time it must be something important, and they all followed with serious expressions.

Li’s house, living room.

After the four members of the Li family were seated, Li's mother spoke.

"Do you still remember the 'township' mentioned two years ago?"

Several people were stunned, and Li Ming also suddenly realized.

Chapter 182 Li Ming: It seems I have to rely on my uncle Gan!

Oh my goodness, could it be that this time the movement of going to the countryside to work has reached their area?

This campaign was launched in the old city a few years ago. At the beginning, many people excitedly rushed to the countryside. However, when they got there, they found that life was really hard. At least the boys were better off, but the girls would be easily ruined if they went there.

Li Ming could confirm in his memory that this "village" activity should have started in 1956 exactly. At that time, it was not yet the turn of Sijiu City. At least there was no major incident in the area of ​​Sijiu City where they lived now, so Li Ming was able to escape it.

Of course, it could also be due to his age, or it could be that his mother helped him escape.

Now that Li's mother has brought up the matter again, the only person of the right age in the Li family is his sister, Li Rui.

"Mom, are you saying that Ruirui might have to go down after the New Year?"

Li Ming asked again just to confirm.

Mother Li nodded solemnly, "It's hard to hide this time. Director Wang specifically reminded me that you were under the age limit back then."

"Plus, I found Director Wang at the street office, and that's how the matter was suppressed. Now Ruirui's situation is in trouble."

Li Rui's pretty face turned pale. It was impossible for her not to know what the situation was like in the countryside. But no matter what the situation was like in the countryside, it was definitely not suitable for a girl to go there.

In particular, the Li family does not have the idea of ​​favoring boys over girls. If it were another family, it would probably not matter, but it is difficult for the Li family to accept.