Chapter 243: New Year's Eve! Jia Zhang's New Year's Revenge
Chapter 243: New Year's Eve! Jia Zhang's New Year's Revenge (Subscribe!)
The New Year is approaching.
The festive atmosphere became more and more intense, and everyone's faces were filled with smiles.
Soon, it was New Year’s Eve, and the courtyard was bustling with activity.
Early in the morning, Li Kailang was awakened by the sound of firecrackers outside.
The residents of the courtyard all came out to set off firecrackers, yours and my own, although they were just one string of firecrackers.
But every family sets off fireworks, and it’s very lively!
Li Kailang also took two strings of firecrackers and set them off. It was lively and a farewell to the old year.
After setting off the firecrackers, Li Kailang looked at the front yard which was covered with red and colorful decorations everywhere. Some were pasting Spring Festival couplets, and some were hanging blessing characters.
Every household is busy.
Yan Bugui also placed an octagonal table in the middle of the front yard and helped people write couplets.
Of course, this couplet was not written for free. Yan Bugui also asked for a fee of one or two cents.
You don't have to pay for the writing fee, but you should at least give a handful of melon seeds or half a handful of peanuts.
This is also what Yan Bugui is most proud of and the most glorious moment of his year.
Not only did people in his courtyard come to him for couplets, but people from other courtyards also came to him for them.
Although Yan Bugui is not a great calligrapher, his handwriting is still very beautiful, and everyone is happy to find him.
"Xiao Li, do you want to write couplets? I won't accept anything from you!" Yan Bugui shouted to Li Kailang.
"No need, I will write the couplets myself this year, so I won't bother you."
Yan Bugui said: "You are too polite. We are neighbors, so there is no trouble or no trouble."
Li Kailang shook his head and refused: "Forget it, Uncle San, you should just write for others first."
Yan Bugui didn’t know that Li Kailang was going to put up white couplets. If he had known, he wouldn’t have asked, as it was unlucky during the New Year.
Li Kailang returned home and took out the white couplets he had prepared.
Naturally, the words on this couplet were not written by an outsider, but Li Kailang's calligraphy was not very good, so he naturally had to rely on external help.
This external force is naturally the planting space. In the space, Li Kailang can write beautiful characters with just a thought.
The residents in the front yard naturally understood when they saw that Li Kailang’s house was posted with white couplets.
"No wonder Li Kailang didn't need Uncle San's help. This white couplet is unlucky!"
"Yes, but there is no need to visit Li Kailang's family during the New Year. I think Li Kailang's family has been living well since he became a driver!"
"I was thinking of visiting him during the Chinese New Year, getting some good food, and sitting in his house to warm myself up without burning coal."
Everyone was talking about it, but no one was gossiping.
"Okay, it's done. Time to help Mr. Hua put it on."
Li Kailang went to Hua's hometown and helped to put up Spring Festival couplets, blessing characters and other things. After finishing, Li Kailang left.
As soon as he came back, he saw Yan Jiecheng looking for him in a hurry.
"Li Kailang, everyone is waiting for you, why did you come back just now?"
"What's the matter? What do you want from me this early in the morning?"
"The courtyard is going to hold a general meeting, and you are the only one who hasn't come. Everyone is waiting for you, so hurry up and leave."
"I thought it was some big deal, okay, let's go!"
When Li Kailang arrived at the central courtyard for the meeting, the residents of the courtyard had already gathered there.
There were two octagonal tables in the middle, and three old men sat calmly on their chairs.
Yi Zhonghai glanced at Li Kailang, and seeing that everyone was gathered together, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pleasure.
It feels great to have power. Although I can't lie on the lap of a beautiful woman when drunk and hold power over the world when awake, I still have prestige in front of these hundreds of people.
But they don’t know that although they may appear powerful for a while, they will actually be ruined!
"Ahem!" Yi Zhonghai stood up and cleared his throat, looking around at the people around him, and shouted:
"Today is New Year's Eve. Here, my second uncle, my third uncle and I wish you all a happy New Year!"
As they spoke, the three uncles stood up and bowed to everyone.
Seeing this, everyone bowed in return.
"This year, a lot of things happened in our yard, and a lot of troubles occurred, but fortunately everyone worked together and got through it together!"
"Let the past be the past, let's not dwell on it too much. Let's work hard next year to get this excellent courtyard back! Have a good new year next year!"
It would have been better if Yi Zhonghai didn't mention this. Once he mentioned it, everyone couldn't help feeling resentful, and they couldn't help but look at the Jia family coldly.
We already have the excellent courtyard house, and we can get another benefit. Add to that the benefits from the steel mill, and everyone can have a prosperous year today.
Because of Jia Zhang, this benefit is gone.
The Jia family also looked at Yi Zhonghai with dissatisfaction. He was bringing up things that were not relevant. Wouldn't that make people hate him?
"Cough cough!" Yi Zhonghai coughed loudly, attracting everyone's attention.
"The past is the past, let's not dwell on it. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes!"
"We can't dwell on the past. How can we move forward? The new year must bring new beginnings!"
Yi Zhonghai spoke nice words, but no one seemed to buy it and continued to look at the Jia family with unfriendly faces.
Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai glanced at the Jia family meaningfully and ended his speech.
As soon as Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, Liu Haizhong took up the topic without responding.
"Cough cough!"
"Everyone, please listen to me! It wasn't easy for everyone in the past."
“This new year, everyone should work hard.”
Suddenly, Xu Damao's voice was heard.
"Second Uncle, if you have something to say, just tell me directly. Don't keep talking for too long. No one wants to listen. We have a lot of other things to do!"
Everyone looked at Xu Damao with gratitude in their eyes. Xu Damao was really brave.
He actually dared to say that. It was really to vent everyone's anger. Liu Haizhong just likes to talk nonsense.
Liu Haizhong glared: "Xu Damao, what do you mean?"
"Second uncle, I don't mean anything." Xu Damao spread his hands and pretended to be helpless.
"Xu Damao, don't interrupt my dad when he's talking!" Liu Guangqi warned.
Once Xu Damao speaks, it's definitely not good news, so it's better to block it first.
"Oh, yes, yes!" Xu Damao responded helplessly.
Liu Haizhong looked at Liu Guangqi, gave him a look of approval, and liked Liu Guangqi more and more.
He then looked at Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu who were lazing around, and became extremely angry.
Their father was speaking, but they didn't even know how to maintain order. Liu Haizhong was so angry that he didn't even bother to say a word.
When I get back, I will definitely be beaten.
Liu Haizhong was in no mood to speak after being interrupted by Xu Damao.
It was Yan Bugui's turn next. "I don't have much to say. The two uncles have already said it."
"Let me just say one thing. If anyone else wants to write Spring Festival couplets, please hurry up. I will be closing the stall soon."
"I won't write couplets after I close the stall, so you guys have to go out and find someone else!"
Yan Bugui directly used a wave of hunger marketing and stopped talking after that.
"Okay, this meeting is over. There's nothing else to do. Everyone can go home!"
Yi Zhonghai quickly ended the topic and everyone left.
But before leaving, he still glanced at the Jia family unhappily, which scared the Jia family so much that they hurried home and locked the door.
"What a pity! There's nothing exciting to watch! Why doesn't Jia Zhang show some courage today?"
Li Kailang still wanted to see Jia Zhang make a fuss. It was New Year's Day, so it could be considered an entertainment activity.
After all, there is no Spring Festival Gala to watch now, and no one in the yard has mahjong or poker, and there is no entertainment at all.
When everyone is together, they just chat and have fun, talking about reminiscing about this year and looking forward to next year.
"It's getting late, let's deal with the ingredients first."
"Although I am celebrating the New Year alone, I still have to have the sense of ritual of seagulls."
After his mother passed away, Li Kailang has been living alone and he is almost used to it.
Kill chickens, fish, and cut meat.
Today Li Kailang plans to cook a table full of dishes. No matter whether we can finish them or not, just looking at them there is a special feeling.
"Da da da--"
Although everyone couldn't see the ingredients Li Kailang prepared, just by listening to the sound, they could imagine that Li Kailang had prepared a lot of ingredients, and they were immediately envious.
The food shortage problem is hidden under the festive atmosphere of the New Year, as everyone can now buy all kinds of meat.
But the side dishes were only winter vegetables. From the sound of cutting vegetables, I knew that Li Kailang had prepared something else.
Yan Bugui looked at Yan Jiecheng who was a little stunned and ordered:
"Okay, stop looking at Jie Cheng. Go and help your mother. Let's get ready early at home so we can eat early in the evening!"
"Everyone, hurry up if you want to write couplets!"
After saying that, Yan Bugui hurriedly put on some couplets. Listening to the news from Li Kailang, Yan Bugui was also salivating and wanted to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.
Jia family.
In the past, the Jia family, the Sha Zhu family, the Yi family, and the deaf old lady would eat together, and this year is no exception.
Although Yi Zhonghai intended to distance himself from the Jia family, Banggeng was his godson after all, and it was not easy to drive him away during the New Year.
"This Yi Zhonghai is such a jerk. Why does he bring up all sorts of issues? Isn't this just making people hate him?"
Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu looked at the furious Jia Zhang. It was because of her that there was no excellent courtyard house.
"Damn it, Yi Zhonghai, if you dare to embarrass me, I won't let you have an easy time! Humph!"
Jia and Zhang lowered their heads in thought, and they came up with a bad idea.
Jia Zhang pulled the stick and said:
"My dear grandson, when we get to Yi Zhonghai's house for dinner, use your chopsticks to pick up the food however you want. Make the food messy! Let grandma vent her anger!
"Also, Banggeng, don't you like meat? When the meat dishes come up, just take them away. It's best to finish the meat. Don't be polite with them!"
"Grandma, this is not good." Banggeng hesitated.
"What's wrong with that? Don't you usually like to eat? Today you can eat as much as you want. Besides, it's your uncle's house. What's wrong with eating his food?"
Hearing this, Bang Geng felt that what Jia Zhang said made sense, or maybe he also wanted to eat meat. He nodded heavily: "Don't worry, grandma, I will eat all the meat from Grandpa Gan's house, leaving nothing behind!"
"Oh, Banggeng is so smart!" Jia Zhang caressed Banggeng lovingly.
Qin Huairu looked at Jia Zhang unhappily, took back the stick, and lectured her:
"Bang Geng, don't listen to grandma. You have to be a good child. You have to be polite when eating. You have to follow the rules. You can't eat randomly or you will get your food messed up!"
"I'll go over there and wish you a happy new year to my godfather and godmother. Did you hear me?"
Bang Geng shook his head repeatedly, broke free from Qin Huairu's hand, and crawled into Jia Zhang's arms, muttering:
"I won't give them New Year's greetings or give them candy. I want to eat meat, I want to eat meat!"
Qin Huairu was so angry that she wanted to drag Banggeng back and give him a good beating, but was stopped by Jia Zhang.
"Qin Huairu, what are you doing? Do you want to make trouble? Get out of the way, it's not your turn to teach my grandson a lesson!"
After teaching Qin Huairu a lesson, Jia Zhang looked at the stick and gently stroked his head.
"Bang Geng, you silly boy, you should wish them a happy new year. Only after wishing them a happy new year can you ask them for red envelopes, right?"
"Remember, if they give you back the red envelope, you should open it and see how much money is inside. If they give you less money, you should ask for more!"
"Now that Banggeng has the money, he can go buy firecrackers."
"Mom! How did you teach her?" Jia Dongxu scolded. What kind of teaching was Jia Zhangshi doing? There were no rules at all.
Jia Zhang didn't give Jia Dongxu any face and glared at him.
"What? I didn't teach him correctly! Yi Zhonghai is Bang Geng's godfather. It would be ridiculous if I gave him less."
"Bang Geng, if you have money, you can buy firecrackers!"
Bang Geng's eyes lit up and he jumped for joy, "Great! I want a red envelope! With a red envelope I can buy firecrackers!"
Jia Zhang looked at the lively Banggeng and nodded with satisfaction.
"If you don't give me face, Yi Zhonghai, don't expect to have a good New Year!"
Qin Huairu looked at Bang Geng who had been taught a bad lesson and sighed helplessly.
Looking at Jia Dongxu standing aside, he was too lazy to even care.
"Okay, Qin Huairu, go to Yi Zhonghai's house and help him. Make sure we have breakfast as soon as possible. Don't let my grandson go hungry!"
"Yes, yes! Mom, I'm hungry, please go and help me!" Banggeng echoed.
Seeing this, Qin Huairu had no choice but to go and help.
After saying hello to Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu went straight to the kitchen to help.
In the kitchen, Sha Zhu and an aunt were preparing food.
"Auntie, I'm here to help!"
The aunt was a little happy: "Xiao Qin is here, and there are a lot of dishes today. If you come to help, I will have more ease."
"Really? Then I came at the right time!" Qin Huairu said with a smile.
The two were preparing the ingredients and chatting at the same time. The aunt discovered that there was a shortage of cabbages, so she went to the cellar to get a few.
As soon as the aunt left, it gave Sha Zhu the opportunity to get close to Qin Huairu.
Sha Zhu looked outside vigilantly, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he quietly watched Qin Huairu's back.
Qin Huairu's figure is still so plump that makes people feel pity for her!
Qin Huairu naturally noticed the naked gaze behind her and smiled slightly. It seemed that she was still so beautiful.
With a slight swing of his arms, Shazhu felt relaxed and happy, and his mind was wandering.
Sha Zhu quickly approached Qin Huairu and whispered softly:
"Sister Qin, this dish isn't much, and it's taken me a long time to prepare it alone. You should go out and have a rest."
"That won't work. It will be very tiring for you to prepare all the dishes on the table by yourself. I can help a little."
No matter how Sha Zhu persuaded her, Qin Huairu was unwilling to leave.
"Pap tap tap~"
Outside the door, an old lady's footsteps were approaching.
Sha Zhu suddenly moved away from Qin Huairu and pretended to cut vegetables and prepare food.
"Xiao Qin, I have two cabbages here. Can you help me wash them? We will make dumplings later!"
"Okay!" Qin Huairu responded, taking the cabbage and washing it.
The aunt had no idea what the two people had just done.
Sha Zhu felt very regretful that he didn't get any advantage from Qin Huairu.
Qin Huairu didn't leave, not because of Shazhu, but because of the food that Jia Zhang and Banggeng would eat later.
She came to help, so if Yi Zhonghai wanted to criticize someone, he couldn't say anything about her.
After making more than two meals, I finally finished making the New Year’s Eve dinner.
"The food is ready, come and eat!"
With Sha Zhu's loud shout, the last dish was brought to the table, and the New Year's Eve dinner was finally about to begin.
At this time, Yi Zhonghai also brought the deaf old lady back, and the entire Jia family came too!
As soon as Banggeng entered the house and saw the table full of dishes, he ran towards the dining table with his eyes glowing green.
Jia Zhang immediately stopped him and said, "Where is my dear grandson? What did I tell you? When you see people, why don't you go and wish Tiantian, Grandfather and Grandma a happy new year!"
Bang Geng also remembered Jia Zhang's instructions, and came to the deaf old lady, kowtowed and said, "Madam, Happy New Year!"
"Okay, okay, come here, madam will give you New Year's money!" The deaf old lady saw that Banggeng was very kind and said with a smile.
Yi Zhonghai looked at Jia Zhang. Could it be that Jia Zhang had changed her personality?
Banggeng quickly got up and came to the deaf old lady.
The deaf old lady gave a dime. Although it was not much, it was a token of her appreciation.
However, Jia Zhang curled her lips and muttered to herself: "Bah! He is already in his seventies and eighties and is about to be buried. He is only given such a small amount of money. Why keep the money? You can't take it into the coffin!"
Jia Zhang didn't dare say this out loud, for fear of being beaten!
Afterwards, Banggeng kowtowed to Yi Zhonghai and the aunt and wished them a happy new year.
"My dear grandson! He is so good!"
Yi Zhonghai smiled and praised him a few words, then gave Banggeng a dollar.
Now Banggeng became even more excited and went straight to Shazhu to ask for money. He kowtowed twice, stretched out his hand and looked at him straight.
"Silly Zhu, red envelope!"
Shazhu was also very happy when he saw it, and he didn't care about the nickname "Banggeng" and gave one dollar directly.
Bang Geng snatched the money and glanced at He Yushui with a gloomy face.
Without caring about He Yushui's expression, he hurried to He Yushui and knelt down and kowtowed again.
Then he stretched out his hand for a red envelope, and shouted, "Silly, red envelope!"
Seeing this, He Yushui's face turned even darker and he didn't even bother to greet him politely.
What's more, He Yushui is still in school and still receiving New Year's money, so who would ask her for it?
Looking at this embarrassing scene, if it were a normal person, the adult would pull the child up, tell a few jokes and let it go.
But the Jia family was not normal people. They just stared blankly, as if they were going to give it a try if there was no rain.
Qin Huairu, the only one who was still relatively normal, was holding Xiaodang and feeding him.
He Yushui was now both angry and shy, and the combination of the two made her face red.
"Jia Geng, I'm not married yet, so I can't give you a red envelope!"
Banggeng was not happy when he heard this, and said unreasonably: "I don't care! My grandma said that if you kowtow, you have to give a red envelope. If you don't, you will be unlucky!"
Hearing Bang Geng say this on New Year's Day, He Yushui was immediately furious, sparks came out of his eyes, and he was ready to beat him up.
"Bang Geng, how can you talk like that!" Qin Huairu scolded with an unhappy look on her face.
"Yes, Banggeng, you can't say such things during the New Year. I'll give you the New Year's money!" Shazhu also echoed.
The two of them were talking about interesting jokes, but they didn't pay any attention to He Yushui's expression.
It seemed like the situation was resolved, but in fact He Yushui's face was still damaged, but Sha Zhu was completely unaware of it.
If this wasn't his home, it wasn't New Year's Day, and if Sha Zhu hadn't come to the rescue, He Yushui would have rushed out.
Shazhu took out another dollar and gave it to Banggeng, who snatched it with a smile, "Thank you, Shazhu!"
After saying that, he sat down on the chair without any etiquette at all.
This time, the deaf old lady's face darkened and she glanced at Jia Zhang gloomily.
"Qin Huairu, you didn't tell Bang Geng to follow the rules. The wife didn't even take the seat, so how could you let Bang Geng take the seat? You have no rules at all!"
The evil Jia Zhang was the first to file a complaint and scold Qin Huairu.
Sha Zhu stared at Jia Zhang with an equally gloomy expression, thinking to himself:
"How dare you, Jia Zhang, say such things about my sister Qin."
"Don't you know how busy Sister Qin was just now? She's holding the child now, and she doesn't even bother to show concern."
"Why do you always scold me, Sister Qin, whenever something happens?"
Looking at the two gloomy people, He Yushui was happy now. He will use the same trick on you.
Yi Zhonghai stepped forward to help:
"The child is still young, just be careful next time, don't stand, sit down to eat."
"Silly Zhu, help the wife to her seat!"
The deaf old lady glanced at Yi Zhonghai, then looked at Bang Geng, sneered, and sat in the main seat.
After everyone sat down, Yi Zhonghai didn't know what to say for his opening remarks.
"Please start eating. Don't let the food get cold."
As soon as he started eating, Banggeng immediately picked out all the meat from the dish and put it in his own bowl.
Banggeng couldn't hold the chopsticks steadily to begin with, and by doing so he messed up the dish, making it look completely messy.
This action made everyone frown slightly and feel a little embarrassed.
Jia Zhang quickly raised her bowl and didn't pick up any dishes. She just ate the rice, as if all this had nothing to do with her.
"Bang Geng! Eat properly! Who taught you to eat like this!" Jia Dongxu slapped him on the head.
"Ouch!!!" The sudden severe pain made Banggeng cry loudly!
"Why are you crying! This is outrageous. And you, Qin Huairu, how did you teach him so well? You have no manners when eating! You don't have any manners at all!" Jia Dongxu pointed his finger at Qin Huairu.
Qin Huairu felt aggrieved and had to endure it. It was clearly Jia Zhang's order, but in the end she was the one who got hurt.
He didn't say anything, but He Yushui, who was standing next to him, was so happy!
"Okay, it's New Year's Day, enough of the talk, let's eat quickly!" Yi Zhonghai stood up again and said.
Looking at the messed up dishes, although it was a New Year's Eve dinner with fish and meat, and was delicious, it tasted bland.
Yi Zhonghai suddenly lost his appetite.
(End of this chapter)