Scholars in the courtyard

"This fish is delicious cooked by my aunt."

Yang Xiaotao used chopsticks to pick up a piece of braised fish, swirled it around in the thick soup and put it into his mouth. It was salty and salty enough, so he couldn't help but pick it up with his chopsticks.

"Eating should look like eating! There is no formal appearance!"

Uncle Chen was dissatisfied with Yang Xiaotao picking up his chopsticks, just like he was lecturing his son.

"Drink some wine and start acting out again. Some of them can't stop talking after eating."

While Aunt Chen was counting, Uncle Chen had just found the feeling to discipline his son when he was hit with a stick again.

"Drink, drink."

Yang Xiaotao quickly picked up his wine glass and touched it with Uncle Chen, who drank it down in one gulp.

"The Maotai that Brother Chen sent is different. It tastes much better than ours."

"What's the difference? It's not as delicious as Erguotou."

Although it didn't taste good, the pride in his eyes was clearly evident. Uncle Chen was still very proud of his filial piety to his son.

"Let me tell you, this Erguotou in the old city, the first sip is so loud that you have to press it down and take another sip. Hey, that feeling is better than ascending to heaven~~"

Uncle Chen held the table and taught Yang Xiaotao how to drink.

Yang Xiaotao rolled his eyes, meaning I believe you.

Drinking it like that will make you feel good, but you have to lie down.

Bang bang

There was a knock on the door, Aunt Chen went to open the door, and the two of them continued drinking.

As soon as I picked up a peanut and threw it into my mouth, I saw Aunt Chen leading Yan Jiefang in.

"Uncle Chen, Brother Tao!"

Yan Jiefang said hello, looked at the food on the table, and swallowed involuntarily.

Yang Xiaotao picked up a piece of fish meat, stuffed it into the nest, and handed it to Yan Jiefang.

Yan Jiefang wiped his hands on his clothes, smiled innocently, took the cornbread, and took a bite.

"Brother Tao, my dad is here to hold a hospital-wide meeting after dinner."

"I heard from the uncle in the house that the aunt of the Jia family wants to open it. It seems to be about helping people."

Yan Jiefang ate the steamed buns in two mouthfuls. The soup inside was so oily that he almost swallowed it with his tongue.

"Zhang Erniu?"

"What is this old woman doing? It's her business all day long."

Uncle Chen made two sentences with a sip of wine, and then stopped talking when he saw Yan Jiefang here.

"Go quickly, we will go there after dinner."

Yang Xiaotao sent Yan Jiefang away, thinking about "helping others."

"Uncle Chen, this meeting is probably related to last year's support."

Yang Xiaotao expressed his speculation, and Aunt Chen on the side looked over and snorted, "This old woman didn't take advantage of it last year. She wants to do it again this year."

"Don't mention it, her family may actually be able to pass this year."

Uncle Chen thought about it, and then said disdainfully.

"A grown man who can't even support his family has the nerve to ask others for money."

"Jia Zhang looks like that. She's as fat as a pig. She eats well and is too lazy to cook. It's strange that she can save a fortune."

Yang Xiaotao finished the wine and felt warm, "It doesn't matter what she does. I don't care who helps whomever she wants."

"Yes, I don't believe that Yi Zhonghai dares to play tricks in front of me, huh."

In the middle courtyard, a wire was pulled out from Shazhu's house, and the dim light bulb was on. The second uncle moved a wooden table below, and then the three people sat around it, east, west, and north, not afraid of the cold.

Gradually, people in the courtyard came out one after another and walked around the courtyard.

Adults and children were waiting to watch the show one by one. The Jia family and the third aunt, who knew the content of the meeting in advance, were wandering in the crowd, lowering their heads and whispering in whispers from time to time.

Gradually, everyone also understood the purpose of this meeting.

Yang Xiaotao and Uncle Chen were sitting at the entrance of the yard with small benches, each grabbing a handful of melon seeds and licking them.

When Liu Haizhong saw the main staff arriving, he nodded to Yi Zhonghai, then stood up and patted the table.

"Everyone, be quiet and listen to me."

Everyone turned their attention to him, enjoying the attention of the people around him. He held out his chest and belly in his bangs and spoke with an official accent.

“Today, the three of us hold a meeting here to respond to the call of the street, inherit last year’s glorious deeds, carry forward the glorious tradition of the compound, help the poor, and unite and help each other.

Last year, under my leadership, our hospital took the lead in implementing a one-to-one assistance system, which played a leading role in the subsequent work of the street office, and later..."

Liu Haizhong started a tirade again. Zhou Meisen was not surprised, but no one wanted to stay longer on this cold day.

"Second uncle, if you have something to say, just tell me. What are you going to do if your child is freezing in the cold weather while holding on to your glossy appearance?"

Silly Zhu was feeling unhappy recently, so he curled up his neck and shouted.

Just as Liu Haizhong felt something, he was immediately knocked out by Silly Zhu. He glared at Silly Zhu and said, "Yeah, today we are going to continue to help one-on-one."

"Now please let me speak."

Liu Haizhong said a few words, and then sat down, still staring at Silly Zhu, looking like he was holding a grudge.

Yi Zhonghai did not stand up, and still sat there, just protecting the teapot with his hands. "Everyone knows that there are needy households in our courtyard, and there are also good-hearted people. So this is what we did last year, and we will continue this year."

"Third uncle?"

Yi Zhonghai extended his hand to signal, and the third uncle Yan Fugui glanced at the third aunt in the crowd, exchanged words with each other, and then stood up to preside over the meeting.

"Let me first talk about last year's situation."

"Last year, a total of three families received help. They were the Chen family, the Wang family and the Zhou family. Those who helped included the first uncle, the second uncle and the Yang Xiaotao family."

"Everyone has seen what happened last year. It really helped people and solved their difficulties."

The third uncle's opening remarks were not short, and what he said was true. As for the effect, the people below naturally had a strong idea.

Regarding the help from the first and second uncles, they really did good deeds without leaving any name. Except for the five yuan they gave to buy coal for others at the beginning, they really didn’t see much help.

Maybe help when you can't see.

On the contrary, Yang Xiaotao only helped the Chen family openly. Every time he came back from fishing, the Chen family was indispensable. The vegetable garden at home was no different from the Chen family. The two families lived like one family. The life of Lao Chen's family is like sesame seeds blooming steadily.

Now the life of Lao Chen's family is better than most families in the courtyard.

Really envious.

But helpless.

Who would have thought Yang Xiaotao was so capable?

In less than two years, it has become unimaginable.

This kind of drama of thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi will always make people feel incredible when it happens around them, and then they will feel deep regret.

As a result, many people had strange thoughts when they heard about the content of this meeting.

After the third uncle finished speaking, he finally got to the point.

"The first item in this meeting is for each company to declare. If you need help, don't be embarrassed, just sign up."

After Yan Fugui finished speaking, someone below already raised their hands to sign up.

As the households in need last year, the Zhou family and the Wang family naturally had no worries.

The main reason is that their family is really poor, with many children and little income. They only rely on working on the street to earn some food. This winter will definitely be difficult.

Therefore, as soon as Yan Fugui finished speaking, the two families got up to sign up, and the people around them were not surprised.

Then everyone looked aside at Uncle Chen.

Last year, two of the three needy households had already emerged. If nothing else happens, not many people would be willing to help this year.

Uncle Chen thought for a moment and was about to get up, but was pulled back by Yang Xiaotao on the side. He didn't understand what was going on, but he had no intention of resisting Yang Xiaotao.

Everyone waited for a while and found that Uncle Chen did not stand up. They immediately understood that Uncle Chen's family did not need help this year.

Many people felt hot in their hearts when they saw this scene.

The third uncle, Yan Fugui, passed the first round last year, but failed in the second round. No one was willing to help him.

Now, if there is an extra quota, isn't it just for their family?

Yan Fugui sat at the table with a smile on his face, and his eyes signaled the three aunts in the crowd to stand up and sign up quickly.

But you can't be robbed.

"Our family wants to sign up."

Just as the third aunt was about to stand up, Mrs. Jia Zhang on the side shouted.

"Our family, the Jia family, signed up."

"Our family is in trouble. We don't have enough food to eat. Look, the eldest grandson is starving and thin. The whole family has to keep one ration. It's really hard to open the pot!"

Jia and Zhang continue to do misfortune to their neighbors so that they won’t vote like they did last year.

In fact, the Jia family was really having a hard time during this period. They had no money and the food was hard to eat.

Of course, this is how I lived a good life before. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

In the past, Jia Zhang was used to eating steamed buns, and sometimes she could eat meat to improve her life. Now that the family has a larger population, Jia Dongxu has not made any improvements. Her life has become more stressful. After eating steamed buns for a few months, her body can no longer bear it. .

Even so, she didn't lose weight.

On the contrary, Jia Dongxu lost weight and became even thinner.

I don’t know whether it’s because I haven’t eaten well or because I’m worried.

In short, what Jia Zhang said aroused the sympathy of many people.

"Okay, the Jia family counts as one."

Yan Fugui saw that his daughter-in-law had been snatched away by Jia Zhang, and he quickly greeted her. Jia Zhang nodded and bowed to the people around her, and sat down, not forgetting to build relationships with the old ladies around her.

"Our family also has difficulties."

The third aunt finally picked up the topic and spoke out.

"Okay, this counts as one."

The third uncle was not shy and directly gave his family a spot.

Third aunt, sit down. If you were selected last year, there's no reason why you won't be selected this year.

"I, our family also has some difficulties."

As soon as Third Aunt sat down, Sun Laoliu stood up in the backyard.

Sun Laoliu was in his thirties, and he and his wife worked in a textile factory.

There are three girls at home, and the couple has to take care of the children and respect two elderly people. Their daily life can only be considered passable.

"Sun Laoliu, your family still wants help?"

Yan Fugui didn't want to agree in his heart, but he didn't know that Sun Laoliu was not a good person, "Third uncle, your family only has six people, and my family has seven, so why can't you do it?"

Yan Fugui was speechless. He wanted to say that two people in your family still make money, but he didn't dare to say it. If he said it, he would offend a lot of people.

"Okay, Sun Laoliu counts as one."

Yan Fugui just wanted to get over it quickly and enter the next round, but he didn't expect someone else to stand up immediately after Sun Laoliu said this.

"Third uncle, our family is also tired. I am a half-grown man living in poverty. There is only one man in the Jia family, and there are two men and two boys in my family. No matter what, we can count as one."

The Ma family's aunt stood up and started chattering, and the topic was directed at the Jia family. Jia Zhang was so angry that she was about to jump up and yell, but was stopped by Qin Huairu who was standing beside her.

Anyway, their family has already passed it, so it’s best not to cause trouble if you can.

You still have to vote later.

Yan Fugui was a little confused, each of these was unexpected.

When he was preparing for the meeting, he was thinking about the same as last year, but he never expected that it would be like this.

Yi Zhonghai, who was also standing by, was also surprised. He thought it would be the same as last year, just three or two families. The meeting was held so that the Jia family could have someone to help them.

And he already has a candidate, Silly Pillar.

This was also to bring the relationship closer, and he found that the way Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu was a little abnormal, so he suggested that Sha Zhu help the Jia family, and it would probably work.

But unexpectedly, things were unexpected. The normally docile resident actually stood up at this moment and caught him off guard.