Scholars in the courtyard

The sliced ​​mutton is quickly denatured under the stimulation of boiling water.

The unique mutton smell quickly takes over the house, driving away the coldness of winter.

Yang Xiaotao stirred the mutton in the pot with a spoon. The rich mutton soup exuded a tempting aroma, making everyone in the room restless.

Yang Dazhuang stood in front of the pot, holding a large bowl in person, waiting for Yang Xiaotao to come out of the pot.

"alright."

After tasting the salty taste, Yang Xiaotao nodded with satisfaction, then filled the bowl in Yang Dazhuang's hand, threw the chopped green onions in, and delivered it to Mr. Yang himself.

"Master, try it!"

Everyone in the circle cast their eyes over.

Under the oil lamp, the meat in the bowl was white and tender, the soup was also milky white, and the slices of meat looked tempting.

"By the way, there's also this."

Yang Xiaotao pretended to rummage through his backpack, and then found a small bottle in his hand.

Put it on the table under everyone's doubtful eyes, and slowly twist it away.

"Chili noodles?"

Mr. Yang suddenly shouted happily. Without waiting for Yang Xiaotao to nod, he grabbed the bottle, twisted it open, and used chopsticks to pull out a large piece.

The red and yellow chili oil was immediately poured into the bowl, and the originally milky white soup turned bright red. Mr. Yang couldn't wait to sip it down.

"Ahem! This smell is so strong! Ahem..."

"Before liberation, I went to Taiyuan with the team and drank a bowl like this on the street."

"After so many years, many people can no longer drink!"

Recalling the memories, Mr. Yang looked depressed.

For a moment, the room felt a little sad. People who have come out of the smoke of war always have some stories in their hearts that are difficult to let go.

Yang Xiaotao, as a time traveler, cannot understand this kind of thing. Perhaps the genes left in this body record the memories of his growing up years, but at this time, he cannot understand the sadness.

After a moment of silence, Yang Dazhuang on the side said, "Master, since it tastes good, drink more and drink more for them."

"Yes, drink more, drink more for the brothers below."

The old brothers at the table began to persuade, and Mr. Yang regained his composure, and then laughed, "Then drink more, or I'll keep it for you."

"Isn't that an advantage for you?"

"Hahaha"

Everyone laughed, Yang Xiaotao handed the spoon to Shitou's wife, picked up a bowl and sat next to Mr. Yang.

Then he took out a bottle of Xifeng wine and filled it up for the master himself, and then gave a glass to several other people, and finally poured it for himself.

After a round, only the bottom of the bottle is left in the wine bottle.

The wine is sweet and crystal clear.

"Master, I wish you good health and everything goes well."

"Everything goes well."

Yang Xiaotao picked up his wine glass and blessed Mr. Yang, and everyone also picked up his glass to accompany him.

"Okay, we're all fine."

Everyone took a sip, and Mr. Yang smacked his lips, "Yes, it's just better than soju."

Everyone nodded in unison, savoring the spicy aroma of the wine.

As soon as the wine was drunk, the atmosphere rose.

Everyone asked me something and I said something, and soon the conversation started from life to work, then to the past, and then to the future.

Yang Xiaotao spent most of his time answering questions about the factory, the courtyard, the people around him, future plans, wages and benefits, etc. Whenever someone asked him, he would answer. There was nothing to hide.

When everyone heard that Yang Xiaotao had earned so much, they felt even more proud.

The pride of one’s own children’s future.

After hearing this, Mr. Yang was also pleased and kept nodding to the people around him, "We are all top-notch people in Yangjiazhuang, and we are all heroes wherever we go."

Everyone continued to drink, and after one drink, the atmosphere became more enthusiastic.

Yang Xiaotao wanted to have another bottle, but was stopped by Yang Dazhuang on the side. It wasn't that he couldn't drink, but that he wanted the water to flow.

Yang Xiaotao also knew how precious this wine was.

After drinking the wine, Shitou's wife served a person a corn pancake, baked out of the pot, one side was golden and the other was battered black.

Yang Xiaotao reached out and took out a corn pancake, broke it into a bowl, and soaked it in mutton soup to make it fragrant.

Seeing this, people at the table all picked up the pancakes and ate them eagerly, each person guarding their bowls without even raising their heads.

Even the women who were helping stood at the door with bowls in their hands and began to pull.

They have never eaten so much meat and such good soup in their lives.

It was already midnight when everyone finished eating. This meal not only announced the return of Yang Xiaotao's identity, but also made the people of Yangjiazhuang regard him as one of their own.

After everyone dispersed, Yang Xiaotao talked to Mr. Yang for a while, and sorted out the things he had brought back. Among them, he told him about the wine that Aunt Wang asked him to bring. Mr. Yang just sighed with emotion, and then told him to move around more in the future.

Yang Xiaotao understood the reason and nodded happily.

The night is gone and the day is coming.

The most important festival of the year is approaching quietly.

On New Year's Eve, everyone celebrates the New Year.

It was almost nine o'clock when Yang Xiaotao got up. He shook his head and looked at the unfamiliar room and the furnishings in the house, but he didn't feel strange in his heart.

I spent a whole day running around yesterday, drank some wine at night, and fell asleep soon after lying in bed.

Xiaowei saw Yang Xiaotao get up and emerge from the window. Yang Xiaotao knew what he was thinking and let her play by herself.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

But Yang Xiaotao knew that this little guy was in the yard.

When he opened the door, he heard a crackling sound. He looked up and saw Yang Shitou, wearing a gray sweater, rolling up his sleeves and wielding an ax to chop down tree roots.

Yang Xiaotao ran over in surprise, "Shitou, what are you doing?"

"Xiao Tao, get up!"

"Why don't you chop some wood for firewood? You haven't eaten yet, can I have someone give you a hot spot?"

"No, I ate late last night and I'm not very hungry. Let's wait for lunch."

"Where's the master?"

Yang Xiaotao looked around and found no one, so he opened his mouth.

"It's not the Chinese New Year, get ready to welcome the family."

"Jiatang?"

Yang Xiaotao is somewhat different. In this era, there is no such thing as feudal superstition.

"It's just to hang out our ancestors and let future generations know their names. It's meaningless."

Yang Xiaotao nodded, then walked up to him and motioned for him to give it a try.

"This is not possible. You have never done this job before, so it is not easy to do it."

"It's okay, I'm strong."

Yang Xiaotao took the ax and struck it at the waist-thick tree root below.

"Hey, no, no, no, you have to go along the way, so that..."

snap

A section of tree root was chopped off, and Yang Shitou opened his mouth wide.

"Let me tell you, I am very strong."

Yang Xiaotao said proudly, and then slashed at the roots of the tree.

Broken wood and tree roots were scattered on the ground, and a large tree root was quickly dismembered and fell into pieces.

Yang Shitou was stunned, and in the end he could only admit that Yang Xiaotao was really powerful.

After chopping the firewood, Yang Xiaotao followed the stone around the village.

The entire Yangjiazhuang is located on a plain. The land is flat and there is nothing difficult to walk on. The houses are built in an orderly manner and are arranged vertically and horizontally. There are few livestock at home, and there is not much garbage and feces on the roads.

The two of them wandered around the village. Many women carried sacks to the Nanshan Mountains to collect tree leaves and come back to make fires.

Many children were also running around and laughing. Even if their faces were red from the cold, their interest did not diminish.

Along the way, everyone basically said a few words to each other, saying hello and making them look familiar.

The first place the two of them went to was Yang Dazhuang's house, which was also the closest.

When he arrived, Yang Dazhuang was busy all day as the village chief, but his wife and three children found a house at home.

There are two boys and one girl. The older boy is eight years old, the younger is six years old, and the youngest daughter is only three years old.

The three children were all raised as boys, wearing relatively clean clothes and running around in the yard.

Yang Xiaotao brought some candies with him when he went out. After meeting the three children, he immediately took some out and gave them to them.

Although the three children were panicking, when they saw Yang Xiaotao's expression, they looked at their mother who was packing the corn husks.

Yang Dazhuang's daughter-in-law, Wang Fang, is also from Gaojiazhuang next door. She was married a few years ago. She is not tall but has a stout figure, a big face, short hair that reaches her ears, and is equally bold.

He quickly greeted Yang Xiaotao into the house and took out a small bag of melon seeds to greet him.

The three children took the candy and ran outside to play excitedly.

Yang Xiaotao sat at Yang Dazhuang's house for a while and then left to go to other people's houses.

Perhaps the circle of children is too wide, so the three children ran around outside and immediately spread the word about the candy.

Nowadays, Yang Xiaotao is surrounded by a group of children wherever he goes. He has no choice but to favor one and the other, and a bowl of water is not the same.

Fortunately, there are still a lot of these candies in the space. Yang Xiaotao gave two pieces to each child as a New Year's greeting gift.

In this way, the children in the whole village finally found the happiness of celebrating the New Year.

Many people also knew about Yang Xiaotao. In addition to the meeting last night, Yang Xiaotao's situation was also spread among the diners. This outstanding young man was quickly remembered by the villagers.

Before noon, some aunts from the neighboring village who came over after hearing the news began to talk about matchmaking. They were all so enthusiastic that Yang Xiaotao ran home quickly.

However, he still underestimated the enthusiasm of women in this era for the pursuit of 'love', or the pursuit of life in the city.

If you are shy, ask someone to ask, and you will be praised for being rare in heaven and stunning on earth.

Those who were brave enough to visit Yang's house would look at Yang Xiaotao and wish they could eat him.

In two lifetimes, this was the first time Yang Xiaotao had foreseen this, and he couldn't help but panic.

Mr. Yang on the side looked at Yang Xiaotao in a hurry and was also happy.

Fortunately, Yang Xiaotao knew what he was pursuing, and simple beauty was not his pursuit.

What he pursues is, ahem, beauty and connotation.

After sending away the people who had 'dropped in', the two men hung the family tree in the living room. It was a long, yellow piece of cardboard with many spaces on it, but those with names were all people who had left.

Yang Xiaotao saw his father's name under a branch, and his mother's name next to it. He felt a little sad for no reason, but it was quickly washed away by the New Year's atmosphere.

When he told Mr. Yang what had happened, the old man also laughed, but did not interfere in Yang Xiaotao's marriage.

He knew in his heart that Yang Xiaotao's conditions were not worthy of finding a child from the countryside.

It's not that he looks down on rural people, he just wants Yang Xiaotao to have a better family.

This is not partiality, it is purely an old man's love for future generations.

At noon, Mr. Yang and I started to put up Spring Festival couplets, cut the red paper into long strips, and the old people in the village began to write Spring Festival couplets.

Yang Xiaotao watched from the side. Compared with the third uncle in the courtyard, his writing was a little less literary, but it was more realistic and expressed people's aspirations.

"Love the country, love the party, love the people, work hard and fast to ensure production!"

“Build a home!”

Yang Xiaotao held a pair of Spring Festival couplets and looked at them. Mr. Yang also took a broom and spread the paste on the door, and then the two of them pasted it together.

"New year, new atmosphere, everything starts from scratch!"

"The whole family is happy."

The two of them pasted Spring Festival couplets on the door of the hall, and then started to prepare for dinner.

At noon, Yang Xiaotao carried a rice bowl and went to the brigade headquarters next door with Mr. Yang. At this moment, a row of pots was pouring hot water, a group of women were busy, and children were wandering around the pots, getting some food from their mother and aunt from time to time. , and then continue to play with satisfaction.

This appearance made Yang Xiaotao fully understand what big pot rice is.

Speaking of which, eating in a factory is also a kind of big pot meal. It's just that one has to pay for tickets and the other has to pay for food.

Of course, tickets are also issued!

But it was not easy to get this meal.

Yang Xiaotao stepped forward, and several women and aunts smiled.

Say hello and then look at the pimple being rubbed.

The noodles on the wooden board are just some flour mixed with wheat bran, which looks gray, and you can still vaguely see raised particles.

This is worse than the two noodles.

Yang Xiaotao looked around. Even with such a meal, the eyes of the people around him were still filled with joy.

Several people also recognized Yang Xiaotao, and even the meat in this meal was brought back by Yang Xiaotao.

Normally during the Chinese New Year, we don’t eat much meat.

This year, they also benefited from Yang Xiaotao.

"Don't you know me?"

The nearby aunt opened her mouth to explain without looking at Yang Xiaotao.

"This is wheat that is beaten out of the skin. Except during festivals and when we have to work hard, we can't eat it at ordinary times."

Yang Xiaotao heard this and asked, "Is there no food in the village?"

The aunt smiled coquettishly and said, "If you say there is, there is actually it."

"But you have to eat sparingly."

"Not enough food?"

"Alas, it's been like this for the past few years. What's harvested in the autumn is eaten before spring."

"Everyone, you have to tighten your belt. It's the Chinese New Year, so you can have a good meal."

The aunt changed the subject, and several people around her came over to talk.

From time to time, people ask, "You are definitely not hungry in the city, are you?"

"I heard that the city specially distributes grain, and the people in the factory can eat without having to farm. It's really good in your city."

Yang Xiaotao listened on the sidelines and was not happy because of the 'city people'.

On the contrary, after knowing the current situation in the village, his heart couldn't be happy.

At noon, when the food was out of the pot, Yang Xiaotao lined up for a portion of noodle soup, took two steamed buns, and went home with Mr. Yang.

After the two men finished eating, Yang Xiaotao asked about the situation in the village. Mr. Yang sighed and said something similar to what Yang Xiaotao heard.

Thinking of the days in the village after the New Year, Yang Xiaotao also felt heavy in his heart.

What can he do?

Most of the things I bought have been handed over, and the rest is just a drop in the bucket.

How difficult is it to make changes in such a big environment?

Even if all the credits are exchanged for things, Yangjiazhuang can be satisfied for a while, but what about later?

What about other villages?

Yang Xiaotao was a little confused. He looked at the bare poplar trees outside the window and finally lowered his head.

"The courtyard is too small."