The Era of Hard Work

On New Year's Eve, every household in Lujia Village is decorated with lanterns and colorful flags, and lanterns and flags are hung on the street. Some older people take advantage of the midday warmth to sit on the street and beat gongs and drums. Half-grown children are looking for cracks in walls and muddy nests. Fill firecrackers, after a bang, there will always be dust or black mud flying, highlighting the festiveness of the New Year.

After waiting ten years, it will be difficult to see this kind of Chinese New Year atmosphere again.

In particular, fireworks and firecrackers have disappeared in Quannan.

Lu Dong will be fine now, and he was writing the application form than Fan Wen, when his mother's voice came from the yard: "Dongzi, come here quickly, your uncle wants to talk to you."

Putting down his pen, Lu Dong hurried out of the house, took his old lady's cell phone, and said first, "Happy Chinese New Year, Uncle!"

"Good! Good! Good!" A loud voice sounded over there: "Dongzi, I heard from your mother that you are looking for someone. When will you get married?"

Lu Dong came to the sandbag hanging under the toon bud tree: "We have to wait another two years to get married, and she is still in school."

The uncle said, "When you get married, I will definitely go back."

Lu Dong asked, "Aren't you coming back next year for Chinese New Year?"

"It depends on the situation. There are many things here, and I can't leave at the end of the year..."

The two sides chatted for about ten minutes, and both of them tacitly didn't mention the uncle's affairs. For those who are celebrating Chinese New Year, they feel bad about talking about that.

Lu Dong heard from a sister on the street who married into Majia Village that in the past few days before the Chinese New Year, several batches of people who had to ask for bills from Hu Bin all lived in his uncle's house.

It has been half a year since his uncle was hospitalized last time, and he and his mother have sent money in the past. If Hu Bin keeps gambling, who knows how much he owes.

The elder sister did say that she didn't even dare to lend money to Hu Bin with usury.

It's not because I'm afraid that he won't pay it back, but because I'm afraid that he won't be able to pay it back.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Dong shook his head, he didn't think about it any more, maybe outsiders saw him and thought he was ruthless, but thinking about what Hu Bin did...

Lu Dong is not a bad person either.

The phone was returned to Hu Chunlan, and Lu Dong asked, "Mom, will uncle come back next year for Chinese New Year?"

Hu Chunlan said: "We will move to Xincun next year. I told your uncle to come back for the Chinese New Year. When he has a place, he will live in our house. Your uncle has a special job, so it depends on the situation."

Lu Dong sighed. My uncle didn't want to come back. On the one hand, he was really busy with work, and on the other hand, he still didn't want to see his uncle face to face.

Hu Chunlan said again: "If it becomes like this, your eldest aunt is very powerful, so it is said that to marry a wife, you must marry a virtuous one, and everything will prosper in family harmony."

"Mom, I know." Lu Dong replied.

"Let me tell you, Dongzi, only Xiao Song can come in through our door." When the family had no money, Hu Chunlan was worried that her son would not be able to find a wife;

Lu Dong also admired Song Na very much, and made Hu Chunlan so happy, he said, "Just put your heart in your stomach safely."

He has known for a long time that Song Na is not the kind of silly, white and sweet girl with a lot of heart, but he knows even more that Song Na's heart will not mess around.

Lu Dong went back to his room and continued to write the application. When it was close to 2:30, the draft was considered complete.

Hu Chunlan opened the cloth curtain and came in, took a look, and said, "If you have nothing to do, go to Jijie early. Today, your eldest brother came back from duty late, so go over and see if there is anything you need to do."

Lu Dong put away the manuscript and said, "I'll go right away."

Carrying a case of good wine, Lu Dong left the old street and turned to the market street. As soon as he entered the uncle's house, he heard the quarrel between the uncle and the aunt in the main room.

When the elders quarrel, the younger generations are of course not suitable to get involved.

Just in time, seeing my sister-in-law Fang Yan packing vegetables in the dining room, she went over and asked, "What's wrong?"

Fang Yan put down the celery in her hand and said softly, "It's about the second child."

Knowing that the second child was referring to Lu Xia, Lu Dong couldn't help pricking up his ears to listen.

"Those who celebrate the Chinese New Year can't go home, what's the matter!" Aunt Li Min's voice was a little loud: "It's been two years, and Lu Xia hasn't been back once in two years. Outsiders don't know, and they think our family has no This son!"

Uncle Lu Jianguo's voice was not loud: "If you go to the army, you are the people in the army. They must be organized and disciplined, so they can come back casually?"

The eldest aunt cried: "I don't care! I don't care about this! I want my son to come back for the New Year."

As a mother, I haven't seen my son for two years, and the older Chinese New Year inevitably thinks fiercely: "Tell me about you, let the child go to be a soldier, a soldier, a soldier, a soldier, and in the end, the son is not ours!" Yes! Other people’s sons are sons, but our sons are not sons? Why do you have to choose such a road! Home, home can’t go back! Phone, phone can’t be called casually!”

The uncle fell silent.

"Tell Lu Xia to change jobs! When I change jobs, even if I'm like the boss, a policeman who is busy all day long, I will admit it!" The aunt begged a little: "If this continues, this son will belong to the country. .”

The uncle said: "He has long belonged to the country! Our son is a son, and other people's sons are also sons! If someone else's son can be a son, Lu Xia can be a son! In the flood fighting in 1998, so many people fell on the levee Come on, which one was not raised by parents? Aren't they all rushing to the front line?"

The eldest aunt burst into tears: "Why are you so cruel! You didn't join the army enough, so you had to let Jianjun join the army! It wasn't enough for the old one, and let the two sons go, we owe whoever we owe! Our family already has one After falling on the southern border battlefield, do we have to fall a second time?"

"You..." Uncle's voice finally softened a little: "Don't you think about it. When Wang Lianzhong's people killed our village, who saved the whole village, old and young, including your father and my father!"

The eldest aunt stopped talking, only sobbing softly.

In the dining room, Fang Yan asked softly, "Who is Wang Lianzhong?"

Lu Dong simply said: "Qingzhao's big bandit leader, who committed all kinds of crimes, was executed in Quannan after liberation."

The main room fell silent, and the quarrel seemed to be over.

Fang Yan sighed in a low voice: "It's not easy."

Lu Dong thought of his father and said, "There is a country to have a family."

After waiting for a while, Lu Dong brought the wine into the main room. Lu Jianguo and Li Min were sitting on a big chair, and apart from not talking, it was impossible to tell that they had quarreled before.

"Uncle, aunt." Lu Dong greeted.

Li Min stood up: "I'm going to get the vegetables, Dongzi, you can arrange the tables and chairs, your elder brother is on duty today, and he has to be back after five o'clock."

Lu Dong replied, "Understood."

Lu Jianguo stood up and said, "I'll go to the construction company to see how the bill is going."

The chain accounts of construction companies are usually delayed until the end of the year. In the village, the accounts are not released until the 27th and 8th of the twelfth lunar month. The settlement of the money for the contractors and workers below will inevitably be delayed until the New Year's Eve.

This is the norm in the industry, and everyone in this industry is used to it.

Lu Dong could tell that Lu Jianguo was not in a high mood.

Those who can send money are still considered good, and some have been delayed for two or three years.

Pulled away the Eight Immortals table, put on stools and chairs, found wine cups and teapots, and washed them side by side.

I had nothing to do later, so I just went to help clean up the cold dishes, and soon Hu Chunlan also came, making dumplings with my aunt.

Every New Year's Eve, this meal is eaten at the uncle's house, and this year is no exception. When Lu Chun came back after five o'clock, the three of them got together to drink, and Hu Chunlan and Li Min inevitably asked Fang Yan when she was going to have a baby .

Urges marriages and births, and on the New Year's dinner table, the elders' mouths will never change.

This is also the biggest conflict between Li Min and Fang Yan's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Fang Yan's career is on the rise. Now that the newspaper is the editor-in-chief of the social affairs page, she is expected to become the deputy editor-in-chief in the next two or three years. Once she becomes pregnant and has a baby, the upward momentum will definitely be interrupted.

There is one radish and one hole in the unit, and when you come back from maternity leave after pregnancy, let alone a promotion, you may even lose the position of editor-in-chief of social current affairs.

As for Lu Chun, not to mention, a responsible person sits in this position, and he doesn't distinguish between black and white when he is busy.

Lu Jianguo is fine, he doesn't interfere with the younger generation's affairs, and Li Min keeps muttering.

Fortunately, Lu Dong came out from time to time to interrupt and change the subject.

After dinner, while clearing the table, Fang Yan seized an opportunity and whispered to Lu Dong, "When Song Na graduates, you two should get married quickly."

Lu Dong didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Sister-in-law, just now you were urged to have a child, but in turn you became a messenger to urge marriage."

Fang Yan has other considerations: "When you get married, the target will not only focus on me, you and Song Na can help share the firepower."

Lu Dong was convinced: "You are dragging us out of the fire, and I won't cover for you and elder brother in the future."

Lu Chun had dinner and waited for a while before going back to the institute to sit in town. Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, and I don't know how many people set off fireworks and firecrackers at night. According to previous years' experience, injuries and fires are almost Betfair's condition.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Lu Dong met Li Wenyue and went to the old school together. In the middle of the afternoon, Uncle Qi drove the truck with fireworks to the old school.

This year, not only the benefits in the village are good, but Li Jiazhu's decoration company is also in good business. Li Lin drives a small truck, and in the name of the decoration company, he also brings over half of the truckload of fireworks and firecrackers.

Not only Lujia Village, but also people from many nearby villages came here. Fortunately, the playground of the old school was big enough so it wasn't too crowded.

The fireworks were mainly set off on the old stage behind the big screen wall, with more than a dozen young people in charge. Lv Dong and Li Wenyue have been supervising to avoid any safety situation.

"Don't release those with explosives." Lu Dong reminded loudly: "Put it aside first, and let you release enough when there is no one else!"

With his former fame and current prestige, at least among the younger generation, no one would dare to take Lu Dong's words as a deaf ear.

Li Wenyue looked at those half-children who looked like a mouse seeing a cat in front of Lu Dong, and said, "After a few decades, our Lu family village will produce another third grandpa."

Among the uncles and brothers, Lu Dong is the third eldest.

Nail climbed up from under the stage, and was also ready to participate in it.

Lu Dong glanced over, and without further ado, Nail jumped off the stage and ran back to Seventh Aunt, safely being the audience.

The fireworks are in full bloom, and the petals are like jade, falling one after another, blooming colorful beauty, reflecting the sky of Lujia Village red, dazzling.

This beautiful fireworks, as if pinning the hope of Lujia Village, is booming.