Chapter 5 Fives

For four whole days, Han Xuanzi's family was extremely busy.Erbei repaired the screen walls, dusted the house, and whitewashed the walls; the broken bricks and stones of the flower terrace, and the holes and cracks in the chicken shed were repaired, inside and out, it really looked like a New Year.Mother again weighed all the things that should be weighed and weighed for the New Year and "delivered" to entertain guests.Han Xuanzi took the abacus, and dialed the beads one by one to add up: three buckets and four liters of rice; six buckets and two liters of flour; Forty catties is sixty catties of tofu; fifty catties of big meat, one pig's head, and four knuckles;

Five pieces each of intestines, stomach, heart, lung, and liver; 10 catties of vegetable oil; 6 catties of soybean oil; Eighty catties of cabbage; one hundred and twenty catties of onions.Han Xuanzi finished his abacus, frowned and said: "I'm afraid I'm not rich! I haven't counted the small things, peanuts, shrimp skins, vermicelli, candies, melon seeds, I haven't bought them all, and there are cigarettes and alcohol. Buy inferior ones. No, buy better ones. It's about a hundred dollars." Yuan. Come on, I don’t care if I kowtow, let’s do it beautifully! The only thing I worry about now is the firewood. I went to the market to ask. Two yuan, three, four, and one load. If you want to buy it, you have to buy fourteen or five loads. You also need to buy charcoal, which costs twelve catties for one yuan. Don't you need two hundred catties of charcoal?"

When Han Xuanzi was worried, Er Bei Niang was so worried that she almost hanged herself. At noon that day, her teeth started to hurt. Two old persimmon trees cut off some branches to use as firewood.Erbei disagreed, saying that cutting off the branches would definitely affect the fruit of the persimmons in the coming year, not to mention the dried persimmons and nest soft persimmons, but the persimmons and vinegar alone could save seventy or eighty yuan for the whole year.Er Bei went to find his classmate Shui Zheng.After Shuizheng graduated, he was unemployed at home. Later, he bought a walking tractor for transportation.Er Bei and him were good friends when they were in school; after graduation, Shui Zheng was approving a housing base for the family to build a house, and also asked Han Xuanzi for help.This time, Erbei told Shuizheng about buying firewood.He readily agreed.The next day, the rooster crowed for the first time, and the two got up and started to go to Sipingba, eighty miles away, to buy firewood.

At noon of the day, the team held a club meeting to discuss matters concerning the handling of public housing.Of course, the solution was proposed by Han Xuanzi: grab paper eggs.Captain Nephew explained on the spot that whoever catches the paper eggs must pay the money within three days.As a result of catching paper eggs, Han Xuanzi didn't catch them, and neither did Wang Cai.Those who have no intention of buying a house do not Participating in catching paper eggs, but a patient with tracheitis surnamed Li insisted on participating happily; things in the world are often farces, and I didn't expect him to catch them.

As soon as the meeting was over, Han Xuanzi called Bronchitis home and said: "Are you really going to buy this public house?" "I have no money but I'm lucky." Bronchitis said, "I'm just trying to catch you for you!" Han Xuanzi was so fond of holding back the tracheitis, saying that the longer the child grows, the better he will be, but it is a pity that he got sick because of the disease. He and Er Bei Niang often thought about it and lamented that in the older generation, almost all of them are full of children and grandchildren, living a happy life Le Zaizai, except that my father with tracheitis passed away early, left behind this root, and was so sick that he couldn't restrain the chicken. Could it be that God is going to break the pulse of the Li family?

A few words made tracheitis sad, and told Han Xuanzi about his marital setbacks before and after, and he burst into tears.Er Bei Niang's heart is soft, she will cry when others cry, and finally promises to find a wife for bronchitis.That lowly son of bronchitis deserved it, immediately got down on the ground and smacked his head to the old man, saying: "I dare not forget the kindness of the two old people in this life! I am a person who is in a hurry. If I want to find a wife, it can be a girl, a widow, a younger age, or an older age. Tell her , pass the door, I will not hit her!"

As soon as the tracheitis was gone, Han Xuanzi sighed with emotion: "People in the world really can't afford to offend! No matter how blind a person is, maybe when they are really useful, it is because of the old saying that even a bad trick can plug a hole!" Erbai Niang said: "This tracheitis is pitiful, but he is also a treacherous thing. He didn't catch the paper eggs. He wanted to catch them just to please people. We have enough houses now. What is the public house for?" Han Xuanzi said: "This shows that the eye sockets of a woman like you are shallow! Why don't we want it? If we don't want it, the king will definitely swallow it!"

Erbai Niang said; "You really are too! You can't get along with Erbei all day long, so why bother to build a house for them now? Do you have the energy, or do you have thousands of dollars to spend? Wang Cai wants to buy it." , let him buy it!" Han Xuanzi said: "Don't worry about it, Erbei is back, I have something to say to him." It was dark.Erbei and Shui were returning with a tractor, 2,500 catties of firewood and 200 catties of charcoal.Han Xuanzi happily said to Shui Zheng: "This is a big deal for Uncle! I have been tormenting for days and nights!"

The family was holding water for the guests, and the water was pouring out uncomfortable, and they kept saying that this was what they should do, and when he was needed in the future, just order him.Han Xuanzi said something about the second time: the three friends and four friends you make are just as close as possible, and when can you forget others.Never forget Shuizheng. When the firewood was carried back, it was piled up in the yard, and Baiyin went to carry a lot of it and piled it up at the door of her building. This was to declare that the firewood belonged to her! When the youngest daughter saw it, she whispered to her mother in the kitchen. whispered:

"You're not a noble person! The firewood belongs to Erbella, can I share some with you? This little hoof really can't be put on your face with powder, and you can't pretend to be a person!" At last he said to his little daughter: "Don't tell your father that!" The rice is of course a good meal, fine powder hanging noodles, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a plate of peanuts.Han Xuanzi insisted on drinking a few cups of wine to relieve his fatigue, but he must punch a few times, drink three times and drink twice, competing to drink without stopping.The noodles have been in the pot for a long time, but they cannot be brought up.Erbei got up and went to the kitchen.Said to the mother:

"My dad's alcohol is coming up again. He hasn't eaten for a long time, and he has something to do at night. Don't get drunk. Go and block it!" "It's rare for your father to be happy today." The mother walked into the main room and said, "The noodles have been soaking for a long time, why don't you eat some first, let's drink after eating!" Everyone put down the wine cups. Coincidentally, the gate knocker of the courtyard was rattling loudly. The youngest daughter went out to check, and she saw that it was bronchitis, so she let her in.He just walked to the door of the main room, and heard that there seemed to be an outsider inside, so he hid in the shadows and called "Uncle Han!" Han Xuanzi came out, and he said secretly: "Uncle Han, something is wrong!" "Speak carefully." Han Xuanzi didn't know what was going on, so he asked immediately, "What's wrong?" The bronchitis blocked the air in the throat for a while, coughed for a while, and then said intermittently: "As soon as I came back from you, Wang Cai was sitting in front of my house. He asked me to transfer the public house to him. I said, I'll buy it, but he didn't believe it. I said I'd transfer it to you, but he said you wouldn't buy it. Yes, he can give me ten yuan more. I couldn’t pester him, and lied to me that I was going to the latrine, so I came to listen to you. Tell me, do you want to transfer him?” Han Xuanzi became angry when he heard it, and cursed in his heart: What a villain, since he has promised me, but he regrets giving it to Wang Cai, if Wang Cai finally gets it, and he knows that I can't get it, how can he laugh at me? ! He actually paid ten yuan more. Is it to show that he has money? "How can this happen?" Han Xuanzi's face darkened, "Who is his king? Can you trust him? What kind of popularity is he? If he interferes with your marriage, it will only cause bad things and nothing will happen. Besides, you too Eat the guts of a leopard, this house is a public house, whoever catches it will pay for it, how can you transfer it to get ten yuan more, are you making a mistake? You just tell him that this house has been transferred, if he Yes, call him to tell me!" Three big words softened the tracheitis; the profit of ten yuan was unbearable, and he immediately fell into favor again, saying: "I thought so too. How could I transfer him? No matter how blind I am, I still know who is close to whom. I'm just here to let you know." Han Xuanzi wanted to drag him into the house for dinner, but he said, "Your house is full of handsome people, but I can't walk in front of them." He insisted not to go in.Han Xuanzi asked his little daughter to bring out the wine, and poured him a cup to drink. He drank very loudly, shouting "good wine, good wine", and then left the courtyard. Han Xuanzi went back to the main room to continue eating, enthusiastically pouring vegetables into Shuizheng's bowl, Shuizheng asked who was looking for it, and he replied "Li's boy, let me gossip", and then prevaricated. It took a long time to eat a meal.After sending Shuizheng away, Erbei scalded his feet with hot water, complained of backache and leg ache, and went back to the mansion to rest.Baiyin helped his mother down, saying that she was not hungry and did not carry a bowl, so she leaned on the bed and listened to the radio. The radio was brought back by Da Bei.When father separated Erbei into a monk, Dabei always felt unsatisfactory in his heart. First, he was angry with his brothers, thinking that he was away for many years. Although he sent money back every month, he still couldn't quench his thirst by serving the elderly. The letters always say good things for Erbai and the others in every possible way, only hoping that they will be filial for themselves at home.Unexpectedly, many conflicts arose in the family, and Da Bei blamed the second baby and his wife.Otherwise, how could you provoke the old man to be so arrogant and separate them? However, Ye Zi came to the provincial capital once before getting married, talked about family affairs, and knew that family conflicts cannot be clapped with one hand.Dabei inquired in detail about Erbei's situation after the family separation, and felt a sense of pity. He was also worried that Erbei and the others would be ignorant for a while and hold grudges against the old man, which would worsen the family, so he brought one of his own radios with him. gave them.Dabei also told Ye Zi that she must be cautious at home, and at the same time wrote letters to her father and Erbei separately, reasoning from various aspects, saying that no matter what, the family can only be better in the future and cannot be divided again. After all, Erbei is the son of his parents, and he also understands his elder brother's kindness in his heart, so he will inevitably use this radio as a topic to enlighten Bai Yin at night.Baiyin is four years younger than Erbei, she is clear for a while, confused for a while, and can't help but go her own way. Qin Opera is playing on the radio tonight.She had acted in amateur plays at her natal family back then, and when she became addicted to acting, she hummed along.Er Bei said: "Go, help mother clean up the pot!" She answered with her mouth, but her body didn't move. Erbei snatched the radio and turned it off, Baiyin got angry and wanted to listen again, so the two began to fight over it. Someone outside the courtyard gate shouted: "Old Han!" and the flashlight shone randomly on the roof.Erbei calm down.After listening for a while, he said: "It's disgusting. Those people from the commune are here again!" For the cadres in the commune compound, Erbei is the one who has the most opinions.These cadres are all promoted from the grassroots. They are familiar with rural work, but years of grassroots work have made them almost all develop the habit of being able to run, talk and drink.It is often where you go, where you talk, and where you drink.The Qinling Mountains are also high mountains and the emperor is far away.According to the Chinese official tree, the secretary of the county party committee is the seventh rank, and the commune cadres are only the eighth rank and the ninth rank.Wherever they go, some people invite them to eat, others invite them to drink, so that a pattern is formed. If there are really clean and honest people who take office, they will be ridiculed as not being a cadre. When Han Xuanzi came back from retirement, he quickly became acquainted with the people in the commune with his reputation as an educator for most of his life, his reputation as a respectable outsider, and his lively and unwilling personality.Once you get acquainted, you can drink, and you can come and go after drinking.But these people drink extremely wildly, and they always take pride in getting one or two drunk. For this reason, Han Xuanzi always suffers, and often gets drunk like mud. At first, Er Bei thought highly of these cadres, and had to toast everyone at the banquet, but later seeing that his father was much drunk and weak, he blamed his father for drinking all his money for these people, and even complained that his father didn't take care of his body.After several times of persuasion, Han Xuanzi cursed: "Am I a prodigal son? I don't know that a bottle of wine is more than three yuan. Is this money dropped from the sky? But if you should be frugal, you should be generous! One meal and one drink will make us poor." The society is like this, what do you know? Many people are eager for these cadres to eat and drink, but they can't even hope for it!" Er Bei wrote to Da Bei, asking Da Bei to persuade his father in the letter, but Han Xuanzi still couldn't stand the temptation of these drinking friends.Gradually, when the commune cadres came again, Er Bei simply went into the house, not bothering to come out to entertain them, and deliberately ignored them. Immediately, the young couple stopped arguing and kept silent, and the lights were turned off. In the evening, Secretary Wang of the commune and Lao Zhang, a cadre of the People's Armed Forces Department, came to the house (the villagers here respectfully call him "Zhang Wugan").Han Xuanzi greeted the door, set up a prosperous charcoal fire, opened the cabinet and touched the wine bottle.At the same time, I asked my wife to scramble a plate of eggs. Secretary Wang said: "I've had two drinks today, and I'm going to talk about business tonight, stop drinking!" Han Xuanzi had already opened the bottle caps, filled a cup for each of them, and said: "Drink less, it's the twelfth lunar month, the night is very long, drink and talk." Zhang Wuqian took off his coat after drinking three rounds, and said: "Old Han, the Spring Festival is coming, and Wen from the county. This year's grain harvest is bumper, farmers are rich, and cultural life must catch up. There is nothing to do in the countryside on weekdays. The county requires a good and lively Spring Festival. The whole society will evaluate and then go to the county. The county will hold a social fire competition meeting with 50,000 to 60,000 people to present awards. You are the cultural station master, we can’t fall behind. One time, we must take it back with a pennant! Upon hearing this, Han Xuanzi clapped his hands and shouted: "No problem! Each team will have one set, and there will be trouble on New Year's Eve until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. How is the commune arranged?" Secretary Wang said: "We want to have a meeting, set it up, and you mobilize on the speakers." Han Xuanzi said: "It can't be done. You should tell me, and I will do the specific work." Secretary Wang said: "You have a high prestige here, stronger than me. This winter, we will carry out comprehensive management of rural security, crack down on bad people and bad things, and resolve civil disputes. Our commune has been commended by the county. I said it in the county. Lao Han has made a lot of contributions here. !" Han Xuanzi said: "Oh, don't do that governance, you trust me, do it, but you offended many people, the Jing family brothers on the West Street fought with the old Dong's family for the sake of the land, and dealt with it, the Jing family brothers have seen me so far Haven't spoken yet." Zhang Wuqian said: "The commune will back you up. If you're afraid of him, you have to take care of what you need to do! If you want to work hard in the countryside, you have to be hard. For those people, if you let him put in a finger, he will put in a leg! " Speaking of this, Han Xuanzi remembered Wang Cailai.Then he brought up the transfer of land and said angrily: "That's okay! If things go on like this, isn't it that the poor are poor, the rich are rich, and capitalism is all here? Your commune will come out to punish him, do you know? The more money he earns, the more jealous he is. No, he said he would hire forty workers to expand his factory!" Secretary Wang said: "It's not easy to intervene in this matter, Lao Han! We let him run whatever factory he wants to run, and now the policy of the higher authorities has no such restrictions! Yesterday I was in the county, and I heard from the county leaders that there was a transfer of Xiaoyi Commune in the south of the county. The matter of the land was reported to the lower levels, and the county party committee discussed it for three nights, but no one dared to say whether it was right or wrong. Later, someone from the prefectural district came and revealed that the central government will soon have a document, and the land can be transferred. Look, now The situation is so complicated, let's see what happens first, and don't jump to conclusions." Han Xuanzi listened to him for a while, opened his mouth and couldn't speak, and poured wine again. The three of them drank silently for a while, and he said: "I really can't tell what's going on now, I'm not sure about the boundaries." Secretary Wang said: "Don't talk about you, why aren't we like this? Come on, let's not talk about anything else, this year's social The fire is done. " The three talked and drank until late at night.Secretary Wang and Zhang Wugan bid farewell to leave, but Han Xuanzi got up to see them off. He was so dizzy that he stumbled in the yard, fell down and crushed a flower pot.Erbei Niang has long been used to this kind of vigil, and she has been sitting and listening to them. At this time, she came to help the old man, but Han Xuanzi smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay." : "I almost forgot, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, don't go anywhere, but come to my house." Zhang Wuqian said: "Is there anything good?" Han Xuanzi said: "I'll 'send the way' to the big girl, there is no one else, you all come, I won't call when the time comes!" The two said a few words of congratulations and staggered away. Han Xuanzi returned to the house, but shouted Erbei loudly.Wife said: "It's so late, what's the matter?" He said: "I want to tell him about buying a public house." Wife said: "Forget it, you drank too much, and your speech was incoherent; Er Bei ran for a day, so tired that she went to bed early." Only then did Han Xuanzi say "forget it".Sleeping on the kang, still remembering the transfer of the land, he cursed at Wang Cai bitterly: "Let this little man pick a bargain again!"