Chapter 10 ten

On the night of the fourteenth day of the lunar calendar, the moon is surprisingly bright.The open-air cinema of the commune was showing a movie, the self-band of Houyuan Village was playing suona, and the community fire team of Guanshan Commune came with a team of hundreds of people and opened the scene at the T-shaped intersection of the town street, making a lot of noise It was booming, and the sound of gongs and drums was higher than that of the drums, and the sound entered the ears.In the courtyard of Han Xuanzi's house, six large light bulbs were installed, and people were extremely busy.The meat was boiled early in the morning. It was fat three fingers thick, as big as a brick surface, and the sauce made of brown sugar was painted purple and red.Seven hens and twelve roosters were beaten to death with a small hammer. After pouring a pot of boiling water, the fluff and hard feathers fell off, and they were disemboweled and gutted, and they were fried in the oil pan. Beep beep.There are no squid and sea cucumbers, but there are salamanders, which are specially entrusted to get them from the county.The chefs are famous chefs from far and near. Their 30 or 40 years of cooking experience are all steamed bowls of meat: cubes, strips, ribs, crispy slices, and elbows. As for other cooking techniques, they have no hands.Although the fish is produced in the Zhenqian River, the mountain people do not have the habit of eating fish.After the salamanders are praised by the city people as miraculous, they only talk occasionally, so these chefs are not proficient in operation, so they have to put the chicken in the oil pan and the fish in the oil pan.This fish is also strange, it refuses to rest in peace when it dies.In the main room, there are eight three-foot-long benches, and four large tables are supported. Those who chop radishes cut radishes, and those who chop sweet potatoes chop sweet potatoes. The knife rings, the table rings, and the stools ring too.Erbei led the people to dig the stove pit in the yard. The stove pit is a series of seven, and the stove holes are built up, getting higher and higher, the higher the smaller, the front is the big ring pot, the back is the second ring pot, and then the big pot , convex pot, aluminum pot, steamer pot, thin pot.The stove mouth of the Dahuan pot was set on fire, and the fire followed the inside of the tunnel. One pot of water boiled, and seven pots of water boiled.Baiyin was in the main room, never leaving her mother, mother cut vegetables, she chopped vegetables, mother lit the fire, she lit the fire.But there was always a sound of gongs and drums in his ears, so he sneaked out to relieve himself, lay on the back wall of the toilet and looked towards the direction of the town street, where it was red for a long time, and the sound was loud, and he felt anxious for a while.When I walked back, the vegetables were cut big and thick, the fire was burnt to a rough state, and the basin and dishes were dripping with water and could not be wiped dry.The mother said anxiously:

"Silver, silver. What are you doing?" Silver says: "Mom, the town is so lively!" Erbei heard it and gave her a vicious look. People come in from time to time.Some elders of the Han family, the captain's nephew, Gong Desheng's Zaohe woman, Shuizheng's one-eyed father, all came.They said they came to see how the organization was going?Is there anything I can do to help?However, not only failed to help, but added to the chaos, and consumed a lot of charcoal fire, tea, and cigarettes, but Han Xuanzi was satisfied and said gratefully: "Ah, thank you for being so caring! What can I do to help? I'm happy if you don't help me!"

Everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared, just wait for the cage to be put on the pot tomorrow, and everyone sits down to wash their hands and rest, waiting for Er Bei Niang to cook and eat.The captain of the nephew went out early and invited the band to come, saying that it was He Yi He Xi.The six old men who played the suona played the flower drum tune "Sister Ten Loves" with their cheeks on their hands.The tune was played three times. There was an old man who was blind. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, he was a bachelor all his life and sang flower drums all his life, but he never died.Babbling and babbling, when Qi Ai was sung, what she loved was the sister's good skirt, and Er Bei pulled the silver, like a fish off the net, and both of them ran to the intersection of the T-shaped street in the town.

At the intersection of T-shaped street, the torches and lanterns were brightly lit, and the people surrounded it like a city wall.The young couple didn't care about anyone anymore, they just burrowed into the human nest.Baiyin was small and thin, finally squeezed in, and was playing "live dragon" inside.There are two dragons, one is a red dragon and the other is a white dragon, each composed of seven people.The men of the Red Dragon are dressed in red velvet coats, or women's red sweaters, with red silk on their heads.People in Bailong are dressed in bleached cloth clothes, or turned over white cotton jackets, with white cloth wrapped around their heads.Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, the two compartments went up and down, intertwined and overturned.Spin, fly, set.The most important thing is the young man who shakes the dragon's tail, he is highly skilled, no matter how the dragon's head swings, he can't get rid of him in the end. The "living dragon" has played, and it is the "walking witch".Seven young women, wearing silk and satin on their heads and feet, also trimmed with gold and silver threads, are like stars under the light.The pink skirt was dragged down layer by layer, and the lower edge was hung with a bamboo ring, and then coyly, holding the gauze in one hand and the small lotus lantern in the other, she made small steps, just like flying through the clouds and floating on the water.The viewers applauded and commented on which trend was better, and the "witches" became more and more proud, and the more they walked, the happier they were.Then, a trombone sounded, and the joy was astonishing, and thirteen men on stilts dressed as women ran out, and after a closer look, the leader was a man with a beard.In an instant, there was clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clanging and killing, Baiyin couldn't understand what it was about, someone next to him said:

"This is Zhengxi, the Twelve Widows!" "Where is Taijun She? Where is Yang Paifeng?" Knowing the allusion, Bai Yin turned his face and asked directly. "Isn't this Baiyin?" The person next to him shouted, "Isn't your father here?" Bai Yin saw clearly that it was Secretary Wang of the commune. "Secretary Wang is here too!" Bai Yin said, "My father is busy at home, so come early tomorrow!" Secretary Wang said: "Your father is busy, so I won't go. You go back and tell your father that the county called in the evening, and the secretary of the county party committee, Ma, will come to the commune tomorrow to pay New Year's greetings to some people. Tell your father to come to the commune at noon tomorrow to greet you. "

Silver says: "How can my father go away?!" Secretary Wang said: "Maybe Secretary Ma will come to your house to pay New Year's greetings! You told your father, he will definitely come." It wasn't until the moon turned to the west that the lively scene slowly dissipated.Baiyin ran into Erbei at the street corner, the two walked back, the cooks and helpers all went back, the lights in the yard were turned off, but the main room was still brightly lit.Han Xuanzi sat by the brazier smoking and said: "You guys will be happy too, Diao Kong ran away!" Baiyin told his father about meeting Secretary Wang and what Secretary Wang said about meeting Secretary Ma, saying:

"I'm busy tomorrow, so I don't have time to meet him!" Han Xuanzi said: "I still have to find time to greet them! If the commune seems to ask me to greet them, we have to know the fun, or we will be rude. I don't know which ones Secretary Ma will come to pay New Year's greetings to?" Er Bei said: "Maybe he will come to our house again." What he said was not that he thought that Secretary Ma's arrival would bring glory to the Han family; on the contrary, he was worried that if Secretary Ma came, would he be disgusted with such a big event?

"It's great if you can come!" Han Xuanzi said, "It's just in time for our business, so the hospitality this time will be more meaningful! Oh, then I have to prepare some good wine!" Er Bei said: "Father, how much wine have you bought now?" Han Xuanzi said: "Fifteen bottles of wine in bottles: four bottles of 'Dukang', three bottles of 'Xifeng', six bottles of 'Chenggu Daqu', two bottles of 'Fenjiu'. The loose 'Taibai' twenty catties. The loose 'Longwo' twelve catties. Six catties of grape liqueur. I'm afraid it's not enough. I'll see tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I can get it from your Uncle Gong at any time. I don't want the wine in his urn, it's mixed with water, I've already told him."

Er Bei said: "Have you paid all the money?" Han Xuanzi said: "How can I have money? I owe him first, and pay it back slowly later:" Erbei didn't say anything; after a moment of boredom, he said: "It's late at night, let's go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow." Han Xuanzi said: "You are all asleep, and I will keep watch. When the lights are turned on, you are all asleep. The meat and vegetables are all piled up on the ground, and the rats are still alive." He just guarded the cooked food all over the place and sat all night.

At dawn, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.After making a cup of strong tea, Han Xuanzi cleared his mind for a while, and set off a string of firecrackers in front of the screen wall.Fifteen firecrackers, this is the first sound.With this sound, every family's firecrackers rang.Er Bei Niang, Er Bei, Bai Yin, and the youngest daughter all got up and took their positions, each taking his own responsibility according to the division of labor the night before yesterday.After breakfast, all the cooks and helpers arrived, and fireworks started to set off in the yard.The smell of meat, rice, and vegetables rushed out from the yard, warming the whole village. Soon, relatives and friends came one after another.Most of the family members brought a suit of clothing as a gift, some in tweed, some in corduroy, some in fine quality, some in khaki, and some in cotton, and put them one by one on the cover of the cabinet.People from the village also came one after another. Those with three children brought three children; those with four children brought four children, and the whole family set up camp.They don't need to bring cloths and materials, they have money in their pockets, meet each other, discuss how many gifts to give, the gifts must be consistent, no one can be more and the other less; Everyone's treasure.Those three aunts and six uncles, seven concubines and eight aunts must be a blanket or a list, and at the same time they whispered to each other: Is it a gift of five yuan or a gift of ten yuan?Is five yuan less?Is ten yuan more?It is necessary not to suffer a loss, but also to not lose face.Han Xuanzi asked Erbei to move out all the cabinets, tables, and boxes that accompanied Ye Zi, and put them on the yard, and set up quilts, sheets, kettles, lanterns, basins, and mirrors.Er Bei Niang paid the most attention to this kind of decoration, and she couldn't forget to put two small porcelain bowls in the basin, one for noodles and one for rice, and a pair of new chopsticks beside it.What that meant, she couldn't figure out, but it had been the order of generations, and she could only enforce it sacredly.

There are more and more people, and the house and courtyard are full of people.Those who can drink tea drink tea, those who can smoke smoke, and those who don't drink or smoke, just watch in the corners of the room, point to the photo on the wall, say that it is Da Bei, that is Da Bei's daughter-in-law, and then the world is wide open. Discuss how Da Bei is capable, and how beautiful Da Bei's daughter-in-law is from the city. Han Xuanzi does not do specific work.He is the head of the family, but at this time he shows the majesty of the king of a country.For the workers, they come and leave as soon as they are called; when the guests arrive, they greet them with smiles, hand them tea and tobacco, and greet each other loudly.While yelling and shouting and directing everything, I can't forget to greet my little daughter and ask some children to pay attention to them. They must not tear up the couplets on the door, and must not break the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Bronchitis is the most active, looking for tables and stools.He coughed when he was busy, and suffocated when he coughed, and his waist was bent like a bow.Occasionally, I would sneak into the kitchen, grab a piece of meat and eat it in my mouth. When others saw it, they would quickly say, "It's rotten, it's rotten!" At eleven o'clock, Han Xuanzi called his nephew captain aside and said: "Secretary Ma of the County Party Committee is coming, and the commune wants me to go to meet him too. I'll go and see, maybe Secretary Ma will also come to give us New Year's greetings! You are here to command, I don't come back, don't have dinner." As soon as Han Xuanzi left, Captain Nephew actually announced to the visitors that Secretary Ma was coming.The news made everyone dumbfounded, and there was a lot of discussion, and no one was not excited and envious.At that moment, a group of women entered the house and surrounded Ye Zi, saying: "Hi, good fortune, Secretary Ma is also here to 'send the way' for you!" The news quickly spread to the village again, and some people who were not prepared to come also came.The leftover dog and the bald man are going to the processing factory after eating. When they heard the news, they were really embarrassed: go to the Han's house, but they haven't been called; don't go.I am afraid that I will isolate myself even more from now on. Wang Cai is an example.After much deliberation, I sent my wife and baby to come with gift money. At twelve o'clock, the gift list was densely filled with people's names, and the youngest daughter kept looking at the gift money received, and finally ran to her mother and said: "Mom, one hundred and eighty yuan!" Niang said: "That's all right, I can pay back the debt. I've always been worried about how your father will borrow it here and there, and how will you pay it back after the guests are over!" At 12:30, all the meals were ready, but Han Xuanzi didn't come back, so he couldn't sit at the table.Some people kept asking: Don't you eat yet?My stomach is already hungry! After another hour, the food started to get cold, and Han Xuanzi hadn't come back yet. The guests were a little confused, and more people complained that they were hungry.The captain of the nephew was also anxious, and said to Er Bei: "Why hasn't my uncle come back? You go to the commune to see." Er Bei went to the commune compound, but there was no one in the compound.The old guard said: Secretary Ma went to a professional household in Houyuan to pay New Year's greetings as soon as Secretary Ma came. All the commune officials also went, and Han Xuanzi followed.Erbei came back and said: We have to wait. The family members were anxious, and Han Xuanzi was even more anxious.After he arrived at the commune, Secretary Wang and the others had accompanied Secretary Ma to Houyuan, so he drove them away without stopping.Secretary Ma was in that professional household, asking this and that, but he didn't leave immediately.He pulled Secretary Wang over and said: "Where will Secretary Ma go? Didn't you say that I am entertaining guests today? Can you come to my house?" Secretary Wang said: "Secretary Ma said, go back from here, and then go to Wang Cai's house to pay New Year's greetings." "Wang Cai's family?" Han Xuanzi was taken aback, "What is Wang Cai? Secretary Ma, go and give him New Year's greetings?" Secretary Wang winked and whispered: "I can't figure it out either. Why did he think of going to Wang Cai's house? Where did he know about Wang Cai?! He also said that Wang Cai's processing plant is a good example. He wants to actually see it and prepare the flour needed by the processing plant. , oil, and sugar are included in the supply indicators." Han Xuanzi suddenly had severe tinnitus and blurred vision. It took him a long time to wake up and asked: "How did Secretary Ma know about Wang Cai's processing plant?" Secretary Wang said: "Secretary Ma said he had received an application report from Wang Cai. Why didn't Wang Cai let our commune know about this application?!" Han Xuanzi complained endlessly: "He reaches the sky! He can reach the sky!" The two stood there silently, lighting cigarettes at each other.The warm sun shone on them, and the shadows under them stretched long. For the first time, Han Xuanzi suddenly discovered that the smoke shadow on the ground was neither black nor yellow, but a dark red color. "Then," Han Xuanzi raised his head and said, "So you won't come to my house? There are a lot of guests here!" Secretary Wang said: "How about this, go to Wang_cai's house, and Zhang Wugan and I will accompany you. You call the other cadres of the commune to your house, and we will have a drink another day." "This, this..." Han Xuanzi was extremely embarrassed. "I can't help it, but Secretary Ma is here today, and I have to accompany him!" After returning to the commune compound from Houyuan, Secretary Ma rested for a while before leaving for Wang Cai's house.Immediately, Secretary Wang sent Xiao Pao to inform Wang Cai first, and he himself persuaded Secretary Ma to drink tea first. Wang Cai started to give birth as soon as he was exposed today. In the middle of the morning, the little girl told Han that there were a lot of customers, and he was in a mess. When the little girl wanted to talk again, he slapped her and scolded: "What are you calling? You don't call out to make people think you are dumb? Go wash the rice!" The little girl didn't know why, so she went to wash the rice crying.He felt that he had wronged the child again, so he just stirred the flour in a dull head. After stirring, he went to work on the oil pan, frying more than ten catties of bean sugar, and then went to the table to make dumplings and crisp sugar.Daughter-in-law said: "Go and eat something," "No." He just didn't go. At this moment.The messenger from the commune, Fei Ma, arrived and said that Secretary Ma of the county party committee was coming to pay New Year's greetings.Wang Cai listened obsessively, as if in a dream; after listening, he smiled coldly and sat down to do his work again.The commune reporter was so popular that he shouted: "Wang Cai, you are so arrogant! Secretary Ma is coming to pay New Year's greetings, and you just ignore it?! Do you know that the report that people approve your flour, oil, and sugar to be included in the supply quota has come!" Wang Cai was startled and said: "This is real?" "Really," said the man. "Trick me soon?" "Who messed with you?" Wang Cai yelled: "Ah, Secretary Ma has supported me! Secretary Ma has come to wish me New Year greetings!" He ran out while shouting, and ran to the big arena. There was no one there, and he felt that he had lost his composure. A new hat. The happiest ones are Gousheng and Baldy.They also stopped giving birth, and rushed home to find their wives and dolls, telling them not to go to Han Xuanzi's house for dinner.But the door was locked and the person had already left.The bald man ran to the edge of the bamboo forest outside Han Xuanzi's house, and called his wife in a rough voice, saying: "Go back, Secretary Ma is going to give Wang Cai a New Year greeting, and he has to support our factory!" Everyone in the Han family courtyard was starving and dissatisfied with the delay in eating. Someone found soft persimmons on the thorn fence at the back of the kitchen, and secretly went up to get them to eat.Hearing the bald man cry, he exploded, saying: "What? Secretary Ma didn't come here, but went to Wang Cai's house?" Someone immediately ran out to watch the excitement.More people were puzzled and thought it was a rumor.The people who came out saw the bald man.The bald man's wife was saying to the bald man: "I haven't eaten the meal yet, I've already received the gift of two yuan!" Baldy said: "No, it's just that we lost it, lost it, and fed it to pigs!" Er Bei Niang was following some guests out to see what happened, and when she heard this, she said angrily: "Baldy, keep your mouth clean! Do I care if your house comes? Did I ask you to invite you? You are so immoral, who are you scolding?" Baldy said: "I just scolded, what did you do to me? Do you still want to suppress me? You are powerful, rich and powerful, but why doesn't Secretary Ma come to your house?!" "You dog!" Er Bei Niang was so angry that her hands and feet trembled, tears streaming down her face.Erbei ran out and grabbed Mother. When the bald man saw Erbei, he lowered his head and ran away. At this moment, everyone in the yard knew that Secretary Ma was really not here, and some people ran to Wang Cai's house.One person walked away, and the hearts of the people fluctuated. Ten or twenty people followed suit, and the courtyard suddenly became much less.Er Bei Niang is timid and has big worries. She blocks this and pulls that. She is so anxious that tears flow down again, and she says to Er Bei: "Where's your father? Where did your father die? If he doesn't come back, how can we deal with it! Don't wait for him, let's have dinner, let's have dinner!" Let the nephew captain arrange the guests to sit, the captain called bronchitis, asked to move the table to the main room, remove all the doors and put them in the yard.The main room is the upper table, and the courtyard is the lower table, and everyone takes their seats.But the captain yelled a few times, but there was no sign of bronchitis; he had already gone to Wang Cai's house. After all the people were seated, Han Xuanzi and the cadres from the four commune compound came back.People saw that Han Xuanzi's face was ashen, although he was still smiling, the smile was bitter and forced.Among the four commune cadres under his leadership, one is a guy in charge of production, one is the director of the women's federation who is in charge of family planning, one is an accountant, and the other is an old man in charge of diversified operations.Han Xuanzi let the four cadres sit in the main room, asked Erbei to set off a string of firecrackers, then took out the wine, served cold dishes, and toasted everyone. Han Xuanzi said: "How many seats are there?" Er Bei said: "Fifteen seats." Erbai Niang said: "Many people in the village have left and went to Wang Cai's house. Are you waiting?" Han Xuanzi said: "Don't wait! Let Yun go!" He took the wine glass by himself, stood at the door of the main room, and said loudly: "A glass of water and wine, drink all of it!" Everyone put down after sleeping for a while, but he tilted his neck and downed the full cup.