Chapter 345: The Post-Liu Zhiye Era in the Siheyuan

It's the end of the year again.

"The seventh and eighth days of the twelfth lunar month are so cold that the crows freeze to death." Today is Laba Festival, the coldest time of the year.

On the day of Laba Festival, every household in the capital would cook Laba porridge, which is made from various kinds of rice, beans, and dried fruits.

The ingredients of this year's "Laba Porridge" can be described as luxurious. Compared with previous years, such rich ingredients such as various beans and dried fruits are really rare.

This is all thanks to the good harvest this year.

After years of suffering from drought and floods, people finally got a chance to breathe since last year.

This year, God seems to be particularly kind to Xia. There has been moderate rainfall in various parts of the country, and crops are growing vigorously, presenting a scene of a bumper harvest.

All units are flourishing and their business is booming. Therefore, the people can finally have a peaceful Chinese New Year this year!
It is the Spring Festival, and people are always busy. Adults are busy preparing food, drinks, clothes and daily necessities for the New Year, and children are busy preparing their own "mixed food", firecrackers and other toys.

This year, ordinary people have some spare money, and the first thing they do is to buy mixed snacks, which are made of peanuts, dates, hazelnuts, chestnuts, other dried fruits and candied fruits. The children at home like to eat these odds and ends the most.

The second thing is to buy firecrackers, especially for boys, which is what they look forward to the most.

The third thing is to buy various toys, such as kites, diabolos, harmonicas, etc.

The children in this alley brought their own candies and shared them with each other. They took turns playing with a windmill, a lantern, and a diabolo.

From Laba Festival to Little New Year, from Little New Year to New Year's Eve, and from New Year's Eve to Lantern Festival, it is so lively!

The old Beijing people have many customs for celebrating the New Year, starting from the "busy new year" on Laba, to the Kitchen God worship on the Little New Year, staying up all night on New Year's Eve, paying New Year's greetings, worshiping the God of Wealth, visiting temple fairs and other customs on the first day of the first lunar month, and ending with the "Lantern Festival" on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which lasts for more than a month.

People who have worked hard throughout the year pray for good luck in the coming year in various ways during the period before and after the New Year.

The people of Xia entered the turbulent 60s. The New Year in the capital had a "revolutionary flavor", but in the past two years, the older people in the capital have celebrated the "collective New Year".

The unit gave out invoices for watching movies, organizing amusement fairs, and group gatherings. The streets unified invoice certificates and purchase books, and organized cleaning.

All districts and counties in Beijing will also organize visits by the support groups this year.

Tuan Bai Hui means "group New Year's greeting party" and is a ceremonial form of collective congratulations on festivals.

In the Xia Dynasty, party and government agencies, enterprises, institutions and social groups usually celebrate on the first day of the first lunar month.

In some places, even the New Year’s Eve dinner is eaten collectively in a public canteen.

The most interesting thing is that in recent years, the New Year’s greetings are: “Comrade Dad, Comrade Mom, Happy Chinese New Year!” This is the most fashionable New Year’s greeting among children.

Although collective New Year's greetings are very lively, the courtyard houses that best reflect the traditional New Year atmosphere of the capital are undoubtedly the courtyard houses. They are scattered across the streets and carry a strong folk customs.

Just now, early in the morning, the busy prelude of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang was kicked off with the groaning of "Uncle" Yan Bugui.

"Xu Damao! I've been waiting for you. You're like a lazy donkey on the millstone - you're doing a lot of shit and piss!" Yan Bugui, wearing a thick blue cotton coat and a big cotton hat, wrapped up tightly, shouted anxiously, with dissatisfaction revealed in his voice.

Xu Damao suddenly pulled back the quilt and poked his head out, muttering in dissatisfaction: "Shh! It's too cold today! Why are you getting up so early?"

"Hey... I'm coming, I'm coming, I'll get up right away."

Outside the house, the wind was blowing coldly. Uncle Yan Bugui, Uncle Liu Haizhong, Uncle Yi Zhonghai, Sha Zhu, Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiefang, Liu Guangfu, Liu Guangtian and others gathered together. They were anxiously waiting for Xu Damao's arrival. This group of people seemed to have become a unique landscape in winter.

"Xu Damao, we agreed at the meeting last night that we should get up early today and clean the yard together."

"Xu Damao is so good that he won't get up unless you call him!" Liu Haizhong said frankly.

Sha Zhu raised a wicked smile and slammed Xu Damao's door violently, "Bang bang..." He deliberately frightened him and said, "Sun Thief, if you don't come out, we will just break in. Don't force us to do it!"

Xu Damao was really frightened. "Silly Zhu, you thief, don't come in. Xiao E and I haven't put on our clothes yet! If you dare to break in, I will sue you for being a hooligan..."

"Get up, get up..." Xu Damao got up quickly, put on his cotton coat and trousers in a hurry, and jumped down. The warmth on the kang was instantly forgotten. He no longer dared to stay in bed.

A group of old men outside the house burst into laughter when they heard the words.

Some people may ask, how did the third uncle Yan Bugui become the "first uncle" now?
Don’t be impatient, let me tell you slowly.

In the past two years, Liu Zhiye's family has gradually faded out of the sight of the neighbors in the courtyard.

In the courtyard of No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, the complex and diverse lives of people seem to have quietly merged into the ups and downs of the original TV series, performing stories of their own.

However, due to Liu Zhiye's intrusion, the fate of many people has undergone a subversive change.

Take Sha Zhu as an example. In the original drama, he is becoming the prey of the white lotus Qin Huairu and is beginning to be ruthlessly exploited.

But in real life, Sha Zhu not only married the beautiful and capable Wang Qiuju, but also had a son, He Qiu. Now the fat boy is three years old, lively and cute.

With her extraordinary skills and self-taught perseverance, Wang Qiuju successfully became a special police officer at the beginning of the year and officially joined the ranks of the people's police. Her direct superior, the squadron leader, was Guo Zhen.

With such a virtuous wife, Sha Zhu has changed a lot in the past few years. He keeps the place tidy all day long, and becomes more humble and polite in dealing with people. He no longer argues with others casually and seems to be more restrained.

Because he has offended fewer people and has good relationships with factory bosses such as Liu Zhiye and Li Huaide, he is now quite famous in the cafeteria and has become a well-known figure.

Now, apart from his frequent quarrels with Xu Damao, Sha Zhu gets along well with his neighbors in the courtyard. Even if his blunt words occasionally offend others, they don't bother with him for Wang Qiuju's sake.

Wang Qiuju is straightforward and kind-hearted, and she handles her relationships with her neighbors with ease. In comparison, Sha Zhu seems much inferior.

In fact, if Wang Qiuju had not intervened, this family, Sha Zhu, would probably still be trapped in the vortex of Jia family's calculations, just like in the original drama, unable to extricate himself.

The old Jia family, who were neighbors, had a bad reputation. It was okay when Jia Dongxu was alive, at least he had someone to rely on.

However, since Jia Dongxu passed away, the two widows have no hope left with three burdens.

Qin Huairu was not someone who could endure hardship, otherwise she would not have gone to so much trouble to marry into the city from the countryside.

To be honest, the pension provided by the factory is quite considerable. If they live frugally and take over the job, it is enough to support this family of five without worries.

However, both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were not good people and wanted to find shortcuts. Especially Jia Zhang, she was lazy, greedy and loved leisure.

In the past, out of sympathy, Gan Ning got her a job pasting paper boxes from the street office. Although the income was meager, with hard work, the six or seven yuan a month was enough to support the family.

But Jia Zhang really ruined Gan Ning's world view. She even complained that this was a job that only required her to kill time by sitting on the kang, and she even complained about her cold hands.

Jia Zhang was afraid that others would know, so she quietly went to the street office to resign from her job as a paper box pasteurizer. However, she did not realize that this job was very popular and many unemployed housewives at home were eager to get this job, but could not get it.

The mother-in-law is greedy for a comfortable life, and her daughter-in-law Qin Huairu follows in her footsteps. She prides herself on her good looks but has a miserable fate. She has no skills but often complains about everything. She envies the happy lives of women like Gan Ning, Wang Qiuju, Lou Xiaoe, and Ran Qiuye.

After Jia Dongxu passed away, she completely released herself and her true nature was revealed. Under the instigation of her mother-in-law Jia Zhang, she decided to find a rich man, so she set her sights on Liu Zhiye.

Qin Huairu had never expected that Liu Zhiye would be so hard-hearted, so unmoved and totally unreasonable.

This made her boast come to nothing. After learning of Qin Huairu's lies, Jia Zhang was extremely angry and scolded her harshly: "You loser, how dare you pretend in front of me! Didn't you say that you slept with the man surnamed Liu?"

"My dear, are you lying to me?"

"Okay! You made me serve you for so long, you bitch, I won't forgive you..." Jia Zhang shouted harshly, and her hands moved quickly, pinching Qin Huairu's plump thighs and headlights hard.

Jia Zhang was really willing to do this. Seeing her life of luxury turned into nothingness, her resentment towards Qin Huairu grew stronger.

She was also angry that she had been deceived by Qin Huairu for so long, and had worked like a slave for her, even exhausting her own savings. Qin Huairu pleaded painfully: "Mom, I was wrong, please forgive me! It really hurts, please stop pinching me!" Her voice was full of helplessness and pleading.

"I didn't mean to lie to you. I was already lying on his bed, but he just didn't seem to be interested. There was nothing I could do..."

Jia Zhang looked as if she was kidding me, and said, "Bullshit, I don't believe that man would reject the beauty he has already obtained. It must be you, a bitch, who is just trying to fool me..."

Qin Huairu pleaded with tears in her eyes, but Jia Zhang remained unmoved and instead became even more violent towards her.

In despair, she realized that begging for mercy was futile, and the fire of resistance in her heart was completely ignited.

Qin Huairu suddenly exerted force and pushed Jia Zhang to the ground. Jia Zhang was caught off guard and stood there in disbelief. She had never thought that Qin Huairu, who seemed weak on weekdays, would resist so bravely.

Jia Zhang came to her senses and shouted angrily: "You...you dare to hit me? This is outrageous!" Her voice was full of anger and disbelief.

"I'm going to fight you..." Jia Zhang got up from the ground, lowered her head, and was about to rush towards Qin Huairu.

As a result, with a "slap", Qin Huairu slapped her hard in the face.

"You!" Jia Zhang's eyes turned red.

"Pa!" Qin Huairu sneered and raised her hand to slap again.

"How dare you..."

"Pop!" "Pap!" "Pap!"

"Stop fighting...stop fighting..."

Jia Zhang, a character who always bullies the weak and fears the strong, finally felt unprecedented fear the moment when Qin Huairu completely broke off relations with her.

Her voice trembled as she begged for mercy: "Huai Ru, Mom was wrong, please stop hitting me, please..." Her voice was full of despair and pleading, but Qin Huairu's anger did not seem to subside.

"Old man, I'm telling you, I can't stay in this house anymore. What kind of people are these? A mother-in-law forces her daughter-in-law to seduce a man..."

Qin Huairu was in her prime and didn't want to waste her time. She gave Jia Zhang two clear options: "Either I take the child and find another home, or you leave and return to your hometown." Her tone was firm and unquestionable.

Jia Zhang was dumbfounded. "Huai Ru, you can't leave. This is the root of the Jia family. We can't let the Jia family die out!"

Qin Huairu finally confronted her. She crossed her arms over her chest, flicking the dirt between her nails with her fingertips. Her tone was cold and firm: "Since you don't want me to take the child away, then go back to your hometown, so that I won't be upset when I see you."

When Jia Zhang heard that Qin Huairu wanted to drive her away, she panicked, "Qin Huairu, you ungrateful bastard, you are trying to force me to death. If you ask me to go back to my hometown, aren't you trying to starve me to death?"

"Someone come quickly! Qin Huairu is so cruel that she wants to force her mother-in-law to death!"

"Someone come quickly, Qin Huairu is such an ungrateful person..."

Qin Huairu was extremely angry and approached again, wanting to punch her. Jia Zhang screamed in fear and dodged hastily, fearing that she would be hit hard by Qin Huairu.

"You can yell as loud as you can, and call everyone here, so that the neighbors can judge which mother-in-law pushed her daughter-in-law onto the kang..."

"You are just an evil mother-in-law. I am right and I can make my point anywhere..."

"Hehe, with your behavior, you should be sent to labor camp."

When Jia Zhang heard this, she was stunned. She knew in her heart that this matter must not be disclosed. How could such a family scandal be made public? Moreover, it was difficult for her to justify what she had done.

"I won't yell anymore, Huairu, I was wrong, please don't chase me away..."

Qin Huairu felt a little relieved when she saw Jia Zhang bow her head in front of her, but her face remained cold. She said bluntly: "Even if you admit your mistake this time, there is no guarantee that you won't make the same mistake again next time."

Jia Zhang immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "I won't do it again. I promise I won't do it again. Huairu, I really know I was wrong..."

Qin Huairu said: "Well, I'll let you off for now and see what happens next."

"By the way, I want to discuss something with you. Our family can't just sit there and do nothing. I want to take over Dongxu's job. In this way, you will have to take care of the children on a daily basis. What do you think?"

"Also, Gan came to me a few days ago and wanted to find you a job to help supplement the family income."

Jia Zhang was stunned when she heard this: "Ah?"

Qin Huairu glared at him: "What? What? Are you unhappy?"

Jia Zhang was afraid that Qin Huairu would go back on her word, so she quickly responded, "Of course I am willing. How could I not be happy?" Then she smiled awkwardly, trying to hide her inner nervousness.

At this point, Qin Huairu really went to the factory to go through the succession procedures.

Because Qin Huairu was a woman, in order to prevent her from having difficulty adapting to the new environment, the workshop arranged for her to be an apprentice under Yi Zhonghai.

Qin Huairu was very enthusiastic when she first entered the workplace. She got up early in the morning, put on a brand new blue work suit, and then went to the Red Star Factory with Yi Zhonghai and others to start her new working life.

However, after the novelty wore off, the heavy workload made her feel suffocated. Obviously, she was not suitable to be a worker doing heavy physical work.

Therefore, once she started working, her sneaky nature was revealed. At first, other workers saw her outstanding appearance and felt sorry for her delicate nature, so they were willing to lend a hand and give her a helping hand.

However, as time went by, the situation gradually changed. Qin Huairu took it for granted, while other workers were unwilling to be the scapegoat and became dissatisfied.

Qin Huairu had no choice, as she didn't want to do the heavy physical work, so she relied on her beauty to flirt with a bunch of men and started to work as a prostitute.

In this way, it is common for others to take advantage of you.

Yi Zhonghai watched coldly as Qin Huairu flirted with the male workers, but since there was no actual action, he did not say a word. After all, she chose her own path.

Although Qin Huairu managed to stay in the factory with this method, she had to start as an apprentice after taking over.

However, she was careless at work and often took chances. Although she had been working for a year, she failed to pass the first-level worker examination.

"Therefore, they live in poverty, have no savings and are often poor." Qin Huairu earned only more than ten yuan a month as an apprentice, and had the responsibility of supporting a family of five. It can be seen how difficult her life was.

So, history is about to repeat itself.

At this point in the plot, Yi Zhonghai, as a master, began to frequently provide assistance to the Jia family, and through moral kidnapping, he got Sha Zhu and the neighbors to lend a helping hand to the Jia family.

In the original drama, Yi Zhonghai is a man of deep scheming. He cleverly induces Sha Zhu to provide assistance to the Jia family. In fact, he intends to tie Sha Zhu closely to the Jia family and lay a double guarantee for future retirement issues.

The appearance of Liu Zhiye completely overturned Yi Zhonghai's life. He was first severely exposed for his hypocritical nature, and then the arrival of his adopted son Yi Yuanchao made him completely awake and determined to turn over a new leaf and change his ideas.

After letting go of his obsession, Yi Zhonghai became open-minded and has actively helped his neighbors in recent years. The past grudges have disappeared, and everyone has accepted him again and elected him as the manager again, but this time he has become the third uncle.

The second uncle is still Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong is a power-obsessed person. As someone said, "A real man cannot live without power for a day!"

After being removed from his position as steward, he was deeply traumatized and suffered day and night. He always harbored the desire to return to the center of power and dreamed of becoming the steward of the courtyard again.

However, due to the deliberate suppression of Liu Zhiye and Yan Bugui, he has never been able to achieve his wish.

In recent years, as Liu Zhiye's family quietly faded out of the compound's sight, Liu Haizhong keenly realized that his opportunity had finally arrived.

He cleverly built a close relationship with his neighbors and at the same time privately reported to the community that there was only one old man in charge of Courtyard 95, which was obviously not conducive to democratic management.

Finally, he got what he wanted. Courtyard 95 once again entered an era where the third brother was in charge.

(End of this chapter)