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Chapter 99 My Uncle is Suitable to Be an Accountant

The steaming dumplings were served on the kang table. Xie Hushan went downstairs to wash his hands and prepared to come back for dinner. He found that except for Taozi who was serving dumpling soup in the main room, the rest of the family of five were all standing under the kang in the east room, lined up in a row like the waiters.

Do you want me to eat while they watch?

"Why don't you come to the table to eat?" Xie Hushan looked at Jin Mancang and his wife in confusion.

Taozi came in with a bowl of dumpling soup and looked at Xie Hushan: "Why do you need to ask? You must have scared my parents."

Jin Mancang rubbed his hands honestly, grinned at Xie Hushan and said, "Don't listen to Taozi's nonsense. Even though dumplings are very expensive, you should eat first. The children will have eaten by then."

"Go to the kang and eat. If you don't want to eat, I'll go to Old Liu's house tonight. There are so many women here, I may not be able to handle it alone, so it's just right for me to take my uncle with me." Xie Hushan pointed at the kang table towards Jin Mancang and his wife and spoke.

This sentence was quite effective. As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qiaozhi grabbed her husband and put him on the kang and sat him at the table. If she was a step slower, she would have been dragged to Old Liu's house by Xie Hushan.

"I wanted to get along with you as a good citizen, but what I got in return was indeed alienation." Xie Hushan teased the couple who were sitting obediently at the kang table:
"I won't pretend anymore. I'm a bandit and I'm going to show my cards."

"Say less. My mom is timid and will be scared again." Taozi glared at Xie Hushan and then said to her parents:

"He was just joking. If you do that, you'll hurt my dad's back." Taozi was startled by her own mother dragging her father onto the kang.
"He wouldn't do that kind of thing. The family traditions of the people in Zhongping Brigade are all upright. Every family has enough to eat, and no one does anything sneaky or dishonest. He just has a bad mouth."

Looking at Ertao'er, Sanpang and Biaozi lying on the ground, Xie Hushan smiled and said, "Go ahead, sit down and eat. There's so much meat here. If it's not enough, pack more. Today is Xiaonian, eat as much as you want."

When everyone gathered around the table, Xie Hushan looked at Jin Mancang and said, "Uncle, it's Little New Year. Can I have a drink with you?"

"Ah?" Jin Mancang looked at Xie Hushan awkwardly: "There is no wine at home."

"Uncle, what's the surname of the family next door to yours?" Xie Hushan asked.

"His surname is Jiang." Li Qiaozhi quickly pleaded for her neighbor, "He doesn't have any wine either."

Don't make a fool of yourself, my dear brother-in-law. What's the matter? There is no wine at home for dinner, and you are planning to search the neighbor's house?

Xie Hushan nodded: "I know he doesn't have it."

As he spoke, he moved his butt to the window, pushed it open and shouted to the next door:

"Old Jiang! Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Go to the home of Old Liu who is about to be shot and ask his family for two bottles of wine. Say that Old Liu's father in Zhongping wants to drink it. He is dying anyway, so there is no point in keeping it. I can't sleep well without wine. I might knock on his door at night, and I won't go after I drink. Go quickly! If you didn't hear me, I'll go to your house and tell you again."

Just as Xie Hushan finished speaking, there was a loud noise in the yard next door. The owner, Lao Jiang, rushed out wearing a cotton-padded jacket, kicking off his shoes as he ran.

Xie Hushan closed the window, sat back at the table, and said to the dumbfounded Jin family:
"It was worth asking him to run errands. When the wine was brought back, Taozi gave him some of the offal I brought and asked him to go back and celebrate the New Year with his children. While we were making dumplings, his children peeked over the fence for a long time."

Less than ten minutes later, Jin Mancang and his wife saw their neighbor Lao Jiang running into the house, panting, holding a cardboard box. He put the box on the ground and opened it. Inside were six unopened bottles of Yaoshan Daqu.

This wine is sold for RMB 1.80 per bottle. In Zhongping, Xie Hushan only saw Xie Qimao buying a bottle once a month for his sixth uncle Xie Laoliu to improve his living standards. Other farmers would buy or exchange dried sweet potatoes for some loose liquor to satisfy their cravings.

It can be seen how comfortable the Liu family's life is in the poor place of Yakou Brigade.

Lao Jiang put down the liquor and began to search the pockets of his cotton-padded jacket. He took out two cans of tin fish and four boxes of Peony cigarettes and placed them on the table. He then spoke to Xie Hushan in a serious tone, as if he was reporting on his work:

"Boss, his family asked me to bring these cans of food and cigarettes. They also asked me to bring a basket of eggs and a jar of oil later so that I can fry some eggs for you to drink. If I wasn't worried about you, I would have asked his daughter-in-law to fry them before I brought them. There was also a box of orange juice at the door. Liu Shouben's granddaughter brought it with me. She said it was for Taozi and the children to quench their thirst. She left it at the door and ran away."

"You're quite brave. You even dare to let his granddaughter come. Aren't you afraid that I will detain her?" Xie Hushan was amused by the other party's tone.

Lao Jiang said, "Leader, the remaining men in Lao Liu's family who were frightened by you have followed your instructions and kowtowed to every household. They would rather kowtow to everyone than miss a single household. The women in the family are crying and wiping their tears."

"No need to call me leader. I'm not some kind of leader. You and my uncle have such a good relationship, and we're neighbors. Don't be shy. Just call me Third Brother." Xie Hushan said to the neighbor who had a serious face.

"Cough cough!" Taozi coughed angrily.

Xie Hushan laughed: "Uncle Jiang and I were just joking. Go get some offal and send it to Uncle Jiang's house. Also get two bottles of wine for his New Year's dinner party. Let Uncle Jiang sit down and drink with my uncle." As soon as he opened his mouth, Taozi went downstairs to the main hall to busy herself. Li Qiaozhi also went out to prepare offal and wine according to Xie Hushan's instructions, and prepared to send them to the neighbors.

Lao Jiang looked at Jin Mancang, then at Xie Hushan, and finally took off his cotton jacket and sat on the kang:
"Well, if Third Brother tells me to drink, I'll drink!"

While the children were eating dumplings, Xie Hushan opened the cans and three bottles of white wine. There were no wine bowls at home, so he, Jin Mancang, and Lao Jiang drank from one bottle each. Xie Hushan picked up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth: "What's your name, Uncle Jiang?"

"Third brother, my name is Jiang Datong." Old Jiang wiped his mouth with his hand and said with a smell of alcohol.

Xie Hushan picked up a piece of fish for Jin Mancang and Lao Jiang respectively, and said with a smile:

"Don't be shy. You don't even dare to look at me when you clink glasses with me. How can you clink glasses with a junior like me? It makes no sense for you and my uncle to hold the bottle down so low."

"Uh... hehe... I'm a little, a little embarrassed. I've never tasted such good wine." Lao Jiang said with an awkward smile.

How could he dare to raise the bottle higher when clinking glasses? If the kang wasn't so high, he would have been ready to clink glasses with his father by rubbing his hands on the ground, but he was afraid that the other party would pick on him!
The main thing is that this dad is moody. He saw it at noon. He was smiling the last second, but suddenly he pulled out a bayonet and almost castrated someone. The person was so scared that he kowtowed. If he was not careful and raised the bottle high when clinking glasses, what would he do if this dad was unhappy?

"Now that Liu Changlu has been arrested, the production team and the second production team must elect new team leaders. This is an internal election within the production team. Logically, it is not my turn as an outsider's son-in-law to express my opinion, especially since he is not married yet." Xie Hushan said slowly while picking up some fish for Ertaoer, Sanpang and Biaozi.

Jiang Datong's heart skipped a beat. Why did he get so excited just now and get on the bed? Why did he feel qualified to drink with this father at the same table?
This is clearly a hint to myself!

"Third brother, it's not worth it for the production team leader to move his household registration to this shabby place just to become the brigade secretary. Your Zhongping Brigade is such a good place, we can eat enough, this place..." Lao Jiang wanted to say that he was not full, but when he looked at the wine and food on the table, he didn't know how to continue.

You said Xie Hushan didn't have enough food to eat when he came here as a brigade cadre? This father is even worse than the Liu family. He must have enough chicken, duck, fish, meat, rice and flour for three meals a day, and he changes his wife every night.

"Uncle Jiang, I didn't plan to come to you by myself." Xie Hushan laughed, picked up the bottle and clinked it with Jin Mancang who only knew how to smile innocently: "Uncle, have a drink."

"Ah, I see!" Lao Jiang slapped his thigh and said, "Brother Lao Jin, Third Brother, I will spread the gossip tomorrow. If there is an election, let everyone in the second production team vote for Brother Lao Jin."

"You see, you still don't understand." Xie Hushan said, "Although I arrested the original production team leader for the purpose of protecting collective property, if my uncle was the production team leader, everyone would definitely gossip about it. My uncle and I are both people who care about our reputation. If people hear about it, they will think that the son-in-law killed Lao Liu just to make his father-in-law the leader. Isn't this using the backdoor to gain connections?"

Lao Jiang was full of confusion. My Dad, I believe Lao Jin wants to save face, but do you also want face?
The news had already spread to all the seven or eight brigades under the Lingguanying Commune. It was an evil one. People had already started to spread the word that you had castrated all the men in the Liu family, and had brought disaster to all the women, regardless of age, height, beauty or ugliness.

You are still afraid of gossip? Aren’t these disgusting gossips all caused by you yourself?

"What I mean is, you have a good relationship with my uncle, right?" Xie Hushan asked Lao Jiang.

"That's beyond doubt. It's a friendship that has lasted for generations." Lao Jiang said subconsciously.

"What I mean is, we have a friendship, yet we are outsiders, so our relationship is that of gentlemen, and it's open and honest. I think you should fight for the position of production team leader. If you fight, people won't gossip about you. And don't be afraid of not being elected. When the election comes, tell me in advance and I'll come over to cheer you on." Xie Hushan said to Lao Jiang while drinking.

Old Jiang gulped, his Adam's apple throbbing, staring at Xie Hushan: "Leader... Third Brother... I don't qualify, I... How about you move your household registration here, and you choose yourself, I'll cheer for you, Third Brother, and it's OK for Old Jin to choose, no one dares to gossip."

"My uncle can't be the production team leader because he doesn't have enough ability. I think when you become the team leader, you can let him be an accountant in the team and be responsible for doing the books and managing the money." Xie Hushan said to Lao Jiang with a smile.

Jin Mancang, who had been trying to keep smiling, suddenly became expressionless. After a while, he said to his future son-in-law:

"Hu San'er, I... I don't even know how to read, and I don't know how to use an abacus."

"Your production team needs an accountant like you. You can't be like my production team, where the accountant has seen the world and can write and calculate. That's too cunning. An accountant must be honest. It doesn't matter whether he knows numbers or not. It's because Lao Meng is not in your team, otherwise he would be the most suitable person to do the job of accountant." Xie Hushan raised the bottle of wine, looked at the two men and said:
"Uncle Jiang strives to be elected as the production team leader, and after the election, he arranges for my uncle to be the accountant. Don't you think this arrangement is good? I tell you, Uncle Jiang, you can drink this wine and eat this food. If you don't get elected, I will sleep on your kang..."

"Third brother, I will definitely choose, choose!" Lao Jiang was so scared that sweat broke out. He still had a daughter at home, and he didn't want to be like Lao Jin, whose eldest daughter married a bandit and even made no one dare to introduce a date to his second daughter.

Taozi came back from delivering the food and just happened to hear Xie Hushan's last words. She asked in confusion:
"Why do you insist on letting Uncle Jiang choose the production team leader?"

"This is close to your home. We can talk by pushing open the window." Xie Hushan sat on the kang and pointed at the window:

"If I choose someone else, I'll have to wait for him to come over, which is a waste of time."

(End of this chapter)