Courtyard House: Drunk and barging into the Xu family's house, I woke up numb.

“Our Yan family has always treated your family very well, so you can’t harm us.”

Although the real destruction of the Four Olds has not yet begun, the neighborhood has been advocating against large-scale New Year's greetings and ancestral worship ceremonies.

Those with a high degree of political sensitivity have already sensed a different signal.

These changes have made Yan Bugui, a teacher in the cultural field, even more cautious.

Banggeng naturally refused to get up. He had already prepared a response to such a statement, so he took the ready-made words and began to mutter eloquently.

He rattled off auspicious New Year greetings one after another, leaving Yan Bugui completely bewildered.

When the three women realized they couldn't persuade him, they turned to Yan Bugui for help, and Yan Bugui whispered something to them.

"Forget it, wife of the child. It's the New Year, just give him a penny and let it go."

To be honest, in the 1960s, it was considered quite generous for neighbors to give each other a dime for New Year's money.

It should be noted that even in many rural areas during the 1990s, the amount of New Year's money was only one or two yuan, and between immediate family members it was only five or ten yuan.

The practice of giving New Year's money of fifty, one hundred, or even one thousand yuan is a thing of the 21st century and has nothing to do with the present.

Yan Bugui originally intended to give Banggeng a perfunctory dismissal, but Banggeng refused to get up at all and instead started singing a rhythmic ballad while tapping his bowl with his chopsticks.

Finally, he openly and subtly demanded a dollar before getting up. The third aunt refused to pay, and Yan Jiekuang, who was standing nearby, even tried to beat Banggeng.

He dared to ask for a dollar. You know, the Yan family only used one dollar and forty cents worth of meat filling to make dumplings last night.

The old woman picked up the penny and pointed at the stick, scolding it.

"One dollar? You're crazy for money!"

"Let me tell you, even if you kneel until nightfall, you still won't get this money!"

Yan Bugui stopped Yan Jiekuang from making a move and gave instructions to his daughter-in-law Yu Li, who was sitting at the lower seat.

"Yu Li, call Qin Huairu over and have her take the stick away."

Yu Li was about to leave when Bang Geng stopped her.

"You don't need to go. My mom isn't home. She's at the hospital taking care of my two younger sisters who can't get out of bed."

Yu Li turned around and asked.

"Your mom isn't home, so where's your grandma?"

A sly glint flashed in Bang Geng's eyes.

“My grandma isn’t home either; she went out to deliver food to my mom and the others.”

The old woman was so angry she almost twisted her nose out of shape; her finger trembled as she pointed at the stick.

"I just got back from the hospital and I'm already delivering food. You cook so fast."

"If you ask me, your grandma clearly went into hiding. Tell me, didn't your grandma teach you what happened today?"

When Bang Geng saw the three aunties talking like that, he started a new performance, preparing to cry as soon as he drew the best card.

During this time, she even lifted her sleeve, which was smeared with onion juice, to wipe her eyes, and tears immediately started falling down her face, streaming down her face.

Sitting on the ground, tears streaming down her face, she lamented her family's misfortune and recounted the tragic situation of her two younger sisters in the hospital.

Looking at the scene before him, and recalling the scene at the hospital yesterday, Yan Bugui felt a pang of guilt.

"Forget it, Yang Ruihua, just give him a dollar. Consider it a loss to avoid further trouble."

The three women, full of resentment, pulled out a one-yuan note and handed it to Banggeng.

"Here you go, take the money and get out of here."

Banggeng took the money, immediately stopped crying and started laughing. He stuffed the money into his bulging pocket, gave himself a "good guy" card, and ran out.

"Old Yan, this matter can't just be left like this, it's too outrageous."

Yan Jiecheng had just watched Bang Geng stuff money into Ke's pocket, and the money inside made him envious.

"That's right, Dad. Didn't you see it just now? That little brat Bang Geng probably had more than twenty yuan in his pocket, which is almost a month's salary for us."

Yan Bugui pondered for a moment, then put down his chopsticks and went to the backyard. He planned to discuss a solution with his second brother, Liu Haizhong.

Otherwise, once this starts, the neighbors will follow suit, and there will be a constant stream of people coming to ask for New Year's money, which would be a huge loss.

As for having his own children kowtow to every household begging for money, Yan Bugui felt he couldn't bear the shame of that.

After returning from Liu Haizhong's house, Yan Bugui sent his children out to call on everyone in the courtyard to attend a meeting.

So, not long after, the man started carrying a stool and a small folding stool to the front yard.

There were a few melon seeds and peanuts on the table in the front yard. Everyone who came would consciously run over and grab a handful, cracking them open as they walked.

Seeing this, Yan Bugui offered a reminder.

"Be careful, don't vomit all over the yard, otherwise you won't be able to sweep it up if you step on it."

That's what Yan Bugui said, but the people in the courtyard still did whatever they wanted, throwing things away as they pleased.

Liu Haizhong sat in the middle, looking at the growing number of people in the courtyard, and spoke.

"Almost everyone has arrived. We won't wait for those who haven't come yet."

"Now we are officially in the meeting. First of all, I would like to wish all of you neighbors a Happy New Year!"

As soon as Liu Haizhong finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from below, as if representing Liu Haizhong's growing prestige.

After exchanging a lot of pleasantries, Liu Haizhong got down to business.

"My third uncle just came over and told me about something, which is about the New Year's greetings."

"I remember that the street office had already conveyed the notice to everyone yesterday, and the door-to-door New Year's greetings activities this year have been cancelled because they did not respond to the call from higher authorities."

"I think the call from higher authorities is very good and very correct. It is a call that is made wholeheartedly for the benefit of us ordinary people."

“Some of the people in our compound are from the countryside, and some have moved here from other places. In short, we have people from all over the country.”

“When we usually visit relatives and friends for the New Year, there is always the custom of kowtowing and asking for lucky money.”

“There are many residents in the courtyard, and many children, both big and small. This door-to-door arrangement inevitably adds to the burden of some families who are struggling financially.”

"So, my third uncle and I discussed it and decided that starting this year, we will use a group greeting method to send New Year's greetings."

"It's nice for everyone to get together, say a few auspicious words, and greet each other. Don't you all agree?"

As soon as Liu Haizhong said this, another round of applause broke out in the room, with Uncle Yan Bugui leading the applause in agreement.

This morning, the yard was completely ransacked by the stalks of the stalks, and everyone was holding their breath in resentment.

Liu Haizhong used this opportunity to win over people's hearts and strengthen his authority.

After Liu Haizhong finished speaking, he handed the stage over to the third uncle, Yan Bugui, who picked up his teacup, took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"Everyone heard what Uncle Er just said. We have conveyed the call from the higher authorities and the notice from the street office."

"But there are still some people in this compound who don't take our words seriously and insist on going against the instructions of their superiors."

"This is not only disrespecting us managers, but also treating the instructions of higher-ups as a joke."

As Jia Zhangshi listened to Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui's conversation, she began to panic. What were they talking about? How come I don't know anything about it?

What call to action? What instructions? When did this happen?

"Uncle, please tell me quickly, who exactly is this person?"

"Who's the fool who dares to go against you? Does he/she not want to live in this courtyard anymore?"

"That's right, that's right, Uncle San, please tell us, let us see who is so bold!"

Yan Bugui knew that these people were feigning ignorance, deliberately stirring up trouble and framing others.

However, he was the one who started this whole thing, and in order to get the money back and save face, he was willing to be someone else's scapegoat.

"Everyone, please stop making a fuss. I'm sure many of you already know that this person is Qin Huairu's son, Banggeng!"

As soon as Yan Bugui finished speaking, a neighbor chimed in.

"That's right, it's this kid. We hadn't even eaten breakfast yet when he barged into our house and knelt down in front of us with a thud."

"They keep saying New Year's greetings to us, and they have a whole repertoire of phrases they use, just like they're waiting for us to give them lucky money."

Once someone starts, others follow suit.

“That’s right. He wouldn’t get up unless I gave him money. My husband felt that the child had said auspicious words and kowtowed, so he felt bad about not giving me a penny.”

"One cent? You're kidding me. My family wouldn't even get it up if they offered five cents. They had to add another five cents before it finally got up."

"Absolutely. If you don't give it to her, she'll start crying and keep saying how hard her sister has worked, how her sister is suffering in the hospital. It's really bad luck."

“Exactly, one yuan is too much. Last year when we went to my father-in-law’s house, we only gave two mao to my wife’s nephews and nieces.”

"One dollar, even my own parents have never given me that much."

"If you ask me, this was either instigated by Qin Huairu or instigated by Jia Zhangshi. The Jia family must give us an explanation today!"

As she watched one person after another recount their experiences with great emotion, Jia Zhangshi grew increasingly panicked.

She had originally thought that she could get some money from them to make up for her losses, but the fact that these people were unwilling to lend money to her three uncles made her scratch her head.

But little did she know that this matter actually aligned with the policies of the higher authorities, and that these people had even brought it to a general meeting of the entire college—wasn't this a matter of life and death?

Yan Jiecheng looked at Sha Zhu sitting not far away and addressed the crowd.