Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

His dark circles were getting worse. While Jia Dongxu used to be said to be fragile, he always roared with great energy when he was beaten, but now…

He had already caught a cold twice that winter, and he felt so weak. It was as if his energy and spirit had been drained by a female ghost. Zhang Dabiao looked back at Qin Huairu.

Although it wasn't much better, Qin Huairu's complexion was much better than Jia Dongxu's.

Is Jia Dongxu about to die?

Zhang Dabiao shook his head. Forget it, it's none of my business.

I love it or not.

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As the year draws to a close, things are getting harder and harder.

People came to borrow grain every day, and Zhang Dabiao had to be ruthless. Finally, unable to bear the harassment any longer, on February 8th, which was the day before the Lunar New Year in the north, he summoned all the members of the Youth Mutual Aid Association to the small courtyard.

This year's accounts will be compiled into a formula, and all the amounts owed and donated will be made public.

Then they took out the grain from the public areas and distributed it all according to the number of people and their contribution ratio. Whether they wanted rice, flour, cured meat, or salted fish, they could have it all, so that no one would still covet the grain stored in the stables.

These were considered New Year's goods from the mutual aid society at the end of the 60s.

After the accounts are published, it's considered a year-end accounting. We'll start afresh and embark on a new journey after the new year begins.

Then the whole courtyard saw young people busily moving grain from Zhang Dabiao's small courtyard back home.

I was so envious and jealous!

Even Yan Jiecheng received a considerable share. He would slowly pay back the money he owed the mutual aid society, but he helped exchange for coarse grains every week and farmed whenever he had time, earning a lot of "work points." In the end, he received 50 catties of grain at the end of the year!

If they eat sparingly, he and Yu Li, along with their rations, can last for three to five months without any problem.

He was shrewd enough to bring a variety of foods, including coarse grains, fine grains, cured meat, and vegetables, so that he and Yu Li could nourish themselves properly.

Yan Bugui came running as soon as he smelled the fishy smell, but it's unclear how Yan Jiecheng will settle accounts with Yan Bugui and his father. In any case, neither side will suffer a loss.

Liu Guangqi switched to formula milk powder, which Zhang Dabiao got for him from Hong Kong, to give the child some extra nutrition. It was only two cans, and the outer packaging was removed.

He donated money, but he didn't do much work. To be fair, he did donate, but the grain reserves were the result of everyone's collective efforts and should be distributed according to their labor.

Xu Damao redeemed roast chicken, Zhou Hei Ya (a type of braised duck), chocolate, coffee, and his "work points," and even paid Zhang Dabiao a considerable amount, essentially spending money to have Zhang Dabiao make the purchases.

With the New Year approaching, he needed to get some nice things for his younger sister, Lou Xiao'e. Although these weren't particularly valuable items, they would at least make him look good when he visited his father-in-law's house.

Sha Zhu—he still owes Zhang Dabiao, and he doesn't usually participate in labor, but he did cook for the mutual aid association a few times without being charged. The New Year's goods were distributed according to the minimum standard: 5 jin of rice, 5 jin of flour, 1 jin of cured meat, and a salted fish.

Before a minute had even passed since they got their hands on it, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu had already tricked and deceived them.

Then Yi Zhonghai rushed over. Sha Zhu's share still had to be given to the old lady in the backyard. As for how they argued and how they divided it, only they knew the truth.

Seeing Sha Zhu's bewildered expression, everyone could only shake their heads.

Even if I give you food, you can't hold onto it.

Fortunately, He Yushui kept hers separately and then handed it over to Zhang Dabiao, because she ate with Zhang Dabiao and Qin Jingru. If she relied on Sha Zhu, she wouldn't know when she would starve to death.

Those in courtyard number 95 were generally able to have a good New Year. Zhang Dabiao kept 120 jin of grain for himself as a show, as everyone knew he had a big appetite.

If they come to borrow grain again, there really won't be any left to borrow.

As for the Lunar New Year's Eve and Spring Festival in the middle of the month, Zhang Dabiao didn't have any good ideas. He wanted to have a good time, but these days you can't celebrate in a big way, and there's no Spring Festival Gala. So he just let it be.

Four or five days before the Lunar New Year, Zhang Dabiao went to Zhangjiatun in Shunyi to sweep the grave of his father, Zhang Banxian. This was considered a "farewell to the old year," involving clearing the weeds from the grave, adding new soil, and placing some simple offerings.

There were hardly any weeds on Zhang Banxian's grave, and it was clear that it had been cleaned very quietly, showing that his two cousins ​​had put a lot of thought into it.

Originally, we should have come to pay our respects on the third or fifth day of the Lunar New Year as a way to "celebrate the new year," but my second uncle told Zhang Dabiao that he didn't need to go through all that trouble. It's very inconvenient for someone from the city to come to Shunyi. As long as the sentiment is there, that's enough. My two cousins ​​are taking care of the ancestral graves and ancestral hall, so you don't need to worry.

Zhang Dabiao stayed in Zhangjiatun for one night. The next day, he visited all his relatives from his branch of the family, bringing 5 jin of flour to each household as a token of his appreciation.

The clansmen all remember his kindness. If it weren't for Zhang Dabiao, they couldn't even imagine what their lives would have been like last year.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Dabiao returned to Beijing.

On New Year's Eve, Zhang Dabiao asked Mu Wanqing to bring Aunt Mu over as well. Since the two of them were boyfriend and girlfriend, Aunt Mu would be the future mother-in-law. Originally, they planned to have a good New Year as a "family". Qin Jingru and Qin Mancang had already gone back to the village to celebrate the New Year.

But He Yushui ran over with red eyes. The reason was obvious: Sha Zhu had gone to spend the New Year with the old deaf man, Yi Zhonghai, and the Jia family.

They even said they didn't have enough meat and wanted to borrow some from He Yushui, which led to a fight, and then He Yushui ran over. Godmother Liu Cuilan originally wanted to come along, but considering that Mu Wanqing was also there, and that the young people couldn't explain what was going on, she was afraid that if she came along, it would make Yushui and the others feel awkward, so she let her go.

What else could Zhang Dabiao say? It's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks.

We ate and drank together, chatting about everything under the sun during the summer. That's how we spent the year.

Aunt Mu also noticed Yu Shui's dependence on Zhang Da Biao, but after glancing at Mu Wanqing, her eyes conveyed—[What's going on here?]

Mu Wanqing hinted to her not to ask, that this was a matter for the young people themselves.

Aunt Mu was quite open-minded; she had seen this kind of situation many times before. As long as Wanqing could accept it, she didn't care.

What right do people born into such circumstances have to be picky?

This kind of life is already a dream come true. I have a job, my daughter has a job and will be able to take the college entrance exam this year. I found a very capable boyfriend with a lot of honors and savings of over 40 yuan. I have also donated 10 yuan worth of remittance certificates.

It's fair to say that everyone in Nanluoguxiang envies their family for finding such a wealthy and eligible bachelor.

However, some people said some very harsh things, saying that the Mu family might have used some means to bewitch Zhang Dabiao—after all, their background wasn't exactly flattering.

But what can they do when other people have opinions to offer?

Aunt Mu had also talked to Mu Wanqing, saying that she must get into a good university, not to mention having a cadre status, she didn't even dare to dream of that.

But at the very least, one needs to be a college graduate to be worthy of Zhang Dabiao.

In an era when even households with 10,000 yuan are extremely rare, what does it mean for Zhang Dabiao to have over 400,000 yuan in savings?

They could live off their savings for the rest of their lives and still have no worries about food and clothing.

They calculated it all for you: if you don't touch the principal, you can earn interest every year and still not be able to spend it all.

Sometimes Mu Wanqing herself felt that she was not good enough for Zhang Dabiao, so she could see that Qin Jingru and He Yushui were interested in Zhang Dabiao, but she would not be jealous.

She didn't care as long as Zhang Dabiao agreed.