Era: Starting from the local police station

Back to Courtyard No. 88.

As soon as Jiang Zhenghua stepped into the courtyard, he found that all the rooms in the rear building were brightly lit.

The second courtyard was even more lively, filled with the sounds of adults chatting, children laughing, and women scolding each other.

He thought to himself, if everyone is sincere, then the families in this courtyard should be very harmonious, and it would be much more comfortable to live there.

After passing through the hanging flower gate and arriving at the Second Hospital, someone immediately spotted him.

A woman standing at the door of the east wing called out loudly, "Oh, Deputy Director Jiang, you're back from get off work?"

Everyone in the courtyard immediately turned their attention to him, curiously scrutinizing him.

Jiang Zhenghua smiled and nodded to everyone in the courtyard, and then he could hear voices and laughter coming from his house.

Jiang Qinghe, the younger sister, came out of the kitchen and skipped over to his side: "Second brother, you're back? Do you want to wash your face before coming in?"

Jiang Zhenghua reached out and patted her head, then pulled a handful of fruit candies from his bag: "Take these candies and share them with the children in the yard."

Jiang Qinghe's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly took it, saying, "Second Brother, you're so kind."

Just then, Zhao Xiaojun ran over, his face covered in sweat: "Uncle Jiang, you're back?"

Jiang Zhenghua said with a smile, "I bought the candy I promised you. Go find your Aunt Qinghe to get it."

Zhao Xiaojun's eyes lit up immediately, and he turned around and called out, "Aunt Qinghe!"

Jiang Qinghe pointed at his forehead and scolded, "Xiao Jun, you usually ignore me when I call you, and you always try to scare me with things. Now that you hear there's candy, don't you think it's a bit late?"

Zhao Xiaojun awkwardly scratched his forehead, chuckled, and then said ingratiatingly, "Auntie, I promise I'll listen to you from now on and never scare you with a toad again."

Jiang Qinghe said, "Call me 'good aunt,' and I'll give it to you."

Zhao Xiaojun called out in a clear voice, "Good auntie."

Jiang Qinghe immediately took out two candies and handed them to him.

Zhao Xiaojun's eyes lit up immediately. He couldn't wait to peel off the candy wrapper and pop a piece of candy into his mouth.

He squinted his eyes, looking quite pleased, and mumbled, "Delicious, sweet."

Several teenagers nearby stared longingly at this scene, occasionally slurping their lips.

Jiang Zhenghua even heard the sound of swallowing saliva.

Jiang Qinghe waved to the children: "Come here, everyone, and get some candy."

A group of little kids immediately ran over, stood in line, and stared longingly at Jiang Qinghe.

A woman standing nearby quickly said, "Qinghe, don't give it to them, keep it for yourself."

Someone chimed in, "Exactly! Sugar is so precious, how can we give it to children?"

Jiang Qinghe said with a grin, "My second brother asked me to give this to you."

At this moment, Jiang Zhenghua had already arrived at the main house.

The moment I entered, I saw several people sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), and the whole room was filled with smoke.

A table was set up on the ground, and several women were sitting and chatting.

Sitting in the very center was Grandma Xu.

Uncle Zhao, who was sitting to the side, greeted him cheerfully, "Zhenghua, you're back from get off work?"

Jiang Zhenghua immediately greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Uncle Zhao, I just got back from get off work. How are you feeling?"

As he spoke, he took out cigarettes from his pocket and distributed a few to those present.

Uncle Zhao chuckled as he took the cigarette: "You're doing great. Five years have passed, and you've become much more mature. If I didn't know it was you in that uniform, I wouldn't have recognized you."

As Jiang Zhenghua handed out cigarettes to the others, he said with a smile, "That's alright, I know you, you're my Uncle Zhao."

Uncle Zhao burst into laughter: "Your mouth is still as pleasant to hear as ever."

When he reached Zhao Shanhe's side, he took it with both hands and softly called out, "Zhenghua."

Jiang Zhenghua patted his childhood friend on the shoulder: "Sit down, let's have a good drink together later."

Jiang's father came in from outside carrying a black jar and instructed, "Wash your face before you come over. I'll introduce you to the elders in the courtyard."

"Okay, Dad."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded.

The eldest brother also carried a bowl of vegetables into the house.

After washing up, the dishes were already laid out.

On the kang table were a plate of shredded potatoes, a bowl of stewed cabbage and tofu, a plate of stir-fried cabbage and meat, a plate of peanuts, a dish of cornbread, and a plate of stewed chicken and potatoes.

Uncle Zhao waved and pointed to the empty seat next to him, saying, "Zhenghua, come up and sit here."

Jiang Zhenghua quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Uncle Zhao, I dare not sit in that seat. Not to mention that I am a junior, this is my home. I should stand and show respect to all the elders."

A slightly overweight middle-aged man in his forties, with a cigarette between his fingers, spoke in a muffled voice: "You are the deputy director of the police station, a leader, you should sit here."

Jiang's father introduced, "This is Uncle Miao, who lives in the westernmost room of the central courtyard."

"Hello, Uncle Miao."

Jiang Zhenghua greeted him politely, then said with a smile, "You've misunderstood. Once we're back in the institute, there won't be any deputy directors anymore. There's only the second son of the Jiang family, who's a junior."

Uncle Zhao chuckled and pulled Uncle Miao aside, saying cheerfully, "Alright, Lao Miao, just sit here and relax. Zheng Hua isn't that kind of person."

Uncle Miao then plopped down on the chair.

The person next to him immediately moved over and sat down.

Jiang's father untied the red rope from the jar, and instantly a strong aroma of wine filled the entire room.

Uncle Zhao laughed and said, "Old Jiang has brought out all his treasured possessions!"

Jiang's father handed the jar to his second son, smiling as he said, "We're having a good time today, so let's all drink to our hearts' content."

Jiang Zhenghua poured the wine into the wine pot and then poured the wine into each person's pot.

After everyone on the kang (heated brick bed) and on the floor had filled their glasses with wine, Jiang's father raised his glass and said loudly, "The first glass is to toast our motherland to its ever-improving future."

Everyone raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

Jiang's father refilled the glass and raised it again: "The second glass is to wish everyone a prosperous life and a peaceful family."

After finishing his drink, he raised his glass for the third time, his voice clear and resonant: "The third glass is to toast neighborly harmony and mutual assistance."

Everyone responded in unison and toasted again.

Jiang's father said cheerfully, "Everyone, pick up your chopsticks and eat and drink well."

The oldest man, Grandpa Hong, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of shredded potatoes.

Only then did everyone begin to eat.

Jiang Zhenghua picked up a few bites of food, then raised his wine glass with both hands: "Grandpa Hong, it's nice to meet you for the first time. Let me toast you."

Grandpa Hong put down his chopsticks, chuckled, and picked up his wine glass, saying, "I'm getting old, and my wife usually doesn't let me drink too much; I only have about three glasses. But I'm really happy today."

His eyes were full of admiration as he happily said, "I moved to this compound in 1955 and I know about your meritorious service and awards. Now you return with honors and become a police officer, continuing to protect our country. So, I must drink this toast."

Jiang Zhenghua lowered his wine glass and gently clinked it against his.

The two then drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Zhenghua filled a wine glass, held it up with both hands in front of Uncle Zhao, and said respectfully, "I'd like to toast you."

Uncle Zhao happily raised his glass: "Let's not be polite, you and I."

With that, he raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Zhenghua also downed his drink in one gulp, then picked up the wine jug and poured more: "Uncle Miao, this is a toast to you."

Uncle Miao quickly picked up his wine glass and said with a smile, "Deputy Director Jiang, our two families have been neighbors for many years. Let's keep in touch more often in the future."

Jiang Zhenghua gently touched him: "Definitely, definitely."

After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp, but in his heart he felt that this Uncle Miao was quite interesting, as he still used his official title at home all the time.

The elder brother quickly took the wine pot and helped his younger brother fill it up.

This scene worried the eldest sister-in-law, who was eating in the living room. She whispered, "Mom, could you persuade Zhenghua to eat a few bites of food? If you keep forcing him to drink, he'll get drunk."

Jiang Qinghe swallowed the food in her mouth, leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, Second Brother can hold his liquor. Five years ago, the night before he went to join the army, he was drinking with his buddies, and he single-handedly got six young men drunk, and he still walked home perfectly fine."

The sister-in-law exclaimed in surprise, "So amazing?"

Jiang Qinghe nodded.

The sister-in-law asked in confusion, "Then why can't your older brother drink alcohol? Once, he drank five or six glasses and got a little dizzy."

Jiang Qinghe's eyes widened suddenly: "How big is the wine glass?"

The elder sister-in-law pointed to the kang (a heated brick bed): "That's the wine cup that big. He drank five or six cups and then said he was drunk. He insisted on holding my hand and not letting me leave, and I had to stay with him to get some fresh air to sober up."

Jiang Qinghe glanced at her eldest brother, who was smiling as he poured wine, then her eyes darted around before she said somewhat indistinctly, "It's probably due to his health. Ever since we were little, whether it's fighting or anything else, my eldest brother has never been as good as my second brother."

She turned to her beautiful sister-in-law and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you ever seen my brother drink again since that time?"

"I've seen it before."

As soon as she finished speaking, her sister-in-law frowned slightly: "Huh, that's not right. I've never seen him before. He always comes back after drinking, saying that he only had two drinks and he doesn't dare to drink any more."

Just as Jiang Qinghe was about to speak again, her mother, who had been listening incessantly, said, "What are you two whispering about? Hurry up and eat your food."

She said to Grandma Xu, "Aunt Xu, please put more food on your plate. And to Sister-in-law Sun, and Aunt Li, please don't be shy, eat as much as you like."

Jiang's mother glanced at her eldest son and thought to herself, "That brat is quite clever. He actually managed to get a wife like that. No wonder he's my son. He got drunk after just four cups of wine... Ha... Only my daughter-in-law would believe that."

Grandma Xu smiled and said, "Juan'er, you should eat too. You've been busy all afternoon."

The widowed woman from the Sun family, who had been holding her two-year-old daughter and listening to the two sisters-in-law talking quietly, smiled and nodded: "Auntie, I haven't stopped eating, I've eaten a lot of food."

After the other women in the courtyard echoed each other, they exchanged glances.

Jiang's eldest daughter-in-law is usually quite shrewd, but it's unexpected that she couldn't even see through the little tricks of Jiang's eldest son.