Siheyuan: I am the seventh uncle of Banggen

"Brother Yongqian, how old are you? You will be an adult after you get married. You can't make Aunt Wang angry anymore, okay?" Chu Ming made fun of Qiao Yongqian for a while before returning home.

But after a while, a burst of beating and scolding was heard from Minister Chu's house, "Where have you been? How many days have you not been to work? I asked you to lie." Chu Ming was also beaten out with his head in his hands.

"Xiao Ming, you can still get some sun here. I'll save a spot for you," Qiao Yongqian smiled happily.

Chu Ming came to Qiao Yongqian and squatted down. He waved his hand, said "huh", and then fell silent again.

"Where have you been? Tell me, don't worry, I will never betray you," Qiao Yongqian asked Chu Ming.

"Can you believe what you say? You like to lie so much. No one in the whole hospital knows that person." Chu Ming despised Qiao Yongqian.

The two brothers fell silent again.

Yan Bugui reported Bang Geng in order to gain points with the principal. However, not only did he not gain any points, but he was also given the impression in front of his superiors that he did not investigate matters and jumped to conclusions. The principal scolded him, and this made Yan Bugui's chance of becoming deputy director, which already had little hope, even more distant.

Because he wanted to make progress, Yan Bugui did not leave early, but waited until school was over before going home.

Back at Yard 95, Yan Bugui was in a bad mood, frowning. His wife Yang Ruihua noticed it and asked, "Dad, has something happened?"

"Isn't it? My deputy director position is in danger," Yan Bugui said to Yang Ruihua with a sigh.

"Have the personnel been decided now?" Yang Ruihua asked.

"Not decided yet, but I was scolded today. I didn't have much hope in the first place, and now I have left an impression of being incompetent in front of the principal. It's all Zhang Dabao's fault. Why did he bring tropical fruits to the Jia family? Can't Jia Geng eat well at home? He had to bring them to school to eat, and he ate them in the toilet with his classmates. The fruit was yellow, and I thought they were eating shit. So I went to tell the principal, and it turned out that they were eating real fruit. How can the principal not blame me?" Yan Bugui said.

"What can we do? Zhang Dabao likes to give gifts to others. He even gave us a bag of fish fillets, which looked like good stuff. Today he went out with several bags of things, it seems he went to give gifts. Old Yan, why don't we give the principal some gifts? Most of the people in the 95th Institute are leaders now. Even Zhang Cuihua is a section-level cadre. Jia Dongxu, who has been a first-level worker for ten thousand years, is now a team leader. Although Liu Haizhong cleans the toilet, he is also a team leader and is in charge of three people. You have been a teacher for so many years, who doesn't know that you are a good teacher? In terms of seniority, the principal is not as good as you. I think the reason you didn't become a cadre is that you have no one above you, and we don't give gifts." Yang Ruihua analyzed the situation to Yan Bugui.

"What you said makes sense. Poor me, Yan Bugui, who is well-versed in poetry and books, but no one appreciates it. I am forced to be like these villains and have to give gifts. Alas! It's all for a living. I accept it," Yan Bugui said with a long sigh.

Chapter 273: Yan Bugui Buys Chicken as a Gift

"What should we give as a gift?" Yang Ruihua asked his wife.

"What can we give as a gift? Things are so expensive. Don't we have to spend money to buy things? If you don't believe me, I can catch some fish and give them to the leader?" Yan Bugui asked Yang Ruihua.

"Old Yan, I'm really having an interesting conversation. We give gifts to do things, not to cause trouble. Can you catch ten kilograms of fish? You can only catch ten or so fish a day, which is less than a kilogram in total." Yang Ruihua almost vomited blood out of anger.

"I don't have Zhang Dabao's ability, what should I do?" Yan Bugui felt a little embarrassed by what his wife said.

"Why don't we go buy something? Isn't the principal's daughter-in-law in confinement after childbirth? Give her two old hens as a gift. You can get the job done right away. She will be promoted to deputy director, with an extra five yuan a month salary. The key is that you can also accept gifts. It's not a loss at all," Yang Ruihua suggested.

"It's too expensive. What if you can't get it? The principal won't return the chicken," said Yan Bugui.

"Old Yan, when you go fishing, do you have to put earthworms on the hook? Can you catch fish without putting some bait? You put bait every day, but don't catch any fish most of the time, right? What if it works out? Even if it doesn't, you're a teacher in a school, will the principal not take care of you after receiving a gift? Isn't your name Yan Abacus? Do you know how to do the math?" Yang Ruihua was somewhat dissatisfied with Yan Bugui's attitude.

"I'll listen to you and be generous for once," Yan Bugui said and laughed at himself twice.

"That's right. We used to be deducted because we had many children and life was hard. Now that Jie Cheng is in prison, he can earn money and our family is much better off than before. We should learn from Zhang Cuihua. Zhang Cuihua's family is much better off now. She often invites friends to dinner," said Yang Ruihua.

"We are a little better, but we can't learn from Zhang Cuihua. Why would an old woman invite guests? Can you still become a deputy section chief or section chief if you continue to invite guests? Besides, what's the point of inviting these people? They are all her colleagues, subordinates, and friends. It's not like inviting leaders. Only inviting leaders will be useful," said Yan Bugui.

Yang Ruihua did not respond to Yan Bugui's question, but asked him, "Do you know where to sell hens?"

"Where else can we go? Of course the black market. I'll go check it out tonight. Food is tight right now. Food may not be available, and even if it is available, it won't be cheap," Yan Bugui said to his wife. In fact, he was quite familiar with the black market. He had to go there three or four times a month, not for anything else but to exchange for sweet potatoes. The Yan family did not eat fine grains, so whenever he was issued with fine grain coupons, Yan Bugui would exchange them for sweet potatoes.

Jia Geng was in a bad mood that day because many students from other classes did not know the truth and thought that Jia Geng and his classmates really ate shit. In particular, several senior students said that Jia Geng, Niu Xiaozheng and others ate shit in the toilet, and seven or eight male students came to the second class of the first grade to ask about it. This made Jia Geng feel embarrassed and he hated Yan Bugui even more.

If a person hates someone, he will definitely pay special attention to the person he hates. Jia Geng is now paying special attention to Yan Bugui.

Today is Saturday, and it's the first half of the day. After breakfast, Jia Geng came to the front yard to meet Niu Xiaozheng, and then called Yan Jiekuang, Yan Jiedi, and Liu Guangfu, and everyone went to school together. When Jia Geng arrived at the front yard, he took a look at the Yan family. There was an extra basket at his door with a lid on it, and the sound of chickens could be heard from time to time.

The Yan family raised chickens. Jia Geng thought, Yan Bugui, you dare to raise chickens after provoking me? You don't take me seriously. If I can raise chickens, I will be a grandson. Bang Geng swore secretly in his heart.

On the way to school, Niu Xiaozheng suddenly asked Yan Jiedi, "Aunt Si Ni, why does Third Grandpa raise chickens in front of the door? It's too noisy, don't you find it smelly?"

"Who knows what my father is thinking? He said he would only keep the chicken for a day or two, and he wanted to give it to someone," said Yan Jiedi. She was also woken up by the sound of a rooster early this morning, and only after asking her father did she know that there were chickens at home. She originally thought that her father bought the chickens for eating, but she didn't expect that he bought them for giving as gifts, which disappointed Yan Jiedi.

"Third uncle is so stingy, how could he buy chickens to give away?" Niu Xiaozheng almost dropped his jaw in shock.

"He told me so. If you don't believe me, ask my third brother." It seemed that Yan Jiedi didn't quite believe what her father said.

"That's what I said," Yan Jiekuang testified for his sister.

"It's really unbelievable that the third uncle would actually give gifts?" Liu Guangfu on the side also spoke.

"Now the second uncle doesn't beat children anymore, did he do this before?" Yan Zhengkuang also refuted.

"You're right. Now Brother Dongxu is the team leader, and Aunt Jia has become a cadre. Aunt Jia no longer swears in the streets and often invites friends to dinner. The people in our courtyard have changed so much that I can hardly believe it." Yan Jiedi said.

"Why are you talking about my father? But he is a serious team leader, in charge of three people. My grandmother is in charge of more people, now four. My grandmother is at the section chief level, but I don't know why she has to applaud to be a cadre? If she doesn't applaud, she can't be a cadre?" Bang Geng said.

"Leaders often hold meetings, and the audience have to applaud when the leader speaks. Don't we also have to applaud when the principal speaks? Even the students applaud, let alone the cadres," Liu Guangfu gave his own explanation.

"That's for sure. The higher the official's rank, the louder the applause must be. High-ranking officials sit in the front, and the senior leaders above can immediately see whether they applaud or not," Yan Jiekuang agreed with Liu Guangfu's statement.

The few people walked and talked. Banggeng was very quiet today. His mind was full of Yan Bugui's chicken. Banggeng knew that Yan Bugui was a stingy person and valued everything in his family. If his chicken was lost, he would be very distressed.

How can he make his chicken lost? Bang Geng's mind is full of questions now.

On Saturday morning, Zhang Dabiao drove off early in the morning. He was going to Yan Jingkai's hometown in Yishui, Shandong. Zhang Dabiao is a trustworthy person. He will do his best to complete what he promised to others.

The distance from Beijing to Yishui is about 600 kilometers. In 2023, if you drive faster in the morning on a business trip, you can have lunch at a restaurant in Yishui County at noon. But now it is not possible. There is no expressway, and the national and provincial roads are not easy to drive. It is considered good if a pickup truck can drive 60 kilometers on the road. Zhang Dabiao plans to arrive in two days, stay there for one day, and then rush back in two days.

Driving a long distance now, there are many unexpected situations. Along the way, Zhang Dabiao met many people who wanted to hitchhike. You can charge money for giving these people a ride, which is also the extra income for drivers now. But Zhang Dabiao is not short of money, and he is in a hurry, so he did not give these people a ride.

Driving a pickup truck all the way south, Zhang Dabao arrived at his planned destination, Dezhou, Shandong, at the evening of the first day, because he was going to sell roast chicken there that day.

Chapter 274: The Stick Stealer

Now, every time Mr. Song passes through Dezhou by train, he stops the train and brings two roast chickens as a gift to the great man. This shows how much roast chicken is consumed nowadays.

The current Dezhou Braised Chicken is made with real ingredients and strictly follows the process. When selecting the ingredients, it must be a small rooster weighing about one kilogram or a small hen that has not laid eggs. After being slaughtered and plucked, it is shaped, colored, dried, fried in oil for two minutes, and then put into a soup pot to cook. There are more than 20 kinds of seasonings in the pot. It is cooked for about four hours before it is considered ready. After Dezhou Braised Chicken is out of the pot, it has excellent appearance and color, five spices are boneless, the meat is tender and pure, light and elegant, the taste penetrates the bone marrow, and it is fresh and nourishing; it melts in the mouth, has rich five spices, and has the effects of appetizing, nourishing the kidneys, and aiding digestion.

As a food lover, when you go to Dezhou, you can't miss the Dezhou Braised Chicken. In his previous life, Zhang Dabao also ate Dezhou Braised Chicken on the train. It was placed in a vacuum bag and tasted very mushy, but it was not very delicious. Now that he has the conditions, he must eat the most authentic Dezhou Braised Chicken. In order to buy more Dezhou Braised Chicken, Zhang Dabao took out the letter of introduction from the Red Star Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

When I arrived in Dezhou, it was almost five in the afternoon. I went to a place selling roast chicken first, got a letter of introduction and bought twenty roast chickens. They would not sell more to me.

I put the roast chicken into the space, ate one in the evening, and stayed in the local guesthouse. Nothing happened that night. I got up early in the morning and continued my journey to Yishui.

Zhang Dabao, who was driving on the road, didn't know that the No. 95 compound was very lively today.

Yan Bugui bought the hens as gifts. The weather now is at the peak egg-laying season. Two hens can lay two eggs a day, so Yan Bugui was reluctant to give them away early. He wanted to keep them for one more day so that he could get two more eggs.

So he didn't send it to his leader immediately on Saturday. Instead, he went to see the principal while he was at work and told him that he wanted to take some time to visit his home. The principal didn't say anything else, neither yes nor no, but just replied, "You're welcome. That's not necessary."

After Yan Bugui got off work, he analyzed the principal's words with his wife. Yang Ruihua felt that the principal must have agreed to let him visit his home, so Yan Bugui planned to bring two hens with him tomorrow night, which was Sunday night, to present the gifts and mention his desire to make progress. He also secretly felt sorry for wasting two eggs in one day.

On Saturday night, Yan Bugui picked up two eggs from the basket, fed the hens water, and gave them bran to eat.

Yan Bugui woke up on Sunday morning. After going out, he first looked at his own chicken basket. He thought that the chicken seemed to be familiar with it today, as it did not crow in the morning.

Yan Bugui took a quick look and found that the lid of the basket was actually on the ground. Yan Bugui quickly walked to the basket and looked inside. As expected, the two chickens were gone, vanished without a trace, and only a few chicken feathers were at the bottom of the basket.

"Yang Ruihua, come out quickly, the two hens are gone," Yan Bugui hurriedly shouted into the house.

"What? What did you say?" Aunt Yang Ruihua hurried out of the house when she heard her husband's call.

"The chickens are missing, both of them are missing." Yan Bugui was sweating profusely.

"The chickens are missing? You were the one who fed them at night. Did you cover the basket?" Yang Ruihua asked Yan Bugui.

"I remember covering it." At this time, Yan Bugui was not sure whether he had covered it or not.

"After it was built, was anything pressed on it?" Yang Ruihua asked again.

"I can't remember it. Let's look for it quickly. Call Jie Kuang and Jie Di to look for it together." Yan Bugui was almost crying. He started looking for the chicken all over the yard. He went to the middle yard, the back yard, and even went outside the yard with the two children. He searched for the whole morning, but found nothing.

"Three dollars and fifty cents for one, seven dollars for two," Yan Bugui kept muttering.

"Who told you not to cover the lid and press it down? What's the point of saying this now?" Yang Ruihua was of course also distressed.

"It's better to eat it?" Yan Jiekuang muttered.

"You bastard, you only know how to eat. This is a hen. Is it something we can eat?" Yan Bugui started cursing after hearing what his youngest son said.

"Why are you angry with the children? They don't know anything. Look for it again. If it doesn't work, buy two more. I tell you that after you buy them, just give them directly to others. Don't think about how many eggs they lay in a day," Yang Ruihua said to Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui was getting anxious and angry at home. Naturally, Bang Geng in the backyard heard it. He was so happy that he almost laughed out loud. "You still want to find the chicken? Dream on. You messed with me, Jia Geng, and you still expect anything bad to happen to you."

With Yan Bugui's personality, he would taste the saltiness of the manure cart when it passed by his door. How could he not cover the lid after feeding the chickens? The lid on the basket was naturally opened by someone, and that person was Bang Geng.

Last night, everyone was enjoying the cool air in the yard until around nine o'clock, and then they all went home to rest. Bang Geng went to bed early. In the middle of the night, Jia Geng left the room alone and came to the door of Yan Bugui's house in the front yard. He first carefully removed the lid of the basket, then reached into the basket with both hands, grabbed a chicken by the neck with one hand, then went to the backyard, and then to the bathroom across the yard from Zhang Dabao, took out a bag from the side of the bathroom, and put the chicken in.

Chickens are very sensitive to light and generally do not crow in dark places. Banggeng first threw the bag of chickens out of the yard. At this time, the chickens crowed a few times, but they were too far away from the front yard and Yan Bugui could not hear them at all.

After throwing the chicken out, Banggeng climbed out from the wall, put the bag on his back, and walked along the wall all the way to No. 10 Chunfeng Hutong. Banggeng climbed into the yard with the chicken.

Banggeng knew that Zhang Dabao had gone on a business trip and no one came to No. 10 Chunfeng Hutong, so it was safe to leave the chickens here for the time being. Everything was complete here, including baskets for chickens. After putting the chickens in place, Banggeng took a handful of corn stubble from the kitchen and put it in the basket, closed the lid, and put two bricks on it. Then Banggeng returned home the same way he came.

When he returned home, he was extremely scared. It was too scary to go out alone at night. He was not scared when he went out, but after returning home, the more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He finally fell asleep when it was almost dawn, but early in the morning, the Yan family started looking for chickens, which woke Banggeng up again.

Yan Bugui asked Zhang Lianhua to accompany him to the cross-yard, but of course they found nothing. Seeing Yan Bugui's grief-stricken look through the window, he was particularly happy and felt that everything he had done was worth it, and he was not so scared anymore.

Chapter 275: Selling Chicken with a Stick

Banggeng had not yet decided what to do with the two chickens, but he did not dare to take them home. No matter how much Zhang Cuihua protected him, she would never let him steal chickens. His father would surely spank him severely. Since he often made his father angry, he would definitely not be careful when he hit them. He could not let them know. After thinking it over again, Banggeng decided to sell the chickens. He put the money in his pocket and never heard of it again.

There is a recycling station on every street, and they collect almost everything, including toothpaste tubes, chicken feathers, and rotten clothes. Old hens are especially popular. Of course, the price is definitely not as high as on the black market, but it is safer.

He couldn’t sell the chickens on Hongxing Street because he had too many acquaintances there. So Banggeng carried the bag of chickens to Jiaodaokou, entered the recycling station, and took the chickens out. The staff were surprised to see a child selling things.

"Little boy, where are your parents? You can't secretly take out such valuable things and sell them by yourself," the staff kindly reminded.

"My grandma asked me to sell the chickens. My mother just gave birth to a baby and is now in confinement and cannot go out. My grandma is sick and there is no money at home, so I thought of selling the chickens and finding a doctor for my grandma in the hospital," said Banggeng.

"Where is your father? Why doesn't he come?" the staff asked again.

"This spring, when I went to the river to catch fish, I fell into the water and drowned," Banggeng said while wiping his eyes with his hands.

"How pitiful!" The staff felt very sympathetic towards the child and gave him an extra dime.

"Thank you, Auntie. You are such a good person." Banggeng took the money, put it in his pocket, and then left the recycling station.

"Banggeng, what are you doing here?" Banggeng was about five or six meters away from the recycling station when he heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw that it was Cao Lianbiao from the Hongxing Police Station who called him.

"Uncle, I came out to see if there is anything delicious?" When Banggeng saw that it was an acquaintance, he was surprised at first, and then he had an idea.