Siheyuan: I am the seventh uncle of Banggen

"What kind of game are you playing? Can't you see that I'm being beaten?" Jia Dongxu said angrily.

"Yes, you two mother were playing a game of beating children. You are the child. Who else should Aunt Jia beat if not you? You are her only child." After saying this, He Yuzhu walked into the house, picked up a piece of roasted sweet potato and started eating.

Zhang Dabao was actually telling the truth. He didn't want Jia Dongxu to work in workshop 1 anymore. According to the original trajectory, Jia Dongxu was destined to be hung on the wall long ago, but he was afraid that changing jobs would not change his fate.

Although Jia Dongxu is greedy and lazy, he is still filial and good to his mother. His ability is just a little lacking. He is also the only son of his eldest sister, and Zhang Dabao doesn't want him to get married too early.

After eating the sweet potatoes, everyone thought that the sweet potatoes Zhang Dabao bought this time were of good variety, sweet and big, so they decided to come to the backyard to help every Sunday, and Zhang Dabao agreed with a smile.

There is a seal on the door of the deaf old lady's room next door. It seems she will never come back.

The deaf old lady collapsed at this moment. No matter what she said, Director Wang didn't believe her. After asking her questions, she was still beaten up.

"I'm not a fox, I don't know what a fox is, and I don't have a machine gun," said the deaf old lady.

"What method do you use to make connections at the black market every day?" asked Director Wang.

"When I go shopping, I can sometimes save up some tickets and exchange them for money. I don't need to make any connections. I can just ask the price and it's done," said the deaf old lady.

"How many people have you traded with?" Director Wang asked again.

"There are too many. There are only two who often exchange tickets, Xiao Hu and Xiao Yang. There are so many who sell things that I can't remember them all," said the deaf old lady.

"Jin Jing'e, don't think that you will be fine if you don't confess. Tell me about the radio station first. Where is the code book?" Director Wang asked again.

"The radio is not mine and I don't know how to use it, really. Everything I said is true. If I lie, I'll swear." The deaf old lady swore.

"Your whole family has died long ago, yet you still want to deceive us. Increase your efforts." Director Wang felt a little frustrated. He found that all the spies nowadays are hard-core elements. Liu Yang is one, Guo Qinyuan is one, Brother Hai is one, and the deaf old lady is another.

The deaf old lady's miserable screams were heard again. The severe pain made her faint. A basin of cold water was poured on her. After she woke up, the interrogation continued.

After a day and a night, Director Wang did not get the answer he wanted, and the deaf old lady's physical condition could not withstand the torture. After consulting his superiors, the case of intercepting the execution ground planned by Fox was concluded. The gunman committed suicide out of fear of punishment, Fox was arrested, and Guo Qinhai and other subordinates were either killed or sentenced, which was considered a result for his superiors.

In order to prevent anyone from intercepting the execution ground again on Saturday, the deaf old lady was taken to the execution ground and shot.

Yi Zhonghai was depressed. He was taken to the police station because he was close to the deaf old lady. He explained that he was the manager of the courtyard. He took care of the deaf old lady because of the requirements of the street office and because he felt sorry for her because she was old. He was unaware of what she did. Since there was no evidence to prove that Yi Zhonghai was related to the spy case, he was released after being detained for two days. He went back home and secluded himself. He now doubted the identity of the deaf old lady. Was she really a spy? Did she have ulterior motives to get close to him?

No one told Yi Zhonghai the answer. He found out when he was released from the police station that the deaf old lady had been shot to death.

Also implicated by the deaf old lady were the ticket scalpers in the black market. Xiao Hu and Xiao Yang were the most suspicious as they often had contact with the deaf old lady, and they suffered a lot. After they were released, they made up their minds that they would never be ticket scalpers again because this job was too risky.

Chapter 60 Digging the Ground

Early on Sunday morning, Banggeng came to the backyard and first called his aunt Jia Jingshu. Then the two of them woke up Zhang Dabao and said they wanted to help with the work.

Zhang Dabao looked at the watch and found that it was not yet seven o'clock. However, the children were so enthusiastic that he let them go. He asked Banggeng to go home and call Jia Dongxu, and let the three of them go to work first. They would turn over an area of ​​ten square meters near the north wall. Zhang Dabao planned to build a small warm bed here for growing sweet potato seedlings.

It seemed that Jia Dongxu was pulled out of bed by Banggeng. When he came to the backyard, he had not even washed his face or wiped the eye boogers from the corners of his eyes.

"Dongxu, wash your face first and finish it before breakfast." Zhang Dabao wanted to scold him, but after thinking it over, he decided not to scold him so early in the morning as to not disturb others' rest.

The land across the courtyard had not been turned over for many years. The soil had become hardened and there were grass roots in it, making it extremely difficult to turn over. Jia Dongxu originally thought that it could be done in a few strokes, but it took him more than ten minutes to complete only about one square meter.

Banggeng and Jia Jingshu were of course unable to turn over, so they picked up weeds, small bricks from the courtyard and other things, and had a lot of fun running back and forth.

Naturally, the only one who could do the work was Jia Dongxu. Jia Dongxu, who usually didn't do much work, exerted a lot of effort this morning, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

Breakfast was ready, and Zhang Lianhua called three people from across the courtyard to have breakfast. She saw her eldest nephew Jia Dongxu, who looked like a fairy, steaming all over. "Dongxu, can you last until noon if you work like this so early in the morning?"

"Aunt, the ground is too hard, I can't move it at all," Jia Dongxu said, panting.

"Take it easy. You've never done farm work before. If you work like this for a whole day, your body won't be able to take it tomorrow. There will be more people here soon. If you can't do it, don't force yourself," Zhang Lianhua advised her nephew.

"It seems that Dongxu has exerted a lot of effort this morning. Look at how much sweat he's sweating. Dongxu is very young and a little weak. He needs to replenish his energy in the future," said Zhang Dabao when he saw Jia Dongxu coming to the dining table.

"Seventh Uncle, the ground is a bit hard and not easy to turn over." Jia Dongxu thought that he had only turned over four or five square meters in an hour, and felt a little embarrassed in the face of praise.

"You have a very positive attitude. It doesn't matter how much you work. If you had this attitude in the factory, you wouldn't have failed to get promoted to level two in almost seven years," Zhang Dabao said with a sigh.

"Seventh Uncle, I will definitely be able to reach level two by the end of March. My master said that I have made great progress now," said Jia Dongxu.

"You didn't say that last year. You lied to your mother before, and now you're even lying to your uncle. Dongxu, I've heard you say this more than ten times. The steel rolling mill holds promotion exams twice a year, and you've been saying this since the second year you joined the factory. Tell me yourself, how many times have you told me this?" Zhang Cuihua and Qin Huairu also came in. It was Jia Dongxu's mother Zhang Cuihua who was arguing with him.

"It's different this time," Jia Dongxu explained in a low voice.

"I was hoping for something different. Let's eat quickly." Zhang Cuihua held her granddaughter and sat down at the table.

In the morning, we had steamed buns, pickles, millet porridge, and an egg per person.

"The eggs are so delicious. I haven't eaten boiled eggs in almost a year," Jia Dongxu said with emotion after the meal.

"Dad, if you had leveled up earlier, wouldn't we have been able to eat eggs a long time ago? Every time I want grandma to buy something to eat, she tells me to wait until you level up and have more money before buying it." Bang Geng also felt a little emotional.

When Jia Dongxu heard what his son said, he suddenly felt that the eggs were no longer fragrant.

At eight o'clock, Yan Kuagui came with his four children, Zhang Dabao had finished his meal, He Yuzhu and his sister also came, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu from the back house in the front yard, and Xu Damao from the back yard also brought tools to help.

There is strength in numbers, this saying is so true. More than 300 square meters of land were turned over in just one morning, the weeds in the ground were burned, the ash turned into fertilizer, and then leveled the ground. In order to facilitate the planting of sweet potatoes, everyone also built a special sweet potato planting area and a warm kang for raising seedlings.

He Yuzhu went to the kitchen around ten o'clock. Today's main dish was fish, braised, fried, and fish balls. He Yuzhu prepared two tables of dishes, each with ten dishes and one soup.

Chapter 61 Zhang Shoucheng Enters the City

"Sister-in-law Jia, there are relatives coming to your house." Yang Ruihua, the third aunt from the front yard, came to Zhang Dabao's house and found Zhang Cuihua who was looking after the child.

"My relatives?" Zhang Cuihua didn't quite believe it.

"He's at your doorstep. He said it was your nephew," Yang Ruihua said and left. In fact, Zhang Dabao sent Bang Geng to invite her to the backyard for dinner. There were six people in her family, five of whom were helping here, so she was not missing anyone. However, she felt embarrassed to come for dinner without working, so she refused.

"Dongxu, come home with me." Zhang Cuihua saw her son was exhausted and asked him to go back and have a rest.

When they arrived at the central courtyard, Zhang Cuihua took a look and found that they were indeed her relatives, and even her nephew, Zhang Shoucheng and his wife Song Juan.

"Aunt and cousin" Zhang Shoucheng and his wife were squatting at the door of the Jia family. When they saw Zhang Cuihua and Jia Dongxu coming, they quickly stood up.

"Shoucheng, Xiaojuan, come in quickly." Zhang Cuihua was very enthusiastic when she saw her nephew coming.

After pouring tea for the two of them, Zhang Cuihua asked, "Shoucheng, you came all the way to the city. You must have something going on. What is it?"

"Aunt, it's still about borrowing money. I'm thinking about the house. Wood and stone are free and there are plenty of them on the mountain, but you have to provide food for someone to build a house, and you have to pay the chef some wages. You also know that our family is in financial difficulties, and we don't have the money to pay the chef, buy vegetables, and buy food. My father asked me to see if I can get fifty yuan from you first," Zhang Shoucheng stated the purpose of his visit.

"Cousin, are you stupid? If you want to borrow money, go find someone who is rich. My seventh uncle, your younger uncle, is rich. Don't you know the situation in my family? Before the New Year, my mother and her relatives went to your house for several days to eat. If our family could get by, I wouldn't have let my mother go back to her parents' home to beg for money," Jia Dongxu said to Zhang Shoucheng with a smile.

"Cousin, I dare not look for my uncle. Years ago, he almost beat Xiaojuan and me to death just because we lived in his house. Later, I went to the commune to report him, but the commune arrested my father and asked my sixth uncle and fourth grandfather to plead for me. My uncle's request was to sever the relationship with my father. Now the clan has held a meeting, and he has severed the relationship with my father. It is not appropriate for me to look for him again." Of course, Zhang Shoucheng did not dare to look for Zhang Dabao. Now when he sleeps, he sometimes dreams of being beaten with a crutches, and he wakes up from his dream in fright.

"Seventh uncle is a generous man. Let me go with you to take a look. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I'm your cousin and I'm still the lowest-level worker in the factory. I make 27.5 yuan a month. My mother, my wife and children are all registered in rural areas. They eat expensive food. It's a problem to eat every month. I can't save any money at all. I'll talk to Seventh uncle for you. Besides, my aunt is here. Can he beat you without reason? There are many people helping his family today. Outsiders can't beat you." Jia Dongxu's reason was great. In fact, Zhang Shoucheng knew that his aunt's family didn't have much money, but the family couldn't afford a house. It was really bad. His wife made trouble every day, and he couldn't rest well every day. He had no other choice but to ask Zhang Cuihua for help.

"Go ahead. A lot of people are helping out at your seventh uncle's house today. There are delicious food, including a ten-dish feast." Jia Dongxu said something Zhang Shoucheng couldn't refuse. He had never eaten a ten-dish feast before.

Zhang Shoucheng and his companion followed Zhang Cuihua and Jia Dongxu to the backyard. The work in the backyard had been completed. Everyone was cleaning up the tools and washing up. Now they were just waiting for the food to be served.

"Seventh uncle, aunt, my cousin is here." Jia Dongxu walked into the room and called out Zhang Dabao and Zhang Lianhua.

"Your cousin? That cousin?" Zhang Dabao came out and smiled when he saw Zhang Shoucheng.

"Shoucheng and his wife are here? What a coincidence. Someone is having dinner at home today. Wash your hands and eat first. Shoucheng will sit at the same table with us, and Shoucheng's wife will stay with your sister-in-law." After such a long time, Zhang Dabao's anger towards Zhang Dasong's family has subsided a lot. In fact, it is not anger, but disappointment. Zhang Dasong is the eldest son and grandson of the Zhang family. In the old society, he would be the first choice for the patriarch. However, due to the early death of his uncle Zhang Zhifeng, Zhang Dasong himself did not live up to expectations, and he became the patriarch, and the family became a mess. Pity his misfortune and be angry at his lack of struggle. Maybe this is what I think of him.

When Zhang Shoucheng heard his uncle's words, the couple looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

When Zhang Shoucheng saw the dishes being served, his eyes widened. He had never thought that the dishes could be cooked like this. "Cousin, would you like a drink?" Jia Dongxu pushed him. Zhang Shoucheng didn't know whether he should drink or not, so he looked up at Zhang Dabiao.

"What the hell are you looking at? If you can drink, drink more. If you can't drink, drink less." Zhang Dabiao laughed. You can't drink after coming to the city. Really? All the good kids were corrupted by Zhang Dasong.

"Pour me a glass." Jia Dongxu was also a hospitable person, so he poured a glass for Zhang Shoucheng.

"Let's start. Thank you all for your help." Zhang Dabao raised his glass. Everyone took a sip and started eating.

Zhang Shoucheng couldn't stop eating after this. He moved his chopsticks very quickly, stared at the food on the table, and used chopsticks to connect the bowl and his mouth into a line. The food was so delicious.

"Cousin, cousin." Seeing his cousin's useless look, Jia Dongxu pushed him several times.

"I didn't eat breakfast, so I'm a little hungry." Zhang Shoucheng also felt a little unwell and explained.

"Eat a steamed bun first. You can't drink on an empty stomach. Dongxu, give Shoucheng a steamed bun and let him eat a little first," Zhang Dabao said to Jia Dongxu.

"Okay." Jia Dongxu ran to the kitchen, took out a steamed bun and handed it to Zhang Shoucheng.

The women and children at the table didn't drink, so they finished their meal quickly. There were many people, including the two younger ones of the Yan family, Qin Huairu, He Yushui, Banggeng, Zhang Cuihua, Zhang Lianhua, and Song Juan, and they were all big eaters. They gobbled up the meal in no time and there was nothing left, but everyone was very full.

"Xiaojuan, let's go home and drink some water and have a rest. Shoucheng is drinking with your uncle and it won't end in a while." Seeing that her niece-in-law was a little restrained here, Zhang Cuihua suggested that she go home first. It happened that her granddaughter was sleepy, and she was sleepy too.

Zhang Dabao ate for two hours at the table. Zhang Shoucheng got drunk, so Zhang Dabao put him in Huo Yusen's former room and let him take a nap and rest.

In the afternoon, Zhang Dabao went to get two carts of sand, put them on the warm kang, buried the sweet potatoes in the sand, and watered them thoroughly. The sweet potato seedlings grew. When May Day was approaching, he moved the seedlings to the ground and planted the sweet potatoes, which would be harvested in autumn.

Jia Dongxu also drank a lot at noon today, and was arranged by Zhang Dabiao to rest in the same room with Zhang Shoucheng. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Shoucheng woke up and called Jia Dongxu, "Cousin, what time is it? Can I still get in the car?"

Jia Dongxu wiped his eyes and said, "It's past four o'clock. We may not be able to go back to Zhangjia Village. You can stay here today. This room also belongs to my seventh uncle. You and your wife can stay for a day and leave tomorrow. I'll go home to see if my mother has any delicious food. They stayed at my house for several days some time ago, so let me treat you." Jia Dongxu also knew that what his mother did when she returned to her parents' home last time was not right, but there was really nothing he could do at the time.

Zhang Shoucheng was at a loss as to what to do. It was indeed getting late and the money from his aunt's house seemed to be running out. He didn't know what his father and mother would say if he went home, and he didn't want to go back either. So he listened to Jia Dongxu and stayed. After Jia Dongxu left, he sat alone in the room in a daze.

"Mom, Shoucheng and his family can't go back today, so they'll stay for a day and leave tomorrow. Do we have any delicious food at home? My cousin and his wife are here, so we should treat them too," Jia Dongxu said to his mother when he returned home.

"There is still some meat that Da Biao gave me last time. Take it all with you and go to your seventh uncle's house to cook it. Their house is big and we can't accommodate them all," said Zhang Cuihua.

"Isn't it? There are two of us, my seventh uncle and my aunt. It would be inappropriate not to call Uncle Xinsheng if he is with my seventh uncle every day. Besides, we really can't accommodate him." Jia Dongxu counted and realized that his family did not have the capacity to accommodate him.

"Where is Banggeng?" Jia Dongxu asked his mother when he didn't see his son.

"Jingshu, Jiedi and Xiaobao are playing in the backyard. The meat is in the shed at the door, on top of the basket of vegetables," Zhang Cuihua said to her son.

"I've taken it. Come over at six o'clock." Jia Dongxu yawned and walked out of the room.

Chapter 62: The Decision of Zhang Shoucheng and His Wife

"Aunt, is my uncle's house bigger than yours?" Song Juan asked Zhang Cuihua.

"There are too many big ones. Your uncle is a cadre and was given three rooms. He bought two more a few days ago, making a total of five rooms. Our house only has one. You have to stay at his house at night. There just happens to be a room with all the beddings and other items," Zhang Cuihua said sourly.

"My uncle is a cadre? Isn't he a soldier?" Song Juan asked again.

"He was brave enough to be promoted to cadre. He was a company commander and changed his career. When he entered the factory, he was a clerk. Then he was promoted to deputy section chief. He will become a high-ranking official sooner or later. The relatives of my third aunt have been found. My cousin is the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, and Dabiao's aunt is the director of the street office. Both of them are high-ranking officials, just like the county magistrate in our hometown," Zhang Cuihua said to her niece-in-law.

"So powerful?" Song Juan opened her mouth in shock.

"Of course it's amazing. Your aunt is now working in the factory as a worker thanks to the big bid," Zhang Cuihua said proudly.

"My aunt joined the factory? She's a worker?" Song Juan opened her mouth even wider.