Chapter 184 New Year (3k)

New Year's Eve was here. No matter whether others went to work or not, Gao Zhendong himself did not go to work. Lou Xiao'e came over early in the morning.

She also brought a new set of clothes for Gao Zhendong, a straight Zhongshan suit and a pair of shiny black leather shoes with fur lining. When Gao Zhendong put them on, Lou Xiao'e's eyes lit up.

Children are running back and forth in the yard, and the adults are still busy with various affairs, but the children are acting out, and they will not be punished for being naughty at this time.

"Still a child" + "It's the New Year", this gives them a little bit of capital to be arrogant.

Of course, those from Liu Haizhong’s family were not among them, but they still received the beatings they deserved.

Gao Zhendong thought about it and decided to move his radio outside the house so that everyone could listen to it.

But it was just for fun. Little boys whose families were a little better off bought firecrackers and set them off in the yard. However, when children set off firecrackers at this time, they would not set them off in strings as grandly as adults.

Instead, he took them apart and put them in his pocket, lighting one here and frying one there.

"Snap." "Snap." "Snap."
There is no rhythm, but there is a lot of feeling.

The timid ones would grab the cigarette in their hands, light it and throw it away; the less courageous ones would put it in a tree hole, under tiles, in the cracks of bricks, or in an iron can and light it carefully.

Except for double-kick firecrackers, ordinary firecrackers are generally not set off in open space, as it would be too boring.

Of course, there were also some who played it too hard and there were one or two who went to the toilet to "arouse public outrage".

There was once a classic joke specifically for little boys: There is a pile of cow dung in front of you, and you happen to have a firecracker in your hand. Now you know what to do, right?
Yan Bugui set up a table in the front yard and put out writing brushes and ink. Yi Zhonghai brought red paper. This is also an old tradition in the yard. Teacher Yan wrote Spring Festival couplets for others.

No matter how much Yan Bugui loves money, he would not accept the money at this time because he cannot afford to lose face.

It just so happened that Gao Zhendong’s radio and Teacher Yan’s Spring Festival couplets stall were both in the front yard, so the front yard was more lively, which made other residents in the front yard feel a little proud.

As a human being, you must learn to find reasons to affirm yourself anytime and anywhere.

The sensible children all spontaneously ran to Gao Zhendong to wish him a happy new year. Uncle Gao had only been in the courtyard for a few months, but it was not an exaggeration to call him the king of children.

Although the children did not know Lou Xiao'e, she was with Uncle Gao at that time, so her identity was self-evident. It was only natural for them to shout "Auntie, Happy New Year" to her.

Seeing the children coming to pay New Year's greetings, Lou Xiao'e was overjoyed. Gao Zhendong had already prepared some things. When a child came to pay New Year's greetings, Lou Xiao'e wished the child a happy new year and good study, and then gave each child a lucky money of 1 cent and a small firecracker.

This action made Lou Xiao'e, who had not yet integrated into the adult circle of the courtyard, immediately feel like one of the family among the children. For a while, the voices of "Hello, auntie" and "Thank you, auntie" were heard everywhere.

Seeing that Yan Bugui was writing Spring Festival couplets in the yard and felt a little cold, Gao Zhendong lit the iron bucket stove he had bought when he first arrived and placed it next to Yan Bugui's desk.

As Yan Bugui wrote, he smiled and said to Gao Zhendong, "Zhendong is very thorough in his work, haha. Come on, let me write one for you first. Do you guys have any objections? Haha."

The neighbors cheered: "No problem, no problem!"

A group of children also joined in the fun: "No problem, no problem!"

Banggeng and Xiaodang were also among the group of children. They were very self-conscious and only asked Lou Xiaoe cautiously if they could get two small firecrackers. Uncle Gao had already given them New Year's money.

Lou Xiao'e was happy and gave each of them a hook. Xiaodang was very happy, and Banggeng was even happier, because Xiaodang didn't know how to let go, and in the end he was the one who let go.

Gao Zhendong also put a bunch of melon seeds and peanuts next to the radio, but there was no sugar in them. If sugar was mixed in, the children would easily cause conflicts over them.

Candies are given separately, 5 pieces per child, including those who have not attended high school.

Lou Xiao'e became the new generation of the children's king, and announced in high spirits: "Children, you can only grab a handful of melon seeds and peanuts at a time. Come back for more after you finish eating them."

He Yushui was also acting as the leader of the children together with Lou Xiaoe. Naturally, she was not restricted by the quota of 5 candies, which gave her the confidence to command thousands of troops in the yard.

The children were very well-behaved. They didn't do anything like grabbing a handful to take home and then grabbing another handful. Instead, they finished their meal honestly before grabbing another handful. The only thing they did was to try to eat faster.

Gao Zhendong doesn't care if such an operation happens. It's New Year's Day and there are only so many things anyway. If someone instigates their children to do such a thing, everyone in the yard will understand.

Xiaodang and a few other kids started crying. Lou Xiaoe asked them what was wrong. Xiaodang stretched out his hand and said, "Our hands are small."

Lou Xiaoe laughed: "It's my fault, Auntie, I didn't expect this. Well, you can grab a couple, haha."

Gao Zhendong did not disturb Lou Xiao'e's good mood as the leader of the children. He was pasting the Spring Festival couplets that Yan Bugui had just written on the door.

The neighbors were all talking about it, but none of them mentioned Yin Yang Gao Zhendong.

"Gao Zhendong's girlfriend is pretty handsome, and seems to have a good temper too."

"That's right, who is Gao Zhendong? How could the one he likes be bad?"

"Why does this girl look familiar to me? I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

"Hey, this area is only this big, it's normal to have seen it before."

"You know what, Gao Zhendong is really nice to children. As long as they pay New Year's greetings, they will get lucky money." "How much does this cost?"

"Tsk, Director Gao still needs you to worry about him? He's just a level 7 engineer, much higher than an old man."

"Look at the people in his house now. They are all lonely, but if you think about it carefully, it's incredible."

Sha Zhu was preparing lunch at Gao Zhendong's house, and the deaf old lady also came to join in the fun. This made Gao Zhendong's family rank first in the yard at this time, with high position, high income, high knowledge, high cooking skills, and high morality. It was amazing.

It was so lively until noon, and Sha Zhu said, "Everyone is here, please take your seat."

He Yushui carried a large string of firecrackers and hung them on the branches outside the door. He carefully lit the fuse and then turned around and ran away.

Gao Zhendong and the other five people who were having dinner together were standing at the door watching the bursts of firecrackers and the continuous noise of thunder, all with smiles on their faces.

As soon as the last firecracker exploded, the children who had been waiting eagerly on the sidelines cheered and rushed forward.

They were looking for firecrackers that had not exploded. Those with long fuses could be tried again, and those with short fuses could be taken apart and the gunpowder inside collected, so that at least they could see the sparks fly.

Yi Zhonghai picked up the deaf old lady for the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening. He felt relieved knowing that Gao Zhendong had arranged lunch for the deaf old lady.

Five people sat around the stove. Gao Zhendong's meal was very rich and complete.

Gao Zhendong and Sha Zhu filled their glasses, and the young people first wished the deaf old lady a happy new year. There was nothing else to say, just her age made her deserve it.

The deaf old lady took out a small cloth bag and said, "I know you are all good children who have been taking care of me. I am grateful for your kindness. It is New Year's Day. Come on, give each of you a dollar as a lucky gift."

Sha Zhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Hey, old lady, we are all so old, and we still need lucky money. You can give it to He Yushui, we don't need it."

The deaf old lady looked at him and said, "No matter how old you are, you are still a child. If you haven't got married, you don't count."

This is this era’s version of singles having no human rights, right?

Gao Zhendong also advised: "Old lady, we really don't need it, you can keep it for yourself."

The deaf old lady shook her head: "That won't work. If you get married and have children, I will only give you the children and not you. But in this situation, I have the final say."

Gao Zhendong and Sha Zhu looked at each other and nodded: "Okay, old lady, we'll accept it."

It’s New Year’s Day, so just collect it and give it to Sha Zhu to put into the deaf old lady’s meal.

The deaf old lady said cheerfully, "That's right."

Lou Xiao'e didn't care at all, her mind was very simple, just accept the New Year's money and be nice to her in normal times.

Amid the steaming food, several people raised their cups again, their smiles looking incredibly warm in the winter sunshine that came through the window.

Gao Zhendong's family had a lively and happy meal, but the neighbors were a little tortured, mainly because of the delicious smell.

It’s okay if it’s just the meat, because every family eats meat during the Chinese New Year. But when the meat is cooked with all the cooking skills of Sha Zhu, it becomes quite torturous.

"What's this at Director Gao's house? It smells so good."

"What else? Meat. With Shazhu's cooking skills, it's going to be delicious."

"I'm so greedy."

"Why are you so greedy? Every family has meat during the Chinese New Year. If you have Director Gao's ability, you can eat meat often. Study hard for me. Don't even think about getting a bachelor's degree, but a junior college, or even a high school, then you will have some hope."

"Well, I'll just eat cabbage then."

Several poor families looked at the few pounds of meat in their kitchens and became even more grateful to Gao Zhendong.

Only Xu Damao was worried at home. When he passed by the front yard in the morning, he saw Lou Xiao'e.

"Gao Zhendong's girlfriend looks a little familiar to me."

But he didn't know. It would be better if he didn't know, otherwise the outcome would probably not be good.

In the afternoon, Gao Zhendong and Lou Xiao'e rode their bikes to Lou's house. As they walked, Lou Xiao'e smiled and said, "Yu Shui's figure is about the same as mine a few years ago. I'll go back and find some old clothes. You can bring them to her."

The relationship between Lou Xiao'e and He Yushui is getting better and better, especially after they commanded thousands of troops in the yard together today.

This feeling was novel and exciting for Lou Xiao'e, and she naturally became closer to her "deputy" - He Yushui.

Gao Zhendong nodded in agreement, and the two of them arrived at Lou's house. When Lou's mother saw them, she was very happy and said to Lou Xiao'e, "Zhendong, Xiao'e, you are finally here. Look who has come home?"

As Lou's mother spoke, a man in his thirties stood up from the sofa and looked at the two of them with a smile on his face.

(End of this chapter)