My village can't be like this

Chapter 508: Happy New Year to the tenants
The next morning, it was still snowing in the sky.

But it wasn't as heavy as the previous days, and there was just light snow falling like fluff.

Every year I see people who see it snowing. When I look at this situation, I know that this year it has been snowing for a week and it is almost over.

"Hey, Siqi is up so early. Come and let Grandpa hug you."

When Zhang An was playing by the stove with his son in his arms, Zhang Jianwen came to the door.

After saying that, Zhang Jianwen stretched out his hand towards Xiao Siqi with a smile.

Because Zhang Jianwen often came to Zhang An's house, Xiao Siqi knew him fairly well.

So he had no intention of resisting and let Zhang Jianwen hug him very obediently.

Although this little guy is very well-behaved, he is very interesting. If you don't know him, he will basically not let you hold him and tease him.

Even if it is forcibly carried, it will still resist and twist. Although it will not cry, the expression on its face will be very aggrieved.

Zhang Jianwen likes Xiao Siqi very much, partly because Xiao Siqi is his grandson.

On the other hand, as I get older, my desire to have grandchildren becomes stronger and stronger.

It’s just that Zhang Ping and Bai Xue are not married yet, let alone their grandchildren.

Although there are many examples of children born out of wedlock, this will not happen to girls born in families like Bai Xue.

So every time he met Xiao Siqi, Zhang Jianwen would place his longing for his grandson on the little guy.

"Xiao An, is there anything you need to do later?"

Zhang Jianwen, who was already in his fifties, played with little Siqi like an old child for a while before asking Zhang An.

"It seems like there is nothing to be busy with. Is there something wrong, uncle?"

It's only the middle of the twelfth lunar month, not even the Little New Year, so the busy things needed to celebrate the New Year haven't started yet.

Zhang An's family now only needs to take care of the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, horses, sheep and deer in the pen.

However, Zhang An had already prepared enough fodder for the livestock, so he was not too busy.

"Since you have nothing to do, come with us to deliver some things to the tenants later."

After hearing that Zhang An was fine, Zhang Jianwen revealed his purpose.

Now that almost half of the twelfth lunar month has passed, in a few days, the residents of Dongli Courtyard will definitely return to their homes in the city to celebrate the New Year.

So during this period, before they went back, Zhang Jianwen planned to give them the things they had decided to give, and also asked them about their views on the village over the past year and some suggestions.

"Okay, when will we go?"

Of course Zhang An would not refuse, since he was idle anyway.

"Go to my place to prepare now. Let's get this matter over with as soon as possible. We'll be busy killing pigs in the next few days, so I won't have time."

Now that Laba Festival has passed for several days, the villagers are also busy killing pigs.

Because if we don’t kill him, we won’t have time to prepare the bacon.

After all, smoking bacon has always been a very important thing to the villagers, and everyone is still waiting to smoke this year's new meat for the New Year.

This time of year is the day for killing pigs in the village. This has become an unwritten but well-known tradition in the village.

Although their family can only kill one pig, Zhang An's family can only kill three pigs at most. This matter can basically be done in one day.

But in fact, during this period, most people don't just work for a day, just kill their own pigs and be done.

When other people with good connections in the village kill pigs, they will also come to invite them to eat pig-killing rice.

Especially for people like Zhang An, who are popular in the village, the day they kill the pig is like setting up a banquet, and they have to invite half the village.

And when other people kill pigs, they will definitely come to invite him.

This request doesn't just take one or two days, at least it takes about ten days a week.

So for a while, their family was just like eating dinner, running outside every day.

Wang Fang heard that Zhang Jianwen was looking for Zhang An to go out, so he came over and carried Xiao Siqi on his back.

When they arrived at Zhang Jianwen's house, in addition to Huang Weimin and Zhao Youcai, there were more than a dozen young people like Zhou Yang and others.

At this time, under the leadership of the two old men Huang and Zhao, the things that were going to be delivered were tied up in red cloth.

After all, it's a New Year's gift, so it represents joy.

In addition to the prey that everyone brought back a few days ago, there are also some wild products such as dried mushrooms, which have been packed in bags.

It seems that Zhang Jianwen and the others have made a lot of preparations for this matter.

In fact, Zhang An didn't know that Zhang Jianwen originally planned to serve fish. After all, it was the Chinese New Year, and giving fish meant that there would be more than enough every year.

It's just that no one is allowed to fish in the river at this season. Naturally, they can't just sit back and steal, and they have to go to the river to catch fish.

As for the fish raised by Zhang An's family, Zhang Jianwen had no idea at all.

Because he knew how much the fish in the pond at Zhang An's house sold to Fatty Lu.

Basically, a fish costs dozens of yuan, which is a bit too much for the village.

"Okay, now that everything is ready, let's set off."

Not long after Zhang An arrived, they had already tied everything up with red cloth.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jianwen shouted to everyone to get ready to go.

So Huang Weimin and Zhao Youcai handed the row of poles leaning against the wall to Zhang An and the other young people one by one.

These poles are also the same as the mountain goods to be sent out, with red ropes tied at both ends. They will be used to pick out the things to be sent out later.

This is considered a tradition in the village, and most children who grew up in the village know it.

Each person has a carrying pole and doesn't have much to pick. Basically, what each person picks is a complete set, which is meant for one tenant.

After hearing Zhang Jianwen's orders, Zhang Ping took the lead and used a pole to hang a set of gifts on his shoulders, walked out of the yard and waited.

Others followed Zhang Ping and stepped forward one by one to ask Zhang Jianwen to hang up the things.

After a while, a long line of poles lined up in their yard.

Everyone is carrying pheasants on the left side of the pole, and other pheasants are hanging on the right side. The pheasants given to the tenants were all alive. They may have been full last night, so now they were hanging on the poles, but they were jumping a little.

However, the young people Zhang Jianwen hired were all accustomed to carrying poles. If they were pulled slightly by hand, they would not be able to jump up.

After everyone picked up their things, Zhang Jianwen and the other three old men took the lead and led everyone towards the entrance of the village.

In this way, a team of nearly twenty people carrying things on poles paraded through the village.

Every time I walked to the door of a house, someone would come out to look.

Although Zhang Jianwen had told everyone before that he would give New Year gifts to those tenants.

But the love of watching the excitement is indelibly engraved in the Chinese people’s DNA, so almost everyone, young and old, came out to watch.

Even some people who had nothing to do, even if they were not in the team, followed behind and went together.

When they came to the bridge, the tenants in Dongli Courtyard didn't know what was going on, but when they saw such a huge battle in the village, they all ran out to watch the fun.

"Hey, everyone is here. That's just right. Although the New Year is not yet celebrated, we are here today to wish you a happy New Year on behalf of everyone in the village, so as not to delay everyone's New Year arrangements in a few days."

Zhang Jianwen led everyone to the intersection of Dongli Courtyard. When he saw that most of the tenants were there, he stepped forward and said to everyone.

Zhao Youcai also opened a bunch of firecrackers and lit them nearby.

"Ah, they are here to find us."

At this time, the old men and old ladies in the Dongli courtyard became very shocked. They thought it was some happy event in the village, and they all came out to watch the excitement.

As a result, I didn't expect that such a big battle was coming towards them.

The person who was watching the fun for a while suddenly changed his identity and became the object of the fun.

"Yes, I just came to wish you all a happy New Year and thank you for your support of the village over the past year."

During this year, these tenants did not just pay to rent a house.

They live in the village and buy their food locally in the village, which brings a new source of income to the villagers.

"Oh, you are such a village leader. You didn't tell us in advance about such a big thing. We are not prepared for it now."

After the old men and old ladies who were retiring here reacted, they told Zhang Jianwen with a somewhat reproachful tone. This meant that Zhang Jianwen had caught them off guard.

But everyone's face was smiling very happily. After all, who wouldn't like the feeling of being taken into consideration.

And this feeling can only be experienced in villages in the mountains. In the city, everyone treats each other, and it's already amazing to meet and chat when you go downstairs.

"Sister-in-law, this is not a big deal. There is nothing to prepare for."

Zhang Jianwen said with a smile, thinking, what I want is that you don't know. If you find out, what effect will it have?

"Then let's go home and get ready."

Such a big battle must have entered the house, so all the old men and ladies who were gathered here just now dispersed.

They all returned home to tidy up a little and prepare to welcome people in. If nothing else, they should at least open the door.

Arriving at the first house, Zhang Jianwen took the pole from Zhang Ping's shoulder after entering.

While saying some auspicious words of blessing to the host family, I also expressed my gratitude to them, and finally gave away the prepared gifts.

Then they asked them how they felt about living in the village this year and asked for some suggestions for improvements.

The old men and women were straightforward and had no objections. It was just that the rent in the village was too low and living there was a bit uncomfortable.

Zhang Jianwen explained that this is the first year, and it is considered a benefit to everyone. From next year, it will not be just this little.

Although Zhang Jianwen told the visitor about this before when he came to rent the yard.

But many people who live here don’t rent the yard themselves, but their children rent it, so they don’t know about it.

When the old man and old lady heard about next year's rent, they didn't find it too expensive. Instead, they thought it was normal.

"Then we won't bother you. We have to go to the next one. Please take care of us next year."

Zhang Jianwen, who usually speaks in a brogue, seemed to be in a foreign style today, and he kept saying polite words one after another.

"That's for sure. Living in the village is much more comfortable than living in our house. The yard is so spacious. You can plant your own flowers and raise some chickens, chickens and ducks. Not to mention how comfortable it is. In the city before, it was not possible at all. I don’t even dare to think about it, so this year our family is not planning to go back. We will celebrate the New Year in the village. The children at home will come over then. The house in the village is spacious and can be used by our children and grandchildren. If we go back, we will have to The whole family is crowded together.”

The old lady took the trouble to talk about her feelings about living in the village, and her plans to stay in the village this year to celebrate the New Year.

This household is probably managed by an old lady, so the old man doesn't talk much, but it can be seen that he is quite happy.

As the head of the family, the old man and the old lady of this household originally planned to make tea to entertain everyone.

But knowing that everyone was going to the next one soon, I had no choice but to give up.

Hearing this, Zhang Jianwen felt relieved. After all, he had done so much, and it was just preparation for next year.

The same goes for every house I visit next, blessing, thanking, and asking for advice.

Unexpectedly, everyone had a good impression of the village. Both the old man and the old lady liked this place very much.

Especially the old men who are used to getting together with everyone to set up dragon gate formations. They feel like they have found like-minded friends and they can't leave here.

In a word, living here feels much better than at home. The old friends here are all talented and well-spoken. I really like living here.

After walking through them all, Zhang Jianwen already knew the intentions of most people.

Most of the tenants have the same plan as the old men and women in the first family. They are not planning to return to the city, but to stay in the village for the New Year.

There are many reasons, but the most important point is that everyone is very satisfied with renting such a spacious house. The whole family, including sons, children and grandchildren, can all come and live here.

Only then did Zhang Jianwen feel that he was lucky to have listened to Zhang An and Li Hongbin's advice.

Because when he first built the yard, he didn't think he needed to build a big house.

After finally listening to the advice, I decided to listen to the young people and gritted my teeth and built a two-story house, which was wider than the old houses that many people in the village lived in.

Many people told Zhang Jianwen on the spot that they would definitely continue to live here next year.

A few old men even took the initiative to ask if the village would continue to build yards. They said that some old friends from the city wanted to come over and rent a house to live here like them.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianwen was very happy and told the village's expansion plan for next year.

He said that he would start the process after the Chinese New Year. If there are still people who want to rent a yard, the village would very much welcome them.

(End of this chapter)