My village can't be like this

Chapter 89

Soon everyone went to the table and began to eat. The old men and men in the village sat at the same table, and the old aunt brought some women and children from the village to sit at the same table.

As a young man, Zhang An took the initiative to stand up and pour wine for everyone on the table with a wine jug. Everyone chatted while eating.

Zhang An only understood the general meaning now.

It turned out that the village chief invited everyone to have dinner this time to celebrate the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. Although Changqing Village is a village dominated by Han people, there are quite a few ethnic minorities in the village.

This day is passed down from the villagers in the village. Although it is not too grand, it is incomparable with some ethnic minority villages.

But anyway, everyone still remembers such a day and respected the ethnic minority villagers in Changqing Village, so the old village head spent a lot of effort to achieve a harmonious village as a whole over the years.

Since Changqing Village did not have a long history of building a village, there is no relevant inheritance in this regard.

Later, it evolved into a day when the village specially gathered everyone to have a big meal together, which was used to strengthen the village rules and regulations and cultivate the sense of unity among the villagers.

So inviting people to dinner today is to prepare for the sixth day of June.

First of all, we need to get everyone together to eat, and we have to solve the problem of eating alone.

Although the village will go door-to-door to collect money, how much should each person should have, everyone is unhappy if they don’t get enough food or if they don’t get enough food, and if they charge too much, it will be a burden for everyone, and this needs to be discussed.

There are also several families who go to each family. After paying the money, someone needs to record it. To be fair, just, open, and transparent, it is also necessary to arrange for people to go.

In the end, after collecting the money, you have to find someone to buy vegetables. After you buy them, you need someone to cook them. You have to find someone who specializes in banquets. Ordinary people can’t handle them, and even if they don’t taste good.

During the meal, the township rules and regulations are read out to everyone. These rules and regulations are not promulgated by the state, but are summed up by everyone in the village through what happened in normal times, rather than fabricated out of thin air.

So those who are sitting today are either those who are responsible for shopping and cooking, or the representatives and elders of the village.

It can also be regarded as the organization meeting of the collective representatives of the villagers in the middle of the year in Changqing Xiaoshan Village.

Some people say why it is such a troublesome thing, and there is no benefit in doing it, so why do you organize yourself to do it?

Friends who have never been in the countryside may not understand, but everyone in the countryside knows what they have experienced.

Some villagers in later generations can feel it after buying a house in the city. Zhang An himself has a deep understanding.

When we were in the village, everyone would visit each other when they had nothing to do, and everyone could help out if there was anything to do, especially in some special times.

For example, if there is only one elderly person at home, if any problem suddenly arises, the neighbors will help.

Later generations, Zhang An worked in the city, and his parents lived in the countryside. Zhang An’s father, Zhang Jianguo, was too busy when he was young, and when he got older, his health was particularly poor, and he also suffered from high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and arthritis. Big problem with the body.

Once, I fainted at the door due to sudden high blood pressure. Fortunately, the neighbors found it in time, and everyone helped to send it to the hospital. If no one found out, when Zhang An and his family found out, the consequences would be disastrous.

If this is placed in the city, it is impossible for anyone to find out. Even if someone finds out, in that world, whoever has millions in his home dares to help others like this.

So the difference between this village and the city lies in the lack of human touch.

Did the human touch between people in the village come out of thin air?

Isn't it because everyone helps each other, knows each other, trusts each other, and the folk activities organized in the village strengthen everyone's communication. Isn't that how the human touch comes from?
Therefore, those who can organize to do these things are those who think about the village in their hearts.

In addition, the promotion of township regulations and civil agreements is very important. This is to strengthen everyone's ideology.

Today your cows came to my field and ate my crops, and your dog ran to my yard and killed my chickens.

In addition, the seedlings in our family were pulled up by your children just after they were planted, etc. These folk disputes that are prone to occur in the village, why did it occur?

It's not because everyone's thinking is not in place, and they don't manage well. As long as everyone pays more attention and manages their children, livestock, etc., these things will not happen.

Moreover, as soon as this kind of thing happens, it will turn into a quarrel. If it is not resolved, it will accumulate into resentment over time, and they will never communicate with each other.

So this is what the village needs to improve, to strengthen the awareness and behavior management among the villagers, to cultivate the sense of unity among the villagers, and to build a united village.

If there are difficulties, everyone will help together, and if there is an opportunity, everyone will develop together. Of course, with so many people in the village, there must be a small number of people who have a lot of bad intentions in their hearts.

The punishment system in the township rules and regulations was introduced for this group of people.

Anyway, these thankless things will be organized by people in most villages in this era, usually the secretary of the village chief or the patriarch of a big family, etc. People like that do it.

In later generations, the village chiefs and secretaries were all appointed from above. Although they helped everyone develop, these traditions were also lost.

Decades later, people in the villages in the countryside can clearly feel that although life is much better than now, the human touch is too weak, not as it used to be.

So it is still the same sentence, adapting measures to local conditions and teaching students in accordance with their aptitude are the most appropriate.

After hearing this, Zhang An had nothing to do with him anyway, so he ate his own while listening to everyone talking, and occasionally poured wine for the adults.

I just listened to the old uncle assigning tasks to a few people on the table, and then discussed whether to add some regulations to the township regulations and civil agreements that were established in previous years.

Speaking of township regulations, this thing may be more effective than the police station in some remote places.

It's like in this mountain, if something happens, you may be afraid that the police station will come if you are alone.

But if it is a whole village, the police station will have nothing to do with them. At this time, we have to call out the elderly old men in the village and make sure that they all kneel down obediently and be as obedient as possible.

People in the village sometimes tell him that the police station is coming, and he is not necessarily afraid, but if you talk about holding an elders' meeting, it's a big joke.

There are basically no big surnames in Changqing Village, the biggest one is the Zhang surname, but since the war years, the family ancestral hall has not been preserved.

Therefore, there is no saying in the village that people are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall.

But the genealogy has been preserved. Maybe no one will feel anything if you beat me up, but when you are said to be crossed off from the genealogy, hehe, I am in a hurry.

Don't look at Zhang An's generation, although they are called Zhang An and don't have a family name, but in the household registration book, the genealogy, and the inscriptions of the clan elders, they all have a family name.

If your family doesn’t obey the rules, you won’t be given a genealogy tree, and your name won’t be engraved on the inscription of the old man in the family. In the future, your baby’s family tree will not be included.

Even if you already have it, I can still download it for you.

This is not a joke. If an old man in the family is old and the name of the family is not engraved on the tombstone, then this person will not be able to hold his head up in the village or in the whole family.

So this is why every year the village uses the day of June [-] to reiterate it to everyone, and it goes back and forth every year. It is because some people can't remember it. They only remember it every year. Think about restraining yourself.

The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is a very suitable day, the weather is neither too cold nor too hot.

Not long after the crops were planted, it happened to be the slack season, so this time was the most suitable.

"Zhang An, you should be fine for the next few days tomorrow. If you are fine, go to each household in the village to register the list and collect money with you and brother Ping."

Zhang An, who was immersed in eating, did not expect that he would be named.

When I looked up, I found that everyone was looking at me.

"I don't have anything to do, old uncle. Just let my brother Ping call me when the time comes. I'm always at home."

Zhang An thought about it, he seemed to have nothing to do recently, and basically stayed at home, so he accepted this errand.

"By the way, I see that your new house has almost been built, and it seems to be finishing recently. Do you have any specific plans?"

Zhang Jianwen remembered what Dong Jingzhi said at Zhang An's house some time ago.

At that time, what Dong Jingzhi said was in line with the situation in Changqing Village. He wanted to lead the villagers to work together towards a better place, but everyone had their own conditions here.

So Zhang Jianwen agrees with Dong Jingzhi's point of view, and he also pays attention to Zhang An's point.

In Zhang Jianwen's heart, he hopes that Zhang An can do a good job more than anyone else, because this can bring some good changes to this small mountain village and stimulate the people in the village to make changes.

"The speed of the engineering team is quite fast. It took almost a month. The second floor has already been built, but after the house is built, it still needs a lot of time to decorate and make furniture."

Zhang An thought about it and said to the old uncle.

"Okay, anyway, you look at the plan, and if you need help from the village, just come to the old uncle."

After eating a meal for several hours, the women and children at the other table had already finished eating, and this table was still drinking.

The next day, Zhang An was asked by the old village head to help collect money from the villagers' homes.

He and Zhang Ping, one holding a pen and paper, and the other carrying an army green satchel, went door to door to record the money collection register.

Zhang An was afraid of trouble, so he handed over the collection of money to Zhang Ping, who was only responsible for recording.

Each person pays not much, just four yuan, one person will be given four yuan, and two will be eight yuan.

It costs more than five yuan to eat a meal in the town, which is still relatively cheap, and all the money will be used to buy vegetables, and nothing will be kept.

There are not many households in Changqing Village, but even so, it took two days to collect them all.

Some people only went to one person, some people went to several people, and they all have their own considerations.

In the end, the two of them counted the money and there was no problem before handing it over to the old village chief.

After two days, Zhang An realized that this job was really not that easy.

Because when registering at the door to collect money, some people only have the elderly at home, and they speak local dialect, and the pronunciation does not match the words to be written at all.

The registrants have to identify themselves. Sometimes Zhang An and Zhang Ping can't tell the difference, so they have to ask the neighbors for help.

Or ask him to look for a household registration book, and some people can't find it after searching for a long time.

There are many Miao and Buyi villagers in Changqing. The young people speak better, because they have a high degree of assimilation, so they can speak Chinese.

But those 70-[-]-year-old grandpas and old ladies have basically spoken their own ethnic language all their lives, and rarely speak Chinese, so Zhang An and Zhang Ping were confused in the end.

Anyway, if you encounter such a situation, you must seek help from the people next to you, otherwise there is no other way.

Among them, Zhang An encountered the most difficult family in the village. Their son died in an accident while working in a coal mine, leaving only a young grandson and two old people in the family. Life was very hard.

The coal mine did not pay much money, so it gave some funeral expenses, and the young daughter-in-law remarried later.

Zhang An looked a little sad, and thought about paying the money for them.

As a result, the old man said that this kind of thing is everyone's business, how can Zhang An take it for them, they will take the money themselves.

Zhang An also persuaded the old man that the family conditions are not good, so such things can be saved.

In the end, the old man also taught Zhang An that this is a collective matter, if you don't participate, you don't regard yourself as a part of the big group.

Before leaving, Zhang An wanted to leave some money for the two old people, but the old people patted Zhang An and said.

"Boy, our conditions are much better than before. At least we can have enough food. You don't have to help us deliberately. You are more poor than us. How much can you help?"

Zhang An was taken aback by the old man's words. If he changed his family, he might wish to give more.

Behind Zhang An smiled and took back the money in his hand, only then did the grandpa and grandma let him go.

But in his heart, he admired these two old men from the bottom of his heart.

It is impossible for Zhang An to know all of the eighty or ninety families in Changqing Village, and Zhang An's family still belongs to the upper village of Dahe in Changqing, and they rarely go to the lower village.

But Zhang An has always been curious about their Miao and Buyi languages, because in Changqing Village, they have no written records, and they have been passed down orally from old to young.

Zhang An doesn't know if there are any written records of the ethnic minorities' voices in other villages outside. Anyway, there is no such part in Changqing Village.

People like Zhang An's generation basically couldn't understand their words, only Zhang Jianwen's generation, because they lived together for a long time, they could understand what they said, but they couldn't speak.

In the last two full days, this task was completed.

On the last day, I happened to meet Li Hongbin who was going to the countryside. He heard that Changqing Village was going to have a township appointment. He really liked to join in the fun, and immediately said that he wanted to join.

The old village chief was naturally willing, and he welcomed people like Li Hongbin very much. Maybe the village might find him to help with some things in the future.

In the end, Li Hongbin paid 50 yuan himself, saying that he would consider himself contributing to Changqing Village.

The old village chief didn't refuse either, and wrote down Li Hongbin's name.

This kind of thing also happens in the village. Many people who feel that their family is doing well will give some extra money, about ten yuan or 20 yuan, as a contribution to the village.

And the village also has a way to post red paper directly next to the gate of the village office, on which the list of participants and the amount will be written.

And those who give more money will be ranked at the top of the list, and their names and amounts will be written in relatively large characters, which will be specially announced.

It will be written every year, and everyone will read it every year.

Where the money is spent, the village will also issue a bill and post it, so that everyone can see clearly and transparently.

Because this money is for everyone to buy food, basically it will be spent every year, so as not to inconveniently return the surplus.

And the quality of this township appointment depends on how much money the village collects, so everyone will be very polite to those who pay more.

Unlike later generations, people praise you in front of you, and say you have been taken advantage of behind your back, but now everyone respects you sincerely.

But basically, the money collected every year is enough for everyone to have a good meal, which is better than most people’s New Year’s food. This is the reason why most people are willing to raise money to participate every year.

Zhang An's family members participated this year, and he personally gave an extra 50 yuan.

As soon as the final list was posted, he and Li Hongbin were at the top.

Li Hongbin really enjoyed the feeling of being watched by everyone.

Zhang An didn't care, but he had the conditions, and he was willing to support such activities in the village.

50 yuan, no more, no less belongs to just right.

It not only let everyone see your generosity, but no one said that your family is so searchy.

When the family conditions are good, it is your duty to not pay a cent, but in private, it will be used by others to compare with others.

It’s not okay to let you pay the money by yourself. After all, if you give the money this year, what about next year?
If you don't give it next year, some people think it's normal, and some people will talk about you behind your back.

On the afternoon of the sixth day of June, after the sun went down, all those who signed up brought their own bowls and chopsticks to the drying yard to gather.

Everyone finds a good relationship or relatives to make a table.

Zhang An's family, Li Hongbin and Zhang An's two uncles happened to have a table together.

Before the food was served, everyone sat on the benches that they carried from home.

The old village head held a microphone and wanted to read a whole page of dozens of township regulations to everyone.

There were quite a few people sitting on the drying ground, and the people behind couldn't hear anything they just said with their mouths.

No, the old uncle directly used the magic weapon in the village, the loudspeaker.

When this thing rang, not to mention the people on the drying ground, even a few nearby villages could hear it.

There are a lot of elderly people in the village, so the reading of the long and large page of township rules and regulations is relatively slow, and it took a full 10 minutes to finish reading it all.

There is no printer in the village, and the photocopying shop in the town is too expensive and costs a lot of money. Now it is not possible to make hundreds of copies, one for each family.

With this money, it is better to get more delicious food for everyone.

I printed out a copy for everyone, and many people are illiterate, which is a complete waste of money.

In later generations, evening literacy classes will also be held in the village so that everyone can read and write normally.

At that time, it was meaningful for each family to print a copy, and they could stick it on the gate when they took it back.

Now, they go to the town to make a big notice paper and stick it on the door of the village office like a big-character poster.

These township rules and regulations all say to take good care of your own livestock, don't let them eat other people's crops, and don't trample on other people's fields.

Usually pay attention to clean hands and feet, do not take one by one from other people's homes, etc.

At first, everyone thought that the village chief had finally finished reading, and the food would be served immediately.

Because it has been like this in previous years, most people have memorized these township regulations and civil agreements clearly, and they can even recite them.

But there are still some people who can't control their family or their livestock, so they repeat it year after year.

But this year is different. The old village head who just finished reading the township rules and regulations did not put down the microphone, and continued to talk.

It turned out that the village head uncle was going to lead everyone to renovate Changqing's village appearance.

Taking advantage of everyone's slack and time, I will take care of the village.

"Also, this half of the mountain road at the entrance of our village, although I have asked the town for help many times, but now the town also says that everyone is in trouble, and there is really no extra money to help us build this road."

"In the end, I thought about it carefully, and discussed with the representatives of the villagers. If there is no money, there is a law that has no money, and if there is money, there is a law that has money. Let's all act together and pull some stones from Shibanpo. This section of the dirt road has been paved, and there will not be so many puddles and mud when it is going to rain.”

"It's especially hard for these children who study in our village, especially on rainy days. They have to step on the mud and wade through big puddles to go to school to study. When they walk to school, their shoes are all wet. Mud, even though our conditions are poor and we can’t afford motorcycles to send our children to school, we should let them go to school on a cleaner and better road.”

Many children in the village go to middle school in the town. Whether it is sunny or raining, they have to walk this road every morning and evening. How can adults not feel sorry for their children.

The road at the entrance of the village is okay when the weather is good, but when it rains, the mud on the ground becomes muddy after being wetted by water.

It is really inconvenient to go out of the village on a rainy day, as many places are full of large ponds.

Therefore, after seeking help from the town many times to no avail, the old uncle of the village chief could only think of other ways.

In the end, several representatives sat together to discuss that the road had to be repaired, and if there was no money, it would be a little bit worse, otherwise it would be impossible to walk on rainy days.

Ever since the old village head listened to Dong Jingzhi's words, he has laid his whole body on it. He wants to develop the village in a good direction and let everyone live a better life. There is no way to change such a day.

And the road at the entrance of the village is equivalent to the face of the entire Changqing Village. When people come and see this environment, they turn around and go back without even wanting to walk in.

　I saw that some friends who supported this book said that there are fewer books on the shelves. Let me update it. I may not have much time when I go to work. I will try to make more on weekends. Thank you for your support.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)