"Brother Shitou, tomorrow we have a year-end dinner party in the factory. You have to come and sit in charge, and ask your sister-in-law and Gawa to come too, but you have to drink less. You have to send Wang Shan and the others back after it's over."
"Are they coming too?"
"Yes, the sales department of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative will also have a holiday tomorrow. Wang Shan and the others are celebrating the New Year in their hometown this year."
"Oh. I understand then. Have you prepared all your things for home?"
"Ready, Brother Shitou."
"Well, that's good. Your sister-in-law and I will braise ten pounds of mutton and ten pounds of beef for you. You can take them back to Esu and Auntie (Liu Fang's parents) to try our northwest specialties."
"Ouch, Brother Shitou, it's a waste of money again."
"This is what your sister-in-law and I want. No need to waste money."
It was a sunny day on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. Early in the morning, workers came to the factory one after another with their families and children. Yang Liufang arranged for Shi Yong and Shi Fang to bring saw blades, wallpaper knives, saw blades, nails, chisels, planing blades, etc. Knives and sharp tools are put away to prevent adults from accidentally scratching their children. Shi Yong, Shi Fang and the others were cleaning up when Li Tongfu led the staff from the sales department of the supply and marketing cooperative and drove two cars.
Adults greet each other, but children do not. The children in Shige Village know each other well and have already unleashed their natural instincts in the vast world. Therefore, the girls and the quieter boys pick up scrap wood pieces to build building blocks; Daga’s son playfully rides a wooden stick as a big horse. They ran all over the factory; Shi Fang's child insisted that his father find wood to carve a gun; Shi Yong's son was even more naughty. He got the ink fountain out of nowhere, leaving black and white streaks on his face. He simply stood on the pile of materials like The Qin opera was roared in a decent manner. When the children heard it, they stopped playing and started making noises under the pile of wood. Everyone had a great time.
The children from the Qin family's and Wang Shan's families who came from the city, maybe because they were young or because they were too naive, grabbed the corners of their mother's clothes and stood behind her to watch them play. It wasn't until the village chief Shitou came over with Gawa and asked Gawa to take his two little brothers to play with everyone that they timidly left their mother. Gawa took them to play with everyone for a while, and then the three children went to the cafeteria to watch TV. It was the first time for Yanhua and Yinhua to come to the factory. Without the constraints of their children, they walked around the factory. It was strange to see the planer and the wood. It turns out that the exquisite furniture was processed in this way.
Yang Liufang greeted everyone warmly and chatted with everyone. Li Tongfu took the opportunity to call him to the canteen and gave him a stack of red envelopes: "Brother, we are all ready. There are only a few more."
"Thank you, brother."
"Go ahead."
Yang Liufang turned around and saw the master chef and his mother-in-law busy in the cafeteria. The master has worked in the factory for two years, and his craftsmanship goes without saying. His mother-in-law came here for the first time and was also very capable. Help the master wash and cut vegetables, and then help the master arrange the dishes. Shi Yong, Shi Fang, Da Ga, and Xiao Ga's aunts also helped inside. They washed the dishes cleanly and carried the water for washing dishes and bowls outside to pour on the roots of the trees. The head of Shitou Village was afraid that the tree would freeze, so he asked a few workers in charge of transportation in the factory to fill vegetable bags with sawdust and sprinkle it on the roots of the tree.
The workers also had a great time chatting with a few people from the supply and marketing cooperative in the city. Qin Jiajun and Wang Shan told them about the situation of people in the city buying building materials, and how the decoration foreman of the city people bought more materials. In terms of materials, Make money, and most of the time the owners don’t even know they’re being cheated. The workers who had not experienced it were stunned for a while.
"Then he died unjustly. If anyone dares to trick me, I can beat him to death." Shi Yong said angrily.
"Pull them down. How many of us know a little about decoration? It's not like we've been tricked if we don't know anything at all." Shi Fang said.
Li Tongfu discussed with Da Ga and Xiao Ga the color of paint, and how modern furniture should avoid using cinnabar to color it, and instead use varnish that exposes the wood grain or paint it directly with white paint.
"White paint, it's so ugly. We only use white paint or black paint for white things. I don't understand the mentality of city people." Xiao Ga said.
"We are here to serve customers. We will make whatever colors the market needs." Everyone discussed together, ranging from decoration and building materials to furniture colors and modern furniture. Wang Shan said: "Recently, more paint-free boards have been sold. Customers use this board to decorate their homes for doors, door covers, window covers, etc. Most of the furniture made with it does not use mortise and tenon and nail structures, instead using a 3-in-1 Nut Connector.”
"What is a three-in-one nut?"
"I can't figure it out either. I'll ask Boss Yang to take you to have a look after the Spring Festival. I heard it's very convenient. You just need to drill holes in the boards that need to be connected, and then insert the nuts and screws in. There is a hidden place in a hidden place. A cross cap, tightened with a screwdriver so the boards are joined together.”
"Really? It's so advanced. Third brother, tell the factory if you find anything in the future. We not only make antique furniture, we also have to keep pace with the times."
"Okay, I'll write it down."
"Boss Yang, it's almost noon. The adults have forgotten the time while chatting, but the children are hungry. How about we start dinner?" The master chef came over to ask Yang Liufang for instructions.
"Let's eat, let's eat. Come on, everyone wash your hands." Yang Liufang greeted everyone.
The workers' mothers-in-law had already set up tables and benches. There are 12 adults per table, and 15 women and children per table. There are three tables in total. After the food was served, Village Chief Shitou had not yet spoken. The younger and more greedy children grabbed and ate with their hands. The mother of the child hurriedly took it. Chopsticks hit their hands.
"Listen to what you, Shitou, are talking about."
"Wow..." The children cried aggrievedly, and the mother hurriedly held them in her arms and swayed them.
"Everyone has worked hard. I know that everyone has made money working in the factory, more than in previous years. I won't talk about anything else. From now on, I will follow Boss Yang and work hard to make money."
"good."
"Come, let's have a drink first, and then ask Boss Yang to say a few words." Everyone responded and raised their glasses to drink. Women who could drink also drank one, and those who didn't drink drank boiled water instead.
"I won't talk about it anymore. Everyone has worked hard for a year. Today I brought my family to the factory to celebrate the New Year in advance. I have nothing to prepare. I have prepared New Year's money for the children and will give it to everyone now."
"Okay, okay, thank you, Boss Yang..." The workers and their families were applauding and cheering below.
"Stop crying, your old uncle is giving out new year's money." The child quickly stopped crying, sobbing and looked at Yang Liufang who was standing at the main table. Yang Liufang came over and came to the child first.
"Come on, kid, yours, whose doll are you?"
"Boss, my child is not sensible, please forgive me." A worker who had been doing transportation in the factory stood up and said.
"Hi, kid! People say that a kid's face will change as long as you want."
"Next, whose child are you? What is your name?"
"Master, we are from Shi Yong's family. This one is the youngest, the one who sings is the eldest, and the second child went to grandma's house and didn't come." Shi Yong's mother-in-law hurriedly stood up and answered.
"Oh, good, we have a big family, Shi Yong, the population is prosperous, good."
"Shi Yong, train your master's reserve force well."
"That's right, village chief. As long as children like it in the future, they will definitely pass on Master's craftsmanship."
"Master, there are too many. If you don't come, don't send them."
"I have them all, take them. Buy new clothes for the children for the New Year."
"Gawa, come, uncle is busy. I haven't been to your house for a long time. I've grown up so big. I heard you tell me that you haven't even gone to elementary school yet? Do you still know your uncle?" Yang Liufang walked to the mother-in-law, the head of Shitou Village, and sat opposite her mother. Said Gawa beside me.
"I know you, Uncle Xiao Yang. I'm in the first grade of elementary school."
"Hey, you're so good, study hard. Come on, take it."
"Thank you, uncle. Ah, 50. That's a lot." After taking it, Gawa couldn't wait to open the red envelope. She was a little surprised to find such a large denomination of money and shouted out loudly.
"Ah, there are so many." The mothers of the children who had already received the red envelopes couldn't control themselves and opened the red envelopes one after another. Everyone was in chaos.
"Brother Shitou, brother, hurry up, you two come and share with everyone. The food will get cold in a while." Yang Liufang hurriedly called for help. After hearing this, the two and Yang Liufang distributed New Year's money to the children.
After giving out the new year's money, this sumptuous reunion banquet officially began. According to the banquet tradition in Xizhou, after three rounds of wine, it was time for free play. Everyone stood up to toast. First, Shi Yong carried the wine bottle and the wine glass. He came over with his wife and children to toast the master. He insisted that the children kneel down and kowtow to the master to pay New Year greetings. Yang Liufang hurriedly stopped him.
"Shi Yong, this can't be done. Master is not married yet, so his life span will be shortened. I accepted the favor and drank the wine." Amid everyone's laughter, Yang Liufang took the wine glass and drank it down. Then came Shi Fang, Da Ga, and Xiao Ga. After several glasses of wine, Yang Liufang was already tipsy and a little drunk. Unbeknownst to others, village chief Shitou, Wang Shan, Qin Jiajun, and Li Tongfu, who had seen Yang Liufang drunk, knew that Yang Liufang was too drunk. They saw the workers coming to toast one after another and hurriedly stopped him.
"Township Party Meng (men), Boss Yang can't drink. Let's do this. Er (I) suggest that everyone collectively pays homage to Boss Yang, as long as it comes to his mind. He has to catch the train back to his hometown in the afternoon."
"Okay, village chief."
"Village chief, we (we) listen to you."... Everyone responded one after another.
Shi Yong, Shi Fang, Da Ga, and Xiao Ga knew about the relationship between Li Tongfu and Yang Liufang. They couldn't respect the master, so they came to respect the master's elder brother. Even though Li Tongfu could drink, he begged for mercy after drinking one round. Qin Jiajun and Zhang Feng had to drive, so they escaped. But Wang Shan is well known to everyone. They know that he is the village chief’s brother-in-law and the son of the village chief of the neighboring village. Many people used to wash sand in his sand washing plant and the sand mining plant in his father-in-law’s village. , digging sand to make money to support their families.
Now things have changed. After the province took control of Zhaomagou, the sand field and sand washing plant were closed. Because there was a wood factory in their village, everyone's life was getting better and better. In the past, it was the two people who went to the Hanwangchuan market to buy meat. Most of the people in the village are now from Shige Village. So the workers came over, took turns toasting, and soon brought Wang Shan down. When Yinhua and his second sister saw the drunk Wang Shan, they felt extremely distressed and quickly asked Zhang Feng to take their family home.
