In the early morning of January 17, Cheng Huanran finished Tai Chi on the balcony, returned to the living room and said to his wife Du Meijuan: "Tomorrow is the New Year, do you want to inform the children and let them all come to our side to celebrate the New Year together, and everyone will be happy."

Du Meijuan agreed: "Okay, I'll call them later to see if they are all available?"

As the saying goes: think of your relatives every festive season. Although the children and grandchildren are in Wuhan City, like most elderly people, Cheng Huanran and his wife especially hope that their children and grandchildren will return to their side and get together as a family, otherwise they will feel particularly lonely and lonely.

Speaking of the New Year, Du Meijuan suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly asked his wife: "Old man, do you remember, on New Year's Day, didn't Xiang Qian say that his parents were going to participate in the 'Ten Thousand Family Banquet' held by their Guanyin Pavilion community?

Cheng Huanran also suddenly remembered: "Yes, can you do it or not?" Let them participate in this year, if they accidentally get infected with the new coronavirus, it will be a big problem!"

Du Meijuan hurriedly dialed her sister Du Meifang's phone to inquire about the situation. Du Meifang said: "Of course we have to do it! This is the annual repertoire of our Guanyin Pavilion community, which has been thunderous for more than ten years, and has been on the Guinness World Records a few years ago, and now it has become a well-known business card of the community." The number of families participating in the community is now increasing year by year, from the original 'Hundred Family Banquet' to the 'Thousand Family Banquet' and 'Ten Thousand Family Banquet', which has become the most lively cultural festival in our community. ”

When Du Meijuan heard this, she was very worried: "It was very good in the past, and it is really good for activating community culture and strengthening neighborhood unity." But this year's situation is special, such a big scene, tens of thousands of people get together, in case someone is infected with the virus, the infection is inseparable. Old sister, I advise you two not to participate this year, don't go to join in the fun!"

Du Meifang laughed: "Sister, don't worry, didn't it be said on TV that this disease will not be transmitted from person to person? Don't worry, I don't think anything will happen." I'm now the head of our building, which has more than 100 households, and everyone is still counting on me to take the lead in organizing it. You say, "Is it okay if I don't participate?" What's more, I heard that there will be leaders from the district who will also come over and have fun with the people. They are not afraid of infection, so why are we ordinary people afraid?"

To put it mildly, Du Meifang simply couldn't listen to it and insisted on participating. Seeing that she couldn't be dissuaded, Du Meijuan had no choice but to sigh, shake her head, and then hang up the phone.

Du Meifang is 65 years old this year, and her husband Xiang Yuehui turned out to be employees of Wuhan Jiangcheng TV Factory. With the further expansion of reform and opening up, private television factories began to spring up like mushrooms after a rain, and by virtue of their flexible operating mechanism and bold courage, the state-owned television factories with backward management and heavy burdens in the country were swept to pieces.

Du Meifang's TV factory was once a smash hit and famous. However, the good times did not last long, and in the early nineties of the last century, production was discontinued and closed. Du Meifang and Xiang Yuehui, who were in their prime at that time, were forced to lay off their jobs, and they were bought out at a one-time price of 2,000 yuan per working age. The eldest son Xiang Qian is in junior high school, and the younger son Xiang Yang is still in elementary school, and the family's life is suddenly lost and they are in an embarrassment. In desperation, the two of them had to calm down and think of a way to start a business selling side dishes.

Because it was a small business and his income was meager, he could not afford to send his two children to school at the same time, so he had to let his eldest son Xiang Qian drop out of school and go home and let him go to Hanzheng Street to set up a stall and sell some small things such as socks, pants and needles and threads to barely make ends meet.

Later, she slowly made some money, and Du Meifang decided to open a small restaurant at the entrance of the community. After several years of hard work, it slowly expanded to a small restaurant with a total of 10 private rooms on the upper and lower floors, and has been operating until now.

Due to the increasingly tense relationship between Xiang Qian and his wife Wu Xiaolan, Wu Xiaolan was unwilling to run a clothing business with Xiang Qian, so she came to run this small restaurant in partnership with the old couple. They are warm, honest and have a good business.

As soon as she got home in the evening, Cheng Jiajia said to Lin Yueqin: "Mom, I received a notice from our interview department today that our interview team will go to the Guanyin Pavilion community tomorrow to interview the grand occasion of their 'Ten Thousand Family Banquet'. ”

When Lin Yueqin heard this, she was full of surprise: "Ah? Now that there are more and more patients infected with the new crown pneumonia, what kind of 'family banquet' are they going to hold this year? Tens of thousands of people gather together to participate in the 'family banquet', aren't they afraid that someone will be infected with the virus?"

Jiajia said: "I heard that some people in the community suggested that it was better to stop this year, but their person in charge disagreed, and asked to continue this year, and the scale will be bigger and bigger year by year." It is said that 30,000 to 40,000 families will participate this year. ”

Lin Yueqin felt very angry: "They really don't take the safety of the lives of the people seriously, hey, there is really nothing to do with people like them!" After a pause, she continued: "Originally, tomorrow is the New Year, and it is Saturday, and your grandparents also notified us to go there to reunite together, it seems that you have gone to do it." Work first, obey the arrangement. But you and your companions, be sure to wear a mask when you go to the interview and learn to protect yourself!" Jiajia is full of promises.

January 18 is the twenty-fourth day of the lunar calendar, a more important festival in southern traditional customs - Xiao Nian. In the afternoon of this day, Cheng Jiajia and two colleagues drove to the Guanyin Pavilion community for an interview. Jiajia followed her mother's instructions and distributed the masks she brought with her to her companions Liao Qinyuan and Liu Liu.

Liao Qinyuan was chubby, carrying the camera and getting out of the car first, Jiajia and Liu Liu followed closely and walked to the main venue, Guanyin Pavilion Community Center Square. Thousands of red lanterns are hung around the square, dragon and lion dances, Yangge twisting, lotus picking boats, gongs and drums are noisy, crowds of people, and all kinds of cultural and artistic programs are available, which is the most attractive cultural gathering outside the venue.

Seeing a TV reporter coming to interview, an old man in his 60s walked over with his little grandson and said to them happily: "When I was a child, when we were celebrating the New Year, we would go to the market to watch others make glutinous rice cakes, but now it is rare. I didn't expect to see it again here this year. ”

The old man said as he looked at the masks they were wearing, and asked curiously: "Why are you wearing masks? Experts have said that this new crown pneumonia will not be transmitted from person to person, you don't need to be so timid!"

After speaking, the father lifted his little grandson above his head and squeezed into the crowd to watch a few big men beat the glutinous rice dumplings.

"That's the smell. Daddy pulled a small piece of the beaten glutinous rice cake into his mouth and tasted it, and immediately smiled happily.

On the other side of the cake, a few residents dressed in red sang Chinese New Year songs and pushed the water mill to grind soybeans into soybean milk......

"There were a lot of good things in the past that no one wants to learn now, and some things are about to be lost. Today, it is not easy to put together so many traditional gadgets, which is really eye-opening. An old grandmother rolled a marshmallow for her grandson and said to Jiajia with a smile.

When a woman in charge of publicity in the community saw them, she took the initiative to introduce herself and brought them to the main venue, which was crowded and lively. The center of the venue was filled with dishes of various colors, and the residents of the community were sitting around, mostly middle-aged and elderly. Those old ladies dressed in red and green were very happy, using their mobile phones to take selfies, some getting together to take group photos, and some greeting each other's parents.

In the center of the main venue, a map of China made by residents using glutinous rice has become the most eye-catching dish. The shape of China is made of white glutinous rice, and the black chocolate sauce outlines the boundaries of each provincial administrative region, each with a small flag planted and supplemented by green jelly underneath.

Seeing a group of leaders coming over, they stopped in front of this huge glutinous rice map to take a closer look, and praised them again and again for being very creative and the production level was quite high. The middle-aged man who made this "map" stood next to the glutinous rice map and told the onlookers that it took them four days to make it.

In this group of leaders, Jiajia saw a person who was quite familiar, and after a closer look, it turned out to be her father's partner, Li Linyuan, secretary of the Binjiang District Party Committee. Jiajia hurriedly stepped forward to say hello: "Hello Uncle Li, why are you here too?"

Li Linyuan looked up and saw that it was Cheng Jiajia who greeted him, and said excitedly: "Jiajia, you, a big reporter, also came to interview and report." This 'Ten Thousand Family Banquet' is indeed well organized, with a large scale and high grade, and a lively and peaceful atmosphere. I came here today to visit and study, and I want to learn from their good experience. ”

He looked at Jiajia strangely as he spoke, and joked: "Why don't you wear a mask today, it must have been taught by your father." You're too daring, aren't you? Haha" waved to Jiajia after speaking, and continued to visit in the company of a group of people.

The launching ceremony of the "Ten Thousand Family Banquet" began, and a leader of the district took the stage to deliver a speech, he said: This year's "Ten Thousand Family Banquet" has a total of 1 main venue and 9 sub-venues, a total of more than 30,000 families participated, and community residents will bring out a total of 11,666 dishes to share, everyone gathered together to taste the family banquet, celebrate the reunion, and celebrate the Chinese New Year together!

Several foreign students also heard the news and rushed to the scene to watch the excitement. Cheng Jiajia took the microphone and went over to interview them and asked them how they felt. A black African student picked up a glutinous rice ball and put it in his mouth, looked at the camera lens, and gave a thumbs up and praised: "Very good, China's New Year is really good!"

"Jiajia, Jiajia!" Hearing someone shouting to herself, Cheng Jiajia hurriedly turned around, it turned out that it was her aunt Du Meifang calling her. I saw her wearing a very festive red down jacket and beckoning to her from behind.

Jiajia hurriedly walked over: "Grandma, are you also coming to participate in the event?"

Du Meifang said to Jiajia with a fluttering eyebrow: "Yes, I specially made 3 dishes today to participate." I'm still the head of our building, and today I organized hundreds of families from the entire building to participate. Look at how festive this scene is! Jiajia, you big reporter, you have to give us a good publicity. Ha ha. ”

Jiajia hurriedly said: "If you want it, you want it, auntie, you can rest assured!"

After the interview, on the way back, Liu Liu joked: "Today's 'Ten Thousand Family Banquet' is really lively. It's just that everyone is not wearing masks, and the three of us are particularly eye-catching in the middle, and we look very different, and everyone looks a little weird at us. ”

Jiajia said: "It's okay to be different, the key is safety first." You see, these tens of thousands of people have dinner together, if there are some new crown pneumonia patients in the middle, I don't know how many people will be infected!"

Liao Qinyuan joked: "If that's the case, we will be the lucky ones today." Thanks to Jiajia's foresight, she brought us masks!"