The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and Cheng Xiaoxi noticed that the first day of the Lunar New Year was also very different from the city and the countryside. In the city or in Yanjing, there is no activity on the first day of the first lunar month, and it is as usual. When acquaintances meet, they say "Happy New Year" to each other, and relatives and friends also stay at home, text messages or WeChat New Year's greetings. Because I slept late the night before watching the Spring Festival Gala, I felt tired and depressed, and resting is a common idea for people.

However, in Caoqiao Town, it is different, although people stay up all night, they are still full of energy to celebrate the first day of the new year. Teenagers are particularly active, and they are the main force in the vigorous New Year's greeting activities. The grandparents, uncles and aunts of relatives with the same surname or foreign surname in the family have to come to the door to pay New Year's greetings. Don't look at Li Xiaoning's family, just one mother is an elder, and there are more than a dozen juniors who come to pay New Year's greetings in the morning.

Cheng Xiaoxi also found that the New Year's greetings in the countryside are actually an activity to respect the elderly, and they don't talk empty words, they are all real, as soon as they enter the door, they shout the title of the seniority and say that they will pay New Year's greetings to your old people, and at the same time kneel down on both knees and kowtow twice. Then sit down for a while, drink a glass of water, or eat some fruit and snacks, or smoke a cigarette, and hurry away. Because they have a tight schedule and heavy tasks, according to the local customs, the New Year's greeting activities in the village must be closed before lunch. If you don't grasp it tightly, you may leave one or several elders behind, which is the biggest faux pas and will never be allowed. Therefore, Li Xiaoning also went out to pay New Year's greetings in the morning.

After lunch, Li Xiaoning took Cheng Xiaoxi and started to visit the door. Li Xiaoning was conscious of this visit, because Li Xingfeng once reminded him to go home to take a look, he understood that it was possible for him to return to his hometown to take up a post, and after he came back yesterday, no one took the initiative to come to see him, which also made him very strange, so he decided to take the initiative and go to everyone's door to take a look.

Li Xiaoning: They first walked into the courtyard of the old branch secretary Yu Guangen. Li Xiaoning raised his hand and knocked on the door, and pushed the door without waiting for the master to answer, because there is no habit of knocking on the door in the countryside. He knocked twice and entered the door, which is a combination of urban rules and rural customs.

The sudden appearance of Li Xiaoning and the others made Yu Guangen and his wife stunned on the spot, and they didn't move for a long time.

Li Xiaoning laughed and said: "Third father (the name of the grandfather's generation in the countryside), I Xiaoning." ”

Yu Guangen let out an "oh", still stunned.

Li Xiaoning added again: "The child of the second child of the Li family. ”

Yu Guangen reacted at this time, and hurriedly said: "Oh, remember, remember, County Magistrate Xiao Li." Why are you here? ”

Li Xiaoning said: "When I was the county magistrate, I once came back to talk to you, and I said that I would definitely find a way to celebrate the New Year with you in the future." The words were spoken, but they never materialized. Now, it's time to be free, it's time to fulfill your promises, welcome? ”

Yu Guangen was still exclaiming: "Oops! I would never have thought of it! As he spoke, the old couple hurriedly took the bag and gave up their seats, poured water and cigarettes.

Li Xiaoning pulled Cheng Xiaoxi and introduced: "This is my family, called Cheng Xiaoxi." ”

"Yes, yes!" Yu Guangen nodded.

"This girl is so handsome. At first glance, it is a city person. Yu Guangen's wife also boasted.

Cheng Xiaoxi was humble as he took out the contents of his bag and put them on the table one by one.

Yu Guangen sighed: "It's coming, it's coming, why are you buying so many things?" ”

Cheng Xiaoxi hurriedly said: "It doesn't cost much, Xiaoning is going home for the New Year, can you bring something?" The wine and cigarettes are for the three fathers, the snacks are for the children, and this woolen sweater is for the three grandmothers, and the three grandmothers come to try it, I'm worried that it doesn't fit. ”

Yu Guangen's wife said no, it was too expensive, but she still took the initiative to take off her cotton clothes and began to try woolen sweaters. She touched her chest, pinched the bottom, and said to Cheng Xiaoxi movingly: "You really know how to buy things, it's just right." ”

Cheng Xiaoxi said with a smile: "It's not that I will buy it, it's Xiaoning who will say it, and it's accurate." Before I bought it, I checked your situation with him, such as the general situation of height, fatness, shoulder width, and chest circumference, all of which he provided. ”

Yu Guangen said: "It can be seen that County Magistrate Xiaoli has us in his heart, and he still remembers what we look like." ”

Yu Guangen's wife didn't know what to say, her eyes were about to burst into tears, and she said, "You guys rest first, I'll cook." ”

Li Xiaoning said: "I have eaten lunch. By the way, third father, I'm at home now, and I don't have a job. Besides, you are my elder, or call me Xiaoning, I am comfortable to listen to. Okay? ”

Yu Guangen said: "Okay, let Xiaoning be more agreeable." ”

So the four of them began to chat. Because it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Guangen and his wife began to discuss the New Year's greetings in the morning.

My wife said, "Except for the four seas, everyone else has been here." ”

Yu Guangen said: "Yes, I didn't come from all over the world." ”

"He didn't put up a show when he was an official, he always came every year, but this year he has no official, he can't come, what's the matter?" The wife nagged again.

"I don't have an official, I feel uncomfortable, and I can't sleep with my head covered." Yu Guangen said.

When Cheng Xiaoxi heard this, he said to the old couple: "It seems that you still care a lot about young people coming to pay New Year's greetings, don't you?" ”

Yu Guangen said: "This is the etiquette of the people in the village, and it is like this once a year. We did this when we were young, and now that we are old, we also hope that young people will know how to do it. ”

Cheng Xiaoxi asked, "Who didn't come today?" ”

Yu Guangen said: "Xiaoning knows that it is my nephew's grandson Sihai. ”

Li Xiaoning nodded and said, "Yes, Yu Sihai!" ”

Li Xiaoning has been outside all these years, and there are indeed some people in the village who can't remember it clearly, but he is particularly impressed by this Yu Sihai. This young man is three years younger than him, he doesn't talk much, his demeanor is steady, and he calls him Brother Xiaoning when he meets. Later, when Li Xiaoning returned to Xinpi County to become the county magistrate, Yu Sihai also happened to graduate from college and became a teacher in the county middle school. Once he blocked Li Xiaoning on the road, and said with a very stern expression that he had important opinions to mention. When asked what important comments he had, he said that the principal of the middle school was not a thing, and he should be fired immediately. A year later, the principal was indeed expelled, and it was a double expulsion. Of course, it is not because of Yu Sihai's general "important opinions", but it shows that Yu Sihai's opinion of the principal is right. This left a very deep impression on Li Xiaoning.

Later, Yu Sihai applied for the civil service examination, and obtained the first score in the written examination and the second in the interview, and offered to return to Caoqiao Town to work, when Li Xiaoning arranged for him to be the deputy mayor. For this matter, someone wrote a report letter at that time to report that Li Xiaoning used his power to arrange for his relatives to work in the government. Later, Li Xiaoning left Xinpi County and never saw Yu Sihai again, so he didn't know anything about his subsequent situation.

Yu Guangen then sued him that Yu Sihai became the mayor of the town two years later, and the mayor only served for less than a year, and resigned and went home a year ago.

When Li Xiaoning heard this, he was a little surprised: "Resign? Why quit? ”

Yu Guangen said: "I heard that he and the secretary can't pee in the same pot." Details are not available. ”

Yu Guangen's wife also said: "Yes, the public business, if you can't talk about it, you don't dare to talk nonsense." ”

Li Xiaoning felt a little strange, he went out from the countryside and knew that rural people liked to gossip the most. There is a man in the village who has resigned from the mayor's position and returned home, which is a great topic for street talk, and there is always a lot to say about what he sees and hearsay. But in the matter of Yu Sihai, Yu Guangen and his wife, who have the same surname as the third grandfather of the family, only have one sentence, and they don't say anything else. What's going on?

With this suspicion, after breakfast on the second day of the Lunar New Year, Li Xiaoning went to Yu Sihai's house. It happened that Yu Sihai was not there, but his father Yu Xuan was there.

As soon as Li Xiaoning sat down, he asked, "Second uncle, I want to know the question of Sihai's resignation." He's making progress so fast, so why should he resign? ”

Yu Xuan was depressed and said: "This kid has a weird temper and is not social, so he resigned and came back." Public affairs, we ordinary people are uneducated, I really can't tell. ”

Yu Xuan's wife urged them to eat ginkgo seeds, persimmon cakes and the like, as if to interrupt the topic just now.

Li Xiaoning felt a little strange. Yu Guangen also said that he had a conflict with the secretary, and he couldn't urinate in a pot. Here in the election, he was stumbling, only saying that his son had a strange temper, and then he couldn't explain the affairs of the public family. Yu Sihai not only resigned from the position of mayor of the town, but also resigned from his public office, which is a great deal for a family, as a father, can he be confused and can't tell?

At this time, village cadres Qin Youli and Hou Yonggui came to see Li Xiaoning. And a few young men followed. In recent years, the leadership team in the village has changed frequently, Qin Youli and Hou Yonggui were only replaced last year, and Li Xiaoning didn't know the two of them.

Qin Youli introduced himself: "County Magistrate Li, my name is Qin Youli, I am the branch secretary, his name is Hou Yonggui, and he is the village director. You don't know us, but we know you. ”

Li Xiaoning waved his hand and said, "I don't have a position now, call me Li Xiaoning, okay?" ”

Yu Xuan said on the side: "As soon as he came, he said that he wanted us to call him Xiaoning, we are used to it." ”

Qin Youli nodded: "Okay." ”

When the village cadres came, Li Xiaoning asked about the living and production conditions of the villagers. Qin Youli was a high-voiced voice and said, "Xiaoning, are you asking about the lives of the villagers in the village?" No problem, the shape is great, it's getting better and better! ”

Li Xiaoning looked at the other party, pondering what these two empty words and big words that used to be used very often and now sound very unaccustomed to it.

Qin Youli understood Li Xiaoning's expression and said, "Xiaoning, do you think my words are a little empty?" Let's be honest, last year, the per capita net income of the whole village was 21,000 yuan. ”

Li Xiaoning was very happy to hear it and said, "Wow, this is inseparable from your work." ”

"It has nothing to do with us." Qin Youli said, "This is the credit of the superior leaders. What we can do is to maintain a high degree of consistency with the superior leaders, do what the leaders say, and say what the leaders say. ”