Chapter 177: New Year

On the twenty‑third day of the twelfth lunar month, the New Year's firecracker sounds had not yet faded, and the Steel Rolling Mill welcomed another happy event—New Year's benefits were distributed!

That noon, as soon as the whistle signaled the end of work, the workers surged joyfully toward the warehouse. The line stretched from the warehouse entrance all the way to the plant avenue, each face bearing an expectant smile.

Ordinary workers receive half a jin of pork and one jin of white flour! Logistics chief Li Huaide stood at the warehouse entrance, his voice loud enough to carry two li; cadres get three jin of pork, five jin of oil! Take them according to badge order, no cutting in line, or you'll be the last to receive!

Sha Zhu lugged a lunchbox out of the canteen and shouted from afar: "Make way! Make way! Our canteen still has to go back and prepare dinner!"

Xu Damao followed behind, saying sourly: "Why the hurry? Does your canteen still lack this bit of oil and water?"

"What do you know!" Sha Zhu shook the oil bottle in his hand, "This is the factory's benefit; we haven't had chicken or meat all year, and my sister is still waiting for meat!"

Li Ping'an stood at the window of the second‑floor office in the warehouse, watching the bustling scene below. Wang Dahu cheerfully pushed the door in: "Director, we've collected all the benefits for our department! I've placed your portion on the table."

On the table lay three jin of pork with a mix of fat and lean, and five jin of golden soybean oil. Li Ping'an smiled: "Give the comrades on duty a larger share; they must keep their posts even during the holiday."

"Alright!" Wang Dahu replied, lowering his voice, "Director, I heard this year's benefits are better than in previous years?"

The plant's performance is strong, with expansion and new hires; the leaders also care for the worker comrades, so good benefits are warranted. Li Ping'an looked out the window. In the sunset, every worker who received the benefits wore a beaming smile; this scene says more than any words could.

Siheyuan was especially lively that evening. Workers returning from their shifts carried pork and white flour in their hands, each face glowing.

Yan Bu Gui set up a small stool early and sat at the Front Courtyard entrance; whenever someone arrived, he stood to greet: "Back already? Let me check if this meat is fresh!"

The first to enter was Jia Dongxu. Yan Bu Gui reached out to take the pork in his hand: "Yo, this meat is really fresh!"

Jia Dongxu hadn't even reacted when Yan Bu Gui already patted that half‑jin of pork, his fingers coated with oil droplets.

"Third Elder, what is this…" Jia Dongxu was both amused and embarrassed.

"A little festive joy! A little festive joy!" Yan Bu Gui sneered, tucking his hand behind his back.

Next came Sha Zhu, who deliberately held up three jin of pork high: "Third Elder, this is a special supply for cadres!"

Yan Bu Gui stood on tiptoe to reach: "Let me see! Let me see! Sha Zhu, your family only has two people; how about you sell me one jin at a cheap price?"

Sha Zhu: "I am indeed Sha Zhu, but I'm not truly foolish; I'll still sell you cheap. Outside, you can't even get a meat ticket, so stop daydreaming!"

The touch wasn't a problem; the oil stains on his fingers soaked through the pork's wrapping paper. Sha Zhu stared: "Your hand is a rag? That's downright filthy!"

The most daring was Xu Damao. From a distance he saw Yan Bu Gui at the doorway, deliberately hid the pork behind his back, trying to slip in. But Yan Bu Gui's eyes were sharp; he lunged forward in a single step: "Damao! Let the Third Elder see your benefit!"

"Nothing worth looking at!" Xu Damao stepped aside.

The two wrestled at the doorway, and in the end Yan Bu Gui got the upper hand. Gazing at the sparkling oil droplets on his fingers, Yan Bu Gui retreated satisfied.

When Li Ping'an pushed his bicycle into the courtyard, Yan Bu Gui was about to repeat his trick. But upon seeing three jin of pork and five jin of soybean oil hanging from the handlebars, he was stunned.

"Ping'an… what is this…"

"It's from the plant." Li Ping'an smiled and rode straight toward the back courtyard.

Yan Bu Gui watched his silhouette, smacking his lips: "Being a cadre is just different…"

Yan Bu Gui went back to wash his hands and use it to make soup; it's also a kind of "dizzy dish"!

Yan Jiecheng: "Dad, your school doesn't give out any benefits?"

Yan Bu Gui sighed: "They gave out notebooks, pencils—things for studying—but nothing edible!"

At this moment, Li Pingle also returned from work. The young girl cradled a piece of hidden‑blue velour fabric, its surface glowing softly in the sunset.

"Pingle! This cloth is really beautiful!" San Dama poked her head out from the house.

Jia Zhangshi was hanging laundry in the Central Courtyard; seeing the fabric, his eyes widened: "How much does this cost? Li Pingle, why don't you give our family some cloth? Since your sister‑in‑law Qin has married in, she still hasn't bought a decent dress; we could make a new one, what do you think?"

The plant's benefits, my brother and I just need them for new clothes, so there's none left. Qin's sister‑in‑law wants to make a dress; let Brother Jia buy it! Li Pingle smiled sweetly: "Our Textile Factory's performance is good this year; everyone gets a piece of fabric."

Yan Bu Gui shuffled over, feeling the fabric; this time it wasn't stained with oil. He sighed: "If only we'd let Jiecheng join the plant earlier…"

Night fell, and waves of meat aroma drifted through Siheyuan.

In the Front Courtyard at Yan Bu Gui's home, dinner consisted of two "wowo" buns per person, one salty vegetable per person, and a pot of oil soup. Yan Bu Gui bragged: "If I weren't so clever, we wouldn't even get to drink this soup tonight; we'd just smell it!"

San Dama: "His father really knows how to make a living!"

Yan Bu Gui: "You can't run out of food or clothing; if you don't calculate, you'll suffer poverty. You should learn more, then life will be happy!"

In the Jia household's pot simmered Red Braised Pork; Jia Dongxu proudly said to Qin Huairu: "Do you smell it? This is what New Year feels like!"

Qin Huairu silently added firewood, a mix of emotions churning inside. She also wanted to bring some meat to her family, but her rural household registration barred her from even entering the plant gates.

The Liu family in the back courtyard was even livelier. Liu Haizhong split a jin of pork into two portions, storing the larger one in the cupboard: "Wait for Guangqi to come back and eat!"

Liu Guangtian looked at the bits of meat in the pot and whispered to his younger brother: "When we grow up, we'll definitely earn lots of meat to bring back!"

The most fragrant scent came from Sha Zhu's home. The cook, with three jin of pork, turned it into a variety: Red Braised Pork, twice‑cooked pork, meatballs… It made Yan Bu Gui in the front courtyard swallow saliva.

Xu Damao carried a bowl of white rice, wandering the courtyard: "Some people, just a bit of meat and they start showing off!"

"Don't complain about the smell!" Sha Zhu shouted from inside.

Li Ping'an's home was unusually quiet. He gave most of the meat to the plant's duty team, keeping only a small half. At this moment the pot was simmering cabbage and vermicelli, with only a few stray meat pieces.

"Brother, are we being too frugal?" Li Pingle set down the bowl and chopsticks.

Many comrades at the plant have families out of town and can't return for the New Year. Li Ping'an gave his sister a piece of meat, saying, "We're here; you can eat whenever you want."

Late at night, the meat aroma faded. Yan Bu Gui sat inside, tapping an abacus: "If Jiecheng had joined the plant, we could have stewed meat at home tonight…"

San Dama shot him a glare: "Now you're regretful? Where were you earlier!"

Moonlight poured like water over the tranquil Siheyuan. Every household was immersed in the lingering festival mood, only the Jia house's lamp stayed lit—Qin Huairu was still rushing to sew a new dress, made from the leftover pieces of Jia Dongxu's benefit fabric.

Li Ping'an stood in the courtyard, gazing at the star‑filled sky. This thick scent of fireworks, these ordinary days, are precisely the meaning he and countless others protect.

A cold wind blew, carrying distant scattered firecracker sounds. The year's end approaches, and new stories are quietly fermenting within this ordinary fireworks.