Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 123 Prelude to House Renovation
The whole family was frightened by Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui felt something was wrong when Yan Jiekuang asked him to change the bowl, and hurriedly called for a stop, but Yan Jiekuang had already left with the bowl.

Yan Bugui didn't even eat, and followed Yan Jiekuang. No matter how Yang Ruiping called him, he ignored him. Yang Ruiping had no choice but to shout, "Old Third, don't do anything stupid."

Yan Jiekuang returned to the dining table and put down his bowl. Yan Bugui came over and looked at it carefully. Yang Ruiping and the children had all eaten, but Shi Xiaoya was the only one who was curious and ate bit by bit.

Yan Bugui didn't know what was going on, so he asked Yan Jiekuang directly, "What kind of bowl is this?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "This is the Xuande Peony Bowl."

Yan Bugui was very surprised and asked, "Is this true? There is no deposit or anything like that?"

"Who says that bowls must have inscriptions on the bottom? There was a batch of bowls during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty that had no inscriptions on the bottom. But look at the edge of the bowl, the place that Qingqing always licked, what is written on it?" said Yan Jiekuang.

Yan Bugui picked it up carefully and looked at it. He saw a line of small words on it: Made in the Xuande Period of the Ming Dynasty. If he hadn't looked carefully, he would not have noticed it.

Yan Bugui picked up the bowl and was about to leave, but Yan Jiekuang held him back and said, "This was given to me by Qingqing. If you want it, ask Qingqing if they have any more. What if they have more?"

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up. He pulled Qingqing, who was still eating fish, and said as they walked, "Grandpa will buy you a chicken leg." The father and son went straight to the old house.

Yan Bugui worked hard for a while but didn't find any. He came back dejected and asked as soon as he entered the room, "Where's the third brother?"

Yang Ruiping smiled and said, "You walked out first, then left with the bowl in your hand, without even eating."

Yan Bugui said angrily: "I was fooled."

In the east wing of the central courtyard of the quadrangle, Jia Zhang was discussing Banggeng with Jia Dongxu, while Qin Huairu was listening beside them.

Jia Zhang said: "Bang Geng is officially working this year, and he is also at the age to find a partner. This house is fine, I can move out. But when I come back, this house will be a bit crowded."

Jia Dongxu said puzzledly: "Bang Geng has a job, he can get a house, why do you worry about it?"

"That Bang Geng doesn't come back often. Are you doing me justice without my eldest grandson around?" said Jia Zhang.

When Qin Huairu heard this, she realized that she didn't want Bang Geng to go out. If he didn't go out, it would be difficult to arrange things here.

"Mom, wait until Banggeng comes back at the weekend and ask him for his opinion. Is that okay?" Qin Huairu said.

Jia Zhang insisted, "Why don't we let Xiao Dang find a partner quickly? That would solve the problem."

Jia Dongxu frowned. Although he usually didn't care much about Xiaodang, she was his eldest daughter after all. Besides, if Xiaodang went out, there was Huaihua. It would still be the same.

"Xiaodang is Xiaodang, and Banggeng is Banggeng. You can't push Xiaodang out. There are so many people out there now. I'm afraid she will learn bad things." Jia Dongxu said dissatisfiedly.

Jia Zhang said, "Then what do you think we should do? How about buying a house like the old Yan family?"

Jia Dongxu turned around and said to Jia Zhang: "You have been spending my money for the past few years, and I am running out of money. Why don't you take out some money and buy one?"

Jia Zhang immediately jumped up and said, "Don't hit on me, I have no money."

"What's the point of buying a house if you don't have money? Let's wait until Banggeng comes back. Isn't there another way? Didn't Boss Yan change the house?" Jia Dongxu said.

Jia Zhang said nothing, for she was afraid that if she spoke again, she would lose the money.

Qin Huairu took a look and said, "Mom, listen to Dongxu. When you have time, ask if anyone in the neighborhood wants to change houses, so that Banggeng can be prepared."

Jia Zhang nodded in agreement, but her eyes were darting around and no one knew what she was thinking.

In Yuer Hutong, after Yan Jiekuang returned home, he made himself a bowl of noodles and ate it. Big Cat also ate noodles, but there was fish in it.

The five little ones only ate fish and not noodles, especially Nunchaku, who was quite domineering, as if they were fighting for food. The big cat was so angry that it went up and slapped him with its claws, but Nunchaku didn't care at all. After getting up, it still did its own thing, which made Yan Jiekuang laugh.

After eating, Yan Jiekuang ran to the front door. He went to find Cai Quanwu to discuss the decoration of the house.

When I got to the front door, I felt that the business was good again. There were quite a lot of people, including foreigners. When I arrived at the tavern, I greeted the familiar people and went to the backyard. Xu Jingli ran over and said, "Brother, how long have you not seen me?"

Xu Jingping was also running behind him. Yan Jiekuang picked up Xu Jingping and said, "I'm here now, where's your mother? Besides, you have to call me uncle."

Xu Jingli rolled her eyes and said, "No, no."

"Brother Cai, I have something to talk to you about. Brother Cai, where are you?" Yan Jiekuang shouted.

"Where is the vegetable cellar? Don't come down. I'll go up right away." Cai Quanwu's voice came from the cellar.

Yan Jiekuang said to Xu Jingli, "I have something important to discuss with your father. I will go play with you after I'm done. Take your sister inside first."

Xu Jingli pulled Xu Jingping into the house. Yan Jiekuang waited for a while, and then Cai Quanwu came up and asked, "What brings you here?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "I bought a few rooms in our courtyard and want to renovate them. I want to ask if you have anyone."

"You think I'm your mistake and you're trying to trick me. Your unit is full of capable people, so you came to me," said Cai Quanwu.

Yan Jiekuang said: "My unit hasn't allocated housing yet, and I don't want them to know that I have a house."

Cai Quanwu thought for a moment and said, "Go to Qianmen. There is a Wang's Grocery Store. The owner is Wang Xuan. His family used to specialize in repairing houses for wealthy families. They are still doing it now. Just say I asked you to go."

"Okay, Brother Cai, it's you who has to go. I'll go see Jingli and the others." Yan Jiekuang said, and went into the house with his bag.

Yan Jiekuang brought Xu Jingli and her sister a box of homemade cookies, which should be enough for the two sisters to eat for a while.

While eating biscuits, Xu Jingping complained that her mother had stolen her snacks. Yan Jiekuang told her that it was okay and he would get them for her later and would hide them then.

After leaving the tavern, Yan Jiekuang went to look for Wang Xuan. When he arrived at the grocery store, before he saw Wang Xuan, Yan Jiekuang saw a towel rack leaning against the door, and a washbasin rack next to it. Yan Jiekuang said calmly, "Excuse me, is Wang Xuan here?"

A man in his thirties, of medium build, came out and said, "I am you. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"It's like this, I'm Xu Huizhen's younger brother, my name is Yan Jiekuang, Brother Cai asked me to come to you, I have a few houses to renovate." Yan Jiekuang said.

When Wang Xuan heard that there was a business opportunity coming, he enthusiastically invited Yan Jiekuang to go upstairs and sit down. The two began to discuss the decoration of the house, and their conversation became more and more interesting.

Wang Xuan felt that many of Yan Jiekuang’s creative ideas were very helpful to him, and in the end, the two of them went across the street to have a meal together.

Yan Jiekuang was about to say goodbye to Wang Xuan. Before leaving, he said, "Hey, this shelf is pretty good."

Wang Xuan followed Yan Jiekuang's gaze and saw that it was a towel rack. He said, "It's just a towel rack. Take it if you like it, brother."

"No, you are opening a business, so I'd better pay you. Why charge more?" Yan Jiekuang said.

When Wang Xuan heard this, he realized that he was a very particular person, so he said, "Give it to me as you see fit."

Yan Jiekuang left five dollars and left with the towel rack.

When Yan Jiekuang returned to Yuer Hutong, Yan Bugui came and had been walking around the house for a while.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "What's up, Dad? Are you looking for a bowl? When have you ever found something I hid?"

Yan Bugui curled his lips, and seeing Yan Jiekuang holding a wooden frame, he said, "Why are you holding a broken frame?"

"What shelf? This is a table." Yan Jiekuang put down the shelf and said.

Yan Bugui said, "Whose table has two legs?" He regretted it after he said it. Before the Tang Dynasty, most tables had two legs, but the tabletops were not as narrow as Yan Jiekuang's.

"Comrade Yan, let me broaden your horizons. This is called a Pingji. Do you know what era it is from? The shape is obviously from the Warring States Period." Yan Jiekuang said.

Yan Bugui stared at the document in amazement.

(End of this chapter)