Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 15 Daily Life
The front yard of the Siheyuan in May 1952
Old man Li helped Yan Bugui purely because he was interested in the greenhouse on the blueprint. Old man Li guessed that it was the product of a demon and trusted it immensely.

For this purpose, Old Man Li specially went to see Captain Zhang of the Military Control Commission and asked for the last back house for Yan Bugui, and of course Yan Bugui had to pay the rent.

In this way, a wall was built between the back house and the old Yan family's side room, with separate doors, forming a courtyard inside. The chimney remained unchanged, and a fire wall was built directly near the side wall of the side room.

As for the ceiling, the craftsmanship of carpenter Zhang from next door was used to make the wooden ceiling frame, and pieces of glass that were taken down from somewhere were inlaid into it one by one. Standing in the courtyard and looking up, you can see a large assembled skylight.

As for the flowerbed in the courtyard in front of the Yan family, Old Man Li didn't even look at it. It was Yan Bugui who brought the eldest and second sons in and out with great enthusiasm.

Yan Bugui did not build everything based on the drawings. For example, a swing was not within his consideration.

Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang quit and helped out just for the swing. After a few days of the strike, Yan Bugui compromised, but put it on the other side of the vegetable garden. Old man Sun didn't mind because he had half of the vegetable garden, which was agreed upon before. I don't know if the two visitors who haven't moved in yet will mind.

In May, the renovation was finally completed. The people in the middle and back yards saw it when they were building the wall in the front yard, and knew that Yan Bugui was going to build a flower garden and a vegetable garden.

When the flowers are transplanted into the flower bed, the effect is quite good. It is the flowering season and the flowers are colorful and beautiful.

Even the old lady came to take a look and took away Old Yan's only pot of orchid with her discerning eye.

Yan Bugui saw him off with a smile, and then his teeth got inflamed and hurt for several days.

There were two flower beds on the left and right of the entrance. One was planted with flowers, and Yan Bugui took charge of the other. Yang Ruiping took over and planted vegetable seeds in it.

Old man Li locked the greenhouse. I heard that he brought a lot of unusual fruit trees and plants in there.

Yan Jiekuang looked at the garden and greenhouse that had been completely destroyed. This was not what he wanted. Forget it, out of sight, out of mind, and went back to the inner room to read.

Yan Jiekuang is now a little obsessed with Lu Ban, because Carpenter Zhang made him a Lu Ban lock.

After a long time of not opening the door, he held the lock and ran to find Carpenter Zhang. Carpenter Zhang also liked this fat boy and explained it to him in a serious manner.

Old man Li saw it and soon found a lot of Qing Dynasty palace collection albums for Yan Jiekuang. Where did they come from? He didn't say how many there were? A large wooden box.

After that, Yan Jiekuang was no longer seen in the yard. He and his collection of picture albums went into the inner room and never came out.

The main house in the central courtyard of the quadrangle

He Yushui ran into the house and saw his father drinking tea and looking at a menu.

"Where's Brother Damao? I haven't seen him for several days?" He Yushui asked
He Daqing looked at He Yushui lovingly, "Your brother Damao is preparing for the technical secondary school entrance exam and is currently reviewing. He will come over for dinner tonight."

He Yushui is already in elementary school and summer vacation is coming soon.

"Can I go see him?" He Yushui asked.

He Daqing smiled, "You are probably thinking about the maltose in his hand. Your brother Damao needs some quiet time. You should wait until after the exam before going."

He Daqing had a feeling that Xiao Yushui completely regarded Xu Damao as a substitute for his brother Sha Zhu, and she was very attached to Xu Damao.

Xiao Yushui was a little unhappy, but unwilling to give up. "Then I'll go find Xiaoling to play." She turned around and wanted to run out.

"Your brother has written to me." With just this voice, Yu Shui turned around and hugged his father.

"Take it out and let me see it. I miss my brother so much, woooo." As she said this, tears started falling again.

He Daqing hurriedly took out Sha Zhu's letter, read it to Yu Shui, and then handed the letter to her.

Now all of his brother's belongings had been moved by Yushui to his small room, even his clothes and socks had been washed and put away.

The letter was very brief. It reported safety, asked about many people's well-being, and finally gave some advice to Yu Shui. He also told Yu Shui that he had prepared a gift for her and would give it to her when he got back. She had never seen it, so what was it? Keep it secret.

He Yushui was in low spirits. She turned around and went back to the house with the letter silently, shedding tears.

He Daqing didn't dare show the little girl his medals, one for the second-class collective merit and one for the third-class individual merit. He Daqing knew that this was a reward after the war. He Daqing had been drinking all night, so he took the medals and hid them in a small wooden box that contained the family recipes and genealogy of the Tan family.

Backyard room of the Siheyuan
Yi Zhonghai and his wife had just finished dinner with the deaf old lady and were drinking tea and chatting about family matters.

The deaf old lady would look at the flower on the windowsill from time to time. She loved the orchid so much that even the aroma of the food could not block the fragrance of the orchid.

Yi Zhonghai looked at the old lady and asked, "Is this Yan Lao San not stingy now?"

"Still stingy, but different now. I know my limits now. There is always gain in loss," replied the deaf old lady.

Whenever Yi Zhonghai chatted with his neighbors in the backyard, he would mention Yan Bugui. People close to him would call him Yan Lao San, while ordinary people would call him Sanda Ye, with emphasis on the "San".

"Has Shazhu not sent any letters recently?" asked the deaf old lady.

Yi Zhonghai took a sip of tea and said, "He Daqing doesn't talk much now. He is with the Xu family most of the time, so I don't have a chance to ask."

"Have you forgotten that you are an uncle? Sometimes flowers need to be watered, but not so often." said the deaf old lady.

Li Cuilan also liked the orchid and was thinking of picking up the small pot to water it. But when she heard these words, she didn't know whether to water it or not and stood there in a daze.

The deaf old lady stood up, walked over, took the small pot, and walked to the windowsill. "If you want to water it, you have to understand it, know where it is weak and where it is strong, when it needs water, and when it needs sunlight. This orchid was raised by a nobleman in the past, and it is the most delicate."

Yi Zhonghai seemed to be thinking about something, while Li Cuilan supported the deaf old lady.

"The more delicate the flowers are, the more they will be rewarded to you in terms of pleasure to the eyes and peace of mind." After watering the flowers, the deaf old lady changed the direction of the flowers.

Yi Zhonghai didn't know much about flowers, but he understood what the deaf old lady said. He knew that he couldn't get too far away from the He family, because if he did, the He family would get closer to the Xu family.

But the Jia family has a lot of things going on recently, and he is a bit overwhelmed.

"What's going on? Is the baby about to be born?" asked the deaf old lady.

Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, "This month, this apprentice has no intention of working and keeps asking for leave. I have to take care of him."

"Four hundred and fifteen thousand. Even without food, we are still a wealthy family." said the deaf old lady.

Yi Zhonghai stopped talking. Yes, he knew that they had Jia's mother, Jia's father's pension and Jia Dongxu's salary. They didn't need too much help from him at the moment. If he was too active, people would think he had some ulterior motives.

The deaf old lady wanted him to get closer to He Daqing. She firmly believed that Sha Zhu would come back and would be different.

When Sha Zhu was young, he always stayed by the side of the deaf old lady. He did whatever she asked him to do and never contradicted her. He always thought of the old lady when he had a bite to eat.

The deaf old lady also likes Sha Zhu, but she doesn't like He Daqing. She has hardly spoken to He Daqing since Sha Zhu's mother passed away.

Yi Zhonghai only knew that the deaf old lady liked Sha Zhu, and he didn’t know anything else because he moved into the courtyard later.

Four years ago, when Lady Jia took Jia Dongxu to become her apprentice, Yi Zhonghai asked the deaf old lady for her opinion. The deaf old lady knew Lady Jia very well.

"All is lost" these are the four words the deaf old lady gave him.

Yi Zhonghai was silent. Jia Dongxu did not make any noise. He just followed Yi Zhonghai and did whatever he was told to do.

Finally, Lady Jia had a deep talk with Yi Zhonghai in front of Li Cuilan, after which Yi Zhonghai formally accepted Jia Dongxu as his apprentice.

Now, Yi Zhonghai's obsession makes him live in entanglement.

　Thank you all for your recommendations, thank you, I will try my best.

(End of this chapter)