Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 169 Trip to Hong Kong Island
Yan Jiekuang's life became a little busy after that. On weekends, if someone wanted to treat him to a meal, they would come to see Yan Jiekuang, and he would never refuse, but it was only for the five people who were having dinner together.

Normally, Yan Jiekuang always puts taking care of the family first, which makes Ji Lian complain every time, saying that she is just eating for free. Since the child was able to eat liquid food, Yan Jiekuang no longer allows Ji Lian to cook, and the child's recipes are all made by Yan Jiekuang himself.

Ji Lian sometimes also studied nearby, and Yan Jiekuang patiently explained to her, but things did not go as planned. For the same thing, Da Pang and Xiao Pang only ate what their father made. After Ji Lian made it several times, Da Pang and Xiao Pang would only take one bite and then stop eating, which made Ji Lian very angry.

Yan Jiekuang hadn't been to Siheyuan for a while, mainly because he was really busy and had no time at all. Yang Ruiping and Yan Jiedi often came to his house and talked about what happened in Siheyuan, and Yan Jiekuang just listened for fun.

Time passed quickly. One day, a jeep stopped in front of Yan Jiekuang's house. Liu Zheng got out of the car and walked into Yan Jiekuang's house with a young man. Yan Jiekuang was cooking at home. When he saw that it was Mr. Liu who came, he was very happy and said, "It's better to arrive early than to arrive early. I'm cooking right now. Mr. Liu, wait a moment. Ji Lian, hurry up and pour the tea."

Liu Zheng said bluntly: "I refuse everyone's meal except yours. Eating your meal will make me feel comfortable for a while."

Yan Jiekuang knew that Liu Zheng and Minister Wang were both from Sichuan, so he specially added mapo tofu and twice-cooked pork.

When the food was served, Liu Zheng didn't say why he came, but ate first. Yan Jiekuang had cooked rice today. When the rice was served, Liu Zheng smiled and said in his hometown dialect: "Yes, it's a perfect match."

Liu Zheng was talking about rice and mapo tofu being a perfect match. The young men were very shocked. They didn't expect to see another side of Liu Zheng. Yan Jiekuang was busy making arrangements and asked them to eat while it was hot. The men smelled the food and their appetites whetted. They started eating without hesitation.

Everyone who had the meal was amazed, especially Liu Zheng, who praised it as the most authentic Sichuan cuisine that could only be made by the master chefs from his hometown.

After dinner, Ji Lian went to clean up the table. Yan Jiekuang invited the two to the study and made tea. Only then did Liu Zheng tell them the purpose of his visit.

It turned out that the exchange organized by the Ministry of Commerce had already been decided, and Yan Jiekuang was one of them. This was highly recommended by Liu Zheng and decided against all objections. But the Ministry also considered a lot and invited another chef, Yu Zhenqing, a famous old chef in Sijiu City, a highly respected chef and the chef of some large formal banquets.

As a result, Yan Jiekuang became an insignificant figure in this delegation, but Liu Zheng's insistence gave Yan Jiekuang this opportunity. Liu Zheng came to ask Yan Jiekuang to prepare. This was to investigate Yan Jiekuang. He needed to go to his unit to understand Yan Jiekuang's past and investigate whether he had a bad criminal record. Second, he asked Yan Jiekuang to prepare the information for Hong Kong Island and hand it over to the young man who came this time. This person was also his contact person, named Wang Qing.

Yan Jiekuang expressed his full cooperation and promised Liu Zheng that he would not embarrass him.

In this way, Yan Jiekuang's trip to Hong Kong Island was settled. Within a few days, his superiors' inspection of Yan Jiekuang was also completed. Wang Qing also arranged a plane ticket and documents for Yan Jiekuang, and they were just waiting for August to arrive.

Ji Lian also knew that her husband was going on a business trip to Hong Kong Island, so she was busy preparing things. Yan Jiekuang looked at the big bag stuffed full of things, and was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He said to Ji Lian that it was in the south, and even though it was August, they didn't need to bring cotton clothes, just two short-sleeved shirts would be enough.

Yan Jiekuang's insistence forced Ji Lian to make new preparations. A small package became Yan Jiekuang's luggage. Ji Lian looked at the small package with full of worry. Yan Jiekuang patiently explained the situation in Hong Kong Island and why he only brought two sets of clothes.

Ji Lian was fine, but ever since Yan Jiekuang was sent to Hong Kong Island, Yan Bugui came to Yuer Hutong every day, asking Yan Jiekuang to bring a TV or a watch, which annoyed Yan Jiekuang. Finally, Yan Jiekuang said, "How about this? Make a list and I'll buy it for you when I see it."

Yan Bugui went home happily and prepared the list. When Yang Ruiping heard about this, he didn't treat Yan Bugui well. He said that his son would only go to Hong Kong Island for a few days, and you were still causing trouble for him. Is this how you act as a father?
Yan Bugui ignored Yang Ruiping's words and just sat in his study, writing and thinking about the list.

When Yan Bugui finished his list with great enthusiasm and went to Yuer Hutong, Ji Lian opened the door and Yan Bugui couldn't wait to say, "Where is San'er? I have finished my list."

Ji Lian said in confusion, "They left yesterday, Dad, you're late." Yan Bugui said, "Didn't they leave on August 1st?"

Ji Lian said, "Yes, but the flight to Guangzhou is on July 31st. Didn't Third Brother tell you?"

Yan Bugui was stunned. The third brother really said that at that time, he was only thinking about what to buy and didn't take it seriously at all. Now he was very upset and turned around and left angrily.

At this time, Yan Jiekuang was already on the plane, and sitting next to him was Wang Qing, who whispered about the arrangements for the next few days.

In fact, the chef competition in Hong Kong Island is already in full swing. Yan Jiekuang and Chef Yu are only attending the final as special guests. They have very few tasks and not much to do. If they want to go out for free activities, they need to report to the head of the delegation, Vice Minister Liu Zheng.

Yan Jiekuang was secretly happy. He was planning to go see Aunt Lou and Lou Xiao'e. This way, he would have time.

The journey went smoothly. When Yan Jiekuang arrived in Hong Kong, he was surprised. They stayed at the Peninsula Hotel, which was very famous in Hong Kong Island. Yan Jiekuang and Wang Qing shared a room. When Wang Qing arrived in the room, he was a little tired but curious about everything. Yan Jiekuang didn't think anything of it, as he had seen better hotels in his previous life.

On the first day, Yan Jiekuang completely obeyed the arrangements of the group. Liu Zheng and several leaders were very busy meeting all kinds of people, so Yan Jiekuang was free all of a sudden. Yan Jiekuang discussed with Wang Qing that he wanted to visit a friend and asked how to ask for leave.

Wang Qing looked at Yan Jiekuang in surprise. He had never heard that Yan Jiekuang had any friends in Hong Kong Island. He then said, "You can go ask the minister. It probably won't be a big deal."

When Yan Jiekuang saw that Wang Qing was also unsure, he went to look for Minister Liu. When he arrived at Minister Liu's room, he was really there. Yan Jiekuang told him his thoughts, and Liu Zheng said with a smile, "Are you going to look for the Lou family?"

Yan Jiekuang was stunned when he heard this. Minister Liu then said, "Do you really think our investigation is just a formality? Asking you to come here means contacting the Lou family. Okay, stop imagining. Go and exchange some Hong Kong dollars with Sister Xu from the Finance Department downstairs. But go to the Lou family and say hello to them loudly, saying we want to meet them and see what they think."

Yan Jiekuang was confused, but he still walked out of the room and went to Sister Xu to exchange one hundred Hong Kong dollars.

The next day, Yan Jiekuang took the letter with the address, walked out of the hotel and took a taxi. The driver looked at the address on the letter and looked at Yan Jiekuang meaningfully, which made Yan Jiekuang very puzzled.

During the ride, the driver said in stiff Mandarin: "Is this your first time here, Mainlander?"

Yan Jiekuang replied with interest: "Yes, Master, how did you know? I didn't say anything."

The driver smiled and said, "The address you gave me is a villa in Taiping Mountain. Only the very rich can afford to live there. I can't tell you by looking at it."

Yan Jiekuang was very shocked. He guessed that the Lou family should do well in Hong Kong Island, but he didn't expect them to become wealthy.

Yan Jiekuang chatted with the driver in a random manner, but he felt mixed emotions. He had no confidence at all. What would he do if the Lou family said they didn't know him? He was very nervous.

(End of this chapter)