Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 177: Busy End of the Year
The storm finally passed after Yan Jiekuang apologized to every household and gave away watches. Yang Ruiping kept complaining about her unreliable husband, and Yan Bugui knew that she almost got into trouble, so she didn't say anything.

Yan Jiekuang couldn't say anything wrong about his father, so when the matter was over, he took his parents to his home for dinner.

Yan Jiekuang personally cooked four dishes and a soup. Yan Bugui was still thinking about what happened today and was filled with fear. He knew that no one in this yard was an easy person to deal with and that things had indeed gone wrong, but he couldn't understand why the third brother still wanted to invite him to dinner.

After the food was served, Yan Jiekuang entered the living room carrying a bottle of Lianhua Bai. Yan Bugui took a look and saw that there was still wine. He thought that something must have happened to the third brother.

Yan Bugui took the wine, and everyone at the table drank from him. He filled his own glass. Yang Ruiping rolled his eyes and said, "How dare you drink."

Yan Jiekuang persuaded him, "If my dad likes to drink, let him drink. Nothing happened today. Okay, today is mainly about my little sister. Let's eat first and talk while we eat."

Several people started to pick up their chopsticks. Once they started, everyone at the table stopped talking and just started eating. This was mainly because Yan Jiekuang was a very good cook and who would have the heart to talk when there was so much delicious food around?

Only Yan Bugui could stop and have a sip of wine. The meal was finished quickly. When the plates were clean, everyone stopped eating and said that the third brother's cooking skills were extraordinary.

Lian'er and Jie Di cleaned the table together. Lian'er came in soon with teacups and teapot. Yan Jie Di followed behind with a thermos. Ji Lian poured tea for several people and sat aside watching the children. Yan Jie Di also came over and sat quietly beside her mother.

Yan Bugui regained his attitude as the head of the family. He drank a sip of tea and then said, "Okay, we've finished our meal. Yan Jie Di, what's the matter? Tell me."

Yan Jiekuang did not say it directly, but talked about what he saw and heard in Hong Kong Island, and several people listened with great interest.

After Yan Jiekuang finished speaking, Yan Bugui said, "It's so developed over there. We really can't compare to it. For example, the fact that there are no restrictions on shopping is very special."

Yan Jiekuang said, "I have said so much because I want to tell you that we will change sooner or later. I hope my sister will not be limited to her current life. I have been urging her to study in order to prepare for the future, but you always want her to get married. Once she gets married, her life will be like this, just like the neighbors, going to work and taking care of children."

Yang Ruiping listened carefully, and Yan Bugui nodded and said, "We know you care about your sister, and we care about our daughter as well. We are not pushing her. Look around, everyone her age is married and has children. If she doesn't get married, people will gossip about her."

Yan Jiekuang said, "What nonsense are you talking about? My sister has to choose her own life path. If she really likes him, she can get married. But now my sister doesn't like him, and her life is destined to be different."

Yang Ruiping sighed and said, "You have always been in charge of your sister. If Jia Zhang hadn't told me that the man was very good, I wouldn't have wanted to agree to it."

Yan Jiekuang also understood his parents and said, "Trust me, give my sister three years. After three years, you can do whatever you want. Is that ok?"

Yan Bugui and his wife looked at each other, then nodded and said, "Okay, three years. After three years, you have to follow our arrangements."

Yan Jiedi was delighted and hugged Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang patted her head and said, "Have some courage and listen to me."

Yan Jiedi nodded heavily.

The old couple played with their two older grandsons for a while, then took Yan Jiedi back to the courtyard.

After Ji Lian coaxed the child to sleep, she saw Yan Jiekuang's expectant eyes and instantly felt shy. She knew that her husband missed her, so the two of them went to bed early.

The electronic watch incident was over, and the neighbors in the courtyard all felt that Yan Laosan was capable and authentic, and Yan Laosan's image of being stingy and money-minded was also established, which made Yan Bugui very depressed, but Yan Bugui had a strong ability to heal himself, and within two days he was talking and laughing with his neighbors again. Yan Jiekuang went to work and came home every day to complete the work assigned by the leader. When he had nothing to do, he urged Xiaodang, Huaihua and Yan Jiedi to study. This was a secret between them, and several people kept silent about it with their neighbors.

Time passed quickly, and major events continued to happen during this period. Yan Jiekuang knew that he was just a small figure and could only go with the flow of history.

At the end of the year, Yan Bugui suddenly said that the whole family wanted to celebrate the New Year together this year. Yan Jiekuang had no objection, as it mainly depended on his eldest brother. His second brother had already decided to come back for a visit this year.

Yan Jiekuang received the task of purchasing and cooking again. Of course, Yan Bugui would not pay for the purchasing, and Yan Jiekuang did not say anything. Since he had money in Hong Kong Island, he no longer haggled with his stingy father.

Ji Lian was the same. She took over the responsibility of purchasing without hesitation, which made Yan Bugui puzzled for a while. One day, he suddenly asked Yan Jiekuang, "How much money do you have?"

Yan Jiekuang rolled his eyes and said, "I don't even earn as much as you do. How can I have any money?"

Yan Bugui thought about it and realized that, yes, he didn't have much extra income and he had stopped the previous appraisal work a long time ago.

When December came, Ji Lian took Yan Jiekuang to buy things everywhere. They went to every market, no matter whether it was on the ground or underground, and they just kept buying things. Yan Jiekuang discovered that his wife had a talent for bargaining, and they would bargain with her every time.

At this time, Yan Jiekuang received a notice saying that all venues needed to be registered in order to find out the revenue situation of each state-owned unit. Yan Jiekuang knew that spring was not far away.

Yan Jiekuang had to start getting busy, visiting and registering every household. Because he wanted to conduct a survey, Yan Jiekuang designed a form himself, which clearly recorded the expenditure and income of each household. The important thing was to accurately record the income ratio of each month.

After Director Wang saw it, he promoted it and required other staff members to register in the same way.

Yan Jiekuang was so busy that he couldn't take care of his family. Ji Lian gave him great support and patted her chest and said to Yan Jiekuang: "You can take care of your own things. Don't worry, I'm here at home. I'm also here for my parents."

Yan Jiekuang devoted himself to his work with peace of mind and came home very late every day, but every time he came back, Lian'er would have dinner ready for him. The house was also kept in order by Lian'er, and Ji Lian was also in charge of the purchase of New Year's goods herself.

Yan Jiekuang devoted himself to his work wholeheartedly, because he felt that this was an important opportunity for him to understand the market. After this census, he knew the market well, which is why he was so dedicated.

It was not until mid-January 1977 that Yan Jiekuang completed his investigation of all state-owned merchants in his jurisdiction. Yan Jiekuang found that few merchants made profits and most of them were subsidized by their superiors.

When Yan Jiekuang handed his work investigation report to Director Wang, Director Wang was very satisfied and said to Yan Jiekuang: "You are the first one to complete the task among several people."

Until the end of the month, the talents in charge of other aspects submitted their reports. Director Wang directly asked Yan Jiekuang to do the final summary work, and Yan Jiekuang began to organize and summarize.

During the sorting process, Yan Jiekuang realized that the steel mill was also making losses and the gap was huge. Yan Jiekuang looked at the investigation report of the steel mill and shook his head. If this did not change, the steel mill would sooner or later become a burden.

Yan Jiekuang spent several days summarizing the report and then handed it to Director Wang. Director Wang was very satisfied and went directly to report to his superiors. Yan Jiekuang then breathed a sigh of relief, packed up his things, and dragged his tired body home, but Yan Jiekuang knew that he had gained a lot this time.

(End of this chapter)