Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 208: Meeting at the Hotel
In the evening, just as Ji Lian and Shi Xiaoya brought up the dishes and dumplings, Yan Bugui came back. Judging from his appearance, Yi Zhonghai must be in a bad mood because he knew the current situation.

Yan Bugui was very satisfied with his trip to the Central Courtyard and shouted to the kitchen, "San'er, let's have a drink tonight."

Yan Jiekuang, who was in the kitchen, heard this, smiled at Yang Ruiping, and returned to the main hall with the last dishes and wine. Yan Bugui impatiently poured himself a glass of wine, and then handed the bottle to Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang looked at Yan Bugui but said nothing.

Yan Bugui was a little anxious and said, "You don't want to know what happened when I went to Yi Zhonghai?"

Yang Ruiping said, "I don't want to know. Come, let's eat." After that, he arranged for the children and his son and daughter-in-law to eat.

Yan Bugui was choked for a moment, and after a long while he said, "Even if you don't want to know, I won't tell you." As soon as he finished speaking, the others burst into laughter.

Yan Bugui took a sip of wine, ate a dumpling and said, "When I entered the room, I saw Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai talking about poetry. They were also surprised to see me coming. Why did Yi Zhonghai come here for me? I said that you guys couldn't have the meeting."

"What's their reaction?" Yan Jiekuang asked. As the only son present, he had to support his father.

Yan Bugui was very satisfied with Yan Jiekuang's question and said, "They were all stunned. They still seemed a little bit unconvinced. I told them that most of the neighbors had gone out, but it turned out that they really didn't know."

Yan Jiekuang raised his glass to toast Yan Bugui, and the two clinked their glasses and took a sip. Yan Bugui continued, "At that time, I saw that their faces turned green. I said, it's the 1980s now, and we value democracy. If they have something to do, you can't force them."

Yan Bugui really dared to go up and stab him. He went on to say, "Yi Zhonghai got anxious and said he didn't have it. He then said he couldn't open it, so he didn't open it. But Liu Haizhong didn't react at all. He just said hello to us and went home. I saw this and thought, I'll leave too. If I make Yi Zhonghai angry, he'll cause trouble again. So I'm back."

Yang Ruiping said: "This Yi Zhonghai is so cunning and treacherous. He is still using moral blackmail in this day and age. Liu Haizhong is the same. If he has the time, why not go and see his grandson more often?"

Yan Jiekuang didn't say a word and ate in silence with the others. Yan Bugui said he was very happy and began to concentrate on eating.

After dinner, Yan Jiekuang and Ji Lian took the children home. He didn’t know what happened in the courtyard later, and he didn’t want to know as he had a lot of things to do.

The next day, Chen Xueru came over and asked Yan Jiekuang to accompany her to call Lou Xiaoe, one to report the situation here, and the other to ask what to do next.

Chen Xueru is still the manager of Xueru Silk Shop. She has her own plans. Yan Jiekuang didn't ask and went to the post office with Chen Xueru to make a phone call. After the call was connected, Chen Xueru reported the current progress here. Yan Jiekuang listened on the side. One thing was that the conditions of the joint venture were a bit unsatisfactory, and the other was that there was a disagreement on the site selection.

Yan Jiekuang was listening on the side. He had originally been giving the Lou family a direction. He himself did not want to get involved as he had his own plans. But after listening to Chen Xueru's report, Yan Jiekuang realized that the Lou family was not satisfied with the current state of the Second Textile Factory and was planning to rebuild it. This put them at odds with the ideas of the municipal government and the Light Industry Bureau. It seemed that there was still a long way to go before they could reach an agreement.

Just when Yan Jiekuang was in a daze, Chen Xueru patted him and said, "Why are you in a daze? Xiao'e asked you to answer the phone."

Yan Jiekuang took the call, and the two greeted each other first. Lou Xiaoe asked Yan Jiekuang directly if he missed her, because Chen Xueru was around. Yan Jiekuang was embarrassed to answer. Then Lou Xiaoe told him that they had given a definite letter that her family's property would be returned, and Yan Jiekuang would help receive it. Yan Jiekuang agreed and asked her when. Lou Xiaoe said that it would be soon, around June. The two talked for a while and ended the call.

Chen Xueru looked at Yan Jiekuang with interest. Yan Jiekuang thought, this guy is very smart. He can hear the clues from just a few words. Yan Jiekuang pretended to be stupid. Chen Xueru said, you pay the phone bill, otherwise I can't control my mouth. When Yan Jiekuang heard it, he smiled bitterly and turned to pay.

When Yan Jiekuang saw that it was noon, he asked, "Do you want to have a meal together before going back?"

Chen Xueru smiled evilly and said, "Are you trying to shut me up?" It was true. Yan Jiekuang was afraid that she would talk nonsense to Xu Hui.

The two chose Quanjude, a time-honored restaurant near the front door. They chose a seat in the lobby. After choosing the duck, they sat down to drink tea and chat. During the chat, Yan Jiekuang learned that Xu Huizhen had returned to the tavern. Fan Jinyou not only lost his position as the manager of the silk and satin factory, but also lost his job at the street office. As the two were chatting, Yan Jiekuang glanced at the door inadvertently. He actually saw Xu Damao, a middle-aged man who looked like a leader, and a very beautiful woman walked in from the door and were looking around for a seat.

Yan Jiekuang had no intention of going forward to say hello and pretended not to see anything. After a while, the duck came up and the special chef came over to slice the duck for the table.

The two of them were eating quietly, but halfway through, Yan Jiekuang was patted on the shoulder. Yan Jiekuang was startled and turned around. It was Xu Damao, who was looking at him meaningfully. Yan Jiekuang said calmly, "Who did I think it was? Brother Damao, why are you eating duck?"

Xu Damao said: "Yes, what's going on with you?"

Yan Jiekuang replied: "What's going on? I was having lunch with my sister and just went out to do something. Did you come here by yourself?"

Xu Damao rolled his eyes and said, "I came here to eat by myself. I'm having a meal with an old leader of mine from the steel mill."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Oh, then go ahead and eat. We have other things to do after we finish eating, so we won't delay you."

Xu Damao didn't take it seriously and said, "Okay, let's talk about it when we have time. Now I'm leaving."

Xu Damao turned around and walked away, but halfway through he turned back again and looked at Chen Xueru carefully.

At this time Chen Xueru asked: "Who is it that looks so ugly?"

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "My sister Xueru is really good at judging. We are neighbors. I live in the front yard and he lives in the back yard."

The two started chatting again. When they finished eating, there was still a lot left, so Yan Jiekuang packed it up and took it away. After the meal, Chen Xueru also parted ways with Yan Jiekuang. She was busier than Yan Jiekuang now.

Yan Jiekuang returned to Yuer Hutong and directly gave the packed duck, duck bones, duck pancakes, sauces and side dishes to Aunt Wang, and told her to heat them up when she got home. Aunt Wang was very grateful, because Quanjude had people, and her family couldn't afford to eat there.

The two little darlings rushed out and pestered their father, asking him to play with them. Yan Jiekuang took the two darlings to the studio in the backyard, where Yan Jiekuang's tools and materials for carpentry were. Yan Jiekuang said to the two little darlings, "Dad is going to make a tricycle for you, okay?"

Although the two little guys didn't know what a tricycle was, they still said yes happily. Now the father and his two sons got busy. Yes, the two little guys were right beside them, sometimes handing wood to Yan Jiekuang, sometimes handing tools to Yan Jiekuang. You have to say, the three of them cooperated very well.

Yan Jiekuang finished making and polishing all the components and started assembling them directly. When the first tricycle came out, the two little guys jumped up and wanted to get on first, although they didn’t know how to ride yet. Yan Jiekuang said, “Don’t worry, wait until Dad makes the other one, and then we can go to the yard and try it together.”

The two little guys stopped fighting over it and just stood there quietly, watching their father assemble it. Soon both tricycles were ready. Yan Jiekuang took the two little guys and carried the two small tricycles to the yard.

Yan Jiekuang taught the two little guys how to ride the tricycle. The two little guys were very smart. After a while, the two small tricycles were chasing each other in the yard, and Yan Jiekuang watched happily from the side.

Yan Jiekuang felt that he should take time out every day to accompany these two babies. Time waits for no one, and accompanying them as they grow up is what he should do.

(End of this chapter)