Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 228 Taking in Brother and Sister
Today is the weekend. Things at home have been a bit unpleasant recently, so Yan Jiekuang decided to cook a meal for his parents himself. Yan Jiekuang said hello to his mother and went out to see if there were any vegetables available at the market.

Ji Lian originally wanted to go, but Yan Jiekuang said that she had finally got some rest, so she should spend more time with the children. So Ji Lian gave up the idea of ​​going to buy groceries.

Shi Xiaoya knew that Ji Lian was coming, so she went to the west wing to keep Ji Lian company, while Yang Ruiping teased Dapang and Xiaopang.

Yan Jiekuang came to a small street market near Chaoyangmen. Recently, many people from rural areas came here to sell vegetables, and over time it became a small market. There were also many people from the neighborhood who came here to buy vegetables, so Yan Jiekuang just strolled around.

It’s amazing that the dishes were quite complete. Yan Jiekuang first bought a rooster and held it in his hand, and then bought some seasonal vegetables.

After reaching the end of the market, Yan Jiekuang was about to go back. As he turned around, he saw a little boy of seven or eight years old and a little girl of three or four years old squatting on the ground in a corner of the street. A bunch of mushrooms were randomly placed on the ground. They seemed to be freshly picked. However, Yan Jiekuang saw that there were poisonous mushrooms mixed in the basket. It was estimated that the children did not know that these mushrooms were poisonous.

Yan Jiekuang walked over. Two children, dressed in rags, squatted there. The little girl hid behind the little boy. The little boy looked at Yan Jiekuang warily. Yan Jiekuang squatted down. The little boy had a dirty face. Yan Jiekuang asked, "Is this your mushroom?"

The little boy didn't say anything and nodded. The little girl hid herself behind the little boy and pulled the corner of the boy's clothes with her hands.

Yan Jiekuang said: "Don't be afraid, uncle is not a bad person, but you can't sell these mushrooms."

The little boy looked at Yan Jiekuang in confusion. Yan Jiekuang pointed at a few brightly colored mushrooms and said, "Little friend, these are poisonous and cannot be eaten. You can't sell them."

The little boy looked at his mushroom in surprise. At this time, the two children's stomachs started to growl. Yan Jiekuang had sharp ears. He looked at the two children, who were skinny, and asked, "Where are you from?"

The little boy shook his head and bit his lip, refusing to speak. Yan Jiekuang looked at the child, feeling distressed, and asked, "A stray?"

The little boy nodded. Yan Jiekuang was silent for a moment and said, "Well, little guy, if you believe me, come with me. I will treat you to a meal and give you a place to stay. If you don't believe me, there is nothing I can do."

The little boy hesitated. It was obvious that he had been through something and was now having a fierce ideological struggle.

Yan Jiekuang waited quietly without trying to persuade him. Five minutes later, Yan Jiekuang sighed, stood up, and turned around. "I'll go with you! I can work."

Yan Jiekuang was very pleased when he heard that the little boy still spoke with a Henan accent. He was pleased that the little boy trusted him. Yan Jiekuang smiled at the little boy and said, "Let's go. I'll take you somewhere today. Come home with me after dinner. Do you have anything to pack?"

"I don't have one. I only have a sister." said the little boy.

Yan Jiekuang led the siblings to the quadrangle. When they reached Courtyard No. 95, he did not go to the quadrangle but took them to the west wing. As soon as they entered the door, a young man came out, smiled and greeted them, saying, "Third brother, Brother Wang is out, why are you here?"

Yan Jiekuang saw that it was Wang Qing's subordinate, named Erxiao, and said, "Didn't you hire two little helpers? Do you have any clothes for children?"

Erxiao looked at the two kids behind Yan Jiekuang and said, "We don't have anything here. We have a lot, but they are all old clothes that we collected."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Find two sets according to their body shapes and let them change into them. Is there any food left?" It was already afternoon and every family had already eaten, including the purchasing station. He was not sure if there was any.

Erxiao said, "There's no leftovers. It's okay. I'll give them some noodles and some pickles."

"Okay, I'll leave them to you first. I don't dare to bring them to the courtyard for fear of scaring my parents. Please take care of them." Yan Jiekuang said.

Then he turned to the little boy and said, "Go change clothes and have a meal with this uncle first. I'm next door and will be here soon. Is that ok?"

The little boy nodded and said "yes". Yan Jiekuang was happy and raised his hand to touch the little boy's head. The little boy subconsciously dodged back. Yan Jiekuang was stunned for a moment. This child must have been bullied outside. He smiled and turned around to go to the courtyard.

When they returned to the courtyard, Yan Bugui still hadn't come back. Yan Jiekuang carried the dishes to the kitchen, thought for a moment, and called out, "Lian'er, come here." Ji Lian put down her work, walked in, and asked, "What's wrong? Are you too busy? Can you let me help?"

Yan Jiekuang hesitated for a moment and said, "When I was buying vegetables just now, I picked up two children, a brother and sister. The younger one is about the same age as our son, and the older one is about seven or eight years old, about the same age as Yongchang."

Ji Lian stared at Yan Jiekuang in surprise and asked, "Where is the child?"

"It's at the purchasing station next door. I plan to take it back to Yuer Hutong after dinner." Yan Jiekuang said.

As soon as Yan Jiekuang finished speaking, Ji Lian turned around and walked out. Yan Jiekuang understood immediately. Ji Lian and the old man were also members of the wandering army before. She might have a special kind of sympathy.

Yan Jiekuang followed Ji Lian and ran to the west wing. As soon as Ji Lian entered the courtyard, she asked Yan Jiekuang, "Where is it?"

Yan Jiekuang took a look and shouted, "Second Little!"

Erxiao came out of the room on the far right and said, "Third brother, here, the two children have just changed their clothes."

Ji Lian walked quickly into the house, followed closely by Yan Jiekuang and Erxiao. When Ji Lian saw the two thin children, tears fell from her eyes. The two children looked at the woman, a little confused and a little frightened, and the little girl immediately ran behind her brother.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Lian'er, take your time. I haven't asked them where they are from yet, but judging from their accents, they should be from Henan. Let them eat something first."

Ji Lian nodded, turned around and ran to the stove. Yan Jiekuang was relieved to see that Ji Lian did not object to him taking the child back. He looked at the little boy and said, "The clothes are old. This is the purchasing station. There are no new clothes. I will take you to buy some when we get home."

"Big, no need, this one is fine." said the little boy. The little girl secretly stuck her head out and nodded.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said to the little boy, "Come, sit down, let's get to know each other, okay?"

The little boy nodded, and the two of them sat at the dining table. The little girl snuggled up to her brother, but she no longer hid from Yan Jiekuang. She looked at Yan Jiekuang with her big watery eyes.

Yan Jiekuang asked, "My name is Yan Jiekuang. The person just now is my wife. You can just call her aunt. What's your name? Where are your parents?"

The little boy was a little sad when he heard Yan Jiekuang's question, and said, "My name is Shi Lei, this is my sister, Shi Li, my parents are dead, my uncle doesn't want us and kicked us out."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he frowned and asked, "Do you want to go back, or are you following me?"

The little boy said quickly: "I can work, I don't want to go back, he is not my uncle, my house has been repaid with debts, I have no place to live if I go back."

From Shi Lei's words, Yan Jiekuang knew that the brother and sister were determined not to return to that sad place. But they couldn't live there either. It seemed that after the great changes in his family, Shi Lei had become more mature than he should be at his age.

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, just follow me. I have two sons who are about the same age as your sister. How old are you?"

"Older, I'm seven years old and my sister is three years old." Shi Lei said.

Yan Jiekuang touched Shi Lei's head and said, "Let's eat first. I have to go cook for my parents. You wait for your aunt."

Shi Lei nodded, Yan Jiekuang said hello to Ji Lian and left. He had to prepare dinner for the Yan family.

(End of this chapter)