Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 255 Getting back on track
This year's Spring Festival is also the beginning of spring, which is very rare in history. Except for the fact that Yan Jiefang did not come back, which was a bit regrettable, the Yan family as a whole was still happy. Yan Jiefang went out on the 29th day of the lunar year and no one in the family knew about it.

On this day, Wang Qing found Yan Jiekuang and told him that the three-in-one courtyard house next to the Summer Palace, including the two side courtyards, had been vacated. The owner was in great need of money and wanted to sell it urgently. So Yan Jiekuang went there with Wang Qing that day. Before, except for the backyard, the courtyard was used by relevant units, so there was not much renovation and the original outline could be roughly seen.

In the yard, Yan Jiekuang met the seller, a middle-aged man in his forties, but his hair was already gray. At first glance, he looked like a man in his fifties or sixties. Yan Jiekuang could see that this man had suffered a lot in life. The seller's surname was Jin, and he did not tell Yan Jiekuang his name, as if he did not want anyone to know him. Yan Jiekuang tactfully did not ask any further questions, and Mr. Jin directly quoted a price of twenty thousand US dollars.

Yan Jiekuang frowned at first, as he was used to bargaining, but Mr. Jin said, "Sir, my house was just returned according to the policy. I was able to build a house here. You can probably guess who I am. I want to live far away from home. This is a one-time deal between us. You know how much this house is worth. If you can buy it, then buy it. If you can't, we can just treat it as a stroll in the garden."

Yan Jiekuang knew after hearing this that Mr. Jin was a man of foresight, so he stopped playing around and just made the decision to buy it. Wang Qing followed behind Yan Jiekuang and asked in a low voice, "Brother, why don't you bargain for a better price?"

Yan Jiekuang replied in a low voice: "Bargaining in front of wise people is the behavior of a clown."

The three of them quickly completed the relevant formalities. The title deed and land deeds of the courtyard were all complete. In addition, Mr. Jin presented the loan receipt and debt contract in front of the street office staff. The transfer went smoothly. Yan Jiekuang said goodbye to Mr. Jin and said, "Everything is temporary. Come back and have a look when you have the chance."

Mr. Jin nodded with a smile, then said, "When I can defeat cancer, I will come back." Then he turned around and walked away in a cool manner.

Wang Qing stood there in a daze. Yan Jiekuang had been looking at Mr. Jin's back. Only then did he realize that Mr. Jin did not have much time left and had lost all confidence in this land.

Yan Jiekuang came back to his senses, looked at Wang Qing and said, "After the 15th, ask Wang Xuan to come to the hotel to find me. I want to restore this place to its original state."

After the two separated, Yan Jiekuang was in a bad mood, because in the past ten years, too many people had walked paths that they should not have walked. Some people were determined, while others were hesitant and wavering, but after all, they were all family members, so what was there to be unhappy about?

On New Year's Eve, the courtyard was really bustling with people, and every household was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns. This year was a new beginning, and every household had something to look forward to. Yan Jiekuang specially bought a lot of fireworks and firecrackers and placed them in the small room next to the north.

Yan Yongfang and Yan Yongchang followed him around all day, their main purpose was to get the key to the small room. In the end, Yan Jiekuang couldn't handle all these kids, so he gave the key to Yan Yongchang, which caused Yang Ruiping to complain.

A lively Spring Festival passed, and the whole courtyard was filled with a joyful and peaceful atmosphere, but there were only two families with no movement at all, namely Yi Zhonghai's family in the middle courtyard, and Liu Haizhong's family in the back yard. It was said that Liu Haizhong had gone to Tianjin to celebrate the New Year with his eldest and third sons.

After the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Yan Jiekuang waited for Wang Xuan, but he did not give full authority to the project of the Summer Palace courtyard to Wang Xuan. He also found Lao Liu from the former archaeological institute and asked Lao Liu to be a consultant. The hard requirement was to restore the original courtyard as much as possible while ensuring the safety of water and electricity and ensuring normal modern life.

This was a very demanding task. Lao Liu had retired, but he had worked in the Forbidden City for many years. He used his connections to finally find the original architectural drawings of the courtyard. Yan Jiekuang had seen the Lei family's drawings, which were very detailed. Wang Xuan really took them seriously this time, because Yan Jiekuang had told him, "If it cannot be restored, this courtyard does not deserve to be outside the Summer Palace."

As a consultant, Yan Jiekuang offered Lao Liu a salary of 100 yuan a month. After the yard was completed, Lao Liu still understood that even if he was paid 10 or 20 yuan, he would still do his job conscientiously. While the yard was being repaired, Yan Jiekuang's restaurant had also started construction. This month was the last month for his apprentices to be evaluated. At the end of this month, Yan Jiekuang would evaluate Wei Xiaobao, Yin Liguo and Yang Qingwei, and inform them that they would be officially accepted as apprentices if they passed the evaluation.

The three apprentices all received a salary from Yan Jiekuang's restaurant, about 150 yuan. When the three took the money home, their family members were very surprised. They did not expect Yan Jiekuang to take such good care of these children. Every family's income has changed because of the children, and of course it is a good change. The family members seemed to be telling the three children to make sure they take Yan Jiekuang as their teacher.

Especially Wei Xiaobao, who dropped out of school early and was the second child in the family. His elder brother, sister-in-law and parents were all farmers at home, and he had three younger brothers and sisters. After Xiaobao got the money, he didn't dare to spend a penny. He hid it carefully, and then took it back home on a day off. The family was very surprised. If they didn't know that Xiaobao had been honest and upright since childhood, they would have thought that he had gone astray.

When she learned that it was her master who opened a shop and she also had a salary, Xiaobao's mother cried, secretly shedding tears. This money really solved a big problem at home, but she also reminded her to spend money when it should be spent and not to be stingy all the time. Xiaobao smiled naively and said that his was very good, with free food and accommodation, and the shop also taught him skills. Now that he had a salary, he would follow his master for the rest of his life.

In fact, the three children have worked very hard, and Yan Jiekuang can see it, but he just doesn't want to assess them. Yan Jiekuang also wants to accept them as his disciples, but Yan Jiekuang wants to train his disciples, so he insisted on assessing them.

As time passed, Yan Jiekuang's restaurant was doing smoothly. Apart from Yan Bugui who always came to eat and buy on credit when he had nothing to do, he had no worries. The district leaders even came to visit and met with Yan Jiekuang, encouraging him to not be afraid of wind and rain and to play a leading role of the times. In the days that followed, the restaurant became even more famous because it was featured in the Beijing Daily. Although it was a short report, it could not withstand the enthusiasm of the men of Beijing, and usually this place became a gathering place for the men of Beijing.

Yan Jiekuang also completely opened up the second floor. Now the restaurant is always packed at noon and in the evening, with each table having more than two people.

By the end of August 1, Yan Jiekuang was completely freed from the restaurant, and the position of head chef was handed over to Yin Liguo, Wei Xiaobao and Yang Liwei. Why? Because Yin Liguo was the eldest brother, not because he had the best talent. When he accepted disciples before, he accepted three of them at once, and he could only rank them according to age. Yin Liguo was the eldest, Yang Liwei was the second, and Wei Xiaobao was the youngest, but the three of them had the best relationship and no one cared.

As the restaurant manager, Wang Qing was already able to handle things on his own. He managed the purchasing, kitchen, service, and cashiering finances in an orderly manner. Yan Jiekuang let go of everything. But after letting go, Yan Jiekuang also told Wang Qing to find some temporary workers, some kitchen workers and some waiters. Wang Qing was very confused because the restaurant was running normally with the current staff. Yan Jiekuang patted him on the shoulder and said, "We have to prepare for the second store. I'll go out for an inspection during this time."

Yan Jiekuang had completely let go of Yan's Restaurant, and it was time for him to take a good rest. When Yan Jiekuang returned home, Aunt Wang was very surprised and asked, "Shouldn't we be in the restaurant at this time?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "I can finally let go. I'm no longer needed there. During this time, I need to have a good rest."

Aunt Wang also smiled and said, "That's great. By the way, if you have time, come back to Courtyard No. 95. Your mother is looking for you. She came this morning."

Yan Jiekuang was very confused. Yang Ruiping was not someone who would easily come to him. He knew his mother best, and she was afraid of causing trouble for her son. Yan Jiekuang did not dare to delay. He packed up, kissed his three little babies, and rode his bicycle straight to the No. 95 courtyard.

(End of this chapter)