Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 265 Guangfu Returns
In July in the city, the hot afternoon weather gradually turned cooler. The trees on both sides of the street were filled with the chirping of cicadas. The alleys were full of old men and women who came to enjoy the cool air, gathering under the trees in groups of three or four, each holding a large palm-leaf fan.

Today is the weekend, and Yan Jiekuang did not go back to his parents' house in the morning, mainly because he did not want the children to go out before noon. In the afternoon, Yan Jiekuang set out with his four children and headed towards Courtyard No. 95.

When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, the four little guys ran to the front yard. Yan Jiekuang subconsciously looked towards his father's shop at the gate and saw a group of people gathered at the door of the store. Yan Jiekuang was a little curious and walked over.

It turned out that Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai were playing chess, but Yan Jiekuang was surprised by the number of people watching. Liu Guangfu, Sun Xiaolong, and Yi Jun were all there, and the rest were old men from the neighboring courtyards.

Yan Jiekuang walked forward and patted Liu Guangfu. Liu Guangfu turned around and saw Yan Jiekuang. He smiled and said, "You finally have time to come back?"

Yan Jiekuang asked, "I am an idle person, I just need to take care of the children. Are you here for vacation?"

Sun Xiaolong said nearby: "He is on vacation, a long vacation."

Yan Jiekuang looked at Liu Guangfu with some doubts. Liu Guangfu said, "I applied for unpaid leave and moved back here. My mother is back too."

Yan Jiekuang said, "It's good to be back. After all, we are in the Forbidden City. Can we have a drink tonight?"

Yi Jun said, "You have to drink. Ask your dad to keep some beer. Otherwise, there won't be enough in the evening."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Okay, in the backyard or in the front yard?"

Sun Xiaolong said, "Let's go to the front yard. Your cooking is delicious and it will be convenient for us to get wine."

Yan Jiekuang replied: "Okay, it's settled. I'll go home and take a look first."

Yan Jiekuang greeted a few people and went back to the yard. As soon as he entered the front yard, he saw four little guys surrounding Yan Yongchang and Yan Yongxin, each drinking a bottle of soda. Yan Jiekuang knew that it must have been his mother who brought them, as he didn't see his mother go to the store.

Yan Jiekuang asked, "Mom, where did you get it? You didn't go to my dad's place."

Yang Ruiping looked at his eldest son and said with a smile, "I have to thank your eldest brother for being so generous. His family bought a TV and a refrigerator, and he brought one to my family as well."

Yan Jiekuang was a little surprised when he heard this and said, "Is this still my elder brother? The sun rises from the west."

Yang Ruiping went up and patted Yan Jiekuang on the shoulder and said, "Who says that about your elder brother? By the way, where have you been?"

"I saw Liu Guangfu and chatted with him for a few words. By the way, he said we would get together in the evening. Do you have any food at home?" Yan Jiekuang said.

Yang Ruiping said: "There is meat in the refrigerator, and the only vegetables at home are green peppers and potatoes."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Then I'll go out and buy some." He was about to walk out of the yard, but Yang Ruiping shouted, "What do you want to buy? Go to your dad and see."

Yan Jiekuang slapped his forehead and said, "How could I forget about my father." Then he carried a basket of vegetables out of the yard and went straight to Yan Bugui's shop.

At the door, several people saw Yan Jiekuang coming to the store with a basket of vegetables. Yi Jun jokingly said, "Did you bring the money? Your father won't give you anything for free."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Others definitely can't do it, but me." After that, he walked into the store. He heard the sound of several people making bets from behind. Liu Guangfu and Sun Xiaoqiang said that Yan Jiekuang must pay. Yi Jun knew a little about the relationship between Yan Jiekuang and his father, so he insisted that he would not.

Yi Zhonghai, who was playing chess, said to himself, "Yan Laokou's nickname is not for nothing." Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement.

Yan Jiekuang walked into the store and went straight to his father, saying that he would get together with Liu Guangfu and the others in the evening and came to get some food. Yan Bugui said nonchalantly, "Choose for yourself. Oh, and make more. The kids are home today."

Yan Jiekuang picked some dishes and packed a piece of tofu. As he left, he said to Yan Bugui, "By the way, order some more beer to keep you cool at night."

Yan Bugui was counting the money and waving his hands impatiently. Liu Guangfu and others were watching at the door. When Yan Jiekuang came out, they gave him a thumbs up.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Drink more tonight. Do you want white wine?"

Liu Guangfu said, "I have white ones, don't worry about it." Yan Jiekuang nodded, carried the basket back to the yard, put down the basket in the kitchen, and took the meat out of the refrigerator. The meat was frozen very hard, so he quickly put it aside to thaw.

Time quickly came to evening. Sun Xiaolong and Yi Jun set up the table under the tree in the front yard early, while Zhou Nianping and Lin Li helped to serve the dishes. Yan Jiekuang copied two plates of each portion, one for sending outside and one for his family.

After a while, Yan Jiekuang finished cooking, a total of six hot dishes and four cold dishes. Sun Xiaolong got a large wooden basin, filled it with cold water, and soaked some lukewarm beer in it, because he felt that the box of iced beer that Yan Bugui brought was not enough.

Just when a few people started drinking, Yan Yongqing came with Yan Yongfang. As soon as Yan Yongqing entered the room, he saw that the guys were about to start drinking, so he ran over immediately, ignoring Yan Yongfang.

Yan Yongfang didn't care and went to his grandfather's house. Yan Yongqing came to Yan Jiekuang and said, "Uncle San, take me one. I want to drink something iced, too."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Everyone at this table is older than you. Why are you coming forward? We have it at home."

Sun Xiaolong said, "Find a chair and sit down. Don't listen to your uncle."

Yan Yongqing happily went home to move a chair. Liu Guangfu raised a glass and said that he would be a permanent resident in the future and hoped that everyone would take care of him.

Several people started drinking like this, even Lin Li and Zhou Nianping drank a bottle. They knew that this man would never stop drinking, so he went home alone after eating.

The drinking party started at nearly five o'clock, but unexpectedly, the team was slowly expanding. At around six o'clock, Jia Dongxu and Xu Delin joined in. Jia Dongxu even brought two dishes. At around seven o'clock, Xu Damao came back from work and did not even go to the backyard. He opened a bottle of beer and sat down without hesitation.

When it was past eight o'clock, He Yuzhu got off work. As soon as he entered the yard, he asked He Yumei and the children to go back first. Then, like Xu Damao, he opened a bottle of beer and joined in.

Everyone was chatting with each other, and the most talked about topic was asking Liu Guangfu how his brothers were doing. Liu Guangfu said they were all doing well, and maybe they would all come back in two years.

He Yuzhu asked Jia Dongxu, "Why haven't I seen Jia Geng and his wife for a long time?"

Jia Dongxu said proudly: "Haha, you don't know, my son was given a tube-shaped building, and he packed up and moved in. You know what, after moving in, his wife got pregnant. Do you think it's a Feng Shui issue?"

He Yuzhu said thoughtfully: "Jia Geng has been married for such a long time, and she got pregnant as soon as she moved. It may really be a feng shui problem."

Xu Damao and Xu Delin both fell into deep thought. Yan Jiekuang took a look and realized that these two had something in mind.

Yan Yongqing also interrupted at this time and said: "Sometimes a little action can really change things. Take my dad for example. His company doesn't have any benefits. They only give him some cloth during the Chinese New Year. Since my mom quit her job to open a shop, my dad's factory has also allocated him a tube building."

He Yuzhu shook his head and said, "If I hadn't left the steel mill, I would have been given a room too."

Xu Damao said, "Come on, how many houses can you buy with the money you earn?"

He Yuzhu was a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Come on, have a drink. Today we are welcoming Guangfu, so let's have a toast."

Everyone drank a cup together. At this time, Sun Xiaolong asked Liu Guangfu, "Are you coming back to join the company this time, or are you going to work alone like Brother Zhuzi?"

Liu Guangfu scratched his head and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. In fact, I don't think the unit I'm transferring to is a good one. I'm also considering it."

He Yuzhu was really careless with his words, and said directly: "Ask Yan Laosan, he has a lot of tricks."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he rolled his eyes and said, "How could I? Look at Brother Damao. He was in that situation, but he recovered in just two months."

Xu Damao said proudly: "That's right, I didn't even look at who my brother is, I got up where I fell."

Everyone laughed. Liu Guangfu knew that now was not the time to ask about this matter. He made up his mind to ask Yan Jiekuang out tomorrow no matter what.

At this time, the drinking party reached its climax, everyone was toasting each other and playing drinking games.

(End of this chapter)