Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 281: Returning Home
At noon on New Year's Eve, Yan Jiekuang went directly to the restaurant opposite the hospital. The female boss greeted him warmly and said that she had been waiting for him all morning. Yan Jiekuang asked, "I came here to cook a few dishes. What can I do for you?"

The female boss smiled and said, "You are such a forgetful person. Didn't you promise to cook a table of dishes for me?"

"Yes, today?" Yan Jiekuang replied.

The female boss nodded and said, "I would like to ask you to prepare a New Year's Eve dinner for me to eat at my own home. Is that okay with you?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "That's fine. I mainly cook palace dishes. Please bear with me if I'm not good at cooking. I don't have to cook any other dishes. I'll just pack a few for you."

The female boss was very happy. She asked several kitchen workers to cooperate with Yan Jiekuang. Then she took Yan Jiekuang to the kitchen and said that the kitchen was left to him.

Yan Jiekuang looked at the dazzling array of ingredients and felt very envious. It was worthy of being the capital of food. Where did these ingredients come from?

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and decided to make ten dishes and one soup, which meant perfection. Then he led the cooks to prepare the ingredients, and gave them some advice from time to time.

Yan Jiekuang cooked ten dishes including anchovy shark fin, red plum pearl fragrance, Kung Pao wild rabbit, two flying dragons, stir-fried frogs, stir-fried pigeon with coriander, eight-treasure wild duck, golden bergamot rolls, stir-fried cuttlefish shreds and casserole braised deer tendons, and abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin and fish belly soup as the soup.

Yan Jiekuang packed up four of the dishes and the soup separately, put them in a bamboo basket and walked out of the kitchen. The female boss was very impressed with Yan Jiekuang's cooking skills. She tasted each one and resisted the urge to take another bite.

Yan Jiekuang greeted the female boss and said that he would put the tableware at the door of the restaurant tomorrow morning and collect it when they came to work. The female boss thanked him repeatedly. Yan Jiekuang waved his hand, walked away in a cool manner, and went straight to the ward.

When Yan Jiekuang carried the bamboo basket to the ward, the two guards stared at the basket. Yan Jiekuang said, "You are in for a treat today. These are all good things."

Yan Jiefang watched Yan Jiekuang come in and said, "When I heard the sound of firecrackers outside, I knew you were coming. I didn't even have lunch."

Yan Jiekuang put the dishes on the table one by one, and finally a large bowl of abalone, shark's fin, and pig's belly soup. Xiao Liu said, "Why don't I set aside some and take it out to eat with Xiao Yan? Today is New Year's Eve, so we don't need to take turns."

Yan Jiefang laughed and said, "Yes, we will eat together. You guys will be outside and we will be inside. Let's have the New Year's Eve dinner together."

Yan Jiekuang helped to divide it into two portions, Xiao Liu set up a table at the door, and the two of them happily started eating.

The two brothers, Yan Jiekuang, started eating in the ward. Yan Jiekuang said, "I don't know what we eat at home. You don't know. The New Year's Eve dinner ingredients prepared by the restaurant owner are, to be honest, the most complete I've ever seen. If I'm in a good mood, I can prepare a full banquet for her."

Yan Jiefang asked in surprise: "Really? Then these are the most expensive ones?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "Yes, I can't get deer tendons, shark fins, abalone, and frogs."

Yan Jiefang stopped talking and started eating with big mouthfuls. The two brothers happily spent the New Year's Eve of 1983 together.

Yan Jiekuang stopped cooking for himself these few days because the restaurant was closed. He went to check on it these days and the tableware he sent was still placed at the door of the restaurant. Yan Jiekuang did not stay with Yan Jiefang all day long. He also walked around to see the city of Guangzhou and experience the local customs and culture.

After the fifth day of the New Year, Yan Jiefang kept chasing Yan Jiekuang away. In fact, Yan Jiekuang knew that there was no point for him to stay there, but he had agreed to the task of comforting Yan Jiekuang as promised by Captain Wang, so he stayed there and refused to leave.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Yan Jiefang had his stitches removed. Old Wu flew over specially to watch Yan Jiefang have the stitches removed. Yan Jiekuang was also watching nearby. Old Wu's final summary was perfect.

On the same day, people from the military district came and Yan Jiekuang was driven away. Yan Jiekuang met with the people from the military district. Yan Jiekuang vaguely felt that it was related to asking his second brother to retire, but he didn't know what they talked about.

On the tenth day, which was February 22, Yan Jiefang issued an ultimatum to Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang did not ask why, because he did not want to offend his second brother, so he said goodbye to him. His second brother gave him a letter of introduction from the military district. Yan Jiekuang bought a train ticket to Sijiucheng and left. Before leaving, Yan Jiefang smiled and said, "I will be back soon. Tell Xiaoya."

Another three days and two nights passed, and Yan Jiekuang swore that he would never take a train again. When he got home, it was the fourteenth day of the first lunar month. The next day was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. Yan Jiekuang got off the train and went straight to Yuer Hutong. When he got home, he found the door was locked. He opened the door and went to boil some water. He was already smelling terrible.

After washing up and changing clothes, Yan Jiekuang made himself a bowl of noodles and ate it in a hurry. He felt a little more energetic. He made himself a cup of tea and sat in the study, thinking about his second brother. He knew that his second brother had agreed to retire and would probably be back soon after he was discharged from the hospital. He suddenly felt that the world was so peaceful. At least his second brother was still alive and well.

Unconsciously, Yan Jiekuang fell asleep, and when he woke up again, it was already evening. Yan Jiekuang had planned to send some New Year's goods to his relatives and friends before the New Year, but this delay made him miss the opportunity. Yan Jiekuang had no plans to go out today, so he grabbed some food and headed for the courtyard.

When Yan Jiekuang walked into the courtyard, he saw the children playing crazily in the yard. As soon as Da Pang and Xiao Pang saw their father, they burst into tears and hugged their father's thighs and said, "Dad, don't you want us anymore?"

Yan Jiekuang was bewildered. He picked up his two sons and said, "No way, Dad had something urgent to do, so I went out. How could I not want you?" At this time, Shi Lei and Shi Li also came over. Shi Li reached out for a hug, but Shi Lei held back his tears. Yan Jiekuang asked Shi Lei what happened?
Shi Lei said, "You suddenly disappeared, and your grandma and grandpa scolded you every day at home, saying that you have no conscience and that you didn't come home during the New Year. They also said that you didn't want this family anymore." Yan Jiekuang understood as soon as he heard it. Although the child seemed fine on the surface, he took his grandma and grandpa's words to heart and took them seriously. Yan Jiekuang quickly admitted his mistake, saying that there was a reason for it, and then took the children home. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Yan Bugui and his wife, whose faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.

Just as Yan Jiekuang was about to explain, the two of them started scolding him. Yan Jiekuang saw that he didn't want to explain anymore, as the more he explained, the more confusing it became, so he just endured it silently. In the end, Ji Lian, who was scolding beside them, even shed tears, and only then did the old couple stop.

Yan Jiekuang said, "It's not enough that I was wrong. Calm down. I'll cook today as an apology to everyone."

Yang Ruiping said: "Is it about a meal? You didn't take this seriously and disappeared during the New Year."

Yan Jiekuang didn't explain and just silently carried the ingredients to the kitchen.

During dinner, the old couple kept asking him where he had been. Yan Jiekuang insisted that something happened at his classmate's house and he went to Hong Kong Island. Yan Bugui looked upset, but did not ask any more questions.

Later, Yan Jiekuang secretly found Shi Xiaoya and told her the news that his second brother was about to retire. Shi Xiaoya was very surprised and kept asking him how he knew. Yan Jiekuang said that he met his second brother's leader, Captain Wang Xuedong. Shi Xiaoya was instantly happy and thanked Yan Jiekuang for telling her the good news.

On the fifteenth day, Yan Jiekuang finally coaxed Yang Ruiping into submission. Yang Ruiping had been complaining to him that they were all family and why couldn't he talk to him first if there was anything.

Yan Jiekuang asked if anything happened during the New Year. Yang Ruiping was stunned and asked, "How do you know about the Jia family?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "What do I know? I am just asking you."

Yang Ruiping smiled mysteriously and said, "This year, there were only four people from the Jia family who celebrated the New Year, Jia Zhang, Jia Dongxu and his wife, and Jia Xiaobao. The rest did not come back. Jia Zhang started to curse at home from the 30th day until the second day of the New Year. Later, Yi Zhonghai might have been annoyed and went to persuade him. Jia Zhang was already angry, so she turned her anger on Yi Zhonghai and blocked the door of Yi Zhonghai's house from the third day of the New Year, cursing until the sixth day."

Yan Jiekuang was very clear about Jia Zhang's fighting ability, especially as she got older, she became even more unreasonable.

Yan Jiekuang asked, "Yi Zhonghai thinks he is so respected and magnanimous that he is in charge of everything. However, it is not right for the children of the Jia family not to come back."

Yang Ruiping rolled his eyes at him and said, "You still know that? You know to run away during the New Year."

Yan Jiekuang was choked up for a moment. Yang Ruiping said, "Didn't Jia Geng miscarry his first child in 1977 or 1978? He felt that the feng shui here was bad. Now that she's finally pregnant again, she refuses to come back and stays in his tube-shaped building."

"What about Xiaodang and Huaihua?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yang Ruiping said, "I heard from Qin Huairu that he went out to teach, saying that the place was too far away and he would not come back. Suddenly, the Jia family became deserted."

Yan Jiekuang really didn't know about this. He hadn't seen Xiaodang and Huaihua for a long time. Yan Jiekuang whispered to his mother, "Don't worry, our family will be united soon."

"What do you mean?" Yang Ruiping asked.

Yan Jiekuang used the same excuse, saying, "I met my second brother's leader at the funeral of my classmate's father. He told me that my second brother would retire in less than two months."

"Really?" Yang Ruiping almost jumped up, and Yan Jiekuang nodded heavily.

"Amitabha, I don't have to worry anymore. Did you tell me the specific time?" Yang Ruiping asked.

Yan Jiekuang shook his head and said, "There is no specific time for this matter, but your second son will definitely be back soon."

Yang Ruiping was in a very happy mood, with a smile on her face. Suddenly, she turned to Yan Jiekuang and asked, "Why didn't you go home during the New Year? Did you go to look for your second brother?"

Yan Jiekuang's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately shook his head and said, "No way, my classmate really had something to do, it was just a coincidence."

Yang Ruiping looked at Yan Jiekuang with a sincere face and went out happily. Yan Jiekuang guessed that she was going to find Yan Bugui.

Yan Jiekuang let out a long sigh, and hurried to the backyard to find Ji Lian, and then hurried back to Yuer Hutong, otherwise one of his words might be exposed.

(End of this chapter)