Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 296 Fading away
After dinner, Yan Jiekuang and Ji Lian took the children for a stroll in the garden and went straight back to their study, which was now a connected study room consisting of three western wing rooms.

A separate children's study area is specially set up on the south side, with a huge table and a circle of small benches around it. The south and east walls are one and a half meter long bookshelves, with various picture books, encyclopedias, elementary school reference books and story books. Although the bookshelves are not high, they are very long. On the north side is a wooden hollow partition with a moon gate in the middle. Stationery, paintbrushes and various intellectual toys are placed on the partition.

Several children are reading books here, and some are drawing. One of them is the maverick little Fatty.

Ji Lian and Yan Jiekuang were sitting on the north side of the study, where there was also a large table, but it was taller than the one in the children's area, and the chairs were all armchairs. The bookshelves that reached the ceiling on both walls were filled with Yan Jiekuang's collection of books, including classics, history, humanities, local chronicles, various recipes, and various novels from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, both in Chinese and English.

At this time, Ji Lian was holding an English version of The Red and the Black, reading it while drinking tea.

Yan Jiekuang was reading a local chronicle and discussing the interesting parts with Ji Lian. The study was quiet and peaceful. Yan Jiekuang liked the sight of a family reading together, so he designed the study carefully. On the side near the door and under the windows were various potted plants and flowers.

Ji Lian was a little tired of reading, so she put a bookmark on the page she was reading, closed the book, and looked up at Yan Jiekuang, who had also closed his book. Ji Lian asked, "What are your plans for the New Year this year?"

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "Let's celebrate this year on our own and bring Mr. Ji over. We can go home on New Year's Day."

Ji Lian knew that Yan Jiekuang had a grudge against Courtyard No. 95 in his heart, and it would not be eliminated in a day or two, so she smiled and said, "Then let's prepare more delicious food, and we will eat from the second to the fifteenth day of the New Year."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "I will go to Tianjin tomorrow to check out the seafood there and buy some good stuff."

Ji Lian asked: "Then should we send some festival gifts to those families?"

Yan Jiekuang shook his head and said, "Forget it. When I was in trouble, no one showed up. That means they don't care about me at all. Why should I bother to show up?"

Ji Lian shook her head and said, "I'm also quite surprised. Even Sister Xu and Sister Chen haven't come here to take a look or ask a question."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "The most important thing for a person is to rely on himself. Other things are not important."

Ji Lian walked over to refill Yan Jiekuang's tea and said, "Did you see through many people and many things this time?"

Yan Jiekuang took a sip and said, "Yes, it's better to see clearly. Only when you see clearly will you know how to walk the future path. I will make big moves this year. I will go abroad after March."

Ji Lian asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you can go and help me, but what about the children?"

Ji Lian took a sip of tea and said, "I'll ask Yang Lifen to help me find two nannies, and then bring my mother over, and then there will be no problem." Yan Jiekuang nodded in agreement.

The couple chatted for a while, and Ji Lian urged the children to go to bed, but Xiao Pang gave the painting to Yan Jiekuang as if he was presenting a treasure. Yan Jiekuang was delighted when he saw it, and asked: "You painted our family, right? But who are these two people with pigtails?"

Xiaopang looked at her and said, "Little sister."

Shi Li came over to take a look and said, "I have short hair, how can I have a pigtail?"

Xiaopang said, "In the future, I like girls with braids."

Yan Jiekuang asked casually, "Does your deskmate have pigtails?"

Xiaopang said, "Yes, it's very beautiful." Shi Lei, who was standing nearby, laughed out loud when he heard it, leaving Xiaopang confused.

Yan Jiekuang said, "I will let my little baby grow long hair tomorrow, go to bed now."

Big Fat pulled Little Fat over and walked towards the backyard muttering to himself. Shi Lei was still laughing and took his sister away as well.

Yan Jiekuang said to Ji Lian: "Your son Xiaopang's first love just showed up like that."

"Don't talk nonsense. He is so young, what does he know?" Ji Lian also hurried to the backyard. Yan Jiekuang was drinking tea alone in the study.

In Courtyard No. 95, Yang Ruiping sat at home alone, drinking tea and staring out the window in a daze. She was thinking about the third brother. She wondered if the third brother was annoyed with this courtyard since the accident, and he also hated the people in this courtyard. He never came here once since he left.

The door rang, and Yan Jiecheng came in with two bottles of wine. As soon as he entered the house, he shouted, "Mom, isn't it the Little New Year? I bought some wine for my dad. Is he home?"

Yang Ruiping didn't know what Yan Jiecheng meant, so he said, "He's not here. Besides, it's still a long way to the New Year's Eve. What's the matter?"

Yan Jiecheng's eyes were a little evasive and he said, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm just sending two bottles of wine. I'll go to the store to check." After that, he put the wine on the eight-immortals table, turned around and left.

Yang Ruiping didn't know what Yan Jiecheng was up to, and she didn't want to know. Ever since she went to help the third brother and failed to borrow money from Yan Jiecheng's house, Yang Ruiping felt that the eldest brother's family was a little cold-blooded, especially Yu Li, who was hiding from Ji Lian so badly, for fear of getting stuck with her.

Yang Ruiping couldn't stay any longer as he thought about it, and wanted to go to Lao San's house, but when he looked at the time, it was almost eight o'clock. Forget it, decide to go tomorrow.

At this time, the sound of several people talking was heard outside the window. Yang Ruiping looked up and saw Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Jia Dongxu and Xu Delin talking and laughing as they walked towards the central courtyard.

Yang Ruiping thought of the ugly faces of these families and the reasons why the captain rejected you. Yang Ruiping pouted and said to himself, "They are not good people."

Yang Ruiping turned around and went to the inner room, washed up, and went to bed.

Yi Zhonghai and his processing factory are now receiving continuous orders and making considerable profits. Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong are in charge of the work in the factory, Jia Dongxu is responsible for attracting orders, and Xu Delin is responsible for technical support. They work together quite well.

Jia Dongxu's wives Qin Huairu and Qin Jingru also opened shops. They took turns looking after the shops, while Jia Xiaobao was responsible for purchasing goods, riding a tricycle around the world all day looking for sources of goods.

It seemed that several families were doing well, but Xu Damao felt more and more unbalanced. Although he still had some savings now, he didn't have any good opportunities. He couldn't do the movie and video hall business anymore, as he had already registered with the higher authorities. Xu Wude was also helping him think of a solution.

Xu Damao wanted to find some ways, so he often invited his friends to dinner, but recently he found that Chunfenglou and Chaofengzhai were closed. He was a little puzzled and confused. Curiosity prompted him to go to He's Shuxiangxuan to inquire, after all, Yan Laosan and He Yuzhu were quite close.

Xu Damao found Fatty and called him to a corner outside. Fatty knew Xu Damao, but they had never dealt with each other. Xu Damao immediately gave Fatty two boxes of Daqianmen. Fatty refused for a while and said, "Brother Damao, what's the matter? I will tell you what I know. You don't need cigarettes."

Xu Damao asked, "I have a question for you. Why are Chunfeng Pavilion and Chaofengzhai closed?"

The fat man smiled and said, "If you want to ask about other things, I may not know the answer, but I do know this: the two stores are closed. The investors gave them a month off, and they will reopen on the 16th day of the first lunar month."

Xu Damao was stunned. "What is an investor?"

The fat man looked around and said, "I'm telling you, you can't spread it. My childhood friend works as a kitchen helper there and he told me about this. The investor is the boss behind the scenes. According to my childhood friend, he's very capable. Last year, the two stores made a net profit of nearly one million. He just gave bonuses to employees before the holiday and we're off for another month."

Xu Damao seemed to be thinking about something, and said stubbornly: "What's so great about this? One million a year is normal."

The fat man went on to say, "You don't even know how much bonus was given. The cooks got 5,000, the foreman 8,000, and the manager 10,000. It was paid directly in cash, and when we went to withdraw the money, the police escorted us back."

Xu Damao was quite shocked. This was no small amount of money. A foreman's bonus was more than what he earned in a year.

Xu Damao asked: "Do you know who that investor is?"

The fat man said frustratedly: "I asked him, but he refused to tell me. He said he would be fired if anything happened. He just said that the man rarely showed up in the store."

Xu Damao was trying to see if he could find the investor and see if there was any chance for cooperation, so he asked Fatty about it, and tried his best to find out.

Xu Damao thanked the fat man, stuffed the cigarette into the fat man's arms, turned around and left.

When Xu Damao walked to the door, he saw Yi Jun moving and his wife was helping. He asked, "Yi Jun, what are you doing?"

Yi Jun turned around and saw that it was Xu Damao. He said, "Brother Damao, I'm going to be transferred to another job. It's not convenient to live here anymore. I'm moving to my father-in-law's place."

Yi Jun didn't dare to tell the truth to Xu Damao. He knew very well what kind of person Xu Damao was. It would be better to keep out of trouble than to make more.

Xu Damao asked, "Then you will return this house to the factory?"

Yi Jun shook his head and said, "I bought this house when the property was transferred from public to private. I still owed Yan Jiecheng 600 yuan when I left, so I used the house as collateral. This house belongs to Yan Jiecheng now."

Xu Damao thought to himself, I don't believe you, but on the surface he still said, "When you have time, come back more often. We have been neighbors for many years, we should get together more often."

Yi Jun quickly agreed, and Xu Damao walked towards the backyard. There were not many people in the middle yard and the backyard, except for a few old people at home, and they didn't go out, making the yard seem deserted.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw my father Xu Wood and mother drinking wine and listening to the radio at home, looking so leisurely.

Xu Damao went to the kitchen and took out a set of bowls and chopsticks and a wine glass. He sat next to his father and poured himself a glass. He drank half of it in one gulp. His mother quickly shouted, "Slow down. Why are you drinking so fast?"

Xu Wude looked at Xu Damao and said, "Why don't you have any ideas? Are you worried?"

"Yes, Dad, look at this yard, those who are doing business are doing business, and those who have no connections are looking for ways. I have no idea at all." Xu Damao said.

Xu Wood thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you ask someone to find a job for you? It's stable."

"No, I'm focused on making a lot of money, and you send me to work. I only earn a few dozen dollars a month. What can I do with that?" Xu Damao said.

"Hey, you are wrong. They only look prosperous on the surface, but actually they don't make that much money. Some even have risks. Take the third son of the Yan family as an example. He became a pauper in just a few months." Xu Wude said.

Xu Damao was a little skeptical of his father's words and asked, "Really?"

"Come, let's have a drink and I'll analyze it for you." Xu Wude said.

The father and son clinked glasses and drank them all.

Xu Wude said, "Let's talk about Yi Zhonghai and his team first. They run a processing plant and are trying to snatch orders from state-owned units. It's okay for one or two orders, but if it goes on for a long time, do you think they will be closed down? Even if it's not for this reason, someone might place a military order one day. Once they accept it, it will be a big deal. You've worked in a steel mill, so you must know this."

Xu Damao nodded and said, "That's true."

"Speaking of He Yuzhu, his restaurant is good, but He Yuzhu has a problem. He always keeps some skills back, and none of his apprentices have successfully learned the skills. Over time, there will definitely be conflicts. Besides, the steel rolling mill allows him to work so freely, but in the future he will have to make a choice. Either resign and continue to run the restaurant, or go to work honestly. The same goes for his apprentices." After Xu Wude finished speaking, he took a sip of wine.

Xu Damao nodded in agreement, and Xu Wude continued, "Yan Bugui doesn't have to wait too long. There are many people who want to open shops now. Have you seen the yard across from him open?"

Xu Damao said, "I saw it. I thought it was more convenient to walk to that place."

Xu Wude smiled and said, "That family is also going to open a store. I heard that their uncle is the head of the city's supply and marketing department. Old Yan can't keep it open for long."

Xu Damao said: "So what you said is that only the Yan family has developed the best?"

Xu Wude smiled mysteriously and said, "I guess so, but as long as someone is determined to find out his supply channels and directly negotiate a large purchase, his goods will probably be in tatters. As far as I know, Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li have inherited Yan's stingy character and purchase very little at a time. If there is a large purchase, they will probably lose a lot of money."

Xu Damao's eyes lit up. His father had shown him a way to make money.

Xu Damao respectfully toasted Xu Wude and said, "Thank you, Dad. The older you are, the wiser you are."

(End of this chapter)