Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 298 Delin is in trouble
On the day of the Little New Year, Tian Guixiang took the lead in cooking, and Sun Daming assisted her, preparing a table full of Shandong cuisine, various seafood and game.

The children were lighting firecrackers in the open space of the garden, Ji Lian and Yan Jie Kuang were making window decorations and lanterns, and soon Sun Daming came out to help. The whole yard was filled with red lanterns. Sun Daming said with a smile: "This is the taste of the Chinese New Year!"

Yan Jiekuang agreed deeply. The old man was also pushed to the middle courtyard by Ji Lian. Yan Jiekuang specially took out two bottles of Moutai from his collection. When Sun Daming saw it, his eyes widened. Yan Jiekuang said, "Drink something good during the New Year."

Ji Lian went to the backyard to call the children. After the family sat down, Grandpa Ji said, "Today is the New Year's Eve. I wish you all happiness in your family, progress in your studies, and good health. Cheers!"

After the whole family toasted, they started to eat. Grandpa Ji praised Tian Guixiang's cooking skills and said that this was authentic Shandong cuisine, no worse than Yan Jiekuang's palace cuisine.

Everyone was chatting, singing and laughing, and the meal lasted for two hours. When the table was cleared, Xiaopang shouted, "Save the remaining large intestine for me. I'll eat it tomorrow morning." Everyone laughed.

The children went out to play and the adults were chatting. Yan Jiekuang also revealed that he and Ji Lian were going to go abroad after the Chinese New Year. The invitation letter from an American company had already arrived in Beijing, but it was under review.

Sun Daming and his wife patted their chests and said that they would take care of the family, so Yan Jiekuang and his wife could rest assured.

After a while, Grandpa Ji and Sun Daming set up the chess game, and Ji Lian took Tian Guixiang to talk. The couple had agreed to give them this month's salary in advance and prepare some New Year's gifts for them, which they put in a basket in the northwest corner of the cellar. They were asked to take them back when they returned to the village. There were fish, shrimps, pheasants and pig hind legs.

Tian Guixiang said: "We have only been here for a few days, how can we take anything back?"

Ji Lian said, "We are a family from now on, don't be polite. Besides, you don't know what's in the cellar. There are so many things, how can the two of us eat them?" After refusing each other three or four times, Tian Guixiang finally nodded.

In Courtyard No. 95, Yi Zhonghai's home in the middle courtyard was bustling with people. There were Liu Haizhong's family, Jia Dongxu's family, Xu Delin's family, and Yi Zhonghai and his wife, setting up two large tables.

The men were drinking and the women were chatting. Except for Jia Dang and Huaihua who left after dinner, everyone else was very happy. Even Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu seemed to have forgotten that they had two daughters.

When they were drunk, Liu Haizhong asked Yi Zhonghai, "Old Yi, this year each family should get about 100,000 yuan."

As the director of the processing plant, Yi Zhonghai said proudly: "It's more than that. We will close the account on the 29th day of the lunar year and divide the money then."

Everyone cheered and rejoiced, but they didn't know that there was a figure outside the window who sneered, made a "Pah" sound and walked towards home.

Except for the central courtyard, which was bustling with activity, the other courtyards were quiet. Only Xu Damao's family was left in the backyard. Changcun's family had already returned to the countryside. After Changcun retired, his sons Chang Chuang and Chang Li were both apprentices of He Yuzhu. They earned a lot of money this year and returned to the countryside in glory.

The front yard was also quiet. Widow Wang and her son and grandson were eating the New Year's Eve dinner. Grandpa Sun was lying in bed and could not get up. His little grandson was serving him.

As the only wealthy family, the Yan family was deserted this year. The second son, who should have been at home, had a mission to accomplish and could not get away, so the only people who had dinner were Yan Bugui and his wife, Shi Xiaoya, Yongxin and Yongchang.

At the dining table in the middle courtyard, Jia Dongxu said, "Master, you said that the Yan family is usually the most lively, but why is there no movement this year? It feels so quiet?"

Yi Zhonghai took a sip of wine and said, "It was all caused by Old Third Yan. He lost 500,000 yuan and borrowed money everywhere. Anyway, I didn't borrow any money. I heard that Old Third Yan didn't take a penny. After Old Third Yan heard about it, he never came back."

Liu Haizhong said at the side: "I wouldn't lend it to you even if I were Yan Laoshen. It's a bottomless pit."

Liu Guangfu at another table frowned when he heard his father's words, but didn't say anything.

Xu Damao said, "I know about his eldest brother. Yi Jun left, and the house cost 600 yuan. Then, Boss Yan turned his eyes and set his sights on his father. He borrowed 300 yuan from Old Yan, but Old Yan asked for 30% interest. This made Boss Yan and his wife very angry, and they returned the money to Old Yan within a few days."

Yi Zhonghai picked up the wine glass and said, "Old Yan is as stingy as his reputation says. He is so cruel to his family members."

A group of people laughed and raised their glasses to celebrate. Most of the time during this banquet, people were laughing at Yan Bugui and Xu Damao as well.

Yan Bugui was drinking by himself at home. The second son was busy with his work and didn't come back. It was said that there would be no holiday for the New Year. There was a nationwide crackdown and everyone on the public security front was very busy. Shi Xiaoya and her mother-in-law cooked a meal, and after they finished eating, they arranged for the children to go to rest.

Yang Ruiping ignored Yan Bugui and went to the inner room after dinner. Yan Bugui looked at him but didn't dare to say anything and just started drinking by himself.

A few days after the Little New Year, when the 29th was approaching, the police raided Yi Zhonghai's processing factory. The reason was a business order. The order was for the main parts of a submachine gun, which was not allowed to be processed privately. However, Yi Zhonghai's processing factory happened to receive an order with a considerable processing fee, which was for this batch of parts.

This case involved spies, so everyone in the factory was detained in a different place.

When the news reached Siheyuan, there was crying everywhere. At that time, cases involving spies would result in execution by shooting, so most people were very pessimistic.

But within 24 hours, everyone was released. No one spoke and went home, except Xu Delin. Qin Jingru suddenly became anxious and ran directly to Yi Zhonghai's house to ask what was going on.

Yi Zhonghai didn't even open the door, he just said, "I don't know, ask the police station if you have any questions. I'm very tired."

Qin Jingru went to Jia's house. Jia Dongxu also said that he was very tired. He didn't know why exactly, but he knew that the two old men were interrogated for eight hours just like himself. The questions they were asked were always the same: whether they knew a Shanghainese named Shen. None of the three knew him, so they were released.

Qin Jingru went home disappointed. She planned to go check tomorrow morning to see if there was any news about Xu Delin. Qin Huairu saw Qin Jingru leaving and asked, "You really don't know what's going on?"

Jia Dongxu looked at his wife and said, "I roughly guessed it. I think my master knew the whole thing a long time ago, but he just refused to admit it."

Qin Huairu asked curiously, "What's going on? Why is there such a big fuss?"

"In the past two days, the factory received a batch of orders, which should be for firearms. The factory is processing them, which should be illegal. You think my master is an eighth-level worker and has been in the factory for so many years. How could he not know what he is processing? I guess he pretends not to know because the profit is huge." Jia Dongxu said. Qin Huairu was stunned and said, "It's over. This time the processing factory is completely finished. You are too bold."

Jia Dongxu said: "I really don't know. I guess Xu Delin was also fooled, but he was the leader of the contract, so he couldn't run away."

Qin Huairu shook his head and said, "Old people are always wise. If your master admits it, it's probably more serious than Xu Delin's. By the way, what about Jingru?"

"How would I know? I can hardly protect myself." Jia Dongxu said unhappily.

Qin Huairu was a little anxious and said, "That's my cousin. If something happens to Delin, what will happen to my cousin?"

Jia Dongxu said: "I think Xu Delin was also deceived. He may not know what's going on. I will take Jingru to check it out tomorrow."

Qin Huairu sighed and said, "This is the only way. I'll go see Jingru." Then he turned around and walked out.

Early in the morning of the 29th, Jia Dongxu and his wife took Qin Jingru to the police station. When they asked at the police station, the comrade who received them told them that Xu Delin had been transferred to another department, mainly because it involved ordnance and spies, and they had no control over the matter.

Several people went to the department in charge, but they just said, "No comment."

Several people returned home dejectedly. Qin Huairu said, "Isn't the second son of the Yan family in the public security system? Why don't we ask him?"

Jia Dongxu rolled his eyes and said, "You still don't understand. It has nothing to do with the police. What's the point of looking for him?"

Qin Jingru cried and said, "Brother-in-law, is there any other way? You have to give me a message no matter what."

Jia Dongxu shook his head helplessly. He really didn't know who to look for, and he didn't have the ability to do so.

In the afternoon, someone came to Qin Jingru's house. Two men in plain clothes brought a verdict notice and handed it to Qin Jingru. One of them said, "You are Xu Delin's wife, right? This is your wife's verdict. Please sign it."

Qin Jingru saw that Xu Delin was involved in privately forging gun parts and providing them to spies, and was sentenced to three years. Another person said, "This is a light sentence since he was not aware of it. Otherwise, it would have been more than ten years."

Qin Jingru signed the document and saw the two of them were about to leave, so she asked hurriedly, "Can I see him?"

The man said, "Sure, he's in the Sijiucheng Detention Center. You can go there tomorrow."

Qin Jingru nodded and quickly said thank you. After the two people left, Qin Jingru burst into tears. Qin Huairu heard the sound and hurried over to ask Qin Jingru what was wrong.

Qin Jingru told the story again. Qin Huairu sighed and said, "Why is it so fast?" Jia Dongxu behind him said, "I don't know if it's time to crack down on gangs and eliminate evil. Now they are punishing people quickly and severely. They are catching up with the wave."

Qin Huairu glared at Jia Dongxu and said, "It's already this hour, and you're still making sarcastic remarks. My sister doesn't know what to do. Xu Delin is in prison, and there's no man left at home. Most importantly, Xu Delin's money has been lost just like yours. What do you want my sister to do?"

Jia Dongxu sighed and said, "Let's ask Xu Delin tomorrow and see what he thinks. Delin is not bad."

After Jia Dongxu said this, Qin Jingru cried even louder, because she knew that although they had no children, Xu Delin had never treated her badly and never let her do any housework at home.

Jia Dongxu and his wife looked at each other and began to comfort Qin Jingru.

At this time, at Yi Zhonghai's home, Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai were drinking to drown their sorrows, because their factory was closed, they had many orders not completed, and they didn't know how to compensate them. When they heard Qin Jingru crying, Liu Haizhong stood up and wanted to go out to see.

Yi Zhonghai said: "What are you looking at? Can we help her? We have a lot of troubles to deal with. Let's just take care of ourselves."

When Liu Haizhong heard this, he realized that this was the truth, so he sat down again and asked, "Delin, how do we deal with this in the end?"

"What can we do? The lightest sentence is three years of re-education through labor. That's good. Fortunately he doesn't know anything. If he knew what was going on in advance, he would be in trouble." Yi Zhonghai said after taking a sip of wine.

Liu Haizhong also had a drink and asked, "What about those orders? We can't afford to pay for them."

Yi Zhonghai thought for a while and said, "Let's go find our apprentice tomorrow and see if we can transfer it, even if it means a small loss of money. Otherwise, we will have to go begging."

Liu Haizhong nodded, and then asked: "Do you want to call your apprentice Jia Dongxu?"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and said, "I think I should stay away from him this time. Haven't you noticed that as long as he has a share in the business, something bad will happen. This is the nth time. I feel that he and I are not compatible. I am very lucky that Jia Zhang didn't come to my house to make trouble. I have to stay away from him in the future."

Liu Haizhong thought about it and said, "You know what, it's true."

"Okay, let's stop talking about this and have a drink." Yi Zhonghai said.

The two old men drank together at home until late at night.

(End of this chapter)