Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 308: Six Auspicious Signs
Yan Jiekuang was wearing old blue pants, black velvet cotton shoes, and a black coat. He was pushing a stroller with Xiaohai and Xixi wrapped up tightly in it. Next to him was Shi Li, who was wearing a red tweed children's coat. They strolled to Courtyard No. 95.

Yesterday, Ji Lian said his mother asked him to go back, saying that she had something to talk to him about. Before he entered the courtyard, he saw He Yuzhu. Yan Jiekuang was surprised and asked, "Good morning, brother Zhuzi, are you not opening the store?"

When He Yuzhu saw that it was Yan Jiekuang, he said, "Good morning, Third Brother. Have you eaten?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "I have eaten, but it is strange to see you at this time. Doesn't your Shuxiangxuan need you?"

He Yuzhu waved his hand and said, "My apprentice Ma Hua has graduated, so I handed the responsibility to him. My wife and sister are in charge of the business, so I have nothing to do. By the way, what are you busy with?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "I'm not busy, just doing some small business. I just came back from the south before the New Year. What are you doing?"

He Yuzhu said, "It's the leader who asked me to go. I don't have time normally, but now that I have time, I have to go."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Then hurry up, I won't keep you any longer, I'm going to go see my parents."

As Yan Jiekuang walked in, his heart was beating fast, hoping that Minister Wang would not tell He Yuzhu about his affairs.

After entering his mother's house, Yang Ruiping took the stroller in one step, muttering, "You still remember to come. I can't see you for a long time."

"My mother has summoned me, so I have to come even if I have to." After saying this, Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li into the main hall and let Shi Li go play by herself. Yan Jiekuang made himself a cup of jasmine.

He sat down at the eight-immortal table and said, "What do you want to talk to me about, Mom?"

Yang Ruiping teased the two children and said, "About your little sister, she hasn't been home for a long time. Did you see her during the New Year? None of you asked. I didn't mention it because I didn't want to disturb everyone's interest during the New Year. I didn't want you to go and see her."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he felt mixed emotions. After the rumors about Yan Jiekuang came out, Yan Jiedi never visited him once, as if she didn't have a brother like him. It was a waste of time for Yan Jiekuang to spoil him since he was a child.

Yan Jiekuang said: "I haven't seen her for much longer than you have. After I got into trouble, she never saw me again."

Yang Ruiping finally reacted and he disagreed with Yan Jiedi's approach. How could she be the same as his father's? She was worthy of being Yan Bugui's daughter.

Yang Ruiping was a little hesitant about letting Yan Jiekuang go with his younger sister. At this time, Yan Jiekuang said, "I think it's more appropriate for my dad to go, because he's the elder. She can't hide from anyone else, but not from my dad."

Yang Ruiping sighed and said, "I mentioned it to your father, but he said he didn't care."

Yan Jiekuang said: "You can tempt him with something. You have a lot of jewelry. Take out something worthless and he will definitely go."

Yang Ruiping rolled his eyes, but he still thought this was a solution, and said, "If you have something to do, go do it first, and leave the child with me. I'll come back to pick him up in the evening. By the way, did you bring the milk powder and bottles?"

Yan Jiekuang knew that his mother was close to the child, so he said, "Yes, she is under the stroller. I will take Shi Li out for a walk."

After that, he led Shi Li away. As soon as Shi Li went out, she asked, "Dad, where are you taking me?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "I'll take you to Liulichang, and we'll have mutton hotpot there for lunch. Then we'll go back and make those three runaway brothers envious."

Shi Li clapped her hands happily, and Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li straight to Liulichang.

There aren't really many people in Liulichang now. There are some stalls outside, but they are only a few scattered around. The shops along the street are all open. Yan Jiekuang is very familiar with the place and knows a lot of people there.

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li to the stalls first. There were several stalls in a row, and most of the items were imitations. Although they had some value, they were not high.

After walking past several stalls, Yan Jiekuang lost interest. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothes in a far corner. He had placed a few newspapers and some things on the ground, but he couldn't see clearly because he was too far away.

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li over and saw a few stone-like objects on the ground. Yan Jiekuang became interested and looked at them for a while before saying, "Comrade, are you from Zhejiang?"

The middle-aged man was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Don't ask me how I know where this thing came from and how much it costs. Do you want to compare it?" As he said that, Yan Jiekuang put his hand into his sleeve and stretched it out. The middle-aged man was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

The vendors watching the fun laughed, and one of them said, "It turned out to be a mallet."

Yan Jiekuang asked, "Then just bid directly. How many do you want for these?"

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and said, "One thousand. I won't sell it for less than that."

The stall owners were furious. One said, "It's not worth it at all." Another said, "You're paying a thousand for this broken stone. You've never seen money."

Yan Jiekuang said, "One thousand is one thousand, but after I give you the money, you have to tell me the truth about where this thing came from."

The middle-aged man nodded heavily, Yan Jiekuang stood up and said, "Come with me."

A trustworthy person stopped Yan Jiekuang and asked, "Brother, isn't this a stone? Is there something hidden inside it?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "You must have heard too many legendary stories. How can there be so many hidden secrets? This is just a stone, but a special stone."

Yan Jiekuang took the middle-aged man and went straight to Chunfenglou in front of the restaurant. He took the middle-aged man into the restaurant and asked, "Have you eaten?" The middle-aged man shook his head.

Yan Jiekuang told the waiter: "Find a seat for this middle-aged man, make him a bowl of noodles with meat and vegetables, and add more if it's not enough. When he finishes, let him come to my office to find me."

Yan Jiekuang took two bottles of soda from the counter and took Shi Li upstairs. He handed the soda to Shi Li and asked her to drink it while sitting on the sofa. Shi Li asked while drinking, "Where is this, Dad?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "This is Dad's office. Sometimes Mom also works here. Oh, she works." Shi Li began to visit with a soda, looking here and there. After a while, there was a knock on the door. Qi Li put a fruit plate on the coffee table and said, "I heard that you brought your daughter here. Isn't this the fruit plate cut by Xiaobao?"

Shi Li looked at Qi Li curiously. Yan Jiekuang said, "You two are destined to be together. Both of you are named Li." Qi Li was very surprised. She hugged Shi Li and they started chatting like old friends. After a while, the waiter brought the middle-aged man in. Yan Jiekuang said to Qi Li, "Go to the counter and get me one thousand yuan. I didn't bring that much today."

The middle-aged man sat on the sofa a little stiffly. Yan Jiekuang asked, "Do you know what's in your hand?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. Yan Jiekuang was stunned and asked, "How dare you ask for a thousand dollars when you don't even know what it is?"

The middle-aged man said with a bitter face: "My daughter is sick and needs surgery. The hospital costs 800 yuan, plus the travel expenses, it will cost 1,000 yuan. I really have no choice but to take out the things I dug out of the ground and try my luck."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he realized that this was also a miserable person. He didn't say anything. At this time, Qi Li brought the money. Yan Jiekuang took out two hundred yuan from his pocket and gave them to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was about to kneel down when he saw it, but Yan Jiekuang stopped him and said, "What you have is worth so much money. Take it. I also wish your daughter a speedy recovery."

Because the money was too much, Yan Jiekuang was afraid of an accident and asked Xiaobao to drive the middle-aged man to the hospital.

Yan Jiekuang sat on the sofa and laid out the things. He looked at them carefully. Some of them had not been cleaned at all and there was still some dirt on them. Shi Li asked, "Dad, what is this?"

Qi Li also looked at them curiously. Yan Jiekuang said, "These are ornaments used for ancient sacrifices. You see, there are six of them, namely jade cong, jade bi, jade gui, jade zhang, jade huang, and jade hu. They are collectively called the 'Six Rui'."

Qi Li said: "So it is jade, no wonder it is so valuable."

Yan Jiekuang looked up and said, "You call it jade, that's right. You call it stone, that's right. Let's mix them both."

Yan Jiekuang said this, and found a better bag to pack the things in, planning to clean up when he got home.

Then I asked about the situation in the store. Qi Li said everything was normal. It was also the off-season after the New Year, but the customer flow had increased compared to last year.

Yan Jiekuang asked Qi Li again how the training of the foremen was going. Qi Li said embarrassedly, "There is only one person who is competent now, and the rest are all at about the same level, and there is still a gap between them and the foremen."

Yan Jiekuang said, "That won't work. We'll select a few good waiters and send them to the new store later, and you can find a few more on your own. Okay, I'm leaving now, you can get busy."

Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li away and went back to Yuer Hutong first to send the things back. When he got home, he saw that except for Tian Guixiang and Old Man Ji, the three kids were gone. Yan Jiekuang said, "These three kids are really unlucky. They are nowhere to be found even after I came back. Let's go, Lili, let's eat hot pot."

Shi Li took Yan Jiekuang's hand, and the father and daughter went straight to Qianmen Copper Hotpot Restaurant.

Just as the father and daughter were eating, Shi Li tugged at Yan Jiekuang's sleeve and pointed in a direction. Yan Jiekuang looked in the direction and saw Yan Jiedi and a man eating hot pot by the window, talking and laughing. Shi Li was about to shout, but Yan Jiekuang covered her mouth and said, "Don't disturb them, let's eat ours."

After the father and daughter finished their meal, Yan Jiekuang settled the bill for Yan Jiedi's table, then took Shi Li out of the hot pot restaurant and continued to stroll around Liulichang.

What Yan Jiekuang didn't know was that the news that he bought six stones for one thousand yuan had spread throughout Liulichang. Many people were wondering how there could be such a fool, but several shopkeepers were full of doubts and more of curiosity. They were curious about what Yan Jiekuang had bought.
Yan Jiekuang took Shi Li to Zhenbaozhai first. Manager Zhang was looking at the account book on the first floor, and the waiters were busy cleaning because there were really not many customers and there was nothing to do.

When Yan Jiekuang came in, Zhang put down his account book and came out to greet him, asking, "Jiekuang, how come you have time to come?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Nothing, just taking my daughter for a walk. I came here once in the morning, bought some things and sent them home."

Shopkeeper Zhang looked at Yan Jiekuang strangely and said, "The rumor that someone bought a six-stone club for a thousand yuan couldn't be you, right?"

Yan Jiekuang shook his head. Just as Zhang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Yan Jiekuang say, "It's one thousand and two."

When Shopkeeper Zhang heard this, he was very curious and asked, "Don't play tricks on me. Tell me the truth. What kind of stone did you buy? Is it a rough stone?"

Yan Jiekuang shook his head again and said, "No, there are six objects that look like jade but are not jade, and look like stone but are not stone."

Shopkeeper Zhang was so angry that he jumped up and down, saying, "You're making me anxious. Tell me now."

Seeing that Zhang the shopkeeper was getting anxious, Yan Jiekuang stopped teasing him, sat down on the guest seat, and said, "Have you heard of Liurui? It's just the right set for you."

Shopkeeper Zhang stared at Yan Jiekuang with his eyes wide open in disbelief. Yan Jiekuang said quickly, "I want to keep it as a treasure, so don't say anything."

At this time, Shopkeeper Zhang noticed Shi Li, whose eyes were flashing, and he immediately shouted, "Xiao Wang, go get the cakes and buy two bottles of soda. I don't see any customers."

A young man ran upstairs with a clatter. Shopkeeper Zhang, who was sitting on the other side, asked, "I just want to open my eyes. I've heard of this thing, but I've never seen it. Is it from the soil?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "Look at the soil on top, I know it's not made of soil. The land of the person who sold me should be some kind of ruins, either a temple or a palace."

Shopkeeper Zhang grabbed Yan Jiekuang's hand and asked, "Where is he?"

Yan Jiekuang pushed Zhang's hand away and said, "Can you do it yourself? The man is still in Sijiu City. His daughter is sick and is in the hospital. If you want to know where she is, go to Chunfeng Tower to find my apprentice Wei Xiaobao and ask him to send her there for you."

Shopkeeper Zhang stood up and said, "I have some rare paintings by Zhang Daqian. Take them back and appreciate them. You decide the price. I won't keep you here."

Yan Jiekuang rolled his eyes at Shopkeeper Zhang, and after the clerk brought the painting over, Yan Jiekuang got up and said goodbye with Shi Li. Shopkeeper Zhang was eager for him to leave.

As soon as Yan Jiekuang left, Manager Zhang closed the shop and hurried to Yuquanzhai next door.

Yan Jiekuang shook his head, thinking that he had no idea what they could come up with. He also lost interest in strolling around, so he took Shi Li and strolled back to Yard No. 95.

(End of this chapter)