Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 32 The Master Returns
June 30, 1954, Siheyuan Middle Courtyard

The plenary meeting was held
This is the first time that the three uncles have organized a meeting on their own since taking office.

Every household was present.

A square table was set up, with Yi Zhonghai sitting in the middle, Liu Haizhong on the left, and Yan Bugui on the right.

Liu Haizhong stood up and said, "Neighbors, those who came earlier may know us, and those who came later may not know us. Let me introduce myself first. I live in the backyard, my name is Liu Haizhong, and I am a blacksmith in the steel mill. The Military Control Commission previously elected me as the manager uncle, also known as the second uncle. From now on, you can call me the second uncle. My wife, you can also call me the second aunt, it's more intimate."

"The one sitting in the right seat is the manager, Yi Zhonghai, a fitter at the steel rolling mill. You can call him uncle from now on." Yi Zhonghai stood up and gestured.

"This is a teacher from Hongxing Primary School, Mr. Yan Bugui. He is the Third Uncle in charge. You can just call him Third Uncle from now on." Yan Bugui also stood up and nodded.

Liu Haizhong continued, "Today, it was Uncle Yi who called for the meeting. As for the details, we will listen to Uncle Yi."

After saying that, he sat back, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Yi Zhonghai stood up and said, "Hello, neighbors. I am a grandfather. I am calling for this meeting today for three main things."

Yan Bugui was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "Yi Zhonghai didn't mention so many things when he said he wanted to have a meeting."

"The first thing is that the district has called for the selection of advanced courtyards. This selection will be held at the end of each year. Residents of courtyards that are selected as advanced will be rewarded. What is an advanced courtyard? It means that all of us should start with respecting the elderly and loving the young, being civilized and polite, being modest and yielding to each other, and living in harmony with our neighbors. Only in this way can our courtyards become better. In the future, if there are conflicts between neighbors, you can first look for us three uncles, and we will help you coordinate."

"The second thing is that there are many new neighbors. Let's get to know each other. Comrade An Li, Comrade Wen Jun, Uncle Yang, who will go first?"

"Let me go first. My name is Wen Jun. I was transferred from the Northeast. I'm a technician at the steel rolling mill. If you have anything to say, just talk to me. By the way, this is my wife Li Juan." Wen Jun jumped out and said.

An Li also stood up and said, "I'm a doctor. My name is An Li, and this is my daughter, An Lingling. Nice to meet you all."

Uncle Yang also stood up and said, "My name is Yang Guozhong, everyone calls me Old Yang, I'm from the purchasing station."

Yi Zhonghai stood up again and said, "Everyone, welcome with applause!"

After the applause, Yi Zhonghai continued, "Our courtyard is a whole, so we have to support each other and help each other. Yesterday, some families ran out of food and came to me, but I only had so much. In the courtyard, everyone helps each other, isn't that right?"

No one responded, and the brief silence made Yi Zhonghai go from excitement to rationality.

"That's right. The Jia family in the Central Courtyard has four people in their family, but only Jia Dongxu has a ration. So every month they don't have enough to eat. Even if they spend all their money, it's still not enough. The Jia family's daughter-in-law is pregnant again. Let's see if anyone can help out if they have extra food."

"I'll go first. My family will provide 30 kilograms of corn flour." After saying this, Yi Zhonghai sat down and looked at Liu Haizhong.

He didn't notice that Yan Bugui took out a notebook and a pen and started taking notes.

Liu Haizhong also stood up and said, "Everyone knows that I am a heavyweight. I don't have much at home. I will give you 20 kilograms of corn flour."

Yan Bugui stood up quickly and said, "My family donated ten kilograms of corn flour and twenty kilograms of vegetables." After that, every household donated more or less.

The meeting of the whole courtyard closed. Grandmother Jia could hardly hold back the smile on her face, so Jia Dongxu quickly pulled her home.

Every household was discussing these three uncles, with some praising them and some criticizing them, but the era of the three uncles had officially begun.

Sanyuan Village in October 1954
Yan Jiekuang has been here for three months. These three months are a time for him to let himself go, going up the mountain to catch rabbits and going down to the river to fish.

Yan Jiekuang, Huzi, Lele and Nannan were having a lot of fun.

If Jiuyue Nannan and Huzi hadn't gone to school, I don't know what they would do next.

Grandma and grandpa were also happy, and Yan Jiekuang was not idle either. He made four or five sets of rocking chairs and placed them in the front and back yards of the house. With the help of his second uncle, he made a swing under the grape vines in the backyard.

The second uncle was also happy because the second aunt was pregnant. During this period, Yan Jiekuang once again went to the warehouse he had discovered. Everything had been moved away and it was empty. However, he found a small warehouse behind the three houses. It was full of dry goods. No one wanted them, so he collected them. Among them were shark fins, sea cucumbers, abalones, bird's nests and other top-quality dry goods. It was estimated that someone did not know the value of them.

One day, the four little ones found another cave, which contained rice, flour, and canned food, but not much. Enough to last until next year, Huzi ran to secretly inform his grandfather, who took the lead this time, and moved all the food to his cellar.

After going to the second primary school, Yan Jiekuang was no longer crazy and began his career as a chef. He divided a kitchen area in the space warehouse. The kitchen equipment was the same as Yuchu's, which was quite complete. The seasonings were also quite complete. There were food ingredients in the warehouse and vegetables in the backyard.

Lele found that Yan Jiekuang began to lock himself in the room and did not come out for several days. Thinking that he did not want to play with her anymore, she made a fuss. Yan Jiekuang coaxed her for a while, and then told her that he was studying in seclusion and would make all kinds of delicious food for her when he learned enough.

Lele stopped making trouble and started studying with his brother's first grade books, giving his uncle a big surprise.

My grandparents also knew about it and didn’t bother him. Yan Jiekuang would always show up on time for mealtime.

Yan Jiekuang first read a lot and verified the knowledge in books. After forming a complete system, he went into the space kitchen and began to practice intensively, starting with the most basic knife skills.

In October, Lele ate his first delicacy, "braised lion's head". After eating it, Lele really became Lele, and only Le was left.

In November, Yan Jiekuang soaked some dried food and made a dish of "braised purple abalone" for grandma and grandpa. Grandma and grandpa were very happy with the meal and said it was the most delicious dish they had ever eaten.

In December, Yan Jiekuang prepared four dishes: "Wensi Tofu", "Fish-flavored Shredded Pork", "Dongpo Pork" and "Wine Rice Balls".

Grandma's family was very satisfied with the meal. The expectant eyes of the three little ones defeated Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang said, "I will make another big dish for you on New Year's Day."

My grandmother's family was not surprised by Yan Jiekuang's magical powers, but my grandfather strictly forbade anyone in the family to tell anyone about it.

Yan Jiekuang has the ingredients, and his cooking skills have reached a new level. In the space warehouse, he has now begun to study and restore ancient recipes. He has read the books and also read Chef Yu's experience, but Yan Jiekuang feels that he pays too much attention to taste.

New Year's Day will be Yan Jiekuang's last holiday in Sanyuan Village. The Spring Festival is coming soon, and it's time to return to Sijiu City.

What Yan Jiekuang made was a classic dish of Yuchu, Braised Whole Delicacies.

After breakfast in the morning, Yan Jiekuang did not return to his room, but stayed in the backyard with his grandma and grandpa, smoking beside him.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Grandpa, do you have anything you want to ask me?"

Grandpa smiled and said, "Why ask? My grandson is capable. If he wants to tell you, he will tell you."

"I can't explain it, but I don't want to lie to my family, so I basically don't say anything. You just know that my grandson is capable," said Yan Jiekuang.

Grandma and Grandpa said, "We know you have the ability. If the family can understand it, then read it. If they can't understand it, just ignore it."

"That's all for this year. I'll get you some good stuff next year. Don't worry, I won't steal or rob you." Yan Jiekuang said.

Grandma and grandpa were both happy, "Just come back more often and take care of your mom. It looks like she's going to give birth soon."

Yan Jiekuang nodded heavily.

In the evening, a big dish "Roasted Whole Treasures" was served on the table at my grandpa's house. As soon as the lid was opened, the whole house was filled with fragrance, which frightened my grandpa and he kept shouting, "Cover it, quickly cover it."

Grandpa said, "This smell can't be spread out. We can only eat it secretly, but we can still taste the flavor."

Early the next morning, my uncle and Yan Jiekuang secretly left and returned to Sijiu City.

　When we think that we are just small people, always feel that we are living at the bottom and have many troubles, in fact, you don’t know that there are some people at the bottom, whose lives are not as good as yours, but they also have laughter and are waiting for tomorrow's sun.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)