Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 324 Midnight Gunshots
At noon, after Yan Jiekuang finished cutting the mutton, he went to the front yard to find Grandpa Ji.

After the mutton, vegetables and frozen tofu were served, Yan Jiekuang prepared an Erba sauce, chopped green onions and coriander, and added some chives and fermented bean curd juice. When the copper pot was brought over by Yang Ruiping, everything was ready.

Yan Jiekuang and the three old men were having dinner together. Yan Jiekuang opened a bottle of Lianhua Bai, poured a glass for each of the three people, and poured himself a glass, and everyone started eating.

While eating, Yang Ruiping talked about gossip in the courtyard. The first thing he talked about was the Jia family. He said that Jia Dang bought a courtyard in Qianmen with two entrances and was renovating it. The job of supervisor was given to Qin Huairu, and Jia Zhangshi also went with him. The gossipy mouth then changed the battlefield, and in a few days he became familiar with the neighbors around Qianmen.

Yang Ruiping said, "From what Jia Zhang said, if Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu are going to move in, there will be a lot of excitement in this courtyard."

Mr. Ji said, "That can't be possible. When they were playing chess just now, Yi Zhonghai praised Jia Dongxu as the most filial child in the courtyard and a person who can be trusted."

Yan Bugui sneered and said, "Can't? I'd be surprised if he can't. It's so obvious that Old Yi can't see it. It's obvious that the Jia family wants to get rid of Yi Zhonghai's entanglement."

Yang Ruiping said: "I asked Li Cuilan, she actually no longer has any illusions. She has a nephew who is doing well in Tianjin and is a capable man. She wanted to go to her nephew, but Yi Zhonghai never agreed."

Yan Jiekuang was listening nearby, toasting from time to time. Yan Bugui said, "It's a good destination. Old Yi is stubborn and has to keep an eye on a few people in the courtyard."

Yang Ruiping said: "We sisters all think Cuilan made the right choice. We heard that the nephew is a filial son. Cuilan brought him up when he was young. It was only after Li Cuilan and Yi Zhonghai got married that he came to Sijiu City."

Mr. Ji said, "Don't talk about Lao Yi. I don't understand Lao Liu either. I feel like he has let it go now. Maybe it's because Liu Guangqi is coming back. His attitude towards Liu Guangfu has changed. He said there are not so many houses and asked Liu Guangfu to find a way to move out. Liu Guangfu was so angry that he had two fights in the backyard."

Yan Bugui was surprised and said, "Really? That means he has returned to his previous personality and only cares about the boss."

Yang Ruiping sneered and said, "It's hard to change a person's nature. I think Liu Haizhong was just pretending. When no one came back, he caught as many as he could. Now that everyone has come back, he's back to his old ways."

Yan Jiekuang spoke up at this time, saying, "That's it. Liu Guangtian will probably be back soon, probably in the middle of the year."

Yan Bugui looked at Yan Jiekuang in surprise and asked, "How do you know? Why did he come back?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Don't forget, Aunt Lou is my godmother. Hong Kong Island is not a big place, so you can find out everything by asking."

Yang Ruiping became interested and said, "Old Third, tell me about Guangtian. How is he?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Liu Guangtian was an illegal resident when he arrived in Hong Kong Island. He and his wife had no money, no education, and they couldn't speak the language, so they could only do odd jobs there. Although they have saved a little over the years, they still haven't solved their identity problem, so they can't make it there. The main thing is that their two children can't go to school, which has delayed them for several years. I heard that they have started to clear out illegal residents there, and Liu Guangtian also heard that many policies here have changed, so he wanted to come back, so he asked the Lou family again. I heard that they arranged for them to come back, probably before the middle of the year."

When several people heard this, they all sighed. Yan Bugui said, "It seems that the courtyard is going to become more and more lively."

The hotpot became more and more delicious with the accompaniment of gossip. Yan Bugui was a little tipsy when the lunch ended.

Yan Jiekuang was also a little tired, so he strolled back to Yuer Hutong. Tian Guixiang opened the door for Yan Jiekuang. When she saw Yan Jiekuang smelling of alcohol, she told him to go back to his room and get some sleep.

Yan Jiekuang also felt a little sleepy, so he went back to his bedroom and fell asleep soon.

In the middle courtyard of No. 95 Courtyard, Yi Zhonghai was eating and drinking at home, with Li Cuilan accompanying him. Since Xu Delin passed away, Yi Zhonghai had been silent for a while, mainly because he felt that it was so difficult for him to find someone to take care of him in his old age. He didn't have any big requirements, but was just afraid that no one would take care of his affairs after his death and no one would take care of him when he was old. With such small requirements, why couldn't he find anyone?

Li Cuilan had discussed with Yi Zhonghai before that she wanted to go to her nephew's house. If Yi Zhonghai believed her nephew, he would let his nephew take care of her in her old age. However, Yi Zhonghai did not believe it at all. He thought that how could a person he had never met take care of him in his old age? So he flatly rejected Li Cuilan's plan and did not allow her to go to find her nephew.

Li Cuilan was a non-competitive and very traditional woman. Although she did not quite agree with Yi Zhonghai's denial in her heart, Yi Zhonghai was still there after all, so she gave up the idea of ​​going to her nephew's place.

Yi Zhonghai was reflecting on himself, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong that had made a simple thing so difficult. After much thought, he concluded that his chips were not attractive enough. As long as his chips were attractive enough, he didn't believe that no one would provide for his retirement.

But Yi Zhonghai still insisted that the first choice was Jia Dongxu. After all, they had a master-disciple friendship for so many years. The second choice was He Yuzhu, because He Yuzhu was a man who valued friendship and loyalty, which could be seen from the way he treated the deaf old lady. It would be easy to let He Yuzhu take care of her in her old age, but between him and Jia Dongxu there was Jia Zhang, and between him and He Yuzhu he believed that it was because He Yumei was interfering. Therefore, He Yuzhu put his focus on his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and naturally had no time to pay attention to him.

The more Yi Zhonghai thought about it, the more he felt that this was how things were. He had to think of a way to ensure that his retirement plan went smoothly.

At the same time, Liu Haizhong was drinking alone at home in the backyard. He had been having unpleasant disputes with his third son recently. He felt that he was not wrong. There were only two rooms in the house, and the eldest son would definitely live with him when he came back. It would be abnormal for the third son to move out.

Zhao Yue'e also had the same idea. When she was in Tianjin, she lived more often in the eldest son's house and had a deep relationship with the eldest son's two children, while the second and third sons' children were at most her grandchildren.

Liu Haizhong asked Zhao Yue'e, "Has the third brother made a decision? When will he move?"

Zhao Yue'e said: "I asked him, and he said to wait until Big Brother comes back, in case Big Brother has other plans."

Liu Haizhong slammed the table and said, "What do you mean by other arrangements? The eldest brother should live with us. The third brother wants to stay here. I'll talk to him when he comes back tonight." After saying that, he drank the wine in one gulp.

The Xu couple in the backyard were not surprised by Liu Haizhong's shouting. Xu Wude said sarcastically, "See? Old Liu is the same as before. There is no change. He has not improved at all."

In Yuer Hutong, when Yan Jiekuang woke up, it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon. Yan Jiekuang washed his face and went to the front yard to see his two little babies. The two little ones were playing in the crib. Tian Guixiang was teasing them. When she saw Yan Jiekuang coming, she shouted "Daddy".

Yan Jiekuang was very happy, he picked up Xixi and teased her, Xiaohai shouted immediately. Tian Guixiang smiled and said: "These two children are well-nourished and very strong. They are at the stage of learning to talk, so we need to chat with them more."

Yan Jiekuang said he understood, and just kept teasing the two children and babbling to them.

Seeing that the weather outside was very good, Yan Jiekuang put the child in the stroller, said hello to Tian Guixiang, and pushed the stroller out the door. He didn't think about where to go, so he just strolled around Nanluoguxiang.

When they walked to Heizhima Hutong, Director Yan from the Street Office came towards them, accompanied by two middle-aged women wearing red armbands. Yan Jiekuang did not know them. Director Yan greeted Yan Jiekuang warmly, praised the two younger ones, and then asked Yan Jiekuang, "Third brother, you are so good that you have poached Wang Qing and Erxiao for me. I have no choice but to merge my purchasing station with the district."

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and decided that he couldn't take the blame, so he said, "Director, what you said is the general trend. I am just helping them find a way out. Besides, they are only running a business in a small street, which is a bit of a waste of their talents."

Director Yan pointed at him and said, "Okay, I don't want to cause you any trouble. By the way, there have been a lot of thefts here recently. Your yard is so big, it must be a key target. You have to be more careful."

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "Director, is it okay if I pull the power grid?"

Director Yan frowned and asked, "What important things do you have?"

Yan Jiekuang did not hide it and said, "You know, I am a history student. I have many old things at home. If this is stolen, the loss will be huge."

Director Yan thought for a moment and said, "Well, you can pull the electric wire, but go to the police station and report it. It's for theft prevention. Whoever gets caught deserves it."

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll go right away. I have nothing to do anyway."

After Yan Jiekuang said goodbye to Director Yan, he pushed the stroller to the police station. Everyone there knew his second brother and was familiar with his family. Without thinking, they made a record of Yan Jiekuang, which was considered a report.

Yan Jiekuang pushed the stroller to the No. 95 Courtyard again, left the stroller to his mother, and went to the west wing to find Lao Liu. He told Lao Liu the purpose of his visit, and Lao Liu said, "It's a small matter. I have an apprentice whose father used to be an electrician in the prison. Leave this matter to me. By the way, go and see Qi Ye when you have time. I've been there, and it seems that he won't be able to hold on for much longer."

Yan Jiekuang's heart skipped a beat. Although the Seventh Master had a bad temper, he was very kind to Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang learned some of his skills in gold and silver from him.

Yan Jiekuang said in a low voice: "I will go there tomorrow to accompany the old man."

After making an appointment with Lao Liu, Yan Jiekuang returned to his mother's place and stayed with her for a while. When his mother chatted with him, she always hesitated to speak. Yan Jiekuang couldn't help but asked, "Mom, what's the matter with you that makes me so anxious?"

Yang Ruiping sighed and said, "Who said your dad didn't go to see your sister? You, as the older brother, should go and see her. I know the second oldest is busy, but the eldest is the only one who works on time every day. You don't have anything serious to do now, so shouldn't you go and see her?"

Yan Jiekuang was dissatisfied. What do you mean I am idle? I have too many things to do. But he still said to his mother: "Okay, I will go to her place tomorrow to take a look. Don't worry too much. She is married and has her own life."

Yang Ruiping finally felt relieved and said, "I just saved the four of you. If you are all fine, I will feel relieved. After all, we are brothers from the same mother and there is no conflict that cannot be overcome."

Yan Jiekuang nodded. He was a person who was afraid of trouble, but his family was another matter.

Yan Jiekuang did not eat at his mother's house and took his children back to Yuer Hutong.

When the children came back from school, Yan Jiekuang was cooking. He had made several home-cooked dishes, but braised pork and Kung Pao chicken were must-haves, as these two were very popular with the children.

After dinner, the children and Yan Jiekuang gathered in the big study. Yan Jiekuang drank tea and read books while the children did their homework. This was an activity that the Yan family did every day. The study was very quiet. The children would ask Shi Lei if they didn't understand or didn't know how to do something. If Shi Lei didn't know how to do it, they would go to Yan Jiekuang.

Everyone likes this kind of atmosphere, including the two little ones. As long as there is a familiar smell around them, they will not cry or make a fuss. Yan Jiekuang feels very comfortable reading a book while watching the children.

As night fell, the children finished their homework and went out to play for a while, then washed up and went to bed. Yan Jiekuang lamented that studying is also very tiring for children nowadays.

Tian Guixiang said hello to Yan Jiekuang and went to bed. Yan Jiekuang sat alone on a stone bench in the middle courtyard, smoking and admiring the moonlight. The moon was very bright today, and clear clouds floated by from time to time. In this quiet night, a gunshot broke the silence. Yan Jiekuang became a little nervous. He first went to the kitchen to get a sharp knife, then returned to the middle of the yard and listened to the movement outside.

In just a few seconds, Tian Guixiang was seen rushing out from the front yard and heading straight for the two children's room. Yan Jiekuang also saw it, but he did not move. He just stood there listening to the noise outside. The gunshots were not far away, probably just across an alley, but there were no footsteps around. After about a minute, a scream was heard, followed by a panic.

From beginning to end, Yan Jiekuang remained unmoved. There were too many children in the family and he could not take care of them all, so he could only stay in his home.

Soon after, the sound gradually became smaller and smaller. Yan Jiekuang guessed that the police had arrived, but Yan Jiekuang did not relax his vigilance. He returned to the backyard, asked Tian Guixiang to accompany his two children to rest in the backyard, and went to the guest room in the middle courtyard.

Yan Jiekuang did not sleep all night. When it was dawn, Tian Guixiang had already gotten up and was taking care of the children in the backyard while they washed and dressed. The children curiously asked Tian Guixiang why she slept in the backyard. Tian Guixiang smiled and said that she was scared by the thunder yesterday, so she ran to the backyard to sleep with the two children.

The children all asked why they didn't hear anything, and asked Tian Guixiang in confusion why there was thunder but no rain.

Yan Jiekuang had not slept all night and was not in a very good mood. He sent the children to school and went back to his room to catch up on some sleep. At noon, Tian Guixiang told him the news she had heard, saying that a descendant of a landlord had returned his ancestral home. This second-generation ancestor was a big mouth and spread the word everywhere that his father had left him a considerable inheritance in his ancestral home. This attracted thieves.

The final result was that the second-generation rich man died and had nothing but a house. Now that house has become a hot commodity and many people are eyeing it.

(End of this chapter)