Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 325 Visiting Mr. Li

Yan Jiekuang originally wanted to put an electric fence in his yard, but after experiencing this incident, he changed his mind. He found Lao Liu and asked him to make the yard wall look old. Lao Liu was stunned when he heard the request. It was the first time he heard of making a yard wall look old, and he himself didn't know how to do it. Lao Liu could only ask around and finally found an expert in making walls look old near the Old Summer Palace. What does this guy do? He really specializes in making houses look old.

A new house can be turned into one overgrown with weeds and dilapidated in his hands. This man used to specialize in shady dealings, mainly defrauding dental dealers of their money, but this business has declined now.

Yan Jiekuang agreed readily, and not long after, Sun Daming moved back and lived with Tian Guixiang.

One day when he was returning to the courtyard, Yan Jiekuang ran into Yan Jiefang and jokingly said, "Brother, your work is not good either. Now I can hear a few gunshots every day. How about I buy a gun for self-defense?"

Yan Jiefang said sternly: "How dare you? It's already a mess. I haven't had a day off for a month. I know it's a mess. Is that what I think?"

When Yan Jiekuang heard that his second brother was anxious, he knew that his second brother was under a lot of pressure, so he stopped joking and immediately said, "Brother, don't worry, it will pass."

Yan Jiefang did not speak, smoking a cigarette at the side. Yan Jiekuang said, "There are a lot of cases? Haven't they been handling them for a while?"

Yan Jiefang said: "Now there are no small cases, and big cases are emerging one after another. We are simply too busy to handle them all."

Yan Bugui interrupted intentionally or unintentionally and said, "Mobilize the masses. Even if a stranger comes to our Nanluoguxiang, the old ladies will have an impression of him. Except for the old neighbors, everyone else in this place is an outsider."

When Yan Jiefang heard this, another idea immediately came to his mind. After thinking about it, he turned around, put on his clothes and went out.

Within a few days, the shooting case in Nanluoguxiang was solved. As a result, the yard of the original owner became idle again and now belongs to the street office because there are no heirs.

Many people were vying for this yard. It was an old yard, well preserved, and a building from the Ming Dynasty, but the price kept rising. Finally, it fell into the hands of a man named Hu. The street office knew that this man named Hu had returned from overseas and seemed to have business dealings with the original owner.

After the Hu family took over the three-courtyard house, they immediately started the renovation work without any intention of looking for treasure. This more or less puzzled the people nearby.

The owner of the Hu family spent a lot of money, found many original history books, and consulted many experts, just to find the blueprints of the house and restore the original appearance of the house.

Yan Jiekuang drove out early today, with a lot of gifts in his car, most of which were brought back from Hong Kong Island.

Yan Jiekuang first came to Mr. Li's home, which was a courtyard not far from Prince Gong's Mansion. Mr. Li and his wife had always lived here. Their children had all moved out and started their own families. Their son would come here from time to time to stay with them for a few days. Since Mr. Li became bedridden, his eldest son and daughter-in-law moved back to take care of the old couple.

When Boss Li brought Yan Jiekuang into Boss Li's bedroom, they saw Boss Li leaning on the bed with his eyes closed. Boss Li whispered in his ear, "Dad, Yan Jiekuang is here to see you."

Only then did Mr. Li open his eyes and said with a smile: "Oh, Mr. Yan has appeared. I thought I would never see you again."

Yan Jiekuang handed the gift in his hand to Boss Li, walked to the bedside, pulled a chair and sat down, then asked: "How can that be, how are you, I see you look good."

Mr. Li waved his hand and said, "Alright, stop saying those deceptive polite words. I've heard them all my life. Why did you go out of your way to give me a ride?"

This is Mr. Li's personality. He is always straightforward about everything. Even now that he is lying in bed, his temperament has not changed at all. Yan Jiekuang said with a bit of sadness: "Yes, I am really afraid that I will never see you again."

Mr. Li looked at his wife and pointed at the box on the antique display cabinet opposite. His wife immediately understood, went up to take the box and put it on the table beside the bed.

Old Li pointed at the box and motioned Yan Jiekuang to open it. Yan Jiekuang opened it carefully. Inside was a cloth bag, which was quite heavy. When he opened it, Yan Jiekuang was shocked to see a gold foil scroll. Old Li said, "I have been a goldsmith all my life, and I was afraid of disgracing my master's inheritance. I didn't expect that no one in my family was willing to learn. I have been looking for apprentices all my life, but in the end, the one I taught was you, a jack of all trades."

Yan Jiekuang understood immediately that he wanted me to inherit his skills. Just as he was about to refuse, Master Li said, "I am also half your master. When you have learned all these, I will be your master. It is impossible for me to teach you step by step. Just keep it. It will be a reminder for you."

Yan Jiekuang looked at the aged Mr. Li and was speechless for a moment. Tears fell uncontrollably. Mrs. Li beside him said, "This is what Mr. Li had thought of a long time ago. If you hadn't come, he would have asked me to send it to you after he left. You should have accepted it."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "It's rare to meet like-minded people in life. What I miss most is the time when you, me and Lao Liu were repairing old items in the palace in the studio. It was peaceful and at ease, and we would discuss craftsmanship all the time. I hope you can pass on this craft, as our ancestors' things are becoming less and less."

Yan Jiekuang looked at Mr. Li and said, "Don't worry, I will study hard and carry it forward."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "I don't expect to carry it forward, but I hope it will be passed down. At least it hasn't been lost in my hands, and I've fulfilled one of my wishes."

Yan Jiekuang chatted with the two elders for a while and told them about his current situation. After listening, the two elders knew that Yan Jiekuang was not in despair but was still making plans. They were very relieved. Finally, Yan Jiekuang saw that Mr. Li was a little tired, so he said goodbye.

Before leaving, Mr. Li said, "I won't notify you when I leave, and you don't have to see me off. Just give my eldest son two pieces of gold you made by hand one day and let him bury them in my grave."

Yan Jiekuang didn't look back, nodded heavily, and walked out of the house. At that moment, Yan Jiekuang burst into tears.

Yan Jiekuang had originally planned to go see his younger sister right after leaving Mr. Li's place, but now he was not in the mood at all, so he drove straight home. When he got home, he said hello to Tian Guixiang and told her that he was in the study and asked no one to disturb him unless it was something important.

Tian Guixiang looked at Yan Jiekuang, who had a very bad complexion, and nodded.

Yan Jiekuang was sitting in his study. On the table was the box he brought back from Mr. Li. He took a bottle of wine and drank it while staring at the box in a daze.

Sun Daming had already learned from his wife that Yan Jiekuang was in a bad mood, so the two of them did not go to the middle yard, but took the two younger children to the front yard. When the children got home from school, they repeatedly reminded them not to disturb their father.

It was not until the next day that Sun Daming saw that there was no movement in the study room. He became a little anxious, so he quietly pushed the study door open a crack. He saw Yan Jiekuang was drunk and lying on the desk. There were wine bottles on the table and on the floor, including both white and red wine, and the whole room was filled with the smell of alcohol.

Sun Daming sighed, carried Yan Jiekuang to the bedroom in the backyard, put him on the bed, took off his shoes, and covered him with a quilt. At this time, Tian Guixiang was already tidying up the study.

Yan Jiekuang was drunk for a day and a night. When he woke up, it was already midnight of the next day. Yan Jiekuang had a splitting headache. After a while, Tian Guixiang heard the noise and brought Yan Jiekuang a bowl of sobering soup, which Yan Jiekuang drank in one gulp.

Yan Jiekuang said to Tian Guixiang, "Thank you, Sister Tian, ​​what time is it now?" Tian Guixiang said with a bit of complaint, "You have slept for a whole day and night, it is already past ten o'clock in the evening, the children are all asleep, hurry up and take a shower, I have left the boiler lit."

Yan Jiekuang agreed, found a new set of clothes in the closet, and walked towards the bathroom in the east wing.

When he came out again, Yan Jiekuang was much more sober. Sun Daming was looking at him from a distance, apparently curious about why Yan Jiekuang got so drunk.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Why, do you want to get drunk too?"

Sun Daming shook his head and said, "My wife is going to beat me to death. I'm just curious about what could have made you like this?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "It's nothing. I just can't accept that an elder is leaving. By the way, how is the establishment of the Security Department going?"

Sun Daming said, "I thought you didn't care about the company anymore. The office has been decorated almost completely, the staff has been selected, and we are just waiting for the notice to start work."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "It's not that I don't care anymore. I just want Ji Lian to take on the heavy responsibility as soon as possible. I can't stand sitting in the office every day. I have other important things to do."

Sun Daming nodded and said, "Boss Ji will be back soon, right? It's been more than half a month."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Not necessarily. She has to wait for Director Lou and Rui Er to come back together with Rui Er's team."

Sun Daming said, "Are you unable to sleep today? Do you want me to drink with you?"

Yan Jiekuang frowned and said, "You are teasing me. You just said that Sister Tian would beat you. Besides, do you think I can drink in my current state? Go to bed and don't worry about me."

Sun Daming left with a smile. Yan Jiekuang came to the backyard to check on the sleeping children. The backyard was very quiet except for Tiantian who stared at Yan Jiekuang with his big eyes. Yan Jiekuang sat in the yard, lit a cigarette for himself and admired the moonlight.

Thinking that he had to go see his sister tomorrow no matter what, otherwise his mother would be worried, Yan Jiekuang went to the study to pick out a book, returned to his bedroom, took off his clothes, lay on the bed and started reading.

The next morning, as soon as Yan Jiekuang opened his eyes, Shi Lei rushed in with his younger brother and sister. Shi Li cried and asked Yan Jiekuang, "Dad, what's wrong with you? You scared us to death."

Yan Jiekuang hugged them one by one and said, "It's okay, I was just drunk. I'm fine now, right? By the way, where are your brothers and sisters?"

Shi Lei said: "They are awake too, but they are hungry and eating in the restaurant. We thought we would come over to see you first."

Yan Jiekuang got out of bed and said as he put on his clothes, "Let's go eat together. Your uncle Daming must have bought some fried liver. I can smell it from here."

Yan Jiekuang took the happy children to the restaurant. The two little babies who were drinking milk stopped moving and their mouths drooped when they saw their father. Yan Jiekuang realized that they were about to cry, so he quickly went over and picked up the two babies, one in each hand. In the end, the two children did not cry and kept shouting "Dad, Dad".

Yan Jiekuang let out a long sigh and ate breakfast with the children. Sun Daming really bought some buns and sat down to fry liver. At this time, the couple also sat down to eat.

As Sun Daming was eating, he suddenly asked, "Jie Kuang, do you think now is the time to buy a courtyard house?"

Yan Jiekuang asked Sun Daming in confusion, "Why do you ask? Didn't I tell you?"

Sun Daming looked at Tian Guixiang and said, "Your elder sister Tian always says that our home is big enough and there is no need to buy a house."

Yan Jiekuang looked at Tian Guixiang and said, "Sister, you are wrong. This is not for living, but for investment. In the future, housing prices will get higher and higher. Sun Daming knows this. Look at how much our houses in Shenzhen are selling for. In the future, they can only go higher."

Tian Guixiang was still convinced by Yan Jiekuang's vision and said, "Someone in his family is going abroad and wants to sell his ancestral home. I guess the only people who can afford to buy his house are people from your company. Okay, Daming, I don't care. You go ahead and buy it. Tell me how much you want."

After hearing this, Yan Jiekuang almost spit out a mouthful of fried liver, and secretly looked at Sun Daming and laughed. The couple knew why Yan Jiekuang laughed at Sun Daming, but they didn't take it seriously and just ate and drank.

After dinner, Yan Jiekuang told Tian Guixiang that he had to go out for a while and the child had to stay at home.

After saying that, Yan Jiekuang took the car keys and left, driving his van straight to the staff dormitory of the Commercial Bureau.

Yan Jiekuang parked the car on the side of the road, got out of the car, and came to the guard post. There was an old man guarding the door. Yan Jiekuang handed a cigarette to the old man. The old man knew that he was going to ask about someone or something, so he took the cigarette, took a look at it, and said, "Oh, Zhonghua, this cigarette is not common. Looking for someone?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "My name is Yan Jiekuang, and my sister is Yan Jiedi. I heard she's married, but I don't know where she lives?"

When the old man heard this, he said, "You're looking for your sister. Your sister lives in Building 6, Unit 3, 2nd Floor. You can go up and ask and you'll find out. But you have to register to go in."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiekuang said, "I'll go get some things from the car and be back soon." Then he returned to the car, opened the trunk, took out a few gift boxes, thought for a while, then took out two bottles of wine, and then returned to the guard post.

Seeing that he had taken so many things, the old man believed him and let him in after he registered.

Yan Jiekuang followed the address given by the old man and came to the second floor. Someone was cooking in the corridor. Yan Jiekuang asked politely, "Excuse me, which room is Yan Jiedi's home in?"

The man said without even turning his head, "The second to last room inside. There is a long corridor with more than a dozen families living in it. The kitchens and sundries of each household make the corridor even narrower. Yan Jiekuang walked to the second to last room and knocked on the door. A man's voice came from inside and said, "Who is it? The door is not locked. Come in."

Yan Jiekuang pushed open the door carrying his things, and was stunned as he entered the room.

(End of this chapter)