Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 334 Reunion of old friends

The old man passed away peacefully. Yan Jiekuang and his wife stayed with him until the end. Ji Lian was in so much pain that she couldn't do anything. Yan Jiekuang could only go home to ask his parents for help.

Yan Bugui and his wife rushed over. Yan Bugui brought the newly bought funeral clothes and dragged Yan Jiekuang to change the old man into them. Yang Ruiping found the hospital and issued a death certificate.

Later, Yan Jiecheng also hurried over and found a car from the funeral home. There were several people on it. They were the ones who specialized in handling funerals. Yan Jiekuang and Ji Lian were in very bad conditions, like zombies. Several people put the old man into the coffin and prepared to take it to the courtyard. According to the old rules, the body had to be kept for three days, but Ji Lian asked not to bother any more and took them directly to the funeral home. After registering, they waited in line for cremation.

Yan Jiecheng brought a group of people back and set up a mourning hall in Grandpa Ji's house. Everything was arranged in an orderly manner. In the afternoon, Ji Lian held the urn and Yan Jiekuang helped her back to the courtyard, Grandpa Ji's house.

Yan Jiekuang placed the urn on the mourning hall. The couple kowtowed and burned incense, then knelt in the mourning hall to observe mourning for three days. Yan Jiekuang was better. Ji Lian had stopped crying since she knelt down, but she refused to eat or drink. She just knelt there in a daze. When someone came to burn incense, she mechanically returned the greetings, like a walking corpse.

The children were also brought over by Yan Bugui. They already knew that their great grandfather had passed away. The older ones knew what was going on, but the two younger ones just kept asking Yan Bugui when his great grandfather would come back. Yan Bugui was also upset now. Yang Ruiping took Xiaohai and Xixi and told them that their great grandfather had gone to heaven and that he would watch them grow up there. Only then did the two younger ones calm down.

Yan Bugui took the children to kowtow and burn incense to their great grandfather. The children saw that their parents were kneeling on the ground in white clothes, so they followed suit, put on white clothes, and knelt beside their parents to accompany their parents. Only then did Ji Lian react and burst into tears.

The neighbors had already arrived one after another, and then people from the company and the hotel also sent representatives. This was Wang Qing's request. If everyone wanted to go, there would be too many people.

Later, Liu Zheng, Principal Chen and Minister Wang all came. Minister Wang was accompanied by He Yuzhu and expressed their condolences to Yan Jiekuang and his wife.

After three days, Yan Bugui arranged to remove the mourning hall because Ji Lian was close to collapse and had only drunk one bowl of porridge in three days. If they continued to mourn like this, something would happen to Ji Lian. Yan Jiekuang had the same idea. Yan Jiekuang took the urn back to Yuer Hutong and set up a seat in the last empty room in the east wing. When Ji Lian saw it, she leaned over to Yan Jiekuang's ear and said, "Thank you."

Yan Jiekuang said, "You should calm down. Life has to go on. The children have been worried about you. Didn't you see that they stay with you except when they sleep? When there is a chance, I will take you to see grandpa back."

Ji Lian then noticed that the children were all in a bad mood, including the two youngest ones, who looked listless. Ji Lian felt very guilty and hurried to take the children to eat.

Yan Jiekuang set up a banquet with ten tables in Chaofengzhai to thank all the neighbors and people who helped. After the banquet, the matter came to an end.

As time passed, Ji Lian slowly recovered, and the children also got over the impact of this incident, and life in Yuer Hutong gradually calmed down.

Spring arrived as promised, and Yan Jiekuang finally had some free time. In the morning, when the children all went to school, Yan Jiekuang said to the two younger ones, "You are in for a treat today. Come on, Dad will take you to meet your new grandparents."

The two little ones were very confused. Aren’t their grandparents in the courtyard? How come another grandparent appeared?

Yan Jiekuang smiled without explaining. He dressed them up, gave each of them a small schoolbag with some snacks in it, and drove the van straight to the Lou family villa. It was a familiar place, but Yan Jiekuang had not been here for more than 20 years. Looking at the newly built wall and the black gate, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Yan Jiekuang parked the car at the gate of the yard, got out of the car with the two children, and said cheerfully, "What a high gate."

Yan Jiekuang walked over and rang the doorbell twice. After a while, the small door opened and a middle-aged woman appeared in the door. She looked at Yan Jiekuang and the two children and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Excuse me, is Lou Zhenhua here?"

The middle-aged woman saw that the man was looking for him and said, "Yes, what's your name?"

"My name is Yan Jiekuang, and Lou Tan is my godmother. Please tell them." Yan Jiekuang said.

At this time, a familiar voice came from inside, "Wang Ma, who is it?"

Wang Ma hurriedly replied, "Madam, he said he was looking for you, and his name is Yan Jiekuang."

Lou Tan shouted hurriedly: "Let him in quickly, he is my godson, hurry up."

Wang Ma let Yan Jiekuang into the courtyard. Yan Jiekuang saw Lou Tanshi, whose temples were already white, and he went up to her and kowtowed to her godmother. Lou Tanshi said with tears in her eyes, "Hurry up, son. I miss you so much."

The two younger ones also kowtowed and shouted, "Hello, Grandma. My name is Xiao Hai (Xi Xi) and I am Daddy's son (darling daughter)."

When Lou Tan heard this, she also laughed, knowing that her youngest daughter must be very clever. Lou Tan went up to Xixi and hugged her, saying, "Grandma is very happy to see you. Let's go and take you to eat something delicious." After that, she hugged Xixi and led Xiaohai into the house.

Yan Jiekuang took a look at the villa. It was really authentic. Yan Jiekuang discovered that even the door handle of the main door was the original style. He didn't know where the people who renovated the villa were found.

As soon as Yan Jiekuang entered the villa hall, Lou Zhenhua stood up and gave Yan Jiekuang a big hug.

"Uncle Lou, it's been a long time since we last met. How are you? Are you adapting after coming back?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Lou Zhenhua asked Yan Jiekuang to sit down and handed him a cigar. Yan Jiekuang waved his hand and said, "I'd better smoke. I'm not used to that."

Lou Zhenhua smiled and said, "It's still the same as before. Why is it so difficult to change your name to godfather?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "I'm afraid of being remembered by others. What if they kill me?"

When Lou Zhenhua heard this, he knew he was referring to his two sons. He laughed and said, "You think too much. You have quite a lot of assets now. The amount your sister has managed for you alone is estimated to be more than 300 million US dollars."

Yan Jiekuang said, "This is just the beginning, Uncle Lou. If you come back in a few years, you will be even more surprised."

Lou Zhenhua became interested and asked, "Do you mean it will continue to rise?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "It will definitely rise sharply. Besides, Hong Kong Island is so big, and the center is so big, so it will definitely rise exponentially."

Lou Zhenhua smiled and said, "Actually, I have some feelings about this, but the real estate and property management have been handed over to my sons, so I won't worry about it. Just stay at home and enjoy your retirement. Those two are your youngest, right?"

Yan Jiekuang didn't see the two children when he entered the house, and said, "Yes, my sister is about to give birth, right?"

Lou Zhenhua nodded and said, "Next month, why don't we let her come back? After all, medical care is more advanced there. Come more often if you have nothing to do. We are just the two old people here. It would be more lively if we had a few children." Yan Jiekuang said, "Of course. If a family member hadn't passed away a while ago, I would have come here a long time ago."

Lou Zhenhua was stunned and asked, "Who is it? Why didn't you notify me?"

Yan Jiekuang took a puff of his cigarette and said, "My wife's grandfather was old and passed away peacefully. The main thing is that I'm not sure if you'll be back, and I won't be able to take care of you now that I'm busy."

Lou Zhenhua nodded, and suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Are your parents still in the courtyard?"

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "Yeah? What's wrong? Uncle Lou."

Lou Zhenhua thought for a moment and said, "I have two wishes. One is to return to my roots, and the other is the Red Star Steel Mill. One is my root, and I must return. The other is the hard work of our family. Of course, that will definitely not work. Let's see if there is a chance to cooperate again. Isn't joint venture popular now? So I want to ask about the latest situation of the steel mill."

Yan Jiekuang said: "I really don't know what the factory is like, but you know the current factory director, the former director Yang, I don't know his name."

Lou Zhenhua was a little excited when he heard this, and said, "He's still in the steel mill. That's great. OK, I'll go out for a while. Xiao Liu, get the car ready and go out for a while."

"Jie Kuang, please sit down first. I'll go upstairs to change my clothes. You can cook lunch in a while." After saying that, Lou Zhenhua went upstairs.

Yan Jiekuang didn't expect that Lou Zhenhua was still so energetic at such an old age. He shook his head and ran to the kitchen. When he got there, he saw Aunt Wang there. He said to her, "Aunt Wang, I'll cook lunch today. Please tell my godmother that there may be guests coming at noon."

This was the first time Wang Ma had met Yan Jiekuang today. She didn't know much about him, but as a godson, she knew that this man had a special relationship with the host family. She smiled and nodded, then turned to look for the lady. After she finished talking to the lady, Lou Tan said, "You don't know, his cooking skills are even better than those of the chefs in our restaurant."

When Wang Ma heard this, she was very surprised. She didn't expect this person to be such a hidden talent. So she went downstairs to help and learn some cooking skills.

When it was almost noon, Lou Tan brought the two children to the kitchen. The two children were holding cakes in their hands and eating them with great interest. Yan Jiekuang smiled and asked, "Did you thank grandma?"

The two little ones kept nodding their heads with food in their mouths. Lou Tan said, "These two are really cute and clever. They are very attractive. Bring them here more often when you have nothing to do."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "The older ones are all in school. Except for the eldest, they are not easy to take care of. I will bring them here some other day. By the way, Uncle Lou went to the steel mill. I guess he will treat Director Yang there to lunch at noon."

Lou Tan said, "This steel mill is a source of worry for your uncle Lou. Fine, they can eat their food, and we two can eat on the second floor."

Yan Jiekuang also cooked several Tan family dishes and several palace dishes. Mainly, the Lou family ingredients and seasonings were very complete, some of which could not be bought in the market at all.

At noon, Lou Zhenhua brought Director Yang and a few others, whom Yan Jiekuang did not know, to the Lou family villa. Lou Zhenhua gave Yan Jiekuang a look, and Yan Jiekuang turned over and went to the kitchen, where they began to serve the dishes. There were butterfly rolls, fish fillets in ginger sauce, five-spiced pigeon, sweet and sour lotus root, braised abalone, shark fin in soup, diced venison with cashews, steamed mandarin fish, blanched prawns and baby cabbage in soup, a total of ten dishes, and the soup was still the abalone, shark fin and fish belly soup.

Yan Jiekuang reserved some of each dish, and also left a portion for Wang Ma and Xiao Liu. The rest were sent to the small restaurant on the second floor. When Yan Jiekuang went upstairs, Lou Tan and the two children had already started eating.

Xixi said, "Dad, what you cooked today is so delicious. Why is it different from before?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "That's because your grandmother's house has everything and the ingredients are fresh. I would like to make these dishes, but I don't know where to find the ingredients."

Xiao Hai said as he ate: "Grandma's house is the best. There are all kinds of delicious food."

Lou Tan touched Xiao Hai's head with a doting look in her eyes and said, "Come often in the future. Grandma's cooking skills are no worse than your father's."

Xixi looked at Yan Jiekuang in surprise and asked, "Really, Dad, grandma is so powerful?"

Yan Jiekuang was serving soup and said, "See these dishes? Your grandmother taught me how to make them."

Xixi looked at her grandmother with admiring eyes and said, "Grandma, I will come to see you often in the future, and you have to teach me."

Lou Tan laughed and said, "Okay, let's eat first."

The mother and son chatted and ate with the children. The meal took a long time, mainly because the two little ones always had various questions.

After dinner, Lou Tan and Yan Jiekuang took the children downstairs. Lou Zhendong was sitting in the hall to rest. He seemed to be in a good mood. Yan Jiekuang also sat down. Lou Tan asked, "How is it? You look like there is hope?"

The two children looked at the adults. Yan Jiekuang knew they couldn't sit still, so he let them go to the yard to play. The Lou family's yard was quite large and well-built. Although there were no pavilions, there were swings, as well as some flowers, plants, fish and insects.

Lou Zhenhua said: "There is a chance. According to what they said, there are indeed some problems in the operation. Now only half of the workshops are in operation, and many workers are idle. This is also the reason why their production has been rigidly reduced. If we can come up with advanced technology and let the steel mill find another way, it can still be revitalized."

Lou Tan asked, "The steel mill is now a pillar industry. I don't think it's optimistic."

Yan Jiekuang said, "That's not necessarily true. As long as it doesn't involve confidential industries and can generate foreign exchange, the higher-ups will probably be more relaxed. Besides, we can also introduce advanced technology. This is Uncle Lou's capital, so we can give it a try."

Lou Zhenhua laughed and said, "Okay, Jie Kuang has made progress. No wonder the plate is so big."

After chatting for a while, Yan Jiekuang said goodbye. Lou Tan told him to come over often and told him that she would move back after Lou Xiaoe gave birth.

Yan Jiekuang drove the child home. On the way, Xixi said, "I like the new grandpa and grandma."

Yan Jiekuang laughed and said, "You like to eat delicious food, right? Did you bring any for your brother?"

Xiao Hai patted his small schoolbag and said, "Don't worry, I brought all chocolates."

Xixi also said, "I brought it too." Yan Jiekuang laughed.

(End of this chapter)