Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 350 Preparation for Departure
After the Army Day, at the suggestion of Yan Jiefang, the Yan family went out to apply for resident identity cards. The children were too young to need them, so after Yan Jiekuang and his wife got their identity cards, on the way home, Yan Jiekuang discussed with Ji Lian whether they should take advantage of the children's holiday to visit her hometown.

Ji Lian thought for a moment and said, "Even if we go, we can't take the child with us. The journey is not far, and we have to go to the street office to get a letter of introduction."

Yan Jiekuang thought the same and said, "Then don't take the child with you. Leave the child to my mother. We have to bury the old man in peace no matter what."

After hearing this, Ji Lian's eyes instantly turned red. Yan Jiekuang put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Don't think about it. We will go to Yulin in a few days."

The two men discussed it again and decided to drive there. Yan Jiekuang had never thought about whether it was dangerous on the road. Yan Jiekuang had never been afraid of anyone.

As soon as Yan Jiekuang reached the entrance of the alley, he saw Xiaopang busying around. Tian Guixiang was not there today, so she must have gone to some market.

Ji Lian looked at the busy little Fatty and asked, "Is this really okay?"

"What's the problem? Xiaopang is smart. He doesn't do this to make more money. Our family is not short of money. He wants to support himself by collecting picture books and rent them out to support his collection." Yan Jiekuang said.

Ji Lian then realized that Xiaopang was not doing this for the money, so she stopped talking. She just felt a little distressed when she saw Xiaopang working so hard.

The couple watched for a while, and without disturbing Xiaopang, they went home directly. When they knocked on the door, Shi Lei's voice came, asking, "Who is it?"

"I." Yan Jiekuang answered, and Shi Lei opened the door. Ji Lian was very satisfied with Shi Lei's performance, because there were too many idle people recently and they started to cause trouble everywhere. There were several incidents of people not paying after meals in her own restaurant. In the end, she called her second brother to completely resolve these issues.

Shi Lei opened the door and said, "Mom and Dad, you're back."

The two walked into the yard, and Shi Lei said, "Yongchang is here, he is in the study with me, Da Pang is in the studio, Xiao Hai and Xi Xi are taking a nap and haven't woken up yet."

Ji Lian said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll go to the backyard to check on the kids. We can't let them sleep any longer. If they do, they won't be able to sleep at night."

Yan Jiekuang nodded and turned to go to his study. Since he was going out, he had to make some travel preparations. Yan Jiekuang made a list first and then checked and filled in the gaps when the time came.

After finishing the list, Yan Jiekuang went to see the children. Yongchang and Shi Lei were reading and discussing at the same time.

Dapang is making a car model made of wood and is processing the relevant parts.

In the backyard, the two little ones were circling around their mother. When they saw their father coming, Xixi rushed over. Yan Jiekuang picked up Xixi and Xixi said, "Shall we have hotpot tonight?"

"Why did you think of eating hotpot?" Yan Jiekuang asked puzzledly.

Xixi said: "I haven't eaten it for a long time. I miss my fried tripe."

"Haha, fried tripe and hotpot are two different things. Okay, let's eat hotpot." Yan Jiekuang said.

Ji Lian said: "Just pamper her, sooner or later you will pamper her to the sky."

"It is said that a daughter is a father's little cotton-padded jacket. How can I not pamper her?" Yan Jiekuang said.

At this time, Xiao Hai said, "What is the son, a pair of cotton pants?"

When the couple heard this, they burst into laughter. Ji Lian kissed Xiao Hai and said, "Yes, they both keep you warm."

Yan Jiekuang put Xixi down and went straight to the front yard to see what was at home. He saw that there was really no mutton, so he called his apprentice Wei Xiaobao and asked him to send some meat and side dishes for the hot pot.

Wei Xiaobao arrived shortly after and brought lamb chops and lamb brains, as well as tripe, duck blood, frozen tofu and wide noodles, as well as some seafood and side dishes. Yan Jiekuang chatted with Wei Xiaobao for a few words, mainly asking about the store. Wei Xiaobao said that everything was going well in the store. It was not even the end of this year yet, but the revenue had already exceeded last year's.

The store was busy, so Wei Xiaobao hurried back to the store after a while.

Ji Lian asked Yan Jiekuang, "Your other two apprentices have left the profession of chef, what about Xiaobao?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "I talked to him, and he said he wanted to focus on studying cooking, and he has a high talent. After another year of observation, I will prepare to pass on my best cooking skills to him."

Ji Lian nodded and said, "That's good. It's a good thing to have an idea. Don't treat him unfairly."

Yan Jiekuang began to clean up the seafood, mainly the black fish, which was still alive.

When it was almost four o'clock, Shi Lei took Yongchang and Dapang to the entrance of the alley to help Xiaopang close the stall. When they came back, Yongchang was not seen, but Shi Li was back. Yan Jiekuang knew that it was his second sister-in-law who sent Shi Li back and took Yongchang away by the way.

Several children went to the study to count the money again. After a while, Tian Guixiang came back. Yan Jiekuang opened the door for her and helped push the cart in.

"Sister Tian, ​​please take a rest. We'll eat hotpot together tonight. Just take a rest." Yan Jiekuang said.

Tian Guixiang smiled and said, "That's great. I'll go and see today's earnings." Then she took the cash box and went back to her room.

Yan Jiekuang set up a large round table under the grapevines in the backyard and directly put two copper hot pots on it. He used bone broth as the base of the pot. The dishes filled the table. Various seasonings and sodas were placed on the stone table next to it. Yan Jiekuang shouted, "It's time to eat."

Ji Lian and the children walked to the backyard one after another. The last one to walk in was Tian Guixiang. Tian Guixiang looked at the dishes and praised, "It's really rich."

After everyone prepared the seasoning, they sat around the table and started eating.

While eating and chatting, Yan Jiekuang whispered to Tian Guixiang that he was going out. Tian Guixiang patted her chest and assured Yan Jiekuang not to worry, saying that she could take care of the children at home.

The children were very happy eating. Xixi didn't want to have a full stomach, so she went straight for the fish. Xiaopang and Dapang both had a special liking for mutton. Shili ate everything, but preferred vegetables.

After the meal, the whole family, including Tian Guixiang, were reluctant to move. Tian Guixiang and Ji Lian were talking about how popular their stall was. Yan Jiekuang said, "Your cooking skills are good, how can it not be delicious?" Xiaopang also said, "My stall is also good. I can buy a set of Water Margin in a few days."

Ji Lian smiled and said, "Okay, you are also good. Have you finished your summer homework?"

Xiaopang said, "I finished it a long time ago, and now I'm preparing for the textbooks for next semester."

Ji Lian then patted Xiao Pang's head with satisfaction, then turned to look at Da Pang, who said, "Mom, you don't have to look at me. I finished before him. I'm also preparing for the lesson now."

Shi Li asked: "Mom, why don't you ask me and my elder brother?"

Ji Lian said: "You two are so self-conscious, why do you need to ask, is it Shi Lei?"

Shi Lei said, "Don't worry, Mom, I've finished everything. I've also finished reading most of the textbooks for next semester. Now I'm mainly reading history books."

Shi Li also said: "Me too, even though I went dancing, I wasn't delayed at all."

Ji Lian said with great satisfaction: "You are all good children. I am proud of you."

Xiao Hai and Xi Xi looked at each other. Xi Xi was unhappy and said, "Don't forget about us. We can all read comic books. If you don't believe me, ask Third Brother."

Xiao Pang nodded and said, "They really know quite a few words now. They used to ask me from time to time, but now they don't ask at all and can finish reading by themselves."

Ji Lian kissed each of the two younger ones and said, "Okay, you are also very good."

Yan Jiekuang stood up and said, "Okay, don't sit down anymore. If you can't do anything, go out for a walk."

Ji Lian accepted the suggestion and took the children out for a walk, leaving Yan Jiekuang and Tian Guixiang to clean the table.

The next day, Yan Jiekuang asked Tian Guixiang to take care of the children while he drove out to do some shopping. He wanted to prepare some long-lasting food, some drinks, and a kettle of water.

He also bought a spare tire and some simple tools. More importantly, Yan Jiekuang prepared two short sticks, and then a map, a flashlight, batteries, a blanket, a towel, and some cigarettes. He also went to Tong Ren Tang to buy some ready-made medicines. Finally, he drove to the street office, found the director, and got a letter of introduction to Shaanxi.

Ji Lian packed a few sets of clothes at home, put them in a travel bag, and put them in her Mitsubishi car. The couple had already agreed to drive this car and take turns driving.

After returning in the afternoon, Yan Jiekuang loaded the purchased items onto the Mitsubishi car. After everything was done, Yan Jiekuang carefully checked to see if there was anything he needed to take.

Yan Jiekuang had already checked the map. Most of the road along the way was dirt, which was very difficult to travel on. Yan Jiekuang suddenly remembered that he should bring a pillow so that Ji Lian could sleep in the back seat if she felt sleepy.

Yan Jiekuang returned home and reported to Ji Lian about the things he had brought. Ji Lian thought for a while and said, "It's almost done. We'll take the kids home tomorrow and say hello to our family. We'll pick up their ID cards the day after tomorrow, and we'll leave the day after tomorrow."

Yan Jiekuang handed the letter of introduction to Ji Lian and said, "You have the documents. You don't need to bring the money, I'll take it. I'll also bring some national food coupons."

After the two of them had discussed it, they cleaned up their own things. Everything was ready before dinner. In the evening, Yan Jiekuang cooked a table full of sumptuous dishes, all of which the children loved.

The children were very happy to see this, and the family had another happy meal. After the meal, Yan Jiekuang called the children and told them that he was going on a long journey and that it might take a week for him to come back. The children were stunned for a moment, as this was the first time their parents had been away from them for so long.

The older ones were fine, looking at Yan Jiekuang in confusion. Xixi immediately threw herself into Yan Jiekuang's arms and said, "I won't let you go. I don't want to leave you."

Xiao Hai rolled his eyes and said, "Why don't we just go with them?"

Yan Jiekuang and Ji Lian said in unison: "No." The couple looked at each other.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Your mother and I are going to Shaanxi this time. It's a long way, so we have to drive there by ourselves. We have to go to your mother's hometown to see your great grandfather off. The journey will be very hard, so I can't take you with me."

Shi Lei thought for a moment and said, "Mom and Dad, you guys go ahead. I will take good care of my younger brothers and sisters."

Big Fat also said, "Yes, Mom and Dad, you can go with peace of mind. I will take good care of my younger brothers and sisters at home." Little Fat and Shi Li also nodded.

Ji Lian said, "Good children, let's go back to grandpa and grandma's house tomorrow and let your grandma come over to stay for a while so that she can take care of you. Besides, Aunt Tian is here."

When the two younger ones heard that their older brother and sister had expressed their opinions, they stopped making a fuss, but Xixi kept pouting.

Early the next morning, the couple took the children to their grandparents' house. Yang Ruiping was very happy about their arrival as he hadn't seen them for half a month.

When they got home, Yan Jiekuang told his mother about sending Mr. Ji back to his hometown for burial. After listening, Yang Ruiping said, "This is a big deal. You guys go. I'll move there tomorrow. Go to the back garden and tell your dad."

Yan Jiekuang took Ji Lian to the back garden again and told Yan Bugui about the matter. Yan Bugui had no objection and said that he would visit Yuer Hutong from time to time to let them rest assured.

The family stayed at grandma's house until dinner was over and then went home.

By the third day, after picking up the ID card, everything was ready, and Yang Ruiping moved in and lived in the guest room in the east wing of the backyard.

August 22, 1988 is a good day to travel.

Ji Lian and Yan Jiekuang had a simple meal at six in the morning and then set off, because at that time, except for Shi Lei, the children were still asleep.

(End of this chapter)