Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 351 Journey West

Yan Jiekuang drove straight to Daxing. He planned to go through Daxing, go straight to Gu'an County, and then drive to Yi County.

At this time, there were already some factories under construction in Daxing, but most of the area was still farmland. People's clothing had not changed much, and military green was still the mainstream, but occasionally you could see some young people wearing fashionable clothes.

Yan Jiekuang opened the car window, and a breeze blew past, dispelling the sultry weather. Ji Lian was in a good mood. She looked out the window and chatted with Yan Jiekuang from time to time.

It was almost noon when the car arrived at the Western Qing Tombs. Yan Jiekuang introduced the distant Western Qing Tombs to Ji Lian. After passing the Western Qing Tombs, at noon, Yan Jiekuang drove to Malantai Village. When the car stopped in front of the village supply and marketing cooperative, a group of people surrounded the two men before they got out of the car.

Yan Jiekuang felt a little puzzled. After Yan Jiekuang got off the car, a middle-aged man and two militiamen with guns came over. Yan Jiekuang took a look and thought, oh, they treat us as suspicious people.

The middle-aged man came up and introduced himself, saying, "I am the public security commissioner of Malantai Village. Please show me your ID."

Ji Lian quickly took out her ID card and letter of introduction and handed them over. Yan Jiekuang said, "We are from the city of Sijiu. An old man passed away, and we are going to bury him in Shaanxi."

The middle-aged man looked at the ID card for a long time, and was very confused. By this time, Yan Jiekuang had already guessed that this person didn't even know there was such a thing as an ID card.

Yan Jiekuang asked Ji Lian to take out the household registration certificates of the two people. The middle-aged man looked at them and then his brows relaxed. He pointed at the ID card and asked, "What is this?"

Yan Jiekuang took out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to the other, and passed cigarettes to the others, saying, "This is an ID card. We only started issuing them last year. I guess you guys can get them this year. Everyone must apply for one to make traveling easier."

The middle-aged man finally understood and said, "Someone saw your car just now and went to the village committee to report that a suspicious person had entered the village. Don't mind it. There haven't been any cars in our village for several years, and we don't recognize many people."

Yan Jiekuang waved his hand and said with a smile: "This shows that the people are very vigilant. I have been driving for a whole morning and I want to take a break here."

The middle-aged man was smoking a cigarette and shouting, "They are just passing by. That's enough. Let's all go. Let's go."

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the middle-aged man said hello to Yan Jiekuang and left.

Yan Jiekuang looked at the person who took his cigarette, but he was reluctant to smoke it and just held it between his ears and walked away.

Yan Jiekuang turned around and asked Ji Lian, "Why don't we go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see what's available?"

Ji Lian nodded and followed Yan Jiekuang into the supply and marketing cooperative. Yan Jiekuang took a look around and realized that there was nothing to buy here. Ji Lian also took a look around and saw only farm tools, pots and pans, needles and thread, and even the seasonings were only salt and coarse salt.

The two men left the supply and marketing cooperative and got in the car. Yan Jiekuang took some bread and eggs from the trunk and planned to make do with them. The two men were eating in the car when a few children outside the car stared at them. The children's hair was messy, their faces were dirty, and their clothes were patched on top of patches.

The youngest one looked younger than Xixi, Ji Lian softened her heart, took out some bread, and walked over. Yan Jiekuang watched from a distance, and the children seemed a little scared. Ji Lian shared the bread and eggs with them. The children took the food and no one ate it. They bowed to Ji Lian and ran away.

Ji Lian was stunned. At this time, an elderly man sitting at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative said, "Thank you, you are a kind person. There are many children in the family, so you took all the food back for the youngest. Thank you very much."

Ji Lian smiled at the old man and said, "Nothing." Then he turned around and ran towards the car. Suddenly, the old man stopped Ji Lian and said, "You are going to Shaanxi, listen to me, don't go through Zhaojiagou, go through Xiaozhai, go to Yushuidong, and then go directly to Zijingguan."

Ji Lian was puzzled, but Yan Jiekuang understood and shouted, "Thank you, old man. We understand."

Ji Lian returned to the car and asked, "What does the old man mean?"

"If you don't listen to the old man, you will suffer the consequences. What the old man meant is that the road in Zhaojiagou is not easy to travel on. Not only is the road difficult to travel on, but life on it is also difficult." Yan Jiekuang said.

Ji Lian suddenly realized and clasped her fists towards the old man in the car.

After resting for a while, Yan Jiekuang drove off and headed straight for Xiaozhai. He planned to reach Shuozhou before dark.

At this time, Yan Jiekuang was only looking at the map and had no time to pay attention to the scenery on both sides. Ji Lian fell asleep in the car in a daze in the afternoon.

Yan Jiekuang drove at full speed and headed straight for Shuozhou. When he arrived in Shuozhou, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. This was really the result of Yan Jiekuang taking the wrong route again. When he arrived in Shuozhou, Yan Jiekuang slowed down because there were already pedestrians on the road, although there were not many.

Yan Jiekuang's car was very conspicuous when driving in this county town. Yan Jiekuang found the county guesthouse and woke up Ji Lian. Ji Lian woke up and asked, "Where are we?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Shanxi Shuozhou, let's stay here for one night and leave tomorrow morning. Do you have your marriage certificate with you?" Ji Lian said, "Yes, I have. How can I not bring it?"

The two men packed their luggage, got out of the car and entered the guesthouse. The waiter at the guesthouse looked at these two people who were obviously dressed differently with curiosity.

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Please, I'll open a double room for you. Here is our letter of introduction, household registration certificate, and marriage certificate."

The waiter took it and saw that they were people from Sijiu City. He quickly registered them and gave them the key. The room was 202 on the second floor.

Yan Jiekuang said thank you and took Ji Lian upstairs. After putting down the luggage, Yan Jiekuang picked up the thermos and went downstairs to get some water. Ji Lian looked around the room and found it was relatively clean, so she made the bed.

After Yan Jiekuang came back and put down the thermos, he said, "You go wash up first. There is a state-owned restaurant across the street. The Shuozhou reed chicken and sea buckthorn juice are very famous. Let's go eat there later."

Ji Lian smiled and said, "Are you very knowledgeable about food? Okay, it will be ready soon."

The two of them simply washed up, went downstairs, and walked to the state-owned restaurant across the street, which was called the "State-owned Shuozhou Restaurant". When they got inside, the waiter came over and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

Yan Jiekuang looked at the menu on the wall and said, "I want a Youyu smoked chicken, two bowls of jelly, two trays of steamed dumplings, and a bowl of Youyu lamb."

The waiter asked in confusion, "Have you been here before?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "No, I'm just very interested in food and have done some research on it."

The waiter also smiled and said, "You really know how to order. It will be ready in a moment. Wait a moment."

The dishes came up soon. The jelly was to Ji Lian's liking. When she ate the Youyu smoked chicken, she praised it highly. Yan Jiekuang told her that the reed chicken here was the best.

The two of them had a hearty meal, and after the meal, they took a walk nearby to see this county town with a rich historical heritage.

When night fell, the two returned to their room in the guesthouse. Yan Jiekuang had been driving all day and was indeed very tired. He fell asleep on the single bed. After a while, Ji Lian also fell asleep.

The next day, Yan Jiekuang woke up at dawn. Seeing Ji Lian still sleeping, Yan Jiekuang washed up quietly, but the noise still woke Ji Lian up. Yan Jiekuang said, "It's half past five now. Let's try to leave at six and see if we can get to the Ji family kiln in the morning."

Ji Lian quickly got up and washed. At six o'clock, the two of them went downstairs to check out of the room. Yan Jiekuang brought the oil barrel and filled the car with oil.

The car slowly drove away from Shuozhou and headed straight for Shenmu. After Shenmu was Yulin. When they arrived in Yulin, it was almost eleven o'clock. Yan Jiekuang did not stop and drove directly to the Ji family kiln.

After passing Yulin, Ji Lian became silent with a sad expression. Yan Jiekuang knew that Ji Lian was thinking about the past, so he could only comfort his wife in a low voice. When they were about to reach Ji's brothel, Ji Lian began to give directions. For a wanderer away from home, the road to his hometown is a memory engraved in his mind.

When it was almost twelve o'clock, the car entered the village. Xiang Ji pointed to a dilapidated yard at the east end of the village and said, "That's my home. My ancestral grave is behind the yard. I know where my grandfather should be buried."

The reason why the two people were in such a hurry was that they wanted to bury the old man before twelve o'clock.

The two men did not hesitate. Ji Lian got out of the car holding the urn and led the way. Yan Jiekuang followed behind with a shovel. Ji Lian pointed out the location and Yan Jiekuang started digging the soil. He quickly dug a pit one and a half meters deep, put the urn in it, and filled it with soil to make a mound. The two men knelt in front of the grave, kowtowed, and burned incense. It was just twelve o'clock at this time.

Ji Lian said: "My grandfather's tombstone was prepared before, it is in the yard, I don't know if it is still there."

"My dear wife, even if she is here, I can't lift her up." Yan Jiekuang said with sweat all over his forehead.

Ji Lian laughed and said, "Let's go and take a look to see if our relatives are still here."

After saying that, he pulled Yan Jiekuang towards the village. Yan Jiekuang said, "Don't you want to bring something?"

"First see who's left, then come back to get your things. Don't you see there's been no one there so far?" Ji Lian said.

Yan Jiekuang then realized that he really hadn't seen anyone. This was a bit strange. Had everyone really left?

(End of this chapter)