Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 371 Liu Brothers
It was August, and around noon, Yan Jiekuang felt that the hot weather did not get cooler, but became much hotter. Yan Jiekuang lamented the severity of the autumn heat. Yan Jiekuang drank a bottle of iced soda, which was left by Lao Liu when he came to eat at noon.

Yan Jiekuang leaned back in his chair, squinting to rest. Just when he was half asleep and half awake, the door of the workshop was pushed open. Yan Jiekuang opened his eyes in a daze and saw that it was Dean Ouyang who came. Yan Jiekuang woke up all of a sudden.

Dean Ouyang smiled and said, "It's so hot, and you can still sleep? Really amazing."

"Why are you here, Dean? I just want to take a nap." Yan Jiekuang said as he stood up.

"Please sit down. Don't be polite. I have something to ask you." Dean Ouyang said as he found a chair and sat down.

Yan Jiekuang took a water cup from the side and poured a glass of water for the dean. Yan Jiekuang knew that the dean did not smoke.

"You say, and I'll follow your instructions." Yan Jiekuang said with a smile.

Dean Ouyang took a sip of water and then said, "I heard that you got a red-carved Yongle box? Was it from an official or a civilian? Our experts here are very interested in this item and would like to take a look at it."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, his heart tightened, thinking that he didn't want my things, so he said, "Yes, there is one, but the official is a civilian, and I didn't understand it clearly, but it must be unsigned. Okay, I'll get it tomorrow."

Dean Ouyang took another sip of water and asked, "It's not signed. Forget it. No need to bring it over. By the way, what did you three gain later?"

Yan Jiekuang immediately started to play dumb and said, "There are no good items, they are all folk items. I didn't see any treasures. But Master Zhang seemed to have collected a painting, saying it was from Jin Yanbiao. I don't quite understand it, but it looks pretty good."

When Dean Ouyang heard what Yan Jiekuang said, he said, "Don't worry, we have no intention of snatching the items from you personally. The things piled up in the warehouse are too big to sort out."

After a brief chat about work, the dean left. Yan Jiekuang immediately put the matter out of his mind and didn't take it seriously.

In the afternoon, Yan Jiekuang went to the calligraphy and painting group. Master Zhang came up to him and said, "The dean is looking for you. Blame me for being too talkative. I boasted in front of those experts that your carved red box is better than those in the palace. They took it seriously."

"It's okay. My piece is not from a famous artist, so they won't like it. The dean said there's no need to bring it here for inspection." Yan Jiekuang said.

In fact, the piece that Yan Jiekuang had was really from the Yongle Palace, but Yan Jiekuang knew that Old Liu and Master Zhang had seen it, so he went home and tampered with it, re-applying the primer to cover up the signature.

After get off work, Yan Jiekuang packed up his things and rode his bicycle home. When he reached Di'anmennei Street, he saw Tian Guixiang carrying a basket of vegetables and talking to a young man selling pancakes at the corner of the street. The young man had a simple and honest look on his face, and he stood there obediently, listening to Tian Guixiang.

Yan Jiekuang knew at once that this must be Sister Tian’s eldest nephew.

Yan Jiekuang rode over on his bike and said, "Give me a set, with an egg."

When the young man saw the guest coming, he hurriedly said, "Please wait a moment."

Tian Guixiang looked back, smiled and hit Yan Jiekuang, saying, "You are already an adult, but you are still making trouble. It's time to eat, but you are still eating this."

Yan Jiekuang said: "No, let me try your nephew's cooking skills."

At this time, the young man looked at the two people with a confused face. He didn't know whether to do it or not. The young man was a little panicked.

Tian Guixiang introduced: "This is my master's house. Your car was made by them, and you haven't even said thank you yet."

The young man suddenly realized what had happened and hurriedly tried to bow, but Yan Jiekuang supported him and said, "Sister Tian is my relative, so you don't have to be polite to me. Come on, give me some money as a token of my gratitude."

The young man smiled naively, nodded, and then started to make pancakes.

Tian Guixiang said: "His business is pretty good, much better than working for someone. If he works for another two years, he will be able to buy himself an apartment." When the young man heard what his aunt said, he smiled naively again.

Yan Jiekuang said: "If you can't do it anymore, go to your uncle and tell him what I said."

Tian Guixiang patted the young man and said, "Erhan, why don't you thank him? He is also your uncle's boss." The young man hurriedly thanked him, but Yan Jiekuang waved his hand and said it was not necessary.

Yan Jiekuang was holding a pancake in one hand and pushing a cart with the other, walking side by side with Tian Guixiang towards home. As they walked, Tian Guixiang said, "I'm going to buy some treasury bonds tomorrow. People are lining up to buy them now. They're in great demand."

Yan Jiekuang had also heard about it, but didn't take it seriously. Suddenly he thought of Yan Bugui and his wife who suddenly returned to Sijiu City. They probably came to buy treasury bonds. You said you wanted to buy them, so you bought them. Why did you hide it from your son? This is a bit unreasonable.

Just as I was thinking about it, Tian Guixiang said, "What are you thinking about? Do you want to buy it too?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "It's okay to buy some, but I don't think it's necessary to buy in my situation."

Tian Guixiang said: "You young people think differently from us older people."

The two of them returned home while chatting about family matters. They rang the doorbell, and Shi Lei came out to open the door. He also stepped forward to take Yan Jiekuang's bicycle. Yan Jiekuang did not refuse, but took off the bag and asked Shi Lei to park the bicycle.

Yan Jiekuang first sent the lunch box to the kitchen, then took the bag back to the study, put the bag down and went to the children's large study. When he entered the room, he saw Shi Li and Xiaopang having a friendly conversation. They had some extra stamps and wanted to see if the other person had any in need, so they decided to exchange them.

Xiaohai and Xixi were nowhere to be seen. They were probably sorting their comic books in their room. Dapang was doing his homework seriously. Looking at the empty book next to him, it should be Shi Lei's. When they saw their father coming, they greeted him one after another, and then went about their business. No one paid attention to Yan Jiekuang. After leaving the study, Yan Jiekuang habitually looked at the recliner in the middle hall. The huge body of the big cat was lying there. It seemed to sense Yan Jiekuang's gaze, raised its head, and called out. Yan Jiekuang did not disturb him and ran to the backyard.

Sure enough, the two little guys were busy in Xiaohai's room, sorting and arranging things, and they made it very tidy.

Yan Jiekuang made himself a cup of tea, then walked to the lounge chair under the grape vines, lit a cigarette, and lay down.

Tian Guixiang was cooking in the front yard when she heard the doorbell ring. Just as she was about to open the door, Shi Lei's voice came over, "Who's here?"

"I, your Uncle Guangqi, am here to look for your father." A voice came from outside.

At this time, Yan Jiekuang just came out from the backyard. Hearing the noise outside, he said to Shi Lei, "You go and do your work. I'll open the door." When Shi Lei heard this, he went back to the study.

Yan Jiekuang opened the door and said with a smile, "Brother Guangqi, why are you here? You are a rare guest, please come in." Yan Jiekuang noticed that there was a man and a woman following Liu Guangqi, and he felt that they looked familiar.

As Liu Guangqi walked into the yard, he said, "This is my first time here. It's really nice." The two people behind him followed in.

Yan Jiekuang led them into the living room of the hallway. Liu Guangqi and the other two sat down. Tian Guixiang brought a teapot and teacups. Yan Jiekuang poured tea for the three of them. The familiar-looking man smiled and asked, "Yan Laosan, don't you recognize me?"

Yan Jiekuang put down his tea and looked at it carefully. He suddenly remembered and said, "Brother Guangtian, when did you come back?"

Liu Guangtian smiled and said, "Just a few days ago, I wanted to go home and see the courtyard, but I didn't expect it to become a restaurant, so I went to look for my eldest brother."

Liu Guangqi said at this time: "Yes, I also heard from Guangtian that my father sold the house, but do you know where my father went?"

Yan Jiekuang handed them cigarettes and lit them up, then sat down and said, "You know what, I really know, they are in Fangshan, not only your parents, but also Uncle Yi and his wife and my parents are there, and they are neighbors."

The two brothers were shocked when they heard this. They didn't expect that the three brothers would go together again. Liu Guangqi said, "Third brother, can you take us there?"

Yan Jiekuang shook his head and said, "Brother Guangqi, this is really not possible. I'm already at work and can't ask for leave. How about this, at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, you go to Yan's Restaurant and I'll find a car to take you there."

Liu Guangqi initially thought that the third brother was unwilling, but after hearing the rest of the story, he smiled and said, "That's great, it's settled then."

Yan Jiekuang deliberately asked: "Do you want to inform your third child?"

Liu Guangqi was stunned for a moment, and Liu Guangtian said, "I've been there, but he didn't go."

Liu Guangqi looked at Liu Guangtian in surprise. From his expression, it was clear that he had no idea that Liu Guangtian had already contacted Liu Guangfu.

Liu Guangtian went on to say, "He has a lot of complaints about my dad. When I mentioned it to him, he got angry with me. I saw this and decided to forget it and not say anything more."

The three chatted for a while, and then the Liu brothers and the woman left. Yan Jiekuang was very curious. From beginning to end, the Liu brothers never introduced the woman, and the woman didn't say a word. She was just observing. But Yan Jiekuang knew very well that this woman was not Liu Guangtian's wife. Liu Guangtian's wife had been to the courtyard, and he had seen her.

Yan Jiekuang felt that something was wrong and he immediately became alert. He also called Ji Lian and asked her to pay attention to a woman and told her about what happened today.

Then he called Xiao Zhang again, asked him to go out tomorrow, and told him the time and place.

Yan Jiekuang thought about that woman and always felt that the woman should not be from Sijiu City. Was she coming to the Liu family or for some other purpose? It felt very strange.

After Ji Lian came back in the evening, she discussed it with Yan Jiekuang again. She expressed her opinion. Ji Lian said, "That woman must have come back with Liu Guangtian. Where did Liu Guangtian come from? Hong Kong Island. You said that the woman came from Hong Kong Island. If you want to say what the purpose is, there are only two. One is to come for Liu Guangtian, and the other is to come for someone else through Liu Guangtian."

Yan Jiekuang thought about Ji Lian's words, and as if he remembered something, he stood up and went to the study, and called Lou Xiao'e. Lou Xiao'e picked up the phone and said, "Oh, we are so in sync. Now, except for the building in Central, all the others have been sold. Guess how much profit we made?"

Yan Jiekuang put the microphone in one ear and asked, "How much?"

Lou Xiao'e said excitedly: "The four office buildings were sold for 3.2 billion yuan. We will each get half. I have already transferred the money to your Swiss account."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Thank you. By the way, has anyone contacted you about the building in Central?"

Lou Xiao'e said, "How do you know? There are several companies, all of which are bigwigs here, and I rejected them all."

Then Yan Jiekuang told Lou Xiaoe what happened today and described the woman in detail.

Lou Xiao'e said: "Listening to what you said, I always feel that I know that woman, but now I'm not sure. Wait for my call, I will send someone to investigate."

Yan Jiekuang thanked him again before hanging up the phone. After hanging up the phone, Yan Jiekuang was stunned for a while.

(End of this chapter)