Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 38 The storm breaks out again
West Wing of the Siheyuan
Yan Jiekuang didn't say much and went straight to the stove.

"What I'm going to teach you is a kind of candied jujube. It should sell well. The key is to seal it well. It will not go bad for several years. You can sell it slowly, but it shouldn't be needed. I'll make it once, and then call Shi Xiaoya over to make it again. It's very simple, it's just a matter of proportion." Yan Jiekuang said to Grandpa Shi, and then began to prepare.

Shi Xiaoya asked Grandpa Shi to carry it back, followed by Yan Jiefang.

"The raw materials are red dates, brown sugar, honey is also fine, and water."

Then Yan Jiekuang started to make candied dates. It didn’t take long before they were done and he put them aside to cool. Yan Jiekuang asked Shi Xiaoya to make the second pot, and then Grandpa Shi made the third pot.

Yan Jiekuang thought for a long time about what to use to pack the things. At present, supplies were scarce and there were few materials that could be used or made into packaging.

When Yan Jiekuang was worried, he saw the small cloth bag on Shi Xiaoya's waist. His eyes lit up and he asked Shi Xiaoya to take the bag. Shi Xiaoya refused and said, "This is what my mother made for me."

Yan Jiekuang said, "I'll just use it for a while, I don't want it for yours, so put the things inside away." Shi Xiaoya looked around and pulled Yan Jiefang to his room.

"Okay, she hid the money. Grandpa Shi, this girl is hiding money." Yan Jiekuang was making an accusation.

Grandpa Shi had candied fruit in his mouth and ignored him. Yan Bugui and Yang Ruiping were also eating happily.

After a while, the cloth bag was brought over. It was sewn very delicately. Yan Jiekuang cleaned it, put a small piece of oil paper inside, and then put fifteen or sixteen candied fruits in it.

Yan Jiekuang asked several people: "How much is a bag?"

"Two cents!" Yan Bugui gave a price.

Grandpa Shi said with some distress: "This cost less than ten cents, it's good enough if it can be sold for ten cents."

Yan Jiekuang said, "One dollar a bag, no bargaining."

"Mom, you can make these small bags this afternoon. Just use scraps of cloth. Make it in any color you have. Multicolored is best. Make fifty. I'll make a sign and give you a surprise." Yan Jiekuang said and left.

Several people looked at each other and said, "Let's do it." Yan Bugui was afraid that his wife would be tired, so he asked, "Do you want to ask Widow Wang to join you?"

"Sure, we can still chat." Yang Ruiping agreed.

Time passed quickly, and by two or three in the afternoon, everything was ready.

Yan Jiekuang took out a sign that read, "Ancient-style candied fruit, a must-have for travel, it quenches your thirst and is sweet to the heart!"

Others may not understand, but Yan Bugui does. Just by looking at these words, he can sell half of the products.

The group pulled the candied fruits and headed straight for Dongjiaomin Lane. In a market, Yan Jiefang and Shi Xiaoya were selling the fruits, which Yan Jiekuang named "Traditional Candied Fruits".

A big box of bulk preserved fruit and a pile of colorful cloth bags. A scale shows that one pound of bulk preserved fruit is two yuan, and one bag of preserved fruit is one yuan.

In less than an hour, all the dates were sold out. Grandpa Shi and Yan Bugui, who were watching nearby, were stunned. Just a bag of 50 kilograms of dates turned into 80 yuan in just one afternoon.

Yan Bugui was a little depressed. He worked hard for a month and only earned 27 yuan.

A few people packed up and returned to Nanluoguxiang.

Grandpa Shi and Shi Xiaoya took the goodies and the money, of course they still had to pay for the cloth bags and the processing fee (Yan Bugui collected twenty), and then they loaded the donkey cart and were about to leave.

Yan Jiefang ran over with a small bag on his back and told Yan Bugui that he wanted to go and help. Yan Bugui thought to himself, "You really want to help? You just can't bear to leave the girl behind." But in the end he agreed since it was his holiday anyway.

Yang Ruiping gave Widow Wang five dollars, mainly because some of the fabrics were found by others. Yan Bugui said nothing.

Just like that, within a few days, the traditional candied fruit had become popular in the capital.

Yan Jiekuang said to Yan Bugui meaningfully: "Shijia Village didn't give me a satisfactory reward this time, so our fate ends here."

Yan Bugui was puzzled, and Yan Jiekuang said, "Dad, anyone can make money by growing dates this way. Are dates valuable?" Yan Bugui suddenly realized, but he also sharpened his knife.

August 1955, the west wing of the front yard of the Siheyuan

The Yan family sat together to eat. Today, Yang Ruiping cooked and made fried eggs with Chinese toon, which was young shoots picked from Shijia Village, and braised roe deer meat. Yan Jiekuang added a three-cup chicken dish.

Yan Bugui didn't even know what three cups chicken was, but it was delicious. The staple food was two-grain porridge and two-grain flour steamed buns.

Everyone was having a great time, and the little sister "Brother" and "Chicken" were directing people beside Yan Jiekuang.

Yan Jiecheng now focuses on his studies. More importantly, his father Yan Bugui has started giving him pocket money, although it is not much, only three yuan a month.

Yan Jiefang was completely focused on Shijia Village. He was almost settling down there, which made Yan Bugui very angry.

It’s not Yan Jiefang’s fault. The weird games he played and the projects he learned in the sports school successfully made him the king of the children in the village.

Yang Ruiping was very happy and his youngest son would give him some delicious food whenever he had time.

Ever since she could walk, Yan Jie Di has been holding Yan Jie Kuang's hand and never letting go, except when eating and sleeping.

When Yan Bugui was hit by 5,000 yuan from Shijia Village one night, he changed completely. It was Yan Jiekuang who reminded him not to show off his wealth and to keep a low profile.

He has become more restrained now, but he is still a very family-oriented person and spends all his money on his family.

There was a knock at the door, and several people quickly cleaned up the dishes. After everything was done, Yan Bugui opened the door and saw Yi Zhonghai coming.

Yan Bugui let Yi Zhonghai into the house, and Yang Ruiping said, "You guys go to the stove to eat, and the boss will wipe the table."

Yi Zhonghai was a little embarrassed, and Yan Bugui said, "We're almost done eating anyway, it's okay, come and sit down."

Yi Zhonghai followed Yan Bugui to the Eight Immortals Table and sat down. Yan Jiecheng wiped the table, poured water, and then went to the stove.

"You haven't been here for a long time. Is there something wrong?" Yan Bugui took out a cigarette and handed it to him.

Yi Zhonghai took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff and said, "Nothing serious. This year's advanced award has been cancelled and everyone has lost their enthusiasm. I thought of holding a meeting to encourage everyone."

Yan Bugui took a puff of his cigarette and said, "Uncle No. 1, it's been a long time since I resigned from the position of Uncle No. 3 in front of Director Wang, the other two uncles, and the deaf old lady. You don't need to tell me about this, I just listen to your orders."

"Well, there is one more thing. You see, the compound is full, right?" Yi Zhonghai said hesitantly.

"Yes, isn't it good to have a large family? But that's not right. There are still two empty houses in your central courtyard, two empty rooms in the backyard, and two empty rooms next to Liu Haizhong. Uncle, how can you say that it's full?" Yan Bugui said with his eyes rolling around.

"Oh, it's true. There are still so many empty rooms. No, it's Jia Zhang. His house is a bit small. An old man, two adults and two children are squeezed into one room. How difficult it is." Yi Zhonghai said.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Yan Bugui's tone turned cold.

"Look, your gatehouse is still empty. Clean it up and let your third son live there. You can give the back house to the Jia family. Then everyone will be happy, right?" Yi Zhonghai finally stated his purpose.

Yan Bugui asked seriously, "I won't say much about the house in the middle courtyard. It's sealed and can't be opened easily. What about the house in the backyard?"

"Liu Haizhong has already applied to the steel rolling mill for the house next to his house. As for the back house, our ancestors like quietness, so as younger generations, we'd better not disturb them as much as possible." Yi Zhonghai said seriously.

Yan Bugui was furious. He suddenly stood up and pointed at Yi Zhonghai and shouted, "Yi Zhonghai, I am a teacher. I don't want to scold people. Get out of here. Get out."

Yi Zhonghai was a little embarrassed, but he insisted, "Just wait, I'll tell you at the meeting later that you have to give in."

Yi Zhonghai turned around and walked out. Yan Jiekuang thought about the unscrupulous Yi Zhonghai. Is his confidence only from Director Wang?

"Dad, my house is a private property. The title deed and the property certificate were handled by Director Wang. I think I should ask her first."

After listening to this, Yan Bugui thought about it, turned around and left, going to the street office. Yan Jiekuang waited quietly, waiting for Director Wang's attitude.

After a while, Yan Bugui came back dejected, and Yan Jiekuang had already understood.

Yan Jiekuang shook his head. Even if the man does not move, the wind will move.

(End of this chapter)