Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 409 New Year's Eve Banquet
On January 20th, the children all had their holidays, and now Shi Lei drives himself to and from school. Although the car is not very good, it is the Mitsubishi that Yan Jiekuang has driven for many years, but it is very convenient.

Ever since they learned that their brother drove with a small car team and had passed the test, Da Pang, Xiao Pang and Shi Li became upset and went to find Yan Jiekuang. Yan Jiekuang did not object, but had one request: they were not allowed to drive to school before their junior year. The three of them were very happy.

When the children came back, Yan Jiekuang told them that Xiaonian was going to have a dinner at a private restaurant. Although they all had their own small circles, they still had to participate in such events.

On the 22nd, Yan Jiekuang took his apprentice Wei Xiaobao and Xiaobao's apprentices to the private restaurant to prepare dishes for tomorrow. He Yuzhu and Yan Jiecheng were responsible for the tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks. Shi Xiaoya, Yongfang, Yongxin and Shi Li were responsible for the layout of the entire courtyard. Everyone was busy.

There are a total of 42 lonely elderly people in the entire Nanluoguxiang. When Director Zhang of the neighborhood committee heard that the neighbors of No. 95 Courtyard were going to celebrate the New Year together at Yan's Private Restaurant and invite all the lonely elderly people in Nanluoguxiang, he was very supportive and said he would definitely attend and bring some food.

When Director Zhang brought people to deliver food, the old neighbors in the courtyard were surprised. Director Zhang brought boxes of Dashunzhai cakes. These things are not cheap now. Director Zhang smiled and said, "This is a little gift from our street office. It's just a request that we must make this New Year's Eve dinner a success."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Just hold it, I will definitely get it done."

On the day of Little New Year, ten tables were set up in the three courtyards of the quadrangle. The elderly and widowed elderly sat in the back yard, the middle-aged generation sat in the middle yard, and the young generation and children sat in the front yard.

There were already four kinds of dried fruits on the table: tiger skin peanuts, strange-flavored cashews, strange-flavored walnuts, and crystal soft candies; four kinds of cakes: sugar-coated buns, mung bean cakes, Chongyang cakes, and Jin Baipi; and four fruit plates: apples, oranges, crystal pears, and bananas.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, people arrived one after another. Jia Zhang, Yan Bugui and Yi Zhonghai were busy at the door, mainly because they were the only ones who knew those old people.

The neighbors also came, more or less, with wine and drinks in their hands, as agreed in advance.

By the time everyone had almost arrived, the cold dishes had been served, eight in total: butterfly rolls, fish fillets in ginger sauce, five-spice pigeon, sweet and sour lotus root, rabbit meat with tangerine peel, strange-flavored chicken strips, winter bamboo shoots with shrimp roe, and wild rice stem with pepper oil. After that, the hot dishes were served one after another, twelve in total. Yan Jiekuang was responsible for six of them and He Yuzhu was responsible for six of them.

Dragon Boat Mandarin Fish, Slippery Scallops, Braised Quail with Soy Sauce, Beef Tenderloin with Oyster Sauce, Duck Feet in Sichuan Sauce and First-Class Tofu are the dishes prepared by Yan Jiekuang, followed by Fish-flavored Shredded Pork, Kung Pao Chicken, Dongpo Pork Elbow, Camphor Tea Duck, Mapo Tofu and Twice-cooked Pork prepared by He Yuzhu, and finally a dish of braised fish lips in a soup pot.

When the dishes were halfway served, Director Zhang came with the deputy director and two people holding cameras. After Director Zhang introduced them, everyone realized that they were reporters from the Sijiucheng Daily.

Yi Zhonghai said: "Director Zhang, since you are here, you should give the opening speech."

Upon hearing this, Director Zhang stood up and said, "Grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, and babies from all families, today is the Little New Year. We thank the old neighbors in Courtyard 95 for hosting this Little New Year banquet and inviting all the lonely elderly people in Nanluoguxiang. This is a good act of kindness. I hope that our old and new neighbors in Nanluoguxiang will carry forward this act of kindness. Enough, neighbors, let's start the feast."

Everyone applauded enthusiastically, and then everyone started to raise their glasses and eat.

The three brothers of the Yan family were at the same table with He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu, Chang Li, Chang Chuang, Liu Guangtian, Sun Xiaolong and Zhou Zhiping. They started drinking as soon as they sat down. Everyone talked about the past with laughter and anger. They also mentioned Xu Delin and Xu Damao, and they all lamented that if they were there, their life would be complete. As soon as they finished speaking, Xu Delin walked into the middle yard from the front yard.

Xu Delin smiled and said, "This is just a coincidence. We have a big feast right after we got back."

He Yuzhu asked in surprise: "How do you know about the banquet today?"

Xu Delin said: "How would I know? I came back to celebrate the New Year and saw that Uncle Yi and his wife were not there, so I came here to find them."

Yan Jiecheng said, "That's really a coincidence. By the way, we'll play mahjong after dinner. It's in the east wing. The table, mahjong, and tea are all ready."

Jia Dongxu and Xu Delin both responded actively. He Yuzhu was a person who couldn't sit still, so he didn't like playing mahjong. Yan Jiekuang didn't care, and so did the others.

The banquet lasted from noon until nearly three in the afternoon, when it was over. Yan Jiecheng and a few others went to play mahjong, while the women cleaned up the mess.

Yan Jiekuang watched for a while, then left the house. When he reached the west wing, he saw that the children were gone. Yang Ruiping said, "Shi Lei and Yongqing took them to Shichahai to skate. It was a big group, so it was a good thing they went because it was too noisy."

Yan Jiekuang said as he made tea, "You still complain about the noise, Mom, you are in good health now, you have many children and grandchildren, you should be happy."

Yang Ruiping smiled and said, "That's right, all of our children are worry-free."

"Have An Ran and An Rui returned? They don't have to stay there during the New Year, right?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yang Ruiping said, "Third brother, the children in the mountainous area over there are really suffering. I feel so sorry for them. An Ran and An Rui also came from poor backgrounds. They can empathize with us and are desperate to help those children. They called and said they want to spend the New Year with the children."

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "I'll ask the company in Shenzhen to purchase a batch of supplies and send them to An Ran and the others in the next two days."

After that, he went to Yan Bugui's study, called Yang Liwei and made some arrangements. Yang Liwei said that he would guarantee to complete the task.

Yan Jiekuang returned to the central hall to drink tea and watch TV. Ji Lian and Yan Jiefang, who had finished their work, came to the central hall.

Yan Jiekuang asked, "My sister-in-law hasn't come back yet?" Ji Lian said, "She and sister-in-law Huairu have also opened a table and are playing."

Yan Jiefang lit a cigarette and said, "Old Third, I'm exhausted after this day. How are you? I heard you're bored and upset."

Yan Jiekuang rolled his eyes and said, "I'm busy every day, and you haven't been promoted yet. How many years has it been?"

Yan Jiefang sighed and said, "They want to transfer me to the branch as deputy director, but I have feelings for the Criminal Police Brigade and I can't bear to let go. I am also considering it."

Yan Jiekuang said, "That's enough. You still think you are a young man. Besides, it's not fair to the people below you if you stay in this position forever. You should leave now so that you can spend more time with your sister-in-law."

When Yan Jiefang heard this, he really hadn't considered the feelings of his subordinates. This time, he was immediately awakened by Yan Jiekuang and said, "You are right. I was still hesitating. This time I will leave completely. Otherwise, it will be unfair to the brothers who have been through life and death together."

When Shi Xiaoya heard this, she was instantly happy and stood up to make tea for Yan Jiefang.

Yan Jiefang saw that although Shi Xiaoya didn't say anything, she still had some opinions about him in her heart. At this moment, he made up his mind.

Everyone was watching TV and chatting. After a while, Yan Bugui came in, with his hands behind his back, looking at his sons and daughters-in-law leisurely, and said, "Buy a newspaper after the New Year. There are pictures of me, Lao Yi and Lao Liu."

Yan Jiekuang asked, "Didn't you bring Director Zhang with you?"

Yan Bugui, who was originally quite happy, was stunned for a moment. Yan Jiekuang burst into laughter and said, "Dad, you have been smart all your life, but you can't tell the difference between the big and small Wang. The reporter was brought by Director Zhang. If you took a photo with Director Zhang, maybe it would be published in the newspaper. If it's just the three of you, I guess the reporter is trying to trick you."

When Yan Bugui heard this, he sat there and said regretfully, "How could I have forgotten this?"

Yan Jiefang was also happy and said, "Dad, you are too smart. If you don't want to do it, then don't do it. We are doing this for the elderly, not for fame."

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "That's right, but I didn't expect that. How come Lao Yi didn't expect that?"

"I guess it's not that he didn't think about it, but that Uncle Yi didn't think about it at all. Ever since Xu Delin came in, he has been keeping his eyes on Xu Delin. How could he have the time to think about this?" Yan Jiekuang said.

Yan Bugui suddenly realized and said, "I was wondering why Yi Zhonghai was so absent-minded during the interview and kept urging me to hurry up. I'm fine, but Lao Liu must be sick from anger, right?"

Yang Ruiping said: "It's not that serious. It's just a photo published in the newspaper. Is it that serious?"

Yan Bugui said, "What do you know? Old Liu's face was wrinkled with laughter. He said that when the newspaper comes out, it will be posted on the wall of the teahouse. Jia Zhang can't be the only one who can show off."

When the Yan family heard this, they burst into laughter. Yan Jiefang said, "Uncle Liu, you haven't changed at all. You always want to be at the forefront of the storm, but you always fail."

Ji Lian was so happy when she heard this. Yang Ruiping said, "My second son is absolutely right. Old Liu always ends up like this. I can only say that he has bad luck."

Yan Bugui was also amused and said, "Well, I'll just pretend I don't know and talk to him later to prevent him from causing trouble again."

The Yan family was chatting and drinking tea lively, and Yan Jiedi was competing with Chen Zhibin at this time.

The original plan was to return to Chen Zhibin's hometown the day before yesterday, but unexpectedly Yan Jie Di had pregnancy symptoms. After a check-up, she was really pregnant. Chen Zhibin immediately decided not to return to his hometown and would spend the New Year at Yan's home.

But Yan Jiedi said it was okay. She felt sorry for Chen Zhibin as he hadn't been home for several years. Now that she was pregnant, it was a good opportunity to tell her parents-in-law the good news.

Chen Zhibin refused to agree and said, "They said the first three months are very important and we need to be more careful. We have to take both trains and cars to go back. What if something goes wrong? Listen to me and we will go back to your parents' house."

Yan Jiedi said: "I have already called my mother-in-law and told her that I want to go back. What should I say now?"

"I'll make the call." After saying that, Chen Zhibin picked up the phone and called his parents.

It took a long time for his mother to answer the phone. When she heard that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she was overjoyed. She also asked her son to take good care of his daughter-in-law and never come back. They would come to Sijiucheng after the New Year.

Yan Jiedi also chatted with her mother-in-law for a while. After hanging up the phone, Chen Zhibin said, "My dear daughter-in-law, let's go back to my father-in-law."

Yan Jiedi nodded, packed up her things and rushed to the courtyard with Chen Zhibin.

(End of this chapter)