Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 415 Father Yan Avoids Thunder
Yan Jiekuang and Yang Ruiping returned to the west wing and the central hall in the backyard. Yan Jiekuang told them that he wanted to renovate his house and that he wanted to move back to the backyard of the courtyard first.

Yang Ruiping said he had no objection. At this time, Xu Jingyi came in with a tray with a teapot and teacups on it. Xu Jingyi said, "Uncle Yan, I saw you coming, so I went to make some tea."

Yan Jiekuang took the teacup with a smile and said, "Thank you. By the way, how is your review going? Are you used to living here?"

"My review is going well. Everything is good here. Grandma takes good care of me, and grandpa is also very nice." Xu Jingyi replied with a smile.

Yan Jiekuang said, "That's good. If you have any difficulties, just tell my mother. Don't be so reserved."

Xu Jingyi hummed and went out. Yang Ruiping looked at Xu Jingyi's back with a smile and said, "Third brother, you don't know that Shi Lei has come here twice this week. It seems that this girl will be your daughter-in-law sooner or later."

Yan Jiekuang said: "I don't like to meddle in their affairs, let them take their own course. Besides, if Xu Jingyi goes to school, it will take another four years."

Yang Ruiping nodded and said, "By the way, your father is a little obsessed now. He follows Liu Haizhong out every day. If you have a chance, talk to your father and try to persuade him."

"Does it cost money for him to attend the lecture?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yang Ruiping said: "That's not the case, but he's not at home all day, and he doesn't eat at home at night. These two days, Xu Jingyi and I have been eating together."

"Okay, I'll look into it when I have time. It's closer if I move here anyway," said Yan Jiekuang.

After spending some time with his mother, Yan Jiekuang went home. He looked at the time and saw that Xiaohai and Xixi would be back soon. They were already in the fifth grade, so Yan Jiekuang no longer needed to pick them up.

On March 5, Yan Jiekuang's family moved. Da Wang and Xiao Wang had already been sent to Fangshan. The things in the basement were transported to the top floor of Keda Building, and the furniture here was also sent there. Now the whole yard is empty. It's called moving, but in fact it's all clothes, bedding, and daily necessities.

When they moved to the backyard of the courtyard, the children were unwilling to live in the house that originally belonged to the deaf old lady. Although the house had been renovated, they had heard stories about the old lady from the neighbors since they were young. In the end, Yan Jiekuang moved in himself. The house was so big that it couldn't be left empty, and the new furniture and appliances in it had never been used. Wouldn't it be a waste to just leave them there?

When everything was packed up, Yan Bugui showed up, and Yan Jiekuang said, "Dad, you are so busy. I was busy moving, and you didn't even come to see me."

Yan Bugui was a little embarrassed and said, "I have classes to attend, so I came back after class. Look, I brought you a barrel of oil. This is rapeseed oil, which is rare in the market."

As he said this, he put down his hands behind his back. It turned out that his father had hidden a barrel of oil behind him. If Yan Jiekuang had not said a few insults, he would have taken it home.

Yan Jiekuang put down his work, pointed to the stone bench in the yard, and said, "Dad, come, let's sit for a while. I'll ask you a few questions."

Yan Bugui didn't know what his son meant, so he walked over and sat down, putting the oil on the stone table. Yan Jiekuang handed his father a cigarette and lit it for him. Yan Jiekuang lit one for himself and then asked, "Dad, how old are you this year?"

Yan Bugui was stunned and said, "It's not even August yet. I'm seventy-three. What's wrong?"

"Do you have any illness?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yan Bugui said angrily, "Didn't you take your mother and me for a physical checkup last year? We didn't have any diseases except rheumatism. How could you forget?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "You said you are so old and you are healthy. Why don't you grow some flowers and grass at home? If that doesn't work, why don't you raise some fish? If that doesn't work, you can go out for a walk and raise some birds. If you don't want to live such a pleasant life, why do you want to take classes?"

Yan Bugui was speechless for a moment after hearing what Yan Jiekuang said. After a long while, he said, "I am taking a health class, which is about science."

"Dad, you take classes there every day. How can it be good for your health? It only consumes your energy. What can you gain? Aren't you tired from taking classes?" Yan Jiekuang said.

Yan Bugui was stunned. Yes, he was indeed exhausted after taking classes for more than half a month. But when he thought about it carefully, it seemed like he had taught something, but it also seemed like he had not taught anything. All of a sudden, Yan Bugui was confused.

Yan Jiekuang asked, "Where did you get this oil?"

"This is a souvenir from the Health Association to thank our students. It's free." Yan Bugui said.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Dad, we've been through so many ups and downs and intrigues for so many years. Have you ever heard of pie falling from the sky? I've only heard of casting a long line to catch big fish. I guess you big fish are about to take the hook, so I put down the bait." Yan Bugui was a very shrewd man. After listening to Yan Jiekuang's words, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that his son was right.

"What should I do? Liu Haizhong will come to see me tomorrow. I just got the oil. I would feel embarrassed to not go." Yan Bugui said.

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "Pretend to be sick and let my mother come out to fend him off. Just say you are in the hospital and don't come out of the backyard."

Yan Bugui nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll go back and discuss it with your mother."

The next day, as expected, Liu Haizhong came over early to call Yan Bugui. Yang Ruiping said with a sad face, "Old Liu, Yan Bugui is in the hospital. He was taken away by ambulance last night. They said he had an infectious disease and was sent to isolation. We were not allowed to follow him."

When Liu Haizhong heard this, he was shocked. How could he be sick? Or an infectious disease? Wouldn't it be transmitted to me? Without even saying hello, Liu Haizhong turned around and walked away quickly, even jogging a few steps.

Yang Ruiping looked at Liu Haizhong's back and laughed. At this time, Jia Zhang came out of the teahouse, gave Yang Ruiping a thumbs up, and said, "You are so cruel. In order to get rid of Liu Haizhong, you even made up your husband into an infectious disease."

Yang Ruiping laughed even more happily, and Jia Zhang was also happy. From that day on, Yan Bugui never went there again. He stayed in his own yard and went nowhere.

About half a month later, news came that many old men and women in Nanluoguxiang had been cheated by someone who claimed to be from a health association. In their last lecture, they were selling a kind of health auxiliary equipment that they said could speed up metabolism and improve immunity. One device cost three thousand yuan and was said to be high-tech. But when the old men and women bought it home, someone discovered that it was a new type of blood pressure monitor that only cost a few hundred yuan on the market in the south.

Many old men and women went to the hospital after hearing that they had been cheated, including Liu Haizhong.

Yan Bugui was still frightened after hearing this. Yang Ruiping also said, "Thanks to our third son, otherwise you would have been the one who was deceived."

Yan Bugui kept nodding and said, "I wonder if that group of people have been caught."

After this incident, many old men and women disappeared from the streets. Some of them were forbidden to go out by their families, while others were admitted to the hospital.

Yan Jiekuang sorted out the books he brought with him these two days and prepared to build a bookcase on the back wall. He already had some ready-made ones and could just move them over and use them. He took a tape measure to measure the length, width and height. At this time, the wall at the back looked awkward no matter how he looked at it, but he couldn't tell exactly what was wrong. So he walked out of the house and walked around the back room.

This courtyard has a backyard wall, and there is a vase door in the northeast corner of the wall, but it was blocked in the early years. After walking around, he didn't see anything strange. He went to the two back rooms on the left and right to check, but there was still nothing different. He returned to his middle room and stared at the back wall.

Yan Jiekuang suddenly discovered that the back wall of this room was obviously much thicker than the back walls of the two neighboring rooms. Yan Jiekuang immediately took a tape measure and measured it. The back walls on both sides were 40 centimeters thick, while the back wall of his room was a full 80 centimeters.

Yan Jiekuang was thinking, who on earth is this deaf old lady? She must be hiding very well. Yan Jiekuang cleared away all the furniture near the back wall and knocked on the wall for a long time. Finally, he found that there was an area in the lower right corner of the wall that was obviously empty. The area was approximately 80 centimeters wide and one meter high.

Yan Jiekuang went to the utility room to get a hammer and was about to smash it, but he stopped immediately and walked quickly to the front desk room in the front yard and called Yan Jiefang. Yan Jiefang answered the phone and said, "This is the Dongcheng Branch. Who are you?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Second brother, it's me. Come to the courtyard quickly. I have a surprise for you. Also, bring two colleagues with you, and a high-powered flashlight." After saying that, Yan Jiekuang hung up the phone.

Yan Jiefang felt puzzled, but then he thought that his brother was not the kind of person who joked, and he must have discovered something in the courtyard. Thinking of this, he called the three policemen at home and drove a jeep to the courtyard.

When they arrived, Yan Jiekuang was waiting for them in the front yard. Yan Jiekuang asked, "Second brother, who do you think the deaf old lady is?"

Yan Jiefang was stunned and said, "Isn't he just an orphan from the Qing Dynasty who stayed to look after the courtyard?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "I used to think so, but not necessarily now. Come on, follow me. By the way, lock the gate of the courtyard, otherwise someone will break in later." Yan Jiekuang also instructed the waiter on duty.

Yan Jiekuang led them to the back room, and Yan Jiefang said, "Could it be that this old lady is up to something? Why didn't you tell Yi Zhonghai or He Yuzhu?"

"Guess what the secret is that cannot be told until death? Just wait and see." After saying that, Yan Jiekuang walked to the right side of the wall with a hammer and hit it a few times. A concave space appeared and on the ground was an iron cover that was locked.

Yan Jiefang became interested. Without Yan Jiekuang's help, he directed his men to knock off the lock on the lid. When they opened the lid, a deep entrance appeared.

(End of this chapter)