Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 426 Love Story
When November came, the weather turned cold. Although my own home had central heating installed, Mrs. Wanzhi's home still used underground fire for heating. On his days off, Yan Jiekuang bought coal and charcoal from Mrs. Wanzhi's home, as well as some green onions and cabbage, and put them in the cellar.

Mrs. Wanzhi felt sorry for Yan Jiekuang and kept saying that she could make a fire. However, Yan Jiekuang still came early every day to check on the pit in the front yard to see if the fire had gone out. Later, she asked Ji Lian to order some air conditioners and installed one in every room of the courtyard. Only then did Yan Jiekuang feel relieved.

Now in the morning, Yan Jiekuang would first go to Mrs. Wanzhi's place, and then go to the coffee shop with Mrs. Wanzhi around eight o'clock. Yan Jiekuang also specially asked Wang Xuan to build a lounge on the second floor, which was specially prepared for Mrs. Wanzhi.

In the evening, he would send Mrs. Wanzhi back home, prepare dinner for her, and eat with her before returning to his own home.

Ji Lian had no opinion about Mrs. Wanzhi, but she also asked Yan Jiekuang why he was so proactive in taking care of Mrs. Wanzhi.

Yan Jiekuang said: "When I first met Mrs. Wanzhi, I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. When I saw the photo that Mrs. Wanzhi took out, I knew that I had the responsibility to take care of this old lady. I had a feeling that the person in the photo was me."

After hearing this, Ji Lian felt very amazed and insisted on taking the children to see the old lady and the photo tomorrow.

The next day, Yan Jiekuang and Ji Lian took Xiaohai and Xixi to the old lady's house. Wanzhi was very happy to see Yan Jiekuang bringing his family. She started to get some fruits and went into another room to take out a candy box.

Yan Jiekuang quickly stopped Mrs. Wanzhi and said, "Madam, please sit down and talk. I'll come over. Don't be so polite. We are all family."

Mrs. Wanzhi was talking to Ji Lian and Xixi. Xiao Hai became interested in the courtyard and wandered around. After a while, he found his father and said, "Dad, the madam must be a royal relative. She must be extraordinary to live here."

"You guessed it right. Madam Wanzhi's surname is Nalan. Do you know Nalan Xingde? He is Madam's ancestor." Yan Jiekuang said.

Xiao Hai was shocked and hurried back to the main hall. He also wanted to hear Mrs. Wanzhi's story.

Mrs. Wanzhi smiled and told them stories about her childhood. Ji Lian and the two children listened with great interest. Then Mrs. Wanzhi took out the photo album and showed it to Ji Lian and the children.

There are also photos of Wanzhi when she was a child, and the background is obviously the Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City.

When Ji Lian saw the photo of Mrs. Wanzhi and her lover, she was also shocked. She and the children thought that the man was Yan Jiekuang. Wanzhi shook her head and told the story of this man.

Yan Jiekuang also sat down. It was the first time he heard Mrs. Wanzhi talk about this man.

The man's name was Xia Wenchang. He was Wanzhi's childhood playmate. They had been together since childhood. His father and Wanzhi's father were old friends, and the two children had been engaged since childhood. This was recognized by both families. Xia Wenchang was lively, clever, and studious since childhood.

However, the great changes in the Nalan family forced the family to send a branch across the ocean, and Nalan Wanzhi's father took on this responsibility and left Sijiu City with Nalan Wanzhi, who was only five years old, and his wife.

Nalan Wanzhi said: "I remember clearly that when the carriage left the Nalan family's mansion, she heard Xia Wenchang's voice, calling out 'Wanzhi, Wanzhi', with tears in his voice. When he was about to leave, she heard the boy calling out 'Wanzhi, wait for me, I will find you.' That's how we separated. I thought this farewell would be forever."

Wanzhi followed her father on a six-month journey to San Francisco, where they settled down. They were wealthy and bought a house in the wealthy area of ​​San Francisco. Wanzhi also went to an aristocratic school there.

Time flies, and ten years have passed in a flash. One afternoon, Wanzhi came home from school and saw a handsome young man standing at the door of his house. When Wanzhi appeared, the boy was very excited and shouted, "Wanzhi, I finally found you. Do you still remember me?"

Wanzhi recognized Xia Wenchang at a glance. He really came. It was a painful journey from Beijing to San Francisco, but she didn't expect that ten years later, he came to San Francisco for her without hesitation.

Wanzhi's father was also moved by Xia Wenchang's persistence. After all, the two were engaged, so he kept Xia Wenchang. From then on, the two went to school together, went home together, played together, and fell deeply in love with each other. Both parties also agreed to get married after they turned 18.

Xia Wenchang was extremely smart and a quick learner. He quickly stood out in school, especially in mathematics. In less than two years, he became the top figure in the mathematics world. Just when everything was moving towards a bright future, fate played a trick on him. Just after his seventeenth birthday, Xia Wenchang collapsed. The doctor diagnosed that he had lung cancer in the late stage.

In Xia Wenchang's last days, Wanzhi never left him. Until one day, Xia Wenchang was lying on the hospital bed, looking at her with a smile, and said: "Wanzhi, my wife, the greatest blessing in my life is to know you and to accompany you for seventeen years. As long as you are here, I feel that the world is not so gloomy. As long as you are by my side, the sun can always shine on my heart. But my greatest misfortune is that I can't continue to accompany you. After I am gone, you must live a happier life, because I will be watching you in heaven. I am leaving, my wife, I love you."

Nalan Wanzhi burst into tears and cried bitterly while hugging Xia Wenchang until his father came over. At this time, Xia Wenchang had closed his eyes forever with a smile. In this way, they buried Xia Wenchang. On her 18th birthday, Mrs. Wanzhi tied her hair up and swore to remain faithful to Xia Wenchang for the rest of her life.

It was just a sad story. The storyteller cried as he finished telling it, and the listeners also cried as they finished listening to it.

Yan Jiekuang felt that it was destiny for him to meet Mrs. Wanzhi. When he decided to open a coffee shop again and take a look at other people's lives, Mrs. Wanzhi walked in on the first day and chose the original book "Gone with the Wind" that he also liked.

Mrs. Wanzhi attracted him, and he also attracted Mrs. Wanzhi. They wanted to know each other's past, just like old friends who met again after many years. So Yan Jiekuang took on the responsibility of taking care of her for the rest of her life without hesitation. In his mind, there was always someone making choices for him. Fate was really wonderful.

After hearing the story, Ji Lian felt that Mrs. Wanzhi was a great woman and a role model for her to learn from. She had admired many people, but the person she looked up to most, besides her husband, was Mrs. Wanzhi.

After listening to the story, Xiaohai and Xixi just remained silent and silently looked through the photo album. They both wanted to find more stories in the album because those stories were so beautiful.

The sky gradually darkened. Yan Jiekuang went to the front yard to cook. Ji Lian chatted with Mrs. Wanzhi, while Xiao Hai and Xixi helped Yan Jiekuang light a fire.

In the evening, Yan Jiekuang cooked palace dishes again. The presentation was exquisite and the ingredients were rich. There were six dishes and one soup in total. Yan Jiekuang and his family accompanied the old lady to eat. Maybe because there were so many people, the old lady ate more than usual and kept serving food to Xiaohai and Xixi. It can be seen that she likes Xiaohai and Xixi very much.

When saying goodbye in the evening, Mrs. Wanzhi asked Xiaohai and Xixi to come and accompany her often, and Xiaohai and Xixi agreed.

In the days that followed, the old lady didn't go to the cafe every day, because Xiaohai and Xixi would go there to keep her company when they had nothing to do. Ji Lian also went there often, sometimes bringing some fresh ingredients and items. For example, she bought a phone for the old lady and patiently taught her how to make a phone call.

Yan Jiekuang took a look and thought, okay, I'll buy some for myself as well, and also buy some for the children and parents, and give them to them one by one, including Yongfang and Yongxin.

This morning, Xixi said she wanted to go to Mrs. Wanzhi's place. Yan Jiekuang asked her to tell his wife that he would not go today. He would go back to his parents' place. Xixi said, "Okay, Dad, don't worry. I can take good care of Mrs. Wanzhi. By the way, I can also learn English."

Xixi rode away on her bicycle. Yan Jiekuang was also taking a day off today. Just as he was about to pack up and go to his parents' house, he suddenly remembered that Xiaohai was not going to school today. Why didn't he see him so early in the morning? Yan Jiekuang went to Xiaohai's room, but it was locked and he was gone. He walked to the front yard and saw that Xiaohai had left on his bicycle early in the morning, even earlier than Ji Lian.

Yan Jiekuang thought about it and decided to let him go and play. Carrying the mutton he had bought last night, Yan Jiekuang went straight to Yard No. 95.

Yang Ruiping and Yan Bugui were both in the teahouse. When Yan Jiekuang saw that the door to the west wing was locked, he knew where the two had gone. Yan Jiekuang lifted the door curtain and entered the teahouse. Yang Ruiping saw Yan Jiekuang coming in at a glance, so he stood up and walked over. Yan Jiekuang greeted everyone and then followed his mother back to the west wing.

Yang Ruiping asked: "What are you carrying?"

"Mutton, shall we have hotpot for lunch?" Yan Jiekuang said.

Yang Ruiping smiled and said, "Okay, then should we buy some side dishes? We have Chinese cabbage and some tofu at home, and I was planning to make a stew for lunch. Oh, and I need some sesame sauce."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Okay, leave it to me. I'll go to Xiaobao's next door to pick some vegetables and have him bring them over later. Then I'll go buy the sauce."

Yan Jiekuang went to the restaurant next door. In addition to the waiter, Wei Xiaobao was also at the front desk, with a gloomy face, smoking there.

Yan Jiekuang took a look and said, "Oh, what's wrong? He looks so unhappy. Is he still my carefree and lovely apprentice Xiaobao?"

This sentence made the waiter burst into laughter. Wei Xiaobao saw that it was the chef who came and forced a smile.

(End of this chapter)