Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 434 Winter Dispute
In the backyard of Madam Wanzhi's house, Yan Jiekuang accompanied the old lady to drink tea. The underground fire made Yan Jiekuang very hot. Madam Wanzhi looked at Yan Jiekuang, sighed and said, "Why do you seem uneasy today, and you are in a very bad mood?"

Yan Jiekuang took a sip of tea and said, "These are all business matters. Although I have handed them over to Ji Lian, there are still some unfinished business. I don't know when it will be finished."

Mrs. Wanzhi was a little skeptical and said, "It's just a small matter, you shouldn't be like this, this is not like you, I have always thought you are a very stable person."

"How do you tell that I'm a little confused?" Yan Jiekuang asked curiously.

Mrs. Wanzhi smiled and said, "I put too much vinegar in the noodles at noon, I just didn't say it."

Yan Jiekuang sighed and said, "In fact, it's not just this matter. This matter is not difficult for me. The main thing is Ji Lian. Since I supported her to become the president of the group, I felt her change for the first time. You don't know, in just this month, two important partners who worked hard with me have resigned one after another. You say that Ji Lian has nothing to do with this, I don't believe it at all."

Mrs. Wanzhi took a sip of tea and said, "And then?"

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "It was mainly the problem between me and Ji Lian, and secondly, Xu Delin's betrayal. It gave me a new understanding of the ugliness of human nature. I have always put kindness first. I always think that everyone has shortcomings but should have a bottom line. But this time I broke my own idea, and I am very disappointed in many people."

Mrs. Wanzhi pondered for a moment and said, "You want to have both the bear and the fish. You don't want to be trapped in the busy work, and you want Ji Lian, who works for you, to listen to you in everything. What about Ji Lian's own life? You are being selfish. Other partners, Xu Delin, these things are not important. The most important thing is that the person you want to control is out of your control, and you can't stand it."

After hearing Mrs. Wanzhi's incisive words, Yan Jiekuang reflected on himself and wondered if he was too selfish. He didn't want to be busy, but he wanted the busy people to listen to him.

Today's conversation actually didn't change Yan Jiekuang at all. At most, he reflected on people like Xu Delin. But what happened on the day of the Little New Year completely changed Yan Jiekuang's attitude towards people and his understanding of human nature.

February 11, 1996, the Little New Year in the North
Yan Jiekuang got up early, washed up, and prepared breakfast for his family. Then they got up to eat. Yan Jiekuang had a simple bite and went out with the car keys. He drove the car he gave to Shi Lei.

When Yan Jiekuang arrived at Nanchizi Street, there were very few pedestrians and not many people on the street. Yan Jiekuang parked the car in front of Mrs. Wanzhi's house and knocked on the door.

After a while, the door opened and Mrs. Wanzhi said, "Why so early?" and turned back to the backyard.

Yan Jiekuang went to the kitchen with a smile, warmed himself up briefly, and then started to make breakfast for Mrs. Wanzhi, a bowl of millet porridge, a fried egg, a plate of vegetables and two buns. The buns had been made earlier and were just heated up in the steamer.

Yan Jiekuang carried the hair on a tray to Madam Wanzhi's bedroom. At this time, Madam Wanzhi had already gotten up and was sitting at the dressing table, meticulously combing her white hair. Finally, she tied her hair into a bun and secured it with a silver hairpin.

Yan Jiekuang poured her some water and tested the water temperature.

When Mrs. Wanzhi finished her breakfast, Yan Jiekuang helped her out the door, got in the car and drove straight to No. 95 Courtyard.

Yan Jiekuang did not send the old lady to the west wing, but arranged her to live in the main house in the backyard of the quadrangle. He was worried that the old lady would not be able to adapt to the noise in that yard, after all, she had lived alone for many years.

When I returned to the west wing, I saw that most of the family members were back today. Yan Jiekuang went to the kitchen happily to cook lunch. It was supposed to be a happy New Year's Eve, but as soon as Yan Jiekuang finished cooking, Yi Zhonghai came with He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu and Xu Damao.

The Yan family felt very strange, but they couldn't chase people away during the holidays, especially since none of them came empty-handed and brought gifts.

After some discussion, Yan Bugui placed the round table in the middle hall. At this time, Ji Lian also came over with the children, followed by Yu Li, Yan Yongqing and their children.

When Ji Lian entered the room, she was also stunned. She looked at the person who came inexplicably and turned to go to the kitchen. The kitchen was crowded with people. Not only Chef Yan Jiekuang, but also Shi Li and Yong Xin were busy. On the other side, Shi Xiaoya and Yang Ruiping were busy with tableware and dishes.

Ji Lian came up to Yan Jiekuang and asked, "Why are they here?"

Yan Jiekuang had been busy in the kitchen and had no idea what was going on outside, so he asked, "Who, who's here?"

When Ji Lian heard this, she knew that her husband didn't know about this, so she said, "Uncle Yi, he also brought He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu, and Xu Damao."

Yan Jiekuang was stunned, feeling confused. What did they mean? Did they not want his family to celebrate the New Year? Or was there another trick?
Yan Jiekuang said, "It's okay. No matter what tricks they play, I'm here. Go to the backyard over there and pick up old lady Wanzhi."

When Yang Ruiping heard that they were going to pick up Mrs. Wanzhi, he said, "I'll go with Lian'er." He wiped his hands with a towel and followed Ji Lian out. The children, Yu Li, and Shi Xiaoya began to serve the dishes, including eight cold dishes: beef in lamp shadow, goose liver in salt water, tripe with pine flowers, salt-baked chicken, bitter melon in cold salad, three shredded vegetables in cold salad, fried peanuts, and cucumber in sweet sauce.

Then there were boiled fish, stir-fried lamb with green onions, beef tenderloin with Hangzhou pepper, stir-fried crispy dishes, squirrel mandarin fish, braised prawns, steamed flying crab, light trough conch slices and winter melon, barley and pork ribs soup. There were eight dishes and one soup, which fully catered to the tastes of everyone in the family.

In the central hall of the backyard, there were two large tables. Yi Zhonghai saw that the hot dishes were almost ready, but Yan Bugui had not yet come to the table. He felt a little strange. When Ji Lian and Yang Ruiping helped Madam Wanzhi in, he suddenly realized that there was an outsider, and he looked very noble. The Yan family members all respected this person very much.

He Yuzhu and the other two also looked at the old lady curiously. Yang Ruiping helped her to the seat of honor. Yan Bugui sat on her right and Yan Bugui sat on her left. Yi Zhonghai took a look and sat below Yan Bugui. The other three sat down below Yi Zhonghai in turn.

Yan Jiecheng sat below Yang Ruiping, and below him was Yan Jiefang. At this time, there was an empty seat at the table, which was reserved for Yan Jiekuang, and the seat next to Yan Jiekuang was Xu Damao.

The women and children were at another table. Yan Bugui introduced Mrs. Wanzhi to the four people, saying that she was Yan Jiekuang's godmother, Mrs. Nalan Wanzhi, who lived on Nanchizi Street and came to celebrate the New Year with the Yan family. He also introduced to Mrs. Wanzhi that these four people were old neighbors and came today specially to visit the Yan family.

Yan Bugui's words were very tactful, but Yi Zhonghai could already tell that Yan Bugui was unhappy. He pretended not to hear it and greeted Mrs. Wanzhi with a smile.

When Jia Dongxu and the other two heard about Mrs. Wanzhi's background, they all had their own thoughts, but they all smiled and greeted her.

Yan Jiekuang brought the last soup to the table, and Yan Jiecheng stood up to pour wine for everyone.

Yan Bugui said, "Old lady, please say a few words. Then we can start the feast."

Mrs. Wanzhi smiled and said, "I never thought that I would have the day to enjoy the joy of family. I would like to wish you all a happy new year with a line from a poem by my ancestor Nalan Xingde, 'You must know that autumn leaves and spring flowers are coming, and the hair is dotted with stars. When you meet wine, you must drink it, and don't ask about the name of a thousand years.' I hope everyone lives in the present and pursues their inner heart. Happy New Year!"

Everyone raised their glasses, took a sip, and then started eating. Although He Yuzhu came to support Yi Zhonghai, he really admired Yan Jiekuang's cooking skills from the bottom of his heart. Xu Damao and Jia Dongxu just kept eating.

Yi Zhonghai also lowered his head to eat. He wanted to steal the show, but after listening to Mrs. Wanzhi's toast, he felt that with his cultural level, anything he said would be inferior, so it would be better not to say anything. Yi Zhonghai made up his mind to wait until the old lady left the table in the second half before talking. She was too old to last until the end.

As he was thinking, he looked up at Mrs. Wanzhi. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wanzhi was looking at him with a smile. His hands trembled suddenly, and the wine spilled all over the table and even on his pants.

Yan Bugui said, "Old Yi, even though we haven't gotten together for a long time, you don't have to be so excited. Come, let me pour you a glass. I toast you."

Several people at the table were trying to hold back their laughter and lowering their heads to eat their food. To avoid embarrassment, they toasted each other and pretended not to see anything.

With the mutual respect, the atmosphere of the banquet also improved. Most people talked about stories from the market and current political affairs, which made Yan Jiekuang feel a little harmonious for a while, but he knew that the real business had not yet started, so he did not dare to drink too much and deliberately left room for others.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the children left first. Since there was nothing to do, Yang Ruiping told those who needed to go out and play to go out and those who needed to find friends to go find friends.

Mrs. Wanzhi saw that she had to leave. It would be an eyesore to stay at the table. She said hello to Yan Bugui and took Yang Ruiping to her backyard residence.

Yan Jiekuang knew that people were going to talk about Xu Delin, so he stood up and said, "Let me heat up the dishes." After that, he took the two plates with the most leftover dishes out. After a while, Yan Jiekuang heated up the dishes, and Jia Dongxu stood up and started pouring wine for the men at the table.

Yi Zhonghai picked up the wine glass and said, "Old Yan, how many years have we known each other?"

"From 1951 to now, it's been exactly 35 years. I remember it was this season when we moved to the yard. The Chinese New Year was about to come. At that time, there was nothing but pickles and steamed buns." Yan Bugui said with a lot of memories.

Yi Zhonghai sighed and said, "Yes, most of my life. Old Yan, can you give me, your elder brother, some face?"

Yan Bugui took a sip of the wine and said, "This wine is good, but it's expensive."

When everyone heard this, they all fell silent. No one knew how to respond to this sentence.

(End of this chapter)