Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 438 Not a Noodle Shop
In April in the old city, the spring breeze was blowing, the sun was shining brightly, people were rushing to work, and some shops in Houhai were opening one after another. Yan Jiekuang made himself a cup of coffee, sat by the window, and looked at the people outside.

People who go to work now are very nervous. Some companies can no longer pay wages. Private and foreign-funded enterprises have had too great an impact on state-owned enterprises. Many companies are facing huge difficulties. People are now in a hurry, there is less laughter, and a depressing atmosphere is everywhere.

Yan Jiekuang's cafe had not yet opened and the time had not yet come. At this time, a taxi came to the door and two people got out of the car. Yan Jiekuang took a look and found that it was Cai Quanwu and Xu Huizhen. After getting out of the car, the two looked around and finally turned their eyes to the cafe. It seemed that the two were waiting for someone.

Yan Jiekuang glanced at them for a few seconds and ignored them. He turned around and went back to work at the workbench. Soon it was nine o'clock. Yan Jiekuang walked out of the workbench, hung up a sign indicating that the business was open as usual, and was about to walk in at the door when he heard a voice calling him from behind.

"Jie Kuang, are you Yan Jie Kuang? Why are you here?" Cai Quanwu's voice came from behind.

Yan Jiekuang turned around and saw two people still standing at the door, so he smiled and replied: "Oh, it turns out to be Brother Cai and Sister Xu. I haven't seen them for many years. How come you are here?"

Xu Huizhen didn't say anything, but just kept observing Yan Jiekuang. Cai Quanwu smiled and said, "We're waiting for someone here. Is this your shop? Why did you think of opening a coffee shop?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Please come in and sit down. I just opened my shop. Would you like to come in and have a cup of coffee?"

Cai Quanwu looked at Xu Huizhen, and Xu Huizhen looked at the intersection again and nodded to Cai Quanwu.

The two people followed Yan Jiekuang into the coffee shop and sat at the window seats. Yan Jiekuang asked them to wait for a moment. Not long after, Yan Jiekuang brought two cups of coffee and placed them in front of the two people. He also gave them a fruit plate and then sat opposite them.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Opening a coffee shop is a personal hobby. I work for three days and rest for two days. If something happens, I will close the shop. What are you doing? Are you waiting for someone?"

Cai Quanwu said: "Yes, you also know them, Chen Xueru and her husband, they agreed to meet here."

Yan Jiekuang didn't ask why and just said "oh". Xu Huizhen took a sip of coffee and asked with a bit of disdain: "Why did you open a coffee shop? Do you make money here?"

"Ah, it's okay. I don't make much money. I just kill time." Yan Jiekuang said calmly.

Cai Quanwu said at this time: "Jie Kuang, you are wasting your life. Why do you want to live like this forever?"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Of course not. I am just trying to experience the process of opening my own store. I will not do it again before the end of this year."

Xu Huizhen sneered and said, "You are still trying to understand life. It has been so many years since the reform and opening up. What's the point of your petty actions?"

Yan Jiekuang said: "I don't have the same ambition as you. I don't want to make a lot of money. I just want enough to spend. I just don't want to be too tired."

"You have no ambition, no wonder your business failed. Just live like this." Xu Huizhen ignored him and drank her coffee.

Cai Quanwu took a look and said with an awkward smile: "It's good. I'm not tired or worried. It's good."

Yan Jiekuang saw that there was nothing left to talk to them about, so he said, "You two, take your time drinking and wait for them here. I'm going to get busy."

Yan Jiekuang stood up, walked back to the workbench, turned on the speakers, and directly played "Symphony of Fate".

Yan Jiekuang no longer paid attention to them. After working for a while, he looked up and saw that the two people were gone. Yan Jiekuang shook his head and walked over to clean up the table. He saw a brand new hundred-dollar bill on the table.

Yan Jiekuang knew that Xu Hui really looked down on him. He just wondered if she would still be so arrogant if she knew that it was him who bought antique furniture from her family and helped them solve their financial problems.

Time passed. There were not many customers in the morning. At noon, Yan Jiekuang closed the shop and strolled to Nanchizi Street.

I walked to the door of the courtyard and rang the doorbell. Sister Lu's voice came from inside and asked, "Who is it?"

"I'm Yan Jiekuang." Yan Jiekuang answered standing at the door.

The door opened, and Sister Lu Si smiled and said, "You're here. Madam mentioned you this morning and said you would definitely come at noon."

"Really? Grandma, you're really smart. I'm just too lazy to cook and want to eat ready-made food." Yan Jiekuang said as he walked into the yard.

Sister Lu Si closed the door, turned around, and followed Yan Jiekuang inside, saying as she walked, "I just made some noodles and a few dishes. Chef, please help me taste them."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go see grandma first."

Sister Lu Si did not go with him to the backyard, but went directly to the kitchen. When Yan Jiekuang arrived at the central hall of the backyard, he saw Mrs. Wanzhi lying on a recliner, listening to Peking opera on the radio.

Yan Jiekuang moved a small step stool and sat next to Mrs. Wanzhi. Mrs. Wanzhi looked up at him and said, "I guess you will come here to eat at noon."

"Anyway, I'm close, and I can still see you, right?" Yan Jiekuang said with a smile. Mrs. Wanzhi smiled and said, "If you're lazy, just say you're lazy. What excuses are you looking for?"

Yan Jiekuang was chatting with Mrs. Wanzhi, and soon he heard Sister Lu Si in the front yard shouting, "It's time to eat!"

Yan Jiekuang helped Mrs. Wanzhi to the front yard restaurant. Sister Lu Si made a twice-cooked pork, mapo tofu and a bowl of water shield soup, and a bowl of noodles for each person.

Mrs. Wanzhi looked at the dishes and said curiously, "Fourth sister's cooking skills are pretty good. I said I can eat spicy food, but Fourth sister rarely makes spicy food. What happened today?"

Sister Lu Si smiled and said, "Today, I want Jie Kuang to try my authentic Sichuan cuisine."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Then I'm in for a treat, but grandma, you should eat less spicy food."

Mrs. Wanzhi sat down and said, "I see. Let's eat together. Fourth sister, don't worry about him. Sit down and eat."

After lunch, Yan Jiekuang left and returned to the cafe. He saw the two girls who often came to drink coffee standing at the door.

The short-haired girl spotted Yan Jiekuang at a glance and complained, "Boss, where have you been instead of running the store?"

Yan Jiekuang said, "I went to eat, why are you here at noon?"

The two girls looked at each other, neither of them was too embarrassed to speak. Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and said, "You didn't come here just to eat noodles, did you?"

The two girls nodded together. Yan Jiekuang slapped his forehead and said, "What are you doing? This is a coffee shop, not a noodle shop."

Yan Jiekuang opened the door as he spoke. The two girls opened the door before Yan Jiekuang. The long-haired girl said casually, "We are here to drink coffee and have a bowl of noodles."

Yan Jiekuang glanced at them both with resentment, turned around, turned on the light, turned on the stereo, and said, "Just this once. If it happens again, I will close down the business."

Yan Jiekuang put on his work clothes and went to the workbench. After a while, Yan Jiekuang shouted, "The noodles are ready. Come and get them yourself."

The short-haired girl ran over and said, "Thank you, boss. You are such a nice person."

Yan Jiekuang looked at the girl at the end, sighed, and said, "I am such a good person, I don't even want to cook for myself, but I have to cook for you two."

The two girls sat in their usual seats eating noodles while Yan Jiekuang cleaned up the workbench.

At this time, a couple came in from outside. They first looked at the two girls, then walked to a seat and sat down. The man shouted, "Boss, two bowls of noodles?"

Yan Jiekuang was standing at the workbench, stunned for a moment. The short-haired girl spat out a mouthful of noodles. The couple was also stunned, wondering why the boss and the customers reacted so strongly.
Yan Jiekuang knew that it was the two girls who caused the trouble, so he quickly walked over and said, "Excuse me, this is a coffee shop, not a noodle shop. Those two are my friends. You misunderstood."

The couple looked at each other, and the girl said, "We only came in because we saw someone eating noodles through the window. We didn't look at the door and thought it was a noodle shop. We really didn't know. I'm sorry, boss."

The couple also walked out with a smile, and Yan Jiekuang said, "Well, why don't you two go upstairs to eat? That way, others won't misunderstand you."

The two girls felt apologetic, so they took the noodles and went upstairs.

Yan Jiekuang had no choice but to sigh. At this time, a car stopped at the door. Yan Jiekuang looked and saw that it was Xiaopang who came with a classmate. After parking the car, Xiaopang took the classmate into the store.

As soon as Xiaopang entered the door, he shouted, "Dad, hurry up, I'm starving, give me two bowls of noodles."

Looking at the fat guy who deserved a beating, Yan Jiekuang finally exploded and shouted loudly: "This is a coffee shop, not a noodle shop. Can't you go home to eat?"

At this time, the two girls' unbridled laughter could be heard from upstairs. Xiaopang looked at his abnormal father and said, "I'm close to here, and I didn't say this is a noodle shop. Who is upstairs? A guest? Or a mistress?"

Yan Jiekuang looked at Xiao Pang and shouted, "Get lost, he's a guest."

"Hurry up, Dad. My classmates are still here and there will be a performance soon. Otherwise, I can't come here." Xiaopang urged.

Yan Jiekuang had no choice, mainly for the sake of his classmate's face, and said unhappily: "Okay, wait."

Yan Jiekuang went back to the workbench to make noodles, and another burst of laughter came from upstairs.

(End of this chapter)