Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 44 Things Backfired
The gate of the courtyard
Yan Bugui brought his son to the gatehouse, where a young man was standing at the door.

Yan Bugui was very polite and asked, "Hello comrade, why are you living here? This shouldn't be your house."

The young man said, "Yes, this is not my house. My superiors gave me a task to stay here. Who are you?"

Yan Bugui said: "This house belongs to our eldest son."

"Oh, I was wondering why there are so many books in there. Sorry, we have been looking for the owner too. We have a mission here and we are here to stay. We will pay the rent to you when you leave. Do you think this is okay?" the young man replied.

Yan Bugui thought about it and said, "Okay, then tell me when you leave that I have to move my son's books."

The young man immediately said, "Okay, I'll help you move now."

Several people moved the books into the small ear room. Fortunately, Yan Jiekuang put his books away, otherwise there would be no place to put them.

The eldest brother was a little unhappy because there were memories of him and his master there.

During the move, Yan Bugui was curious and asked the young man what the task of guarding the gate was.

The young man was very surprised. After asking, he found out that the family had left before the Spring Festival and had just returned, so he knew nothing.

He said jokingly: "Your hospital is full of talents. Half of the people in the hospital were arrested. The most shocking thing is that everyone has problems. It's really a treasure land."

Yan Bugui was also shocked. Except for Yan Jiekuang who guessed a little, no one else knew.

The young man said, "Don't ask. Just look at the notice later. There are officials in it."

After cleaning the house, Yan Jiekuang said, "Let me cook. We can also have a New Year's Eve dinner."

The whole family was very happy, and Yang Ruiping helped. "Yu-style asparagus chicken, black pepper beef tenderloin, celery-flavored duck feet, steamed sea bass, braised pork belly with wild delicacies, braised spareribs with soy sauce, garlic-fried Chinese cabbage, stir-fried shrimp, dragon bones in a stew with cordyceps flowers, and scallion-fried flying crab."

Ten dishes, symbolizing perfection, the whole family closes the door and feasts on them.

After eating, no one wanted to move, and the family gathered together chatting.

Normal days returned, and a dull life began. The Yan family went to school as they should, and went to work as they should.

Before long, all the neighbors in the front yard knew about the Yan family's return.

Qianmen Street
Yan Bugui rode a bicycle and brought Yan Jiekuang to Qianmen Street.

There is a house there, which also belongs to Yan Jiekuang, and its name is Yan Jiekuang’s.

The father and son followed the address and found Ganjing Hutong, opened the gate and walked in. The small courtyard was square and very neat, with three main rooms, two east and west wing rooms each, and two back rooms.

The bathroom is on the right side of the courtyard gate, the kitchen is in the back house, there are two trees in the courtyard: a pomegranate on the left and a peach tree on the right, and there is an ancient well in the middle of the courtyard.

Yan Bugui really likes this house. It is very new and it seems that it has been renovated not long ago.

The father and son looked at each other and walked out of the yard. Yan Bugui locked the door. An old man came out from the house next door. He looked to be over 60 years old.

"Hey man, I just moved in." The old man greeted warmly.

Yan Bugui replied respectfully: "Yes, I just bought it not long ago. It's far from my workplace, so I only have time to come and take a look."

The old man said, "You have to come over more often, otherwise I, an old man, will be lonely. By the way, my last name is He, you can just call me Old He. There is a pub just around the corner, that's my business, come and visit when you have time."

Yan Bugui said, "Okay, I'll definitely go. Could you please tell me who built my house?"

Old Man He said, "It's well done, isn't it? There's a guy at the front door named Cai Quanwu, you can definitely find him."

"Okay, thank you, and take care." Yan Bugui saw him off warmly.

On the way home, the father and son decided that they would ask Cai Quanwu to buy the house in Yuer Hutong and leave the matter to Yan Bugui.

As soon as the two of them arrived at Nanluoguxiang on their bikes, they saw a lot of people gathered around the notice board.

Yan Bugui pulled Yan Jiekuang in, and they both knew that it was something that happened in the courtyard. The notice was posted: Yehenala Guixiang (the deaf old lady) was involved in espionage, oppression, and seizure. She had made meritorious contributions, but her faults outweighed her merits, and she was imprisoned for three years.

He Daqing was suspected of concealing his class status, so his class status was changed to rich peasant, and his daughter's class status was also changed.

Yi Zhonghai, suspected of concealing his class background, so his class background was changed to middle peasant, suspected of oppression, seizure, fraud, one year of reeducation through labor

Li Cuilan, suspected of concealing her identity, so her identity was changed to Zhongnong

Liu Haizhong, one year of reeducation through labor for oppression, seizure, and fraud

Liu Guangtian, suspected of robbery, detained for five days
Liu Guangfu, suspected of robbery, detained for five days
Zhang Xiaocui, suspected of forced occupation and fraud, detained for five days and repatriated to her hometown
Wang Lixia, He Yuzhu, and Zhang Xiaohu will be dealt with separately
Both the father and the son were surprised to see so many people. They looked at each other, and the question was whether they should celebrate or not. The answer was definitely yes.

Although Yan Jiekuang was not very satisfied, he was just an ordinary citizen. How big a mistake could he make? Killing someone was not a crime, so the matter came to an end.

The front yard of the Siheyuan in July 1956
Yang Ruiping, carrying a basket of vegetables and holding Yan Jiedi's hand, walked into the front yard. As soon as they entered the gate, the door of the gatehouse opened and Yan Jiecheng said, "Mom is back. I'll carry it."

"Brother!" Yan Jie Di called sweetly. The three of them entered the front yard, and Yang Ruiping said, "I always feel that your door is not opened well. It looks like you are really guarding the gate. Go back and discuss with your father to open the door in the yard, like your younger brother."

Yan Jiecheng said: "I think so too. Let my dad find someone to change it."

The three of them walked into the west wing. Yan Bugui hadn't come back yet. Yan Jiefang was walking around the stove. Yang Ruiping asked, "What's wrong? Are you hungry? There are cakes in the inner room."

Yan Jiefang was really hungry. He didn't eat much at noon, but he didn't tell his family and turned into the inner room.

Holding one in each hand, Yan Jiedi shouted, "Second brother, why don't you give me one?"

Yan Jiefang quickly gave the uneaten piece to his younger sister.

"Where is my third brother? Those who don't go to school for a day are busier than those who go to school." Yan Jiedi complained.

Yan Bugui came in and said, "Little sister, you should think about your lonely days in the future. Your brother has signed up for school."

"Ah!" Yan Jiedi was shocked. She was the only one left at home from now on.

Just when she was about to cry, she saw Yan Jiekuang coming in with a candied haws. Yan Jiedi stopped crying and ran over happily.

Yan Jiekuang handed him the woven bag in his hand and said, "Mom, I'll make something good to add to the dinner."

Yan Jiekuang said, "I'll go clean up, my second brother will come to help." Yan Jiefang was a little reluctant, so Yan Bugui asked him, "Will you eat in the evening?" Yan Jiefang gave in.

Yan Jiedi followed happily behind.

Yan Bugui said to Yang Ruiping, "The eldest has very good grades. His class teacher told me that if he persists for another year, he will definitely be admitted to a technical secondary school next year. The second child will also be among the top students. The children in the family are very motivated. Liu Guangqi was influenced by his father and will probably not be allowed to go to college. The same goes for He Yushui. Do you think it's okay to let the eldest go to high school?"

While Yang Ruiping was cleaning up the dishes, he said, "You should ask the boss himself. I don't know how to do that. By the way, find someone to change the door of the gatehouse to look like the one in Xiao San's courtyard."

Yan Bugui made a cup of tea. The tea cost Zhang Yiyuan. Yan Bugui was not short of money now, as he could get dividends from Shijia Village.

Shijia Village did very well and attracted the attention of superiors. Now Shijia Village not only produces dates, but also other fruits. That was Yan Bugui's idea, and they also set up a packaging factory.

Yang Ruiping said, "By the way, Grandpa Sun next door is injured. If you have time, go and see him. Bring some noodles. I see Xiaolong has been going to the middle courtyard to drink water."

Yan Bugui stopped drinking tea. When he arrived at the yard, he saw the two brothers picking up a pile of river snails. "Can this be eaten?" Yan Bugui asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Dad is waiting for the food." Yan Jiekuang said as he cleaned up.

Yan Bugui said, "Jiefang, wash your hands and follow me to Uncle Sun's house. It seems that he has run out of food."

Yan Jiefang didn't ask any questions. He washed his hands, went down to the cellar to get some food, and the two of them went straight to Grandpa Sun's house.

In the evening, a dish of spicy river snails conquered the whole family.

(End of this chapter)