Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 461 Ready
As the days passed, Xiaohai and Xixi had moved to their grandparents' home. Ji Lian went on a business trip to Shanghai after the first month of the lunar year and would not be back for a long time. The other children were also in school and would not be back. This exquisite courtyard in Yuer Hutong suddenly became quiet.

Yan Jiekuang has been staying in Fangshan for a long time now, constantly getting familiar with the car, and has been practicing for one and a half months.

He planned to set off on April 2nd and head to Shaanxi first. He wanted to return to his grandfather's hometown to visit his grave first, preferably on the Qingming Festival.

On the last rest day at the end of March, Yan Jiekuang returned to his parents' place. He planned to stay there for the next two days to accompany his parents. He didn't need to go to Mrs. Wanzhi's place anymore, as he had said goodbye to her two days ago. Yan Jiekuang knew that he might be away for more than half a year, so he had to spend more time with his parents.

Yan Jiekuang came back from Fangshan, so he brought a lot of vegetables, fruits, seafood, pork and mutton. Yang Ruiping helped put the things in the cellar. Yang Ruiping was also very conflicted these two days. She already knew the time when the third child would leave, and she was a little reluctant, but she didn't want to stop her third child.

Yan Jiekuang was talking to his mother in a low voice. Yang Ruiping looked at Yan Jiekuang with tenderness in his eyes. Yan Jiekuang said, "Mom, don't worry. I'm not not coming back."

Yang Ruiping nodded helplessly and took the things to the kitchen. She was the one who cooked these days, and Yan Jiekuang only cooked one or two dishes occasionally.

Yan Bugui was very supportive of Yan Jiekuang and always said that reading ten thousand books was not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and that young people should go out more often.

At noon, only Yan Jiekuang was eating with his parents. Even Xiaohai and Xixi didn't come back. They had made an appointment with their classmates to go to Shichahai together today.

In the afternoon, Yan Bugui and Yan Jiekuang drank tea and played chess in the pavilion in the back garden.

Yan Bugui asked, "Are you all ready? Be careful on the road. By the way, burn some paper for me at Mr. Ji's grave. I really miss him."

"I know, Dad. By the way, what did you talk about with Uncle Liu and Uncle Yi that day? You drank until so late." Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yan Bugui sighed and said, "What else can we talk about? It's still the same old things. From the 1950s to now, it's the same old things over and over again. I'm getting a little fed up."

"I heard from Aunt Jia that Yi Zhonghai has set his sights on Brother Dongxu again?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

Yan Bugui said without any surprise: "Here, Jia Zhang saw it clearly. Old Yi himself is deeply obsessed and can't extricate himself. But Jia Dongxu is really useless. If you don't mean it, don't keep getting close to Yi Zhonghai. He won't go there when Old Yi calls him. You can imagine how this matter ended. I don't know how it will end."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Dad, don't you think Brother Dongxu is very similar to my eldest brother? I'm talking about his personality and current situation. Both of them are controlled by his wife."

Yan Bugui was also amused when he heard this and said, "Your elder brother is like that. He has no ideas of his own and believes whatever anyone says. It's thanks to Yu Li watching him, otherwise who knows what would happen."

Yan Jiekuang was playing chess with his father in the backyard when Yang Ruiping came over and asked, "San'er, have you gone to the street office to get a letter of introduction?"

Yan Jiekuang was stunned and said, "Do we still need that thing now?"

Yang Ruiping said, "Your second brother called just now. He gave you a few certificates and asked you to go to the street office to get a letter of introduction. He meant that they might need these things. Don't get into trouble because of this little thing."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Okay, I'll go there on Monday. I really overlooked this matter, all thanks to my second brother."

"Also, have you prepared your cotton-padded clothes? I'll get you two more military coats. They are left by your second brother, so you'll be prepared for any eventuality." Yang Ruiping continued.

Yan Jiekuang felt warm in his heart. He knew that a mother would worry about her son even when he was far away. Yang Ruiping must have been thinking about him these days. Yan Jiekuang said, "Thank you, Mom."

Yang Ruiping went to the front yard. Yan Bugui sighed and said, "Your mother is still worried about you. Okay, I won't say anything more. I also know that this trip is enough for you to stroll. No matter what time, safety comes first."

Yan Jiekuang lit a cigarette and nodded silently. He now felt as if he had caused a lot of trouble to his family, but he had to go this time.

In fact, Yan Jiekuang also wanted to find a companion to go with him so that they could take care of each other, but after thinking about it carefully, no one was suitable. The most suitable person was actually Wang Qiang, but the man had already returned to his hometown, so he didn't want to disturb him.

In the evening, not only did the children come back, but the second brother also came with his family. In fact, they came to see Yan Jiekuang off.

In the evening, Yan Jiekuang specially went into the kitchen to cook a dish of braised pork and a dish of cumin lamb. The rest were made by Yang Ruiping and Shi Xiaoya. Everyone was eating in a lively atmosphere, and Yan Jiekuang accompanied his father and second brother to drink.

Yan Yongchang and his three brothers drank beer. Since the last New Year’s Eve dinner, they basically haven’t touched liquor.

Yan Jiefang kept instructing Yan Jiekuang during the meal, and Yan Jiekuang nodded frequently while listening.

At the end of the month, he went to the street office to get a letter of introduction, and then Yan Jiekuang prepared everything. He also followed the advice of Old Liu and did not bring too much money, but he also prepared some reserve funds. Old Liu reminded him to prepare cigarettes and liquor, as these were not for his own use, but to be used to establish connections with local people when necessary.

After everything was ready, he said goodbye to his family on April 1st and went directly to Fangshan. After another inspection, he would set out directly from Fangshan the next day as he would not have to go through the city roads.

Li Dong prepared the meal he had brought specially for him in the board house, and the two talked most about the farm that was about to be relocated.

Yan Jiekuang still suggested that he recruit people locally, which would solve many problems and gain local support. In addition, the locals are the ones who are most familiar with the local conditions and land situation.

At night, Big King and Little King were very excited. They seemed to understand that they were going to travel a long distance to their hometown. They obviously ate a lot at night, more than usual. When Yan Jiekuang loaded their food bowls into the car, the two big guys even shouted twice.

On April 2nd, Yan Jiekuang got up at dawn. He was about to set off. Faced with the unknown and adventure, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He prepared his own breakfast in the RV and also prepared breakfast for Da Wang and Xiao Wang. He had to prepare breakfast because these two got up earlier than him.

Yan Jiekuang checked the items and documents he had prepared again before taking Da Wang and Xiao Wang to his RV. For this purpose, he specially gave the two guys a bath after dinner.

In the morning in Fangshan, the green mountains, the flowing river, and the sunrise with a ray of purple mist coming from the east in the distance made him feel extremely comfortable. He started the car and slowly drove out of the farm.

Looking at the gatekeeper who kept waving his hands, Yan Jiekuang finally devoted himself to this trip.

Yan Jiekuang still drove along the same route as last time. As he was familiar with the road, he arrived in Shuozhou around noon. Yan Jiekuang felt that the roads had been repaired in exceptionally good condition in recent years.

He did not enter Shuozhou, but stopped outside a small village next to the Dongyulin Reservoir. He planned to rest and try to reach Yulin in the evening.

(End of this chapter)