Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 49 The Final Madness

Front yard in July 1955

Today is a day for children, and all the children in the front yard are out.

At noon, several children pulled a cart loaded with a dozen large bags into the front yard.

Yan Jiekuang was in charge, and Widow Wang, Li Juan, and Yang Ruiping also came to help. They filled several large buckets with water. When the water was poured out of the bags, Li Juan shouted, "Isn't this a cicada? It's very fierce. Can we eat it?"

"Don't worry, Uncle Yang, take the food out of the pot. Everyone, take out the cicadas and make sure they are clean." Yan Jiekuang said.

Everyone started to move. Yan Jiekuang prepared the secret seasoning and a lot of garlic. Uncle Yang even started to peel the garlic.

The front yard was bustling with activity, and neighbors from the middle yard also came to watch.

Qin Huairu muttered, "This is new food." She was a little anxious and wanted Jia Dongxu to come home and take a look.

An hour later, the first pot came out of the oven. "Spicy Crayfish" was the new name given to it by Yan Jiekuang.

After getting a few large basins, everyone also brought out their own small tables and chairs and sat around together, all looking at Yan Jiekuang.

Yan Jiekuang took out one and broke off the shrimp head, emphasizing that the shrimp head was not edible. Then he broke the tail on both sides and a piece of meat came out. Yan Jiekuang couldn't wait as it had been a long time since he had eaten it.

As soon as everyone saw this, they started eating. They didn't stop eating and no one looked up.

The neighbors in the middle courtyard also ate a lot, and kept looking at the stove. Yes, the second pot of garlic crayfish was out of the pot.

This time, as soon as it came out of the pot, the whole yard was filled with the aroma of garlic and everyone had another great feast.

The food tasting was very successful, and Yan Jiefang confidently pulled Uncle Yang and Widow Wang into the house.

Just like last time, after it was done, they were boxed. Widow Wang and Yang Ruiping were responsible for making the boxes, while Grandpa Yang and Grandpa Sun were responsible for making them. Yan Jiefang took a group of little ones and went straight to the front door.

Yan Bugui didn't have many classes today, so he rushed back home at around three in the afternoon. He was thinking about the important events of today that Lao Xiao had described.

Before he got home, he saw a long queue in front of him. Curiosity made him walk around the crowd and come to the front, where he saw Yan Jiefang and An Lingling, one taking the goods and the other collecting the money. There was a pot of crayfish next to them, but the sign in front read, "Spicy Crayfish".

Yan Bugui was shocked. There was such a long line. The sales must be too good. He quickly put the cart aside and came over to help collect the money. It was 50 cents a box, and one box contained one kilogram.

It was fine in the beginning, but later on there were repeat customers who wanted five or ten boxes, and they were sold out in no time. Those who didn’t get any complained, so Yan Jiefang quickly went up to explain that there were still more available in the morning, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

When I returned to the front yard, everyone had returned. They were a little nervous. Widow Wang was holding a rolling pin in her hand. It turned out that everyone had returned one after another, and the money from the sales had also come back. In the morning, a total of more than 800 kilograms were sold.

In such a short while, more than 800 yuan was left in Grandpa Sun's house. Yan Jiefang still wanted to take the lead in dividing the money, but Yan Bugui told him to get out of the way.

In the end, it was divided according to the family. Uncle Yang and the An family each got 100 yuan, and the remaining three families were divided equally. Li Juan contributed a lot, and in the end she went out to sell it by herself.

In the evening, people gradually left work. When Jia Dongxu passed by the front yard, he sniffed hard and asked Zhang Erzhu, "What's that smell? It's so fragrant?"

After returning home, before even sitting down, Qin Huairu told everyone what happened in the afternoon. She didn't know how much money was divided in the end, but it was definitely a lot. She saw Widow Wang go out to buy meat.

Every household is talking about crayfish, saying that it is delicious and can be sold in good prices. Crickets are everywhere on the riverside, so why doesn't anyone think of cooking them? They are meat of this size and taste good.

Jia Dongxu and Zhang Erzhu met again and were discussing how to sell the product. After a few words, they talked about how they had to go to work tomorrow and they didn't have the time. They were immediately discouraged. Qin Huairu encouraged them and said that if they could earn a lot, they could try taking two days of sick leave.

Zhang Erzhu is the chef, staring at Jia Dongxu with full confidence. Jia Dongxu hesitated. He saw his master two days ago, and the master specifically told him to work hard and improve his skills. Now he gave up in just two days, feeling a little sorry for his master.

Qin Huairu said, "You can hire them every few days. You can earn money and not miss work."

Jia Dongxu and Zhang Erzhu's eyes lit up. Jia Dongxu made up his mind to get crayfish early tomorrow morning.

The front yard of the Siheyuan in late July 1955

After a month of hard work, everyone in the front yard became rich, but everyone knew it and no one said anything.

The people in the front yard were very busy, but there was also a problem. The number of crayfish in the vicinity had dropped sharply, and it was very difficult to catch them now. The short-term shortage made the people in the front yard anxious. Yan Jiekuang looked at his second brother and said, "Your wife should have a lot of them at home."

Yan Jiekuang then said, "It's the season now, so let's stop while we're ahead. This thing won't taste good in half a month at most."

Soon, everyone in the front yard knew about it and rushed to Shijia Village.

East Wing of the Central Courtyard of Siheyuan
The same difficulty also stumped the two brothers in the Middle Court.

Although no one knows how much the front yard earns, Jia Dongxu and Zhang Erzhu know that although the food they make is not authentic, it is also delicious, and they sell it in Houhai. In a month or so, each person earns 500 yuan, and this does not include daily expenses.

This made Zhang Erzhu want to stop working and do this job exclusively, but Jia Dongxu always remembered what his master said, that the factory was his final destination, and he also advised Zhang Erzhu.

But now the problem is that there is no stock, just when the two brothers were worried. Qin Huairu said that there was a river in Qinjia Village, and there seemed to be this thing in the river.

Jia Dongxu was excited. The next day, he bought a bunch of things and took Zhang Erzhu, Qin Huairu and the child to the countryside.

When we arrived at Qinjia Village, we went to my father-in-law's house first. My father-in-law was still wondering why his son-in-law hadn't come since they got married. Only his daughter came to give him 20 yuan some time ago. Why did he come with so many things today?

The father-in-law didn't think much about it and prepared a table of delicious food to entertain his daughter, son-in-law, and Zhang Erzhu. Especially when he saw Banggeng, his face broke into smiles. Jia Dongxu told him the purpose of his visit.

My father-in-law said, what do I think it is, a cricket? There are plenty of them in the river. Let the village kids catch them, and you just need to give them some candy or something.

Jia Dongxu was satisfied, and the next night he and Zhang Erzhu pulled more than 2,000 kilograms of crayfish back to Sijiu City.

Qin Huairu and the child stayed. Qin Huairu wanted to leave because she was afraid that Jia Dongxu had hidden the money. But Banggeng refused to leave. He went to the river and had fun every day for the past two days.

August 1954

The crayfish stalls in Sijiucheng have resumed business.

Eating crayfish is addictive, and Yan Jiekuang is one of those addicted people. The short-term shortage of crayfish caused people to look for crayfish sellers everywhere in Beijing.

As soon as the stall was restored, the line was longer this time and the little ones had more experience and knew how to divert.

But every stall has a sign that says "The last season for crawfish!"

It is to remind everyone that if you finish eating this month's products, they will be gone next month. As a result, more people will buy them and buy more.

The front yard has to pay to buy crayfish from Shijia Village, so Shijia Village is responsible for delivering the goods to the Siheyuan every day.

Until mid-August, almost everyone in Beijing would have crayfish as a side dish when they had a drink in the evening.

During that period, Yan Bugui also delivered some to Old Hetou once. Xu Huizhen really loved it and could eat two or three kilograms by herself, and this was even after Old Hetou told her not to eat any.

The next day, Xu Huizhen placed an order in the front yard of the courtyard, one hundred kilograms a day, and hired Cai Quanwu to pick it up.

As time goes by, crayfish are gradually becoming extinct, but those who love to eat them are still reluctant to eat them and try every possible means to get them.

The people in the front yard were happy every day, and half of the people in the middle yard were happy every day. Yan Jiekuang put a pile of tickets in Yan Bugui's hands and left them alone.

Widow Wang bought a bicycle for Zhou Zhijun, and not long after, Zhang Erzhu bought one for his sister.

Yan Bugui bought a radio secretly, and Li Juan bought a sewing machine with great fanfare.

Grandpa Sun just knew how to save food, but there was no shortage of food at home, and Sun Xiaolong's face had become fatter.

Uncle Yang was eager to try it out and wanted to see his son's expression when he put the money in front of him.

August passed by in a hurry, and peace slowly came to the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)