Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 5 In full swing
The front yard of the Siheyuan in August 1951
Uncle Li and Yan Jiecheng set up a big pot in the front yard. Everyone was very surprised, but the master and apprentice said nothing and just built the stove silently.

The big iron pot was very big, and Yan Jiecheng went in and out to carry firewood. Uncle Li and Yan Jiecheng pulled two large carts of firewood and piled them outside the yard. After a while, Yan Jiefang also joined in and followed Yan Jiecheng to carry firewood.

Yang Ruiping was holding Yan Jiekuang's hand, and Yan Bugui had not come back from work yet. Yan Jiekuang saw it and understood that Uncle Li was going to make fried noodles.

Everyone was puzzled and asked Uncle Li, but Uncle Li didn't say anything. The people from the Yan family just focused on moving firewood, and everyone was left watching in confusion.

Not long after, a few young men came in with a cart of grain and helped carry it to the stove. The leading young man told Uncle Li that this was the only one that he would need for the time being.

After the stove was built, Yang Ruiping took over the work of heating the stove, and people who had been working came back one after another. Yan Bugui also saw his family members busying themselves with Uncle Li, and turned back to the house without saying a word.

After a while, everyone went back to their homes to eat. Yang Ruiping also came back with the two kids, but Yan Jiecheng didn't go back. He moved to the concierge's place from today.

Yan Bugui cooked dinner for the first time ever. Yang Ruiping was very surprised and praised his husband for his ability.

Yan Bugui glanced at his wife and asked, "Do you know what Old Li is doing? Are you going to help him?"

"I don't know. My eldest son asked me to go and help. Besides, since both sons have gone, one more won't make a difference." Yang Ruiping said indifferently.

"He brought our eldest son to make fried noodles and sent them to the soldiers on the front line. The war is coming again." Yan Bugui felt a little depressed for a moment.

Yang Ruiping was shocked, a little flustered, and a little at a loss. Yan Bugui quickly comforted her, "It's not here, it's in North Korea."

Yan Jiekuang looked at his mother and shouted to her, "Chow mein, frontline, chopped noodles, frontline!"

Yang Ruiping knew what his son meant and looked at Yan Bugui. Yan Bugui nodded and said without hesitation, "We will also fry it."

The next day, Yan Bugui also built a stove in front of the west wing. Old Li saw it and nodded.

Yan Jiefang ran while holding firewood, shouting "Chow mein, chow mein! Front line, front line!"

The people in the courtyard gathered around again. Yan Bugui was not Old Li, so he told them the current situation. The courtyard was in an uproar, and everyone went home to spread the news.

At this time, Captain Zhang from the Military Control Commission came. He came to see Old Li, because Old Li had been in a bad mood and wanted to go to the front line, but his superiors would never agree. After much difficulty in pacifying Old Li, they assigned him a job, which was to stir-fry noodles.

Captain Zhang greeted Old Li and kicked Yan Jiecheng, asking him to do more and not tire his master. He turned around and saw the newly promoted third uncle in the courtyard building a stove, so he walked over and praised him. In the end, Yan Bugui was embarrassed by the praise and said that the whole family had done their best.

When Captain Zhang saw that he had to report the situation to the central and rear courtyards, he went straight to the central courtyard.

Siheyuan Middle Courtyard

Captain Zhang found Yi Zhonghai. When Yi Zhonghai heard what happened in the front yard, he became agitated and pulled Captain Zhang, clamoring to search his house as well.

Captain Zhang said, "I know everyone wants to make contributions, but we have to follow the rules. Let's do this. You organize a meeting, with the courtyards as units, and take into consideration the people who work, the elderly, children, etc."

"Okay, I'll gather everyone right away." Yi Zhonghai didn't want to wait a moment, so he ran to find his second uncle Liu Haizhong. Liu Haizhong was also excited, tears came to his eyes, and he couldn't wait to find bricks to build a stove.

Soon, the first full-institute meeting was held, and Yi Zhonghai took the lead and gave the opening remarks directly.

"My dear neighbors, you all know what's going on in North Korea. The U.S. imperialists are determined to destroy us. Our soldiers have already gone to the front line. What can we do to help?"

"I'm going to the front line too!" Sha Zhuzi interrupted Yi Zhonghai and shouted excitedly. His father He Daqing gave him a big slap on the neck and pulled him back, "You can go to the front line whenever you want."

Yi Zhonghai glared in that direction and continued, "Uncle Li and Uncle Yan Bugui in the front yard are building a stove. Everyone has seen it. They are supporting the front line with practical actions. The main ration for our soldiers is fried noodles. We need to make it and send it to the front line. What do you think?"

"Okay," everyone in the hospital said in unison.

"Then the next question is who will build the stove and who will fry noodles. As you all can see, in addition to the stove, there must be a place to store firewood and a place to store food. There are two stoves built in the front yard, and there is not much space left, so we can only build one more. Who will build the stove in the front yard? You have to think about it carefully, because you have to go to work during the day." Yi Zhonghai said to the people in the front yard.

There were only four households left in the front yard, and they all signed up enthusiastically.

"Let me do it. If my husband is still alive, he should be in North Korea now. His old troops have all gone there, and his comrades are all there. I will do my best for my husband." The one who spoke was the widow Wang. I didn't meet her often, but I knew that she was a woman with two children, a boy of fourteen named Zhou Zhijun and a girl of four years old named Zhou Nianping. After hearing what she said, it turned out that they were the relatives of martyrs.

Captain Zhang was moved, and he stood up quickly and saluted Widow Wang. Captain Zhang was upset that he had not done his job well and did not know that there were family members of martyrs under his nose. Fortunately, the population census registration was about to start, and he had to be careful then.

Captain Zhang decided to go to her house and asked Yan Bugui for help, and Yan Bugui agreed.

After discussion, He Daqing was determined to build two of the four kitchens in the central courtyard, one for him and one for his son. The Qian family had one, Yi Zhonghai had one, and Zhang Guoping had one. It was only after this meeting that we learned that Old Zhang, who lived alone next to He Daqing's house, was also a chef.

The backyard was small, and Liu Haizhong was the only one in the family, with many sons. Xu Damao also wanted a child, but his parents both had to go to work, and he was only fourteen years old. In the end, the child went to the Pang family, who also had two sons and two daughters.

Finally it was decided that each family would go to help when others were free, that food allocated by superiors would come first, and that Uncle Li would teach everyone how to make fried noodles.

In this way, the vigorous work of making fried noodles to support the front line began.

When the actual cooking started, all kinds of problems came out. Cooking noodles is really a strenuous job. There are only a few women in the family who can cook noodles, including Pang Shi and Widow Wang. During the day, the men are at work, so there are only four people cooking noodles: Pang Shi, Widow Wang, Old Li, and Sha Zhu.

That's right, Sha Zhu said he would stay at home and cook noodles instead of going to work, and He Daqing followed him. Not to mention that even Old Li praised Sha Zhu for his performance.

After testing, during the day, four stoves can produce 1,000 kilograms, and the remaining one can only produce 1,500 kilograms. At night, they are fully operational, and those who come back from get off work can only work until half the night. The four stoves during the day have to rest at night, and the efficiency is low at night, so they can only produce 2,500 kilograms. A total of 5,000 kilograms a day.

This is only half of the 10,000 kilograms per day stipulated in the military order.

Yi Zhonghai was worried, and hurried to discuss the matter with Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong. However, neither of them could come up with any good solution, so Yan Bugui went home with a sad face.

The west wing of the front yard of the Siheyuan (Here I am, guess who I am?)

Yan Bugui pushed the door open and came in, sitting next to Yang Ruiping with a sad face.

Seeing Yang Ruiping's inquiring eyes, he took the initiative to tell him about his difficulties and said that the three uncles were trying to find a solution.

Yan Jiekuang also heard it, and walked with his short legs to his father's side, pulling his father towards his own stove. Pointing at the stove, "Chow mein"

Yan Bugui didn't understand what it meant at first, but after thinking about it, he suddenly realized, "We are really blinded by one thing." After saying that, he ran out in a hurry.

Yang Ruiping also knew what his son meant. He picked him up and gave him a big kiss. "My third child is still smart."

Yan Jiekuang thought to himself, "I am really worried."

　I always think about the hardships of that era and forget the faith of the people of that era. How can we, the younger generation, forget the people of that time?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)