Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 50 Farewell to Childhood
The Siheyuan during the Spring Festival in 1956
Yan Jiekuang did this intentionally for last year's little madness. He wanted everyone to be better off so that they wouldn't have to be like Grandpa Sun's family, who had no food to eat, and they wouldn't have to scheme against each other for food.

Last year was the last chance, and only he knew it. In addition, there were fewer troublemakers in the courtyard, so his plan was able to be implemented.

Yan Jiekuang also decided to seal up his own space warehouse. He still believed in being self-reliant and living in line with the pace of history.

He also knew about Jia Dongxu and Zhang Erzhu's participation. They were all doing it for their lives and their families. It is better to share happiness with others than to enjoy it alone. He also wanted to see how a wealthy Jia Dongxu would develop.

Poverty breeds evil schemes, while wealth fosters conscience; this is exactly what Yan Jiekuang wanted.

This year Yan Jiekuang has settled down and is going to school.

As February comes, every family is filled with joy.

The Pang family in the backyard has two employees, two of whom are still in school and one is in nursery. But the family lives in good order and has always stayed out of the affairs of the Siheyuan.

Liu Guangqi never came back to Liu Haizhong's house, especially after his father got into trouble. There were only his second aunt Zhao Yue'e and two children at home. The children had been completely well-behaved since they came out of the juvenile detention center, and rarely appeared in the courtyard. The family could barely get by relying on their previous savings.

There has been no one at Xu Damao's house. Ever since the He family was taken away during the Spring Festival, his family left the courtyard and has never appeared again.

The He family in the Central Courtyard is the most comfortable family. With Li Cuilan taking care of the house, the father and son have no shortage of money and tickets. He Yushui also has no worries about food and drink. Li Cuilan usually picks her up and drops her off at school. He Yushui is very attached to Li Cuilan, just like a mother and daughter.

Jia family, Jia Dongxu earned money that most people could not imagine. Even Yan Jiekuang believed that Jia Dongxu earned the most.

The family changed into new clothes, and he would go to see his mother and master whenever he had nothing to do, and bring him meaty dishes like roast chicken and roast duck. Banggeng and Xiaodang were fat and white, and they looked like two little fat kids.

Needless to say, Zhang Erzhu made a lot of money and his family had everything they needed. He would go out for a drink with his elder brother whenever he had time. His sister was also living a comfortable life now, eating well and using things well.

Not to mention the front yard, with all the happy families together, the entire courtyard is filled with laughter.

West Wing of the Front Courtyard of Siheyuan
The Yan family gathers together

The main dish on the table was Yan Jiekuang's masterpiece. He also made a steamed lobster, which made my little sister keep asking, "Is this the grandfather of the crayfish?"

Yan Jiecheng also came back. He looked thinner. It seemed that he had put a lot of effort into his studies.

Yan Bugui raised his glass and summed up the past year. In one word, it was a year of harvest.

Yan Jiecheng kept asking Yan Jiefang what he had missed. Yan Jiefang was full of pride and took out a few big black tens from his pocket, "I earned it myself."

Yan Jiecheng is very resentful. He still relies on his father's three yuan pocket money a month.

Yan Bugui glanced at the boss and said, "Turn resentment into appetite and start eating."

Yang Ruiping laughed out loud, and everyone started eating. Only the little sister was still wondering why the big lobster was not the grandfather of the small crayfish.

Yan Bugui drank a cup and said, "I am really happy this year. The neighbors are harmonious, the family is happy, the children are doing well, and most importantly, everyone is healthy. Next year, the eldest will work hard and go to a technical secondary school; the second child will also concentrate and will be in the fourth grade soon; the third child will also go to school. If everyone works hard, I will also work hard to improve my teacher level."

"Come on, let's cheers!"

Everyone else was drinking soda, and Yan Jiekuang knew that his father was really happy. After the meal, Yan Jiekuang also told his family that the days ahead would still be hard, as he had run out of food. Yan Bugui felt very sorry, but didn't say much.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the children went to the Yan family to pay New Year's greetings first. People from the front, middle and back yards all came, including Liu Guangfu. Yan Bugui treated everyone equally and gave them red envelopes of fifty cents each.

Then Yan Jiecheng took Sanxiao to visit every household to wish them a happy new year. It seemed that the people in the front yard had agreed to give red envelopes of 50 cents each.

Yan Jiekuang didn't expect that Jia Dongxu gave the children red envelopes of one yuan each. When Yan Jiekuang took the red envelope, he secretly glanced at Qin Huairu. There was no resentment in his eyes, but a full smile.

Zhang Erzhu was very proud and took out red envelopes to give out one by one. He Yuzhu saw this and thought that this was not okay, so he just gave out money, one dollar per person.

This made He Daqing angry, and he kicked him from behind.

He Yushui now had a bunch of red envelopes in her hands, and she didn't know where to hide them. She saw that her father had set his eyes on her, and suddenly she had an idea, so she put all the red envelopes in Li Cuilan's hands, "Aunt, I'll put them in your hands, and I'll ask you for them later."

The Ponzi in the backyard was normal, grabbing a handful of candy and sharing it with everyone. The children were happier to see the candy than to see the red envelopes, and they all circled around Ponzi.

At noon, we heard sporadic firecrackers in the yard. I guess the kids went out to spend their red envelopes, and they would be beaten again when they got home. The lively Spring Festival passed in a happy and peaceful atmosphere.

March 1956

Director Wang and Secretary Han came to the courtyard, followed by Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong.

The two have performed well and have now been officially released. The steel rolling mill also said that both of them are senior technicians and are talents needed by the country. They were given a chance and will officially start work after taking the grading exam.

In fact, Jia Zhang had also returned and was on the street. Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu rushed over with the child in their arms and took Jia Zhang's private money and baggage with them.

When Jia Zhang saw that no one had touched her things, she was relieved. Then Jia Dongxu took out two hundred yuan and put it in his mother's hand, saying, "Mom, you have no choice but to go back this time. Your son will visit you often. Don't save it. Take this money first, eat and drink as you need. I will bring your grandson to visit you when I have time."

Jia Zhang was completely relieved. Her son was filial. With money, one could live the same life anywhere. All the gloom was over. Jia Zhang gave Jia Dongxu a few instructions and followed the militia back to her hometown.

Yan Bugui didn't react much. These two people were full of calculations against him, so he had to be more vigilant in the future.

Yan Jiekuang didn't care, but he knew that a storm was about to come and this courtyard would never be peaceful.

May 1956

Four families came to the courtyard at once.

The two back rooms in the backyard were allocated to a section chief of the security department of the steel rolling mill, named Peng Weiguo, who has an elderly mother and two younger brothers and sisters at home.

The house next to Liu Haizhong's was assigned to a lathe operator from the steel rolling mill. The operator was from the Northeast and was a level four lathe operator. His name was Chang Lin. He and his wife had two children.

The house next to Yi Zhonghai was allocated to a clerk in the steel mill's logistics department, a young man named Xu Delin.

The house next to Grandpa Yang was given to the new deputy station chief of the purchasing station, Du Pingyi, a retired military officer. He has an old mother who is in the Northeast and did not come.

After all, Mrs. Zhang's family moved away to the south.

Yan Jiekuang knew that the steel mill was officially a public-private partnership.

June 1956

Yan Bugui had taken Yan Jiekuang to school and took an exam under the supervision of a teacher and a director.

The new principal of the school, Duan, also became interested in this child who was going to school before the age of five, and he also watched the exam.

I used the second grade test paper, and after it was marked, I got full marks.

Yan Bugui told the principal that this was the third child in his family. He loved reading since childhood, so he started learning earlier than others.

After meeting, a few people agreed to go to school, and they didn't have to go to the first grade, but directly to the second grade.

Yan Bugui thanked him again and again. From beginning to end, Yan Jiekuang stood obediently by the side and answered whatever the teacher asked.

After returning home, Yang Ruiping was not surprised at all, "My mistress is so smart that you can't imagine."

Back in the courtyard, Yan Jiekuang looked at the pond quietly. He was also planning his own path.

The younger sister ran over and asked her brother if he would have no time to play with her like his older brother did in the future.

Yan Jiekuang said no, he would always stay with his lovely sister. The little girl jumped and left with satisfaction.

Yan Jiekuang walked into the house and put all the books that were not related to cultural studies into the warehouse. He also put away all the antiques that he usually loved to play with, and only kept his own handicrafts.

The space warehouse was sealed, and Yan Jiekuang thought that it would not be needed in the future, so he just went with the flow of his current life.

I closed the gate of the courtyard, turned around, took a deep look at the middle and back yard, and said goodbye to my childhood.

(End of this chapter)