Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 540 Visiting Grandma
On Nanchizi Street, Yan Jiekuang stood in front of Madam Wanzhi's yard and rang the doorbell. This was what Yan Jiekuang had asked Sister Lu Si to install before, so that she would not be unable to hear the noise outside in the inner yard. It was winter now, and Sister Lu Si seldom went out of the backyard and always stayed with Madam Wanzhi.

After a while, the door opened. When Lu Sijie saw that it was Yan Jiekuang, she smiled and said, "Speaking of the devil is the real deal. Madam Wanzhi was just talking about you."

Yan Jiekuang entered the yard, and Sister Lu Si closed the door. The two walked toward the inner courtyard. Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "What did grandma say about me? Did you miss me?"

"That's right. You haven't been here for a long time," replied Sister Lu Si. When Yan Jiekuang entered the main room, he saw Mrs. Wanzhi wearing a sheepskin jacket and lying on a recliner. The radio next to her was playing Peking opera.

Yan Jiekuang first placed the cakes he brought on the square table at the door and said, "Grandma, you must have missed me. I'm here to see you."

Mrs. Wanzhi then opened her eyes. She was old now and her health was not as good as before. She heard Yan Jiekuang coming and sat up from the recliner. She smiled and said, "Come here, my grandson. It's warm here."

Only then did Yan Jiekuang realize that the paintings and tables on the back wall of the main room had been removed and replaced with a fireplace. No wonder as soon as he entered, Yan Jiekuang found that this room was much warmer than their home.

"Oh, when did the old lady build a fireplace? It's much warmer now. I have to take off my coat, or I won't be able to stay here." As he said that, Yan Jiekuang took off his military coat, and Sister Lu Si took it directly and hung it on the hanger at the door.

Yan Jiekuang walked over and sat on the stool next to Madam Wanzhi, helping her lie down again. Sister Lu Si said, "It's the beginning of winter this year, and Madam has been complaining about being cold. I thought about asking someone to check if the floor heating is blocked. Later, someone came and checked, and said it wasn't, so he suggested building a fireplace, so that the temperature can be higher. The old lady agreed, so we did it right away."

Mrs. Wanzhi said, "Alas, as soon as winter came this year, I felt uncomfortable all over. I went to see a doctor and he prescribed some nourishing medicine. I knew it was because I was old and I was afraid of the cold and heat."

Yan Jiekuang's heart darkened, knowing that the grandmother was getting older and her health was not as good as before. Yan Jiekuang said, "Grandma, I came here to see you and to invite you to spend the New Year in the old courtyard. What do you think?"

Mrs. Wanzhi shook her head and said, "Forget it, I won't go. I'm getting weaker and weaker. I can't sit still there. If you don't believe me, ask Fourth Sister."

Sister Lu Si said, "The old lady is getting more and more tired. I guess she can't sit for a long time. I'm here. Don't worry. Don't bother her to go to your place."

Yan Jiekuang also knew that Sister Lu Si never said anything empty. Since she said that, it meant that Madam Wanzhi really couldn't leave the yard. Yan Jiekuang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll come over after dinner on the 30th and bring you some food."

Mrs. Wanzhi said, "You, enjoy your New Year and don't worry about me. I have my fourth sister here, so it's no big deal."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Grandma, please don't worry about it. If I don't care about you, who else will I care about? When the time comes, Xixi and I will come together."

Mrs. Wanzhi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll prepare a big red envelope for you, and I'll wait."

Sister Lu Si said, "Jie Kuang, please stay with the old lady. I'll go get you some tea." Then she walked out of the main room.

Yan Jiekuang stayed with Madam Wanzhi until he saw that she was a little sleepy again. Then he helped her to the bedroom and watched her fall asleep. Then Yan Jiekuang left the hall and said to Sister Lu Si as he left: "Grandma is old. If anything happens, please call me in time. I think you should discuss with Madam and decide that you should not live in the wing room anymore. You can move to the west room to accompany grandma so that she can be taken care of. Anyway, everything is ready in that room. Just move in."

Sister Lu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll move in tomorrow. The old lady said so, and I didn't move because I didn't want to disturb her rest."

After Yan Jiekuang left Mrs. Wanzhi's yard, he walked towards his parents' home alone. People were walking in a hurry on the road. Since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the temperature has been dropping again and again, and no one wanted to stay outside for too long.

Yan Jiekuang went into the main room in the backyard as soon as he returned to the west wing, warming himself by the fire. Liangzi and Fangfang were not in this room, probably in the study. Yang Ruiping shouted from the east room, "Who's back?"

"It's me, Mom. Where's my dad? Didn't he come back a long time ago?" Yan Jiekuang asked.

At this time, Yang Ruiping came out from the east room and said, "Keep your voice down. Nannan just fell asleep. Your father went to drink next door this afternoon. He said it was Xu Wood's apology wine."

"What apology wine? What sin are you apologizing for?" Yan Jiekuang asked puzzledly.

Yang Ruiping chuckled and said, "What apology wine? Didn't we sisters agree not to let those old men drink and to keep them under strict supervision? These old men found all kinds of excuses to have dinner together just to drink that wine."

Yan Jiekuang was also amused and said, "The old men are old, what's there to be afraid of if they drink a little? Why did they come up with a prohibition?" Yang Ruiping said, "We don't want to do that either. Aren't those two old men in the alley in front of us? They drank together a while ago and died. I heard that they couldn't be saved even after being sent to the hospital. Now the old ladies are afraid too, so we discussed and decided not to let them drink."

Yan Jiekuang thought for a moment and asked, "Mom, who told you this? Are you talking about the old man Zhang from Suoyi Hutong and the old man Wang who repairs cars?"

Yang Ruiping was stunned and said, "Yes, it was them both. They both said they died from drinking too much."

Yan Jiekuang chuckled and said, "You only heard half of what I said. He didn't die from drinking too much alcohol. He died from poisoning from drinking fake alcohol. I know about this. A small shop on the street was also closed down. It was the one that sold alcohol."

"Yeah, I was wondering, how much alcohol does one have to drink to kill someone?" Yang Ruiping said with sudden enlightenment.

Yan Jiekuang made himself some tea while saying, "There are too many fakes out there nowadays. The clothes and daily necessities are okay, but I'm afraid of the imported stuff, especially the fake liquor. I didn't bring any cigarettes with me a few days ago, so I bought a box at Qianmen. It was also fake, and no one cared about it."

Yang Ruiping said: "I have to be careful when I go out to buy things next time. It would be so frustrating if I bought fake goods."

Yan Jiekuang held up the teacup and said, "Okay, you take a rest. I'll go to the study to see the two children, and then go to the next door for a walk. I'll cook for you in the evening, and I'll leave after dinner."

Yang Ruiping said, "Don't cook. I can just make a bowl of noodles. You should go back and cook for the children."

Yan Jiekuang agreed and went to the study with the teacup.

The study was bright with the main lights on. Yang Ruiping had specially placed a stove in the middle of the study. Liangzi was lying on the table, holding a Chinese textbook and copying a text. Fangfang was on the other side, holding crayons and paper, drawing something.

When the two saw Yan Jiekuang coming in, they shouted in unison, "Dad!"

"I just came in to see you. What text is Liangzi copying?" Yan Jiekuang picked up the Chinese textbook and started flipping through it.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was a second-grade Chinese textbook. Yan Jiekuang looked at Liangzi in surprise and said, "You're already reading a second-grade textbook?"

"Well, I finished reading the first grade one, and then my grandfather gave me a test paper. I got 100 points, so he let me read the second grade one." Liangzi said with a smile.

"Not bad, you have a talent for learning, you little genius." Yan Jiekuang praised Liangzi and returned the book to Liangzi.

When Fangfang saw it, she took her painting, jumped off the stool, ran to Yan Jiekuang, held up the painting, and shouted, "Dad, look at my painting, is it beautiful?"

Yan Jiekuang picked up Fangfang, kissed her, and said, "Okay, Daddy will take a look."

Yan Jiekuang looked at Fangfang's painting, which showed a big sun, lush green grass, colorful wild flowers, and a large blue lake.

Yan Jiekuang said, "Oh, let me guess, this Fangfang painted the Qinghai Lake that we visited. It's really beautiful."

Fangfang smiled and nodded, saying, "Dad, you guessed right."

"Come, daddy will reward you again." Yan Jiekuang kissed Fangfang again, and Fangfang giggled.

Yan Jiekuang put Fangfang down and said, "You two can play here. I'll go next door to see your grandfather."

The two children agreed, and Yan Jiekuang said, "You must eat the fruits your grandma gave you, otherwise you have to take them back." After that, he turned and left the study and headed straight for the next yard.

(End of this chapter)