Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1102 The Yan Family Wedding
More than a month has passed since the vegetable theft incident, and the neighbors in courtyard number 95 have not followed Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong's lead; they have all voluntarily avoided contact with the Yan family.

The Yan family also realized the attitude of their neighbors in the courtyard. Yang Ruihua had been successfully brainwashed by Yan Jiekuang and now only knew how to stay at home all day, doing nothing but cooking, washing, and taking care of the two young children of the Yan family.

Besides her third brother, Yan Jiedi loved to stick close to her mother the most. No matter what Yang Ruihua did, she would always follow behind her with her short legs.

Yan Jiekuang didn't care about his neighbors' attitudes at all. Even if he did care, so what? He was just a first-grader.

Yan Jiefang didn't care at all. The outside world was so wonderful. He was never home. You could hardly see him except during mealtimes.

The eldest son of the Yan family has not returned home since August. Yan Bugui has always suspected that the eldest son is deliberately hiding outside to avoid paying rent and living expenses. Yan Bugui now hates Yan Jiecheng to the core.

Yan Bugui was deeply upset by the attitude of the people in the courtyard towards the Yan family. He tried to do what he used to do: he would take his watering can and wait at the door early before everyone was about to leave work, greeting each person with a smile and trying to get closer to them. However, the cruel reality slapped him in the face. Not to mention the heads of the household, even the young boys didn't give him a good look, and no one paid him any attention.

After just two days, Yan Bugui stopped guarding the gate. The cold looks from his neighbors made him very angry. He couldn't understand why his family, the victims, had become public enemies.

Yan Bugui couldn't scheme against anyone outside and couldn't gain any advantage, so he turned to look at his home. He looked at the people in his house, but none of them were his targets, and there was nothing worth scheming against. He didn't want to spend any money; he would be grateful if God had eyes and he could burn incense. At this moment, he thought of his eldest brother, who hadn't returned yet.

Since he had nothing else to do, Yan Bugui found some time to sneak out of school early, rode his old, beat-up bicycle straight to the First Textile Factory.

When he arrived at the gate and was quite far away, he got out of the car. The gatekeeper, seeing a person heading towards the factory gate from a distance, stood at the side gate to wait.

When they were quite far away, Yan Bugui pushed his cart and greeted them with a smile, saying, "Hello comrade, I'm here to see someone."

The security guard looked at the bespectacled old man and, seeing no danger, said, "Sir, it's working hours now. What are you looking for? By the way, who are you looking for?"

“I’m looking for my son, Yan Jiecheng. He’s an apprentice in the machine repair department of your factory. I’m his father,” Yan Bugui said.

The gatekeeper was taken aback. He did know Yan Jiecheng, but Yan Jiecheng was now a level two mechanic. He was working overtime with the people from the third mechanic department to debug equipment that had been shipped from abroad. He hadn't left the factory for more than two months and was living and eating there. Occasionally, a very pretty girl would come to see him. It was said that she was Yan Jiecheng's fiancée.

The gatekeeper didn't say much. After thinking for a moment, he directly called his captain on the internal line and told him about Yan Jiecheng's father's visit. The captain knew how hard the mechanical repair department had been working lately, so he made an exception and asked the gatekeeper to send someone to notify Yan Jiecheng directly.

About twenty minutes later, Yan Jiecheng, wearing an oil-stained and greasy work uniform, walked to the gate. The gatekeeper opened the gate for him, and Yan Jiecheng went straight to Yan Bugui and asked, "Dad, why are you here? What happened at home?"

"What, are you hoping something bad will happen at home? Why don't you come home? Are you hiding to avoid paying your living expenses and rent? Let me tell you, eldest son, even if you don't come home, you won't be shortchanged by a single penny." Yan Bugui practically shouted at Yan Jiecheng. Yan Jiecheng looked at his father, bewildered, and said, "Dad, why are you saying this? I have a mission. If you don't believe me, ask the security guards. I've been working with the department for the past two months to complete the tasks assigned by our superiors. I've been living and eating at the factory for two months now. We'll be able to go home next week. Don't make wild guesses. I won't shortchange you a single penny of the money I promised."

At this moment, the gatekeeper standing not far away also came over and said, "Sir, you have really misunderstood. My door factory has just received a batch of machines, and they are assembling and debugging them one by one. The factory doesn't allow them to go home, so they eat and live at the factory. If it weren't for the team leader making an exception, you wouldn't have been able to see Yan Jiecheng today."

Yan Bugui looked embarrassed. It seemed he had overthought things. His boss did have something to do, but he still said stiffly, "Remember to come home. You should get married soon. Aren't you in a hurry?"

Before Yan Jiecheng could answer, Yan Bugui turned and rode away on his bicycle. Yan Jiecheng was stunned. Was this still the same father who always schemed against him? When did he start caring about his marriage? Didn't he say he didn't want to give a bride price? Yan Jiecheng went back to work with a head full of questions.

A week later, Yan Jiecheng returned home, but he didn't come alone; he brought his fiancée, Yu Li. Although she had met Yan Jiecheng's family several times, she still seemed a little reserved when she stepped into the Yan family home again. Yang Ruihua was quite satisfied with her eldest daughter-in-law. Although their wedding had been fraught with twists and turns and postponed repeatedly, it had little to do with Yu Li herself; the problem mainly lay with Yan Bugui.

As soon as Yang Ruihua saw Yu Li, he pulled her into the bedroom and the two of them went to have a private chat. Only Yan Jiedi, the little tagalong, followed them.

Yan Jiecheng plopped down opposite Yan Bugui, took out a pack of economy cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to Yan Bugui. Yan Bugui didn't take it, but his eyes were fixed on the pack in Yan Jiecheng's other hand. Yan Jiecheng knew exactly what this meant. He knew his father too well. Today was just for his wedding. So, he handed over the pack in his hand.

The two men started discussing over tea and cigarettes. Yan Bugui's idea was to have a meal with his future in-laws first, then set a date, discuss everything on the table, and then hold the wedding right here in the courtyard.

Yan Jiecheng frowned and asked, "Dad, at this time of year, every household is on a ration, and even so, you might not be able to buy enough grain. Where are we going to find enough grain for the banquet?"

In fact, Yan Bugui had also thought about this problem. He wasn't sure he could find enough grain to hold the banquet, but he had his own selfish reasons. He wanted to improve his relationship with his neighbors in the compound. Otherwise, he would have preferred to save money or not hold the banquet at all.

Originally, Yan Bugui didn't want to hold a wedding banquet at the beginning of the year, mainly because he didn't want to spend money on his eldest son. He calculated that holding a wedding banquet would be a loss no matter what. Now, it's Yan Jiecheng who doesn't want to hold one anymore. He thinks that he and Yu Li's family can have a meal together and distribute some wedding candies to the courtyard.

Yan Jiecheng and Yan Bugui began their battle of wits in the main room. Since money was the topic, and both were self-interested, neither would back down on the issue.

The discussion lasted from the afternoon until dinner time. In the end, Yan Jiecheng conceded that he would pay for the wedding banquet, but he would keep all the money for the wedding gifts. Yan Jiecheng was very insistent on this issue, as he did not want his father to scheme too much. Yan Bugui also compromised for his own purposes.

Things went smoothly after that, and the wedding banquet was set for November 8th. On the day of the Beginning of Winter, Yan Bugui also got busy. He took the money that Yan Jiecheng had given him and started making arrangements. Everything seemed to be going well, but he underestimated the people in the compound's ability to gloat.

(End of this chapter)