Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1117 The Yan Family Celebrates the New Year
In Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard, Liu Guangtian took a bite of cabbage, looked up, and saw his father staring at him. He was startled and asked tremblingly, "Dad, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Hmph, what did you do wrong? You're wrong in every way. How old are you? Why don't you go out and find a job? You're just messing around all day. Do you even have the appearance of a human being?" Liu Haizhong scolded Liu Guangtian.

Liu Guangtian said in a low voice, "I want to look for it too, but where can I find it? I'm just doing odd jobs here and there. I gave my mom five yuan yesterday."

"Five yuan! You only give your mother five yuan all year round, and you still have the nerve to mention it!" Liu Haizhong roared.

At this moment, Liu Guangfu, who was sitting at the small table, had stopped eating. He secretly adjusted his body and waited for Liu Haizhong to start pulling off his belt. He planned to rush to the door and run away first.

Liu Guangtian didn't dare to say anything and lowered his head. The two brothers were ready to run away, convinced that they were going to get beaten up today. But then Liu Haizhong said, "After you finish eating, go to the front yard and keep an eye on Yan Bugui's house. See what they're having for their New Year's Eve dinner. Come back and tell me. If you can't even do this properly, we'll settle all the old and new scores together."

The two brothers were stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. Liu Guangtian said, "I'm done eating, I'll go now." He stood up and walked outside. Liu Guangfu saw this and thought, well, he shouldn't eat either, so he stood up and followed his second brother out.

The two brothers walked and discussed the matter. Liu Guangfu said, "Second brother, it's the New Year, and it's broad daylight. We can't just squat against the wall, can we? What should we do?"

Liu Guangtian didn't say anything. He rummaged around in his pocket and finally pulled out a half-smoked cigarette. The two of them went to the front yard and walked out into the yard. They squatted down by the opposite wall. Liu Guangtian lit the half-smoked cigarette, took a puff, and let out a comfortable groan.

Liu Guangfu looked at him with envy. He also wanted to have a smoke. Liu Guangtian turned his head, looked at his younger brother, and handed him the cigarette. Liu Guangfu quickly took it and took two puffs.

Liu Guangtian said, "They're all yours now. Smoke slowly. I know what Dad told me to do. Have you seen that chimney?"

Liu Guangfu looked in the direction his second brother was pointing and then nodded.

Liu Guangtian said, "That's the Yan family's kitchen chimney. Wait a while, and when the smoke from the chimney gets lighter, it means the Yan family is having dinner. I'll find an excuse to knock on the door and go in, saying I need to talk to Yan Jiecheng about something, and then..."

Liu Guangfu understood and looked at his second brother with surprise. He hadn't expected things to be so simple, and he was relieved.

The Yan family's New Year's Eve dinner was a little later than the other households in the compound. One reason was that the Yan father and son went to Wang Zhan's house, and another reason was that the Yan family themselves didn't know what to eat. Yang Ruihua had seen what his family had to offer yesterday. The only decent thing they had was salted fish that Yan Bugui usually caught and then pickled. They didn't have much grain either, only fifteen catties of cornmeal and five catties of dried sweet potatoes. There was no refined grain at all. The only vegetables were Chinese cabbage and two white radishes.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Looking at the newlyweds Yan Jiecheng and his wife, as well as her three children, Yang Ruihua was also worried. Last year, they had a chicken to make up for it, but this year, could they only use those few small, broken fish as the main dish for the New Year's Eve dinner?

Just as Yang Ruihua was worrying, the Yan family father and son returned. Yan Bugui was carrying a burlap sack. Yang Ruihua's eyes lit up. She knew where the father and son had gone, but she didn't have much hope. After all, her family had done something wrong to them in the past.

Unexpectedly, Yan Bugui's bag was very full, containing not only various vegetables but also meat and chicken. Yang Ruihua frowned and said, "Then, didn't Xiao Zhan say anything else?"

Hearing Yang Ruihua's question, Yan Bugui felt a little embarrassed. He didn't reply and went straight to the square table, picked up his teacup and drank tea.

Yan Jiekuang thought to himself, "I'm really worried sick. This unreliable father of mine." But he said aloud, "Mom, don't worry about it. Consider it a loan. After all, it's my sister-in-law's first time spending the New Year with us, so we can't treat her badly. From now on, it's my and Wang Zhan's account. You don't need to worry about it."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua knew it was due to the influence of her third brother and had little to do with her husband, Yan Bugui, so she didn't ask any further questions and left with her things. At this moment, Yan Bugui suddenly remembered something, stood up abruptly, and quickly followed Yang Ruihua into the kitchen.

The Yan family's New Year's Eve dinner was indeed late. It wasn't until after 2 p.m. that Yan Jiefang was seen carrying a string of small firecrackers and walking towards the gate of the courtyard. Behind him was a little girl who was calling out with a smile, "Second brother, second brother, wait for me."

After the Yan family finished setting off firecrackers, they closed the gate. At this moment, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu walked into the courtyard from outside. Liu Guangtian whispered a few words to Liu Guangfu, and then Liu Guangfu went to the second gate and hid.

Liu Guangtian coughed twice to bolster his courage before walking to the Yan family's door and knocking.

Yan Jiefang opened the door, and upon opening it, he saw Liu Guangtian from the backyard. He didn't have a friendly expression towards the person who had wronged his own elder brother, and said, "Brother Guangtian, why are you eating so early? Is something wrong?"

"Hey kid, how dare you talk like that? I don't want to beat you up during the New Year. I need to talk to your brother about something." Liu Guangtian stood at the door, talking to Yan Jiefang while glancing into the house.

Just as Yan Jiefang was about to refuse, Yan Bugui's voice came from inside the house: "Who is it, Second Brother? Don't block the door. It's the New Year, let's keep the peace."

Yan Jiefang reluctantly stepped aside, and Liu Guangtian entered the main room, saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't know your family would have New Year's Eve dinner so late. I need to talk to Brother Jiecheng about something."

When Liu Guangtian entered the main room, he saw that the Yan family was sitting around a large round table. On the table was a winnowing basket of cornbread, and in front of each person was a bowl of porridge, which looked like cornmeal porridge. In the center of the table were four dishes: a salted fish soup, a stir-fried cabbage, a potato shredding dish, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

Liu Guangtian thought to himself, "Is the Yan family really like this? They don't even eat as well as I do for New Year's Eve dinner. I even got to eat a steamed bun made from two kinds of flour." Unconsciously, Liu Guangtian's sense of superiority arose spontaneously.

Yan Jiecheng was holding a steamed bun in his left hand and a spoon in his right, seemingly drinking porridge.

Yan Bugui squinted and smiled at Liu Guangtian, saying, "I wondered who it was, but it's the second son of the Liu family. Have you eaten yet? Do you want to have a drink with your brother Jiecheng?"

Liu Guangtian glanced at the table again. There was no wine on the table. He had always heard Sha Zhu say that Yan Laokou's wine was all diluted with water. He wondered if Yan Laokou would bring out a bottle of this kind of wine in a while. Liu Guangtian felt a surge of pride and quickly said, "I just want to talk to Brother Jiecheng about something. Brother Jiecheng, is it convenient for us to go outside to talk?"

Yan Jiecheng looked at his wife, Yu Li, who nodded. Only then did Yan Jiecheng stand up and follow Liu Guangtian out.

Not long after, Yan Jiecheng returned. Yan Bugui immediately told his second brother to lock the door, and then gave Yang Ruihua a look.

A dozen minutes later, Yang Ruihua and Yan Jiekuang came out with several dishes: stewed chicken with mushrooms, braised pork, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and cucumber salad. A plate of steamed buns was also served.

Apart from Yan Jiekuang and his mother, who showed no surprise, only Yan Jiedi let out a cheer of amazement; the other three were dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)