Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1118 Lunar New Year's Day
The afternoon of New Year's Eve is usually a paradise for young people. There aren't many rules in this courtyard. After a year of hard work, the head of the household deserves a rest, so close neighbors start to gather in twos and threes. The men play chess and drink, while the women drink tea and chat.

The young people, who were on the right track, started going out to play together, either setting off firecrackers or playing cards. The children, without any worries, ran around freely as long as they shared similar interests, regardless of whether they knew each other or not.

After leaving the Yan family, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu went straight home. They were very concerned about the matter Liu Haizhong had given them. Even if they did it well, they were likely to be beaten, let alone if they did it poorly. So the two brothers took the matter very seriously.

When he got home, he saw his father, Liu Haizhong, drinking alone in the main room. All that was left on the table was a plate of scrambled eggs and a plate of peanuts.

Seeing the two boys enter the room, Liu Haizhong glanced at them and asked, "How did it go? You two didn't just go out to play and forget about the important matter, did you?"

"No way, my brother and I went out to do the task you assigned us. We went inside to check on things," Liu Guangtian quickly replied.

"Oh! Tell me about it." Liu Haizhong immediately became interested, put down his wine glass, and looked at Liu Guangtian.

Liu Guangtian then told Liu Haizhong everything he had done and seen, down to the smallest detail. The more Liu Haizhong listened, the happier he became, thinking to himself, "That stingy Yan has finally met his match. He brought out such mediocre dishes during the New Year, showing you no support for my decision. You deserve it."

After listening to Liu Guangtian's story, Liu Haizhong was certain that the Yan family was not doing well, which put his mind at ease. In a good mood, he gave each of them 50 cents as a New Year's gift.

When the two brothers took the money, they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing, but fearing their father might change his mind, they said goodbye and ran away with the money.

In the front courtyard of the siheyuan, Yan Bugui sat in the main seat. Usually, everyone would rush to eat as soon as the food was served, but today, when the last dish was served, no one dared to touch their chopsticks, and all their eyes were fixed on Yan Bugui.

Even Yan Jiekuang was amazed by his father's brilliant planning. When he started setting out the food, he was still complaining about his father's stingy nature. It was the New Year, and he had borrowed all the food but didn't give any to the family. But he didn't expect that Liu Guangtian from the backyard would come over as soon as the food was set out. Seeing that the boy's eyes staring straight at the dining table, everyone knew why he had come.

Yan Bugui looked at his family at the table and said, "Today is our New Year's Day. This year, we've also had a new addition to the family, as our eldest son got married and Yu Li joined our family. So, today's feast is a bit more elaborate. I know you all call me 'Old Man Yan the Stingy' in private, just like everyone else in the neighborhood. But after all these things, I've come to realize that this whole neighborhood is full of people who 'hate those who have and laugh at those who don't; despise those who are poor and fear those who are rich.' I used to think that my mind was full of calculations, but that was all for the sake of the family. But I won't do that anymore. I'll earn my living through my own abilities and find more ways to make a living. Alright, it's the New Year, so I won't say any more. Let's eat. Happy New Year to everyone. By the way, from now on, we won't be serving meals separately anymore. Starting today, let's eat together."

Yan Bugui started eating, and Yan Jiecheng and Yan Jiefang didn't stand on ceremony and started eating right away. That's how the Yan family's New Year's Eve dinner officially began.

Yang Ruihua was skeptical of what his wife said. They had lived together for so many years, and scheming and stinginess were ingrained in Yan Bugui's bones. However, after liberation, he still thought that the old ways of the society would work, so he planned to scheme against Wang Zhan. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhan did not say anything, and the first Director Wang made him realize what the rules were.

Yan Jiekuang listened carefully to his father's words. He did have some expectations for the future Yan Bugui, but he couldn't figure out where his father's change came from. Was he touched by someone or something? While eating, Yan Jiekuang recalled, but he still couldn't figure it out. So Yan Jiekuang decided to go to Yu'er Hutong again after the New Year.

Compared to the cold and sparsely populated second uncle's house in the backyard, the comfortable life of the first uncle at the Jia family's house, and the sudden change in the Yan family's house in the front yard, only a few families in the other courtyards were doing well. Most families ate only a plate of vegetables, and even if they had a few ounces of meat, they were reluctant to eat it, planning to make dumplings for dinner. Therefore, most families ate cornbread for lunch. Before evening, a cold wind howled outside, and soon snowflakes began to fall. The alleys of Nanluoguxiang were deserted, unlike previous years when children would run around excitedly, and there were far fewer people setting off firecrackers. The harvest in the second half of this year had plummeted, causing some panic among everyone. As the year drew to a close, grain and meat were hard to buy. Whenever grain or rare ingredients appeared in the black market or pigeon market, they would be snapped up instantly. Unable to buy anything, they could only rely on supplies to survive, which made many families carefully budget their lives.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, at No. 47 Yu'er Hutong, Wang Zhan woke up in the recliner in front of the fireplace. Jinbao, who had been lying next to Wang Zhan, heard the noise, raised his head, opened his eyes, and looked at Wang Zhan. Wang Zhan smiled and said, "Happy New Year, Jinbao, you've grown another year older. Isn't it time to go out and find a wife?"

Jinbao seemed to understand, barking a few times before lying back down and ignoring Wang Zhan. It was unclear whether it was resentful that Wang Zhan was laughing at it or was too shy to face anyone.

Wang Zhan stirred the fire in the fireplace and added some more firewood. He didn't plan to turn the fireplace off for the next few days. Last night, around midnight, he felt the outside temperature drop again. This year's temperature was even lower than the coldest time of the same period in previous years.

Wang Zhan pushed the door to the west bedroom open a crack and saw his younger sister still fast asleep, wrapped in her blanket. He then quietly closed the door again. That girl had caused quite a commotion yesterday. It snowed heavily in the evening, and by nine or ten o'clock, there was a considerable amount of snow on the ground. Wang Lifeng dragged Wang Zhan to the yard to build a snowman. Wang Zhan had no choice but to fully bundle her up, putting on a scarf, gloves, hat, and cotton coat before letting his sister go out.

The two siblings played until after 11 o'clock. After building the snowman, Wang Li complained that she was tired and wanted to eat. So the two siblings went back to the main room. Meanwhile, Wang Zhan went to the kitchen to make dumplings, preparing to cook some for his sister. He couldn't wait until after midnight.

After Wang Zhan finished making the dumplings, put them in the pot, and brought them to the main room, he saw that Wang Li was asleep on the recliner. The child had just been clamoring for dumplings and wanted to stay up all night with her brother, but she had fallen asleep in such a short time.

Wang Zhan placed two plates of dumplings on the table and tried to wake her up. He tried several times, but failed each time. Wang Zhan could only take her back to his room, take off her clothes, and tuck her into bed. It had been two days, and Wang Li showed no sign of waking up.

Wang Zhan quickly washed up, then boiled a new pot of water, filled the thermos, put on his coat, opened the gate, and walked into the backyard.

Looking at the thick snow covering the yard, Wang Zhan glanced at the sky. It seemed there was no sign of the weather clearing up today. Although the snow had lightened considerably, with only a few snowflakes falling, it showed no signs of stopping. Wang Zhan stretched and loosened his limbs before picking up a large broom and shovel from the nearby storage room and starting to clear the snow.

By the time they finished clearing the snow from the front yard, it was already past eight in the morning. At that moment, Wang Li, dressed in the same full-on protective gear she had worn the day before, ran out and saw her brother opening the gate. She called out, "Brother, Happy New Year! I've come to wish you a Happy New Year. Where's the red envelope?"

Wang Zhan's face darkened. He had been freezing all morning, and the first thing his little sister did after waking up was to run to him for New Year's money. Well, he had to spoil his own sister. Wang Zhan took out the prepared red envelope from his clothes and said, "Good sister, Happy New Year to you too."

"Haha!" Wang Li didn't open the red envelope, but put it directly into the inside pocket of her coat, and then said, "I'm going to wish Grandpa Zhang a Happy New Year, I'll be back in a bit."

After saying that, Wang Li rushed out, while Wang Zhan continued his snow-sweeping work.

(End of this chapter)