Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1165 Visiting My Mentor
At night, Nanluoguxiang is pitch black everywhere, with only a few dim streetlights in the alley. There happens to be one at the entrance of Mao'er Hutong, where there is a public toilet, which is for the convenience of people to use the toilet at night.

Under the dim streetlights, Wang Zhan could see four or five people, but Sha Zhu was standing in the middle, so he could see him very clearly. Opposite Sha Zhu, someone was shouting something at him, but because they were far away, Wang Zhan couldn't hear clearly. There were also people trying to persuade him, and the noise from their conversation made it even harder to hear.

Wang Li came to her brother's side. She also noticed the argument and looked over, then asked, "Brother, isn't that Brother Zhuzi? Shall we go over there? Or should we go home?"

Wang Zhan looked away as his sister asked the question. He first helped his sister sit on the crossbar of the car, and then said, "It's none of our business. Let's go home. It looks like those are people from their compound."

After saying that, Wang Zhan pushed the cart straight to his house. Wang Zhan had already guessed that the person who was cursing at Sha Zhu was probably Qin Huairu's mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi. Qin Huairu next to him had her head down, and it looked like she was crying. Wang Zhan guessed that her mother-in-law must have seen the two of them flirting earlier.

As Wang Li walked, she asked, "Brother, have you seen Brother Tie? I heard he became a hero today. All the teachers at our school are talking about it."

"Uh, really? I saw it, but I was too busy chatting to ask about it." Wang Zhan had completely forgotten about it. He hadn't mentioned it at all at the Tie family's house, and he hadn't thought of it either.

"Will he come to our house to see me?" Wang Li then asked.

Wang Zhan smiled and said, "Yes, I will come over this weekend and we can have a meal together."

As they talked, the brother and sister arrived at their doorstep. Wang Li got off her bicycle, Wang Zhan opened the door, and she ran into the yard with her schoolbag in her hand.

Wang Zhan had no interest in the noise at the intersection earlier. However, since Sha Zhu had asked about his house today, he was now wondering what to do with it. Should he hand it over to the neighborhood committee to rent out, or should he move in himself? He was hesitant. Wang Zhan was a quiet person, and after seeing the residents of No. 95 Courtyard, he was also reluctant to live there. But he didn't want the people in that courtyard to take advantage of him, so he was a bit at a loss about what to do with the house.

The next day, Wang Zhan took Wang Li and Zhang Erya to school. At the school gate, he unexpectedly ran into Yan Jiekuang again. As soon as the kid saw Wang Zhan, he rushed over as if he had seen a relative. Wang Zhan dodged and said, "What are you doing, kid? Can't you see that the teachers at school are watching you? Why are you rushing at me?"

"Brother, dear brother, I'm just a little excited. By the way, did you see that big guy? What's his name? Is he a soldier?" Yan Jiekuang asked several questions excitedly.

"Stop, alright, I know you want to know. That's my classmate, a soldier named Tie Jun, okay?" Wang Zhan replied.

“Hey bro, I got praised and even got a certificate. My teacher came to my house for a home visit last night and specifically told me about it,” Yan Jiekuang continued.

Wang Zhan was very curious. Why was this kid telling him all this? What did it have to do with him? He wasn't related to Yan Jiekuang's family. So he asked, "Isn't that great? No, why are you telling me all this? What does it have to do with me?"

Yan Jiekuang hesitated for a moment, and was a little afraid to look at Wang Zhan, but still said, "I told my teacher that I know that Brother Tie, and the teacher asked me to invite him to the school. What do you think about this?"

Wang Zhan then realized why this kid had been so close to him so early in the morning. Wang Zhan smiled and said, "I guess you're going to disappoint your teacher. Tie Jun is quite busy. He'll only be home for two days before heading back to the army. Forget about it."

Wang Zhan, also a former school graduate, knew exactly what the school meant. They simply wanted Tie Jun to tell the children the story of stopping the runaway horse and talk about military matters—a form of moral education. He didn't have time to help Tie Jun with these things, and he doubted Tie Jun would have the time either. Yan Jiekuang, still somewhat unwilling to give up, looked up at Wang Zhan and said, "Could you give me his home address?"

"No, hurry up and go in, or you'll be late." Wang Zhan decisively refused Yan Jiekuang, then got into the car and left without paying any attention to Yan Jiekuang who was still standing there.

Wang Zhan has to go to Teacher Xie's house today. Now that he's been hired, he should at least talk to his mentor about it. He had already thought about it yesterday.

Upon arriving at the professor's compound, Wang Zhan suddenly realized that he hadn't brought anything with him, so he thought he'd go to the nearby supply and marketing cooperative to check. But before he even left the compound, he saw Xie Yun and her husband returning from grocery shopping, and they bumped into him at the gate.

Professor Xie Yun stopped Wang Zhan and asked, "Why did you go to my house? Your teacher's wife and I went out to buy groceries. Why didn't you wait at the door?"

Professor Xie thought Wang Zhan was leaving, but Wang Zhan said, "No, I just wanted to go check out the nearby supply and marketing cooperative. You and your wife go home first, I'll be back in a bit."

Professor Xie grabbed Wang Zhan's car and said, "What are you looking at? Don't waste money. My family has everything we need. Come home with me now."

The master's wife also complained to Wang Zhan, saying, "Every time you come, you bring so many bags and packages. It's not good if the neighbors see you like that. Hurry up, just come in person. I bought some ribbonfish today. I'll make you some stewed ribbonfish. We can eat at home for lunch."

Wang Zhan had no choice but to go home with Xie Yun and his wife. When they arrived at Professor Xie Yun's house, his wife took a vegetable basket to the kitchen. Professor Xie Yun led him to the study, then pointed to the thermos and said, "Go, ask your teacher's wife to fetch two thermoses of water. I'll make you some tea. I recently got a jar of Tieguanyin tea. You can't buy this tea even if you have money."

Wang Zhan carried two empty thermos flasks to the kitchen. Half an hour later, he returned to his study. When he arrived, he saw a tea tray and tea set on the coffee table, along with a green tin can. The teacher had everything prepared and was just waiting for hot water.

Wang Zhan said with a smile, "Are you going to start a long story? You've even brought out some Kung Fu tea."

"Oh ho ho, you know how to tell stories, huh? Looks like you've been to Sichuan before," Professor Xie Yun said with a smile, sitting on the sofa.

The two chatted about all sorts of things, from Tieguanyin tea to Sichuan and Chongqing, and then from Sichuan and Chongqing to Sichuan cuisine. In the middle of the conversation, the teacher's wife brought over a plate of dried fruit, which included peanuts, melon seeds, and some dates.

After a pot of tea, Professor Xie Yun asked Wang Zhan about his internship. Wang Zhan didn't mince words and recounted the whole story, including how smoothly he got the job and the advice Zhai Gong had given him. After listening, Professor Xie Yun was silent for a moment before saying, "Life is full of opportunities and difficulties. No one can succeed easily. Now that you've completed the formalities, keep moving forward. Consider it a valuable experience for yourself. I've always felt that you lack social skills, but now that you've integrated into the workforce, it's part of your growth."

Wang Zhan agreed with his mentor's words and that was also his plan, so he didn't say much about it. Then Wang Zhan brought up the matter of his house and asked his mentor for advice.

(End of this chapter)