Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1176 Late to Report
When Wang Zhan and his sister got home, it was only eight or nine o'clock. The two of them stared at each other, and since they couldn't go out, they decided to find something to do at home. After putting their backpacks back inside, one of them went to the small garden and the other to the kitchen.

Wang Zhan's idea was simple: since he couldn't give his sister a pleasant holiday, he would make it up to his lovely sister with a delicious meal.

There were some grains in the kitchen cabinet, mainly cornmeal and a small bag of millet. Wang Zhan had put away all the wheat flour and rice in his house. The last sudden visit by the neighborhood committee made Wang Zhan wary, so since then, he has not kept any food at home. He only keeps cornmeal, some pickles, and cabbage, radishes and potatoes in the cellar.

Wang Zhan turned his attention to the Jade Void Space, took out a rooster and a silver carp, and prepared a braised silver carp head and stir-fried chicken. These were dishes he had learned when he went south. With Wang Meili, a cheap Su chef, and Qi Dasheng, an imperial chef, he also had a special fondness for cooking. However, he had a problem: no matter what the dish was, once he learned it, he didn't like to cook it anymore.

Today, Wang Zhan put a lot of thought into his sister's sake. After preparing the ingredients and letting them marinate, he ran to the front yard, lowered the bolt, and then, feeling uneasy, added another bar to secure the gate. No matter who came today, the gate would definitely not be opened. Only then did Wang Zhan turn around and go back to the back yard. Jinbao looked at the gate, then turned to look at Wang Zhan's back. It also left the front yard and followed Wang Zhan into the back yard.

Wang Li was tending to the flowers she had planted in the garden. Last autumn, she asked her brother to help her transplant the small garden at the corner of the west wall into the greenhouse. To be honest, Wang Zhan thought that most of them would not survive after this move, but unexpectedly, except for the delicate peonies and roses, the rest survived and even had their flowering period extended.

Taking advantage of this time, Wang Zhan also went to the garden, mainly to pick some side dishes and to see what his sister was doing. When he arrived at the greenhouse, he saw a recliner and a square table next to the patch of flowers where Wang Li had planted them. Wang Li was lying on the recliner reading a book. On the square table was a wooden tray with two tomatoes and a few apples on it, and a bottle of soda next to it. Wang Zhan thought to himself that this girl knew how to enjoy life.

At noon, Wang Zhan's family ate lunch in the main room. Wang Zhan specially prepared four dishes and a soup. The dishes were braised silver carp head, stir-fried chicken, cucumber stir-fried with eggs, and stir-fried bok choy. The soup was hot and sour soup. Wang Zhan also drank two ounces of liquor.

After lunch, neither of the siblings cleaned up the table; they both went back to their rooms to sleep. After a nap, Wang Zhan started tidying up the main room. It seemed that Wang Li wouldn't wake up for at least an hour or two. Wang Zhan went to call her twice, but she wouldn't wake up.

Wang Zhan sat alone in the courtyard, setting up a low table and a reclining chair under the grapevines that had sprouted tender buds. He drank tea, thinking about going to work tomorrow, and frowned slightly. But there was nothing he could do; he had to face what he had to face. However, he was puzzled as to why Li Bo hadn't replied to his letter.

On March 7, 1960, the temperature in Beijing was still below zero in the morning. Wang Zhan got up early, first stirring the fire that had been suppressed the night before, then adding new coal. The stove in the main room and the stove in the kitchen were both lit. A pot of water sat in the main room, and a pot of water was heating on the stove.

After the water boiled, Wang Zhan first brewed himself a pot of tea, and then filled all the thermos flasks in the main room. Wang Zhan returned to the kitchen, still holding the flask of tea in his hand. While drinking the tea, he prepared breakfast for the day. Last night, Wang Li made a fuss all night and refused to sleep no matter what. Wang Zhan decided that he would no longer let his sister take a nap. Once she took a nap, she would be very energetic at night and would pester him to tell her stories.

In the morning, Wang Zhan steamed "gold-wrapped silver," which are steamed flower rolls made from cornmeal and wheat flour. Wang Zhan plans to bring his own lunch today because he doesn't know how to get to the cafeteria or what to buy for it. Also, Wang Li is bringing her own lunch today, so he decided to make both of them.

On another stove, cornmeal porridge was being cooked. Wang Zhan also made a stir-fried cabbage with vinegar and stir-fried shredded potatoes. He ate half of it for breakfast and packed the other half into a lunchbox. The two lunchboxes were identical, except that there were two boiled eggs next to Wang Li's lunchbox, which she was to eat secretly. Of course, Zhang Erya was definitely one of the two.

Wang Zhan then went to wake his sister again. Wang Li got up slowly. When Wang Zhan saw her, he deliberately didn't add hot water to her basin. As soon as Wang Li put both hands into the basin, she instantly woke up and glared at her brother angrily. Wang Zhan pointed to the thermos on the side table and said, "If you want hot water, do it yourself. If you keep dawdling, you'll be late."

Wang Li glanced at the clock on the table, then yelled and hurriedly started washing up. She quickly sat on the table, grabbed a steamed bun, and began eating, urging Wang Zhan to go to the study to get her schoolbag. Wang Zhan also ate quickly, then began packing his and his sister's things. The two hurriedly left the yard, locked the door, and Wang Zhan rode his bicycle with Wang Li towards Hongxing Elementary School.

When Wang Zhan rode his bicycle to the gate of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill again, the gate was already closed, which meant that Wang Zhan was late.

Wang Zhan had no other choice but to grit his teeth and walk to the small gate. The guards at the gate were from the security department. At this time, anyone who was late had to register so that leaders at all levels could check.

Wang Zhan was registering people at the door when he glanced over and saw Grandpa Sun sitting on the bed where he used to sleep during his night watch, drinking from a teacup. However, Grandpa Sun was looking at Wang Zhan with a mocking gaze.

Wang Zhan didn't want to ask Grandpa Sun for leniency, so he decided to register as late. Just then, a voice came from the doorway, "Xiao Zhan, why aren't you coming in? Why are you late?"

When Wang Zhan turned around, he saw Master Tie standing at the door with his two sons. Master Tie knew that today was Wang Zhan's first day of work, and being late on the first day was not a good thing. Master Tie looked at the doorman and asked, "Xiao Lu, do you think the three of us, father and sons, also need to register?"

Wang Zhan spotted one of the two guards and immediately approached Master Tie with a grin, saying, "How could that be? Who are you, Uncle Tie? Don't embarrass me."

“You can’t change your accent. This child is my mistress’s childhood friend. Please be lenient and let him go,” Master Tie said to Xiao Lu.

“Look at what you’re saying. If you keep talking like that, my dad will definitely whip me with his belt tonight. Alright, you guys come in. Uncle Tie, please don’t mention it to my dad.” Xiao Lu said as he opened the small door.

Master Tie entered the factory and looked at Wang Zhan, who was standing there in a daze, and said, "What are you still standing there for? Come on, it's your first day being late, isn't that embarrassing?"

Wang Zhan chuckled and followed Master Tie inside. Tie Da and Tie Er walked up to Xiao Lu, each grabbing one of Xiao Lu's arms and lifting him up. Xiao Lu cried out, "Brother, please forgive me! I'll never do it again! I don't know you, do I?"

The Tie brothers didn't say anything. They took out a pack and a half of cigarettes from Xiao Lu's pocket, stuffed them in their pockets, and turned to run into the factory. Another security guard stood to the side, secretly laughing.

Wang Zhan took a few steps, turned around, looked at Grandpa Sun in the gatehouse, made a face at him, and then chased after Master Tie's figure.

(End of this chapter)