Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 681 What is the intention?
As Li Cuilan walked, she smiled and said, "It's the Little New Year, I'm afraid you brothers and sisters don't know how to make dumplings, so I'll give you a bowl of pork and celery."

Wang Zhan let Li Cuilan into the restaurant. As soon as they entered the door, Wang Li ran over and called sweetly, "Hello, Mommy Li!" Li Cuilan touched Wang Li's head and said, "Hello too, I missed you."

Wang Zhan interrupted at this time and said, "Auntie Li, I can make dumplings. If you don't believe me, just watch."

Li Cuilan was also surprised when she saw the dumplings on the table. It was amazing that such a young child could make dumplings. She put the bowl on the table and said, "It's already here. Just keep it and try it for a different taste."

Wang Zhan said, "Mother Li, please sit down. I'll go get a set of bowls and chopsticks so you can try my cooking." After saying that, he left the house and returned with a set of bowls and chopsticks in a short while.

Li Cuilan didn't hesitate to try one and said, "Not bad, the stuffing is just right. Where did you learn this?"

Wang Zhan smiled but didn't answer. Wang Li said from the side, "Mother Li, please eat more."

Li Cuilan accompanied the brother and sister to eat dumplings. After the meal, she helped wash the dishes before saying goodbye and leaving.

Wang Zhan frowned, wondering why Mother Li suddenly came to visit. Wang Zhan turned around and asked his sister, "Sister, has Mother Li come to visit me in the two years since I left home?"

Wang Li thought about it carefully, shook her head and said, "No, I haven't been here once."

Wang Zhan sat there, lost in thought again. Wang Li saw that her brother was frowning and not talking, so she asked, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"

Wang Zhan couldn't figure out the reason yet, so he put the matter aside for the time being and said to his sister, "It's okay, let's go to the backyard, take a nap, and go out to play when we wake up in the afternoon." As he said that, he took his sister's hand and ran to the backyard bedroom to take a nap.

In the middle courtyard of No. 95 compound, Yi Zhonghai was sitting restlessly at home. He was waiting for Li Cuilan to come back and paced back and forth at home.

After a while, Li Cuilan came back. Yi Zhonghai came to Li Cuilan in one step and asked anxiously, "How is it?"

"It's nothing. I didn't ask. The kid knew how to make dumplings by himself and politely let me try a few. I found them really good. Do they still need someone to take care of them when their chef is not at home?" Li Cuilan said as she put the bowl on the table.

Yi Zhonghai frowned, sat down, took out his cigarette, lit one, and began to think.

Li Cuilan asked from the side: "No, Lao Yi, who do you want to take care of those two children?"

"My apprentice's wife is Qin Huairu from across the street. Jia Zhang has come to me several times and said that Dongxu is the only one in the family who earns money. Now there is Bang Geng, and she thought that Qin Huairu has nothing to do at home, so she wanted to see if she could go there and earn more money." Yi Zhonghai said while smoking.

Li Cuilan was a little reluctant in her heart and hesitated to speak, but when she thought of Yi Zhonghai's apprentice, she sighed alone and walked out of the house with the empty bowl.

Yi Zhonghai thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any good idea, so he went out and went to the kitchen, asking Li Cuilan to heat up a bowl of dumplings. He stood by and waited, his eyes unconsciously looking towards the backyard.

The main door of the back room was closed, and a little girl of eight or nine years old stood at the door. The little girl knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. The little girl was very disappointed. She turned around, lowered her head, and walked towards the main door with red eyes. When she passed the middle courtyard, she turned her head to look at Yi Zhonghai's room, which was also closed. The little girl walked to the main gate of the courtyard and stood outside the gate of the courtyard, looking in the direction of the steel rolling mill, and kept covering her face with cotton gloves on both hands.

Li Cuilan saw Yi Zhonghai staring out the window and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. By the way, go back to your room and close the door. Don't open it no matter who calls you. I'll be back soon." Yi Zhonghai took the bowl of dumplings from Li Cuilan's hand and went straight to the backyard.

Li Cuilan felt confused when she heard Yi Zhonghai's words, but she still went back to the room and closed the door.

Wang Zhan saw that Wang Li was already asleep. He felt uneasy when he thought of Li Cuilan's arrival. He walked to the wall of the backyard, exerted force with his legs, and jumped onto the top of the wall. Looking towards Yard No. 95, he saw a little girl standing at the gate, shivering in the cold wind, her eyes staring into the distance.

Wang Zhan didn't take it seriously at first, but when he looked closely, he saw that the little girl's clothes were thin and her face was full of tears, which instantly aroused Wang Zhan's pity. He felt loneliness, helplessness, and a little bit of despair from the little girl. He seemed to have felt that feeling before.

Wang Zhan thought for a moment, then flipped over and landed lightly in the alley across the street. He walked slowly to the little girl and asked, "What's wrong with you? Do you need help?"

The little girl seemed to be frightened and shrank her body. She turned around and saw a little boy about her age. She hesitated for a moment and said, "I, I'm very hungry. There is nothing at home and my brother hasn't come back yet. Woo woo." After that, she squatted on the ground and started crying.

"Don't cry. If someone hears them, they will think I bullied you. Where are your neighbors? Why don't you go and ask them if they have anything to eat?" Wang Zhan asked puzzledly.

When the little girl heard what Wang Zhan said, she started crying again and said, "He and they didn't open the door for me. They all despise me."

Wang Zhan thought for a moment and said to the little girl, "I live in the alley next door. If you believe me, just follow me to my house. I have food there. It's just me and my sister at home. Don't worry."

The little girl stopped talking. Wang Zhan sighed and walked to the east of the alley. The little girl hesitated for a moment and followed him. The two of them walked around in a big circle and came to Wang Zhan's door. Wang Zhan said, "Wait for me."

Wang Zhan took a few steps back, made a sprint, kicked the outer courtyard wall, grabbed the top of the wall with his hands, climbed in, opened the door from the inside, let the girl into the yard, then locked the door and took her to the restaurant.

Wang Zhan said, "Please sit down first. I'll light the fire. Wait for me for a while."

Wang Zhan turned on the stove to make the fire burn brighter, then went out to the kitchen. After a while, he came back with two plates of dumplings, bowls and chopsticks, as well as vinegar and chili oil.

Wang Zhan placed these in front of the little girl and said, "Eat them. My sister and I made them for lunch."

The little girl hesitated for a moment, then picked up the chopsticks and started eating voraciously.

(End of this chapter)