Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 834 Rainy Day Fun
July 3, 1956
In the morning, Wang Zhan was awakened by the sound of dripping rain. The mosquito net had been installed yesterday, so before going to bed, Wang Zhan opened all the windows in the house, including the sliding windows above the windows, and of course hung gauze curtains.

Unexpectedly, it started to drizzle in the middle of the night, and the weather gradually became cooler. Wang Zhan had a good dream and slept very soundly. In the morning, the rain gradually became heavier, and the water curtain sliding down from the roof hit the ground, making a loud crackling sound.

Wang Zhan stretched and it seemed that he couldn't go out to practice boxing today. He planned to take care of the two girls in the morning and then go to the study to meditate. He missed Taoist Wang a little.

Compared to Blind Chen, Taoist Wang has a father-son relationship with him. Moreover, Taoist Wang needs money for a different reason from Blind Chen. Taoist Wang's purpose is to renovate the Qingcheng Taoist Temple where he grew up, unlike Blind Chen who needs money for himself.

Wang Zhan put on his clothes. Today he didn't wear a short jacket, but directly put on a green Taoist robe, tied up the hem of his robe, rolled up his sleeves, and then left the east room. Wang Zhan gently pushed open the door of the west room and looked at his sister's bunk bed.

He saw his sister, who was naked, with a thin blanket kicked under her feet, lying in a "big" shape, sleeping soundly. Wang Zhan didn't have the heart to wake her up, since it was vacation time anyway, so he let his sister sleep until she woke up naturally.

Wang Zhan picked up an oil-paper umbrella at the door of the main room, then gently opened the door, went out, stood under the corridor, looking at the small courtyard in the backyard. He felt that it would be nice to have a rain in the summer. The leaves on the trees in the yard looked like they had been washed and were greener. The rain falling from the roof formed a curtain of water. On all four sides of the courtyard, there was a natural waterfall of water. The ground was wet but very clean.

Wang Zhan was in a particularly good mood. Just as he was about to turn to the small kitchen on the east side, he tripped and Jin Bao whimpered. Wang Zhan then realized that Jin Bao was lying on the right side outside the door of his main room. He was probably woken up by Wang Zhan's kick.

Wang Zhan squatted down, touched Jin Bao's head, and asked, "Why are you lying here? Why don't you go to your own bed and sleep?"

Jinbao turned his head and whimpered twice in the direction of his nest. This was the good thing about Jinbao. He never barked loudly. The whimpering was not loud, but it meant that there was something wrong with his nest. Wang Zhan touched his head again and said, "Go to sleep in the house. It's still early for dinner."

Jinbao understood and jumped into the main room. He probably lay down on the cushion under the recliner again. Wang Zhan walked to the small bamboo forest on the easternmost side of the yard and took a closer look at Jinbao's nest. He discovered that Jinbao's nest was leaking and the small quilt in the nest was wet.

Wang Zhan quickly took out Jin Bao's two quilts and put them on the bench in the corridor. It seemed that he had to make a new nest for Jin Bao.

Wang Zhan, holding an umbrella, returned to the small kitchen and started to make a fire to cook. He planned to make a bowl of beef noodles in the morning. Yesterday afternoon, Auntie Sun brought a pile of beef bones, saying that they were distributed by the street office. She asked Wang Zhan to make soup and stew the big bones at the same time. She didn't have time as she had to go back to distribute these bones to the lonely elderly people.

Wang Zhan was busy from the afternoon until ten o'clock in the evening before he turned off the fire. He finally cooked the big bone soup. He took out the big bones, rubbed some salt on them, and hung them aside.

There happened to be bone soup, so Wang Zhan planned to make hand-rolled noodles, which he was good at. It didn't take long for the noodles to rise. He went to the small garden, picked a few cucumbers, some green onions and a handful of wild celery, and took four eggs from the chicken coop. Then he went back to the small kitchen to get busy.

He Yushui was the second one to get up. She woke up naturally. Last night was the most comfortable night she had slept in the past few days. She heard the clanging sounds from the kitchenette in the room, but she didn't move and stayed lazy in bed for a while.

Now she has become accustomed to Wang Zhan's early rising. She has followed him to rise early many times. He either asks her to take care of Xiao Lili or feed the chickens in the garden and the geese in the front yard. He never asks her to cook. Wang Zhan always does it. So she has become habitually lazy recently.

Wang Zhan had just finished rolling the noodles when he heard some noise in the front yard, as if someone was knocking on the door. Wang Zhan was very puzzled. What time was it? It seemed to be just after six o'clock. Who would come to the door so early in the morning?
At this time, He Yushui had already gotten up and was walking out of the house with her toiletries. Seeing Wang Zhan holding an umbrella and walking towards the front yard, she asked, "What's wrong, Brother Zhan?" "It seems like someone is knocking on the door. I'll go check it out. It's so early in the morning, and I don't know who can come." Wang Zhan said as he walked towards the front yard.

Before reaching the front door, Wang Zhan heard continuous knocking on the door and complained, "Stop knocking! Here I come, here I come, so early in the morning."

When he opened the door, he saw that it was Xiaowu and Xiaosi. They were shivering at the door, each holding an umbrella. It was a rainy morning and they were cold. Wang Zhan quickly let them in and said, "You two always surprise me. It's raining early in the morning and you two came in wearing vests. Don't you know whether it's hot or cold?"

Xiao Si looked at Wang Zhan with resentful eyes and said, "Do you think I want to? There was chaos in the backyard early in the morning. I just woke up and didn't know what was going on. Xiao Wu pulled me out and I didn't know what was going on. I was forced, okay?"

Xiao Wu said nonchalantly, "Hurry up and get me some hot water, or I'll really catch a cold. Go in and talk, go in and talk."

Wang Zhan took them to the main hall. The two of them put on Wang Zhan's long-sleeved clothes and sat down to drink the hot water that He Yushui had poured for them. Xiao Wu then said, "You can't blame me for this. My mom is pregnant. I was very hungry this morning, but my parents were in their room and there was no movement. I had no choice but to make some porridge myself."

Xiao Si couldn't figure out why Xiao Wu dragged him to Wang Zhan's place so early in the morning. Now that he had woken up from his daze, he said, "Just make porridge if you want, but why did you come to bother me so early in the morning?"

"I was not paying attention when I was making a fire and threw a few dry bamboo sticks into the fire. Then, there was a crackling sound from the stove in my house, which woke up my parents. My mother was frightened and my father went to the kitchen. He picked up a stick and was about to hit me. I thought, let's run quickly. When I ran to the front yard, I thought how embarrassed I would be to disturb Brother Zhan so early in the morning, so I dragged Xiao Si along with me. You are my brother, don't you know that we should share the same hardships?" Xiao Wu then told him what happened in the morning in a wronged manner.

Xiao Si slapped his forehead and said, "You are not my brother, you are my enemy. I am sleeping well, who have I offended?"

Xiao Wu also got angry and said, "You are so mean. Why are you alone in the yard when I come out? You might as well come to Brother Zhan's place and play together."

Xiao Si was also angry. He looked at Xiao Wu and said, "Are you stupid? It's raining so hard. Where are you going to play? You might as well apologize to your parents."

Xiao Wu said, "I admit my fault? My father's stick admits my fault, so I still suffer a loss, right?"

At this time, Wang Zhan's voice came from the side, "Are you two hungry? Do you want some beef noodle soup with poached eggs in the morning?"

Xiao Si and Xiao Wu were both stunned at the same time, their stomachs growling, and Xiao Wu was about to drool. The two of them nodded frequently, making He Yushui laugh uncontrollably.

(End of this chapter)