Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 985 Second Master of the Front Yard
The party ended noisily. Everyone, including Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, and Lü Qing, was happy. Then they went their separate ways and went home.

At this time, the tricycle not only carried Wang Li, who had been dozing off, but also Wang Zhan's bicycle. When they arrived at Nanluoguxiang, Xiao Si and Xiao Wu ran away, so Wang Zhan had to put the bicycle on the tricycle.

As Wang Zhan approached the gate of number 47, before he even went inside, he heard a commotion coming from the front yard. Curious, he stopped the car and picked up Lili, who was already asleep.

As Wang Zhan entered the courtyard, he saw several families in the front yard surrounding an old man, talking about something. Wang Zhan looked at the old man and saw him wearing a faded old military uniform with an empty right sleeve. Wang Zhan was stunned.

Aunt Li from the west wing of the front yard came over, pulled Wang Zhan to the old man, and said, "This is Second Master Mu, a veteran of the Red Army. Hurry up and go up to pay your respects."

Wang Zhan then realized that the old man from the east wing of the front yard had arrived, so he quickly went over to greet him. Master Mu looked at Wang Zhan, laughed heartily, and said, "Young Qi's apprentice, not bad, not bad. If it weren't for you and your master, these people would be suffering somewhere."

"Grandpa Mu, you're not leaving now that you're back?" Wang Zhan asked.

“I’m not leaving. My superiors have taken good care of me, assigning me a courtyard and a job. Oh, and these two rooms, please clean them up for you before you leave. Then give the keys to Li Yatou.” Second Master Mu pointed to the two rooms behind him. The Li Yatou he mentioned was Aunt Li.

The entire east wing of the front yard consisted of two rooms and two side rooms. The two rooms on the north side were originally rented to the Mu family. Although it was called a rent, Wang Zhan never received any money. The room and side room on the south side were always occupied by his master Qi Dasheng and Director Li.

Now the entire east wing was empty. Wang Zhan didn't have time to think about these things yet, so he invited the people in the front yard to have a meal together in his backyard. The reason was quite simple: he had a large round table and a square table that could fit the food.

The people in the front yard were also very happy and went to prepare. Wang Zhan returned to his own home, thought for a moment, and then took out two chickens, two fish, and some pork belly. Of course, there were still plenty of vegetables at home. Wang Zhan then started preparing.

Several households in the front yard also brought their own ingredients, and Aunt Li said that she would prepare the staple food at her own home.

One family sent mushrooms and wood ear fungus, another sent a piece of cured meat—a whole variety of things, things they themselves couldn't bear to eat, were all brought out and sent to Wang Zhan's kitchen.

Aunt Mu's second aunt and Aunt Li's daughter came to help with the cooking. Wang Zhan went all out, serving ten dishes and a soup for each table. The cuisines were all kinds of things, including Sichuan dishes like twice-cooked pork and Mapo tofu, Shandong dishes like Dongpo pork and braised carp, and Northeastern dishes like chicken stew with mushrooms and sweet and sour pork. Basically, there were one or two dishes from all over the country.

After finishing cooking, Wang Zhan went to the front yard to arrange things for everyone. He even invited Master Mu to sit in the main seat and brought out a case of Fenjiu liquor from his study. Such a grand gesture surprised everyone in the front yard. Wang Zhan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm very rich."

This one sentence made everyone burst into laughter. Grandma Sun and several children were also called over by Wang Zhan. After all, Grandma Sun was quite familiar with them. Apart from greeting them and doing normal business, Wang Zhan didn't have many opportunities to chat with them. After all, Wang Zhan himself was a quiet person and not very outgoing.

At the banquet, everyone was in high spirits. Wang Zhan drank with Master Mu while listening to Master Mu tell stories of battles, which he found very interesting.

Within two days, the Mu family moved away, leaving only four households in the front yard. The departure of the Mu family also affected the other households. First of all, Aunt Li had the idea of ​​settling down and returning to her roots, wanting to go back and take a look.

Wang Zhan continued his ordinary life, but the two unlucky guys from courtyard number 95 who had been arrested received their sentences: one three years of labor reform, the other one year and a half. The day the sentences were handed down, the courtyard erupted in another deafening wail. The person crying was Aunt Liu Yue'e, the second eldest. She was truly heartbroken. Although her second eldest husband often beat and scolded Liu Guangtian, she pretended not to see it, sometimes even fanning the flames, because at least the child was safe and sound at home. This time, however, he was completely ruined; he wouldn't even be able to find a job after his release.

Another person who is worried is Uncle Yan Bugui. Now, apart from going to and from get off work, he stays at home and doesn't go out. He feels ashamed, after all, he is a teacher. More importantly, he knows very well what Yan Jiefang's year and a half has meant. It means that Yan Jiefang's life is ruined.

The neighbors mostly used this incident to educate their own children, warning them never to break the law, as it concerns their future and destiny.

Of course, there were also those who gloated, such as the Xu family in the backyard, Sha Zhu and the Jia family in the middle courtyard, and Yi Zhonghai who was secretly enjoying himself.

After the National Day holiday, the street office staff notified everyone to prepare winter supplies as soon as possible, and also sent people to inspect the stoves and flues of each household. Several cases of carbon monoxide poisoning occurred last year, so this year all the street offices under their jurisdiction are paying close attention to this issue.

The person who came to Wang Zhan's house was Officer Sun, the one who used to work under Director Wang. Now he has achieved nothing at work and has basically no room for advancement. It's not that he doesn't work hard, but mainly because he was under the old Director Wang, and the current Director Wang doesn't like him at all.

This visit to Wang Zhan's house was something that Officer Sun had volunteered to do. The real reason for coming was to complain to Wang Zhan, not to check the flue and stove.

Wang Zhan invited him to his study, brewed tea, and prepared cigarettes. The two sat facing each other and started chatting. After only a few words, Secretary Sun poured out his grievances.

Wang Zhan listened attentively and learned that the current Director Wang's work style could be summed up in four words: "nepotism."

Officer Sun also mentioned that Director Wang, along with the deputy director and several people from Courtyard No. 95, plotted against Wang Zhan, adding that it was fortunate Wang Zhan responded quickly, otherwise something bad would have definitely happened.

Wang Zhan smiled and didn't say anything. Then he told Wang Zhan about his troubles. Now Wang Zhan hardly goes to the street office to handle anything. He guessed that if he went, he wouldn't be able to get anything done. Fortunately, he didn't have anything to do. For things like daily necessities, he could just ask the people below to handle them normally. He didn't need Director Wang's approval. Moreover, he mostly entrusted Aunt Sun to handle these things.

Officer Sun lit a cigarette and said, "Little Wang Zhan, do you think I should just keep drifting along like this?"

"A tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives." This was the advice Wang Zhan gave to Secretary Sun after thinking for a long time.

Officer Sun sighed and began to think about it carefully.

A few days later, Officer Sun came again, saying that he had been transferred to the Qianmen Subdistrict Office, again through Aunt Wang's connections. Wang Zhan congratulated him.

(End of this chapter)