Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

Yan Bugui walked to the table, opened the lunch box, and saw the greasy meat inside. His mouth watered unconsciously, and he said, "Jie Kuang, just make one meat dish. Why make so many?!"

Yan Jiekuang replied, "It's just the three of us at noon, so we'll be disappointed if we don't eat something good. Leave some meat and vegetables out for a while, and give them to my mother when we return to our room in the evening so she can have some nourishment. We'll eat the rest at noon."

Yan Bugui said with some distress: "Jie Kuang, isn't it too extravagant for the three of us to eat two meat dishes?! I think we should share the dishes so that we can have more meals."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Dad, it's so hot, how can we keep the food? Don't let the good food go bad, or you'll have to pay for medical treatment if you get a stomachache."

When he heard the word "medical expenses", the smile on Yan Bugui's face disappeared. Yan Bugui looked at Yan Jiekuang with a constipated look and said, "Are you cursing me?!"

"I didn't curse you!" Yan Jiekuang replied, and asked, "Have you heard about what happened to Liu Ergou in Maoer Hutong?!"

Yan Bugui replied: "No! What's the matter?!"

Yan Jiekuang said, "He went to a friend's house for a banquet and brought back some leftovers. If he had eaten the leftovers that night, it would not have been a big deal. But Liu Ergou was too thrifty. He ate the leftovers for two days. As a result, the food was gone and he was almost dead from diarrhea. So! Dad, sometimes you should be thrifty, and sometimes you can't be too thrifty. What's more, Jie Di and I are growing up and need nutrition. Dad, do you want us to be as skinny as you?!"

"You kid! I can't argue with you! Eat!" Yan Bugui took the three lunch boxes and left. Yan Jiekuang smiled at Yan Bugui's back, took the basket of steamed buns and followed him out the door.

Yan Jiekuang put the basket on the table in the main hall and went out to wash his hands. Yan Bugui went outside to call Yan Jiedi back. When Yan Jiekuang finished washing his hands and walked into the main hall, Yan Bugui had already poured himself a glass of wine and was waiting for Yan Jiekuang.

After Yan Jiekuang sat down next to Yan Jiedi, he picked up a steamed bun, broke it in half and gave it to Yan Jiedi, saying, "Little sister, eat more vegetables."

"Thank you, third brother." Yan Jiedi responded obediently, took the steamed bun and started eating.

Halfway through the meal, Yan Jiekuang felt someone was watching him. He turned his head to look out the window, and then saw a figure flash past the window. From the back, the person was none other than Banggeng. Yan Jiekuang rolled his eyes and asked, "Dad, has Banggeng found a new school?!"

Yan Bugui smiled and replied, "We did find one. But that school only let Banggeng go for a trial. Banggeng is so famous in our area! The school was also afraid that admitting him would ruin their reputation."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Recruiting Bang Geng into the school, the school still wants to gain reputation. Isn't this just wishful thinking?!"

Yan Bugui said: "If he doesn't go to school, will he just hang around in the alleys and become a street urchin in a few years?!"

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said nothing. He picked up a piece of tenderloin and put it into Yan Jiedi's bowl. Yan Bugui drank the wine and ate the meat, feeling so happy! Half an hour later, all the dishes on the table were eaten by Yan Bugui and the other two, and even half of the steamed buns were gone.

"Banggeng, what are you doing?!" At the same time, Jia Zhang noticed something strange about Banggeng and couldn't help asking.

Bang Geng replied: "Grandma, I want to eat meat."

Jia Zhang actually wanted to eat meat, but she couldn't say it out loud. After hesitating for a few seconds, Jia Zhang asked, "My dear grandson, our family just had meat a while ago. Why do you want to eat meat again?!"

Bang Geng gnashed his teeth and replied, "Just now I saw Yan Laokou's family in the front yard eating meat."

When Jia Zhang heard that the Yan family was eating meat, her face changed instantly and she said angrily: "This Yan Bugui is really something! He knew that our family was in financial difficulty and that they were eating meat at home, but he didn't even send some to our family. How can such a person be qualified to be the steward?!" Then Jia Zhang rolled her eyes and whispered in Bang Geng's ear: "My dear grandson, wait a moment, go to the Yan family and ask them for meat. If they don't give it to you, my lord, you can't handle it. Can't you deal with Yan Jie Di?!"

After hearing what Jia Zhang said, Bang Geng's eyes lit up immediately and he said, "I'll go right away!"

Jia Zhang warned, "Bang Geng, it's time to get the meat, don't forget grandma."

"Grandma! Don't worry!" Bang Geng said as he ran out of the house in a hurry. Not long after, Bang Geng ran to the door of Yan's house, and while reaching out his hand and knocking on the door frantically, he shouted, "Open the door! Open the door quickly!"

Yan Jiekuang, who was cleaning the table, heard Banggeng's shout, put down what he was doing, walked to the door, and opened it. Before Yan Jiekuang could speak, Banggeng rushed in from outside. Looking at the clean lunch box, Banggeng's face changed instantly and he shouted, "Why did you eat all the meat?!"

Yan Jiekuang didn't waste any more words with Bang Geng, and kicked him to the ground. Before Bang Geng could react, Yan Jiekuang grabbed one of Bang Geng's hands, dragged him outside, and shouted, "Young and old men in the courtyard! Everyone come out and see! This kid has been a bad boy since he was young. He just came to rob my house. In the future, if you have any good things in your home, you must hide them well. Don't let him see them. Otherwise, they may be gone at any time."

When the neighbors heard Yan Jiekuang's shout, they all gathered around, looked at Bang Geng lying on the ground, and began to whisper. Anyway, no one said anything good about Bang Geng.

"All of you, get out of my way!" At this moment, Jia Zhang pushed through the crowd, ran to Bang Geng's side, hugged Bang Geng and cried, "My dear grandson! Tell grandma, who bullied you?!"

Bang Geng pointed at Yan Jie Kuang and said, "Grandma! That's him. They've eaten all the meat."

Jia Zhang looked at Yan Bugui and shouted, "Old Yan, you stingy fellow! Don't you care about your son?!"

Yan Jiekuang spoke before Yan Bugui, "Jia Zhang, my father has educated us very well. Even if we are poor, we are better than your family. At least we won't cry poor in front of the neighbors, let alone go to other people's homes to beg for food. Jia Zhang, it's not easy for anyone these days. Everyone is trying to make their lives better with their own hands. Look at you. You are not old, and you don't want to go out to do odd jobs to help reduce the burden on the family. You eat and sleep at home every day. Even the landlords in the past didn't dare to be like you."

"Yes! What Yan Jiekuang said makes sense! Look at us, we are all skinny, but Jia Zhang is different. Look at Bang Geng, which child is as fat as him?!"

“That’s right!”…

Listening to the neighbors talking, Jia Zhang's anger instantly flared up. She stood up and shouted, "My son is willing to support me. What does it have to do with you? You guys only know how to worry about other people's business." Then she shouted, "Bang Geng! Let's go home!"

Bang Geng, who originally wanted to lie on the ground and throw a tantrum, got up from the ground swiftly after hearing what Jia Zhang said, gave Yan Jiekuang a look that said "wait for me", and followed Jia Zhang obediently.

Yan Bugui looked at the backs of Jia Zhang and Bang Geng and said, "Marrying an unvirtuous wife will ruin three generations. The Jia family is completely ruined!"