Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

When Yi Zhonghai heard what his wife said, his face suddenly turned ugly and he said, "Everyone has their own preferences. Qin Huairu is good-looking, but Jia Dongxu was also good-looking back then."

Liu Guiying was slightly stunned and said, "Old Yi, I'm talking to Qin Huairu and Jia Dongxu, why are you so anxious?!"

Yi Zhonghai realized that he had lost his composure and hurriedly explained, "I'm not in a hurry! They say it's better to demolish a temple than to destroy a marriage. What if Qin Huairu gets her ears about what you said and she gets a divorce from Jia Dongxu?!"

Liu Guiying thought about it, nodded in agreement, and said, "Old Yi! You are really good. Why didn't I think of this?!"

Yi Zhonghai then asked: "Did Butcher Zhang's wife say anything was missing from the house?!"

Liu Guiying replied, "No! But from what she said, Banggeng had just taken something from her house, and she just happened to come back from outside and caught him red-handed. So nothing was missing." Then she changed the subject and continued, "Now that you are no longer the manager, every door in our yard is locked. Banggeng can't steal anything in the yard, so he can only steal outside. For the sake of the neighbors, no one will make a big fuss about stealing things in the yard. But if he steals outside and gets caught, it will be a big trouble. Zhao Quezi, who lives at the entrance of the alley, has a brother who is about the same age as Banggeng. He was caught just for stealing a chicken. I heard that he was sent to the police station and was sentenced to five years in prison."

When Yi Zhonghai heard the word "five years", his heart skipped a beat and his face turned pale instantly. Liu Guiying saw that Yi Zhonghai's face looked a little strange and asked, "Old Yi, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?!"

Yi Zhonghai shook his head and replied: "It's okay!"

Time flies, and the New Year's Day of 1959 has passed in a blink of an eye. Ever since Banggeng was beaten up by Zhang the Butcher's wife, Banggeng has been quiet for a while. Now, Banggeng is making trouble again. A few days ago, he was playing in the alley and met a few street urchins who were two years older than him. After a few visits, Banggeng started to call these people brothers. When Banggeng heard that his so-called good brothers wanted to get some money to spend, he unconsciously thought of Yan Jiekuang. So Banggeng brought people to the vicinity of the school, intending to wait for Yan Jiekuang to finish school and block Yan Jiekuang.

It's not bad that Banggeng chose a good place. Although this place is remote, it is the only way back to the courtyard. Banggeng and his group of eight waited for about 20 minutes, and finally heard the bell for the end of get out of class. Not long after, Yan Jiekuang came out of the school pushing his bicycle.

Bang Geng saw Yan Jiekuang and shouted hurriedly, "He's out! That's the guy on the bicycle!"

Looking in the direction Banggeng pointed, the seven people's eyes lit up when they saw the bicycle next to Yan Jiekuang. One of them said, "I didn't expect that this kid is really a fat sheep?!"

As the saying goes, "Extreme joy leads to sorrow." When Banggeng and his good brothers were waiting for Yan Jiekuang to come up, Yan Jiekuang did not come over, but rode his bicycle in another direction.

When the leader saw that Yan Jiekuang didn't come over, he suddenly looked at Bang Geng and asked, "What's going on?! Didn't you say he would definitely leave from here?!"

Banggeng scratched his head and said, "Right?! This is the only way to the courtyard where he lives. Could it be that he is going to do something else today?!"

The leader hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Bang Geng, forget it today. I'll give you one more chance. Find out his daily round trip route. Don't make the same mistake again next time."

Bang Geng thought about it and nodded, "Okay! I will find out more in the next few days."

Yan Jiekuang didn't mean to go back from here, but he was craving for something today. He wanted to eat Yueshengzhai's braised beef. So after school, he didn't rush home, but rode his bike to Yueshengzhai. Yan Jiekuang didn't expect that just because he suddenly craved something, he escaped.

Banggeng was determined. After he was embarrassed in front of his brothers that day, he didn't even sleep in to avenge his shame. He followed Yan Jiekuang to and from school every day. At first, Yan Jiekuang didn't notice it, but after a long time, Yan Jiekuang found out. Yan Jiekuang thought to himself, "Why is Banggeng following me?! Is he planning something bad again?!" After a while, Yan Jiekuang had a plan in mind and planned to take Banggeng away first. Then he would find an opportunity to give him a good beating.

For three days in a row, Yan Jiekuang rode his bicycle to and from school by different routes. Banggeng followed behind him and had no words to complain about. Although Banggeng was beaten badly by Yan Jiekuang, he still found that no matter which route Yan Jiekuang took, he would eventually come in from the alley. So on the fourth day, Banggeng did not go to school, but went to find his good brothers. He took them to the alley where the courtyard was located.

"Great! Is this really the only way to go?!"

Banggeng patted his chest and assured, "If he wants to go back, he has to go through here. There is no other way."

"There are too many people coming and going here. It's not a good place to start."

Bang Geng pointed to a place not far from the entrance of the alley and said, "There's a fork in the road over there. You can hide there. If you don't come from the fork in the road, you won't be found at all. When the people come in, you can just take action. It will be absolutely safe."

At this time, snowflakes suddenly fell from the sky. At first, there were only a few scattered snowflakes, but slowly, the snow became heavier and heavier. In the blink of an eye, a layer of snow had accumulated on the ground. The leading street kid said, "Let's go back first and come back in the afternoon."

"Okay!" The other street urchins responded in unison and went back home.

Because of the snow, Yan Jiekuang and his classmates' afternoon physical education class was cancelled. The primary school was not strict in the first place, so they gave Yan Jiekuang and his classmates a holiday.

"Jie Kuang, why did you come back so early today?!" As soon as Yan Jie Kuang entered the courtyard gate, the third aunt asked. Yan Jie Kuang replied, "It suddenly snowed, so we couldn't have physical education class in the afternoon. So they let us come back directly." Then he asked, "Mom, what delicious food are you going to make today?!"

The third aunt said, "Don't you like soybeans and peanuts? When I went to your grandma's house a few days ago, I brought you some soybeans and peanuts. I'll fry them with salt later. I'll give them to you and Jie Di as snacks."

"Thank you, Mom!" Yan Jiekuang jumped up excitedly, then reached into his schoolbag and took out a box of vanishing cream, saying, "Mom! It's getting cold. This is the vanishing cream I bought for you. Don't be reluctant to use it. When you run out of it, I'll buy you another one."

"Why would you spend this money?! I use clam oil, which is fine." Auntie said this, but she was not slow to get started. After taking the vanishing cream, Auntie went straight back to the house. Yan Jiekuang looked at his mother's back, a bright smile appeared on his face, and then he saw Yan Jiedi looking at him.

Yan Jiekuang squatted down and asked, "Little sister, what's wrong?!"

Yan Jie Di asked: "Third brother, can you help me build a snowman?!"

Yan Jiekuang readily agreed: "Of course! I'll come out to accompany you after I put my schoolbag away." After that, Yan Jiekuang went back to the house, put his schoolbag away, and ran out. He took Yan Jiedi to make a snowman at the gate of the yard. Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Yan Jiekuang and Yan Jiedi had just finished making the snowman, and before they had time to add eyes and a nose to the snowman, Banggeng came out of the yard. The moment Banggeng saw Yan Jiekuang, his face changed instantly. Yan Jiekuang and Banggeng looked at each other, and a strange smile appeared on their faces.

Banggeng shuddered unconsciously and walked away quickly.