Siheyuan: Yan Jiekuang's carefree life

Soon Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui followed Wu Erni to the door of Wu the Carpenter's house. Wu Erni pushed open the door and shouted, "Grandma! Someone is coming to our house to look at furniture."

"Who is it?!" A woman in her forties came out of the house. Yan Jiekuang said, "Auntie, we are new educated youth. We heard that your family could use some furniture, so we came to take a look."

"Young man, you are so handsome! Everyone in the village calls me Aunt Lotus. You should call me that in the future!" Aunt Lotus took Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui to the shed at the corner of the yard and said, "The furniture made by my old man is all in there, you can take a look! Tell me directly if you like anything. If you don't like anything, come over again at noon and tell my old man what it looks like. As long as you can describe it, my old man can make it."

"Thank you, Aunt Hehua!" Yan Jiekuang echoed and looked into the shed. Yan Jiekuang soon picked out the furniture and said, "Aunt Hehua, a table with four benches, a long table with a chair, a kang cabinet, a large cupboard, two buckets, a bathtub, and two wooden basins, one large and one small."

Aunt Lotus smiled and said, "You picked quite a few things!!"

Yan Jiekuang said, "Aunt Hehua, we have to live here. How can we live without furniture?!"

Aunt Lotus said, "I'll charge you 65 yuan for these things!"

"Okay!" Yan Jiekuang readily agreed, took out money from his pocket, counted out 65 yuan and gave it to Aunt Hehua, then asked: "Aunt, do you know whose family can exchange for a kang mat?!"

Aunt Hehua smiled and replied, "The kang mat is next to my house. My old sister has one at her house. I'll take you there later." Then she looked at Su Zihui and asked, "Girl, what do you like?!"

Su Zihui walked to a dressing table and asked in surprise: "Aunt, this was also made by uncle?!"

Aunt Lotus said, "It turned out that a family in the next village ordered a set of furniture for their wedding. Unexpectedly, half a month before the wedding, the man's family found out that the bride-to-be was pregnant with someone else's child. So the wedding didn't take place. The furniture was also thrown away."

Su Zihui said, "Aunt, I like this dressing table. I want it! And give me a round stool, a table, four chairs, a cupboard, a kang cabinet, a basin and a bucket just like his."

After hearing what Su Zihui said, Aunt Hehua smiled so much that only a thin line remained in her eyes. She said, "My daughter, this dressing table is a little expensive. Our family spent a lot of effort on just the glass. I'll charge you twenty-five yuan. Don't think it's too expensive."

Su Zihui replied: "It is said that money can't buy what you love. Besides, my uncle's craftsmanship is worth the money. I like this thing too."

Aunt Lotus continued, "Including the other things, give me 70 yuan!"

"Hey!" Su Zihui took out a handkerchief bag from her clothes, took out 70 yuan from it and gave it to Aunt Hehua.

Aunt Hehua marked the furniture that Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui wanted and said, "At noon, your uncle and his friends will get off work. I'll have them deliver it to you."

"Hey!" Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui responded in unison.

"Wait for me, I'll be out soon!" Aunt Hehua said and walked into the house. After a while, Aunt Hehua came out and said, "Let's go! I'll take you to buy a kang mat."

After leaving Carpenter Wu's house and walking about three yards, Aunt Hehua stopped in front of a house and shouted, "Guihua! Someone is here to see your kang mat!"

"Here she comes!" Not long after, a woman about the same age as Aunt Lotus opened the door. Aunt Lotus said, "Xiao Yan, Xiao Su, this is your Aunt Guihua. The kang mats they make are famous in our village!"

Aunt Guihua smiled and said, "You are just flattering me." Then she called out, "Come in!"

Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui followed him into Aunt Guihua's yard. Yan Jiekuang said, "Aunt, we live in a single room at the Youth League Center. Do you know the size of the kang in the single room?!"

Aunt Guihua smiled and replied, "Of course I know! It was my husband who brought the villagers to buy it."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Aunt, we each need a kang mat, two backpacks and two straw hats." Then he asked, "Do you have any bamboo steamers here?!"

Aunt Guihua smiled and replied, "You really asked the right person. This thing is really only available in my family."

Yan Jiekuang said, "Give me another set of bamboo steamers."

"Okay!" Aunt Guihua responded, and said, "The kang mat is 50 cents each, and the backpack and hat are 5 cents each. The steamer is a little more expensive, a set with a lid and a mat inside, you can give me two yuan! Each of you can give me 60 cents, and each of you can give me 2.60 yuan."

"Hey!" Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui quickly took out the money. Yan Jiekuang then asked, "Auntie, where can I exchange the farm tools?!"

Aunt Lotus said, "You can either go to the brigade headquarters to borrow farm tools, or ask the brigade for a letter of introduction and buy them at the blacksmith shop in town."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and replied, "I see! Thank you Aunt Hehua."

"You're welcome!" Aunt Lotus replied, "It won't work if no one is home. I'll go back first!"

After Aunt Hehua left, Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui also left Aunt Guihua's house with their belongings.

"Yan Jiekuang, where have you two been so early in the morning?!" Wang Jianqiang's voice rang out as Yan Jiekuang and Su Zihui just walked into the gate of the educated youth center.

Yan Jiekuang replied: "Of course I went to buy some things. Don't you need things to live here?! Or do you have a way? You arrived yesterday and are going back to the city now?!"

"You!" Wang Jianqiang was speechless after being confronted by Yan Jiekuang.

Wang Liqing saw the things in Su Zihui and Yan Jiekuang's hands and asked, "Su Zhiqing, where did you exchange these things?!"

Su Zihui replied, "I asked Aunt Guihua in the village to change it." Then Su Zihui told Wang Liqing the location of Aunt Guihua's house. Wang Liqing went back to the house and said a few words to Xu Yun, and they went out together.

Yan Jiekuang found a clean cloth and wiped the kang mat, then took a lock and walked to the outside of Su Zihui's room, knocking on the door. Su Zihui came out after hearing the knock and asked, "What's the matter?!"

Yan Jiekuang handed over the lock in his hand and said, "Don't forget to lock the door when you go out. If you lose something, you will cry!"

"Thank you!" Su Zihui took the lock and asked, "Are you going out this afternoon?!"

Yan Jiekuang said, "I will go to the brigade headquarters to get a certificate later, and then go to the town to buy some farm tools. We cannot cultivate our private plots, and we still ask the brigade to borrow farm tools. If people find out, they will say we are fleecing the collective."

Su Zihui said: "Then I'll go with you to see if there is my package."

"Okay!" Yan Jiekuang responded and said, "You stay at home and watch. If the furniture arrives, just ask them to help me move it into the house. This is the key to my room. I'll give you one." After that, Yan Jiekuang took out a key and handed it to Su Zihui.

Su Zihui hurriedly took out a key from the one in her hand and handed it to Yan Jiekuang, saying, "This is my room key. Let's exchange!"

"Okay!" Yan Jiekuang took the key and prepared to go back to the house to get something. Su Zihui stopped Yan Jiekuang and asked, "Where are you going?!"