Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

Chapter 482 The Hot Water Shop!
Although Ximen Lang didn't explicitly show it, almost everyone who knew him knew that he was unhappy, and very unhappy at that.

This is because the occasion was inappropriate.

Otherwise, Ximen Lang would definitely point his finger at them and start cursing!
But precisely because this was in front of a group of villagers who had just welcomed him in with extremely grand ceremony as if he were a leader, Ximen Lang couldn't afford to make a scene.

Therefore, those who are familiar with him feel immense pressure.

There was no way around it; it was something we had to go through for this research trip, and there was no escaping it.

This is also what the people of Beijing hope Ximen Lang will see.

So, despite feeling immense pressure, Bai Ling and the others remained silent and watched on.

After this incident, Ximen Lang's face was almost devoid of any smile.

"Weren't we all liberated? Every household was given land, so why is life still so hard? Even soy sauce is in such a state!"

Although everyone present vaguely sensed that something was amiss, they had no choice but to give up because they had no idea what the problem was or what the key was.

Instead, they followed the instructions given from above completely, without hiding anything, and said whatever came to mind.

"Young man, is life still hard? It seems you've never experienced hardship before!"

"I've never had a hard life? I've never had a hard life? Okay, compared to you guys, I don't think I've ever really had a hard life. But even a daily necessity like soy sauce can only be bought in two pounds during holidays to taste its saltiness. Isn't that a bit too bitter?"

This is something that Ximen Lang could never have imagined.

After all, it was just soy sauce, nothing more than soy sauce. Normally, it was something that Ximen Lang wouldn't even bother to glance at.

But to the villagers, it was something even more precious than meat!
How could this not make Ximen Lang feel uncomfortable?

However, in the eyes of the villagers, Ximen Lang's distress was completely unnecessary.

However, he still asked Ximen Lang to clarify what exactly meant by "daily necessities".

I learned that daily necessities are things that are indispensable in daily life and cannot be separated from them.

Qin Jiye, Qin Huairu's grandfather, waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, young man, if we're going to go by your logic, soy sauce isn't a necessity. Grain, water, and salt—those are the things I can't live without, those are the necessities. Soy sauce? At best, it's just a condiment. It's nice to have it, of course. But I can still get by without it. Since they're all dispensable, how can it be considered a necessity?"

These candid words left Ximen Lang speechless.

Although Ximen Lang never lifted a finger and acted like a pampered young master, he at least knew how to care for them.

Those who can feel sorry for them and are willing to feel sorry for them must be good people.

Qin Jiye certainly wouldn't hide good people from the public.

With the most genuine emotions, Qin Jiye spoke frankly and sincerely with Ximen Lang.

"Young man, although I don't know what's making you angry, to be honest, life is so much better now than before. Before, we couldn't even afford soy sauce, we had to be careful with cornmeal!"

Fearing that Ximen Lang might not understand what this cornmeal was, Qin Jiye further explained.

You know what corn on the cob is, right?

"Of course I know that. If the corn kernels are removed, then it's the one used for starting the fire."

"No fire needed."

"If you're not using it for cooking, what are you going to do with it?" "Use it to grind flour with corn kernels. When times are tough, don't even throw away the withered corn stalks, grind them in too. That's real cornmeal, not the kind made from pure corn."

"Put all the corn cobs and stalks inside? How can you even eat that?!"

"Look at what you're saying! Why can't we eat it? Even now, we didn't dare to eat as much as we wanted before! But look at us now, enjoying good things has become a sin. How is this not better than before?"

Eating some cornbread and pickled vegetables, and buying a couple of pounds of soy sauce during holidays—is that considered enjoying life? Enjoying life to the point of being a sin?

"No, old man, can't we have some standards? This... I'll be blunt, but back where we're from, even the livestock don't eat this anymore!"

"What? Even large livestock eat better than this?"

"Of course! Because when we feed our livestock, we're all focused on fattening them up quickly so we can slaughter them for meat. If we just feed them this, when will they ever reach two or three hundred pounds? We have to feed them something good so they can grow faster!"

This left the old man speechless.

It can only be repeated endlessly.
"Even large livestock eat better than this; they must be living the life of gods."

Everyone in the room, including Ximen Lang, fell silent.

Looking around, everyone in the room was gloomy.

The more Qin Huairu interacted with Ximen Lang, the more she realized how good he was and how kind he was. At the same time, she felt increasingly helpless and quickly stepped in to smooth things over, calling to her younger brother.

"Huaihai, didn't you see that Lang-ge'er and the old man have been chatting for most of the day? There are so many people in this room, hurry up and go to the water station to get some hot water. Also, brew more camellias, go quickly."

Upon hearing this, the young Qin Huaihai quickly responded.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

After saying that, he picked up a large basin and headed to the hot water shop to get some hot water.

This chaotic series of actions left the already frustrated Ximen Lang completely bewildered.

It turns out that boiling water is actually connected to the shop.

Staring intently at Lao Luo, whose expression remained calm, Ximen Lang finally couldn't hold back any longer.

"What do you mean? What exactly did Qin Huairu mean by that? What hot water shop? Why do we have to go to that damn hot water shop to get some hot water? Lao Luo, explain this to me, what the hell does this mean?!"

Seeing that Ximen Lang had endured for so long, he finally turned his attention to him.

He first glanced calmly at Gao Cheng, whose face was already filled with complicated emotions.

Even Gao Cheng looked on incredulously.

Luo said calmly.

"What else could it mean? It's just the literal meaning. You have to get hot water from a hot water shop, that's common sense. Ah Lang, how can you not even know that?"

"Luo, stop dodging the issue and rambling on about this nonsense. You should know what I really want to ask."

Seeing that he couldn't fool Ximen Lang, he gave Ximen Lang a smile and told him to calm down.

Luo finally explained.

“Ah Lang, don’t make a fuss. Boiled water may be something you can easily get and don’t need to care about at all. But for the vast majority of working people, boiled water, like soy sauce, is actually a luxury.”

(End of this chapter)