An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Uh, the effects of this "Iron Crotch Kung Fu" are very sensitive, it seems like we can't talk about it!

The fact that I've been frequently addressed as "Daddy" lately is surely proof of that...

For example, with the "Wave-Wrapping Skill," Jiang Baobin felt that his swimming ability had been greatly enhanced.

Although it was already very impressive—a perfect doggy paddle, it could go three to five miles in a row.

It's at least ten miles away now.

This is mainly due to his greatly improved swimming skills.

Take diving, for example. Before, he had tried his best but could only reach a depth of 10 meters.

Although there is no ocean to test his skills now, he has a sense of things and is sure he has made great progress.

The effects of "fetal breathing exercise" are immediate—before, he could only hold his breath underwater for a little over a minute.

Now it's easy to break three minutes, more than doubling the duration.

Moreover, "Kundalini" has another benefit - it makes you immune to the cold!

It's already late autumn, and the water temperature is only a little over 10 degrees Celsius.

This is not something a human can withstand; they would freeze to death within hours.

If they were to swim, they would drown in an even shorter time due to hypothermia and numbness in their limbs!

But Jiang Baobin didn't have that feeling; he circulated "Kundalini" while swimming.

It's as if the little universe inside my body is burning, and I'm not afraid of the cold at all.

This ancient yoga practice called "Kundalini" with a history of 5000 years is truly remarkable!

It is said that water and fire are incompatible, but in kung fu, it is the opposite.

Previously, practicing "Wave Wrapping Skill" alone felt very difficult, but now it is combined with "Kundalini Qigong".

It's definitely 1+1>3! It completely changed Jiang Baobin's understanding of kung fu.

Just as Jiang Baobin was diligently cultivating and enjoying it immensely.

The external world has also undergone significant changes:

After October, the deadline set by the Kuomintang for exchanging gold and silver for gold yuan had passed.

According to them, it was a great success, but only God knows the truth.

In any case, the price of the goods skyrocketed like a rocket!

Compared to August, the price of daily necessities in Beiping has more than tripled.

The most alarming figure is food, with a bag of flour on the black market skyrocketing from 7 or 8 yuan to 80 yuan!

Why call it a black market? Because all the legitimate grain, oil, and salt shops were completely empty.

On October 2nd, a buying frenzy broke out in Shanghai.

By mid-to-late June, this behavior had spread to major cities across the country.

Small business owners' money has depreciated so much that it's not enough to replenish their inventory, so many of them have closed down.

Meanwhile, powerful and influential families with deep-rooted backgrounds are secretly hoarding and stockpiling large quantities of resources.

This has led to severe shortages of goods in the market, skyrocketing prices, and a rampant black market, so it's no surprise...

Jiang Baobin has been engrossed in practicing his martial arts these days, seemingly oblivious to everything else around him.

Because in mid-October, Elizabeth was recalled to the United States for a duty report.

So during this time, he lived a very leisurely and comfortable life.

Until Jiang Daya complained to him that the vegetables were getting more and more expensive.

When asked if he wanted to take out the vegetables he had previously dried to eat, he suddenly realized—had the prices become so outrageous?

It's the peak season for autumn vegetables, which has forced Daya to eat vegetables that were dried in the summer.

Immediately, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh no! This is really bad!"

After saying that, he hurriedly drove out the door.

He encountered a vegetable vendor carrying a load on his shoulder on the road, and without minding the high price, he bought a whole bunch of vegetables.

When they arrived at the warehouse, they found that Yang Lao Er's family was actually alright.

You should know that the salary he received last month was based on normal price levels.

How can we possibly make a living these days? Food prices have increased tenfold.

He was initially worried that Yang Lao Er's family might rebel because they weren't getting enough to eat, but he didn't expect them to be so calm.

I asked around and found out that guarding the warehouse was an easy job.

During the day, a few children and a dog are enough to stay at home while the couple goes out to pick wild vegetables with baskets.

They are hardworking and travel to faraway places to search.

In this way, even if there wasn't enough grain, wild vegetables could be used to make up the difference and barely fill their stomachs.

Jiang Baobin was impressed; the vitality was incredible!

But why are you all so green-faced?

As expected, even in such a difficult situation, Yang Lao Er did not try to steal the warehouse. I really didn't misjudge him.

Despite grumbling, Jiang Baobin hurriedly opened the small storeroom.

They carried several bags of wheat flour and cornmeal, as well as a brand-new 10-liter flat iron bucket.

Jiang Baobin explained to them, "This bucket contains palm oil. It has a slightly bland taste and is a little sweet."

(Palm fruit and palm oil)

"But there's no problem with cooking, and it's not harmful to your health."

Mr. and Mrs. Yang were stunned. Oil is oil, how can it be related to whether it is harmful or not?

But Jiang Baobin had to explain it to them clearly.

People in Beijing at that time didn't eat soybean oil, because they thought it had a fishy smell.

So what kind of oil should we use?

Most families cannot afford oil.

There used to be a saying that you should use chopsticks dipped in oil to stir-fry vegetables, and it's true.

What kind of oil do households with better living conditions use?

Lard, also called animal fat or lard.

What about people who are particular about food, such as vegetarians? They can't just boil vegetables in water without oil, can they?

Of course, there is vegetable oil used for stir-frying – sesame oil.

That's right, it's stir-frying vegetables with sesame oil.

Vegetable oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and the like only became popular later.

Since we're on the topic of oil, let me elaborate a bit.

These days, when ordinary people talk about oil, they specifically mean lard.

In Beiping, there were no dedicated slaughterhouses.

The places where butchers slaughtered pigs were called "tangguo" (汤锅), and they were mainly concentrated in the Dongsi and Xisi archways.

These soup pots were used not only for slaughtering pigs (scalding the pig skin to remove hair), but also for rendering lard.

After rendering the lard, the butcher poured it into a large earthenware jar, noted the year, and then stored it away.

Every year after the Double Ninth Festival, the managers of the pastry shops begin to restock their stock.

Nowadays, pastry shops use lard, which makes the pastry extra fluffy.

On this day, the soup pot vendors will post a price list based on the oil price agreed upon by their peers.

No one would believe it, but lard is like fine wine; the longer it's aged, the higher its price.

The oldest lard can be over thirty years old, and its price is more than ten times that of new lard.

Because such aged lard is extremely expensive.

So it's not a famous shop, and each shop can only sell twenty or thirty kilograms a year...

Because of these intricacies, Jiang Baobin had to clearly explain the taste and usage of palm oil.

Otherwise, with good intentions, I would give them something juicy and oily to eat.

If they don't appreciate it, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

Before leaving, Jiang Baobin jokingly said, "You can eat whatever you want in the warehouse, just don't let me sell it."

Mr. and Mrs. Yang repeatedly said, "We dare not, we dare not."

After Jiang Baobin left.

The Yang family, including the couple and their four children, circled around several bags of grain, looking absolutely adorable.

I've never lived such a wealthy life before!