An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Jiang Baobin is having an internal struggle about whether or not to ask "Liu Yifei" to make another appearance tomorrow.

My heart, yearning for love, is simply unable to contain itself!

If I show up too often, won't I seem too low-class and leave a bad impression on her?

Just as Jiang Baobin was feeling anxious and uncertain like a young virgin.

Startled by a sudden shout: "Big Peach—!"

Jiang Baobin rolled his eyes and waited until the peach vendor had passed before continuing on his way.

After walking a dozen or twenty steps, the guy shouted again, straining his neck, "Big peach—!"

Based on his intimidating manner, I wouldn't buy it even if I wanted to.

When he arrived at No. 95 Courtyard, Jiang Baobin did not go to the front gate as usual, but instead went around to the side courtyard.

The side courtyard is only two-thirds the size of the main courtyard; the part behind it was merged into someone else's property.

As I passed through the gate, I noticed that there were people busy inside.

There is a narrow passage on the north side of the courtyard that leads to the side gate of the central courtyard.

Since renting out the front yard, the owners have been using this alleyway to avoid suspicion.

When Jiang Baobin arrived, a thin old woman was sitting on a small stool smoking a pipe.

He knew he couldn't barge in, so he politely addressed the old woman:

"Excuse me, sir. I'm a tenant in the front yard and I'd like to see Grandma Lu. I don't know how to do it. Should I inform her beforehand?"

The old woman rolled her strange eyes and looked Jiang Baobin up and down, showing great disdain for his tattered clothes.

However, the bag of pastries he was carrying was quite eye-catching.

Therefore, the old woman did not directly chase them away, but instead asked:

"Which family in the front yard are you from?"

Jiang Baobin explained, "I'm the third son of the Jiang family who runs a secondhand clothing stall."

"I got heatstroke a few days ago, and I was lucky that Grandma Lu saw me, otherwise I probably would have died."

"No wonder, at least you have a conscience," she muttered, then called out into the room, "Second son, second son!"

Soon, a little boy of about six or seven years old, with a haircut shaped like a teapot lid, ran out: "Grandma!"

"Go to the backyard and call your great-aunt out. Tell her that the third son of the Jiang family from the front yard has come to thank her."

"Hey!" The little guy, whether he understood or not, responded and ran inside.

After waiting for about five minutes, the deaf old lady came out with a smile: "Young man Jiang, why are you being so polite?"

Jiang Baobin hurriedly replied, "It's nothing. Compared to your kindness, my small gift is really nothing."

The deaf old woman sighed, "Alas, you've had a hard life, child."

Then he said, "Come to my house with me."

The old woman with the pipe immediately objected, "Auntie, that's not proper."

The deaf old woman scoffed, "Why so many rules? He's still just a kid."

The old woman with the pipe in her mouth retorted, "This is still young? In the countryside, children would be running all over the place."

The deaf old woman said irritably, "This is the city, and the city has its own rules!"

Jiang Baobin hurriedly said, "Well, Grandma Lu, I won't go in..."

"No!" the deaf old woman interrupted him directly. "Since you've come to see me, how can you not come in, sit down, and have a drink of water?"

The old lady immediately clashed with her, speaking domineeringly to the old woman guarding the gate:

"I let him in. If Qiu Sheng has any objections, let him come and talk to me."

After saying that, the deaf old lady led the way.

Well, now he had no choice but to go in, so Jiang Baobin could only give the old lady at the gate a forced smile.

As a result, he received a fierce glare.

Clearly, the old woman couldn't do anything about the deaf old woman, so she could only take her anger out on him.

Jiang Baobin immediately laughed – this is exactly the kind of humiliation you're going to get.

Look at you, all smug and arrogant. Do I owe you money? Who are you trying to fool with that long face?

He could laugh it off internally; Jiang Baobin knew the rules after all.

Since entering the room, I've kept my head down, staring at the ground beneath my feet.

Entering through the alley and the moon gate, you are directly facing the roof wall of the main house in the central courtyard.

If you go south, you will reach the central courtyard where the owner lived.

The deaf old lady, however, turned north, crossed the courtyard, and entered the two best-located rear rooms.

The deaf old lady kept her word and poured Jiang Baobin a bowl of water.

The symbolic meaning of this action far outweighed its practical effect; the deaf old lady wanted to express her respect for Jiang Baobin.

But does Jiang Baobin need this kind of attention?

For a soul from the future, the pursuit of practical benefits was ingrained in his very being.

In his view, the older generation's insistence on "the inside is the inside, and the outside is the outside" was not very necessary.

When faced with significant interests, all talk and no action is meaningless.

Just like today, Tom gave him 2 dollars, that's a real benefit.

The deaf old lady was the greatest respect one could show him, but in the face of two dollars, it was all powerless.

This is the generation gap that has arisen from decades of ideological changes.

People in this world value proper etiquette; otherwise, they'll be considered problematic and become snobbish.

In later generations, almost everyone became a snob.

This is also why Jiang Baobin often feels uncomfortable with this era, yet also feels that it's quite good.

Because most people are simple and honest, or as later generations would say, foolish.

Sometimes Jiang Baobin really felt embarrassed to lie to them.

It's like a child using summer vacation to sell popsicles to earn pocket money.

He ate the last two himself, but insisted on making his child produce the third before he would pay.

A grown man who even scams elementary school students, is he even human?

Similarly, the naiveté of ordinary people in this era was comparable to that of elementary school students in later generations.

Jiang Baobin sat for less than ten minutes before getting up to say goodbye.

The deaf old lady simply said a polite word and then got up to see him out.

As they reached the alleyway, Jiang Baobin, on a sudden impulse, asked:

"Grandma Lu, I heard a lot of noise coming from the courtyard. What's going on?"

The deaf old woman pursed her lips and said in a low voice, "So there are two poor relatives staying here."

"Now he can't even afford to eat, so he sent people back to the countryside and vacated the house to rent out."

Jiang Baobin was just waiting for these words, so he quickly seized the opportunity:

"Grandma Lu, if that's the case, could you help me make a connection and rent a room to someone?"

The deaf old woman was very surprised: "You want to rent a room?"

"Yes, it's not good for me to keep living in the back house all the time, is it?"

"Besides, I'm already seventeen, it's time to start thinking about marriage. If I had a proper house, it would be easier to find a matchmaker, wouldn't it?"

The deaf old woman nodded, then asked suspiciously, "But do you have money?"

Jiang Baobin's greatest skill is blatantly lying:

"I've secretly saved some money over the past two years, and my parents said I should move out and live on my own."

"They will help me out then, so you don't need to worry about the money."