An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

If we don't do this, the neighbors will label us as clueless.

Next time you want to borrow something from someone, it won't be so easy.

The principles of the world are all the same—why would someone lend you money if there's no benefit to it?

Of course, they would never admit it verbally, and they would always try to project the magnanimity of a Beijing native.

As for how much more items were returned than before?

One step is enough.

Some people might not believe it, but it's easy to spot if an extra ounce or two is added to a pound of soy sauce.

Can you tell if an extra qian (a unit of weight) is an extra liang (a unit of weight) of soy sauce?

Don't be so skeptical! Yan Bugui can see right through it at a glance.

Don't think that someone like him is an exception.

These days, it's common to live like him, counting every grain of rice.

His problem is that he even schemes against his own children, which goes too far. After all, even the most powerful person gets old one day, right?

Putting that aside, it's perfectly normal for him to scheme against others in order to gain a small advantage.

On the contrary, tasks like those involving a simpleton like Sha Zhu are truly rare...

Haha, it's just a movie, just watch it and enjoy it. Whoever takes it too seriously loses.

The first dish Jiang Baobin made was stir-fried cabbage with vinegar, a traditional dish from Beiping.

The older generation often says, "Cabbage and tofu bring peace and safety."

It's easy to imagine their fondness for this kind of food.

People in Beiping (Beijing) truly have a special fondness for cabbage, and the scene of them buying autumn vegetables every year is quite spectacular.

The so-called autumn vegetables mainly refer to Chinese cabbage.

The second dish: stir-fried potato slices with dried chili peppers, which is Jiang Baobin's favorite way to cook it.

At that time, most people in Beiping did not eat spicy food.

This is related to their preference for being particular.

In terms of diet, the ancients believed that a light diet was good for health, while spicy foods were harmful to the body.

During the Qing Dynasty, he was particularly good at taking exams.

Most of the officials and scholars in the capital came from the wealthy Jiangnan region.

They value dining etiquette and consider eating spicy food to be uncivilized and rude.

They were the trendsetters of the time.

Therefore, the people of old Beijing had a great disdain for spicy food.

As a result, Beiping has always regarded Huaiyang cuisine and Shandong cuisine as the authentic ones.

These are all cuisines with a light, fresh, and mild flavor, emphasizing the original taste and freshness.

It has nothing to do with spiciness.

In addition, chili peppers can damage the eyes, and the windy and dusty conditions in Beiping (Beijing) contributed to the prevalence of eye diseases, which objectively inhibited the spread of chili peppers.

Chili peppers only became popular after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

People from all over the country gathered here.

And to be honest, most of them are peasants, so they tend to like spicy food.

Some people see eating chili peppers as a sign of boldness, and they compete to see who can tolerate the spiciness the most.

That's how it gradually became popular.

Therefore, both food and clothing are products of their time and are guided by those who hold the power of discourse.

But Jiang Baobin didn't care about that; he was all about variety and matching.

Sour with spicy, bitter with sweet – that's how you make food taste good.

Like Jiang Daya: a plate of stir-fried cabbage slices with vinegar, and a plate of crispy shredded potatoes (add vinegar if you want them crispy).

What Jiang Baobin deeply detested was that both dishes were sour, one more sour than the other; wouldn't that be painful for the taste buds?

Liu Decai is a sensible man, adhering to the principle of taking what's readily available and not making a fuss.

He repeatedly praised Jiang Baobin for doing a good job, saying it was much better than his own skills.

However, he rarely eats shredded potatoes; he mainly eats cabbage and pig's trotters.

That's perfect! Jiang Baobin hadn't had this taste in a long time, and he was sweating profusely as he devoured it.

That's right, he dared to act recklessly when Liu Ling'er wasn't home.

We clinked glasses and chatted happily with Lao Liu...

Don't be fooled by Liu Decai's good taste; he doesn't have a high alcohol tolerance.

After a few bites, her face was already bright red.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Liu Decai lowered his voice and said:

"Dude, about the chaotic times I told you about before."

"Now that you're here, have you made up your mind?"

Jiang Baobin asked knowingly, "What are you planning?"

"Tsk! Are you playing dumb with me?"

"hey-hey."

"If you want good goods, you have to spend real money!"

"Let me tell you, right now only hard currency is accepted outside, nobody wants gold yuan notes."

"If you have foreign currency, that's fine too; it's even more in demand."

Jiang Baobin scratched his head: "Uncle, as the saying goes, antiques are valued in prosperous times, and gold is valued in chaotic times."

"But now I'm doing the opposite, exchanging real gold and silver for antiques..."

He clicked his tongue and said, "Why do I feel like I'm a little slow-witted?"

"Pfft..." Liu Decai burst out laughing, and after a while, he patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

it is more than words.

The two drank for a while longer.

Liu Decai couldn't help but add, "Man!"

As the old saying goes, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub!"

"If the world weren't in such bad shape, do you think good things would even be available?"

"They're all hidden away at home, so well hidden that it's hard to even catch a glimpse of them!"

"Unless you're rich and powerful, someone will willingly give you gifts."

"Otherwise, people like us from small, insignificant families would never have the chance to see good stuff!"

"Such a golden opportunity was only comparable to the fall of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Not only are there more items available now, but they're also really cheap!"

"Goods worth two or three thousand can be sold for five or eight hundred."

"If you happen to run into someone on the verge of collapse who urgently needs to scrape together travel expenses, give them three or two hundred, and they'll grit their teeth and have to part with it!"

"Dude, where else can you find something like this?"

That's all I have to say. You'd better figure it out yourself.

He then patted Jiang Baobin on the shoulder, and Jiang Baobin indeed shut up.

"Alright, I believe you, Uncle."

As he spoke, he got up and picked up the bag that he had casually put aside.

Although it doesn't look big, it seems quite heavy.

Jiang Baobin opened it and showed it to Liu Decai.

The latter glanced at it only once, then his eyes widened:

"Damn it! You dug up the old landlord's ancestral graves?"

Jiang Baobin chuckled sheepishly.

His pocket was filled with nothing but gold ingots and silver coins!

Strictly speaking, these things are quite old and can be considered antiques.

But Jiang Baobin couldn't care less about all that in order to get something more valuable...

He really didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong.

This guy is just a nouveau riche now, blindly pursuing what he believes to be the right path.

Maybe in other people's eyes it's just messing around.

Jiang Baobin was quite drunk and blurted out everything he had wanted to say earlier:

"Uncle, you need to talk to your daughter and tell her not to act impulsively."

"She's a young woman, always fighting and killing; it's so dangerous!"

"Actually, we don't need to take action against villains like Gu Huaiwen who have blood on their hands."

"Once the CCP enters the city, they will purge everything; nobody will escape!"

When Liu Decai looked over, he even made a throat-slitting gesture.

"Really?" Liu Decai couldn't help but ask.

"Absolutely! I've specifically inquired about it."

"A traitor like Gu Huaiwen works for the Kuomintang and oppresses the people."

"As long as there are witnesses and physical evidence, a prosecution will be successful every time; the CCP will never let it go!"

"Otherwise, what do you think is the point of keeping this kind of bully around? To make fertilizer?"

"There are hundreds of millions of mouths to feed in the country; supporting them is already a headache enough. A large number of these bad people definitely need to be killed..."