An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

"Uncle, what's the best way to quickly win people's hearts?"

Jiang Baobin gave a strange smile as he spoke: "Then we must take action!"

"They're quite adept at winning over the majority and cracking down on the minority."

Liu Decai nodded as if he understood.

He had heard about it since he spent all day wandering the streets and alleys.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely at the meal.

In the end, the two of them were arm in arm, and they became very close.

Jiang Baobin, in particular, was all smiles, practically calling Lao Liu "father-in-law."

After coming out, this guy drove to the freight yard.

As soon as the dog barked, Yang Lao Er came out.

"Who?"

"It's me, Lao Yang."

"The boss?"

"Okay, open the door."

"Master, you've just returned?" Yang Lao Er asked upon meeting.

The man was wearing a dog-skin hat and a sheepskin coat, and was holding a double-barreled shotgun that Jiang Baobin had bought for him. He looked quite comical.

Jiang Baobin, trying to make conversation, asked, "Is the child asleep?"

"I'm going to sleep. I'm on the night shift."

"Good job."

Without saying much, Jiang Baobin opened the trunk of the car, and inside, apart from a pig's leg, were all wolves.

"Oh! What's this?" Yang Lao Er was taken aback.

He then quickly added, "Boss, you're really amazing! You killed so many wolves!"

Jiang Baobin only brought it to him because he was annoyed by it.

"The pork is for you to eat. You can do whatever you want with the rest. It's all yours."

"Oh, by the way, that big one, have someone process its hide and keep it for me."

"Okay, I've got everything ready for you."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Baobin confided in him:

"I estimate that all this coal will be processed in another month. Old Yang, just hang in there a little longer."

"Hey, boss, don't say that. This place is much better than my shack."

"Otherwise, with drafts coming from all directions, you'd be suffering right now..."

On his way home, Jiang Baobin noticed a person lying in a corner when his car headlights flashed.

With a thought in mind, Jiang Baobin stopped the car.

The effects of the alcohol have worn off a bit, and I feel quite cold.

The temperature today is incomparable to that of later generations; it often drops to minus ten or twenty degrees Celsius.

Jiang Baobin walked up, lifted the straw curtain covering the person, and wanted to see what was going on...

"Huh! Who are you?" It turned out that this person hadn't been asleep at all and instinctively called out.

This startled Jiang Baobin, who was caught off guard.

The guy touched his nose and said, "Hey, fellow villager, let's find another place to sleep. It's too dangerous here."

After saying that, he threw down a silver dollar and ran away.

The homeless man was completely baffled and even pinched himself hard.

The guy got up happily, feeling like he was having a really lucky day...

After getting back on the bus, Jiang Baobin shook his head with a smile, realizing he had done something stupid again.

However, upon seeing the motionless humanoid object lying there, he couldn't resist going down to investigate.

This time, however, he was smarter; instead of using his hands, he lightly kicked the other person's foot with his shoe.

"Hey, wake up! It's too dangerous to sleep like that."

The other party sat up, still confused. Well, let's keep paying.

What's wrong with Jiang Baobin? Is he still drunk? Why is he getting into a fight with a homeless man on the street?

Guess what he's going to do?

Yes, he wanted to find a dead body to test whether the space could hold the dead.

The answer to this question is certainly not difficult to obtain.

Because every day, truckloads of starving people who died of cold and hunger in Beiping were being hauled out.

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs!

The verification result is—yes!

This saved him a lot of trouble.

So, only one final experiment remains.

Jiang Baobin's neighbor, the Xier family.

A shadow was reflected on the window, swaying back and forth, seemingly busy with something.

The old man is finally back, and he's really energetic. It's almost nine o'clock, and he's still not asleep.

Old Deng has learned his lesson and now arranges for guards to stay here to prevent things from being stolen again.

Jiang Baobin first had Si Yan'er hide in an inconspicuous place.

After ringing the doorbell, he took two steps back and revealed a harmless smile.

Soon, old sullen face appeared from behind the glass door.

Jiang Baobin said nothing, but simply raised a beautifully crafted golden Buddha in his hand.

Old Syl looked him up and down, then at the golden Buddha, and finally succumbed to temptation...

After a careful examination, old Sir took off his "eye-mask magnifying glass".

He tried his best to conceal his greed.

With a cold expression, he asked Jiang Baobin, "How much do you want to sell it for?"

Jiang Baobin smiled and held up one finger.

Syl frowned: "100 yuan?"

Jiang Baobin added, "100 US dollars."

Old Syl rolled his eyes. "No, no, no, you must be crazy! You don't think it's pure gold, do you?"

Like a novice, Jiang Baobin kept emphasizing, "Mr. Sir, this is an antique, absolutely worth its price."

Old Sir felt he had the other party completely under his control, and snorted:

"If you insist on staying, then take your things and leave immediately..."

This was obviously Old Sir playing hard to get—this golden Buddha from the Northern Wei Dynasty could easily fetch thousands of dollars back home.

But this guy is used to being stingy, so he'll definitely try to drive the price down.

Only by taking all the greatest benefits for oneself can one feel at ease.

Jiang Baobin was just teasing the old man. He was there to steal things, so why would he sell them out?

After some haggling, the final price was $54.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Sear," Jiang Baobin said, extending his hand.

"I'll be getting more good stuff in the next few days. You're not leaving the flower business, are you?"

Old Sir pretended not to see it, and instead asked him warily:

"What do you mean? Are you trying to find out where I am?"

Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, Jiang Baobin stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and shook it enthusiastically.

"Mr. Sear, you've misunderstood me."

"I just don't want to lose such a generous customer like you."

"Did you know? I have a special fondness for US dollars..."

After his initial shock subsided, old Sir was immediately enraged:

"What the hell are you doing? You filthy, squeaky pig!"

Old Sir cursed as he forcefully shook off Jiang Baobin's hand.

He then wiped the clothes several times.

Jiang Baobin shrugged, looking completely carefree.

"I was just too happy to make money, Mr. Sean, I'm sorry."

Old Sylph clearly felt genuinely offended.

He continued, his voice sharp and harsh, "Get out of my house right now, you idiot!"

Jiang Baobin wasn't angry at all: "I apologize again, Mr. Hill, but I need to remind you that you haven't paid yet."

"You bastard! You just wait here! If you dare step out of this room, I guarantee you'll get a real beating up!"

As the old man spoke, he pulled out a "revolver" from his robe and gestured threateningly at Jiang Baobin.

Damn it! That old bastard!

Jiang Baobin was truly terrified this time, as he wildly swung his gun—

I hide, I hide...