An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

"Grandma, the mosquitoes are sucking my blood! I'm out of blood! I have no strength left!"

"Grandma, why did you leave? You left me all alone!"

"I miss you, Grandma, where have you gone?"

"I'm coming to find you! Life is so meaningless! Waaaaah..."

I don’t know if his grandmother was really good to him (I heard from the deaf old lady that she was much better than the rest of the family).

In any case, Jiang Baobin was genuinely in love.

Because he remembered that his own grandmother from his previous life had come, the two of them depended on each other for survival.

As his grandmother grew older, Jiang Baobin personally cared for her until her death, demonstrating the deep bond between them.

So Jiang Baobin really misses his grandmother, only she is from another world.

Such emotional and heartfelt wailing left Yi Zhonghai, Yan Bugui, and their group in awe.

Especially Yi Zhonghai: Aren't you stealing my job? He immediately put himself on the moral high ground.

Even the Jiang family members who came out upon hearing the noise were dumbfounded! It was completely unexpected.

"Hey! What's wrong with the third son of the Jiang family? Why is he crying so miserably!" asked Madam Jia.

Yan Bugui's wife pouted, "Didn't you hear? The child picked up a few fire ropes from outside."

"I just wanted to get rid of the mosquitoes, but his sister-in-law confiscated them."

"This is so unfair! Look how badly the child has been bullied, constantly saying he wants to find his deceased grandmother. What a tragedy!"

Jiang Baobin's crying was so convincing that Yan Bugui's wife was moved and her tone clearly sided with him.

"Ah!" Liu Haizhong's wife exclaimed in surprise, "A match isn't some precious thing, why are you being so harsh?"

Xu Fugui's wife chimed in, "That's right, one big coin costs several sticks."

Jia Zhangshi snorted and said bluntly, "That's just how their family is. The eldest and second eldest are their own children, but the third one was adopted."

She never intended to carry anyone on her back, so not only the onlookers heard it, but even the Jiang family members were not spared.

She did this because Jiang Baobin had given her advice, which made her gain exposure, so she was standing up for him.

Another reason is to put down the Jiang family, this outsider—do they think they're so great just because they have a son who's a police officer?

Compared to us locals, you're still far behind.

These days, people value their reputation above all else; Jiang Baobin's actions amount to exposing his family's dirty laundry.

Jiang's parents could no longer contain their anger and rushed towards their unfilial son!

However, Jiang Baobin was far more cunning than they had imagined—before the slaps could land, he had already scrambled to his feet.

"Don't hit me! I'm not fully recovered, Grandma! Grandma, help me!"

Crying and screaming, the little guy had already run out of the yard and disappeared in a flash...

It's the time when weary birds return to their nests; those with homes are eager to go home, while those without homes are looking for a place to fill their stomachs.

"Ah! The sour plum drink has an osmanthus flavor, made with water from Yuquan Mountain and ice from Dongzhimen. It's so refreshing to drink, and they give you a lot of it. The soup is delicious!"

This shout reminded Jiang Baobin of the dazzling array of refreshing drinks he would have in the future.

So, I couldn't help but stop in front of the stall.

The stall owner immediately wiped the stool symbolically with the rag on his shoulder: "Please sit down and rest your legs."

Jiang Baobin laughed; this guy's a shrewd businessman.

Instead of rushing to promote their products, they started showing concern for people.

These days there are no regulations, and there are plenty of street vendors.

He had just ordered a bowl when someone next to him started calling out:

"Hey! Wontons are ready! Wontons for sale! Big filling, thin wrappers, nothing tastes better than wontons—"

The watermelon vendor over there wasn't to be outdone: "My watermelons are better than sugar, one slice at a time, crisp and sweet! The real deal, try them if you don't believe me!"

Jiang Baobin took a big sip of the sour plum drink; it was cool and refreshing!

Only now do I feel like I'm somewhat integrated into this era.

The people of old Beijing lived a down-to-earth and straightforward life, and because they were located right under the emperor's nose, they possessed an inherent pride.

The Petition of the Scholars; the Eight-Nation Alliance; the Abdication of Emperor Xuantong; the Relocation of the Capital of the Republic of China; the Marco Polo Bridge Incident...

"What haven't we Beijingers seen?" This is a phrase that the older generation often says.

This atmosphere is something that is hard to experience elsewhere, which Jiang Baobin found very novel.

This also makes me a little excited—I've traveled to such a world, so what will my future be like?

Will they fade into obscurity, or will they shine like a shooting star, or even achieve great things?

This question cannot be answered now, but Jiang Baobin has no choice but to think about it.

While sipping his plum juice, Jiang Baobin started chatting with the boss.

In old Beijing, there were many morning markets, mainly the East Morning Market outside Chongwenmen, the West Morning Market outside Xuanwumen, the North Morning Market outside Deshengmen, and the Morning Market outside Andingmen.

Jiang Baobin plans to take some time to visit each of them, and his first choice is naturally Deshengmen.

Because it's close to "Xitao Hutong".

Hehe, this guy has been itching to see Liu Yifei for ages, and tomorrow is the perfect opportunity.

This guy wandered around outside until dark before finally sneaking back home.

Everyone needs to sleep eventually, otherwise the front door will have to be locked.

Despite all this commotion, the Chiang family still ignored him, and the fuse remained unavailable.

Fortunately, my buddy has three burrows.

Jiang Baobin grinned wickedly and pulled out the last fuse from under the pile of clothes.

To deal with a bad person, you have to be worse than them; and to deal with a cunning person, of course you have to be more cunning than them.

After dealing with the Jiang family, I slept soundly that night!

However, he left home very early in the morning.

Otherwise, he was afraid of being trapped in the house and suffering physical pain.

As it turns out, this guy was quite prescient.

Just a few minutes after they left, Aunt Jiang arrived in a menacing manner, only to find that she hadn't come to pick up anyone.

Standing in the messy room, she sniffed hard, gritting her teeth in anger!

Then, they searched frantically! Of course, they found nothing.

Jiang Mantang had also gotten up and was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking, his body bent over.

He saw his wife come back alone, fuming, instead of grabbing the third son's ear as usual.

His brow furrowed immediately: "They haven't returned?"

Jiang Ma said bitterly, "It would be better if he died out there!"

Jiang Mantang shook his head: "This doesn't seem like the third brother at all. Where did he get such audacity?"

"He's gone crazy from the fever."

Jiang Ma was seething with anger when she thought about how she had lost face yesterday and how she had been tricked on the fire rope.

"That little brat! He shouldn't come back if he dares, or I'll break his legs!"

Jiang Mantang didn't object; he was furious last night too.

As the head of the household, what do you value most? Face, of course!

There's an old saying that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, but yesterday, this kid spilled it all out.

If this behavior isn't severely punished, won't they turn against the Heavenly Gang in the future?

Beat him! Beat him to death! Teach him a lesson he'll learn for the rest of his life!