An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Chapter 183 Another Trouble

Even if Jiang Baobin wanted to give up, someone would arrange it for him.

By then, he won't have a choice.

Once you're labeled as a street urchin or a vagrant, things will get really bad.

Just wait until you get called out!

Meetings, big and small, can drive people to question the meaning of life.

Now that we've arrived at Shichahai Beach, we naturally have to visit the deaf old lady.

Today is January 23rd, the 1th day of the twelfth lunar month. Even the Little New Year has passed, so we still need to prepare a generous gift for the old lady.

Unexpectedly, I ended up getting a lecture.

Why? Because he visited the deaf old lady but didn't intend to meet the original owner's parents.

The deaf old lady started nagging.

Jiang Baobin was speechless. "Didn't you always advocate that if parents are not kind, their children will be unfilial? How come you've changed your mind when it comes to me?"

The deaf old woman earnestly advised him, "Binzi, even if you have a knot in your heart..."

"But it has to look presentable on the surface, otherwise the neighbors will laugh at us."

"It's both a mockery of your parents' poor parenting and a mockery of your disrespect for elders—"

This left Jiang Baobin speechless. If this were in later generations, he would have retorted with a single sentence: "Let whoever wants to laugh laugh, what does it have to do with me?"

But people nowadays think that's wrong, and that he can't keep going on like this.

There's really no way to communicate anymore.

A generation gap of sixty years cannot be bridged by words alone.

He simply ran back to the freight yard—out of sight, out of mind—and buried himself in practicing his kung fu!

These days, the 25 KMT troops in the city are gradually marching out of the city.

Those with real talent have already left, including social celebrities, high-ranking officials, and even their trusted soldiers, who were all airlifted away.

Therefore, the soldiers who remained were all reorganized.

Although there are no uniformed TG officers on the streets yet, it's obvious without even guessing.

At this time, there are no doubt how many enemy workers have infiltrated the city.

The 29th is the Spring Festival. According to the plan, the Guo army should have completely withdrawn on that day and handed over the entire city.

But precisely because the people wanted to have a peaceful New Year, the government postponed its entry into the city.

It wasn't until the 31st that Lao Fu officially handed over the entire city defense.

On the same day, Jiang Baobin brought Yang Lao Er along.

We found the old Japanese embassy located between "Taijichang Street" and "Zhengyi Road".

He claimed he would donate his wealth.

The staff of the Military Control Commission were all confused. We haven't even put up the sign yet, how did we find this person?

However, it's a good thing that someone is donating; it's a great start.

I only found out after asking that the donation was actually quite valuable.

It includes a cargo yard, two cars, and two barrels of gasoline.

What's the most precious thing right now?

It wasn't a freight yard or a truck, but rather those two barrels of oil.

As a result, the staff looked Jiang Baobin up and down for a long time (Yang Lao Er, who was timid and shrinking, was automatically ignored).

Judging from his clothes, he's just an ordinary person. Where did he get so much money?

Could it be that old Xi'er, that stingy old man pretending to be poor?

After further questioning, the staff were left speechless, both amused and exasperated.

It turns out that what they donated wasn't their own property at all, but that of their boss, and a foreign boss at that.

Fortunately, the owner had already run away, so this was unclaimed property and there was nothing wrong with them donating it.

Because the official policy has already been released, it applies to all countries that haven't established friendly or diplomatic relations with us.

All buildings and vehicles derived from their privileges shall be confiscated.

So the staff still registered his and Yang Lao Er's names at the very beginning of the roster.

One was a driver, and the other was a warehouse keeper.

On January 29th, after the Lunar New Year, the garrison in Beiping was officially rotated.

On the 31st, the two sides began by handing over the city gates.

Subsequently, a small TG unit entered the city and secured the strategic points.

At 10:2 AM on February 3rd, the ceremony for the main force to enter the city officially began.

The army entered through the "Yongding Gate".

Of course, Jiang Baobin would be a part of this lively event.

He couldn't help but exclaim: "The surrounding area is truly vast!"

At the very front was the military band, followed by armored vehicles, tanks, artillery, cavalry, and finally the infantry.

At 10:30 a.m., the large group entered Qianmen Street from Zhushikou.

The top leader inspected the troops from the "arrow tower".

After passing the arrow tower, the troops entering the city turned right and entered "Dongjiaomin Lane".

We marched proudly down this little street that bears witness to half a century of humiliation.

Just yesterday, ordinary flower shoppers weren't allowed to set foot on this street.

The fact that the procession entering the city had to pass through here was a decision made specifically by higher authorities.

It must be said, this is a standard!

The entire ceremony lasted for eight hours, and the whole city of Beiping was in an uproar that day.

The sounds of bugles, gongs, drums, and songs filled the air, accompanied by the crackling of firecrackers.

Excited college students even climbed onto tanks and armored vehicles, advancing alongside the troops.

Because of the unprecedented scale of the event, Jiang Baobin also used the team and the crowd as a backdrop.

He had several photos taken of him.

Well, years later, we'll have something to brag about again.

We were liberated, and most importantly, we were at peace.

At this time, Beiping was truly a sea of ​​joy.

There's an old saying about gardening: "Listen to advice and you'll have a full meal."

Under repeated reminders from the system, Jiang Baobin has decided to move back to Nanluoguxiang.

I just find the social obligations during the Lunar New Year too troublesome.

In particular, there was always a group of self-proclaimed important people who kept buzzing in his ear, trying to talk about his relationship with his original parents.

I don't know where they got the nerve.

"It's none of your business if you're just eating salty radishes and worrying about nothing."

If they want the Chiang family to drink my blood, they'll have to wait.

Since the entire cargo yard has already been donated.

Yang Lao Er's family and Jiang Daya were all sent to a secluded courtyard in Dongsi Archway by him.

He himself still lives in the freight yard.

Perhaps it's a modern mindset, but he actually quite enjoys being alone.

Even with tens of thousands of square meters of open space, they are content.

It's so enjoyable to exercise every day.

It's a pity that while he thinks this place is great, others aren't stupid either.

After the entry ceremony on the 3rd, a large number of troops need to be stationed in the city.

So the place that Jiang Baobin "donated" was chosen.

An entire battalion came in.

There was no other way; Jiang Baobin had to move the potatoes around like a rolling ball.

Nanluoguxiang.

Jiang Baobin faced a problem as soon as he moved back: the landlord wanted to collect the rent again!

I don't know what got into this guy, he's been messing around with the rent.

Previously, when prices were to be raised, everyone collectively resisted, which caused a lot of unpleasantness.

In the end, the tenants paid him a sum of money to settle the matter.

Jiang Baobin was the only one who didn't give any extra money, but he still bought a lot of meat for the deaf old lady.

This time, I don't know what got into him again.

They actually demanded five years' rent upfront, or else they would order the tenants to move out.

Among them, Jiang Baobin received the lowest salary, one silver dollar a month.

If we calculate based on five years, then it would be 60 yuan.

Other residents generally have to pay at least 90 yuan.

For large households like the Gao family, who rent almost the entire courtyard, the rent is 600 yuan!

Let's just kill them.

Everyone started making a scene, and no one would pay.

Even the newly established "Inner Fifth District Military Control Commission" was alarmed and sent people to mediate.

In the past, officials would have supported the master without even asking questions.

They labeled the residents as "making trouble unreasonably"!

However, TG is different; their stance is more inclined towards the weaker tenants.

Finally, with the mediation of the staff, both parties reached an agreement.

There are two ways to pay rent: ① Pay three years' rent in one lump sum, and you will receive a 30% discount.

② Otherwise, you will have to pay the original price for another year.

Taking Jiang Baobin as an example, the normal annual rent is 12 yuan.

If you pay for three consecutive years, the total cost would be 12 × 3 × 0.7 = 25.2 yuan.

You used to pay for two full years' rent upfront, but now you can rent for three years.

Why is the landlord in such a hurry to make money? What's he up to?