An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Chapter 186 Activists

It was Wang Wenshan who came to our door.

Faced with the current complex situation, some scoundrels, upon hearing that the Kuomintang was giving away flour for free, eagerly rushed over.

Just by registering, I unknowingly became a spy.

The Kuomintang (KMT) exploited people's greed.

Anyway, keeping these supplies would only benefit the TG.

Why not distribute a large amount of goods while developing a group of downlines? Even if it doesn't work out, it can still annoy people.

Those who are greedy for small gains will regret this decision for the rest of their lives.

It was under these severe circumstances that Wang Wenshan, a resident of Beiping, was able to...

He was quickly transferred back to work by his supervisor.

He had always been thinking about how to find Jiang Baobin, his savior.

Without any prior warning, I saw his name prominently listed at the top of the donation list.

Naturally, he was overjoyed!

He immediately reported the situation to his superiors, who then listed Jiang Baobin as an activist.

And so, Jiang Baobin could no longer be the waiter he so adored.

Okay, actually he also wanted to experience what it's like to be the protagonist, so he happily went there.

He first joined the army of garbage collectors.

Because he can drive?

What are you dreaming about? How could such a rough job as hauling garbage possibly consume precious gasoline?

The only time a low-level police station can use a motor vehicle is when the vehicle is out of the city on business.

I only use them briefly, bringing the trash along with me.

The main means of transportation were carts, which were either animal-powered or human-powered.

Starting from March 8th, the top leader called on the general public to carry out a city-wide cleanup!

Jiang Baobin is least afraid of hard work; otherwise, he would have to toughen up his body by running with weights every day.

Labor can also be considered a form of training.

When he actually got involved, he was shocked! He hadn't paid much attention before, only noticing that Beiping was rather dilapidated and dirty.

When they actually started taking action and went to places they rarely visited, they discovered that Beiping was not the imperial city at all, but simply a huge garbage dump.

According to the older generation, the area was already dirty and chaotic before, but it became the worst after Japan occupied it.

The garbage piled up against the city wall, eventually reaching Zhengyang Gate.

Some estimates put the city's garbage at the time at no less than 60 tons.

What does 60 tons mean? Simply put, it's enough to build eight Jingshan Hills.

Jiang Baobin witnessed it firsthand; the garbage was piled up layer upon layer like shale.

It even contains so-called "junk artifacts" left over from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Tsk tsk! That's really something!

By the time the garbage is cleared out, it will be June.

Wang Wenshan's idea was to directly transfer Jiang Baobin to the military control commission of the district.

Whether you're a driver or a regular employee, you at least have a formal identity.

But Jiang Baobin refused to accept it.

It's not for any other reason than that I'm too restricted in my freedom.

He has come to deeply understand what kind of life they are living these days.

That's a job that's absolutely suicidal!

The leaders of later generations are nothing compared to those of today; they're simply laughable.

Even "996" is weak compared to this.

To put it another way, aside from eating and sleeping, I'm working all the time.

Often, even sleep time is squeezed out.

This won't do! I'm here to do big things.

To accomplish great things, one must first strengthen one's muscles and bones. But now we don't even have time to practice martial arts. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?

Therefore, Jiang Baobin was determined to leave.

No matter how much Wang Wenshan tried to persuade him, it was no use.

During the Military Control Commission period, an incident occurred that made them inseparable. Wang Wenshan always liked to bring Jiang Baobin along when carrying out missions.

This put him in a dilemma.

In situations like dividing a family property, mediating neighborhood disputes, and especially when it involves issues of lifestyle and conduct.

This guy especially loves going there; he likes to see something exciting.

People from Beiping are incredibly talkative; listening to them is like listening to a stand-up comedy routine.

There's hardly any entertainment these days, so this is just something to pass the time.

Moreover, people have a voyeuristic tendency; they feel a great sense of satisfaction watching others go through all sorts of drama.

But he was unwilling to do things like door-to-door surveys, because they were too dangerous!

The number of hooligans and spies in Beiping was countless.

Among them are many desperados; who knows when you might run into one?

Especially now that it's summer, Jiang Baobin has no more space, and he can't wander around outside wearing armor.

So he tries to run to the cleaning crew whenever he can; even if he gets covered in sweat, it's better than risking his life.

However, Wang Wenshan took a liking to him and would call him whenever there was an important task.

If he doesn't go, it would seem like he's a coward (which is true of him), making him a laughingstock.

People in this era are vastly different from those in later generations.

They are competitive, daring, and willing to risk their lives; that's exactly what they mean.

Sometimes, to appear manly, people are even willing to risk their lives!

On this point, Jiang Baobin believes it's simply a matter of being out of one's mind.

But they enjoyed it immensely.

It is said that the Russians are a fighting nation, and from what Jiang Baobin has seen now, they are no less so.

As it turned out, what he feared most came to pass, and he indeed encountered a deadly mission.

During the visit, we happened to arrive at a hideout of enemy agents.

This led to a fierce battle.

They had the "Chicago Typewriter," which took down Wang Wenshan in one go.

If Jiang Baobin hadn't reacted quickly and pulled him away, he would have been hit in the chest instead of the shoulder.

Then a "toad grenade" was thrown out from inside.

Jiang Baobin reacted quickly, kicking the ball back mid-air!

Therefore, the victory was secured in one fell swoop.

It was precisely because of this that Jiang Baobin resolutely refused to do it.

Damn it, if it exploded even a second earlier, I'd be dead!

You can't force an ox to drink water if it doesn't want to.

Wang Wenshan was also hospitalized due to injury, so there was no reason to keep him any longer.

In the end, he was awarded a second-class merit and released.

Frankly speaking, sending someone as uniquely cunning as Jiang Baobin to catch petty thieves is far too risky.

What a waste of talent!

Thus, Jiang Baobin was seen as a monster by countless people.

Having given up his enviable government job, he happily returned to his stall as a waiter.

Upon his return, Jiang Baobin was primarily responsible for one thing—kneading dough.

Don't underestimate this job, especially in the days before dough mixers and pasta machines.

This is definitely a physically demanding job.

Stephen Chow also has a movie where a character becomes a peerless master just by kneading dough.

Jiang Baobin just wanted to try something unconventional.

What else can we do? The system keeps playing dead, no matter how much we yell at it, it won't respond.

He tried many methods, but none of them could wake it up!

For example, he tried winter swimming! He wants to use this in the context of the Green Pool to activate the system.

It's no use. After turning into a coward, the system completely ignores him.

Because he was in charge, Jiang Baobin had a lot of freedom after finishing his assigned tasks, and he could practice his skills.

It's a real shame that the environment of Bishuitan is no longer there.

When the space was about to disappear, he even took Four-Eyes to look for it.

Unfortunately, the small village mentioned earlier, except for the dog, actually existed.

Where the deep pool was before, it was just an ordinary ravine.

Having no other choice, he eventually dug up the treasure that the three bandits he had killed had hidden in the dilapidated temple.

It wasn't a wasted trip.

It seems the pool was created by the system, and once the mission is over, it no longer needs to exist.

Why did Jiang Baobin insist on finding Bishuitan? Because he couldn't forget "Awa Maru".

If we can seize it before the opposing forces do, then we can take it.

If they found the "Peking Man skull at Zhoukoudian", they would become national heroes!

Spring comes in the east, another year has passed.