An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

There was nothing he could do but let her search his body.

Finally, they took a small silver coin and a few copper coins.

He saved that for breakfast tomorrow.

"Where's the money? Where's the money you paid for the rent?" Aunt Jiang demanded.

Jiang Baobin shrugged: "The boss hasn't given it to me yet."

The deaf old lady couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she came over, pushed Jiang's mother aside, and protected Jiang Baobin.

"Don't be afraid, tell Grandma, how many days have you been working? How much money can you earn carrying bags for people?"

Jiang Baobin then recited the lines he had prepared beforehand:

"I earn 5 cents a day. The boss promised to pay me in advance for the next ten days so I can rent a place."

Jiang Ma was both anxious and angry. Five cents a day, that's five silver dollars in ten days. How could such a large sum of money be spent outside?

He then yelled, "Who told you to rent this place? Get back home!"

Taking the opportunity, Jiang Baobin said, "I'm not going back. The door has been locked for days; they just won't let me go home."

"I'm going to live alone from now on. The agreement is already signed with the landlord, and the deposit has been paid."

"Oh..." The onlookers all made this sound at the same time.

They heartlessly drove the child away from home, and now they're greedy for money.

Parents who try to force their children to back down are truly rare.

"You!" Jiang's mother pointed at Jiang Baobin, her body trembling with anger.

"If you weren't doing anything wrong, would I lock the door? I was just teaching you a lesson! How come you're getting worse and worse?"

Jiang Baobin denied it: "I didn't do anything wrong, you're just imagining things."

Madam Jiang's face was extremely pale. She said domineeringly, "Don't try to mess with me. I'm just asking you, are you going back or not?"

Jiang Baobin, losing patience, said, "I'm not going back! I've had enough!"

Jiang's mother was furious—what's wrong with this brat today? I say something, and he snaps back?

She regretted it—how could she have believed the eldest son's wife and kicked the third son out of the house?

Now look what's happened! We didn't make any money, we lost a strong laborer, and we've become a laughing stock in the neighborhood. It's a complete disaster!

People always find fault with others, but never examine their own mistakes.

If she hadn't been so headstrong and always treated her youngest son so harshly, would things have turned out this way?

All Jiang Ma can do now is bully the weak.

"You bastard! You heartless monster! Are you trying to defy the heavens?! I'll beat you to death today!"

As he spoke, he started looking around, clearly looking for something to teach his unfilial son a lesson!

Jiang Baobin is not the same person who never fought back when hit or cursed.

The guy took two steps back, ready to run away at any moment.

"Shut up, all of you!" Jiang Mantang suddenly shouted, his eyes fixed on Jiang Baobin like knives! This was a show of intimidation.

Unfortunately, Jiang Baobin was determined, and even if he glared with his eyes popped out, it wouldn't make a difference!

Jiang Mantang felt like he had been slapped in the face repeatedly; he had lost all face.

Unfortunately, Madam Jiang was unaware of the gravity of the situation and, thinking she had a man backing her up, enthusiastically fanned the flames:

"Master, this little brat has gone mad; we can't let him get away with this today..."

Jiang Mantang then glared at her fiercely—it's all this old woman's fault, she's all talk and no action.

I've said it before: don't treat the third brother the same way you used to.

It's one thing when the child is young, but as they grow up, they still get hit and scolded whenever they want. Who can stand that?

Judging from the way the third brother is acting, this matter cannot be resolved in a few words; it requires careful consideration.

Thinking of this, Jiang Mantang tried to save face: "Aren't you embarrassed enough? Get the hell out of here and go home!"

After yelling, he walked away without looking back.

Jiang Ma was completely bewildered by the scolding.

Left with no other choice, they could only follow them outwards.

"mom."

At this moment, the eldest sister-in-law, who had been keeping a low profile, rushed over and pulled Jiang Wangshi along, while gesturing repeatedly into the house.

Realizing what was going on, Aunt Jiang turned and went back to the side room.

The elder sister-in-law immediately pulled Jiang Baowen inside.

A loud crash came from inside the house a moment later.

Clutching her bedding, Madam Jiang rushed out first, shouting, "Forget about dividing the family property!"

Next came the eldest sister-in-law, carrying a dustpan and broom, looking smug, who defiantly pursed her lips at Jiang Baobin.

At the very back was Jiang Baowen, holding a pot with a blank expression. Inside the pot were bowls, chopsticks, and other items.

Jiang Baobin was so angry he almost choked – this guy's here to smuggle things out!

He wanted to fight them, but seeing the large crowd watching, he held back.

After about ten days of exploration, he has gained a considerable understanding of this world.

This is an era that places great importance on reputation, and many people would rather die than have their reputation tarnished.

Therefore, news often spreads: so-and-so's person jumped into the river; so-and-so's person hanged themselves...

This stands in stark contrast to later generations—where many people, for the sake of profit, disregarded all shame and committed acts worse than those of animals.

Because everyone is busy with their own lives behind closed doors, no one cares about what others are doing.

But nowadays, people are open-minded and value reputation; a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative.

People in a particular area almost all know each other.

Even if they never speak when they meet, they can still match names to each other.

That's why, once someone dies, their spittle can really drown them!

These thoughts flashed through Jiang Baobin's mind, and he abandoned the idea of ​​immediately severing ties with the other party.

Let them do all the bad things they want; the people have sharp eyes.

It's believed that the Chiang family's actions will soon become known throughout Nanluoguxiang.

By then, today's frustrations may not be such a bad thing.

Curious, Jia Zhangshi entered the house and immediately called out:

"Oh dear! What a disaster! The water tank has been smashed, and water has flooded the whole room. We can't even step in it now."

Upon hearing this, a famous scene flashed through Jiang Baobin's mind.

He plopped down on the ground, exclaiming, "Ouch! My goodness!"

No, that's wrong, the channel has switched, there's no "Oh my god!"

She burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, "Aww—aww—aww..."

Jiang Baobin is quite cunning—he used tears to completely nail the Jiang family to the pillar of shame.

The old saying goes that even a tiger won't eat its cubs; the Jiang family's ruthless and heartless approach is absolutely unpopular.

I believe that public opinion will undergo a dramatic change tomorrow.

The only downside was that Jiang Baobin didn't get a chance to poke his eyes with his fingers this time, so he could only wail...

But no matter how poorly done, this crying scene was necessary.

Otherwise, how could he express despair and thus completely break with the Chiang family?

If they keep sucking my blood, their desires will never be satisfied! What's the point of trying?

Therefore, Jiang Baobin cried even harder: "Aww..."

It's quite an eyesore to see a seventeen-year-old boy groaning with his mouth wide open.

Besides, everyone was hungry, and since the excitement was over, the people from the east courtyard went home.

Only the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai and his wife remained.

After helping Jiang Baobin up, they comforted him gently and helped him tidy up the house.

Yi Zhonghai was strong, so he threw away the broken water vat first.

His wife brought tools from home to help scoop out the water...