An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Baobin took a bus to "Peking Union Medical College Hospital".

When passing through Dong'an Market, this guy even bought a bouquet of flowers, following the custom of later generations.

Westerners think differently from us; the hospital even provides vases, which nurses can borrow with just a word.

When has our country ever cared about such things? If you want to bring your own, bring it from home. Our hospital only cares about saving lives...

The moment fresh flowers were placed in the ward, the originally somber atmosphere was instantly transformed.

Through conversation with the nurses, Jiang Baobin gained a basic understanding of Smith's situation:

The surgery was successful, and the intracranial hemorrhage was brought under control.

However, the bleeding was located quite deep, and the damage to his brain was still very serious.

Therefore, Smith is still in a coma.

As for when he will wake up, and what state he will be in after waking up, no one can say for sure.

Why does this sound so familiar?

Jiang Baobin suddenly realized: Isn't this the symptom of a vegetative state?

He stayed there from a little after seven o'clock until almost nine o'clock, but he didn't see any family members.

Jiang Baobin couldn't wait any longer; he still had a lot to do.

When I got home—sure enough, the horse-drawn carts carrying coal and yellow soil had already arrived.

Jiang Baobin then directed the work to be done in his own courtyard.

My younger sister also came to help; she was mainly responsible for cleaning up the coal ash and dirt that had fallen into the yard.

This wouldn't normally be a big deal, but coincidentally, the Gao family also moved in this morning.

To get to the side room where Jiang Baobin was staying, one had to pass through the courtyard they rented, and it wouldn't be good to make a mess of it for them.

To express his apology, Jiang Baobin specially bought two watermelons and sent them over.

Lao Gao declined.

Jiang Baobin, however, insisted on giving it to him.

Because he's been causing trouble for more than just a day or two, it'll take at least a month before he stops, so we need to appease him with something first.

I changed into tattered clothes and got ready to work.

Making coal briquettes was something Jiang Baobin did every autumn in his previous life.

Until, in order to reduce carbon emissions, they switch to burning liquefied petroleum gas.

Back then, making coal briquettes mainly relied on his classmates helping each other.

They chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, they had finished their work.

(Suddenly I feel so nostalgic! Why is it that as we live, we lose touch with our old friends?)

Now I have to face this unfamiliar world all by myself.

When the crushed coal falls to the ground, it must first be sieved to remove any coal chunks and gangue mixed in.

Then they piled up a "grave mound" and dug a pit in the middle.

The pit was filled with loess, with a coal-to-soil ratio of 4:1.

Anyone with a little common sense knows this: too much loess makes the coal difficult to burn, and too little loess makes it too viscous and the coal will crumble at the slightest touch.

After soaking the yellow clay thoroughly in water, the next step is to stir it.

(A rather proper hoe)

The soul of seasoning is what? It's that you must wear a pair of waterproof boots.

He scratched with a hoe while constantly stomping on the soil, crushing any clods he encountered.

This is the most effortless way to work, because the human leg has the greatest strength and the most endurance.

Only those who use brute force would use shovels to stir the coal pile incessantly.

Even after the coal briquettes are finished, the person will be exhausted.

Then another "miracle weapon" was born.

This thing is called an "adobe mold," and at that time, not many families could afford to use fired blue bricks.

Ordinary people use it to make adobe bricks; whether building houses or constructing courtyard walls, they can't do without it.

It can also be used to make coal briquettes.

This thing comes in two types.

One type can be opened from one side, which makes demolding easier.

Some are fixed on all four sides and rely entirely on shaking to release them from the mold.

At this point, the younger sister also found her place, as she was responsible for making coal briquettes on the spot.

The physically demanding task of moving materials naturally fell to Jiang Baobin.

Even with the two of them working together, it took them a whole day to finish a cartload of coal (the midday sun was too strong, so they rested for two hours; he now pays special attention to this aspect).

There is still a lot of loess left.

In the middle, the eldest sister-in-law held Jiang Hongsheng and stood there dumbfounded.

Aside from grimacing, they didn't offer a single bit of help.

This made Jiang Baobin extremely happy.

If she reaches out today, she'll be in big trouble later.

Looking at the fruits of my labor, I feel a great sense of accomplishment!

"Mission accomplished!" Jiang Baobin announced.

The little girl chuckled happily.

When Jiang Baobin turned around.

A graceful and beautiful woman stood outside the moon gate, curiously peering inside.

Their eyes met, and the beauty smiled sweetly.

Jiang Baobin's heart skipped a beat.

Why did Jiang Baobin lose control of himself again?

It's hard not to be moved when someone looks like that!

Jiang Baobin struck up a conversation, asking, "Miss, are you a new tenant?"

"Yes," the beautiful woman replied, then countered with a precise question, "You must be Master Jiang?"

"I wouldn't call myself 'Master,' you can just call me Jiang Baobin."

The beautiful woman said generously, "My name is Gao Yueyuan. You can call me Yueyuan or Yuanyuan."

"Yuanyuan," Jiang Baobin said, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"That's a nice name! And it's easy to pronounce. Only stunning beauties could have such a name!"

Gao Yueyuan, of course, didn't understand his joke, and just smiled slightly.

Jiang Baobin kept staring at the girl's delicate face, trying to discern something.

This was also a small test for him; what if the other party was also a time traveler?

Wouldn't that mean having another kindred spirit with whom you share a common language, someone you can stir up trouble with?

Unfortunately, this Yuanyuan is not the same Yuanyuan as before; her face showed no change whatsoever.

Instead, he looked down at Jiang Baobin's mud-covered boots and asked, "Mr. Jiang, why are you doing the work yourself?"

Jiang Baobin was taken aback by the question. Why can't I do the work myself?

Seeing his confusion, Gao Yueyuan explained:

"My dad said you're very knowledgeable; you even have foreign books at home. I never expected that..."

Understanding her implication, Jiang Baobin couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Even educated people can be poor and unsuccessful."

"For example, I do this purely to save money, otherwise I'd be bored out of my mind at home."

Gao Yueyuan didn't expect Jiang Baobin to be so frank.

People these days care about their image, so they usually make up an excuse to get away with it.

It's rare to see someone like Jiang Baobin who openly admits to being penniless.

Based on Gao Yueyuan's experience, people who say things like this are often not to be underestimated.

Gao Yueyuan seemed quite interested in Jiang Baobin and asked, "Don't you work?"

"Work? Unfortunately, I just lost my job," Jiang Baobin said with a laugh.

There's no way we can talk today.

Gao Yueyuan had to change the subject again:

"Mr. Jiang, I've heard that people in Beiping are used to burning coal briquettes, so why are you making coal balls?"

Jiang Baobin didn't care whether it was coal briquettes or coal blanks; he just did whatever was convenient for him.

It's important to know that coal briquettes are small and convenient to use, but they require specialized workers to shake them out.

Unlike coal briquettes, which can be beaten by anyone as long as you have some strength.