An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

"Ding! 'Courtyard Virtual World Player Cheat Code' has been loaded!"

"Starting up: 1%...2%...100%!"

"The 'Golden Touch' is now running!"

"Game cheat codes for virtual world players in courtyard houses"

Current time: November 23, 1948

Player: Jiang Baobin

Health Status: 50%

"Physical Attributes:"

"Intelligence: 12 (The average value for ordinary people is 10, and the same applies to the following four items)"

"Explosiveness: 6 (Currently in recovery from illness, the same applies to the following three items)"

Endurance: 4

Agility: 5

"The five senses: 13 (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch)"

"Game Map: The protagonist's current level is limited to the eastern half of the inner city;"

"Task (No. 1): Restore the player's body to normal as quickly as possible (reward upon completion);"

"System has arrived, distributing a newbie gift pack:"

"①, 2 free attribute points can be assigned;"

"② One silver dollar."

××××××

Jiang Baobin's feelings at this moment can only be described as extremely disappointed, because his magic touch was really too "low-class"!

There's no space, no Spirit Spring Farm, no abundant skills and resources...

None at all!

Is it unfair to call it "low-class"?

Disappointed, Jiang Baobin hid the precious silver coin away.

Real money is still the best. The joke about that "1000" bill was really embarrassing!

Then, the 2 freely distributable attribute points were added to "Explosive Power" and "Endurance".

Unfortunately, after adding points, the "health" level remained at "50%" and there was no change.

There is no such thing as "the body warms up and all functions are instantly restored to their optimal state".

After giving the system another "bad review," this guy continued to check the "panel."

There's really not much to read; it's only a little over two hundred words, and it's quite self-explanatory.

The rest of the time, he would just wave a tattered palm-leaf fan to swat away mosquitoes.

He decided that he would buy mosquito coils tomorrow no matter what.

Otherwise, he seriously doubted that if things continued like this, he would be driven crazy by these tiny flying insects!

Fortunately, the appearance of the "golden finger" allowed him to know the exact date of the day—July 23, 1948.

At this time, the liberation of Beiping was not far off.

He could still remember the dates of the three major battles, one of which, the Pingjin Campaign, was at the end of this year.

However, he had another question: Why did the system appear today? Was this a special day?

There is no answer.

The following day, feeling good, Jiang Baobin appeared at a newsstand in Beixinqiao, which was further away.

He didn't even try to flip the items; he just kept his head down and looked at them, so the stall owner ignored him.

After his body had begun to recover, he was eager to acquire information about this era...

"The Nationalist Army has achieved a major victory, recapturing Fengkai, a major city lost earlier this month..."

"The legitimate demands of the exiled students from the three northeastern provinces have finally been won..."

"A robbery occurred in Dongjiaomin Lane, sparking protests from foreign visitors. The city government is furious and has set a deadline for solving the case..."

Unfortunately, only a very small part is visible, or even just a title.

Jiang Baobin's happiest moments are when a well-dressed person comes along, picks up a newspaper, and starts reading.

He would hide behind this person and watch.

His eyesight was exceptional, reaching "2.0" by modern standards, so this distance was not a problem for him at all.

The only thing that worried him was the issue of "traditional Chinese characters." As mentioned earlier, he was an "engineering student."

These characters with so many strokes are really making me dizzy.

He was wearing a "undershirt," with coarse cloth pants and patched shoes underneath.

The newsstand owner couldn't help but ask curiously, "Young man, can you read?"

The boss asked this question because the current illiteracy rate is 80%.

Jiang Baobin's shabby attire easily leads people to think he's putting on airs.

Jiang Baobin felt that he had gained a basic understanding of the world in the past two days.

I also wanted to communicate with people, so I answered honestly:

"I don't recognize all of them; I had to guess at many of the characters."

The newsstand owner grinned knowingly: "You're quite the actor. I thought you knew them all."

He bent down and picked up a stack of old newspapers: "These are from a few days ago. You can look at them, but you can't take them away."

Jiang Baobin was overjoyed upon hearing this, ran over to the side, and happily began to read it aloud.

More than an hour later.

Jiang Baobin returned all the other newspapers to his boss, keeping only one copy for himself.

"Boss, can I sell this newspaper?"

The newsstand owner just glanced at it and said, "Give me one cent."

Jiang Baobin, somewhat embarrassed, took out his precious silver coin:

"Excuse me, could you break it open for me?"

"Wow! That's a lot of money, it's really going to be a hassle."

The newsstand owner said that, but he was actually happy inside.

Because he receives the most small amounts of money, he prefers to get a large sum so he can take it home and hide it.

After taking the money, the shopkeeper first examined the pattern with his eyes, then looked at the edges.

Then came the scene that Jiang Baobin was very familiar with.

The guy blew a sharp breath and then held it to his ear to listen.

He nodded contentedly and started looking for his money.

One minute later, Jiang Baobin received 8 silver coins and 59 copper coins.

(The silver dollar exchange rate used in this book is: 1 silver dollar = 10 silver coins = 300 copper coins. Note: Copper coins are not copper coins. One copper dollar is equivalent to 10 copper coins. At this time, due to inflation, copper coins had ceased to circulate.)

Jiang Baobin then took possession of the "Beiping Daily".

Because this is a newspaper from July 6th, it contains reports of the student protests in Northeast China the previous day, which led to clashes. This is of great historical value.

That's right. Even in his current state, Jiang Baobin is still thinking about collecting old items so he can make a fortune in the future.

Haha, a pure money-grubber.

Just as Jiang Baobin was about to leave, he casually asked, "Do you sell maps of Beiping here?"

The shopkeeper immediately became interested: "Yes, we do, but those things sell slowly. If you want to buy them, come back tomorrow."

"I'll give you a discount, just one silver coin will do."

"Alright."

Jiang Baobin was in a great mood after learning this phrase in the Beijing dialect so clearly and accurately.

From now on, I'll have a Beijing hukou (household registration). Do you know how awesome that will be?

He chose to take the route home through Xiang'er Hutong, passing through Ju'er Hutong, where Ronglu's former residence was located.

However, as soon as they reached the border between the two places, they saw two groups of people fighting.

The weapon is a bit bizarre, though; it's a dung ladle!

Especially when it's swung around, the sticky stuff on it flies everywhere, which is a real pain for the onlookers, as unlucky people often get hit.

This sparked a barrage of criticism.

The people around them laughed and cheered.

Jiang Baobin hid in the crowd, watching the excitement and listening to the discussions.

Zhang San was a witty fellow: "Hey! That's really something! It's like a steamed bun topped with a hat..."