An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

"I won't mention anything else, but the example of the legal tender is right before your eyes. How can you still trust the Kuomintang?"

"What should we do then?" Old Jiang immediately pressed. "If that machine detects that we're hiding it, it will be confiscated!"

Jiang Baobin was speechless. How old is he? How can he still be so easily fooled?

"How do you investigate?" Jiang Baobin asked with a cold smile.

Jiang Mantang said worriedly, "Didn't they say there was some kind of thing?"

"Foreign products, you can tell where the gold bars and silver dollars are hidden with just a scan."

"Don't listen to their nonsense, that's called a metal detector, originally used by engineers to clear mines."

"Everyone gets an alarm if they bury some scrap metal in their yard, so should we dig it up or not?"

"How can we possibly dig up all the hundreds of thousands of households in Beiping?"

"So you mean we should just ignore them?"

Jiang Baobin shook his head: "We still need to change some things. Don't we need to eat or cook? There are always places where money is needed."

"Keep the receipts on hand so you can hand them over to the authorities."

"But don't keep those gold yuan notes, spend them as soon as you get them."

"It should be fine for the first few days, but it's hard to say what will happen later."

With that thought in mind, Jiang Mantang finally smiled: "Alright, I'll do whatever you say..."

Jiang Baobin quickly waved his hand, knowing that the old man was definitely going to bite him, but luckily he had already thought of a plan:

"Please don't say that. Once I'm out this door, I won't admit to anything."

"Every word you say is something you came up with yourself."

"I now have a foreign boss as my backer, so they can't do anything to me."

"But if you go out and spread rumors, things might not be so simple."

Jiang Mantang was startled and quickly said, "I won't say anything. I'll keep it to myself and not tell anyone a single word."

"That's the right way to think. Words can be dangerous," Jiang Baobin said, standing up.

This means to see the guest out.

Jiang Mantang came out of the west courtyard in a very pleasant mood.

With the matter resolved, a huge weight was finally lifted from his heart.

For some reason, today's conversation with the third brother gave Jiang Mantang a special feeling of trust.

I'm convinced that what the third brother said must be right.

This contrasts sharply with the way the second brother speaks, which is rather languid and unsteady.

As for the third brother's cold attitude towards him, which seemed to keep him at arm's length, it made him feel uncomfortable.

Chiang Kai-shek didn't take it too seriously—so what? I'm his father, and he can't change that no matter what.

No matter if he becomes a big boss or a high-ranking official in the future, as long as I come to his door, he has to treat me to good food and drink!

Otherwise, I'll teach him a lesson!

If Jiang Baobin knew that his father thought this way, he would be speechless with disbelief.

Time travel, like reincarnation, is beyond one's control; if you're unlucky enough to be caught in it, you can only accept your fate.

However, he couldn't care less about that right now. Jiang Mantang had answered correctly and left, but his own affairs were still hanging in the balance.

Jiang Baobin was genuinely worried.

Going against the KMT is something that just seems absurd!

Can't you just let me have some peace and quiet until liberation?

One reason I'm hesitant to do it is because I'm afraid the system might have some major pitfalls prepared for me.

The other one is also unable to let go of the reward.

Previously, when I rescued "Yanzi Li San", I was tricked by the system first.

But exchanging 100 dollars for 1000 dollars is a tenfold return, which is really tempting!

So what will the reward be this time?

Will they really give me a copy of the "Nine Yin Manual"? As long as I have it, I'll be fine.

Dealing with that little firecracker Liu Ling'er was as easy as an old lady blowing her nose – a piece of cake!

The thought of it made him incredibly eager!

It's no wonder people say humans are the most greedy creatures; Jiang Baobin is no exception.

Or perhaps, as a time traveler, he was even more so, because he always felt that he was a different being and would receive special treatment.

But this is quite normal; isn't greed also a driving force?

If people lost all greed (or, to put it more politely, ambition), they would all just give up.

How can society progress then?

××××××

Although Jiang Baobin was greedy, he was still relatively cautious in his actions.

Whether he did it or not, he decided to scout the place first so he would have a clear understanding of the situation.

When he actually did it, even just scouting locations, his heart was pounding, and he saw everyone as a spy for the government.

If I make any unusual move, they will catch me red-handed!

The busiest places in Beiping were Dongdan, Xidan, and Tianqiao.

Jiang Baobin first ruled out Dongdan, because it was too close to his home and he might run into acquaintances.

If he had to choose between Xidan and Tianqiao, he would definitely choose Tianqiao.

Because there are so many people coming and going, and they are all a mixed bag, it's impossible to investigate them properly.

The best location for the footbridge is "New World".

The full name of New World was "Beiping New World First Amusement Park", located on the south side of the middle of Xizhushikou Street outside Qianmen.

When it comes to the many firsts in Beiping, "New World" truly takes the lead.

The first integrated shopping mall, the first rooftop garden, the first women's theater, the first cinema specializing in foreign blockbusters, the first elevator that citizens could ride for free...

When it first opened, there was an incident where people rushed to ride the elevator to try it out, resulting in someone being trampled to death.

The entrance features four unique "funhouse mirrors," which alone attracted tens of thousands of tourists when it first opened.

(I looked into a funhouse mirror for the first time during a spring outing, and it made me look the same size as him. I was amazed that such a wonderful thing existed in the world.)

This was in 1918! So many high-end things were enough to broaden the horizons of the old Beijing residents.

Also, because the "New World" was tall—five stories high—it became a prime location for distributing leaflets in Beiping.

Jiang Baobin is not the only one who thinks this way; his predecessor Chen Duxiu had already put it into practice here.

That was in 1919.

However, he was too unprofessional, wearing conspicuous clothing (white suit, white hat) and doing conspicuous things (frequently going up and down the stairs), so he was arrested before he even got back to his residence.

Now that they were on the overpass, Jiang Baobin decided to stroll around to ease his earlier tension.

The wrestler is none other than "Bao San," a former wrestling champion who won the national championship at the sports meet.

There are many acrobatic and street performers here, including some with high-difficulty moves.

Those who sell "power pills" are simply deceiving people.

However, Jiang Baobin did try out his hard bow.

With his current strength, he can pull it apart, but it's not as easy and effortless as others.

It seems that strength is also a talent.

The overpass is mostly filled with food stalls: "Douzhi Shu"; "Chatang Li"...

A wide variety of snacks are available: fried cakes, fried dough twists, sliced ​​cakes, rice cakes, steamed cakes, donkey rolls...

In short, Jiang Baobin spent the entire dollar in no time.

Some of the money was given as tips to the street performers, while some was used to buy food.

Anyway, being from the future, everything he saw was new and interesting, and he wanted to try everything.

While lingering there, he didn't forget his other purpose for coming here...