An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Along the way, the man hawking his wares only sold a few "fire ropes".

But they didn't know why they were in such a hurry to get going.

Fortunately, he has had some rest these past two days; otherwise, given Jiang Baobin's previous physical condition, he really wouldn't have been able to keep up with people carrying heavy loads.

The guy was clinging to the gate frame, peering into the yard, just as two people put down their baskets, took off their straw hats, and were about to go inside.

Jiang Baobin's heart started pounding wildly, because he finally saw the face of the person behind him—Liu Yifei!

However, the young lady in front of me was much more aloof than Liu Yifei in the real world, and she didn't show a single smile from beginning to end.

Who cares, as long as the face looks good.

Jiang Baobin waited and waited, and it felt like an hour had passed (in reality, it was only about ten minutes).

The middle-aged man, carrying an empty load, finally emerged from the courtyard.

Jiang Baobin immediately went to meet him, using a pre-prepared excuse to play the victim:

"Hey, folks, why do you walk faster the more I call you?"

"You almost made me lose you! Are you still selling 'fire ropes' or not? You were running like a rabbit!"

Jiang Baobin's move to turn the tables caught the man off guard—"Did you call me? I didn't hear you at all!"

But when business came in, he immediately put on a smiling face: "Oh, well, it's my fault then. You want to buy 'fire rope'?"

"Of course, how much?"

"One big coin and two sticks."

"Give me two then."

"Alright."

The man turned and went into the courtyard.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Baobin didn't stand on ceremony and followed him inside.

Only then did I see the whole picture of the courtyard: the environment was even more chaotic than the courtyard I was renting, clearly a place where even poorer people gathered.

"Please wait a moment." Seeing that this hothead was about to follow him into the house, the man quickly stopped him.

The owner of this house is quite formidable; he wouldn't dare to let outsiders in recklessly.

Jiang Baobin could only stop in his tracks, watching helplessly as the door opened and then closed again.

Subsequently, the hope that "Liu Yifei" could make another appearance was also dashed.

Soon, the middle-aged man came out carrying two "fire ropes".

However, an embarrassing thing happened—Jiang Baobin subconsciously reached for his wallet, only to find that he had no money!

Modern people are so quick-witted; they immediately said, "Okay, come with me to my house, I forgot to bring it."

The man didn't take it seriously: "Alright."

As they walked, Jiang Baobin tried to elicit information: "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Li."

Jiang Baobin, ever the friendly type, said, "Uncle Li, my surname is Jiang, and my given name is Baobin. You can call me Xiao Jiang, or Binzi."

The man was slightly taken aback. At this time in Beiping, it was not customary to call someone "Little Wang" or "Little Zhang," but he didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, people from all over gather here; perhaps it's a habit of people from other places.

The man also introduced himself as Li Guangxin, and the two began to chat.

After chatting for a while, Jiang Baobin changed his tone and started using his usual tactics: "By the way, I don't know your relative very well, I think their surname is Zhang?"

The man was indeed fooled: "You're mistaken, my brother-in-law's surname is Liu."

"Ah, yes, yes, your surname is Liu, you're in business, right?"

"Yes."

"What exactly did they do? I think they managed things at the car dealership?"

"You're mistaken again. He specializes in dealing with high-ranking officials and 'playing the jackpot,' but my brother-in-law has a sharp eye and has never been fooled."

Jiang Baobin slapped his forehead, feigning sudden realization: "That's right, there is such a formidable person."

Jiang Baobin dared not ask any further questions, lest he arouse the other party's suspicion.

Not to mention "Liu Yifei," he didn't even dare to mention it.

Fortunately, the monk may have run away, but the temple can't hide.

They walked and walked, it was too far, and in the end even Li Guangxin began to doubt whether he had encountered a swindler.

What kind of fool would follow half of Beiping City just to buy two matchlocks?

Jiang Baobin laughed and said, "I'm not short of money."

"Think about it, is it really worth traveling this far for just one cent?"

Li Guangxin thought it made sense, so he continued to follow him. Fortunately, it was on his way home, so it didn't take up too much of his time.

When I returned to courtyard number 95, it was bustling with noise and activity.

Jiang Baobin was startled and quickly slipped back to his room to get the money and give it to Li Guangxin.

Fortunately, everyone's attention was drawn away, so no one noticed, otherwise it would have been troublesome.

Only after he had seen the person off did he have the leisure to ask what had happened.

Several old women chattered on and on, explaining that it turned out the mischievous second son of the Liu family was the one who caused the trouble—

This kid somehow got hold of a piece of bamboo and, when his mother wasn't looking, chopped it into a so-called "sword" with a kitchen knife.

This is quite something; he's now "ruling the roost" in the yard.

Unfortunately, the chickens raised by the Xu family escaped from their coop, and unsurprisingly, they became "enemies" and were targeted for "hunting down".

That reckless kid didn't know his own strength. With one "sword," he snapped the chicken's neck. How could it possibly survive?

This is how the dispute started. The two sides are now at odds over how much compensation to pay for the chicken.

The Xu family's idea is that the hen lays eggs, and the eggs hatch into more chickens; this old hen is the family's hope, so they must pay a high price in compensation.

This claim was supported by Yan Bugui.

The Liu family disagreed, arguing that a chicken is a chicken, with no distinction between noble and lowly, and they would only compensate them for the price of an ordinary chicken.

The Liu family got... uh! Old Liu isn't very popular.

The remaining Yi, Jia, He, and Jiang families did not speak up for him.

However, the Liu couple were still very strong fighters; they held their own against the two families.

In the end, it was Yi Zhonghai, who always prided himself on fairness and justice, who stepped in to mediate the dispute:

"Old Liu, and your sister-in-law, please keep your mouth shut. After all, Guang Tian was in the wrong first..."

"Hey!" Xu Fugui immediately seized the opportunity, "Old Yi hit the nail on the head! If a son is not taught, it is the father's fault!"

"How can you do this? You've committed a crime and won't admit it, are you bandits? Let me tell you, our chickens won't die in vain!"

Just as Liu Haizhong was about to retort, Yi Zhonghai continued, "Old Xu, you should also say less."

"Guangtian is just a child. If you argue with him, won't people laugh at you?"

Xu Fugui retorted, "Am I arguing with a child? I'm just angry at an adult. I've never seen anyone so unreasonable."

Liu Haizhong retorted, not to be outdone: "Who's being unreasonable? In all my life, I've never heard of paying double the money for a dead chicken!"

"Where is this law? Let's call everyone from both sides of the compound to come and judge this. Is this some kind of bullying?"

Seeing that Xu Fugui was about to speak again, Yi Zhonghai preemptively said:

"If you two families keep arguing like this, we won't help you anymore. Go find the village head to settle things."

Xu Fugui immediately shut his mouth. What kind of person was the village head? He was the kind of person who could squeeze oil out of a stone.

Asking him for his opinion? What kind of head did he get kicked by a donkey?

Seeing that both sides were losing momentum, Yi Zhonghai then offered his solution...