The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

After Li Xiao understood all of this, he also understood why his aunt had such a refined and elegant demeanor.

Through conversation, I learned that after Li Juren passed away, the Qing Dynasty also came to an end. At that time, warlords were in power and chaos was everywhere.

Li Zhankui inherited the family business of Li Juren. After growing up, he was admitted to the newly established Tianjin University. Later, due to his excellent academic performance, he was retained by the university as a teacher after graduation.

More than a decade ago, workers and students in Tianjin took to the streets to demonstrate in support of the May Thirtieth Movement in Shanghai.

Li Zhankui, who was a teacher at the time, was arrested on the spot by local warlords while leading his students in a march.

Later, Li Zhankui's wife used most of the family's savings to bribe officials in order to rescue her husband. However, the warlords were a group of ravenous wolves who would devour people without spitting out the bones.

They took the money, but in the end, the person was still not released.

Li Zhankui was eventually tortured to death in prison, leaving behind only his only daughter, Li Mingzhi, and his wife.

At that time, Li Mingzhi was only a few years older than Li Xiao is now, and she could only rely on her mother for survival.

Most of their family's money has been spent, and now they are living in dire straits.

Because of Li Zhankui's involvement, the mother and daughter could no longer stay in Tianjin, so Li Mingzhi's mother, Zheng Xiufen, decided to take her daughter to Beijing to make a living.

After arriving in Beijing, they used their remaining money to rent a room in a large courtyard near Zhengyangmen. Zheng Xiufen usually took on sewing, mending, and washing jobs to supplement their income.

After graduating from high school, Li Mingzhi was admitted to Beijing Normal University in Beijing. After graduation, she became a Chinese language teacher at a girls' high school.

One day, Li Mingzhi was on school holiday. After having dinner at the school cafeteria, she prepared to go home to be with her mother.

Just as Li Mingzhi was passing through a deserted alley, she was targeted by two thugs.

Just then, He Daqing, who had just finished preparing a feast for a family, passed by.

Although He Daqing is a cook, he trained in boxing for three years with a boxer from his neighborhood when he was a child. With his skills, he could easily handle two or three thugs.

After driving away the two hooligans, He Daqing offered to take Li Mingzhi home.

Upon meeting Li Mingzhi, He Daqing, who was only in his early twenties at the time, naturally developed a great liking for this woman with delicate features and a scholarly air about her.

At that time, He Daqing had just completed his apprenticeship, but his skills were quite good, so he stayed to work at Tan Family Restaurant.

He Daqing would often bring leftovers to visit Li Mingzhi and her daughter, which helped the mother and daughter who were struggling financially at the time.

As time went by, Li Mingzhi naturally understood He Daqing's thoughts, and Zheng Xiufen also had a good impression of the young man.

In those chaotic times of war, marrying a man like He Daqing, who could protect his woman and also had excellent skills, was considered a good match. So Zheng Xiufen agreed to the marriage.

Zheng Xiufen's biggest worry was that her daughter had gotten married, and she could no longer bear it.

She had been overworked and her health had long since deteriorated. Now that she had no more worries, she passed away after only one month.

After listening to Li Mingzhi's story, Wang Xia was already sobbing uncontrollably.

She deeply sympathized with her sister-in-law's family's plight.

When Li Mingzhi asked about Li Xiao's father, Wang Xia tearfully recounted what had happened in her family.

The two women's tragic fates caused them to weep bitterly in each other's arms. Li Xiao also took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to He Daqing, who was sitting silently beside him.

The two men just smoked silently, without trying to comfort Wang Xia and Li Mingzhi, letting the two women cry their hearts out.

After his mother and aunt calmed down, Li Xiao asked, "Aunt, are you still teaching?"

Li Mingzhi shook her head and said, "After the Japanese occupied Beijing in 37, they required all schools to teach Japanese and learn their culture. I didn't want to become an accomplice in the Japanese invasion of our Han culture, so I resigned!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao couldn't help but give his aunt a thumbs up.

"Good job, Auntie! The Japanese have a cultural heritage that actually originated from our Tang Dynasty. They don't have any culture of their own!"

Li Mingzhi nodded in agreement, then asked, "Xiao Xiao, what are your plans for doing in Beijing?"

He Daqing also looked at Li Xiao at this moment.

"The couple who delivered things to our house today are very good friends of mine. They're planning to open a restaurant near Zhengyangmen, and I'm going to go help them out!"

This was something Li Xiao had planned long ago.

After their whole family arrived in Beijing, they would definitely need to find a way to make a living. Li Xiao himself had a huge supermarket warehouse, and no matter how much stuff was used, it would automatically refresh at midnight.

Although this area is currently under Japanese occupation, with his own strength and those twenty super soldiers, maintaining the normal operation of a restaurant shouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, the restaurant is always bustling with people, so they can also glean some useful information from the diners.

This afternoon, Lu Yuan and Wang Xiuying came to deliver daily necessities to the Li family. He Daqing had seen them before.

He Daqing was also surprised that the couple, who looked ordinary and dressed plainly, were able to open a restaurant in Beijing. It really is true that "you can't judge a book by its cover"!

Li Xiao then looked at He Daqing and said, "Uncle, you've been a chef in Beijing for so many years, could you recommend a few skilled and honest master chefs for my friend's restaurant?"

He Daqing nodded and said, "No problem. I have several fellow apprentices and a few good friends, and their skills are all quite good."

"I know master chefs of Tan Family Cuisine, Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, and Huaiyang Cuisine."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "However, these master chefs are paid quite a bit, and they also have a group of apprentices to take with them."

Li Xiao smiled and said, "What's the big deal? As long as these master chefs are skilled and have good character, paying them more wages is a small matter."

"As for taking on apprentices, that's even easier. This way, Old Lu won't have to go and recruit apprentices anymore!"

Upon hearing this, He Daqing slapped his thigh excitedly and said, "Alright, I'll go find my fellow disciples tomorrow. Just let me know when you've finished on your end!"

"Hehe, thank you very much, Uncle!"

"Don't mention it, we're family now!"