Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 125

“Now that my master has left, I don’t plan to run this business here. I’ll leave this place to your brother.”

"So, should the two of us go back to Yandaixie Street?"

"Let's not go back yet. Let's renovate that house in Daqianmen Hutong first, and then we'll sell snacks and braised dishes there."

This part is handled by Xu Hui, who will focus on selling alcohol.

He Yuzhu plans to sell some Beijing snacks in the alley, mainly steamed buns, mantou, aiwowo, sugar cakes, soy milk and fried dough sticks.

That intersection connects to several alleys, and people in Beijing have a habit of buying breakfast in the morning, so it's a good opportunity to open another breakfast stall.

"That's a good idea."

He Yuzhu said, "All the money you earn from this shop will be yours. It's also quite close to this place, so your older brother can help take care of it."

"Yes, this arrangement is quite good."

The next day, when the two returned to the courtyard in the alley, the gate was locked. When they opened it, they found that many things were gone, indicating that their master had already left.

The two then tidied up at home.

He Yuzhu looked around but couldn't find a water tap. He asked, "Why is there no water here?"

Xu Huizhen said, "Didn't you notice before? Only some main roads outside Zhengyangmen have running water, but these alleys don't have running water yet."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that before."

After all, it's only 52 now. Although many places have running water, there are still some alleys that don't.

When He Yuzhu went into the kitchen, he saw a carrying pole and two tin buckets in the corner.

He Yuzhu put the carrying pole on his shoulder, hung two iron buckets on it, and went out the back door.

After asking a shoe repairman by the roadside, He Yuzhu carried empty buckets to the well.

Of course, these weren't hand-operated wells at this time; they were all open-air wells, and several women were gathered together washing clothes nearby.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Instead of carrying the water back to wash the clothes, it's better to just leave the clothes at the well and wash them directly with the well water.

This is still a very normal phenomenon; there is a shack built in the corner of the house next to the well.

A dark-skinned, thin man came out and, seeing He Yuzhu using the water winch, asked, "Young man, which household are you from? I've never seen you before."

"Master, I'm from the tavern next door. Are you the owner of the well here?"

Before tap water was available, people drank and used well water. The wells in these alleys were all government-owned wells. Some people bribed the government to contract the government-owned wells and became the owners of the wells.

Such people are commonly known as "well-nesters".

After they took over the contract, every morning they would push two large covered wooden basins in a wheelbarrow and deliver water to each household.

Of course, this is paid, but it is also more convenient. Families without able-bodied members can subscribe monthly or buy in small quantities.

Since they were all from out of town, they built a shack next to the well and lived there.

It's usually passed down from father to son, and they make a living by delivering water.

Nanluoguxiang was one of the first areas to have running water, and there were wells there before liberation. He Yuzhu certainly knew the ins and outs of it.

Although the well-dwelling area provided water for the residents of one or more alleys and sold it for profit, ordinary residents could still come and fetch water themselves.

However, they cannot use their tools, namely their pulleys and windlasses.

He Yuzhu had just used the windlass, and the other party heard the sound and came out from inside.

He Yuzhu was tall and imposing, and his face was unfamiliar; I wondered who he was.

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "Oh no!" He shouldn't have used someone else's windlass. After all, He Yuzhu was a transmigrator. Although the original owner also had memories, he hadn't remembered this matter for a while if he hadn't searched for them.

He quickly put down the bucket, took out a cigarette, and offered it to the other person.

"What kind of cigarette is this that even has a filter?"

The people in the well-dwelling area are all poor, making a living by manual labor. They usually smoke ordinary cigarettes that cost less than two cents, and sometimes they even smoke tobacco leaves directly.

Where have I ever smoked such high-end filtered cigarettes?

"This is called Da Zhonghua, it costs 65 cents a pack, and it's one of the few that comes with a filter."

Now that Jingwozi is even less likely to turn against him, he must be someone of high status to be able to afford such good cigarettes.

He Yuzhu said, "Master, I need to use the windlass for a bit. Could you deliver a cartload of water to me later?"

"Okay, is it the courtyard next to the tavern?"

"Yes, it's fine to deliver it in the morning."

"Okay, let me help you."

Jingwozi personally fetched two buckets of water, which He Yuzhu carried back. A moment later, Jingwozi came to deliver the water in a wheelbarrow.

He Yuzhu saw this unique vehicle again. There were two long, rectangular wooden barrels, more than a foot high, placed on either side of the wheels, with wooden lids on top.

There is a small hole at the bottom front. Pull out the cork and clean well water will flow into the bucket.

Then it was taken to the kitchen and poured into the water tank. This process was repeated several times until the water tank was full.

He Yuzhu gave him five cents; this well-dweller earned his living by doing manual labor.

The two tidied up, cleaned the front of the store, and threw the old furniture into the yard.

He Yuzhu went to Dongzhimen and bought three truckloads of wood, which he had delivered to him. Then he went to the power bureau to get electricity connected, and then went to buy light bulbs, wires, switches, and other things.

I'll re-cover the ceiling when I get back.

Four out of ten people have the habit of pasting paper on their ceilings every year. The main problem is that the ceilings are made of corn stalks, and when honeycomb briquettes are burned for heating in winter, the paper gets blackened by the smoke. Usually, after the Qingming Festival, the ceilings are re-painted.

Of course, the house needs to be re-plastered. Master only used this place as a temporary shelter, not a permanent residence, so the ceiling had long been dilapidated.

He Yuzhu first re-painted the ceiling, then selected and stored away the old furniture and its wood, keeping the rest as firewood for later use in cooking.

It took a week to remake a batch of furniture, which gave the front of the store a fresh new look. The preparations went smoothly and were completed successfully.

Then Limin Steamed Bun Shop quietly opened.

Besides steamed buns and spicy soup, there are also other snacks such as sweet cakes, fried dough rings, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns.

He Yuzhu was busy making furniture in the yard when Chen Xueru suddenly burst in from the front.

"He Yuzhu, why did you buy this house? And aren't you going back?"

"Yes, my brother-in-law has taken over the management of that area."

"Brother-in-law?" Chen Xueru asked in surprise.

"Yes, Liu Hui is my brother-in-law."

"You...you're not engaged, are you?" Chen Xueru asked, somewhat incredulously.

"This was given to me by my master."

Anyway, Master Jiang has already returned to his hometown, so let's put all the blame on him.

Chen Xueru's face suddenly showed a hint of sadness. What was she going to do now that He Yuzhu had suddenly gotten engaged?

At this moment, Xu Huizhen heard the noise and came out of the house. When she saw that it was Chen Xueru who had come to her door, she was still angry, but she still smiled and went to greet her.

"Oh, it's Xue Ru! Come in and sit down, I was just looking for you."

"Huizhen, I've been wanting to find you too."

Chen Xueru glanced at He Yuzhu as she wished, then went inside to chat with Xu Huizhen.

A moment later, someone else came in from outside. He Yuzhu looked up and saw that it was Hou Fangxing, Chen Xueru's fiancé.

"Mr. Hou, what brings you here?"

Where is Xue Ru?

He Yuzhu had never liked Hou Fangxing. Although he had a square face and was handsome, his eyes looked somewhat sinister, and he gave people a strange feeling.

In addition, he came from a wealthy family and looked down on He Yuzhu and Xu Huizhen, who came from poor families.

There was an air of arrogance in his voice, as if he were ordering a servant around.

Although there are no more maids now, many households still have nannies who are paid monthly wages. Although the name has changed, it is still similar to the maids of the past.

"How can you talk like that?" He Yuzhu said, frowning.

"Xue Ru? Xue Ru?"

Hou Fangxing shouted loudly and then went into the house to search, completely ignoring He Yuzhu's words.

"What are you doing?" He Yuzhu reached out to grab Hou Fangxing's arm.

However, the opponent nimbly dodged He Yuzhu's grab, which surprised He Yuzhu. You see, since learning martial arts, He Yuzhu has never relaxed his training, even though he is sometimes very busy.

He gets up early every day to practice, and just now, while grabbing, he involuntarily used a grappling technique. Logically speaking, Hou Fangxing should have had no chance of dodging this grab.

But Hou Fangxing actually dodged it without making a sound, and his quick reaction surprised He Yuzhu.

At this moment, Hou Fangxing had already pushed open the door and saw Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru sitting together chatting inside.

Chen Xueru shouted, "Hey, you surnamed Hou, why did you chase after me?"

"Why can't I come? Xue Ru, our wedding is being planned, and I want to discuss something with you."

The two had just had a quarrel about the wedding. Chen Xueru remembered how good He Yuzhu was, asked the waiter, and came here.