Siheyuan: The romantic and suave Xu Damao

Xu Damao was not polite either. He opened the wine bottle and filled two wine bowls. He picked up a chicken claw with chopsticks and put it in his mouth and took a bite.

His eyes lit up. The chicken feet tasted so good that Xu Damao couldn't help but praise them secretly.

After quickly finishing a chicken foot, Xu Damao picked up a piece of chicken with skin and put it in his mouth to chew. It tasted surprisingly good.

By this time, the big man had finished packing and sat down after Xu Damao's repeated invitation.

"Come on, big brother, have a drink!"

Xu Damao picked up the wine bowl in front of him, gestured to the big man opposite him, took a big sip, and then picked up a few braised chicken intestines and put them into his mouth.

"Delicious! I have to say, brother, your roast chicken tastes really good."

Xu Damao praised the big man again and again.

"I can't say anything about other brothers, but when it comes to making roast chicken, no one in the surrounding villages can catch up with me. My family has been doing this for over a hundred years! Eat as much as you can, brother. It's my treat!"

Hearing Xu Damao's praise, the man smiled heartily, without any sign of modesty, and was very generous.

"Brother, this is really good wine. The price of my roast chicken is not even as much as this half bottle of wine. Even if it's a treat, it's just my advantage."

Seeing Xu Damao waving his hand to refuse, the man hurriedly spoke before Xu Damao.

"Okay, I'll do as you say! This is the first time I've eaten such delicious roast chicken."

Xu Damao continued to praise and picked up a chicken claw and put it in his mouth to chew.

"Brother, you know how to eat it. Although this chicken claw is not worthy of being served in a formal occasion, it tastes very good. By the way, brother, you haven't eaten yet, let me teach you a new way to eat it."

"Chunmei! Bring over some of the steamed buns that were just made, and some braised chicken sauce!"

The man shouted into the house in a loud voice.

"Thank you for the treat, big brother. Come, have a drink!"

Xu Damao and the man clinked their wine bowls and each took a big sip.

"Brother, I see your house is quite old. When did you move here from Shandong?"

Hearing Xu Damao's question, the man did not answer first. Instead, he picked up the wine bowl and took a sip. Then he picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.

"That was more than a decade ago. Back then, my father and I ran a roast chicken shop left by our elders in my hometown of Shandong. We lived a decent life, but then the Japanese invaders attacked..."

"Plus, there was a severe drought that year, leaving thousands of miles of barren land, so the crops planted in the fields would hardly yield much."

"But the most despairing thing was the locust plague that followed."

The man seemed to have thought of the locust plague that year, and a look of fear appeared on his face.

"The locusts left no grass to grow. The crops left after the drought were completely eaten up by them! My mother packed up her belongings that day and took my daughter and me to flee north..."

"Why come to the North?"

"When the warlord Zhang Zongchang ruled Shandong, he imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, so several of my uncles went to Guandong. At that time, my mother discussed with me that maybe I could meet my uncles in the north and take care of them."

"Brother, you don't know how miserable my hometown in Shandong was after the locust plague. The village was full of people starving to death. As we walked along, all the villages we passed by were empty, with everyone fleeing! There was really no one living for thousands of miles!"

When the man said this, he picked up the wine bowl, clinked it with Xu Damao's, and took a big gulp!

"and after?"

"Later, I came here. My mother was seriously ill, so I couldn't stop. I built a house with the assets I brought with me and started the family business."

The man picked up a piece of chicken butt bone and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly.

"It's actually not bad. Although it's cold here in winter, it's even colder in Kanto. It's said to be the place where the Qing Dynasty exiled the most heinous criminals."

Xu Damao was very sincere. He had experienced the extremely cold climate of Northeast China in his previous life. An hour after getting off the bus, he felt chilled to the bone.

Besides, if they stayed here, they would still have a Beijing hukou after the change. Thinking about the astonishing housing prices in Beijing in his previous life, Xu Damao shook his head. It was actually a good thing for this man and his family to stop halfway through their journey to Guandong.

"Brother, you're right. This place is actually not bad."

The man echoed Xu Damao's words.

"How's business?"

"Not bad, brother. As you can see, my roast chicken is not very popular in this town. I can only use this cart to sell it in the city."

"That's a long way to go!"

"That's right. It takes more than a day to go back and forth. But my roast chicken is very popular. It was sold out in a short time."

When the man said this, he looked enviously at Xu Damao's bicycle next to the thatched shed.

"Brother, you are interested in this. I am going back to the city soon. How about I take you to buy a bicycle?"

"It's too expensive. I can't afford it."

"Brother, if you push a wheelbarrow to the city like this, you're wasting all your time on the road. With that time saved, you can make two more trips on your bicycle!"

"Brother, I have a way to get a second-hand bicycle. Do you want to go with me?"

Xu Damao's words seemed to have magic power. The big man picked up a piece of braised chicken liver, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and began to ponder.

"I know the price of the bicycle. I have less than 100 yuan to spend, about 80 yuan. The rest of the money needs to be used by your sister-in-law to collect the chickens in the village. You can't use it..."

"It's okay, big brother. We hit it off right away. I'll make up for the difference. When the roast chicken is ready, just let me take a few away!"

"Haha, okay, thank you very much, brother!"

The man laughed heartily and agreed to Xu Damao's request. It seemed that he really wanted a bicycle for business.

"What were you guys talking about? I heard you were talking about buying a bicycle?"

At this time, the woman came over, holding a wooden tray with two large steamed buns that were emitting a yeasty aroma and steaming, and two small plates of roast chicken stew.

"Haha, this guy has a way to get a second-hand bicycle. He will take me to the city to buy one later. Then we can do business on a bicycle, which will be more efficient!"

"But we don't have that much money. Besides, besides..."

The woman glanced at Xu Damao's hairless face and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. Don't look at my young age. I still have ways to buy a bicycle. Besides, isn't my elder brother going with me? Can I trick him into selling it in the city?"

"By the way, big brother, if you come with me to the city, I can only take you to the ghost market to buy a bicycle early tomorrow morning. In the meantime, you can wander around the city at your leisure."

"Go away, woman's opinion!"

The man waved his hand and smiled as he drove his wife away.