Siheyuan: I am a big capitalist after the founding of the People's Republic of China

Just another ordinary day.

After getting off work in the dark, Li Zihang went straight back to his residence.

His residence is a small two-story courtyard.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, you will see Mr. Han and his wife.

Grandpa Han’s grandson and son live in the left and right rooms of the east wing.

Han Jiayi’s ex-wife Sister Hua lives in the east wing.

A family of five, a couple and their children, lived in the west wing.

In the second courtyard, there are three back rooms in a row.

Li Zihang lives in one room, Shunzi and his wife live in one room, and Shunzi's two sons live in the other room.

Just now, Li Zihang just walked into the yard and passed by Sister Hua's door.

Then I heard voices talking inside.

"Han Jiayi, get out of here. You're useless, and yet you're still touching me."

"I've made this old lady angry, and now I need your father to calm her down. Aren't you afraid of tiring your father?"

When Li Zihang heard this, he was shocked.

I can’t listen to it anymore, otherwise I will have dreams when I sleep at night.

Li Zihang quickened his pace and returned to his room.

When he returned to his room, he was tidying up his room while looking at the mixed flour in the flour jar, which was almost empty.

Thinking about going to the ghost market again in the evening.

My dear, since I brought him out, it’s good enough to see him five times a month.

The rest of the time he is left to fend for himself.

The nights of this era are really boring~

It's okay for him to be at home, at least there are so many books for him to read.

When I have nothing to do, I study some antiques, feed the birds and play with the cats.

If you really can't make it, you can still go. It would be a joke to see that yard of Shazhu.

Since moving here, his life has been filled with the daily chores of each family, the daily necessities of life, and the daily thoughts of what to eat.

He didn’t understand before why men of this era, young and old, loved to drink whenever they had nothing to do.

Now he even wants to have a few sips to make himself feel dizzy and sleepy.

Otherwise, I can’t fall asleep until midnight every day.

I couldn't sleep at all and finally made it until eleven o'clock at night.

Li Zihang, change your clothes.

Take a piece of floral cloth, cover your face and set off to the ghost market.

The ghost market he went to this time was not a large ghost market like the one on Tianqiao.

It is Nancheng, a small ghost market on the fringe of urban and rural areas.

The Tianqiao Ghost Market was more than 20 kilometers away from where he lived.

If you really want to go to the Tianqiao Ghost Market, you can't even get back before dawn just by walking.

Practice makes perfect in climbing over walls.

Carrying an empty sack on his back, people who didn’t know him would definitely mistake Li Zihang for a thief if they met him at night.

Li Zihang walked through the streets and alleys, covering nearly three kilometers on foot.

Only then did we arrive at the ghost market where we were going to buy food.

After paying the entrance fee, Li Zihang covered his face and began to stroll through the interconnected alleys.

This small ghost market is full of rural production teams, and each family brings their surplus supplies to the city to sell for money.

Basically, the ghost market is dominated by sweet potatoes, rice, flour, and various farm products and crops.

There are also some game, or chicken, fish, meat, eggs and so on.

Li Zihang walked around and bought ten kilograms of white flour and twenty kilograms of mixed flour.

(Mixed flour) A mixture of corn cobs, bean cakes, bran, etc.

He took 10 catties of white flour home and mixed it with 20 catties of mixed flour, which was enough for him to eat for 10 days.

He has been very greedy recently and is planning to buy some more meat.

In the dark alley, with a flashlight.

Wearing masks and carrying sacks, all the people who come to buy things in the ghost market are dressed like this.

After walking about ten meters, I came to a stall selling eggs and a few old hens.

Li Zihang put down the sack and asked about the price.

"How to sell eggs?"

Seller: “5 cents each.”

Li Zihang: "Why did the price go up again? It was only 4 cents a pop last week."

It’s not that Li Zihang thinks it’s too expensive, it’s that he eats too much.

In a month, I have to include the salary from the restaurant, the money from tutoring Mr. Han’s grandson, and the money from the translator.

The total salary of about 40 yuan was just enough for him to eat for a month.

If you are an ordinary person, you can live a very comfortable life with 40 yuan a month.

Li Zihang has also started to be more frugal now.

Otherwise, I will still be hungry at the end of the month.

The seller came directly.

"If you think it's expensive, then don't buy it."

"Eggs are cheaper at the grocery store. Why don't you buy them there?"

Li Zihang was speechless after being criticized.

I gave the seller a thumbs up.

"You are the master. Bring me ten eggs."

"Pick the big one and give it to me."

After saying that, Li Zihang took out a small cloth bag from his pocket.

He threw the 5 cents and the cloth bag onto the seller's stall.

The seller ignored Li Zihang and put ten eggs in. He tied the bag tightly to make sure there were no gaps. Otherwise, the eggs would break easily when carried.

Then he gently placed the packed eggs in front of Li Zihang.

Li Zihang looked at the old hen next to him, and his eyes almost glowed green.

He reached out and touched the money in his pocket.

I felt I could still buy a chicken, so I asked how much it cost without any worries.

"How much is the old hen next to it?"

Seller: “Two dollars and fifty cents a piece.”

Li Zihang was hesitant, wondering whether he should buy a chicken to satisfy his craving.

Since leaving the Li family, he has fully realized the difficulty of life in this era.

You have to buy honeycomb coal for cooking, which is still a big expense.

There are places that sell hot water with boilers.

Otherwise, using coal briquettes to boil water will waste too much coal.

Matches, two packs for one cent.

For tap water, you have to share the water bill with the people in the yard every month, and the same goes for the electricity bill.

Even a fool wouldn't pull the water meter and the electricity meter separately.

There is nothing else to do. It costs nearly 30 yuan to install an electricity meter alone, and it is even more expensive to install water pipes and water meters separately.

The water bill is only a few cents a month, it's not worth installing a separate water pipe and electricity meter.

He rented a government house for three dollars a month.

Oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, all mixed together in a mess.

Add in food, and you can't save much money in a month.

The seller looked at Li Zihang in front of the stall, staring at the hens he was selling.

He didn't speak for several minutes. He said impatiently.

"Do you want it? If not, go sit somewhere else."

Li Zihang looked at the chicken and swallowed.

I made up my mind and bought it without hesitation.

Carrying a chicken and a sack of flour on his back.

On his way back, Li Zihang walked for ten minutes and rested for two minutes.

When I returned to my residence, it was already 1:30 in the morning.

He carefully pried open the door and locked it. Then he tiptoed back into the house.

At this point, the matter is not over yet.

He ran to the cellar in the yard and expertly killed and plucked the chicken.

After another half an hour of busy work, the chicken was finally stewed in the pot.

After cleaning up the chicken feathers and mess.

Li Zihang put a fire damper on the coal stove to minimize the fire.

Add enough water in the aluminum pot and then you can sleep peacefully.

The next morning, the yard was filled with the aroma of chicken soup.

As soon as the residents in the yard smelled the odor, they knew what was going on.

They see the truth but don't say it out loud. This is the case in every household.

Every household, if they have something good, gets it in the middle of the night.

Early in the morning, Li Zihang cooked half a handful of noodles with chicken soup.

Put some cabbage in the chicken noodle soup.

Slurp, and a pound of noodles is gone.

I ate until I was about four-tenths full, then packed up and went to work.

In the store kitchen, after a busy morning washing vegetables.

Just as the meal started, a stranger wearing a Zhongshan suit and looking quite imposing came in.

Holding a vase, he entered the restaurant.

Aunt Zhou went over and greeted everyone.

Li Zihang had also finished his work in the kitchen.

As soon as I sat down to rest, I saw a customer in the store holding a vase and admiring it.

Li Zihang was very perceptive and took a few glances.

I knew that the vase was from the third dynasty of the Qing Dynasty and was a fine ornamental vase from a folk kiln.

I'm free anyway, so I might as well go and take a look.

The Li family in Nanluoguxiang, the old man has completely entered a state of retirement since his last donation.

Every day when I go out I wear big shorts and an old sweatshirt.

Carry a bucket and ride a bike to go fishing.

Or he would go to the backyard, take Li Zihang's camera, take pictures of antiques, and make collection albums.

Then write down your own experience in identifying various cultural relics.

In the backyard of the Li family, the old man is playing chess with Grandpa Ju.

Old man: "Xiaohang, how have you been these days?"

Ju Ye said happily.

"What can I do? I was so hungry a while ago that I almost robbed someone."

"It's not easy to find a job as a foreign language translator."

"It also messed up our family. If it weren't for that nephew from the library, he would be a waste."

"By now, I guess Xiao Hang would sneak out in the middle of the night and rob the thugs in the ghost market."

When the old man heard this, he also laughed out loud.

"So, Xiaohang, can you still eat and drink enough now?"

Ju Ye: "Given how much he eats, what he earns in a month is barely enough to fill his stomach."

The old man thought for a moment and said.

"It can still fill your stomach, but this won't do."

When Ju Ye heard this, he mourned for Li Zihang in his heart for a few minutes.

Li Sijie's brother suddenly disappeared.

I really miss you a little bit.

But after a few days, he no longer had that idea.

Now he has moved into Li Zihang's house.

The whole family gave Li Sijie double the love they had for Li Zihang.

Ever since Li Sijie came to the Li family, it has been like a dream.

He had never dared to imagine such a life before.

At this time, Li Zihang was in a hotel nearly 30 kilometers away from home.

Chatting with the middle-aged man who looked like a professor about his experience in identifying antiques.

The more the two chatted, the more they became interested.

"So the man started talking to Li Zihang.

"Xiao Hang, if you find something good in the future, please send it to me."

"Don't worry, I will definitely charge 30% higher than the antique shop."

Li Zihang achieved his purpose of chatting with the other party.

Just smile and go about your own business.

The antique collector who is like a teacher.

Looking at Li Zihang's busy back, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Time passed unknowingly, and things happened in the yard.

It can be said that every day is dull and unchanged.

Li Zihang has been in touch with the professor for the past half month.

Occasionally, I collect antiques from the ghost market.

Or during the lunch break when the store is closed, I would walk around the streets and collect some interesting things from ordinary people's homes.

Then share it with the other party.

Li Zihang bought low and sold high, which also made him taste the sweetness.

Life is no longer so tight.

You can have a bite of meat from time to time, and show off occasionally.

Li Zihang has been in a good mood recently.

Today I'm walking around the streets and going to nearby villages to collect antiques.

Unexpectedly, he actually came across something good.

Ming Dynasty Jingtai blue, large copper cloisonné enamel lotus flower bowl.

The other party should also know that his bowl is a good thing.

The price was quite high, so he asked Li Zihang directly for two hundred.

Finally, after bargaining, they asked Li Zihang for 160 yuan.

Li Zihang estimated that this bowl would only sell for around 160 to 180 yuan if sold at a cultural relics store.

This price is also a bottleneck price.

He thought that he would not lose money for sure.

If I sell it to that professor, I can make at least fifty dollars.

I willingly paid 160 to the other party.

Holding the bowl, feeling happy, I returned to my residence.