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

The old man pulled the cart, carrying his wife and grandson, and walked for more than half an hour with bags and bags back to the courtyard in Nanluoguxiang. This journey opened Li Zihang's eyes and made him feel the unique atmosphere of this era.

Looking at the quaint Chinese-style buildings on both sides of the street, the building signs, the bell tower, the shouts of street vendors, and various northern and southern dialects.

From time to time, groups of soldiers in old-fashioned uniforms passed by. Carts, rickshaws, donkey carts, horse-drawn carriages, and bicycles traveled back and forth on the wide streets. There were shops on both sides of the road, and business was booming, with many people doing business.

This journey made Li Zihang feel the vicissitudes of life and the rich history of the city. Although most of the pedestrians on the roadside were wearing patched clothes, everyone's face showed enthusiasm and hope.

From the conversation with the pedestrians on the roadside, Li Zihang finally knew that it was mid-November 1949. The Chinese country in this parallel universe had just been established for a month and a half.

At the entrance of the courtyard house at No. 40 Nanluoguxiang, Li Zihang was carried off the cart by his grandmother and placed next to the gate of the courtyard house. Then she took the luggage and led Li Zihang home.

The courtyard house where Li Zihang lives is a three-story courtyard house built in the late Qing Dynasty. It is said to be a prince's villa. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the prince's descendants squandered their family fortune and sold all their valuable properties, including this house.

Li Zihang's grandfather was also the steward of a 3rd rank official in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. This old man was not an ordinary steward, but a retainer who had sworn an oath of blood with the 3rd rank official Zhu Lerong by cutting his wrist.

After becoming a retainer, even if he was a groom raising horses in the master's house, he was still half a master. Unlike ordinary servants, the master's wife would not easily beat or scold the retainer.

In ancient times, retainers were like their masters, sharing the same fate as their masters. So starting from Li Zihang's grandfather, five generations ago, they were all stewards of the great master's family.

This house was also an asset that Li Zihang's grandfather bought for the master's family when he was a steward.

In 1947, the Kuomintang began to retreat, and the family of Li Zihang's grandfather, fearing that they would be liquidated by the Red Turban Party in the future because of doing business with the Kuomintang, began to sell off their family business and assets on a large scale and fled overseas.

Grandpa Li Zihang was unwilling to leave his hometown and decided to stay in the city. After dealing with the business and real estate of the main family, he kept the back garden and stables of the house and the gatehouse. The back garden, stables and gatehouse are in a straight line, covering an area of ​​more than 1200 square meters.

After the master left, Li Zihang's grandfather and his family moved here. The two stables in the courtyard where the servants lived were renovated and became the residence of Li Zihang's family of three.

After parking the cart, the old man walked through the moon gate in the gatehouse corridor and came to his residence separated by a wall in the central courtyard.

Seeing his little grandson curiously looking at the furnishings in the house, he asked, "Grandson, what are you looking at?"

Li Zihang: "I didn't see anything, Grandpa. It's just that I felt too bored staying in the hospital for too long," Li Zihang replied in a childish voice.

Seeing his grandson walking around the room and speaking clearly, the old man was completely relieved.

The old man said: "Grandson, you have just recovered from your injury, so stop being naughty and stay at home.

While the two grandfathers and grandsons were chatting, the old lady came into the house with a teapot and made a pot of tea for the old man. Then she asked, "Grandpa, in this new society, shouldn't we renovate the back garden and the house? Otherwise, the children will play with tiles in the yard, and rotten wood will fall and hurt the grandchildren."

The old man drank a sip of tea and replied: "Wait a little longer. We don't know what the boss's attitude is. We'd better be careful. But we can seal the moon gate leading to the back garden first, and then install a door on the archway leading to the front yard to prevent those guys from running around in our yard.

By the way, we can also open a door leading to the back garden, so that our house and yard can be connected into one whole."

After listening to this, the old lady said, "Do you want to say hello to the residents in the yard?"

Old man: "Well! Not only the residents in the courtyard, but also the street have to say hello. This is a new society, so it's better to keep a low profile. Otherwise, I wouldn't push a cart to take my grandson to the hospital. This journey must have exhausted me. Also, you find all the land and houses in our house, and I will go to the street to re-register. Oh, right! My dear. I plan to keep the land and houses except for our house and the hotel, and I plan to donate the rest to the government."

The old lady looked at the old man whose hair had already turned gray, and then looked at Li Yihang who was still playing with a vase left over from the Kangxi period and said:

"Master, don't worry, I understand! It's worth giving up some of your possessions for your grandson."

The old man said, "I can't bear to give up my family property. Mother, you know the new government's policies. I'm also afraid that the government will bring these rural practices to the city. It's worth donating some money to leave a good impression on the new government and ensure safety. I'll go to the military control office this afternoon to handle the matter."

At this time, Li Yihang was looking at the furnishings in the room and listening to the conversation between his grandparents, his heart was churning.

It turns out that my family is really rich. At least I don't have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation. Looking at the vase in his hand, which was written with the inscription "Made in the Kangxi Period", Li Zihang was also filled with emotion. In the future, this thing would cost tens of millions, so don't even think about taking a look at it.

In his previous life, after Li Zihang became successful in his career, he dealt with some wealthy people for business, and he also worked hard to learn some knowledge about antiques and cultural relics. Although he didn't have a very good eye, he could still tell the difference between a fake and an old object at a glance.

After lunch, the old man took his briefcase to the street office to register his property. When the children in the courtyard learned that Li Zihang had returned from injury, they all came to see him.

Looking at the children gathered in a circle in his house, chattering about him, Li Zihang's mentality collapsed. Looking at a little girl named He Yushui, who was the same age as him and had two small pigtails, asked him if it hurt.

Then he looked at the 8-year-old Yan Jiecheng next to him. He was immediately shocked! Isn't this the name of a TV series called "Birds in the Courtyard" that he watched with his wife in his previous life?

Not giving up, he asked Yu Shui again: "Yu Shui, where is your brother Sha Zhu?" Little Yu Shui: "My brother is in school and hasn't come back yet." Hearing Little Yu Shui's answer made him give up completely. Li Zihang thought to himself that it was fortunate that it was only 49 years ago, and there were still more than ten years before the plot began.

In this way, I spent the whole afternoon in the midst of a group of children's chattering. Then the children went back to their respective homes and looked for their respective mothers.

If you want to know why these kids like to run to my house, you have to ask Li Zihang's grandmother. Every time a group of kids come to play with me, I will occasionally grab a handful of candy or snacks to give them. After a long time, they naturally run to my yard.