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

Li Zihang sat on the back of the tricycle, holding a towel to shield himself from the sun. The sun in the afternoon in September was very strong. Soon he was sweating profusely again.

Li Zihang looked at the people wearing patched sleeveless jackets and found that they were also hot but did not sweat much. Having suffered in his previous life, he understood what was going on.

After walking for more than half an hour, it was almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the residence of the circus troupe.

At the entrance of a dilapidated and shabby courtyard with two entrances, there were more than a dozen adults and children queuing at the door.

This also made Li Zihang a little confused. However, he still followed the circus troupe through the main gate.

2 Entering the yard, there is a large yard. Various tables, chairs, benches, and rope-hanging horizontal bars are placed around the yard. There are also many small children doing leg stretching exercises under the sun.

Li Zihang took Wen San to look around the yard for a while. He originally wanted to visit the owner of the opera troupe, but he was stopped by someone who came out of the north house.

"Hey, you! Why don't you bring your child in? What are you so scared of?"

Wen San saw that the man seemed to be talking to him, so he pointed at himself. After confirming that he was talking to him, he took Li Zihang into the house for no apparent reason.

As soon as I reached the door, an adult came out of the house with a child.

In the middle hall of the north room, a man in his 50s was sitting on the main chair. He looked at the visitor and said, "Come and sit down. What are you looking at there?"

After Li Zihang walked up and sat in the second seat, the man was a little dazed for a moment and turned his head to look at Xiao Si who had just led them in.

Xiao Si was also a little confused, but he immediately shouted angrily, "Kid, have some manners. Why are you sitting down while your parents are still standing there? Is this your attitude of coming to learn from a master?"

The troupe owner who was sitting next to him took a look at Li Zihang and said, "This little guy is a perfect candidate for the Qingyi or Huadan roles. He is really a gift from the ancestors."

Li Zihang and Wen San, who were standing next to them, were stunned by Xiao Si's loud scolding.

Wen San, who had reacted immediately, became angry and shouted at Xiao Si: "You are blind, how dare you scold my young master."

He turned around and said to the owner of the opera troupe: "Open your dog eyes and see, how can a lowly person like you be worthy of being my young master's apprentice?"

The quarrel in the room attracted a group of opera singers outside. When they saw their leader being scolded, they immediately surrounded Wen San.

Wen San looked at the crowd and said loudly, "Why do you want to attack me? Why don't you ask who my young master is? I just watched the execution ground at Caishikou in Qianmen. You are still pretending to be there. Be careful not to be dragged out and shot."

At this time, the troupe owner also stood up, raised his hand to send the group of people away, came to Wen San, clasped his fists and said: "Forgive my poor eyesight, your young master is..."

Wen San straightened his back and gave a thumbs up, saying, "You are living in the capital. You look like a native of Beijing. I'm sure you have heard of Tianshun Commercial Bank."

The class owner standing aside said quickly: "I've heard that the young master is..."

Wen San said proudly: "My young master is the young master of Tianshun Commercial Bank. Now I scold you, do you know you are wrong?"

When the class owner heard this, he quickly apologized to Li Zihang. At this time, the leader who led the two of them in came in hurriedly and told the class owner that Li Zihang was treating them to a meal. At this time, the class owner already knew it was a misunderstanding, so he took the opportunity to smooth things over.

"Master Li, I am sorry for offending you just now. Please forgive me. Many adults and children came to learn from you today. This is a misunderstanding."

Li Zihang did not blame Wen San and let him retreat. He then said, "It was all a misunderstanding. There is nothing to blame. Please sit down, old man. Let's sit down and talk."

After the storm calmed down, they both sat down and Li Zihang spoke again: "Old man, how did you know my last name is Li?"

The troupe owner said: "In the past, the boss of Tianshun Merchant Li often came to the opera house to listen to opera. When our Dieyi was still around, Master Li praised him a lot. Boss Li is also well-known in the opera house. That's why I know the young master's surname."

Li Zihang nodded with an expression that said, "I see."

The boss: "Excuse me, Master Li, Li Xianmin, Boss Li is you~"

Li Zihang also said directly: "That's my grandfather."

Owner: "Boss Li, are you feeling well recently?"

Li Zihang: "My grandfather is in good health, thank you for your concern."

The boss: "That's good! I wonder why you came to me today, young master..."

Li Zihang: "I was free today, so I walked around the overpass and saw your troupe performing monkey shows. I was curious and wanted to see how they train. So I followed them to take a look."

The boss said: "They are all low-class stuff, not worth watching. If they have a bad influence on you, we can't afford to be blamed by Master Li."

Li Zihang: "Don't worry, old man. I will tell my grandfather. I usually go to opera with my grandmother, and I don't understand the babbling on the stage. I caught up with it today, so I wanted to come and learn a little. So that I won't be unable to do it when I go to opera with my grandmother in the future."

The troupe owner said: "If you want to understand the opera, you must first understand the historical background and origin of the opera. Then you must know the text of the opera. Only in this way can you find the fun in the opera."

"Come here, I have some opera scores and some books about drama. Take them home and have a look. I promise that listening to opera will no longer be a torture for you in the future." After saying this, the troupe owner asked someone to get the books.

At this time, the sound of people selling popsicles on the streets came from outside the yard.

Li Zihang: "Thank you for the gift, old man. It's hot this day, and there's a popsicle vendor outside the door. I'll treat everyone in the hospital to some popsicles as a thank you gift."

After saying that, he asked Wen San to go out and buy popsicles.

Wen San stopped the popsicle seller outside the yard gate, and the old man in the yard called everyone out and lined up to get their popsicles.

After a while, Wen San ran in again and told Li Zihang that there were not enough popsicles.

Li Zihang stood up and invited the class owner to the place where popsicles were sold outside the yard. He looked at a group of children who had received popsicles, eating them in small bites, as if they were some kind of toy, treating the popsicles as if they were precious things. The ones who didn't get any were staring at the ones who got them. They looked as greedy as they could be.

Some older children will give a few bites to the younger children first.

Li Zihang said to the uncle selling popsicles: "Uncle, can you go back and bring some more popsicles? If you don't have any, you can buy them from somewhere else. It doesn't matter if they are a little more expensive."

Popsicle seller: "Come on, I'll be there right away."

At this time, the class owner looked at the apprentices who were eating popsicles and said with a stern face: "Now that you have eaten the popsicles, you don't know what to say. You have no manners at all. Why don't you thank the young master for the reward."

Everyone in the yard said loudly: "Thank you, young master, for the reward."

The people who were waiting in line to take their children to learn from the master saw the class owner coming out and swarmed over. They pulled their children over to show him, hoping that he would give them a meal.

The owner of the troupe said: "My fellow countrymen, I have an honored guest here. Why don't you go back and come back tomorrow? I promise to accept you as my disciple."

It was so hard to meet the master, and who knows what will happen tomorrow. Those who brought their children to learn from the master were reluctant to leave. They said they could wait.

The troupe owner looked at the crowd in front of him, and with Li Zihang beside him, he couldn't chase them away. He let the apprentice enter the yard and find a shady place to rest.

After the troupe owner invited Li Zihang into the house, Li Zihang said, "Grandpa, I shouldn't ask this question. But I'm really curious. Why do those people outside send their children here to learn from me? I know a thing or two about the hardships of learning to sing opera. Why are they so eager to send their own children here?"

At this time, the troupe owner sighed and said, "Young Master, you have been enjoying wealth and honor since you were born. You don't know the suffering of the common people at the bottom of society."

"Don't be fooled by the new government and the new society. The common people at the bottom are still suffering as usual. There are still many people who can't make ends meet."

"People who can't make a living, with their whole family having nothing to eat, can only send their children out to learn a craft. This can save them a mouth to feed. Those who have connections send their children to respectable places to learn a craft, while those who don't have connections, whether for the sake of their children or to save food, can only send their children to people like us who are of the lowest class."

"Whenever we accept an apprentice, we will sign a contract with them. We will provide food, accommodation, and training for the child. However, during the apprenticeship period, we have the right to discipline the child."

"Let them go. Even if they beat the child to death, they can't hold them responsible. Now it's a new society. We won't take the children's lives lightly anymore. That's why they feel relieved and bring their children to learn from me."

While we were chatting here, the popsicle seller came back.

Then everyone ate a popsicle. Even those who brought their children to learn from the master were given a popsicle.

Li Zihang looked at the children who had just finished eating popsicles, still envious. So he bought all the remaining popsicles and gave them to them. This brought another round of gratitude.

Li Zihang looked at those who were still waiting to learn from him, so he didn't bother them. He asked Wen San to send him back to his grandfather to learn foreign languages.