Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Seeing that everyone had left, Xu's mother was about to go cook but was stopped by Xu Damao, "Mom, don't cook today. Let you have a taste of my cooking skills."

Before coming over, Xu's mother had already bought the coal briquettes, firewood and other things that Xu Damao had asked her to buy. Even Xu's father helped to prepare the gas. Today, they just happened to hire a cart to bring all the things over.

Xu Damao has all these things, but you still have to let everyone see you buy things. Xu Damao has a lot of things to do these days, so he can do it himself. Given the nature of the people in this compound, if the source of the things is unknown, they will really report you.

Xu Damao went into the common cellar in the courtyard and took out a lot of ingredients. He steamed the rice first and then started to clean up the ingredients. After working for more than half an hour, two dishes were finally served on the table. A plate of Kung Pao Chicken and a plate of Fish-flavored Shredded Pork, which went perfectly with the fragrant rice.

"Da Mao, where did you get so many fresh vegetables? I wanted to ask you last time we had dinner together." asked Xu's mother.

"Hey, isn't this something I prepared for my wedding? I went to the countryside and met a lot of commune leaders. Some communes built winter greenhouses, and I used a lot of connections to persuade them to get some."

"Don't engage in speculation or you will be arrested. You and Xiao'e must live a good life in the future. By the way, have you given Xiao'e the jade pendant that mom gave you?"

Xu Damao slapped his head and said, "Hey, I really forgot about this. How about you give me a moth tomorrow?"

"It's better not to. There will be so many people around tomorrow and it will be inconvenient. You should give it to Xiao'e secretly at night."

"Okay, Mom, let's eat quickly, or the food will get cold."

The mother and son ate while talking about tomorrow's wedding, to see if there were any omissions that needed to be filled.

Half an hour later, the two finished their meal and Xu's mother went to wash the dishes. Xu Damao said, "Mom, I'll go buy some things for tomorrow and have them delivered directly to you. I have something to do tonight, so don't wait for me. You, my dad, and Yingzi can come early tomorrow."

After hearing Xu's mother's response, Xu Damao left the courtyard. Calculating the time, the photos he took with Mo Zi last time should have been developed. They were getting married tomorrow, so he had to get the photos back quickly.

Xu Damao came to the photo studio at the entrance of the alley, took out his receipt and successfully retrieved the photos. He also bought two old-fashioned wooden photo frames to hang them up when he returned home.

Next, Xu Damao went to the grain station and took out the grain coupons and money to buy 100 kilograms of standard flour, 50 kilograms of rice and 1 kilogram of oil. However, the purchase process was not smooth. Xu Damao told the staff that he was going to get married tomorrow and planned to invite people from the hospital to a banquet. He took out his marriage certificate and gave out wedding candies. Only then did the staff of the grain station reluctantly sell Xu Damao so much grain at one time.

As Xu Damao was carrying grain out of the grain station gate, he saw Cai Quanwu waiting for work and chatting with others on the roadside.

"Lao Cai, Lao Cai, if you have time, please help me with some work."

"Okay, I just don't have any work to do." Cai Quanwu took the initiative to come forward, picked up a bag of flour and loaded it onto the cart. The two of them went back and forth again before they loaded all the food onto the cart.

"Old Cai, just one dollar will be enough to deliver the food to my home. My mother is at home."

"You're giving me too much. I can't accept it. I'm doing this job for free, and I haven't thanked you for helping me find my long-lost relatives." Cai Quanwu said honestly.

"You make a living by doing this, so why are you being so polite? I'm getting married tomorrow and you should be sweet to me." Xu Damao took out another handful of White Rabbit fruits and handed them to Cai Quanwu.

"In that case, I will accept it with impunity and promise to deliver it to you in a moment."

Xu Damao took the cloth bag from the bicycle, which contained a photo frame and photos. "Please take this back for me, too. I have to go do something else." He handed over a dollar and saw Cai Quanwu took the item. Without waiting for his reply, he rode away.

Seeing Cai Quanwu, Xu Damao thought of Xu Huizhen from the tavern, Chen Xueru from the silk shop, as well as Niu Ye, Pian Ye, Fan Jinyou and others. Xu Damao planned to go to Zhengyangmen to meet these people.

There are many old people and young people from the previous dynasties living in the Zhengyangmen area. Due to various reasons, they have to sell the assets left by their ancestors to make a living. After all, their ancestors were once rich, and they must have a lot of good things in their hands. The three difficult years are a good opportunity. How does a song lyric say it? Please give me back what you took from me, and spit out what you ate from me. Xu Damao has some ideas about those treasures. It is better to keep them by himself than to smash or burn them when the wind blows. It can also prevent the treasures from being lost overseas. When the time is right, he can build a private museum by himself... It's really wonderful.

Zhengyangmen, formerly known as Lizhengmen and commonly known as Qianmen, is located at the southern end of Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing. It is the only city gate in Beijing with both its tower and arrow tower well preserved, and has extremely high research value in terms of history, humanities, and architecture.

Xu Damao arrived near Zhengyang Gate. Seeing that there was still some time, he decided to try his luck at Xueru Silk Shop to see if he could run into Chen Xueru and order some custom-made clothes for himself and Lou Xiao'e.

Xu Damao didn't come here often, and didn't know much about the situation here, so he wanted to find someone to ask for the specific address. He turned his head and saw a stall on the roadside, where a skinny man in his forties was squatting next to the stall with his sleeves rolled up.

Xu Damao took a closer look and saw that this was another uncle. He then realized that this must be Pian Ye. "Uncle, have a cigarette. I want to ask you something." Xu Damao handed over a Daqianmen cigarette.

Pian Ye took it and lit it up without hesitation. "Okay, young man, I'm smoking a cadre cigarette. Since you're so polite, just ask me if you have anything to ask. You've found the right person to ask questions. I perform foreign films nearby. Everyone calls me Pian Ye. There's nothing in this area that I don't know well!"

"Uncle, I want to inquire about the silk and satin shops near us. They say the tailors here have good skills and the fabrics are exquisite. I'm getting married soon and want to make some clothes. I also heard that there is a tavern here and the snacks there are very good. I plan to try them."

"Hi, I'm familiar with these two places. I go to that tavern often. The side dishes there are so authentic, and the drinks are genuine too. I heard that Manager Xu Huizhen has an exclusive secret recipe for pickling side dishes. The tailor shop manager Chen Xueru you mentioned is a good friend of Xu Huizhen, and she also often visits the tavern. How about I take you there?" Pian Ye said warmly. The weather was particularly cold today, and the business was not very good. It would be better to go to the tavern for a couple of drinks.

"That's great. Uncle, please clean up and I'll treat you to a drink," Xu Damao invited.

"Okay, then please wait a moment, I'll clean up my stall first." After saying this, Pian Ye skillfully started to pack up his stall.

Xu Damao also went up to help. After a while, the stall was packed up and Pian Ye led the two of them to the tavern together.