Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

On Zeng Wangcai's side, the waiter brought everything they ordered on a wooden tray.

Three bowls of steaming bean juice, six golden fried dough rings, and three bowls of braised dishes.

"Dad, what's that bowl?" the eldest brother asked, pointing at the two portions of food on the waiter's tray for others.

"Hey, are you from out of town?" Seeing that Zeng Wangcai and his son were dressed well, the waiter introduced them enthusiastically, "This is a famous food in our city. This bowl is fried tripe, and this bowl is fried liver."

"Dad, we want to eat!" said the second child pitifully.

"Okay, let's have two servings each." Zeng Wangcai shook his head and said with a smile, "If you two can't finish them, I'll show you how I'll deal with you."

"Okay, please wait." The waiter left quickly.

The two brothers didn't know the power of the local snacks in Sijiu City, so they started by sipping the steaming hot soy milk.

The two of them took a bite and immediately opened their mouths at the same time: "Yue~~~"

What a coincidence, Cao Datong came over at this time.

"What's going on? Brother Wangcai, are you not welcome to see me?" Cao Datong said jokingly while standing beside Zeng Wangcai's table.

"You are..." Zeng Wangcai looked up, and couldn't remember who Cao Datong was for a moment.

"I'm Cao Datong!" Cao Datong pointed at his nose and said, "Many years ago, I was Cao Datong in Pigeon City, selling that... Have you forgotten? You gave me filter cigarettes at that time."

"Brother Cao, haha, we haven't seen each other for many years!" Zeng Wangcai laughed, stood up and shook hands with Cao Datong.

He remembered that Cao Datong was a pretty good person.

"That's right!" Cao Datong said happily when Zeng Wangcai recognized him, "It's been more than ten years, and you haven't changed at all. I recognized you at the first sight just now. Look over there, the fifth and seventh brothers are there too."

Zeng Wangcai looked in the direction of Cao Datong's finger and saw the down-and-out but still arrogant Fifth Master and Seventh Brother.

"Hey, the magpie is calling today, I'll meet a noble person when I go out!" Zeng Wangcai walked over and said, "Fifth Master, Seventh Brother, it's been many years since we last met."

The Fifth Master, who was no longer as glorious as before, stood up and said, "Don't mention the word 'Master'. It's outdated and not in fashion now. If you don't mind, you can call me Fifth Brother or Old Fifth."

"Then let's go to Fifth Brother. This way you and Seventh Brother will be of the same generation." Zeng Wangcai pointed to his side, "How about we go together and reminisce about the past!"

"Isn't it appropriate?"

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. I just happen to have something to tell Fifth Brother."

"Okay, sorry to bother you..."

In the end, he is too weak to speak with confidence.

After the table was shared, Lao Wu and his two companions occupied two sides of the octagonal table, and Zeng Wangcai and his son occupied two sides. The table was filled with food and drinks.

"Seventh Brother's alcohol addiction is still unrepentant." Zeng Wangcai looked at Old Seven's wine glass and said, "Drinking early in the morning, but according to your drinking, this is not enough, right?"

"Hey, don't mention those old calendars." The seventh brother was generous and said without hesitation, "My brothers and I have mixed crops. This amount is also saved from our teeth and exchanged for bean juice."

Zeng Wangcai could tell from their conversation and clothing that the three men were in bad situations.

"Don't mind, Fifth Brother and Seventh Brother." Zeng Wangcai thought for a moment and said, "I'm treating you today, you can eat as much as you want. It just so happens that I need your help with something."

The fifth one is a bit of an old-fashioned person, he is still arrogant, and if he suddenly says something generous, it might hurt other people's self-esteem.

Zeng Wangcai had dealt with these people before and accepted their help. There was a link in his plan and who knows if these people could really help.

"Why are you still fussing over this now? Do you think I'm still the same Fifth Master as before?" Old Five said with a wry smile, "I've changed a lot. I can see that you're doing well, Wangcai. Don't even think about treating us a meal. Even if you treat us every day, we'll still shamelessly eat your food."

"Haha, you're joking, Fifth Brother!" Zeng Wangcai waved and called the waiter over.

"Master Wu, do you know each other?" The waiter knew Lao Wu.

"Yes!" Lao Wu nodded and said, "Give us the food we usually eat. See if we are still missing anything. We have bought all of them. Let's have a feast today."

"Okay, please wait a moment!" The waiter obviously knew the habits of Lao Wu and his friends. He glanced at the table and left.

Soon, food and drinks were served one after another, and Lao Qi was given three taels of wine.

Lao Wu was not pretentious. While eating, he talked about his circumstances over the years. Anyway, the supervision was not as strict as before, so he was bolder.

"What a damn world..." Zeng Wangcai sighed after hearing what happened to Lao Wu, "If it weren't for his reckless behavior in those years, Wu Ge's life would definitely not be like this now."

"It's all in the past!" Lao Wu said after eating a mouthful of fried tripe, "What about you? What are you doing now? I heard that you left home a few years ago. You finally got out, so why are you back now?"

"To be honest, my elders can't leave their hometown." Zeng Wangcai said with a smile, "The elders can't leave Beijing, so I, as a younger generation, can only come back to develop..."

"What development can we achieve if we come back?" Old Seven interrupted angrily, "Everything is strictly controlled. You either have to go to work or farm. Doing some business privately is just speculation. How can we develop?"

"It will get better slowly. What are you guys doing now? Didn't the fifth brother go back to the textile factory?"

"What the hell!" Lao Wu said angrily, "After the factory moved, some people started to boss me around. Later, I was bullied and it was natural for me to step down. I get angry just looking at that group of people now. Should I go back and continue to be bullied?

"Why not follow us around the streets and earn some money for food and drinks? Even if you can't eat enough, you won't be bullied."

"No way, Fifth Brother!" Zeng Wangcai thought for a moment and said, "I remember you used to have a house with four courtyards, very luxurious."

"I had more than one house back then!" Old Five said proudly when he heard this topic, "There were many houses with three or four courtyards, but since I couldn't fill my stomach, I followed the example of the old folks and slowly vomited them all out in exchange for food."

"No, can the house be sold?"

"How fresh! If we can't sell it, we'll starve to death!" Lao Wu said with a smile, "It's from my ancestors... I understand what you mean. You mean the higher-ups don't allow it, right? Hey, nothing is absolute. If you have money, you can buy it, and no one can find fault with it."

This made Zeng Wangcai overjoyed. He had heard of people doing private transactions. Someone in the Dongzhimen Tavern did this and transferred the property deed privately.

After learning about the relevant operations, Zeng Wangcai made up his mind that he must capture these three people.

"Come on, Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, and Brother Cao, eat. After you finish eating, find a place to talk." Zeng Wangcai called out.

Of the food and drinks on the table, the fifth brother and his two companions finished 80% of them. Zeng Wangcai just pinched his nose and drank a bowl of soy milk, ate a portion of fried tripe and a fried dough ring. His two sons didn't eat much either, so the two bowls of soy milk were wasted in the end.

After eating and drinking, the group went to Lao Wu’s last property - the courtyard of the 1st and 3rd building - to talk.

Before he started talking, Lao Wu went into the house, rummaged around for a long time, and found two vintage pendants.

"Wangcai, as for me, the fifth brother, all the good things at home are gone. These two pendants are not rare things. Give them to the children as small toys to play with."

Even though he was down, his pride remained the same. After Lao Wu had treated Zeng Wangcai to a bad meal, he felt very uncomfortable and took out all his treasures.