Siheyuan: Living in the People's Community, with a Heart for the Red Star

The domestic situation has been changing, and policies towards capitalists and the old guard have become increasingly harsh. In addition, living conditions have been declining in recent years. Many people who have the means are secretly selling their supplies and then fleeing abroad.

This kind of thing happens every year, and it has become even more common recently. Mr. Ma Si has made his fortune by having channels to exchange gold, silver and antiques for foreign currency.

The old nest of Master Ma Si is a three-sided courtyard in Jinzhi Hutong, Qianhai. As soon as you enter the courtyard, there are two female rooms in the east and west wings, and five main rooms in the north. Master Ma Si and his wife live in the courtyard, while his descendants live outside and have their own houses. Two men live in the west and east wings respectively. They are his most capable younger brothers, who are considered to be guarding the house. Master Ma Si has only a dozen core members who manage the operation of several pigeon markets. There are many other peripheral personnel. After all, Master Ma Si has been in the capital for so many years, and he still has some foundation.

Old Yang led two street urchins to the door of Mr. Ma Si and motioned for them to knock on the door. The two had no choice but to knock on the door.

Not long after, the gate opened and a sturdy man walked out. He looked at the two and yelled, "Why are you two running into the yard instead of working properly? Is there something wrong?"

The two of them didn't know how to answer, and looked at Lao Yang fearfully. The big man also looked at him, then retracted his gaze, kicked the street kid who knocked on the door and cursed: "What have you two done wrong? Are you trying to accuse Master Ma?"

The beaten street urchin immediately shouted: "Brother Qiang, that's not true! Brother Qiang, listen to me, the two of us are just looking at houses. This gentleman liked the house, so he brought us to see Master Ma Si. Please inform him!"

Brother Qiang immediately raised his head, stared at Lao Yang fiercely and asked: "What? Boy, draw a path! Use whatever means you want?"

Lao Yang parked his bike and walked towards the gate. The other party knew that he was looking for trouble, so he didn't hold back and rolled up his sleeves to punch Lao Yang. Lao Yang didn't bother to deal with this little Karami, stretched out his hand to hold the other party's fist, and then kicked the other party in the stomach. This strong man flew directly from the door into the yard and disappeared.

Old Yang continued to walk forward and entered the gate. The two street urchins were so frightened that they dared not move forward. Finally, they carefully entered the yard and closed the gate.

As soon as Lao Yang entered the gate, he saw Brother Qiang who had fainted against the wall behind him. He ignored him and walked straight into the main courtyard. Several strong men in the courtyard had already surrounded him, holding sticks in their hands.

After seeing Brother Qiang fainted on the ground, they swung their sticks at Lao Yang. You could say that their fighting power was not weak, but when they met the more perverted Lao Yang, they were completely outmatched.

Lao Yang had no taste for masochism and didn't want to be hit by the stick, so he hid to the side. When the opponent paused after hitting the air, he grabbed the stick and pulled it away from the opponent with great force.

He weighed it in his hand and smiled at the other person. The stick left only a shadow and hit the other person's leg. With a crack, the other person hugged his thigh and screamed on the ground. Lao Yang smiled evilly at the other people while holding the stick. They were so scared that they immediately stepped back and dared not move forward.

When the two sides were in a stalemate, an old man in his fifties or sixties walked out of the main room. He had a kind face and a coarse linen robe, looking like a hermit. Holding a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, he bowed to Old Yang and said, "Friend, please wait! Is there any misunderstanding between us? I don't think I have offended you. Please tell me the reason so that we can resolve this grudge."

As he spoke, he came closer, glanced at his men wailing on the ground, and shouted at the other three: "Hurry up and throw away the sticks, and send Awei to the hospital for treatment!"

The other three looked at Lao Yang with a wary look on their faces and didn't seem to be about to leave.

Ma Siye immediately shouted, "You are disobedient. Don't come to my place again. We are a kind family. How can we bully others? Leave us here now!"

The three looked at each other and threw the sticks in their hands to the ground. Then two people lifted up the wailing A Wei, and another person went around Lao Yang and carried the unconscious Qiang Ge on his back. The three people took the two people and left the yard.

Master Ma Si looked at the two street urchins who were cowering in the back and said, "Zhang Han, Wang Li, you two come in too!"

Master Ma Si bowed again and said, "Does this friend have any misunderstandings about me? I, Ma Si, do not think I have ever offended you. Although I have offended many people, I have never met a person as handsome and powerful as you. Please give me some advice."

Old Yang looked at the kind-looking and worldly-wise Ma Siye and said sarcastically, "Old people always say that old people become more clever, and it's true! Ma Siye is a gangster leader, but he has made himself look like a decent person. If you don't know, you really fooled me. I don't know if your heart is still black now!"

After saying that, he threw the stick in his hand to the ground. The stick went straight into the ground, half a meter deep, and the end of the stick didn't even tremble. Seeing this, Master Ma was shocked. This is a tough guy. If he's not careful, his life may be in danger!"

He immediately lowered his posture, bowed and praised, "My friend, you have great kung fu! I have been in the market for more than 50 years, and this is the first time I have seen such a master as you. Please come inside to talk. If you have anything to ask, just tell me. I will go through fire and water for you, and I will do anything for you!"

After saying this, he bowed and led the way, inviting Lao Yang to walk into the house. Lao Yang was not afraid of his tricks, and walked into the main hall leisurely. The two street urchins followed Lao Yang timidly and also entered the house.

After entering the main hall, Old Yang was invited to sit at the head of the table. Ma Siye took out a porcelain jar from a mahogany cabinet, picked up a few tea leaves with wooden tweezers and put them into the teapot, then took some boiling water to brew the tea, and after waking up the tea, he poured the tea into a white porcelain bone cup. The yellow tea soup exuded an alluring aroma.

Master Ma Si brought the teacup to Lao Yang and said, "Sir, please tell me how I have offended you. I will definitely reflect on myself and make amends!"

Lao Yang picked up the teacup and blew gently, then took a sip and it was fragrant. It was much better than the tea he drank in the Japanese teahouse.

Old Yang was in a good mood and said to Ma Siye, "Ma Siye didn't offend me. I just had a crush on the yard in Guaijia Hutong, so I took the liberty to come and ask for advice on how to operate it! I didn't expect that those lackeys of Ma Siye were so arrogant and wanted to teach Yang a lesson. How could Yang just sit there and do nothing? I had to punish them. I believe Ma Siye will handle it!"

Master Ma looked at the two street urchins who followed him in and said to them expressionlessly, "You two, get out. I'll call you later!"

The two of them quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Fourth Master!" Then they tremblingly supported each other and left the main room, closed the door, and walked away.

Fourth Master Ma immediately changed his expression and said to Old Yang in a flattering manner, "Master Yang, wait a moment. I'll go get the deed."

After saying that, he walked into the west room in two or three steps. Not long after, he came to the table with a small box, opened it, and pushed it in front of Lao Yang.

Old Yang looked over and saw a deed in the box, with at least five large yellow croakers underneath. Old Yang took the deed and looked at it. The location recorded on it was indeed the yard that Old Yang had seen before. However, the owner of the house was not Mr. Ma Si, but a bannerman. It seemed that Mr. Ma Si had not yet completed the transfer.

Old Yang put the deed into his trouser pocket, but actually put it into the space. He looked up at Fourth Master Ma and asked, "Fourth Master, don't be too nervous. I am a reasonable person. I will pay whatever the yard is worth. And I will pay a lot for the handling fee! I wonder if you can introduce me to the master behind Fourth Master? I also want to know the weight of Fourth Master. You can tell the person behind you, my name is Yang Shangjin. You can book a private room at Quanjude at noon tomorrow, and I will talk to your master about the rest."

After saying that, Old Yang stood up and walked out of the hall. Ma Siye quickly followed Old Yang and said, "Don't worry, Master Yang, I'll contact them right away. Whether it succeeds or not, I'll be at Quanjude tomorrow to welcome you, Master Yang!"

After sending Old Yang to the door and watching him ride away on his bicycle, Fourth Master Ma restrained his smile and said to Zhang Han and Wang Li who were standing at the gate of the courtyard: "You two follow me in!"

The two street urchins followed Master Ma into the main hall with sweat all over their foreheads. Master Ma sat down with his legs crossed, picked up the cup that Old Yang had taken a sip from, and sipped it carefully.

After taking a few sips, he carefully placed the cup on the table and asked the two people, "Tell me everything that happened in detail. Don't leave anything out! Be careful not to see the sun tomorrow."

After saying that, Master Ma Si slammed the box of gold bars on the table shut with a click.

The noise frightened the two men so much that they trembled all over and recounted the whole incident in trembling voices.

Master Ma Si drummed his fingers on the table and analyzed what happened. It was not complicated. It seemed that Yang Shangjin was looking for a house and happened to meet the unlucky two people, and he became interested in the yard. It didn't look like they wanted to rob it, so he must be eating it.

As for who Yang Shangjin was, he really didn't know. Seeing his confident look, the people above him should know who he was. It seemed that he still had to report it and wait for the decision from above.

Ma Siye waved his hand and told the two to get out. Then he went back to the west room, changed his clothes, pushed a bicycle out of the wing room and left the nest.

Two hours later, Master Ma Si returned to his nest on a bicycle with two bags of snacks and a roast duck hanging on the handlebars.

After leaving Ma Siye's yard, Lao Yang looked at the time and prepared to find a restaurant to eat. Then he went to Guaijia Hutong's yard in the afternoon to clean up and change the locks, and then asked Zhang Qing to pick up the car there.

Old Yang was riding his bike on the street when he suddenly saw a sign on the side that said Sichuan Restaurant was open for business. Old Yang followed the sign and saw a sign hanging on a mansion not far away that said Sichuan Restaurant. It looked quite large, so he rode his bike over.

When Lao Yang turned into Sichuan Restaurant, he did not notice two people staring at his back at the corner of the street. As they watched him walk into Sichuan Restaurant, the two people followed him silently, pushing their bicycles. These two people were none other than Zhou Xiaobai and Luo Yun.

After being scared away yesterday, the two realized that Lao Yang was threatening them, but they were too embarrassed to go back, so they had to rush back to school. They shared the food they brought back with their friends, and each of them only took one thing home.

This morning, the two of them got together again and planned to go to Shichahai Park to wait for Lao Yang. As a result, they walked around the park but couldn't find him. They were very frustrated and thought that Lao Yang had stopped coming to avoid them! So the two of them pushed their bicycles and wandered around West Chang'an Street.

A few minutes ago, the sharp-eyed Luo Yun spotted Lao Yang strolling around on his bicycle. So she asked Xiao Bai to secretly follow him to see what Lao Yang was doing. Soon, the two found him entering the Sichuan Restaurant. They swallowed their saliva, looked at each other, and secretly followed him in.

The two women locked their bicycles in the parking lot in the front yard and then entered the front yard lobby. They went directly to the service desk and asked the counter manager about Lao Yang's whereabouts. This time, with experience, they did not look for him rashly, but asked directly.

The manager immediately knew who it was through the two people's description and told the two women that Lao Yang had entered the private room. The manager led the two women to the door of Lao Yang's private room and then turned around and left.

Luo Yun went forward and knocked on the door of Lao Yang's private room. Lao Yang's voice came from the room: "Come in!"

Old Yang thought it was the waiter taking orders, but the people who pushed the door open were Zhou Xiaobai and Luo Yun.

Old Yang looked at the two women in astonishment, holding his forehead with both hands and saying in pain: "What sin have I committed! I'm entangled with them again, why can't I get rid of them?"

The two girls were so happy when they heard Lao Yang's complaints that they came over and sat on either side of him, grabbing his arms to prevent him from running away.

Zhou Xiaobai said in a low voice, "Brother Yang, do you dislike the two of us so much? He always wants to get rid of us and avoid us!"

Old Yang turned his head and glanced at Zhou Xiaobai and said, "This is not a question of like or not, this is a question of principle. I already have a partner, and I'm afraid that if I get into trouble with you guys, I won't be able to clear myself even if I jump into the Yellow River."

Zhou Xiaobai continued, "A person with a clear conscience is not afraid of his own shadow. We are not afraid, so what are you afraid of? Do you have something wrong that makes you so unbearable?"

Luo Yun, who was sitting on the other side, was even more bold. She grabbed Old Yang's hand and placed it on her thigh and asked, "Brother Yang, are you eating alone? Are you going to entertain someone? Let's not disturb you!"

Old Yang's evil little hands subconsciously grabbed a few handfuls and said, "I don't have many friends in Kyoto, who can I invite for dinner? I'll just have to make do with myself."

Luo Yun blushed and said, "Xiao Bai and I have been looking for you for the whole morning. We finally met you and we can't let you go easily. Let us have dinner with you. What dishes did you order? We can help you with some advice."

As he said that, he hugged Lao Yang's arm, looking like he would never let go.

Old Yang looked at the rogue Luo Yun's big hands grabbing his thighs twice more without his permission, and said resignedly: "Well, it's fate that we meet. The dishes haven't been ordered yet, and the waiter will be here soon. I'll leave it to you today, okay!"

Luo Yun immediately jumped up with joy and gave Lao Yang a kiss on the face.

"Brother Yang, you are so nice!"

Lao Yang wiped the saliva off his face and turned to look at Zhou Xiaobai. Zhou Xiaobai looked at him a little embarrassedly, silently pulled his hand and put it on his thigh, his face red like a ripe apple.

Lao Yang also grabbed two handfuls and glanced at Zhou Xiaobai's red lips. Zhou Xiaobai immediately understood, stood up and kissed Lao Yang on the face, then sat back in his seat and lowered his head without looking at Lao Yang.

Luo Yun walked around Lao Yang and sat next to Zhou Xiaobai, pulling her aside and whispering something to her. Lao Yang seemed to be discussing what dishes to order.

Old Yang was thinking, is it possible that he and these two women are destined to be together? Why do they always get together? He has been avoiding them, but they still caught him. It's really mysterious!