Siheyuan: Starting with one acre and three fen of land

He Yuzhu stroked the silver dollar in his pocket with joy. This was the first time in his life that he had actually touched such heavy currency.

In his previous life, silver dollars were just distant history to him, antiques collected by others and not circulated on the market.

Now that the real silver dollar was in his hand, the heavy feeling made him feel a little ecstatic.

He looked up at the sky and felt that the time he had spent out had passed very quickly. Since he was already near Shichahai, he naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity and decided to go to Shichahai for a good stroll.

But as soon as he walked out of the alley, an indescribable smell hit him in the face. He saw piles of old garbage almost blocking the entire alley, like small hills, which was shocking.

Fortunately, it is winter and the temperature is low, otherwise the stench emitted by these garbage in the high temperature would be enough to make people dizzy.

He Yuzhu frowned and couldn't help wondering: There are piles of garbage at the entrance of this alley, so it can't be the same at Shichahai, right?

When talking about Taipei City, people tend to think of it as a modern city in the world, a metropolis where historical heritage and modern civilization complement each other.

Looking down at the city, there are tall buildings, wide streets, and a neat and orderly city. However, who would have thought that on the eve of the establishment of the New Dragon Kingdom, the city was a completely different scene.

At this time, the prosperity of the imperial power and nobles in the former imperial city of Sijiu City has disappeared, replaced by garbage everywhere and suffocating smells.

The entire city seemed to have turned into a giant garbage dump, with garbage piled from the outer city gate to the inner city gate, extending from the imperial city to the entrance of the alley, and piled as high as the city wall.

Except for a few gates, the majestic city walls were almost completely covered with garbage. As the weather warmed up, the city was filled with stench, which was unbearable.

Even if you wanted to climb up Tiananmen Square, the city’s landmark, you had to climb over a hill of garbage first.

The Jinshui River was also clogged with garbage, and the water became turbid and smelly. It was hard to believe that this was the once glorious city of Beijing.

It was not until after liberation that the government organized three large-scale urban cleanup operations to clear away the main garbage, allowing Beijing to gradually return to its former cleanliness and order.

However, those former mountains of garbage and stinking rivers have become an indelible page in the city’s history.

At this time, He Yuzhu was walking towards Shichahai with a nervous mood. There was garbage piled on the streets along the way, and he couldn't help but frown.

Finally arriving at the shore of Shichahai, He Yuzhu looked around and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Shichahai Lake in winter is covered in snow, showing a different style. The lake is covered with a layer of ice, like a huge piece of white jade inlaid in the embrace of the city. In the distance, the ancient courtyards and pavilions are more simple and elegant against the backdrop of snow.

There was an endless stream of people on the ice of Shichahai Lake, and even more children from nearby alleys came to play together in groups, pushing sleds and running wildly on the ice, taking turns sitting on the sleds and enjoying the joy of winter.

In the skating area, they skated alone or in groups of three or five, with laughter and joy. Some were skilled, with agile postures, as light and free as a swallow skimming the water; others were beginners, carefully holding on, and tentatively moving forward step by step.

Whenever someone made a beautiful move, the people around would give sincere admiration and applause. The applause and admiration echoed in the cold air, adding a bit of vitality and warmth to Shichahai in winter.

On the ice, some ice fishermen sat quietly, their eyes focused on the world under the ice hole, their fishing rods gently swinging, waiting for the fish to bite.

He Yuzhu stood not far away, witnessing all this, and couldn't help feeling an impulse in his heart.

He thought: "Why don't I learn to fish? It doesn't matter if there is no fish or not. What matters is that in this time of scarcity, this is a good excuse to improve my life. If I can really catch a fish, it will be an unexpected surprise."

Action is worse than thought, He Yuzhu immediately turned around and walked towards the alley he came from. He remembered that there was a fishing tackle shop in an alley when he passed by just now, so he could go there to buy a set of fishing tackle and brush up his fishing skills.

When He Yuzhu walked into the fishing tackle shop, a faint smell of fish and the fragrance of wood hit his nose.

When the shop assistant saw a customer coming, he quickly came forward and asked enthusiastically: "Hello, what kind of fishing tackle do you need?"

He Yuzhu did not reply, but looked around at the various fishing tackle in the store.

The guy saw that he was a newbie and asked.

"If there's nothing you particularly like, I can recommend one or two. Do you have any special requests?"

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"I'm just a beginner, just recommend me a set."

The waiter nodded to show that he understood, and then led He Yuzhu to a pile of bamboo fishing rods.

He pointed at the fishing rods and said, "Choosing a fishing rod is the first step in fishing. You can take a look at these fishing rods and see which one suits your taste best." After that, he waited for He Yuzhu to choose.

He Yuzhu squatted down and carefully observed each fishing rod. After a selection, his eyes fell on a shiny purple bamboo fishing rod. The fishing rod exuded a faint bamboo fragrance and felt great.

Seeing that He Yuzhu had a special liking for this fishing rod, the waiter stepped forward and picked it up, praising him: "Little brother, you have a good eye. This is a purple bamboo fishing rod that our shopkeeper personally collected. It is a rare and good fishing rod."

He Yuzhu was full of complaints after hearing this. They just wanted to raise the price.

"Okay, okay, just sell it to your shopkeeper. What's the price? Give me a fair price and I'll buy it."

The waiter was not annoyed and replied with a smile: "Do you want gold or silver dollars?"

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "Silver dollars."

The clerk replied, "Two silver dollars, including a set of fishing rods and line. It's just that the current situation is too bad. If it were before, you wouldn't be able to get this fishing rod at this price."

He Yuzhu nodded as if he understood, not knowing whether it was expensive or cheap. In order to quickly brush up his skills, he just bought it.

"I see there are some loose cigarettes on your counter. Give me five and I'll buy them."

The waiter said, "Okay, this way, please."

He Yuzhu took out the silver dollar he had just received from his trouser pocket to pay the bill, put the cigarette in his pocket, picked up the purple bamboo fishing rod he liked, and walked towards Shichahai again.

He Yuzhu stepped into the bustling Shichahai again. He walked towards the group of people who were ice fishing over there, his eyes moving between the anglers, as if looking for something.

Suddenly, his eyes were fixed on a fisherman in the distance who was collecting his fishing rod. He immediately picked up what was in his hand and ran quickly over there.

By the time He Yuzhu ran to that location breathlessly, the old man who was fishing had almost finished his fishing and was about to leave.

He Yuzhu thought that this ice cave was really ready-made. In the middle of winter, if he went to dig a new hole, he would probably have to wait until the flowers were cold.

So he quickly walked forward and greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hello, old man, are you going to finish work and go home?"

The old man paused for a moment, looked up at the young man holding the fishing tackle, nodded, and said in a slightly tired voice: "Yeah, I feel a little exhausted today, I want to go home and rest early. Young man, you want to fish here, right? I'm going to go back now, you can use it."

He Yuzhu was delighted when he heard the old man's words and thanked him repeatedly. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the old man respectfully.

The old man looked at He Yuzhu's sincere eyes and said nothing more. He took the cigarette and said with a smile: "Young man, I won't be polite. I see that you don't seem to have brought any bait. If you don't mind, I'll give you the remaining bait."

He was stunned when he heard this, and then he realized that in his haste he had forgotten such an important thing as preparing the bait.

He quickly thanked the old man, took out two cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to him.

He Yuzhu and other elderly people accepted the cigarettes before taking the bait from the other party.

The old man smiled and nodded at He Yuzhu, then turned and walked away towards the shore.