The Great Era of Siheyuan

"Oh, thank you so much! May I know your name?"

Li Wenqiang said as he looked at the short and fat middle-aged man in front of him, who was wearing a blue gown and looked very arrogant.

"No need to mention your surname Niu, I'd like to ask all the neighbors to respectfully call me Uncle Niu. You just said you wanted some wine yeast, right? Come back with me after I finish drinking. I still have some aged wine yeast at home, which were all passed down from the Liangyun Office during the time of the Empress Dowager. In the past, the wine in the palace was brewed with this wine yeast and water from Yuquan Mountain in the western suburbs. Unfortunately, the wine yeast is left, but the winemaker is gone!"

Uncle Niu cupped his hands and said.

"Your yeast has such a history? It's really not simple. May I ask how much does it cost?"

Li Wenqiang felt the corners of his mouth twitching when he heard this. He just wanted to make some ordinary yeast, but why did this guy bring up the name of the former imperial palace?

"I am a bannerman, and my family used to work for the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xuantong. How can I cheat you? I won't charge you for this wine yeast, but I need your help for something!"

Seeing that he didn't quite believe him, Uncle Niu told him everything his family had done in the past.

"Help? We don't know each other, how can I help you?"

Li Wenqiang had a bad thought when he heard this. Could it be that this guy knew something?

"It's not appropriate to talk about this here. Let's go out and find a place to talk about it later."

Uncle Niu looked around and said carefully.

"Okay, waiter, how much is this table? I'll pay!"

Li Wenqiang finished the beer in one gulp and said to Zhao Yali.

"No need. I am a real man from Beijing. How can I take advantage of a little kid like you? I will do it myself!"

When Mr. Niu heard this, he quickly waved his hand to refuse.

"No, you can just give me the wine yeast. I don't have the habit of taking things from others for free. I'll treat you to dinner today, so don't argue."

Li Wenqiang said as he ran to the counter to pay. The total amount was less than two dollars, so there was no need to owe him a favor. If this guy asked for something later, how could he bargain with him?

Seeing that Li Wenqiang had paid all the money, Niu Ye could only bow to him.

"Then I won't be polite with you. I'm done eating, let's go!"

After saying this, Uncle Niu drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, patted his coat and walked out, with Li Wenqiang following closely behind him.

Li Wenqiang followed Niu Ye out of the restaurant and they came to a secluded alley.

"Uncle Niu, it's quiet here, just tell me what you want to say."

Li Wenqiang spoke.

Uncle Niu took a deep breath and then spoke in a low voice.

"I know you supply vegetables to the tavern, how about you get me some as well?"

"Old man, did you find the wrong person? Why can't I understand what you are saying? Since you don't have wine yeast, then I will treat you to the meal just now. Goodbye!"

After Li Wenqiang finished speaking, he turned around and left without any hesitation. How the hell did he sell vegetables by himself and let the whole world know about it?

"Hey~ Wait, wait, don't leave! What I just said is true, I didn't lie to you, I really have some wine yeast in my hand."

When Niu Ye saw this, he hurried over to stop him.

"So what do you mean by what you just said? How can you be sure that the food in the tavern was provided by me?"

After Li Wenqiang finished speaking, he looked at him straight.

Uncle Niu smiled awkwardly and said.

"It's easy. I've been drinking here for decades. I've lived here since I was a kid. I know all the neighbors around here. I've seen you a few times during this period. Every time you came out from the alley behind the back door, or from the backyard. After dealing with Fan Jinyou a few times, this guy has recently made a lot of vegetables and sold them to the families of the street office. I happen to live nearby. Just now you were talking next to me, and I was close to you. I have been able to hear far since I was a kid, and I accidentally overheard your conversation with Secretary Fan. Isn't this a coincidence?"

Uncle Niu smiled and said.

"So you want me to sell you vegetables? You're alone, so why don't you just say hello to Chen Huizhen? With just a few kilograms of vegetables, can she not give you face?"

Li Wenqiang looked at him and asked.

"It's not just my family, there are many families here, hundreds of people! If each person eats one jin a day, that would mean at least 400 to 500 jin, and normally it would be over a thousand jin."

Uncle Niu stretched out his palm and gestured.

"Do you trust me so much? Do you think I can get so many dishes?"

Li Wenqiang became interested after hearing so many people came. One thousand kilograms a day would earn him one or two thousand yuan, which would be a good way to increase his income. Why one or two thousand? Because he didn't plan to sell it cheaply.

"To be honest, I once accidentally looked into the backyard and saw the mountain of vegetables, hehe!"

Uncle Niu looked at him and smiled.

"Okay, now that you know everything, let's talk about the price. On the black market right now, a pound of rice and flour costs more than three yuan, and vegetables cost about two yuan. Considering the quality of my vegetables, I'm charging two yuan. I don't think I'm cheating you, am I?"

Li Wenqiang looked at him and said seriously.

"Two yuan per pound? No, that's too expensive. Xu Huizhen's small restaurant only charges 60 cents per pound, and Fan Jinyou's only charges one yuan. Why should we pay two yuan?"

When Mr. Niu heard the price, he immediately became anxious. This was differential treatment and malicious discrimination.

"Don't worry about what's going on over there. I'm just asking you if you want this price. If not, I'll leave. It's that simple."

Li Wenqiang was not interested in saying too much to a bannerman. These bastards had done a lot of harm to the common people in the past, and now they wanted to take advantage of them. What a wishful thinking.

"Wait, I agreed, but we don't have that much money. Can we exchange it for something else?"

After thinking about it, Uncle Niu agreed. If he could buy vegetables from other places, he would definitely not go to him. This guy’s price was too high.

"Of course, but shouldn't you take me to your house first?"

Li Wenqiang looked at him and said, although this place is relatively remote, it is not to say that there are no people, there are still people who will pass by here.

"follow me!"

Uncle Niu took a look and then led him to a courtyard.

Looking at the courtyard house in front of him, Li Wenqiang's eyes lit up. He didn't expect that Mr. Niu could still preserve such a well-preserved three-in-one courtyard house.

What surprised him was not the intactness of the courtyard, but the many old furniture he saw after entering from the front yard. Many of these things looked tattered, and everyone just used them as they were passed down from generation to generation, and few people cared whether they were antiques or not.

But the things he kept were very well preserved. Apart from the signs of time and slight use, there was basically no major damage. It seemed that he was intentionally protecting these things.