Chapter 16 The Birds in the Courtyard (Part )
The first lady has a kind face and a good heart. She helps the first uncle to support the lonely and deaf old lady. It's a pity that she and the first uncle have no children so far.

This deaf old lady is nearly 70 years old. She is the oldest elder in this courtyard and the longest-lived resident. She is known as the ancestor of this courtyard. She has no children and is a five-guarantee household. She is supported by the street office, who gives her a certain amount of money and grain bills every month and entrusts three uncles in the courtyard to take care of her daily life.

Speaking of the uncle system in the courtyard, it is similar to the original baojia system, which is to select a few respected people to assist the street office and neighborhood committee, mediate some neighborhood conflicts, and deal with some petty thefts and immoral behaviors. At that time, the law was not perfect, and it was difficult for the police station to deal with some small problems. There was also prevention of enemy spies, political propaganda, etc. They had no rights and no public office.

The west wing of the central courtyard is the Jia family, where Jia Zhang lives, along with his 41.5-year-old son Jia Dongxu, -year-old daughter-in-law Qin Huairu, -year-old grandson Banggeng, and -year-old granddaughter Xiaodang, a family of five. Their family is supported by Jia Dongxu, who only has a second-level worker salary ( yuan), and their life is quite tight. Sometimes they need his master, the eldest uncle Yi Zhonghai, to help them from time to time.

Passing the corridor on the west side of the main house, you will enter the backyard. The east wing here is where the second uncle Liu Haizhong and his family live. There are five people in their family, including the second uncle, the second aunt, and the eldest son Liu Guangqi, who graduated from technical secondary school at the age of 18 and went to work in Shicheng. The second son Liu Guangfu is 14 years old this year and is still in junior high school. The third son Liu Guangtian is 11 years old this year and is in elementary school.

The second aunt is just like the second uncle Liu Haizhong. She is partial as a parent and only favors the eldest son Liu Guangyuan. She also does not fulfill her parental responsibilities to the other two children. Whenever the couple is not happy, they either beat or scold the children. If there is anything delicious at home, it is given to Liu Haizhong and the eldest son, and the other two children are not allowed to have a bite. No wonder in the TV series, none of the three sons are filial at the end. There is a reason for this. It just proves the advice of the deaf old lady that "if parents are not kind, children will not be filial."

The west wing houses Uncle Xu and his family of three. Uncle Xu is Xu Damao's father. He is a smart and capable man who knows a lot of people in all walks of life in society.

Recently, he has been resting in bed at home due to poor health. He used to show movies in the cinema in Lou Bancheng and married Xu's mother, who was also a servant in Lou's family. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he went to the movie projection station to work as a projectionist. It was also because of his relationship that Xu Damao was able to get into the projection station as an apprentice.

The last row of northern houses in the backyard, also called the rear houses, are home to a deaf old lady and several other residents.

The deaf old lady was very fond of the newcomer Liu Zhiye. She held his hand and refused to let go, praising him for his good looks and his contributions to the country. Liu Zhiye was embarrassed. He finally got his mother to let him go after she said it was late and he should go home for dinner. She also told him that she was lonely and hoped he would come to accompany her often to relieve her boredom.

In addition, there are the three families of Dachengzi, Laogao and Lizi in the west courtyard. The second master Cheng, widow Sun and Lao Qiantou live in the back house of the outer courtyard, and the two families of Wei Dazhong and Huazi in the east courtyard. I won't list them all here.

The whole morning was spent in this way. After the mother and daughter had a few bites of lunch, Liu Zhiye chose to go out.

In his previous life, he was from Dongshan Peninsula and had never been to Beijing. He had only seen the general appearance of Beijing in movies and TV shows. Although he had memories of Beijing in this life, it was both familiar and unfamiliar. He decided to take a good look at Beijing while he was not working.

Let's go when we want to. The weather in the city of Sijiu in late autumn is still quite hot at noon. The clear and cool autumn weather is perfect for a stroll.

First, we went to the imperial city, the symbol of the former Soviet Union, and came to the Forbidden City. From a distance, the majestic Meridian Gate came into view. The more than ten-meter-high red wall was engraved with beautiful patterns and the pointed roof was in the style of ancient Chinese palace architecture. The mottled yellow tiles on the roof showed us the long history of the Forbidden City and the great changes it has experienced.

When you enter the Meridian Gate, the first thing that catches your eye is the two big red doors. On the top of the doors hangs a sign with gold borders all around and two eye-catching golden characters "Meridian Gate" engraved on it.

The Forbidden City is spacious and vast, with white stones all over the ground, lawns and flowers, and tall pines. There is a pair of more than ten-meter-high Huabiao standing on a Xumi pedestal in the courtyard. They are made of white marble, with dragons entwined around them, and wind coming from the clouds. There are cloud boards, dew-receiving plates, and crouching beasts on them, which are solemn and majestic.

The Zhonghe Hall is square in plan, with a width and depth of three rooms each, and corridors on all four sides. The floor is paved with gold bricks. The roof is a single-eaved roof with four corners and covered with yellow glazed tiles. The center is a copper-based gilded top. The inner and outer eaves of the hall are decorated with golden dragon and seal paintings, and the ceiling is a pattern of gilded powder. There is a floor screen and throne in the hall.

Under the eaves of Qianqing Gate, there are three-step brackets with single-angle brackets and painted with golden dragons and imperial seals. On both sides of the gate, there are glazed screen walls, and the center and corners of the walls are decorated with glazed flowers, which are natural and lifelike in shape and colorful.

The Baohe Hall is nine bays wide and five bays deep, with a double-eaved hip roof covered in yellow. The upper eaves are single-curved, double-raised, seven-step brackets, and the lower eaves are double-raised, five-step brackets. The inner and outer eaves are painted with golden dragons and imperial seals, and the ceiling beams are painted in a very unique style.

As the sun sets, the last ray of afterglow slants across the golden glazed tiles of the Forbidden City. Although dim, it cannot conceal the unique royal aura emanating from there.

There were many places in the Forbidden City that disappointed him greatly, because the Forbidden City at that time had not been well repaired. Many places were in tatters, overgrown with weeds, paint peeling everywhere, and some places were missing doors and windows. However, even so, it was difficult to conceal its majestic, dignified, majestic, and solemn majesty. This is the eternity of culture and history.

It was like a magnificent epic poem that made people's heart surge, and like a magnificent national symphony that made people's hearts move. He reluctantly walked out of the Forbidden City. It was getting dark, and he was going to go home. But before that, he had to go to a place that people in the city must go to these days - Dong'an Market.

In the days before online shopping, everyone could only find one special place to buy everything from wedding supplies and clothes to pots, pans, needles and thread.

Speaking of Dong'an Market, people in the old city are familiar with it, and even many people from other places have heard of it. Because in the old city, among the four major department stores, Dong'an Market is the oldest one.

Dong'an Street is located in the east of the Imperial City, on the bustling Wangfujing Street. In the 1902th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign (1903), the Qing government built the Imperial Road outside Donghua Gate, and the vendors on both sides of the road moved to the area around the Shenjiying Training Ground of the Eight Banners Army. Initially, this was just a "free market" planned by the General Administration of Work and Inspection of the Qing court. Unexpectedly, more and more vendors gathered here, and the market became larger and larger. Snacks, toys, daily necessities, foreign goods, clothes, shoes and hats and other commodities were all available, and it changed from a "free market" to a "shopping center". Because it was close to the Dong'an Gate of the Imperial City, it was named "Dong'an Market" in the th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign ().

During the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty, someone wrote a bamboo poem to describe the Dong'an Market at that time: "The newly opened markets are spacious, and shopping is easy. If you want to talk about prosperity, just point to Dong'an in the city." People at that time called Dong'an Market "Wanbaocang"

There are famous snacks and restaurants here, including "Tofu Brain Ma" and "Baodu Feng", the "Senlong Restaurant" with Sujiang flavor, the "Wufangzhai" with Shanghai flavor, the "Xiaoxiao Restaurant" with Dongguan flavor, the "Qizhenge" with Nanhu flavor, the "Emeishan Restaurant" with Shu flavor, and "Donglaishun", all of which have now started public-private partnerships.

Here is also the "number one" department store in Sijiu City - Sijiu City Department Store.

On September 1955, 9, Sijiucheng Department Store officially opened for business. Located on Wangfujing Street, the department store has a business area of ​​25 square meters. On the opening day, the customer flow reached an astonishing 18000 people.

Wangfujing Department Store enjoyed unique treatment: "The whole country supports the capital, and the capital gives priority to the department store." The department store was the only retail enterprise in Beijing that enjoyed the right to purchase goods nationwide and the treatment of a second-level wholesale station. It could purchase goods directly from first-level wholesale stations in major cities such as Gangjin, Shanghai, and Gwangju at preferential prices. Because of this, a popular saying in Beijing at that time was: "If you can't buy things in the department store, don't go anywhere else." The abundance of goods and fair prices made queuing for purchases a normal occurrence in the department store. Many counters in the mall had guardrails to prevent crowded customers from crushing the counters.

In 1916, the Jixiang Tea Garden was built at the north end of the market. Street stalls, jugglers, and medicine vendors could be seen everywhere, turning this place into a bustling commercial district.

After walking around Dong'an Market, I bought a portion of "Bao Du Feng" and ate it while walking. It was getting dark soon, so I bought a six-pound grass carp and hurried home.

When I walked to the gate, I met the third uncle Yan Bugui who was just getting off work.

"Uncle, you're back!"

"Hey, man, life is good, isn't it? You eat fish and meat here, so how about, let me have a drink with you?" When the uncle saw Liu Zhiye carrying the big grass carp, his eyes were fixed on the fish and he couldn't take them off.

"Hey~ Not today, Third Uncle. I'm not being stingy, it's just this situation. I bumped into the pillar of the middle courtyard this morning, and we got to know each other after a fight. He invited me to visit his house tonight."

The third uncle looked back with disappointment on his face: "Hey~ Then some other time, Zhuzi can treat you to a drink, the third uncle's wine is not bad~"

After saying that, he shook his head and went to the front yard with regret, feeling like he had lost money.

Liu Zhiye also found it quite funny. This Third Uncle was indeed like that. He was a person who never satisfied with taking advantage of small advantages and loved to scheme.

It was getting late, so don't make people wait anxiously. Liu Zhiye decided to go home to say hello to his mother first, and then go to Zhuzi's house.

(End of this chapter)