Chapter 30 Jia Dongxu pours night fragrance

After listening to Yi Zhonghai's opinion on Sha Zhu, He Yuzhu didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
No wonder in the TV series this guy had to wait until he was 65 before he reluctantly decided to let Sha Zhu take care of him in his old age after being reminded by the deaf old lady.
It turns out that you have never liked Shazhu since childhood.

Judging from Sha Zhu's performance over the years, his image in Yi Zhonghai's heart might even be worse than that of Xu Damao, the bad guy.
At least Xu Damao is still young, so his bad behavior is not so obvious.

He Yuzhu didn't plan to listen to the next words. No matter what Yi Zhonghai thought, at least it had nothing to do with him now.
He was too lazy to bother.

After closing the door of the ear room gently, the brother and sister lay on the kang. At this time, He Yushui asked in a low voice,

"Brother, when are we going to live in the big house in the front yard?"

Hearing his sister's question, He Yuzhu asked with a smile,
"Why, you little girl, are you complaining about the small size of the ear room now?

Wait!
Let it sit open for two more days to drive out the cold, and then we can move in."

While answering He Yushui, he was planning to get some quicklime to spread over the next two days to disinfect and kill insects.
Then find time to wash all the quilts, clothes, etc.

At this time, He Yushui said,
"I just want to sleep on the big kang in the front yard. Zhaodi and I can roll around on it during the day. It's really fun."

He Yushui was right.

The side room they were living in now had the smallest chessboard kang, which was just big enough for the brother and sister to sleep on, and couldn't even accommodate a larger kang table.
The wing room has a relatively large Kang bed, which is more than enough to sleep 4 or 5 people.

"If you want to roll around on the kang with Zhaodi, you can also go to Dad's kang. Isn't there a big kang in Dad's room as well?"

"There's a dining table on Dad's kang, and I can't move it."

Looking at the small figure lying next to him, He Yuzhu smiled.

"Okay, we'll move in a couple of days. By then, we won't put anything on the kang except the suitcases, so the rain can play as much as it wants."

"Ok!"

"Go to sleep now."

Seeing his sister contentedly hugging his arms and closing her eyes to sleep, He Yuzhu blew out the kerosene lamp and closed his eyes.

But it's only after 9 o'clock, so it's still early for a night owl like him.

So he started competing with the jeep in the space again.

Early the next morning, He Yuzhu was awakened by the urge to urinate.
I got up from the bed, urinated, and then prepared to go outside with the spittoon in hand.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Jia Dongxu coming out of Yi's house with his head tilted and a look of disgust on his face, holding a urine pot.
As soon as he saw He Yuzhu, his face changed.
But I felt a little embarrassed.

He Yuzhu looked at the disdain on Jia Dongxu's face and knew that it was definitely not his intention to serve Yi Zhonghai and his wife.
I'm afraid it was Jia Zhang's request.

He Yuzhu didn't expose him, but greeted him with a smile.
"Wow! Brother Jia is really good.
It's only the first day of apprenticeship and he's already acting like an apprentice, even knowing how to pour night incense for his master and mistress."

Hearing He Yuzhu's words, Jia Dongxu felt a little embarrassed, but he still smiled reluctantly and said,

"Hey, isn't this what a disciple should do?

What about the pillar? I have a lot to do this morning, so I won't tell you more.
After I empty the spittoon, I have to come back and sweep the floor."

"Brother Cheng Jia, you are busy!"

Seeing Jia Dongxu hurriedly walking outside with the urinal, He Yuzhu was really afraid that he would walk too fast and the night fragrance would splash out of the urinal.

It's no big deal to mess with Jia Dongxu,
The key point is that if this stuff is spilled in the yard, the smell will definitely be extremely pungent.

Following Jia Dongxu to the front yard,
Seeing him carrying the urinal into the toilet in the corner and then coming out, He Yuzhu also took the spittoon and walked towards the public toilet outside the gate.

At this point, we have to mention the development history of Beijing toilets.
There were no public toilets in Beijing during the early and middle Qing Dynasty.
This thing was only started to be built in the late Qing Dynasty.
However, due to various reasons, there were not many public toilets in Beijing, and there was no money to maintain them.
The vast majority of people either went home or, as before, found a deserted place to relieve themselves.

Nanluoguxiang was a residential area for dignitaries in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Not only is the former residence of the last empress here, but even Chiang Ching-kuo's headquarters is also here.

So here are some of the earliest built and best maintained public toilets in Beijing.

The road surface is also relatively clean.

When He Yuzhu arrived at the public toilet in the alley,
Just as what was reported in newspapers later on, there was already a long queue outside the public toilet.

The only difference from later generations is that

These days, rich people have servants to serve them, so they don't have to empty the spittoon themselves.

As usual, He Yuzhu greeted his familiar neighbors and stood at the end of the line.

After a while, Jia Dongxu came over slowly with the urine pot, and then he heard the neighbors laughing and joking,
"Yo Xiaojia,

I heard from our old man that you worshipped Lao Yi as your master yesterday, and you emptied the urine pot for your master and mistress early this morning!"

Hearing this, Jia Dongxu smiled a little embarrassedly.
Other neighbors who didn't know the news were asking others for details.

In short, it's very lively.

After washing, He Yuzhu staggered back to the courtyard carrying the spittoon. At this time, He Yushui had also gotten up.

"Brother, catch lice and comb your hair!"

"Wait a minute, brother, wash your hands first."

"Ah."

……

After breakfast, He Yushui happily ran to the backyard to find Xu Zhaodi after knowing that she would not have to go to work for the next two days.
He Yuzhu said hello to He Daqing and the deaf old lady and left the courtyard.

As the saying goes [Inner nine, outer seven, imperial city four, nine gates, eight o'clock, one bell]

There are nine gates in the inner city of Beiping, each of which has a different purpose. It is said that there are nine gates for nine vehicles.
He Yuzhu’s first stop was Dongzhimen.

Dongzhimen is known as the "Wooden Gate". All the wood and bricks used in Beijing were transported into the city through this gate.

This is also the distribution center for daily necessities for the people of Beijing.

This is the wholesale market of this era.

The reason why He Yuzhu chose this place was because of the large flow of people and goods here.
It would not be easy for him to attract attention when buying supplies here.

Arriving at Dongzhimen Inner Street,

The bustling crowds on the streets, the noisy hawking sounds, and the camel caravans carrying wood and bricks all show the prosperity of this place.
Of course, in addition to the merchants coming and going,
There are also groups of beggars who beg with humble smiles but are driven away rudely;
There were women and children who were so hungry that they searched through the garbage again and again, hoping to find some food;
There are skinny, barefoot men who are struggling to carry goods, do labor and pull rickshaws.

It can be said that most of the lower-class people in Beijing were engaged in heavy physical labor at this time.
But the result of hard work is hunger.

Countless people died in the darkness before dawn.

Although He Yuzhu had money in his pocket, he didn't even dare to think of helping.

(End of this chapter)