The old dry toilets with rows of large pits have been upgraded to new flush toilets.
The colors are brighter now, the walls are tiled, and the pits are separated by partitions. As for the smell... well...
All I can say is that she did her best! Poor Chen Mengqi grew up in a hutong (traditional alleyway), and every time she went to her grandparents' house, even going to the toilet felt like a blessing!
There's nothing we can do about it; Nanluoguxiang is full of tenement courtyards. Take Fatty's courtyard for example: five north-facing rooms face five south-facing rooms, one east-facing room faces one west-facing room, and there's a grape trellis and a large fish tank in the courtyard.
Even so, there were small huts built by each household in the courtyard, turning what should have been a beautiful courtyard into a mess and a place full of devastation.
So let alone Fatty's courtyard house, the entire Nanluoguxiang area doesn't have this kind of condition!
Where are you going to find such a large open space to dig a septic tank for?
The most absurd thing is that some movies and TV shows often depict residents of a neighborhood digging toilets in their own yards...
Do you know where this is? It's the place with the most concentrated, complete, standardized, exquisite, typical, and best-preserved hutongs in the entire city of Beijing, bar none!
Would you dare to dig a septic tank in such a densely populated area?
They really don't treat the neighborhood committee, the police station, and the residents' committee like human beings...
Let alone 1984, even in 2023, Sima Nan, who lives at No. 8 Nanluoguxiang, will still have to go to a public toilet!
※※※※※※
Qin Huairu waited for almost an hour before she saw the fat man hurrying out of the archway in the backyard.
She quickly stepped forward and stopped the fat man: "Fatty, can we talk about the sticky thing?"
The fat man glanced at her and said, "Okay, forget the change, just give me 16 yuan."
Qin Huairu was furious. How dare you charge 4.2 yuan for a few broken plates and bowls? Why don't you just rob me?
Qin Huairu smiled, but her eyes were icy cold: "Fatty, let's put the cost of the meal aside for now, but aren't your tableware a bit too expensive..."
"You don't believe me, do you? All my tableware is custom-made, from the official Jingdezhen Guangming Ceramics Factory, with our trademark on it; here, I'll have Yu Li prepare the invoices later, so you can see for yourself how much my purchase price was."
There was no room for negotiation, so Qin Huairu simply went all out: "Well, I don't have any money..."
The fat man refused to talk to her anymore. "What are you talking about if you don't have money?"
Seeing that the fat man was about to leave, Qin Huairu quickly called out to him, "Hey, hey, fat man, don't go! Can Xiaodang pay for this money first? Just consider it a loan from Banggeng to his own sister!"
The fat man stopped and looked Qin Huairu up and down.
The woman who was once voluptuous, with a slender figure, almond-shaped eyes, and peach-blossom cheeks, whose eyes sparkled like stars, is gone.
If it's gone, it's gone; if you lose it, you can never get it back.
Qin Huairu's figure has become terribly out of shape, and because of years of frowning, her eyebrows have started to grow into a sword-like, upright shape. In addition, there is a mole between her eyebrows, and her face looks sallow and bitter. She has finally turned herself into the shape of a gas cylinder.
Fatty didn't even have the energy to curse at such a shameless person. He simply said, "You can discuss this with Sha Zhu." Then he turned and left without looking back.
Qin Huairu was left standing there awkwardly. What kind of situation was this? Was she supposed to go find Sha Zhu?
That fat guy really came up with something!
Ever since Ran Qiuye came back, Qin Huairu has been avoiding her like the plague, yet she dares to go looking for Sha Zhu?
Pooh!
※※※※※※
Ran Qiuye is a teacher at the National University of Singapore. Although she is not as rich as Lou Xiao'e, she is still a wealthy woman.
As for Sha Zhu, he hasn't been exploited by Qin Huairu and her family over the years, so he's been living a comfortable and fulfilling life.
So he simply arranged for Ran Qiuye and her son to stay at the Peace Hotel, and they ended up staying with Lou Xiao'e by accident.
Sha Zhu has been so distracted lately that he hasn't been able to concentrate on his work and has been on leave for several days in a row. He only goes to Yan Jiecheng's place to cook every night.
He spends all his day here with his son, and it's never enough...
Seeing how much he loved his son, Ran Qiuye's heartstrings were gently plucked. In particular, she was surprised to find that she didn't feel particularly resistant when she was with Sha Zhu!
Upon learning that Sha Zhu was actually working for the Yan family, Ran Qiuye frowned. When he was not around, she quietly discussed with He Sui, "What do you think about me investing in a restaurant for your father?"
He Sui looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked, "But Mom, don't you want Dad to come back to Singapore with us?"
Ran Qiuye shook her head: "It's too difficult for your father to go abroad... and I'm worried that he won't be able to adapt to life abroad."
Ran Qiuye put it euphemistically, but to put it bluntly, Sha Zhu was completely out of place in Singapore; not to mention that Ran Qiuye had a serious mental illness, even if she didn't, she still had to consider the reactions from all sides.
Singapore citizenship is not easy to obtain; even a tourist visa is extremely difficult to obtain at this time...
Besides, Sha Zhu has no education or academic qualifications, so what can he do there?
Opening a restaurant in Singapore is not the same as in China. Ran Qiuye doesn't have the financial resources. She's also worried that Sha Zhu wouldn't be able to handle the treatment at those big restaurants.
After all, they are one of the future Four Asian Tigers, and they are so arrogant!
Then there's Ran Qiuye's family. Her parents are both visiting professors at the National University of Singapore, a family that commands respect even in Singapore.
If she really marries Sha Zhu, and people see that her family has actually found someone like this, how should I put it, anyway, that's the gist of it, where would her parents put their faces?
In short, it's still too unfamiliar!
Neither Sha Zhu nor Ran Qiuye truly understand each other.
What are his lifestyle habits? What are his hobbies? What's the first thing he does when he gets home every day? Does he wipe his bottom with his left or right hand...?
They don't understand at all. It's like in "iPartment". Even if Guan Gu hesitates for only one second, Youyou can immediately take out a stopwatch to accurately calculate whether he paused or hesitated in that second.
Take Yu Li for example. She knows all of Fatty's habits and remembers all the things they did together.
Every day, as soon as she lay down on the bed, the fat man would groan a couple of times, and she would know exactly where his back was itchy. She could reach out and scratch his itch with perfect accuracy.
Even when it comes to doing *that*, she knows how to use just one sentence to make the fat man want to give his life for her…
Otherwise, why would Fatty beg Chen Yan for help? He simply couldn't resist Yu Li at all.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com