The next day, the first thing Zhao Mei did when she opened her eyes was to go to her future workplace and take a look.
But before he could go out, Zhao Jing pulled him over and had breakfast with him.
After dinner, Zhao Jing worked as a part-time driver again and took Zhao Mei to her courtyard.
The siheyuan has a very transcendent status in the whole of China, and each one is a silent witness to history.
Zhao Mei's apartment is located not far from the center of the capital. The geographical location is quite good. You can see a giant ancient palace every two alleys, and after walking through another two alleys, you can reach the most prosperous business district in the capital.
The alley in front of the courtyard was not very spacious, and there were people setting up stalls or living on both sides. Zhao Jing had to drive carefully.
After a lot of effort, we drove to the main entrance. Due to the special design of the courtyard house, the front is quite spacious for driving and parking.
Zhao Jing drove the car into the underground garage smoothly, while Zhao Mei was waiting for Zhao Jing to come back at the main entrance.
It is late autumn now, and the capital, which is about to enter winter, seems particularly cold with a howling autumn wind.
Zhao Mei was wearing a fluffy coat and had her hair tied up casually in a hurry. She was standing at the door waiting.
Just as she stood still, she smelled the fragrance coming from the busy stall opposite. Zhao Mei couldn't help but lean over to take a look.
The two or three carts in the middle are selling breakfast items such as soy milk and fried dough sticks. It is also the busiest location, with hawkers shouting one after another, the sizzling sound of frying, and the aroma of food wafting into the air.
The stall on the far right was occupied by an old man with a simple smile, pushing a simple tricycle with a large iron bucket in the middle, on which were scattered a few sweet potatoes dripping with honey.
Along with the sweet smell, Zhao Mei, who had just finished Zhao Jing’s exquisite breakfast, felt her stomach growling again.
I can’t eat another portion of breakfast, but sweet potatoes don’t take up too much space in my stomach.
Zhao Mei easily convinced herself and bought a medium-sized roasted sweet potato that was still steaming from the old man's stall.
Zhao Mei held the freshly baked sweet potato in her hands, tossed it back and forth a few times, and then carefully tore off the thinnest outer layer. Only in this way could she leave behind a layer of burnt and honey-like essence.
Seeing Zhao Mei standing there eating with relish and watching while eating, the idle old man smiled and spoke.
"Girl, who are you waiting for here so early?"
Zhao Mei was choked by the sudden question. She looked around and found that she was the only one here, so she turned back.
"I'm waiting for my housekeeper. He's gone to park the car."
"Housekeeper, you are from a wealthy family. What are you doing here?"
"No, no, come here and look at the house."
The old man was also surprised by her statement: "Look at the house over here, isn't it a wealthy family? Is it the courtyard across the street?"
Zhao Mei then took a bite of the sweet potato and nodded. "No, but it's definitely the yard across the street. How did you know which one I was looking at?"
The old man waved his hand and smiled, "Don't look at my age, but when it comes to these alleys, there's nothing I don't know. This courtyard house across the street is the only one for sale in this area, so I can guess it."
"This large courtyard has been uninhabited since I was a child. It's had two different owners, each of whom brought a bunch of people to renovate it, and then it became deserted again."
"Besides, this house is not simple at all. I estimate it has four or five entrances. In ancient times, it would have been built for a prince. The area is very large. The previous two owners probably couldn't handle it and didn't live in it."
This was the first time Zhao Mei had heard about the background of this courtyard house, and she found it quite interesting for a moment.
"What does four or five advances mean?"
The old man laughed even more when he heard this. "You young people, it's normal not to know. The rules of this Siheyuan are based on how many doors you have. From the entrance to the master bedroom, the more doors, the higher the standard. A four-entry courtyard means that you have four doors from the entrance to the master bedroom. This is called a four-entry courtyard."
"I've rarely left this alley in all these years. This courtyard is the largest of the surrounding alleys, and it left the deepest impression on me. When I was little, I loved running around it when I grew up in our alley. Now that I'm old, I didn't expect that I still make a living around it..."
Unlike the old man who began to reminisce, Zhao Mei was most shocked by the fact that things had changed and people had changed. Four doors! How big could they be? And she had to open four doors to get home? It sounded complicated.
But I'm not going to live there anyway. Since I'm running a etiquette company, the main purpose is to show off. Isn't bigger the better? I also hope the two previous owners didn't mess around, otherwise it'll take a long time to renovate it myself.
Zhao Mei was still eating sweet potatoes while thinking about the decoration, and listening to the old man next to her chattering, responding from time to time.
Not long after, Zhao Mei turned her eyes and saw Zhao Jing coming out of the basement.
After putting away the half-eaten sweet potato, Zhao Mei said goodbye to the old man and walked straight towards Zhao Jing.
When Zhao Jing saw her coming, he took her a few steps forward to the main entrance and opened the door before her.
The so-called prince level in ancient times can be seen from the entrance. The wide facade looks imposing.
As you step through the door, although it has been renovated, the details on the exterior still reveal some historical flavor.
Zhao Mei marveled at the sight. Although this courtyard house might not be as large as a western manor in terms of area, its location and the compact garden scenery with a new scene at every step were incomparable to western manors.
I walked slowly with Zhao Jing to the fifth door. When we opened the door, what came into view was the tall and heavy main house and the courtyard that was much more spacious than the previous ones.
The core of the courtyard opposite the main house is an artificial lake with a pavilion floating in the center of the lake. Judging from its size and decoration, it is obviously a stage.
Zhao Mei went into the main house and took a look. Although this courtyard house had passed through two owners and she was the third one, there was actually almost no trace of decoration inside.
Maybe it was intended for commercial use, but I don't know why it was abandoned in the end.
However, instead of tearing down and rebuilding the ugly decoration, it would be better to start from a blank sheet of paper. This is exactly what Zhao Mei wants now.
After looking at the main house, Zhao Mei remembered that there was an underground garage, so she pulled Zhao Jing over to ask about it.
"Butler Zhao, what's the underground garage like? How does it compare to ours?"
Zhao Jing lowered his head and thought for a moment before replying, "It's bigger than Miss's current garage. I counted 24 parking spaces. The overall decoration is similar to the style of the yard itself, which is more in line with normal aesthetics."
Zhao Mei's scalp tingled when she heard the number of parking spaces: "Twenty-four?"
But then he thought again, if he really wanted to open a etiquette company, the money might not be enough, and he immediately lost interest.
After thinking about the underground garage, Zhao Mei went to look at the courtyards on both sides, strolled around them, and then prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Zhao Mei looked at the two large water tanks that she could see right outside the door, and the huge underground garage with carved beams and painted buildings that looked like it was in some historical museum, and she sincerely doubted her life.
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