Bai Fangqiu's house in the capital was a three-courtyard quadrangle, located in a small alley not far from the imperial city. As soon as you entered the gate, you could see several blue brick and gray tile houses on both sides, and a spacious courtyard.
It was lunch time, and when they went in, the people living in those rooms were cooking on the coal stove outside or in the kitchen made of simple wooden boards. When they saw the group of country people who followed Bai Fangqiu in with big and small bags, they stopped what they were doing and looked at them straight in their eyes, revealing vigilance and contempt.
Bai Fangqiu did not stop, and led them through another door. What came into view was another different world. This was a more spacious courtyard than the one they had just seen. Because it was early spring, the flowers, plants and trees in the courtyard were full of vitality. Under the tallest banyan tree in the courtyard was a well with a wooden cover on it. Next to it was a small wooden barrel with half a bucket of water in it. The water was clear and there were a few leaves floating on the water.
The ground of the yard is paved with stone bricks of various colors and patterns. Due to years of disrepair, many of the bricks have been broken, and some weeds are growing out of the cracks in the stones.
Jiang Yilu looked around; this was the first time he saw the famous Beijing courtyard house with his own eyes. However, the exquisite brick carvings, stone carvings and colorful paintings that he had seen in picture albums before had disappeared without a trace. Many of the eaves and walls only had broken debris and traces of lime.
"pity."
Jiang Yilu sighed softly. In the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution, the Siheyuan had indeed suffered a devastating blow.
"Come in, everyone."
Bai Fangqiu walked in front and saw everyone standing in the yard and refusing to come in, so he smiled and spoke.
"After I came back, the authorities returned all the properties that were confiscated. This courtyard is where I grew up. There are more than a dozen rooms in it. I cleaned it up specially. It is more than enough for you to live in."
Bai Fangqiu returned to the capital and had a lot of things to deal with. He was busy almost every day and the furniture in this room had not been replaced yet, so the room was empty and there was no furniture except the bed.
Jiang Yiliu put down the package in his hand and asked curiously, "Grandpa Bai, who are those people living outside?"
Isn’t this Grandpa Bai’s house? Why are there several families living outside? Could they be Grandpa Bai’s relatives?
Bai Fangqiu smiled bitterly. These were not his relatives, but the old residents who had lived in this courtyard before. The property was returned to him, but the people living inside were throwing tantrums and refusing to move out. For Bai Fangqiu, who had never argued with others, he really didn't know how to deal with it.
"Let's put our things aside for now. It's time for lunch. Let's splurge and go to a restaurant."
Bai Fangqiu was already very happy to be able to move back to the old house. What's more, he alone did not need such a big house. As long as the other party did not overstep his authority, he did not mind giving up a yard of land to those who really needed it.
In fact, it is not only the house where Bai Fangqiu lives now. The assets of the Bai family are not limited to this house. There are two mansions scattered in the capital, and two courtyard houses. The situation is like this now. Although the house deeds are in his hands, he can't enter those houses at all. Sometimes, if he gets a little close, those living in the houses will come out to drive him away.
This is also the big problem that the private property confiscated in those years is facing now. It is easy to invite the gods but difficult to send them away. Those who have lived in the confiscated houses for several years or even more than ten years have actually regarded this house that does not belong to them as their own private property. Especially now that housing is tight, every household has more than a dozen people squeezed into one room. It is not that easy, so they will give up the rooms they were allocated.
It would be better if the landlord was tougher. For a kind old man like Bai Fangqiu, who would he bully if he didn't bully him? This is also the mentality of most people to bully the good and fear the evil. Bai Fangqiu didn't expect that his retreat would become a reason for others to make further advances.
"Uncle Bai, don't be polite. We brought a lot of local specialties this time. We can just cook a meal ourselves."
Jiang Dashan hurriedly tried to stop them. They were already causing enough trouble to Uncle Bai by staying at his house this time. If they asked Uncle Bai to treat them to a meal, wouldn’t they be poor relatives asking for money?
Bai Fangqiu looked at the bags of local specialties they brought and said with a wry smile, "The main thing is that there is no place to cook here."
When the people who lived in the inner courtyard moved out, they not only emptied the furniture in the house, but also smashed the cooking stove. They couldn't live there anymore, and they didn't want him to have an easy life. Fortunately, Bai Fangqiu didn't cook for himself on weekdays. He ate every meal in the cafeteria of the hospital or the cafeteria of the medical university, so it didn't have much of an impact. But now Erni and her group probably have to live at home for five or six days, so it's really not a good idea to not have a kitchen.
Bai Fangqiu originally thought that since they had taken care of him for so many years and it was a rare occasion for them to come to the capital, he would take them to eat something good these days. However, in the eyes of the simple-minded Jiang family, this might become a burden.
"How did this stove get smashed like this?"
When Jiang Dahai heard that there was no place to cook, he walked into the kitchen curiously and saw bricks and debris all over the floor. The entire stove was smashed to pieces, and even the chimney leading to the roof was broken in half.
"That won't do. It will be so inconvenient if I want to boil some water to drink some hot soup in the future."
Jiang Dahai took off his clothes, revealing his muscular body: "I see that there are still some intact bricks and cement piled in the yard, so let's fix this stove."
Bai Fangqiu bought the cement, but the person who was going to repair the stove never came, so the cement was just piled in the yard.
"Dashan, come and help me. Dongmei, you and Dashan's wife and Jianjun's wife go buy two stoves, we can use the coal stove to cook a few dishes, didn't our mom bring us two large jars of sauce, we can just make some pancakes or noodles."
The two shirtless men started working quickly, and Huo Wu also came forward to help. Mo Xiangdong silently took off his clean coat and went to the yard to carry cement.
"this--"
Bai Fangqiu felt a little embarrassed. How could he ask a guest for help?
"Grandpa Bai, my mom and the others don't know where the nearby supply and marketing cooperative is, so we have to ask you to go with us." This stove must be repaired, otherwise it will be very inconvenient for us to live in the future. Jiang Yiliu found an excuse and sent Grandpa Bai away who wanted to stop him.
"Okay, I'll go to the room to get the money."
Bai Fangqiu smiled helplessly and went in to get the money. He couldn't ask the Jiang family to pay for the coal stove and coal briquettes.
Everyone was busy. Erni and a few others drew a bucket of water from the well and started cleaning the house with Sanni and a few others.
Gu Xiashi and Jiang Yilu followed Bai Fangqiu and others to the supply and marketing cooperative under the pretext of helping to get something.
"Capitalist roader, black-hearted stinking ninth class, bah."
When the group was leaving, Jiang Yiliu saw an old lady in her seventies who was trembling as she walked, coming out of a room in the courtyard and spitting at their backs. Seeing Jiang Yiliu's look back, the old lady glared at him fiercely and walked into the house with her head held high. There were a few women cooking in the courtyard, who didn't think there was anything wrong with the old lady's behavior and smiled happily. When the child imitated the old lady's actions and kept spitting, he even laughed with his hands covering his mouth as if he had seen something happy.
Jiang Yilu couldn't help but frowned when he saw this.
"Uncle Bai, are all the courtyards in this area owned by someone now?"
Gu Xiashi walked through the alley and looked at the layout inside from the open courtyard, looking eager to try.
"The current policy is that most of the private houses that were confiscated have been returned to their original owners. However, over the years, some of the owners have died or disappeared, and many houses are now ownerless."
Bai Fangqiu sighed and looked at the alley that carried all his good memories, the courtyards, the jujube trees and osmanthus trees growing out of the courtyards, the jasmine fragrance that filled the alley every May and June, and the lively and friendly greetings. Several generations of his family had lived in that small courtyard, and the neighbors were harmonious. Several children ran around at mealtime every day, eating a bite of meat from one family and stealing a bite of fish from another.
But now, the clean and tidy alleys in my memory have been piled with many buildings that have never existed in my memory. The small courtyard has become more crowded and tight. The big trees in my memory have been cut down one by one, and the flowers, plants and trees have been dug up and turned into private plots for growing vegetables and fruits. The pond in the small courtyard has been filled in. I don’t know if the old turtle in my memory has been buried under the pond, or was shared by others for making soup in those years...
"Uncle Bai, if I want to buy a courtyard house, how much would it cost?"
Gu Xiashi asked curiously. Jiang Yiliu looked at his second uncle and admired his foresight. If it weren't for his second uncle's normal behavior, he would have suspected that his second uncle had been reborn like him.
"You want to buy a courtyard house?" Bai Fangqiu asked doubtfully. But Shitou was far away in Province J, so why would he buy a house in the capital?
"If you really want to buy it, I can ask for you."
"Uncle Bai, don't pay attention to him. My second brother doesn't have that kind of money." Gu Dongmei hurriedly stopped him. The second brother was already old and hadn't even found a wife. If he really had that kind of money, he would go home and build a house, marry a wife and have a child, so that his mother could feel at ease.
"Second brother, didn't my eldest sister-in-law introduce you to a good match a few days ago? Even mom is quite satisfied with it. You are already this old, so don't continue to be a playboy."
Gu Dongmei lectured her brother, and Gu Xiashi and Jiang Yilu couldn't help rolling their eyes. What kind of good partner could be introduced by her elder sister-in-law and aunt? Seeing that her sister was strongly opposed, Gu Xiashi could only give up temporarily and ask Uncle Bai when there was no one around.
He thought that since his nephews and nieces had passed the exam and were admitted to the capital, why would they go back to the countryside? Of course, they would stay in the capital and become city dwellers. Although he, as an uncle, did not have much ability, he could still afford to buy them a house, especially...
Gu Xiashi blinked. He came to the capital city for an important matter.
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