To put it nicely, they were imperial chefs; to put it bluntly, they were servants.
A lackey of feudal emperors.
The man, born after the founding of the People's Republic of China, could not understand his grandfather's thoughts and feelings. In his view, his grandfather had been kneeling for too long and could no longer stand up.
"Smack!"
The old man slapped him again, his face flushed with anger, "How dare you insult our ancestors like this?"
The man didn't flinch; he took it head-on.
But after the old man finished speaking, he told him, "Grandpa, I've made up my mind. I'm going to go to the machine factory to learn a trade. I want to be a worker and live an upright life."
After saying that, he strode away.
The old man watched his retreating figure, tears streaming down his face.
If he had a choice, why would he become a slave? He simply didn't want to see his ancestors' legacy destroyed in his hands.
He looked around at his surroundings and wiped away his tears.
At the very least, this courtyard must be left for my grandson; it's his roots for life, and we can't let it go.
"Where are they? Where have they all gone?"
"Why isn't there even anyone to greet you? Don't you even want to do business?"
An arrogant voice came from the front yard. The old man recognized the voice, instantly put on a fawning smile, and went to the front yard to greet the person. The moment he saw the person, he bowed.
"Oh my, it is an honor to have you, young masters and ladies, grace my humble abode with your presence. Please come in."
Five young boys and girls, heads held high and chests puffed out, looking down their noses at people.
"Same as always, let's have something fresh."
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away." The old man ushered them into a west wing room.
The place where Qin Yushen and his group were eating was right across the street.
The room wasn't very soundproof, and you could hear everything outside clearly.
Lin Xiaoxiao lost her appetite and put down her chopsticks.
Immediately afterwards, Qin Yushen and Luo Qingming also put down their things.
"Are you full?" Song Shaohua looked at the barely touched food with a puzzled expression. "Or is it not to your liking?"
Just as he was about to ask someone to change tables, Qin Yushen stopped him.
"The food was delicious, but I didn't have much of an appetite after sitting on the train for so long."
"You continue eating, let's drink some water to calm down."
Song Shaohua didn't think much of it, but eating alone was really awkward, so he only ate a few bites before stopping.
"Let's go."
After leaving the room, Song Shaohua took out his wallet, and without even looking at it, handed a stack of ten-yuan notes to the old man.
The old man bent down, took the gifts with both hands, and smiled as he saw them out of the yard.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao asked Song Shaohua, "Don't we need to make up for the extra amount?"
Hearing her words, Song Shaohua laughed twice, "It's just a little money, any more is fine, consider it a tip."
"What if it's too little?" Luo Qingming asked as well.
Song Shaohua felt that the Lin siblings were too naive. "If it's less, it's less. He wouldn't dare to ask for more. But only people who are not respectable would give less. People with a little status would give more."
Lin Xiaoxiao just wanted to laugh.
This meal was truly unpleasant for her.
I don't want to say anything more.
If anyone invites her to a private restaurant again, she'll turn on them.
Song Shaohua took them to the courtyard house closest to the military region and then left because he had other business to attend to.
The yard is cleaned every six months, so it's quite tidy.
Qin Yushen rolled up his sleeves, intending to tidy up the room first so that someone could stay there that night.
The three of them worked together and spent an entire afternoon tidying up the main house and the west wing.
Of the several courtyard houses under Qin Yushen's name, this one is the largest, with five courtyards in total. In ancient times, only a prince could live there.
When Lin Xiaoxiao saw the bright and spacious entrance gate, she was extremely excited. After passing through the hall, there were tool sheds and two side pavilions on both sides, which were connected to a covered walkway.
Facing the entrance hall is the vestibule, with side rooms on both sides. Passing through the vestibule leads to a large courtyard, with east and west wing rooms on both sides. Facing the entrance hall is the main house.
The main house was very large, with four rooms in total. Lin Xiaoxiao and Qin Yushen discussed that they could set aside one room to be used as a study.
The three courtyards behind the main house have been temporarily locked up, leaving only the front yard as an activity space.
"My goodness, life is just like this." Lin Xiaoxiao lay on the bamboo rocking chair in the yard, swaying her body, comfortably squinting her eyes, and sighed.
She is now a woman who owns a courtyard house.
It's hard to imagine how cheerful she must be decades later, with soaring property prices and hundreds of millions in real estate.
After dinner, Qin Yushen took Lin Xiaoxiao and Luo Qingming out for a stroll around the area.
Familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment.
After walking around, Lin Xiaoxiao discovered that her family's courtyard house was actually the largest in the area. She exclaimed, "Qin Yushen, were your ancestors some kind of princes?"
Otherwise, how did he manage to own several sizable courtyard houses when the state was carrying out socialist transformation of private housing?
The Qin family doesn't seem to have that kind of ability.
While tidying his clothes, Qin Yushen answered her question, "No, but the previous owner of this courtyard house was a descendant of a prince from the previous dynasty."
Lin Xiaoxiao lay on the bed, "So that's what he gave you?"
Where can you find such a kind person who gives away houses so readily?
Qin Yushen recalled for a moment and said, "Well, but I promised to do something for him."
"What's wrong?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked curiously.
"He had many wives, concubines and children before the founding of the People's Republic of China. Most of them died in the war. He only had one son who went abroad to study and disappeared. He waited for 30 years but never found him. On his deathbed, he promised to give me all the houses under his name and asked me to find him a son for him as long as I lived."
Lin Xiaoxiao said, "It's been over thirty years and we still haven't found it. I'm afraid it's difficult."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
