Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 915 914 Relying on one's parents again?
Mayflies die in a day, grasshoppers never return.

The frog wakes up from its dream another year later; perhaps there will be no chance in the next life.

As spring fades and beauty withers, who can live a life without regrets after all their hard work?

Do not grieve in vain, for today's dream will come true today.

Tang Zhitong really liked the courtyard house in Dashizuo Hutong and didn't want to leave any regrets in his life, so this time he tried every possible way to get his mother to accept it.

However, Tang Zhitong did not take his mother to Dashizuo Hutong right away, because the courtyard there was indeed a bit dilapidated.

With his mother in tow, Tang Zhitong first turned onto South Chang Street along Chang'an Avenue, and then passed through Xihua Gate to North Chang Street.

The majestic walls of the Forbidden City stood to their right, their vermilion hues particularly vibrant in the setting sun. Tang Zhitong rode slowly, introducing the local residents and primary school to Zhang Guifang as he went:
"Mom, along the way, we've seen several courtyards with their gates closed. The people living inside are all important figures. Many of their children, grandchildren, or the children of their secretaries attend Beichang Street Primary School."

You said Jingmin is insightful, not because my mother-in-law is a good educator, but more importantly because the primary school education conditions there are good.

Beichangjie Primary School is similar to Shijia Hutong Primary School. When we move here, Fengzhi will also go to school here. In the future, she will not only broaden her horizons, but also become classmates with other students.

If we get along well, we can develop a close relationship like the one I had with Brother Ma.

“How could Fengzhi be friends with families like theirs? We’re just ordinary people, will Fengzhi be bullied?” In the end, Zhang Guifang was just an ordinary person, and deep down she still had a deep respect for officials.

Especially after hearing her son say that the people living here are all high-ranking officials, Zhang Guifang thought that back when the Empress Dowager was alive, they must have been at the level of a provincial governor or other high-ranking officials.

Zhang Guifang turned her head and glanced at the tall city wall, her eyes filled with worry.

“How can we let ourselves be bullied? Not every courtyard here has its gate closed. Aren’t there many more with their gates open? Many of these open courtyards are large, shared courtyards, inhabited by ordinary people. They also have children and grandchildren, and these children also attend Beichang Street Primary School.”

"Nowadays, we emphasize going deep among the people, coming from the people, and going back to the people. Those children are all well-mannered and would never bully their classmates. Besides, given Fengzhi's physique and personality, it's good enough if she doesn't bully others, so you can rest assured."

Tang Zhitong never expected that her elaborate plans would only cause her mother worry, so she could only try different ways to persuade her.

Over the past year, the family's living conditions have improved, and the two sisters, Fengzhen and Fengzhi, have not suffered much in terms of food. They have started to grow taller, and their clothes from last summer are already a bit too small.

"We can't bully others." Hearing her son say this, Zhang Guifang was already thinking about telling her daughter not to fight at school. Fengzhi had not only grown taller, but also stronger. Sometimes she would hit the sandbag in the inner room with a loud thud.

"You're right, we shouldn't bully others. We'll have a good talk with Fengzhi later."

“Look back at this corner tower. You can see it from the new courtyard. If this were in the past, we would really be neighbors with the emperor’s family. Whenever the emperor stood on the corner tower, we could just stand here and shoot him with a slingshot.”

While the mother and son were talking, they had already arrived at the north entrance of Beichang Street. The corner tower in the northwest of the Forbidden City is very nice. When it snows in winter, the scenery will be absolutely stunning. We'll come over then and take a picture together. In short: beautiful!

"You really dare to think like that. In the past, just for saying that would have been a capital offense." Zhang Guifang laughed as she sat on the back of the bicycle, listening to her son's witty remark.

When she was little, she heard the old folks in the village tell stories about so-and-so from which village was a servant of which master, whose family lived near the capital and who was someone who had influence in front of the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department.

At the time, I was amazed when I heard about it, but after liberation, both the master and the servant had vanished, and their descendants were no different from ordinary people.

"Hey, that's why it's better now. No one cares if we complain a bit." Tang Zhitong laughed along. Life had been difficult these past two years, and there had been voices of discontent circulating in other places. It was a bit later in Beijing, but it wasn't nonexistent. Occasionally, scattered comments would reach his ears.

"People can say whatever they want, we can't control them, we just need to take care of ourselves. If it weren't for liberation, our family's life would definitely not be as good as before. We should be content and grateful." Zhang Guifang had also heard the cursing and, seeing her son bring it up, she gave him these words of advice.

"That's for sure, we won't join in the criticism. I want to tell you that the world has changed, but some things haven't, like this house, a good location is a good location."

When Grandma traded grain for our house, she said a feng shui master had looked at it.

Actually, the houses here have been examined by even more skilled feng shui masters, who say that they gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"I'm just naive," I thought. "The emperors of both dynasties lived in the Forbidden City, a place inhabited only by the wealthy and powerful. Even the poorest families knew to consult feng shui masters when building houses here. Wouldn't they consult feng shui masters too?"

The mother had reservations about the school and didn't care much about parks or similar places, so Tang Zhitong wanted to try approaching it from a feng shui perspective.

"Yes, you're right." Sure enough, Zhang Guifang became serious when she heard about feng shui. Her son had changed his ways in the past two years. He not only got a good job but also found a good wife. All of this reminded her of the house her mother-in-law bought and the fortune teller she consulted when naming the child.

If one's destiny lacks the element of wood, naming the child Zhitong (植桐) will attract the golden phoenix.

Zhang Guifang wasn't sure if Fengzhen and Fengzhi were golden phoenixes, but her daughter-in-law definitely was. Given her family background, in the past, she would have been at least a princess.
“Such a nice house, if we rely solely on our own savings, it would take at least ten years to afford it. And even if we could afford it, there’s no guarantee anyone would be willing to sell it. Don’t you agree?” Seeing that her mother had relented, Tang Zhitong beamed with joy and stopped her bicycle, because they had arrived.

“That makes sense. Are we here?” Zhang Guifang got off her bicycle and looked around Dashizuo Hutong. The road surface was paved, so there would be no mud sticking to her feet when it rained. The courtyards here were all made of blue bricks and gray tiles, which looked very solid and harmonious.

“Yes, this is the courtyard.” Tang Zhitong pointed to the black gate with two stone drums on it and then went up the steps to knock on the door.

Looking at the gate, Zhang Guifang felt a pang of emotion. As a native of the suburbs of Beijing, she knew that the stone drums and steps were strictly limited by social status; the higher the status, the higher the steps and the more complex the patterns on the stone drums.

Before leaving, Meng Qingfeng greeted the staff on duty. As soon as they saw it was Tang Zhitong, they immediately opened the gate, as if welcoming anyone to come and visit. Tang Zhitong smiled, offered him a cigarette, locked her bicycle, and took her mother into the yard.

"Mom, this place looks dilapidated, but the materials used are actually quite good. We can tidy it up slowly later." The courtyard did look somewhat run-down, but that suited Tang Zhitong's purposes perfectly. The less noticeable it looked, the lower the estimated value would be, allowing them to save money on the exchange to the greatest extent possible.

"This land isn't suitable for growing vegetables, is it?" Zhang Guifang glanced at the house briefly before focusing her attention on the ground. The vegetable garden was crucial for the food supply of both families, so she couldn't help but pay attention to it.

"Mom, don't worry. When we move in, this place will be just like the other one, so it won't interfere with your vegetable growing. I'll take care of it myself." Tang Zhitong said decisively. Once the chemical raw material company moves away, he can use the time difference to resolve the land issue.

"Hmm." Zhang Guifang squatted down and scratched the soil with her hands. It was very hard and difficult to turn over, but she didn't want to embarrass her son in front of outsiders.

"The water and electricity here are independent, so it will be more convenient to drink water and water vegetables than over there." Tang Zhitong turned on the tap again. The water pressure was quite good, and when he stretched his hand down, it felt very cool.

"It's convenient, but it's a pity about the cellar you dug." With independent water and electricity, Zhang Guifang was satisfied, and she no longer had to argue with her neighbors about it.

"Sister, there's a cellar over here, and it's quite large, right under this pile of boxes," the staff member on duty said, pointing to a pile of wooden boxes between the main house and the east wing.

"That's great! We can store some cabbage and radishes in the winter now." Zhang Guifang smiled when she heard that there was a cellar here.

"This cellar is wonderful, it's all built of bluestone. When it's hot, we all go in to cool off, and in winter we use it to store vegetables..." The staff on duty seemed to have found a kindred spirit and enthusiastically praised the cellar to Zhang Guifang.

After praising the cellar, he went on to praise the excellent infrastructure, noting not only the visible paved roads but also the unseen drainage wells: "Every household here has a high yard. When we first moved here, it was guaranteed to be all muddy whenever it rained. Later, they built drainage wells and paved the roads together. Since then, we're not afraid of rain anymore, and in winter, when it snows, a bunch of kids play outside every day. If you have kids, you'll have plenty to play with."

(The picture shows the construction of drainage wells and road surface renovation in Dashizuo Hutong in 1953.)
"That's great, it'll be much more convenient to go out when it rains." Zhang Guifang smiled broadly as she listened to the staff's introduction. Who wouldn't want things to be more convenient when they live here?

"There's something even more convenient. Just a few hundred meters north of Beihai Alley is Xuechi Hutong. There's an ice cellar from the previous dynasty in Xuechi Hutong, which is still in use today. Every summer, the ice cellar opens its doors to sell ice, and many residents buy ice to cool off. Watermelons and plum juice that they buy are chilled in ice, and the taste is indescribably refreshing." The staff member got excited and talked about Xuechi Hutong again, starting from Dashizuo Hutong.

"Buy ice? How much would that cost?" Zhang Guifang had lived in Tielugu for many years and had never seen anyone buy large chunks of ice, but she had seen small vendors selling ice in the sweltering summer.

It wasn't just small vendors; in the old days, teenagers would run around selling ice in the alleys during the hot summer months in order to earn a living.

A small bamboo basket and a small hammer were all the possessions of those teenagers.

I bought a slightly larger block of ice from a small vendor, put it in my bamboo basket, and ran around shouting, "Selling ice cores!"

These ice cores are mostly sold to children with a sweet tooth; one can buy one for a copper coin.

As soon as they sold out, they ran off to find the next shop, afraid that if they were too slow, the ice would melt before they could sell it all.

“Hey, ma’am, you don’t know, the residents in this area are quite well-off…” Upon hearing this, the staff member on duty became very interested and started talking about it from the Qing Dynasty to the present.

"Going back a long way, there's Zhang Zhidong, who served as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Liangjiang, and a Grand Councilor. If he were alive today, he'd be a minister, wouldn't he? Closer to home, there's Xu Guangping, Lu Xun's wife, whose grandson was born in Dashizuo Hutong. And there's Tang Yongtong, the first chairman of Peking University's University Affairs Committee; his home is on the other side of the road." The staff member on duty said, pointing eastward.

“These are all important people. Is it appropriate for us to stay here?” Even if Zhang Guifang was not knowledgeable, she had heard of Lu Xun and Peking University. After hearing the introduction, she felt a little uneasy and looked at her son.

“It’s appropriate, why not? Even the swallows that once graced the mansions of the wealthy and powerful now fly into the homes of ordinary people. There must be ordinary residents in this area too, right?” Seeing his mother’s worry, Tang Zhitong winked at the staff member on duty, implying that their behavior would depend on what the staff member said next.

“Perfect! This courtyard is hard to find even with a lantern. Why are you having second thoughts?” The staff member on duty received Tang Zhitong’s hint and immediately changed the subject, introducing the other ordinary residents in the vicinity: “There are many ordinary people here. In addition to the staff of Beihai Park, there are palace maids and eunuchs from the Qing Dynasty. Even the staff of the opera house live here. You’ll know once you’ve lived here for a while. You’ll often hear the sounds of flutes, erhus, and operas. You can enjoy the opera without even leaving your house.”

"Free things are always the best," Zhang Guifang said, beaming from ear to ear. Her generation didn't like songs, but they found opera more pleasant to listen to. However, as a woman, she spent her days with pots and pans and had no opportunity or money to go to the opera house.

Tang Zhitong secretly gave the person on duty a thumbs up. This guy must be a true Beijing native. He talks non-stop, he's so damn talkative. I wonder if the chemical raw materials company couldn't stand his nagging and sent him to watch the warehouse.

Encouraged by Tang Zhitong's thumbs-up, the staff on duty began praising the park again: "Look at this park, it's bordered by Jingshan Park to the east and Beihai Park to the west. The feng shui is impeccable. In the past, this was a place only the Empress Dowager could visit. You can enjoy your life here from now on."

Zhang Guifang didn't understand, but Tang Zhitong knew that even palace maids and eunuchs were very wealthy. More than half of the palace supplies circulating in the market today came from the Forbidden City through their hands.

Needless to say, the treatment of artists and cultural workers has improved, and their salaries have risen accordingly as their social status has increased. This is even more true for those who already have a certain social standing.

The more Tang Zhitong thought about it, the more satisfied he became with this place. His family was hidden among these people, truly inconspicuous.

After listening to the staff member's enthusiastic introduction, and seeing that it was almost time to leave, Tang Zhitong secretly slipped him a pack of cigarettes as a way of thanking him for his tireless efforts in introducing the advantages of Dashizuo Hutong.

After the mother and son left the small courtyard, Zhang Guifang's attitude had clearly softened, and she even discussed with her son what they should plant next.

Tang Zhitong hummed in agreement, then pointed west as they exited the alley: "Mom, Wenwen's workplace is just across this bridge. If we move here, she can walk to and from get off work. Don't you think it will be very convenient when Wenwen is more pregnant?"

"It's convenient, and we have to move for Wenwen's sake." Upon hearing this, Zhang Guifang immediately agreed to the move, as her daughter-in-law was pregnant with her precious grandson.

“Hehe, it’s convenient for Wenwen, but in other aspects, this place is indeed much better than Tielugu. As you know, houses in the inner city, especially the imperial city, are more expensive. We’ll have to pay the difference when we move. Wenwen and I don’t have enough money. Could you help us out? We’ll pay you back slowly after we get our salaries.” Seeing that his mother finally nodded, Tang Zhitong revealed his true intentions and brought up the money issue.

(End of this chapter)