Siheyuan (courtyard house): My name is Shazhu!

The brother and sister happily celebrated New Year's Day and then returned to work and school as usual.

With less than a month until the Lunar New Year, more families are hosting banquets, as if they like to do things together before the New Year.

In Yanjing City, for some unknown reason, someone is entertaining guests before the New Year or after the New Year.

Whatever the reason, Fourth Brother has been extremely busy lately. He's hardly ever working at the restaurant; he's constantly taking on jobs.

Master Ma from Erzao was better off, taking jobs every two or three days at noon, while his own master usually took jobs on Sundays.

He Yuzhu, who was filling in for the shift, gained three or four hundred more cooking experience points, reaching a thousand experience points a day. He Yuzhu was still very happy every day.

I have plenty of strength, and cooking isn't too tiring. It's the experience points I earn that make me happy, and it's okay for young people to work a little harder.

In the twenty-five days leading up to the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, the combined salary of the three head chefs would be no less than 800,000 yuan per person.

I can fill in for others, work efficiently, and won't delay the serving time or the taste of the dishes, allowing the three master chefs to take on jobs and earn money with peace of mind.

Win-win!

On Saturday, January 12th, at noon, He Yushui skipped and hopped back to the restaurant's kitchen.

"Brother, we don't have classes after school. We'll be on break starting today until school starts again on the 18th of next month."

"Rain Water has started winter break. Just like before school started, your brother is at work, and you can study in the back, okay? Next week, when we have time, we'll go shopping for New Year's goods."

"Okay, brother. I wrote to Dad this afternoon to tell him that I have a day off today and I'm studying and playing at your place."

Is it too early for me to wish Dad a Happy New Year? Will it take some time for the letter to reach him in Baocheng?

"I can write a letter in a few days if you want, and please give my regards in the letter as well," He Yuzhu replied.

"Okay, brother, I'll go write the letter. I'll leave out the words I don't know how to write, and you can teach me after you've cooked the dishes."

After He Yushui started school, she would write one or two letters to He Daqing every month. There were many words she didn't know how to write, so He Yuzhu would help her write them.

The attitude towards He Daqing was: if you treat me with respect, I'll treat you with even more respect; ten feet is a bit too much. Before leaving, He Daqing left behind most of his wealth, which was quite a good deed.

As for providing for He Daqing in his old age, he'll either become a wealthy man in Hong Kong or have a large family. With money, he can hire beautiful women to take care of He Daqing, and he'll definitely like that.

If he lived in a courtyard house, it wouldn't be a problem to send any child to take care of him.

Every time Yu Shui wrote a letter, He Daqing would reply once or twice a month, sending it to Emei Restaurant and receiving it from He Yuzhu.

The letters sent to the courtyard house stopped being sent at the end of October, and in August or September, He Daqing's letters revealed a sense of disappointment.

Anyone who saw the letter would think that He Daqing was disappointed because he couldn't get his child's forgiveness, so he started sending money instead of letters from October onwards.

He Yuzhu sent five million yuan to He Daqing and wrote a letter in which he asked He Yushui to send more money to her every month and to have the person who intercepted the money intercept more remittances over the next few years.

The more money he has, the greater his crime and punishment!

He Daqing was a seasoned veteran and immediately understood what he meant. Starting in December, he sent 150,000 yuan a month, citing his extra income as the reason.

Including the remittances from the first six months, there are six million yuan in three years, which should be enough to kill the person who intercepted the money, preferably Yi Zhonghai.

He Yushui started her vacation, and He Yuzhu didn't want to go to work every day, especially after the Lunar New Year when her fourth senior brother could come to work.

I started taking He Yushui shopping for New Year's goods and to crowded places, such as Tianqiao, which is a must-visit place.

Historically, Yanjing was divided into two parts: one centered on the imperial city and ruled by the royal family and nobility; and the other represented by Tianqiao, the capital of the common people. It was the common people's Yanjing that created the royal family's Yanjing.

People who stroll along the overpass come in two main ways: one is to buy daily necessities; the other is to see various folk arts.

Another option is to sample the delicious and affordable local food at the food stalls on the overpass.

Most importantly, watch your old wrestling coach!

He Yuzhu used to know wrestling. He learned it from a master at Tianqiao. That wrestling master's surname was Miao, and his name was Miao Dazhuang. People in the underworld called him Miao San. His formal name was a bit rustic.

Originally, I saw He Yuzhu, who was small in stature but strong, and had a very stable center of gravity. I became interested and decided to teach him wrestling for free, without having to formally become his apprentice.

This made many people envious and jealous at the time. Wrestling is also a skill, and not many people can learn it without visiting relatives and friends.

The good times didn't last long. Our army entered the city. Master Miao was observing, and He Daqing also told He Yuzhu to go to school obediently and not to run around after school. He had to stay at home. He still didn't understand our army.

He Yuzhu began to be curious, but later, because he didn't understand the executions of some people, he became a little scared and spent more time at home.

After that, he didn't finish junior high school and became an apprentice at Emei Restaurant. He didn't have time to go to Tianqiao to see Master Miao San anymore.

Master Miao taught him for nine months free of charge. He Yuzhu thought that since the New Year was approaching, he should buy New Year's goods. Tianqiao was a good place, and there were also many places selling snacks. He Yushui would like it.

I'll just keep an eye on Master Miao since I'm on my way!

January 21st, the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Great Cold!

He Yuzhu took a break, and around 10 a.m., he took He Yushui to stroll around the overpass.

The Tianqiao area is very lively now, and the period around the Lunar New Year is the peak time for Tianqiao performers to work hard and earn money.

After 1957, most of the performers from Tianqiao stopped gathering there. Some of them changed to other professions, while others became cultural figures or athletes.

Tianqiao Le Tea Garden was acquired by Yanjing Deyun Society Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. after 2000.

It is now the headquarters of Deyun Society.

Audiences can also enjoy traditional folk art performances left over from the old Tianqiao area, including crosstalk, storytelling, Xihe drum ballad, clapper talk, Shandong clapper talk, and other types of folk art.

Tianqiao. "Wine flags and drums adorn Tianqiao Market, how many travelers forget their homes," wrote Yi Shunding, a famous poet from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, in his poem "Tianqiao Song."

When He Yuzhu and his sister arrived at the entrance of the overpass, it was not yet 11 a.m. in winter, but the overpass was already bustling with activity, and the shouts from inside could be heard from outside.

In the early years of the Republic of China, it truly developed into a prosperous market for ordinary people and was regarded as a typical area of ​​the common people's society in old Beijing.

The overpass is located outside Zhengyangmen in the eastern part of Xicheng District.

Its area encompassed Zhengyangmen Street, extending south through Dongxizhushikou to the northwest of the Temple of Heaven's gate and north of Yongdingmen. Later, it gradually developed into the Tianqiao Market, which had its own unique "Beijing flavor".

Before liberation, many itinerant performers would "perform on the ground" in Tianqiao. "Performing on the ground" meant drawing a white circle on the ground as a performance venue, which was called "drawing a pot" in the trade.

A pot is used for cooking. With a painted pot and a stage, the performer can earn a living. The acrobatic performances at Tianqiao Market are a major feature, not only because of the variety of acts, but also because of the superb skills.

There is a bow: the bow used for drawing the bow is a rigid bow.

Lifting a knife: Lifting a knife is also a performance that demonstrates arm strength.

Diabolo: Diabolo is one of the folk toys in Yanjing (Beijing).

Dezi lived during the Guangxu era. Due to financial difficulties, he set up a stall at Tianqiao Market to perform diabolo.

To meet the needs of a wide audience, he developed many new tricks, hence the nickname "Diabolo Dezi".

It is said that he invented the single-headed diabolo. Later, there was a man named Chang Liquan who not only played the diabolo, but also the "dulu" (a long-necked, large-bellied black pottery wine container), and the lid of a pot.

Fork Dance: The fork dance is a traditional folk performance in my country.

Pole climbing: Pole climbing is a traditional folk acrobatic act, which, according to research, existed as early as the Han Dynasty.

The Zhongfan (a type of banner) is made of bamboo poles and is about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) high.

There are also folk artists performing hard qigong, wrestling, cycling, and other similar acts.