Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 109

"You all chose to forgive?"

He Yuzhu said, "Xu Damao is just a child. Locking him up for a couple of days to scare him is enough. I can't really watch him go to jail."

"Good, that shows vision." Ye Dapeng nodded in satisfaction.

The procedures were completed quickly, and Xu Damao was released first. Xu Damao was still a little dazed when Xu Wude, with tears streaming down his face, hugged him tightly.

Then Xu Damao was forced to kowtow to He Yuzhu and apologize.

Xu Damao was naturally disgusted, but as someone under someone else's roof, he had no choice but to bow his head and pretend to kneel.

He Yuzhu also made a move to help him up, but only after Xu Damao knelt down unwillingly did he pull him up.

After a few words spoken in a neither too harsh nor too mild manner, Xu Damao could only nod in shame and repeatedly agree.

A moment later, Yi Zhonghai also walked out, looking bewildered and puzzled to see so many people around.

Aunt Yi rushed forward, embraced him, and burst into tears.

Yi Zhonghai asked softly, "What price did you have to pay to get me out?"

Aunt Yi said, "It cost another 1,500 yuan. Now our family is completely broke."

"What?" Yi Zhonghai was in a daze. He was very happy to be released, but the price he paid this time was too high.

Adding to what He Yuzhu had borrowed before, the family's savings had been completely drained.

"It's good that you can get out; you can earn money again later. But what will I do if you're sentenced to prison?"

Yi Zhonghai sighed. This time he really suffered a huge loss. He should have known better than to say those two extra words.

He Yuzhu didn't bother with them and they separated at the entrance of the police station, each going their own way.

Back at the tavern, He Yuzhu said to Xu Huizhen, "What do you think about me buying another courtyard house?"

Right now, a typical courtyard house would only cost a little over 1000 yuan. He Yuzhu suddenly received so much money, but he didn't want to save it; he wanted to exchange it for a house to make a better deal.

As for storing grain and meat, the money earned in normal times has already been invested, so there is still enough time to store them.

Xu Huizhen suddenly blushed and murmured, "Why are you asking me about buying a house?"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "I asked you to help me with some advice, why are you blushing?"

Xu Huizhen reached out and patted He Yuzhu's arm: "Bad brother, you just know how to bully me."

After the two of them played around for a while, Xu Huizhen finally said, "You want to buy a house around here?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "This place is not good. We already have a tavern here, so I want to find a house in Dashilan."

Recently, He Yuzhu noticed that this place was too close to No. 95 Courtyard, and they would come to him whenever they had something to do.

There's a saying in Beijing: "Play in Tianqiao and eat in Dashilan." The area outside Zhengyangmen is the heart of Beijing's culinary culture.

There are dozens of time-honored brands gathered near Dashilan. It would be better to buy a house outside Zhengyangmen, which would not only keep you away from No. 95 Courtyard, but also allow you to start a catering business in the future and make Limin Braised Meat a well-known brand.

"You want to open a shop in Dashilan?"

"That's the idea."

"That's good, but what about here?"

He Yuzhu knew that by 1955, the public-private partnership would be implemented, and all the companies would be converted into state-owned enterprises, leaving him only with interest.

As for why He Yuzhu still wants to buy the house, the main reason is that he plans to wait until the 10-year period ends, and then buy it back in seven or eight years.

After all, it originally belonged to them, so they naturally have the right to repurchase it.

This ensures that the store remains yours.

"Just keep driving."

Xu Huizhen opened her mouth as if to ask if He Yuzhu wanted to break up with her.

After thinking about it, he decided not to ask, since the two of them were now just ordinary business partners and had no other relationship.

Although sometimes he would lie in bed and think about heart-pounding scenes, He Yuzhu himself wouldn't say anything; he couldn't very well go and test the waters himself.

He Yuzhu said, "There's no rush. We'll take our time to find a place. If we find a suitable shop, we can rent it."

He Yuzhu has upgraded his seasoning to the highest level, and his braised meat is highly praised by buyers in the surrounding area. Even some hotels source their products from him, and some people even call him "Braised Meat He".

This is a custom in Beijing. Some famous shops have nicknames that combine their industry with their surname. For example, "Zhang the Tripe Master" means that the person is considered a master in the industry in Beijing.

Although the storefronts on Yandaixie Street are in a decent location, most of the major restaurant chains are concentrated outside Zhengyangmen.

So He Yuzhu was also thinking about whether he could open another store in Dashilan to take his braised meat business to the next level.

Earn more money to buy food and meat, and then make even more money during those three years.

"Okay, I'll ask around."

"Yes, it's so good to have your help."

Hearing He Yuzhu's thanks, Xu Huizhen was overjoyed, her big eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

That evening, although Xu Zhaodi really didn't want to come, she still forced herself to come and found He Yuzhu, saying, "Zhuzi, let's go. Dad and Mom are preparing dinner."

"Look at you, I already said it wasn't necessary, why did you have to spend so much money?"

"It should."

He Yuzhu gave Xu Huizhen some instructions and then followed Xu Zhaodi out of the tavern.

Xu Huizhen's face was frosty: "What a vixen."

Xu Wude prepared a feast at home and invited He Yuzhu to take the seat of honor. During the meal, he also made Xu Damao apologize again and said all sorts of nice things to him.

In the middle courtyard, in the east wing.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the corner, smoking a cigarette, sulking.

Aunt Yi said, "You should smoke less; it's bad for your health."

"It can't get any worse than this."

A few years ago, the couple planned to have children, but as they got older, both in their thirties and having been married for almost twenty years, they stopped mentioning having children altogether.

Aunt Yi sighed, blaming herself for not being able to have children and carry on the Yi family line. Although her father had passed on Yi Zhonghai's skills, her biggest problem was her inability to have children, which resulted in her having very little say in the family and having to rely on Yi Zhonghai's opinions in everything.

"Don't bother with Zhu Zi anymore. He's been acting really weird lately. If you mess with him, nothing good will come of it."

"Yeah, who wants to talk to him? Luckily, he rarely stays here anymore."

Yi Zhonghai learned his lesson from his mistakes and realized that his own methods were not bad either. So why did he run into a wall with He Yuzhu?

"We absolutely cannot afford to cause any more trouble, or our family will have nothing left."

"Sigh, this money really doesn't last long!"

After eating, He Yuzhu was too lazy to go back to the tavern. Xu Zhaodi escorted him into the house, and seeing that it was a bit dirty and messy, she stayed to clean it up before finally resting.

After getting up early, I cleaned it again. The house, which no one lived in, looked dusty and grimy.

I rode my bicycle to the fruit market inside Deshengmen. The fruit markets in Beijing are divided into two large and one small markets. The large one is the fruit market outside Qianmen, which is generally called the South Market. The South Market mainly sells small fruits and fresh southern fruits.

The fruit market inside Deshengmen is called Beishi, and it mainly sells various fruits produced in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia.

Of course, there are also specialized markets such as jujube market, melon market, and watermelon market, but they are all relatively small in scale.

The first small school was located at Shizipo outside Dongzhimen. In addition to some furniture stores, there were also six or seven fruit shops, each named after a surname and specializing in rough goods from Beishan.

Many retail vendors and tall country folk source their goods from here. Every morning, they carry various fruits to sell in the streets and alleys of Beijing, returning to stay overnight. The fruit shops in Shizipo also offer accommodation, a feature not found in other fruit markets.

It's autumn now, and in addition to buying some grains and meat, He Yuzhu has also been buying various fruits. There are a few familiar stall owners here.

He Yuzhu went to the familiar Chen's Fruit Shop and bought two boxes of red dates, two boxes of sweet potatoes, and some wild beans. When he was paying, Boss Chen asked, "Boss He, we've already pre-ordered the winter fruits. Would you like to pre-order?"

"Do you sell fruit in winter too?" He Yuzhu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Sell them! They have heated cellars that can preserve these fruits until around the Spring Festival. When you take them out then, they will still be as fresh as if they were just picked from the tree.”

"There's such a thing? How come I didn't know?" He Yuzhu was very surprised.

Mr. Chen: "Outsiders generally don't understand."

"Then tell me about it."

"Okay, here's the thing. Normally, seasonal fruits are usually between three to five cents and a little over ten cents, only fresh seafood is more expensive."

Locally grown fruits in Beijing include pears, peaches, kiwis, grapes, chestnuts, and watermelons. These fruits are slightly more expensive when they first come to market, costing a little over ten cents. However, when they are available in large quantities, the price can drop to just a few cents.

Although there were no various preservation medicines at that time, there were still ways to preserve food. There were many ice cellars outside the city. The shop owners did not keep their own goods, but accepted the storage of goods from various owners.

Simply put, fruit merchants store fresh fruit in ice cellars to prevent it from rotting, and then pay them a storage fee.

Cellars taken out of the cellar during the Mid-Autumn Festival are called "hot cellars," while those taken out after the Minor Snow solar term and before the Spring Festival are called "cold cellars."

All the dried goods in Sijiu City were stored in brick ice cellars outside Deshengmen, and the brand name was "Weiji." They were operated by Yishunchang Dry Goods Shop in the east of Gulou.

Fruit shops must first pack their produce into special jars called "fruit jars" before placing it in the ice cellar. Regardless of the type of fruit inside, the price is calculated based on the contents of these jars.

After listening to the introduction, He Yuzhu asked, "Is he the only one?"

“They are the largest, and all my goods are stored there. There have been no accidents over the years. There are some other small ice cellars, but the quality cannot be guaranteed, and the fruit is prone to spoilage.”

Besides digging ice cellars underground, some frozen goods were also stored indoors, such as hawthorn, crabapple, pear, and apple. These fruits could survive the winter, so they were called frozen goods.

When winter gets coldest, in addition to lighting a fire inside the house, it is also necessary to wrap the food tightly in cotton quilts so that it will not freeze and can be stored until around the Spring Festival before being sold.