Siheyuan: Tanjia Cuisine He Daqing, destroying Yi Zhonghai

Daqing grew up in a courtyard house, and he was familiar with every corner of the courtyard. The main house was where his grandparents lived, and the side rooms were where his parents and uncle's family lived, while he lived in a small room in the east wing. There was an ancient well in the center of the courtyard, and a tall locust tree was planted next to it. In summer, the shade of the tree covered the entire courtyard, making it particularly cool.

One morning, Daqing was preparing to go to work after practicing Tai Chi under a locust tree. He worked as an accountant in a company, a stable but boring job. When he stepped out of the courtyard, his neighbor, Grandma Li, came out to take out the trash. The two exchanged a few words, and Daqing noticed that there seemed to be some worry in Grandma Li's eyes.

"Grandma Li, what's wrong with you today? You look worried?" Daqing asked with concern.

"Hey, Daqing, my old man said early this morning that he heard strange noises in the yard. I got up to check but found nothing. You know, when we get old, we tend to be suspicious." Grandma Li sighed.

Daqing was a little concerned. The courtyard had been very quiet for so many years, and it was indeed unusual to hear strange noises suddenly. However, he did not say much, but just comforted her with a few words and hurried to catch the bus.

At the company, the workday was as boring as usual. Daqing sorted out piles of accounts, but he kept thinking about what Grandma Li said. On the way home from get off work, he bought a few sesame cakes, thinking of sharing them with his family. When he returned to the courtyard, it was already late, and the courtyard was quiet, with only the shadows of the trees swaying gently in the breeze.

"Daqing, you're back?" Mother was busy in the kitchen. When she heard the voice, she came out to greet me.

"Mom, I bought some sesame cakes. Let's eat them together later." Daqing said with a smile.

The family sat around the dining table, the hot sesame cakes exuding an enticing aroma. Everyone chatted, the atmosphere was warm and peaceful. However, Daqing was still thinking about what happened in the morning, and decided to go see Grandma Li after dinner.

After dinner, Daqing brought sesame cakes to Grandma Li's house. Grandma Li was cleaning the kitchen, and when she saw Daqing, she smiled.

"Daqing, why did you bring me food again? You are such a thoughtful child." Grandma Li took the sesame cake and warmly invited him to come in and sit down.

"Grandma Li, I'm still a little worried about what you said this morning. Why don't I help you take a look? Maybe I can find some clues." Daqing said, searching around the yard.

Grandma Li nodded and took him to the place where he heard the noise in the morning. Daqing looked carefully and found that a few bricks in the corner seemed to have been moved. He squatted down and gently lifted them with his hands, revealing a small hole underneath.

"Daqing, what did you find?" Grandma Li came over, looking nervous.

“It’s probably a rat hole. The entrance is quite big though.” Daqing said as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and shone the flashlight inside.

The hole was not deep, but there were some strange marks on it. It did not look like an ordinary rat hole. Daqing decided to come back the next day to take a closer look. After all, the visibility was poor at night and it was easy to misjudge. He comforted Grandma Li and told her to be careful at night, then returned to his home.

That night, Daqing lay in bed tossing and turning, thinking about the hole in his mind. He always felt that there was some secret hidden there, perhaps related to the history of the courtyard. He vaguely remembered that his grandfather had mentioned that this courtyard had hidden some important things during the war years, but his grandfather did not elaborate on what it was.

The next morning, Daqing got up early, brought a flashlight and some simple tools, and went to Grandma Li's house again. Grandma Li was a little surprised to see him, but she didn't say much, just helped him look after the cave entrance.

Daqing carefully enlarged the hole with tools and found a small path leading underground. He went in without hesitation, and the beam of the flashlight illuminated the road ahead in the dark. The path was not long and soon reached the end, where there was a small basement filled with various old things.

These old things seemed to be from decades ago, some even older. Daqing saw a worn-out wooden box and couldn't help but open it to have a look. Inside the box were some yellowed documents and an old yellowed photo of several people wearing Republic of China costumes, standing in front of the gate of the courtyard with serious expressions.

"Daqing, what did you find?" Grandma Li shouted from above.

"Grandma Li, I found some old things. It seems that there really is a story here." Daqing held the photos with mixed feelings.

After returning to the ground, Daqing showed what he had found to Grandma Li. Grandma Li was also attracted by the photo. She looked at it carefully and seemed to remember something.

"I think I've seen the people in this photo before," said Grandma Li thoughtfully. "When I was young, my mother-in-law told me that this courtyard was once the residence of a large family. Later, due to war, the family members were scattered. Maybe these things were left over from that time."

Daqing became even more curious, and he decided to further investigate these documents and photos, hoping to uncover the secret of this courtyard.

In the next few days, Daqing used his spare time to carefully study those old documents. The documents recorded some important information. It turned out that the owner of this courtyard was once a famous family. During the war years, they hid some important family relics and documents in the basement of the courtyard to prevent them from being discovered by the enemy.

As the research deepened, Daqing found a map that marked some hidden places in the courtyard, and perhaps these places held more secrets. He decided to follow the instructions on the map and look for these hidden places one by one.

The pace of life in the courtyard did not change because of Daqing's exploration. The family was still busy with their own things. Mother got up early every day to prepare breakfast, and father trimmed flowers and plants in the yard. Uncle's family also lived a peaceful life, only Daqing had an extra impulse for adventure.

One weekend, Daqing followed the map and came to a corner of the courtyard. This was usually a place to store sundries. He moved some old furniture and found a brick on the ground that was slightly different in color from the surrounding bricks. He pried it hard and the brick loosened, revealing a small secret compartment underneath.

Daqing carefully opened the secret compartment, and inside was an old wooden box. The wooden box was engraved with exquisite patterns, and it was obviously an object of great age. He held the wooden box in his hands, returned to the house excitedly, and could not wait to open it and take a look.