Siheyuan: Starting from Building a Village

Today is the first day that Sha Zhu was transferred out of the cafeteria, and Yan Jiecheng finally had two full meals at a normal price.

After having dinner at the factory, Yan Jiecheng prepared to go home directly. He didn't want to go with Qin Huairu anymore. He was hurt by what she said yesterday: "Don't even think about having no money."

"what?"

As he passed by the trash can, he accidentally saw two wine bottles.

He knew this kind of wine bottle. It was a rare and good wine. He had just drunk it the day before, when Wang Sigen had his wedding.

He had heard rumors that this kind of wine was difficult to buy. Even the bottles were usually not intact after people finished drinking them. For fear of drinking fake wine, people would just smash the bottles after drinking.

I didn't expect to see two wine bottles in the garbage dump of this factory today.

Yan Jiecheng looked around and found no one there, so he picked it up and took it home to use as a decoration, or to show off.

When I got it, I put my nose close to the bottle and smelled it.

Ah!

The smell is still the same, but not too strong. It must have been left here for a day or two.

Yan Jiecheng put the two bottles into his pocket and went home happily.

As soon as I arrived at the gate of the courtyard, I met Wang Sigen who was about to go out. People in the courtyard were used to it. In the past few months, Wang Sigen would go out from time to time. It was said that he went to sell alcohol on the black market.

"Four, four. Wait a minute. I want to show you something."

Yan Jiecheng wanted to show off in front of Wang Sigen with two empty wine bottles.

"What the hell, it's so mysterious."

Wang Sigen followed Yan Jiecheng to the corner of the alley and saw Yan Jiecheng take out two empty bottles from his pocket.

"Si Gen, look, it's good to be in the factory. Today, my coworkers are treating us to a meal, and we're drinking good wine."

"Oh, sure, Jie Cheng, isn't this the wine I had at the banquet the day before yesterday?"

"That's why I asked you to see if it's true?"

Yan Jiecheng looked at Wang Sigen with a proud look on his face.

"Haha, Jie Cheng, I'm not selling alcohol, I can't tell."

From the beginning, people in the compound were just suspicious, and Wang Sigen never admitted it.

"Si Gen, stop pretending. I heard that you made your fortune selling alcohol on the black market."

"Jie Cheng, believe it or not is up to you. I also want to sell this wine on the black market as you said. Do you know that Master Yi is also looking for this wine, and the price is very high?"

"How tall is it?"

"Jie Cheng, Master Yi is just like you, thinking that I am the one selling this wine. He directly offered fifty yuan per bottle in the morning, and he wanted two bottles. Think about it, if I were the one selling this wine, would I not want to earn this hundred yuan?"

"One... one hundred? Two bottles?"

"Yeah, I want to make this money too. I have some time tonight, so I'll ask around. If someone can get a bottle, I can buy it for thirty and make twenty more by reselling it."

"Si Gen, call me if something good happens. It will be safer if we stay together."

"Haha, Yan Jiecheng, you are indeed a member of the Yan family. You are very good at calculating. What a joke. I can earn the money myself, why should I bring you along? You are just dreaming about marrying a wife."

After saying that, Wang Sigen no longer paid attention to Yan Jiecheng and turned away.

"Humph, you're just a part-time worker, and you're still so arrogant?"

"If you don't take me with you, you won't earn a penny."

Looking at the two empty wine bottles in his hand, Yan Jiecheng's eyes rolled and he thought of a good idea.

After turning left and right in the alley, I entered a large courtyard.

"dong dong dong"

"Who is it?"

"Carpenter Huang, I need you to make something."

When he heard that someone was coming to do business, Carpenter Huang knew that the man's surname was Huang and he must be from this neighborhood, so he opened the door with confidence.

"Comrade, what are you going to do?"

"Make two corks."

"how is it like?"

Yan Jiecheng handed a bottle to Carpenter Huang.

"You can do it. When do you want it?"

"I need it urgently, so I'll wait for you here."

"A dime."

"So expensive?"

"This is not only a technical job, but also an expedited job. Of course it's expensive. If you think it's too expensive, you can come back tomorrow to pick it up."

"I want to pick it up tomorrow. How much does it cost?"

"Five points."

"this.."

Yan Jiecheng was a little hesitant, but when he thought of Wang Sigen's words, he made up his mind. He was a man who was going to make a lot of money, and it was just a mere dime.

"I did. I'll be waiting here."

In less than five minutes, Carpenter Huang had finished making the cork.

"Carpenter Huang, you made a dime in five minutes."

Yan Jiecheng felt a little sorry for the penny he earned. Craftsmen made money so quickly. It seemed that he must learn the locksmith skills well and get a full-time job as soon as possible.

On the way back, when he passed by the supply and marketing cooperative, he bought two bottles of loose baskets, found a corner, and poured the loose baskets into the two bottles he picked up.

Yan Jiecheng stuffed the two bottles of wine into his arms and went back to the inner room with his hands folded.

After rummaging around in the house, he found two red cloth strips, each two fingers wide. These were the ones Yan Jiecheng had picked up from the ground when the four kings got married the day before.

I found another piece of candle.

He took out two bottles of wine from his arms, dissolved the candle, and dripped it on the mouth of the bottle. After the wax liquid solidified, he tied a red cloth strip on the mouth of the bottle. In this way, two brand new bottles of good wine were ready.

When it was almost ten o'clock, Yan Jiecheng went out quietly.

Yan Bugui didn't care when he heard the door opening. As long as it was not too late, many people would choose to go to the toilet.

"dong dong dong"

Yan Jiecheng tiptoed to the central courtyard and gently knocked on Yi Zhonghai's door.

Yi Zhonghai really didn't sleep yet. He was biding his time. Wang Sigen could not be counted on, so he thought of going to the black market again, maybe he could really meet someone selling alcohol.

"Yan Jiecheng?"

"Master Yi, are you still in the black market today?"

"Jie Cheng, who told you that?"

"I saw it all last night when I came out to relieve myself."

"Why, you want the black market too?"

"Yes, I got two good things and I'm going to sell them on the black market. You know, I'm a young man, and I can't be without a penny."

"That's true, but what do you want to sell?"

"Hey, Master Yi, what do you think?"

Yan Jiecheng took out two bottles of wine from his arms as if he was presenting treasures.

"Jie Cheng, where did you get it? I'll buy it, so you don't have to go to the black market."

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed. His luck was unstoppable and came without any effort. The good wine he had been longing for all day was actually delivered to his door.

"Master Yi, can't I sell this wine to you?"

"Jie Cheng, kid, I watched you grow up, how could you be like this?"

"Master Yi, it's because you watched me grow up that I won't sell it to you."

"why?"

“This is fake wine.”

"Fake wine?"

"Yes, it's fake wine, that's why I can't sell it to you."

"Jie Cheng, I'll pay fifty dollars a bottle."

"Master Yi, this is not about the amount of money. What I said is true. This is really fake wine."

"I do not believe."

"Look at the mouth of the bottle."

"Yes, that's right. The wine bottle provided by the former Heavenly King Sigen has a red cloth tied around its mouth, exactly the same as the one you have in your hand."

"I.."

Yan Jiecheng thought to himself that of course they were exactly the same, because he had picked up the red ribbon that day.

"Jie Cheng, just consider it as a favor to me. Once I get through this, I will personally teach you locksmithing skills, so that you can get a full-time job one year earlier."

"Really?"

"Of course, we are from Beijing. We always stick to our guns."

"But, my wine is really fake."

"I admit it's fake."

"You swear not to cause me any trouble."

"I swear, if I find out this is fake, I will never ask Yan Jiecheng to return the money, nor will I cause trouble for him. If I break my promise, I will be struck by lightning and my descendants will be exterminated."

I swear, Yi Zhonghai has done this job before and is very familiar with it.

After taking the oath, Yi Zhonghai got two bottles of good wine.

Yan Jiecheng received one hundred yuan.

All are happy.