The Great Era of Siheyuan

After the two left the yard, Zhu Ling seemed a little depressed, and Li Wenqiang didn't want to comfort her. He brought her here to see these things on purpose.

They are living such a miserable life, if I come to help, won’t my image become more noble?

Then the two of them visited four or five families one after another, and the situations were roughly the same. In the better ones, the whole family was crowded together, with six or seven people living in a ten-square-meter room. In the worse ones, they built a shack like the previous one and just found a few wooden boards to lie on.

The arrival of the two made those people very happy, and they kept thanking them. Zhu Ling not only spent all the money in her hand, but also paid a lot from her own pocket.

After coming out of the last family's door, Zhu Ling's face was already somewhat depressed. Maybe she was used to the life in the compound, and it was a little hard for her to accept the sufferings of the world for the first time.

Looking at those people who were lying in bed starving because they had no money, and were so hungry that their bones were just skin and bones, just to save a bite of food, her seemingly strong heart was broken at the slightest touch.

There is a modern proverb in the old city: The east is rich, the west is noble, the south is cheap, and the north is poor. There is tea in the south city and water in the north city.

There is no need to explain much about the saying "the east is rich and the west is noble". The meaning of this can be understood just from the literal meaning.

The "Southern barbarity" was caused by the "separation of Manchus and Han" implemented by the Qing Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, bannermen living in the inner city were not allowed to do business, and there were no shops in the inner city, let alone wine shops, teahouses, acrobatic theaters, Qinlou and Chuguan and other places for leisure and entertainment.

These places are mainly located outside the "Qiansanmen", especially on Qianmenwai Street. The older generation collectively referred to these "cheap" businesses as "Wuzi".

They are:

"Chef" refers to the catering industry, that is, the person who cooks in a restaurant.

"Xizi" refers to a theater, or a place where people perform operas.

"Yaozi" refers to a brothel, that is, the prostitutes in the brothel.

"Bathhouse" refers to the place where people do baths and pedicures.

"Barber's pole" refers to the barber industry, which was also called barber's pole at that time.

The South District, which has the most business venues, is naturally labeled as cheap.

There is also a popular saying in Beijing: Poor De Shengmen, evil fruit market, and blind Taoer Hutong.

Poor people such as rickshaw pullers, water carriers, night soil collectors, small business owners, rag pickers, etc. are mostly concentrated in the north city, hence the saying "northern poverty".

According to the city map of the late Qing Dynasty, Gulou Street is located next to Deshengmen, which belongs to the northern part of the city. Although the social environment has improved after liberation, it is still the place where the poor people live.

How good can the lives of a group of lower-class people be? No wonder Zhu Ling became depressed.

Seeing that it was time for dinner, Li Wenqiang called Zhu Ling into the car and prepared to head to Dong'an Market without saying a word.

"Don't think too much. I'll take you to Donglaishun Hotpot! There are tens of thousands of poor people in the world. The ones you see are already living well. Those who are not living well have already died! If you feel sorry for them, you can find a few guards to take you to the remote countryside to see that they are already happy enough!"

Li Wenqiang's words made Zhu Ling feel even worse. As a child of a large compound, she had a completely overturned impression of the world after seeing what happened today.

The people she interacted with in her daily life were either officials, students and teachers in schools, or factory workers. She had never seen such human suffering.

"Thank you, but I'd still like you to take me home. My mother should have prepared dinner and is waiting for me!"

Zhu Ling insisted.

Hearing this, Li Wenqiang did not force it. There was still a lot of time and he was not in a hurry. He just changed direction and went straight to Sanlihe.

The road became silent again. Zhu Ling had seen too much today and was in no mood to talk, while Li Wenqiang was thinking about how to get involved with her family.

If he tried to win them over directly with material supplies, they would probably send someone to investigate and interrogate him the next day. However, if he tried to build relationships slowly, he would not be able to find a way in. In the end, after sending the person home, Li Wenqiang still couldn't think of any good solution.

As soon as the car stopped, Zhu Ling jumped out, said thank you and went in.

Looking at her leaving back, Li Wenqiang felt a little unwilling.

"It's already dinner time, but you didn't even ask me to come in for dinner. How rude! Just wait for me. Sooner or later, I'll ask you to hold my hand and go in. Damn it!"

Li Wenqiang was muttering something to himself, then stepped on the accelerator and turned back.

Today's reception was undoubtedly a failure. I didn't know she would come, and I improvised and acted like a good guy. I don't know if I will have the chance to contact her again in the future. It's a pity.

Shaking off the unhappiness in his heart, Li Wenqiang went straight to the paper goods shop on Gulou Street. It had been so long, so he must have finished it long ago. Today he had to collect all the wine bottles and packaging, and start making wine as soon as the wine arrived.

There is more than half a month left until the end of the month, and time is running out. He doesn't want to do his homework like a child, who won't rush to finish it until school starts. He never procrastinates on things that can be done in advance.

"Boss Xu, have you finished my goods?"

It took Li Wenqiang less than 20 minutes to reach Gulou Street. Fortunately, there were fewer vehicles, otherwise it would have taken another 10 minutes.

"Oh, it's Boss Li. We've prepared everything for you! Have you eaten yet? If not, how about we have a drink together?"

When Boss Xu saw Li Wenqiang, he greeted him warmly.

"No, you can find someone to help me deliver the cartons to the No. 3 courtyard of Houyuanen Temple now, is that okay?"

"No problem! As long as it's what you say, I will definitely do it!"

Boss Xu said with a smile.

"Okay, then you arrange the people now! I'll go somewhere else first and I'll divide the people up for you at the door later."

After saying this, Li Wenqiang walked towards the Dahua Glass Factory.

Li Wenqiang would naturally not go to pick up the 20,000 carton shells himself. With his car, he could only carry four or five thousand outer packagings at most at a time, and he would have to make four or five trips. He was not that stupid.

You are the one who spends the money, so why shouldn’t you be treated like a boss?

The same words were given to the glass factory. After that, Li Wenqiang went straight back to the gate of Houyuanen Temple and waited. He did not place any orders for the remaining 30,000 bottles. He would not place an order for this batch of goods until the 20,000 bottles were completed. Otherwise, if the sales were not good, it would be a waste of money.

He is confident but not conceited, and he still avoids risks that should be avoided.

While he was waiting to receive the goods, Zhu Ling was in a very heavy mood. She was absent-minded while eating at the table, still thinking about what had just happened.

Zhu Ling's strange behavior attracted her mother's attention. Seeing that her daughter seemed to be worried, she couldn't help but ask.

"Xiaoling, what happened to you? Why do you seem to have lost your soul after coming back? Is there something wrong?"

"Mom, you said we have been liberated, why are there still so many poor people?"

Zhu Ling slowly told her mother about her experience today, hoping to get an answer from her. But who can answer this kind of question, not even a saint?

Her mother sighed, thinking it was something serious, and comforted her.

"Don't worry, everyone's life will be better in a few years. We have survived such difficulties before, so there is nothing to be afraid of with this little difficulty!"

Perhaps it was because of the comfort from her mother that Zhu Ling felt a little better. However, the scene of Li Qiang chatting and laughing with those people in need emerged involuntarily in her mind. This man was really special.