Sesame Green Bean Garlic

Chapter 4 Deep in the Hutong

Zian raised his head and looked up at the sky, then looked at the clock tower under the sky, the locust tree in front of the clock tower, and the leather shoes on the locust tree.The wind blows the leather shoes shaking from side to side——

Yes, the wind is blowing, is the smog about to clear?

Kuizi looked at Zi'an fixedly, and blinked, "Dude, no... What do you mean? You want to stay here?"

Zian nodded and said with a smile: "Kuizi, I want to open a restaurant, can you find me a place?"

Kuizi was stunned, but quickly responded, "Success! I'm familiar with this area. But, let's start with the ugly words, Gulou Street is not so easy to mess with. Don't look at that crowd of people and strong competition. Ah, at least ten or eight businesses go bankrupt a year."

"You mean the street outside? No, I don't like it there. I want to be here at the Bell Tower," Zian turned his shoulders half a circle, "open a shop in a courtyard house inside."

"Hey," Kuizi laughed exaggeratedly, "brother, you have too much money to spend. It's not like there's no business in this alley. Look there—" He pointed to the small street on the left Hutong, "There is a coffee shop in it, the decoration is awesome, the owner ran away two days ago, and it has been open for less than half a year! This business is not very good. Four or five girls came here all of a sudden, and they all said they were the boss. In love with you, you can start fighting within two or three words."

Zi'an excitedly said: "Then no one is renting this shop now, take me to have a look!"

Kuizi was taken aback, she didn't expect to meet a shaft.He got along with Zian for a few days. After all, he had a little friendship, and he felt that he was the one who tricked Zi'an here, so he was somewhat responsible. While leading the way, he continued to lobby: "Who wants to come to this corner? Besides, the owner of the house there , something special, not—"

"Big sunflower!" A loud voice stopped them.

Zian turned his head and saw a ruddy old man with slender eyes and a broad face, wearing a dazzlingly clean white hat, sitting on a bench in front of the door, buttoning his fingers rhythmically With his knees on his knees, he spoke in a high-spirited manner, "Where did you go if you never come back?"

"Hey, look at what you said, am I not working?" Kuizi flattered: "Master Ma, I will bring someone back to have a look. This buddy is the world's top chef. Hey, speaking of it, the two of you Still colleagues."

When he first entered the Bell Tower Square, Zian noticed that the steamed stuffed bun shop was open.The interior of the store is simple, but the tables are tables, the stools are stools, the distance is reasonable, the floor is clean, and Zian is an expert, so he can tell at a glance that the bun shop is not badly run.

Uncle Ma looked Zian up and down, and the fingers on his knees stopped.It's like the music stops suddenly, there will be a tense blankness.The old man didn't answer, picked up the peanut in hand, and squeezed a piece of it open.

Kuizi walked in with Zi'an, and whispered: "This bun shop is a year older than me. Uncle Ma is the elder of our area. In his words, you little bastards, which one is not a big brother?" The thief grew up eating my steamed stuffed buns..." He imitated the old man's tone, very charming.Zian was amused, and turned his head to see that Uncle Ma was indeed like a door god, squatting at the entrance of this quiet alley, and any kid who didn't have long eyes dared to come over, he would be rewarded with peanut shells all over his head and face.

It came to an end within 50 meters, and the alley became narrower, extending obliquely, and there seemed to be endless residential houses in front of it.This small alley has gray walls on one side and a small dark shop on the other.Zian looked inside, startled, and asked Kuizi, "Has it been robbed inside?" He said that the robbing was minor, like a typhoon passing through the border.

Kuizi was envious and disdainful at the same time: "The owner of the cafe is crazy. His five lovers stayed there for a day and a night, and they didn't tear down the roof tiles. They were lucky. The most amazing thing is that the five After the girl finished beating, she walked out shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, and she was close to worshiping Jinlan. Damn it, we didn't sleep a wink all night."

Zian looked in from the window, the space is not big, it can accommodate six or seven tables, plus a bar, which is completely in line with his ideal. "Just right," Zian said to himself, "It's not a bad thing if you smash it, it saves me from doing it."

Kuizi was slightly startled, it seemed that this Shanghai buddy was determined to rent this room. "If you think about it again, the landlord here is not a good person."

Zi An acted as if he hadn't heard it, and while examining the layout of the house in detail, he said, "So you know the landlord, take me—" Before he could finish speaking, the store door opened from the inside, and an aunt came out suddenly.

Zi'an was almost knocked down by the door, so he quickly took two steps back and gave Kuizi a questioning look.Seeing that Kuizi also looked like a ghost.

The aunt said: "A debt collector? A delivery person? Neither? Oh, you don't have an affair with that grandson, do you?"

It took Zian a few seconds to realize that this aunt would dare to think that he had something to do with the coffee shop.Just when she was about to defend herself, Kuizi said, "Aunt Kong, this little brother is not a debt collector, but a gift to you. Do you want to rent this house?"

Auntie's eyes widened again, but within a second, her expression changed immediately.She looked at Zian with a smile, "Yo, I want to rent a house. We are quiet in the middle of the bustle, and we rely on the subway, so there are too many people who want to rent a house. If you come late, they will be gone. How long do you want to rent?"

Zi'an thought, so she is the landlord who Kuizi warned him.He looked at the face of this little door, and the more he looked at it, the more pleasing it was, and he replied, "Five years."

The aunt's face showed embarrassment, "Five years? It's hard to say. The land is in short supply. The house price and rent double every year. You want to rent for five years. How can you sign this contract?"

Zian had managed the kitchen of a big restaurant and dealt with many people. Hearing this, he knew that the aunt was very shrewd and was planning to ask for prices, so he said calmly, "How do you say to sign?"

"Do you think it will work out like this? Let's sign it once a year, 30 a year, and you will pay two years' rent first. If you don't want to rent next year, the money will be refunded to you, and you will never suffer."

Zi'an thought, this is not a loss, it is a big loss.Maybe my aunt ran away when she saw the scumbag in the cafe, leaving a mess, so she asked for as much as she could.He and the aunt looked at each other silently and didn't answer.

Auntie is also a person who has seen the world, although she can't figure out the details of this man, she refuses to give up an inch, and waits for Zi'an's response with an unshakable smile on her face.

Zian glanced at the cafe that had been devastated, and said calmly: "The wires were cut, a hole was smashed in the wall, and the hole in the floor can be used as a bathtub if you put water in it. It will take a lot of money to tidy up this place." A lot of money."

"Exactly!" Kuizi interjected next to her, "The mice will get lost here, who will come to eat? I said—"

The aunt slapped him: "Kuizi, you're going to die. It's none of your business here, so don't make a mess!"

Zi'an continued: "Kuizi's words are reasonable. Let's forget it. I heard that there are thousands of alleys in Beijing. Kuizi, take me around?"

"Got it!"

Aunt Kong glared at Kuizi, then quickly stabilized Zi'an and said, "The rent can't be less than a penny. If it's not convenient for you, it's not impossible to discuss it. Let's do it for real. Sign for one year and pay for one year."

Zi'an smiled and said, "The house is completely damaged, you need to repair it before signing the contract."

Of course Aunt Kong refused to do it, she raised her eyebrows: "No way! The grandson still owes us two months' rent, and he smashed the house. If I pay for the repairs, wouldn't it be a waste of money?"

"Yeah, that's right." Zian nodded, "Kuizi, are you going?"

Before Kuizi answered, Aunt Kong stopped between the two of them, grinning and said: "Brother, I think you like it here, how about it, we are half of us, the water and electricity walls, I will repair the horizontal ones for you, the floor The ceiling and the debris under the floor are up to you to clean up. Is it okay?"

"Success!" Zian readily agreed, "That's it."

Aunt Kong immediately gave him a big smile, this time for real, the wrinkles on his forehead, eyes and tail were squeezed into deep grooves.

She led Zian into the house.The furniture and sundries inside were scattered all over the ground, and there was almost nowhere to go.The most bizarre thing is that there is a hole in the wooden floor. Although it is not as exaggerated as Zi'an said, it is also the size of a basketball.Zi'an stretched out his feet to test it out, but he didn't expect that the keel on the side was extremely fragile, and under the weight of Zi'an, another piece collapsed.

Aunt Kong hurriedly said, "Take it easy and carefully sprain your ankle."

Kuizi said beside him, "Be careful, he fell into the pit long ago."

Aunt Kong pushed him, "Turn your elbow outward!" Kui Zi giggled, and put her arm on Aunt Kong's shoulder affectionately, "How can I, my elbow is straight, you can feel it."

Zian looked at the rubbish around him, feeling extremely satisfied.Doesn't he know that he has suffered a disadvantage-how can there be any reason for the tenant to repair the house by himself?But he really likes it here, thinking that Aunt Kong is so careful and careful, even if she agrees to redecorate, it will probably be so-so.This cafe only has a simple kitchen. If it is converted into a restaurant, the water, electricity, heating and coal will have to be re-laid, and he is not at ease handing over any of them to others.Now Aunt Kong promised to pay half of the money, and he was content.

Zian opened the back door of the kitchen, and inside was a small courtyard with houses on three sides, with heavy cotton curtains hanging over the door; bicycles, beer bottles, paper shells, egg trays, cabbage and briquettes were piled up in the yard, and a not-so-great jujube tree was in the middle. Tree, several benches under the tree, one short.On the low table are neatly packed chess pieces.

Zian had seen this scene in magazines, picture albums, and screens. He was really in a courtyard, and he suddenly had the feeling of "really coming to Beijing".

——Calls came from outside: "Beijing Evening News", "China Television News", this issue is the Spring Festival Gala...

Not only has he come, but he will live here for the next few years.A week ago, he was playing Nintendo in his apartment in Jing'an Temple.Didn't he step on the manhole cover and fall into another parallel world?

When Zian was lost in thought, Aunt Kong came along and patted him on the back.

Zian was so startled that his hairs stood on end.Aunt Kong smiled and said in an irreversible tone: "I live here with the old man, you can talk if you have something to do. Let me tell you first, this is a private land, and your stuff and goods can't be piled in the yard. "

Zi'an was thinking that the front space is enough for a living room, but the kitchen is too small. "I want to discuss something with you, can you give me another ten square meters?" He pointed to the east room connected to the cafe, "I rent this place too?"

Aunt Kong waved her hand immediately, and said decisively: "No rent, no rent, this room is occupied."

Kui Zi leaned against the door and interjected, "Brother Liang doesn't come back very often. Your house is empty and empty. Why don't you rent it out and kill as much as you can?"

"Shut up for me. I rented it out, and he came back to sleep at your house?"

Kuizi hurriedly said: "There's nothing wrong with that. When Brother Liang will come back, I'll make the bed and wait for him. I haven't seen him for several days, so remember it."

Zi'an said: "I just want half of it, and the other half can be used as a bedroom."

Aunt Kong didn't even look at them, "No way, the restaurant is smoky and noisy, how do you let my son sleep. We will sign a contract in a while, and everything will be settled."