Era: Craftsmen in the Siheyuan

Chapter 236 Family background
Xu Deyong smiled and said: "Hey, I have learned a lot. You are an expert in these flowers, birds, fish and insects, Mr. Niu."

Mr. Niu smiled and waved his hands: "It's okay, it's okay. I didn't do my job properly when I was young. What are you two doing?"

Xu Deyong said: "Isn't it the autumnal equinox today? I took my family to dig some autumn vegetables outside the city."

"Hey, today is the day to drink autumn soup, so I have to put on some autumn fat." Mr. Niu patted his belly and said with a smile.

"ah……."

At this time, Xiao Lier stretched out his little finger and pointed at Mr. Niu.

Xu Huizhen smiled and said, "What do you want to do?"

Mr. Niu said happily: "Hey, I'm afraid this kid is interested in the cricket in my hand. I won't give it to him, hahaha..."

After saying that, he laughed to himself.

Xiao Li'er tilted her head and looked at this person strangely, then looked at the "omnipotent" Ba Ba and said, "Ah."

Wukesong sounds like an old place name, there should be pine trees there.

Xiao Li'er got tired after playing for a while, so he fell asleep, and Xu Deyong was free to do his own thing...

This place was a security blind spot in BJ back then. There were a lot of robberies. The merchants passing by would meet up under these five pine trees.
Zhushikou originally sold pigs, Jishikou sold chickens, Luogu Lane was originally called Luoguo'er Lane, and so on.

Among them, the fences at the four streets of Langfang are very tall, so people use "Dashilan" as the street name. Over the years, word of mouth has passed down that "Dashilan" replaced the name of Langfang Four Streets.

The next day, Xu Deyong did a job and passed by a commission store near Dashilar on the way back. After thinking about it, he stopped the car and went in to take a look.

It seems to be saying, "How can I leave without giving anything to me?"

The two returned home immediately. Xu Huizhen simply tidied up and went to the tavern in front. The father and daughter were left at home again.

In fact, many of the names in Sijiucheng are interesting and have been changed.

Xu Deyong pinched her little face and said, "Okay, don't worry. Dad will catch one for you later."

For example, Zhongguancun, which sounds quite foreign now, is a gathering place for Internet companies. In fact, its original name was Zhongguancun, where eunuchs lived after their retirement.

"Dashilar" was originally called "Four Langfangs". During the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong, there were orders to install fences at both ends of the streets and alleys in the outer city, which would be open during the day and closed at night.

Xiao Li'er opened her round eyes and said, "Ah!"

Xu Huizhen said with a smile: "She is still young, don't spoil her, she will forget it soon."

"The crickets are here, but the years are passing away." Mr. Niu waved his hands and muttered to himself, and walked away holding his cricket basket.

Mr. Niu said quickly: "You and your family should go home. I have to take my "General" to fight and see what he is capable of."

Indeed, there is, but this ancient pine died in 65 due to subway construction.

The bulk of the family's wealth is the redemption money from the public-private partnership and part of the money saved by Mr. He. The total amount is several thousand yuan, which of course does not include the value of the things at home.

……

Xiao Li'er shook her little head and leaned against Xu Huizhen, expressing that she was unhappy that she didn't get it.

Since Xu Deyong and Xu Huizhen got married, Xu Huizhen did not accept any personal money from him, and even told him about her family fortune.

"Master Niu, please walk slowly." Xu Deyong and his wife said.

Gee, she is really a little rich woman, otherwise "in the drama" she wouldn't be able to afford a tractor and the movie master's big house.

After the salary reform, Xu Huizhen's salary as a private manager now is 40 to 50 yuan, and she also gets monthly dividends, which is just a lot more.

According to this plan, Xu Huizhen would treat He Yongqiang and his wife in the future and be kind to their two daughters, which was somewhat understandable.

After all, this family's wealth belongs to the old He family, even though Mr. He said before his death that he would not give anything to He Yongqiang.

But He Yongqiang and his wife are unkind and unjust, and if Xu Huizhen were the same, wouldn't their moral level be lowered to the same level as them?
In this comparison, Xu Deyong is far behind. As an "unemployed vagrant" who rides a three-wheeler, he can earn more than ten yuan from a tavern and more than ten yuan from "private work" every month.

Well, there is also the "commission" from Gangzi...

It seems that people of all ages can earn this amount, so Xu Deyong's private money in his pocket has already exceeded 200.

I can’t spend it all, I can’t spend it all!
Moreover, Datou Gangzi didn't do much settlement. Even if he asked Gangzi to get something, excluding the end of the year, it should be at least a hundred yuan less.

However, this commission is destined to be short-lived. Once it is tightened in the second half of next year, you will no longer be able to take advantage of the countryside. If you are caught, you will have to go to the "gun station" to keep everything.

Then again, I don’t think business will be easy in two years!
Of course, Xu Deyong’s real confidence lies in himself and his craftsmanship, plus the blind box space and various materials inside.

With more than two hundred yuan, Xu Deyong naturally wouldn't keep it with him all the time, but he still had more than ten or twenty yuan in his pocket every day.

Walking into the commission store, there is a dazzling array of various things.

Speaking of commissioned stores, we have to mention the "Xiaoshi" in Laosijiucheng.

The reason why Xiaoshi is called "Xiao" city is that its business hours are early in the morning. At about three or four o'clock in the middle of the night, Xiaoshi opened.

In the past, there were many second-hand goods markets in Laosijiu City, such as the Guanghui Temple Market located at the base of the old wall in Nancheng, Xuanwumen Inner and Outer Markets, Tianqiao, Deshengmen Markets, etc., all of which sold second-hand goods. The items sold generally come from second-hand goods that are no longer needed at home, and some are purchased from second-hand goods vendors and drummers. The second-hand goods market was also booming for a while, but since the establishment of the state-run consignment store, the most authentic things have been found here.

In addition to "Dawn Market", Sijiucheng also has "Night Market" and "Ghost Market".

However, nowadays the "dawn market" and "night market" have basically disappeared, leaving only ghost markets that operate in the middle of the night "where people return home and gods return to temples."

Xu Deyong took a look around. There are not too many good things now. It will take two years for there to be more!
"Comrade, what do you want to order?"

The salesperson spoke politely. He must have been a former "little drummer" who became a regular employee, so that he has a good eye for both buying and selling.

Xu Deyong actually didn't want to buy anything in particular, so he asked casually: "Do you have a cricket gourd?"

The salesperson said: "Are you talking about the Grasshopper Gourd?"

Xu Deyong said: "Well, they are almost the same."

The salesperson smiled and said: "It's almost the same. There's a lot of details here. You haven't played much before. You can't even tell the difference between a cricket and a grasshopper."

Xu Deyong said: "I don't play much, but crickets and grasshoppers still have their own rights. I just want to buy one for my children to play with."

The salesperson said: "I'm just kidding you. If you want to play with your children, it's better to buy new ones elsewhere. It's cheaper. These are old items, so they're a bit more expensive."

Xu Deyong said: "Please take it out and let me take a look."

The salesperson took out a box from below and said: "These are old things from the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, that is, now. In the past, those Eight Banners kids spent a lot of money to buy these things without batting an eye."

The Manchu nobles were very fond of these seasonal insects. They not only fought with crickets in autumn, but also enjoyed raising grasshoppers, crickets, oil worms and other singing insects. In winter, they enjoyed the praise of "the grasshoppers from all over the world come to court".

Xu Deyong looked at several small grasshopper gourds and said, "How much does this thing cost?"

The salesperson said: "Each one has its own price. Let me tell you. This grasshopper gourd pays attention to the structure of the mouth, cover, heart, and bottom. The mouth is mostly made of ivory, tortoise shell, or wooden rings, which are used to connect the gourd and the gourd. The cover and the heart are the "windows" through which the chirping insects transmit their sounds, and are often carved into exquisite hollow patterns."

"You see, this is a mouth made of ivory, and it is a gourd of "Benchang". It is natural and quite rare. This is "Sanhe Liu". You may not have heard of it..."

Xu Deyong listened for a moment and said, "How much does it cost?"

The salesperson said: "This model is relatively cheap, three yuan, this tortoiseshell one costs five yuan, this Sanheliu one costs ten yuan..."

Xu Deyong blinked. Actually, he had heard the name "Sanhe Liu" before. It seemed that he read it in some novel. It should be quite valuable in retrospect.

But ten yuan at this time is not cheap either!
Just when he was hesitating whether to buy it or not, the salesperson tried to say: "Why don't you look at something else? This thing is only played by old people and young people now, so there is no use in buying it home."

Xu Deyong raised his eyelids and said: "Don't worry, if I buy it, I will buy this one from Sanhe Liu."

Isn't it just ten yuan? I am a "soft rice" person, who am I looking down on!

A few minutes later, Xu Deyong came out of the commissioned store with some pain in his body. If his grandma found out about this, she would definitely call him a prodigal and deprive him of food for three days.

Carrying the grasshopper gourd, Xu Deyong swore in his heart that he would never buy these things indiscriminately in the future. Why not "pick them up" on the street in a few years?

If you want to buy, just buy those watches that need to be repaired, and you can still make money.

After that, he went to catch a grasshopper and put it inside. He bought it just for his daughter to play with... Well, you have to watch it carefully to prevent it from breaking!

Although crickets and grasshoppers are distant relatives, they are very different. The shell of cricket is brown and the shell of grasshopper is green; cricket is a nocturnal insect, while grasshopper is a diurnal insect; cricket is a A carnivore, while the Grasshopper is a herbivore.

Back home, Xu Deyong gave Xiao Lier a grasshopper gourd to play with.

Xiao Li'er happily hugged her with two little hands. When the Grasshopper screamed, her expression was stunned, "Oh"?
Then he looked inside curiously, like a "little fool".

Xu Huizhen chuckled and said, "Where did you get the grasshopper gourd?"

Xu Deyong said truthfully: "I bought it."

"how much is it?"

"Ten dollars."

Xu Huizhen: "..."

Although their family is not short of the ten yuan, it is not good to spend the money like this.

A pair of almond-shaped eyes immediately stared at Xu Deyong, half-smiling but not smiling, he said softly: "Master, do you want me to collect your private money?"

Xu Deyong grinned and said: "Take it, I keep my private money in the hidden wooden box under the bedside."

"But." He changed his voice and said, "What I bought is an antique, from Sanheliu. It might be worth a hundred or eighty thousand in twenty or thirty years!"

Xu Huizhen's face brightened slightly and she said, "In that case, just leave it alone and don't let Xiao Li'er play with it."

Xu Deyong shrugged and said with a playful smile: "I'll leave the things to you."

Xu Huizhen looked at Xiao Li'er who couldn't put it down, glared at him lightly, and said angrily: "Then watch carefully and don't let him fall, otherwise I won't let you go to bed at night."

……

(End of this chapter)