Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 49 Grand Courtyard

Zhou Yongqiang went to the Chongwenmen vegetable market and happened to see Li Zhe arguing with a vegetable vendor. While they were talking, the price of cucumbers rose from five yuan per jin to six yuan. Bah, that's outrageous.

These vegetable vendors were unaware, but Zhou Yongqiang knew perfectly well that these cucumbers were grown by the Li family, a pure and simple business that yielded huge profits.

Zhou Yongqiang had thought the vegetable vendors would unite to resist the price increase, but a dramatic scene unfolded. The stalemate lasted only a few minutes before the vendors split up.

Not only did they snap up today's cucumbers, but they also pre-ordered the next batch. Li Zhe was raking in money, and Zhou Yongqiang estimated it must have been over a thousand yuan.

At first, Zhou Yongqiang thought these vegetable vendors were stupid, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized something was off. The vegetable vendors he had met were smarter than monkeys, so how could they possibly do business at a loss?

The fact that vegetable vendors are so eager to buy cucumbers only shows that there is profit to be made, and they are selling them at higher prices.

Zhou Yongqiang's monthly salary was only around 100 yuan, while Li Zhe's daily income was equivalent to more than half a year's salary for him. (In 1988, the average annual salary of employees in Beijing was 2000 yuan, which was equivalent to an average monthly income of about 167 yuan.)
Zhou Yongqiang nodded secretly; this was a friend worth having.

Seeing that Li Zhe was no longer busy, Zhou Yongqiang walked over with a smile, "Uncle Li, Brother Li."

Li Zhe also noticed the other person. "Brother Zhou, when did you arrive?"

"I've been here for a while, but seeing that you were busy, I didn't want to bother you. Your stall is great; I spotted it as soon as I entered the market."

"Hey, I don't have a stall, it's sublet to me by a friend. Brother Zhou, did you come here specifically to see me today?"

"Yes, the apartment you asked me to find last time has been arranged. I'll show it to you when I have time."

Li Zhe was surprised by how efficiently the other party handled things. "The vegetables are all sold out, we have plenty of time this afternoon. It's almost noon, let's eat and chat."

The four of them left the market, with Li Zhe in the middle, and Lao Li and Zhao Tiezhu protecting him from the front and back. As soon as they left the market, they spotted Lao Wei's mutton soup restaurant.

Zhao Tiezhu swallowed hard. "Brother Zhe, let's have mutton offal soup for lunch."

It takes more than three hours for the tractor to travel from Daying Village to Chongwenmen. Zhao Tiezhu endured the cold wind the whole way and just wanted to drink something hot to sweat it out.

"Okay, I'll add an extra portion of lamb tripe for you." Li Zhe was never stingy when it came to food. The driver was the hardest working among them, and Li Zhe would arrange anything Zhao Tiezhu wanted to eat.

The two chatted idly as they entered the mutton soup restaurant. A pockmarked waiter greeted them, "Gentlemen, it's warm inside. We have mutton offal soup, mutton soup, cold dishes, and flatbread..."

There wasn't much to choose from at this little shop, so Li Zhe said directly, "Four bowls of mutton offal soup, one extra serving of mutton tripe, one cold dish, and two pounds of flatbread, quick."

"Alright!" The pockmarked waiter turned around and shouted to the kitchen, "Four bowls of mutton offal soup..."

The four of them found a spot against the wall and sat down. Li Zhe asked, "Brother Zhou, where is the house you found?"

"Do you know Suzhou Hutong?" Zhou Yongqiang asked. Seeing that Li Zhe didn't react, he guessed that the other party was not familiar with the area. "It's a kilometer north of the vegetable market. It only takes a few minutes to ride a bicycle, or one stop on the No. 103 trolleybus. It's very convenient."

Old Li asked, "How much is the rent?"

“I found two places. One is a two-room house in a large courtyard, with a monthly rent of 18 yuan. The other is a five-room house in a detached courtyard, with a monthly rent of 75 yuan.”

"The 75 size is too expensive, let's look at the 18 size." Old Li is used to being poor, and even if he has money, he is not used to spending it lavishly.

"No problem, as long as you have room." Zhou Yongqiang didn't try to dissuade him. Once they saw the house in the tenement, he knew that if anyone in the Li family was smart, they wouldn't rent it.

That said, if the Li family really did live in the tenement, there would be quite a bit of fun to be had.

You can earn the equivalent of someone else's daily wage by selling just one cucumber. Why would someone bother going to work? They could just squat outside your house every day and "pick up" cucumbers.

As we were talking, the waiter came over with two bowls of mutton offal soup. The steaming soup was sprinkled with scallions and topped with oil, making it look very appetizing.

Li Zhe said, "Brother Zhou, let's eat first, then we'll go look at the house."

Old Li took a sip of the mutton soup, smacked his lips, and said, "Mmm, delicious. The mutton soup that Jiu Gang made last time was also good, but it's still not as good as the ones in other restaurants."

Li Zhe laughed, "They make their living this way, they must know a thing or two." "That makes sense." Old Li picked up a piece of flatbread, ate a bite of the flatbread, and drank a sip of mutton soup, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Li Zhe also ate to his heart's content, finding some of the street-side shops even more delicious than the big restaurants.

After finishing their meal, the four of them left the mutton soup restaurant and chatted as they walked. Zhou Yongqiang mainly introduced the situation in the alley, while the others listened.

Zhou Yongqiang pointed to the fork in the road on the right, "Turn right and you'll reach Chuanban Hutong. My home is in courtyard number 5." He was too embarrassed to say that he lived in a large courtyard.

After turning two corners, two teenagers in the alley were kicking frozen cabbage stalks like shuttlecocks. A few dozen meters ahead was a doorway with a sign that read "Civilized Health Center" on the mottled wooden door. Looking into the courtyard, clotheslines were haphazardly laid out, and the blue brick pavement was stained blackish-brown by coal ash.

Further in, a coal stove was set up in the already narrow passageway, and an illegal building with a tarpaulin roof was built against the west wall. Three women were washing clothes and chatting by the pool, casting wary glances at Li Zhe and his group.

An older woman raised her chin and asked, "Hey, who are you looking for?"

“I am Zhou Yongqiang from Chuanban Hutong. I’m looking for Master Ma to look at houses.”

"Go inside, those two rooms on the east side are it. Watch out, don't step on my coal."

“No, that won’t do.” Zhou Yongqiang responded and led the way inside. “Uncle Li, this way.”

Li Zhe began to have second thoughts. He was not only looking for a place to stay, but also a warehouse to store vegetables. This place was not only chaotic, but also had a mixed group of people, making it unsuitable for long-term rental.

"Brother Zhou, let's skip this place and move on to the next one."

Old Li didn't say anything. It was his first time in the tenement, and it was a little different from what he had imagined...

The four walked out of the alley, turned into the Suzhou Hutong next door, and walked east to a courtyard facing the street. Zhou Yongqiang pointed to the vermilion gate and said, "Brother Li, this two-courtyard siheyuan is the ancestral home of my friend's family. If it weren't for our good relationship, they would never have rented it out. Look how grand the facade is, and there are two lions guarding the gate."

Li Zhe smiled but didn't say anything. He didn't care whether it was grand or not; as long as it was comfortable and convenient to live in, that was fine.

Zhou Yongqiang stepped forward and grabbed the door knocker, banging on the door.

A moment later, the sound of rustling footsteps came from inside. The vermilion door creaked open halfway, revealing a pretty young woman wearing a red woolen coat and blue jeans that accentuated her long legs.

Zhou Yongqiang glanced at the woman and lowered his head slightly. "Sister-in-law is home today. As Mr. Ji told you, I brought a friend to see the house."

The woman glanced at Li Zhe and his two companions. "Are you all relatives of Qiaomei?"

Li Zhe replied, "We're from the same village."

"Come in, Qiaomei and I are good friends, and I've heard her talk about the village all the time." The woman led everyone in and said to Zhou Yongqiang, "You show them the house first, I'll go call Hongbin."

"Sister-in-law, you're busy, leave this to me." Zhou Yongqiang watched the woman enter through the hanging flower gate before turning to Li Zhe and saying, "The north side of the hanging flower gate is the backyard, where they live. The front yard is rented out; once the hanging flower gate is closed, it's a private courtyard. Brother Li, what do you think of this place?"

"No doubt about it." Li Zhe gave a thumbs up. Most people in Beijing live in large courtyards, so living in a detached house is not something an ordinary person can do. Once the door is closed, it is suitable for doing business, living at home, or entertaining friends.

“Come on, guys, take a look. There used to be a gatehouse on the east side of the main gate, but now it’s been turned into a toilet. This toilet is something else. Let me show you around.” Zhou Yongqiang pushed open the wooden door of the toilet, and the white tiles shone brightly in the sunlight. “Look how clean this toilet is. After you’re done using it, you just flush it with water, and there’s no smell at all. It’s much better than a dry toilet.”

Li Zhe was somewhat surprised. "This is a renovation, right? Is it compliant with regulations?"

“Our Suzhou Hutong is right next to the embassy district of Dongjiaomin Lane. There are state-run grocery stores, Friendship Stores, and hotels along the street, which need to accommodate foreign guests and returning overseas Chinese. Last year, the municipal water supply and toilet renovations were completed. I helped with all the application procedures.” Zhou Yongqiang showed an envious look.
"There are so many hutongs in Beijing, but not many that can be converted into toilets. In our hutong, we have to get up early to queue for the public toilet. It's okay in the summer, but in the winter, it's freezing cold. If you rent this house, not to mention anything else, going to the toilet will definitely be a pain."

Li Zhe nodded. Not having to queue for public restrooms was definitely a plus.

"Hey, this is something new, I've never seen anything like it before." Zhao Tiezhu entered the toilet, looking around curiously. He inadvertently pressed the flush button, and a stream of water gushed out, startling him.

"My goodness!" Zhao Tiezhu jumped up and down as he rushed out of the toilet, making everyone laugh.

(End of this chapter)