Quick Wear: Men Farming and Women Weaving

Before leaving, I packed my things. I prepared everything I needed on the road. Food and drinks. It was inconvenient to light a fire on the road, so I prepared a pot of cold boiled water and cooked a big pot of rice porridge. I prepared a table in the space to put my things on. I didn't plan to change my clothes. The clothes in the space were all my previous clothes. They didn't fit me and were not convenient to wear. I also found a backpack to put some things in and carry them on my back so that I could have some cover.

It was almost noon. After finishing, we walked out of the village and went straight according to the positioning direction. We met many villagers along the way. We rested under trees at night. There were many villages along the way, but there were basically few people. Or they were hiding because they were afraid of the Japanese and the second Japanese.

After walking for a week, my legs were sore. We passed a village and were not allowed to enter. The people there were quite exclusive. We rested for a while on a hill nearby, drank some water and ate some bread. We planned to go to a place farther inside the mountain. We would get some food and see if there were any mushrooms or wild vegetables. We would also cook a few dishes. The ribs and pork I bought before were in the refrigerator but we hadn't eaten them. We only ate some bread and milk along the way and had to avoid people eating.

Walk into the grove and look at the grass and dead branches to see if there are any mushrooms.

He took a small wooden stick and turned over here and there. He found some mushrooms among the dead leaves and some common wild vegetables on the side of the path. He also found some dead branches to make a fire later. He walked farther and farther without realizing it, and walked out of the small forest. He heard some sounds of flowing water. If there is a water source, it means there are fish.

Push aside the half-high weeds. The plants here are growing very lushly. I immediately saw a small stream not far ahead, and hurried over there. The water here is very clear and transparent! Some small fish are swimming around. The fish are very small, so they can only be used to make soup. I took out a mesh net bag from the space, found a wooden stick next to it and tied the net bag to it, so that I could catch fish. After a while, I caught more than ten thumb-long small fish. After a few attempts, I caught more than 30 fish, enough to make a soup. After processing, I took a small pot and prepared a fire to boil fish soup. Prepare rice in the rice cooker in the space. Take out the pork from the freezer and thaw it. Prepare the onions, ginger, garlic, and seasonings. Cook the braised pork all at once. Eat slowly on the way. I have tried it in the space. Things can be kept in the kitchen without spoiling.

Sitting on a rock beside the stream, eating with bowl and chopsticks in hand. Tears kept flowing as I ate. I haven't had a good meal since I came here. I haven't had white rice and braised pork for a long time. Fortunately, I am far away from the village, otherwise it would be bad if they smelled it. After packing up, I started to walk. I kept walking all the way, towards Beiping, collecting some supplies along the way. When I came across an empty village, I went in to look for valuables. Sometimes I found some copper coins and Yuan Datou in the corner, under the bed and under the floor tiles, but rarely gold jewelry.

A month later, we arrived outside the city of Beiping, which would later become Beijing.

Many homeless people live in deserted temples outside the city, and beg for food in the city every day. I am in rags, and I am going to find a place to change clothes. Then I will find an opportunity to go into the city. I will find an empty space in the middle of a small ravine far away from the nearby woods, where no one can see. I will cut the darker black clothes in the space with scissors, make them into cardigans, sew them with needle and thread, and cut a few pieces of rags from my body and sew them on top. The black pants are not obvious, and they are a little big after cutting.

After packing, I went to the city to see if I could find a place to stay. The currencies in circulation now are gold, silver, legal tender, and silver dollars. I tried to find a way to exchange the gold and silver on me for silver dollars. I went to the city to see if the bank could exchange them. I slowly asked where the bank was, found the place, walked in and asked the people inside if I could exchange them for silver dollars. Now I have some in my arms. The total weight of my gold jewelry is less than 50 grams, and some silver rings and necklaces are less than grams. There are only three gold bars left. The staff at the counter looked up and saw that I was dressed ordinary. He arrogantly said "It can be exchanged" with an arrogant attitude. Finally, when I walked out of the door, I looked back inside. It was too dark. I only exchanged less than silver dollars.

Walking on the street, watching people coming and going, I don't know what to do. I'm only 12 years old and want to find a job but no one, so it's best to find a house to live in. I saw a noodle shop next to my house and asked the owner. "Boss, is there anyone renting a house nearby?"

"Is it your family that needs to rent a house? Go straight ahead, then turn right and ask the human trafficker inside. There is no one nearby that he won't recognize." The shop owner glanced at me.

I walked to the place and knocked on the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming," came a voice from inside.

"Excuse me, what do you need?" a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes asked, looking down on me as a child.

“I want to ask if there is any house to rent or buy nearby.”

"It depends on what you need. Big or small, buy or rent?" the man asked.

"How much would it cost if I bought it?" I thought about it.

"The front and back yards of No. 95 Maoer Hutong, not far from Nanluoguxiang, are now sold and rented out. I can take you to see it." The man walked out the door.

I followed this man. We walked for a while, less than ten minutes. The house number in front was 95. The two big doors at the entrance were quite grand. On the way, this man told me that this courtyard was where the nobles of the former Qing Dynasty kept their mistresses and they were preparing to leave here and deal with these houses. I heard that he was preparing to escape.

Walking into the gate and looking at the layout along the way, the front yard is where the male owner lives and receives guests and has fewer rooms, while the middle and back yards are where the female family members live and move around, and there are more rooms. And he also told me that there are some people in the back yard, one of whom is a concubine who has not left, and is still living there. They are the chef and the groom's family who were given to them by the owner. According to this situation, it is better to live in the front yard to reduce contact with the back.

"Brother, how much is the room in the front yard?" I asked.

"There are east and west wing rooms in front, and back rooms on both sides. The price of the wing rooms is a bit more expensive, at least 50 silver dollars. The back rooms are the cheapest, only ."

I thought about it and realized that I only had fifty silver dollars and three small yellow croakers, which should be enough.

"Take me to visit the wing room first."

He took me to see the east wing. The layout of the room was quite good, and the space should be at least 50 square meters. The owner of the east wing usually lives in it, with some simple furniture inside. Some valuables have been moved away. There are also furniture that cannot be moved. The west wing is a place for entertaining guests and is about 40 square meters.

"I want to buy the east wing. How many silver dollars do I need?"

"The east wing requires 100, while the west wing requires 80"

I heard someone ask, "I don't have that many silver dollars, can I use something else instead?"

The man heard, "Because the owner wants to leave, gold is also acceptable, but legal tender is not acceptable. Gold can be traded for 200 yuan, according to the bank exchange rate."

"Do you have proof of property ownership?" I heard the deal was done, a 100-gram gold bar.

"Yes, I can take this property certificate to the Real Estate Bureau to handle the transfer."

I discussed with the elder brother about exchanging three small yellow croakers for the east wing and the two back houses next to it. I just saw that one of them is a study room, so there must be something there. The houses are connected. The area is 2 square meters, and the two rooms are 30 square meters.

"Sure, the back house is cheaper, we'll include it in the property certificate when the time comes," the elder brother said, "You need to pay half of the deposit first so you don't regret it later, and we'll settle the bill together after the property certificate is issued."

After everything was settled and the property rights were processed, I realized that the real name was not written in the three rooms. Looking back, I always called him by his third brother, so I simply named him Yan Bugui, a male name, which means "the past cannot be retrieved, and I will live a life of wealth and honor in the future." I wrote Yan Bugui in the property certificate and started a new life.

When I went back, the elder brother told me that there was a cellar in the front yard, between the east wing and the back house. It happened that the land was not big and belonged to me. The furniture in the room was moved in the past few days and I came here, so it was given to me. When I walked to the gate, I heard in the backyard that someone had bought the east wing in front. We all came to take a look.

"Kid, I'm He Daqing, the resident in the backyard here," a tall and burly man came over.

"Hello, I'm Yan Bugui, the newcomer."

We introduced ourselves to each other, understood the situation and then left.

I opened the east wing and found that most of the furniture inside was usable. It was originally a bedroom, with a heated kang inside. Next to it was a large mahogany wardrobe with two layers of four doors and drawers in the middle. There were also four mahogany tables and chairs. I went to the next room and saw that one was empty, and the other was a study room. It was well protected from moisture and dryness. Only the bookshelves and the table chairs were left, which I didn't have time to move. I went to the cellar and saw that there was a layer of iron sheet on the outside. The lid was square on the ground, and the handle outside was randomly inserted without a lock. I opened it to ventilate for a while before I could see that it was dark inside. I went back to the room and a white candle appeared in my hand with my mind. I lit it with a lighter and walked out to the cellar. I saw that the stairs were wooden stairs, and there were footprints on them. I moved things during this period. I went down and looked around. The space was very large. It was two meters high and about 4 square meters around. The space was located in the direction of the east wing. No wonder the human traffickers said it belonged to me. Look inside. It was messy inside, with some empty boxes. I won't clean up for the time being. I'll go out and buy a few locks today. Otherwise it's not safe to keep things here.

I asked someone for a place to buy a lock. It was an old lock from the past. I asked for the most difficult palace lock to open. It was stolen from the harem by the palace maids and eunuchs. You need a key to open it.

I went to the tailor shop and looked at some clothes and quilts. I spent 20 dollars. I bought a quilt and changed the sheets and clothes.