The life of Lao Liu since 1944

The negotiation with the tenant failed, which was indeed a headache. But fortunately, all the plans went quite smoothly, and this troublesome problem could be solved as long as he was driven out. Since I had decided to take over the store myself, I couldn't let the previous tenant mess up my own signboard.

The location chosen by my late grandfather was carefully considered. Its location, traffic flow, surrounding environment and other factors all met expectations. In the future, the value of this place will continue to grow over time and become a valuable commercial property. Therefore, he must ensure that the business here will not have a negative impact on his own brand.

I strolled to Qianmen Tavern, which was not unfamiliar to me. It was hidden in the alleys of the ancient city, like a pearl that had been deposited over the years. I gently lifted the door curtain and stepped in. A stale smell hit me, as if I had traveled through time and space and returned to that prosperous and simple era.

The layout inside is the same as in the TV series. The lobby is right at the entrance. It is not too big, but not too small. It can accommodate twelve or thirteen tables. A few dim lanterns are hung in the center of the lobby, emitting soft and warm light. On the walls around, various wine jars are hung or placed, with yellowed labels on them, with words such as "Xinghua Village" and "Erguotou" written on them, as if telling ancient and mysterious stories.

The counter is near the small door inside, and there is a wine rack behind the counter. These are nothing? The real treasures are these inconspicuous tables and chairs, all of which are made of top-quality wood. Old Man He is a collector, so he chooses only top-quality wood, such as nanmu, mahogany, pine, etc. These woods have beautiful textures and hard textures. After polishing, they become exquisite tables and chairs.

No one would have thought that the things right under our noses are the most valuable. Those seemingly ordinary tables and chairs actually contain endless ingenuity and natural beauty. However, their value has been overlooked. In this tavern, only experts like Mr. Niu and Mr. He can truly appreciate the value of these tables and chairs.

Uncle Niu is a bannerman. He is not only familiar with the antiques and treasures of the capital, but also a hidden master carpenter. His fingers are covered with calluses, which are the marks given to him by the years.

On the surface, Old Man He is the owner of a tavern, but in reality he is a collector with an eccentric personality and a delicate mind. He likes to collect all kinds of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, mahogany furniture, etc. His home is filled with all kinds of treasures. It's a pity that he was angered to death by his adopted son, which is really a pity.

The kid next to him who was pouting and unwilling to work was Old Man He’s adopted son He Yongqiang, who was about the same age as him.

Although this kid is young, he has already shown an unruly character. He pushes and shoves and is reluctant to do anything.

It's still early now, so there are not many customers in the store. The real business hours are from afternoon to evening, when people who have finished work and are going home are free, and only those who love wine will come to have a drink to satisfy their craving.

The wine in this pub is also unique. Although it is diluted with water, the taste is very unique. The wine here is much cheaper than normal liquor, of course, you get what you pay for. This is a habit left by Old Man He when the Japanese were here, and he was beaten by them because of diluting the wine. But gradually people found that although the wine here is diluted with water, it tastes good and is not spicy and irritating to the throat, so gradually people got used to the fact that water was diluted in the wine. They don't care anymore, after all, the wine is cheap! No one is stupid.

As soon as Old Man He saw the customers coming, he immediately smiled and greeted them warmly: "Hello, please come in, please come in! Welcome to our shop?" His eyes and actions revealed great enthusiasm and sincerity, as if he was treating his family members kindly.

The adopted son is still young, and you don't really count on him. At this time, He Yongqiang is lucky not to cause trouble for you. Old man He has been shrewd all his life, and he is omnipotent in the business world, but his adopted son has greatly disappointed him.

Old Man He continued, "You are here too early. We are not open for business yet. Please wait a moment. I will make you a pot of tea."

After hearing this, Hou Jie politely responded, "You are too polite, Mr. He. I came here today to look for someone. Can you help me contact Mr. Niu? I have something to ask of you."

Hou Jie wanted to find Niu Ye because, although Niu Ye was living a rather poor life, he never thought of stealing the antiques in the tavern. Even when he had no money to drink, he would just buy on credit and then slowly pay off the bill by doing carpentry work.

After hearing this, Old Man He agreed and asked his adopted son to help contact Master Niu. Seeing He Yongqiang's unwilling look, Hou Jie shook his head.

While waiting for someone, Hou Jie took out 10 silver dollars and put them in He Laotou's hand, asking him to prepare some food and keep a record of the unused food until he came next time. He Laotou quickly agreed to prepare it.

Old Man He knew that a wealthy customer had come today, so he had to take good care of him. After a while, he prepared a few side dishes and placed them on the table in front of Hou Jie, poured four taels of wine and put them down. Then he went back to the counter to do his own things.

Hou Jie waited patiently, not impatient at all. He watched for a while, not knowing what he was thinking. Perhaps he saw other children were so well-behaved and obedient, and compared them with his own adopted son. He sighed and said nothing.

Hou Jie had no idea. He just sat aside, thinking about his own things.

It is November now, and Beijing's autumn has quietly passed, and the cold winter is coming. Before it snows, Hou Jie decides to use this lukewarm time to tidy up his courtyard. Although the weather is a bit cold now, it is a good time for Hou Jie, who is used to living in a later environment, to start renovation.

Since traveling to this era, Hou Jie has always wanted to renovate this courtyard house according to his own ideas. He has countless exquisite pictures he saw on the Internet in the future. Those modern designs and decoration styles make him yearn for them. However, he knows that in this era, decoration cannot be casually showing off wealth or being too ostentatious. Therefore, he decided to adopt the old-fashioned approach, keeping the exterior simple and rustic, while renovating the interior to meet the living needs of modern people.

Hou Jie already had a detailed plan in mind. He planned to start with the exterior of the house, retaining the original historical traces and charm of the courtyard house, while completely renovating the interior. He wanted to introduce modern design concepts to give the courtyard house a new lease of life. And 20 years later, when the Cultural Revolution came, the new decoration would gradually become outdated, complementing the history of the courtyard house. No one would have thought that these old furniture would be so crazy in later generations.