Rebirth in 1958: Getting rich starts from Nanluoguxiang

When I arrived at the master's house, he was doing horse stance in the yard.

As soon as the master saw him, he pulled him aside and insisted on sparring with him. Qin Dabao now had a grudge against him. The master was just like those old scholars and literati, always living in his own world. He watched his wife and children struggling on the starvation line, but turned a blind eye and a deaf ear. He was so selfish.

He gently broke free from Master Tong's hand and walked into the house. There was only a little warmth in the house. The master's wife and two children were lying on the kang. The two children were covered with quilts. The master's wife was embroidering while coughing.

Qin Dabao suddenly felt like crying. His master's wife had always been kind to him, even better than to Dapeng. She would always think of him when she had something to eat. This woman from the south of the Yangtze River married in the north, but she was struggling to survive every day. She lived to support this incompetent husband and three children with her sweat and hard work, but there would always be a day when she could not hold on any longer. The last property she had in her previous life was taken away, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back. She ended her life with a rope, and the master followed her after not eating or drinking for seven days. The family was broken up. If it were not for the help of Qin Dabao and his fellow apprentices, the two little ones would have starved to death long ago.

When the master's wife saw Qin Dabao, she greeted him happily: "Dabao, come and sit on the kang, it's warm there." After staying in the north for a long time, his Wu dialect had become Beijing dialect.

Qin Dabao forced a smile: "Master's wife, I came to look for Dapeng. Is he back?"

"I'm back. I came back last night, but I haven't gotten up yet. I was mumbling yesterday that I would go see you today."

Qin Dabao leaned over and touched Xiao Guihua's face. Fortunately, it was a little warm. He put the flour bag on the kang. The two little eyes immediately lit up and stared at the flour bag.

"Oh, kid, what are you holding?" The master's wife was a little panicked.

"Nothing much. My classmate got some cucumbers and tomatoes from the warm cellar in the countryside. I gave some to Dafang and Guihua."

When the master's wife opened it, she immediately stuffed the flour bag to Qin Dabao.

"Oh no, no, no, this is a rare thing, Dabao, take it home and eat it quickly."

Qin Dabao took out a cucumber, broke it in half, and handed it to Tong Dafang and Xiao Guihua.

"Master's Wife, I've left it at home. I'm going to look for Dapeng."

"Oh, kid, okay, then bring lunch home and I'll go cook for you."

Qin Dabao walked towards the ear room and said, "No need, Master's wife. Dapeng and I have something to go out for a while."

He knew that Tong Dapeng lived in the ear room, and he often stayed here, so he was very familiar with it.

The master's wife coughed for a while, snatched the cucumber from the two children's hands, found the shorter half, broke it in half, and handed it to the two children.

"How can you two eat so fast, kids? Just eat this much. I'll use the other half to make you some food later."

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The side room of this mansion is not small either. There is a big kang on the bed, but there is no warmth in the room. It is obvious that there is no fire. In fact, in this respect, living in the city is not as good as living in the countryside.

In the countryside, you can pick up some branches, dead grass leaves, corn stalks and burn them to warm the house.

In the city, it is not so convenient. In winter, we can only rely on the coal book with several hundred kilograms per person to keep warm.

Of course, it’s different if there is a diligent man in the house. The men in the master’s house are all useless, each one is lazier than the other, so there is no warmth in the house at all.

On the kang, a person wrapped in a quilt was sleeping soundly. From the door, he looked like a large "maggot".

Qin Dabao went over and lifted the quilt from Tong Dapeng. Tong Dapeng woke up with a start. Thinking it was his mother, he rubbed his eyes and shouted, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Qin Dabao slapped him on the head and cursed: "You bastard! You left me at home and ran away. My mother almost skinned me alive."

Tong Dapeng then saw that it was Qin Dabao, and happily hugged Qin Dabao.

"Hey man, I was just saying you're going to be okay, right?"

Qin Dabao hated him so much that his teeth were itching. He had lost his life twice at the hands of this guy. He had to be careful when dealing with him in the future. This guy was such a jerk.

But this room is as cold as an ice cellar, I can't stay here any longer.

"Hurry up, get dressed, and let's go to Bian Yi Fang. It's my treat."

Tong Dapeng's eyes lit up: "You are rich now? Where did you get it?"

"Don't waste time, hurry up and get dressed. I'll wait for you outside."

Qin Dabao came out and stood behind Master Tong, doing horse stance. The master and apprentice did not speak while practicing.

Less than two minutes later, Tong Dapeng rushed out, dragged Qin Dabao out, and ran, shouting as he ran.

"Mom, Dabao and I are going out..."

The master's wife responded from inside the room. Master Tong closed his eyes and stood in a horse stance without moving. His concentration was like that of a dead person.

. . . . .

When it comes to food in Beijing, roast duck should be the best. People from other places always go to Quanjude to eat roast duck when they come to Beijing. But for old Beijingers like Qin Dabao, Bianyifang is their favorite. In fact, Quanjude is not as authentic as his because his ducks are all raised by himself.

This duck is not fed, but stuffed. There is a secret technique for stuffing duck. There are masters who specialize in raising ducks. They know how to determine the proportion of sorghum flour, when to squeeze it, and how fat and thin the duck should be. Everything is explained from beginning to end.

All ducks that do not meet the standards will be slaughtered and sold by Bian Yi Fang, or sold to other chicken and duck shops, and will never be cooked in the oven. It is because of this dedication that Bian Yi Fang has been able to stand for more than 200 years.

Bian Yi Fang was moved from Nanjing to Beijing during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the roast duck in the north surpassed the original Nanjing store.

Qin Dabao was dragged along by Tong Dapeng, who was very excited.

This was his first time eating out, and he was jumping up and down with excitement. If Qin Dabao hadn't held his hand, he would have taken off.

This Bianyifang was first opened in Mishikou, and later it was called Mishi Hutong. Later, because of the good taste, many people opened the so-called Bianyifang roast duck restaurant.

Due to the years of war, these stores have closed down one after another.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, only one authentic old brand in Xianyukou remained. It was also one of the first public-private joint ventures in Beijing.

The signboard of this Bian Yi Fang is also very particular. It has gold characters on a black background, which was written by Yang Jisheng, a talented scholar during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Below the word Bian Yi Fang are two small characters: Jinling, which represents not forgetting one's roots.

The roast duck at Bianyifang is different from that at Quanjude. The roast duck at Bianyifang is cooked in a stewed oven, while the roast duck at Quanjude is cooked in a hanging oven. They have rich flavors and the fragrance spreads from miles away once the oven is opened.

This is a two-story building with blue bricks and gray tiles, very simple and ancient.

In the past, there were waiters at the door to greet guests. After the public-private partnership, waiters were strictly prohibited from accepting tips and could only earn a fixed salary.

When everyone saw that they could earn the same amount regardless of how much they worked, they lost their initial enthusiasm and hospitality.

So now in the restaurant, there is only one middle-aged lady at the counter collecting money, and the remaining three waiters are lazily chatting by the stove, and no one pays attention to the customers who come in.

Customers come in and directly get their bill from the auntie. When the roast duck is ready, they have to go to the window to get it.

Qin Dabao had eaten roast duck a lot in his previous life, so he was greedy when he smelled it.

He asked Tong Dapeng to find a warm place to sit down while he went to the counter to get the ticket.

He ordered two roast ducks, a soup made from the duck bones, and two other dishes, spending 18 yuan, plus three pounds of meat coupons, one pound and six ounces of grain coupons, and half a pound of loose white wine, which did not require a coupon.

At noon, there were only two tables of individual customers in the roast duck restaurant, with only five people. No wonder the waiter was not in the mood to deal with it.

There are no guests, but we can’t waste money.

Now the roast duck restaurant has a quota of roasting 20 ducks a day. If they roast more than that, they can’t sell them. It’s not because the people have no money, but because they don’t have coupons. To eat a roast duck, you need not only food coupons, but also meat coupons.

Who would be willing to spend eight yuan, eight ounces of grain coupons, and a pound and a half of meat coupons on a roast duck? If you buy a pound and a half of fat meat, it can feed a family for a week.