Rebirth in 1958: Getting rich starts from Nanluoguxiang

Fourth Master Jin was startled. When he looked up, he saw his third disciple Wang Fengming running in with sweat all over his forehead. Fourth Master Jin's face darkened.

"Fengming, why are you here instead of going out to work? You're so irritable and not steady at all!"

Wang Fengming and his disciples dared not talk back to their master. This old man was ruthless. Once, his second disciple talked back to him, and this old man actually used an awl to poke his second disciple's cheeks 36 times. Both sides of his face were almost like a sieve. Drinking water from him was like drinking from a watering can.

Wang Fengming quickly bowed to his master, then leaned close to Fourth Master Jin's ear and whispered,

"Master, something serious has happened. Deputy Director Wang from the station has sent someone to find me and tell you that you should bring us apprentices to the Municipal Public Security Bureau compound for a meeting before 3:00 this afternoon.

If you don’t go, you will do so at your own risk.”

Mr. Jin Si's face turned pale all of a sudden. Even though he had connections in the police station, he shuddered inwardly when he mentioned those people in official uniforms.

These people in official uniforms are always ruthless. They may toast with you at noon and call you brothers, but at night they will arrest you without mercy. For those gangsters, these people in official uniforms are like dogs. If they are not fed well, they will bite even their masters.

"What else did Wang Tiegang say?"

"Deputy Director Wang said this is an order from a big shot, and we absolutely cannot disobey it. And it's not just you and us they're looking for. Deputy Director Wang said that any well-known Buddhist master in the capital must report to the Municipal Public Security Bureau before 3:00 this afternoon. If you don't go, you will bear the consequences!"

Mr. Jin Si's face turned pale and blue. He thought to himself, this is bad. The government is going to deal with them. If they obey, won't they be walking into a trap?

But if I don't go, if I offend the police, my good days will be over.

He grabbed Wang Fengming,

"Old Third, Hou Laoer from Dongzhimen, Li Laowu from Qianmen, Jia Quezi and Liu Xiaodao from Xicheng, Qu Laoliu and Qu Laoqi from Haidian, and Guo Foshou from Wangfujing, are they going? Are they all going?"

Wang Fengming shook his head.

"I don't know, Master. I just got the news and rushed over to tell you. I don't know if they're going or not. How about I go and ask around?"

"Go, go, go! Go and fight! We must get the truth and find out what the government is really trying to do."

Wang Fengming agreed and was about to run out, but Jin Laosi hurriedly called him back.

"My legs are so weak now, help me out and find a car!"

"What's wrong, Master? You want to go home?"

"What the hell is going back home? I'm going to take a bath in Qinghua Pond and let Lao Liu massage me. If you get any information, come find me in Qinghua Pond."

"I understand, master!"

Wang Fengming turned around and was about to run away, and Jin was furious... "

Wang Fengming hurried back to support Jin Laosi. As soon as he got close to Jin Laosi, he smelled a foul odor. He laughed inwardly, thinking that his master was still as timid as ever. He had already peed his pants before anything happened...

Wang Fengming helped Teacher Jin out, and Pei Saner hurried over to greet him. Jin Laosi took out two yuan and threw it to him. Pei Saner was happy. The tea cost only fifty cents, and he made another one and a half yuan...

Jin Laosi whispered to Wang Fengming,

"Go tell your brothers and sisters to find a quiet place to listen to the news. We won't be hunting today."

Wang Fengming searched for a long time and finally found a rickshaw. Rickshaws had been banned long ago. The new country could not accept the phenomenon of people exploiting people. This rickshaw was used to transport goods. Wang Fengming tried to persuade the rickshaw owner and gave him fifty cents. The rickshaw owner finally agreed with an unhappy look on his face.

Jin Laosi was lying on the cart, and Banye covered him with his own tarpaulin. This tarpaulin had not been washed for many years. Jin Laosi almost fainted from the odor. What was that smell? It was like a toilet that he had not escaped for more than ten or twenty years. As soon as he smelled it, tears came to his eyes.

Banerye pedaled his bicycle and quickly pulled him to the Qinghua Pond.

Before the liberation of Beijing, there were 125 bathhouses, including eight for women. The two most famous bathhouses were Qinghua Garden and Qinghua Pond.

Tsinghua University is too far away. Back then, if you wanted to take a bath in Tsinghua University, someone like Jin Laosi couldn't even get in. To take a bath there, you had to be at least a prince.

The bath scrubbers and pedicure technicians had to kneel down to do their jobs. If they were not satisfied with the service, they would be slapped twice in the face. Now, more than 100 bathhouses in the capital were all state-owned. In the 1950s and 1960s, these bathhouses were divided among various factories. Only two large public bathhouses remained, namely Qinghuayuan and Qinghuachi.

This Qinghua Pond is near the Beijing Railway Station. It was originally opened for the loaders and unloaders at the railway station. Not everyone can be a loader and unloader at the railway station. One has to be very strong.

Because the work they did was unloading trains, which was dirty and tiring, but paid well, so those who could carry heavy loads gathered in the Qinghua Pond, waiting for the manager to come over and call them to work.

Jin Laosi likes to come to Qinghuachi the most. In the old saying of the people in Beijing, it is called "water wrapped around skin" in the morning, which means taking a bath, and skin wrapped around water in the evening, which means drinking a big bowl of tea. He also likes to watch the loaders and unloaders, who are a scene of the old Beijing.

In the early days, heavy loaders would gather at the gate of Qinghua Pond early in the morning, one hand holding a pancake filled with two pounds of pork head meat, the other holding a bowl of sleeve soup.

This job is too tiring, so I have to eat well. I eat a one-and-a-half-pound pancake with two pounds of pork head meat, which is as thick as a child's arm. I swallow it in a few mouthfuls and then drink this bowl of sleeve-shaking soup slowly.

After eating and drinking, the train station manager came to call people and started tapping with his fingers.

"You, you, you, four people, unloading two cars of coal, two dollars each,"

In fact, this job is usually done by five or six people. The boss pays 15 dollars in cash, and the manager finds four people, pays 2 dollars each, and pockets the remaining 7 dollars.

The four laborers worked hard and unloaded two wagons by noon. They took the money and went to the Qinghua Pond.

Jin Laosi couldn't hold his head up in Tsinghua, but he was a hard laborer in Qinghuachi. Everyone looked at him as if he was their superior, which fully satisfied his vanity.

There are two bathing pools in Qinghuachi. One is specially opened for the coolies who have just finished their work, especially those who have just unloaded coal. Those who are dirty can jump into the pool and float up two pounds of coal dust.

The other pool is clean and is specially prepared for people like Jin Laosi...