He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

Chuntao Hutong

"Xiao Bai, do you have a lover on the side?"

Yi Zhonghai, smoking a cigarette, looked at the woman in his arms and said quietly,

The white widow twisted her waist and said:

"Brother Zhonghai, I've been following you for over a year. Don't you know how much I care? You come over every few days, but even if I wanted to, I just don't have the time."

Yi Zhonghai listened without saying anything more. Just then, the sound of a baby crying came from the next room, followed a moment later by knocking on the door.

"Mom, my little brother is crying, and I'm so hungry!"

The white widow also called out towards the door:

"Okay, go and comfort her first, Mom will go cook now."

Then he turned to Yi Zhonghai and said:

"Brother Zhonghai, could you give me some more money as a subsidy? It's so hard to find mending work these days, and my family is almost out of food."

Yi Zhonghai scoffed after hearing this:

"I've been using my wages for over a year to help support your family, but you didn't even tell me about your cousin, Fatty Bai."

"Oh, that fat guy? I wouldn't dare get close to him. He was a translator for the Japanese a few years ago; he's a traitor."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's eyes darted around, and he secretly memorized the words. Then he got up, pulled out about twenty silver dollars from his crotch, and threw them on the bed, saying:

"You use it first. I won't be coming over for a while; my wife is getting a little suspicious."

The white widow hurriedly picked up the silver dollar, smiling and nodding.

Yi Zhonghai finished dressing, glanced back at the white widow who was still blowing on the silver dollar and listening to the sound, then opened the door and left the room.

"Sigh, I thought Xiaobai would be able to have more children since she had two sons, but it's been over a year and there's still no sign of pregnancy."

"That fat, big-eared Jia Zhangshi, she was so beautiful when Old Jia was alive, now I feel like vomiting just looking at her. Even though she has a big butt, she hasn't had any babies all these years."

"Are we going to look for someone from the countryside? Old Qin's wife won't do either, and Huai Ru, the child she gave birth to, doesn't look like me. But Huai Ru is 13 years old this year and she's already quite pretty, and her butt is as big as her mother's. Why don't we give it a try?"

Yi Zhonghai walked away, lost in thought. The widow, having finished dressing, watched him walk away and spat, muttering under her breath:

"Damn, you can't get my interest going, but you're strong. No wonder that rich old lady keeps him around to serve her and wants to have a son. She's just like her steward father, who's been childless her whole life and is relying on this nephew for adoption."

……

No. 95 Nanluoguxiang

"Zhonghai's wife, could you please bring me some rainwater? Yuzhu and I are going out to sell steamed buns. Here, these buns are for you, thank you!"

A young woman across from the Intermediate People's Court also took the storm drain.

"Brother He, don't worry, I love children. You all go ahead, I'll take good care of the kids."

He Daqing nodded with a smile, pulling a cart full of steamers and heading towards the East Gate vegetable market amidst the rain.

"Pillar, stick close to me. The garrison commanders are changing, it's chaotic. The old soldiers will definitely loot the place before they leave, and if you're unlucky, you'll get shot. You'd better watch out."

He Yuzhu patted his chest and said:

"Dad, don't worry. With the wrestling skills you taught me, I could easily take on three opponents at once."

"But Dad, you're so good at wrestling, why do you say you were taught by those martial arts instructors at the bridge? They don't look as good as you."

He Daqing also tapped He Yuzhu's head hard and sighed, saying:

"In times of war and chaos, you always have to have a backup plan, otherwise you won't even know how you were betrayed and killed."

"This wrestling skill was taught to my father by a Taoist master when he was learning the trade. Back then, he and his fellow disciples went south, and I heard that several of them died. Since my master passed away, I haven't heard from him. He's gotten so old over the years, and I don't even know if he's still alive. My Tan family cuisine skills are all thanks to him."

He Daqing looked at He Yuzhu, who was pretending to know everything, and laughed, saying:

"Tomorrow you'll learn Tan family cuisine from me. If anyone asks, just say it's a family tradition. Then I'll find my senior brother in Sichuan cuisine to take you as his apprentice. No matter if it's a chaotic world or a peaceful one, a cook will never starve."

He Yuzhu nodded in agreement.

Upon arriving at the Dongmen vegetable market, He Daqing opened the steamer lid, and white steam immediately billowed out, along with the aroma of meat from the buns.

"Steamed buns, selling steamed buns!"

"Thin crust, generous filling, very good."

……

"Sir, may you have good fortune. How many would you like?"

……

An hour later, Da Qing looked at the last four or five baskets of buns and remembered Jia Gui and the chubby guy. He then asked He Yuzhu to wrap them in paper, intending to send them over when he got home.

Just then, cries suddenly came from afar. He Daqing peeked out and saw three or four soldiers carrying guns casually picking up food from a vendor's stall and trying to steal money from his waist.

He Daqing hurriedly lifted the cart handle and shouted at He Yuzhu:

"Pillar, run! Get home first!"

After saying that, he pushed the cart and ran towards the alley entrance on the side.

He Daqing's voice caught the attention of the soldiers, who quickly ran over when they saw the large and small bags in He Yuzhu's hands.

Before He Yuzhu could react, he saw soldiers carrying guns running towards him and immediately remembered what his father had said. He shouted:

"I don't want to be shot."

Then the raisin buns ran to the back.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo"

He Yuzhu leaned against a half-broken wall and secretly looked behind him. Finding no one there, he gasped for breath.

"Hehe, luckily I'm fast. You lot think you can catch me? Go eat methane!"

A moment later, He Yuzhu, having rested, picked up the steamed buns and was about to go home when a man in a long gown walked over.

Throughout the journey, one could still hear his low, angry curses:

"Damn it, that bastard Xiangzi! He doesn't pull the cart properly, he's always messing around with weddings and funerals, he's a complete scoundrel! Why didn't he die with that Tiger Girl back then? Why didn't he hang himself with that Little Fuzi? All these things have ruined me, Erqiangzi, and I'm still down on my luck now."

Suddenly, Erqiangzi saw He Yuzhu carrying large and small bags ahead, and the aroma of steamed buns wafted over. His eyes lit up, and he quickly ran a few steps, saying:

"Hey sir, are you selling steamed buns? How much?"

He Yuzhu was also stunned for a moment and said:

"Um... um, if you want it, it'll be 5 dollars all of it."

Erqiangzi was also stunned. "Are you out of your mind? It's so expensive!" But looking at the innocent-looking child in front of him, a plan suddenly came to mind.

"Alright, five silver dollars it is. But I'm a businessman, and it's inconvenient for silver dollars to stay for too long. How about this, I'll buy it from you with French dollars, and the extra will be a tip for you."

Sha Zhu had never even heard of French currency. He was dazzled by the colorful stack of banknotes that the man in the long robe opposite him quickly pulled out from his pocket.

"Look, this French coin says 100, which is worth one silver dollar. I'll give you five of them; these ones with 5 and 10 written on them are your tip."

As he spoke, Erqiangzi pulled out a small disc of French coins and stuffed it into He Yuzhu's arms, then hurriedly snatched the buns from He Yuzhu's hands and ran towards the alley to the side.

He Yuzhu hurriedly pressed his hand to his chest, stuffed the French coin into his clothes, looked around frantically, and ran home with a dry mouth, excited shouts echoing along the way:

"I'm rich! That big idiot, a businessman, gave me so much money! Dad will definitely praise me for being smart. No, I have to keep some to buy some cheap liquor. I'm a man too!"

……