Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Sha Zhu didn't have time to think about these things.

Approaching the city gate tower, one sees only ruins and devastation, with city gate bricks scattered everywhere below.

Sha Zhu was overjoyed and used his mind to scan the vicinity, finding no one there. For safety's sake, Sha Zhu mentally scanned the area around the city wall again and again.

Until it is confirmed that it is safe.

He then used his mind to transfer bricks within a 30-meter radius of his body into his spatial dimension, walking while simultaneously surveying his surroundings.

Sha Zhu stopped collecting bricks only after he had collected more than 30,000 bricks, enough to build two bungalows.

The fact that 30,000 bricks are missing here isn't particularly noticeable. Keep in mind that Beijing is currently undergoing massive construction.

These city wall bricks are still unremarkable now, but many volunteer workers are here removing them from the city wall, along with villagers from the outskirts of Beijing.

They would drive donkey carts here to haul bricks, either to sort them out and sell them to city dwellers, to earn a little transportation fee by hauling them for others, or to take them back to the countryside to build houses.

It's important to understand that Beijing in 1951 was in a period of recovery and construction following the founding of the People's Republic of China.

During this period, Beijing's infrastructure and urban construction were in full swing, and construction workers were extremely busy.

Secondly, Beijing's population also increased during this period.

The population growth during this period was closely related to Beijing's status as the capital of the new China, and the changes in the city's nature and functions attracted a large influx of people.

Housing shortages were particularly pronounced during this period. This was because most migrant workers received housing through welfare programs.

Or the factory would provide accommodation, and few people would build their own houses, so these city wall bricks did not attract the attention of anyone who cared.

The bricks of Beijing's city walls have undergone multiple demolitions and preservation processes throughout history.

During the Republican era, due to the needs of transportation and municipal construction, the imperial city wall of Beijing was demolished on a large scale, and many of the bricks were sold or used for other purposes.

In modern times, with increased awareness of cultural heritage protection, Beijing citizens have actively participated in the protection of the Ming Dynasty city wall.

In 1996, when the Ming Dynasty city wall of Beijing was facing danger, the people of Beijing responded to the "Love Beijing, Donate Bricks from the City Wall" campaign.

They donated approximately 54 old city wall bricks, which were returned to Yongding Gate after weathering the elements, making a significant contribution to the protection of the city wall.

In addition, large-scale city bricks have been discovered in Beijing, such as tens of thousands of Ming and Qing dynasty city wall bricks found in Fengtai Freight Yard, which were used in warehouse construction.

The Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage has launched a conservation project, meticulously dismantling these city bricks and planning to use them for historical research and cultural heritage preservation projects.

In terms of cultural relic protection, the joint efforts of Beijing citizens and government departments have not only protected the city wall bricks, but also preserved the historical memory and cultural value of Beijing.

So now these unwanted city wall bricks are scattered everywhere, and anyone who wants them can come and take them.

Even government staff organized activists in the city to demolish and clear away the bricks.

For city dwellers who want to build houses, these bricks are free. If you don't want to prepare them yourself, you can pay an extra transportation fee, and they'll be delivered to your home without you having to lift a finger.

There were just too many unwanted city wall bricks. Sorry, but Beijing isn't a perfectly flat city; it has those uneven, gully-like sections.

These city wall bricks also found a use. On some flooded roads, these bricks were used to create a sidewalk for pedestrians to walk through.

Sha Zhu accepted 30,000 bricks for the city wall and then stopped accepting more; that was enough for the time being. If there were a few bricks missing, the workers would assume someone had taken them all.

If there are too many missing bricks nearby, it might cause paranormal events, which would be bad. What if there aren't enough bricks?

Sha Zhu still remembers some of the major events surrounding the demolition of the city gates and walls of Beijing.

Next year, the Xibianmen gate tower, arrow tower, and barbican will be demolished.

In 1953, the barbicans of Guangqumen, Fuchengmen, and Zuoanmen, as well as the arrow tower, were demolished.

The Dongzhimen Arrow Tower, the You'anmen Barbican, and the Deshengmen City Tower were demolished in 1954.

Guang'anmen barbican and arrow tower, Xuanwumen: demolished in 1955.

Chaoyangmen, Chaoyangmen Arrow Tower and Arrow Platform: Demolished in 1957.

Dongzhimen Gate Tower: Demolished in 1965.

Xizhimen: In 1969, the city gate, arrow tower, gate tower, and barbican were all demolished to make way for the subway.

The specific background and reasons for the demolition of each city gate may involve a variety of factors such as urban planning, transportation development, and military preparedness needs.

For example, the Chaoyangmen gate tower was demolished in 1956 due to years of disrepair and the risk of collapse, and the arrow tower was also demolished in 1958.

Xizhimen, one of the best-preserved city gates in Beijing's inner city, was eventually demolished in 1969 to make way for subway construction.

It is worth noting that the demolition of Beijing's city walls and gates was not a one-off event, but rather a gradual process that occurred gradually with urban development and changes in functional needs.

During this process, there were voices advocating for the preservation of the ancient city, such as Liang Sicheng's advocacy for the preservation of the city walls. However, due to various reasons, including political decisions and the needs of urban development, most of these city gates and walls were eventually demolished.

On the way back, it was completely dark, but I could still make out objects by the moonlight shining down from the sky.

Sha Zhu walked cautiously, scanning the area ahead with his mind while observing the residents inside the houses on both sides of the alley.

Since they rarely come out at night anyway, why not take advantage of the skinheads left behind and cause some trouble? It'll be another way to make a small fortune.

Sha Zhu thought to himself with a chuckle. As for how to determine if someone is a spy, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've at least seen pigs run.

Use your mind to scan the conversations of the people in the room, or to check if there are any hidden passages or basements inside the room.

Do we have radio codebooks or something similar? More importantly, do we have money, or as the saying goes, funding?

Yellow croaker (both large and small), and golden ingots (a type of croaker) are Sha Zhu's true loves. Although there are already about ten boxes of his haul in the storage space, having more would be understandable.

Who wouldn't love gleaming gold? Sha Zhu's eyes narrowed to slits. He walked along, glancing at the houses on either side.

As they walked to Qianmen Street Hutong, something inside a courtyard caught Sha Zhu's attention.

Inside one of the rooms, seven or eight people were having a quiet but intense conversation.

"Old Yang, the people at Zhengyangmen, according to our inquiries, seem to be logistics personnel from the Military Control Commission. They're checking household registrations."

The area where the bodies were found has been cordoned off. According to nearby residents, six bodies were carried out.

"But our funding just came in, and the specific tasks and operation time haven't been determined yet. How could our people be dead?" a thin, middle-aged man said.

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately realized that these people were all accomplices of the dead spies.

With a thought, he enveloped the people in the room, and in a flash, they disappeared.

Inside the space, these people were still in a daze, not knowing what was happening. Before they could even speak, a flying knife flashed by and ended their lives.

Upon inspecting their clothing, they found only two handguns, several daggers, and some loose banknotes.

Sha Zhu dug a pit in the black soil, buried these people, and turned them into spring mud to grow crops. Sha Zhu himself was deeply moved by this one-stop service.

After leaving the space, Sha Zhu arrived at the main gate of the courtyard. He opened the gate with his mind and entered the courtyard in a flash.

There were seven or eight rooms in the courtyard. Sha Zhu carefully explored the area, and the layout of the courtyard appeared in his mind.

This courtyard is located on the edge of the entrance to Qianmen Street, an area with a good business environment and a gathering place for wealthy merchants. It is a typical Beijing courtyard house with one courtyard.

Generally speaking, a courtyard house in Beijing is the basic unit of a Beijing siheyuan (courtyard house), which is usually composed of houses on four or three sides, forming a siheyuan or sanheyuan.

The typical features of this type of courtyard include a main house (north-facing house), which usually has three rooms, and an annex on each side of the main house, forming a "three main houses and two annexes" layout, for a total of five rooms.

If the courtyard is relatively small, half a side room can be placed on each side of the three main rooms to form a "four-breaking-five" layout.

To the south of the main house are the east and west wing rooms, each with three rooms, arranged in a "品" (pin) shape with the main house.

Opposite the main house is the south-facing house, also known as the reverse-facing house, which has the same number of rooms as the main house.

The main gate of this type of small house is usually located in the southeast direction. If it is a courtyard house, the main gate is usually a hip gate, located in one or half a room at the east end of the back building.

After entering the main gate, you will see a screen wall (or mirror wall) on the south wall of the east wing. You can enter the inner courtyard through the screen door. If there is no rear building on the south side and only a courtyard wall, the main gate is a wall-style gate (also known as a wall-mounted gate or small gate tower).