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

Although Sha Zhu had some thoughts in his mind, he couldn't tell his master everything.

He listened to his master's nagging and occasionally felt speechless.

Mr. Li used to be a man of few words, but now he's probably worried about the two siblings who are young and living alone in the neighborhood.

While his master was talking, Sha Zhu whispered to him, "Master, you just had your wedding banquet yesterday, so it won't be easy for you to come here again."

I specially made lamb kidney soup today to nourish the kidneys. Master, you can drink more of it so I can give birth to a junior brother soon, and I can take over from you and teach him kung fu.”

Upon hearing this, Master Li struck Sha Zhu on the head with his chopsticks.

He painstakingly taught Sha Zhu some life skills, but Sha Zhu interrupted and told him to eat kidney tonic.

Master Li is a skilled martial artist and in his prime, so why would he need to supplement his kidneys?

Moreover, how could he not teach his own son? In just a few words, Sha Zhu's true nature was revealed, no wonder he angered Master Wang.

Sha Zhu, clutching his head where he'd been hit, moved away from his master and sat down on the other side of the table. His two mistresses and Yu Shui, hearing the commotion, looked at Master Li and Sha Zhu with suspicion.

Sha Zhu chuckled awkwardly and said, "Master's wife, it's nothing. Master was just itching to teach me a lesson so I wouldn't cause trouble in the future. He was so fast that I didn't have time to react before I got a tap. It didn't hurt at all."

Master Li's newlywed wife glared at him and said, "Why are you banging on the pillar's head? What if you knock it silly? When we get back, I'll give you a go. We'll see if my Baguazhang and Xingyiquan are better, or your broken boxing."

Rain, watching the commotion from the sidelines, said, "Little Master's wife, my Uncle Li is amazing! I've mastered the Wing Chun he taught me. The boys in my class don't respect me, but I take them down in one move."

Upon hearing Yu Shui mention fighting at school, Sha Zhu quickly asked, "Yu Shui, did another classmate bully you at school?"

Rain stuck out her little tongue and quickly said, "Brother, no one bullied me. We were just playing around and having a competition. Now no one dares to bully me. I'm really strong."

Sha Zhu rubbed his forehead and said, "Fine, if you get bullied at school, just tell me, and I'll stand up for you and beat him so badly his own parents won't recognize him."

The master and his two wives were speechless after hearing Sha Zhu's words. They thought to themselves, "You're so old, yet you're still bullying little kids who are only a few years old."

So, the two mistresses gave Sha Zhu another round of instructions and teachings. Master Li, watching from the side, nodded repeatedly, thinking that this was exactly how the apprentice should be disciplined.

After lunch, Sha Zhu reluctantly saw his master and mistress off.

Afterwards, he and Yushui packed up their belongings and went back to their rooms for a nap.

After the two woke up, Sha Zhu suggested, "Let's go for a stroll in Nanluoguxiang."

Rain rolled her eyes and looked at Shazhu with disdain: "Brother, what's so fun about Nanluoguxiang? Didn't you grow up here? It's all dilapidated here, either under construction or dirty and messy. There's nothing fun about it."

Sha Zhu chuckled and replied, "You're young, and Dad doesn't let you run around when he's home."

Although it looks a bit dilapidated now, our area used to be very famous.

Even the last empress of the Qing Dynasty lived here, and Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to the other side of the strait, once had his headquarters in this area.

Let's go, we don't have anything to do this afternoon anyway. Before liberation, although your brother had explored the entire Nanluoguxiang area, it wasn't safe back then. I was young, and there were patrols with smelly feet guarding many places.

After liberation, your brother and I went to Fengzeyuan to learn a trade, so we haven't had a proper chance to explore this area of ​​Nanluoguxiang yet.

Rain seemed intrigued by Sha Zhu's words. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you for a bit. If it's not fun, I'll go find my classmates to play with."

Sha Zhu left his house, soaked by the rain, carefully locking the door behind him. Looking at the number 137 on the wall, he wondered if his house would be included in the area's dilapidated housing renovation program once the area opened up to the public.

After all, the bricks of this house were probably beyond saving, and their house number plaque might also be moved. The two then left Ju'er Hutong and came to the main street of Nanluoguxiang.

Sunlight streamed down the ancient streets, adding warmth and vibrancy to the area.

Along the way, Sha Zhu encountered many neighbors he knew well in the area.

He greeted us warmly, his face beaming with a friendly smile.

When the neighbors saw Shazhu and Yushui, they all nodded in response, and some even asked them about their recent situation.

At this time, the women who had nothing to do would come out of their homes and gather in twos and threes.

They grabbed a stool, found a sunny spot, sat down, and started chatting.

The topics range from everyday trivialities to neighborhood gossip, covering everything.

When Sha Zhu and Yu Shui passed by, they overheard some scattered gossip, including stories about how Sha Zhu and his sister's father abandoned them.

Some say that the two siblings used to live in that courtyard where everyone had diarrhea, etc.

Sha Zhu, pulling Yu Shui along, slowly strolled south along Nanluoguxiang Street.

Nanluoguxiang, an ancient street located in the Jiaodaokou area on the east side of Beijing's central axis, carries the profound historical and cultural heritage of Beijing.

It stretches from Gulou East Street in the north to Ping'an Avenue in the south, with a total length of 786 meters and a width of 8 meters. It was built at the same time as the Yuan Dynasty capital and has a history of more than 670 years.

Nanluoguxiang is named after its terrain, which is high in the middle and low in the north and south, resembling a hunchback.

It wasn't until the fifteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty that it was officially renamed Nanluoguxiang.

As the only street in China that has completely preserved the old Beijing style, Nanluoguxiang and its surrounding hutongs are full of mansions and courtyards of various styles, which are colorful, profound and mysterious, making people feel as if they have traveled back to that prosperous ancient times.

The streets and alleys here were once crowded with high-ranking officials and nobles, and there were countless mansions and grand residences.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Nanluoguxiang became a place of great wealth and prosperity, extremely bustling.

However, with the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the prosperity of Nanluoguxiang gradually came to an end, but it has been preserved intact and has become one of the streets and alleys in Beijing with the most old Beijing style.

During the Republican era, Nanluoguxiang saw the emergence of many artists, writers, and opera actors, forming a unique cultural and artistic circle.

With Chiang Kai-shek's escape and the defeat of the Nationalist government, a large number of people moved away, and the Nanluoguxiang area fell into silence.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, as a large number of workers from other provinces poured into the Nanluoguxiang area, various problems such as housing shortages arose, and the area gradually declined. The courtyard houses in the alley also faced the problems of aging and dilapidation.

Nanluoguxiang runs north-south, with eight hutongs neatly arranged on each side, forming a "fishbone" pattern, continuing the "chessboard" layout that has been in place since ancient times.

The overall texture of the hutongs and courtyards is a concrete manifestation of the chessboard-like urban architectural pattern of Yuan Dynasty capital.

It is said that at the northernmost point of Nanluoguxiang, there were once two ancient wells, which happened to become the two eyes of this "centipede street".

The Nanluoguxiang area is enclosed by four streets: Gulou East Street, Di'anmen East Street, Di'anmen Outer Street, and Jiaodaokou South Street, forming a rectangular plot of land.

This plot of land is located in the area of ​​two wards of Yuan Dadu (the Yuan capital), with Nanluoguxiang as the boundary. To the east is "Zhaohui Ward" and to the west is "Jinggong Ward".

Looking from south to north, the eight hutongs on the west side are, in order: Fuxiang Hutong, Suoyi Hutong, Yu'er Hutong, Mao'er Hutong, Jingyang Hutong, Shajing Hutong, Heizhima Hutong, as well as Qian Gulouyuan Hutong and Hou Gulouyuan Hutong (partially overlapping), and Nanxiawazi Hutong.

The eight hutongs to the east are Chaodou Hutong, Banchang Hutong, Dongmianhua Hutong, Beibingmasi Hutong, Qinlao Hutong, Qianyuanensi Hutong, Houyuanensi Hutong, and Juer Hutong.

These alleys did not have names during the Yuan Dynasty; their names gradually evolved after the Ming Dynasty.

For example, Ju'er Hutong was called Ju'er Hutong in the Ming Dynasty, then changed to Ju'er Hutong, and finally became known as Ju'er Hutong during the reign of Emperor Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty, a name that has remained to this day.

Today, as Sha Zhu walks through the streets and alleys of Nanluoguxiang, he can still feel that ancient and unique atmosphere.

Every building and every alleyway here seems to tell the story of Beijing's history.