The next day, the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Xiaobei, Zhao Penghui, Gu Qiang, and Gu Lei took the train north to Beijing.
An hour's train ride is not long, and it is considered a very short train journey. I got off the train at Beijing Station and walked in with the flow of people. When I walked out of the station, I saw Chen Guandong, Du Hu and Bai Hongyu at a glance.
The three of them looked towards the exit of the station in the crowd.
Although there are a lot of people at Beijing Railway Station, I can still recognize them from the crowd at a glance.
"Brother Bei, it's over here, come here!" Chen Guandong shouted happily.
Lu Xiaobei and the others squeezed in, and the brothers hugged each other warmly, as if they were reunited after not seeing each other for several years.
"Dongzi, how do you arrange for us? We want to stay in the presidential suite of China World Hotel!" Zhao Penghui shouted.
"Sir, if you took out my heart, liver, and lungs and sold them, it's not worth the money to live there! Let's live in our house. Our house is a big courtyard and it's absolutely bright." Chen Guandong said.
"Didn't you say you would live in our house? Why are we all staying in your house again? Our place is not small. It will be no problem for the brothers to live there!" Bai Hongyu said.
"Oh, our three houses are damn near each other. Doesn't it matter who lives in the house?" Du Hu said and walked out with his brothers.
Although the housing prices within the Third Ring Road in Beijing are now at the same level as those in Manhattan in the United States, in Beijing at that time, property prices were far from as crazy as they are now. Really wealthy people did not buy crowded buildings, but chose these.
A courtyard house left by the older generation.
Some people watch TV and see that many poor people live in courtyard houses, and rich people don’t live in such shabby places. In fact, there is a big difference between what is shown on TV and reality.
At that time, the poor could not afford to buy a house, so they must rent a single room in a courtyard. Therefore, when it comes to courtyards, everyone thinks of dirty courtyards where the poor live together. But the courtyard where Chen Guandong and his family lived was different from these.
.
They live in a single-door courtyard. The courtyard faces south. It has a vermilion door with stone lions on both sides of the door. The door is set on the south wall near the east wall. After entering, turn around a doorway and a door will appear.
In a bright and open yard, there will often be a jujube tree rising from the ground in the middle. In summer, the jujube tree provides shade and protects the yard from the heat of the sun.
The reason why it is called Siheyuan is that there are houses on the east, west, north and south sides of the yard, which are divided into main rooms, east and west wing rooms and reverse seats.
Lu Xiaobei and others first went to Chen Guandong's house to pay New Year's greetings. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they were stunned to see the unique and simple building, with glazed tiles, roofs, and bluestone floors, giving it a luxurious aristocratic feel.
"See, only old Beijing is so particular. Living here is more comfortable than living in the presidential suite!" Zhao Penghui said in amazement.
"Then you can stay here tonight!" Chen Guandong said.
"I'm not sure, I won't leave even if you chase me away. This is much more elegant than the big courtyard of my house. At first glance, it looks like a well-off family, but at first glance, my house looks like a rustic!" Zhao Penghui said with a smile.
I went to the three families of Chen Guandong, Bai Hongyu and Du Hu to say New Year greetings from door to door and received a lot of red envelopes. The brothers were very happy.
Seven people were walking in the ancient alley, smoking and chatting. As they were chatting, Lu Xiaobei suddenly asked Bai Hongyu: "You three and Fatty Yin all grew up here, right?"
Bai Hongyu nodded and said, "Brother Bei, do you miss Fatty Yin?"
"We killed him. I want to see his parents. This time I am coming to Beijing to hang out with you for two days. The most important thing is to see Fatty Yin and his parents."
"Brother Bei, it's okay to look after Fatty Yin's parents, but we who came out to fool around can't always live in self-blame. Remember what we said when we were in charge, if anyone betrays anyone, they will be eliminated. Fatty Yin has nothing to do with us.
A little dispute with him will ruin the plan we worked so hard for. He is so small-minded that even if he is alive, it will be difficult for him to accomplish anything big." Bai Hongyu said a lot.
"I understand everything you said. Okay, let's go to Fatty Yin's house now. We'll see you early and finish things early, so I won't have to worry about it all the time."
After Lu Xiaobei finished speaking, the seven of them followed Bai Hongyu's lead to Fatty Yin's home.
Beijing's hutongs are deep and endless. If you are new to Beijing's hutongs, you will definitely get lost here. The same gatehouse and the same walls. After walking for a while, Lu Xiaobei always feels that he has come around again. In fact, they have already left the starting point.
The place is getting further and further away.
Bai Hongyu stopped in front of a door that was not covered with a door god. There was a black gauze hanging on the door. The two lanterns were also made white with white paper, forming a sharp contrast with the beaming families around them.
.
"Here we are, this is Fatty Yin's home." Bai Hongyu said.
"Go in." Lu Xiaobei said.
Bai Hongyu stepped forward and knocked on the door twice. After waiting for a while, the door creaked open, and a haggard-looking woman stood inside.
"Hongyu, Guandong, it's you, come in..." There was no expression on the woman's face.
"Auntie, these good friends behind you are also fat. They all came from other places to wish you a happy old age."
"Okay...okay...they are all big boys. It's great for our son to have brothers like you."
Fatty Yin's father sat on a wicker chair in the room, staring blankly at Lu Xiaobei and the others. Without saying a word, Fatty Yin's mother brought tea and placed it in front of them. The tea was not hot.
, soaked in warm water, Lu Xiaobei took a sip, it was no different from boiled water.
There is no doubt that Fatty Yin's death has brought a heavy blow to these two old people. Lu Xiaobei and the others are reluctant to mention Fatty Yin too much, for fear of arousing the sad memories of the two old people.
"The police said that my son participated in a gang fight in Lingbei Town and died in the fight. Is it true?" Fatty Yin's father suddenly asked.
None of the brothers spoke first, they all nodded.
"My son has been timid since he was a child. How could he participate in some gang fights? Have you guys gone?"
The brothers all shook their heads, no one wanted to tell the truth.
"Hey...Okay, old man, don't think about it anymore..."
"I'm not willing to give in! Why are other people's children alive and well, but my child is going to die? And he died so miserably, a three-edged knife actually pierced the top of his head, and the skull was smashed! This
The gangsters are too cruel!" When Fatty Yin's father finished these words, Gu Lei began to feel entangled in his heart, because he was the heinous gangster who killed Fatty Yin.
"Uncle, my condolences. From now on, we will take care of the two elders. If you need anything, you can contact any of us." Lu Xiaobei took out a stack of money from his wallet and said, "This is ten thousand yuan. First of all,
I leave it for you to represent our memory of our brothers, please take care of yourself..." Lu Xiaobei said, getting up to leave.
Fatty Yin's father grabbed the money, threw it on the ground, and roared: "Our family is not short of money, I want my son! How did you two become brothers! That's why Fatty Yin died so miserably!"
Zhao Penghui was angry for a moment and stood up to confront...