As Xiao Fang called the door, there was no movement inside. However, a door opened next to it. A girl with messy hair like a chicken coop stretched out her head and took a look. With a "bang", she closed the door again.
.
"Xiao Fang, is there no one at home?"
Stomping his feet outside, Zhuang Rui asked Xiao Fang, "This place is full of evil deeds." Zhuang Rui stood in front of the door and could feel that there seemed to be several pairs of eyes in the houses nearby, looking at the two of them.
Staring.
"That's impossible. He also has a medicine jar at home, which is always at home."
Xiaofang is very familiar with this family. He knows that they are old residents who have lived here for decades. Their children are not very capable, otherwise they would have moved out long ago. Now, all the people in this courtyard who are somewhat capable have moved out and built their houses.
It's rented out.
"Old Tang, Master Old Tang, are you here?" Xiao Fang knocked on the door again while talking.
"Oh, come on, I kept you two waiting for a long time..."
Following the words, the tacky door painted with red paint was opened from the inside. However, Zhuang Rui and the two still did not see what was going on in the room because a thick cotton curtain blocked their eyes.
It's cold in the north, so most homes have a thick curtain inside the door, but the curtain in Old Tang's house looks like it was made from a quilt. It's a little greasy and gives off an unpleasant smell.
The man who opened the door was polite and reached out to lift the curtain. Zhuang Rui and Xiao Fang walked into the house with their heads down. After looking around, they understood why the room was so dark.
It turned out that the window was also hung with a thick layer of curtains. The weak light was transmitted from the curtains into the house. The light bulbs in the house were still the kind with strings. A long rope was pulled from the wall at the door to
The bedside is really convenient. You don't have to get out of bed, you can just reach it with your hand.
In the middle of the main room, there is a stove with the chimney sticking out of the window. There is also a kettle on top of the stove. This is not a waste at all, but the room is so tightly covered that it is really not cold. That's it.
The smell is a bit unpleasant.
"You two, please sit down, please sit down quickly. You prodigal bitch, go and lie down inside."
The old master Tang hurriedly offered his seat to Zhuang Rui and Xiao Fang, and then stretched out his hand to turn on the light. There was not much difference between turning on the light and not turning it on, because the small light bulb emitting yellow light did not turn on at all.
It didn't have much effect.
After turning on the light, Zhuang Rui discovered that there was someone lying on the bed in the main hall. After being yelled at by Old Tang, he lifted the quilt and went to the back room.
"Cough cough, cough cough..."
As soon as the quilt was lifted, a strange smell suddenly filled the whole room. Zhuang Rui couldn't bear it anymore. He coughed hard several times, stood up and walked to the door, opened the curtain, and took a deep breath.
Only then did the sour gas in his stomach, which almost made him want to vomit, calm down.
The smell was not only the smell of stinky feet under the quilt, but also the smell of musty Chinese medicine and decay, mixed together. Not to mention Zhuang Rui, Xiao Fang's face was also red from suppressing it, and he followed closely
Come to the door from behind.
Although Zhuang Rui grew up in an average family, which was not considered a good one, Ouyang Wan was particularly fond of cleanliness. Not only was the house spotless, it was at least cleaned every day. In winter, when the weather was good every three to five days, the quilt would be removed.
Take it out to dry in the sun. Where have you ever smelled something like fermented stinky tofu?
"Ahem, Xiaofang, let's come back another day..."
Zhuang Rui really didn't want to go into that house anymore. He was not a delicate person. When he was working in Zhonghai, he also lived in a rental house. However, the smell was really terrible. It was even comparable to that of Little Japan.
That gas bomb was gone.
"Brother Zhuang, let's take a look when you get here. His ancestors seem to be Manchus. Maybe there are some interesting things left behind."
Although Xiao Fang couldn't bear the smell in the house, this was his job. If Zhuang Rui didn't buy anything, his trip would be in vain.
"Master Tang, please prop up this window. The smell in the room is so strong that I can't stand it anymore." Xiao Fang turned around and shouted into the room.
"Hey, okay, let's have a good time. You two should come in and sit down..."
Master Tang seemed a little unhappy when he spoke, and he didn't know how long it had been since his room had been ventilated. However, after he propped up the window and opened the door, the room became brighter, and Master Tang turned off the light.
, not to respond to the country's call for energy conservation, but probably because I can't bear to pay the electricity bill.
Zhuang Rui was still a little afraid of the smell, so he took out a pack of cigarettes, opened them and handed one to Xiao Fang and Master Tang.
"Oh, it's China. How come your cigarette doesn't come with a red belt?"
Master Tang took the cigarette and took a look at it. He put it to his nose and sniffed it vigorously. He didn't put it in his mouth, but hung it on his ear. He wanted to save it for a good taste.
"It was given by someone else. I don't know why it is like this..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. Ouyang Lei brought this cigarette to him. He moved a box full of dozens of cigarettes and told him to keep it and smoke it slowly. After that, he would ask him for it. Although this cigarette is not as famous as the giant panda,
But it is also provided by the army. If you are not at the level of general, you will not see it at all.
After tilting his head to the fire lit by Xiao Fang and lighting his eyes, Zhuang Rui took a hard puff. Only then did Zhuang Rui feel that the smell in the room was lighter. He walked back into the room and sat down, saying, "This house of yours is going to be..."
Breathe frequently, otherwise it will be bad for your health.”
"Hey, I'm already at this age. It's just one day at a time. I don't care about whether my health is good or not..." Master Tang sighed, crossed his legs and sat down by the bed.
After opening the doors and windows, the room was much brighter. Zhuang Rui carefully observed Master Tang. He should be about sixty-five or sixty-six years old, not very tall, a little chubby, and almost all the hair on his head had fallen out.
, a bare head shines with light, and when you look back, you can still see the folds of flesh on the back of your neck.
Looking at this face, if he changes his clothes, he should have the air of a boss. He doesn't look like someone who lives in this place. But when Master Tang smiles, he looks silly. I guess this is Xiao Fang calling him "Mao'er" behind his back.
"Master" reason.
"I think back then, my ancestors, who were the heroes who entered the Pass from Longlong in Nurhachi, until my grandfather's generation, still had a big courtyard with four courtyards and two gardens at home. However, after liberation, they were all turned over to the public, and the government paid
I moved into this small courtyard, and later several families moved in, and they couldn’t even be driven away..."
Master Tang seemed to have no one to talk to him. After Zhuang Rui and Xiao Fang sat down, he started talking to himself. When he got excited, he took off the cigarette from his ear and started using the fire.
The pliers picked up a piece of carbon from the stove and took a nice puff.
According to what Master Tang said, his family was a wealthy family in his early years. According to him, his grandfather’s identity was similar to that of Bai Laoqi from the mansion. He relied on his ancestor Mengyin and his own efforts to create a considerable family fortune. Master Tang
Before liberation, people were raised by old mothers. When they were seven or eight years old, they didn't even know how to dress themselves.
When his grandfather was not dead, he would smoke big cigarettes all day long, and then tell him, you have a good life and don't do any shit in your life. Just the property I left you can make you comfortable.
Live comfortably for several lifetimes.
This old man from the Tang Dynasty was not a good bird either. He wandered back and forth in the Bada Hutong and the theater all day long. Although Lao Tang was still the Little Tang at that time, he could not go to the Bada Hutong, but he could go to the theater. According to Lao Tang,
He went to support the plays of famous actors such as Mei Lanfang, Shang Xiaoyun, Cheng Yanqiu and Xun Huisheng, and his father once stuffed him with golden beans and threw them on the stage.
It's just that in the year when Peiping was liberated, the old man in the family passed away. The father, who only knew how to eat, drink, whore and gamble, was afraid of being under dictatorship, so he sold all his companies and some houses, exchanged them for gold and hid them at home, and in the population
During the census, even the surnames of the ancestors were changed, and this gave rise to the current name of Lao Tang.
But what is coming is always inevitable. In that era of prosperity and professionalism, the old Tang family was exposed, and everything was staged in criticism and demonstrations. He only knew how to eat, drink, whore, and gamble, and his body was drained.
I simply closed my eyes and went to see Grandpa Old Tang. He suffered a lot if he left Old Tang behind. Not to mention that all the gold in the family was taken away. I still had a small amount every three days and a big bucket every five days.
It's a shame that I was young and in good health, otherwise I would have been lying in that lonely grave.
Later, after the end of those ten years, the policy was implemented and Old Tang was given this small courtyard house. Of course, all the gold was gone, but there were still some shabby furniture and bottles, but a lot of them were returned to Old Tang. They were all ancestors.
Lao Tang was not willing to sell the ones that were left behind, so he kept them until now.
But this place is going to be demolished soon, and the demolition compensation money is not enough for Old Tang to buy another house, so he thinks of selling his ancestors' belongings. According to Old Tang, the ancestors are not willing to look at their descendants underground.
Let's sleep on the street?
As he spoke, Old Tang actually wiped away his tears. Unexpectedly, he took out an erhu from a nook and began to sing: "One day away from home, one day deep, like a solitary wild goose sleeping in the cold forest, two days digging for food."
Lead the way forward..."
This song is actually Cheng Yanqiu's "Yutangchun". Not only the words are correct, but the tune is deep and tortuous, quiet and dignified. The singing style is quite a bit like Master Cheng's. The erhu playing is even more proficient. It takes less than ten years.
He couldn't play so skillfully. Zhuang Rui was dumbfounded by what he was doing. What was he doing here today?
"Hi, hi, I said Master Tang, okay, let's not talk about these things today. I've listened to it almost three times." Zhuang Rui felt that this Peking opera was still a bit fresh, but Xiao Fang was impatient.
