It was the first time for Gu Qingcheng to interact with common people, and she was a little "caught off guard" by Aunt Zhu's enthusiasm and kindness.
She didn't know how to get along better with her landlord and neighbors in the market.
But she understands the principle of "reciprocity".
After finishing a generous plate of dumplings with Li Yaozong, Gu Qingcheng washed the plate.
Then, she took Li Yaozong out and found a nearby snack shop.
I bought a few packs of snacks and asked the boy to help me pack them.
When I got home, I left two packets for Li Yaozong.
Children are growing and hungry easily, so some snacks at home can fill their stomachs.
Gu Qingcheng divided the remaining packets among each other, and when returning the plate to Aunt Zhu, he gave her two packets.
"Oh, Ms. Gu, you are too polite."
Aunt Zhu smiled from ear to ear.
The relationship between people is like this. Only when there are comings and goings can we go further.
She would send dumplings to Gu Qingcheng because he was her tenant and she wanted to show her goodwill.
Secondly, she felt that it was not easy for Gu Qingcheng, a woman with a child, an orphan and a widowed mother.
Thirdly, we live on the front and back streets, so we can be considered neighbors.
Being friendly to neighbors is the habit of ordinary people like Aunt Zhu.
This plate of dumplings is actually a "test".
If Gu Qingcheng knows how to reciprocate politely, Aunt Zhu will continue to interact with her.
If it is... haha, just treat the other party as an ordinary tenant, and Aunt Zhu will try to have as little contact with him in the future.
As a result, Ms. Gu directly gave me two packs of snacks.
Although I haven't seen what it is yet, I can tell just by looking at the red seal mark on the snack paper package that it is from a nearby snack shop.
That dim sum shop is famous for using solid ingredients, but the prices are not cheap either.
These two big bags cost at least three or four cents.
"Aunt Zhu, thanks to Uncle Zhu and your care, we, mother and son, can have a safe place to live."
"Also, your dumplings are so delicious, no worse than those in restaurants."
Gu Qingcheng spoke sincerely, not forgetting to praise Aunt Zhu during the process.
Aunt Zhu laughed harder and harder, saying, "Haha, don't mention it, I'm an average cook, but I'm really good at making dumplings."
"I didn't buy any meat today. If I buy meat in a few days and stuff it with meat fillings, I'll give you some to try."
"Okay! Then I'm looking forward to it!"
Gu Qingcheng knew that he couldn't be too polite to such enthusiastic Aunt Zhu.
She responded with a smile, which indeed made Aunt Zhu smile again.
After leaving Zhu's house, Gu Qingcheng returned to the street where the courtyard was located.
She looked around and found that there were neighbors on the east and west sides of her yard.
On the east side is a relatively large courtyard, with the door open and more than one family coming in and out.
Just now at Aunt Zhu's place, she asked about it——
The owner of the courtyard on the east side, like Uncle Zhu, is an old local family.
There are five members of the family, three generations of grandparents.
It is said that my ancestor was a minor official in the former Qing Dynasty and purchased such a large courtyard.
Unfortunately, with the overthrow of the previous dynasty, this family also fell.
Fortunately, the family still has real estate. One yard of the third yard was sold, and the remaining two yards were rented to several tenants in addition to living in the house.
There are five tenants, and only three households live there permanently.
These three tenants are all families with families.
"Mr. Xu, he is from the University Hall. I heard that he studied abroad in his early years and specialized in teaching students to speak foreign languages."
"Mr. Zhao is a penman. He works as an editor in a newspaper. He usually writes articles and earns some royalties."
"There is also Dr. Zhou, who works in the hospital run by the University Hall..."
Aunt Zhu is worthy of being a householder in this area, and even the tenants of her neighbor's house are in poor condition.
She introduced them to Gu Qingcheng one by one in detail.
Gu Qingcheng had a rough idea. After arriving at the east yard, he first visited the owner of the house and gave him a bag of snacks as a meeting gift.
The landlord is about the same age as Uncle Zhu, but he looks younger than Uncle Zhu. He is also well-maintained, white and fat, and he looks wealthy at first glance.
When he saw Gu Qingcheng, he was very reserved.
When speaking, he was deliberately verbose and often tossed out a sentence or two from Confucian classics.
Gu Qingcheng: ... Such an old scholar who likes to show off may seem awkward, but he is actually easy to deal with.
As long as you show reverence in your eyes, follow his words, and say a few compliments, you can make him feel comfortable physically and mentally.
Gu Qingcheng followed his own judgment and praised with pretense of admiration: "Old sir, you are really knowledgeable."
The old gentleman stroked his goat's beard and smiled more reservedly.
However, the way he looked at Gu Qingcheng was not as critical as when they first met - a woman must have encountered difficulties at home, so she showed up!
After meeting the landlord, Gu Qingcheng visited the tenants.
Dr. Zhou and Mr. Xu are both in their thirties, and they are also very particular about their speech and behavior.
As for Dr. Zhou, there was a sense of superiority and pride in his words.
Mr. Xu seems more down-to-earth. Perhaps he teaches in a university, and his vision and mind are also broader.
Seeing how well Gu Qingcheng talked, he knew that she was an educated woman.
As for Gu Qingcheng, after entering the door, he glanced at the piles of books and newspapers piled up in Mr. Xu's house.
"Ms. Gu, do you like reading?"
Mr. Xu noticed Gu Qingcheng's little move. He did not directly ask Gu Qingcheng if he was literate, but asked more implicitly.
"Yeah! My father was a scholar in the former Qing Dynasty, and he also read some books when he was a child."
Gu Qingcheng was not overly modest and replied with a smile.
Juren's daughter is from a scholarly family.
If you read books when you were a child, you not only escape from illiteracy, but you also become a talented girl.
Mr. Xu’s eyes lit up as expected, “That’s amazing!”
At a time when the national illiteracy rate is very high, men may not be literate, let alone women who are restrained and suppressed.
And the Ms. Gu in front of me has actually read a book. She is definitely an intellectual woman living in an enlightened family.
"Come and take a look at the books I have here to see if there is anything you like to read. If you like it, just come and borrow it!"
Mr. Xu accepted the snacks from Gu Qingcheng and was worried about not having a suitable gift in return.
Knowing that Gu Qingcheng liked reading, he simply pointed to his collection and said to Gu Qingcheng enthusiastically.
Gu Qingcheng was not polite and came to the pile of books as expected.
After briefly lingering on the titles of the books, she discovered that Mr. Xu's collection of books was not only large, but also miscellaneous.
There are foreign documents, history books, and classics of saints.
There are poetry collections, yes, and medical books.
Gu Qingcheng took two books of each genre, "Mr. Xu, I'll read these first, and when I'm done, I can borrow them again, okay?"
This is a small treasure house of knowledge. How could Gu Qingcheng let it go so easily?
"Okay! Of course!"
As a teacher, Mr. Xu loves to be a teacher at heart.
Especially when he saw an "awakened woman" like Gu Qingcheng, he was even more willing to help and give advice.
Mr. Xu is not a corrupt scholar. He has studied abroad and received a new education.
Therefore, he knows that women’s education level is the embodiment of a country’s true civilization and true freedom!
Holding a large pile of books, Gu Qingcheng could not continue visiting her neighbors.
She went back home first, put away her books, and then returned to the courtyard on the east side.
Ahem, there is still an editor Zhao who has not visited.
"These are newspapers that I subscribed to and collected, and friends from Beijing and Shanghai sent them to me. Ms. Gu, just come and borrow them!"
Editor Zhao is in his forties, and although he is not as open-minded as Mr. Xu, he still has a certain sense of aloofness and stubbornness of a traditional literati.
However, he is relatively well-educated and can be considered a progressive scholar.
There is not much prejudice and discrimination against women.
The key is that Gu Qingcheng wears traditional clothes, and there is nothing ridiculous about being foreign or nondescript.
There is also the kind of temperament that comes from the bones, which perfectly interprets "the spirit of poetry and calligraphy in the belly", making Editor Zhao seem to see a real traditional oriental talented woman.
Gu Qingcheng borrowed a large pile of newspapers from Editor Zhao.
She also selected some newspapers from the capital.
Huoshui was secretly proud: ...Humph, he said that he didn't care about the heroine Han Qiuyu at all. Isn't this just borrowing money from the capital's newspapers?
It's too straight to speak.
Gu Qingcheng: ...What Han Qiuyu?
This is a newspaper from Beijing!
The key point is the word "capital".
No matter what era, the capital is the center of the country.
If you want to have a deeper understanding of this country and know the top trends, you must understand the capital.
When Gu Qingcheng borrowed the newspaper, she didn't think about Han Qiuyu at all. She just wanted to have a deeper understanding of this country and this world.
Putting the newspaper back, Gu Qingcheng went to visit the neighbors on the west side.
The west side is also a courtyard house, but its area is much smaller than that of the east side.
The landlord is a woman in her forties, with a thin figure, small feet, high cheekbones, thin lips, and a mean face.
Gu Qingcheng only took one look and had an idea in her mind.
She was not too enthusiastic, but showed a reserved and aloof side.
Her temperament is inherently noble, but when she is too cold, she looks very difficult to deal with.
The mean woman's eyes initially showed disgust, but after sensing Gu Qingcheng's aura, her expression instantly softened.
Huoshui was speechless: ...He is indeed a top-notch person, a typical bully and shy of the strong.
The landlord is a great person, but her tenants are quite mixed.
Although there are only two households, they are very different——
One is a student in the university hall, and he also brings his first wife and two children whom he married in the countryside.
One is a coolie pulling a rickshaw.
They are also a family of six, but this rickshaw puller is slightly more "rich" than the other coolies——
His family bought their own rickshaw instead of renting a car from a car dealership, and suffered further exploitation.
In this regard, the middle-aged man named Wang Dali is very proud, "I came to the provincial capital alone and worked hard for three years to save this car."
As he spoke, he pointed at the rickshaw that he had polished to a shiny finish, with a sense of accomplishment in his eyes.
"After I bought the car, I picked up my wife and children. I pulled the car, and my wife washed and washed her. I will work hard to save for a few more years and try to buy a house in the provincial capital!"
PS: Hey, ask for it every day, monthly ticket, monthly ticket, monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
