Chapter 2376
In Chapter 2376, no one left a light on.
He Yuzhu's current understanding is that filial piety is only fulfilled while the person is alive, and after death it's just a token gesture.
He seemed to have always ignored He Daqing.
That's because both father and son feel comfortable with this kind of recklessness.
He Daqing caused some trouble outside, but He Yuzhu pretended not to hear it.
Otherwise, given his temperament, He Daqing certainly wouldn't be so happy right now.
He Daqing's biggest hobby now is joining Liu Haizhong's small group and bragging.
Since Yan Bugui's death, the atmosphere among the old men in this alley has become more harmonious.
Liu Haizhong has resigned himself to retirement and is unwilling to make any trouble.
Ma San and Song the butcher, both retired, were by nature down-to-earth.
The two most prominent old men in that alley now are He Daqing and Chen Wu from the front courtyard of the 95th Hospital.
Chen Wu is a real-life example of what it means for fortunes to change drastically over time.
Before the reform and opening up, this guy was arguably the most pathetic person living in courtyard number 95.
He refused to do regular porter work at the train station, and now that he's old, he no longer has the chance to get a permanent position.
He tried to tough it out a few years ago, but he definitely couldn't keep going.
The problem is that he wants to die but can't, and he can't afford to live.
The couple could only make ends meet by receiving subsistence allowances from the local community.
This made Chen Wu boast about it for a while.
What are you bragging about?
They're just bragging that they have no children, which is why they can receive government welfare.
In addition, Chen Wu sometimes helps out with some intermediary work, so he can still make ends meet.
But in such circumstances, even a slight breeze or rain can cause it to crumble like a sandcastle on the beach.
Two years ago, Chen Wu's wife fell ill and was hospitalized.
There are no problems with the money.
That's one good thing about Beijing; the streets don't neglect you.
But when Chen Wu's wife was carried onto the ambulance that time, Chen Wu acted as if his wife had died, weeping and wailing uncontrollably.
Afterwards, a neighbor asked him about it. He said that he had never cared about his wife his whole life, and when he got angry, he would slap her directly. He had never loved his wife at all.
Why is my wife's illness causing such a strong reaction this time?
Chen Wu remained silent for a long time, then scratched his head and said, "I don't know why, but at the time I felt that if my wife died..."
In this world, no one will leave the door open or the light on for him anymore.
It's just those two simple sentences, completely nonsensical.
However, after his wife was discharged from the hospital after treatment for kidney stones, Chen Wu seemed to become a completely different person.
Whenever he's home, he doesn't let his wife do any chores, which almost drove her crazy.
This is so abnormal!
The person who used to not even pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle and would even slap her afterward is now actually cooking porridge for her.
Is this something that anyone can believe?
Anyway, Chen Wu's wife didn't believe him. She stared straight at Chen Wu and said that she shouldn't have given him such a bad stomachache last time without warning, which scared him. She told him to hit her if he wanted...
Chen Wu didn't hit her that time; instead, he just stared blankly at his wife and laughed.
That time, he said the most tender thing he had ever said in his life: "Wife, let's live a good life together from now on."
Upon hearing those words, Chen Wu's wife collapsed onto the bed and began to wail loudly.
The neighbors were so frightened that they quickly pushed open Chen Wu's door to check, fearing that Chen Wu would beat his wife again in a couple of days.
After that day, Chen Wu tried every possible way to make money.
The amazing thing is that he actually succeeded.
Heaven won't let a blind sparrow starve; there are just so many coincidences in this world. As mentioned before, Chen Wu's current appearance—a long, gray beard and a roguish air—clearly indicates he was a reckless and unruly person in his youth.
The key point is that in the past two years, there have been quite a few people buying houses in society.
What does it mean to "raid houses"? The Chen woman who had been dealt with by He Yuzhu before, and Lai Wu, an old neighbor in the alley, loved to do house raiding.
That is, going to those dilapidated courtyard houses to rummage through old objects.
Tables and chairs made of huanghuali wood, rosewood furniture, and other antique items all have market prices.
Although the prices weren't as high as in later generations, some items could still sell for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of yuan.
Since there are merchants who buy houses, there must also be owners who live in them.
That's what Chen Wu did.
This industry isn't exactly respectable, but for someone like him who's been a complete failure in the first half of his life, as long as he can make money, that's fine. If you let him do business properly, he might get sold out and end up helping the seller count the money.
What Chen Wu actually did was lie in a dilapidated courtyard and live as a local resident.
They are usually courtyard houses in the suburbs.
The houses there are cheap, and their history is the most obscure.
For houses like those in Nanluoguxiang, you can easily find out who owns them by asking the neighbors, making it harder to be fooled.
It wasn't exactly fraud; Chen Wu and his group were playing a rather sophisticated game.
They didn't engage in the kind of counterfeiting and then passing off as genuine products.
They collect scattered pieces of furniture from other places, then refurbish them slightly to put them together as a set, which they can then sell for a high price.
For example, even though they are both made of huanghuali wood, the prices of furniture from the Republic of China period and furniture from the three Qing dynasties will definitely be different.
Chen Wu had a childhood friend who knew this; that friend was in charge of receiving the goods, aging them, and making them in a consistent style.
His playmate's son was also there, acting as a middleman to lead the guests over.
Chen Wu was responsible for lying in the courtyard, pretending to be a dissolute playboy who ate, drank, gambled, and squandered his family fortune.
The broker was responsible for getting prices from both sides, while Chen Wu would stand up and put on a show when he reached his target price.
How to perform?
It's nothing more than standing up, reaching out to touch the old furniture, and then complaining about how unfilial the descendants are, wanting to sell what their ancestors left behind...
It's best to squeeze out a drop or two of tears to maximize the customer's bargain-hunting experience.
Now, even in cities surrounding Beijing, old furniture is cheap.
For just a few dozen yuan, you can get a Republic-era rosewood armchair.
Let's tweak the style a bit and put it all together.
That would cost several thousand.
So his line of work is quite lucrative.
After completing a business deal, you can earn at least three to five hundred.
It can be done every two or three months.
This income is nothing, not to mention He Yuzhu, even for Xu Damao.
But for someone like Chen Wu who has suffered his whole life, this is already a very high income.
With money, Chen Wu would definitely have spent it all on alcohol.
But now, Chen Wu has inexplicably given up drinking.
With the first money he earned, he bought his wife a new outfit.
As he continued to earn money, he bought things for his home one by one.
In just two years, the family has acquired all the necessary appliances.
Every resident in the alley who sees Chen Wu will say, "A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold!"
He loved to tell everyone about his experiences buying and selling houses, while Ho Tai-ching would tell everyone about his sights and sounds in Hong Kong.
These two old men became the most eye-catching people in this alley. (End of Chapter)