My humble house.
It was a Chinese-style courtyard house that was really named My Humble Abode. However, a high wall was built outside the courtyard house, enclosing it inside.
Otherwise, if this humble house was completely exposed, it would seem out of place with the architectural style of this ancient city … This beautiful ancient city by the harbor, Cartagena.
In my humble house, not only was the exterior made in accordance with the courtyard house of the old capital, but even the furnishings inside were also antique.
At this moment, a red sports car stopped in front of the tall wall outside my humble house. After the door was knocked open, it slowly drove into my humble house.
A slender girl, about 22 or 23 years old, wearing a black short jacket and dyed purple hair, walked out of the sports car.
The entrance of my humble house is named 'Dragon Hall.' At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties slowly walked out of Dragon Hall. He was followed by two women in their thirties wearing servant uniforms.
"Welcome back, Miss Ying."
"Fifth Uncle, where's Grandpa?" The girl called Miss Ying handed the car key to one of the maids behind Fifth Uncle and walked directly into Dragon Hall.
"Master is in the kitchen now," Fifth Uncle replied.
Miss Ying suddenly stopped and said in shock, "Didn't he just come out of the village? Why didn't he take a rest? Why did he run to the kitchen when he arrived at my humble house?"
Fifth Uncle smiled and said, "It's like this. Master made the best quality dried abalone when he was in the village and brought it all the way out. Now, he's preparing to stew the other ingredients. He's going to make a pot of Buddha jumps over the wall. It's a treat. "
"A treat?" Miss Ying was stunned. "Who's so influential? Grandpa hasn't cooked for a long time. This time, he's making a super troublesome dish like Buddha jumps over the wall? Is it the 'Fire King' or the President? "
"I heard it's a young man." Fifth Uncle also showed a puzzled expression. "It seems that Eldest Young Master brought him back personally. He just got off the plane and will arrive at my humble house in about an hour's drive."
"Uncle is back?" Miss Ying blinked. "Didn't he go to Brazil? Has he finished his work?"
"It should be no problem." Fifth Uncle smiled and said, "Eldest Young Master did it himself. What else can happen? Miss Ying, shall I get someone to prepare hot water for you? "
Miss Ying shook her head. Then, she put her hand behind her waist, pulled out a palm-sized pistol, and handed it to Fifth Uncle. "I don't need it now. I'll go to the kitchen to see Grandpa. I haven't seen him in months."
When Miss Ying came to the kitchen, she found several servants standing outside. She came to the door and asked curiously, "Why are you all standing here?"
A servant hurriedly said, "Miss Ying, it was Master who ordered us not to go in. He only left Fourth Uncle inside, saying that he would do his best to do it himself. "
Fourth Uncle is the head chef of my humble abode. He is Fifth Uncle's blood brother and has been serving the Song family for several decades. At that moment, Miss Ying was even more surprised.
She had never seen her grandfather value a guest so much. Not only did he prepare the most troublesome dishes, but he also only asked Seventh Uncle to help.
Miss Ying frowned and stepped into the kitchen.
"Ah Si, is the sea cucumber ready?"
"It's ready, Master."
"Okay. Put it here. I'll cut it later."
In front of the counter, Song Tianyou, whose hair was white, was wearing an apron. He was cutting dry bamboo shoots horizontally. He looked so focused that he didn't seem to notice that someone had quietly walked in.
Miss Ying gestured for Fourth Uncle to be silent. She had someone take the prepared sea cucumber from him and walked behind Song Tianyou.
Song Tianyou saw a pair of white hands quietly put down the utensils. Then, he withdrew his hands and continued cutting the dry bamboo shoots on the chopping board.
Miss Ying blinked … Grandpa was completely planning to play with her … He had clearly noticed it, alright?
She stealthily reached out her hand and touched the prepared quail egg beside Song Tianyou. But before she touched it, Song Tianyou quickly waved his hand and knocked the back of Miss Ying's hand with the back of the kitchen knife.
"Grandpa! You want to chop me up! "Miss Ying said in pain.
"Who told you to eat it?" Song Tianyou turned around and gently knocked on Miss Ying's forehead. "Naughty girl, when did you come back?"
"Just now." Miss Ying quickly picked up a quail egg and put it into her mouth. "It's almost the New Year, so I was busy settling the accounts and collecting some debts. I heard that you were here, so I hurried back."
"Did things go well?" Song Tianyou put down the kitchen knife and started wiping his hands. At the same time, he walked to the stove.
It was the kind of stove that was commonly seen in the old villages. It burned firewood and had a strong fire. A steamer was placed on the big pot. Steam spewed out, and a fragrant smell spread.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. Everyone's business is doing well this year. No one is on credit." Miss Ying smiled and said, "A few bosses even paid off last year's debts. They also said that they were very grateful to you and that they would like to meet you. "
"There's no need to meet them. Tell them not to send me anything." Song Tianyou lit the fire. "We're all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. It's not easy for us to live in a foreign country. If we can help, we'll help."
"Okay … But if everyone is like this, won't we become dependent on each other?" Miss Ying shook her head.
"Our ancestors said that we don't expect to be repaid for our kindness." Song Tianyou stood up. "Besides, we're in a foreign country. If we don't help each other, no one will help us."
"Okay … I understand, but I can't do it for now." Miss Ying shrugged.
Song Tianyou said in amusement, "Then what can you do?"
Miss Ying's eyes turned. She suddenly hugged Song Tianyou's arm and said coquettishly, "Of course, I can eat the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Soup you made!"
Song Tianyou patted Miss Ying's forehead and said in amusement, "This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Soup isn't for you. You've already eaten it."
Miss Ying pouted and said, "The one you ate when you were ten? How many years ago … Grandpa! "
"The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Soup made by the elders is enough for the Song family." Song Tianyou suddenly said softly, "When your uncle was ten, I personally made a meal for him. When you were ten, I also personally made a meal for you. Now … it should be his turn. "
"Him?"
"You'll know when you see him." Song Tianyou smiled and said, "Okay, don't just stand there. Since you're here, help me pick those vegetables."
"Ah? No need … I'm going to take a shower. "
…
…
"Niece?"
The car slowly drove through the streets that retained many ancient buildings. While Luoqiu was sizing them up with interest, Song Haoran explained some things.
The car was specially bulletproof, and the front and back seats were separated. The conversation in the back seat wouldn't be heard by the people in the front seat, so the privacy was quite good.
"She's my sister's orphan." Song Haoran sighed and said, "My father married my mother when he was middle-aged and gave birth to me. Before that, he had a wife. However, my sister and brother-in-law passed away in an accident 15 years ago. Song Ying was only eight years old at that time. Oh … Right, my brother-in-law married into our family. So, Song Ying took our surname. "
"Do you want to meet her?" Luoqiu nodded.
"Of course." Song Haoran said matter-of-factly, "Including you, there are only three young people in our family. Sooner or later, you'll get to know her. Moreover, after Song Ying graduated, she began to take care of our business in Cartagena. She's doing well, but sometimes she's not steady enough. You're almost the same age, so you're in the same generation. Get to know each other. "
Boss Luo declined to comment.
"Is there a Chinatown here?"
As the car drove through a street, Luoqiu suddenly asked.
"En, dad helped build it." Song Haoran smiled and said, "Dad is also the honorary president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce here. He said that he couldn't bear to see our people being bullied by foreigners when doing business outside, so he helped build this street. It's not called Chinatown, but 'China Street'. "
"Can I get off?" Luoqiu suddenly asked.
"That's not a problem." Song Haoran shrugged and did not ask why. He simply asked Oni to stop the car at the entrance of 'China Street'. "Wait here. I'll accompany Luoqiu in."
"OK!" Oni nodded and watched the two of them walk into Zhonghua Street.
At this time, Lluvia had a frown on her face. Looking at her, Oni asked curiously, "What is it?"
Lluvia said, "Don't you feel that this street … … seems a bit deserted?"
Oni was taken aback and raised his head to look. "Speaking of which, I remember there is a shop selling Chinese snacks here. The taste is quite good … … but it doesn't seem to be open today?"
Lluvia looked over and saw that the door of the shop that Oni mentioned was closed. Some rubbish was piled up in front of the door … … it seemed that the shop had not opened for business for some time.
…
"There are quite a lot of people here."
Relatively speaking, it was a place with more Chinese people. Of course, there might be some Oriental faces, but they came from several other Asian countries.
However, for Luoqiu, it gave him a feeling of returning to China – at least many of the signs were written in Chinese.
"Today is Saturday. There are relatively many people here." Song Haoran looked around. "I haven't been to this street for a long time. I feel that there are not as many people as before."
"It's probably because physical businesses are not easy to do now." Luoqiu replied casually.
"Why? Do you want to buy something or just want to walk around?" Song Haoran suddenly asked.
Luoqiu looked at Song Haoran. "I plan to buy some fruits."
"Buy … fruits?"
Luoqiu nodded and said, "Is it strange? If you are visiting your elders, you should buy something, right? Doesn't Old Master Song like to eat fruits? "
"Hahahaha!" Song Haoran suddenly laughed. "Buy fruits … buy fruits. It's not strange, not strange at all! Fruits are good. Dad likes to eat them, especially persimmons! Come, I remember there is a fruit shop in front. The fruits they sell are the best in the whole street! Let me take you there! "
With Song Haoran leading the way, the two quickly came to a fruit shop in the middle of the street. A young man in his twenties was playing with his mobile phone in front of the shop.
"Is the boss here?" Song Haoran greeted the young man. The young man seemed to be indifferent. Song Haoran did not mind and shouted again, "Is Boss You here?"
"Who are you?" The young man finally reacted. He looked up and said, "Our boss is not here. Why are you looking for him?"
"Nothing, old friend. I just want to chat with him." Song Haoran shrugged. "Since he is not here, then forget it. We will just buy something … Do you sell persimmons here?"
"No, we have all the ones here. Take a look yourself." The young man looked down at his mobile phone again, looking absent-minded.
Song Haoran looked around the shop and then glanced at Luoqiu. He picked up an apple and said, "But I want to buy persimmons."
"Then there is no choice. Persimmons are not easy to preserve and very few people buy them. We have not restocked in a long time. " The young man pointed ahead and said, "There is a new supermarket in front. They have everything. You can go there if you want to buy. But if you don't want to go there, you can take a look around. If you see anything you like, it will be half price. "
"Half price? That good? "Song Haoran was stunned.
"We are selling at a loss. This place is about to close, so we are clearing the place," the young man said helplessly.
Song Haoran nodded and said, "Close? Why? I remember that Boss You has been running this fruit shop for more than ten years. Business has always been good … Is he planning to enjoy his life after making money? "
"Enjoy his life? In his next life? " The young man shook his head and said, "He can't even afford to pay me this month's salary. He is still helping to wash the dishes in the restaurant in front!"
"That's not right. What happened?" Song Haoran asked curiously, "Is Boss You's business that bad? Also, I remember that the shop next door was Boss You's, right? Why is it a ready-made clothing store now? "
The young man sighed and said, "Last year? You don't know. Since the first half of this year, the rent on this street has increased by several times! Then, a new supermarket opened. It has everything and is cheaper than ours. All the customers have been snatched away. The boss can't afford the rent, so he can only shrink the shop. But after half a year, business is getting worse and worse. Now, he is losing money. "
"That's impossible." Song Haoran frowned and said, "I remember that the Zhonghua Street Chamber of Commerce has a rule. The rent here will only increase once every five years. Also, it is based on the lowest standard. The increase cannot exceed five percent each time."
"It has been changed a long time ago!" As the young man said that, he looked around and lowered his voice. "The Chamber of Commerce has changed a leader. Everything has been changed. Let me tell you, the boss behind the new supermarket is still supported by this leader. His goal is to force us out! "
"Force you out? What's the point of that? "
"You don't understand, right?" The young man shrugged and said, "I heard that this place is planning to cooperate with the government to plan a new project. So, they want to force us out. If we don't leave, then they will increase the rent and open a supermarket to steal our business. If we can't hold on, then we can only resign ourselves to fate and accept it. In the past few months, many shops have closed. In two days, we will close here as well. "
Song Haoran nodded. "Mm … the things here are not bad. I will come back later."
After saying that, Song Haoran patted Luoqiu's shoulder and walked away from the fruit stall.
Luoqiu did not see any unhappy expression on Song Haoran's face. Instead, his smiling face gave off a dangerous feeling. He suddenly looked at Luoqiu and said, "Guess where I want to go now?"
"The Chamber of Commerce." Luoqiu thought for a moment and said.
Song Haoran smiled and said, "Why don't we take a look at the supermarket?"
"Isn't the Chamber of Commerce closer to the answer?" Luoqiu asked back.
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