The miracle of fate is immeasurable for mortals.

Hong Yanwu never dreamed that Uncle Li, who was guarding the door in "Polar Bear", turned out to be his old acquaintance. And looking at the meaning, it turned out that he had an employment relationship with the Hong family for a long time.

So the plan for the afternoon was completely disrupted.

didn't even enter the courtyard gate, and at Uncle Li's urgent request, Hong Yanwu directly took him back to Hong's house.

Uncle Li was also very particular, he had to buy some fruits along the way, and he also bought some toons from the vendors, which was a door-to-door gift. Even Hong Yanwu didn't let him pay for it, so he insisted on doing his part.

And then sure enough, it's really an old acquaintance.

As soon as Uncle Li entered the door of the Hong family, Hong Lucheng and Wang Yunlin were stunned as soon as they stood up, and their expressions were similar to those of Uncle Li when he saw the courtyard of the Hong family.

Uncle Li couldn't help but say a little sadly, "Why, you don't know me anymore? Take a closer look, it's been more than 20 years......"

Unexpectedly, although Hong Lucheng stammered a little, he immediately called out his name.

"Why, why don't you recognize you, you're Li Fu. ”

Wang Yunlin was also recognized by such a reminder. "Yes, you are Li Fu. I haven't seen each other for so many years, and I don't dare to admit it. ”

At this time, Uncle Li was excited, and he was especially excited to step forward.

"It's me, I'm here to see you. Owner, wife, you can still call me 'Dafuzi'. How have you been in recent years? I'm going to give you a knock......"

As he spoke, the old man's eyes impulsively bowed down to worship. Fortunately, Hong Lu was quick to see and hold on.

"Don't, what kowtow, what age is this?"

Wang Yunlin also said, "Yes, we are not in a relationship now." In the future, I will treat it as a relative and friend. Let's still use the names of 'Lao Li' and 'Lao Hong'. ”

"Don't dare, don't dare ......"

"Oh, Lao Li, you're welcome. Come, sit down, let's talk slowly. Look at your gray hair, you're two years younger than me......"

Hong Lucheng took the initiative to pull people over, and followed Hong Yanwu, who was standing on the side, to urge.

"Third child, so blind, why don't you make tea for Uncle Li. ”

"Hey", as Hong Yanwu answered, he went, and Uncle Li became Uncle Li.

On this day, Li Fu, Hong Lucheng, and Wang Yunlin kept chatting about the past, and even had dinner at Hong's house.

It was the first time he had eaten the dishes cooked by Wang Yunlin himself. It was a joy to see how honored.

And from the sidelines, Hong Yanwu probably figured out what the relationship between this Uncle Li and the Hong family was.

Dare to love Li Fu is a native of Raoyang County, Hebei Province, since the age of 14 to go to Beijing to find a meal, was introduced by the villagers in the "Yanmei Building" apprenticeship.

When he entered the store, it was actually when Hong Lucheng followed his father to learn to buy and sell.

According to the rules of the Hong family, when eating, it is "the same table as the east, no different". Since the two of them were next to each other and were about the same age, the relationship between them was closer than that of others.

After a long time, Hong Lucheng found that Li Fu was particularly diligent and studious, and felt that he had spirituality. I love to talk to him even more. not only encouraged him to learn more and ask more questions, but also told him the truth that "art is not pressing". When he has spare time, he will also teach Li Fu to recognize a few words.

Later, at the end of Li Fu's hometown, the house was accidentally burned down, and his parents asked someone to bring a message to Li Fu to raise some money. Hong Lucheng knew that the apprentice had no income, so he took out ten yuan from his monthly money to help him and solve his family's temporary difficulties. Because of this, the two of them also have a sense of kindness.

In this way, when Hong Lucheng was able to handle some store operations on behalf of his father, Li Fu also became a cousin of "Yanmei Building".

Later, in 1937, Hong Lucheng was forced to leave Beijing with his wife to "flee and rebel". In the past eight years, Li Fu married the daughter-in-law of his hometown, and continued to work hard in the "Yanmei Building".

He didn't forget Hong Lucheng's advice, not only kept improving in the business of the inner and outer halls, but also learned the skills of the "tea room", and gradually became a master of "Yanmei Building" except for the back kitchen.

You must know that there is a talk in the old capital, and the three treasures of the Zhuangguan are "kitchen workers, running halls, and tea rooms", which are not called in vain.

The latter two are no less important than a chef who can make a good dish.

A capable runner with sharp legs and feet, who can hold and carry three plates full of hot dishes in one hand. With sharp eyes and a good memory, guests come once and get to know each other the second time. And has the ability to memorize the name and price of the restaurant's dishes backwards, and settle the bill by mental arithmetic.

In addition to serving towels for guests, adding tea and pouring water, the tea room is also responsible for making all kinds of refreshments. The most important thing is to understand the customs and etiquette of weddings and funerals in Beijing, so as to assist the guests who come to the restaurant for weddings and funerals to entertain relatives and friends.

Therefore, the guests especially liked to invite the large-scale banquet to a certain restaurant, in addition to the quality of the dishes, in fact, it was more about the thoughtful service and etiquette of the tea room.

What's even more surprising is that once the running hall or tea and rice are famous, if they resign, they can make the restaurant lose a group of eaters, and wherever he goes, these old customers can follow.

This kind of loyalty can't be done even by today's celebrities' "iron fans", otherwise the restaurants opened by celebrities won't be so yellow, right?

What is it? It's very personal.

Like one of the "eight buildings" in the capital in the past, Luan Xuetang, the "head of the hall" from "Xinfeng Building", is a typical representative. As soon as he ran away, he pulled the "Xinfeng Building" down halfway.

Therefore, a rare all-rounder like Li Fu is not only the backbone elite that "Yanmei Building" cannot do without, but also the talent that various villages and museums compete for and want to poach. It can be said that this is related to the rise and fall of a "time-honored brand".

But in the eight years when the Japanese puppet government deliberately suppressed the Hong family's industry, Li Fu remembered Hong Lucheng's good son and remembered the Hong family's kindness, so he maintained a commendable heart and shared weal and sorrow with the Hong family.

Not only did he not leave because of the high salary offered by other families, but he also changed his way to attract guests and help the Hong family do their best to maintain the business.

This makes "Yanmei Building" one of the few shops that is still profitable when Hong Lucheng returns to Beijing to take over. So Hong Lucheng also promoted Li Fu to the position of "head of the hall" for this reason.

It should be said that this can be regarded as a rare story in the business world of old Beijing. And the east gang is so united, each of them is about 30 years old, and they can show their strength to revive the old shop and do a new atmosphere.

It's a pity that it was still born at the wrong time, whether it was the soaring prices caused by the civil war and the shortage of ingredients, or the material control policy of unified purchase and sales later, as well as the new fashion of diligence and thrift and simplicity that permeated the whole society, all made the Hong family's business difficult step by step, and the living space became smaller and smaller.

And in the end, under the irreversible situation, the relationship between the two people came to an end one day.

In 1955, as the last partner of the Hong family to leave, Li Fu personally locked the door of Yanmei Building and handed over the key to Hong Lucheng. At that time, even the old house of the Hong family had been vacated for the street.

It should be added here that in the past, traders were forced to leave the country in order to make a living. The so-called "homeland is difficult to leave", people walk thousands of miles, and that root is still connected to the old cemetery of the family. So this has another law: "Fallen leaves return to the roots".

In other words, no matter how much money they earn in the end, people from all over the world who come to Beijing to seek a living will always have to go back to their hometowns to support their old age.

As is usually the case in the old Beijing trading house, people from different places gather together to control different industries. However, any business owner and non-resident employee must also live in the store, and only annual leave can be taken to return to their hometown to reunite with relatives for a short time. If you marry a wife, you have to stay in your hometown to take care of your children and take care of your in-laws.

This is true even for managers with status, whose lives are taken care of by apprentices. If the family can really get together, it will only wait until the day when they officially quit their jobs and take care of themselves.

In this case, Li Fu felt that it was really boring to stay in the capital. He also heard that his family had divided the land, so he planned to farm with peace of mind. Therefore, he refused the government's job placement, and returned to his hometown to reunite with his family with the resettlement money and savings given by the Hong family.

But Li Fu was young when he came out as an apprentice, and he was only in his thirties when he returned home. It was in the prime of life that he could neither stay in the countryside nor do farm work. He couldn't adapt to it. In the end, he left the money he earned to his family to build a house, and he ran back to the capital by himself.

Of course, he knew that there were no private shops in the capital anymore. I want to find a job and live a good life. But at this time, it is not so easy for him to ask the government to make arrangements. So he could only survive by working as a casual worker.

He didn't ask much about the Hong family, he was afraid of causing trouble to others, and he felt embarrassed at the moment, so it was not too late to meet again.

It's just that in the days to come, how can it get better?

When it came to the "movement" period, to be honest, Li Fu couldn't stand it anymore, and he especially wanted to go back to his hometown. But fate played a joke on him again, not only could he not go back, but even his wife came to the capital to find him.

It's all because when he returned to his hometown, he brought home too much money. Not only did the family become the only big family in the village with a big brick house. During the "three-year disaster", the family still had money to buy high-priced food to eat. Now it's a crime.

Some people say that Li Fu is wider than the landlords, how can this be exploited, and it is not possible to exploit people. Be sure to do your research. There are also people who shout to "fight local tyrants and share private wealth".

In this way, his wife did not dare to stay at home, for fear of ending up like the landlord of the same village. Even his son and daughter left the village and hid in their in-laws. Fortunately, the composition at home has not changed, so there is no need to really suffer discrimination.

Later, Li Fu and his family became poor households, relying on pasting paper boxes, picking up waste paper, and receiving relief, making do with surviving in the capital. In the end, my wife died, and I did the job of guarding the gate again.

In the end, it wasn't until I met Hong Yanwu in "Polar Bear", and thanks to God's ingenious arrangement, they drank that wine in the big night, so that they could meet again today.

The second group has been opened, group number: 608640021

(End of chapter)