Return To 1977 Chapter 645: Donghao
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The magic of fate is inestimable to mortals.
Hong Yanwu never dreamed that Uncle Li, who was guarding the "Polar Bear", turned out to be an old acquaintance of his family. And judging by that, he actually had an employment relationship with the Hong family for a long time.
The plan for that afternoon was completely disrupted.
Without even entering the courtyard gate, at Uncle Li's urgent request, Hong Yanwu took him back to the Hong family home.
Uncle Li was very particular and made sure to buy some fruits along the way. He also bought some toon from a vendor as a door-to-door gift. Even Hong Yanwu wouldn't let him pay, insisting on doing his part.
As expected, we became old acquaintances.
When Uncle Li entered the Hong family's door, Hong Lucheng and Wang Yunlin were stunned as soon as they stood up. Their expressions were similar to Uncle Li's expression when he saw the Hong family's yard.
Uncle Li couldn't help but said a little sadly, "Why, you don't recognize me anymore? That's right, I'm old. Take a closer look, we haven't seen each other for more than 20 years..."
Unexpectedly, although Hong Lucheng stuttered a little, he immediately called out his name.
"Why, why don't you recognize it? You, you are Li Fu."
Wang Yunlin recognized it after being reminded like this. "Yes, you are Li Fu. We haven't seen each other for so many years, and I don't dare to recognize you."
Uncle Li was excited now, and took a step forward especially excitedly.
"It's me, I'm here to see you. Boss, madam, you can just call me 'Dafuzi'. How have you been doing in recent years? I, I'd better kowtow to you..." ”
As he spoke, the old man's eyes moved and he bowed down to worship. Fortunately, Hong Lucheng had good eyesight and quick hands, so he helped him.
"No, what about kowtowing? When did this happen?"
Wang Yunlin also said, "Yes, we are not partners now. From now on, we will be relatives and friends. Let's still call them 'Lao Li' and 'Lao Hong'."
"Don't dare..."
"Oh, Lao Li, don't be polite. Come, sit down, let's talk slowly. Look at your white hair, you are still two years younger than me..."
Hong Lucheng took the initiative to pull the person over, and followed Hong Yanwu, who was standing aside, to urge them on.
"Third brother, are you so blind? Why don't you make some tea for Uncle Li?"
"Hey", as Hong Yanwu responded, he went away, 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.
This was the first time he had eaten food cooked by Wang Yunlin himself. His face was really beaming with joy, and he could tell how honored he was.
From the sidelines, Hong Yanwu probably figured out the relationship between Uncle Li and the Hong family.
Dare to Love Li Fu is a native of Raoyang County, Hebei Province. He came to Beijing to find a job at the age of fourteen and was introduced by his fellow villagers as an apprentice at "Yanmei Building".
The same time he entered the store, it was actually the time when Hong Lucheng was learning business from his father.
According to the rules of the Hong family, when eating, one eats at the same table. Since the two of them eat next to each other and are about the same age, their relationship is closer than others.
As time went by, Hong Lucheng discovered that Li Fu was particularly diligent and studious, and felt that he was spiritual. I love chatting with him even more. Not only did he encourage him to learn more and ask more questions, he also told him the principle of "art is not a burden on the body". When he has free time, he will also teach Li Fu how to read a few words.
Later, the house in Li Fu's hometown accidentally caught fire, and his parents asked someone to bring a message to Li Fu to ask him to raise some money. Hong Lucheng knew that the apprentice had no income, so he took out ten yuan from his monthly salary to help him, which relieved his family's temporary difficulties. As a result, the two of them had a feeling of kindness.
In this way, when Hong Lucheng could handle some store operations for his father, Li Fu also became a waiter in "Yanmei Building".
Later, in 1937, Hong Lucheng and his wife "fleeed rebellion" and were forced to leave Beijing. During the past eight years, Li Fu married the daughter-in-law from his hometown and continued to work hard at "Yanmei Building".
He did not forget Hong Lucheng's advice. Not only did he strive for excellence in the business inside and outside the hall, he also learned the skills of the "tea house", and gradually became the "Yanmei House" in everything except the kitchen. The fun turned around and I got a lot of money.
You know, there is a saying in the old capital that the three treasures of the village are "the kitchen worker, the waiter, and the waiter". They are not called for nothing.
In terms of attracting and retaining customers, the latter two are no less important than a chef who can make good dishes.
A capable waiter with nimble legs and feet can hold and carry three plates filled with hot dishes in one hand. He has sharp eyes and a good memory. He can recognize the guests the second time after he comes once. He also has the ability to memorize the names and prices of the restaurant's dishes and rely on mental arithmetic to settle the bill.
In addition to serving towels and pouring tea and water for guests, the waiter is also responsible for making various refreshments. The most important thing is to understand the customs and etiquette of weddings and funerals in the capital, so as to help guests who come to the restaurant to entertain their relatives and friends.
So in those days, guests liked to hold large-scale banquets at a certain restaurant. In addition to the quality of the dishes, they actually wanted the attentive service of the waiter and the etiquette of the waiter.
What is even more surprising is that once the waiter or the restaurant worker becomes famous, if they resign, the restaurant will lose a number of patrons, and wherever he goes to the restaurant, these regular patrons will Where can I follow.
This kind of loyalty cannot be achieved even by the "die fans" of today's celebrities. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many restaurants opened by celebrities, right?
What is this? This is very personal charm.
For example, Luan Xuetang, the "teacher" born in "Xinfeng Tower", one of the "Eight Buildings" in Beijing in the past, is a typical representative. As soon as he left, he pulled "Xinfenglou" to lie down halfway.
So a rare all-rounder like Li Fu is not only the backbone elite that "Yanmei Building" cannot do without, but also the talents that various casinos compete to hire and try to poach in every possible way. It can be said that this is related to the rise and fall of a "time-honored brand" business.
But even during the eight years when the Japanese and puppet governments deliberately suppressed the Hong family's industry, Li Fu remembered Hong Lucheng as a good son and thought of the Hong family's kindness. It was rare that he remained loyal and shared the joys and sorrows with the Hong family.
Not only did he not change jobs due to the high salary offered by other companies, he also used various methods to attract customers and help the Hong family do their best to maintain business.
This made "Yanmei Building" one of the few stores that was still profitable when Hong Lucheng returned to Beijing to take over. So Hong Lucheng also promoted Li Fu to the position of "teacher" for this reason.
It should be said that this can be regarded as a rare good story in the old Beijing business community. And the two men are so united, and each of them is about thirty years old, they can fully show their talents to revive the old shop and create a new atmosphere.
Unfortunately, it happened at the wrong time. Finally, under the irreversible circumstances, the relationship between the two people came to an end.
In 1955, as the last member of the Hong family to leave, it was Li Fu who personally locked the door of Yanmei Building and handed the key to Hong Lucheng.
An additional thing to mention here is that in the past, traders were forced to move away from home because of their livelihood. Well, as the saying goes, "It's hard to leave one's homeland," even though people have traveled thousands of miles, they are still connected to the old cemetery at home. So there is another rule: "fallen leaves return to their roots."
In other words, people from all over the world come to Beijing to seek life, no matter how much money they earn in the end, they will always return to their hometowns to retire.
What usually happens in old Beijing trading houses is that people from different places gather together to control different industries. However, in any trading shop, non-resident employees must also live in the shop. They can only go back to their hometown to reunite with relatives for a short period of time during annual leave. Even if you marry a wife, you have to stay in your hometown to take care of your children and take care of your parents-in-law.
Even well-established managers are no exception to this. Their lives are taken care of by apprentices. If this family can really be reunited, they can only wait until the day when they officially quit their jobs and retire.
Under this situation, Li Fu felt that staying in the capital was really meaningless. He also heard that his family had been allocated land, and he planned to work on farming peacefully. Therefore, he refused the government's job placement and returned to his hometown to reunite with his family with the placement fee and savings provided 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. Even in his prime, he could not live in the countryside and did not know how to do farm work. No matter how he stayed, he couldn't get used to it. I actually found that my foreign country was closer than my hometown. So he thought twice, leaving the money he earned to build a house for his family, and ran back to the capital alone.
Of course he knows that there are no private business shops in the capital anymore. What I want is 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 I could only survive by doing part-time jobs.
He didn't ask much about the Hong family. He was afraid of causing trouble to them and felt embarrassed at the moment. He thought it was not too late to meet again after they had mixed up.
How can it get better in the days to come?
When it came to the "movement" period, to be honest, Li Fu couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to go back to his hometown. But fate played another joke on him. Not only could he not go back, but his wife also came to the capital to look for him.
It all comes down to the fact that 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 to build a house with blue bricks and large tiles. During the "Three Years of Disaster", their family still had money to buy high-priced food. Now this has become a crime.
Some people say that Li Fu is richer than a landlord. How could he be exploited? Maybe he is exploiting people. Be sure to investigate thoroughly. Others shouted that they wanted to "beat the local tyrants and divide their private wealth."
As a result, his wife no longer dares to stay at home, for fear of ending up like the landlord in the same village. Even his son and daughter left the village and hid with their in-laws. Fortunately, the composition of the family has not changed, so I don’t really have to suffer discrimination.
After that, Li Fu and his wife became a poor household, relying on gluing cardboard boxes, picking up waste paper, and receiving relief to make ends meet in the capital. In the end, my wife died and I started working as a gatekeeper again.
In the end, I met Hong Yanwu at the "Polar Bear", and thanks to God's ingenious arrangement, they drank that night of wine, so that they can meet again today.