Chapter 274 High-ranking officials
Wang Deming smiled mysteriously, "Then let's wait and see!"

If he hadn't seen the article in his previous life, he would probably have had the same doubts.

Isn't it just that the taste is a little bit worse?

Potassium sorbate, sorbic acid, benzoic acid and its sodium salts, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite;
Calcium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate. Tomato red, carmine, lemon yellow, turmeric, red rice red;

Cyclamate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, aspartame;
Potassium aluminum sulfate, ammonium aluminum sulfate, ammonium bicarbonate. Chitosan polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol;
23 major categories and more than 2000 types of food additives.

In order to avoid being blocked at home by Cha Kuiyuan and his wife, and not wanting to take the initiative and pretending to be nice to them, Wang Deming patted his butt and went out after dinner.

I didn't go to Yongkang Hutong. Now Tan's Cuisine has also been jointly operated by the public and private sectors. There are several unfamiliar public-side managers who are responsible for management, procurement, and accounting. Not only has the taste changed, but it seems that the eyes of the customers are not right - no matter whether you go to eat or not, they look at you with scrutiny, as if they are facing a class enemy.

Wang Deming understood but did not accept it. It had seriously affected his occasional visits for lunch. So he had instructed Alexi to get Tan Jiacai to move. I heard that it was to move to "Enchengju" in Xidan, sharing a storefront with the original restaurant.

No matter what, when you want to eat Tan’s cuisine, just tell Chef Peng privately and he will come to Yongkang Hutong to cook it for you. The stove and ingredients are all ready.

If it weren't for the fact that the public and private sectors are now in a partnership, and Master Peng was worried about his apprentices' future prospects, he really wanted to keep his two apprentices to work in Yongkang Hutong - there would be a chance to earn gold rubles.

The beginning of summer in May has passed, but the sky is still bright. Some of the neighbors in the alley have eaten dinner early, and some are sitting in a circle at the gate of the courtyard listening to the wooden box; some are gathering together to play chess, and some are taking a walk with their hands behind their backs.

Without riding a bike, Wang Deming just strolled all the way to Dongsi 2nd Street.

No. 7, Dongsi nd Tiao, is a three-courtyard house with a west wing. It was originally the residence of Li Peiji, the chairman of Henan Province during the Republic of China period.

After liberation, except for the entire second courtyard which he kept for himself, the rest were sold out, and the west wing was bought by Zhao Shouyan's family who wanted to move to a new house.

Enter from the Ruyi Gate in the southeast corner, walk west along the square brick path in the courtyard, pass the Chuihua Gate, and go through a moon gate on the west side to arrive at the west wing.

If you look at the entire west wing from a high place, it is irregular and looks like a gradually expanding trapezoid.

On the left hand side as you enter the courtyard are two back rooms and a car door that has been sealed and used as a storage room; one of the back rooms is the kitchen and the other is where the servants live.

There is no hanging flower gate. Turning north along the square brick path, there are two tall jujube trees, lush and full of fruits. The three main rooms in the second courtyard, the middle one has been converted into a hall, and the two on the left and right are living rooms, which are used by Zhao Shouyan and his wife to entertain guests respectively.

After passing the hall is the backyard where Zhao Shouyan's family lives their daily life. There are three northern rooms and three western rooms. There is a pomegranate tree and a fragrant pear tree planted in the courtyard, and under the trees there is a stone seat with four stone benches.

Wang Deming first went to the north room to visit Zhao Shouyan's two mothers, and then returned to the east living room in the second courtyard to find Zhao Shouyan.

Zhao Shouyan's home has always been very lively. As the saying goes, there are great scholars talking and laughing, and there are no ordinary people around. It's not just Zhao Shouyan's colleagues in the Commercial Printing Bureau, but also various relationships passed down from his parents. For example, Zhang Junqiu, one of the four famous actors in the living room, worshipped Zhao Shouyan's father as his godfather. In the Republic of China, no matter what industry, there are circles, just like the entertainment industry in the previous life. If you want to make it, you can't do it without a background.

In addition to Zhang Junqiu, there was also a Mr. Zhu Haibei in the living room, who was called "Zhu Laotie". He was the second son of Zhu Qiuqun, the acting Prime Minister during the Beiyang period. He once served as Zhang Xueliang's adjutant, and was also called "Erye Zhu" by society.

Zhu Haibei lived in Dongsi 8th Street and had frequent contacts with the opera troupe in Beijing. For example, Ma Lianliang and Ye Shaolan both had performed in his home.

Zhu Haibei was a male singer. One time, Wang Deming came to Zhao Shouyan's house and happened to catch Zhu Haibei singing the "Picking Firewood" segment from "Spring and Autumn Match". The Qingyi role was sung by Zaitao's third wife, Wang Naiwen.

There is an even more dramatic story about Zhu Haibei. His second wife was his good friend, Zhou, the first wife of Tianjin Yong Dingchen, and she gave birth to three daughters and one son.

Yong Dingchen was the son of Yong Jianqiu, the largest arms dealer in the Republic of China. He was friends with Zhu Haibei and they often went to the dance hall together when they were in Tianjin. As a result, Zhu Haibei developed feelings for Zhou while dancing.

After they confessed their feelings to Yong Dingchen, Yong Dingchen divorced and left. Zhou then followed Zhu Haibei to the capital and lived in a separate courtyard. It was not until Zhu Haibei's first wife committed suicide in 56 that they moved into Dongsi th Street.

The strange thing is that Yong Dingchen still keeps in contact with the Zhu family as usual.
There were two other people in the living room. One was Feng Jiyuan, the son of Feng Guozhang. He sang Lao Sheng, imitating Ma Lianliang. If you close your eyes and listen, they sound exactly the same. So some people say that art is a gift and can be passed on. No wonder Mr. Feng Gong is so good at crosstalk.
The other is Pan Si, the son of Pan Fu, the Prime Minister of the cabinet during Zhang Zuolin's era, and a huqin player.

When Wang Deming entered the living room, they were singing "The Phoenix Returns to the Nest" together. Zhang Junqiu sang: "Mothers should not be too biased. Listen to the roots of your daughter's words: It has been said since ancient times that a daughter's innocence comes first. If you don't take care of your face, your life is in vain."

Wang Deming quietly walked to Zhao Shouyan's side, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and listened quietly.

Although he started listening to Peking Opera after going to school in the city in 49, influenced by his brother-in-law Chang Youguang and his sister's father-in-law Chang Xusheng, he gradually fell in love with listening to Peking Opera and occasionally sang a few lines himself.

But what was so good about these people's singing? How was it so good? What was wrong with it? He still couldn't say. How should I put it? He was just an ordinary person outside the circle.

Fortunately, Zhao Shouyan is also like this.
After the opera was over, Zhu Haibei held a cup of tea to moisten his throat, while commenting on Zhang Junqiu's singing: "In this play "The Phoenix Returns to the Nest", when Mr. Mei Lanfang sang the two sections of Xipi Yuanban and Liushui, he paid attention to the clear and continuous pronunciation of words and the full breath. Junqiu, you need to practice the thirteen rhymes more."

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Zhu." Zhang Junqiu accepted the comments politely and did not get carried away by his status as a leading actor.

The so-called thirteen rhymes are the final vowels in Chinese characters, such as: 发, 花, 达, 坡, 擦, 野, 苏
After Zhu Haibei finished his comments, he seemed to be unsatisfied with the singing and looked at Feng Jiyuan and Pan Si, "How about we sing a piece of 'The Reconciliation of the General and the Prime Minister'?"

"Okay!"

The sound of the huqin sounded, followed by: "I deeply appreciate your righteousness and let someone come to me."

At the same time, Cha Kuiyuan hesitated again and again, but still went to the door of the small factory, wanting to ask Wang Deming to come out. As a result, he came up empty-handed: "What? Deming is not at home? When will he come back? I'll wait for him!"

(End of this chapter)