Chapter 813: The Playground of Childhood
In the sound of Ye Tian explaining the scenery along the way, the three cars drove through the bustling and noisy streets, and finally came to the intersection of Dongsi Lishi Hutong.
Lishi Hutong is located in Dongcheng District, Beijing, starting from Chaoyangmen South Street in the east, to Dongsi South Street in the west, with branch alleys leading to Yanle Hutong and Dengcao Hutong in the south, and branch alleys leading to Qianjian Stick Hutong in the north.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a market for selling donkeys and mules, called 'Donkey Market Hutong', until the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the livestock market was abolished, and people cleverly renamed it 'Lishi Hutong' according to the homonym.
The courtyard of Ye Tian's grandfather's house is located in this ancient Lishi Hutong, not far from the filming location of the TV series "Mansion Gate" and the mansion of the prefect of Wuchang in the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, these two sets of houses cannot be compared at all, and Grandpa Ye Tian's house is an ordinary courtyard house, far from being a mansion.
If you don't look at the situation of the house, in terms of market value alone, in the capital where every inch of land is expensive, the house of the grandfather's house can be regarded as a mansion to some extent.
Not only this house, but all the courtyard houses located within the second ring road of the capital, one is counted as one, and in terms of market value, it can be regarded as a luxury house!
As for how bad those houses are, how bad the situation is, whether they can live in them or not, it does not affect its value, who let it be located in the second ring of the capital, this is where the value lies.
The width of Lishi Hutong is okay, there is no problem with vehicle traffic, and there is a vacant lot not far in front of Grandpa's house, so parking is no problem, provided that there are no full cars parked there.
Under Ye Tian's instructions, the three cars drove into Lishi Hutong one after another and slowly drove towards the middle of the alley.
Seeing the courtyard houses that kept appearing outside the car window, Betty said excitedly:
"Steven, this is what you call the Beijing Courtyard House, it looks really strange, why are the windows facing the street of these houses so small?
And why is it that when you look through the open courtyard gates, you can only see one wall and no other buildings? What is the reason for this? What is the purpose?"
For this curious baby's endless questions, Ye Tian can only answer them, and my parents will be asked a little painfully.
That's what I call the Beijing Courtyard House, one of the most distinctive traditional buildings in China, and one of the most famous features of Beijing.
Beijing courtyard houses pay great attention to the protection of personal privacy, the windows facing the street are generally very small, but the doors and windows in the courtyard are very large, very bright, and there is no problem with lighting.
The wall in the gate is called the shadow wall, the purpose is to block the eyes of people on the street, protect the privacy of the owner of the yard from being violated, and there are also some feng shui exquisiteness.
When you get to grandpa's house, you can enter the courtyard and see what is going on inside, and then you will have a more specific understanding of the courtyard and you will like this kind of architecture!"
"I understand, I'm looking forward to seeing the whole picture of the Beijing Courtyard House, and even more to seeing your grandparents and other family members!"
Betty chuckled and nodded, her eyes full of anticipation.
After a pause, Ye Tian continued emotionally:
"I grew up in an ordinary courtyard in front of me, and this alley was my playground and adventure playground! I didn't move out of here until I was in junior high school.
This alley carries the memories of my whole childhood, full of joy and laughter, unforgettable, no matter where I go, this is my spiritual harbor, it is my home!"
"Hearing you say that, I want to know everything here, this is your home, and it will be my home in the future!"
Betty gently shook Ye Tian's hand, her eyes full of tenderness and sweetness.
Watching the disgusting sensational performance of the two of them, the parents shivered together, but a relieved smile appeared on their faces.
After cleaning up his emotions, Ye Tian whispered a few words to Betty.
"My dear, my grandparents live in the courtyard in front of me, you will see them later, do you remember the salutations and etiquette that you were taught before?"
Betty nodded affirmatively and said triumphantly:
"Of course I remember! Isn't it just kneeling down and kowtowing and calling grandparents! I've practiced in New York, so you can rest assured that nothing will go wrong!"
Finally, Betty also said in broken Chinese:
"Hello grandpa, grandma!"
Ye Tian gave a huge affirmation, smiled and nodded approvingly:
"That's right! That's the smell, it's a lot better than the other day!"
The parents who were also in the car were completely stupid, looking at Ye Tian dumbfounded, looking at Betty who had just uttered a broken sentence in Chinese.
It took a long time for the old couple to wake up.
Then they burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, Xiaotian, what are you doing badly? It's just a matter of letting Betty follow you and call your grandparents, why do you kid still make people kowtow?
Not to mention that she is a foreigner, even if we are Chinese, there are still a few people who kowtow to the elders? Few people kowtow during the New Year's Festival, how do you think of this?"
Dad asked curiously, laughing.
Mom is the same, laughing at the same time, she is also a little puzzled.
Ye Tian didn't smile, but said to his parents with a straight face:
"Dad, Mom, you don't care, this is my decision, and it is also a way for me to express my feelings, not only Betty wants to kowtow, but I am also going to give my grandparents a ring!
You are all in Beijing, you can see your grandparents at any time, and the feeling may not be deep, but I am on the other side of the world, and the number of times I meet is very few, shouldn't I kowtow a few times?
As long as my grandparents like it, I am willing to kowtow as many times as I want, and I am full of joy, Betty is the person I am ready to marry with, so I will let her kowtow with me"
Hearing this, my parents suddenly fell silent, the smile on their faces disappeared, and their expressions became much more serious.
After a pause, Dad said appreciatively:
"This thing is done beautifully! You should indeed kowtow to your grandparents, this is an old courtesy, you can't forget, it's rare that you kid still has this heart! Yes! Grandparents didn't talk about you in vain!"
When Dad said this, Mom nodded appreciatively, and her eyes were a little moist.
As he spoke, the convoy had reached the open space not far in front of his grandfather's house.
Luckily, there are still a few empty spaces that are just right to park.
Seeing this situation, Ye Tian immediately instructed the driver to park the GMC business car in the parking space, and the two Range Rovers in the back were parked in the adjacent two parking spaces.
The car quickly stopped, and everyone got out of the car one after another.
But Ye Tian didn't immediately take out the luggage from the car, but walked up to the two lawyers, smiled and said a few words to them.
After saying that, the two lawyers left here with their things and documents, and went to the alley to take a taxi home.
When they left, both of them had big smiles on their faces and were very excited.
There are a lot of lucrative commissions to be earned, and anyone will be happy!
Next, several drivers arranged by the car rental company were also sent away by Ye Tian, if you need to use them, just call them and ask them to come over, there is no need to stay here.
I believe that in less than two days, Raymond and his family will be able to quickly grasp China's traffic regulations, and then they can drive around Beijing.
They all have an International Driver's Permit and don't have any problems on the road.
Besides, Ye Tian himself is a native of Beijing, and he has a clear understanding of the city's road conditions, so he doesn't need these drivers at all, which will only add some unnecessary hidden dangers.
While he was arranging these things, many people in the alley had already seen them and recognized him at a glance, and the discussion began.
"Lao Ye's eldest grandson is back, and he is the demon king of the mixed world who has become a billionaire in New York, USA, and keeps causing trouble!
My grandson showed me the online video of this kid, it's called on YouTube, this kid is called a ruthless person, killing people is like slaughtering chickens, it makes people tremble when they look at it!"
Fortunately, Lao Ye's eldest son's family doesn't live here, otherwise you just watch, the entire Lishi Hutong will not be able to live in peace, and even the wind will be loud!"
While whispering, people stopped to look at this side, their eyes full of curiosity.
Among them, as long as they are the old residents of this alley, they all know their father and Ye Tian, and they are all greeting them.
"Brother Ye, I haven't seen you for a while, come back to see your old man!"
"I haven't seen you for a few days, Junzi, how are you doing now? Isn't this son coming back from abroad, let's come and see the old man?"
"Xiaotian, you kid is doing well now, we often hear your news in China, it's really!
"Uncle Liu, I haven't seen you for a long time, your complexion is so good! Don't praise me anymore, you know, I have had that problem since I was a child, I am proud when I praise you, and I can't find the north when I am proud!"
Ye Tian was coughing with these neighbors while carrying his luggage under the car, very relaxed.
In the midst of laughter, Ye Tian and Betty's luggage, as well as the two boxes containing gifts, were all moved.
Raymond and the others left their luggage in the car and took them directly to the hotel later.
Afterwards, Dad and Ye Tian said goodbye to the surrounding neighbors, took Betty and them, pushed their luggage, and walked to their grandfather's house 100 meters away.
At this time, no one in the courtyard of Grandpa's house came out to greet him, not because everyone didn't pay attention to Ye Tian, but because everyone didn't know that Ye Tian had entered the alley.
When he was on the road just now, my father wanted to call to inform his family, but he was stopped by Ye Tian.
He wanted to surprise his grandparents and surprise everyone in that yard.
Looking at the backs of their departures, people talked more lively, and several even took out their mobile phones and began to notify other people in this alley.
While discussing, everyone's eyes were a little worried without exception.
There is a demon king in his alley, who can not worry?