[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji":3,"chapter-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-11":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Siheyuan: Food, Love, and Family in 1960s Beijing",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2314061,4526,"Chapter 11","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>Watching Lao Biao still crying, Li Xuewu snapped: “Stop sniveling. Pack up your stall and find somewhere to talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Biao wiped his snot and said, “Erhai’s watching. Let’s go to my third uncle’s place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Biao led the way, with Shen Guodong and Wen San’er following behind. They turned a corner down the alley and entered a small courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Biao said, “My grandparents passed away these past two years. My third uncle lives alone now. We usually come here...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu noticed the courtyard walls were still intact, with only three low houses inside. He followed Lao Biao into the house and saw a pile of junk stacked in the west room, the middle room serving as kitchen and parlor, and an earthen bed running across the east room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was a mess; two low cabinets held a few tattered books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning to Wen San’er behind him, Li Xuewu said, “Third uncle, didn’t know you had a taste for literature?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen San’er, no longer acting like his earlier self or a proper elder, grinned slyly: “Just a little. I read random books. When antique dealers come by, I don’t understand their stuff, so I study the books. These were given to me by Old Ye, the guy who collects horse dung. I picked up a few tricks from him—nothing impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu flipped through the books on the cabinets—the titles were faded but legible: *Collection of Applied Patterns*, Zhao Ruzhen’s *Guide to Antiques*, *Doubts on Antiques*, and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This traitor’s a bastard, but his books aren’t bad—worth studying. He handled plenty of good stuff.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen San’er hurried to nod: “Yes yes yes, I’m studying them right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen San’er looked shifty and sleazy, but he’d actually received proper education. His father had studied in a private school and was cultured—no one expected he’d end up with a son like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Say he was educated? He barely finished elementary school. Say he wasn’t? He’d read the Four Books and Five Classics with his father, could recite classical texts offhand—but never applied any of it properly. His mother and two older sisters spoiled him rotten. He’d sunk even lower than his old man, and now all he had left was this tiny courtyard piled with junk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xuewu found a clean spot to sit. All three gathered around, some sitting, some standing. Li Xuewu pulled out a Daqianmen cigarette and passed one to each. Shen Guodong refused, but the other two accepted. Wen San’er even lit Li Xuewu’s cigarette.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I just got back. I don’t know the situation yet. Did you lose the coal job?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lao Biao said, “After you left, they stopped including us. The coal trucks are definitely dealing with them now. We went a few times but never saw anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old Li Xuewu had teamed up with these boys to collude with the coal truck drivers. Every time, they’d load the trucks full, then unload over a dozen large baskets outside the city—just enough to look like they weren’t short of the truck’s capacity—then sell them to households. This kept the group alive, and a bunch of half-grown kids followed them around for scraps.\u003C\u002Fp>",529,"2026-06-20T13:46:54.288Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2cda05ab90f1dbc8b3fa8450de2425351d8b9c267dd16d688c2be8b7d6eb2257","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-12","the-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-chapter-10",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-siheyuan-food-love-and-family-in-1960s-beiji-cover.jpg"]