His culinary skills were limited to making some dishes by following TikTok videos in his past life, and now, facing these simple ingredients in this era, Wang Ze felt quite helpless.
Cabbage, potatoes, those were the only two dishes.
However, thankfully, Wang Ze still had the memories of his predecessor in his mind, so he knew how to steam Steamed bread , and the dishes could only be made do with for one meal.
Fortunately, he was a soul transmigration, if he was a body transmigration, he definitely wouldn't be able to eat it.
This body had long since adapted to these foods, and there was no physical repulsion, only mental repulsion.
After reluctantly finishing his meal, Wang Ze got up and went out, wanting to go to the toilet.
Walking through the middle courtyard, he saw a plump middle-aged woman at the entrance.
With just one glance, Wang Ze dismissed the idea of asking her where the toilet was.
Jia Zhangshi, he couldn't afford to provoke her; her face looked a bit fierce.
Jia Zhangshi looked up at him and said, “So impolite, not even greeting me when you see me.”
It wasn't until Wang Ze went to the front courtyard without looking back that Jia Zhangshi stopped speaking, cursed under her breath, and lowered her head to continue sewing shoe soles.
Walking quickly to the front courtyard, Wang Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief. He tried to avoid this Jia Zhangshi, as various novels had portrayed her as being almost like a mentally ill person. Without knowing anything, how could he dare to interact with her? Who knew which version of Jia Zhangshi this was? He didn't want to be entangled with a mentally ill person.
In his opinion, these people were sources of trouble, and it was better to avoid contact if possible. Not being afraid of trouble didn't mean he had to go looking for it.
Wang Ze was already considering whether to move to another place, as he had brought seven million (first set of RMB) to the City, which was enough for him to find and buy another house.
In this era, buying or renting a house was not easy. Housing in Beijing was very tight, with various central departments crowded here. Which of these powerful departments didn't need houses?
The Naluo Gulane area, because of its good houses, was occupied by large enterprises and units; ordinary units generally couldn't get here.
Walking to the front courtyard, he saw Yan Bugui's house, and there was a woman hanging clothes to dry at the entrance.
Wang Ze walked up to the person and asked, “Auntie, I just moved in yesterday. Can you tell me how to get to the toilet?”
Yang Ruihua looked up curiously at Wang Ze and said, “Go out, turn left, and walk to the end of the alley, and you’ll be there. Are you Wang Ze? Did you buy the garden behind?”
“Ah, yes, Auntie, I’m going to the toilet first.” Wang Ze said, and without waiting for the other person to speak, he quickly jogged out of the courtyard.
As expected of a Forbidden City Courtyard, does news spread that fast? Do you have phones or WeChat groups?
Wang Ze found this unimaginable. In his past life, let alone a courtyard, it was normal for neighbors living next door for several years not to know each other.
He had only spoken a few words with Yi Zhonghai an hour ago, yet it felt like the entire courtyard knew he had arrived and, even more so, knew that he had bought the back garden.
Walking on the way to the toilet, Wang Ze became even more determined not to build a new house in the garden. Currently, it was empty, and no one envied him; some even looked at him like a prodigal son. But if he built a house, these people would definitely have ideas.
However, when he reached the toilet, he was dumbfounded. Was this toilet not cleaned? It was so dirty.
Covering his mouth and nose, Wang Ze endured the discomfort and squatted for a few minutes before hastily leaving.
After leaving the toilet for more than ten meters, he dared to breathe deeply.
“No, I still need to build something in the courtyard, at least one toilet.”
Wang Ze only went to the toilet once and changed his original idea of not building anything. For him, the toilet here felt like torture.
He had experience; in such toilets, when winter came, you had to half-squat, otherwise, you would touch the frozen pillar-like things below.
Wang Ze didn't go sightseeing but instead ran directly into the alley next to No. 95 Courtyard.
He walked along the houses for a while until there were no more houses inside the courtyard wall; it should be the back garden of the East Courtyard.
After confirming the location, Wang Ze continued along the alley and soon reached another road, which was a cluster of courtyards made up of Forbidden City Courtyards.
According to his memory, he turned and walked towards the Street Office. He had handled the procedures yesterday, so he knew the location of the Street Office.
Walking into the Street Office, the doorman just glanced at him and ignored him. Wang Ze walked in and found someone to ask about his matter.
As for directly looking for Director Wang, she was the director of a Street Office in Beijing, a bureau-level organization. Director Wang was at least a deputy bureau-level leading cadre; how could anyone just walk in and see her? Would she even be able to do her work?
However, the Clerk said, “You can’t ask me about this, you need to find Director Wang.”
He pointed Wang Ze to Director Wang's office. Wang Ze thanked him and then turned to walk towards the office.
Bang bang bang, Wang Ze saw a middle-aged woman working inside and knocked on the door.
Director Wang looked up and said, “Come in.” After Wang Ze walked up and sat down, she asked, “Comrade, is there something I can help you with?”
“Director Wang, my name is Wang Ze. I just handled the move-in procedures yesterday and I live at No. 95 Courtyard.” Wang Ze first introduced himself, otherwise, how would she know who he was? He decided to just tell her directly to save her from asking again.
After introducing himself, Wang Ze stated his business: “Director Wang, it’s like this. I bought the back garden, right? Now I don’t have enough money, so I won’t build a house for now. But I was thinking of building a toilet and opening a door in the back garden for easier toilet cleaning later.”
Director Wang listened to Wang Ze’s words and said, “The toilet matter is fine with me. I’ll have Clerk Wang issue you a certificate later. But opening a door in the back wall…”
She paused, thought for a moment, and said, “That’s not possible. The layout of your courtyard is all registered. Opening a door would be too big a change, and it won’t be approved without a necessary reason.”
“Ah, alright, it’s good that I can build a toilet too.” Wang Ze smiled and agreed.
What was a necessary reason? Convenient toilet cleaning was definitely not a necessary reason, so Wang Ze didn't continue. The leader had already said so, so how could she easily change her mind?
And now that they had met, there would be opportunities to deepen their acquaintance later.
He went out and found Clerk Wang, who issued the permit for construction.
After handing the certificate to Wang Ze, Clerk Wang said, “Go to No. 73 Courtyard and find Master Lin. He is registered with us, and his craftsmanship is pretty good. Building a toilet won’t be a problem.”
“I plan to build it myself. Where can I buy the materials?” Wang Ze nodded and said with a smile.
Clerk Wang wasn't surprised by Wang Ze's intention to build it himself. After all, hiring someone to build it cost money. In those days, many people did things themselves if they could, and a toilet wasn't a house, so the requirements weren't as high.
“You can take the certificate to the store; they sell them there.” Clerk Wang said.
Once everything was clear, Wang Ze thanked him and left the Street Office. He didn't plan to hire anyone to build this toilet, as it wasn't anything too difficult.
Moreover, he also wanted to see if he could gain new skills.
He planned to build a toilet with waste separation for easier cleaning, as he couldn't have people carrying out buckets if he wasn't allowed to open a door in the courtyard wall.
With the Street Office certificate, Wang Ze smoothly bought various building materials. Wang Ze hadn't expected that state-owned stores would even sell building materials; he had thought he would have to go to a specialized building materials store.
“Hey, hey, hey, what are you moving there?” A man wearing glasses saw someone carrying bags and walking into the courtyard, so he quickly stopped him and asked.