Chapter 3: A Small Discussion on Tea Houses

  The old man's face revealed a hint of astonishment, he had originally thought that the officer would collude with the two hoodlums to extort him, but he never expected that the other party was genuinely helping him. He couldn't help but feel a few points of gratitude in his heart, and suddenly called out: "Officer, please stay."

  Xu Shaowen turned around and asked with a polite smile: "Is there anything else you'd like to instruct, old sir?"

  "Does General now have a task on his body?" Old man Long Zhong looked at Xu Shao Wen with a sharp and piercing gaze, asking in a gentle tone.

  Xu Shaowen was taken aback, he was originally just a military school student, although according to common sense his daily task was to study, but today was a special situation. He thought for a moment and replied: "These days have been very leisurely, I was just strolling around here today and happened to run into those two street rascals."

  The old man nodded and said with a smile: "Since that's the case, I don't know if General would condescend to grant me an audience, but this old man wants to invite General to have a pot of tea and chat for a bit."

  Xu Shao Wen had originally planned to travel around and then return to school as soon as possible. Now that the old man is willing to invite him to a teahouse, it's just right for him to change his taste from the usual military school cafeteria food. What's not to be happy about? Moreover, in the 21st century, he had always been fascinated by Mr. Lao She's famous novel "Tea House". Now that he can personally experience the old Beijing teahouse culture, it's a kind of luck.

  "The old man was so enthusiastic that it would be impolite to decline," he said, bowing slightly and accepting the old man's invitation.

  Beijing's teahouses have been an integral part of the city's cultural heritage since the Qing dynasty. This traditional institution has continued to thrive from the Republic era to the present day. In the past, whenever royalty and nobility would gather for social events, they would often meet at teahouses to enjoy music, engage in witty repartee, or simply chat about art and literature. Even during the warlord era of the Northern Expedition, some high-ranking officials and politicians would frequently visit these establishments. In reality, many film and television productions set in the 21st century feature brothels that cater to the leisurely entertainment needs of bureaucrats and wealthy merchants. However, from a strictly historical perspective, these should actually be teahouses. The screenwriters likely emphasized their licentious nature by portraying them as dens of vice, rather than the traditional gathering places they truly were.

  The old man took Xu Shaowen out of the street and came to a hutong on the other side of Xizhimen Street. Most streets in Beijing are named after hutongs, but not all hutongs are winding and tortuous. Just like where the old man brought Xu Shaowen, it was completely different from the small hutongs just now, as if there were two different worlds after passing through Xizhimen Street.

  This alleyway was called Xu Shao Wen, he couldn't remember the name, he just followed the old man with a proud interest for a while. At the end of the alley, at the intersection of three roads, there was an elegant two-story ancient building sitting steadily, with its main gate facing north. On the vermilion lacquered wooden pillars hung a pair of couplets: "Spring breeze dispels worries, poet's nose" and "Neither leaves nor flowers, yet fragrant". This couplet came from Yang Wanli, a great poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although there was no horizontal tablet on the teahouse, a plaque with the words "Dian Cang Lou" complemented the lacquered wooden pillars, looking quite majestic.

  The old man waited briefly at the entrance of the teahouse, gesturing with his hand for Xu Shaowen to go first. Xu Shaowen knew he was only a junior and didn't dare be presumptuous, so he hastily retreated a step to let the old man go first. The old man smiled slightly, with a hint of approval in his eyes, and without further courtesy, took a step forward and went inside.

  The two of them found a seat by the window on the second floor, and after they sat down, the old man ordered some melon seeds, crispy cakes, and cold bamboo shoots, and also asked Xu Shaowen to order something for himself. Xu Shaowen was not so polite and reserved, he ordered a big steamer basket of small soup dumplings, and also called for a portion of osmanthus cake.

  The Tea Master had prepared a small stove in advance, mixed tea cakes and soup water, and set out two tea cups.

  The old man took a sip of his drink, while Xu Shaowen had already wolfed down a few mouthfuls without regard for etiquette. This scene made the old man feel even more surprised, thinking that this military officer didn't have much of a soldier's demeanor, but rather looked somewhat disheveled and rustic. However, he didn't show any expression, only revealing a faint smile towards the young man's straightforwardness.

  "May I ask your honorable surname and given name, sir?" the old man asked warmly, a faint wisp of white smoke escaping from his mouth where he had just swallowed a sip of fragrant tea. Beijing's April still carried some chill in the air.

  In the late Qing and early Republic of China, when addressing each other, there were still some old-fashioned habits, that is, they would always respectfully address each other as "master" or "older brother". This made Xu Shaowen feel a bit embarrassed, as the other party was an elderly person of the same age, yet still addressed him with such respect, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.

  "In the lower Xu Shao Wen, word Wen Yuan." Xu Shao Wen replied with a mouthful of steaming hot soup dumplings.

  The old man's expression turned silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he still smiled and asked, "So General Xu is also surnamed Xu? This can be considered a kind of fate, the old man is ashamed, and Xu Junya belongs to the same clan." He paused, without telling Xu Shao Wen his name, but instead asked another question, "Just now I heard General Xu say that he belonged to the Ministry of Land, but the old man saw that General Xu was young, and didn't know which general's subordinate officer he was?"

  Xu Shaowen was slightly stunned, he claimed to be from the Ministry of War just to scare a couple of little rascals, and he was only a military academy student, without any actual official position. He smiled and said casually: "Old man is overpraising me, I'm just a guard at the Ministry of War, not some general or official."

  To change the subject immediately, he hurriedly asked with a smile: "I haven't had the pleasure of knowing your esteemed name yet? Since we share the same surname, perhaps I can even claim to be related to you?"

  The old man chuckled and took a light sip of hot tea, saying: "This old man Xu Shuizhu doesn't know if he can really establish a relationship with Master Xu Jun."

  Xu Shao Wen was eating a steamed bun, and when he suddenly heard the three words "Xu Shui Zhu", his throat tightened and he almost choked on the bun. Perhaps those who haven't studied the history of the Republic of China well would feel unfamiliar with this name, but Xu Shao Wen had read several historical materials in high school. This "Xu Shui Zhu" was actually Xu Shi Chang, a veteran of the Beiyang government and sworn brother of Yuan Shi Kai, as well as the second president of the Republic of China after Yuan Shi Kai.

  Xu Shichang in his later years had the self-styled name "Water Bamboo Village Man", and at that time he naturally did not want to reveal his true identity, so he came up with a name called "Xu Shui Zhu".

  "Xu... Mr. Xu?" Xu Shaowen was shocked, never expecting to meet a wrist-level figure today. He was truly grateful for his sense of justice at the time and timely lent a helping hand to Xu Shichang, which counted as leaving a good impression anyway.

  Xu Shichang was even more surprised to see Xu Shaowen's reaction, he really didn't expect that his alias would be recognized. As for the title "Water Bamboo Village People", only a group of old friends knew about it, how did this young man know about it too?

  "Xu Junye, don't you recognize me?" Xu Shichang asked with a thick tone of doubt and curiosity.

  Xu Shaowen looked around and saw that the teahouse was not very crowded at noon, so it seemed relatively empty. He slightly bowed his head and said respectfully: "Mr. Xu is about to be promoted to Secretary of State, how could I not know him?"

  Xu Shichang couldn't help but smile, and indeed next month, in May, Yuan Shikai would appoint him as the Minister of State Affairs of the Beiyang government. However, although this appointment had been settled, it was still in the planning stage, and a guard from the Ministry of War wouldn't know about it. Moreover, he had previously asked Xu Shaowen if his official duties were busy, and according to common sense, guards have sentry duty every day, so how could they have free time?

  He subconsciously glanced at Xu Shao's military uniform placed aside, and immediately understood with a smile. He didn't plan to expose this fake officer, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "So Xu Xiaoge has very timely information, that is, he also pays close attention to national affairs?"

  Xu Shao Wen smiled and said, "Old master is right, as a military officer, with the current situation in the country not being too peaceful, it's only natural to pay more attention to national affairs. As the saying goes, the rise and fall of a nation concerns the people, and it's our responsibility as ordinary people."

  "It's good that young people have grand ambitions," Xu Shichang laughed heartily, then asked another question, "However, I just heard Mr. Xu say that the world is not at peace, forgive my ignorance, looking at the overall situation of China, although the Beijing government's call to arms is quite good, but after Sun Wen's call for a second revolution failed in Guangzhou, it seems that everything has been calm and peaceful nationwide, how can it be said that it's not at peace?"

  Xu Shaowen felt a bit numb in the scalp, he was from the 21st century, naturally with a 21st-century historical perspective to discuss issues. Indeed, two years later, Yuan Shikai's attempt to become emperor would fail, and from then on, the Beiyang warlords would split into four or five factions, such as the Zhili clique, Fengtian clique, Anhui clique, etc., struggling for so-called national leadership, and engaging in mutual deception and strife. By that time, the Beijing government had returned to a state similar to that of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, with monarchs changing as quickly as flowing water or galloping horses.

  Then foreign powers wanted to expand their interests in China, so they each supported warlords to divide the land and fight, and the struggle would intensify.

  However, after the second revolution was successfully suppressed last year, the Guangzhou government temporarily lost its accumulated strength and there was no movement for a while, so the national situation seemed to have a trend of recovery.

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