Today's capital is indeed very different from what I remembered.
This is the truest feeling of an old lady who has been away from the capital for nearly forty years after returning from overseas.
The wild teahouse where she used to rest on the way to the Sun Palace outside the city is gone, and the ruined temple called the Sun Palace is even missing.
Even the cemetery, vegetable fields, rice fields, and kiln pits outside Dongzhimen in my impression are all gone.
Many of those places have become factories or construction sites under construction, and it is impossible to identify them.
Almost all the city walls and towers in the capital were gone.
The towering city walls and gates have all disappeared, making the capital completely unlike the capital.
And since Dongzhimen is no longer visible, there are naturally no more donkeys and donkeys guarding the city gate, waiting for customers to hire donkeys to drive their feet.
That’s not all, even the archways on the streets of Beijing have been demolished.
Between Beihai and Zhonghai, the famous Jin'ao Yudong has been completely demolished, with not a single bit left.
There are also the meat shop, pastry shop, oil and salt shop, noodle shop, fruit shop, meat gang shop, clothing store, steamer shop, Beijing paper shop, duster shop, fragrant wax shop, Mingyi shop, and shroud shop. , coffin shop, pole house, carriage and horse shop all disappeared.
Instead, there are comprehensive state-owned stores with signs such as "Xinxin", "Hongguang", "Limin" and "Dazhong".
So this journey can’t help but surprise the old lady who returned from the United States, and she has a different feeling in her heart.
Everything she was familiar with had disappeared so much. It was inevitable that things had changed and people had changed, and she was full of vicissitudes of life. She couldn't accept it for a while.
However, it must be said that some changes are indeed good.
Even she, who had been worried about the capital for so many years and wished her hometown would remain unchanged, had to admit this.
For example, many areas that were deserted and desolate in the past have now become lively streets.
Those slums where sewage flowed across the street and were once filled with dead cats and dogs and garbage dumps have become places where small buildings are everywhere and businesses flourish.
The ground that can stir up loess when the wind blows has all turned into asphalt roads.
There are no longer pack sedans, horse-drawn carriages, clang cars, rickshaws and flatbed cars running on the streets.
Instead, there are large loaf-shaped buses, large cargo-laden trucks, shiny cars, and bicycles and tricycles that move around like flowing water.
Under the command of the traffic police in white uniforms, everything is handled in an orderly manner.
As for the Japanese soldiers, detective teams, foot patrols, foreign compradors, gangsters, street bullies, and Japanese ronin, they have all become the dust of yesterday’s history...
This can’t help but make the old lady I sincerely lament the rapid development of modern cities. This powerful vitality is far from being comparable to the old capital.
As the saying goes, if you don’t pass through the mountains, you won’t see the plains.
Only someone like her, who has experienced war and seen the country in devastation, will understand how precious and great such changes are.
At the same time, what makes people heart-warming is the worldliness of people, and this has not changed.
You know, in her heart, the best thing about her hometown is kindness and honesty.
Just like the taxi driver I met today, he is only in his thirties, but he still maintains the kindness, enthusiasm, and warm-hearted nature of Beijing people.
I heard that the old lady wanted to drink bean juice after living overseas for many years. The driver was not afraid of trouble at all. He immediately turned the steering wheel and took the old lady to find it.
I very much hope that I can personally contribute to help the old lady realize her long-cherished wish.
What’s even more amazing is that this driver talks a lot and is quite humorous.
Just this Douzhier, he could talk about ten kilometers just by himself.
"...Old lady, if you say that, then I really believe it. People who have been out for so many years and still want to do this are definitely people from the capital and cannot escape. The delicious food in the capital is... There are too many to count, but for those who have returned from abroad, they can put aside everything else, but bean juice is indispensable. Just tell me, bean juice is more important to me than wine. I drank a bowl of hot bean juice. It was so delicious. After drinking it, my nose was sweating and my whole body felt refreshed. But I went to Inner Mongolia in 1966 and drank soybean juice. But it's not that convenient. I can only drink a few bowls to satisfy my cravings during the Chinese New Year. But this blessing was deprived of it soon. Why, it didn't stop here in the capital. You know what's going on. He actually killed the bean juice. From the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, I couldn't drink the bean juice. You said, who did this bean juice offend? Why don't you let me drink it? If he doesn't let me drink it, I can't stop dreaming about it. It's like there is a greedy thing in my stomach. It was my second brother-in-law who found out that there was a soybean juice store in Ertiao, Dongzhimen. Every time before the New Year, when I came back, I bought a plastic bucket of raw soybean juice and cooked it by myself at his house. I drank a few Times. It's better now. After the reform and opening up, Douzhi has been liberated. You want to ask if the reform and opening up is good? It's great! Who can say it's not good? Be in a hurry with him! ..."
Although I found out later when I arrived at the place, I didn't sell bean juice in the morning. I had to drink it until lunch, but in the end I didn't drink the bean juice.
But the driver's words were also interesting. Listening to them was like listening to a cross talk. It relieved the boredom and it was not a waste of time.
What’s more, this driver behaves with a bit of the generosity of a Yanzhao man.
Because I felt that I had not been able to help, I felt that I had dragged the old lady and her son away all the way in vain, and I felt a little guilty.
The driver took the initiative to take them to Wonton Hou'er not far away for breakfast, and the driver took the initiative to pay for the guests.
This made the old lady feel even more happy, and she was immersed in deep nostalgia without even realizing it.
Even when we finally got off the bus in front of the Jingcheng Hotel, the driver quoted the fare of twenty-five dollars.
The old lady’s son habitually tipped five dollars and handed over thirty dollars.
The driver counted the banknotes and refused to accept them.
“Ouch, what are you doing? We don’t charge tips.”
At this time, the mother and son, who still retained the American mindset, realized that this behavior was inappropriate. Beijing’s custom.
But the old lady couldn't bear it, so she said, "It's okay. You've dragged us two around half of the capital. We're grateful for this hard work. It's not easy for you either. I never let you." The principle of treating guests to a meal is to treat it as meal money."
I didn't expect that the driver was quite serious. Even if the old lady said it, she didn't just give it up. .
"Old lady, you are just slapping me in the face. To be honest, if I hadn't had to pay for the ride, I would have thought that you are from Beijing and have traveled thousands of miles to come back from the United States. I deserved to take you there for nothing. My fellow man, a few bowls of wontons and a few sesame seed cakes don’t matter. Besides, I took you to earn your fare, but I’m sorry that you didn’t get what you wanted. . Right? It's your generosity not to care about me. But if I want to take the money, it's my fault. So you have to pay according to the schedule. That’s it. I can’t ask for more.”
“Thank you then.”
The old lady can’t force it. He asked his son to accept the five dollars returned by the driver.
Unexpectedly, the car door was opened by the hotel doorman. When it was their turn to get out of the car, the driver continued to give instructions.
"Old lady, please allow me to say one more thing. Those of you who have been abroad for a long time are all hungry. When you come back, you will all covet the food in our capital. But after all, you have been away for a long time, and your stomach has adapted to foreign food. , It’s going to be so intense that it’s really hard to overcome it. You’re an older person, so take it easy, otherwise you might get a stomachache..."
Although such a kind intention It sounds a bit redundant, but for an old lady, it's extraordinarily practical.
So the body that was about to get off the car froze again.
After thinking about it, the old lady turned around and said, "You are such a nice person. Well, it is fate that we met today. If you are willing, just leave a phone number. We will plan to do it later. If I want to rent a car for a few days, why don’t I contact you?”
"That's great."
The driver was also happy now. I didn't expect that today I would be blessed with wealth and be able to win over such a rich man.
And he also fell in love with this old lady.
Suddenly, I may not have to hang out at the airport for several days.
So without further ado, he quickly wrote down his number and handed it over.
"Old lady, this is my pager number. You can call me when you are in the car. My surname is Hao, just call me Xiao Hao. Except on the night of New Year's Eve and the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. I promise to be there when you call me. I'm here. If you like, I'll take you to drink some bean juice tomorrow."
"That's it, see you later."
"Hey, old lady, see you later. You.”
I have to say that this driver is very lucky.
Because although people like him have good intentions, they seem a bit poor and annoying to people who like quiet.
At least the old lady's son was complaining in his heart all the way, and he couldn't stand his behavior.
But the problem is that the old lady doesn’t mind this.
It is precisely because of being away from the capital for many years and caring about it for decades that she beautifies her hometown even more.
Not only do I think so, but I also tell others.
They talk about every plant and tree in their hometown in lavish terms, and it seems that everything in the capital is good, even the birds that are "tiger-like" are all flower-necked.
On the other hand, there are really unsatisfactory things, and I can’t bear to say the bad things, and I also find them cute.
So since mom likes it, what else can a son choose?
I came this far just to make my mother happy.
So when we got off the car, we entered the hotel and faced the old lady showing off proudly.
"How's it going? Mom's right, right? Capital City is very humane."
The son also smiled and nodded to join in the fun.
"Mom is right. It's like this."
…………
But maybe one generation is really different from another, the elderly Things to appreciate, nostalgia that can’t be let go.
The next generation is not that important.
At the same time, the same capital seems to have completely opposite appearances in the eyes of two generations.
One is cute and the other is hateful.
“I said, why is there still so much dirt in Beijing?”
Not long after we got into Luo Guangliang’s car, we drove on the airport road for less than ten minutes. Looking at the scenery outside the window, Mi Xiaoran began to express critical opinions.
"Sister, you are so funny. Where would there be soil without wind?"
Mi Xiaohui asked in confusion. In her opinion, isn't it normal for the wind in the capital to carry loess?
Since the Qing Dynasty, the capital has been like this.
"That's because you're used to it. Look, it's so dirty to see the dust and smoke on such a clear day. Oh, here we can't even build a road. You guys If you look at the United States, you will know how backward we are."
Mi Xiaoran seemed to be sick when he opened his mouth to mention the United States.
Mi Xiaohui didn't like hearing this.
"Sister, why do I think you have become squeamish? You have never complained about this in the past. Don't you think the capital is pretty good."
However, Mi Xiaoran was plausible.
“I think it’s good because I’m ignorant. Xiaohui, look at you, you’re almost stupid in the capital. You’ll know when you go out too.”
"Me? Going abroad? I won't. I think Beijing is pretty good. Is it brother Liangzi?"
Mi Xiaohui didn't know what was wrong with her sister, so she asked Luo Guangliang for support.
Luo Guangliang couldn't openly support Mi Xiaohui, otherwise he would provoke a quarrel between his sister and his son.
I thought about it and just expressed it tactfully.
"Xiao Ran, you just came back, so you may not know something. The capital has changed a lot in the past few years. In fact, the capital has developed very well. There are really no shortage of hotels, buildings, etc., so bright The Great Wall Hotel by the Ma River is no different from the big hotels in foreign countries. And in the first few months, the Beijing Concert Hall has also opened its doors. And... look, don’t we also have cars?”
However, his words were even more openly ridiculed by Mi Xiaoran.
"Ouch. Guang Liang, you call this a car. Stop teasing me. Let me tell you, in the United States, any car is bigger than you two. If your car was in New York, it would have to be bigger than yours. It made me laugh so hard.”
As a result, her sister was not happy with what she said.
Although Luo Guangliang's temperament didn't bother her, he didn't talk to her, he just smiled and let it go.
But Mi Xiaohui couldn't bear that her sister kept Luo Guangliang from coming to the stage, so she unceremoniously challenged her.
"It depends on how you compare. We can't compare with the United States. Can't we compare with ourselves? Look at how many people in the capital have cars. It's all thanks to my brother Liangzi who bought a car. Otherwise, , just take the bus. Sister, it’s not my fault, but I think your tone of voice is a bit strange.”
Mi Xiaoran didn't understand the latter sentence. She was so immersed in the condescending atmosphere that she didn't think there was anything wrong with her.
The response was completely unclear as to what was asked but not what was answered.
“No way, I often speak Chinese in the United States. I have taught your brother-in-law Mandarin well.”
But I didn’t pay attention and actually let my sister take it hard. The words "pricked" for a while.
"I'm not referring to this, I'm referring to the tone of your words. Sister, you said it's okay if you don't come back for so many years. It's not easy for you to come back home. Why does it seem like you're visiting a poor relative's house? It’s like you’re just visiting? You don’t like it anywhere? It makes people feel uncomfortable. Those who know you are returning to your parents’ home, but those who don’t know you think you are the new mayor who has come to the capital.”
Well, now Mi Xiaoran finally realized how sharp-tongued her sister was, and she blushed on the spot. (End of this chapter)