What’s the scariest story
you’ve ever heard?
This is a legend, a taboo, a strange story about Mongolian-Style Hot Pot.
A Beijing glutton once said to me, “a sheep can live forever in Donglaishun.” This is a saying about a century-old restaurant famous for its Mongolian-Style Hot Pot. It means that a sheep cannot live perfectly until it is brought to the table in Donglaishun.
But he did not tell me the second half of the saying, only that it was unlucky. It was only
many years later that I learned by chance that the remaining half of the sentence was “a man dies seven days before he goes to live in the West.”. It
is said that this is the top Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, but it is not easy to eat.
It is a corner that has been forgotten by history, and it can only be reached by a special train-another “Beijing” that does not belong to us.
1. It was 2015, my third year in Beijing. I managed to settle down in this city. My career went smoothly. I also made a few good friends who could have a barbecue in the middle of the night. One of my
friends, Tong Jinshui, is a native of Beijing.
Grandpa was a soldier and carried a gun, and his father was an educated youth who went to the countryside. His ancestors had been living in Miaohong for generations. It is said that he lived in a quadrangle when he was a child. A Beijing child who has grown up in
this way has a certain “generous” temperament in his bones, which is particularly evident in him. Strange to
say, this kind of temperament is not so annoying. I drifted north for three years, and I can communicate with each other, drink, and pull out have a barbecue aboriginal friends in the middle of the night who can’t say the word “no,” and he is the only one.
But once this kind of person plays with you, he really can’t stand it.
For example, now, because of a bet, I have to fulfill one of his requirements.
The request seems simple-go for a Mongolian-Style Hot Pot.
But for me, it is more troublesome than running naked around the stadium. I haven’t eaten a mouthful of mutton
in more than twenty years.
It is said that when I was born, I was weak and sick. I was sent to the hospital three times before I was one year old. Even my first birthday was spent in the ward.
The elders were superstitious and found a fortune-teller out of nowhere. They looked at my horoscope for a long time and finally said that my surname was Yang and that I was born in the Year of the Sheep. In my life, I had a taboo against sheep. Only when my family did not eat mutton, could I have a smooth life.
Since that day, three generations of my family have never eaten a mouthful of mutton.
I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but my body is getting better slowly, and I even have fewer colds.
I am not a superstitious person, in fact, I do not think what will happen if I eat mutton, but I have developed a habit of not eating mutton since childhood, which leads me to be particularly sensitive to the smell of mutton, as long as I smell a little, I will feel sick and want to vomit, so even without the restraint of my parents, I did not deliberately try mutton.
Forget it, willing to gamble and admit defeat, the big deal is to vomit hard once! As soon as I gritted my teeth, I took out my mobile phone and planned to pick a nearby Mongolian-Style Hot Pot shop.
“Wait!” But Tong Chin-shui suddenly stopped me. He smiled mysteriously. “Add one more additional condition.”.
You start from Beijing West Railway Station tomorrow evening, take the train to Beijing East Railway Station, and then go to eat Mongolian-Style Hot Pot after getting off.
His eyes narrowed with laughter, and the words “I have a conspiracy” were all over his face.
Beijing East Railway Station?
I suddenly froze. I have
been in Beijing for several years. Because of my work, I often travel on business. I am a frequent visitor to the airport station in Beijing. I have taken several trains in the south, north and west of Beijing, but I have never heard of such a railway station as “Beijing East”. Is there
really such a station?
Besides, isn’t it brain-damaged to go to Beijing by train from Beijing?
In the face of my question, Tong Chin-shui curled his lips: That’s an old station. It existed before the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Passenger transport was suspended a few years ago, but I heard it was resumed at the beginning of this year. Why do you care so much? If you are willing to
gamble and admit defeat, just do it! Besides, if it’s not troublesome and stupid, I’ll let you go when I’m full? It’s such a rare chance to win a
bet! “All right, I’ll go!” Looking at Tong Jinshui’s proud face, I gnashed my teeth and said.
The next night, I went to the familiar Beijing West Railway Station and printed the ticket from the ticket machine.
This is an appointment with Tong Jinshui, and the ticket and the invoice for the meal should be kept as evidence of my fulfillment of the bet. When I
got the ticket, the little sister in line behind me saw the words “Beijing West-Beijing East” on my ticket and gave me a surprised look.
She must think I’m an idiot, right?
I blushed and ducked into the station.
Unexpectedly, this trip to the city is still a bullet train, plus the short distance, it feels like it takes only ten minutes to get to the station.
When I walked out of the station, I suddenly felt a trance. Where is
this place?
Am I still in Beijing?
2. The khaki wall looks mottled under the street lamp, and you can even see some places where the wall skin falls off, and you can also see layers of bricks.
A circle of small bungalows is particularly plain, with the golden words “Beijing East Station” standing on the roof, stubbornly reflecting the light-yes, not even the sign.
If I hadn’t looked up and seen the lights of CBD in the distance, I would have thought I had traveled to 40 years ago. Is there such a place in Beijing
today?
Passengers walked in twos and threes in the courtyard of the station, their faces shrouded in shadows that could not be seen clearly, and even the shadows could not be distinguished from the night.
Accustomed to the bright lights of the city that never sleeps, suddenly facing such a thick night, I feel particularly uncomfortable.
It always gives me a feeling that it does not belong to this era, but another forgotten corner. Walking out of the station
in a hurry, I turned on my mobile phone and searched for nearby mutton shops, but there were few, and the nearest one was a few kilometers away.
It’s not convenient to take a taxi around here. Is it difficult to walk all the way?
Is hesitating, suddenly saw not far from the roadside, there is a vague figure standing on the edge of the flower bed, seems to be an old man.
In Beijing, there are many old restaurants in remote locations, which only serve the old customers in the neighborhood. They are often not found on the Internet, and only the local people are clear about them.
I seemed to see hope and quickened my pace towards my uncle.
Grandpa, do you know where to eat Mongolian-Style Hot Pot nearby?
I asked aloud, waving my hand.
Grandpa stood outside the street lamp, looking at the sparsely populated street as if in a trance, hearing my words without any response.
It wasn’t until I asked twice more that I slowly raised my head. My godless eyes focused a little bit, and finally fell on me: “Are you talking to me?”?
How fresh! There are only two of us on the street. If I don’t talk to you, I’ll talk to a ghost?
I couldn’t help laughing. There was a strange look on the
old man’s face. He seemed a little excited. He looked around as if he was looking for something, but then he shook his head disappointedly. “Why isn’t there a car?” Young man, what did you just ask me?
I asked where you could buy Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, and I want to eat some.
I repeat again. Despite
the darkness, I clearly felt a sudden surge of loss on my uncle’s body. He murmured, “It’s a pity, it’s a pity..” Then he looked up at the street and found that there was no car in sight. As if he had finally accepted the reality, he said to me grumpily, “Go northwest to the Eight Kings’ Tomb.”.
I can’t make head or tail of it. What’s the matter with this man? You don’t have to give me a hard time if you can’t
wait for a taxi, do you?
I was also a little uncomfortable. I thanked my uncle and walked in the direction he pointed.
Far away, I could still vaguely hear the reluctant voice of the old man behind me: “It’s not easy to wait..” Why is there no car. Time is running out Inexplicable! I exclaimed and quickened my pace to stay away from this neuropathy uncle.
After walking for a while, I suddenly smelled a delicious smell of meat. After a few more steps
along the scent, you see a shop with a lantern hanging on its facade. The strong fragrance spreads through the street, and you can’t help but look into the shop. On the sign are three big characters: “Go to the West.”.
Hey, I can’t help laughing.
Although I never eat Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, I have heard of the name of the old Donglaishun restaurant. Is this restaurant deliberately opposing him?
But “go west”.. The name is not very auspicious. It shows the meaning of driving a crane to the west.
Forget it. I don’t care about this. I’d better finish the bet quickly.
I pushed the door open and stepped into the shop.
3. The noise and fireworks came almost instantaneously, surrounding me tightly and dragging me in to become part of the noise. There were less than twenty Eight Immortals tables in the
small storefront. At this time, they were crowded with people. Each table had a charcoal copper stove, and they were eating in a lively way.
Boy, I said, why is there no one on the street? They are all eating in this shop? Before
I knew it, a waiter in a Mandarin jacket greeted me at the door. “How many guests?”?
Just me.
I answered subconsciously. With a slight nod,
the waiter turned around and shouted, “a stranger!” I couldn’t help frowning. “Stranger?”?
Why does it sound so awkward? Do you all call the guests like that?
Are there still dead people? As soon as the
words came out of his mouth, the waiter suddenly paused, and the whole person seemed to freeze. His eyes became a little strange, and he stared at me in a daze, which made my heart tremble. With the smile still hanging on the corners of his mouth, it seemed a little strange.
Even another waiter not far away turned his head to look at me, which was even more disturbing. Just then
, a burst of hearty laughter came from his side: “Ha ha ha, it should be a stranger.”.
Once born and twice familiar, young man, you can’t be an acquaintance for the first time, can you?
With this laugh, the waiter’s stiff movements suddenly became smooth again, and he bowed as if nothing had happened.
I turned my head and saw an old man sitting at the table by the door. He was wearing a thick military coat. He looked about sixty years old, but he was tall and strong.
He waved to me, “I eat instant-boiled pork here every day, and this is the first time I’ve seen you.”.
Let’s get together. This meal is on me! Is there such a good thing? Without hesitation,
I sat down and said, “Sir, you are very angry!”! But I have an unkind request. Can I take the receipt later?
The old man looked at me in surprise and showed a look of interest. “The young man is very interesting. No problem!” I smiled, asked the waiter for a clean bowl and chopsticks, and focused on the copper stove in front of me. The red-hot
charcoal emits heat in the copper gallbladder, boiling the hot pot outside the copper gallbladder, and rolling the scallion and ginger slices up and down in the clear water. With interest,
I stretched out my chopsticks and dipped them in the soup. Then I put them into my mouth and sipped, “White water?”? With a wave of his hand,
the old man said, Only clear soup can bring out the freshness of mutton.
Your first time eating Mongolian-Style Hot Pot?
“I nodded.” I’ve never had a bite of mutton in my life.
“The old man smiled and said,” Then you’ve really lived in vain.
But you are lucky to end such a regret in the end. I didn’t have the nerve to say it
as if it was the last meal, but I muttered something in my heart.
The mutton has not been served yet, and it is said that the kitchen has to cut it on the spot. While
waiting for the meat, I chatted with the old man.
The old man, surnamed Fang, is from Beijing for generations. He runs a small shop in Xuanwu District. When he talks about Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, he is so logical and logical that I am stupefied.
Just as we were chatting, the waiter brought a plate of sliced meat and put it on the table in red and white. Old man
Fang picked up a plate of mutton and said, “This Mongolian-Style Hot Pot is very clean and white. Clean refers to this pot of clear soup, and white refers to this white porcelain plate.”. Slices of
freshly cut mutton are placed on the plate, which must not fall down, and the meat slices are put into the pot without leaving a drop of blood in the plate. With
that, he slowly raised the plate vertically, and sure enough, the mutton stuck to the plate without a piece falling off.
He put the mutton into the pot with chopsticks, and the plate was still as white as before, as if it had never been filled with mutton.
The meat slices were cooked in the boiling water. I was about to eat chopsticks when the old man Fang suddenly stopped me.
Xiquju is different from other stores in that it has a special rule.
He looked at me and his face suddenly became solemn.
This mutton is all white. What about you?
Innocent or not?
“4.” What do you mean?
I was stunned. With a serious expression on his face, the
old man said slowly, “a man has lived his whole life. Who hasn’t done anything wrong?”? At the end of the day
, there has to be an explanation.
Just like this Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, clean and white ground under the pot, can not rinse a few times, a pot of white water on the muddy confused.
After listening to him for a long time, I was a little impatient. I frowned and asked, “What do you mean, sir?”?
“Old Fang pointed in the direction with his chopsticks.” Look carefully.
I followed his movements, and suddenly there was a stab in front of my eyes. I couldn’t help but gasp.
It was a table of guests next door, eating Mongolian-Style Hot Pot in a lively way, and there seemed nothing wrong with it.
But careful observation, it can be seen that the expression of the diners did not taste the joy of delicious food, but each piece of mutton entrance, showing a painful ferocious expression, as if eating is not mutton, but red-hot carbon in general.
Because of the proximity, I faintly smelled a smell of blood that could not be concealed from the smell of meat. Looking
closely, there was a pool of blood at the feet of the diners, which was still ticking. Resisting the urge to turn and run,
I asked in a trembling voice, “Uncle Fang, what’s going on?”? The
old man did not answer, but stretched out his chopsticks to hold the mutton slices one by one, and every time he ate a mouthful, he said a few words to himself. At the age of
seven, he used a slingshot to knock down a bird’s nest in a tree, killing three young birds. At the age of
11, he punctured a bicycle tire, causing the owner to fall and break a bone. At the age of
23, he took part in the struggle meeting.
Thirty-four years old, stealing steel from a factory.
Fifty-two years old, hit and injured a passer-by and ran away.
」…… As he talked and ate, it took him a long time to finish the meat slices in the pot, and the original clear soup pot was already white and turbid.
He raised his head and stared at me. “This meat is mine. I have finished it.”.
What about yours?
Have you been innocent enough all your life? The smell of blood
pouring into the nasal cavity was getting stronger and stronger, and it was already more than that coming from the table next door.
I suddenly thought of a possibility, trembling and bending down, looking at the bottom of the table-the left arm of the old man on the opposite side, hidden under the table, was already bleeding, most of the flesh and blood disappeared, and even the white arm bone could be seen.
This meat is mine.
Thinking of what he had just said, I looked at him in disbelief. What on earth is in this pot?
“Old Fang sighed,” It’s a sin.
Before reincarnation, you have to be clean and clean before you go, don’t you?
“reincarnation?”?
I was so frightened that I stood up and even turned the chair behind me to the ground.
Looking around, the original happy Xiquju has already changed its appearance. The
strong smell of blood was so pungent that it overwhelmed the original smell of meat, and the diners were full of bitter faces and painful expressions, and their bodies were covered with large and small wounds.
Streams of blood flowed down their bodies to the ground, forming streams that shallowly accumulated a layer on the ground and soaked my soles. One of
the most serious diners had collapsed in front of the table, unable to move, with little flesh and blood left all over his body, and most of his skeleton had been exposed.
But he still stretched out the finger bone hanging with shredded meat, fished out a handful of meat slices from the pot and stuffed them into his mouth, but as soon as the meat slices were swallowed, they would leak out of the bare cavity bone. “Don’t look. He won’t stop until he’s served three thousand swords,” the old man said faintly. “It’s a heinous crime. Who’s to blame? Where is the instant-boiled pork cooked
by Xiquju? It
is clearly the torture of people! Several waiters appeared from nowhere and surrounded me faintly.
A cook in a white coat came up with a knife and stared at me up and down, as if looking for the direction of the knife.
Young man, it’s your turn.
Is today the day of my death?
I couldn’t help but begin to regret the bet with Tong Jinshui, and my heart was full of despair.
The cook walked up to me, raised the sharp knife high, and was about to cut it off, but suddenly it got stuck there and did not move for a long time. With a tangled look,
he brandished his knife several times to cut, but always stopped at the last moment. His face kept changing, and finally he waved his hand and said, “I can’t find a place to cut.”.
“Old Fang asked in surprise,” How is that possible?
Is he without sin? Can you
still be a saint?
I gave a wry smile. How could I not be clear about my own affairs? I dare not
say big evil, but I have done a few guilty things. How can there be no sin?
The cook hesitated for a moment. “There is another possibility besides being a saint.” You say he.. Yangshou is not over?
One of the waiters couldn’t help but ask, “Then how did he get into Xiquju?”? Old
Fang suddenly asked me, Why do you say you’ve never eaten mutton?
Seeing that the things in front of me, who did not know whether they were human beings or ghosts, suddenly became easy to communicate, my heart was filled with hope again, and I hurriedly spoke out the fortune-teller. What year
is it? What year were
you born? Old man
Fang asked.
I was born in 1991, and this year is 2015.
I answered truthfully.
This animal year! He’s a sheep! It’s a sheep! The crowd suddenly changed their faces and looked at me with a look of envy and surprise.
When a sheep walks into a Mongolian-Style Hot Pot shop, it is almost impossible to walk out alive.
But it happened that the west went to live, hanging sheep’s head, but never selling mutton. Old
Fang suddenly rushed over excitedly. Ignoring the wounds and blood on his hands, he grabbed my sleeve tightly and said, “Young man, do me a favor!”! Tell my son that the money is hidden in the floor of the study. Several waiters came over and pulled the excited old man far away. One of them made a “please” gesture to me: “Go quickly and get out of here. This is not the place where you should come.
I was still hesitating, and the man pouted into the shop. As
I looked along, all the diners in the restaurant looked at me excitedly, with a look of excitement, as if they were all the same as the old man Fang. With a shudder,
I pushed open the door and went out.
For a moment, the cold wind outside swept my body, I held my arms shivering, suddenly a flower in front of my eyes, the shoulder was patted gently.
Young man, you’re freezing. Come in and get warm. Stunned,
I looked around. Where else was there a Mongolian-Style Hot Pot shop?
I was still at the gate of Beijing East Railway Station. Behind me was a humble shop. The shopkeeper was waiting for me to go in with the door half open.
6. Beijing East Railway Station is rather old. There are no supermarkets or convenience stores around. This small shop full of the characteristics of the times is the only supply point.
I thanked the shopkeeper for his kindness and walked in the door. The heater surrounded me and dispelled the chill.
To express my gratitude, I bought a pack of cigarettes and a bucket of instant noodles, borrowed the hot water in the shop to soak the noodles, and stood in front of the counter to eat. After eating the
warm noodle soup, I seemed to be alive again, and my mind was thinking about the scenes just now.
Is it my imagination?
Or did I have a vivid nightmare?
I’m a little confused.
Although the conditions in my shop are shabby, if it weren’t for my shop, the passengers coming and going wouldn’t even be able to eat instant noodles.
The shopkeeper laughed and chatted with me. “How long have you been driving here?”
I asked?
“It must have been twenty or thirty years,” sighed the shopkeeper. “It used to be called the East Suburb Railway Station.
By the way, where are you from?
I smiled awkwardly and showed him my ticket.
The shopkeeper is also stupefied: “You are really … …” Be interested. What he
really wanted to say in his heart was to eat and hold on. With a wry smile,
I pretended to be casual and asked, “Have you ever heard of Xiqu Ju?”?
The shopkeeper’s expression seemed to change, but it flashed away like my illusion: “Never heard of it, is it a coffin shop?”?
Then you have to go to Majuqiao to look for it.
Forget it, it’s probably a nightmare. After eating the noodles,
I was no longer interested in completing the bet. I bought a ticket back to the west of Beijing and left here. When I was
checking in, the station clerk suddenly pointed at my arm and asked, “What’s going on?”? As soon as
I was stunned, I looked down and saw a bright bloody handprint on the cuff of my light blue shirt! And the handprint was rather slender, as if it had been imprinted by a hand bone.
I immediately thought of the scene when the old man Fang grabbed me! It’s not a nightmare, it’s real! “I just had a nosebleed..” I prevaricated a few words and fooled the staff to get on the bus. Came home in a state of
shock. I didn’t sleep all night.
7. Early the next morning, Tong Jinshui came to verify the completion of my bet. Instead of cooperating with him,
I took out the address that old man Fang had left for me and dragged him and asked, “Where is this place?”?
Take me there.
Xuanwu District? It
‘s long gone! Tong Chin-shui looked at me in surprise. “You’ve only been here for a few years, and you don’t know it. It’s already been changed into the East and West City!” But in the face of my repeated requests, Tong Jinshui took me to a grocery store in Xicheng District.
Here it is.
He pointed.
I walked in without saying a word and bought a pack of cigarettes at the grocery store.
The shopkeeper was a man in his forties, and there was a bitter feeling between his eyebrows, which seemed to be unsatisfactory.
Pretending to chat with him for a while, I asked, “What’s your last name?”?
My surname is Fang. What’s the matter? When I
got the answer I wanted, I hesitated for a moment, left a sentence, and turned away: If you have time, check the floor of the study. After
watching my every move, Tong Jinshui was a little confused: What’s wrong with you?
I took a deep breath. “Old Tong, let me tell you something..” After listening to everything I said, Tong Jinshui was silent for a moment and said slowly, “I can’t believe it’s true.” I thought it was just a legend.
I was stupefied, and then I realized that Tong Jinshui knew something! I grabbed his cuff. “Did you do it on purpose?”?
I almost died yesterday, you know?
In the face of my anger, Tong Jinshui repeatedly explained: How did I know it was so dangerous?
I thought it was like letting you stay in a haunted house for one night. I lost a bet last year, and you told me to go camping in the cemetery?
I smiled bitterly. There was nothing in the cemetery, but there was really a ghost in Xiquju! But most of my anger subsided, and I just forced him to tell everything he knew. “You know, my grandfather was an old soldier..” said
Tong Jinshui with a look of recollection. Tong Jinshui’s grandfather followed the army to fight everywhere when he was young. Although he was lucky enough to be a complete man, he also suffered a lot of hidden wounds. When he was old, all of them became fatal.
Five years ago, the old man finally could not bear it and lay down on the hospital bed. In the last few months of his
life, he only talked about two things, one was that he was sorry for his former comrades in arms, and the other was that he always wanted to eat Mongolian-Style Hot Pot again.
Mutton is a big tonic, but with his body at this time, how dare the Tong family let him touch?
Deficiency does not suffer fill to eat a problem to how to do?
This matter has been perfunctory.
But one day, the old man suddenly disappeared from the ward! Where can a dying old man go?
The Tong family was in a hurry, but they couldn’t find anyone anywhere.
Think of the old man said to eat Mongolian-Style Hot Pot, they also went to the door of Donglaishun squatting for a day, but nothing. Early
the next morning, the old man returned to the ward by himself, walking with wind, as if he was not ill at all, but never mentioned where he had gone last night.
But the Tong family knew in their hearts that this was a return of light.
Sure enough, within a few days, the old man passed away.
Strangely, in the last few days of his life, he no longer talked about his comrades in arms, as if the guilt and debt had been made up for.
He left with a smile of relief.
“The family never mentioned this again, and deliberately ignored all doubts,” Tong Jinshui sighed. “But I sorted out Grandpa’s belongings. Do you know what I found?
I vaguely guessed what he meant and took out a ticket from Beijing West Railway Station to Beijing East Railway Station from my pocket last night.
Tong Jinshui nodded: “Yes, this is it.”.
I was silent. Having
experienced last night, I know that Mr. Tong must have gone to the West to wash away his sins.
I sighed, “Well, I won’t argue with you about this.”.
I was about to go home when Tong Jinshui suddenly grabbed me. His eyes flickered, as if he didn’t dare to look me in the eye. Not done yet. What do
you mean?
I frowned. Think of it as a
brother, please.. Can you go to the West House again?
I grew up in surprise and looked at Tong Jinshui in front of me. I couldn’t believe what I heard.
Tong Jinshui sighed, After Grandpa passed away, my grandmother cried all day.
Originally, she was in good health, but she was getting worse day by day. Later, she got Alzheimer’s disease and told people everywhere that she was waiting for Grandpa to come back. Not long ago, she was diagnosed with brain cancer, and the doctor said she could live for two months at most. What does
this have to do with Xiquju?
I don’t quite understand. When I was
sorting out my belongings, I found that Grandpa’s pocket watch was gone.
It was a token of love from my grandmother when she was young, and I think it should have been left in Xiquju.
I think, at least at the end of my life, let Grandma look at the pocket watch again. Maybe, maybe she can walk with a smile.
Tong Jinshui looked depressed.
I hesitated and instinctively refused to go back to that place.
But when I think of Tong Jinshui’s help in the past two years, I am a little shaken.
“Please!” Tong Jinshui begged, “Didn’t you see it all yesterday?”?
They won’t do anything to you. You’re the only one who can get in and out of there safely. Only you! I gritted my teeth and said, “OK, I’ll do it!” That night, I took a taxi to Bawangfen and found the street according to my memory.
But to my surprise, there was no sign of Xiquju, which should have appeared. Where did it
go?
I looked around, but I couldn’t find any clues.
I slowly expanded the scope and saw a brazier on a familiar roadside.
Several men dressed in white surrounded the brazier and kept stuffing something into the fire. Look
carefully, it is a handful of paper ingots.
This is.. What’s wrong?
I leaned over and asked.
The leading man took one look at me and said with a sigh, “We are holding a memorial ceremony for my father..” Three years ago, he had a car accident here.
I looked at the scene in front of me and suddenly thought of the old man I saw here yesterday. With a shiver, I looked around at the flower beds and quickly left here. On the way
back, I kept thinking, why did I fail to find Xiquju?
I saw it here yesterday.
Could it be. Do I have to take the train from Beijing West to Beijing East first? As
the night was still young, I decided to give it a try.
Walking out of Beijing East Railway Station, I had a familiar feeling in a trance, as if it was out of tune with the night.
This sense of stripping.. Yes, I’m back! I pressed down the excitement in my heart and walked in the direction of Xiqu. When I
passed the street corner, I saw the burning brazier in the distance.
They haven’t left yet? Just as I was
thinking about it, my eyes suddenly froze and I saw the old man hiding in the shadow beside the flower bed.
It’s him! I can see him again! The old man looked at his relatives from a distance, as if he was thinking about something and muttering to himself.
As I approached, I could hear it faintly.
Three years.. Too late. Can only. I’m sorry.. When I was confused, the old man’s face suddenly raised a look of excitement! It’s so familiar, it’s his expression when he just saw me yesterday! Before I could react, the old man suddenly jumped out of the shadows, walked behind the man who was burning the fire, and gave him a sudden push! The man stumbled into the middle of the road, turned around with a confused face, and then stared in the direction of the old man.
He saw it too! Why?
Why can he see?
Just when I was confused, suddenly there was a sharp whistle, a high-speed truck speeding up, the driver’s face was full of panic and desperately stepped on the brakes, but eventually hit the man hard! The man’s body was hit and flew several meters, lying on the ground with blood dripping, motionless.
The old man’s face showed some sadness, but the next second it was covered by ecstasy.
He grinned silently and slowly disappeared into the night.
The next second, a confused figure came out of the shadow of the flower bed.
It’s the man.
He looked at his body in the distance and froze there.
I shuddered. If I hadn’t been going to the West House yesterday, and there was no car passing by, maybe it would have been me standing by the flower bed. I sighed, pretended not to see the man, and quickly left here.
10. I saw Xiquju again.
The restaurant is still noisy, and the diners are as lively as ever.
But as I pushed the door and entered, almost everyone’s movements stopped in an instant, as if they had been pressed the pause button, turned into a statue, but stiffly turned their heads and stared at me in unison.
The waiters gathered around.
The cook looked at me and sighed, “Why are you here again?”?
“I forced a smile.” Guys, I’m here looking for something.
What is it? Asked
the cook.
A pocket watch was left by old man Tong.
His wife has been thinking about it, so I want to take this watch back.. I explained. There was a strange look on the
cook’s face. He stared at me without saying a word. When he saw that I was nervous, he said faintly, “The man you’re looking for..” Surname Tong?
I nodded.
The cook smiled and slowly pulled out a chain from his bosom. At the bottom of the chain was a faded pocket watch. “But my wife died a long time ago, years before me.” What? I was struck
by lightning, and I didn’t know what to say for a moment. It took me a
long time to recover. I swallowed my saliva and asked in a hoarse voice, “You..” Are you Tong Jinshui’s grandfather?
“The cook suddenly realized,” So he asked you to come.. Hey, Tong Jia has been a boor for generations. I didn’t expect that there would be a smart one. I felt a sense of foreboding in my
heart, as if I had fallen into ice water.
But still holding the last glimmer of hope, he forced a smile and said, “You are not a boor. Jinshui said you were a famous wise general when you were young.” The cook smiled and said, “a wise general?”? I’m
just a cook, I’ve sliced mutton all my life, and I have to do my old job even when I’m dead. Even if I count up, I, Tong Chia-shi, was just an executioner in charge of Ling Chi’s punishment when I was in the Yellow Flag. I finally lost my composure and said in disbelief, “Is Jinshui lying to me?”? What the hell does
he want? One of the waiters
behind him suddenly sighed, Silly boy, you only have one chance to leave the West House. You shouldn’t come again.
In my frightened eyes, the cook came up to me step by step with a knife. He slowly raised the knife and approached me little by little. Then he handed me the knife.
What do you mean?
I took the knife subconsciously and was at a loss.
The cook’s face was full of excitement. He quickly took off his white coat and folded it on the table.
I thought I’d have to wait a few more decades until Jinshui was dying before he walked in here for the second time. Unexpectedly, he had such a way. He is
indeed my good and filial grandson! Jinshui.. Second time?
Did Tong Jinshui come here?
I suddenly thought of the scene when I met Tong Jinshui for the first time.
My name is Tong Jinshui, a native of Beijing. Yo, you’re 1991, too?
Fate, we’re the same age. Let’s go and have a barbecue together after work. I was still recalling that the cook had come to the door and waved to me: “This cook..” It will not be Tong Jia in the future. Come on,
young man! As he stepped out, his young face became old in an instant, and he became an old man in a few steps, but his footsteps were particularly brisk, humming a ditty and walking farther and farther. The other waiters in the
West House stared enviously at the chef’s receding figure.
I suddenly realized something, and fear swept over me.
I threw away the knife in my hand and rushed to the door.
Unexpectedly, the waiters did not stop me, but gave me a pitying look. The moment I
passed through the door, I suddenly saw a flower in front of my eyes. When I came to my senses, I was standing in the shop again, holding the knife in my hand and changing into a white coat.
Nope! This is impossible! I rushed to the door again. Again and again, I don’t know how many times I went through the gate, but every time I came back to the shop in Xiquju.
Finally, I collapsed from exhaustion.
Enough of this?
The waiter looked at me coldly. It’s time to work. The guests are waiting.
A trembling old man came up to me and slowly stretched out his arm. I raised the knife and looked at the reflection of my face on the knife.
It’s time to slice the meat.
. Focus on not getting lost ~
