It's a very simple two words, but people who don't have personal experience can't understand the real feeling.
The place where a person grew up seems to have an invisible bond, deeply implanted in everyone's blood.
Even if they are thousands of miles apart, it will always remind people traveling far away from time to time of the land and water that raised them.
It contains too much tossing and turning, too many longings, and too many sentimental laments.
This is the same even for a thief.
Ten years.
For "Stretch Out", those people and things in the capital are always calling him no matter where he goes.
No matter where he is, he can always dream of many fragments in his dreams, which are very vague but so real, even as time goes by, they have not lost half of their color.
Those resentments, those hatreds, those hatreds, those longings, because of repeated replaying like a movie, his obsession became more and more serious and became more and more unforgettable.
He could not forget the suspicion and humiliation he suffered from childhood as the son of a well-known habitual thief.
He could never forget his father, who wanted to change his ways and return to the right path, but how miserable he ended up in the end.
He could not forget the circumstances in which he and his brother later disobeyed their father's instructions and entered the thieves' business.
He would never forget how his two brothers overcame a group of thieves and relied on their ancestral thieving skills to carve out a niche and become the most famous "masters among thieves" in the northern and southern cities.
But he couldn't forget that his skills couldn't deal with the knives in other people's hands. Instead, he was jealous of others because of his skill. Because he was unwilling to let those "players" ride on their necks, he was eventually expelled like a drowned dog.
Leaving the capital.
What made him most sad and ashamed was that his brother sacrificed a hand and knelt down in humiliation to save his life!
For so many years, these things have always weighed on his heart like a heavy stone, keeping him awake at night.
Over the years, the guilt for his brother, the longing for home, and the hatred for those "players" have become his biggest motivation to practice his skills and plan his return.
Now that he has perfected his skills and has a careful plan, he can finally no longer fear those who drove him out of the capital and can return to the capital.
Not only does he want to seek revenge on the person who took away his brother's hand and avenge the shame of the two brothers, but he also wants to find his brother again and make up for the debt he has incurred over the years.
But it is a pity that just after returning to the capital, he has already felt the power of things changing.
On September 18, 1978, as soon as "Stretch Out" left the train station, regardless of fatigue and hunger, he went directly to Cypress Alley in Dengshikou.
There is not only his home, but also his only brother, the relative he misses day and night.
But when he found the small courtyard where he used to live, he was suddenly disappointed.
Because that place had turned into a large courtyard a few years ago and was occupied by three families who came from nowhere. And no one knew about his brother's whereabouts.
But that's not all. What he didn't expect was that the forces in the world had also gone through several major reshuffles, and the situation was completely different from when he left.
Xidan, Dongdan, and Wangfujing were actually all occupied by Nancheng's "hands". As for Nancheng and Beicheng, all the famous people in the past had almost disappeared.
The most ironic thing is that he learned from a few old acquaintances that the "Shen Chenghuang" who he had always feared and feared the most, once claimed the throne of "Beicheng" and took one of his brother's hands.
King" was actually imprisoned five years ago.
I bet he has been stupid and wandered around outside for several years!
But who can blame this? It’s all to blame!
Over the years, he has never had to worry about funding. He can eat and drink everywhere with his hands.
For the sake of safety, he kept wandering around without a fixed place to stay, so that he only sent letters home to report that he was safe, but never wrote a reply address to his brother.
This is really what I regretted if I had known this earlier!
In the autumn of Beijing, the sky is blue, as blue as the clear sea. Coupled with a few white clouds in the sky, it looks like a white sailboat drifting in the sea.
The most iconic feature of the Beijing sky is that you often see groups of white pigeons circling in the sky. The whistle of the pigeons is particularly exciting. The magic is that it can completely embody joy and sadness at the same time.
Two emotions.
It was with this emotion that "reaching out" became more eager to find the whereabouts of his brother.
He had no other good idea, so he could only start with those old acquaintances to piece together the clues.
So after temporarily settling in a guest house, he traveled around the bus lines that were the main areas of activity at that time.
Fortunately, hard work paid off. After many inquiries, he finally got the information about his brother and his whereabouts from a "Big Buddha" who was still active in the Beixinqiao area.
Since his brother became handicapped, he no longer calls himself "One Stop Seven".
Because his craftsmanship was mediocre, he worked with several "hands" in the north and south cities, and became worse and worse.
Nowadays, there is not even a place where people can pedal and unload goods. They can only make a living by taking the night bus "No. 20" and "No. 204".
As for his brother's side, at present, apart from a master who can use a knife to "bend the wind", there is only a young apprentice with a passable skill. The three of them have temporarily settled near Longfu Temple.
I can't say exactly where, but they basically eat at the "Braised Cooking Restaurant" on Dongsi West Street every night before going to "catch points."
All in all, the situation is very embarrassing.
Hearing this, he "reached out his hand" and stopped asking any more questions. He gave "Big Buddha" a roll of money, turned around and left with an expressionless face.
And when the "Big Buddha" was counted, it turned out to be a total of twenty great unity cards.
This handwriting made him take a breath of cold air immediately, and it took him a long time to utter three words, "Fuck, awesome!"...
Among the Han snacks in Beijing, braised and roasted is one of the best.
The most authentic one is of course in Nancheng, but when the movement ended, it was still a public-private partnership, and it was still run by old masters. In fact, at this time, the level of Nancheng and North City was not much different.
As a general rule, places selling this stuff cannot be called restaurants, but can only be called small restaurants or small shops. And often there is no specific store name. There is only a sign at the door, just the two words " braised pork".
Although it looks so simple and inconspicuous, people who want to eat don't have to worry about not being able to find it or missing it.
Because to be honest, you don’t even need to look at the sign. Just by looking at the three-foot-diameter cauldron at the door, you can sense the “hodgepodge” aroma from a street away. Who can’t find it yet?
Pig heart, lungs, tripe, large intestine, these pig offal sink to the bottom of the pot, floating on top of the pot are more than a dozen fires, they and the fried tofu puffs rise and fall with the boiling soup. Just watch.
It’s so satisfying
When eating, the master chef in charge of the stove just needs to pull it gently, and all these things will go into the fence one by one.
The specific operation process is to first put the fire on the chopping board, make two cuts, and cut it into a square bowl. Then pick up the meat, chop it into pieces and put it in the bowl. Finally, pick up a few tofu soaks and put them into the old soup.
One pour.
Drink! The master of this mouthful will have his mouth watering at that time.
Moreover, this stuff is hot, satiates cravings, and keeps you full. The biggest advantage is that it is cheap. Such a large bowl only costs 12 cents.
The taste and cooking method of Su Zao Meat are imitated, but the scraps are extremely cheap. This makes it the most popular choice for common people in the capital, especially manual workers, from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, and from the liberation to the present.
sources of meat.
So this is the main reason why this snack is so prosperous and has such a market.
Behind it, there will always be great working people!
But having said that, no matter how delicious the food is, you’ll still get tired of it every day. Not to mention it’s such a greasy thing.
At seven o'clock that evening, when "Big Eyed Deng" and "Er Tou" came to eat "Roller" which was "braised and cooked on fire", they started to complain.
"Brother, Master, can we do something different today? I've been brushing my teeth for the past two days and it smells like pig intestines and garlic. My stomach can't stand it either. I always feel uncomfortable and can't get rid of it."
These words immediately made "Big Eyed Lantern" and "Second Head" look at each other, feeling sad.
"Second Head" said, "Brother, I can't help you. I've wronged you! If you bear with me a little longer today, as long as we get the goods, I'll invite you to Bai Kui Lao Hao tomorrow."
Let’s roast the mutton.”
"Big Eyed Lantern" thought for a while and said, "It's all my fault. I managed to get some 'leaves' in the first two days, and I also got liver disease. As a result, I ran out of money for medical treatment! How about this today?
I won’t eat. I don’t have any appetite anyway. I’ll give you thirty cents and you can go find a restaurant and ask for some meat and rice.”
But when he said this, "Gunzi" also blushed and quickly changed his words.
"That's not what I meant. Is there any reason for the master to be hungry while the apprentice is satisfied? What I'm saying is... I mean, I'll just buy two hotpots and eat them later. I won't eat those offal, so I can save a lot of money.
Little money..."
When it came to this, the three fellow sufferers were so moved that they were speechless.
What else can be said? When a thief has been treated like this, he will feel ashamed if he says any more words.
So several people sighed secretly and went into the "braised pork restaurant" that they must visit every day.
Not to mention, the more affordable a place like this, the more people there are. Even though it’s so late, you can’t eat immediately when people come. You have to wait in line for several minutes to buy a ticket. There are no seats, so
Wait until others have finished eating and then take the place. Otherwise, you have to eat outside on the window sill.
But no one expected that the house was leaking and it was raining. Finally it was "Big Eyed Lamp"'s turn. He had just ordered two bowls of stewed stew and ordered two fires for "Roller", but he couldn't pay for it.
Out.
Fortunately, his pockets were completely empty. The only dollar left and a nickel he kept for tossing coins were all missing.
"Big Eyed Lantern" is absolutely sure that he will take money with him when he goes out today. After touching it twice, he still doesn't have it!
Now he was shocked. Needless to say? Someone must have touched it.
Based on instinctive judgment, he immediately turned around and glared at the person behind him, but the person didn't look guilty at all and looked at him impatiently.
After a moment of stalemate, he couldn't decide what to eat. Finally, he had to retreat under the glares of the waiter and customer.
Well, now I don’t even have to eat the stewed food.
"Big Eyed Lantern" quickly whispered the situation to "Er Tou" and "Gunzi", and they were also shocked. But what else could they do? They could only glance around with hatred and lower their heads.
Those customers who ate "braised pork" then left sadly without getting anything.
Such sorrow in their hearts! In this world, there is nothing worse than letting a thief steal something that makes people vomit blood. At this moment, morale has really fallen to the lowest point.
But just when they were ten meters away, someone behind them suddenly caught up with them and stopped them all with just one word.
"Oh, I've lost my money. I'll give it back to you, do you want more..."
The three people were startled at the same time and turned around quickly. They saw a young man behind him smiling at them with a dollar, but the man was not under the light and his face could not be seen clearly.
"Er Tou" immediately touched the knife on his lower back and asked, "Friend, where did you come from and are you deliberately playing tricks on us?"
Unexpectedly, the young man ignored him and just walked straight towards the "big eye lantern".
"Brother, it seems that you really don't recognize me. I was walking with you just now, and I was standing behind you. You looked at me for a long time, but you didn't recognize me?"
When the light came on, the "big-eyed lamp" saw the young man's face clearly, and suddenly an idea flashed. He stepped over with surprise and ecstasy, and hugged the young man's arms.
"Qiangzi, you are Hu Qiang! Brother, you have grown so tall. You were only fourteen years old when you left. It's strange that I can recognize you at a glance!"
"That's true..."
The young man also laughed and continued.
"My dear brother, you have made it so difficult for me to find you. The famous 'One Station Seven' household Gang was famous in the past, but not many people know about it now. I am lucky to be able to find out your whereabouts.
…”
At this time, "Bitou" and "Gunzi" on the side were dumbfounded.