National Tide 1980

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 and returns from overseas.

The wild teahouses where she used to rest outside the city on the way to the Sun Palace were gone, and the ruined temple called the Sun Palace was even missing.

Even the cemeteries, 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 undergoing large-scale construction, and they are simply unrecognizable.

Almost all the city walls and towers in the capital were gone.

All the towering city walls and gates 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.

Not to mention, even the archways on the streets of Beijing were demolished.

Between Beihai and Zhonghai, the famous Jin'ao Jade Building was 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".

Therefore, looking at this journey, this old lady who returned from the United States could not help but be surprised and felt 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 overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of life. She couldn't accept it for a while.

But it has to 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 in the past have now become lively streets.

Those slums where sewage flowed across the street and were once full of dead cats and dogs, like 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 trucks running on the streets.

Instead, there are large loaf-shaped buses, large cargo-laden Jiefang, 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 Japanese soldiers, detective squads, foot patrols, foreign compradors, gangsters, street bullies, and Japanese ronin, they have all become the dust of yesterday's history...

This can not help but make the old lady 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 also talks a lot and is quite humorous.

Just this Douzhier, he could talk about for ten kilometers just by himself.

"...Old lady, if you say that, then I really believe it. If you still think about this after being away for so many years, we are definitely from the capital and can't run away. There are endless delicacies in the capital, but there are so many People who come back from outside can put down everything else, but bean juice is indispensable. Just tell me, I drink it since I was a child. To me, bean juice is more important than wine. Hey, I took a sip and drank a bowl of boiling water. The bean juice is beautiful. It's so beautiful. It takes several large bowls. After drinking it, I was sweating on the tip of my nose and felt happy all over. But I went to Inner Mongolia in the 1960s. When I go to other places, drinking bean juice is not so convenient. . In other words, when I visit relatives during the Chinese New Year, I can only drink a few bowls to satisfy my cravings. But this blessing was deprived of me soon after. Why, the capital didn't stop, and I don't know what happened later. He actually This bean juice is also gone. From the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, I have never been able to drink bean juice. Tell me, if this bean juice offends someone, why don't they let him drink it? Oh! He won’t let me drink it, and we can’t stop it. I dream about it every day, as if there is a glutton in my stomach. Even if there is a bowl of lukewarm food, it will be fine. Later, he was still my second brother-in-law, I found out that there was a soybean juice store in Ertiao, Dongzhimen. Every time before the year before, when I came back, I bought a plastic bucket of raw soybean juice and boiled it at his house. I only drank it a few times. It’s better now. After the reform and opening up, Douzhier was also liberated. You want to ask if the reform and opening up is good? I say great! If it allows me to drink Douzhier, it is good! Whoever says it is not good, I will tell him!... "

Although I didn’t find out until I arrived at the place later that the lover’s house didn’t sell bean juice in the morning, so I had to drink it until noon. In the end, I didn’t even 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, the driver behaved 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 not suitable for the capital's habits.

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. Just treat it as meal money."

But I didn't expect that the driver was quite serious. Even if the old lady said this, she didn't just get off the road, but broke up with her.

"Old lady, you're 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'm asking you to come here for nothing. It's all as it should be. Fellow fellow, a few bowls of wontons and a few sesame seed cakes don't matter. Besides, I pulled you to earn your fare, but I didn't let you get what you wanted. I'm still embarrassed. Right? You don't It's your generosity to argue with me. But if I want to take the money, then it's my fault. If our old man knew, he would have to slap me. So, you old man, just pay according to the meter. One more point I can’t have it.”

"In that case. Thank you."

When it came to this, of course the old lady couldn't force herself, so she asked her 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, and you will eat hard. , It’s really not possible to overcome it. You are an elderly person again, so be careful, otherwise you may get a stomachache..."

Although this kind of kindness may sound a bit redundant, it is particularly suitable for the old lady.

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 a really nice person. Well, it is fate that we met today. If you are willing, just leave a phone number. We plan to rent a car for a few days later. , can I still look for you?"

"That's good."

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, I quickly wrote down my 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 evening of New Year's Eve and the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year. I promise to be there at any time. If you are willing, , I’ll take you to drink bean juice tomorrow.”

"Okay, that's it, see you later."

"Hey, old lady, see you later."

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 couldn't stand his behavior.

But the problem is that the old lady doesn't mind this.

Precisely because she had been away from the capital for many years and cared about her for decades, she beautified 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?

Didn't I come all this way just to make my mother happy?

So when I finally got off the car and entered the hotel, I faced the old lady showing off proudly.

"How is it? Mom is right, isn't she? The capital is very humane."

My son also smiled and nodded to join in the fun.

"Mom is right. That's it."

………………

But maybe one generation is really different from another. What the elderly appreciate is the nostalgia that they can’t 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, one is hateful.

"I asked, why is there still so much dirt in the capital?"

Not long after getting into Luo Guangliang's car and driving on the airport road for less than ten minutes, Mi Xiaoran started to express critical opinions while looking at the scenery outside the window.

"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 raging dust and smoke on such a clear day. Oh, we can't even build a road here. You have to look at the United States. You know how backward we are."

Mi Xiaoran seemed to be sick and started talking about the United States.

Mi Xiaohui didn't like hearing this.

"Sister, why do I think you've become squeamish? You didn't complain about this in the past. Don't you think the capital is pretty good?"

However, Mi Xiaoran was eloquent.

"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 the capital is pretty good. Isn't it Brother Ryoko?"

Mi Xiaohui didn't know what was wrong with her sister, so she asked Luo Guangliang for support.

Luo Guangliang couldn't support Mi Xiaohui openly, otherwise he would provoke a quarrel between his sister and his son.

After thinking about it, I 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 a lot of hotels, buildings and so on. The Great Wall beside the Liangma River The hotel 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 to welcome guests. And... look, don’t we also have cars? "

However, his words were met with even more explicit ridicule 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. People laughed their ass off.”

As a result, her words also made her sister unhappy.

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.

"Then 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 Beijing have cars. Thanks to my brother Liangzi for buying a car. Otherwise, you can just take the bus. Right. Sister, it’s really not me who is talking about you, why do 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.

"No, I often speak Chinese in the United States. I have taught your brother-in-law Mandarin well."

As a result, I didn't pay attention, and my sister actually "pricked" me with words.

"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? Where are you looking? Don’t you like it? It makes people feel weird to hear it. What they know is that you are returning to your parents’ home, but what they don’t know is that they think you are the new mayor who came to the capital to take office. "

Well, now Mi Xiaoran finally realized how sharp-tongued her sister was, and she blushed on the spot. (End of chapter)