There are two Zhengyangmen railway stations, Jingfeng line stop station, Jinghan line stop west station, one east and one west, echo each other from afar, the station is full of rickshaws, this kind of two large fine rubber wheels of foreign cars are called rickshaws in Shanghai, in the capital is called rubber, the railway station is a good place to live, passengers carry luggage, drag children and daughters out of the station, the coachmen surround to solicit business, meet the long road can not help but be happy, meet the short road simply do not pull, do the pie and the later generations of peers in the same line.

A group of beggars came up to ask for money, Liu Yan saw that they were about the same age as his son, one by one with a runny nose and wore tattered, he couldn't bear it, and took out a handful of copper coins to scatter them, causing them to rob them, and after grabbing them, they scattered in a hurry, leaving only a seven or eight-year-old boy crying his nose, because an eldest son did not grab it, and spilled a can of cigarette butts that he picked up.

Liu Yan took out a dragon yang, patted his son's shoulder, pointed at the child, Xiao Chen Zikun walked over, put the silver dollar in the child's hand, ignored the other party's stunned eyes, turned around and ran back, happy no.

The father and son continued to move forward, and the guys in the front row of rubber balls all stood up, soliciting business, and the front row was full of strong coachmen wearing clean and neat black cotton jackets, but Liu Yanzhi didn't look at them, his eyes crossed these young men, and fell to the end of the foreign car team, an old coachman in rags, the car was also broken, and the paint was about to fall off.

The father and son got into this broken car that was leaking everywhere, and the driver thanked him for his kindness, first tightened the cloth belt around his waist, and then pulled up the handlebars, walked forward with small steps, and asked without looking back: "This master, where are you going?" ”

"Front door, small intestine Chen." Liu Yanzhi replied without hesitation.

As soon as you get off the train, you will go straight to the master of the stew, this is the old Beijing, the small intestine is boiled that is the famous food of Beijing City, the main ingredient is the pig intestine and all kinds of pig water, with pepper, tempeh, big material, cumin, green onion, ginger, garlic, vinegar, tofu and milk marinade, the taste is extremely strong, the hunger is open meat, the price is low, out of the coolie called a bowl of stew, add two fire, even the soup with the water belly, that is a good meal, but I didn't expect this poor people to like to eat, the rich and noble gentleman is also good for this bite.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at Chen's stall at the front door, Liu Yan ordered two bowls of stew, one bowl for his son to see Beijing's special snacks, and the other bowl was served to the coachman.

"What are you, sir?" The coachman was stunned.

"You haven't eaten in two days, and if you don't eat, you'll die." Liu Yan said straight, he can see the energy situation on the person, the coachman has reached the point where the lamp has run out, hunger makes him unable to lift his steps, but if he doesn't pull the cart to work, he won't chew the grain, not only will he have to starve to death, but the whole family will starve to death.

The coachman and tears to eat this bowl of fragrant and hot stew, people are iron rice is steel, a bowl of braised belly, obviously there is strength in the body, Liu Yanzhi was afraid that he was not enough, called another bowl, insisted on letting the coachman eat before going on the road.

After eating and drinking, the coachman was full of energy, his whole body was hot, even the biting north wind did not feel cold, and he started a lot more neatly, and he talked a lot when he was in a good mood, and chatted with Mr. Knowing that the two distinguished guests were from Hankou and were not natives of Beijing, the coachman enthusiastically introduced them to the residence.

"Tell me, what's the best inn in Beijing?" Liu Yan asked him directly.

"Then you can ask the right person, the best is the Liuguo Hotel in Dongjiaomin Lane, where all the foreigners and big businessmen from the south live, do you know how much it costs to stay in that place? Five taels of silver! I can't earn that amount for a month. ”

"And next?" Liu Yanzhi has already made up his mind to let his son stay in the Liuguo Hotel for a few days to see the grandeur of the Western Hotel, and of course, the old-style inn in old Beijing has to be appreciated.

"Then the Donghua Inn next to Dong'an Market, you will get a tael of silver for one night." The coachman said while running, with hot air in his mouth, like a running train, "According to me, Donghua Inn is very good, going out is Dong'an Market, you can buy anything, how lively, it is inconvenient to enter and exit the Liuguo Hotel, Dongjiaomin Lane is a place where the foreign army is stationed, it is deserted, and you can't find a place to eat a bowl of stew." ”

"Then stay at the Donghua Inn."

Donghua Inn is a Chinese-style hotel, it is a relatively high grade, if you want to talk about the price, it has to be a chicken feather shop outside the city, Chase Shop, not even a futon, padding chicken feathers for warmth, only a few copper plates for a night, Liu Yanzhi feels sorry for his son, even if he experiences life, he will not go to that kind of place.

When I arrived at the inn, Liu Yanzhi gave the coachman a corner of Xiaoyang, registered his name, lived in the upper room on the second floor, inside and outside the suite, antique, the furniture and furnishings are old objects, but there is no running water in the house, there is no toilet, washing the face to get hot water, taking a bath to go to a special bathroom, the only advantage is that it is convenient to eat, and the famous food in Beijing can be called takeout.

That night, the father and son went to Donglai Shun to eat a meal of mutton, full of wine and food back to sleep, the next morning to get up to visit the Dong'an market, the market is very large, the shops are lined up, selling all kinds of candied fruits from the north and south, as well as the shops that operate calligraphy and paintings, antiques, seals, similar to the cultural market, Xiao Chen Zikun loves to eat sugar gourds, Liu Yanzhi simply bought him a straw sugar gourd, and carried it while walking.

Then the two of them went to teahouses, theaters, overpasses and other places with Beijing characteristics, ate all kinds of snacks, roast duck, belly, and a variety of northern-style desserts and fruits, listened to Mei Lanfang, Tan Xinpei, Yang Xiaolou and other famous actors, and also appreciated the tricks and cross talk on the overpass.

"It seems that you have a relationship with Beijing." Liu Yanzhi knows that his son's future life trajectory is indeed inseparable from the city, and in another ten years, this will be the stage where the young Chen Zikun will be the protagonist.

Donghua Inn has lived enough, father and son transferred to stay in the Six Nations Hotel in Dongjiaomin Lane, they took a foreign car to the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane to import, here there is a big black iron gate and British soldiers on duty, bayonets are shiny, military uniforms are straight, full of spirit, and the little Chen Zikun in Hunan saw those patrol battalion soldiers who are wrapped around their heads, wearing wide sleeves and hanging down to their knees.

The embassy area is not allowed Chinese to enter and exit at will, the British soldiers stopped the foreign car to check, Liu Yan showed out the HSBC traveler's check, saying that he was here to pay cash, staying at the Six Nations Hotel, the British soldiers immediately let go, after entering the embassy area, the road on both sides of the road is full of Western-style buildings, the flags of all countries are fluttering in the wind, the pedestrians are also foreigners in suits and leather shoes, occasionally East Asians, but also with a Rendan beard, short Japanese are the mainstay, Chinese are mostly compradors and servants, even the street signs here are in English, Dongjiaomin Lane is marked as"Embassy Street."

There are not only embassies and consulates in the embassy area, but also many barracks, where there are thousands of embassy guards stationed in various countries, walking on the road, from time to time you can hear the sound of military drills, see groups of soldiers patrolling, Russian animals wearing ankle-length gray coats, American Marines wearing blue uniforms, British Army in khaki uniforms, and Japanese soldiers with bayonets and guns taller than people.

Xiao Chen Zikun was puzzled why there was an area similar to Chinatown in the capital of the Qing Dynasty, where all foreigners lived, and there were so many soldiers.

Liu Yanzhi was waiting to give him popular science and history knowledge: "Child, this starts from fifty years ago......

Fifty years ago was 1860, when Dongjiaomin Lane was also called Dongjiang Rice Lane, there was a Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple here, and received envoys from Annam, Mongolia, Korea and Burma all the year round, and it had faintly had the characteristics of a diplomatic area, after the Second Opium War, the great powers entered Dongjiang Rice Lane according to the "Tianjin Treaty", the British minister lived in Prince Chun's Mansion, the French minister lived in Anjun Palace, and the Russian minister lived in the Orthodox Church, since then Dongjiang Rice Lane was renamed Dongjiaomin Lane, and various countries rebuilt their embassies, added banks, post offices, and hospitals, A large number of Western buildings have emerged in the past few decades.

In the year of Gengzi, the Empress Dowager of the West declared war on the powers, Dongjiaomin Lane became a pot of porridge, the embassy guards and Western expatriates held on for dozens of days, and finally waited for the Eight-Nation Alliance, foreign troops entered the Forbidden City, occupied the city of Beijing, drove the Empress Dowager and the emperor to Xi'an, and opened a killing ring in Beijing, looted on a large scale, killed ten rooms and nine empty, so far there are a large number of empty houses in the south city that are uninhabited, and even the silver in the household department has been robbed, and the treasures in the palace have also been lost in large quantities.

Liu Yan directly described the scene of that year, and Xiao Chen Zikun couldn't help asking: "Uncle, you know so clearly, was it there back then?" ”

"Yes, I was in Beijing that year." Liu Yan thought of Xia Feixiong and Yan Shengnan, the fatal shot in the embassy, the magic stick in front of the Xishiku Church, and the bloody wind and rain on the West Hunting Road, and couldn't help but sigh.

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Tomorrow is a day off