Chapter 124 Taste

The taste of Hu Qiaoying's childhood is not the same as the taste of Zhuang Yinrong's childhood.

They were childhood sweethearts in the ancient city of Jinling. One was the eldest son of the wealthy Hu family on Yangchuan Road, and the other was the second daughter of the Jinshi Zhuang family in Yugu Lane.

In the entire old town of Jinling, which family did not grow up eating sesame cakes?

Zhuang Yinrong took a small bite, pursed her lips and tasted it carefully, until she swallowed the whole mouthful, she exclaimed: "Just take this bite, the layers of lard are still the soul."

Hu Qiaoying disagreed: "Sesame is the only thing." It's the soul."

Ding Hanwen also took a bite, and it was a big mouthful. He asked curiously: "Why..."

Zhuang Yinrong immediately said: "Stop talking!"

Even though she stopped him in time, Ding Hanwen still sprayed out a mouthful of sesame seeds, which was embarrassing. He scratched his head and brushed away the sesame seeds that fell on his clothes.

Hu Qiaoyue said with a smile: "The sesame cakes are well made, they are very crispy. You can't talk while eating the sesame cakes, otherwise you are sure to spit out some of the treasures."

Lin Siwei then understood why Zhuang Yinrong had eaten so carefully just now. It was the experience of diners. , is also the ethos engraved in the bones of wealthy families.

After swallowing the sesame cake, Ding Hanwen hooked up his tongue and licked the sesame seeds on his lips: "I agree with grandma, sesame seeds are the soul."

Lin Siwei noticed that he seemed to have doubts just now, so he asked: "What did you want to ask just now?"

Ding Hanwen pointed out. Holding two packages of sesame cakes: "The long ones and the round ones, why are they different?"

Clever little Li came online: "Our Jinling sesame cakes have two flavors, the long ones are salty and the round ones are sweet. , are all very delicious. The sesame cake chef in our cake shop is a master who worked here before liberation, and his skills have been passed down from generation to generation."

Everyone praised it again.

Especially Hu Qiaoying.

What he heard abroad was that China had gone through some special years and was conservative and backward. He has imagined the scene of returning to his hometown countless times. Is it dilapidated and devastated? He looked for information from his motherland in the corners of the news. Some of them were uncomfortable and he hoped they were false. Some of them made him happy and he hoped they were true.

But hope is still just hope. Since he decided to return to China, he has adjusted his expectations countless times. His hometown should not be too declining.

So he would tell Hu Qiaoyue, "As long as everything is fine," he said this from the bottom of his heart.

It’s good that people are fine and that their hometown is still there.

But since he returned home, everything he has seen has exceeded his expectations to be honest. Although it can be seen that this ancient small town in the south of the Yangtze River has experienced changes that I could not imagine, many things in my memory are no longer there.

However, there are still so many relics that have survived the long history and are taking on new life in unique ways.

The writing tower is like this. The same goes for cannabis cakes.

The van drove into Yangchuan Road and did not attract any attention. It was like the most common vehicle in the evening, driving slowly in the sunset on Yangchuan Road.

Hu Qiaoying looked out the window greedily.

Most of the familiar carved wooden windows have peeled off the red paint, revealing the rustic background of the wood; the houses are continuous and the layout along the street is still there, but many large and small doors have been added out of thin air. Some of the double-leaf doors looked old at first glance, and some of the small doors had different shades of white plaster on their sides. Although they were not new door openings, they definitely did not exist in Hu Qiaoying's memory.

It was after get off work time, and most of these doors were open. There were women carrying coal stoves to the roadside to light the fire, and there were also white-haired old ladies sticking their heads out with their hands behind their backs, waiting for their families to come home from get off work.

"Our previous house has been divided into many small compartments, and dozens of families and hundreds of people have lived in it..."

Hu Qiaoying finally understood what her sister meant.

Without seeing the real scene, he really couldn't imagine that the shops that once belonged to the Hu family for half a street could really accommodate so many people.

There are so many people here with pots, pans, firewood, rice, oil and salt.

He could see it, but really, he couldn't quite understand it. He needs time to digest.

"Can you park the car?" Hu Qiaoying shouted, "I want to get out of the car and take a walk."

The driver glanced at Xiao Li, who said, "Stop the car and let's go for a walk with Mr. Hu."

The van was originally inconspicuous, but this time As soon as a few people got out of the car, they immediately "looked at" the van as well.

Not to mention that Hu Qiaoying and Zhuang Yinrong have elegant temperaments that are completely different from their neighbors. Hu Xingzhi's foreign style is something they have never seen before. Only young people who love watching movies can see such foreign-minded people in movies.

The most eye-catching one is of course Ding Hanwen.

He looked completely foreign, with a figure that was taller than the average person, curly brown hair, a thin face with clear bones, and an exaggerated look that "had never seen the world."

Many neighbors came out to watch, shouting: "Foreigners are coming, foreigners are coming."

Ding Hanwen didn't mind, and even waved to the neighbors happily: "Your number! Your number!"

No way! Needless to say, this is one of the most standard Chinese words he speaks.

Naturally, many people recognized Hu Qiaoyue and Lin Siwei, but they saw that the usually simple and indifferent old lady was actually wearing a velvet cheongsam inlaid with gold threads. To be honest, some strangers kept away from them.

"Hu...Teacher Hu?" someone stuttered.

Now we don’t call Hu’s Grandma anymore, we call her Teacher Hu. The neighbors are also very adaptable.

Hu Qiaoyue nodded slightly, did not answer, and just followed Hu Qiaoying.

There was a very serious government employee like Xiao Li in the group, and even a fool could tell that this was not a casual shopping trip.

No one dared to step forward and only followed from a distance.

After walking only a few dozen meters, a tall stone arch appeared in front of them. The once prosperous brick carvings were still there, but the words above the arch had been chipped away.

Hu Qiaoying stopped and stroked the arch pillars with her hands: "This is the courtyard gate of our Hu family wharf."

Xiao Li said: "It is still a wharf with boats. These boats can go to nearby counties and cities along the canal. "

But it's not from the Hu family anymore!" Hu Qiaoying said in a joke.

In the early years, the Hu family's business was large and they had their own wharf on Yangchuan Road. At one time, half of Jinling City's goods had to go through the Hu family wharf to go to surrounding towns.

After liberation, the wharf was nationalized and not only transported goods, but also passengers. Any county or town that can be reached along the canal waterway can be reached by boat from the pier.

Everyone knows that even if the property is returned, the wharf will never be returned to the Hu family. It has become an important wharf in Jinling and is responsible for people's livelihood.

Smart Xiao Li didn't dare to answer the question intelligently this time, and immediately changed the subject: "It's still very well preserved."

Ding Hanwen immediately nodded: "It's very well preserved. There are a lot of ships. Hey, what is this?"

"Barbershop " !" Xiao Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said that the barber shop is more natural, and he didn't want to talk about the dock. "This shop is also very historical."

Seeing Hu Xingzhi looking at the young man with a head full of clips in front of the glass window with interest. Girl, Xiao Li explained: "Perm, they perm."

Hu Xingzhi said: "Young people in Jinling are also very fashionable, and they all have perms."

Before coming here, she thought Jinling was still a two-storey street. The style of long braids, unexpectedly, foreign fashion has finally spread here.

However, the barber shop where hair is permed was actually the former house of the Hu family. In Hu Qiaoying's impression, the location of the barber shop used to be the Hu family's cloth shop. It was once the favorite shop visited by the most fashionable girls and ladies in Jinling City. It is still fashionable today, but after all, things have changed.

"That's No. 281, where Siwei and I live."

Hu Qiaoyue pointed to the house ten meters away, but stopped. Looking at the small doorway, Hu Qiaoying could already imagine what was behind the door.

He knew that Hu Qiaoyue only had one room on the second floor.

"Okay, that's it for today. Let's go back." Hu Qiaoying turned around and walked back.

Zhuang Yinrong was puzzled: "Aren't you going to see Qiaoyue's house?"

Hu Qiaoying's steps were a little erratic, and her breathing became faster than before: "That's not Qiaoyue's house, it's just a residence, not a home."

When everyone was puzzled, Lin Siwei Already understood, Hu Qiaoying didn't want to see it.

He doesn't want to know what kind of attic his once well-fed sister lives in now, and he doesn't admit that it's called "home." He will fight for a "home" for his sister, and her sister should also have a "home."

Lin Siwei was even relieved to see his grandma.

Suddenly she figured out why grandma also stopped ten meters away. Because her proud grandma was not willing to allow herself to be cramped into a bedroom with only one passage to accommodate so many people.

There are people she has not seen for a long time, and there are people she has met for the first time.

"It's getting late, let's go back to the hotel early for dinner. You must be hungry too." Lin Siwei naturally took his grandma's arm and greeted everyone.

The van, which had been following them slowly, stopped at this moment. Xiao Li opened the door and was about to help Hu Qiaoying and the others get into the van.

"Master?" A weak, uncertain voice sounded.

When everyone turned around, they saw a thin old man, about seventy years old, with a slightly hunched back and a somewhat unkempt beard.

Hu Qiaoying had already stepped onto the car and retracted her feet. He was very sure that the "Young Master" was addressed to him.

The old man took two steps forward and looked at Hu Qiaoying carefully, tears gradually oozing out of his cloudy eyes.

"Master, is it you? Is it really you?" His lips trembled.

Hu Qiaoying was also identifying carefully, and some old memories came to mind.

"Haiqing?" he shouted.

"It's me, I'm Hai Qing. Young man, do you still remember me!"

Hu Qiaoying pulled him over and hugged him. Hai Qing struggled: "Dirty, I'm dirty."

Hu Qiaoying didn't care about this. He patted Hai Qing's back hard and burst into tears with excitement: "You're not dead, you're not dead!"

No one understood the reason. But he was also infected by the atmosphere, and his nose was sour.

Only Hu Qiaoyue stared at Haiqing for a long time, and she exclaimed: "It's you!"

The two old people hugged each other for a long time, and finally let go. Hu Qiaoying cried and laughed, looked at Haiqing, and patted his shoulder again: " I can’t believe how tough you are.”

Then he turned around and said to the people who were moved but didn’t know the situation: “I used to ask for a helper when I was studying in Shanghai. Later, we got separated during the bombing. I always thought he was...”

He turned to Hai Qing: "I thought you were gone."