After watching the flag-raising ceremony, I strolled leisurely to the fence and found a well-known old snack shop and ordered two authentic Beijing snacks - stir-fried liver with bean juice.
Qing Wan looked at the food on the table and asked in confusion, "You want to eat this?"
I smiled and replied, "This is a famous snack in Beijing. We have finally come here, how can we not try it?"
She sniffed it gently and frowned: "Why does this smell a bit weird?"
I explained cheerfully: "As for special snacks, how can they be called special if they don't have a unique taste? This is the authentic old Beijing flavor."
As I said this, I took the lead in demonstrating, picking up the bowl and taking a sip. The sticky liquid slid across the tip of my tongue, and a unique flavor that was both sour and slightly smelly instantly exploded on my taste buds. My brows wrinkled involuntarily, and I kept muttering in my heart that this taste was indeed a bit hard to describe. But then I thought, I can't let Qingwan see that I'm uncomfortable, otherwise she will definitely laugh at me and say that I deserve it.
So I gritted my teeth and took a few more sips, trying hard to look like I was enjoying the drink.
Seeing me like this, Qingwan took a sip carefully, but as soon as she put it in her mouth, she suddenly spat it out with a look of surprise and disgust: "What is this taste, it's so disgusting!"
I really couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Qingwan glared at me and said angrily, "Guan Hongjun, you are so mean. You deliberately tempted me to drink this weird thing. You even said it is a famous snack in Beijing. Do Beijingers usually eat this? I don't believe it!"
I put away my smile and explained seriously: "Habits are developed slowly. Each region has its own characteristics, influenced by cultural and historical conditions, and over time, unique eating habits are formed. These habits are integrated into people's daily lives and become an indispensable part. As tourists, we may not be used to this taste, but this is a cultural experience."
Qing Wan frowned, still with a look of disgust on her face: "I will never get used to this taste. Why do people in this imperial city eat this kind of thing? It's really hard to understand."
I smiled and said patiently, "There are poor people in the imperial city. These snacks may have been their survival food in the old society. There is a story and culture behind every food. Don't make fun of a region just because you are not used to it."
I then said, "We are not eating it the right way. We should soak the doughnuts in it before eating."
I followed the same method and tried it again. I found that the taste was indeed different: "Try it again this time."
She shook her head desperately, and I stopped forcing her.
I took her to KFC to avoid her being hungry, and after watching her finish her meal with great satisfaction, I left. Afterwards, we visited the Forbidden City and Beihai Park. Seeing her frail body, I was afraid that she would not be able to climb Jingshan Mountain, so I gave up the idea.
In the afternoon, she insisted on going to the Great Wall. I tried to persuade her, "You can't be a hero if you can't climb the Hero's Slope." But she insisted on going. I had no choice but to hire a car because I was not familiar with the roads. We took the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, passed Shunyi City, Juyong Pass, and Shui Pass, and finally arrived at the Badaling Great Wall. In order to make her less tired, we chose to take the aerial cable car.
When we got to the seventh floor of the South Building, I took out the DV I had prepared before departure and took photos and videos of her, constantly recording her figure in this time and space. She posed in various postures in front of the stone tablet "If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you are not a true man", smiling like a blooming flower. A cool breeze blew from the mountain, and I was worried that she would catch a cold, so I urged her to go up the mountain.
But she stopped in front of the sculpture of "Meng Jiangnu crying at the Great Wall", with a look of sympathy in her eyes. She turned to me and asked, "Meng Jiangnu cried down the Great Wall, why is this part of the Great Wall still there?" I smiled and explained, "That's just a legend, not true. Besides, this part of the Great Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty. No one can tell whether the Qin Dynasty built here or not."
But she said sadly: "There was a Great Wall here during the Qin Dynasty. It was later collapsed by Meng Jiangnu's crying and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. That should be the case. There is nothing unclear." Her groundless and absurd logic actually stood out and made me laugh and cry.
She went on to say, "If her husband dies, she can cry so hard that the Great Wall will fall down. If her wife dies, the husband probably won't even shed a tear, let alone cry so hard that the Great Wall will fall down. Women are so stupid and pitiful."
Then, she began to think about the scene again, and her imagination ran wild, treating me as her imaginary enemy. She said bitterly: "Guan Hongjun, you men are all like this, right?"
I could only smile helplessly and say, "Okay, let's go to the mountain."
On the way back, she fell into silence and said nothing.
As the driver was present, it was inconvenient for me to coax her.
The driver asked at an inopportune moment: "Are you two planning to go to the Ming Tombs next time?"
I replied, "It's not auspicious to go to that kind of place during the New Year, so let's just forget it."
At this time, she suddenly asked: "Master, is there anything worth visiting in the Ming Tombs?"
The driver seemed to have turned into a tour guide, talking nonstop, and finally enthusiastically recommended that we visit the Dingling Underground Palace.
I quickly dissuaded him: "It's too late, your body may not be able to handle it. Let's not go."
This time, she didn't insist on seeing me, and I breathed a sigh of relief, the uneasiness in my heart finally subsided.
I was thinking to myself that if I let her go to the underground palace of Dingling Mausoleum and see that there were three empresses buried with Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun in his mausoleum, she would probably come up with some absurd remarks about men being superior to women and having many wives and concubines.
Many years later, whenever I think back to this past event in the dead of night, I can't help but feel a lot of emotion. At that time, Zhu Qingwan, due to her change in attitude, had many feelings and inadvertently embarked on the path of "feminism".
After a tiring whole day, I had a simple dinner with her and then returned to the hotel to rest.
As soon as she lay down on the bed, she fell asleep quickly.
I put my phone on vibrate mode and was about to put it down when Wang Yanshu called.