Chapter 580
It was night again, and the father and daughter were discussing buying stocks when they heard the melodious sound of an organ.
Su Yuanzheng smiled and said, "It seems that the people of Taizhuang have a good musical sense and can play many instruments."
Su Miao walked out of the room curiously, looked through the window in the corridor towards where the music was coming from, and said in surprise:
"Dad, come and see, it's Grandpa Xu."
I saw Old Xu sitting alone under a street lamp by the river playing "Evenings on the outskirts of Moscow", but some notes were always suddenly out of tune, as if something was choking his throat.
One song followed another, attracting several other passengers on the same floor to come out and watch.
The next morning, when the father and daughter came down to check out, another staff member was on duty. She said that Xu Xiaohong was working the night shift today and pointed out her home to them.
The father and daughter went to say goodbye to Grandpa Xu and Xu Xiaohong, but Grandpa Xu went to play chess with Lao Zhou again.
Before leaving, Su Miao said, "Aunt Xiaohong, Grandpa Xu plays the piano beautifully."
Xu Xiaohong was frying eggs. When she heard the sizzling sound in the frying pan, she whispered:
"My father studied abroad and worked as an engineer at the Railway Bureau. Later, he was sent to a labor camp. When he came back, his eyesight was not good, but he could not forget the music. This is all that remains of his memory..."
She picked up the spatula and flipped the egg, but the fire was too strong and the edges of the egg were burnt, like a piece of music that had been burned by fire.
"Oh! By the way, this is what my father gave you. He's blind and thought you were still a child."
Xu Xiaohong took out a tin frog from her pocket, the paint on its back glowing green.
When the father and daughter came out, they walked past Xu's desk. Su Miao saw an open "Railway Employee Handbook" on the desk. There was faded pen writing on the title page: Xu Zhiyuan, No. 0372, Linzao Section.
The tin frog was then kept in Su Miao's bookcase for many years. Occasionally, when it was wound up, it could still jump out in an arc with the moisture of the canal.
The father and daughter set off again. Su Miao pressed her face against the car window, watching the canal gradually shrink into a thin line. This small town left her with not only the sound of the xiao and stories, but also those fragments of life that were broken and reassembled by time.
The journey today was smooth and we arrived in Jinling around noon.
In the early 1990s, Jinling was experiencing a wave of change, with the shadows of plane trees casting dappled shadows on the city roads.
The neon lights of Xinjiekou and the lanterns of Confucius Temple complement each other, state-owned stores and individual stalls are side by side, and the air is filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus candied lotus roots and the smell of engine oil from factory workshops.
When you arrive in Jinling, the most elegant place to stay is definitely along the Qinhuai River. Faded lanterns hang in front of the blue-brick and black-tiled inn, and the old woman behind the counter counts the accommodation fees on an abacus.
Su Miao walked up the creaking wooden stairs. When she opened the window, she saw the winding Qinhuai River. The pleasure boats rowing on the river, with the red lanterns hanging on them swaying gently, as if they were about to sway into her dreams.
"Miao Miao, are you ready? Let's go to Confucius Temple. The comrade at the front desk just suggested that we try the duck blood vermicelli soup." Su Yuanzheng knocked on his daughter's door and said after coming in.
The old wooden staircase of the inn groaned under their feet, and the old woman behind the counter glanced at them over her reading glasses, the abacus beads in her hand still clacking.
"We close at 10pm. No one will be served after that time." The old woman reminded in Mandarin with a strong Nanjing accent, her tone soft and gentle.
Jinling Confucius Temple, Su Miao had visited it in his previous life. The so-called "Confucius Temple" is not just a temple, but a commercial street in the old city radiating outward with the Confucius Temple as the core.
Today, the "Confucius Temple" is still relatively small, with most of the houses on both sides of the street being one or two stories high, and many of the first floors being used as shops.
Individual stalls popped up like mushrooms from every corner, selling Yuhua stones, antique calligraphy and paintings, and fried stinky tofu, with the cries of hawkers rising one after another.
In stark contrast are the several state-owned stores, where dusty merchandise is displayed in the windows and salespeople yawn behind the counters.
It's not a holiday, so there aren't many people and it's very pleasant to go shopping.
The father and daughter walked around for a while. Su Miao originally wanted to find the restaurant where she had eaten in her previous life, but unfortunately she couldn't find it.
That place is still a private residence. Su Miao thought:
That store is said to be a century-old brand. If it weren't still somewhere else and hadn't moved here, then they were lying to her.
Fortunately, they had already found out about the shops that were more popular among the locals before coming, so they just had to ask passers-by to find them.
The duck blood and vermicelli soup is made with duck blood cooked in sweet duck soup, flexible duck gizzards, smooth duck intestines, and soft duck liver, and is paired with vermicelli that has absorbed the full taste and soup. The two of them ate it up in a gulp.
After coming all this way, I couldn’t just eat this, so I also ordered half a salted duck recommended by the boss.
The duck has a plump appearance, smooth surface, white skin, tender and fat meat without being greasy, and is fragrant and delicious.
What’s valuable is that it’s not too heavy and you can taste the original sweetness of the ingredients. This is the meal that the father and daughter have had most to their taste since they set out on this journey.
After dinner, he began to stroll around the ancient city again. When he was trying to take a shortcut and pass through a small alley, a small voice came from behind Su Miao.
"Hello! Do you need foreign exchange certificates?"
She turned around and saw a boy about ten years old, wearing a sweatshirt that was obviously one size too big, holding a stack of colorful paper bills in his hand.
The boy had dark skin, but his eyes were surprisingly bright, like two black stones washed by river water.
Su Yuanzheng frowned: "Little boy, where are your parents?"
"My parents are at work."
The boy rolled his eyes cleverly and asked, "Are you from out of town? You can eat much cheaper with foreign exchange coupons, and you can even get discounts at the Friendship Store."
As he was speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the distance. Several men ran over and when they saw the little boy, they said:
"Don't sell it, the city management is here!"
After saying that, they scattered into different alleys.
Suddenly, more and more people came running here, including some small vendors carrying goods.
The boy's face changed and he turned around to run, but was pushed by the crowd and the foreign exchange coupons in his hand fell to the ground.
He hurriedly squatted down to pick it up, but was knocked to the ground by a woman who was running away in a hurry.
Su Yuanzheng quickly supported the boy and used his body to block the crowd that might trample on him. Su Miao also squatted down to help pick up the scattered tickets.
"Are you okay?" Su Yuanzheng helped the boy to the side of the road and found that his palms had been scratched because he subconsciously supported the ground.
The boy bit his lip and shook his head, but his eyes were fixed on the stack of foreign exchange certificates in Su Miao's hand, as if he was afraid that they would fly away.
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