The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

Zhao Shi'an came out of Xinhua Bookstore with the college entrance examination questions in his hand, followed by four little ones. He looked up and saw the Chongwenmen Gate Tower not far away.

The Chongwenmen Gate Tower still stands intact at the street entrance. The tower is seven or eight stories high, with multiple eaves and a hipped roof. The roof is covered with gray cylindrical green glazed tiles.

The Chongwenmen gate tower is very grand and imposing. The original arrow tower was destroyed in the war between the Eight-Nation Alliance and the barbican was demolished two years ago to alleviate traffic. Now, only the gate tower and the platform below are left, connected to the city walls on both sides.

Pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, bicycles and other vehicles all passed through the city gate.

Chongwenmen was one of the nine gates of Beijing. Three kilometers to the west was Zhengyangmen, and three kilometers further west was Xuanwumen. Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen formed a symmetrical pattern of "civilian on the left and military on the right" with Zhengyangmen as the center.

Zhao Shi'an was engrossed in watching when he noticed the younger sister beside him pulling at him.

"Hey bro, look, the tram's here! Clang—clang—clang!"

As she spoke, Zhao Xiaoyue imitated the sound of a tram.

Seeing her older sister, Zhao Xiaole started to imitate her.

Zhao Shi'an looked in the direction his younger sister was pointing and saw a tram coming with a clanging sound. The upper part of the tram was beige and the lower part was dark brown. A black sign with white lettering hung on the front of the tram, which read "Route 6". The paint on the wooden frame of the tram was a bit mottled and the windows were covered with a thin layer of dust.

Accompanied by the clanging sounds of the wheels rolling on the rails, the overhead collectors on the roof scraped against the power lines, making a buzzing sound, which, along with the shouts from the street vendors, created a lively scene.

"Not bad! You imitated it so well! Come on, let's go home via Hademen Street. Shijie and Shixiong, you two keep up!"

Zhao Shi'an praised his two younger sisters, stuffed the college entrance examination papers into his arms, and led the two girls towards the Chongwen Gate.

According to locals, the main street outside Chongwenmen is called Hademen Street. Chongwenmen is also called "Hademen" because the Hada Prince's Mansion was built inside Chongwenmen during the Yuan Dynasty.

This street is very lively, with hundreds of shops lining both sides, including many time-honored brands.

It's lunchtime, and there are many people eating here.

"Brother, there are too many people in Hademen. Let's take the original route and rest a bit at home."

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong couldn't wait to go home and read "Chicken Feather Letter." When they heard that their elder brother was going to leave for Hademen, they immediately tried to persuade him to stay.

"Since we're already here, let's make the most of it! Let Xiaoyue and Xiaole look at the comic books first, you two can read them after school!"

Zhao Shi'an glanced at his two younger brothers. Having been children themselves, he could see right through their thoughts.

He walked along Chongwenmenwai Street because he wanted to experience this era firsthand!

"All right!"

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong reluctantly agreed.

"Let's go. If we get home early, we can still look around, but if we're late for school, we'll get a beating!"

Zhao Shi'an called out, then led his two younger sisters through the Chongwenmen gate tower and headed towards Chongwenmen Outer Street.

The asphalt road on the main street was very smooth, with dirt and cinders mixed in at the corners. The wheels of horse-drawn carriages left deep and shallow marks, and bicycle bells jingled erratically.

The area under the city gate was bustling with activity, with women carrying bamboo baskets, teenagers running and playing, and pedestrians coming and going.

Zhao Shi'an led his younger siblings through the city gate and onto the main street. Shops lined both sides of the street, their signs and banners a mix of old and new, the aromas and shouts mingling together, creating a vibrant and bustling atmosphere.

Dashenghao Oil and Salt Shop is located on the street, and you can smell the rich aroma of sesame oil and sesame paste from afar.

Upon closer inspection, the counter is neatly arranged with soy sauce, vinegar, coarse salt, and alkali, and is fully stocked with dried vegetables, vermicelli, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other ingredients. This is the place where people in the southern part of the city most often go to buy oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Further south, the faint aroma of herbs wafts from Qianzhitang and Wanquantang Chinese medicine shops. Wanquantang's Wanying Pills are prominently displayed, and many adults bring their children to get the medicine. The shop also offers decoction services.

As the group strolled along, passing pharmacies, a silk and cloth shop called "Xiechengyu" immediately caught his eye.

Brightly colored silks hung on the shop floor, their fabrics swaying gently in the breeze.

Seeing the fabric shop, he realized that he had just been thinking at the bookstore that the issuance of cloth coupons was not far off and he should stock up on several bolts of cloth before then.

After looking around the silk shop for a while, Zhao Shi'an led his younger siblings and continued walking forward.

The glass display cases in the Tongquan Department Store next door were polished to a shine. The most eye-catching items were several enamel basins with white backgrounds painted with flowers and blue edges trimmed with gold. At present, enamelware is still a very scarce and valuable item, and ordinary people cannot afford to buy it.

Placing the enamel basin in such a prominent position is likely a way to attract customers.

Zhao Shi'an led his younger siblings into the department store and found that the shelves were mostly filled with common items such as rough porcelain bowls, earthenware pots, wooden basins, bamboo baskets, needles and thread.

The shop was bustling with customers, and passersby couldn't help but stop in front of the enamel basins, but very few actually made a purchase.

After leaving the department store, the group continued walking, the aroma of the restaurants very enticing.

"Sister Xiaoyue, the roast duck smells so good!"

Zhao Xiaole held Zhao Xiaoyue's hand, and smelling the delicious aromas wafting from the restaurant, his mouth watered.

"Xiao Le, we just had lunch."

Zhao Xiaoyue was so tempted that she kept swallowing her saliva, but she didn't forget to remind her little cousin.

"Hehe! Sister Xiaoyue, I was just kidding!"

Zhao Xiaole chuckled and unconsciously swallowed. It was no wonder she was so tempted; the roast duck just smelled so good.

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong smelled the delicious roast duck, glanced at it, and turned their heads away. They unconsciously quickened their pace, afraid that staying too long would tempt them.

Seeing his younger siblings' reactions, Zhao Shi'an initially considered gritting his teeth and buying some for the little ones to satisfy their cravings, but upon seeing the shop's name, he instantly lost the idea.

Looking up, a horizontal wooden plaque hangs above the doorway on the old-fashioned blue brick pavement, which reads "Bianyifang Roast Duck Restaurant".

Although Bianyifang is cheaper than Quanjude, it's still not something he can afford now.

After buying the college entrance exam papers and comic books, he still had more than 8,000 yuan left, which wasn't even enough to buy a duck leg.

Seeing how sensible his younger siblings were, Zhao Shi'an secretly made a decision: when he earned money, he would treat them to a good meal, which would also satisfy his own appetite.

"Big brother, let's go quickly!"

Zhao Shijie quickened his pace, and seeing his elder brother still behind, he urged him on.

"They're here!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he took his younger sister's hand and quickly followed.

The four little ones were very sensible. Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole walked without looking to the side, their little noses twitching as they greedily inhaled the aroma wafting from the restaurant.

Seeing the little ones' reactions, Zhao Shi'an felt gratified but also a little uneasy.

After walking a few steps, I came across another snack shop. Steam was rising from the entrance, and the aroma of fried cakes, sugar-coated sesame balls, and fried dough sticks filled the air. The line of people stretched far out in the distance.

The restaurants, steamed bun shops, braised pork and fried dough stick stalls, and tripe stalls along the street were all packed with people.

Along the way, both sides of Chongwenmenwai Street are lined with shops, and there are also some scattered stalls.

This is a major thoroughfare with trams and numerous rickshaws converted from traditional vehicles; the streets are bustling with people.

Having finally reached the intersection, Zhao Shi'an stopped walking, mainly because he didn't have enough time and needed to get to school.

Thinking of all this, Zhao Shi'an led his younger siblings eastward into the east entrance of the flower market, which is the intersection of Chongwenmen Street and Huashi Street.

The flower market, also known as the "flower market," is, as the name suggests, a place that sells flowers. However, it mainly sells artificial flowers, such as paper flowers, silk flowers, velvet flowers, and wreaths for funerals. It doesn't sell real flowers very often.

Most of the women on both sides of Longxu Ditch have worked in these workshops that make paper and silk flowers. My mother and aunt also worked in these workshops during the off-season.

Besides flowers, the flower market also sells everyday cooking utensils, ironware, and hardware, such as the famous Wang Mazi kitchen knives.

In addition, there are general merchandise stores, snack and breakfast shops, as well as grain stores, pickle shops, photo studios, tailor shops, shoe repair stalls, barber shops, bicycle repair shops, etc.

On the 4th, 14th, and 24th of each lunar month, the flower market street is bustling with activity, and the flower market is especially lively on these days.

The day after tomorrow, Sunday, is also the 24th day of the second lunar month, which happens to be market day. You can have a good time to stroll around!