The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

Chapter 91 The Forbidden City: One for Me, a Lot for Me!

"Big brother, where are we going?"

After the Yangko dance performance ended, the celebration parade also came to a close. Zhao Xiaoyue watched as the people around her dispersed, then looked up at her older brother with her little head tilted back.

Several little ones also gathered around.

"Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he led the group on a stroll, hoping to find some local delicacies to try, but they found that there were people everywhere.

After the parade ended, the May Day activities also came to a close. The crowd that had gathered at Qianmen started strolling around, and the nearby streets were packed with people.

"Big brother, shall we go home to eat?"

Zhao Xiaole looked up and asked expectantly.

"No way! Today, we'll eat something delicious, I'll treat you to meat, okay?"

"Great! I love meat the most!"

"I like eating meat too!"

"Me too!"

Upon hearing about eating meat, Zhao Xiaoyue, Zhao Xiaole, and Tian Qingshan were overjoyed, and their mouths watered as they spoke so fast.

"Brother Shian, let's go home and eat! We took the tram this morning, and you even bought us food earlier, so let's save some money—"

When Tian Xiaocao heard that they were going to eat meat, she felt a pang of anxiety. Her mother had given Shi'an 10,000 yuan, and she and her brother had already spent over 1,000 yuan on transportation, donkey rolls, and sugar ears. If they were to eat meat, they would definitely not have enough money left. She quickly tried to persuade him to stay.

"Big brother, Little Grass is right. We've already eaten so many snacks, I'm not hungry yet. Let's eat more when we get home!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shixiong also joined in the persuasion. Before the march began, he and his younger sister had eaten a lot of delicious food and were not very hungry yet. Although the meat was delicious, they couldn't spend too much money on it, as his older brother needed to take the college entrance exam and there were many places where he would need to spend money.

"It won't cost much, so just eat with peace of mind! You won't go broke from eating it all."

Little Grass, don't worry about not having enough money. The ten thousand your mother gave me will leave us with quite a bit when we get back.

Today is May Day, so we should have a good time shopping and treat you to something nice. You three keep an eye on your younger siblings and don't get lost, or you won't get to eat meat!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an patiently comforted the two, and then led the group to continue their stroll.

Having come to Qianmen, of course he had to try Quanjude. As a contemporary youth, he had learned a lot about this era. Quanjude and Fengzeyuan were among the first restaurants to be jointly owned by the public and private sectors, having started as early as 52.

At that time, Quanjude and Fengzeyuan were facing financial difficulties, and it was only after the government stepped in and provided funding that their predicament was resolved.

After the merger, Quanjude and Fengzeyuan were featured in newspapers, and their fame spread throughout the country as the newspapers spread. Before that, the two restaurants were mostly famous in Beijing.

Zhao Shi'an still remembers the scene more than a month ago when he passed by Chongwenmen Street after buying college entrance exam papers and his younger siblings were drooling over the smell of Bianyifang roast duck. Now he has earned a lot of royalties and can still afford to eat a roast duck.

I'll make up for what I missed last time today.

With this in mind, Zhao Shi'an led the group on a journey, observing as they went.

When Zhao Xiaoyue, Zhao Xiaole, Tian Qingshan, and the other kids heard that there was meat to eat, they were all full of energy and didn't need to be urged at all.

Soon Quanjude was in sight, and Zhao Shi'an was delighted. He wanted to lead the group forward, but when he saw the huge crowd queuing at the entrance, he realized he had made a mistake. On such an important holiday as May Day, the Qianmen and Dashilan area was at its most crowded. If you wanted to eat roast duck, you wouldn't be able to get a turn in less than an hour or two.

Seeing this, Zhao Shi'an thought for a moment and then led everyone to the nearby Xianyu Kou.

Xianyu Kou Hutong was full of snack stalls, with many selling dishes like braised tripe and stew. At this time, Dashilan was mainly composed of fixed shops, and most of the snacks were concentrated in the western part of Dashilan, Qianmen, and Xianyu Kou area.

"Brother, there are so many people, what should we eat?"

Zhao Xiaoyue walked around for a while and saw people everywhere. At first, she was happy, but when she saw that they were all trying to take the meat from her, her face immediately fell.

"Don't rush, it'll be crowded on May Day! Let's finish the mutton offal soup first! Boss, seven bowls of mutton offal soup, please!"

Zhao Shi'an arrived at a stall selling mutton offal, found an empty seat for his younger sister and cousin to sit down, and then turned to shout at the owner.

It was a bit hot at noon, and he originally wanted to treat a few people to cold noodles, but remembering his earlier promise to eat meat, he finally decided to have mutton offal soup instead!

"Alright! Young man, make yourself at home, it'll be ready in a bit!"

The stall owner responded enthusiastically and got busy.

Before long, the mutton offal soup was served, and everyone sat down to eat.

"The soup is a bit hot. Eat the meat first, then drink the soup later. Don't burn yourself. We'll buy other things to eat later!"

Zhao Shi'an instructed the others to take care of his two younger sisters.

"Wow! Brother, the lamb offal is delicious!"

"Big brother! The meat is delicious!"

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole were eating mutton offal, and they were very satisfied.

Zhao Shijie, Zhao Shixiong, and Tian Qingshan wolfed down their mutton offal. Tian Xiaocao took care of her younger brother while sharing the mutton offal from her bowl with him.

"Little grass, you eat it yourself! We'll buy other things later. Qingshan is still small and can't eat too much. If he's full, he won't be able to eat anything else."

Seeing this, Zhao Shi'an let Tian Xiaocao eat by herself. The little girl was only eight years old, but she was very sensible. She did a good job of washing clothes, cooking, feeding chickens, and so on. She also studied very hard.

"Sis, you eat it yourself! I have plenty in my bowl!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Qingshan quickly poured the mutton offal from his bowl into his sister's bowl.

"Okay, finish the rest!"

Tian Xiaocao did not refuse upon hearing this, but secretly noted down the price so she could tell her mother when she got home.

"Big brother, I can't eat any more!"

"Big brother, me too!"

Upon hearing that there was still food, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole immediately shouted, fearing that they wouldn't have any good food left after they were full, and immediately tried to share the mutton offal in their bowls.

"If you can't finish it, your second and third brothers can eat it!"

"Alright! Second brother, here you go!"

"Brother, you eat!"

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole quickly pushed their bowls over.

"Okay, you two eat first, then give me the leftovers!"

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong accepted everything offered and ate the vermicelli and mutton offal with gusto.

"knew!"

The two little girls were very happy to hear their brother's words.

A little while later, Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole pushed the remaining half bowl of mutton offal soup to their two older brothers.

"Big brother, do you want a drink?"

Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong pointed to the bowl in front of them and asked, still a little nervous, afraid that their older brother would try to take it from them.

"I won't drink, you two drink!"

Zhao Shi'an quickly waved his hand. Although his younger sister was cute, he still found the leftovers a bit unappealing.

Hearing that their older brother wasn't eating, Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong were very happy and picked up their bowls to slurp their food.

Seeing how ravenously the two children were eating, Zhao Shi'an decided to bring his younger siblings out more often to improve their lives.

Seeing that the group had almost finished eating, Zhao Shi'an took out his money and asked, "Shopkeeper, it's time to settle the bill!"

"Hey! A bowl of mutton offal is 1200 yuan, seven bowls would be 8400 yuan in total!"

"Give!"

Upon hearing the price, Zhao Shi'an readily paid, secretly thinking that prices near Qianmen weren't expensive and had many advantages compared to modern times.

"Alright! Here's your 10,000, 1,600 change. Take care, sir, and welcome back!"

The stall owner smiled as he took the money, gave them change, and then warmly saw them off.

After exchanging a few polite words, Zhao Shi'an led the group away. Passing by Du Yichu, they saw a restaurant packed with customers and lined up to buy two baskets of pork shumai to take away.

Du Yi Chu is famous for its pork and three-delicacy shumai, and in autumn they also have a limited-edition crab roe shumai.

After leaving the first place, Zhao Shi'an took out a shumai from the packaged oil paper. He took a bite, and the juices splashed everywhere. The filling inside was pure meat, not glutinous rice.

While queuing, he heard people say that Du Yichu's pork shumai uses broth as filling and the pork is seven parts lean and three parts fat, making it extremely delicious. Now that he tasted it, he found it to be true.

The price is okay, five thousand for a basket, and there are ten in a basket.

Considering the reputation of Du Yichu, the price is not expensive. After all, it is a shop that is on par with Quanjude, Bianyifang and Yueshengzhai, and its shumai is the best in Beijing!

"Delicious! Brother, these shumai are really good!"

As Zhao Xiaoyue ate her shumai, her speech became somewhat slurred.

"Eat more if it's delicious, and buy more if you're still hungry!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he handed the shumai in his hand to everyone, and then gave another package of shumai to Tian Xiaocao for safekeeping.

The group ate shumai as they strolled along, passing through the gate of Zhengyangmen and entering Qipan Street. Their view suddenly opened up, and after walking for a while, a three-arched gatehouse stood in the very center of the central axis.

Zhao Shi'an looked up and saw a wooden plaque that clearly read "Zhonghua Gate".

Upon seeing the building, Zhao Shi'an was first taken aback, then suddenly realized what it meant.

I thought I would see Tiananmen Square after passing through Zhengyangmen, but I didn't expect there to be another building here.

Upon seeing the plaque for "Zhonghua Gate," Zhao Shi'an recalled an interesting anecdote.

The Zhonghua Gate in front of us is located north of Zhengyang Gate on the central axis. It was first built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty and was originally named Daming Gate. It was renamed Daqing Gate in the Qing Dynasty and Zhonghua Gate in the Republic of China period. It can be said to be a veteran of three dynasties.

The original plaque of the Qing Dynasty gate was made of stone, with characters carved from lapis lazuli and inlaid in the stone.

After the establishment of the Republic of China, the Daqing Gate was renamed Zhonghua Gate. The idea was to remove the stone plaque and carve "Zhonghua Gate" on the back, which would be both convenient and economical.

But after the stone plaque was removed, it was discovered that the back was engraved with the three characters "Da Ming Men".

The ancients had already come up with this solution more than two hundred years ago, which shows their wisdom. Helpless, they had to rush to make a new wooden plaque, which is the plaque of Zhonghua Gate that he sees now.

Thinking of this, Zhao Shi'an couldn't help but smile knowingly. He strolled around Zhonghua Gate and noticed that Tiananmen Square was much smaller than it is today.

The location of Zhonghua Gate is the same as the location of the Memorial Hall, which makes Tiananmen Square in this era seem even smaller in comparison.

Knowing that Zhonghua Gate would be demolished in the future, Zhao Shi'an planned to take a good look at it while it was still there and take some photos as souvenirs.

After pausing to admire the view for a while, Zhao Shi'an led his younger siblings through the central doorway.

Martial law has been lifted, and Tiananmen Square is full of people enjoying themselves.

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole ran to the square and had a great time.

Zhao Shi'an looked after the group as they walked around. At the heart of the square's central axis, they spotted a construction site. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was the construction site for the Monument to the People's Heroes, surrounded by bamboo scaffolding.

It was May Day, and all construction work was suspended. Scaffolding, sand and gravel were piled up on the side, and no workers could be seen. The empty construction site stood out conspicuously in the center of the square.

Construction of the Monument to the People's Heroes began in August 1952 and has now been underway for a year and a half. The base and the main structure of the monument are taking shape and it should be completed in a few more years.

After looking around for a while, Zhao Shi'an strolled around Tiananmen Square again. After looking around, he found that Tiananmen Square was actually T-shaped. Not only was it small and cramped, but there were also dilapidated red walls remaining on the east and west sides.

After looking at it carefully for a while, based on the original owner's memories, he recognized that this was the place left after the demolition of the Chang'an Left Gate and Chang'an Right Gate.

Standing on Tiananmen Square and looking east, a thick, mottled, dark red imperial city wall stretches out, inside which lies the Working People's Cultural Palace. A section of the wall is missing in the middle, which is the wide passage left after the demolition of the Chang'an Left Gate two years ago.

The symmetrical location to the west is Chang'an Right Gate, inside which is a gap in the mottled red wall of Zhongshan Park.

It's roughly near the current location of Tiananmen East and West Stations on Metro Line 1.

There are a total of six gates on Chang'an Avenue. If you have seen the footage of the founding ceremony, you can see that there were four gates at that time. In addition to the left and right gates of Chang'an, there were also three gates on the east and three gates on the west. These two gates were demolished earlier.

Before this, there were two gates, East and West, which were demolished during the Republic of China era.

Besides these six gates, there are two other archways standing on Chang'an Avenue that still exist today, but they may disappear soon.

After looking at the buildings on Chang'an Avenue, Zhao Shi'an turned his gaze away and found that the current Chang'an Avenue was far from being as smooth as it is now. The road surface was somewhat uneven, with vehicles and pedestrians mixed together. He even saw a donkey cart, as well as many old-fashioned cars and bicycles.

When I walked to the front of Tiananmen Gate, I looked up and saw a portrait of the young Chairman hanging in the center of the gate. It was very different from the one that is now hanging there, and I felt a little awkward when I first saw it.

The slogans on both sides of the city gate tower are the same as those hanging in modern times, but they are written in traditional Chinese characters.

The five Jinshui Bridges in front of Tiananmen Gate and the five gates below them are all open, with no railings in between, allowing tourists to freely walk across the bridges and touch the bridge surface and railings up close.

"Big brother, let's go see the Chairman!"

After playing around for a while, Zhao Xiaoyue saw her older brother staring blankly at the portrait of Chairman Mao. She immediately stood on tiptoe and shouted at him.

"See the Chairman? Great! After you see the Chairman, how about I take you to the palace?"

Hearing his younger sister's words, Zhao Shi'an smiled and agreed.

The Forbidden City was opened to tourists during the Republic of China era, but unfortunately it had long become a garbage dump. After liberation, the Forbidden City underwent two large-scale cleanups, and the cleanup was not completely completed until the end of 52.

Thinking of this, Zhao Shi'an wanted to go in and plunder some rare species.

As a royal residence, the flowers, plants, and trees planted inside must be extraordinary. It's a good opportunity to collect some rare species while visiting the Forbidden City.

Although he doesn't know many of them yet, there's plenty of space, and it's quite empty inside, so he can just collect them one by one.

Even if you don't know much about precious trees, just buy them first.

The Imperial Garden is sure to not disappoint him. Once it's fully cultivated, it will be just like the Forbidden City with its many gardens. Thinking of this, Zhao Shi'an was immediately eager to get started!

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