Chapter 20: Erxunpu

Ning Weidong returned to the earthquake shelter and tidied up the things he had just bought.

He took off his frayed green cloth shirt and put on the thick, dark blue cotton Zhongshan Suit he had just purchased.

With his hair freshly cut and his new clothes on, his height of one meter eighty-three made Ning Weidong look even more spirited than before.

He checked the time; it was already one-thirty.

His shift started at four in the afternoon, so he had to go to the bus stop an hour early to wait for the bus.

Ning Weidong tidied up a little and then went out again.

When he reached the front courtyard, he did not see Wang Dama.

After stepping out of the courtyard gate, Ning Weidong walked north along the hutong and soon arrived at Gongmenkou Ertiao.

To the west from here was the Lu Xun Museum.

Ning Weidong, however, walked east, encountered a "Kudang Road" along Gongmenkou Ertiao, and bought a box of mung bean cakes at the grocery store at the intersection to carry with him.

He came out and continued walking north until he reached Gongmenkou Santiao.

He looked left and right, struggling to squeeze the original owner's memories.

Ning Weidong walked another dozen meters west, directly facing the Suifujing Building, where there was a small hutong.

The hutong was only a meter wide; walking inside for about a dozen meters, there was a Dazayuan.

Ning Weidong walked in; the inside was just as cramped as this narrow hutong.

The courtyard, which was not spacious to begin with, was almost entirely filled with earthquake shelters.

Ning Weidong frowned and craned his neck to look for the house number.

Just then, a middle-aged woman with an unfriendly expression came out from the side and said in a gravelly voice, "Who are you looking for?"

Ning Weidong said with a smile, "Hello, big sister. I'm looking for the old Ning Family; they are my kinsmen."

Upon hearing this, the woman softened her expression a bit and shouted inside, "Old Ning's sister-in-law, you have a guest."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a young man of sixteen or seventeen came out of the west-facing wing room.

Ning Weidong sized him up; the other party was about one meter seventy tall, with delicate features, though he was a bit thin with sunken cheeks, yet he did not look sickly. His eyes were dark and bright, his whole body was tense, and his face was full of wariness.

Ning Weidong guessed the situation as soon as he saw him.

This kid had likely caused trouble outside and thought someone had come looking for him at home.

It was only when he saw Ning Weidong's face clearly that he said uncertainly, "Are you... Third Brother?"

Ning Weidong walked over with a smile and gave him a pat that made him stagger: "You brat, it's only been a few years, and you can't even recognize me?"

In the original owner's memories, Ning Wei was a younger brother from the same clan who used to follow behind him all the time before he went to the Northeast to join the production teams.

He was only eleven or twelve then, and with a four or five-year age gap, the original owner never liked to let him play along.

Later, when the original owner went to the countryside, they lost touch. He returned last year but didn't get in contact, and now, in the blink of an eye, it had been several years since they last met, so it was no wonder Ning Wei didn't recognize him at first glance.

"Third Brother! It really is you~" Ning Wei revealed a look of joy: "When did you get back?"

Ning Weidong felt embarrassed to say he had been back for over a year without visiting, so he laughed it off and changed the subject: "How is Liushen~ is her health good?"

Ning Wei didn't press the issue after being diverted; he ushered Ning Weidong into the room and replied, "She's in the room~ she's doing fine."

Ning Wei's father died early, and he originally had an older brother, but he was stabbed during a street fight in '70.

He died right then and there, leaving only Ning Wei and his mother in the family.

The room wasn't large; it could get some sunlight in the morning, but in the afternoon, there was no hope of that.

Hearing the commotion, an old woman with a sallow complexion, who was doing needlework, looked toward the door.

Ning Wei said, "Mom, my brother Weidong is here." Ning Weidong followed up by calling out "Liushen" and placed the mung bean cakes on the kang table beside the old woman.

He sat down and chatted with the old woman about daily life.

In truth, there wasn't much to say; it was the same old things over and over again.

After sitting for a while and fulfilling the courtesies, Ning Weidong called Ning Wei outside.

At the entrance of the hutong, there was a small Erxunpu restaurant.

These "Erxunpu" were everywhere in Beijing; there were all sorts of explanations for what "two meats" meant, but generally, it was just a low-end small restaurant.

They mainly served regular customers from the neighborhood, and their core competitiveness was "oil" and "seasonings."

This wasn't like decades later, when food was extremely abundant.

At this time, all year round, except for the Spring Festival, people rarely cooked anything deep-fried, and families wouldn't keep Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, or angelica on hand.

Later on, when "oil" and "seasonings" were no longer so rare, these small restaurants naturally died out.

Then there was the Dazayuan; some dishes were truly inconvenient to cook at home.

For example, if you stewed a pot of meat, the fragrance would spread out, and several children would gather around, drooling while staring at the pot. Would you give them some or not? You bought the meat with great difficulty, so you'd feel the pinch if you gave it away, but if you steeled yourself and didn't give any, you could just wait for those old women in the courtyard to gossip behind your back—that kind of thing could be talked about for half a year.

It was better to just not cook it; when you had a craving, you'd go to a small restaurant like an Erxunpu, order a dish, satisfy the craving, and avoid all that nonsense.

The small restaurant wasn't big, just two storefronts; one side was the stove, where you could directly see the chef chopping and stir-frying.

Inside, there were five tables.

Ning Weidong had money in his pocket, so he glanced at the stove area as he entered.

This kind of small restaurant didn't have a fixed menu, operating on the principle of cooking whatever was available; if there wasn't anything appetizing, one could also go outside and buy it on the spot.

"Comrades, what would you two like?" Behind the stove, the cook smiled, habitually wiped his hands on his apron, picked up a ladle, and pointed: "The kidneys are good today, would you two like to try them?"

Ning Weidong glanced over, nodded, and said, "Stir-fry some kidney slices, and bring a beef and potato stew, make it nice and soft."

"Alright, you two wait a moment, it'll be ready right away~" The cook was nimble and had already torn off the fascia from the outside of the kidney...

Ning Weidong and Ning Wei found a table against the wall and sat down.

Ning Weidong glanced at the wine jar in the corner and gestured with his chin: "Want a drink?"

Ning Wei shook his head: "Third Brother, you have something serious to talk to me about, right~"

Ning Weidong was very satisfied with this attitude.

Although Ning Wei was not very old, his mind was quick to react, and he had a good attitude toward doing things.

Ning Weidong nodded, stopped bringing up the matter of drinking, and instead asked about Ning Wei's future plans.

At his age, Ning Wei was also in a state of being unemployed.

Ning Wei said, "My mother wants me to join the army; my uncle is in the Ministry, so he can help out a bit."

It was not hard for Ning Weidong to hear his hesitation: "Joining the army is a good thing, why do you have concerns?"

Ning Wei said with difficulty, "Third Brother, you know my family's situation. With my mother's health, if I leave, and that day really comes, I... I'm afraid..."

Ning Weidong pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.

In this kind of situation, saying anything is useless; if one truly has the mettle, one should just say: Brother, do not worry, your mother, I will provide for.

If one lacks that ability and determination, then one should just keep one's mouth shut.

The two were silent for a moment, then Ning Wei asked again, "Right, are my Big Brother Ning Weiguo and Sister-in-law doing well now?"

Ning Weidong gave an "mm" sound: "They're doing well. They suffered quite a bit in the past few years, but now they can be considered to have tasted the sweetness after the bitterness."

(End of chapter)