Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 80 Zhongjie

The entire Fengtian Imperial Palace is clearly divided into three sections: east, central, and west. The central section was used as the emperor's residence and office. The tallest building there is the Phoenix Tower, which was the tallest building in Fengtian for hundreds of years. It is an all-wood structure and was the venue for royal banquets. However, tourists cannot go up there, which is a pity.

The eastern section houses the Grand Hall of State and the Ten Kings Pavilion. These were the venues for grand ceremonies and the offices of the Eight Banners chieftains.

The West Road was built in 1782 and was used by the royal family to watch plays, read books, have fun, and practice Buddhism. The Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) is preserved here.

The northernmost part of the entire palace complex is the rear garden, also called the rear garden. Its original appearance is unknown; only a small, narrow strip remains, running horizontally across the entire palace. It contains mills, tool sheds, and other such structures. There used to be a royal mausoleum here, but it has disappeared, leaving only an entrance. There was a legend that the mausoleum entrance had a mechanism; if you found and pulled it, the mausoleum would open. Today, even if you actually found and pulled it open, you'd only be able to get from the palace to the Bell Tower Alley behind it—that doesn't require a mechanism.

The central route is further divided into three sections, one large in the middle and one small on the sides. The central section is the residence and office of the emperor and his concubines, built on a four-meter-high stone platform. The west and east sides are the residences and private quarters of the empress dowager, concubines, princes, and princesses. These are all small courtyards, one inside the other, and most of them are not open to the public.

This is the entire inner palace. Coming out of the Chongzheng Hall, which is the office area for the emperor and the Grand Councilors, you arrive at the outer palace.

Chongzheng Hall faces Daqing Gate, which is the main gate of the entire palace complex. The two are more than 100 meters apart. There is the Imperial Ancestral Temple and guard posts here, followed by the office area. There is also a theater here, which is a place for the emperor to enjoy himself with the people. Of course, the people here do not refer to ordinary people.

After exiting through the gate at the Hall of Ten Kings, the entire Forbidden City was considered seen. Actually, there was a cluster of government offices directly opposite the Great Qing Gate, but now, apart from two guardhouses, they had all been converted into shops. Since the group didn't have anything to buy, they simply left and headed to Zhongjie Street.

This walk around took more than two hours, and we took one and a half rolls of film. Everyone was tired.

The Forbidden City is very close to Zhongjie. Go along Zhengyang Street, and you'll pass the current Liu Laogen Grand Stage. This is the west entrance of Zhongjie. Turn in and you'll find the century-old Lao Bian Dumplings, which is also the destination of this group of people. Chen Hui insisted on treating everyone to dumplings here.

"These dumplings aren't as good as they say, and they're expensive. Why did we have to come here?" Chen Xiao complained, linking arms with Xiao Hong.

Xiao Hong glanced at Chen Hui and said with a smile, "It must be because of me and Xiao Wei. You guys have been here and eaten before, but Xiao Wei and I have never been here before. Chen Hui is so thoughtful. He must want us to try it. This stuff isn't about whether it tastes good or not. It's so famous, we definitely have to come and see for ourselves."

Chen Xiao turned to look at Chen Hui and said, "I don't believe it. This guy is just a show-off. It has nothing to do with you two. Anyway, you two should go and try it. It's alright. They have a lot of fillings, both boiled, steamed, and fried. The vegetables are also good. I've been here a few times."

Xiao Wei asked, "Is Lao Bian, the one we eat in Fengtian, the most famous one?"

Chen Xiao nodded and said, "It's the most famous place outside, and there's a lot of food here. It depends on what you like. There's Ma's Shaomai, Li Lianguan's Smoked Meat Pancake, Huitou, Yang's Oven Pancake, Laoshanji Pie, Korean BBQ and Cold Noodles, and Song's Wonton. Actually, they're just as famous as Laobian. There's also mutton hot pot. In fact, our Northeastern charcoal hot pot is the most famous. It was all the way from Beijing. And I think it's even better than dumplings. There's even a chicken rack place behind our house that's better than this."

Everyone stared intently at Chen Xiao, who touched his face and asked, "What's wrong?"

Little Red stared at her with wide eyes and asked, "Is your life all about eating? How do you know so much about food?"

Chen Xiao blushed and tugged at Xiao Hong, saying, "What's wrong? Who wouldn't eat good food? I haven't finished yet. There's a Cantonese restaurant over in Wulihe that makes really delicious soup. I'll treat you to it sometime. And their roast goose and char siu are also great. There are so many good places to eat around Zhongjie. I'll take you to try them all later. I can't say for sure, but I know more about food than any of you. Hehe, my dad takes me out to eat all the time."

Xiao Wei whispered to Chen Hui, "Can you afford to support them? If you two really get together, in two years you'll be two big fat guys, and poor fat guys at that." Chen Hui looked at Chen Xiao's back and said, "I'm happy to. It's just food, what's the big deal? At worst, I'll start saving money now. Hey, don't forget to include me in whatever money-making scheme you guys are up to. I need to make money."

Xia Maosheng looked ahead and said, "I'm afraid you won't have enough time to make arrangements now. I think if we're talking about money, ten of you wouldn't be as good as them right now, so don't dream of winning in this area. Think of other ways instead. Old Chen, it'll be awesome if she treats you to meals every day, understand? You just need to get her, everything else is secondary."

Chen Hui hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's a bit shameless of him to spend a woman's money like this."

Xiao Wei said, "Then you should think it through. If you two really get together, she'll still have to spend your money. With your spending habits, you simply can't afford it."

Yang Tiebin chimed in, "It's not even close to happening yet, what's the point of saying all this? You should get to know someone first before spouting this nonsense. You're thinking way ahead when you've got nothing to show for it, what's the use?"

Chen Hui slapped his head and said, "Yeah, Lao Yang is right. There's no use thinking about this now. Let's take them down first. I got led astray by Xiao Wei. What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Weile said, "I'm just worried about you. What do you mean? Without me, you're nothing."

Chen Hui thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true. Without Xiao Hong in the middle, it's really hard to say. Okay, say whatever you want, I'll just pretend I didn't hear it."

There were far fewer people on the street than on Fengtian Road. The main street was deserted. A few people walked and talked, and they arrived at Zhongjie in just a few minutes.

As soon as you enter the entrance of Zhongjie Street, the crowds suddenly fill the street, as if people from all over the world have been thrown here.

Zhongjie has a long history. It is China's first and longest commercial pedestrian street. It has existed since the founding of the Qing Dynasty and has been a market street for more than 400 years.

Although in modern history, especially after the Japanese rule, Zhongjie's fame was overshadowed by the newly emerging Taiyuan Street (the first street in the Far East), it remains one of only two famous commercial streets in Fengtian.

Zhongjie Main Street is a pedestrianized commercial street, home to most of the country's well-known shopping malls, gold shops, restaurants, hotels, and guesthouses. Meanwhile, in the alleys adjacent to Zhongjie, there are nationally renowned night markets, as well as specialized markets for gold and silver, copper, leather, books, pears, and birds, all thriving. After all, this is a nearly one-kilometer-long imperial market with over four hundred years of history.

Now, the street is already one and a half kilometers long, and it's unknown whether it will be extended further in the future.

After walking about ten meters into the street, you'll see the big sign for Lao Bian Dumplings. A few of us went straight there because we were really hungry.