Sesame Green Bean Garlic

On New Year's Eve, Huo Zian rode a bicycle and walked into the alley.

Uncle Ma stopped him, "Didn't you go home?"

Zian stopped and stepped on the ground with one foot, "No, I've been in Beijing this year."

Uncle Ma raised his head and said, "Wait a minute." Turning back to the shop, he brought a bowl of steamed buns for Zi'an, "The sheep slaughtered this morning, and stuffed stuffing. You can ask Lao You to come over and pick up a few later."

Zi'an smiled and said, "Thank you."

He rode ten meters with one hand while holding the bun, but was stopped again.Kuizi's sister called out, "Chef Huo, have you eaten yet?"

He raised his hand and gave Zian another box of fried red fruits.

Zian walked into the kitchen full of raw and cooked food.Aunt Kong said in the courtyard: "Anzi, let's eat dumplings here tonight, yes."

Huo Zian agreed, and asked casually, "Where's You Liangchen?"

"Hang a lantern with his father."

Huo Zian stretched his head out, only to see You Liangchen climbed onto the stool and was working on the jujube tree in the yard.The sun was exceptionally good today, shining on his side face, dazzlingly bright.Zi'an was in a great mood, and said, "Auntie, I'll make two homemade dishes for you tonight."

"Yo, you can also cook Chinese food?"

"Of course, after eating what I made, you don't want to go to the Shanghai restaurants outside."

Aunt Kong smiled from ear to ear, "Okay, let Auntie try your handicrafts." She was really happy, this year her daughter and son-in-law won't come back, and the family will only have a good time, so it feels deserted.Zian is willing to have New Year's Eve dinner at home, and he can cook. Doesn't that mean he has an extra cheap son and a cheap daughter-in-law?

Ouji and Wei Guoen both went home, Huo Zian was the only one in the kitchen, facing the clean and bright stainless steel cooking counter.He is dealing with hairy crabs, tearing apart the crab meat one by one, and plans to make crab powder tofu at night.The kitchen was unprecedentedly quiet, only the sound of bubbling and crabs spitting bubbles could be heard.

Suddenly there was the sound of firecrackers outside, Zian was startled and stopped.The sound of firecrackers seems to be endless, one hanging after another, one family after another, and the distance can't be heard.How long has this feeling lasted?Zian suddenly felt that he had returned to his childhood, when his father hadn't left...

Immersed in memories, You Liangchen pushed the door and walked in, bringing a smell of sulfur.

You Liangchen raised his chin, his eyes were dark and bright. "Where to post couplets?"

After the kitchen of Youjia was occupied by the restaurant, Aunt Kong and Mrs. Cheng shared a kitchen.The dumplings for the New Year's Eve dinner were made in that small kitchen.

Huo Zian's family doesn't eat dumplings, but he is extremely talented, and he can get the essentials after seeing how many others make them.Aunt Kong enviously said: "Look at our Anzi, how skillful his hands are. Anzi is not a few years older than you, and he is reliable in everything, you learn!" She looked at You Liangchen.

You Liangchen glanced at Huo Zian, and saw that the chef had begun to feel that it was not a challenge, so he folded the dumpling skin and twisted it into a small fish, and pinched it with both hands to form a star.You Liangchen thought it was funny: he looked solid, but he was actually a childish ghost.

Following Zian's example, he squeezed the dumplings casually a few times and put them aside.Zi An wondered, "What is this?"

"Wang Ba."

Zi An was relieved, "It's not like it!" He grabbed a piece of dough and put a slender tail on Wang Ba.You Liangchen pinched four legs and one head again, Zi'an dipped the dough in water and put a piece of green vegetables on it.You Liangchen carefully picked up Wang Ba, "Bada", his head fell off.

Aunt Kong looked at the two of them having a great time, and gave them a blank look, "How old are you two, you will harm the food." There is the beauty of dexterity, the clumsiness of good time, and the clumsy cuteness. I just feel that my heart is like that steamed rice cake, hot and soft.

Mrs. Cheng asked, "An Zi, haven't you been in a foreign country for the new year?"

"Yes, it's almost the same as here. We have reunion dinner at night, but it's not as lively as your place."

"You don't have any brothers or sisters in your family. Mom will spend the holidays alone this year?" Aunt Kong felt happy and began to worry about others.

Huo Zian smiled and said, "How come, she's on her honeymoon in Morocco, she has no time to talk to me."

"Ah?" Aunt Kong felt strange: "Your mother remarried... oh no, newly married?"

Zian made a "hmm".

"Hey, those who study abroad can make troubles." Aunt Kong sighed: "But then again, you will probably start a family in a few years. It's not easy for her to be alone, and it's not bad to find an old man to live with."

Zi'an laughed and said, "Not counting as an old man, my new father is ten years older than me, and he is in very good health." Aunt Kong was taken aback, counting her age silently, Zi'an's mother might be almost sixty.

Huo Zian didn't tell them that his mother had "remarried" many times, and she couldn't last for three to five years.His stepfather is all over the world, including Americans, Argentines, Singaporeans, and Icelanders, so he moved to many cities with his mother.After he became self-reliant, for some reason, he continued to run around the world as if under a spell.He has learned a lot of languages ​​that he will not use a few times in his life, has seen many taboos and customs, and eaten all kinds of hot and cold food; because the family name is often changed, which brings him huge troubles when entering and exiting the country, he finally simply changed his surname Throwing it away; and because he is too used to being out of place, because of the loneliness in an unfamiliar environment, he gradually regards himself as the center of the earth. No matter how the outside world changes, he always tries his best to use himself as the axis and follow his own track. .

The junction of this orbit and the outside world is food.When adapting to a place, the first thing he adapts to is always food.And after he got used to the food, he felt that the words, values, goodwill and malice, superficial or hidden habits of the people around him were all understandable—even if they couldn’t be understood, they could still be tolerated.

Now he feels very comfortable sitting at the New Year's Eve dinner table of Beijingers. He feels that he can live in this courtyard for 1000 years like the jujube tree in the yard.There are rich dishes on the table, with a smoky hot pot in the middle, surrounded by vegetarian meatballs, bean paste, mustard pie, sauced pork, scallion fried lamb, fried red fruit, braised fish, fried shrimp and other dishes.Inside is a circle of food, above the food is a circle of water vapor, and outside the water vapor is a circle of people.

You Liangchen was sitting next to him, occasionally bringing food to the four old people, and serving them the liquor that Aunt Kong had treasured.He and Zian still drank Niu Er, Huo Zian liked the purity of Erguotou, and he didn't like to drink other liquor after drinking it.

"Anzi, eat more. We have a large population in Beijing. If you are not used to eating, just say something and I'll cook something for you."

Huo Zian hurriedly said: "I'm used to it. Don't be too busy, Aunt Kong. This mutton is really delicious. You can teach me how to cook it."

Aunt Kong was elated: "It's done. ——How good is this, I don't know how to teach a big chef to cook."

You Dacheng took the opportunity to lift the sedan chair: "No matter how big the chef is, the food you cook is not as good. I have eaten this elbow for 40 years. I can't get enough of it. Let me tell you something. The doctor said that I am high in fat and asked me to change my living habits. , you are not allowed to eat fat, and you have to exercise every day. I just told the doctor that it doesn’t work if you change anything. If you want to change, you have to change your wife!”

Everyone laughed, and Aunt Kong laughed so hard that her eyes narrowed, "You can control your mouth, and you will have everything." She knew what You Dacheng said, but she didn't move a few elbows. The crab powder tofu made by Zi'an But most of the pot slipped into his stomach.

Aunt Kong was happy, and said again: "I just like to see people eat well. Let me tell you, Anzi, Liang Chen didn't eat when he was young! Don't look at him as tall and big now, but then he was as thin as a little mouse. Say I'm in a hurry?"

"I remember this," Mrs. Cheng said, "Put a small bench in the corner, and the child sits on it, and he is not allowed to leave until he finishes eating. Poor child, he must slip out when it is time to eat."

Uncle Cheng smiled and said, "Can you slip away? Little monkeys can't escape the palm of the Tathagata Buddha." He has never liked Aunt Kong's calculating skills, especially now that the family has a rich fortune and My own family still guards a small courtyard, comparing the two, I feel even more sour.If you seize the opportunity, you will run on her.

Aunt Kong didn't take it seriously, and said along the pole: "That's right, if he can grow into a big 1.8 meters tall, look at his body, who in our alley can compare with it?"

You Dacheng responded: "Yes, you are a head taller than me at the age of 15. It's all thanks to your mother. Good day, let's toast your mother!"

You Liangchen raised his glass, "Mom, you've worked hard." Duan Tou drank half of Erguotou.

The old man hurriedly said: "Drink slowly, drink slowly. This child is honest."

Zian then toasted, "Auntie, I respect you too. This sauced meat is delicious, not greasy at all, how long has it been stewed?" He intentionally took the topic in another direction.

Aunt Kong picked a piece of meat for him, and another chopsticks of mustard, "Eat more if you like it, I'll teach you how to make it tomorrow, um."

Huo Zian responded with a smile, and casually ate the mustard pie into his mouth, only to feel a hot breath rushing to the bridge of his nose, choking tears out.He picked up the cup to drink, but his hand felt warm and fell into You Liangchen's palm.

Only then did Zian realize that what he was holding was a wine glass, and with his drinking capacity, he would definitely be half-drunk after taking this gulp.You Liangchen picked up sugar and garlic for him, "Eat this, it can relieve the spiciness."

Zi'an's eyes were full of tears. It was his first time eating mustard, and Aunt Kong hit hard, feeling as if he had fallen into a pile of pepper.After eating sugar garlic, I feel much better.He took a breath: "It's too exciting."

"It's worse than the millet pepper you gave me." You Liangchen mocked.

Huo Zian was startled, and then said cheekily in You Liangchen's ear: "Hey, do you think that I, like your mother, are forcing you to eat?"

The corner of You Liangchen's mouth curled up, and he also said in his ear: "Can you be like my mother? She won't purposely use stinky fish and bitter gourd to disgust me."

Zian's voice was softer, as if he was blowing: "I'm doing it for your own good, do you feel that you are different?"

"What should I do differently?"

"Try this," Zian put the smoked fish he made into Yu Liangchen's bowl, "everything you ate tasted the same before, because you only remembered being forced to eat in the corner. But this piece of smoked fish is different, you want Remember, how much work I spent doing this: descaled, cut, marinated in Huadiao wine, blanched in water, fried fish, and then boiled with sugar wine, from start to finish for three hours. Do you still think this piece Doesn’t fish have any taste?”

As soon as Yu Liangchen caught the sun, he clinked glasses with him: "Chef, you have worked hard too."

Zian took a sip of his wine: "Hey, just tell me, is it delicious?"

Yu Liangchen didn't answer, just put the fish in his mouth and chewed.He is not interested in eating, and it's not that he has no sense of taste. Naturally, he knows that Zi'an's cooking is delicious, and it is much more delicate than Aunt Kong's. Now listening to Zi'an's words, he really feels that this fish has mixed flavors, and it is indeed worthy of its suffering. remains.

But he had eaten so many dark dishes, and he was unwilling to surrender to Zi'an, so he commented nonchalantly: "It's okay."

"Tsk."

On New Year's Eve, after dinner, there will still be excitement.There is only one way for Aunt Kong to celebrate the festival: rubbing hemp to the background sound of the Spring Festival Gala.With the sound of mahjong, Huo Zian and You Liangchen slipped away.

Under the big locust tree, Zian sat down and looked at the hazy sky in Beijing.After the bombardment of firecrackers, the sky turned dark red and the temperature rose several degrees.The Bell and Drum Tower not far away is brightly lit.

People walked past the locust tree one after another, without stopping, they all went to the square in front.The square in front is sandwiched between the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. It is full of people, as if they are gathering together to count down the New Year's Eve.But the area around the big pagoda tree is still dark and sparse, behind the bustle.

Huo Zian: "You Liangchen, how far can you see from above?"

You Liangchen: "You'll know when you come up and take a look."

Zi Anxin said, nonsense, if I dare to go up, I still ask you?

"Have you ever been in a tree every year?"

"Ah."

Zian suddenly remembered an Italian novel he had read a long time ago. A little boy climbed up a tree because he didn’t want to eat snails, but he lived on the tree all his life and never came down again.Looking around the small square, there are not many trees in Beijing, and it is impossible to live on it. Even if You Liangchen climbed up, there is no room to move, and even the vision may not be able to surpass the towering clock tower.

——What's the point of being on top, I can only see the barrier that I can't overcome.

Zi'an felt something, and called out, "Yu Liangchen, come down."

"No."

Zi'an smiled and said, "Come on down, shall we go and drink with Kuizi?"

You Liangchen stuck out his head from above, "Don't worry about it, it's about to start."

Start?

Before Zian understood what was going on, he was shocked by the sound of "dong".

He looked blankly at the bell tower—it was the bell ringing ceremony.

It was midnight, and the ancient clock on the bell tower was struck.The bell was low and long, and it was sent far away from the central axis at the turn of two years.As far as the sound of the bell can travel, the ancient capital is as big as it is.The Forty-Nine Cities that he has traveled in the past two months suddenly appeared in Zian's mind. Those palaces and temples, towering European-style columns, spaceship-like domes, glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings, and cramped alley shops, the bells were outlined in an instant. After seeing this big city like a chessboard, people feel their own insignificance.

Zian was fascinated by this, he had participated in the countdown many times, only this time, he felt as if he was being lifted up in the air alone, looking down at the vicissitudes of the world, and wanted to shed tears.

The bell that lasted for more than a minute finally stopped. In the lingering sound that did not dissipate for a long time, You Liangchen said from the tree: "Huo Zian, happy new year."

Hearing You Liangchen's voice, Huo Zian slowed down, as if slowly falling to the ground, returning to this moment.

He couldn't help but look up at the big locust tree, because of the light from the Bell and Drum Tower, the big locust tree was much brighter than usual.For the first time, he clearly saw You Liangchen sitting on the platform—his well-proportioned body, short black hair, clean and handsome face, and beside him was the old shoe, which had been slightly turned white by the wind and frost.

Zi'an lost his soul.At the beginning of all things, something sprouted in Zi'an's heart and slowly revealed its head.But at that time, he didn't know what it was.