Strange events in the imperial capital

Two months after returning from Dali, the influence of the Beixinqiao incident in the circle has gradually faded, and it may be considered a turning point in the world.

As for whether there is a turning point in someone's mind, who knows, the master will never admit it.Some memories that are not deep enough can be completely erased from the mind by the constant correction of the emotionally closed self and the control of drugs...

Chu Han regained his old spirit, happily drove to the old alley in the second ring road, and chatted with Boss Luo.Boss Luo is the most authentic kind of old Beijing hutong stringer. He has a good understanding of astronomy, good ventilation, can enter the kitchen, and exit the hall. He is a very interesting person.Mr. Chu came to the restaurant, so Boss Luo secretly made a calculation with Chu Han, saying that I have found a treasure in this Daxiangfeng alley where I have lived for decades.

Chu Han listened to Boss Luo telling stories in the "Luo Mansion Family Banquet" deep in the alley.Luo Zhan's family has lived in Courtyard No. 18 of this alley since his great-grandfather was born before liberation. There are two dilapidated small tile-roofed houses in Xishai and a kitchen.After his grandpa and father had passed the scene, Luo Zhan sold the entire small courtyard and decorated it into his private restaurant.This man is capable and troublesome, he has done a lot of business, and he is loyal.He was the third child at home, and when he was young, the Taoists called him Luo San'er, but now that he is old, the gangsters all call him Uncle Luo.

But Chu Han doesn’t care if he’s called Third Uncle, regardless of his age ranking, and according to our old Beijinger’s respectful title, he must call him "Three Greats" or "Three Masters".

Since the vulgar word "big big" was clicked by gold fingers, it became a popular mandarin on the front page of the newspaper, and it also has a specific connotation in the "Xinhua Dictionary". It could be "uncle".

In his early years, the third master made his fortune through the chain operation of "Beijing-style snack bars".At that time, there were two foreign fast food brands named McDonald X and Ken X Keji. The business went from bad to worse and they could not continue in Beijing. The two assets were reorganized and merged into a "McDang Chicken". "McDang Chicken" was found to be feeding customers hormone chicken with three heads, six arms and eight legs, and then went bankrupt and sold it at a low price.Boss Luo quickly picked up a big bargain and bought all the assets of "McDangji".Since then, all the foreign restaurants in the Imperial City have been redecorated and transformed, and they operate various set meals derived from the eight major Chinese cuisines.The most popular ones include "Bangbang Chicken with Hot and Sour Rice Noodles and Skewer Set", "Sesame Oil Chicken with Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup and Osmanthus Cake Set", "Beggar Chicken with Braised Fire and Wu Dalang Cake Set", etc. etc.In short, in the eyes of Chu Han and his younger generation, his third uncle is a business prodigy, a legend in the catering industry of the imperial capital.As for Luo Zhan's elder brother, he is the Second Uncle Luo, and he is even more of a legend in the rivers and lakes.Many people have heard about the legendary life of Chu Han and his second uncle over the years, but very few have seen the real person.

I digress, and come back to talk about the business in the alley.

In late autumn, the imperial capital is cold at night, the autumn windows are stained with wind and rain, and the whole body is soaked in cool air.

Under the boxwood plaque of "Luofu Family Banquet", a paper lantern swayed with a little red light.

Luo Zhan made some tea and said, "Xiaohan, let me tell you a secret, and I will tell you alone. In the past month, there have been two missing persons cases in this alley, and several people have been lost, all related to this thing. Just from Go out of my private restaurant, turn north, 200 meters away, there is No. 3 courtyard of Daxiangfeng Hutong, there is a treasure."

Chu Han doesn't smoke, and his nose and eyes are so smudged by second-hand smoke: "No. 3 Courtyard? Isn't it Ding Ling's former residence?"

Luo Zhan raised his eyebrows: "Nephew, do you know?"

Although Chu Han is not as well-versed as his third uncle, he has read a lot of anthologies and unofficial histories: "That famous female writer bought a yard in this alley before liberation, and later lived in that small courtyard. Decades... You just said, what is in that yard?"

Boss Luo breathed out smoke and smoke: "There are good things in that yard, and there are also weird ones. For two consecutive weeks, two groups of people have gone in, but none of them have been able to come out."

The so-called disappearance case, Chu Han heard the old lady next door mention that two men with non-local accents pried into the luxury car parked by the customers of the private restaurant. Someone reported the case and the thief ran away.A few days later, two young men with a local accent and the appearance of poor backpackers came to the alley to inquire about things.It is said that someone saw the two people finally enter the No. 3 courtyard. At night, there was a terrifying noise upstairs, and the residents called the police, but the two did not come out again...

Chu Han shrewdly asked: "Could it be that you are following the reported case?"

Luo Zhan was smoking a cigarette with an elusive expression on his face: "The person who came to investigate the case said that those two groups are car prying gangs, do you believe it?"

Chu Han said very seriously: "Don't be tricky, just say it."

If we say that the inner city of the imperial capital is full of vicissitudes, every alley and every courtyard hides half of family history and dynasty history.The West Four Xiangfeng Hutong in front of you is also a cultural relic that can be counted in the city.Daxiangfeng Hutong starts from Liuyin Street in the west, turns a small bend at the east end of the Hutong, and meets Shichahai Nanyan when it goes north. "Luofu Family Banquet" is guarded at the corner of the alley, and the red lanterns are full of diners from the north and the south who pass by.A few steps to the southwest is Courtyard No. 6, which is said to be the former residence of Cao Xueqin.Further on, Courtyard No. 3 is the old house of a female writer surnamed Ding.

Next to the alley is the famous Prince Gong's Mansion, the first palace in the imperial capital, which is said to be the prototype of Rongguo Mansion in Cao Gong's works.The blue-gray south wall of Da Xiangfeng is just adjacent to the back wall of Prince Gong's Mansion.

That royal mansion has accumulated the prosperity of the past and the desolate vicissitudes of modern times.There is only one wall between Daxiangfeng Hutong and Prince Gong's Mansion.It is conceivable that a century ago, this place was crowded with people, covered with canopies, and brightly lit all night.It is definitely not like today, with weeds on the wall, blurred faces of stone lions on the threshold, and two old locust trees with crooked necks at the end of the road.

Boss Luo obviously didn't come to find his nephew Chu to trace the origin of the Rong Mansion, or to discuss the posthumous works of a certain female writer.Recently, a senior diner, surnamed Qu, came to the restaurant frequently. He was about 40 years old and had a lot of money.This surnamed Qu's family suffered an accident, and his parents were implicated in the investigation. It may be that when Xinshang was shooting tiger flies, he also shot crabs in the pond by the way.The real estate and family property surnamed Qu may be frozen or confiscated, just like house raids in the feudal society. Once you commit a crime, it doesn’t matter which source of wealth you have accumulated over the years, all of them will be searched for you.The one surnamed Qu couldn't even settle the money owed to the restaurant, and he was also unwilling to do so. He emptied a few boxes of antiques from home and exchanged them with Boss Luo for money.

In the dusty warehouse behind the restaurant, Chu Han saw the box.

A thick layer of dust had accumulated on the yellowed letter, and a puff of smoke popped up when his fingers touched it, almost choking out his allergic body.He ran out halfway and coughed for a long time, but came back reluctantly, and was immediately laughed at by the third master, "It's the same as your father when he was young, his physique is so delicate!"

According to the mysterious narration by the guy surnamed Qu, this is an antiquity that came out of the private house in No. 3 Courtyard.

Chu Han said, "You really paid for it?"

Luo Zhan stared and said, "Absolutely good stuff!"

Chu Han thought to himself, Boss Luo, you only have such hobbies. Who in the circle doesn't know?Who wouldn't coax you with two new sets?I don't want to fool you. Who are you fooling.He also saw that Boss Luo has been a little full and too busy lately, and he is dissatisfied with his desires. The guy at home must be too busy with work. Seeing that the third master has shown a demonic aura.In Luo Zhan's own words, my mother's fucking is now "the boudoir is lonely and cold, and I'm too busy to pick my feet." Let's do some business together, eldest nephew.

The sandalwood box has no musty smell, exudes an old fragrance, and the four corners are covered with quaint copper patterns.Chu Han slowly flipped through the diaries, manuscripts, and family letters written by female writers.Among them, the letters Boss Luo emphasized for him to read were letters between the writer and a male friend.In addition to the sentimental literature that expresses the feelings of worrying about the country and the suffering of life, the focus is on such texts: [Cracked ink patterns...a wall that covers the entire surface...the treasures that I have accumulated in my life...those shadows...that frighten the soul Shadow...] The words are intermittent, some of the pen handwriting was stained by water, and some were burned like fragments in a brazier and then picked out, only the strange words such as "wall" and "shadow" kept repeating.Chu Han has read the biographies of the characters and knows that the female writer's husband was martyred in the roundup of white terror before liberation. After that, he lived alone all year round, kept writing, and had close contacts with several admirers.Maybe these are just ordinary love letters?Or have other ideas?

Not to mention Boss Luo, who likes to join in the fun, is tempted, Chu Han himself is a little curious.Of course, what they are really interested in is not the female writer's love history, but what secrets are hidden in the No. 3 courtyard, which is separated from the palace by a wall.

The courtyard is only a few steps away, near the water tower.

Chu Han's expression had already betrayed his mind.

Back at the dining table in the private room, Boss Luo bit his cigarette butt: "On this matter, didn't the higher-ups ask you to help identify it?"

Chu Han said, no, they didn't come here for every little thing.

People from the "Special Affairs Division" of the X Security Bureau often came to visit and asked Chu Han for help.When his father Chu Xun was in the army, he was doing a special and confidential civilian job. Now he has resigned from his job and went home to raise him, and his son will pass on the skills.People like Chu Han have no files or identities in the Special Affairs Department. They belong to non-staff professional and technical jobs.This time, several living people were lost in Daxiangfeng Hutong. Chu Han reckoned that they would come to him for a "chat" in a few days.

Luo Zhan had a flash of inspiration, and suddenly asked: "In the case of flooding in Beixinqiao a while ago, you helped fish out three survivors from the bottom of the well, and all of them survived. Did you make a great contribution?"

Chu Han: "...Huh?"

Luo Zhan said in a loud voice: "Boy, don't play sloppy with us, I wear my old life on my belt, and I will accompany you down to the bottom of the ancient pagoda well. You are lucky to climb out alive, but you are confused about what happened afterwards? !"

It had been a while since no one mentioned Beixinqiao to Chu Han. Due to some inexplicable mentality, Chu Han himself didn't want to mention it, so he just pretended nothing happened.

"In the end, the case was not settled. Anyway, people were rescued, the water receded, the well was sealed, and I don't know if there were any dragons... I didn't get a reward for my meritorious service." Chu Han said calmly.

Boss Luo, a seasoned veteran of the rivers and lakes, categorically doesn't believe it.The man narrowed his eyes with smile lines and stared at him: "Nephew, the kid named Fang who went down the well with you really didn't come out later? Who the hell is he?"

Chu Han raised his eyes, stretched out his chopsticks, and grinned: "Third Master, this oxtail stuffed with eight-treasure sauce is something you learned from Tan's family cuisine? Uncle Cheng Yu's favorite dish is your favorite. It's amazing. One portion."

"Come on, I cook authentic Luo family dishes!" Boss Luo scolded, "Fuck, don't tell the truth, Chu Han, you're good at it, have you grown up?"

Chu Han's mouth was full of meat.

"Also, as far as our family is concerned, he loves everything I cook, you know?" Luo Zhan added unwillingly.

Chu Han nodded wildly in agreement: "That's right, otherwise how would you get Director Cheng into the thief's boat?"

His third uncle cut his ears with a spoon.

Chu Han hid with a smile, his expression was extremely innocent, his handsome face catered to all ages and exquisite.However, he didn't shake a word of the most important words in his heart, and his heart was tightly sealed.

The experience more than a month ago is still fresh in my memory.Constant insomnia, repeated memories, and forced to take medicine.

He and the young man named Fang San'er first explored Suolongjing in Beixinqiao, and then explored the ancient well in Dali Buddha Building.He survived the catastrophe, but Fang Chitose who possessed thaumaturgy did not come back from the well in the end.Chu Han dare not say who that person must be, or whether that person is still under the Beixin Bridge...

Chatting on the table, Chu Han threatened Boss Luo: "If you bully me again, I will sue my second uncle!"

Luo Zhan sneered: "If you have the guts, you can go and sue again. How old are you this year? As far as your black history is concerned, one day my sister-in-law will return to China and let him catch you, so as not to fuck you all over the place!" "

Chu Han covered his forehead and laughed, ashamed to bring up the stupid thing about teasing others back then.But, the second uncle's family still wants to fuck him?Chu Han said in his heart that your family should underestimate me.

He dialed Cheng Yu's phone number casually, and threatened Luo Zhan, "I'll report your problem to Director Cheng."Luo Zhan was not afraid at all, and said, "Go ahead and call. It's strange that you can make a good call. You don't even answer my comfort call, and you won't talk to you at all."

Beep—beep—beep twice, and it was connected.The voice of the person over there was straight and clear: "Xiaohan, what's the matter?"

Luo Zhan's masculine and handsome face of a thousand years almost shattered!

Chu Han was also taken aback, and in a blink of an eye, he turned into an innocent and innocent child's face, and obediently called, "Uncle Xiaoyu."

……

Officer Cheng came back from get off work that night, and the three of them had a drink and chatted at a table.When Chu Han was sleeping in the guest room on the second floor of the restaurant, he looked down through the crack of the wooden edged window, and happened to see Boss Luo and Officer Cheng stepping out of the threshold, who were full of wine and food, walking slowly in the alley in the dead of night, eating and drinking.Two extremely handsome and harmonious figures came out from under the street lamp, one grabbed the wrist of the other in the dark at the base of the wall, and shook it tacitly, hearty laughter echoed in the night wind.

Chu Han quietly peeked at it for a while, until the two people walked out of sight and were out of sight from a distance, feeling sweet and sour in his heart.

Those two people have been together, like this, for more than 20 years.

Who doesn't want to have such a person by his side, who can promise each other this life.