When encountering something he doesn’t understand, Shen Yuhan has learned to keep it in his mind first and then ask Siri later, now, the most important thing was to properly worship his ancestors at the temple.
The car drove into a street full of life, it was the first time for Shen Yuhan to come to such a crowded place at night, even sitting in the car, he felt as if he was just an arm’s length away from the pedestrians, there are row upon row1鱗次櫛比 (lín cì zhì bǐ): lit. parallelly lined up like fish scales and teeth of a comb; (usually of buildings) row upon row; tightly packed; like fish scales and comb teeth―in tight rows; closely together. of shop on both side of the road, selling cakes, fruits, roasted duck, making people’s mouths water as they looked at them.
Some shops have empty2空空如也 (kōng kōng rú yě): as empty as anything (idiom); completely bereft; empty; vacuous; having nothing; From the Analects, Book 9 (《論語·子罕》): 子曰：「吾有知乎哉？無知也。有鄙夫問於我，空空如也，我叩其兩端而竭焉。」, The Master said, “Am I indeed possessed of knowledge? I am not knowing. But if a mean person, who appears quite empty-like, ask anything of me, I set it forth from one end to the other, and exhaust it.”; Originally, reduplication of 空 with particles native to Classical Chinese grammar. In vernacular or modern Chinese, the chengyu with its air of classicality is often used for humorous effects. storefronts, with few customers, while others others have long queues, the customers in the queues are following the rules, and many passersby stop to take a look, however, upon seeing the long queues, they leave with a sense of regret.
There are also many two-wheeled vehicles placed under the trees on the sidewalk, some people use them by sweeping them with their mobile phones, some people leave their cars there and leave, completely without fear of their cars being stolen, modern people are so self-conscious, he guessed that this was the prosperous age that his elder brother once mentioned to him.
On that day, Shen Yuhan gave him a set of summer clothes sewn by himself, when he met his eldest brother drinking alone in the courtyard, he said: “The 《Book of Rites》 says: When the Grand course was pursued, a public and common spirit ruled all under the sky3天下為公 (tiān xià wèi gōng): the world belongs to the people; a public and common spirit rules all under the sky; the whole world as one community; From the Book of Rites, Book 9 (《禮記·禮運》): 大道之行也，天下為公。選賢與能，講信修睦，故人不獨親其親，不獨子其子，使老有所終，壯有所用，幼有所長，矜寡孤獨廢疾者，皆有所養。, When the Grand course was pursued, a public and common spirit ruled all under the sky; they chose men of talents, virtue, and ability; their words were sincere, and what they cultivated was harmony. Thus men did not love their parents only, nor treat as children only their own sons. A competent provision was secured for the aged till their death, employment for the able-bodied, and the means of growing up to the young. They showed kindness and compassion to widows, orphans, childless men, and those who were disabled by disease, so that they were all sufficiently maintained.; they chose men of talents, virtue, and ability; their words were sincere, and what they cultivated was harmony. Thus men did not love their parents only, nor treat as children only their own sons. A competent provision was secured for the aged till their death, employment for the able-bodied, and the means of growing up to the young. They showed kindness and compassion to widows, orphans, childless men, and those who were disabled by disease, so that they were all sufficiently maintained. Males had their proper work, and females had their homes. (They accumulated) articles (of value), disliking that they should be thrown away upon the ground, but not wishing to keep them for their own gratification. (They laboured) with their strength, disliking that it should not be exerted, but not exerting it (only) with a view to their own advantage. In this way (selfish) schemings were repressed and found no development. Robbers, filchers, and rebellious traitors did not show themselves, and hence the outer doors remained open, and were not shut. [Note 1] When can you and I witness such an era of prosperity, instead of listening to those annoying old know-it-alls every day, if we can see it at least once in our lifetime, then we can die without any regrets.”
Of course, Shen Yuhan was also very confused, so he asked him curiously: “Eldest Brother, will there really be such a prosperous era?”
His eldest brother said: “Maybe we won’t be able to see it in our lifetimes, but your and my generation after generation of descendants may be able to wait until that day, it may take hundreds of years, or it may take thousands of years.”
Eldest brother has always been a strict person, he will say those words to him that day, there is a sense of melancholy4鬱鬱寡歡 (yù yù guǎ huān): depressed; melancholic; cheerless; be low in spirits., perhaps it was difficult to get over it, because Qi Kingdom had been at war with other countries for many years, and the court was divided into several factions, which really made their young people who were doing practical things depressed and frustrated.
But now, his eldest brother didn’t see this prosperous era, but he did.
There may be still a little difference with his eldest brother’s words, but it is also the year of peace and prosperity5太平盛世 (tài píng shèng shì): peace and prosperity (idiom); reign of order and prosperity; prosperous and stable..
Shan Qihuan answered a friend’s phone call, after hanging up, he saw Shen Yuhan looking at the passersby outside the window in a daze, it’s unknown what was going on in his mind.
Shan Qihuan reached out and pinched the flesh on his cheek: “What are you looking at?”
Shen Yuhan was disturbed by this, interrupting his recollection, he grabbed his husband’s hand: “What are you doing?” He accidentally brought out their Qi Kingdom dialect.
“What dialect are you speaking.” Shan Qihuan thought it sounded pretty good, a bit like the soft accent from Suzhou and Hangzhou.
“The dialect of our hometown, you must have never heard of it.” Shen Yuhan hurriedly switch back to clear pronunciation and mellow voice6字正腔圓 (zì zhèng qiāng yuán): pronouncing every word clearly and correctly; (of singing or speaking) very articulate pronunciation and vocalizing; pronounce every word correctly and in a sweet, mellow voice. in Mandarin, “Have you finished your phone call?”
“Um, let’s get out of the car.” Shan Qihuan wanted to tell him that it was his friend, but considering that Shen Yuhan’s mobile phone has been very quiet, and there are very few contacts, he knew that he didn’t have many friends who were sincere to him. In his investigation report, Shen Yuhan has many fox friends and dog friends, after something happened at home, he didn’t even have someone to stay by his side to comfort him, it was a bit miserable, what Shen Yuhan has to do now is to make friends again.
Uncle Li stopped the car, the road was really too crowded with cars, and the car was not moving at all.
It was only a few hundred meters away from the wonton shop that Shan Qihuan was going to, Shan Qihuan decided to take Shen Yuhan out of the car and walked over, so the two of them got out of the car.
Although there are many pedestrians and shops, the ground was clean, and there is still traffic police on duty at the crowded intersection ahead.
Shen Yuhan has a good impression of the uniformed policemen in this world, when passing the traffic lights, he even took a second look at the traffic policeman wearing white gloves.
Shan Qihuan gently turned his head over and said: “Look at the road, there are people everywhere, what’s so good-looking about a traffic police officer, it’s not like you haven’t seen one before.”
Shen Yuhan laughed softly, he had only seen them twice from a distance, and he had never seen them at such a close distance.
“Good-looking.”
“Where is it good-looking.” Not even half as handsome as him.
“Hey, Husband, you don’t understand.”
Shan Qihuan took a deep breath and squeezed his paw hard: “What do I need to understand?”
“I’ll tell you later.” Shen Yuhan decided to be secretive.
There are many people at the traffic light intersection, which is also crowded and an old street, and the road surface is uneven, Shan Qihuan simply tugged at Shen Yuhan’s wrist.
The two of them had just come out of a banquet, and appeared on this kind of street, although they had put on thick coat, it was obvious that they still did not fit in7格格不入 (gé gé bù rù): (idiom) inharmonious; incompatible; be incompatible (with); be out of line/step (with); be like oil and water; be like a square peg in a round hole. with their surroundings, the most important thing is that the two of them have overly expensive looks.
Shen Yuhan still had great curiosity about things in the outside world, he took in everything he saw and heard8所見所聞 (suǒ jiàn suǒ wén): what one hears and sees (idiom); what is seen and heard. at once9盡收眼底 (jìn shōu yǎn dǐ): to take in the whole scene at once; to have a panoramic view; can see all the scenery., never getting tired of looking at it, and the depression he had accumulated in recent days gradually disappeared.
Seeing how modern people lived, he can also better understand the lifestyle of modern people, even if he cannot integrate into this society yet, it is better than nothing.
The two to three hundred meter road was not long, but it was the lively center of this road, Shan Qihuan led him into a dimly lit alley, and after a few steps, he reached the place where the wontons were served.
Shen Yuhan thought he would take him to a restaurant similar to the garden, he didn’t expect to come to a very simple store, despite how deeply it was hidden, the tables and chairs in the store were almost full of people, the store owner and the boss’s wife are so busy10熱火朝天 (rè huǒ cháo tiān): in full swing (idiom); (in a) frenzy; buzzing or bustling with activity., and they have no time to pay attention to them at all.
Shan Qihuan found a seat and sat down, the distance between the tables and chairs was very close, in fact, it was a very ordinary wonton store in the modern times.
The name of the store is very auspicious and in touch with the people, it is called auspicious wonton.
By coincidence, the wonton stall where he ate with his grandmother was also called auspicious wonton.
Shen Yuhan saw a somewhat worn-out menu board hanging on the wall of the store, with the store’s history written on the side, it turns out that this is an old shop that has existed for many years, and the wonton soup base is made from recipes passed down from their ancestors, which actually has a history of a few hundred years.
He asked Shan Qihuan, who was using WeChat to scan the QR code to place an order: “Husband, how did you find this wonton store?”
“I used to go to high school here, and once there was nothing to eat in the cafeteria after a ball game, so I went out with my friends to look for something to eat, and stumbled into this wonton shop, I’ve been coming here often ever since.” After Shan Qihuan finished speaking, he asked him what he wanted to eat, “Order what you want to eat.”
Shen Yuhan glanced at the large menu sign on the wall: “I want a signature clear soup wonton.”
Shan Qihuan didn’t eat anything in the afternoon, and now he is hungry, so he quickly place the order.
The girl at the counter quickly typed out the order, placed it on their table, and then went to serve wontons to other customers.
“It’s so fast.” Shen Yuhan was stunned.
Shan Qihuan was amused by his little expression and patiently told him: “Their business is very good, it’s not the peak period yet, otherwise, you’d really have to queue up, don’t look at the store as small, the customer flow is still very large.”
Shen Yuhan couldn’t help but think of the wonton stall he had once tried before, and decided to share it with his husband, he had considered his words.
“My ancestors, my grandmother used to take me to eat wonton, that wonton stall is also called auspicious wonton, it was the first time I ate wonton outside, even though it was in a clear soup, the wonton skin is thin and the filling is large, for the first time, when I was hungry, I thought it was the most delicious food I have ever eaten, but I will never eat it again.”
Shen Yuhan found that he felt a sense of relief after telling the story, even though he would never be able to eat the auspicious wonton of Qi Kingdom again, he can still eat wontons with the same name in the modern world.
It was the first time Shan Qihuan heard him talk about himself and his family in such detail, at this time, his eyes shone, but there was an inexplicable sadness in his words, he thought that he might be missing his relatives.
“Is that stall closed?” Shan Qihuan guessed that if it was a stall, it should be a small vendor selling from a push cart.
Shen Yuhan nodded gently: “Um, the stall owner and his wife are very old, they are long gone, and it’s impossible to eat it anymore.”
“I remember that your grandmother passed away a long time ago.” Shan Qihuan heard what he said and thought that his grandma seemed to have passed away long ago, “That must have happened when you were little, right?”
Shen Yuhan said in his heart, his grandmother was still healthy when he left, but now that he has come to modern society, she is probably dead long ago, it’s just that he doesn’t know where the Shen family is buried, the Shen family’s ancestral grave should still be in the same place.
But the world has changed a lot, and a thousand years have passed, so he’s afraid he won’t be able to find it even if he wants to.
“Um.” Shen Yuhan fell silent.
Shan Qihuan secretly regretted it, wanted to cover his own mouth a minute ago, how could he mention this, his family is gone, mentioning it will inevitably cause him to be sad.
It just so happened that the waiter brought them their wontons, breaking the brief melancholy.
Shan Qihuan softened his tone and asked Shen Yuhan: “Do you want to try my vegetable and pork wonton?”
Shen Yuhan nodded and said positively: “Yes, then do you want my pork wonton?”
“Then let’s have two.” Shan Qihuan felt relieved when he saw the light in his eyes again, “Let’s try different flavors next time.”
“I want to try that sauerkraut flavor.” Shen Yuhan started to eat, he blew on the hot wonton and took a bite, but the tip of his tongue was burned, “It’s so hot.”
Shan Qihuan looked at his slightly pursed lips, blowing on the wonton in the spoon, and the pink tongue that was exposed, he swallowed his saliva, “Okay.”
What he wants to eat now is not just wontons, but also something else.
The wontons are very fragrant, and the aftertaste lingers in memory11回味無窮 (huí wèi wú qióng): leaving a rich aftertaste; (figurative) memorable, lingering in memory; the aftertaste lingers on; afford much food for thought..
I totally just copied (no editing whatsoever, I’m not even sure if I read it, kinda zone out in the middle…) the whole Book of Rites excerpt cited by Shen Yuhan’s brother from here: Link.
Next part will be posted tomorrow.
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