While Wang Qingfeng was looking for Wang Laomao and the others, Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo were walking under a tall city gate tower.
The mottled city wall shows the long history of this city gate tower, and there is a plaque hanging on the city gate tower with five big characters written on it - the first county outside the Great Wall.
In the passage below the city gate tower, there was a constant stream of civilians and soldiers of the Northeast Army passing through.
The heavy city gate tower and the common people walking with their sleeves tucked into their sleeves all show that this county town has a history that most areas in the Northeast do not have.
If it weren't for the soldiers of the Northeast Army holding rifles, this would have seemed like just an ordinary scene in the history of Suizhong County.
People walking through it can feel the vicissitudes of history, but they don’t know that they have also become a part of this vicissitudes.
After looking at the city gate tower for a while, Qiu Bo said, "Qian Chuan'er, let's go to a restaurant!"
Qian Chuan replied: "I don't have any money!"
Qiu Bo laughed and said, "When do I ever ask you to pay when I go out to eat with you?"
Qian Chuan also laughed: "I've been waiting for you to say this!"
The two men passed through the tall city gate tower and finally walked towards a restaurant with a sign hanging on it.
The New Year is approaching, so the two of them came in to stroll around the county town.
Yes, the New Year is coming soon. If we follow the calendar of the Republic of China, it is now the 22nd year of the Republic of China, and it has been exactly one year since the September 18th Incident.
Although Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo's height has not changed, they both look very healthy and have become stronger.
"Bosses, what would you like to eat?" In the noisy restaurant, Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo had just sat down when a waiter came to greet them.
"Let's have a pig-killing dish, some stir-fried peanuts, and two taels of wine per person." Qiu Bo said casually.
"Okay! A pig-killing dish and a plate of stir-fried peanuts!" The shop assistant shouted in a long voice and went to the backstage.
Seeing that the waiter's shout was interesting, Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo looked at each other with smiles on their faces, and then looked around the restaurant.
Because the New Year is coming, many people go to the county town to buy New Year's goods, so there are also many people eating in this restaurant today.
However, Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo immediately noticed a group of people at the next table, because six of them were actually from the Northeast Army. Judging from their excited faces and dancing, they had obviously been drinking for a while.
At this time, the other party also noticed Qian Chuan and Qiu Bo, and one of them nodded to them.
Most people from Northeast China are extroverted and sociable, not to mention that they all wear military uniforms.
There was only one regiment of the Northeast Army stationed in Suizhou. Even though they didn't know each other, they were definitely from the same regiment, so that person mistook Qiu Bo and Qian Chuan'er for members of his own regiment.
"I think we can just sit at that table together." Qiu Bo said in a low voice with a smile.
Qian Chuan, however, gave Qiu Bo a look and replied, "Come on! Look, they've almost finished their food. Why don't you share the pig-killing dishes with them?"
Besides, don’t you know what our current status is?”
After Qian Chuan'er said this, Qiu Bo continued to laugh and stopped talking.
The dishes were served very quickly. They were brought up as soon as the waiter left.
Simply because both dishes are readily available.
Needless to say, stir-fried peanuts are a cold dish and are always available.
This restaurant is famous in the county for its pig-killing dishes. The sauerkraut and pork belly in the 12-inch pot are always bubbling, and some large bones are thrown into the pot, so it is an old soup. The fire in the stove will not be extinguished until the first customer arrives in the evening.
Qiu Bo and Qian Chuan were now partners in arms, and they had been together for over a year, so naturally, they weren't being polite to each other. They each ate a bit of food and drank a sip of wine, then Qiu Bo said with a smile, "Why is there pork belly in this pig-killing dish?"
Qian Chuan'er was surprised: "Isn't it right that there are big fat slices of meat in the pig-killing dish?"
"Only blood neck meat would be authentic." Qiu Bo said with a smile.
After hearing what Qiu Bo said, Qian Chuan'er also laughed.
Qiu Bo is older, he is already 24 years old, while Qian Chuan'er is younger, he is only 20 this year.
But I understand what Qiu Bo meant by Qian Chuan'er.
The name of Northeastern Pig-Slaughtering Dish comes from the fact that people in Northeastern China raise pigs for a year and then slaughter them during the Chinese New Year.
The method of killing pigs is to use a dip knife (pig-killing knife) to stab into the lower side of the pig's neck and directly cut off the pig's aorta. There is also someone nearby who collects the pig's blood in a basin.
Since the pig blood comes from the pig's body and the knife cut is on the pig's neck, the piece of meat is stained with blood and is red and black.
Killing a pig is a big job for most ordinary people. They raise one pig a year at home, and no one would hire a professional butcher just to kill a pig.
But what can you do if you can’t handle it yourself? Naturally, your neighbors will come to help.
People from Northeast China are hospitable and everyone who comes is a guest.
There are people who kill pigs, and there are people who hold the pigs down. After the pigs are killed, there are people who remove the hair. There are people who use chopsticks to turn over the large and small intestines and wash away the filth inside with caustic soda and water.
Everyone is so busy, so as the host, you must entertain everyone for dinner, and at this time you have to eat the pig-killing dish.
But who would be willing to give the guests that good meat? It was all kept for the family's New Year celebrations, and the meat served to the guests was mostly blood neck meat and large slices of fat.
Eating big slices of fat meat is for the sake of satisfaction, but the blood neck meat does not look very good because it is stained with pig blood.
So the so-called pig-killing dishes refer to blood neck meat and blood sausage stewed with sauerkraut.
The blood sausage is added later, as soon as the pot is opened, and it will be cooked in no time.
It is cold outside but warm inside in the three northeastern provinces in winter.
Especially in a restaurant like this one, the earthen stove is burning loudly and the fire wall is burning hot.
With the hot pig-killing dishes and drinking Shaodaozi wine, Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo soon began to sweat and could not even hold up their dog-skin hats. So they took off their hats and put them on the table.
The two of them were like this, and the people at the table next to them were even more so. They were all drinking happily and noisily!
People from Northeast China tend to speak in loud voices, especially in a restaurant like this. Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo didn't say much but just listened to what the people at the next table were saying.
Qiu Bo and Qian Chuan'er are both veterans.
Especially since the September 18th Incident, those people in their group retreated all the way to Suizhong County, and fought many battles with the Japanese army along the way.
After they came back from Ningyuan City, they have been in Suizhou. Although they have been resting for almost a year, how could they forget what they experienced personally?
However, people with more experience will naturally become more stable, and they are just listening.
As soon as they heard what the people at that table were saying, they knew that group of people had not yet fought against the Japanese army.
Because, what the people at that table said were all hearsay, they heard about what happened on September 18th two years ago, they heard about which unit fought the Japanese army fiercely, they heard about which villages the Japanese army massacred, and how the common people suffered greatly.
I heard that, although it sounds very touching, it is just what I heard, it is just stories.
Qian Chuan'er and Qiu Bo were eyewitnesses. Although neither of them had much education, when they heard the soldiers who had not fought against the Japanese army talk about these things, they felt that they had seen the world and nothing else could compare to it.
As a veteran, no one wants to recall the past, because once they recall the past, they will think of their lost companions.
The reason why Qian Chuan and Qiu Bo kept listening was that they felt these soldiers were pretty good and were all thinking about how to go into battle and kill the enemy.
But just when Qiu Bo and Qian Chuan'er had only the last sip of wine left in their bowls, they suddenly heard a loud-mouthed guy at the next table say, "I say, stop listening to what you hear. We're about to go into battle! Ningyuan has been lost, and it will soon be Suizhong's turn! You're all talking like it's real. Have you seen it? You haven't!"
The man's speech was a little slurred, and he was obviously a little drunk.
"Don't brag, as if you've seen it before!" People from Northeast China love to bluff and argue, especially after drinking. As soon as the soldier finished speaking, his companion next to him started to talk back at him.
"I didn't see the things you are talking about, but I know some people saw them, and they happened in Suizhou!" The loud-voiced man started to shout again.
"Who? Our regiment has never fought against the Japanese." his companion asked.
"What a jinx!" He said this in a loud and careless voice.
When people are drunk, no one will pay attention to what is happening around them. But at this time, Qiu Bo, who had already stood up and was about to pay the bill, changed his expression.
He did not go to settle the bill but sat down again and exchanged glances with Qian Chuan'er. The two of them continued to listen without saying a word.
Note: "Wuwu Zaza" is a Northeastern dialect used to describe exaggerated movements.
