I originally had used up the number of meetings this year, but I wanted to meet so much that I finally decided to meet in Zhengzhou. Thinking about it now, without the original whim, it is estimated that the next time we meet will be when the epidemic is over. While I was at home, I sorted out what I wrote last month and came up with this record of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng.

 

 

At eight o'clock in the morning, it suddenly started snowing in Zhengzhou.

I opened the window, stood on tiptoe and reached out, trying to catch the falling snow. However, I couldn't catch a few pieces even if I stretched my arms. When he saw this, he stretched his hand out of the window, then spread his palm in front of me and said: "It's raining and snowing today. Look, there are small ice crystals." There were a few ice crystals on his hand that hadn't had time to melt. Snow, when I touched it with my fingers, the fine snow had turned into water in his palm, and the hard small ice crystals were a bit irritating. Snow is rare in Wenzhou, which has a subtropical monsoon climate. The last time I remember seeing snow in Wenzhou was in junior high school. Perhaps because it is rare, I have had a strange obsession with snow since I was a child. We went to Lanzhou together in November, thinking that it would be cold in the northwest and we might catch some snow. However, in the end we didn't do it, and we didn't want to see it in Zhengzhou. Leaning against the window, pedestrians and vehicles were passing by on the street, and the snow was falling outside the window. He put his arms around his waist behind him, and no one spoke.

The wind blew into the room and it was a bit cold, so I stood for a while and closed the window.

 

Roasted sweet potatoes

 

Zhengzhou is heavily polluted and it rains again. The hazy sky is so gloomy that people can’t breathe. As I get older, I seem to be more and more afraid of the cold. I sit on the sofa and don’t want to move or go out. He put on his coat and went to the supermarket downstairs to buy groceries, and closed the door with a click.

The room became silent and quiet. I put down my phone and stared at the ceiling in a daze. I don’t know how long it took before the door opened. He walked in and immediately handed something warm to my hand.

I actually brought extra roasted sweet potatoes. He said while putting things away: "I just went to the supermarket and saw roasted sweet potatoes. I brought one because I thought of you." The steaming hot roasted sweet potatoes made your index fingers move and you were about to tear them apart. Kaipi, but heard him say: " When I was downstairs, I was thinking that today is heavily polluted and rainy. It would be too bad to be alone, but I think of you upstairs. Although you can't go out, you can Cooking together in the room seems like everything isn’t that bad anymore.”

 

Zhengzhou Sixth People's Hospital

 

I suddenly had a fever on the fourth day.

The fever made me dizzy at night, so when I went out I added one of his coats to my body. I'm wearing four pieces of clothing and I'm as round as a ball. At 10 o'clock that night, I joked with him on the way from the emergency building to Building 8, saying that I didn't expect to go to other scenic spots in Zhengzhou, but I had explored Zhengzhou Sixth People's Hospital.

The last time I got sick was in Chongqing. It was a hectic time at the time, but this time it was a little more orderly.

 

Room

 

When he was packing up and going out on the morning of the 11th, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the room without speaking for a long time. I followed his gaze and looked towards the room. The pots and pans were put away, the slippers were put back to their original positions, and the clothes were The hat rack was empty, the traces of human habitation wiped away. I looked away and asked him if he had forgotten something. After a long while, he said: "Time flies so fast. The room was also like this on the first day we came here. The landlord even told us about the water heater that day."

 

Eat in Kaifeng

 

Yu divided Jiuzhou, with Henan in the middle, so it was named Zhongzhou, also known as the Central Plains. Henan, which is geographically central, has a moderate and mild taste. Unlike other cuisines, one bite leaves an indelible mark on the tip of the tongue. However, the influence of Henan cuisine can be seen more or less in other cuisines, whether it is the soup dumplings that were later improved and evolved in Nanjing, or the Bianjing roast duck that became famous after being introduced to Beijing.

Before 1954, the provincial capital of Henan was Kaifeng. At that time, Bianjing was unparalleled in the world, but "Tokyo Menghua Lu" said that Kaifeng "collects the treasures from all over the world and returns them to the market; all the strange smells in Huihuan District are in the kitchen."

I went to Kaifeng for the food, or to be more precise, for the soup dumplings.

After biting open the pop-able skin, the salty and delicious soup instantly overflowed every taste bud. Nanjing's soup dumplings still make me anxious. A friend told me that soup dumplings must be eaten unopened.

This sentence made people feel itchy, and also contributed to this trip to Kaifeng. Kaifeng soup dumplings are "like chrysanthemums when put down, like lanterns when lifted up", and they look much larger than Nanjing soup dumplings. After many comparisons, I went to Huang's old store. I walked into the entrance with full expectations, but was a little disappointed. The skin of the soup dumplings is flat and slightly thick, lacking a bit of elasticity. The soup is ordinary and not as delicious as the Nanjing soup dumplings. It can only be said that it is a waste of time. The fried eight-piece traditional snack was not satisfactory either. The meat quality was barely adequate, but it was almost tasteless. The batter outside was also bland and had too much oil, leaving a shallow layer on the plate.

 

 

Longting Park

 

The unexpected surprise in Kaifeng is Longting Park.

In the Longting main hall, many middle-aged people clasped their hands and bowed several times to the main hall. They muttered words, some walked around the main hall, and some looked at the stone sculptures of Pixiu at the four corners of the main hall, which can turn disaster into good luck. Longting Hall is part of the former site of the Song Dynasty Imperial Palace, but unlike other palace buildings, the outer wall of Longting Hall has a sticker of "Civilized Tourism, Please Do Not Worship". There are several scenic spots not far from Longting Hall. There are also security guards who often discourage people from worshiping. The security guards are used to it, and the people who are worshiping seem to be too. Sometimes the facts exist before the slogans, and the slogans are put forward only when there is an act of worship. I went to ask a few aunts about it, and one of them told me that it was to show respect and that there was an imperial edict here. She spoke too fast and I couldn't hear her clearly, so I had to give up.

But it is worth mentioning that there was a tribute courtyard in Longting Park and a tablet dedicated to the Emperor Long Live. Among the materials found, there are talks about worshiping the Dragon King and related legends. I didn’t delve into it later.

 

Longting Park · Stele Pavilion

Longting Park·Main Hall Exterior Wall
 

Longting Park·Pixiu Stone Sculpture
 

On the modernization of the royal shooting range
 

Kaifeng·Street
 

On the way to the train station, I ran like crazy and got on the bus four minutes before departure.

Some delicious restaurants in Kaifeng

Xingshengde Peanut Store

Address: No. 84, North Section of Zhongshan Road, Longting District

The spicy peanuts are crispy and tasty, but Xiao Wang thinks they are just ordinary.

Laoyixingzhai Li Xinmin peanut cake

Address: No. 9, Shunhe South Street, Gulou District

It was recommended in a documentary I watched before going there, and I brought a copy to my family. It's still very crispy after being stored for several days, and the peanut flavor is mellow, but it will be a bit greasy if you eat too much.

Xiaoyong Youtiao Old Shop

Address: Auxiliary Road in the middle section of Huanghe Street

Egg-filled fried dough sticks is a relatively rare traditional method nowadays. The fried dough sticks have a thick texture and go well with spicy soup.

Zhuji Five-Spice Shaobing Old Shop

Address: South of A7 Road, Building 11, Gulou Xintiandi, Xufu Street, Gulou District, opposite the Shanshan-Gan Association

The cake is very crispy and slightly sweet. I bought a family photo. The texture is rich but not conflicting.

Date cake old shop

Address: Shunhe Hui District - 50 meters east of Lijia Mutton Soup, Weizhongqian Street

It's a pity that I had a break when I went there, so I went to a nearby store to buy a date cake. The skin was very crispy, the inside was slightly sweet and glutinous, and the date paste filling was just right without being too sweet.

Meili Roast Duck Restaurant

Address: No. 29, Annex 1, East Street, Finance Department, Shunhe Hui District

This old restaurant in Kaifeng specializes in Bianjing roast duck. I didn’t go there because I couldn’t eat it any more. I’ll definitely try it next time I go to Kaifeng.

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