Decades later, my friends and I went to Luoyang again. After seven or eight hours by car, I arrived in Luoyang at noon, had a light meal, visited my friend's industrial base, and toured the city in the car. There are new buildings in the city, and high-rise residential buildings are one after another. These buildings are thin, but very high. It seems that the wind is blowing down. This is the feeling that I care about. There are many trees in this city, all of which are very tall. From a distance, they look like trees. The building is built in the Woods. The trees in the street are at least 120 years old. No one can get together around. It's eight or nine stories high. It seems that Luoyang attaches importance to greening, and it has a scale long ago, otherwise it will not become this climate.
There are not many pedestrians in the street, not as crowded as Xi 'an, and bicycles and motorcycles are not crowded, but cars just can't run fast and always meet red lights, because they are always at the corner, and the cars stop and go, which is very urgent. The Luohe River is very wide and the water is very large. Through the city, there is a kind of scenery, which is fresh in the northern cities and can also bring good feng shui to the cities.
A city has its own personality, just like a person, who is born with heroism, shyness, formality, informality, carefulness and irrelevance, and this personality is hard to change all his life. No, it's been decades, and the sense of randomness in Luoyang City is still so strong. Despite the scale of modern buildings and new towns, that casual personality can be seen everywhere in its corner.
Eating in the old city is really different. This is a famous dish in Luoyang, called water mat. This shop is resplendent and glittering everywhere. The gold is all on the pillar. There is a dragon on the pillar, and the dragon is alive. They walked on the pillars, all painted with gold paint. Under the light, it is a strong feeling of resplendence. The service staff are all dressed in ancient costumes and bright red. Before serving, people are eager to move and their appetite begins to rise.
This water mat is well founded. It comes from the Tang Dynasty and has a history of thousands of years. What is the female emperor Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty? China's first female emperor, in her time, Luoyang water mat was introduced into the palace, supplemented by other delicacies, and made into a palace banquet, which was very popular. Later, its making method was transmitted back to the people, forming today's characteristics, and it was also called "Luoyang Three Wonders" with Luoyang Peony and Longmen Grottoes.
Luoyang water mat, that is, water mat must be good at making soup, with a total of 24 dishes, eight cold and sixteen hot, all hot dishes are in the soup, and eight cold dishes are appetizers. When we left the table, cold dishes came up. Their flower and bird patterns were unique and colorful, which made people's appetite double without moving chopsticks. When eating, I took a hot dish, like a flowing mat. Without it, I can't live without soup. Its color and taste are very attractive, making people want to leave the road after eating. Their stomachs are full, and their desires in their eyes are still unabated, which makes them miserable.
I don't know how many courses I have eaten, but I think it's enough. Suddenly another one came up, and all the people at the table smiled and asked, "Is there any more food?" The waiter smiled and said, "There are two more." As we all know, this is the standard of water cushion. When the last dish was served, people couldn't help eating it despite their paunchy bellies. If they eat one by one, they will only clap their bellies and make jokes.
This meal is so full that I have to go out for a walk before going to bed at night. In Luoyang at night, the streets are quiet. Some people ride bicycles, others walk, and they are scattered and can be counted. The wind is blowing, very gentle, unlike the night in Xi' an, which has begun to freeze a little. The roads in the street are always uneven. Cars are always parked on the sidewalk. The car is not crowded or tidy. There is a parking line, but the people who put it down are very casual. This shows that the number of vehicles per capita here is not very saturated. If there is a place to put it, people are free.
There are flower beds by the roadside, and there are people playing chess by the altar. The words on the chessboard are blurred. You can see some old people playing chess. The main chess player is an old man with gray hair, dry hands and blue veins standing out. His opponent is a middle-aged man, mumbling all the time, holding a cigarette in his hand, but hesitating whether to raise the chess piece. People in the circle began to cut in. You say one thing, he says another, and middle-aged people are still hesitating. At some point, people began to disperse. Middle-aged people refused to give up and stared at the chessboard. I am not a chess player. I don't know much, but I feel the leisure of Luoyang people. It's already 1 1 point. I walked back slowly.
Early in the morning, I wandered around and looked at an alley. It used to be a residential area with no gate. There is a food stall at the corner of the alley. The stall owner is spreading vegetable cakes and a pot of hot soup. There are no two tables, only one person is sitting at home. This community is very quiet. There is a car downstairs, and the car is very loose. Very casual. This reminds me of Xi 'an and the car lying on the third floor outside the wall of the community. The owner often makes noise because he can't drive. Luoyang is different, so quiet, so casual, so reassuring, I have no sense of urgency here, very leisurely.
When I came back, the car passed by the old street, and the character of the city remained the same, as it felt decades ago. I want to know what has happened in the world in the past few decades. Reform and opening up, economic development and cities are all changing. I watched this speed change with each passing day in the city where I live. In Luoyang, in this ever-changing deep world, that is, in the bones of this city, I still retain my unchanging personality. Should I praise or belittle?
Decades, for life, is a long distance, from youth to old age, life is coming to an end. How to calculate a country or a city? People are old, with wrinkles on their skin and white hair on their heads. This is the trace left by years. No matter how many years to carve and enrich, it is not easy to change. Is it the same in all cities? Is it really hard to change what's in your bones?
Thought of here, I'm really a little confused. I'm stuck in the car. It is not so easy to govern the country and the city. What China people are used to can't be worked out for a lifetime. This is a matter for several generations or even more than a dozen generations!