Winter vacation was drawing near. My train tickets should be booked in advance, as well as Cong Nianwei's.
I also have to get some local specialities for my family. I’ve been away from home for more than half a year. I can’t return with bare hands.
Plus, the dinner before winter vacation would also cost him money. After calculating, Qin Guan realized that the large amount of money he had earned would all be spent soon. He held his thin wallet between his fingers. I’ve got a long way to go yet.
Several days later, the exam results were announced. As expected, all his roommates had passed the college exams as well as the College English Test Band 4 [1] with an 100% grade.
The moment they heard, they went around other dormitories one by one, showing off like little cockerels.
They got beaten so hard that they returned to their own dormitory with bloody noses and swollen faces.
The college scholarships were announced just before winter vacation. Four of them got a full scholarship while the other two got a partial scholarship.
Those two were quite depressed. One of them had been busy working for the student union while the other had worked on a dancing party. Everybody else had been busy with ordinary activities. How could those two have gotten a full scholarship?
Qin Guan was also depressed. Both his and Wang Lei’s scores qualified for the national scholarship. Only of them would get it while the other would get the partial national scholarship.
Soon the national scholarship list was announced, confirming Qin Guan's worries. Both Wang Lei and Liu Xiaoyang, his two nemeses, got the full national scholarship for each department.
Qin Guan read through the whole list pathetically.
Not bad. He’d gotten a partial scholarship. There was a 3000-yuan difference between the two scholarships.
It was a wide gap between the 8000-yuan full scholarship and the 5000-yuan partial scholarship.
Qin Guan was working on the steward software on computer. The 5000-yuan partial national scholarship plus the 1800-yuan college scholarship equalled 6800 yuan.
It’s a large amount. I could indulge and buy something with the money I earned. They were all excited and decided to enjoy a big dinner out. Where would they go? To The Leopard, of course.
The Leopard’s Buffer was quite expensive for undergraduates in early 1999. Its 168-yuan per person price scared most people away.
The six foodies took the bus to the Wangfujing Leopard, which was located at 55 Dong’anmen Street, Dongcheng District.
A seafood buffet was a novelty for people in the capital at the time.
Entering the restaurant, they were surrounded by the smell of dazzling dishes.
There was Japanese sashimi, seafood, Hong Kong roast pork, Guangdong Province cured meat, Chinese hot dishes, French desserts and Häagen-Dazs ice cream.
Getting their money’s worth was a piece of cake.
They had such a good dinner that the luxurious dining room looked empty and simple to them.
They had seafood the same way they’d eat chicken wings at Origus [2].
The amount of food each of them consumed was beyond the average person’s imagination.
Of course, they didn't forget to shake their bodies as they supported themselves on the wall, making sure there was no spare space in their stomachs before they called it a night.
They had enjoyed an excellent dinner, but there was hell to pay the next morning. They had to wait in line outside the toilet the whole day. They all had diarrhoea.
It was so stupid. Who the hell would have combined raw and cold seafood, vegetables, fruit, greasy barbecue, and countless other kinds of staple food and desserts?
They had even had a bucket of ice cream. How could they not get diarrhoea?
After some deep introspection following the dinner, they reached the conclusion that they had built a good foundation for the belly-worshipping trend of the future.
Let's end that story here though, because Qin Guan had another date.
He went on a date with Cong Nianwei.
Her exams had finished early, so they’d arranged to return home together for winter vacation.
They both had to buy some gifts for home, so Qin Guan arranged a shopping date. He decided to impress Cong Nianwei with his profound shopping expertise.
That was the only thing he could do since he had been beaten in the exams and hadn't qualified for a full national scholarship.
Qin Guan had already bought the return train tickets and was going to bring her her student identity card and ticket.
He’d gotten Cong Nianwei’s student identity card under the pretense of booking the tickets, and had placed it carefully under his pillow. He slept on it in the hopes of seeing his dream girl in his dreams every night.
His abnormal action had attracted the attention of his roommates, who had discovered his secret and had all looked at the card.
Seeing Cong Nianwei’s photo, they sighed and patted Qin Guan on the shoulder with sympathy. Dude, it makes sense for you to have her. You have such a handsome face, and she’s not just a straight-A student, but a beauty to boot.
You have a long way to go, Qin Guan.
Qin Guan paid no attention his roommates. They were just jealous.
The train was leaving the day next, so they had to go shopping that day. The task was hard and they had to finish it quickly.
They met at the Modern Plaza and decided that Niu Street would be their first stop.
Niu Street was the largest Muslim gathering place in the capital. The famous Niu Street mosque, which dated back to the Song Dynasty, was located there and was also the origin of the street’s name.
When they got off the bus, Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei were shocked by the sight. Muslim buildings of different sizes, featuring the foreign architectural style, could be seen everywhere. With their steeple tops, green foundation and yellow walls, those buildings were quite different from buildings in other streets.
You could distinguish clearly the native people from the business men of Niu Street. Niu Street men wore white skullcaps on their heads, while the women wore saris to cover their hair.
The shops on Niu Street were unique. There were century old renowned shops, but the majority of the shops on the street were selling take-away desserts and special snacks.
Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei were not in a hurry. They strolled along the street and observed the shops one by one. If they saw something interesting, they would just buy it.
New Year Bai Cake couldn’t be reserved for long. Customers had to eat it as soon as possible after buying it.
It would take them more than ten hours to return home by train. The cake would surely go bad by then. Qin Guan asked for two small pieces. The salespersons scooped up two pieces of cake, wrapped them in oil paper and passed them over to them.
They lifted up one corner of the paper and took a bite. It was soft millet cake, with sweet and soft bean paste in the middle and haw stripes on top. New Year Bai Cake was soft, sour and sweet at the same time.
They put the sticky cake into their mouths and swallowed cosily. It was like a feast.
They noticed a long queue emerge from a small alley by the street, and Qin Guan craned his neck to have a look. Someone was selling cooked Nian meat. He couldn’t help but shake his head.
I could have bought some as a gift if this was after 2000. There was no vacuum packing yet in early 1999 though. The meat would go bad easily.
Donglaishun hot pot, Laobaodu sheep or pork, Douzhi Bao ground bean drink, Snack of Hong. All these didn't match Qin Guan's idea of a gift. Qin Guan pulled Cong Nianwei and they walked down the street before finally reaching their destination, the Dashunzhai Super Market.
The Dashunzhai Super Market was a renowned Niu Street Muslim Market. With a history of more than 300 years, the market engaged in the sale of Muslim pastries and cakes, including its most famous product, the sweetened baked wheaten cake.
“I’ve heard from my roommates that when Muslims went on a pilgrimage journey to Jerusalem in the early times, they would take with them wheaten cakes from the Dashunzhai in Tong Town.”
They just bought a cake each and ate them on the spot. They had to get other things from the supermarket.
They wanted to buy Niu Street fried mixed powder, Muslim preserved fruit and eight kinds of Beijing pastries. They were all in simple packages with expiration dates and capital features.
They bought a few of each kind and shared them. When they went out of the supermarket, Qin Guan was holding two large bags of local specialities.
It was middle of the day, and they couldn't miss the Niu Street Hong Snack Restaurant. They served all kinds of Muslim snacks there, both sweet and sour.
After getting seated and putting down their bags, Qin Guan automatically switched to ordering mode. He ordered a long list of things, including vegetarian balls, chopped entrails soup, steamed dumplings with minced beef and gravy, fermented Mung Bean Juice and much more. After ordering all those dishes, Qin Guan realized that Cong Nianwei was sitting right across from him.
He added at once, “How do you like this, Cong Nianwei? Do you want anything else?” Dude, it’s a little late for that now.
Cong Nianwei found everything on Qin Guan interesting. Why was the guy like that when it came to food? She waved Qin Guan’s question off, “I don't mind. You pick.”
Qin Guan was quite pleased. What did I do with to deserve such an easy-going girl?
They decided on the order and Qin Guan went to the counter to give their long list of dishes. There were two natives there, who seemed quite garrulous at the first sight. They made fun of Qin Guan, “Hey dude, did you get confused there? You made such a big order.”
Qin Guan smiled shyly. It was indeed a little much.
He held a long machine-printed receipt in hand and, pointing to Cong Nianwei, he answered, “My partner in confusion is over there. I should feed her first, shouldn’t I?”
They all burst into laughter. He took all the dishes one by one from different windows and returned to his seat, sweat dripping down his face. It was physical work to run along the line of different windows so many times.
The cooked stripes were crisp and the chopped entrails were delicious.
They ate everything, leaving only a mess of empty plates on the table. They both had a full stomach.
Qin Guan picked up the shopping bags for Cong Nianwei and gestured for her to go ahead. The two of them headed to their next destination.
Zhang Yiyuan was a tea shop with a history of about a century. Its most famous kind of tea was jasmine tea, which was what Qin Guan wanted.
Zhang Yiyuan’s flagship store was located at Dashila in Qianmen. They bought quite a lot of tea and twenty mini cans for tea reserved by the shop assistant. Qin Guan shared half of the cans with Cong Nianwei.
Cong Nianwei held one of them while she observed it. It was very pretty. A traditional scene of the old capital was printed on the can in elegant ink wash style. It was the perfect Spring Festival gift.
At the time, 100-yuan jasmine tea was quite good quality. It was a fragrant tea that could endure brewing while its green leaves created a beautiful contrast against its tiny white flowers. It was a first-rate gift at a reasonable price.
Walking out of the tea shop, they each bought two pairs of handmade cloth shoes for their parents from Neiliansheng, a famous traditional shoe shop in Beijing.
As two tycoons on scholarships, they were sure to spend money on luxury goods.
They went around the old famous shops in Dashila, including Qianxiangyi, Ruifuxiang and Tongrentang. Soon, Qin Guan had two more bags in his hands.
By that time, he was tired and breathing hard while Cong Nianwei still looked quite energetic.
It was late, and they were nearly done with their shopping. Qin Guan made a careful suggestion to Cong Nianwei, “We’ve been walking around the whole day. Shall I take you back to campus? We have to pack before we go home.” Cong Nianwei turned her head and glanced at him in a flirting manner. Qin Guan’s knees turned to jelly at her expression. Tired as he was, he couldn’t help but look back at Cong Nianwei helplessly.
Cong Nianwei smiled at his silly expression, ran several steps towards Qin Guan and took hold of the bags in his hands.
Qin Guan felt her fingers sweep over his palm. Her touch felt like an electric shock over his whole body, making him limp and numb.
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College English Test Band 4 is a national English test organized by the Ministry of Education. The participants are mainly undergraduate and postgraduate students who are still in college. It is quite an important test for all Chinese college students. (by translator)
Origus is a famous brand of cafeteria in China with common food at reasonable prices.
(by translator)