In 2007, ten-year-old Liu Dan moved to Beijing from Hebei with his father and studied at Fengtai Kandan Primary School. There she met Zheng Weijie, who was in the same class. Zheng Weijie, who was always talkative, always said little in front of Liu Dan. Even when I answer questions in class, my speech is incoherent.
According to Zheng Weijie, it was probably one thing that brought another down. As soon as he saw Liu Dan, his mind went blank. He didn't know what to say or how to say it, so he just stayed silent and said nothing.
Zheng Weijie is from Pingyao, Shanxi. His parents are doing business in Beijing, so they arranged for him to study at Kandan Primary School. After entering junior high school, Zheng Weijie was forced to return to Pingyao.
Zheng Weijie, who studied in Pingyao Gucheng Junior High School, shuttled through every street of the ancient city every day. He occasionally looked up at the branches of the old locust tree, and he remembered those years in Kandan Elementary School. The little girl's name is Liu Dan.
In 1913, Zheng Weijie graduated from high school and opened an oatmeal restaurant in the ancient city, named Kandan oatmeal. There is an endless stream of tourists in the ancient city, and most of them patronize his oatmeal noodles just for a taste. Occasionally, a few tourists from Beijing who know Kandan will come in and sit down after seeing the sign, ordering two bowls of oatmeal noodles and chatting while eating. It's just a coincidence.
In 2015, Liu Dan was admitted to Taiyuan University of Technology. When she came to Taiyuan alone, she lay down on the fence of Fenhe River in a daze on the first night. She remembered the scenes of Kandan Elementary School, Kandan Middle School, and the scene when she left Fengtai...
That night , she walked from Yingze West Street to Qianfeng North Road alone. The city of Taiyuan gave her a completely different feeling from Beijing. When will she return to Beijing next time?
During the summer vacation, she and her classmates went to the ancient city of Pingyao. There were few trees in the ancient city, and the sun was scorching the earth at two o'clock at noon. When they walked out of the ancient city from South Street, sweating profusely, they were in such a hurry that they didn't have time to look up at the dazzling shops, so they missed the Dan Dan shop among them. Oatmeal.
We went to Pingyao in the spring of 2016. What impressed me deeply was the stone slabs of the ancient city, which made our feet very comfortable when walking. When I entered from the south gate, I saw Danyou noodles not far away. It was not unusual, just like the cold skin meat buns in the streets and alleys of Xi'an. Until a few days ago, I met a Danyou noodles restaurant at the Hechuan Road subway entrance, and I suddenly felt familiar. Come to think of it, it should be the one I saw in Pingyao Ancient City five years ago.
In the autumn of 17, Zheng Weijie went to Beijing again. He opened the first Dan You Noodle restaurant in Rui'i Building on the South Third Ring Road. Many Beipiao people from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia visit it two or three times a week, and old men and women from Beijing also like noodles very much. Business was getting better and better, so I opened a second store in Dongguanying Hutong.
Before graduation, Liu Dan accidentally saw Danyou Noodles on Weibo and opened seven restaurants in Beijing. She was curious about what kind of food was named after the community where her home was located. She was thinking that she must go there once when she returns to Beijing to see what kind of delicacies the world has to offer. A classmate told her that there was a restaurant in the ancient city of Pingyao. She could go there overnight and return to school tomorrow, Sunday afternoon.
The courage of youth is to just walk away. They arrived at the south gate of the ancient city at three o'clock in the morning. There were scattered pedestrians and the street lights flickered on and off. The three of them stood at the door of the Danyou Noodles shop. After waiting for a long time, they rushed back to Taiyuan overnight.
This is the second time Liu Dan has passed by Kandan You. Instead of saying this, it is better to say that she has not met her yet. Everyone is the same. When they are young, they are always kept in the dark by novelties and encounter things they should not encounter in advance. Later, when the real encounter came, I didn't have the courage to repeat the decision.
After graduation, Liu Dan returned to Beijing. Occasionally, I passed by Fengtai South Road and saw a shop opposite that was selling Danyou noodles. She walked into the store and ordered some noodles. After eating quietly, she looked at the profile of the founder on the wall. The photo was so familiar that she left without looking back.
She knew that this was a store opened by her elementary school classmate Zheng Weijie. But she didn't have the courage to look for him at all, so she could only go back to Kandan Primary School. The familiar big tree on the playground had stood guard here for more than ten years. Things are different and people are not the same. Everything stops. If you want to speak, you will shed tears first.
Liu Dan searched for Zheng Weijie on Weibo. A reporter once asked, Mr. Zheng, your noodles originated in Pingyao. Why is it called Kandan noodles and not Pingyao noodles? Zheng Weijie responded this way:
Looking at Danyou noodles is a memory that we have not seen again for a long time.
Her name is Dan, so she is called Kandan.
The place where we live is called Kandan, so we call it Kandan Youmian.
And Liu Dan always remembers that there was a little boy sitting next to him who didn't speak, and even answered questions in class incoherently. Many times when I looked back, the little boy kept looking at me secretly. At that time, I couldn't tell what these characteristics meant, but now I understand the meaning of looking at Danyou noodles.
Until a few days ago, I saw a restaurant selling Danyou noodles at the Hechuan Road subway entrance, and I suddenly felt familiar. Come to think of it, it should be the one I saw in Pingyao Ancient City five years ago. Unexpectedly, a humble shop that I once passed by would become a large chain enterprise in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.