booktalesy Chapter 32 Kuixinglou Street
Chapter 32 Kuixinglou Street
At nine o'clock in the morning, Qin Xiaowan turned the first covered bowl over and ran her fingertip across the lid.
Fine powder clung to her fingertips.
She turned around and stretched her finger out in front of Wu Ling.
"The tea hasn't even gone on sale yet, and the bowl lids are already dirty."
"Don't wipe it."
"What, you're not going to wipe it but use it to make tea?"
"Pack it up."
Qin Xiaowan took out a clean tea sample bottle from under the counter.
"If you had told me earlier that you wanted to keep a sample, I wouldn't have washed myself so thoroughly yesterday."
Wu Ling tore off a white label and handed it to Qin Xiaowan.
"I know the time and the location."
She affixed the label to the bottle, writing each stroke carefully.
At 9:03, the teacup lids were on the first row of the counter.
After Qin Xiaowan finished writing, Wu Ling scraped the fine powder into the bottle and tightened the lid.
Old Zhang carried the chessboard into the house, rubbing the soles of his shoes three times on the threshold.
"The entrance is filthy today, it's practically covered in cement."
Qin Xiaowan held the bottle up.
"Uncle Zhang, you've come at the right time. Please sign this for me."
Old Zhang put the chessboard on the table.
"I didn't steal the teacup, why should I sign anything?"
"Let this serve as a testament to what little we have."
"Does dust need to serve as evidence? Does the tea plant have to have a meeting tomorrow?"
"You're the host of the tea-related meeting, so let's say a few words about this little bit of stuff today."
Old Zhang chuckled, took the pen, wrote his name on the label, and added four more words: "There is indeed dust."
When Old Li entered, he happened to see those four words.
"Old Zhang, the most cultured thing you ever wrote in your life was for the dust."
Old Zhang put the pen cap back on.
"What do you know? That thing landing on the bowl lid is practically landing on our lips."
Two electric hammers rang out outside, causing the blue fence to shake.
A tiny speck of dust fell onto the black cloth beside the counter.
Wu Ling folded the black cloth and put it into a bag.
Qin Xiaowan lowered her head to take notes.
At 9:17, high-noise work was being carried out outside the enclosure, and fine dust was falling off the west side of the counter.
After she finished writing, she put the pen on the table.
"I never remembered the tea money this carefully when I used to keep track of it."
Wu Ling didn't respond to her words, but simply put the tea sample bottle into the side pocket of the document bag and then pressed the folded black cloth bag at the bottom.
Qin Xiaowan watched him stuff the document bag.
"Are you really going to take this?"
Wu Ling hummed in agreement and closed the bag.
"They have diagrams on their table, so we need to have something on our table too."
Old Zhang's cannon remained suspended on the chessboard for a long time without falling.
"Then I'm afraid I won't be able to play this game."
Old Li asked, "What's wrong now?"
Old Zhang pointed to the counter.
"I'm afraid that once I make a move, Boss Wu will say, 'Uncle Zhang, don't move, preserve the scene.'"
Qin Xiaowan burst out laughing.
"Don't worry, the district won't accept your chess game."
Wu Ling picked up the file bag.
"The teahouse will accept it."
Old Zhang was taken aback.
Old Li slowly took a sip of tea.
"Then you must be even more careful and not give up the cannon."
The stuffy atmosphere in the main room immediately dissipated.
When Su Wangqing entered, Old Zhang and Old Li were at a stalemate in their game of chess.
She was wearing a dark blue shirt with the cuffs buttoned up, and she was carrying a file folder.
Qin Xiaowan leaned out from behind the counter.
"Teacher Su, you're dressed very neatly today."
Su Wangqing looked down at his cuffs.
"It's rare for me to be dressed like this. The cuffs are too tight; my hands won't be able to move properly when I'm flipping through the materials."
Qin Xiaowan pushed the teacup over.
"Then turn a few more pages later, so they'll know it's even scarier when your hands aren't dexterous."
Old Li chuckled from the other side of the chessboard.
"If Qin girl had that mouth, the lawyers wouldn't have any food to eat if the teahouse were located across from the courthouse."
When Granny Zhao arrived, before she had even put the basket down properly, she saw Wu Ling packing things up.
"Going out again?"
"I'm going to a meeting with experts." Wu Ling pushed the coin box inside. "Could you please watch over it for me for a while, Grandma?"
Grandma Zhao stopped her hand on the basket handle.
"You're bringing up trouble with me?"
Qin Xiaowan laughed out loud from behind the counter.
"Mother-in-law, don't take it to heart. He even showed off his ashes to others today."
Grandma Zhao pushed the basket to the foot of the table and picked up the teacup, placing it upright in front of her.
"What are you looking at, you guys just need to go and guard the door."
Old Zhang didn't even look up from the chessboard.
"After Granny Zhao arrived, Boss Wu became much more polite in his speech."
Grandma Zhao glared at him.
"Play your game."
Su Wangqing glanced at the time.
"The meeting is for the district's cultural relics protection project, at 2 PM. To get there, we have to pass through Kuixinglou Street, so we'll have lunch first."
Qin Xiaowan stepped out of the counter.
"Teacher Su, you should have told me it was lunchtime earlier. I might not be enthusiastic about meetings, but I'd definitely arrive early for lunch."
The three of them left the teahouse and turned into Kuixinglou Street.
The sycamore leaves sliced the sunlight into tiny copper coins, scattering them across the narrow sidewalk.
The entrance to the popular bubble tea shop features green painted bamboo chairs with plastic handrails.
The aroma of roast duck, mingled with the scent of Sichuan peppercorns, wafted through the streets, and electric scooters sped past.
An elderly woman was walking her dog on the roadside, and her phone's navigation system was repeatedly telling her to turn right ahead in Chengdu dialect.
The dog ignored it, and the auntie ignored it too.
Qin Xiaowan stood at the intersection and quickly surveyed the entire street.
"There used to be no milk tea shops on this street, only wontons and sweet noodles. The Zhang Niang sweet noodles shop on the corner had a wonderful aroma of chili peppers that could be smelled from far away."
"It's been demolished."
"You have a good memory."
"Every time you eat sweet noodles, you order two bowls; one bowl isn't enough."
"That's because she didn't have enough."
Everyone else ate a bowl.
Qin Xiaowan glared at him.
Su Wangqing walked beside him, her lips twitching slightly.
The three of them eventually went into a small noodle shop sandwiched between a braised duck restaurant and a sweet noodle shop.
The entrance is small, and the smell of cooking oil hits you in the face.
The aromas of chili oil, garlic water, and the smoky fragrance of roasted duck skin mingled together in a narrow doorway, while the scent of coffee beans from the coffee shop across the street also wafted in, each vying for attention.
Duck blood was piled up in an enamel basin next to the stove.
The proprietress peeked out from behind the stove, her apron stained with flour and chili oil.
"Two ounces of spicy soup, wontons in clear soup, and braised duck blood (your choice). Write down your order, and don't block the door."
Qin Xiaowan took the pencil and wrote on the slip: Two ounces of red soup.
Wu Ling said, "I'll take two ounces too."
Qin Xiaowan deliberately changed his "two" to "one" with a twist of his pen.
Wu Ling took the pen back and changed it back to "two".
Su Wangqing said, "Clear soup wontons."
"Teacher Su, you insist on ordering clear soup in Chengdu."
"We'll be talking for half the afternoon."
Qin Xiaowan added "clear broth" and slapped the order on the stove.
The three people sat down at the square table against the wall.
The two bowls of chili oil were bubbling, and a bright red rim formed around the edge of each bowl.
A bowl of clear broth, the wonton wrappers so thin they revealed a pinkish flesh color.
The sound of spatulas hitting the iron pots on the stove was constant, but the proprietress's loud voice calling out orders drowned out all the noise.
Qin Xiaowan picked up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks.
"This place uses a 3:7 ratio of Erjingtiao and Chaotian chili peppers. Too many Chaotian chili peppers will make it too pungent, and too few won't be strong enough."
She took a bite.
"Yes, that's right. Wu Ling, do you remember the first time you took me to eat spicy soup?"
"Remember."
Where is it?
"South Alley. Grandma Chen's house."
Qin Xiaowan placed the chopsticks on the edge of the bowl.
"You told Granny Chen this bowl wasn't spicy. I took a bite, and I cried for the whole street."
"You came back after you finished crying."
"That's because you're hungry."
Su Wangqing was stirring the wonton soup when the spoon hit the rim of the bowl with a clink.
After taking a sip of the red soup, Wu Ling's forehead was covered in sweat.
Qin Xiaowan spotted it.
"hot?"
"hot."
"Even a dead duck has a stubborn beak."
Qin Xiaowan moved her bowl half an inch to the side.
"The clear broth is with Teacher Su."
Su Wangqing pushed the bowl towards the center.
Wu Ling shook his head, took another bite of the red soup, and this time his ears turned red as well.
Su Wangqing ate the wontons very slowly, chewing each one for a long time.
"Teacher Su, you eat wontons like you're doing academic research."
"My grandfather taught me that if you're in a hurry while eating, you won't remember the taste."
Qin Xiao's chopsticks never stopped.
"No wonder your grandfather could drink a bowl of tea for half a day when he came to the teahouse last time."
"He often said that the taste of food is on the street, not in the bowl. Observing how people eat, ask for directions, and wait for someone is more useful than flipping through files."
Su Wangqing scooped up another wonton, blew on it, and then put it in her mouth.
"I only realized this after I entered this field: things on paper have no warmth of living people."
Wu Ling said, "Your grandfather is right. This duck blood is tender, you should try it."
Su Wangqing picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.
Qin Xiaowan finished the last drop of soup in her bowl, while Su Wangqing still had three wontons left in her bowl.
"You're saving it for feeding the cat?"
"When you're full, your brain can't function properly."
When Wu Ling finished paying and came out, Qin Xiaowan already had a cup of iced jelly in her hand.
The spiciness of the red soup only truly dissipates when the ice jelly slides down your throat.
Walking along the street towards the meeting place, the gray building peeks out from behind the trees.
Qin Xiaowan stopped at the elevator entrance.
"If they say something nasty later, can I say something back?"
"Can."
"real?"
"Winning arguments in the meeting is useless; only putting things on paper is truly effective."
Wu Ling opened the conference room door.
The housing construction and cultural heritage protection officials were sitting on one side of the long table.
On the other side is Xu Chengyuan.
Xu Chengyuan was wearing a dark suit, with construction drawings spread out in front of him, and a cup of tea beside him untouched.
Luo Qiming saw Wu Ling, nodded, and did not exchange pleasantries.
"The expert review of the clues regarding the Wu Ji Teahouse as an immovable cultural relic was conducted. The submitter of the materials, Su Wangqing, was present, as was Wu Ling, the person in charge of the clues. The relevant project party made a statement regarding the impact of the construction."
Xu Chengyuan spoke, but his tone was hesitant.
"The project team has always respected the historical features of the neighborhood and the business needs of Wu Ji Teahouse."
He opened the documents.
"However, Wu Ji has been attracting a large number of customers recently, which is located near the construction boundary. There are safety management challenges in adjusting the fence, transporting materials, and allowing people to pass through. If there are any accidents, falling objects, or congestion, it will be difficult to determine the boundaries of responsibility."
Xu Chengyuan said, "The project team suggested that Wu Ji operate during off-peak hours in stages, or accept temporary relocation compensation. We can assist in setting up display points, providing brand co-branding, online traffic redirection, and unified visual packaging to reduce their operating losses."
Qin Xiaowan's pen tip pressed against the paper.
Luo Qiming looked at Wu Ling.
"Boss Wu, please say hello to your side as well."
Wu Ling pushed a small glass bottle to the center of the table.
"This is the dust on the lids of the teacups in the first row at Wu's counter at 9:03 this morning."
He then took out a second bag.
"At 9:17, after a noisy operation outside the fence, fine dust fell from the west side of the counter. The witnesses were two regular customers who have been drinking tea in the shop for many years."
Wu Ling continued, "We are not asking for a determination that damage has occurred, nor are we asking the project owner for compensation. We only request the district to confirm one thing: whether the construction around the site where Wu Ji is located needs to be carried out in accordance with the requirements for the protection of historical features, and whether special protection measures should be implemented."
The person next to Xu Chengyuan chimed in, "The sources of dust are complex, and old buildings also age naturally. It's difficult to determine the source based on just one bottle and a few photos—"
Su Wangqing presented the timetable.
"Please do not interrupt our statement. We do not advocate direct causation, but only the risk of sustained impact."
She placed the old photos aside.
"These photos prove that Wu Ji's counter, murals, and main hall space have continuity in the historical appearance of the neighborhood. The signatory is Jiang Wenhe, and I had already reviewed them when I received the materials."
The two experts sitting at the cultural relics protection desk looked at Luo Qiming.
Su Wangqing didn't continue with the name, but went straight to the risk opinion.
"Wu Ji has not yet been designated as a cultural relic protection unit, but it is located at a street node where the historical features have been well preserved, and it has entered the expert review process. When urban renewal involves such sites that preserve buildings and traditional features, preventive protection should be prioritized—dust prevention, earthquake resistance, drainage, fire prevention, construction monitoring, and transportation routes should all be included in the construction organization plan."
Xu Chengyuan had anticipated this and stood up to distribute the construction plan to each party.
"We have a dust control plan, the site is watered every day, and the fencing meets national requirements."
Qin Xiaowan took out her phone and clicked to play the video.
The electric hammer roared, the blue fence shook, and a layer of dust was blown in by the wind from the threshold.
Old Zhang's voice was very clear: "This tea tastes like chewing on wall plaster."
Someone in the conference room chuckled softly, then quickly stopped.
A housing and construction representative tried to smooth things over.
"The project team is increasing the water spraying, and Wu Ji is paying attention to order at the entrance. Let's all try to be patient. Urban renewal always involves growing pains."
Wu Ling pushed the photo of the teacup lid in front of him.
"The pain can be overcome, but if something dirty gets into the teacup, the guests will drink it."
He paused.
"Wu Ji can stagger peak hours, clean, and remind customers not to stand at the door for too long, but that doesn't mean the impact of construction can be solved by the teahouse wiping the tables a few more times."
The person in charge of housing and construction looked through the project owner's documents.
"Does the construction organization plan include any specific protection measures for the location of Wu Ji?"
The project staff turned to a page titled "Communication with Surrounding Merchants".
The text above reads: Strengthen notification, set up traffic redirection, and provide clear explanations.
"This is a coordination effort with the merchants, not a protective measure. Urban renewal is not like ordinary commercial renovation. Ms. Su is right; based on the current materials, your specific measures are indeed insufficient."
Xu Chengyuan argued, "If Wu Ji is included in the special protection list, the main road will be fenced off, traffic routes will be affected, and the shops along the street will be affected. We can't have the whole area shut down just because one teahouse is there."
"The entire area doesn't need to be shut down. High-distraction work near Wu Ji's side should be suspended until the protection plan is completed. The project team needs to submit a supplementary plan within three days. After the cultural heritage protection, housing and construction, and street departments jointly review it, the relevant work can be resumed."
Xu Chengyuan's expression changed.
"The construction schedule will have to be rearranged, and the cost and time will be considerable."
Luo Qiming replied firmly: "That's your business. The responsibility for protection can't be left unfulfilled."
"Understood, Director Luo, but this is beyond my authority. I will report it to the city's group for a decision."
Luo Qiming nodded and looked at the page with Jiang Wenhe's signature.
"If necessary, the district can take over the overall management."
Xu Chengyuan sat up straight, remained silent for a few seconds, and then resumed the conversation.
"Director Luo, it's not that we're unwilling to take on social responsibility. We just hope the standards are clear, and that we can't keep changing locations every day, which would ultimately prevent the project from moving forward."
"The standards will be communicated to you in writing today. If there are no further questions, please leave the meeting room."