Qin Guan's b.u.t.t had made the top ten unsolved mysteries of his department, leaving behind endless legends for future students.
Qin Guan finished the cla.s.s and waited for Ye Dong and w.a.n.g Lei in their dormitory. Ye Dong would be keeping his promise. His creditors had been getting more and more, so he planned on organizing a collective enrolling activity among the college social clubs after the military training. He had asked Li Jie and Mu Lejiang to inform all the clubs.
One of them was the leader of the dancing club, and the other was the director of the camping club. Ye Dong was good at putting his resources to good use.
After their threats, two more names were added to the contract. Only Liu Xiaoyang was left. For friends.h.i.+p's sake, they couldn't leave him alone in their dormitory, so Ye Dong had to treat all his roommates. When they all finished their cla.s.ses, they got together and headed for Gui Street in a formidable array.
Located in the western part of the Dongzhimen overpa.s.s, Gui Street was surrounded by emba.s.sies. The foreign visitors and working staff of Beijing could taste authentic Chinese dishes there conveniently. Every year, the restaurants on that street would make tens of millions of yuan from foreign guests. With more than 100 restaurants within more than one kilometre, that area had the greatest density of restaurants in Beijing. That's why it was called the capital dinning street.
They all took the tube there. It was a starry night. Under the light of the lamps, they saw the busy, noisy street. The neon lights around the sign boards were s.h.i.+ning, and the lines of restaurants made them dizzy. They had no idea which one to choose.
As a local, Liu Xiaoyang solved the problem for them. He pointed to one of the restaurants in heroic spirit, announcing, "We're going to the Xiao Lin Hot Pot Restaurant".
The others just looked at him, waiting for an explanation. He led his roommates to the restaurant proudly as he said, "You have to know the history of the street first. Do you know what kind of place Gui Street was in the old times?"
"The capital was a quite mannered city even back then. Not only its residents, but the city itself as well. You may be confused. The city is not a living organism after all. How could it possibly follow any rules? That's an ignorant question though. Since the Qing Dynasty, the royal, court-dispatched troops would go through Deshengmen Gate, and convicted criminals would go through Xuanwumen Gate. Dongzhimen Gate was used for wood transportation. Everyone obeyed these rules. The wood was used for coffins! Outside Dongzhimen Gate, there used to be a graveyard."
His audience was thrilled. They all felt the street around them suddenly go cold. Liu Xiaoyan sprayed saliva at them in his excitement.
"Listen to me carefully! The original morning market was held by Dongzhimen Gate, where the peddlers gathered in the small hours and left at dawn. They lit up kerosene lamps. In the dim light, one could see coffin shops and stands selling other funeral goods. It was horrific. People called it the Ghost Market."
Liu Xiaoyang had lowered his voice. By that time, they had already arrived at the restaurant and sat around a table in the corner of the hall. It was a little far from the lights, and several neon beams from outside were casting mysterious shadows on Liu Xiaoyang's face. The image left everyone speechless. This is a fascinating story, okay? Don't keep us guessing!
When Liu Xiaoyang made sure that he had created a great atmosphere, he continued, "After the foundation of the state, the area was developed and the graves were moved. It was strange, but ever since that market-oriented policy was carried out, many shops along the street went bankrupt, including the only state-run department store. No one could find the secret of the curse."
Liu Xiaoyang's history lesson had turned into a custom introduction and a folk ghost story. Liu Xiaoyang continued enigmatically, "That's when the merchants discovered that only restaurants could make profit on this street. Few customers were here during the day, but it was crowded in the evening. Ha, ha, ha..."
It was his laughter, not his story, that was actually scary. Qin Guan kicked Liu under the table, warning him, "Stop laughing. Go on!"
Liu Xiaoyang waved at the waiter with a mysterious smile. "We'd like to order!"
His shout had frightened them. "You scared us! Continue your story!" They were itching to hear the end. Liu picked up the menu as he went on, "No one knew the truth, but some said that the ghosts would enter the city for dinner. The restaurant business was flouris.h.i.+ng. The locals, on the other side, were familiar with these stories. Some of them had even explored the tombs. The legends didn't scare them away. Some people had taken advantage of the crowded evening market and set up small food stands. The stands used to block the road."
"The government believed that this influenced the appearance and administration of the city, so the city managing staff would show up on the street at night."
