Chapter 52 Little Paris

  Wang Weiye sat in the car, pointing to the building with his hand, and said to Sima Youlan: "This building was completed in 1903. It was built by businessmen at that time who collectively invested in it. At that time, this was a commercial association. After the liberation of Northeast China, it was taken over by the state and is now the Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall. According to historical records, the facilities inside were very luxurious at that time. It's not open yet, but when I have the chance, I'll take you in to see it."

  Simayoulan, who lives in Jiangnan, has been accustomed to the ancient and elegant courtyard buildings since childhood. Now she comes to Harbin, the Oriental Paris, with Wang Weiye, which makes her feel like entering another world, and she can't help but praise these beautiful buildings.

  The car had been driving for less than a minute when Wang Weiye stopped it again in front of a building with twelve red pillars. He asked Sima Youlan to get out of the car and said, "This is Harbin's most famous school, No. 3 Middle School. We Harbin parents often say that if you're not going to Tsinghua or Peking University, then it's got to be one of these three schools - they're where all the talented people come from. And this building was designed by architect Sviyerdlov."

  Wang Weiye led Sima Youlan up the school steps, patting the red wooden pillars a few times. He said to Sima Youlan, "Such European-style buildings can be seen everywhere in Harbin, and they are all over the place. This is mainly because Harbin was a hot spot for architects to showcase their talents when it was first built. According to historical records, there were architects from Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine, Poland, and other countries who came to Harbin at that time. As a result, Harbin's construction became a multi-architectural creation, with some architects designing traditional Chinese-style buildings and others designing European-style buildings. For example, the Jiangpan Restaurant, a small European-style building, was designed by architect Daijiaochang and was originally one of the station houses of the China Eastern Railway. In 1938, it was rebuilt into a cold drink hall when the Jiangpan Park was built, and after the founding of New China, it was renamed Jiangpan Restaurant. These foreign architects not only designed buildings but also many structures and transportation facilities in the city. However, if you want to see ancient Chinese architecture, there are very few, only the Yule Temple and the Wenmiao, and there are no other ancient buildings."

  Simayoulan was enchanted by Wang Weiye's beautiful explanation, she felt as if she was drunk. Simayoulan felt that Wang Weiye shouldn't be a young man, he should be a hundred-year-old elder, and his knowledge was so profound, his understanding of Harbin was like knowing every part of his own body.

  Wang Weiye drove a Jeep with Sima Youlan and started his tour guide work on the main streets of Harbin.

  By the time it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Weiye had explained to Sima Youlan about various famous buildings on the main streets of the city. From the Children's Park to the Zoo and Zhao Lin Park, Sima Youlan had a great time following Wang Weiye for most of the day. Finally, Wang Weiye stopped his car at the intersection of Twelve Streets in Daoli District, and after getting out of the car, he looked back at the car behind him that was following him.

  Wang Weiye had been puzzled all along, and the group of people who had been following him from behind since yesterday didn't know what they wanted to do. From early morning till now, they kept a distance from him, neither too far nor too close. They were supposed to be assassins, but they were too far away from him. Moreover, Wang Weiye didn't sense any killing intent from them, but from their walking posture, they were obviously professionally trained, and they all had excellent martial arts skills.

  Now Wang Weiye saw those people, he felt very annoyed. Wang Weiye had no choice but to use gestures to inform the Magic Wolves to be more careful, but absolutely not to take action. Wang Weiye just wanted to see what these people were going to do.

  Walking on the road paved with small square stones, Wang Weiye led Sima Youlan to avoid the crowds flowing constantly, while explaining the origin of this road and various buildings on both sides of the street. "This road is Harbin's most famous Central Avenue, which was first built in 1898 and was originally called 'China Street'. In 1925, it was renamed 'Central Avenue', later developing into the city's busiest commercial street, a legacy that continues to this day. Central Avenue was designed by Russian engineers in May 1924, paved with square stones, each one shaped like a small bread loaf, carefully crafted and arranged. The artistic paving of the road is extremely rare in both Chinese and foreign architectural history. It is said that at the time, one square stone cost as much as one silver dollar, which was enough for a poor person to eat for a month. The square stones made Central Avenue luxurious, with many foreign shops on the street, including the Autumn Lin Company, the Magdalene Hotel, and the Huamei Western Restaurant, all built on this street.

  As soon as the shops and restaurants are mentioned, people will think of food. The first Western restaurant in our country is said to have been built in Harbin. Autumn Lin's sausage is delicious and not greasy or hard to chew, you can already eat it at home. So, guests from all over the world come to Harbin to buy Autumn Lin's sausage. In addition, Autumn Lin's bread (big column) is also a gift for relatives and friends. When you go back home in two days, I will buy some for you to take back, guaranteeing that your family will enjoy eating them.

  The Hua Mei Western Restaurant, which is still in operation today, mainly serves big dishes and has the most elegant environment among European garden-style bars. The restaurant offers canned lamb, canned beef, canned shrimp, steak, etc. Its cuisine has been influencing Harbin's food culture to this day, and ordinary people still like to make traditional Russian "Borscht" soup, which contains beef, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, is delicious but not greasy, convenient and rich in various vitamins, simple to make and extremely nutritious, making it the best dish for ordinary people. After we visit the Songhua River later, I'll take you to Hua Mei Western Restaurant for a meal, and you can experience the flavor of Northeastern cuisine.

  Wang Weiye's praise for the food was about to bring out the hungry worm in Sima Youlan's stomach. Sima Youlan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said to Wang Weiye, "You stinky rascal, just say a few less words about food, you're making me feel a little hungry now."

  Wang Weiye didn't feel surprised by Sima Youlan's words, and now he felt a little hungry too. As the two walked to the entrance of the Majestic Hotel, Wang Weiye began to say to Sima Youlan: "Old lady, this is the very famous Majestic Hotel. It was built in 1906, the 13th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, and completed in 1913. Its original name was the Majestic Hotel, but after liberation it was changed to the Majestic Hotel, and now it is a place for the city to receive foreign guests. The interior decoration of this hotel is very luxurious and grand, with walls adorned with various murals and mirrors. Those pillars are exquisitely carved, and the cabinets, mirror decorations, and lighting fixtures are all carefully considered, with a fresh and beautiful color scheme that has a strong 18th-century French Rococo style. One day I'll let your mother take you to visit this place, it's not a place where a hooligan like me can just walk in."

  Simayoulan heard Wang Weiye's last sentence and laughed very happily, saying: "Stinky rascal, you also have a place where you can't get in, that's really not simple."

  When Wang Weiye heard Sima Youlan's teasing, he felt very helpless. He whispered to Sima Youlan: "Wife, you're not a member of the underworld, so you don't understand that people in the underworld can't see the light of day. If I wanted to force my way in and report my name, humph, they wouldn't dare stop me unless they didn't want to live anymore. But if it really developed to that point, my identity would be completely exposed, and mom would have dad skin me alive. However, if you really want to go in today, there's a method that can let us in - we report our parents' names, and the receptionist here will definitely invite us for a meal. How about it? Are we going in or not?"

  Wang Weiye didn't say whether he could enter or not, but instead pulled Sima Youlan's arm. Sima Youlan had already experienced Wang Weiye's rogue behavior many times before. She was really afraid of this stinky rascal, and if he rashly charged in, who knows what would happen? So Sima Youlan quickly grabbed Wang Weiye's arm and said: "You stinker, I'm telling you, Miss doesn't want to go in right now, she just wants to take a look at the scenery of Songhua River."

  Wang Weiye didn't take Sima Youlan's words to heart. Wang Weiye was thinking, damn it, Third Master will set up a table here tomorrow under the old name, let's see if they still dare to be arrogant.

  Seeing Sima Youlan not wanting to go in, Wang Weiye pointed with his hand at the building across the street: "That's the Huamei Western Restaurant I was just telling you about. After we finish touring the Songhua River, we'll have dinner here tonight, okay?"

  "Hmm" Sima Youlan nodded in agreement to Wang Weiye's proposal, she had no opinion whatsoever, she had never had Western food before, and now this stinky rascal was speaking up, she quickly nodded her head in agreement with Wang Weiye.

  Two people walked along the Friendship Road, and the tall Harbin Flood Control Memorial Tower was imprinted on their eyes. Wang Weiye hurriedly introduced to Sima Youlan: "Wife, do you see the tall semi-circular building in front? That's the one built on October 1, 1958, to commemorate the people of Harbin City for winning the great flood of '57. The design was jointly designed by designers Bajis? Zyelev and Li Guangyao, a second-generation architect from Harbin Institute of Technology. The site was determined by Lu Qi'en, the then mayor of Harbin. How is it? Isn't it very majestic and solemn?"

  As soon as they walked along the riverbank, they saw that the sandy beach and road along Songhua River were packed with people. In the middle of the river where the water was waist-deep, there was a sea of swimmers.

  Wang Weiye and Sima Youlan strolled under the shade of trees, admiring the beautiful scenery along the Songhua River. Wang Weiye began to introduce Sima Youlan: "My wife, we are now on the south bank of the Songhua River, and across the river is the famous resort island of Sun Island, which is a pride of Harbin people. In summer, Sun Island is surrounded by lush greenery, and people feel as if they have returned to nature, making it an ideal tourist destination for escaping the heat. And in winter, Sun Island is a world of flying snow and silver flowers, like a silver-white world, a unique landscape painting of the northern country. That's why Harbin has the reputation of 'Northern scenery surpassing Jiangnan'."

  I heard that Jiangbei is more beautiful than Jiangnan. Sima Youlan pulled Weiye's hand and asked in a low voice, "Smelly rascal, shall we take the boat over now? What do you think?"

  In response to Sima Youlan's proposal, Wang Weiye hastily shook his head and explained: "Wife, we won't go today. Tomorrow, let's prepare some food and drinks, bring Ya Qin along, and the three of us will go to Jiangbei for a day trip. By the way, I haven't asked you yet - are you afraid of ducks? Coming to Songhua River to play without swimming would be unforgivable to heaven's gift."

  "You're the one who's a sweaty duck, but I won't go swimming in the Songhua River. My body isn't for those people to see." Sima Youlan was very satisfied with her slender figure, so she proudly said to Wang Weiye.