I have been to Zunyi since I was little. At that time, I followed my mother and experienced the soft sleeper on the train for the first time. Children have a natural interest in enclosed spaces like closets and under beds, so I have a vivid memory of my first time staying in a small box-like room. Climbing up the iron ladder to the bunk, there was a small light bulb at the head of the bed. Compared to the hard sleeper, I could stretch my waist. At that time, I thought, when can our family travel in a soft sleeper together? It would be so interesting to be in a relatively enclosed room together.
Later, as I grew up, our family often traveled together, but we never traveled together by train again. Because when we calculated the cost, it was more cost-effective to drive with 3 or 4 people. So, does this mean that dreams are defeated by reality?
When I was young, my impression of Zunyi was Maotai liquor. After I started studying, my impression of Zunyi was the Zunyi Conference Site. I have been to Zunyi 7 or 8 times, but I have never really understood this city. It's embarrassing.
Sacrificing the precious sleep time of young people, getting up at 6:30 just to see the morning in Zunyi. Glutinous rice, which has long queues in Chengdu and Chongqing, is readily available in its hometown of Guizhou. Folded ear root, pickled vegetables, peanuts, potatoes, and crispy whistle are all classic ingredients. Use a spoon to scoop out the steamed, hot, and sticky rice, flatten it with your hands into a pancake shape, put various side dishes in it, and then pinch it together. A hot and steaming large glutinous rice ball is ready. Most of the people who buy breakfast in the morning rush, and the weekend workers like me who get up early, are the main force of glutinous rice.
The first few times I came to Zunyi, I went to the new area. Now every city looks more and more alike, and I thought Zunyi had become what I saw. Later, I found that its old city is still the same as the city in my memory more than 20 years ago, with 1980s architectural style, narrow streets, and the sunrise when I was 7 years old that no longer exists.
In addition to eating breakfast early in the morning, I also want to visit the market. The various "expensive peppers" in the dried goods area are dazzling. It is indeed a city that is building a dried chili trading center. Dried potato slices look like lilies at first glance, and I don't know how to eat them. Can Guizhou friends in the comments share some ideas?
As a non-heritage of the city, crispy whistle has both the famous "Ding Family Crispy Whistle" known inside and outside the province, as well as unknown street shops. Just like the small noodle shops in the hearts of Chongqing people, the most famous ones are not the favorites of the locals. Full-fat, half-fat and half-lean, lean, diced, sliced, the pork forced out by high-temperature hot oil is placed in glass windows one by one. Whether it is with noodles or rice, it is a perfect combination.
I have eaten Guizhou tofu many times and seen various interesting soy products in the market. There is also the "za" that I have always found magical but haven't figured out. Finally, with the introduction of the enthusiastic stall owner, I learned that there are red "za" and green "za", steamed with rice, flour, and chili, and then cooled and stir-fried. Local people eat it like a small pickled vegetable. In my impression, we only mix it together when making "za meat" (steamed pork with rice flour).
The spring market is wonderful. The tender green vegetables emit the fragrance of soil, and the mushrooms lie in their baskets cutely. When the boss saw me taking pictures, he quickly tidied up the stall, just like the nervousness of parents before their own children appear on TV.
Rows of pickles packed in transparent plastic jars make people salivate. In addition to the common pickled radish, pickled ginger, and pickled chili in southwestern China, I also found pickled garlic sprouts and pickled baby cabbage in the Zunyi market. I must try them if I have the chance, but unfortunately, I couldn't fully enjoy them because of mouth ulcers. Let me share a curious food, it's hard to say whether it's a dessert or what. Glutinous rice balls wrapped in red or green pickled peppers, the stall owner said they are fried and eaten, but I don't know what they taste like.
In Zunyi, a city named Xiangjiang, a tributary of the Wujiang River, runs through the city. The river is calm and the water is clear. People jogging and friendly Akita dogs complement each other. There are already selling voices on the roadside, and the cooking smoke gradually envelops the city.
As the dusk approaches, the night gradually falls, and the city comes alive again in the midsummer night market. I don't know why, although I don't drink at all, I like to see others singing and drinking at the street stalls, especially young people toasting to the future with high spirits. It reminds me of the sound of shattered dreams, which is so similar to the sound of a glass breaking.
The spring breeze is so gentle, even if I am a hurried passerby, it doesn't affect it brushing against my scattered hair. The night market is noisy, and the sounds of noise, solicitation, and the clattering of pots and pans are mixed together. There are many delicacies, but I have a sense of unreality. The narrow alley is crowded with people, mostly locals. Walking through the bustling crowd, the short Lao Sha Alley gives me a sense of vicissitudes of life.
In the early morning and dusk in Zunyi, I saw many trivial things in the world. The more people there are, the less clear it becomes. Only when I am alone, I can observe this world more clearly.