637 National Day

"I won't agree to such a contract!"

"Me neither! I like this area. Everything is perfect here, except for the outdoor public toilets."

"Yes. It's close to work and school. No one wants to live in the suburbs."

"Exactly. I have to go to the Dongzhimen Hospital to get some medicine for my mom every day, but it's still warm by the time I return home."

The neighbors' sentimental attachment to each other and their homes weakened the joy of moving away.

"Money shouldn't be a priority compared to common interests, right?"

"Yes!" everyone shouted together.

It sounded like they were blowing a battle horn against the cunning developers. They decided to have dinner together as a way to celebrate their union. Everyone carried dishes out to the yard.

Pig's feet were being boiled on a small stove. Two old women were serving as cooks. Typical Beijing cold dishes included shredded cucumber, pickles and fermented bean curd juice with sesame oil.

The old woman kindly replaced the brick the manager had been sitting on with a stool. The man sat down next to Qin Guan.

Unlike formal Western cuisine or some outstanding Chinese palace dishes, this was warm homemade food.

Stir-fried cabbage, braised pork and shredded potatoes with vinegar sauce were served with rice, and seaweed and egg soup were traditionally served with shrimp.

In a few minutes, the big bowls were filled with staple food. There was rice and elastic steamed buns for old men. When the manager tried some hot pork the old woman gave him, he decided to betray his agency.

He would gladly act as a double spy.

After having dined and wined to satiety, Qin Guan and the manager parted ways. They just exchanged the annual rent, intentionally not talking about the other contracts.

They would have a tough battle ahead of them during the next year.

Back at home, Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei packed their luggage. They would be returning to New York the next day. Qin Guan turned down all invitations, interviews and offers. He entrusted everything to Sister Xue.

He and Cong Nianwei were planning on watching the national flag ceremony the next morning. It was National Day, so there was a traditional tourist program for Chinese visitors in Beijing.

Unlike in other foreign countries, the timetable of their ceremony followed the Beijing sunrise and sunset, which were calculated by the astronomers of the Beijing Observatory.

The national flag would be raised when the sun reached the horizon of Tiananmen Square. The exact time differed every year.

Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei had lived in Beijing for many years. If they had not gone abroad though, they would never have attended the ceremony. Only when one lived in a foreign country did they realize how much they loved their homeland.

Because of their tight schedule, they had to watch the ceremony outside with their luggage.

At four o'clock, the janitors started cleaning Tiananmen Square. They had to get up earlier than their colleagues in other areas.

When they were done, the police stations in charge of the area were ready to take over. The younger policemen got some weapons from their seniors.

They had to form a long warning line of several hundred meters from the west entrance of the National Museum to the east entrance of the Great Hall of the People, where the biggest number of spectators would gather.

Led by the policemen, the visitors lined up to enter the square. Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei were just in time. All the streets had been blocked by patrol wagons.

Everyone in Beijing knew that no cars or public transportation vehicles could stop at the square during National Day. One could get down at the stop before or after the square and walk from there.

Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei had to struggle in the crowd with their luggage.

"There are so many people here! I came to watch the ceremony, not look at the back of their heads!"

"Shut up!"

The two of them walked hand in hand through the noisy, unfamiliar crowd. They felt unprecedentedly confident.

The front rows were reserved for seniors and kids, so the youth had to stand in the back.