Chapter 4 Palace life

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ The people under the palace maid life have a special personality, they are not quite friendly enough, and they will not casually tell you about their life experience.If you don't know the situation and ask too much, you will think that you are not polite and uneducated, so you will be indifferent to you.In her own words: "If someone uses the tone of 'interviewing a thief' and asks me to ask and answer, I don't have time to talk to him at all!" So I called her mother from the beginning, saying that young people should respect the old. The attitude of the palace women in the late Qing Dynasty is to respect her.Therefore, in her eyes, I was regarded as a polite person, and gradually she was able to talk to me about palace matters.

She was very quiet and never talked loudly.She always speaks in a slow voice, sending words to your ears word by word, which also shows that she has suffered a lot in the court.Autumn evenings are often the time for us to talk. After greeting each other, we have tea and gradually talk about her past. "People under our banner have rations from birth, which are distributed by the Clan Mansion (should be the Dutong Yamen). This is the grace given by the emperor. It is about to be sent to the palace as a servant according to the booklet. This is an errand that a slave should be filial to. Not all families are like this. It’s also avoided. Some families want girls to go out to see the world. First, they can earn a few taels of silver every month, and the family can get rewards on time and according to festivals. Second, girls learn some rules and adjust them in the palace. Yes, I want to gain a good reputation, and use it to climb high and find a good wife. I really want to find some kind of guard or something, and if someone is promoted, they may make a fortune in a few years." She drank tea, slowly meditated slowly.She talked lightly, and I listened lightly, and neither of them said a word.The people under the banner pay attention to leisurely demeanor, no matter how urgent the matter is, they must maintain a leisurely and comfortable posture, as if they are talking about other people's affairs.To be honest, she is not familiar with all the top and bottom organs of the Bannermen.

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "In the summer when I was 13 years old, before the May Festival, I was selected by the Zongren Mansion (House of Internal Affairs) on the south side of Fuyou Street. Before handing it in to the palace, I learned the rules for a few days. My family sent me in the morning and my family at noon. In fact, it was a gift from the Clan House (House of Internal Affairs) to let the children bid farewell to the family members so that the children would not cry temporarily. After a few days, when the family members were not there, we were taken by car to—— About 30 people were sent outside the Shenwu Gate, and the old eunuch picked them up. Send me and three other people to Chuxiu Palace. After entering the palace and meeting the old queen's bedroom, they are considered as people from Chuxiu Palace. "When she spoke, her eyes often did not look at the other person's face, as if she was talking to herself, and it was difficult to detect her inner feelings.

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "There is a traditional rule in the court. The eunuchs are all Han Chinese. They are court ladies with a head and a face. They must be bannermen (should be wrapped in the upper three banners, and there are no Han court ladies). All court ladies who serve the queen mother, queen, concubine, and Gege, The Han people can't get on top. The maids of the Chuxiu Palace are even more demanding to be upright and upright, and the rules are also very strict. After meeting the old lady's bedroom, it is time to visit the 'aunt'. There is a saying among us court ladies:' The old lady is easy to take care of, but the aunt is not easy to take care of." She took a long breath, no doubt thinking of the past, feeling a little agitated. "There is a system in the palace. After four or five years of service, the palace maids will be sent away when they are seventeen or eighteen years old, so that they can go out and marry. This is the grace left by the ancestors. After the new palace maids enter the palace, The maids of the previous generation are collectively referred to as 'Aunt'. In addition, there is an 'Aunt' who is in charge of me and sent me to learn the rules from her. This Aunt has a lot of power. She can beat you, punish you, and think you are worthless. If you can't make it up, I will send you to work as a handyman. But they are almost full of errands, and they are anxious to find a substitute so that they can go home by themselves. Go to the stage, so that I can replace myself. My aunt is very angry, and she will take it out on us at every turn. She often hits and punishes us without explaining the reason. The beatings are bearable, but the pain passes for a while, and she is afraid of being punished. Kneeling on one side does not necessarily mean when. Our little sister Changqing Palace mother and maids often beg: 'Good aunt, please hit me.'" Her voice became deeper and deeper.It also infected me, and I was sad for her childhood. "All of my aunt's affairs are taken care of by us. She washes her face, combs her hair, washes her feet, and washes her body. She uses more than a dozen buckets of hot water a day. Not to mention the daily needlework. 'Auntie' is very beautiful and presentable." , fighting for victory everywhere, very particular about clothes, shoes and socks, dismantling, modifying and making them every day. We wake up at dawn and sleep late at night, it is really miserable.” She seems to have a lot of things to say Finish.People under the banner are unwilling to tell others about their sufferings. They think that they are family matters, so why talk about them with outsiders!

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "However, the ancestors also left grace. In the palace, beatings are allowed, and scolding is not allowed. 'They all came here with the dragon, and it is not appropriate to scold anyone'. These are the words of the ancestors. Besides, there are many taboos in the palace, and cursing may lead If you say something you don't want to listen to, the person in charge will never agree to it (in the palace, the servants are called the shangshi [the person who should be the errand], and the leader of the shift is called the shogun)." She chatted in a rambling manner. , and the tone of voice returned to its original level. "Because scolding is not allowed, we can only use beatings to vent our anger. The violent chestnuts (pimples) on our heads are constant. It has become a rule to say that we are beaten first. Not too much."

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "Grandmaids are generally not allowed to slap the face. Probably because the face is the capital of a woman, and most of the prosperity and wealth of a woman's life are on the face. Slapping the mouth is a common thing for eunuchs, but it is not allowed in the palace ladies, unless they do something despicable. The old lady asked Master Longyu slaps Miss Zhen on the mouth, that is the greatest humiliation to Miss Zhen, even the inferior servants are inferior (the queen is called the master in the palace, and the concubine is called the young master). No one is allowed to slap the face of the palace maids. If you know it, if you tell the eunuch in charge, you will inevitably be reprimanded. Every palace has an old eunuch who enforces the family law, and the maids are allowed to complain. But no one makes trouble." As the saying goes, "beating people No slap in the face', Miyazato strictly abides by this rule.

sleeping position -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ At dusk in autumn, although the sun has set, there is still a long time before the lanterns are held. Bannermen call this period of time "the back step".We put the kang table at the door of the house in this free time "with back pedals", made a pot of tea, and set up a few low stools, and the neighbors and I sat around and chatted. "There are three biggest difficulties in the palace", it was rare for her to say a few words bluntly.We listened quietly, waiting for her to speak. "The first is to sleep. There is a very strict rule in the palace. The palace ladies are not allowed to sleep on their backs, but must turn their bodies sideways and fist their legs." She stood up from the low bench and walked to the wooden bed to give us a performance.Lie on your side, with your legs curled up, one hand on your body, and the other hand stretched out.I couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Why do you sleep like this?" Generally, we rarely interjected in her small talk, and she would coldly stop talking if any sentence didn't go with her heart.She said: "People in the court believe in gods. According to legend, there are temple gods in each hall. At night, they all come out to inspect each hall, protecting the queen mother, the emperor, and the masters. The maids of the palace must sleep without being alone. The big character one Lying down, how ugly! It is a big offense to run into the temple god. In addition, the little sisters have a personal taboo, they are not allowed to rest their chins when sleeping, saying that this is a crying appearance, and they will never get lucky." Mosquito secretly in the corner Flying around, she kindly used banana leaves to give to everyone first, and then to herself.This is the courtesy of the subordinates.She continued: "It's easy to take care of the errands during the day, but at night, I'm worried. I don't know how many times I have been beaten because of my sleep. Until now, I still sleep on my side. That's when the beating came out." Her words gradually became low again. down.

Can't eat enough for fear of being vain -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ She sat obliquely by the door, staring blankly into the distance, thinking about something, as if in deep thought. "The second and third difficulties are eating and showing respect. It is not easy to serve the old lady. From head to toe, not a single strand of hair is messed up. It must be clean, tidy, and neat. There must be no evil smell on your body." Dirty smell is not allowed. We haven’t eaten fish for many years, and we are afraid of fishy smell on our bodies. If you work as an errand and you suddenly smell dirty on your body, it is called ‘disrespect’. You will definitely lose your job, maybe My aunt and those who are in charge will also be implicated. The only way is to strictly control the diet, and only eat 80% of each meal, and the aunt will put down the rice bowl immediately when she glances out of the corner of her eye. Snacks (called extra meals in the palace), but no one dared to eat them, and they were hungry from night to dawn. There are rules for which months we go. For example: when it comes to summer, from the summer solstice to the summer, everyone enjoys a meal every day. A watermelon, but palace maids are not allowed to be raw and cold, and no one dares to eat too much. Standing on the stone steps of the next room, throwing it high, smashing the watermelon, making the little sisters laugh. We serve the old man in Chuxiu Palace. The Empress Dowager asked me to be a servant, but we have to suffer what other people can't suffer. Who would have thought that working as a servant in the palace would hardly have a full meal for five or six years. Just imagine that we are twelve or thirteen-year-old children! Afraid of showing contempt, lost his errand, got into trouble, and couldn't hold his head up among the little sisters. Looking back, what was it like! Even the master, the little master, Gege (the court calls the princess Gege), and above all ( See the Empress Dowager) before you go, you must also cleanse your body, so as not to be disrespectful."

Diet for the four seasons -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "Our meals at the palace are strictly seasonal." This was a new topic, which she told me with great interest. "Let's take the first day of the Lunar New Year. The night before is thirty, and we call it Ci Sui. This day is an exception in the palace. You can go to bed late. We have to kowtow to the old queen before the 11 o'clock handover. When I was resigning from the old age, I said in my mouth, "the old lady is auspicious, and the old lady is all the best." On the first day of the new year, we must eat spring dishes, usually called spring pancakes, and a large box is placed on each table, so it is also called box dishes. There are round ones There are also square ones, with 12, or 16 or 18 enamel boxes inside, in which are shredded pickles and smoked vegetables, such as green sauce meat, spiced tripe, smoked tripe, smoked shredded chicken and so on. There are a lot of things in the palace, and eating chicken and duck is considered rough. At this time, we have a pot when we eat every day, and use it instead of a big casserole, because the duty is not free, and we can’t eat together at the same time. There is a pot, it’s okay. Eating hot dishes. After eating the spring plate, those who like soup go to scoop it into the pot, and those who like porridge, there are two or three kinds of porridge." She said a lot of words in one breath, and I could only work as a helper, helping her Add coal, add water to the kettle, save some time, let her sew more clothes.

"From the first day of May to the first day of May, there are rice dumplings with various fillings and various forms—square, pointed, and bun-style. There are various moon cakes for the August Festival, and flower cakes for the Double Ninth Festival. From October 10 Five pots are added to every meal, there are assorted pots, hot-boiled mutton, and the habit of the Northeast likes to mix sauerkraut, blood sausage, white meat, white sliced ​​chicken, and sliced ​​belly. We often eat this kind of pot. Sometimes we also eat pheasant Guozi, anyway, we eat Guozi for three whole months in a year. On the 16th of the first lunar month, we remove the pot and replace it with a casserole. When it comes to Ching Ming Festival, there are pea yellow, kidney bean cake, aiwowo, etc.; In the summer solstice, you have to eat crystal meat, crystal chicken, crystal belly, etc. In summer, you can also eat cold bowls, such as melon, lotus root, lotus seed and foreign noodles, almond tofu, etc., and lotus leaf porridge is often eaten. They are all iced. Melons, fruits, pears and peaches are served according to the season and month. The Qing court paid attention to the proportion of food, and did not eat it when it was not in season." She recalled her life back then, showing a sad tone from time to time.Now that she is poor and has nothing, it is natural to be sad.

clothes, dress up -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ It was a bit cold in the evening of early winter.The students in the dormitory finished their dinner earlier, and she was busy at her home at this time.For the convenience of water, there is a chunky water tank behind her door, which is reserved for washing when the door is not opened in the morning.Carrying water into the tank is strenuous work, so I often help carry a few buckets of water, and she thankfully said: "I'm tired of you." After a long time, I started to talk like family members It's not too restrictive.Life at court had given her the habit of being silent.Except for polite pleasantries, never gossip.I could only look for irrelevant words and ask: "What do you wear in the court?" She scratched her scalp, pondered for a while and said: "There is a good tradition in the Qing palace, a court lady should be simple, and frivolous speech and actions are not allowed. It is required to have a court style, like gemstones and jade, with moisture from the inside out, not like a glass ball, with a smooth surface that is dazzling. Therefore, our maids are not allowed to draw eyebrows and temples, and do not wear bright red and green. Clothes are rewarded. From spring to February, the eunuch leads people to measure the size of the clothes in the room on the east corridor outside the Hall of Tihe, from head to toe, including shoes and socks. These are prepared for summer wear. It is measured from the previous season to the next season. Because of the young age, it must be measured once a quarter. Each time we are rewarded with four sets, consisting of a bottom coat, a shirt, a coat, and a vest. The material is spring silk, There are many silks in Ningxia, and silk is also spun in summer. Except for the Longevity Moon (the tenth day of the tenth month of the old calendar is the birthday of the empress dowager, and October is called the Longevity Moon in the palace), we can wear red, rouge, and red lips. We wear it almost a year Two-color clothes, spring and summer are green, light green, dark green, and old green can be casual, but not out of style; autumn and winter are purple-brown, the only thing that can compete is the cuffs, necklines, trousers, and shoe uppers. And embroidery, but it is also mainly elegant and light, not too much. Usually it is a big black braid, the root of the braid is tied with a two-inch long red velvet rope, and the tip of the braid is tied with a pink thread, leaving a one-inch long braid. Comb it with a comb, make it fluffy, wear a cut velvet flower on the sideburns, white silk socks under the feet, and blue shoes embroidered with light florals, revealing joy, looking neat and refreshing. Qing Palace 200 Over the years, court ladies have seldom had any scandals, and this is also due to the strict system." Having said that, there are many things to do together.When she recalled her handsome face back then, she smiled with joy.But in an instant, she stopped for a while, and her cheerful smile returned to its original indifference.She said: "There are tangible and intangible rules in the palace. You have to pay attention to every move you make." It took a long time before she uttered a sentence, and she didn't know what was on her mind, and she fell into the dream of the past again.She seems to be a little neurotic, she often starts to smile naturally, and then gradually turns to miserable when halfway through the smile, as if there is always a bitter thing in her heart. action -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ She said: "There are many things in the palace. When you are a court lady, you must 'don't turn your head back and smile without showing your teeth'. When you walk, you must walk peacefully. You are not allowed to shake your head from side to side, and you are not allowed to look back; you are not allowed to laugh loudly, and you are not allowed to show teeth. Come on, no matter how happy you are, you can only purse your lips and smile. The face is always smiling with joy; no matter how painful it is, you are not allowed to cry; you are not allowed to make a sound when you are beaten. You can’t ask what you shouldn’t ask, and you can’t say what you shouldn’t say. As an official in the palace, no one can talk privately with anyone. To use a metaphor, it’s like everyone is covered with a layer of wax skin, and no one can reveal their sincerity. This is my experience in the palace for six or seven years. When I entered the palace for one or two years, I was young and still had tears. After a few more years, there will be no more tears. I have suffered and suffered all my life, and I have not lived a human life (referring to marrying an eunuch). What is the point of crying blind? Use it! That’s why I don’t have any tears. The palace is like an icehouse, making people shy away everywhere.” I was surprised that she actually showed her inner feelings to a young man like me. "I have been in the palace all these years, and I have never left Chuxiu Palace alone. On the first day I entered the palace, my aunt announced that she was not allowed to leave the palace gate. 'Leave the palace gate and kill me', this is their catchphrase. Whoever messes around in the palace, "Left leg sends, right leg kills", takes a step into other palace gates, "either beheaded or sent to the frontier". Unless you go out with the old lady, or give something at the order of the old lady, you are allowed Go out for a walk. I seldom go to the East Palace at all. I often go to the Changchun Palace. Things are all paired, so I never left Chuxiu Palace alone, and when family members come to visit, they are all led in and out by the old eunuch, so it is not considered a single action." Doing needlework and not allowing court ladies to read -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ The current situation is getting worse day by day, and the severe winter in Peiping is coming.My goal of going to school as a career is not feasible in the face of reality.In order to make a living, I had to choose a way out after graduation, so there were fewer opportunities to chat with her home.However, we have been in contact for a long time, and have had emotional contact, and I feel very cordial when I go to visit each other occasionally.Once I went to see her, she was doing needlework around the stove, busy laying down her work, saying hello, and then rinsing the teapot, boiling the teacups, and making tea.This is a custom of the bannermen.When a guest comes, in front of the guest, rinse the teapot clean, scald the cup with warm water, and wait until the first cup of new tea is served on the table before the host can sit down and talk.Failure to do so is tantamount to neglecting your guests.Even if the tea is freshly brewed at home, I haven't drunk a cup of it. As soon as a guest enters the door, I will immediately pour it out and make a new one.If she goes to someone else's house, and they don't receive her like this, she will think that she is despised, and she will get annoyed and never come to your door again.The subordinates value face more than anything else, this is their withdrawn character developed over the years.We drank tea and gradually talked about sewing in the palace. She said: "Ladies in the court are absolutely not allowed to read and write. This is a rule left by our ancestors. Our status is lower than that of eunuchs. Some eunuchs can learn to read and write in the palace, but we absolutely do not allow it. With In free time, we have to learn how to do needlework and tying. We have endless needlework. The clothes are long, short, fat, and thin. My aunts are very tricky. , do it. Some people think that we open our mouths when we eat, reach out when we need clothes, and we are too lazy to even pick up needles. Then we are wrong. We have an aunt who teaches embroidery, and a mother who teaches us needlework. Anyone who is not good will be beaten. We Chuxiu Palace is the No. 1 palace in Tianzi, and there will be no shortage of silver. I heard that in the East Palace and the Compassionate Ning Palace, some of the monthly closing silver is not enough, and the maids rely on needlework to earn pocket money. Palace people When you go out of the palace, you can bring a pair of skillful hands with you. This can be regarded as the grace of the court! Especially outstanding is the tying, which is full of colorful bead threads, mouse threads, and gold threads, all with ten fingers. Weaving back and forth, picking, hooking, tying, and closing, weaving patterns of various images is really a unique skill. Sometimes, in order to please the old lady, I take all kinds of colored threads and nail one end of the threads with a long needle. On the cushion, on the other end, the main axis is clenched and straightened with teeth, and the ten fingers fly back and forth, and in a short while weave a big bat, which is exactly the same as the live bat on the corridor leading to Changchun Palace outside the Chuxiu Palace. , and asked the old lady to smile. The old lady is a person who likes to listen to books. The book said that a certain lady has the face of a fish and a wild goose, how skillful her hands are, etc. The old lady smiled and said to us: "I don't believe that they can do it well." Catch up with you!' Some said that the nets made by court ladies are very valuable, and some were sold in Liulichang antique shops, and also sold in clothing estimates outside Di'anmen. We are also very proud of this craftsmanship. "She was talking plainly, the wrinkles around her mouth stretched a little, and she showed a little smile. Tobacco (1) -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Our conversations have always been "accidental".Because of the scene and the situation, because of the thing and the matter, it is not a topic that has been thought out beforehand, but what you see or hear, you just gossip along this line, and go wherever you go.In the article, this is called a broken kite.When the kite line is broken, it will drift with the wind. Maybe "the tall one hangs on the top of the forest", maybe "the low one floats to the sinking pond", even we ourselves don't know why we talk about these things.Let's talk about it next time, and often start anew.It's just that the listener is willing to listen and the talker is willing to talk. One day after dinner, talking about the life of old Beijingers, mentioning morning tea, evening wine, and after-dinner smoking, this can be said to be the habit of old Beijingers.I would like to take this opportunity to ask about the old lady's smoking.Because this is her full-time job, she also feels very proud, so her emotions are also excited. We have been dating for a long time, and the conversation is more casual. I took the opportunity when she was happy and asked her: "How do you serve the old lady to smoke? Please tell me in detail." She folded the four corners of the skirt and said to me with a smile: "You have the right to be an old lady once, and I will serve you. You sit on my bed, and you can do whatever I tell you to do. "I also laughed and said: "Ah, I have ruined the fodder of the students, how can I afford it." Cover up the matter with a few jokes.No matter where the subordinates are, they are always arrogant in their bones.He doesn't want to hear "no" for small things, especially when it involves his relatives or people they respect.Perhaps a word or two of dissatisfaction with the old lady came out of her mouth, but others are not allowed to speak ill of the old lady in front of her.She asked me to sit on her bed and play the role of the old lady. She looked at me with a double-edged high, and said an allusion, which is called "drawing a nose on the whole paper, giving me a big face".If we don't get along to a certain extent, she won't show up to speak out. I will try my best to show a disrespectful mood to answer her kindness. She smiled and said, "Before the book gets back to the main story, I have to talk a little bit." Although she is in her 60s, her words are still so crisp and soft, which shows that she has received language training in the past. . "I mentioned to you earlier that there is nothing about being a court lady that is not related to my aunt. After paying homage to my aunt, there is a new moon maid who will be a errand first, to observe everyone's movements, look at you If you don’t have enough materials, then my aunt can set her mind to teach you. It’s not an easy task to choose a girl who is close to the old lady.” When she said these words, she was solemn and proud, as if her selection was more honorable than the champion. "My aunt finally spoke. The person in charge sat in the middle of the Eight Immortals' table, and my aunt sat at the top of the table, and asked me to stand straight in the middle of the servant room. This is an important lecture, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life. At this time, she was standing upright beside the low Kang table, with her hands drooping, and her head slightly lowered, just like the attitude she had when she was listening to the training. "My aunt stood up and said loudly: 'Serving the old lady is not an easy task. Offering cigarettes is more difficult than any job. Offering cigarettes is a matter of dealing with the god of fire. If you get a little spark from the old lady, cut yours off. Head, if you sprinkle a little spark in the old lady's back room, three generations of your ancestors have finished playing, and I will suffer with you and suffer from the bamboo board. Do you hear me clearly?" My aunt said to me sternly. I gave a slight smile Looking up, I saw that the blue veins on both sides of my aunt's temples were bulging. My legs were so frightened that I knelt down and said, "I heard everything clearly, aunt! I remember everything. I will never give My aunt is ashamed." She said without looking up, "This is my first lesson in respecting cigarettes, and I will never forget it until I die." A few tears fell on her front, and I regretted not asking the bottom line. Forced her to recall the past.This is probably their apprentice ceremony! "Cough! The past sins have already been suffered, and it's useless to mention them. It's useless to make people sad." She used her hands to fold the four corners of the coat again, which was a neat habit she had developed. "Don't gossip, it's endless, it makes you sad with me." She resumed her original quiet posture and spoke slowly.Originally, I made her sad, but instead, she comforted me with words, which is also the courtesy of the people under the banner.Very thoughtful words. She thought for a while and said: "The old lady doesn't like to smoke dry tobacco, which is commonly known as Kanto tobacco. She likes to smoke hookah after meals, but the palace doesn't like to hear the word hookah. It's a taboo. I don't know what the taboo is. Remember what my aunt said, "Don't inquire about what you shouldn't inquire about. If you inquire too much about gossip, you will get into trouble if you fart." Anyway, in our Chuxiu Palace, the hookah is called "Qingtiao", which is a tribute from the south. It's called Chaoyan." Her words were clear and crisp, but also very funny. She went on to say: "If you want to clarify the matter of offering cigarettes, you must first clarify a few things. One is flint, the other is cattail, the third is fire sickle, the fourth is fire paper, the fifth is shredded tobacco, and the sixth is flint. It’s a cigarette bag. I’ll explain these six things to you one by one. If it’s worth talking about, say a few more words, and if it’s not worth talking about, just walk away.” Here I say a few off-topic words, I admire her ability to speak.Accurate, clear, not sloppy, and so clean, it is impossible to do it without years of training. "Flint and cattail are common things, needless to say. Ever since there was a lamp (match), the fire sickle has not been seen. It is smaller than a small purse. There are two layers in the bag. One Layers of velvet, one layer of flint, the outer edge of the bag is crescent-shaped, protruding outwards, a thick edge is inlaid with steel sheets, and there is a blunt edge, which is used to make a skillful stroke on the flint, steel and flint The flint was held between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and at the same time, a small piece of plush was pressed between the thumb and the flint, and this piece of plush was ignited by the spark. Then stick the cattail on the paper eyebrows, blow with your mouth, and the paper eyebrows suddenly ignite, and use this fire to light cigarettes. It’s a lot of talking, but it’s not so wordy when it’s done.” She said Show me gestures while talking, the action of striking a scythe, how to blow paper eyebrows with your mouth.She sighed and said: "It's just that my fingers are suffering. I squeeze the velvet with my hands every day, and my thumb is burnt. According to my aunt, I can't get sparks from being scalded to death." She looked out of the window and was silent for a while. Said: "I am not a layman serving hookah, I often served Ama when I was a child." I regretted it, and at this moment it brought back many memories of her.People under the flag called her father Ama, and she thought of her childhood again. Tobacco (2) -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "It is said that the flint from Mentougou is the best, as thin as clam slices; the cattail is good for the next year, and it won't extinguish the fire. Anyway, I don't care about those, I will use it when it is prepared for me outside." She pursed her lips and smiled, This is a rare action.She said happily: "In the future, I will also learn to be bad and learn to be tricky. No matter what is used or used, whoever doesn't prepare for me, I will use the old queen's tablet to talk about things. When I scare them, they will be obedient. Serving errands." This was probably something she was very proud of when she was young, and now she can't help but smile when she thinks about it. "Fire paper, which has been missing from the market for many years now. It is darker and rougher than the paper (referring to Yuanshu paper) used by elementary school students to write imitations. It happens to be a piece of paper, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom." At that time, her spirit came, and she boasted: "Rubbing paper brows is a careful job. If you rub it tightly, you can put out the fire. If you rub it loose, the fire will catch fire and the seedlings will not light up. It is the easiest to sprinkle sparks. It is really scary. A few days ago It was taught by my aunt for a month, because I was afraid that something would go wrong. Also, we already had matches at this time, but we dared not use them, for fear that the matches would be fired and something would happen. I served the old lady for seven or eight years. , never made a mistake, to be honest, I really have to thank my aunt." "By the way, let me talk about the shredded tobacco. The shredded tobacco comes from the south, and what I get is small rectangular packets as big as laundry soap today, all wrapped in green paper, maybe because of the green paper, That's why it's called 'Qing Tiao', I'm just guessing." She talked with relish. "The shredded tobacco is longer than the current paper shredded tobacco, and has a fragrance. If this kind of shredded tobacco is damp, it will extinguish the fire; if it is dry, it will choke people. Therefore, it is more troublesome to handle. If it is damp, it cannot be dried. It must be dried. When it is dried, it must be in the sun. It is a place where it cannot be dried but can be roasted. This kind of heat cannot be learned without my aunt's own teaching." She was taught by her aunt, and she put her aunt first when it comes to everything.Just as a child puts the teacher first. "The hookah is not like what you see in the antique shop. The pipe is very long, called the crane leg pipe. I hold the hookah. If the old lady is sitting on the kang, I have to kneel down and send the pipe to the old lady. In her mouth, the old lady doesn’t need to hold it with her hands at all, and it’s the most difficult to control the heat of the cigarette delivery. There are two cigarette pots, and the cigarettes are filled in advance (the first ten minutes), and one pot is changed for another.” She said with a smile. I said, "It's your turn this time." I also smiled and said, "I'm really not so lucky. I've got a fever all over my body now." She said, "I'm standing on the left side of the old lady, and the maid on the right is serving tea. The distance between us , about two square bricks away from the old lady's queen." She stood in front of me on the left in a stance, with her head slightly lowered, and her eyes were not allowed to look around, but to look at the trousers of the person opposite.She said: "The old lady sat casually, looked at me lightly, and I knew I was going to use a cigarette, so I took out the fire sickle, arranged the flint and velvet, and turned my face away (be sure to turn your body away) ), stroke the flint lightly with a scythe, stick the tinder on the paper eyebrow after burning, blow with your mouth, hold the fire of the fire eyebrow upside down, gently gather it with your hands, and turn around , then hold up the pipe with one hand, bring it to the front of the old lady's mouth about an inch away, and wait for the old lady to stretch out her mouth to suck it. When the old lady's mouth has already closed the cigarette pipe, put the paper brow in her left hand Drooping, holding it with the left hand, after serving the empress dowager to finish smoking a bag of cigarettes, take off the tobacco pot and replace it with another one. This is the general situation when I serve the old empress smoking." She even talked and performed, which completely delayed her a lot time.You know, she earns her living by sewing, and I can't bear it. She was still excited and said: "My aunt told us again and again that the old lady hates people blocking her eyes in front, so the cigarettes and tea must be handed up on the side. When something happens, when the old lady comes out of the back room, Be sure to walk on your side with your toes bent. When walking, you can’t wipe the ground with your heels, and you can’t point your buttocks at people. Ugly!" She took a sip of tea slowly, and I also got out of her bed, fueled her fire, and said: "You are tired today, let me disturb you for a long time, don't go out of the house, I will give you a hand from the street later." You bring some food!" We chatted casually like this, and interacted casually like this.