Chapter 49 Miscellaneous Memories

In the 1950s, the north gate of the old Dong’an market was in the south of Jinyu Hutong Road. Entering the market from the north gate, the light was dim. In addition to the shops on the east and west sides, there was a long series of counters in the middle. The corner of Gui Shopping Mall.The first store on the west side is the time-honored Dao Xiangchun. There is a wooden staircase next to Dao Xiangchun, which leads directly to the Senlong restaurant upstairs.The first one on the east side is Yukang East Paper Cigarette Store. The owner is surnamed Liu. There are two mothers and sons. Although the store is small, it has a great reputation. It has been in business for more than 30 years before and after liberation.In addition to cigarettes, they also sold various pipes, lighters, flints, gasoline, boxed and even retail tobacco, as well as sundries such as needles and threads. Yukangdong also sold some small items that were not easy to buy in the market at that time.For example, the velvet pistil used for smoking a pipe has an iron wire in the middle, and a spiral velvet rolled on the outside, which can be conveniently inserted into the pipe to clear the air holes, and can also be used to clean the e-liquid with the help of the spiral velvet. effect.

There are still a few small shops on the east side, but I can’t remember them anymore. In the past, not far to the east, there were Donglaishun, Fengshenggong and Jixiang Theater.Apart from Daoxiangchun on the west side, there are no very prosperous shops. I remember there is a silk and satin shop and a pennant shop, but the shops are very dark.The counter in the middle has a good business. There are Steel Knife King and some stalls selling small handicrafts, which are always brightly lit. The road in the market is uneven and narrow. The distance between the middle counter and the east and west sides is only three meters. At most three or four people can walk side by side. The passage is illuminated by the lights around the counter. If there is a power failure, the counter has to be lit Candles or kerosene lamps make the passage even darker.When you enter the north gate, you can always smell a damp smell, sometimes mixed with the smell of kerosene and Donglaishun butter fried cake.

When I was a child, I really liked the series of counters in the middle of the North Gate, and there were many things that attracted me.Steel Knife King specializes in small waist knives and swords, the small ones are two or three inches, and the big ones are no more than half a foot. They are completely imitated by real waist knives and swords, with exquisite workmanship.There are delicate silk tassels on the handle and sword handle.This kind of sword not only has ornamental value, but also can be used to cut fruit.In addition to the sword, there are other weapons made of copper, which are only two or three inches long.These are still available at Arts and Crafts Services today, but are rarely seen.But half a century ago, the steel knife king's products were indeed a major feature of Dong'an market.Then there is the feeder, which is also a feature of Dongan Market. The small animals made of materials, such as the twelve zodiac signs and other small animals, are very vivid and lovely.

What makes me linger most is the hairy monkey and clay figurines. The raw materials of hairy monkeys are cicada slough and magnolia magnolia. No matter what the personified monkey looks like, it cannot be separated from these two things.I have always suspected that its creator is a clerk in a Chinese medicine shop, because cicadas and magnolia are common Chinese medicines in medicine shops.Cicada slough has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxification, magnolia is the magnolia flower, also known as wooden pen, which has the effect of opening the orifices.Several counters inside the north gate of Dong’an Market sell hairy monkeys, with vivid shapes and different expressions. Some sell wontons with loads, some push water carts, some have their heads shaved, some saw pots and bowls, and some play chess. , There are those who play mahjong, it can be said that everything in the market is tolerant.Today the most famous inheritor is Mr. Cao Yijian, a descendant of Cao Xueqin, an arts and crafts artist, who has continued this craft that can only be seen in Beijing.All living beings in the city and all walks of life composed of hairy monkeys can really be said to be a three-dimensional picture scroll of old Beijing customs.

There are many types of clay figurines, and I am most impressed by three types. One is play clay figurines, usually in groups of two or three people, fixed on a pallet.Most of the clay figurines are more than three inches high and are based on opera stories.For example, there are sculptures of "Matchmaker" by Yingying, Matchmaker and Zhang Sheng, sculptures of "Ancient City Meeting" by Liu, Guan and Zhang, sculptures of Dou Erdun and Huang Tianba, etc.When I was a child, I didn't have much interest in this kind of clay figurines. I thought they were too rigid and not fun.The other type is brown figurines, although they are also clay figurines, but they are armored and armored, with a flag on their body and a circle of brown hair underneath. They are placed on a copper plate with a small contact area. It's like fighting on stage.I once bought a set of "Eight Great Hammers" in the north gate of the market. There are five brown figures in total, including Lu Wenlong with two guns and four hammer generals. It is very exquisitely made.Mr. Bai Dacheng, a craftsman and successor of the brown figurines, once told me that if this set of brown figurines from the "Eight Sledgehammers" in the 1950s survives today, it should be considered a very precious cultural relic of arts and crafts.My favorite is the horse-riding clay figurines, which are also costumes of opera characters, but both civil servants and generals are all on horseback.The legs of the horse are made of four iron wires, and there is a little mud at the bottom end, which can be regarded as a horseshoe.I remember that this kind of horse-riding clay figurines are mostly based on materials. Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang, Lu Su and others are all dressed up on the stage, and they all ride on horses. Guan, Zhang, Zhao, Ma, Huang and other generals are all in full body armor. , with the flag on the back.The characters can be distinguished from the facial makeup. For example, Huang Zhong and Huang Gai, although they both have white beards and yellow armor, but one is clean and the other is hooked, which can also be distinguished.This kind of horseman attracted me the most. At that time, it only sold for fifteen cents each.Every time I go to Dong'an Market, I have to look for horse riders that I don't have at several counters, and I can always find a few, buy them back and expand my team.I remember that at the most I had forty or fifty of these riders. I piled up hardcover English books at home and used them as a city or a training platform.Sometimes the generals will go out to fight, sometimes the two armies will confront each other, sometimes they will set up troops in ambush, and sometimes they will fight and fight.Occasionally, horsemen who were "killed in battle" went to the counter in the north gate of Dong'an Market to "recruit" for supplementation.

The clay figurine counter also sells some second-hand goods.I remember that there was a set of dusty clay figurines on the bottom floor of the counter in a house that had been neglected for a long time. It consisted of about sixty or seventy clay figurines, all dressed in green robes with yellow flowers on them, black hats and helmets, They were all holding household items, playing drums, and carrying things. They were too young at that time to know what they were, and they looked like soldiers.At that time, I was regretting that the cavalry had no soldiers, and I really hoped to get this uniformed team.The little figures were about two inches high, and each had a wire behind its buttocks, forming three legs, so that it could stand upright.I asked about the price, and it seemed to cost 30 yuan, which was a month's salary for an ordinary employee at that time. How could I have so much money to buy it?Every time I go to the market, I always have to squat on the edge of the counter and watch for a long time, reluctant to leave.I forgot what kind of opportunity it was. In order to please me, a relative of 250 yuan finally negotiated the price for 25 yuan.The shopkeeper swore that it was a thing from the early years of the Republic of China, and he thought it was bad luck.In the end, they bought it home and got into trouble. The family immediately recognized that it was a large funeral procession. The leaders who took the belongings were various deacons and Xueliu, and they carried the shadow booth, but fortunately, there was no group to carry the coffin.In the end, the 250-dollar relative not only threw 25 yuan into the water, but also got scolded. The big green funeral procession didn't work out once, and it ended without knowing where to go.I think if it is preserved to this day, it can be sent to the Folklore Museum.

Walk past the dazzling array of handicraft stalls and arrive at the first intersection in the market. To the east are Qizhen Pavilion, Emei Restaurant, Xiaoxiao Restaurant, Wufangzhai and other restaurants. To the west, you can pass the higher-grade "Tiger Stall". ", straight to the west gate of the market. Most of the "tiger stalls" sell Chinese and foreign antiques, and they specialize in the business of foreigners.Shizijie is the brightest place in the market. It is surrounded by "fruit beds". Under the illumination of a few 100-watt light bulbs, the piles of fruits are particularly bright. In the 1950s, this was the most high-end fruit selling place in Beijing. .

Summer and autumn are the most abundant seasons for fresh fruits. Melons, pears, and peaches are on the market in season. It is not like today where you can eat fruits from different seasons from all over the year. Abundance is rich, but it loses the meaning of freshness.Strawberries on the ground are on the market earlier, followed by cherries from the Dragon Boat Festival, slightly sour crabapple, green and yellow water apricots, May fresh and flat peaches, and purple plums.At that time, watermelons were on the market much later than now, around the summer solstice.Whenever Shizijie comes to the market, they always pick up big and good watermelons, cut them up, and place them on natural ice, tooth by tooth, with a fragrant fragrance.The long summer is hot, and the thirst is unbearable when shopping in the market. Buy a piece of iced watermelon for a dime, bite it down, and the heat will disappear.Even the light yellow or milky white melon can smell the attractive sweetness through the skin.Then there are Shaguo and "Hulache". "Hulache" is extinct today, and may be assimilated by other varieties.It was something about the size of a sand fruit, crisp and sweet, with green and reddish skin, and a big head of water, very sweet and refreshing.As for why it is called "tiger pull cart", there are different opinions, and some say it is a transliteration of Manchu.There are many varieties of peaches, and they have been on the market for a long time. They can last until the Mid-Autumn Festival. At this time, the grapes are also on the market. .Jingbai pear is a specialty of Beijing, and the authentic variety has not been available for many years.Jingbai pears are not only sweet and full of water, but also have thin flesh, which can be said to surpass all varieties of pears.Jingbai pears are also called Xiaobai pears. Although they are delicious, the yield is not high. The real Xiaobai pears can only be supplied for a short period of time, and they may have been grafted with other high-yielding pears long ago.

The fruit beds in Shizijie also occasionally sell fresh river foods, such as freshly picked lotus pods, water chestnuts, and chicken head rice, many of which are produced in Shichahai and the waters west of Beijing.The paddy fields of Jingxi rice also produce water chestnuts, which are called horseshoes in the south. There are not many water chestnuts produced in the suburbs of Beijing, but the quality is far better than that of southern water chestnuts. They are not big, but they are tender and juicy.These things are also available in season at the Crossroads. The listing of jujubes can be said to be a comma for the self-produced fruits in the Beijing area. After that, there will be foreign fruits, which will last for a long time. It's the end.

Jujube, Shanlihong and persimmon were considered the most popular fruits at that time. Due to the large output, the price was also cheap.There are many jujube trees in Beijing courtyard houses, and you can eat dates without spending money, but to eat the best dates, you have to go to the fruit bed to buy them. Whether it is round dates or horse tooth dates, the fruit beds must be carefully selected, otherwise It cannot be sold.Shanlihong and persimmons are mostly produced in the mountainous areas of Jingdong, Jingxi, and Beijing North. They are both cheap mountain products, but these two things in the cross street of the market are also carefully selected, and they are not sloppy.Shanlihong needs to be bright red and free of bugs; persimmons need to be high-grown and smashed, so the price will naturally be more expensive.

More than 40 years ago, Beijing’s consumption and purchasing power were far inferior to today’s. Generally, most of the local fruits mentioned above are sold in the market. Once the seasonal fruits are off the market, the fruit beds on the street will appear to be depressed. .The fruit beds in Cross Street of Dongan Market are booming all year round.In summer and autumn, in addition to the abundant fruits in Beijing, watermelons from Dezhou, duck pears from Hebei, apples from Jinzhou, round pears from Laiyang, first-line red peaches from Feicheng, drumstick pears from Yantai, and honey peaches from Shenzhou are also accompanied. With Jingguo listed together.After the frost, you can still eat coconuts, pomelo, and bananas from Lingnan, citrus from Sichuan, bayberry and pineapple from Fujian. In addition to fresh fruit, dried fruit and homemade candied fruit are also another feature of Cross Street. The most popular ones are sugar-fried chestnuts and persimmons.Every time around the beginning of winter, Shizijie has to set up a large iron pot to stir-fry chestnuts in the market. It is incredible to think about it today.The chestnuts are fried and sold right away, all of them are plump and shiny, and you can buy a pack for 20 cents. Roll a paper tube with straw paper, pour the chestnuts in, and hand it to the customer. The paper tube is not sealed.It's still hot when you take it, so you have to hold it with two hands and eat it while walking.From the beginning of winter to around the fifteenth day of the first month of the new year, the market is always filled with the aroma of fried chestnuts in sugar.The dried persimmons are neater and cleaner than the ones sold outside. They are all covered with white frost. They are sweet and soft without losing the fragrance of persimmons. More upmarket, there are all kinds of candied fruit, but not as good as Dao Xiangchun's, only rock candied walnuts, which cannot be bought elsewhere.The walnut kernels are made with rock sugar and sold in small paper boxes with a few toothpicks inside, which can be eaten without sticking hands.The walnut kernels are crisp and crisp, chewed together with rock sugar, very sweet.The best food in Cross Street is homemade candied quinces and fried red fruits. Stir-fried red fruits are still available today, but the level is not as good as that of Shizijie.Candied quinces are no more.Quince is not hawthorn, but it also belongs to the same kind of deciduous shrub or small tree. After flowering, it produces small fruit, which is smaller than hawthorn, about half the size of hawthorn, and the fruit is harder than hawthorn. However, it is candied quince, which is worth more than fried red fruit.Old Beijingers like to mix cabbage heart, which is a refreshing dish on the winter table.Roasted red fruits and quinces are sold in large glass jars on Shizijie. The jars are placed on a trapezoidal cargo bed, which is particularly eye-catching under the 100-watt light.The owner of the goods prepared a small bottle with a wide mouth and weighed it after filling it.These two things will be sold all winter. Candied haws are sold with cries, and the cries of "ice candied haws" will attract countless customers.The candied gourds in Shizijie were relatively aristocratic at that time, with good quality and many varieties, and the reliability in terms of hygiene was also stronger than those on the market.In addition to the general mountain red, there are also yam, water chestnut, orange and hawthorn sandwiches.The most distinctive one is the yam bean.Wear the yam beans and dip them in rock sugar, which is very palatable.Many folk propagandas today regard candied haws as a feature of old Beijing. In fact, the candied haws sold at temple fairs and factories are far from being comparable to those sold at Cross Street in the market.In particular, the long strings of candied haws in Changdian are just a symbol of the festival, and most of them are not edible. Although there are fruit beds in Cross Street on all sides, the one with the richest variety, the highest quality, and the most prosperous business is the one facing east from west. The stall owner is a fat man in his fifties, with a bare back in summer Drive away mosquitoes and flies with cattail fans, and yell "ice candied haws" confidently in winter.The movements are also nimble. At that time, fresh fruits were mostly packed in cattail bags. If they were given as gifts, a piece of red paper should be placed on top of them, and they should be tied with Ma Liancao.If you buy a lot, you can also stack two cattail bags together, tie them with hemp rope, and deliver them to customers. If the fat man is still alive, he will be an old man of the century. Dong'an Market has been demolished and rebuilt twice, and today's new Dong'an Market is a modern large-scale commercial building, and the location of the market has also changed slightly. According to its coordinates, the location of Cross Street can no longer be found.But more than 40 years ago, the cross street of Dong'an Market, where the lights are bright, the bustle is bustling, and the fragrance of the four seasons is there, still often appears in my dreams, everything is the same, it is so real...