Chapter 56 Galtoni Market

Galtoni Market People who have lived in Peiping always know the fun of going to temple fairs and small markets.You walk back and forth, look here, and stand there; if you find something you like, discuss the price, buy some back and let them see it, and say it's good; raise the price again, and say it's such a coincidence.Your joy is not in vain!If you don't buy anything, that's okay; just one, two, three or four things you fancy are enough for you to talk about.Besides, after lingering in the city for a while, after all the addiction to "mushrooms" is over, what complaints do you have?

Londoners flock to Caldonian Market (CaldonianMarket), it is this energy.In the landlady's living room, on the mantelpiece, there was a hand-grenade casing for the ashes.A little smaller than a melon, the surface is polished brightly, and the small squares are bounded by thick and deep gangsters. They are pretty good and silly.The landlady said that she bought it from the Galtoni market when her husband was alive.She said that this market sells second-hand goods, you can bargain for the price, there are many tricks, some are stolen, but there are also good things; there are so many people who go there.The market is only open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. It is a bit like a temple fair; there are several second-hand book and second-hand shops outside the market, but it seems that they often do business, and it is a bit like a small market.

First go to an old bookstore outside.There are no windows or doors.The ground on the back is gray and shaggy. It has just rained, and there is still a small pool of water at the door.Going in from among the piles of messy books, one can see that they are classified into different categories. "Literature" was inside, and the smell of the air had changed, and there were bursts of pungent smells—it's been three years now, and I don't forget it, but I can't call out any smell. The Bible is the most, a whole box.Irrelevant novels are piled on the left and piled on the right; but I also picked out a complete set of Shakespeare's works and several serious anthologies.The complete works of Shakespeare are of course ordinary books, but they only cost nine pence, which is only five or six cents.The shop also sells old chatterbox films, which are played non-stop for people to listen to, and three or five male and female buddies shuttle around to make a fuss.A few other shops didn't go in, and looked outside, they were also dusty and rustic.

There is a small sign at the entrance of the market that says the opening date, and another one that says "Beware of Pickpockets"-this is something I haven't seen anywhere else in London.The size of the ground is about the same as that of Beiping Dong'an Market, with half covered and half open-air; clean and tidy, but far inferior to Dong'an Market.It is full of stalls, there are no stalls in the house, but there are outdoor stalls. There are stalls, men, women, young and old, of all colors; there are also Indians with their heads tied.They sell daily necessities, cloth, and knick-knacks; there are not many styles, and most of them are too old.There are a few pieces of Japanese porcelain, but the Chinese ones are missing.There are also food sellers and jugglers.After walking around for a long time, I saw a copper lion paperweight. It was heavy enough, and the lion was quite mighty. I asked for three shillings (more than two yuan), but I paid back one shilling, but I didn't buy it.It was about to leave, but I caught a glimpse of a big and thick booklet on the ground, picked it up and flipped through it, it turned out to be a sample of a private New Year card in a book and paper shop.Although these old New Year's cards were trash, they were printed beautifully and were different from each other. After asking the price for only fourpence, which was more than 20 cents, I bought them right away.When I went out, I bought another shoe-shine roll, which was also cheap——I still use it to this day.At this time, I was worried about the inconvenience of holding the big booklet, but when I looked up, there was a seller of cardboard bags in front of me. They were all big and small. Everyone who bought things probably had to buy such a bag; On the ground, the people who are rubbing against each other are almost all of them carrying paper pockets. ——The copy of the New Year's card sample in my pocket, when I return to China, I will show it to Miss Madam's children, and they can't put it down; let them guess the price, at least four yuan.I couldn't help but think that it was worth the trip to Galtoni.

Made on April 11, 1935. (Originally published in Issue 147 of "Ta Kung Pao Literature and Art Supplement" on April 14, 1935)