Chapter 3 first quarter

During the period of the Republic of China, one autumn in 1926, Beiping City Flyover. Autumn is high and crisp, which is a good day to go out and play, and it is suitable for traveling on auspicious days. At noon, the area around the Tianqiao is even more lively. Wrestlers, jugglers, stilt performers, knives and forks, diabolo players, shuttlecock kickers, flower bed players, middle banner players, foreign film players, monkey players, big tripod lifters, broken Those who make big stones, jugglers, sellers of powerful pills, fortune-telling and divination, writing and painting, comic dialogue, small business, coolies, teaching and learning, eating and dying, idlers, young daughter-in-law, big daughter-in-law , hooligans, hooligans, all kinds of people, all kinds of people get together in the area of ​​​​the bridge, and the market is full of things.In order to win applause from the crowd and a few copper coins, the artists all tried their best. Tianqiao is a "challenging arena".

The crowd was shoulder to shoulder and shuttled non-stop. The largest teahouse in the Tianqiao area is called Wangfenglou, which is a juggling hall.The guests came in and out in an endless stream, and the staff tried their best to shout and greet the guests before and after running, which seemed to be a very good business.This is not surprising, the location of Wangfeng Building is good, the ostentation is large, the decoration is magnificent, the stage is wide, and it can accommodate nearly a thousand people, and there are dozens of private rooms on the second and third floors. More importantly, Every other hour, Wangfeng Building will start the show with the sound of the gong, presenting a wonderful juggling show, playing and singing, folk art juggling, magic tricks, six performances a day, without repeating the same program.And the performers are not simple, they are all well-known celebrities in Beijing and Tianjin!There is a self-proclaimed saying in Wangfenglou, which is called "If you want to see the view of the bridge, if you don't go to Wangfenglou, just pretend you haven't been there."There are so many people who say that, Wangfeng Tower has really become a must-see on the flyover. Among the locals in Peiping, anyone who has two spare money in their pockets to hang out on the flyover to watch tricks, if they have never entered the Wangfeng Tower, will I am ashamed to say that I have been to the flyover.

At noon, when the Tianqiao area was at its busiest, the crowd outside the Wangfeng Building made noise and gradually gathered.I saw seven or eight clerks from Wangfenglou set up an Eight Immortals table on a wooden platform set up in the open space on one side of the gate. On the Eight Immortals table were two copper bowls, one large and one small. There are five walnuts on it.A clerk pulled out a banner, which read: The person who did the Eight Immortals' fruit-picking tricks in our store will be awarded 50 Dayang. The staff of Wangfenglou yelled: "Fathers and folks, if you haven't seen it, go into the store and have a look! If you have seen it, come and try it boldly! As long as you can do it as it is, you will be rewarded fifty!"

Among the crowd of onlookers, there were all kinds of people, some whispered, some closed their eyes and meditated, and some were eager to try.The few people standing at the front, looking at their temperament and attire, knew that they were also jugglers and jugglers in the streets around Tianqiao. It seemed that they had been waiting here for a long time. There were indeed tourists among the crowd who had never seen the so-called Eight Immortals fetching fruit trick. Seeing this, they were puzzled, and asked the people around them: "Big brother, may I ask, what does this mean? What is Eight Immortals fetching fruit?"

"Hey! Are you a foreigner, this is your first time here? Haven't seen it?" "This is my first time in Peking." "Then you are asking the right person. I have seen the Eight Immortals' fruit-taking trick six or seven times, and they are all in front of the Wangfeng Pavilion. Did you see that the five walnuts on the table of the Eight Immortals must be put into it?" In the big copper bowl, cover it with a small bowl, and then shake it loudly. When the sound is heard, drink it, and there will be no sound immediately. When the bowl is opened again, the walnuts have disappeared, and that's it! "

"My mother, how is this possible?" "Hey, Boss Chen Guochen of Wangfeng Building can do it. Fifty oceans, this is a lot of money! Hey, who wouldn't be greedy." "Big brother, has anyone received this bounty?" "Hey, someone has done it, do you still need to put it on? This has been on the table for more than ten days. Many people have tried it, but no one has done it. Maybe, if no one cracks it in the past two days, the stall will be broken." Take it away. Did you see that the few people standing quietly in front are all conjured by Tianqiao, they have tried many times, but they have not succeeded, but they are here again today!"

"Hey, I'm going to open my eyes today." "That's right, if you have spare money, go sit in the watchtower. This Eight Immortals' fruit trick is not the best!" The crowd was agitated again, and saw a middle-aged man in a long robe, with a dignified appearance and a shiny back hair, walking from the gate of Wangfeng Building to the table of the Eight Immortals. Those who knew him in the crowd nodded and said hello to the middle-aged man: "Boss Chen, good afternoon!" This middle-aged man is none other than Chen Guo, the owner of Wangfeng Building. He is over forty years old, with a smile on his face, and looks very kind.Chen Guotuan clasped his fists together and greeted the crowd: "Fathers, folks, friends, thank you for your support! Today I am here, the first is to show off myself, and the second is to tell all friends that today It is the last day when I offer a reward to masters for solving the Eight Immortals' fruit-taking trick, and I invite everyone to try it, hurry up and try it."

Someone in the crowd applauded loudly: "Boss Chen, show us the changes first." Chen Guo smiled and said, "Okay! Please be quiet, everyone, and I will demonstrate it to everyone." Suddenly, no one in the crowd spoke loudly. Chen Guo boarded the wooden platform, picked up the two copper bowls, showed them the front and back sides, and knocked on them to indicate that there was nothing special about the copper bowls. Then Chen Guo put down the copper bowls and put five walnuts Put all into a large copper bowl. Chen Guo picked up the copper bowl, stepped down from the wooden platform, and showed the walnuts in the copper bowl to the onlookers.

Chen Guo asked as he walked, "Now are the walnuts in there?" Everyone nodded. Someone with good intentions reached out to touch the walnuts in the copper bowl, but Chen Guo did not refuse.The man picked out a walnut and looked it up before his eyes. Chen Guo asked: "Is it real walnuts?" The man nodded repeatedly. Chen Guo smiled and said, "Then I would like to ask this brother to tell everyone." The man shouted to the crowd behind him: "Brothers, walnuts are real!" Chen Guo took a step back and said slowly, "Everyone, please be careful! Keep your eyes open!"

Everyone held their breath, watching Chen Guo's movements. Chen Guo smiled slightly, covered the other slightly smaller copper bowl, held it in front of his chest, and began to shake it up and down. The sound of the impact of walnuts in the copper bowl was clear and loud, and the rattling rattled non-stop. Chen Guo shook the copper bowl, walked around the arena, retreated to the middle of the arena, and shouted: "Let's go!" All of a sudden, the clattering sound from the copper bowl stopped suddenly, and there was no more sound, but Chen Guo's movements still did not stop!The crowd around the audience shouted in unison.

Chen Guo slowed down, held the copper bowl in his hand, separated the two copper bowls, held a bowl in one hand, showed it to everyone, and said, "Look, friends, are the walnuts missing?" The crowd of onlookers all looked around, only to see that there was nothing in the copper bowl clearly and plainly. The crowd applauded thunderously, many people applauded loudly, and some people were surprised again and again. Chen Guo walked down in a circle, retreated to the Eight Immortals table on the wooden platform, covered the two copper bowls again, lifted them up and down, and shouted: "Come back!" The crashing sound of the copper bowl rang out again, and everyone was amazed again! Chen Guo put down the copper bowl, opened it, took out five walnuts from the bowl, held it in his hand and showed it to everyone. Chen Guo put down the walnut, then clasped his fists again and again, and smiled a little bit smugly: "Everyone is flattering you! I'm making a fool of myself!" There was another applause, and then Chen Guo stepped down from the wooden platform and said: "I, Chen Guo, am the shopkeeper of Wangfenglou, and I always keep my word! As long as someone can make the walnut disappear from the copper bowl like this, it will definitely be done." Award Ocean Fifty!" Chen Guo backed away and walked back to the store. The crowd did not know whether someone was sincerely admiring him or flattering him. Seeing that Chen Guo had gone back, the staff of Wangfeng Building continued to yell, encouraging the audience to come forward and try. Many people came forward to try one by one, but they either gave up halfway, or couldn't finish it at all. They shook their heads and sighed, clicked their tongues repeatedly, and returned in disgrace. Nearly an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and no one was able to recreate this trick. Seeing that the time had come, the guys greeted each other, and called for polite words such as Chengcheng and Haihan, and they were about to go forward to clean up the decorations. The meeting is over, and we are about to leave. "Wait! Let me give it a try!" Suddenly a man with a low and steady voice spoke in the crowd. Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw a man wearing a shabby gray cloth robe, disheveled hair, thin cheeks, and a beard coming out of the crowd. This man was travel-laden, as if he had just traveled a long way, and no one present noticed where he suddenly appeared from.This man walked out of the crowd with a pair of eyes that people can never forget.His eyes are not big, but he exudes an unpredictable temperament, as if he can see through people's thoughts with a single glance, and it seems that thousands of words can be expressed from his eyes, everyone can't help but be attracted by his eyes, Can't help but take a few more glances.