Chapter 7 first quarter

Zhang Xian left Wangfeng Tower, walked south along the Fair Market, Triangle Market, West Market, East Market, Xiannong Market, Chengnan Market, and Huiyuan Shopping Center along the bridge, until he reached a secluded alley. stopped. The entrance of this alley is already on the edge of the flyover, and there are few tourists. It is far less lively and prosperous than the Wangfenglou area. There are several stalls scattered about thirty or fifty steps away, all of which are playing tricks, and no one has been watching them for a long time.The stalls are all lazy, huddled in the corner to scratch itches and catch lice. They are not much different from beggars, unless someone stops in front of their stalls to look at them, and then they yell weakly.

Zhang Xian didn't care about this. He picked a corner in a secluded place, put down a large suitcase, took out a piece of red cloth and a few household items from inside, covered the red cloth on the suitcase, smoothed it carefully, and squatted down again. The hem of the red cloth twitched a bit, then stood up, lifted the robe, took out a scroll from his side, turned around and walked to the wall, found a gap in the wall, and pushed a small iron nail into it , Hang up the painting. The scroll was opened, and there was a picture of Ji Gong on it, one tall and one short, and it was not painted, but a simple ink painting.Even so, Na Jigong is still very vivid in his paintings, with rags and tattered clothes, a monk's hat crooked, bare breasts, with a roast chicken in one hand and an empty wine bowl in the other.It is reasonable to say that the portraits of Jigong are all laughing, but in Zhang Xian's painting of Jigong hanging on the wall, Jigong is staring at the wine bowl in his hand, but has a sad face, as if complaining that there is no wine in his bowl.

Zhang Xian hung up the painting, looked back a few times, smiled, bent over to pick up a few broken bricks, put them in front of the painting, sat down, shaking his head, looking very leisurely. A few tourists who came and went were surprised. This person had a red cloth in front of him and a portrait of Jigong behind him. Medicine sellers, fortune-tellers, jugglers, chess stalls, etc., none of them look alike, why is this here? Finally, the person who had a good thing couldn't help it, and leaned in front of Zhang Xian and shouted: "I said, what are you selling? Selling paintings?"

Zhang Xian didn't get up either, and said with a smile, "Give Jigong Living Buddha painted behind me, and ask for a bowl of wine." "Hey! Your speech is very strange. Jigong is painted on it. What kind of wine do you drink? You drink as you drink, and your words make such a big detour!" "It's really asking for a bowl of wine for the Living Buddha Jigong. Master, if you have spare money, please donate two so that I can buy wine for the Living Buddha Jigong." "You're really out of your mind, you got it, even if I didn't ask, you can stay here."

Tourists leave angrily. Zhang Xian still had a smile on his face, sitting on the spot and waiting quietly. About half an hour later, more or less seven or eight people came up to ask Zhang Xian what he did. Zhang Xian said that he was begging for some money to buy wine for the Living Buddha Jigong in the painting. No one believed the crazy words, and no one took Zhang Xian's words seriously. After Zhang Xian sat for a while, he turned around four or five men in short jackets from the corner of the street. At first glance, they looked like hooligans. With gold-rimmed sunglasses and a toothpick in his mouth, he walked sideways on the street like no one else was there.This man is a well-known hooligan in the Tianqiao area, called Huoyajin. He practiced wrestling in his early years. The rogue is his subordinate, and he specializes in bullying weak and small vendors, euphemistically calling them protection fees, opening money, land occupation money, and sanitation fees.

There are more than a dozen gangs in the Tianqiao area like Huo Yajin, each of them has their own land as a boundary, and when they meet each other on weekdays, they will inevitably provoke each other, and fighting is a common thing.Huo Yajin's wrestling skills are very good, even five or six people can't beat him, so he is one of the best gangsters in Tianqiao area. In the Tianqiao area, there are nearly 400 merchants officially licensed by the government, and there are nearly a thousand temporary stalls and entertainment and acrobatic stalls. They will also make two money for tooth gold, and manage the scene.And when these hooligans are free, they can be temporarily hired by a big business like Wangfenglou, as thugs, to clean up some stunned youths who are causing trouble in the store.In the early years of the Republic of China, the legal system was incomplete, and in places like Tianqiao, it was not always possible to go to the government office to deal with it, and a local hooligan like Huo Yajin would come forward to deal with it.

Therefore, Huoyajin and the others lived a nourishing life. A stall owner recognized Huo Yajin, and saw them coming from a distance, thinking that today's harvest was not enough to serve Huo Yajin, so he hurriedly closed the stall and ran away without a trace. As Huo Yajin walked all the way, he saw Zhang Xian sitting by the wall from a distance, he babbled and snorted, "Beng Ergou, is that new here?" Beng Ergou is a thin and tall hooligan with a pair of triangular eyes, yellow teeth, and parted hair in the middle. He can read and write. How much he paid and how much he spent was all kept by him.Hearing Huo Yajin call him, Beng Ergou hurriedly stepped forward, glanced at Zhang Xian, and shouted: "Master Jin, I haven't seen him yesterday, he's new here!"

"Go! Go meet him for a while!" Huo Yajin said lazily. The hooligans like to bully the newcomers the most. They put on a fierce look, shrugged their shoulders, and followed Huo Yajin to Zhang Xian in front of Zhang Xian. Huo Yajin glanced at Zhang Xian and felt strange, what kind of business does this person do?What is Jigong doing with a frowning face behind him? Zhang Xian had noticed these hooligans a long time ago. Seeing them standing in front of him, he stood up slowly, clasped his fists, and said very politely: "Masters, what advice do you have?" Huo Yajin pulled down his sunglasses, glanced at Zhang Xian, and was slightly taken aback, this man's eyes were deep, and he couldn't tell the depth at a glance, he didn't look like a small businessman who had never seen the world.

Huo Yajin snorted, "What's your name? What business do you do?" Zhang Xian understood that these hooligans are not easy to mess with, and said with a smile: "My name is Zhang Xian, I am new to your land, and I don't know the rules, please forgive me." Huo Yajin thought that this person spoke very politely, he was a sensible person, so he calmed down a little, and said, "Oh? Zhang Xian, let me ask you, what business are you doing here?" Zhang Xian replied: "I don't do any business, I just want to borrow expensive land and ask for two wine money for Jigong Living Buddha behind me."

Huo Yajin couldn't laugh or cry, it was the first time he met someone like Zhang Xian who spoke out of tune.Huo Yajin is not a tourist, the more Zhang Xian said so, the more Huo Yajin wanted to get to the bottom of it. Huo Yajin snorted, "Yo, you're quite interesting. Let me ask you, how can you give Ji Gong a drink after asking for money?" Zhang Xian said with a smile: "Of course I bought wine and let Jigong drink it. These masters should not underestimate my painting. The Jigong in the painting is possessed by a real god. He is alive and can drink." Huo Yajin looked around and laughed out loud, and the hooligans who jumped Ergou also laughed.Huo Yajin shouted: "Live? Good! How much do you want? Let me see how you make Jigong drink!"

Zhang Xian said, "Twenty cents is enough." Huo Yajin said to Beng Ergou: "Beng Ergou, give him two hairs." Beng Ergou looked bitter, and said, "Master Jin, do you really believe him?" Huo Yajin scolded: "What are you talking about! If you are asked to give it, you will give it, be quick!" Beng Ergou responded repeatedly, took out two dime copper coins from his arms, and handed them to Zhang Xian one step forward. Zhang Xian took the copper coin, spread it out on the palm of his hand, pointed it with his finger, and said: "Qian'er, thank you for your hard work, go buy wine!" Zhang Xian squeezed his hand, shook it, and said: "It's gone!" He slowly stretched out his hand, but there was nothing in his hand, and the two copper coins had disappeared. Huo Yajin, Beng Ergou and the other hooligans couldn't help but let out a "huh". These four or five hooligans gathered in front of Zhang Xian, and passers-by who liked to join in the fun also came over and stood behind Huo Yajin and the others. When Zhang Xian accepted the two copper coins, except for Huo Yajin and the others, they had already surrounded him Seven or eight people. Zhang Xian lost the copper coins in the blink of an eye, and these passers-by also followed Huo Yajin and the others to "Huh", and immediately started whispering, and couldn't help getting closer. Huo Yajin took off his sunglasses, stared at his two bell-like eyes, and said with his mouth tilted: "Are you a conjurer?" Zhang Xian was noncommittal, and said with a slight smile: "Masters, folks, don't be impatient, the wine will be bought back soon." Zhang Xian was surrounded by a dozen or so people, and they all expressed their surprise in unison. The passers-by on the street also heard it, whether they recognized Kuoyajin or not, they all surrounded him. In a blink of an eye, two or three people had already surrounded him. ten people. Seeing that Zhang Xian was standing quietly, the crowd did not make any movements, but several people dressed up as rogues looked at Zhang Xian honestly, without presumptuousness, they all felt strange and asked each other.Those who followed Huo Yajin and the others came earlier, probably told the story, and the word spread quickly, and everyone knew it in a short while.