Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

Wang Wu glanced at the bodyguard, but luckily he turned his back to the ancient clock and didn't see it. At this time, the head of the bodyguard was wandering around on Yunniang with a pair of lustful eyes, and didn't care about it.The fat bodyguard was trying to move the clock, and his body was so close to the clock that he couldn't see the bottom.At this time, he suddenly heard "Aiyo", fell to the ground, and the clock returned to its original state.The thin bodyguard and the head of the bodyguard rushed to the fat bodyguard and asked why.The fat bodyguard rubbed his lower back with his hands: "I'm out of breath." At this time, all the bodyguards surrounded him from all sides, and they all said that they didn't find Shui Xing.The head of the escort bowed his hands to Wang Wuyi: "I'm sorry, we're going back, Lord Wu Wang will come and sit with us when he has time." After speaking, a group of people rushed out of the door.

Wang Wu asked Erxi to visit the door, and when he saw the group had gone far away, he released Shui Xing.Shui Xing blinked her eyes and asked, "Where is Mr. Zhang?" At this moment, people thought of Mr. Zhang, and they walked towards the backyard. Wang Wu said loudly, "Mr. Zhang, they are gone, come out quickly?" At that time, I saw a bamboo sieve hanging in front of a room move.Zhang San's voice came out: "I'm here!" The bamboo sieve was lifted, and Zhang San jumped out of it with a smile.Everyone was taken aback, Wang Wu laughed and said, "Second Master Zhang's bone shrinking method is so handsome!"

As the sun went down and night fell, Zhang Sancai took Shui Xing away from Yuanshun Escort and returned to Majiapu. Shui Xing and his mother were naturally very happy when they reunited.It wasn't until late at night that Zhang San dragged his tired body back home. The Spring Festival of the second year was prosperous and lively.Although this is the Year of Gengzi, no one can predict the major disasters that will occur in a few months. Beijingers who have lived here for thousands of years still celebrate the festival according to the traditional customs.Beijing has been an important city for a long time, and it is the channel for the communication between the Han people in the Central Plains and the minorities in the north.After the Liao Dynasty, it was the capital of five dynasties and a place where many ethnic groups lived together. The customs and habits of various ethnic groups influenced and infiltrated each other, which made the Spring Festival activities in Beijing colorful and spectacular.The Spring Festival in Beijing usually begins with the "sacrifice to the society" on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and the cries of "water chestnut rice and barley rice" kick off the Spring Festival. "Son, child, don't bother, it's the new year after Laba. Laba porridge has only been a few days, Lili Lala is twenty-three. Twenty-three candied melon sticks, twenty-four cleaning days, twenty-five fried tofu, two Sixteen stewed mutton, twenty-seven slaughtered roosters, twenty-eight handfuls of sour noodles, twenty-nine steamed buns, three nights to stay up all night, and New Year’s Day to pay New Year’s greetings.” This folk proverb describes Beijing’s busy twelfth lunar month. Made a vivid description.

At the beginning of the Spring Festival, there are all kinds of hawkers shouting from the streets and alleys of Beijing. It is really a group of unique selling songs: "Lishan Casserole", "Caltrop Rice", "Yellow Rice Noodles", "New Year Cake, it's so big." , "Sai Baiyu's candied melon, Kanto sugar", "bean paste, bean curd and tofu, fried gluten", "hey! spicy dishes", "pine and cypress branches, sesame oranges", "door gods come to hang Money", "Pomegranate flowers, ingot flowers", "Feed live carp", "Zhaitang drum", "Bought and bought, all are good paper and paint, one piece here, one piece, paste It is bright in the house"... Beijing's courtyards, inside and outside of large courtyards, Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures, door gods, and hanging lines are neat and colorful.The young women wear red velvet blessing characters and all kinds of bright silk Beijing flowers on their heads, and the old ladies also have a red pomegranate flower on their heads.On New Year's Eve, family reunions, worshiping family temples, worshiping ancestors, making dumplings, cooking New Year's dinner, playing mahjong, playing cards, drinking tea and drinking, talking about the past and the present, and "keeping the year old" without sleep.The children cheered happily, set off firecrackers, played diabolos, blew glass trumpets, twirled official pictures, and made a fuss endlessly.Hemp stalks are scattered all over the courtyards of each family, and people walking on it are called "stepping on the year"; burning pine and cypress branches is called "driving the year away"; "Get rid of all kinds of diseases."

Zhang San's family is naturally beaming.There was a flower festival in Majiabao, flying forks, playing with five tiger sticks, lion dance, twisting songs, walking on stilts, walking on dry boats, holding dragon lanterns, running bamboo horses, panning bars, throwing stone locks, lifting bar boxes, playing Taiping drums, singing It's not busy, it's very lively.Beijing was the imperial capital of five dynasties, with more than 2,700 temples and temple fairs.Zhang San didn't go to Baiyun Temple to "meet the gods", nor did he go to Lama Temple to "dance cloth za".In the morning, he rushed to Liulichang in Xuanwumen to visit Changdian.Changdian has been prosperous since the Qianlong period, and many shops in Beijing come here to set up stalls during the Spring Festival.From Hepingmen to Liulichangkou, the two sides of the street are dominated by calligraphy, paintings and stele stickers. There are several food stalls in the south of Liulichang. Zhai’s candied haws and candied haws, as well as others such as Aiwowo, donkey rolling, pea yellow, bean noodle cake, yellow and white fried cake, sugar ear, kidney cake, bag fire, etc., are too numerous to mention.Zhang San shuttled among the endless stream of people, watching the old Beijingers celebrate the New Year with unspeakable joy in his heart.He looked up at the colorful windmill, whirring along the wind, and found it even more interesting.Many familiar people greeted him, and some deliberately moved out of the way for him, for fear of crowding the bird cage in his hand. It is well known that Zhang San likes to raise birds, and people know that among the many birds, he prefers thrushes.Zhang San's eyes were fixed on a big candied haws. The candied haws were two meters high. A string of mountain reds of about the same size was strung on the wattle. Rosary.Haiwang Village is full of cultural relics, jewelry, tea tables, dining sheds, and children's toy stalls. The Huoshen Temple to the east is a concentration of agate jade, pearl diamonds, gold jade enamel, and various jewelry.The west entrance of Liulichang is the Flower and Bird Market, which is the place Zhang San is most interested in.

Today, the bird market is very prosperous. Bird breeding is one of the entertainments of Beijingers' life. It started in the late Ming Dynasty and became popular in the Qing Dynasty.In the prosperous Qianlong period, the children of the Eight Banners became a habit of idleness, and bird breeders advocated and followed each other, and gradually became popular.But Zhang San was watching the birds carefully, and suddenly heard the owner of the bird room say to a young scholar: "Mr. I will ask you to pick the best bird and take it away without spending a penny." Zhang San looked back at the scholar, who was slender and handsome, with long bushy eyebrows, a straight nose bridge, and Beautiful lips add to the handsome look.Zhang San thought: This owner of the bird house really knows how to do business, and he uses the mouths of customers to show off his goods.

The scholar came unhurriedly to each birdcage, smiled and said to the owner of the bird room: "You must keep your word, don't regret it." The owner of the bird room said solemnly: "A gentleman!" It's hard to chase after a four-horse: Mr. Zhang is here today, and everyone is present, so I won't talk back." The scholar nodded with a smile, took out a copy of "Talking about Art" from his arms, and rolled it into a volume. Pointing to the first birdcage, he said: "This bird's feathers are cyan, with indigo blue rings and purple rings under its chin. There are two rings, three rings, and one purple ring. Crickets, grasshoppers, oil gourds, golden bells, pipa shafts, dog days, autumn cools and other beautiful sounds. Hearing them on winter nights is like being on the banks of willow ponds. Because they are produced in reeds, they are familiar with them. Yes, but the reeds produce frogs, but they use frogs as dirty mouths. This is indigo.” The bird owner twirled his beard with his hands and nodded.The scholar came to the second birdcage again: "This bird has feathers in black, white and gray. It is small and light. It is stored in the cage and jumps and climbs. Its sound is crisp and crisp, and the scale is turned in the crisp sound, and the scale is divided into three parts. Tone, the tone is divided into tones, there are high and low timbres such as dripping water and lever water. The best one can be called more than ten tones, and the tones are different; the second one can also be called seven or eight tones. This kind of bird is called 'Zizi' Hong', the common name is 'Hongzi'." The owner of the bird house nodded again, following suit.

"It's just a yellow bird with an easy personality. It pecks and drinks as soon as it enters the cage. It only eats perilla seeds and ears of grain, and doesn't need to feed insects..." Zhang San saw that what the scholar said was reasonable, the more he listened, the more absorbed he became. "It's just a pink eye. Its feathers are dark green, its body is slightly longer, its beak is thin, its eye rims are white, and it is exquisite and elegant. This is a male bird. The ribs are purple, the color is thick, and the older ones are more expensive. It sings tactfully, It has a soft and quiet voice, and can imitate a donkey to call a horse. Shanghai people especially like to raise it, and it is also called "Xiaoyaner". Those born in spring are called "peach blossoms", and those born in summer are called "lotus flowers".

"This is just a thrush. The thrush is produced in the south. It can be divided into Jiangxi thrush, Hunan thrush, Yunnan thrush, and Sichuan thrush. Thrushes are happy to fight. Every morning, they gather in groups and sing on the top of the mountain. It is called "struggling for the top of the mountain." Ge And get it, the wild is difficult to stand, you must use the board cage to avoid its flaws of "catch the cage" and "raise the top". After two or three months, the nature is soft and submissive, and it begins to move in the "main cage". The so-called row cage is also Set up a bar, which can only jump left and right, and cannot fly. The bar must be covered with fine sand, called "sand bar", for its claws to sharpen its beak. Every morning, you must carry the cage for a long walk, and shake the cage with your arms to make its claws tight. Hold a sand bar and stand upright. Because of the high cage of the thrush bird, it must be shaken vigorously to move it. Only martial arts boxers and wrestling masters are willing to raise it. Therefore, the thrush is also called "Warrior Bird", just like this strong man. "The scholar pointed to Zhang San with a book.

Zhang San smiled, and asked: "You little brother, you really have something in your stomach. In your opinion, where did the thrush in my cage come from?" The scholar looked at it and said with a smile: "You have a long body and a long tail. It is purple-brown in color, with slender white eyebrows on its eyes. It is clear and delicious. It is a Sichuan thrush." Seeing more and more people around, the owner of the bird house was very proud, so he said, "Mr. Luo, go on." The book talks about it eloquently: "Recently, many literati poets and Liyuan residents like to raise thrushes, because thrushes sing thousands of times, which is different from other birds, or it is as strong as a copper lute and iron plate, or like a jade flute and a copper sheng. It is leisurely and harmonious. It may be as treacherous as the turbulent waves, or as quiet as the flute. It makes people unpredictable. It is entertaining to the ears. Especially valuable, besides the original sound, Mu Xueshan magpies, hawks, red sons, and hens lay eggs , the rooster crowing, etc. are lifelike..."

The scholar came to another birdcage again: "This bird is slightly smaller than the thrush, with a wide body and short tail, brown feathers, and its shape is far less elegant than the thrush. The so-called "thirteen sets" means to learn thirteen sounds, starting with "Yunyan" and "Liangyan", and the order is "magpie with head", "yellow bird with water whistle", "house sparrow making noise". Lin', 'Eagle in the sky', 'Hongzi crossing the branch', 'Heizi haha'... until 'the car runs down the path', it goes round and round. , it is better to be able to learn from Grasshopper..." A foolish young man next to him was impatient, and asked loudly: "You are so fancy, what kind of bird is this?" The scholar calmly said, "It's a lark." The young man hurriedly fumbled for the bag, and shouted loudly, "Boss, I bought it!" Picked out the cage and handed it to him.The young man left happily carrying the birdcage. The scholar pointed out the names and habits of the birds in the bird house one by one, and the owner of the bird house couldn't help but smile.At this time, tourists are very busy buying their birds.Zhang San reminded from the side: "You boss, have you forgotten what you said?" The owner of the bird room smiled and said: "How can I forget? Didn't you see that I am busy!" He turned to the scholar again: "Mr. Luo, Which bird do you like? Just tell me." The scholar smiled and said, "I like larks too..." The owner of the bird room hurriedly said, "Yes, there are." A beautiful bird came out of the cage, and there was indeed a spirit in the cage.The scholar was reaching out to pick it up, but the other hand held the birdcage unexpectedly.The scholar looked up and saw that this man was white and clean, with walnut eyes, wearing a white silk and yellow flower padded gown, and he was in his thirties. The scholar asked, "Why did you rob me of my birdcage?" The man laughed. Said: "This language is all taught by my starlings, this birdcage should belong to my starlings!" As he spoke, he pouted back.The scholar looked back, and saw a ferocious guy standing behind the man, with a swollen face, black shaggy hair on his chest, a big knife on his back, and an exquisite bird pole in his hand. A starling.The man smiled at the starling and asked, "Really?!" The starling said, "Yes! Yes!" Everyone laughed.Seeing that the situation was not good, the owner of the bird house hurried forward and said with a smile: "Master, you still have time to visit the Changdian Temple Fair during the Chinese New Year..." The man raised his hand: "It's nothing to do with you today. Our starling got the lark." The scholar didn't show weakness, and stepped forward to grab it, but the man raised his leg and kicked the scholar's left arm.The scholar knew some martial arts skills, and with a move of "Eagle Striking the Sky", he rushed towards the bird-robber; the bird-robber dodged slightly to the side, and the scholar jumped into the air and fell to the ground.The bird snatcher took advantage of the situation to ride up and punched like rain. Zhang San saw it, handed the bird cage to an old man next to him, and was about to go to help the scholar.At this moment, a thunderbolt sounded in mid-air: "It's really deceiving!" A person flew from nowhere, the person was as light as a swallow, and a whirlwind was blown up, before everyone could see clearly what was going on , the person who snatched the bird had rolled to the side seven or eight times in a row.Zhang San took a closer look at the man, young and handsome, slender, handsome, wearing a sea blue robe full of embroidered cranes, a purple tribute satin tasseled shawl over it, a brown melon skin hat, and an exquisite sword on his back.When the scholar saw this man, he suddenly became angry.When the owner of the bird house saw the person coming, he smiled and said, "It's just right, you should always take care of this business!"