Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 117

"Is it pretty?" Xu Huizhen asked, her cheeks flushed as she noticed He Yuzhu staring at her. She was secretly pleased but also a little shy.

"It looks so good, I suddenly don't want to go out anymore."

Going out to play is never as comfortable as playing at home.

"Silly boy, go buy New Year's goods."

Xu Huizhen pulled He Yuzhu out the door, and the entire Yandaixie Street was already filled with the atmosphere of the New Year.

The shop fronts have all been cleaned and refreshed, and there are now more vendors selling items that are only available during the Lunar New Year, such as firecrackers, fireworks, rice cakes, door gods and kitchen god statues printed on templates, flowers for offering to Buddha, and honey offerings.

"Time flies so fast, it's almost Chinese New Year in the blink of an eye." He Yuzhu sighed with emotion. He had been in this world since early summer, and more than half a year had passed without him realizing it.

"Yes, at the beginning of the year I was just a little girl studying at home, and in the blink of an eye, I have my own little tavern in the capital."

He Yuzhu quickly composed himself. Since he was already here, he decided to settle down and live his life here. He then pulled Xu Huizhen away from Yandaixie Street.

In old Beijing, every household began preparing for the Lunar New Year after the twelfth lunar month, especially after the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Chinese New Year is a big event. Before the New Year, a lot of preparations need to be made, and a lot of things need to be bought, including food, daily necessities, clothes, accessories, toys, dried goods, fresh goods, raw goods, and cooked goods, all of which are collectively called New Year's goods.

Walking down the street, you can hear nursery rhymes from time to time.

"On the 23rd, sticky candy is served; on the 24th, house sweeping is done; on the 25th, millet is pounded; on the 26th, meat is bought; on the 27th, a chicken is slaughtered; on the 28th, dough is prepared; on the 29th, steamed buns are made; on the 30th, we stay up all night; and on the first day of the Lunar New Year, we twist and turn."

The clear, cheerful voices of children drifted past my ears, sounding so peaceful and joyful. Yes, many adults may be tired of the New Year, but for children, it is a great joy.

Xu Huizhen suddenly said, "Oh no, I forgot to bring the rainwater with me."

"Don't spoil her either."

It's unclear when exactly, but Xu Huizhen began to care about He Yushui, taking meticulous care of her every need. Her master's wife was reassured and, seeing Xu Huizhen's reliable work ethic, entrusted the responsibility of looking after He Yushui to her.

"What kind of older brother are you? You're too harsh on your younger sister. Yushui is so well-behaved, and you're still not satisfied all the time."

"Alright, let's not talk about her when we come out."

"Okay, so what do you think we should buy?"

Xu Huizhen started counting on her fingers: "The clothes are all made, there's no shortage of meat, and you usually prepare a lot of daily necessities, so don't buy those three. Just buy some New Year's gifts, supplies for the Kitchen God Festival, firecrackers and fireworks, etc."

He Yuzhu asked, "Should we buy these things at Dashilan or at the temple fair?"

Dashilan has everything you could want; you can buy anything you need there, especially at Quanyechang, which has 180 shops selling all sorts of things.

"Let's go to the temple fair instead, it's more lively there," Xu Huizhen said after thinking for a moment.

The closest one is the Guangdian Temple Fair.

Changdian refers to the vacant land outside Liulichang, which is an ancient cultural street in Beijing.

In the earliest days, it was called Haiwang Village during the Liao Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, a kiln for firing glazed tiles was established here. During the Qing Dynasty, the glazed tile kiln was moved to Mentougou District in western Beijing. Only the street name of Liulichang (Glazed Tile Factory) and the kiln shop remain.

Xu Huizhen said, "Don't try to fool me. The Changdian Temple Fair is only lively after the New Year. Let's wait until after the New Year to go."

"Really? I'm not familiar with it," He Yuzhu said.

"You're so lazy. Today is the Longfu Temple fair day, let's go to Longfu Temple."

Xu Huizhen led the way and then said, "There are more than 40 temple fairs of all sizes that are open every month in and around the capital. The five most famous ones are: Longfu Temple, which opens on the 1st, 2nd, 9th and 10th; the Land Temple on Xuanwai Xiaxie Street, which opens on the 3rd; the Fire God Temple on Huashi Street, which opens on the 4th; the White Pagoda Temple on Neidajie Street, which opens on the 5th and 6th; and Huguo Temple, which opens on the 7th and 8th."

He Yuzhu calculated the lunar calendar and found that today was the day of the Longfu Temple fair.

He Yuzhu didn't ride a bicycle either, but instead hailed a rickshaw. Before liberation, there were many human-powered rickshaws, where the rider ran in front and pulled two wheels from behind, like the rickshaw pulled by Xiangzi. These are not common now.

Nowadays, bicycles are used with a rickshaw pulling a cart from the back, so you can pedal directly from the front, which saves energy.

The rickshaw was still the same style as the one in the back. He Yuzhu helped Xu Huizhen up and sit down. Now they sat close together.

The main problem was that the vehicle wasn't wide enough, and the winter clothes were quite thick, so it was difficult for two people to sit comfortably with their bodies and thighs pressed together. Fortunately, the clothes were thick enough that we could bear it.

"Go to Longfu Temple."

"Okay."

The weather was sunny and the bright red sun felt warm and comfortable on my skin.

Upon arriving at Longfu Temple, one sees a sea of ​​people inside and outside the temple. Ladies and gentlemen gather here, as do scholars, poets, ordinary citizens, and farmers from the suburbs—all coming to the temple fair, a phenomenon unlike any other temple fair.

The main reason is that the Longfusi Temple Fair is the largest temple fair in Beijing, and it has the most and most complete range of goods.

Outside the mountain gate, there were all kinds of snacks. He Yuzhu bought two skewers of candied hawthorn. The two of them ate the candied hawthorn as they entered the mountain gate. The courtyard inside the mountain gate mainly sold daily necessities and mountain products, while the front hall mainly had stalls selling antiques and treasures.

After the second courtyard, there were daily necessities, clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, fabrics, etc., Wang Mazi's knives and scissors, Jin Xiangzhang's hair combs, Gangdao Liu's tea and fruit knives, Sanheju's wigs, and all kinds of toys that children like.

"How about buying a rag doll for Rainwater?"

"Let's go inside first and then buy it on our way back."

The backyard is called Pagoda Courtyard, where there are also many food stalls and small theaters for performing folk operas.

Whether it's Peking Opera, storytelling, drum singing, or crosstalk, the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) is available.

Neither of them were really knowledgeable about traditional opera; they just listened for the spectacle. They didn't like listening to those overly literary pieces where a single sentence could take more than 10 minutes to read.

I listened to the crosstalk performance for a while, gave them some tips, and then went to see a martial arts Peking opera.

These theaters don't charge admission. The main thing is that after a performance, the performer walks around with a tea tray. As the saying goes, those with money can support the audience financially, and those without money can support the audience with their presence.

Even if you don't have money, you can pretend you don't see it, and they won't bother you.

They would toss 5, 8, 1, or 2 cents into the tea tray and receive repeated thanks in return; this was their way of making a living.

Although the area here is quite large, it's not as fun as the Tianqiao area. The two of them just wanted to have some fun, so after playing around for a while, they started strolling around the temple.

At noon, I ate some local specialties at a roadside stall, including fried liver, donkey roll, jujube flower pastry, and sesame buns.

I must say, it tastes pretty good.

After eating and drinking their fill and resting for a while, the two went to buy gifts.

The east and west sides of the temple are lined with markets selling flowers, birds, fish, and insects, as well as many vendors selling antique books and calligraphy.

He Yuzhu's appraisal skills have improved a lot recently, but unfortunately the items here are all very low-grade, with nothing of great quality.

After picking out a few ancient books and calligraphy and paintings, Xu Huizhen dragged her to pick out gifts for Yushui.

I bought a variety of things, including hair ties, headbands, rouge, face powder, tin frogs, and wooden carts.

He Yuzhu could only work as a laborer, carrying large and small bags, and took a rickshaw back to Yandaixie Street. Yushui, who was on vacation, was the happiest, with only her sister Huizhen in her eyes.

He Yuzhu had just sat down to take a sip of water when he saw Yan Bugui standing in front of the door, looking at the signboard, and then walking straight in.

"Uncle Yan is here! What a rare guest! Please have a seat."

Yan Bugui exchanged a few polite words, sat down, drank some tea, and then said, "Zhuzi, let me tell you some good news first."

"Good news? I love hearing good news! What good news is it?"

Yan Bugui said with great pride, "Your grandpa is now the grandpa of the School of Management."

"Oh, that's really good news. Congratulations, Uncle Yan!"

"You're welcome, congratulations to you too."

After exchanging pleasantries, He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle Yan, you didn't come here today just to tell me this news, did you?"

"No," Yan Bugui said with a smile, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

He Yuzhu now understood Yan Bugui's scheme. Yan must want something from him, so he first revealed Yan's status as the head of the management department to elevate his own position.

Then, by asking for help, the chances of success increase significantly.

He Yuzhu ignored these petty thoughts and said, "Uncle Yan, you're too kind to me. Just tell me what you need, and I won't refuse if it's within my power."

Having already fallen out with Yi Zhonghai, and seeing that his relationship with Liu Haizhong was also just so-so, since Yan Bugui had come to him, he would lend a hand as long as the problem wasn't too serious.

"It's nothing major, I'm just leaving my things in your shop and moving them out in the morning."

"Things? What things?" He Yuzhu was confused.

"It's just a set of table and chairs, along with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones."

After Yan Bugui explained, He Yuzhu finally understood.

With the Chinese New Year approaching, Yan Bugui, a teacher and calligraphy enthusiast, has a long-standing tradition of writing and selling Spring Festival couplets on Yandaixie Street.

Previously, we had to carry tables, chairs, and other items back to the courtyard house every day, and then move them back in the morning.

The distance between the two places is neither close nor far, about 500 meters. Each time, it takes several trips to carry the things back.

It just so happened that He Yuzhu had opened a braised meat shop here, so Yan Bugui planned to leave all his things with He Yuzhu when he closed up shop in the evening, thus saving himself the trouble of carrying them back and forth.

"Okay, I thought it was something serious. I agree to this."

Yan Bugui quickly thanked him, saying, "Then thank you, Zhuzi. I'll write you a few couplets later."

"You're too kind, Uncle Yan."

Yan Bugui turned around and brought over the table, chairs, writing brushes, ink, paper, and a large stack of red paper, placing them in the house in the backyard.

The next morning, after breakfast, Yan Bugui brought his eldest son, Yan Jiecheng, to set up their stall. It wasn't far; it was just two shops in front of each other, with the road in between and passageways on either side. They started calling out their wares.

He Yuzhu helped with the arrangements, and just as they were about to chat, they saw Xu Huizhen's older brother arrive in a donkey cart to deliver the wine.

Unlike usual, there was a middle-aged couple and a little girl on the bus.

The middle-aged man's face is a carbon copy of Xu Hui's; could these be Xu Hui's parents?