Chapter 163: Huadu, my hometown in 1959
Shaoguan Railway Station
Lin Sanqi leaned against the window and shouted at a small cart on the platform: "Here, here!"
This small cart is full of food, making it convenient for customers traveling from north to south to buy local delicacies. It is also a feature of the era of ordinary trains.
The cart came over quickly, and a female staff member in a white chef's uniform said with a smile:
"Comrade, would you like to buy some Phoenix Eye Cake?"
Lin Sanqi thought, there is only one kind of food in your cart, do I have a choice?
The cart should have had everything: melon seeds, peanuts, eight-treasure porridge, beer, drinks, and mineral water. But this wasn't 1959, so having something to eat was good enough; we couldn't expect too much.
"Sister, what is this phoenix eye cake made of?"
"This is actually rice cake. It's sweet and very delicious."
"Okay, how much do you want? Weigh it for me by the pound."
"Hey, comrade, one jin is quite expensive. It requires a ration coupon and 80 cents. How about you try two liang first?"
These days, everything you eat is expensive;
If the food is sweet, it will be more expensive;
Plus, since it's food at the train station, it's undoubtedly expensive.
But Lin Sanqi had traveled all over the country, and he knew that although the things were a bit expensive, they were definitely made of genuine materials. They were definitely not like the train stations in later generations, where they would sell you the worst stuff and rip you off for a one-time deal.
Lin Sanqi smiled, feeling quite fond of the female staff member who was thinking for him:
"It's okay, just give me a pound. I haven't had breakfast yet."
"Okay, one pound. I've got the money and the phoenix eye cake. Have a pleasant journey!"
Lin Sanqi got the pastry, opened it happily and put it on the small table. Just as he was about to try the Shaoguan delicacy, he suddenly found that the adults and children sitting opposite him were looking at him eagerly.
If it were someone else, they would pretend not to see it, lower their head and eat by themselves, or move to the connecting part of the carriage and eat alone.
Many people of this era grow old, and in later generations they are often criticized for being selfish, cold-hearted, uncultured, grabbing everything, and being reluctant to throw away food that has been left in the refrigerator for three days and three nights.
In fact, it is because they have experienced the years of hunger and know too well how precious food is. Over time, they subconsciously become very protective of food and are unwilling to share.
Just like now, if Lin Sanqi distributes the phoenix eye cake to the children in the carriage, if others eat one more bite, he will have to eat one less bite.
In an era of extreme food shortage, would you rather be a kind and generous person and then starve to death, or be a selfish and self-centered "bad person" and live a good life?
In fact, for most people, this multiple-choice question is not difficult to answer.
But Lin Sanqi was born in 2013. He had never been hungry, let alone eating tree bark or Guanyin soil, so he was still too soft-hearted.
Of course, it also has something to do with the fact that he has a golden finger. He will never go hungry. When he is hungry, he can just open the door of the train toilet and come back when he is full.
(Wait, that's weird...)
Lin Sanqi waved to the children nearby and said, "Come here, brother has some delicious food. Let's have one each!"
When the children heard this, their mouths started watering and they hurried over to get the cakes.
One parent grabbed his two children and lectured them, "What did your father teach you? You can't just eat other people's food."
Lin Sanqi was a little embarrassed: "Comrade, don't worry, I'm not a prisoner."
This made the middle-aged man even more embarrassed:
"No, no, no, comrade, I don't think you're a criminal, but I think food is too precious nowadays. Everyone doesn't even have enough to eat on their own. How can you ask others for food and bother them?"
Lin Sanqi sighed, knowing that this was the parents' good intentions:
"It's okay, everyone should try it. It's fate that we're in the same carriage, haha."
Seeing that the children were almost crying with greed, Lin Sanqi couldn't bear to let him eat alone, so he stood up and shared the food with the children around him.
Fortunately, the phoenix eye cake was cut into small pieces and the portion was not heavy, otherwise there would not be enough to share.
"Thank you, brother!"
“Thank you, uncle!”
There were delicious foods, and the children around were excited. They started chattering and the carriage became lively.
Lin Sanqi picked up a piece of phoenix eye cake and put it in his mouth, chewing it slowly, his eyes looking out the window.
The train has departed from Shaoguan Station. Entering Shaoguan means entering Dongguan Province, and will soon be at his "hometown", which makes Lin Sanqi a little excited.
Did I travel to a real era or a parallel world?
If it were a real era, in 1959, my biological father was not born yet, Uncle Lin was only 10 years old, still a little kid, what would my biological grandfather look like?
This kind of thing was interesting to think about, so Lin Sanqi decided to take pictures of it all with a camera, and use his mobile phone to take a video when no one was around, and then take it back to show his father.
Oh, he also has an important task, which is to visit relatives in his hometown for his parents who were born in 1959 and check the condition of the old house.
There seems to be a lot of things going on.
The train continued to slowly head south...
Lin Sanqi did not end up becoming Hu Jian's son-in-law.
After leaving Fuzhou, he first went to Zhangzhou Pharmaceutical Factory to pick up 5,000 Pian Zai Huang pills.
Then go to Xiamen Railway Station, pack the Andrographis paniculata, Semen Cassiae, and Phyllanthus Urinaria purchased this time, and ship them to the capital by train, where there will naturally be someone to receive the goods.
In this way, half of the procurement task in South China has been completed.
The remaining three medicinal herbs are Acanthopanax ovata in Yulin, Curcuma zedoaria in Qinxian, and Herba Lycopodii in Zhanjiang.
In 1959, these three places were far away from each other and the journey would be a major test.
Especially Guangqi, which is an area where ethnic minorities gather. It is remote and has inconvenient transportation. The key is that the people have been tough since ancient times. Tusi rebellions often occurred in ancient times. It is a place where "wolf soldiers" are produced.
The danger level of purchasing medicinal materials in such places is skyrocketing.
So Lin Sanqi decided to change his itinerary. For safety and to relax, he planned to take the train back to his hometown Huadu, and then drive from Huadu to Zhanjiang by himself.
Take the train from Zhanjiang all the way north to Yulin.
Trains are always safer. I've heard of carjackings, but I've never heard of train robberies. (My Jiangxi cousin smiled but said nothing.)
It's more than 100 kilometers from Shaoguan to Huadu, and the train took 4 hours to get there.
Lin Sanqi jumped off the train and stood on the platform, looking at the big words "Guangzhou" on the light box with great excitement:
"I'm back~~~"
After leaving the platform, Lin Sanqi did not choose some small hotels near the train station. Firstly, the hygiene and security here were not very good, and secondly, he was not short of money.
Beijing officials are ranked third. Now Lin Sanqi represents the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has cadre status, so he is naturally qualified to stay in a better guesthouse.
For example, the Third Guesthouse of Dongguan Province, also known as the famous "Welcome House".
Of course, Lin Sanqi was not qualified to live in the main building. Only those who had climbed the snow-capped mountains could live there. Otherwise, it would rather be left empty.
There was another unexpected surprise that night.
Lin Sanqi came out of the canteen of the guesthouse and admired the guesthouse with hundreds of years of history while picking his teeth.
When he arrived near the small auditorium of the guesthouse, he found that many people were gathering in the small auditorium, all with smiles on their faces, looking very relaxed.
Lin Sanqi thought they were having a meeting and was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly heard a passerby talking excitedly:
"It's Hong Xiannü. I'm so lucky! I had to beg my father to get a ticket."
"I heard that the delegation coming this time must be of a very high level, so they invited Hong Xiannü. We are lucky to be here."
When Lin Sanqi heard that it was Hong Xiannü, he couldn't walk anymore.
People from other provinces may not have heard of Hong Xiannü's name, but how could a native of Huadu like Lin Sanqi not know the weight of the three words "Hong Xiannü".
As a famous Cantonese opera actress, her original "Red Tune" created a major school of Cantonese opera - the Red School of Art, and she was known as the "King of Huadan" in the opera world.
When Hong Kong stars like Andy Lau, Zhang Xueyou, and Wang Mingquan see her, they have to behave themselves as disciples and respectfully behave as if she were their disciple. Her status is very high.
The song "Ode to Lychees" is the Cantonese opera enlightenment for children in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Who can't hum a few lines?
The female sister passed away in 2013. At that time, Lin Sanqi was still young and had not witnessed the charm of a great master.
In 1959, Hong Xiannü was only 34 years old, which was the peak of her artistic career. The opportunity to travel back in time now is certainly not to be missed.
Lin Sanqi looked left and right, trying to blend into the crowd and slip in, but he forgot that there were superiors present at the performance and security was very strict. As expected, he was stopped.
"Comrade, please show me your ticket."
Lin Sanqi laughed awkwardly twice:
"Comrade, it's like this. I'm from the Capital Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I'm here on a business trip to Huadu. I grew up in Huadu and I particularly love the Cantonese opera of my hometown, so I..."
The staff member looked at Lin Sanqi's work ID and his expression improved a little, but he still refused.
"I'm sorry, this performance requires tickets for entry and exit, Comrade Lin, right? I'm very sorry, you..."
Before he could finish his words, a few pieces of paper were stuffed into the staff member's hand. He took a look under the light and saw, wow, 5 kilograms of national food coupons.
"You can go to the last row, but you can't make any noise during the performance, and you have to be the first to leave after the show. Do you understand?"
The two smiled at each other, understanding each other tacitly, and Lin Sanqi walked into the small auditorium.
He was not that obedient. He had finally met a master, so of course he had to take a few photos to take back. Parents from both eras liked Hong Xiannü very much, so he had to show her off when he got home.
In addition to the superiors, the observers in the small auditorium were all employees of various government agencies and units. The personnel was quite complicated, which gave Lin Sanqi an opportunity to take advantage of.
Hong Xiannü was performing on the stage, and Lin Sanqi was taking photos frantically on the stage. Others thought he was a reporter or from the propaganda department of some unit, but they just laughed it off.
After taking the photos, Lin Sanqi did not run to the last row, but found a seat near the front and sat down, quietly enjoying today's drama "Zhaojun Goes to the Frontier".
"Today I am alone, holding my pipa, expressing my sorrow, sighing as I bid farewell to my homeland. I send a sad song to the Han people, my words are short but my feelings are deep. My country is the most unforgettable, and I am filled with sorrow as I journey to the north..."
The heroine is Hong Xiannü and the hero is Ma Shizeng.
Lin Sanqi was a little puzzled. These two should have divorced in 1955, so why were they still acting together?
(End of this chapter)
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