On the first day of the Lunar New Year, just as dawn was breaking, the bugle call sounded. Zhang Guoqing and his wife, holding their child, fell into bed and dozed off. Before they had slept for two hours, they were awakened by the deafening sound of firecrackers.
Seeing the constant shouting outside the door, Zhang Guoqing didn't bother to wash up and opened the door to let them in. He saw that the guys from last night were already full of energy and ready to set off.
The biggest joy of the first day of the new year is visiting the temple fair. Last night they had requested a military truck from the car team and agreed to drive to the temple fair with their younger brothers and sisters at 1 pm.
Fang Fei saw Zhang Guoqing checking his watch and, with a wry smile, pointed at a few little kids outside. He didn't even have a chance to lie down; the cries of the little ones kept ringing in his ears. These kids had even found out what snacks were available and were clamoring to go to the temple fair to fill their stomachs.
Zhang Guoqing sent the little kids to the living room to find something to eat. He quickly washed up and asked Old Lady Cheng to look after the children while he waited for Lin Liying to arrive with her two little ones. With Lin Liying and the old lady taking care of the children, he could finally set off without worry.
Just before departure, children began to rush out of the compound, filling the truck. Zhang Guoqing glanced worriedly behind him, discussing with the others how to get them back safely. The thought of so many children visiting the temple fair gave him a headache. He hadn't forgotten that the children in the compound were wild and prone to making their own decisions.
Fang Fei and his companions pointed to the guards of several leaders standing not far behind him, and Zhang Guoqing immediately felt relieved.
After getting on the bus, four or five people squeezed into the driver's seat. There was a girl in the back, so to avoid suspicion, everyone forced Fang Fei to increase the size and step on the accelerator hard.
A truck was in front, followed by a small car, and they were driving towards the north in a mighty manner.
"How many temples are there in Kyoto? The first of spring's bustling festivals is a must." This refers to the North Temple Fair. Legend has it that it opened during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, making it the largest temple fair in the capital, consistently holding the top spot among major temple fairs. For veteran Beijingers, celebrating the Lunar New Year without visiting the temple fair is like not celebrating at all. Every year from the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the temple fair is packed with crowds.
The car exited Heping Gate and arrived near the Normal University Affiliated High School, stopping in front of a row of book and painting sheds. Fang Fei and the others began to line up the children and count off their numbers, giving them a crucial task: to keep an eye on the young soldiers in front and behind them. If anyone got lost or disappeared, they were not good comrades. If they were not good soldiers, they would not be included in the next compound activity.
A stick and a candy made the children line up consciously and obey orders.
Zhang Guoqing and his buddies walked in front, with the boy in the middle followed by a guard. The girls had already squeezed in. As they filed past, many people instinctively gave way, reminding Zhang Guoqing of a famous ancient saying that made him feel incredibly ashamed. He had never imagined that one day he would be among them.
Going forward, you'll see book stalls and then painting stalls. The first thing you'll see is a large kite stall. The tall walls beside the road are covered with colorful kites. Beyond the kite stall is a food stall selling Aiwowo, Donkey Rolls, and other snacks.
Aiwowo, donkey rolls, pea yellow, and bean juice are all famous snacks at the northern temple fair. The snack stalls are also surrounded by diners of all ages.
The children's arrival was a chaotic scene, their eyes sparkling at the aroma. Zhang Guoqing and the others lined them up and began ordering. He was the first to pay. Looking back, he could vaguely see Zhou Jiao's figure in front of the painting studio. He planned to come back again in the next couple of days. He had just seen so many ancient books and paintings, but because there were so many children, he couldn't take a good look.
After eating snacks, we followed the crowds further south. Along the roadside were shops selling children's toys. This was the most crowded place in the entire temple fair.
The spacious open space in front of Haiwang Village and the Fire God Temple is always bustling with people, including windmill vendors, acrobats, monkey trainers, wudiudiu performers, stilt walkers, and Peking opera singers. The sounds of diabolos, windmills, gongs and drums, and people's laughter merge into one.
In addition to impromptu performances, the gadgets also include clay figurines, small paper mice, tambourines, small gongs, small cymbals, fireworks, puffs, dough figurines, facial masks, bamboo and wooden swords and guns, small wooden horses, silk and paper flowers, and Chinese knots.
The most eye-catching thing is the crowds of people, each holding a string of three-foot-long candied haws with a small colorful flag stuck on the top. The atmosphere of the New Year is really there.
The children were so dazzled by the selection that they didn't know which one to pick and they couldn't wait to take them all home. Each child took out their lucky money and clamored to play with the rings to buy toys.
Zhang Guoqing and his team, along with the orderly, had gathered the children together. They realized that besides the snacks, this was the area that attracted the children the most. Following the children's wishes, several people led the children separately to buy the toys they liked.
Big candied haws, big windmills, diabolos, not only do the children like these, but even Zhang Guoqing himself bought some. If he didn't have a big candied haws when he went home, he would feel like he hadn't visited the temple fair.
He took the two little cousins from Lin Liying's family, whom he was responsible for, along with them to buy things. As the name suggested, they were buying things for his sons, which made the two clever little guys very happy. They knew that their cousin-in-law was always generous.
From afar, Zhou Jiao spotted Zhang Guoqing holding a three-foot-long candied haws stick, a bamboo basket slung across his chest, overflowing with handicrafts. Then, looking at her own hands, filled with ancient books, she would have been reluctant to leave the used bookstall had the girls around her not been clamoring to leave. Taking advantage of the current easing of tension, she decided to return a few more times. Seeing his insistence on buying everything, his inability to move beyond the sight of children's toys, she chuckled to herself.
The group reunited. They didn't leave this time, as the antique and used book stalls were no longer interesting for them.
By the time the kids had had their fill of watching the fun and shopping, more than two hours had passed. Their stomachs were rumbling from their morning snacks, so they all made a detour back to the food stalls.
The main attraction of the temple fair is the snacks. A grand gathering of various snacks, satisfying all tastes of the refined and common people.
The colorful, fragrant Aiwowo, donkey rolls, pea yellow, rice cakes, and sausages are all steaming and fragrant, exuding the joy of the New Year. Tired and a little hungry, I sniffed the aromas, ate and drank. Even in the bustling city in the middle of winter, I felt the New Year's joy even more.
Each person in the car was carrying a long gourd, a large windmill, and various small gadgets in their hands. It was crowded when driving here, and there was no room left when driving back.
Zhou Jiao and her group of female comrades demanded another carriage, and as they watched them leave, they suddenly cheered loudly. With the men and children present, they were too embarrassed to suggest continuing their visit to the temple fair; now they could finally return empty-handed to search for their desired items.
Zhou Jiao followed them into the bookshelf and made an appointment with them to wait there for them to meet up.
This time, with no one around, she felt less complacent and more relaxed. She found a spot, squeezed in, and began to carefully search. During their return to Beijing, Zhou Xiaozheng and she carefully discussed potential university majors. Based on her strengths, a foreign language department and a military medical school were her ultimate goals. In the long run, studying a foreign language would be ideal for a career in the government, while choosing a military medical school was the safest option given her family background. He offered Zhou Jiao some advice, telling her to carefully consider her options over the next two years.
Zhou Jiao hadn't yet settled on a goal due to numerous concerns. In the spirit of learning more and gaining a deeper understanding, before the "Four Olds" campaign began, she planned to quickly collect as much foreign literature, magazines, and information on Chinese and Western medicine as possible.
After wandering through the book and art stands, Zhou Jiao pulled herself out of the pile and, tapping her hips, realized over an hour had passed. Not seeing them return, she asked the shopkeeper to tell them to go home if they came looking for her. Since Zhou Jiao had bought quite a few books, the shopkeeper readily agreed.
After leaving the shop, Zhou Jiao pondered for a moment while carrying a pile of books. She decided to stroll slowly down the street, hoping she'd stumble upon one by chance, saving herself the trouble. If she didn't, she could always go to the second-hand book stall on the other side and head back.
As the crowd moved forward, she searched everywhere for a bamboo basket to put books in. Using the newly bought bamboo basket, she walked a distance, bought some handicrafts and placed them in it, and secretly collected some books.
Freed from the burden, Zhou Jiao felt quite cheerful as she continued her stroll. After passing the previous stop, she headed towards Zhuhua Jewelry Store. Not far ahead, she saw a group of them gathered in front of her.
She was wondering, "What was the point of buying these eye-catching pearl earrings? Even if I bought them, I wouldn't necessarily get the chance to wear them." Unable to suppress her curiosity, Zhou Jiao stepped forward, patted Lin Xuezhen, and leaned behind her to whisper a few questions.
Although the temple fair visitors' clothes were unpatched, only the well-off could afford to go shopping. Her aunt had told her that, aside from the families in the large courtyards and the shops that had been merged with the public and private sectors, the common people in the inner city barely had enough to eat, their clothes were constantly patched, and even ordinary people, no matter how much they coveted jewelry, could only use scraps of cloth as decorations.
Lin Xuezhen's silent criticism was beautiful, leaving Zhou Jiao even more speechless. A closer look revealed it wasn't an antique hairpin at all; it even had obvious stitching. Seeing it was Lin Xuelin's purchase, she didn't step forward to point it out. This cousin wasn't a very good person. She couldn't forget the incident with her godfather, who hadn't offered even a hint of apology. She tried to bring up her godfather, Zhao Chuangguang, but he remained unmoved, leaving her furious.
Zhou Jiao caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. After a pause, she walked over to a dusty wooden tray in the corner. On it lay a pile of old, worn hairpins. The shopkeeper hadn't maintained them, leaving them matte. She fiddled with them, finding them to be Ming and Qing dynasty craftsmanship. She looked up, feigning indifference, and asked the shopkeeper, "Why are you still selling these broken hairpins?"
The other party casually offered her a gift, which delighted her. She had plenty of jade, but she didn't have any valuable wooden hairpins. She pointed to her long hair and smiled, asking the shopkeeper to sell her the box of junk; it was just the right thing for her hair.
Seeing that the other party was selling a box of about twenty wooden hairpins for only two dollars, she pretended to hesitate for a while. After paying the money, she immediately put the hairpins together with the plate in the bamboo basket. She was afraid that they would fall out, so she wrapped the hairpins with a cowhide rope.
The sisters weren't interested in the wooden hairpins. Only the youngest, Lin Xuezhen, cleverly showed her how much she was worth, which made her nod in delight. Her joy lay in finding treasures on Taobao; it didn't matter if she had one more or one less.
Lin Xuelin spent twenty yuan on the earrings she'd chosen, her spirits soaring as she continued to squeeze into the shop. The other sisters in the courtyard behind her, Zhou Jiao and Lin Xuezhen, found nothing, though some bought necklaces and earrings. Zhou Jiao considered her purchases wasteful, while Lin Xuezhen was a fan of beautiful clothes.
After returning to the compound, everyone went home. Lin Xuezhen, the follower, said happily that she had to go to Zhou's house to see her aunt about something, and parted ways with the two Lin sisters.
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