Chapter 380: At the end of the year, Liujiazhuang is booming

Liu Zhiye, who had just stepped into the home, was full of longing for his family. He was determined to spend a few more days with them, especially the three lively and lovely children.

The two brothers Liu Wen and Liu Wu hadn't seen each other for such a long time that they were a little dazed and almost didn't recognize their long-lost father. This scene made Liu Zhiye feel sad and mixed.

At the division headquarters, during Liu Zhiye's study period, all affairs were smoothly transitioned. The deputy chief of staff temporarily served as the chief of staff. Although his ability was slightly inferior to Liu Zhiye, he was able to perform his duties conscientiously. Cao Guixiao followed him and ran the staff department in an orderly manner.

Faced with difficult problems, he communicated with Liu Zhiye in a timely and effective manner to ensure that the problems were properly resolved and the work of the division was not affected in the slightest.

Furthermore, Liu Zhiye’s vacation was very short, only one month, and he had to return to the military academy after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

In addition, the division headquarters operated as usual and work was in an orderly manner. During this period, he only needed to occasionally attend division meetings and inspect the progress of work in various departments. He did not need to stay in the military camp every day.

This arrangement not only takes into account his studies and responsibilities, but also appears to be a good balance between work and rest.

In addition, the division leaders deeply understood Liu Zhiye's situation, and if there were any urgent matters that required his personal handling, he would be able to return to the team quickly to deal with them.

So, Liu Zhiye put down his heavy work burden, stayed at home leisurely, accompanied his three children wholeheartedly, and enjoyed the family happiness.

On the other hand, Gan Ning was extremely busy. It was the end of the year and the street office had a lot of work to do. As the deputy secretary, she naturally had to lead by example and had no time to take care of other things.

In the early morning, when the sun was just beginning to shine, Liu Zhiye, his mother Deng Ru, and his father Liu Jingzhai, each holding a child, set out on their journey to the market with joyful faces.

Liu Zhiye and his family personally experienced this unique world of fireworks and felt the tranquility and warmth that was different from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The fair was bustling with people and filled with a dazzling array of goods. Every corner exuded a strong atmosphere of life, which cleansed and enriched Liu Zhiye's soul like never before.

Today is the weekend, the market is in full swing, and the end of the year is approaching. The market is bustling with people. Vendors have expanded their stalls to an unprecedented scale, with a wide variety of goods from all over the world, and the sound of transactions one after another, forming a vivid market picture.

The magnificent shopping mall in Liujiazhuang, which was completed last year, is undoubtedly the hottest shopping landmark at the moment.

Since it opened to the public, it has quickly become a shopping mecca in the hearts of hundreds of thousands of residents in the surrounding area. During leisure time, it is crowded with people and bustling with activity.

At the end of the year and the beginning of the next year, people with sufficient money around Liujiazhuang flocked to this shopping mall, planning to buy new clothes and shoes for their families to greet the new year with a new look.

Not only that, high-end items such as radios, electric fans, sewing machines, etc. have become popular options in their shopping carts.

There is a wide variety of merchandise in the mall, and the quality is obviously better than the goods in the streets and alleys. Naturally, the prices are not to be underestimated, but all this cannot stop people's passion for pursuing quality life.

In Liujiazhuang and its surrounding areas, the entrances of shopping malls and supply and marketing cooperatives are naturally inseparable from those precious receipts.

However, in this area, this is not a problem, and the villagers have no shortage of these bills.

Thanks to the welfare of factories and enterprises in Liujiazhuang, various daily necessities tickets have become a benefit in their daily lives. Although they are limited to regional circulation and are only valid for shopping in Liujiazhuang, they are enough to make the villagers satisfied.

Although this welfare system has some regional color, it has invisibly deepened the villagers' sense of belonging and identity with their hometown.

In addition to the wide variety of goods in bustling shopping malls and supply and marketing cooperatives that require tickets to buy, at the big market, vendors hawk their wares on the streets, making it very lively, and the shops run by Liujiazhuang Town are even more crowded. Neither of them requires receipts.

This convenience, like a magnet, not only attracted folks from surrounding villages, but also people from the city came here to experience the joy of free shopping without the need for tickets.

Nowadays, Liujiazhuang Market has become famous in Beijing. Its wide variety of goods is dazzling and can take your eyes off.

What is even more rare is that the prices here are particularly affordable compared to other places, truly realizing a shopping experience of high quality and low prices, and becoming the first choice for shopping for ordinary people.

Most of the city's "good at living" housewives are unwilling to patronize the large shopping malls and department stores that line the streets. Just like buying vegetables at the farmers' market, they also like to buy things at Liujiazhuang Market where it is convenient to choose and the prices are cheap. The vendors at the market try their best to meet their needs.

First of all, the goods are complete, including pots, pans, bowls, chopsticks, daily necessities, clothes, hats, shoes, socks, etc. The quality of the goods does not require how exquisite they are, as long as they are strong and cheap.

Every market day is undoubtedly the most anticipated event for the common people. Even if they have been in the hustle and bustle for most of the day and come back empty-handed, the joy and relaxation from the inside out are still overflowing on everyone's face.

This day is also the happiest thing for children, which is to follow the adults to the big market.

The children get up early and follow the adults like "tail-chasers", never leaving their side, as if they are afraid that the adults will leave them behind if they are not careful.

The children looked around all the way, and everything was new to them.

In fact, what I look forward to most is getting to the market as soon as possible so that I can eat the freshly-cooked big sesame oil-fried fruits and the hot buns.

One of the great pleasures of visiting the market is the wide variety of delicious food and steaming breakfast stalls, which are filled with aroma and make you salivate.

There are dozens of kinds of food here, such as Aiwowowo, mutton soup, grilled skewers, walnuts, cut cakes, cold cakes, flower cakes, bean flour cakes, fried cakes, noodle tea, fried liver, sausage, crispy buns, and candied haws.

Not far from the west exit of the market, about fifty meters away, a woman in light blue clothes, a tall white hat and a white apron around her waist was busy at her stall, skillfully frying "fried cakes" and "glutinous rice balls". The golden skin rolled in the hot oil, emitting an enticing aroma.

This is exactly the breakfast choice that Liu Zhiye has been dreaming of.

Sitting on his neck was his lively and lovely eldest daughter Xiaoxian. Both father and daughter were foodies. Seeing this, they were filled with joy and ran straight to the stall that smelled of the fragrant food.

Liu Zhiye came closer and asked, "How much is a glutinous rice ball or fried cake?" The female vendor answered while using a wooden clip to pick up a fried cake for a man, "Each fried food is two cents each."

I paid for 10 "glutinous rice balls" and 10 "fried cakes". Wrapped in oil paper, the father and daughter stood at the stall next to me with their backs to each other, eating the "fried cakes" and "glutinous rice balls" one by one.

"Fried cakes" are very hot and filled with red bean paste or jujube paste, sweet and delicious.

"My girl, eat slowly, don't let the food fall on my head..."

"Yeah... still eating... got it!"

After eating this, the two of them went straight to the mutton soup shop.

Buy some sesame cakes and donkey rolls along the way, and then drink a bowl of steaming mutton soup and eat it, it will be even more perfect.

Of course, in addition to a variety of delicacies, there are also a large number of folk artists performing magic tricks, acrobatics, shadow puppetry and shadow puppetry at the Liujiazhuang market, turning the market, which was originally focused on commerce, into a cultural and entertainment event that is popular among the people.

There are also various fun toys for children, such as windmills, diabolos, lanterns, and "glass trumpets, pupudenger..."

This is a seasonal toy for children sold at temple fairs and markets in the old capital.

This toy is made of glass. The "glass trumpet" looks like the copper trumpet used by scissors and knife sharpeners in old Beijing. The "Pu Pu Deng'er" looks like a gourd. When you blow it with your mouth, it can make a puffing sound when you breathe. Its color is purple eggplant skin.

Because it is cheap, can make sounds, and is fun and lively for several children to blow at the same time, it is very popular. Anyone who goes to temple fairs, markets, or factory fairs will buy a few.

"Pupu Deng'er" has existed as early as the Ming Dynasty. "Glass trumpet, Pupu Deng'er" is made of extremely thin glass and makes sound through the mouth. If you use too much force, the bottom will break and pierce your fingers. Sometimes you will inhale the broken glass into your throat, which is very dangerous, so it has gradually been eliminated.

The sound of the balloon is melodious, and it really brings to mind a peaceful and prosperous scene. The balloons are flying high, and it seems that one is on the road to success.

But the most popular items at the market at this time are all kinds of firecrackers.

"When the New Year comes, people offer fruits to the Kitchen God, girls love flowers, boys love firecrackers, old men want new felt hats, and old ladies want new cotton-padded jackets."

There were a lot of vendors selling firecrackers at the market, with stalls next to each other, stretching for more than half the length of the street.

At that time, living conditions were poor and there were few firecrackers. A string of small firecrackers had 19 or 25 heads. Those with more than 50 heads were considered long firecrackers. However, there were also those with hundreds or even thousands of heads, which could make a noise for half a day when set off.

The firecracker vendor stood on a table, with colorful firecrackers made from old newspapers and illustrated magazines placed next to him. He was shouting while selling firecrackers. The shouts were continuous and varied. Some were pleasant to the ears, while others even "exposed foul language". As soon as the shouts were finished on one side, the shouts on the other side started again.

"It's the New Year, it's a holiday, my firecrackers are absolutely amazing, they are all crackling loud"

"From New Jersey to Boston, people buy firecrackers to hear the sound. If the firecrackers you sell don't make a sound, you might as well buy a painting and put it on the wall..."

"People coming from the south or the north all come here to listen to the sound..."

"You can't blow up a cowhide, you can't push a train, you can't pile up a mountain, we are mules and horses, let's go for a walk and see whose firecrackers are louder..."

……

After the shouting, the next thing to do is to set off firecrackers.

Whichever stall sets off more firecrackers and makes louder sounds will attract more people, and that stall will sell more.

Therefore, some stalls competed to set off more firecrackers in order to attract customers and sell more firecrackers.

There are always some children gathering in front of the firecracker stall, accompanied by their adults to buy fireworks.

The firecracker vendor took out the firecrackers he had prepared in advance, hung them on a long bamboo pole, and then shook them back and forth in the air to set them off.

The crackling sound of firecrackers was deafening, the flash of light shot into the sky, the firecracker shells were all over the ground, and the whole street was filled with a pungent smell of gunpowder. Immediately, adults flocked to buy firecrackers.

The children who were watching the fun were scrambling to grab the duds that had their fuse half-burned and gone out when the firecrackers were being set off.

In order to grab more duds, some little boys ignored the danger and rushed to grab the firecrackers before they were all set off. Some even injured their hands, burned their hair, and damaged their cotton-padded clothes...

Another firecracker that sells well is the "small firecrackers". Each firecracker is small, but dozens or hundreds of them are woven together, four or five meters long. When the fuse is lit, the sounds become continuous and crackling, like the sound of a machine gun.

Accompanied by the crisp sound and the burning flames, the children jumped and clapped their hands, and shouted, they were so happy.

There is another kind of firecracker that boys like called "cannon lantern". It is short and thick in shape. When the wick is lit, there is a loud "bang" sound, and a beam of fire shoots up to the sky, blooming red, green and yellow lights in the sky.

Just like that, before we knew it, noon had passed, people in the market gradually dispersed, and the vendors in the "firecracker" market were also about to close their stalls.

The children were all happy and satisfied as they touched the bulging duds in their pockets - their "trophies".

Since they had no money to buy food, most of them went home hungry.

Going to the big market in the countryside is a form of free commodity trade that emerged in the era of material scarcity.

In a commune, there is a market every ten miles. In addition to various professional small vendors, there are also some farmers who bring their surplus goods to the market to sell and earn some pocket money to maintain their daily expenses, such as their own chickens, leftover eggs, livestock and piglets to be sold, vegetables grown in the yard, grains grown in the fields, etc.

If people living in county towns and rural areas want to go to the market, they have to walk, which is called "Qi Han" in rural dialect.

In those days, even the cadres of the commune had to walk to the countryside, and only those with better conditions could ride bicycles. Students went to school on foot, visited relatives and friends on foot, and moved to other places on foot.

Therefore, people at that time were very good at walking, and it was not a problem for them to walk dozens of miles a day.

Although the transportation network in Liujiazhuang area is well-connected, except for the occasional city residents traveling there, few rural people are willing to pay a few cents for the fare and choose to take the bus to the market.

Most of them uphold simple traditions, step on the loess, carry hope on their shoulders, and walk to Liujiazhuang.

In order to come to Liujiazhuang to attend the big market, some people take the trouble to walk through more than ten miles of winding mountain roads, crossing mountains and ridges, just for the excitement and anticipation.

What's more, due to the long journey, some people had to stay overnight at relatives' or friends' homes in advance, just to be able to join in the laughter and joy earlier the next day.

On market days, people would queue up in long lines to buy things at the vegetable markets, supply and marketing cooperatives, department stores, and grain stores.

Although it is tiring to queue and hard to buy things in the crowded crowd, it is also very happy to be able to eat food that you can't eat on weekdays and enjoy things that you can't have on ordinary days.

The current prosperity of Liujiazhuang Market is not accidental, but has other reasons. The key lies in the unique resource endowment of Liujiazhuang, which has nurtured a huge production system.

There are more than two hundred factories and enterprises gathered here, which are like stars, illuminating the economic sky of this land.

These companies not only cover all aspects of daily life, from food, clothing, housing and transportation to daily necessities, but also involve high-end fields such as mechanical engineering, with a wide range of products and superb technology.

It is this diversified production capacity and continuous supply of materials that have laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of Liujiazhuang Market, attracting visitors from all over the world to join in the fun.

Apart from other things, Liujiazhuang has basically achieved self-production of daily necessities, such as medicines, sugar, fruit candies, liquor, fruit wine, soda, ice cream, melon seeds, tea, condiments, firewood, school supplies, needles and thread, pots and pans, various hardware, lamps, home appliances, snacks, poultry and eggs, meat products, grains, fruits, freshwater products...

Except in Liujiazhuang, rice, oil, meat, cloth, milk, sugar and other daily necessities are in short supply in the daily lives of ordinary people in other places. Firstly, they are too expensive and people cannot afford them. Secondly, there are few supplies and people may not be able to buy them even if they have money. Most supplies often require tickets to be supplied and purchased.

In addition, in view of the sharp increase in the current social demand for cloth, Liujiazhuang is carefully considering whether it should start planning to build a textile factory to meet this urgent market demand.

In those days, ordinary people in rural areas had few opportunities to wear new clothes.

Ordinary people needed quota-rationed cloth coupons to buy cloth, clothes, mosquito nets, bed sheets, and even cloth socks, all products containing cotton yarn.

At that time, regardless of age, everyone in the city was required to pay 12 feet per person per year.

In the past few years, due to special reasons, the number was even less.

Due to the shortage of cloth coupons, most families were very careful with their money when making and buying clothes.

For example, older people do not care about their clothes and many of them do not buy new clothes, and the cloth coupons saved are used by young people.

In most families, new clothes are bought for the eldest child first. When the eldest child's clothes become too old and too small, they are then given to the second child.

When the second child's clothes become too small, they are passed on to the third child... Even if the clothes are torn or old, they are not thrown away. They are patched up and worn over and over again. It is common to see patches on top of patches.

The conditions in the city are of course better. Ordinary residents dress more traditionally. In spring and autumn, men wear mainly Mao suits, work clothes, and military uniforms. In summer, many wear vests, shirts, and blue shorts or trousers.

In summer, women usually wear floral shirts and long pants, and rarely skirts.

In two years, green military uniforms will become popular all over the country. The style is all Zhongshan suit series, with a great man badge on the chest.

Farmers in rural areas usually wear clothes for doing farm work. Due to poor living conditions, many of their clothes have large holes and small holes, and are covered with patches, making them very simple.

…………

So, Liu Zhiye took his beloved daughter and strolled from the early morning until noon. In the bustling market, they unexpectedly met Xu Damao and Sha Zhu. They exchanged greetings and the conversation was very lively.

In contrast, Liu Jingzhai and Deng Ru had already returned home and were busy preparing for the New Year. The scene at home was warm and busy.

As time goes by, people start to get anxious as soon as the twelfth lunar month comes and start preparing for the New Year early.

Grinding flour, slaughtering pigs, making vermicelli, grinding tofu, steaming rice cakes, and making pancakes, they are busy and never idle for a moment. The whole Liujiazhuang is very lively and the atmosphere of the New Year is very strong.

(End of this chapter)