There are abridgements and abbreviations in the article. Hereby declare! ]
(1) Niuhuaxi Snacks
Niuhuaxi is an ancient market town, which was developed by well salt mining.
The central area of Niuhuaxi used to be a riverbed, which has been silted for a long time, and gradually developed from Gemawan in the north to the banks of Yongsi River, eventually forming a market town close to mountains and rivers. In the early Qing Dynasty, large wells were opened in Niuhuaxi Shawan and other places, and brine production was gradually popularized. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Niuhuaxi and nearby Wu Tong and Qianwei formed a "Fish and Music Salt Field". When Yanquan flourished, there were 529 wells, which needed hundreds of thousands of kilograms of coal every day and tens of thousands of people lived in daily life.
Seventeen years before the Republic of China, there were more than 1600 salt carriers from Niuhuaxi and Wutongqiao, and from Minjiang and Qingyijiang to Yibin, Ya 'an and Chengdu. Ships come and go, and there are large and small docks on the Minjiang River and the Yongsi River, such as Shawantou, Zhushiba, Tanba City, Pier 2, Soy Sauce Room, Climbing Cover and Wangye Temple.
During the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, the government was more open to the management of salt industry, allowing some salt to be sold in the market, thus forming Niuhua Salt Market. Because the saltworks need a lot of grates, such as grates, salt baskets, grates baskets, soaking pits and so on. , and formed a certain scale of grate market, there is a grate market (street) in Niuhua West. The saltworks take cows as the power to draw brine, and cows eat grass, so Caoshi Street came into being. The salt field needs a lot of manpower every day, so people who hire manpower to enter the market (street) have concentrated a large number of salt merchants and various merchants related to salt production because of the production and operation of salt. Niuhuaxi teahouses, restaurants and restaurants are dotted around, which is a bustling scene.
The spring is bright and the weather is warm. On this day, our hero, Zemin, who runs a grocery store in Niuhua, came back from Shabantan Beach and passed by Lizi Market. He told his wife to eat at Zhengweixuan before going home.
"Zhengweixuan" is an old noodle restaurant in Niuhua Town, which is said to have existed in Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty. A small shop is crowded with people. Seeing a guest, the man greeted him loudly, then brought two bowls of clear soup and put it in front of the guest.
"Two cages of steamed dumplings." "Do you have bubble cakes?"
After a while, steamed dumplings were served, followed by bars. Zemin has a soft spot for snacks in his hometown. He likes not only steamed dumplings in Zhengweixuan, but also other snacks. He can make Niuhuaxi snacks sound like a jingle.
Li steamed dumplings in Zhengweixuan are as thin as cicadas;
Wu Ciba of the main temple in Sichuan is as soft as cotton;
The oil tea in Siguantang is crisp and delicious;
The foam in pig market lane is fine and slag-free;
Luffa pulp in Tanba City is crisp and fragrant.
The bean curd in bran street is hemp and spicy;
The brine tofu in the vegetable market is tender as eggs and white as snow;
The red bean zongzi in Xinglong Street is as sticky as jelly, but not sticky.
Zemin's hometown is on the Yongsi River, in Sanjin Deep House on Half Street. As soon as the door opened, it was a spacious room, and above it was the second floor, where the guys in the grocery store lived.
Behind the hall is the front bedroom, separated from the back bedroom by a courtyard about five meters square. There is a deep well in the right corner for drinking and washing. A tunnel leads to the kitchen next to the back bedroom. Starting from the kitchen floor, a diaojiao building extends all the way to the Yongsi River, supported by several straight wooden columns with thick bowls. These wooden pillars are deeply embedded in the rocks exposed from the river bank.
During the flood season, the water level is high, and the rushing river under the diaojiao building rushes by, which inevitably makes people feel scared, for fear that the diaojiao building will suddenly collapse and adults and children will fall into the river.
When there is a flood, the diaojiao building is regarded as a forbidden area at home, and everyone stays at a respectful distance from it, afraid to cross the line. There is a small yellow tree on the shore stone next to the diaojiao building, which is full of tenacious vitality. Its branches hung over the water and rustled by the flood.
This diaojiao building, built by the river, extends from Banjie to Erwharf for one kilometer, which is also a major feature of Niuhuaxi.
(2) Teahouse in Niuhuaxi
There are many teahouses in Niuhua West, most of which are in backstreet. The famous tea houses are Mangxi Tea House, Siguantang Tea House, Fuxinglou Tea House and Xie Shenghe Tea House.
Zemin loves to go to Siguantang Tea House, which is close to half a street. The main street is opposite the grate street, which is convenient and quiet and has become a favorite place for tea drinkers.
Every market day, teahouses are often full and one is hard to find. In the teahouse, there are people who specialize in earwax removal, nose hair trimming and even pedicure. On the day of market, storytelling is indispensable. Teahouses are also places where friends who like Sichuan opera get together. Over time, they formed a lively island in seclusion.
On this day, Shao Zhi, who works in Dafeng stove, came to Zemin, and they came to Siguantang Teahouse together. Zhang Guang, a waiter, is a frequent visitor here. He took them to their usual table and they sat down. Zhang Tangxian bowed and asked, do you want a bowl of magnolia spring?
In the spacious and bright tea shop, Zhang Tangxian, who is nearly forty years old, became the protagonist. His left shoulder was originally a white towel, which had already been dyed yellow by sweat. I saw him running up and down like a gust of wind with a teapot in his right hand, pouring tea and water for the guests.
Just then, Wang Hongfa from Longxing Iron Pot Factory came. They are all known friends and sit together after exchanging pleasantries. During the chat, Zemin mentioned that he wanted to find something to do. Wang Hongfa said that some time ago, a buyer of three tablets came to buy three cauldrons, but he couldn't find anyone to send them back. He was asked to carry the luggage, saying it was too heavy to carry, and he had to pay twice as much. You don't have to pull a scooter, it's harder to carry a chicken cart. Anxious buyers are running around. I thought at that time, I wish I had a rickshaw. Niu Huaxi lacks rickshaws.
Wang Hongfa was a little touched when he saw Zemin, and then said that there are many performances in Niuhuaxi now, and many people come here to watch the play. There must be a lot of people riding rickshaws, and there is absolutely no worry about business.
In order to investigate the rickshaw business, Zemin went to Jiading City the next day. After returning to Niuhua, I carefully studied all the means of transportation and modes of transportation in Niuhua and Wutongqiao, and told my wife to open a rickshaw shop. There are too many people riding rickshaws in Jiading, and there are not enough rickshaws.
(3) The first rickshaw in Niuhuaxi
Niuhuaxi is only three or four hundred meters above sea level, which is the junction of plains and hills. There are slopes and narrow paths along the back hill of Niuhuaxi, and the main means of transportation are sliding bars and chicken carts.
Rich people often sit on the slide bar, and two people lift it in tandem. People lie on a soft backrest made of cloth or bamboo, like a flowing bed, walking leisurely and enjoying the surrounding scenery.
Taking a chicken cart is by no means a pleasure. The chicken cart has only one wheel and is suitable for walking along the narrow path. The person pushing the cart is carrying accessories on his shoulders, holding the handle tightly with both hands, and pushing it hard behind the car. Passengers sit on the hard and narrow carriage board, and their hands must grasp what they can, or they will fall off the carriage carelessly.
Niuhua Xicheng District, with developed commerce and trade, is a major traffic artery. There is a six-or seven-kilometer country road leading to Jiading District in Houshan, but few cars pass by, mainly trucks. Buses from Wu Tong or Jiading pass by from time to time on the half street along the Yongsi River in Niuhua. Not many people take the bus. First, the bus has just started. Second, the price is not cheap. For most people, driving out is still an unattainable thing.
In a hurry, the occasional car stop will also cause the country people to look around or watch, not to mention the bus stop.
To say that the most convenient and busiest traffic in Niuhuaxi is wooden boats. Minjiang River is the main waterway here, and the wooden boats and ships running in the river are the protagonists. Every day during the flood season, a passenger ship goes upstream from Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing, passes through Yibin and other places in Luzhou, passes through Shabantan River opposite Niuhuaxi, and reaches Jiading and even Chengdu. Return to Chongqing smoothly. There are also passenger ships sailing irregularly in the rainy season. People here call it "rowing boat"
When a boat on the Minjiang River comes slowly from the direction of the old wooden cave downstream, you will see a beach guide standing at the bow with a red and white striped bamboo pole to measure the depth of the channel, and keep saying, "Let's go deeper!" Or deepen "voice, timely tell the helmsman navigation channel, so as not to run aground. Hearing this sound, teenagers in Shabantan and Man Zi Dam knew that the boat was coming.
In contrast, the scene of wooden boat transportation is much more grand. Niuhuaxi has many salt plants and consumes a lot of coal. Wooden sailboats are the main means of transportation for salt or coal. Large wooden boats can carry up to 30 tons. During the flood season, several ships with more than ten tons often form a fleet and dock at Zhushiba and Beach Dam in Niuhuaxi, or unload coal or load salt.
When the water level is low, it stops at the soy sauce room and climbing pier in the Dachuan department of Shabantan. The most bustling thing is to climb the pier, and she also has a strange name, "upside down Petunia". It's far from Niuhuaxi, and it's at the dam tail of Shabantan, which is generally a relatively remote place.
With the arrival of a batch of wooden boats, climbing piers also flourished. Restaurants, pubs and teahouses are crowded with diners, and shouts of soliciting business and selling are one after another. Children who pick up cinders, women who mend clothes for boatmen, jugglers, pedicures, everything. A remote pier has become a small market.
In the evening, it is even more lively. Under the linoleum house in the thatched cottage, under the kerosene lamp, smoke filled the air, all kinds of gambling games, pushing Pai Jiu, fighting horse stocks, playing twenty-seven games, making a scene, and the boatman dragged his heavy steps until the night watchman sounded the midnight sound in the distance, or drunk and helped him back to the boat and fell asleep.
On July 22nd, 1940, "Niuhua rickshaw tour" was opened. Zemin bought four rickshaws and hired four drivers. The so-called car dealership is just hanging a signboard in front of your house. There are four cars parked in the hall. There are two drivers who live far from home in the lobby upstairs.
The rickshaw business is really good. In less than half a year, people from all walks of life like rickshaws. Also made up a jingle:
Rickshaw yo, come at the drop of a hat;
Walk the streets and lanes, and you will be greeted with one call.
Hot summer, not afraid of the sun;
In the cold winter, there is a fire cage.
Important and urgent, not afraid of delay;
No problem. If you want to sit down.
Safe and stable, extending in all directions;
Five links to Jiading, even a lump!
Automobile agency business is booming. 1940 ended, and the cost of four cars was earned back in less than half a year. Zemin's confidence has greatly increased. The next year, he bought two rickshaws and increased the number of drivers to six. There were so many cars that the hall at home couldn't stop, so the rickshaw puller pulled them back to each house to park.