? The joy that the temple fair brought to me in childhood is still so clear when I think about it now.
? But the temple fair is another name here, called "exchange meeting". I didn’t know until I was in high school that the “exchange meeting” that I had loved for so many years and looked forward to every year was actually the “temple fair” that appeared in the works of many writers.
? The small cube houses made of wooden boards and tarpaulins built by the vendors themselves have become simple shops. The small wooden houses are neatly arranged in the village. The open space became a street. There is everything on the street. This is the first exchange meeting in my memory.
? In the villages in the south, there is actually no particularly large open space, so the annual exchange meeting will be held on the basketball court of the village. This year, this village may be the next village next year. In short, it is very lively. There are only so many places, and there are only so many basketball courts. Of course, a basketball court cannot accommodate so many vendors and their shops that are built and demolished at any time. At this time, the roads in the village had to be occupied. In the past, not every household in the village had a car, so even though these shops took up more than half of the road, no one raised any objections.
? There is not much business during the exchange meeting during the day, and some stores will not even open during the day. As night falls, people who have worked all day finish their dinner and drag their families out to "hold an exchange meeting." , this is when the exchange meeting really begins.
? At night, the street lights are far from enough to illuminate this street. The vendors hang a dazzling white woven lamp high in front of the store, and the whole street is shrouded in bright orange. among. The shops along the road are distributed very regularly. The first few shops probably sell clothes and bed sheets. These shops were not my focus at that time. I only vaguely remember that sets of pajamas, Thin air conditioners were hung high in the store. Now in my memory, there are only three sets of pajamas left in my childhood: white cloth with blue edges, white cloth with red edges, and tender goose yellow. These were all bought for me by my mother at exchange meetings. The things bought at the exchange meeting are indeed much cheaper than in ordinary street stores.
? Go to the middle, that’s my favorite part! You can see from a distance that there are big signs hanging at the entrance of every store, with red letters on a white background: "One yuan for the same, two yuan for the same, ten yuan for three." These words are somewhat reflective under the white woven lamps, but this does not prevent these shops from becoming the most visited places on this street. At that time, I would never miss any of these shops. Small toys, trinkets, pots, pans, and books were all available in these shops. When I was a kid, I always bought a Barbie doll. The tall and poorly made Barbie doll took away a lot of boring time in my childhood. I tied the few strands of Barbie's blond hair into different patterns. In fact, at that time, my mother tied up my own hair every morning, but I never tired of tying Barbie into various styles of braids. . In addition to hair accessories, I also cut up and sewed old clothes I didn’t need at home and put them on Barbie’s body.
? After passing these cheap small items shops, only the large items shops at the end of the street are left. This is the most deserted place, even the white woven lamps are so dim. The owner of the shop is sitting in a rocking chair, and the electric fan not far away is working hard. The shops are filled with all kinds of rattan chairs, Taishi chairs, wooden beds, and some shops even have bathtubs made of wood. Every time I see my boss lying on the rocking chair with a leisurely expression, I envy him endlessly, not for anything else but the rocking chair beneath him. Just standing and looking at it, swaying back and forth, I can imagine how comfortable it would be to lie on it! I told my mother about my love for the rocking chair, but unfortunately my mother never agreed to it because I already had a recliner at home, but the recliner at home was an honest one, lying steadily in the corner. Whenever I had a leisure time after eating, Whenever you lie down on it, it will never rock back and forth comfortably, and will only make a few "squeaky" sounds.
? If there is business, of course there is food. The barbecue stall that originally appeared at the school entrance on time every afternoon also sneaked into the venue of the exchange meeting. The food is still the same, but the price is a dollar and a half more expensive than usual. The location of the barbecue stall is also very particular. The tricycle pulling the stall will often park next to the "Naughty Castle". The "Naughty Castle" is an inflatable castle. This is also the place that the children most yearn for in the exchange meeting. There are many children. , the barbecue business is naturally very good. At that time, I also loved the "Naughty Castle" very much, but I only played in it two or three times. Adults spent five yuan, and the children took off their shoes and entered the castle, jumping and sliding on the slide. They didn't have time. You can have fun with restrictions. Because of this, the adults waiting outside the castle are very boring. Probably for this reason, I am not able to go to the castle every year for the exchange meeting!
? Later, I waited longer and longer for the exchange meeting. Later I learned that the exchange meeting was no longer held once a year. Sometimes, those square wooden huts were not seen in the village for two years. Build it up. The disappointment of waiting accompanies me from time to time, but the adults around me don't seem to have the same mood as me. Year by year, the roads are getting wider and wider, there are more and more cars, and the transportation is becoming more and more convenient.
Whatever people want to buy, it takes about fifteen minutes to get to town by bus. There are all kinds of goods, what can't be bought? The exchange meeting is no longer necessary for everyone. Even I have been waiting year after year and no longer look forward to it.
In my first year of high school, I was lucky enough to meet at an exchange meeting in the town next door. Simple shops were lined up on both sides of the road. Even the buses had to be rerouted in those days. Detour. However, this exchange meeting was more lively and had more shops than I expected when I was a child. Both sides of the road were lined with flags with red edges and yellow backgrounds, and thick black characters fluttering in the wind - Zengshan Temple Fair. It was also at that time that I learned that the real name of the exchange meeting was the Temple Fair. There are no dirty and greasy barbecue stalls here, but only various food shops: authentic Inner Mongolia roast lamb, authentic Changsha stinky tofu, authentic Chongqing hot and sour noodles, egg waffle ice cream, Thai mango juice...all kinds There are all kinds of food, and every store emphasizes "authentic, air-shipped" on the loudspeaker. Now that I think about it, there is some overt taste in it. With these gimmicks, the price is also staggeringly high.
From then on, still there, the temple fair gradually became dominated by food, and there were fewer and fewer shops selling three items for ten yuan, including furniture and clothing.
Until now, the temple fair is no longer called the temple fair. It has a more western name - Food Festival.
Everything is different. The original expectation for the temple fair has gradually extinguished over the years. The delicacies hawked from loudspeakers cannot arouse any expectation or joy in me. The boss who sells authentic Inner Mongolian roast mutton told me in Mandarin mixed with a southern accent that mutton kebabs cost 3 skewers for 20 yuan. Authentic Changsha stinky tofu and authentic Shaoxing stinky tofu taste exactly the same...disappointment and nostalgia are conveyed from the heart together. to my brain.
The childhood exchange meeting will no longer exist, but it will exist forever. The joy that I feel is still so clear and exists in my heart until now.