As soon as Zhou Wenzhong entered the bathroom hall, a smell of sweat mixed with moisture rushed into his nose. He waved his hand under his nose, trying to make the air smell better. He watched Ma Erbao run to the counter, nodded and followed him.
The staff is close to each other.
"Let's go in."
Ma Erbao walked in front holding a small paper bag. After opening the cotton curtain, the smell of heat wave became even more turbid.
"Brother Zhong, just pick out a pair of tarpaulins and throw your clothes into the basket."
"Didn't I give you two pairs of towels?"
"Hey, just let it dry for a while! It's very warm here. The official manager of their bathhouse is not here today."
"Fine."
Zhou Wenzhong did not take wooden slippers or take off his clothes. He followed Ma Erbao, who was naked, into the bath hall with more than 40 beds.
Some people were sitting on the bed and rubbing their feet, some were playing long cards between two mattresses, some were covered with coats and had bare legs, singing operas. There were also old men who brought their young grandson to wash
Taking a bath is a lively scene.
"Why don't you take off your clothes?"
"I'll take it off after I get in later, and wash all my clothes by the way."
"That's good. You go to that hut and get your hair cut first. If the master wants money from you, just ask him to find a horse and go forward. I've already said hello, and he understands."
"good."
Zhou Wenzhong opened the curtain and walked in. A middle-aged man in his 40s wearing large pants and a vest was sitting on a stool with his legs crossed and reading a newspaper. After noticing the person, he quickly stood up, picked up the cloth and patted it.
Get off the chair.
"Comrade, how do you want to cut it?"
"How much does a haircut cost? I forgot to buy the invoice when I came in. I'll have to ask you to help me make a trip later."
After hearing this, the expression on the barber's face was obviously more enthusiastic than before.
"You're welcome, a haircut costs 3 cents. Sit down first and then talk."
Zhou Wenzhong reached into his cotton-padded jacket and took out 1 cent and handed it over. He took the change, sat in front of the mirror, untied his cotton-padded jacket and threw it away.
The barber tied a towel under Zhou Wenzhong's neck, held a manual clipper in one hand and a comb in the other and combed his hair twice.
"Comrade, you haven't been here for a while, and your hair is all curled up. How do you want to cut it?"
"Have you seen the movie "The Five Heroes of Langya Mountain"?"
"I've seen it."
"Give me a hairstyle with the hairstyle of the hero Song Xueyi."
"The hero with the gauze on his head?"
"Um."
"You can cut it, but let me remind you, it's over 10 degrees below zero today. Don't forget to wear a hat when you go out."
"It's okay."
"Okay. Sit up straight."
As the clumps of hair fell, the barber had roughly cut it. The comb in his hand was replaced with a knife. He rubbed it back and forth on the razor blade twice and began to shave Zhou Wenzhong's sideburns and the back of his head.
Ten minutes later, the barber took a rag and slapped Zhou Wenzhong on the neck twice.
"Comrade, look in the mirror, is this what you want?"
"Why do I feel like there's something in your words?"
Zhou Wenzhong stood up from the chair and went to the mirror to examine it carefully. This hairstyle is actually a little bit of hair on the top of the head, with a few millimeters of hair below the temples.
The hero Song Xueyi had a head injury and needed to be wrapped with gauze to get this look. Zhou Wenzhong didn't like the male hairstyles of this era and had to comb his hair every morning, and that hairstyle required a haircut once a week.
Not only does it cost money, but more importantly, it costs trouble. Zhou Wenzhong doesn't even bother to brush his teeth on weekdays.
"It's very good. I like it very much. Your craftsmanship is really good."
"Thank you, welcome to come again next time. If you can make it in time, just come in and see me. I will help you buy the invoice."
"It's easy. I'll see you later."
"Okay."
Zhou Wenzhong bent down to pick up his cotton-padded jacket and walked to the bathtub, taking off his clothes as he walked. The decoration of this bathhouse was really ordinary. There were not even tiles on the floor, and on top of the stone tiles, there was a layer of cement pavement.
.
There is a sign on the wall next to the bath that says "It is forbidden to have sex in the pool"
It is very suitable for the consumption of poor and lower-middle peasants. The best bathhouse in Beijing is Qinghua Pool? Maybe.
But the best bathhouse in North China is in Tianjin! The [Yujin Pool] in Laonan City is also called [Yuqing Pool]. It is a 4-story British-style building built during the Republic of China and has an elevator! A basement can accommodate more than 200 people.
, I heard that even the floor tiles are shipped from Great Britain. The tiles on the walls are produced in France. There are many docks in Tianjin. This kind of gossip is very credible.
However, it will be renamed Yong'an Hospital in a few years.
During the Republic of China, ordinary people could go to the 1st and 2nd floors of Yujin Pool to bathe, while rich and powerful people went to the 3rd floor, which was full of small single-room pools.
There are two factories on the 4th floor, one is a towel factory and the other is a bath towel factory.
Don’t think that the bath towels in Maying Village in Henan are so good. They are also known as the base of bath towels. Those craftsmanship are leftover from Tianjin’s practice during the Republic of China!
Don’t think that telegraphs in the 1960s were precious. They were very expensive during the Republic of China! There was a telegraph office in the late Qing Dynasty!
……………………
Zhou Wenzhong turned on the two faucets and adjusted the water temperature. The water pipe above his head was flowing. Except that there was no shower head, it was no different from the showers of later generations. He threw all his clothes and cotton shoes on the ground and stepped on them with his feet.
Wash. Ma Erbao is drinking water with his head raised.
"I said, why are you drinking water like a donkey?"
"What did you say? Louder!"
Zhou Wenzhong rinsed his mouth with water. The water in the pipe was mixed with cold water, which was unhygienic.
"Brother Zhong, it turns out you look like this! We've been working together for so long, and it's the first time I've seen you clearly today."
"Mad! What's going on today? Everyone talks like there's something in their words."
"Give!"
Ma Erbao handed over a newspaper bag that had been soaked by water. When opened, white particles were found.
As soon as Zhou Wenzhong touched his wet hands, his fingers felt hot. This was washing powder. Although the washing powder contains phosphorus, it is undeniable that it is a good thing in this era! Many people still use plant ash to wash their hair.
"Don't sprinkle it on your clothes! This is for washing your hair! I can't even bear to use it!"
Zhou Wenzhong fell halfway down, stepped on his clothes with his feet, watched the black and gray dirty water flow to the side, and returned the remaining washing powder to Ma Erbao.
"You can use it to wash your own hair! I don't dare to use it. My scalp will be burned! I'll shed dandruff if I touch it with my hands."
"You are very particular about it."
Zhou Wenzhong didn't hear what he said at all, and was busy washing his clothes. After all the clothes were wet, they estimated to weigh more than 30 kilograms. They couldn't be washed clean, and black water kept flowing.
"Stop stepping on it! You'll be torn in the wash soon! These cotton cloths can't withstand such a high water temperature. The more they're washed, the worse they get. You'll have to stretch them out later! If you keep stepping on them like this, they'll be torn after stretching.
, as long as it’s close! If you don’t want these clothes of yours, you can give them to me! There’s no need to ruin things like this!”
Ma Erbao looked at the clothes on the ground with a distressed look.
"Yes, I listen to you."
The two of them were holding clothes in their hands, and they twisted them hard, and a stream of yellow soup flowed down.
Ma Erbao took the clothes, shook them for a moment, and said with emotion: "Brother Zhong, your cotton-padded jacket and trousers are old, and there isn't much cotton in them. You weigh it, you just twisted it like this."
, these cotton pants weigh 10 pounds when wet?"
"That's all. It doesn't matter if it's warm or not. Just dress appropriately."
"Tsk tsk... I'll throw the cotton-padded jacket on the hot water pipe."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. You can go into the pool and take a dip. I'll go call the back rubs for you later. They're all my own."
Zhou Wenzhong walked to the edge of the cement pool and sat down. He looked at a layer of putty floating in the steaming pool. He sighed and sat down.
"Sigh... It's not the right time to come here today. I should have come to take a shower at 5 o'clock in the morning so that I could wash my hair and have some water. There are still 10 days left before I go to the countryside. Who will come first? I hope I can contact my relatives.
Bar."
Ma Erbao jumped into the pool with a splash, causing a splash of water, and he mistakenly regarded the more than 20 square meters of bathing pool as an indoor swimming pool.
"That's almost enough. If you jump like this a few more times, you'll be chasing us away in a while."
"It's okay. I was born on this street since I was a child. Everyone knows everyone. Even if they don't know each other, they have been kissing each other for three generations!"
"I threw your clothes into the boiler room. I have told the masters to spray some water on the clothes after a while."
"what time is it now?"
"I looked at the clock in the boiler room just now. It's almost 11 o'clock."
"Do you have any plans for lunch? Let's go to your house for something to eat?"
"It's done! It's just a few steps, it won't take more than a few minutes."
"Haha~ Let's forget it. Your family doesn't have enough food either."
"Look! Are you looking down on me? You can still afford to take care of one or two meals."
"Okay, okay. How much does it cost to eat on the stove in the bathhouse at noon?"
When Ma Erbao heard this, he walked up to Zhou Wenzhong and sat down.
"For 2 yuan, I'll give you four steamed buns made with 55-meter flour. I'll also give you a stack of pickles, a pot high!"
"What is 55 powder?"
"50% fine grains, 50% coarse grains! It's usually corn flour and sorghum flour. Some places have 37 flour, and some places have 28 flour. 28 flour steamed buns are awesome, and 80% of them are white flour."
"Okay! That's it. I'll rub my back for a while, and then we'll find a bed and lie down for a while. Aren't you going home at noon?"
Ma Erbao rubbed the mud on his arm and replied: "If I don't go back, I will save a meal."
"Co-writing means eating from me and saving your family's food."
"hey-hey……"
While the two were talking, they saw someone holding a towel and shouting: "Ma Gen, the second young master! The second young master of the Magen family! Hurry! There will be something to do soon!"
"Here it is! Stop shouting! I'm going now!"
"Brother Zhong, please go and rub your back quickly. I won't go. It's not good to keep asking people for nothing."
Zhou Wenzhong walked out of the bathtub. His body was red and the water was too hot.