Zhao Qing has a watch on his body, which was given to him by his father. But he rarely uses it to tell the time.
This is because rural people have always lived their lives based on the weather and do not have the concept of precise time. Secondly, it is not very "convenient" to take out his watch.
To be honest, it is an old pocket watch, and its appearance is too shocking.
The gold watch case is covered with machine-engraved patterns, and a crystal clear diamond is inlaid in the middle. Inside the watch case are a copper-embedded enamel dial and gold hands. Not to mention opening it, you really have to take it out to see it. The sun can dazzle people's eyes.
How can a person like him who wears patches like him not arouse suspicion? He will probably cause unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, when Zhao Qing left the west courtyard of Guanyin Yuan, he still used to estimate the time by the skylight.
Looking at the cross-street building of Guanyin Yuan in front, he couldn't help thinking happily. Since he made several extra dollars today, he might as well buy some things for his family and take them back.
To be honest, collecting eggs is indeed a good job.
Eggs in the village are cheap, and the supply and marketing cooperative buys them for only 5 cents. But he charges them at 7 cents each. The villagers don't have to go out, and they have more income. Every family is happy to sell their eggs to him.
On the other hand, people in the city can't afford it, so these fresh eggs can be sold for 12 cents each when they are brought to the capital. Each time you bring 400 eggs and run for a trip, you can earn 20 cents.
For farmers who have worked hard for a year and can only earn 70 yuan based on work points, this is tantamount to sudden wealth.
He has been running for more than half a year, and not only has he paid off all the family's debts, but has also improved his parents' lives a lot. Now the brigade secretary's house is probably not as well-fed as his family.
Of course, it is not that there are no villagers who want to imitate him and make their own eggs and sell them out of the village, hoping to make more money.
But the mountain roads are bumpy and far away, and these people, without exception, have suffered enough from broken eggs.
None of them had his eloquence and intelligence, and they knew how to use mountain products and fresh vegetables to clear the cement factory drivers, and use public cars to transport eggs for business.
Besides, they are reluctant to invest money, and they dare not come to the capital alone. Even if they sell, they will only go to the county town to sell the few eggs they have saved. Not to mention that the price will not go up, and it is not cost-effective to make a trip.
There is such a thin line between people sometimes.
The sunshine in the summer afternoon is the hottest, making Zhao Qing's face sweaty and red. Unable to bear the heat, he quickly made a decision not to go to Xidan or Wangfujing, but to go straight to Qianmen. Big fence.
Carrying the empty big rattan basket on his back, he walked out of the alley in a familiar way and waited for the bus under the stop sign opposite the grocery store on Zixin Road.
There is a direct bus "No. 5" there, and the fare is seven cents. When you get to Qianmen Station, get off at the intersection of Langfang Toutiao.
Zhao Qing is now very familiar with the capital. At the end of the year, he began to collect eggs from the village and sell them in the city. Soon, he almost visited the entire capital.
This is not an easy task, especially for a farmer like him.
In fact, there are many locals in Longkou Village, young men like him, who have never been to Fangshan County. A small number of people who are less knowledgeable have only been to Liangxiang and Changyang.
Apart from the educated youth, he is the only young man in Longkou Village who has a connection with the capital.
And the reason why he is so different and dares to enter the capital alone is thanks to his father.
His father not only taught him authentic Beijing movies and cleared the dialect barrier for him in language communication. He also told him about the geography and style of Beijing from an early age.
Like in front of the Four Drum Towers in East Danxi, the Summer Palace with Five Altars and Eight Temples, the Dashilar of the Qianmen Building, the Great Ocean Eye at Beixinqiao...
For him, it has been familiar to him since he was very young.
There are other sayings such as "If you are full of wine, you will be respectful to others, and if you are full of tea, you will be given away", "If you are thirsty in the East City, you will not die of hunger in the West City" and "If you want to eat noodles, you can't just eat garlic, so why not have a bowl of rice. Eat noodles without jealousy, and beat the West with cannons"
"Shiku" is a type of Beijing folk song that describes aspects of life and etiquette.
The more he listened to it, the more he became familiar with it.
Even his father often spoke like this at home.
"If this matter comes to the capital..."
"This thing needs to be taken to the capital..."
"This theory needs to be discussed in the capital..."
This made Zhao Qing subconsciously feel that not only the people and things in the capital were extraordinary, but also there seemed to be another truth, which seemed more sacred and greater. Naturally, he had a lot of yearning for the capital.
Of course, Beijing is the capital of the people of the country, and probably most people think it should be like this. Don’t those educated youths from Beijing raise their noses when they mention Beijing?
But later, when he was fully grown up, he realized that his favorable impression of the capital was not exactly like that of others. It was just his admiration for Tiananmen, the Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Great Hall of the People.
Because he also gradually learned about the family's thousand-year history from his father's mouth, that his ancestors had produced countless emperors and generals. He knew about the decline and decline of the family and the changes in the country. He also knew about the old house of "Half Acre Garden" in Liangguo Factory in the capital. He knew.
His ancestors lay among the eighteen imperial tombs overgrown with grass on Jiulong Mountain.
First of all, we know that the three surnames of An, Meng and Gong in Longkou Village were originally from the grave families who depended on their families to live in the flag manor. We also know that the wealthy family surnamed An, who has always held the position of the head of the village, is actually the original
Descendants of Zhang Jing, the bodyguard appointed by the Qing Dynasty emperor. (Zhang Jing is the Manchu transliteration, military attache position, meaning general)
Only then did he discover to his surprise that he was actually the first royal bloodline to make the capital the capital. And his entire family, for dozens of generations, had always been inseparable from the city dozens of miles away, and they were constantly separated.
He came once, he left again, he left once, he came again... He has been entangled and tied to the capital for eight hundred years.
This inevitably made him deeply feel that even though he was in this small mountain village now, he still had a wonderful fate connected by blood with the capital.
Yes, his surname is not Zhao, but Wanyan. The pronunciation of his name is correct, but he needs to add two characters of his surname to make it complete. His name is Wanyan Zhaoqing.
Yes, his father was the most authentic old Beijing native. But he was also a descendant of the feudal royal family who was completely submerged by the tide of the times, and was a nobleman of the banner clan of the former Qing Dynasty.
It is precisely because of this identity that from the Republic of China to the liberation, his father has always been difficult to gain trust in both the Beiyang government and the Nationalist government. Although he has all the skills and the heart to serve the country, it is difficult to find the right way to serve the country with loyalty, no matter in politics.
When they joined the army, they were all depressed and frustrated.
After the Japanese came, his father fled for eight years. When he returned to the capital after liberation, he had no place to live. That's why he finally came to Longkou Village and settled down in despair.
Guard the ancestral graves here.
Fortunately, the head of Longkou Village at that time was a man who cared deeply about kindness. He was grateful to the Wanyan family for always treating the deceased family well, and never took any money from Longkou Village. Instead, he often rewarded the three families with money and food.
Therefore, the village leader not only provided more help and care for his father's life, but also finally married his daughter to his father.
Only then did he have this warm little family that protected him from wind and rain since he was a child.
Now that he has grown up and become sensible, he is more and more grateful to his grandfather and feels that this is really a very lucky thing.
Although his family was considered a semi-outsider in Longkou Village, they were also the only feudal landowners. Fortunately, the village was full of former bannermen, and with the protection of the An family, their family was able to survive the "movement" safely.
He was not like those descendants of the Banner people who lived in Han villages, who had to hear taunts and taunts like "Others ride donkeys and horses, but you ride people" since childhood...
Thinking of this, Zhaoqing, who was already standing on the bus, couldn't help but sigh.
That's really what life is like.
What my father said is true, "Blessings come when misfortune lies, and misfortunes come when blessings rely on them." Most of the time, there are always pros and cons to one thing.
Therefore, people should neither show off when they are proud nor lose hope when they are down...
But just when he was feeling something, someone suddenly pushed him behind him, and a man shouted loudly, "I told you, how many times have I told you, pretending not to hear, move your broken basket away quickly! Others
I can’t even get through it!”
A woman also chatted and said, "That's right, how do we get off the bus? What are your qualities?"
Zhaoqing turned around and saw that there was a worker and a thirty-year-old woman standing next to him. They probably wanted to pass by him and squeeze into the car door.
He quickly moved his body and things away in panic, explaining repeatedly that he was negligent and didn't pay attention, and he was sorry.
But the man still said reluctantly, "I neglected it. There is a good reason. You are from the village, right? Let me tell you, you have to know the rules when you come to the capital. This is not your sorghum field in the countryside. You have to be discerning and know.
What?"
The woman was just as mean. "Tsk, a farmer will look stupid when he comes to town. It's useless if you try to talk to him. If you don't understand, you just don't understand. You will never be able to remember."
Who would have thought that these words would immediately arouse the resonance of the conductor.
The woman not only looked at Zhaoqing with contempt, but also echoed the woman's words and continued, "No. That's how rural people are. It's good that they didn't stick their heads out of the car window. Let me tell you, it's okay.
There are many people in rural areas on this bus, all of whom are going to see Tiananmen..."
Fart! This is definitely a slander. Zhaoqing absolutely cannot agree with it.
Because the rural areas are so poor. Even if farmers go to the city, they have to walk there, and few people are willing to spend money to take the bus. The conductor is talking about it, it can only be educated youth who come back to visit relatives.
But listening to their words, it was clear that they had formed some kind of alliance, but Zhaoqing had to swallow his breath.
Because this situation is too common. Are there many people in the capital who are so poor? If he was angry, he would be angry to death.