"Here's my humble hand."
Dandan took it and also took a sip. Huaiyu was delighted.
It was this summer rain! The raindrops were too big and too heavy. The rain was so heavy that you couldn't see anything near or far; the Milky Way was pouring down, a scene of utter devastation.
This rain stopped and continued intermittently for a whole season.
Until the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased, even the heavens seemed startled. Cicadas fell silent, dragonflies flew wearily, and fireflies went blind. The coolness, whether sudden or gradual, deepened with each rain. Though the countryside was washed clean and the distant mountains beautiful, the common people, confined to their homes within and around the city's overpasses, continued their lives day after day, year after year. After the Lesser Heat and Greater Heat, autumn arrived, and before they knew it, it was the End of Heat and White Dew season.
Zhigao's shaved head had grown back completely, and under the eaves of this small teahouse, he no longer found any bargains. He simply listened to storytelling and crosstalk, standing to the side, exchanging greetings, and then listening for ages. He liked simple, humorous stories. Another round of eating and drinking ensued, with everyone and everything in the world. One storyteller, reciting *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, began like this:
"Today I'm going to talk about a very short passage, 'The Taoist Priest of Laoshan,' which happened in Shandong. Which prefecture? Which county? Let's not get to the details, it's just that it's close to Laoshan. But how close? It would take several days to walk there. This man's surname was Wang, and he was probably the seventh in his family, so he was called Wang Qi... Entering—that's not really saying anything, but time passed and that's how it went."
In August, a sweet fragrance permeates Beiping. Although the osmanthus flowers are not beautiful, their scent is rich. When you smell the fragrance of osmanthus, you know that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching.
Busy streets such as Dongsi Archway, Xidan Archway, and Qianmen Street leading directly to Tianqiao have already been lined with fruit stalls selling fresh produce, including red grapes, white grapes, Ya'er pears, Jingbai pears, apples, green persimmons, pomegranates, peaches—…
Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Lunar New Year's Eve are the three major festivals. Children are happy, but adults aren't necessarily. Mid-Autumn Festival is a time to settle accounts for the summer's expenses. Daily necessities and debts incurred during the summer must be paid off. What troubles Tang Laoda most is that after paying rent and profits from his stall, and accounting for the house, there's not much left, and winter is fast approaching. Moreover, this summer has been rainy, and he's only earned enough for his performances. Even with Huaiyu's occasional performances, there's not much to help him make ends meet.
Festivals must be observed, however imperfectly they may be. Men don't worship the moon, and women don't offer sacrifices to the stove god. Huaiyu and Zhigao's only activity was strolling through the Dong'an Market. On Wangfujing Street, there was no sign of "economic downturn" at all; no one was frowning, simply because they were too busy to even look up.
This is a relatively bustling and upscale market. The main street is lined with shops selling fashionable clothing, high-end cosmetics, and even the everyday goods are of high quality. For example, the everyday goods are sourced directly from Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other places to find the latest trends.
Dandan followed Huaiyu here and was amazed by what she saw. Wandering among the shops and stalls, she saw many strange things: bottle openers, slippers embroidered with beads, aluminum caps, thermos stoppers, glass lids, and even a Sausage soap dish. The strangest thing was that on one side, they sold hair shavings and nets, while on the other side, they sold foreign rouge, lipstick, and face cream. The old and the new were all displayed together.
Children from poor families are usually content just to look around.
After walking for a while, Dandan saw these clay figures everywhere in the market. They had human faces, cleft lips, and two large ears on their heads. Some were about three feet tall, while others were four or five inches. They were all covered with python skins and rode on horses, tigers, lions, and other magnificent figures. Dandan asked, "What are these things?"
Huaiyu handed her one; its lips moved rapidly, twitching wildly with the pull of a string. "Rabbit God. My mouth keeps moving, it's called the 'Scratching Mouth Rabbit God'."
Dandan also took it and played with it. Yes, when you pull the middle line, it makes a babbling sound, like it's talking.
Dandan laughed: "This is Brother Cut Cake, and he's also the Rabbit God with a Scratched Mouth."
He thought for a moment, "He told us to come and meet him, why haven't we shown up yet?"
Huaiyu said, "We're early. Why don't we show you around first? Do you know the story of the Rabbit God? It's about how, in ancient times, a plague struck the earth, and only the Moon Palace had this elixir—"
"Why are they only found in the Moon Palace?"
"The story goes like this: A young man, undeterred by hardship, ventured into the moon palace to steal the elixir—"
"How did he get to the moon palace?"
"He finally succeeded. The heavenly soldiers and generals discovered him and laid a net to capture him. In the nick of time, the kind Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace sacrificed herself and peeled off her skin—" Huaiyu said.
"Isn't it going to kill you to play the role of a villain?"
"It peeled its skin off the young man, allowing him to escape and bring the elixir to the people."
"Oh, so everyone started worshipping it? — How could it be so stupid? It could have just brought the medicine to the earth itself. Why rely on a middleman? Or is it afraid?"
Huaiyu was furious: "Stories are just stories, why delve into the details? I'm not going to tell you anymore."
"Tell me, tell me." Dan Dan saw more sheets of paper, each depicting the Moon Goddess and the Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace, exquisitely crafted and resplendent in gold and green. She asked, "What are these?"
"I don't know." She suppressed a laugh and turned to leave.
The vendor busied himself bidding: "Young lady, would you like to buy a 'Bright Horse'?"
Dandan chased after Huaiyu, "Brother Huaiyu, tell me the story of the Moonlight Horse."
Walking one after the other, it was like walking through a sweet road paved with maltose, surrounded by ham, five-nut, and mooncakes.
Inside the market's acrobatic arena, there were all sorts of amusement rides, like a small sky bridge, with opera performances, brocade games, martial arts demonstrations, and crosstalk performances...
The crowd formed small square areas, each about fifteen feet in size, each drawn to their own scene. Listen to this riddle: "This thing is born seven inches long, one end hairy, the other smooth. It flows in and out with white water, and after being wrung dry, it wears clothes." — Ah, everyone burst into laughter, how risqué!
"It's hard to guess!" they all teased. "Isn't this...that thing?" They were too embarrassed to say it.
"Hey, what I'm talking about is something everyone uses and everyone has. Really, men have it, and women have it too!"
"That's something new!"
"I'm talking about toothbrushes. Aren't toothbrushes seven inches long? How come they have bristles on both sides? They're all smooth at one end. Don't you guys use tooth powder or toothpaste when you brush your teeth? White water and foam come out when you brush your teeth, and after you shake them dry—"
"I don't use toothbrush covers," came the reaction from the crowd.
"If you don't dress up your toothbrush, then you have to dress up yourself after you brush your teeth, right?"
This witty and suggestive riddle certainly attracted a lot of viewers, who were all waiting to hear what kind of raunchy comedy this kid would come up with next.
It turns out Zhigao has set up another venue: "Okay, I'll do one more!"
He was a bird too. But this time he didn't imitate bird calls; instead, he cleared his throat and mimicked two bird calls. He then launched into a solo performance of crosstalk—
A: "Your bird sings so beautifully, what's its name?"
B: "The Lark."
A: "I also raised a crow, but it never makes a sound."
B: "You have to pay it back."
A: "I've got it too. It goes through bends every day, and it follows me everywhere I go."
B: "Then why isn't it barking? That's strange. You have to feed it and give it water."