Not long ago, I fainted from hunger on the street.
Now I dare to go to Xiushui Street to set up a stall!
Where is Xiushui Street?
It should be one of the earliest street stall streets in Beijing, filled with small vendors.
A few years earlier, it would have been a gathering place for speculative criminals.
Zhang Junping dared to go to Xiushui Street to set up a stall, which somewhat made the old lady a little curious.
"Grandma Liu, this is no longer the 1970s. Now that the country has reformed and opened up, it is not illegal to set up a stall.
As for being embarrassed, what is there to be ashamed of when you rely on your own craftsmanship to eat?
The chief designer has said that it doesn’t matter whether the cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat!”
Xiushui Street is close to the embassy apartments, where a large number of foreign friends live.
The Xiushui Street Market was officially established in 1978. At first, it was just a few scattered shops scattered among embassies and diplomatic apartments. Because there were not many residents nearby, it was not favored.
State-owned stores and self-employed people are not optimistic about it, but Xiushui Street has become a gathering place for some dishonest people.
Many traders like to set up stalls here. In addition to the liveliness here, there are also many foreigners here. If you are lucky, a business deal with a foreigner can earn you several days of income.
Others are simply here to collect things.
For example, foreign exchange coupons, or some rare things brought by foreigners from abroad.
In the 1980s, there were many foreigners working as prostitutes in Beijing, and many foreigners relied on this to make a living.
At 3:30, Zhang Junping packed up his studio and rode his bicycle to Xiushui Street with the wood carvings he had processed.
One street further north is the famous Sanlitun, where there are more foreigners.
However, the management there is very strict and no stalls are allowed.
Not to mention setting up stalls, even taking pictures is not allowed.
There is a joke in cross talk about a farmer entering the city and seeing high-rise buildings.
Out of curiosity, I counted how many floors there were.
Then someone came over and asked, what are you doing?
I'm counting the floors!
Beijing does not allow multiple floors and imposes fines...
Something similar happened in Sanlitun, Beijing.
A foreign tourist visited Sanlitun and saw a pink house. He thought it was novel and beautiful, so he took a photo with his camera.
As a result, the police came and asked: What are you doing?
Tourist: I’m taking pictures! This house is all pink, so beautiful!
Police: It’s very nice, but you have to go to the police station with me!
In this era, there were no bars in Sanlitun, let alone Uniqlo. There were only one restaurant and a supply and marketing cooperative, and it was very desolate and deserted.
Therefore, it is still Xiushui Street to set up stalls.
"Hey! Dude, you're so unfamiliar! It's your first day here?"
As soon as Zhang Junping stopped his bicycle, someone greeted him.
"Yes! It's the first day here!" Zhang Junping nodded.
The person who greeted him was a fat young man of medium height, wearing a pair of grass-green trousers and a short-sleeved vest with blue and white stripes.
There will be no customers here, and this person is also showing boredom, passing the time by talking nonsense.
"Why did you come so late?"
"I have other jobs during the day, so I can only set up a stall in the evening to earn two pocket money!" Anyway, there was no business when he just started the stall, so Zhang Junping was happy to grind his teeth with him.
"What are you selling?" the chubby young man asked as he picked up the wooden rabbit that Zhang Junping had just displayed.
"Wood carving! A gadget I made myself!"
"I know, what you did looks quite similar! At first glance, it looks like the real thing!
However, I guess no one wants this thing!
If you don't eat or wear it, it's of no use!" The slightly fat young man said while admiring Zhang Junping's wood carvings.
“My brother’s wood carvings are really good. If I had left this before, I would have sold it for a high price!
But now..." A young man with big eyes shook his head and commented, and at the end he smacked his lips in regret.
This young man with big eyes was very skinny and only about 1.65 meters tall. He had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, but his big eyes were the most eye-catching.
If this young man had walked on the street before liberation, he would have been regarded as a heavy smoker and avoided.
"What Xiao Liuzi said does have some truth to it.
As the old saying goes, gold in troubled times is antique in prosperous times.
Although this little brother's wood carving is not an antique, it still belongs to the category of antiques.
Wenwan is worthless in this era!
That person at the front door, Mr. Baylor, sold a piece of pastel paint that was said to be from the Kangxi Dynasty a few days ago. Guess how much it sold for?" A middle-aged man with a gentle manner and glasses interjected from the side.
As soon as Zhang Junping's stall was set up, it attracted many people.
They are all stall owners who have nothing to do, gathering together to grind their teeth.
Zhang Junping was new here and it was a new topic, so many people gathered to join in the fun.
"How many?"
"Is there still Lord Baylor now?"
The first sentence was asked by a fat young man, and the second sentence was asked by Zhang Junping.
"It's just a title! According to himself, the Manchu was once a relative of the emperor. If the Qing Dynasty had not been destroyed, he would have been a Baylor! So, everyone jokingly called him Lord Baylor!
The yelling was long, but no one knew what his real name was!" The middle-aged man with glasses first answered Zhang Junping's words, and then said: "Master Beile, when you came out of the cultural relics store, you started cursing me!
Later I found out that the cultural relics store gave him ten yuan!"
"Hey, ten dollars? Isn't that too little?"
"What do you know? That's Kangxi pastels! Before liberation, they were worth at least a large yellow croaker!"
"Good boy, is it worth a big yellow croaker?"
"What is pastel? So valuable?"
"You don't even know about pastels?
Do you know Jingdezhen?
Pastel porcelain is one of the four traditional famous porcelains of Jingdezhen Kiln.
It is said that this pastel color was learned from foreigners!
Do you think it’s awesome or not? Is it worth the money?”
"Were there foreigners during the Kangxi Dynasty?"
"Why not? There were foreigners during the Tang Dynasty!"
A group of people were having a heated discussion about what pastels are and why they are worth a large yellow croaker.
How much does a large yellow croaker weigh?
How much would a large yellow croaker be worth today?
So-and-so had several small yellow croakers in his hands. He had seen them with his own eyes.
How many Yuan Datou does so and so have in his hands...
Everything we talked about today was diverted to the Pacific Ocean.
On the contrary, Zhang Junping, who caused the topic, was ignored.
Originally, Zhang Junping was just an introduction to their chat.
Now that the building is up and crooked, who cares about the introduction of the topic?
Zhang Junping was listening nearby and found it very interesting.
The capital is worthy of being the ancient capital of the Five Dynasties, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
Those who set up the stalls all know astronomy and geography.
Don't mention it. Although what they said is somewhat exaggerated, if you look carefully, it is really the case.
"Hello, excuse me!
How much is this for you?"
While Zhang Junping was listening with great interest, two blond foreigners stopped in front of Zhang Junping's stall.
"Hello..." Zhang Junping greeted the other party in broken English.
As for his poor English, he inherited it from his predecessor. As a junior high school graduate, his English had long been given to the teacher.