Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

The place where the temple fair was held at Baita Temple was one of the earliest flower, bird, fish and insect markets in Beijing. It closed down in the 60s and only began to slowly recover two years ago after the end of the Cultural Revolution.

There are two types of people who come here to browse and exchange items.

First, there are the descendants of princes, nobles, and Manchu bannermen who survived from the Qing Dynasty. They keep birds in cages, fight crickets, train hawks, and release dogs.

Even if I can't eat myself during difficult times, I won't let my precious children go hungry.

Secondly, people now have some spare money, and with a lack of entertainment and an restless mind, they become like the fishermen of later generations.

Some people may not be very skilled, but they can't resist casting a few strokes whenever they see water.

After Li Xiangdong boarded the bus, there wasn't even a seat available. He stood and swayed for almost half an hour before finally arriving at his destination.

After getting off the bus, he quickly covered his nose. Dust was billowing around, many alleys were being demolished, and some places had already seen the construction of makeshift buildings.

He walked quickly to the green belt near the northeast corner of the overpass.

This place was originally a temple fair that was moved here after the Cultural Revolution, and it has spontaneously formed into a small market, which is quite lively.

After being reported next year, it will be taken over by the government and relocated to the ground floor of the Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, opposite the National Children's Activity Center.

The government also built two rows of sheds with red brick walls and asbestos tiles, which everyone later liked to call Guanyuan Market.

Li Xiangdong strolled around the neighborhood like someone who had come to wander around. The place sold everything: cats, dogs, fish, insects, flowers, and antiques, both real and fake.

The surrounding area smelled bad and the environment was dirty and chaotic, no wonder it was reported.

Moreover, most of the stall owners here are from the same group 20 years ago. Very few young people come here to set up stalls. In a few more years, once everyone sees that it can make money, they will flock to this industry.

He saw several street thugs loitering nearby, and some of them were glancing at him from time to time. After thinking for a moment, he took out a flashlight from his satchel, thinking that he could use it as a brick if anyone came by.

Uh ~

Li Xiangdong quickly stepped forward, walked to a flower vendor, squatted down, and picked up a pot of clivia.

This is a great find; it's known as the "green gold bar" of the 80s.

"Comrade, how much is this clivia?"

"Two pieces."

The flower seller glanced at him, thinking he didn't look like a wealthy person. "Want to buy or not? If not, put it down quickly, or you'll break it."

cut~

Look at the idiot you've given me, I'm not buying it!

Li Xiangdong put down the flowers and got up to leave. It was still a bit early; it wouldn't be too late to collect a batch of clivia in another year or two.

He looked around with great curiosity until he had had enough of the novelty, and then followed the sound of crickets to a place where crickets were sold in a group at a street stall.

Li Xiangdong walked to a nearby stall. The stall owner was a bald middle-aged man who held a palm-leaf fan in his hand and had a dark white towel draped around his neck.

Holding a small teapot in his hand and a straw cricket cage at his feet, he leisurely observed the passing crowd while listening to the crickets chirping.

Seeing Li Xiangdong stop in front of his stall and look around, the middle-aged stall owner said, "Hey buddy, this isn't a ghost market. What are you doing out here in broad daylight with a flashlight? Using it as a stool?"

Li Xiangdong squatted down, held up a flashlight in front of the middle-aged stall owner, and said with a smile, "Why don't you show me what an iron butt looks like?"

"I'm getting old, I can't do it anymore, I can't use my strength anywhere, you should put it away quickly."

The middle-aged stall owner used a palm-leaf fan to block Li Xiangdong's flashlight. Seeing that he didn't seem like someone who played with insects, he asked, "Sir, do you know how to play with insects?"

"Hey~ I haven't even seen the stuff yet, and you've got so many questions. What do you care if I can do it or not? Can I just buy it and go fishing?"

Li Xiangdong retorted, pointing to the cricket jar on the ground, "Can I take a look?"

The middle-aged stall owner wasn't annoyed. He'd seen all sorts of things at his street stall. He picked up a cricket jar and replied with a smile, "Of course you can look at it. How can we negotiate the price if you don't?"

Li Xiangdong took the cricket jar from the stall owner, opened the lid and placed it on the ground. He carefully examined the color and appearance of the crickets inside and nodded, "Not bad, genuine white-toothed green crickets."

"You really know your stuff, sir. Why don't you show me how it works?"

The middle-aged stall owner handed over another cricket grass. Li Xiangdong took it, teased the cricket in the jar a couple of times, and then returned the jar to the stall owner.

How much is this one?

The middle-aged stall owner took the cricket jar, put the lid on, and carefully placed it on the ground. "Take it for 3 yuan."

Li Xiangdong didn't say anything, but opened a few more cricket jars and looked inside. They were all local Beijing crickets: white-toothed green, white-toothed purple, and iron pellet crickets.

Now you need a letter of introduction to go out, which is very inconvenient when going to other places. The neighborhood office won't issue a note unless you have a good reason.

Crickets from other places are not easy to get in, so local cricket vendors usually catch them themselves or buy some candy to trick naive children into helping them catch crickets.

Li Xiangdong looked at the middle-aged stall owner and asked, "Do you have any iron-headed, blue-backed ones?"

Seeing that the middle-aged stall owner remained silent, he continued to ask, "Do you have amber-green, black ivory-green with hemp heads, or black-headed golden wings?"

The middle-aged stall owner smiled bitterly and said, "Don't joke with me, man. Where can you find Ningyang goods these days? I haven't seen them for years."

"You don't have it, but I do."

Li Xiangdong smiled and pointed to himself.

"You have?"

The middle-aged stall owner's eyes lit up. He craned his neck to get closer to Li Xiangdong and whispered, "Can you get your hands on goods from Ningyang?"

"Ah."

Li Xiangdong nodded. "Not only can I get it, but I can get a lot. I'm just worried that you won't be able to eat it all."

The stall owner in the middle exclaimed excitedly, "You underestimate me, sir! If I can't sell all your goods around here, no one else can!"

Li Xiangdong laughed and said, "Really? It seems you're quite famous in this area."

The middle-aged stall owner said with considerable pride, "You can ask around; many cricket enthusiasts know me, Cricket Sun. Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

Good guy~

This is a big deal, and Li Xiangdong certainly can't lose. "What a coincidence, my friends in the underworld give me face and call me Brother Dong."

Cricket Grandson: "..."

Seeing Ququ Sun's bewildered expression, Li Xiangdong smiled contentedly and said, "I was just joking with you. You're old, just call me Dongzi. I won't call you Ququ Sun anymore, I'll just call you Uncle Sun."

"Sure, Dongzi, how much can you get? When can I expect to see the goods?"

Uncle Sun looked at Li Xiangdong expectantly, but Li Xiangdong asked in return, "Why don't you tell me the price first? Only if I think it's acceptable can we continue to discuss it, right?"

Uncle Sun lowered his head and silently pondered for a while, then looked up at him and said, "Genuine Ningyang goods with complete whiskers and tails, one yuan each, I'll buy as many as you have."

Upon hearing the price, Li Xiangdong got up and left without saying a word.

"Hey hey hey~ Don't go!"